So you’ve just bought the wonderfully thin and fast MacBook Air and stumbled into one problem: it doesn’t have an RJ45 (Ethernet) slot! Of course, with everything being wireless nowadays, who needs one? Well, you do! Not every place gives you a free Wi-Fi connection as some old airports, libraries, or cafes allow you to set-up your notebook or MacBook only with an Ethernet connection through the RJ45 cable (that Blue colored network cable, if you don’t know what I’m talking about).
Your option if you have the MacBook Air, is to buy a USB to RJ45 (Ethernet) adapter (Yes, who knew such a thing exists?). You can get one from the Apple’s store but why pay $29 if you can get it for $7?
I bought my MacBook Air’s USB to RJ45 (Ethernet) adapter from DealExtreme – USB 2.0 10/100Mbps RJ45 LAN Ethernet Network Adapter Dongle for just $7.69 (including free shipping to anywhere in the world). Of course, the build quality is different than Apple’s official USB to RJ45 adapter and this one requires a once-off driver installation (not to mention a 2-3 weeks delivery time), but with the spare $20, you can get yourself another accessory for your MacBook Air :)
The adapter includes a CD but of course, MacBook Air does not have a CD/DVD slot! Thankfully, someone suggested on the product page where to download the USB to RJ45 driver for the Mac OS. After I installed the driver on my MacBook Air, it worked right away.
So if you want to save some dollars to get a USB to RJ45 (Ethernet) adapter for your MacBook Air, be sure to get one from Deal Extreme’s.
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