Wireless PowerBook Solution 4 Roadtrip

jim kattajim katta
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I'm planning a two month long road trip where I take my PowerBook with me. My job is all online work, so I can do it from anywhere on the planet as long as I can get online. I have to keep doing my job while I'm on this road trip. Does anyone know of a good wireless PowerBook internet connection solution that covers 'at least' most of the major cities in the U.S. ? My friend had Metricom which was a great simple solution, but they went chapter 11. A similar service, if anyone knows of it, would be really helpful to know about.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    mcqmcq Posts: 1,543member
    Not really familiar with this stuff, but T-mobile has some sort of HotSpot Wi-Fi access... seems like it's in a decent amount of cities, at the Starbucks, hotels, airports, and the like. $40/month for unlimited usage, or there are other plans.



    <a href="http://www.t-mobile.com/hotspot/"; target="_blank">http://www.t-mobile.com/hotspot/</a>;



    If you need to know specific cities/locations it's in, look at their locations page to see if it'll cover you:



    <a href="http://locations.hotspot.t-mobile.com/page6a.asp"; target="_blank">http://locations.hotspot.t-mobile.com/page6a.asp</a>;
  • Reply 2 of 9
    flashbiosflashbios Posts: 9member
    I would look into Sprint PCS Vision. For a flat $10 a month you can get unlimited Internet and they have true nationwide service. A Sanyo 4900 phone (and others) can be attached to your computer with a USB cable and your Mac will see it as a modem. There was a discussion about it not too long ago at

    <a href="http://www.macosxhints.com"; target="_blank">Mac OS X Hints</a>.



    [ 03-01-2003: Message edited by: FlashBIOS ]</p>
  • Reply 3 of 9
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    Or you could get an Airport card and go wardriving. Drive (or walk, or bike, or unycycle, whatever) around with your laptop and an application called iStumbler that shows all wireless networks present. In some residential areas, you'll come across many open networks that you can browse at your leisure. Of course, it's not exactly very reliable, you have to rely on your ability to find an open wireless network.
  • Reply 4 of 9
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    In regards to Sprint if you mean 'true nationwide coverage' as in ONLY where THEIR network is, then yeah Their network doesn't have the best coverage when compared to other providers
  • Reply 5 of 9
    flashbiosflashbios Posts: 9member
    [quote]Originally posted by M3D Jack:

    <strong>In regards to Sprint if you mean 'true nationwide coverage' as in ONLY where THEIR network is, then yeah Their network doesn't have the best coverage when compared to other providers </strong><hr></blockquote>



    With the true nation wide I mean that many providers charge extra when you are not in your home area, even if you are in "your" provider's network. Sprint doesn't do that which has saved me a lot of money.



    As for their network coverage all the national providers have large gaps in their network. Sprint is good in the east and midwest where I live. In fact, in the boon-docks of western Minnesota, eastern North Dakota where I live it is the only one that goes every where I do. Obviously your milage will vary, but go to their Web sites and check their coverage maps.
  • Reply 6 of 9
    fred_ljfred_lj Posts: 607member
    <a href="http://www.ricochet.com"; target="_blank">www.ricochet.com</a>



    I think this is more along the lines of what you're looking for, but unfortunately its coverage, well - sucks. Just San Diego and Denver (with plans for Dallas). I think a satellite option may work as well.
  • Reply 7 of 9
    biaachmonkiebiaachmonkie Posts: 37member
    [quote]Originally posted by fred_lj:

    <strong><a href="http://www.ricochet.com"; target="_blank">www.ricochet.com</a></strong><hr></blockquote>





    Thats the metricom he mentioned int he original post, ricochet was picked up out of Chapter 11 by some little company trying to bring it back slowly, it was an ok service for its time, but he'd probably be better off checking T-Mobile or Sprint for coverage areas.
  • Reply 8 of 9
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    if you have verizon....

    <a href="http://homepage.mac.com/jrc/contrib/mobile_office/"; target="_blank">check this out</a>

    VERY VERY cool (if you already have a V60 (or some other phones... there is a list on the site) and Verizon contract...) I did and now i go online on the way home from Boston.... and it is just like a regular cell phone call...

    Verizon has EXCELLENT coverage...



    Also buy the cable from the place they recommend... only $20 and it came in 2 days... very good deal...



    I have had a few problems with kernel panics with the driver.... but it works great if you keep an eye on your signal...
  • Reply 9 of 9
    flashbiosflashbios Posts: 9member
    [quote]Originally posted by Paul:

    <strong>if you have verizon....

    <a href="http://homepage.mac.com/jrc/contrib/mobile_office/"; target="_blank">check this out</a>

    VERY VERY cool (if you already have a V60 (or some other phones... there is a list on the site) and Verizon contract...) I did and now i go online on the way home from Boston.... and it is just like a regular cell phone call...

    Verizon has EXCELLENT coverage...



    Also buy the cable from the place they recommend... only $20 and it came in 2 days... very good deal...



    I have had a few problems with kernel panics with the driver.... but it works great if you keep an eye on your signal...</strong><hr></blockquote>



    That is very similar to what Sprint offers for $10/month but the speed is rated up to 144kbs IIRC with around 4K/s in the "real world." There is a deal of lag, but I can put up with that for $10.



    [ 03-04-2003: Message edited by: FlashBIOS ]</p>
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