I am the only one left ...

[OkeeDon]

Yeah, but the only way I'd go back would be if I could take a GPS and Satphone with me to direct the helicopter emergency flight if I got injured at the linecamp.

To respond to other comments, as far as the authenticity of stuff on the web, it's no different than what's in print -- you have to consider the source. There are things available on the Internet at places like the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress, to name just two of perhaps millions, that can never be gotten from a book.

 

[TresCrows]

Yes, you probably are. I don't watch TV much either but do need the weather, stormwatch and things like that. With you on the DVDs.
I am considering ditching my phone as well and just having my cells phones. One thing though, then how do you get internet in an area with no cable? J

 

[yellowsocks93]

Hey I only think that as a student right now I don't find myself jumping to the interent to get info for reports. I guess I kind of old fashioned in this time of technology. I wish we could go back to the 80s. Or early 90s. What a great time that was. To bad I only got to spend a few years in it.

 

[higgy]

We diched our phones and we are in a rural area. We have a wifi set up even in the country here. It is great so far. It is nice to clip ma bells apron strings at long last.

Dane

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue"> We have a wifi set up even in the country here. </font>
What do you use to connect to the Internet?

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue">then how do you get internet in an area with no cable? </font>
There are only 3 ways I am aware of to connect someone to the Internet;

1. Phone line (dial up, xDSL, leased line)
2. Cable
3. Satellite

 

[Inspector507]

yellowsocks,
As bad as I hate the internet sometimes, I can't be without it, especially at work. A lot of the materials I see in my job are new to the market, The only place I can quickly get info/specs/listings is on the 'net. Some materials are so new, even the reps that sell it can't help much /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
The library's stock of reference materials are too much outdated for what I need NOW. I love to read though. I used to go the library at lunchtime to finish my lunch, only takes a few minutes in the truck to eat a greasy sandwich.
So, while I'm here at TBN alot, I'm usually on the internet doing research as well. Saying all that.......we have had cable access for a while now at home. Love it /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[TresCrows]

Yes, I am on dial up phone service for internet. No cable. I have not really looked into satellite service for internet etc. My TV is on Dish Network. I wonder if they have computer hookup? If I had satellite internet then I could dump the landline phone service once and for all. J

 

[OkeeDon]

I currently have two ways to hook up to the Internet -- cable and Nextel packet service. Of course, the limitation of the cable setup is that it can only be used where the cable is located. Since I move around a fair amount, I signed up for the Nextel packet service, which lets me access the Internet over my cell phone virtually anywhere there is a Nextel digital signal. Currently, that service runs at something like dial-up speeds, depending on what you're accessing. It actually runs at 19,200, but it's compressed at around a 3:1 ratio, so the effect is the same as a 56K connection. The virtual speed works as long as the stuff is not already compressed - zip files and highly compressed photos slow down to the actual 19.2K speed.

Later this year, Nextell will be introducing a high speed packet service that will run at an actual speed of 70K or so and a virtual speed of over 200K, which starts to approach broadband speeds.

Once we finish construction and move, we'll be cutting the ties to land lines and running on cell phones and satellite for the Internet. The problems I foresee are: some satellite TV functions require a phone line, and I don't know how to hook up a cell phone. Same for fax machines. There must be some easy conversion from a standard phone jack to a cell phone, but I haven't found it, yet.

 

[Junkman]

for fax service, consider e fax.com

 

[OkeeDon]

I looked at that a few months ago, and just refreshed my memory. Straight out, it's too expensive. I get at most 10 faxes a month, mostly from folks I can't convince to use email, or folks that don't have a scanner to send any attachment via email. I don't want to spend almost as much per month as a landline phone just to get those faxes. I send even fewer, and I can always go to the bank to send them.

 

[DIYGuy]

DISH network recently dropped their Internet coverage. That was reported locally on the news, and Comcast cable has had an ad campaign based on it for a few weeks now.

DIYGuy

 

[MadReferee]

Don,

Direcway satellite internet service does NOT require a phone line because it is a 2-way satellite. It's download speed is around 500k (or so they say) which is slightly less than 512k DSL. According to their web site Direcway web site the monthly price is only $59.99 with a $600 installation fee which includes the dish and modem.

Since I have 768k DSL I have no need for this service but it does seem to be price competitive with DSL.

 

[JTC]

<font color="blue"> There are only 3 ways I am aware of to connect someone to the Internet;

1. Phone line (dial up, xDSL, leased line)
2. Cable
3. Satellite </font>

<font color="black"> 4. WiFi Hot Spot access.

My in-laws have this. They have an external antenna pointed toward a tower about 2 miles away. Seem to work good. Here's a link to one wireless ISP:
Boingo Wireless

Jim </font>

 

[Bob_Skurka]

To address the original point, I have only the regular broadcast TV but I do have satellite for my computer! Got to have the priorites straight. My daughter was so excited when she saw the satellite dish on the house, we are the only family she knows of that does not have either cable or satellite TV and all the kids at her grade school talk about shows she never gets to watch. . . which is fine with me.

As for the computer. There is seems to be some confusion about Wi-Fi Hot Spots on this forum. Wi-Fi is typically a very short range wireless connection. Typically 150 feet. Extender antennas can boost the signals up to roughly 500 feet. In either case, the farther you get away from the antenna, the worse the connection. Wi-Fi most typically works on the 2.4 Ghz bandwitdh, which is shared by many cordless phones. So if you have a Wi-Fi network in your house, and you pick up one of your cordless phones, then your computer will slow down or even lose its connection, or your phone may have a lot of static, or both. In any case, Wi-Fi is NOT a real connection to the outside world. EVERY form of Wi-Fi must connect up to the internet via a dial-up, DSL, cable, satellite, etc connection. So Wi-Fi is simply a way of getting your computer (typically a Wi-Fi enabled <802.11xx> laptop) to talk to a base station that is plugged into something that talks to the internet in a very localized area that is typically measured in square feet.

There is another way, and that is sometimes confused with Wi-Fi. It uses radio signals with a receiver and transmitter and is available over much longer distances than typical Wi-Fi. Much longer being several miles. It is often confused with Wi-Fi but is actually a much more powerful system and the services do provide all the ISP services. I think for the sake of ease of discussion, many people refer to these long distance services as Wi-Fi.

 

[JTC]

<font color="blue"> In any case, Wi-Fi is NOT a real connection to the outside world. EVERY form of Wi-Fi must connect up to the internet via a dial-up, DSL, cable, satellite, etc connection. So Wi-Fi is simply a way of getting your computer (typically a Wi-Fi enabled <802.11xx> laptop) to talk to a base station that is plugged into something that talks to the internet in a very localized area that is typically measured in square feet.
</font>

<font color="black"> Bob,
This is not correct. WiFi is a somewhat generic term simply meaning "Wireless Fidelity", for which a WLAN is one application. A WiFi Hot Spot could be a Starbuck's, a neighborhood or a small town. All that is essentially required is a line of sight between the antennas. I know of people establishing 802.11b links over 10 miles.

As far as interoperability between cordless phones and WiFi nets, there is quite a bit of bandwidth at 2.4Ghz for many, many compliant devices. I've been to conferences where the number of WiFi and BlueTooth devices have numbered in the thousands with acceptable performance.

Jim</font>

 

[mwechtal]

Don,
A friend told me about this many years ago. In most places where touch tone is available you do not have to pay for it even if the phone company says you do. Just try plugging in a touch tone phone and it will almost certainly work. Then you can navigate through those annoying voice menus!
Mike

 

[OkeeDon]

<font color="blue"> Direcway satellite internet service does NOT require a phone line... </font>

I probably didn't make myself clear. I know that 2-way satellite internet does not require a phone line. What I was referring to was satellite TV, in which a phone line is required if you want to order any premium services, such as a PPV movie. It would be easy if someone made a data cable for a cell phone that had a standard phone jack at the end so things like the satellite decoder could plug in. I don't know enough about how cell phones dial out, or whether an external device can control the dialing, to know if it would work.

 

[MadReferee]

Some cell phones can be used as a wireless modem when used with an optional data cable. My Audiovox CDM-9000 is one of them. Unfortunately you are right that all DirecTv and Dish receivers that I have seen have built-in modems that must be connected to a telco network. There may be adaptor boxes out there but I have yet to encounter one.