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Author Topic: Wireless Internet is wonderful! Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 05-25-2008 06:08 PM                        I have been spending most of my time with my mother at her nursing home these past four years when I am not on a photographic assignment or traveling. Spending time with her is great because in addition to being at her side, I can do all of my post production photographic work on my Apple Powerbook laptop at the same time. The only drawback I had during this time was the inability to go online because of the lack of internet access at the facility and had to wait until I returned to my office at home to log on. All of that had changed when I subscribed to wireless internet service with Verizon about two weeks ago and the service and the convenience has been great! The only problem I am now facing is the amount of time I am spending on the internet instead of working like I am doing now. Beside the opportunity to go online at the nursing home, the service I have is nation wide and I can log on anywhere at any time and not having to pay expensive hotel internet service when I travel is just wonderful Because I will not be able to keep my current email address with my internet cable provider, Road Runner if I cancelled my account, I will have to gradually make the transition to full wireless after I had alerted everyone to the change with a new address. The printing of new publicity material such as business cards and stationary wilL be a hassle but it is something I will have to do for going wireless but all of the effort will be worth it. -Claude  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 05-25-2008 06:57 PM                     Don't most hotels provide wireless now for free (if they provide at all of course)? On the other hand, there's the plus that even if you chose someplace cheap you'd still have access.  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 05-25-2008 07:28 PM                        I stayed at a Waikiki hotel about a month ago, Chris and there was a charge for internet use. I do not remember exactly how much it was but it was more than I was was willing to pay so I did not use the service. It was that same in London last January and the amount the hotel there wanted was the same as the city itself, a great rip off when it came to costs for food, tours, transportation, etc. With my my new wireless service, I do not have to put up with it anymore except when I go out of the country. -Claude  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-25-2008 08:49 PM                        Claude - what kind of speed do you get? My wife signed on for Verizon wireless a while ago and she's not happy with the speed. I'm not sure what level of service she's on -- I think 1 Mbps.  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 05-25-2008 09:08 PM                        Mike, I am not sure about the speed I have on my wireless server with Verizon but I find it pretty fast and I am more than happy. I will find out exactly the speed I have on my server and let you know on Tuesday after I talk to my good friend at Verizon who had set up my account. -Claude  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-25-2008 11:59 PM                     quote: Claude S. Ayakawa The only problem I am now facing is the amount of time I am spending on the internet instead of working like I am doing now. It takes time to integrate "on-line" time with "work" time, especially when "on-line" and "work" are the same thing. With my A.D.D. I typically segment my day's tasks up into 30 minute chunks. I make myself work for 30 minutes then I get 5 minutes to do what I want. After another 30 productive minutes I get another 5 minute "play break". It's a kind of reward system, if you will. Some people arrive at work 10 minutes early so that they can surf before they have to start working. No matter how you do it, give yourself time to develop a routine. It will seem natural in a little while. What will be REALLY weird is the "jones" you get when you are suddenly cut off from the internet!  |  IP: Logged Joshua Waaland Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 800 From: Cleveland, Ohio Registered: Dec 1999 posted 05-26-2008 12:13 AM                     My employer got me a mobile broadband card from Sprint over a year ago and it has worked great for me. At first I loved it because while I was sitting at an airport bored out of my mind I could at least get some work done or surf the net without paying the highway robbery fees the airports wanted for wi-fi. It was also better than most hotel wi-fis because sometimes they were really slow and other times I had trouble logging on to their wi-fi connections. The only drawback is the spotty service in some places, but several times I have got online while sitting on the passenger side of the car. The other drawback is my boss expected more work out of me and thought I could actually stop every half hour while traveling to check my e-mail. If I did that it would take me three days to get to Wisconsin from here. All-in-all it is a very cool piece of technology and made my life much easier, especially since I am addicted to ebay and these film forums.  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 05-26-2008 03:10 AM                     quote: Chris Slycord Don't most hotels provide wireless now for free (if they provide at all of course)? Both of the hotels I used recently offered wireless access; I didn't use it in either. In Bradford it was expensive, so I used my own mobile device. Since this is a fixed cost per month it was effectively free. In New Jersey the wireless service was free, but the hotel also has an Ethernet port by the desk in each room, also free, so I just plugged in. his was the first time that I had a laptop with me, previously I had used the Easy Internet place near Times Square, which used to be quite good, but which got gradually worse each time I went there. Two years ago The printing service upstairs had gone, many of the PCs had been removed and most of those that remained didn't work, were filthy, or both. I don't know if it has now closed, it looked like it was about to. I'm not a great fan of wireless; it's something I use if I can't get a wired connection.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 05-26-2008 05:13 AM                        My experience is that 3-4 years ago, hotels charging for wireless as an extra was normal and that including it in the room charge was an exception. Now it's the other way round. The hotel in Albuquerque I stayed at in February the first I'd been in for over a year which charged extra for wireless. Interestingly, I find it's the cheaper hotels which almost always include wireless in the room price, and the more upscale ones which don't. Presumably the thinking is that if you're price sensitive about where you stay, no free Internet could put you off and make you look elsewhere; whereas if you're prepared to spend £100 plus on a room, you're unlikely to care about an extra fiver for the Internet. On my US trip in February I stayed at a basic, $70 a night motel in Hollywood which had inclusive wireless. The connection was strong, reliable and blazing fast. In Albuquerque I stayed at the Hyatt at $145 a night (and if it hadn't been for the reduced special conference rate, the room would have cost over $200). Wireless was an extra $5 a day, it was very slow, the connection was very weak and it kept breaking.  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 05-26-2008 07:14 AM                        So Claude, what's the price structure? And how do you actually connect? Is it a card that goes into a USB port? As for your email account, the hawaii.rr.com service, is free, is it not? So there is no reason why you can't continue to use your email account there just like hotmail or yahoo or juno. When I got Verizon DSL, sure they package an email program with it, but I took one look at it and didn't like it so I just keep using my aol and Juno email accounts. Same thing with your browser -- you don't have to use the Verizon browser, all you need Verizon to do is connect you to the internet; once you're on, you use whatever browser and email server you want. I am waiting for Verizon FIOS so I can scrap everything I am using now; I'll get rid of CableVision cable service(CompressionVision -- you see digital blocks dancing around the screen constantly, AND you get the pleasure of pan & scan PPV movies, if you can believe THAT in this day and age). I'll also be able to switch my Vonage phone service over to the FIOS service so I can get rid of my Verizon DSL service altogether. I am assuming the FIOS internet service's up and down speed is similar to a T1 or better. Only trouble is, even though they run commercials for FIOS about ever five seconds, it STILL is not available in my area. The FCC should stop worrying about a few off-color words here and there and pass a law that they can all the execs at Verizon can all be thrown in jail if they run commercials on myTV for a FIOS product that I can't get. It should be illegal for them to run that damn FIOS commercial ("it's true quam," says the obnoxiously snotty and sickingly cute kid in the commercial....you know, the one with the freakishly oversized head) if they don't offer FIOS. The reason being that every time I see that commercial I go on line, put in my zipcode and get the same response -- EEEENNNN -- SCREW YOU LOOSER; TRY AT A LATER DATE SO WE CAN LAUGH AT YOU AGAIN WHEN WE STILL WON'T HAVE IT AVAILABE ANYWHERE NEAR YOU. And of course THAT makes me use all the curse words loud and repetitively that the FCC is trying to eliminate.  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 05-26-2008 07:49 AM                     Leo, the Holiday Inn in Bradford was £50 this month; I wanted to leave on the Wednesday, but for some reason the rate went up to well over £80 for the Tuesday night, so I shifted everything to one day earlier. I can't remember how much they wanted to charge for wireless, but it wasn't cheap. web page The Ramada in Jersey city used to be really cheap; the rooms are large, the beds huge, and all rooms have shower, microwave, large fridge, coffee making and ironing facilities, and large television, and the cost used to be about $75. This has increased over the last four years or so to almost double that. I don't think wireless was available when I was last there two years previously, but wired Ethernet was, and I think it was free, but I didn't use it in the past, so I'm not sure. web page My own mobile connection, via T-Mobile is £20 per month on a two year contract, with 'unlimited' usage of up to 3GB. per month. 10 GB. is available at a somewhat higher cost.  |  IP: Logged Sean McKinnon Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1712 From: Peabody Massachusetts Registered: Sep 2000 posted 05-26-2008 10:16 AM                        Verizon has two wireless internet systems. Depending on where you are and what is available. There is "Broadband Access" which is pretty fast. Then there is "National Access" which blows, It's sloooooooooow. If you are in an area where you can pick up the "Broadband Access" then you are all set! The "National Access" is actually good because you can at least check your email and stuff like that instead of just having no service.  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 05-26-2008 04:06 PM                        Sean, I guess I had lucked out because I am using Verizon's Broadband Access service. I have found my wireless internet service is just as good as my cable service and I am more than satisfied. It is very odd to find I can no longer log on using my cable modem without disengaging my wireless service which is something I do not want to do. As to the amount I am paying for cable, it is $30.00. My Verizon service is about $40,00 a month and the two combined is $70.00 and have decided to discontinue my cable service soon as soon as I am sure I can expect to receive trouble free service from Verizon with their wireless service. -Claude  |  IP: Logged

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