aston man

i know i am a boring old boy scout,i like to be prepared

how do you use your lap top in oz ?i would like to take it on my rekkie so if i get stuck i can ask my old mates..

i am with BT ,so what do you do about servers etc.

thanks all.

ast

Wendy

You can buy pay as you go dial up from most newsagents.

aston man

you can buy pay as you go internet..jeez thats great.
but where do you plug it in

thanks

ast

Wendy

Usually in the wall socket

tonik25

I'm assuming you are talking about internet access. We 1 month into a 3 month tour in a motorhome on the East Coast before we decide where we want to live and settle down.

We bought a laptop in Sydney and have been using wireless on the Big4 campsites but it has only just been set up and is pretty ropey. We just bumped into an english couple who are on a 5 month camping trip in Oz and have bought an Optus gadget which you just plug into the USB port on the laptop and so long as you can get an Optus signal you can get an internet connection. Not sure how you are billed but the lady just demonstrated it and it is pretty fast connection so we are going to check it out.

We have Optus mobiles and get coverage pretty much everywhere we have been so seems ideal. Just another idea for you and you don't have to plug into any phone line (I think thats what you were asking).

Tonik

aston man

now come on ,your having a Sunday morning leg pull aren't you?
so i buy an internet pay as you go and plug it into a socket,i presume there will be one in our apartment.
so what about a server..

i have never took this lap top out the house,so please as i have not got a clue please enlighten me on what to do

Wendy

Soory couldn't resist


Good post above yours. Am gonna look into that myself

geordie mandy

a word of warning about taking a lap top make sure it is well insured. Hubby took ours and on our return journey the screen got cracked and now we are having a mare as the insurance will not pay out saying we didn't specify we would be travelling with it.
Mandy

aston man

thanks all,i think i might just find an internet cafe,do they have em over there,
and will i be able to get on here.

oh and how do you use your mobile over there,,how do you get your phone to take a pay as you go chip

thanks.

ast(techno dummy)

esperanza

This looks good! Check it out:

http://www.optus.com.au/portal/site/...extfmt=default

and there are various pricing options depending on how much you want to use it, how long you want to commit for, etc etc - explained here:

http://www.optus.com.au/portal/site/...extfmt=default

Wendy

Yes there are internet cafe's about. Libraries have them as well.

Who's your mobile contract with?

esperanza

How have people found wifi coverage outside of the main cities? I imagine there are coffee-shops or hotels with wifi in places like Sydney, but was just joking with OH about arriving in a smaller town and be told 'wifi what? There's a postbox at the end of the street, they collect it once a week' !!
That might be where this optus thing comes in to its own!

geordie mandy

We used our normal moblies and put it on roaming in all we only paid an extra £10 on our bill. Our calls to each other were still free(we were with 02)
Mandy

yanH

I've got one of these cards through work, Telstra though not Optus. It cost $399 up front and then a monthly charge of $99 for 1 gibabyte of data. Its a 3G card and the speed is OK.

Its not a cheap option though. I think that you would probably be much better using wireless connections where available. This website http://www.wi-fihotspotlist.com/browse/au/ has a list of spots.

Internet cafes are widely available, especially i the touristy areas.

spalen

'wifi what? ' - thats exactly what the lady at the qantas business lounge in new zealand asked me......


- Internet Cafes are plentiful.
- If your laptop has 'wifi' or wireless access then you are able to walk into many places, like Starbucks, McDonalds, etc... lots of cafes... ( and changi airport/most airports) And when you try to access the web on your laptop it will show you as creen where you can enter visa / credit card details to buy access for like 15$ for 1 hour or something. Then you can surf for 1 hour do whatever you want on the laptop.
- libraries will let you use a PC for free (mostly) to access email
- If your laptop doesnt have wireless - look on ebay or online to buy a wireless USB key to give it wifi through the USB key, this will be a cheapo circa 20-30quid device that plugs in the side and gives your laptop access to wireless networking

You do not need a server to access the internet. A server is where you store your own stuff.

some places even have free wireless access like changi arport and hong kong airport in places.