# Need temporary Internet access from laptop while traveling... Options?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [March 29, 2011, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351 "2011-03-29T05:22:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\
**Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/22 "2013-06-16T00:29:41Z")

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Has it really been two years? Feels like last week. We’re getting old, **Leaper**!

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**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\
**Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/23 "2013-06-16T01:38:12Z")

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> [@Lionne](#):
>
> I love that dongle is now a legitimate word.

Even two years ago, dongle had been a word for a long time.

Just sayin’.

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**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\
**Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/24 "2013-06-16T02:37:23Z")

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> [@aNewLeaf](#):
>
> Even two years ago, dongle had been a word for a long time.
> 
> Just sayin’.

I’ll bet two years ago it hadn’t gotten anyone fired, though.  
Just sayin’. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/25 "2013-06-20T03:04:32Z")

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> [@Reply](#):
>
> Has it really been two years? Feels like last week. We’re getting old, **Leaper**!

I know! My cousin had her first child while I was with my grandparents, and now the little tyke is two! (And loves her Uncle Leaper, which is cool. :))

Anyway, what I ended up doing was getting a 3G dongle from Sprint and getting a month long flat rate plan. It worked out well enough, especially since (as I said) it meant I could stay home most of the time and be their helper, and I even used it very occasionally after I got home until they ended up changing their plans and such. Then it just became more convenient to use my iPad if I really wanted to compute on the go (as nice as my Macbook Pro is, I usually don’t leave the house with it a lot; the _option_ of taking it with me is usually more valuable than actually having it, especially with the iPad filling its function 60% of the time).

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