wireless internet connections - laptop help

[madasahatstand]

can anyone help. im going away to stay in a hotel for 2 weeks through my job. the hotel wants to charge £15 a day which im not happy to pay.
does anyone know how i get onto one of wireless connections out-with the hotel. ive heard of companies who offer wireless connections for a fixed fee for aweek to a month. trouble is i dont really know what im looking for and what i should sign up to. can anyone help?

mad

[mikkyT]

"Wireless" is an encompassing term and there are lots of ways to wirelessly connect to the internet.

What people refer to as wireless is usually "wifi", and most laptops have built in wireless. However in order for that to work you need to connect to a wireless gateway. Places that have wireless gateways (outside of your own house) will charge a fixed fee. Companies like BT have "Wireless hotspots" in places like McDonalds and Motorway service stations where you can use your fixed fee password to connect at that hotspot.

Thats not going to be useful to you as the hotel will not have a hotspot (it has its own connection). You could try scanning with your laptop in the lobby to see whether their wireless network is unsecured. Chances are it will be secure and you won't be able to use it.

What you will need (and this will be a yearly contract) is a 3G data card. T-Moblie do them for about 20 quid a month and it gives you wireless broadband over the mobile phone network. The card fits into the PCMCIA slot on your laptop.

[mikkyT]

Incidentally if you decide that you are happy to use a nearby hotspot to connect to the net then the site you will most likely want to visit is http://www.btopenzone.com/ which will give you a list of all its hotspots so you can find one near your hotel.

BTW if its with work why cant you charge it to the company Surely the hotel can cut you a deal for the two weeks you are there?

[MrsLime]

does anyone know how i get onto one of wireless connections out-with the hotel.

I don't know what 'out-with' means. Is it Scottish?

If you want to stay inside the hotel, then mikkyT's suggestion might be the only way. But a 3G is not as fast as broadband so it might be slower than what you are used to.  Maybe it depends on the tariff you choose, but I think you pay per megabyte downloaded, not per minute, so it's more suited to some applications than others.

If you don't mind venturing outside the hotel, then there are always internet cafes or things like www.btopenzone.com which work, again like mikkyT said, at places like bars and coffeehouses.

If by chance you are going to Norwich, I think the whole city has wifi but I'm not sure of the details.

[madasahatstand]

thanks mikky
i work for the nhs and they dont pay for private use. ive tested it out already and they want me to concentrate on the inspection im doing and not be doing the day job. therfore they wont support the internet for work either. not a good use of public money you will agree....grrrrrrr
so what kind of phone do i need to get one of these cards? ive only got an old nokia but im thinking of buying another mobile. what equipement would i need to do the whole connection? my laptop has wifi built in. cant i get a satellite connection or are we not that advanced yet?

mad

[madasahatstand]

does anyone know how i get onto one of wireless connections out-with the hotel.

I don't know what 'out-with' means. Is it Scottish?

it means outside, not in, but outside the hotel. was it my spelling? you trying to be a smart ass again?

[Sheriff Fatman]

You don't need a phone - the datacard comes with its own Sim card.  You basically sign up for a new mobile contract when you buy one and, as Mikky says, its normally a 12 month comittment.

Sheriff

[madasahatstand]

oh well that doesnt look good for me. ill just have to move myself out of the hotel:)

[mikkyT]

thanks mikky
i work for the nhs and they dont pay for private use. ive tested it out already and they want me to concentrate on the inspection im doing and not be doing the day job. therfore they wont support the internet for work either. not a good use of public money you will agree....grrrrrrr
so what kind of phone do i need to get one of these cards? ive only got an old nokia but im thinking of buying another mobile. what equipement would i need to do the whole connection? my laptop has wifi built in. cant i get a satellite connection or are we not that advanced yet?

mad

The wifi (wireless - short range radio) that laptops are equiped with has a range of about 100 feet If you want any kind of connection to the internet you will have to either buy extra kit or find a place with a wireless "wifi" hotspot.

If you have a GPRS equipped mobile phone you might be able to connect to the internet using that if it is able to be used as a modem.

3G data card are stand alone things that plug into the laptop and have a SIM card insterted into them. 3G fits the definition of broadband (where narrowband = 56k/64k, eg a telephone line) and broadband is anything over 128K. 3G will offer speeds of over 10Mb/s which is faster than the UK fixed line broadband speeds in the majority of areas however the providers in their infinite wisdom will limit what speed you can get to something "more sensible".

BTW, Don't confuse GPRS with 3G, the two are not the same. Nor are the terms the same in the US as they are in Europe, the Americans like to do things differently when it comes to telephony.

But be sure that the area that the hotel is in is covered by the provider. Vodafone and T-Mobile both have maps up to show where their coverage is. Vodafone is far too expensvie thou so if TMobile will do, go for it..

[mikkyT]

BTW if you want to go down the road of getting another mobile phone and using it as a GPRS modem then I'd suggest orange as a provider because their bulk MB packages are cheap. But dont go over the limit as it then becomes expensive. You will get faster than dial up speeds doing this, but not as fast as with 3G.

Finally, don't get a THREE phone and try to use it as a modem. I believe they disable the facility so that people can't use the phones as internet modems.

[MrsLime]

does anyone know how i get onto one of wireless connections out-with the hotel.

I don't know what 'out-with' means. Is it Scottish?

it means outside, not in, but outside the hotel. was it my spelling? you trying to be a smart ass again?

No, I'm not in a smart ass mood at the moment -- it was a genuine question.  We don't have that word in London.

[madasahatstand]

it may indeed be a Scottish word

http://www.bloomfield.me.uk/entries/000676.htm

[mikkyT]

Out-with is management speak, MrsLime If you speak to anyone who is a director of a company they use such silly terms all the time. Probably originated from Scotland though


Google for "buzzword bingo" or as I like to call it, "bullshit bingo" :

Before each meeting, visit Bullshit Bingo  and print one copy of this game card for each player, refreshing the page before each print, or have the players print their own BS Bingo cards. These instructions will not be printed, but you can select a card only version of this page when playing on line, or with a PDA.

Check off each block when you hear these words during a meeting, seminar, or phone call. When you get five blocks horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, stand up and shout BULLSHIT!!

and you will find some comedy classics such as:

Raising the Bar
Data Mining
Brain Storm / Mind Shower
Bottom up
Go Public
Call to Action
Service Oriented
Go to market
Walk the Talk
Back To Basics
Lead the Field
Outwith
Going Forward


Going forward, going back to basics from the bottom up you will find that you can lead the field outwith the management arena and raise the bar, realising your own potential. By performing simple benefits analysis and going public with these innovations you can really walk the talk!

[BrumBilly]

Some very helpful info here. Cheers Mikky

[lazaroonie]

BTW if you want to go down the road of getting another mobile phone and using it as a GPRS modem then I'd suggest orange as a provider because their bulk MB packages are cheap. But dont go over the limit as it then becomes expensive. You will get faster than dial up speeds doing this, but not as fast as with 3G.

Finally, don't get a THREE phone and try to use it as a modem. I believe they disable the facility so that people can't use the phones as internet modems.

if you buy a 3G mobile phone thru vodafone, you can use it as a 3G modem to achieve speeds up to 384KBPS in decent 3G coverage areas.

although 3G is now old hat - what you want is an HDSPA capable handset, effectively 3.5G.

and... Tmobile are currently testing a 4G network in the Czech republic.