My new favorite neighbors

[susandennis]

All of my stupid neighbors have their wifi networks locked down. And I'll betcha 99% of them have no clue what their code is an/or how to share. I called my next door neighbor, he has XBox, no internet. I called the city council woman, her husband says they don't have internet.

Finally, I grabbed my keys and went wardriving through the halls. Thank you Rose303!! (I'm 413) I sat their connection is a zoomer! I sat in the hallway and got all of the necessary stuff done. Tomorrow morning, I'll go to the coffee shop.

The Qwest reps have been decent (after the first one). The one I'm dealing with now was quick to understand that my being without access until tomorrow was a hardship and quick to assure me that credit will be applied to my bill. She also asked for my cellphone number so if service was restored and I was not home she could call and tell me to come on home.

She said they would have to send a tech out to the switch box. And it probably will be early afternoon at the earliest before service is restored.

This entry is being brought to you via dialup on the little Lifebook. I am grateful that Qwest has dial up numbers just for emergencies like this. The big laptop is online with a signal so weak it's been fetching Exchange mail for 20 minutes and is only showing 60%.

Oh well. I guess I'll live.

But, not unless I get some dinner - that's next.

Comments

[davmoo.livejournal.com]

This is precisely the reason I have a cellular card as a backup. Yeah, it sucks that its about $70 a month, but that's cheaper (and causes me less emotional distress) than not having net access.

[susandennis]

I hear you but $70 a month is a giant OUCH! How fast is it? And who's your carrier?

[davmoo.livejournal.com]

My carrier is Verizon. My speed is dog-butt slow...about 4 times dial-up. But that's because my contract is at the lower speed. When I first signed on, the higher speed access was not offered here in BF Indiana. About 6 months ago they threw the switch on new equipment, and now its possible to get speeds comparable to DSL, if not a bit faster. I simply haven't got around to changing to the new plan (which is actually the same price, and the lower speed isn't even offered any more).

One thing to keep in mind...the published price is $59. Mine becomes $70 because of taxes and fees. As with all things cell phone related, your taxes and fees are probably different out there.

And if you go that route, here is one thing I've learned. A USB dongle is much more flexible than a PCMCIA card. Opt for the dongle. USB ports are a lot easier to find on desktops than PCMCIA slots if you want to use your device on a non-laptop machine. I have the card, but I'm probably going to go dongle within the next month.

[susandennis]

good info - all of it. thank you. my dialup just got overtaken by a neighbor's wifi that i guess they just fired up. i'm not complaining. i cannot believe how slow dialup is.

i'm absolutely looking into a cellplan as soon as i have a connection fast enough to do that!

[davmoo.livejournal.com]

My mother is the last person I know still using dial-up as their only net access. And its like running bamboo shoots under my nails every time I user her computer.

[roadskoller.livejournal.com]

I've been known to search for open Wi-Fi when we were doing household. Bless those people's hearts that don't mind sharing.