I am about to give up entirely on this thing. Not so much the computer as the internet. I can't rely on staying connected for very long at a time, and it always goes out at the worst possible moment.
I will never, ever again get any kind of USB device. I believe I will go with 3G Stores' no contract MiFi that you lease at $10-15 month less than paying Verizon, or what I'm paying AT&T for this piece of crap. It sounds like a good deal because there are no activation fees or contracts - if you cancel before 2 yrs is up you simply return the equipment. 3G is supposed to be getting back to me soon, but as yet I haven't heard from them.
My questions are: how does it work as far as power goes? I don't believe you have to plug it in, so is it battery operated? Lots of questions, and like I say, if they tell me anything at all is a USB connection I will just pass on it. Also, I've been told that you can't attach an antenna to it, but 3G advertises antennas to go along with it. I want to know how they work.
I may have mentioned before that I am planning a trip back east in September, and plan to get the old style triptik from AAA in Sioux Falls. I've been playing around with routes on Mapquest just to check mileage and routing. My first leg of the trip will be from Rancho Cordova at US Hwy 50 Freeway and Sunrise Blvd, via US 50 to Fallon NV and then north to I-80. Mapquest keeps insisting on routing me from Rancho, about 15-20 miles west to pick up I-80, to go east through Reno. I want to bypass Reno and I-80 altogether, and it won't let me! I even put the start point with an ending point at Fallon NV, which if you are familiar with the N.CA/Lake Tahoe area, will see that taking I-80 to Reno is at least 40 miles out of the way. I even tried moving those little map points manually, but it's not satisfactory at all. I will pick up I-80 further east around Lovelock NV.
I guess it's ok because I'm just going to pass along the routing I decide on to AAA, but I want a good idea of total miles, fuel cost, nights on the road, etc. I am going to try to avoid campgrounds wherever possible, particularly in the west, so this should be an interesting experience. Of course that will mean no wifi much of the time.
Before Steve returned my truck he ran it through a car wash, so I decided to wax it while it was still clean. I did the rear right panel yesterday, and the two passenger side doors today. I have to do it in increments because that's the way I prefer to do it and I have the time. I found a bottle of Turtle Wax, which I know isn't the best on the market. Unfortunately I had it sitting on the rail of the truck bed when my neighbor came home and he commented on it, and said he will bring me something from work that will do a much better job. That's ok with me - but will I now have to start over? Maybe before my trip I will take it to a car wash here in Fair Oaks and have it detailed inside and out. Wow, what a beauty it will be then!
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On MapQuest you can click on the high lighted route with your mouse and manually drag it to the route you want to use to avoid Reno
ReplyDeleteHi Gypsy
ReplyDeleteWe use the Verizon Mifi and you can power it two ways: 1. battery life is up to 4 hours (then you use a wall charger to recharge it) or 2. USB connection. I have used our powered both ways, but mainly we use it connected via USB connection to Cradlepoint MBR1000 router for better coverage (range) inside and outside the motorhome. The nice thing about connecting it to a router is that it is always powered via USB to the router and you don’t have to worry about the 4 hours battery life or recharging it. The 4 hour time limit might not matter to you, so then you should be OK with just recharging it.
The clear coat on modern vehicles precludes the need for waxing. Waxing no days is just for looks only.
ReplyDeleteThe modem inside the MiFi device is identical to that used in most USB devices. The biggest change you will be making in going with the 3G service is in switching carriers from AT&T to Verizon. We use Verizon while traveling in the US and got great reception everywhere. I think you will notice a big improvement over AT&T - they always seem to have problems. As for the antenna, I wouldn't worry about that until you try out the MiFi and see how your reception is. The battery is good for up to 4 hours and can be recharged simply by plugging it into any usb port on your laptop.
ReplyDeleteWe use MIFI, but nothing is connected to the PC and no USB. We get about 4 1/2 hours out of ours. We plug it in with AC cord to charge it. Verizon is great! We were under a tower for AT&T the last 3 weeks so we weren't getting very good coverage, but it still worked just slow. Good luck. Just hope you stay with the computer blog, we love keeping up with you.
ReplyDeleteWe will probably be looking into all this Mifi Fifi stuff in the fall too. We have Verizon as well & are pleased with it but if we want to use more than one computer I guess we have to do all that Cradlepoint, Mifi-Wifi-Fifi-Fufu stuff. By then you will be an expert in the field & you can be our online consultant guru....:))
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