Buying Apple Computers in Harbin

[-葛亚辉-]

Hey all,

I'll be studying in Harbin this summer at H.I.T. and I'm trying to decide whether or not to bring my laptop. I know that (somehow) the connections in H.I.T. dorms (at least, our dorm) won't work for Macs so I wont be able to use my computer/the internet in my room.

My question is, is that a common situation or is that some HIT network specific thing? And if it's not common, are there any wifi spots in Harbin in walking distance from HIT? I sort of have to bring my computer becuase I plan to take lots of pictures and I don't want to buy 50 new memory cards for my camera before I go (they're expensive), but obviously it will be much easier to send pics to friends and family back home if I can occasionally get on the internet with my computer. (I know there's cheap access in HIT computer labs and in internet cafes, etc., so I'm not worried about being unable to get on the net in general.

thoughts?

oh and also, this is totally unrelated, but I'm staying for a week to travel around between when my program ends and when I have to get back here to start school again. Where should I go?

[Ding Yiyi]

PM "venture160" he is a CET Harbin Alum, and he is a Mac user

[venture160]

No, macs CANNOT connect to the net at HIT. The campus uses a PPP protocol login software which is produced by the campus, and they only have a PC version. The RA at CET went to the tech center and asked about it, they basically told her no one uses macs so why bother developing software for it. That being said, last year when I was there, I did find several cafe's that had wired connections, and I heard that it was moving close to the HIT campus.

IF you are going to be there for a long period of time you could get a cellphone net card for about 80 bucks and then 20 bucks a month for the internet service which will give you decent speeds.

[Pravit]

How about Changbaishan? I've always wanted to go, but it's just too far NE for me.

[[欧阳江]]

The campus uses a PPP protocol login software which is produced by the campus, and they only have a PC version.

Usually, by using the built in PPP software I can get around that problem. Try to enter your user name and password manually in Settings/Network/Ethernet/PPPoE.

[boiten_valise]

Is anyone else having trouble making a new post?

Anyways, I have my Mac in China. There are local wifi spots to get to if you need wireless access.

[venture160]

Yea I tried all of that and had some real computer experts look at it. China being obsessed about internet security wants to control who uses it, and a national level campus is no exception.

[optical]

Just wanted to let any worried people know that not all major universities networks are like this. My school (Suzhou/Soochow university) has a very simple no-login required network that you just plug in to and it goes. It gets pretty congested during the day but at night I have managed downloads at speeds of up to 6 Megabytes (Yes, megabytes, not megabits) per second all on my base level macbook on OS X 10.4 with no problems.

Just be advised that basically any apple gear with the exception of ipods are still considered to be fairly underground here (not a mega city) so don't expect to be able to walk down to the store and buy the newest OS X version or anything like that.