I have the curve 8900, ATT is my carrier. The fine print is telling me that I may not connect my phone to my laptop (tethering?) if I subscribe only to the $15 per month web access plan. But if I take the $60 a month TETHERING plan, then it's ok.

If I take the cheaper plan, gain web access and bluetooth over to my laptop, how do they know? Will it just not work?

OK, you figured it out. Obviously I am looking for a way to use my laptop without the $70 a month card plan or the $60 a month tethering plan.

Am I just cheap and foolish or just naive to the "ways of the tech world"?

You are all three.

ATT (and other carriers) require it and will eventually figure it out. Once they do, you'll get a bill for it and it won't be pretty.

If you use it, pay for it.

You can do it, and they can know by the APN in use, but they generally won't hassle you about it unless you are excessive. However, you also must be aware that you could receive a hefty bill from AT&T if they do decide to charge you. It's your choice.

That said, you will need to subscribe to at least the $30 BlackBerry data plan. Other plans will not work correctly with BlackBerry.