Computer Comms: 'Net access while cruising?

[AdriftAtSea]

In Antartica, even satellite communications are going to be a bit sketchy...

[Iceman]

I apoligize for the confusion

I was looking for internet access info when I get home

Down here we have a IP dome/dish that provides 24hour web/IP phone service its pretty amazing

FYI Palmer Station is on Anvers Island which is on the peninsula south of Cape Horn kinda where Shackleton lost his ship

This time of the ocean is pretty ice free..hence a lot of tour ships ply these waters

The Icebreakers usually work the other side of the continent McMurdo/Ross Island

[Grampian]

For over the horizon the cell/wifi is not usable. that is why ssb is best at this time unless you can get good satellite service below the roaring 40s. There are issues about satellites being too low on the horizon to adequately cover receivers.
I was in Maine several years ago with satellite comm and a row of trees stopped my comm. had to move a couple of hundred feet to "see" the satellite.
SSB is practical everywhere there is ionosphere. Costly though. the radio and modem are $3k to $5k

[AdriftAtSea]

Where are you sailing when you get back?  www.jiwire.org also has a good list of both paid and free wifi hotspots.

[Zen]

Costly though. the radio and modem are $3k to $5k

:o

[Grampian]

here are links to the two parts of the system. I am sure there are cheaper to be had but I only did a quick search since I am a long ways out from needing such stuff...

The SSB complete setup: http://www.landfallnavigation.com/99802.html

The Pactor modem for the above radio: http://www.docksideradio.com/Pricing%20&%20Ordering.htm

Admittedly, you really have to want your e-mail to do this. Over the horizon comm is nice, for them that goes there...

[Zen]

the jiwire link is a dud  :(

[Zen]

try here:

http://www.wififreespot.com/

[AdriftAtSea]

My bad, it's www.jiwire.com not .org.  They also have a nice mobile version of their database you can load onto your computer...so you can look for access, without access.

[Ol' Coot]

I was looking for internet access info when I get home

Where is home?  I believe in an earlier post you mentioned "summering over" in Belmar, NJ.  That's reasonably close to me.

[Zen]

good link!

[Cmdr Pete]

Ok, lets see if I can take a few more baby steps.

Seems like most of the newer cell phones will allow you to connect a laptop to the internet. But, the connection speed is very slow.

Not only is this aggravating, but you need more time on the laptop which uses alot of power.

So, how can you get the fastest connection for the least amount of money?

Is it the newer smartphones that give you a fast connection, or the data plan, or both?

[Frank]

Thanks Pete   Another "dumb techno phobe' here that doesn't know a gigabite from a harddrive , but owns a samsung cell phone that can recieve e-mails (no ..I don't know how)..would like to know the cheapest,easiest,simplest way to connect to the internet via cell phone to laptop while on holidays. Could you smart 'tech' guys  help an ole 'dumb ass' out in a way my simple mind can understand. PS ...T Y P E   V E R Y   S L O W L  Y         thanks ;)

[Captain Smollett]

With the advent of wifi cards for laptops, why go through the cell phone at all?  Why not just get an appropriate card for the lappy and 'eliminate the middle man'?

It seems that just about anywhere you'd get cell coverage, you'd get wifi coverage as well....or SOON will.  I good friend of mine was on the ground floor of bringing wireless broadband to a relatively remote area of central SC a couple of years ago - if that area is got it, surely the major areas along the coasts have it as well.

I know Verizon offers a broadband service.  Others may (probably) do to.  If you wanted to get really cute, run a VOIP application on your laptop and use the COMPUTER for the PHONE.   ;D ;D

[Frank]

Probably a real dumb question...but where would a guy get one of them there WIFI cards ??

[Dougcan]

Hi Frank, just about anywhere, really.

Most of the big box stores that carries electronics have them, as well as the big office supply stores (Staples, Office Max, etc..)

Almost any stores with an electronic department will have them, as well as some drug stores that also sell small electronics.

The trick here is to know which card to get!  So to answer that, one need to know what kind of computer you have (laptop, desktop or tower) and what operating system you are running on it.

How do you want to use the wireless connection?

Keep in mind that just having a wireless connection doesn't mean one can have instant internet connection.

I'm guessing, but in your case, if you don't have a laptop, I would not bother with wireless.  If you do have a laptop, then having a wireless card is worthwhile if you take your laptop everywhere with you.

If you like going to coffee houses, some place you have to pay for the wireless connection (Starbucks), while others are free (Tulley's & Caribou).

Some Marinas have wireless, again some you have to pay for, while others are free (as in Kurt's marina I think).

In many cases you might see private wireless connections, most will be secured and thus unavailable to you, while a few is unsecured and accessible, BUT, connecting to those "free wireless" is a legal grey area right now.  Many will say, if you can access them go for it, however the local cops might think otherwise.

There are other alternatives, it depends on how much you are willing to pay for them though.

[Zen]

Yes, just because you have wifi does not mean you can get "on" the internet.

I have a wifi card on my laptops, someplaces I can get on for free, some places I can not.

There is a plan here to make the whole city of San Fransico free wifi, but it is not in operation yet. I think AT&T is doing this.

I was able to get on the Internet out in the countryside in Japan for free, but they wanted me to pay at the oakland airport.

Ofcourse if you want to do it without a computer you can buy a blackberry or is it a blueberry and do the online thing without a computer.

[CharlieJ]

 ;D Don't bet on it. We traveled MILES of the Gulf Coast ICW without even cell phone coverage. Eastern Texas and Western La are no mans land. So is large parts of Eastern Louisiana and both Alabama and Missippi. Lots of that is undoubtedly due to the hurricanes, but still it's iffy. The FIRST place we found wireless connection after leaving here ( and it isn't available here) was P'cola. And we had to sit in the laundry room next door to the office to get that.

So DON'T depend on either WIFI or Cellphones along that area. And south of here, probably around Corpus you'd have cell phone, but south of there, fugedaboutit til Brownsville.

[Godot]

One thing to be aware of if trying to connect your laptop to the internet via  a regular cell phone is that some cellular carriers cripple the phones they sell you so that they won't work without buying another service.

Cell phone companies are tricky that way.  I believe both Verizon and Cingular will cripple their phones so you can't load your own ring tones or games or use various other features that would ordinarily be built into the phone without paying an extra fee.  Because of this an industry has popped up who's sole purpose is to restore cellphones to their non-branded state; at which point everything that used to work still works, and everything that didn't work, now does.

[Captain Smollett]

Because of this an industry has popped up who's sole purpose is to restore cellphones to their non-branded state; at which point everything that used to work still works, and everything that didn't work, now does.

Change industry to community and you've just described in an nutshell the entire F/OSS community for computer equipment in general.

Sorry....even with the past several days I've had with some software issues, I still think F/OSS is a net productivity producer.