Doctor, can I please have internet access?

I’m a chronic asthmatic.

I tell you this not to evoke sympathy but to explain why I found myself stuck in John Hunter Hospital over Christmas with a computer but no internet access. Early on the 23rd I was carted off wheezing and groaning, closely followed by my partner carrying a few books, notepad and pen, iPhone, iPod and headphones, DVDs, a few assorted cables and my little black Macbook; otherwise known as “basic survival equipment.”

Enticing rumours

Two rumours currently bouncing about have piqued my interest. The one that interests my credit card company is that AT&T in ths US are considering "tethering" - allowing the iPhone to provide networking via 3G to other computers in its wireless network. The other, and the most likely to affect us here in Australia, is that the Mac mini may be getting an update.

Wireless to the world

So you have you brand new wireless ADSL router installed and connected to the 'net. The iMac in the study and the MacBook Pro in the lounge are talking to each other and the internet. All is right with the world.

So what now? A number of possibilities await.