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I got to go out on the road again, and everytime I do nowdays I got a problem. Now that I am a nethead (otherwise computer stupid), I don’t like to go even one day without checking in. I’ve stopped at several motels that had places to plug your stuff in. If I had a laptop, what next? Do you have to get on with somebody like AOL that might be within local phone range of where you are? Or do you just rack up huge fone bills and charge em to the company, (me)? All responses appreciated.
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Lonecat,
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*128kbps wireless and a laptop Lonecat, never leave your truck/vehicle. Check this link out to see if it might fit your needs. Good luckhttp://www.metricom.com/ricochet_now/what_is.htmlDan
*Yeah, you've got to find an ISP that has numbers wherever you are. Unfortunately that may mean AOL or another big co.
*Laptops have or can be made to have the same plug-in capabilities as desktop pc's. As for an isp while on the road. Check out the tons of different 'free' isp's. They all seem to have myriads of local phone numbers wherever you go, and they're free. So put up with ads while on the road, at least you won't be running up your phone bill horrendously. Before you leave, check with the website of your preferred free isp for numbers that will be local to where you'll be...
*Lonecat, there are lots of ways to access the net while traveling. Some public libraries have access, free but you may have to wait until a computer is available. Some towns have "Cyber cafe" type places where you can use their computer to access as a courtesy for customers, or for a fee. Some hotels have access and will let you check your mail for free. Try asking? I am on AOL, so any web access can get me to aol.com & I can log in to my account from anywhere. Don't need a local AOL phone number, just net access. Can you access your account at your ISP remotely, or do you have a Hotmail or some other free mailbox service? Those are accessible from any place you can get on. And for sure, if you do have your own laptop to plug into the hotel line, find out what the charges are before you spend an hour online. Could be a surprise when you check out. Joe H
*Thanks everybody. Joe F., I forgot to mention that ever since I got my computer I've been out in the sticks where access was a no-choice deal: small regional ISPs. But it sure changes fast and it looks like Earthlink just bought my provider. I'll ask them.
*b WBA At Your Service128kbps wireless from Ricochet.... what does that cost ? go ahead, I'm sitting down now...
*When I used to travel a lot I used AT&T (formerly IBM Global Services) we could get local lines all over North America, most of Europe, and the big cities elsewhere.
*Don't some ISPs have 800 numbers?
*Here is rate info for richochet...http://www.metricom.com/getricochet.htm$99 to buy the modem, monthly service $79-99/mo, unlimited access. Seems spotty coverage. I checked Phil PA, --service coming soon, and Cincinnati OH -- no coverage. Neither strike me as podunk towns.You can search the cities you would access from.The company I work for uses Bell South Wireless coverage. We spend 250k per month, and sometimes it works great, and sometimes not.Dan, do you use Richochet? Is it reliable?
*Here is an article about getting your own domain name and a web host at the same time. It may not be what lonecat needs right now but the article makes a point about what happens to your e-mail address when you change service providers.Master of your own domain
*Matt, I use ATT worldnet service when on the road. They have local numbers in just about every state, maybe not every city, and they have toll free numbers which cost 10 cents a minute to use, so you can log in from anywhere. Here is a link for access numbers: http://support.worldnet.att.net/main/accessnumber_cust.wbs I have had good luck with them in various big and small towns. Hope this helps. Rich.
*I connect more from hotels than office or home. I use the ATT service - 9.95/month unlimited from Sam's club - local numbers from almost everywhere in USA (a few rural areas don't). MSN is similar - I have it also - because I started with it and like having an option.Some hotels charge a flat rate for a local call; some now add a per minute charge after 30 minutes (guess why!) so I disconnect and reconnect. A few have broadbeand with ethernet - so I carry adapter with me - but have not had success the one spot I tried it.I thinking about gointto a pocket windows machine for email and some net - the laptop is getting heavy and can't justify spending a $1000 more for same processor, etc., in a box that weighs 3-4 pounds instead of 7-8 pounds.
*I wish I knew the answer to this topic when I was a newbie a few years ago. I was in North Carolina off 1-85 some 50 miles outside of Raleigh(no local access #) and I spent 60? minutes on line and the bill was around $50.00 at a motel. Later I learned AOL had an 800 number that cost .10 per minute billed to your account. It pays to learn ahead of time where the local access numbers are when travelling. I can recall trying to find internet service around Savanna and asked a cop where I could find a motel that had the service and I had the puter with me..LOL. I guess we're all newbies at one time. Lesson learned, beware of being in the sticks.
*Both MSN and ATT upload all the numberseach time I log on so they are always all in the login wizard - sort by area code or by city within a state.
*I tried a bunch of ISP's last month when i was tired of AOL kicking me off-line, but was informed some email service could not be accessed remotely, only from my home computer. Server-based v. net-based email, they said. I liked some things about MSN, but couldn't get some features to work, and gave up fixing it after three days on the phone with techs. Some of the free ones people suggested i look into didn't have numbers in my rural area, either, and although i have a 17" monitor, i got fed up moving banners around--seems like it would be hard to see the left-over screen on a laptop. I usually stay with friends when i travel, and have never had trouble getting to AOL from their machines, either. AOL's support service dept. is a little better, too. And i understand there's a program to keep AOL from zapping you off. And they are EVERYWHERE, if you need to log-on from a motel.
*I would be curious to know what "features didn't work" on MSN (so I know what I'm missing!)Normal tech support does suck. Luckily, my company will allow me to use the fee for support which is fast and fairly good. (Twice in 5 or so years.)I tried Juno - for about 1 day - yuck.
*For secondary on the road access, free isp's are the way to go. Try these, the special software can be down loaded there:www.netzero.netwww.juno.comyou can also pick up cds of http://www.bluelight.com at Kmart or http://www.ourhouse.com at ace hardware. These two use the same spinway system and dial ups that netzero does. I've been using netzero as my primary isp for over a year now, and love not paying $20 a month for access. I just can't wait for the fiber optic to make it to my neighborhood.Mike
*Bill, with AOL i can drag-and-drop or cut-and-paste items in email and in these little screens, cut-and-paste URL's, from character map, etc. When i called MSN to see why i couldn't do it, the first tech told me he could on HIS screen, suggested a couple things to try. When i called back (only one phone line) another tech told me his was working just like mine, that my only options for editing text were to delete and retype! It went on flip-floppng like this through several more techs and a $35 call to Microsoft, who said they didn't know nuthin' about MSN... Wiping and reinstalling didn't help, either.The techs all suggested i dump the MSN email program for Outlook Express, but then i found i'd have trouble accessing from the road (server-based), though i never tried to do so as i couldn't get my mail to transfer to it from MSN anyway despite following their instructions to the letter.Another thing i disliked is that when i'd open a new screen from web or email, i'd lose my extant email screen. In AOL i can change the form of my outgoing email name for different uses easily, whereas in MSN i was stuck with one unless i gyrated over to a personal preference screen and changed it there.How does yours work? I'm very curious...One of the MSN techs suggested i use "freeinet" instead (!), but no local numbers for me, though they don't tell you that until the end after you've spent a fair amount of time being grilled for marketing info and downloading.
*I use outlook express and no problem with cutting and pasting, etc. (that I know of!) I have three email accounts and ourlook express handles them all regardless of which isp I've dialed into or if in the office on the dsl line and ntserver.I have gotten good answers from MSN tech but often is a chore. I sure miss the good old days of WordPerfect and unsurpassed free tech support for life.I am perplexed why you found express so difficult. I wonder if I have a newer version with IE 5.5.
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I got to go out on the road again, and everytime I do nowdays I got a problem. Now that I am a nethead (otherwise computer stupid), I don't like to go even one day without checking in. I've stopped at several motels that had places to plug your stuff in. If I had a laptop, what next? Do you have to get on with somebody like AOL that might be within local phone range of where you are? Or do you just rack up huge fone bills and charge em to the company, (me)? All responses appreciated.