Bye bye Aircard....

On Sun, 14 Nov 2010 20:42:43 +0000
Fred <[email protected]> wrote:

> Steve Sobol <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
> > before they cap your speed.
> >
>
> What do they give you after you hit the cap?

I don't know. I've decided that using a data plan with a feature phone (a phone that isn't a smartphone) is just stupid. My LG Sentio has a horrid web browser (although it is great for calls, texting and IM) - and a slow CPU.

Until I upgrade, ain't no way I'm going to hit the 5GB cap on *that* device.

Now, I also have a T-Mo WebConnect Rocket, a 3G USB device that I use in areas where I don't have readily available Wi-Fi, but I haven't used IT enough to hit the cap, either. Normally my laptop is plugged into my FiOS connection (I pay for 25/25, but I actually *get* 30/25, it's pretty awesome) or is plugged into a LAN at a client's office.

> Screw all that. Dump 'em.....again.

Why? The 5GB cap is more than I need.

YMMV, of course.

--
Steve Sobol <[email protected]>

---

› See More: Bye bye Aircard....

On Sun, 14 Nov 2010 12:53:10 -0800
John Navas <[email protected]> wrote:



> * My plan is still called "unlimited".

On a recent trip to my nearest T-Mo store in Hesperia, CA, the brochure said either Overage-Free or No Overages, I forget which.

My data plan is probably still called Unlimited. But I haven't logged onto the T-Mo site lately, to check if they changed the name...

--
Steve Sobol <[email protected]>

On Sun, 14 Nov 2010 13:05:04 -0800, in
<[email protected]>, SMS
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On 11/14/2010 12:23 PM, Justin wrote:
>
>> We do not have wifi at the office for security reasons.
>
>Lack of Wi-Fi at the office is the exception, rather than the rule, and
>of course any security concerns are easy to address. ...

Wrong on both counts: Many enterprises do *not* allow wireless
networking or wired networking of foreign devices as a matter of
security.

>And remember, most subscribers are on unlimited plans and have no
>financial incentive at all to use Wi-Fi when available. I.e. last night
>we had a party at my house. There were three relatives with Droid's, one
>with an iPhone. No one even bothered to ask to use my Wi-Fi network,
>they all were just using 3G (only my son on his iPod Touch was using
>Wi-Fi). It's just a bother to use Wi-Fi when 3G is unmetered.

Wrong again(tm): Phones are often much faster on Wi-Fi, which matters
to many more knowledgeable users.

>Rather than moving toward more unlimited data, the cell phone industry
>is moving toward more metered data. Slowly you'll see people becoming
>more aware of the costs and using Wi-Fi where available, and you'll see
>less high-bandwidth 3G/4G use.

Wrong again(tm): The trend is actually in the other direction,
increasing use of wireless data.

--
John

"Assumption is the mother of all screw ups."
[Wethern’s Law of Suspended Judgement]

On 11/14/2010 4:35 PM, John Navas wrote:
> On Sun, 14 Nov 2010 16:20:06 -0500, in
> <[email protected]>, "Richard B. Gilbert"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> On 11/14/2010 1:52 PM, John Navas wrote:
>>> On Sat, 13 Nov 2010 17:02:55 -0500, in
>>> <[email protected]>, tlvp
>>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Sat, 13 Nov 2010 08:40:12 -0500, George<[email protected]> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> He just doesn't get (and never will) why his "mega power" fetish is so
>>>>> silly. This is just his latest ...
>>>>
>>>> Sorry, George, but you're *both* right. Many's the time I've been within figurative earshot of a wireless access point -- barely -- and have been unable to connect to it -- until I moved my equipment a whole lot closer to it.
>>>> Why's that? my "ears" were OK, but my "voice" was too weak for the WAP to hear -- until I got closer.
>>>> Had I gotten *louder* instead, I'd have achieved the same effect, n'est-ce pas? That's Fred's point :-) .
>>>
>>> Better antenna is a better solution.
>>
>> I have the impression that most modern cell phones make no provision for
>> an external antenna. My RAZR V3m's instruction book does not mention
>> the subject.
>
> Irrelevant to the issue at hand.
>

A better antenna is not a solution to anything UNLESS you can GET and
INSTALL a better antenna!

On 11/14/2010 4:37 PM, nospam wrote:
> In article<[email protected]>, John Navas
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>>> Better antenna is a better solution.
>>>
>>> I have the impression that most modern cell phones make no provision for
>>> an external antenna. My RAZR V3m's instruction book does not mention
>>> the subject.
>>
>> Irrelevant to the issue at hand.
>
> how is it irrelevant? you said a better antenna is a better solution,
> but if he can't attach one, it's not exactly 'better' is it?

Who WAS that masked man? I wanted to thank him. . . .

SMS wrote on [Sun, 14 Nov 2010 13:05:04 -0800]:
> On 11/14/2010 12:23 PM, Justin wrote:
>
>> We do not have wifi at the office for security reasons.
>
> Lack of Wi-Fi at the office is the exception, rather than the rule, and
> of course any security concerns are easy to address. The Wi-Fi network
> can be separate from the wired network with no connection between the two.

I am not in charge of IT, so can't make those decisions

>> I am almost at 1.5GB right now with most of a week before my cycle refreshes.
>
> If you look at any of the many studies of bandwidth usage and
> projections, they show much lower average usage than that.

I am not forgetting about any data usage here, and I am almost
always over 1GB every month.

> "HOUSTON, July 26 <2010> /PRNewswire/ -- An ongoing study of wireless
> data utilization, conducted by Validas, shows that Verizon Wireless
> Smartphones are consuming more wireless data than AT&T iPhones by a
> ratio of roughly 1.25:1. Average monthly wireless data consumption for
> Verizon Wireless Smartphones is 421 megabytes per month, versus 338
> megabytes per month for iPhones."

421 MB is 2 x the AT&T 200MB limit that would be $45 a month right there

> And remember, most subscribers are on unlimited plans and have no
> financial incentive at all to use Wi-Fi when available. I.e. last night
> we had a party at my house. There were three relatives with Droid's, one
> with an iPhone. No one even bothered to ask to use my Wi-Fi network,
> they all were just using 3G (only my son on his iPod Touch was using
> Wi-Fi). It's just a bother to use Wi-Fi when 3G is unmetered.

I wouldn't want my friends and family to use the limited wifi I have at
home anyway. I have been very close to the 250GB of data on my comcast
internet at home.

Streaming netflix, google TV, Apple TV etc. brings those data usage numbers
much higher than they have been until this year.

Fred wrote on [Sun, 14 Nov 2010 21:03:45 +0000]:
> Justin <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
>> SMS wrote on [Tue, 09 Nov 2010 08:23:08 -0800]:
>>> The tiered pricing is designed to get people to use Wi-Fi when
>>> available, and stop wasting the limited 2G/3G/4G capacity. AT&T has
>>> been successful with the elimination of unlimited data, replacing it
>>> with the lower cost 200MB and 2GB plans. The bottom line is that most
>>> people can easily survive with 200MB if they're not downloading
>>> massive numbers of videos, or streaming Pandora hundred of hours a
>>> month. I'd pay Verizon $15 a month for 200MB, but not $30 a month for
>>> unlimited.
>>
>> You're not aware of how much data people use, then.
>>
>> Just work email, 2 personal gmail accounts and application updates
>> and some minor web browsing and I regularly push over a GB a month on
>> my Droid X. Some weather data and whatever else apps automatically
>> get. Almost zero pandora, a little android voice recognition and some
>> astrid task sync to remember the milk. Some foursquare checkins and
>> some facebook checking.
>>
>>
>> We do not have wifi at the office for security reasons.
>>
>> I am almost at 1.5GB right now with most of a week before my cycle
>> refreshes.
>>
>
> If you don't use data, why pay for it? Seems silly for just a few
> emails. Let them call you on the phone.

Yeah, just a few emails... that actually contain the useful information
I need to know. Some moron in operations who can barely operate a computer
talking about issues on an AIX server is really going to answer the
questions I have about the problems.

In article <[email protected]>, John Navas
<[email protected]> wrote:

> >> We do not have wifi at the office for security reasons.
> >
> >Lack of Wi-Fi at the office is the exception, rather than the rule, and
> >of course any security concerns are easy to address. ...
>
> Wrong on both counts: Many enterprises do *not* allow wireless
> networking or wired networking of foreign devices as a matter of
> security.

many do, and many have guest networks that are isolated from the rest
of the company. i've found free wifi at the supermarket, auto repair
shops, doctor's offices, hospitals (and if anywhere needs tight
security, it's a hospital, as patient confidentiality is *very*
important), restaurants and more. it's rare than i can't find free
wifi. perhaps you need to get out more.

> >And remember, most subscribers are on unlimited plans and have no
> >financial incentive at all to use Wi-Fi when available. I.e. last night
> >we had a party at my house. There were three relatives with Droid's, one
> >with an iPhone. No one even bothered to ask to use my Wi-Fi network,
> >they all were just using 3G (only my son on his iPod Touch was using
> >Wi-Fi). It's just a bother to use Wi-Fi when 3G is unmetered.
>
> Wrong again(tm): Phones are often much faster on Wi-Fi, which matters
> to many more knowledgeable users.

except he wasn't talking about speed, he was talking about the hassle
to associate with a wifi network, which for some things, is not worth
the bother (a quick check of email or twitter, for example). obviously,
if you are going to be someplace for a while and using a lot of
bandwidth, then it may be worth the bother.

> >Rather than moving toward more unlimited data, the cell phone industry
> >is moving toward more metered data. Slowly you'll see people becoming
> >more aware of the costs and using Wi-Fi where available, and you'll see
> >less high-bandwidth 3G/4G use.
>
> Wrong again(tm): The trend is actually in the other direction,
> increasing use of wireless data.

however, the carriers are moving to tiered plans in an effort to cap
the usage, or at least limit it and get some revenue for those that
abuse it.

nospam wrote on [Sun, 14 Nov 2010 17:18:05 -0500]:
> In article <[email protected]>, John Navas
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> >> We do not have wifi at the office for security reasons.
>> >
>> >Lack of Wi-Fi at the office is the exception, rather than the rule, and
>> >of course any security concerns are easy to address. ...
>>
>> Wrong on both counts: Many enterprises do *not* allow wireless
>> networking or wired networking of foreign devices as a matter of
>> security.
>
> many do, and many have guest networks that are isolated from the rest
> of the company. i've found free wifi at the supermarket, auto repair
> shops, doctor's offices, hospitals (and if anywhere needs tight
> security, it's a hospital, as patient confidentiality is *very*
> important), restaurants and more. it's rare than i can't find free

The hospital free wifi I have encountered is proxied and blocks many
useful web sites. It even blocked webmd.com


> however, the carriers are moving to tiered plans in an effort to cap
> the usage, or at least limit it and get some revenue for those that
> abuse it.

I'd be interested in knowing your definition of abuse.

On Sun, 14 Nov 2010 13:51:10 -0800, in
<[email protected]>, Steve Sobol
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Sun, 14 Nov 2010 12:53:10 -0800
>John Navas <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>> * My plan is still called "unlimited".
>
>On a recent trip to my nearest T-Mo store in Hesperia, CA, the brochure said either Overage-Free or No Overages, I forget which.
>
>My data plan is probably still called Unlimited. But I haven't logged onto the T-Mo site lately, to check if they changed the name...

Says "Unlimited" on the T-Mobile website: <http://goo.gl/rl9O>

--
John

"Assumption is the mother of all screw ups."
[Wethern’s Law of Suspended Judgement]

On Sun, 14 Nov 2010 14:44:16 -0800
John Navas <[email protected]> wrote:


> Says "Unlimited" on the T-Mobile website: <http://goo.gl/rl9O>

Sure does. I am going to have to stop at the store again, next time I'm down there, and take a look at the literature again.

See, I don't remember exactly *which* services they stopped calling unlimited - obviously, not all of them.

--
Steve Sobol <[email protected]>

In article <[email protected]>, Steve Sobol
<[email protected]> wrote:

> > Says "Unlimited" on the T-Mobile website: <http://goo.gl/rl9O>
>
> Sure does. I am going to have to stop at the store again, next time I'm down
> there, and take a look at the literature again.
>
> See, I don't remember exactly *which* services they stopped calling unlimited
> - obviously, not all of them.

don't forget that cellphone companies use a different dictionary than
everyone else when it comes to what 'unlimited' means.

John Navas <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> Leeching free Wi-Fi from a distance is at best unethical,
> and there's no free Wi-Fi in many (most?) of the places I want to be.
>
>

sue me.

Justin <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]
september.org:

> 250GB of data on my comcast
> internet at home.
>

Holy crap! I've downloaded 23GB of new movies from
alt.binaries.movies.divx in the last 4 hours!

Comcrap's cable boxes are mostly unused in my neighborhood since Knology
Cable came to town with some real competition. 12Mbps unlimited is now
$49, not $59, for just internet. They also have very nicely UPS backed
up cable and phone service, too, and give us 10 simultaneous ports at
full cap speed with unlimited GB downloading from Usenetserver.com's
massive NNTP farm to play with. Comcrap gives you 2GB/month trying to
keep you from downloading anything from Giganews...which is ****e.

Sorry if you can't get good service. Most of America is hosed because
the cable and phone industry has a stranglehold on government regulation
of these UTILITIES sold to customers.

"Richard B. Gilbert" <[email protected]> wrote in news:2qOdnZil9-0-
[email protected]:

> I have the impression that most modern cell phones make no provision
for
> an external antenna. My RAZR V3m's instruction book does not mention
> the subject.
>
>

Look inside the battery compartment and see if you see a little gold
connector, maybe covered with a rubber plug.

The ROKR Z6m in my pocket has one just over where the BT50 logo is on the
battery recessed into a little hole because it's mounted to the main
board, inside the battery cover.

I'm not traveling to the boonies to fix church organs since I retired,
but I have a 3W 850/2W 1900Mhz external bidirectional amp and serious
mobile antennas I used to get great service in remote places from
cellantenna.com that plugged directly into the phone's little connector
with the battery cover off. Worked great!