[P1] anyone know any good call by call dialup ISPs in California?

[Richard J Laue]

>[snip]
>the last hotel I stayed at had high speed access. I plugged into it and
>my iBook (366 SE, pre-Firewire) didn't recognize it. Apparently, they had
>a software CD that was for Windows. (The CD was missing, so I'm not sure,
>but if one had to install software to use it, I'd not be inclined to do
>so). I just plugged into the phone line and used dialup.
[snip]


I've stayed at several hotels where they claimed their system was 
Windows only, or where they had a software CD "for Windows only."  I 
have NEVER failed to log on to their network anyway.  And it's always 
just been a minute or two to connect.

In fact, in one hotel, their network support guy just happened, by 
coincidence, to be standing nearby when I inquired at the front desk 
about logging onto the network with my iBook (OS 10.1.5 at that 
time).  He came over and flat-out told me there was no way to get a 
Mac live on the network.  Couldn't be done.  Not possible, and that 
was what I got for buying a Mac instead of a "real" computer, and 
didn't I know that Mac was going out of business at any moment, blah 
blah blah....

Once I got to my room, I decided to give it a try anyway [hey, if I 
were a "sheep" I would have bought a PC, right?].

I was live and surfing within less than two minutes -- no CD install, 
no complicated settings incantations and swearing -- just switched 
the Network setting to Built-in Ethernet, as someone else mentioned 
here, and shazam!

Later, I ran into the hotel's network guy, and told him I was happily 
connected.  He absolutely refused to believe me, and we went up to my 
room for him to see for himself.  When I showed him how easy it was 
to set up, he was stunned.  He had never used a Mac, and had to admit 
that he was wrong.

So don't take the hotel's word for it!  Try it out for your own sweet 
self -- you just might be pleasantly surprised!  (And please don't 
forget to tell the hotel people they were WRONG!)

Cheers -
RJLaue