Connecting your Mac to the internet in Egypt
The political unrest in Egypt and its internet blackout is all the buzz today in international matters. Several TUAW readers have written in asking if we had any advice for Mac users in Egypt to gain access to the internet. The secret in a blacked-out country apparently lies in using cell phones for dial-up networking.
You'll find an excellent write-up for Windows users over at Manalaa.net. The write-up offers step-by-step how-to as well as a list of dial-up provider numbers based in the US and France. For Mac users, accessing dial-up internet is a little more challenging.
As far as we can Google, dial-up internet is not available on the iPhone. TUAW contacted MyWi developer Mario Ciabarra, who said that the technology was theoretically possible, but he was unaware of any product, jailbreak or otherwise, that currently offered that service. Instead, he recommended using a Windows Mobile phone and integrating that with a Macintosh.
We've previously covered dial-up here on TUAW. Former TUAW contributor (now at Macworld) David Chartier posted about Windows Mobile Bluetooth-based dial-up internet back in 2006. The how-to article he originally wrote about is still available over at Mobility Today, although it is a little shy on general details. To summarize, you need to set up your Network System Preferences to allow PPP connections and tweak that connection for the provider's details.
Unfortunately, we do not have any further brand recommendation or connection details. So from here, we turn to the TUAW braintrust, i.e., you, our readers. If you are familiar with particular brands, models and how-to, please jump into the comments with specific advice.
Image Source: Arbor Networks
