Cellphone Data Cards and the iPod Touch

Q. I have a USB cell phone data card that I use with my laptop. This card offers me world-wide connectivity wherever there is GSM cellphone service available. Is there an adapter that will allow me to use this card with the iPod Touch?

A. I know of no such adapter, nor of the software that would be needed to make one work. However, although the iPod Touch has no cellphone capability, it does include Wi-Fi, which can give you high-speed Internet access world-wide whenever you are in range of a Wi-Fi wireless network.

Q. What U.S. cellphone service provider should I consider when purchasing a new contract and phone that can be easily used in most western European countries and also get good coverage in the U.S.?

A. In the United States, the only two major carriers that use the technology compatible with European networks are AT&T and T-Mobile. As to which has better coverage in the U.S., my own anecdotal experience is that this varies greatly depending on where you are, and that neither has coverage that's as good as Verizon's in as many major cities. However, Verizon (like Sprint) uses a technology that isn't compatible with European networks, though it has one or two phone models that include both technologies.

Q. I have just switched to the Mac from Windows. Is there a tutorial somewhere on how to use the Mac user interface and operating system?

A. There are a couple of books on switching to the Mac, which you can find at online bookstores. Also, Apple maintains two free, illustrated online tutorials called 'Mac 101' and 'Switch 101,' the latter being specifically for former Windows users. They are available at apple.com/support/mac101 and apple.com/support/switch101.

問(wèn)：我有一個(gè)可連接我筆記本電腦USB接口的移動(dòng)電話數(shù)據(jù)卡。有了這張卡，在世界上任何一個(gè)能提供GSM移動(dòng)電話服務(wù)的地方我都能上網(wǎng)。能找到一種適配器好讓我通過(guò)這張卡用我的iPod Touch上網(wǎng)嗎?

答：據(jù)我所知沒(méi)有這樣一種適配器，也不存在可支持你用iPod Touch通過(guò)GSM手機(jī)卡上網(wǎng)的軟件。不過(guò)，雖然iPod Touch沒(méi)有手機(jī)功能，但它卻有無(wú)線保真(Wi-Fi)功能，只要能接入Wi-Fi無(wú)線通訊網(wǎng)，你在世界任何地方都可通過(guò)iPod Touch高速上網(wǎng)。

問(wèn)：如果我想確保我的手機(jī)能在大部分西歐國(guó)家和美國(guó)順暢使用，我該選擇美國(guó)哪家移動(dòng)運(yùn)營(yíng)商的服務(wù)和手機(jī)?

答：美國(guó)主要的電信運(yùn)營(yíng)商中只有美國(guó)電話電報(bào)公司(AT&T)和T-Mobile使用能與歐洲無(wú)線通訊網(wǎng)兼容的技術(shù)。至于這兩家公司哪一家在美國(guó)的網(wǎng)絡(luò)質(zhì)量更好，從我個(gè)人的經(jīng)驗(yàn)看這很大程度上取決于你住在哪里，而兩家公司在美國(guó)許多大城市的網(wǎng)絡(luò)質(zhì)量都趕不上Verizon公司。但就像斯普林特公司(Sprint)一樣，Verizon使用的技術(shù)也不與歐洲的無(wú)線通訊網(wǎng)絡(luò)兼容，不過(guò)它也有一兩款雙模手機(jī)，可以接入歐洲的無(wú)線通訊網(wǎng)。

問(wèn)：我剛棄Windows電腦而改用Mac電腦。市面上有教人如何使用Mac電腦的用戶(hù)界面和操作系統(tǒng)的用戶(hù)指南嗎?

答：你可以在網(wǎng)上書(shū)店找到幾本教人如何轉(zhuǎn)用Mac電腦的書(shū)。蘋(píng)果公司(Apple)也在網(wǎng)上免費(fèi)提供兩本這類(lèi)書(shū)籍，分別叫做Mac 101和Switch 101，后者專(zhuān)門(mén)針對(duì)以前使用Windows電腦的用戶(hù)。登錄apple.com/support/mac101和apple.com/support/switch101就能看到這兩本書(shū)。