High-Speed Access

The condominium is equipped with high-speed Internet access via Verizon DSL. There is no additional charge for using this service.

You must bring your own laptop computer to access the Internet. It must be equipped either with a standard RJ45 wired Ethernet port, an 802.11g 54Mbps wireless network adapter, or an 802.11b 11Mbps wireless network adapter, If you have a laptop but don't have an Ethernet or wireless adapter, buy one, plug in the card and load driver software before you depart. I've had good luck with Linksys products; at this point, I'd recommend the WPC54G 54Mbps 802.11g wireless card or the WPC54GS Wireless-G Notebook Adapter with SpeedBooster, both of which are usually less than $50.

To protect against intrusion by someone on the Internet into your computer and to provide wireless access, a Motorola SURFboard® SBG900 Wireless Cable Modem Gateway is used. If your laptop computer is set up for normal "dynamic" IP addressing ("obtain an IP address automatically" - the default), all you have to do is turn on the power strip, plug in the Ethernet (if you're wired rather than wireless), turn on your computer, and it should come right up! And yes, if you must bring more than one computer, the gateway will accomodate you.

Dial-Up Access

If your computer is not equipped with Ethernet or wireless Ethernet, you can use the conveniently-located telephone wire at the desk to connect via modem.

Some  national internet service provider shave points of presence (POPs) on the island of Hawaii, usually in Hilo, the "big city." These include AT&T Business Internet Services (934-5201), and  AOL/CompuServe 2000 (934-0035 for AOL or CompuServe 2000, 933-2161 for CompuServe "classic")  (Hint: No-cost 30-day trials are available from all of these providers.) From the condo, telephone calls within the island of Hawaii are free. Warning: inter-island telephone calls are toll calls, so don't call a POP in Honolulu or Maui!

If your ISP does not have a POP on Hawaii and you wish to dial up rather than using the DSL connection, you can quickly open an account on a weekly (no setup charge, $14.95/1st week, $10/each additional week) or monthly ($24.95 setup charge, $19.95/month) basis at interLink Hawaii (kona.net). For expert users, flexnet offers 56k access at $9.95/month with no setup charge.

For an hourly charge, you can also use a computer with high-speed internet connection at Zac's Photo and Copy Center (329-0006).