jliveit
ohio
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Joined: 02/21/2008
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Since we will be spending the winters in Florida this year I guess I need to buy a lap top but not sure what I need or how you connect up to the internet for email and such. My home computer still uses dial up so what would I have to do away from home to get on the internet or recieve my email? (behind the times in ohio)
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Mandalay Parr
Phoenix, AZ
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Joined: 07/09/2004
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New laptops come with built-in wireless. Easy to use and available most places.
Jerry Parr
Full-time
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Joy
Henderson KY 42420
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Joined: 08/10/2001
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As Mandalay says and this will work anywhere wifi is available. If wifi is not available or reliable where you are staying, you will have to subscribe to internet service through the cable company while there. If you have a Yahoo or similar email address, you can get email anywhere you can connect to the internet. If you don't, I would suggest you get an account(free). Then you can notify all of your correspondents of the winter address in plenty of time for them to change over. If you do this, however, you will need to use it a couple of times a month to keep it active during the summer months - otherwise, they will cancel it as an abandoned account. (Ask me how I know?!!)
See ya' down the road!
Don-SCPO USN Ret.Corpsman
Joy-Ret.Off.Mgr.
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LIFE ISN'T ABOUT HOW TO SURVIVE THE STORM BUT HOW TO DANCE IN THE RAIN.
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ryoung
Indiana
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Joined: 11/11/2002
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Another option is using a cellular air card for Internet access. Just be sure the area you're in has decent coverage.
ryoung
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BobJoh
Whitestown, IN 46075
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Joined: 05/23/2004
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I got my IBM ThinkPad from Overstock.com for less than $400 as reconditioned. Then Dell ALK CoPilot Navigator9 GPS for $36 and a lapel Mic for $9 at WalMart. So for about $450 I'm on the Internet and with DSL at home and WIFI on the road I'm up on email and Internet and GPS. Many of the families we visited in FL last month had WIFI or could drive the neighbor hood and find a 'hotspot' and use a unlocked personal net from someone. I downloaded Skype for awayfrom home free longdistance phone with family who also have Skype on their computers or for .025$ a min to the home phone or cell phone. With my eyeball on the computer the Skype calls also have video to other computers. As when DD was in China last year teaching school we could talk and see her and her apartment and get Digital Photos transfered and all for free. I was new to GPS on laptop but enjoyed preplanning trips and saving them for all 13 families we visited on 2600miles on IN to FL trip and found everyone even with our first trip into FL. :-) The laptop sat on pillows piled between the seats and powered by 12volt to 120v inverter.
BobJoh
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USAFBILL
Alabama
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Joined: 09/20/2002
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If your using dial up at home you can keep that service as there is always a place to connect your dial up to a phone jack at Snowbird locations.
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wa8yxm
Wherever I happen to park
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Joined: 07/04/2006
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Laptop: there are several, I'm partial to THINKPADS but I've seen some very nice other brands too. I'm very anti-DELL (Cuss-some-more non-service at least as far as my daughter's computer was concerned. I'm not happy with that)
Get the best one you can afford.. Will take it longer to go obsolete. Try to get one with XP, the reason for this is that more folks can help you with XP if you have issues. VISTA may be ok too. I'm not yet bold enough to downgrade to Microsoft's latest conflagration.
Connecting to the net.. There are several ways.
Verizion (And others) are really pushing cellular connections, IT's a device you plug into the USB port and that's really about all there is to it. I'm not a fan of verizon but.. For your use, it might be the best AT&T is good too Sprint/Nextel is good but way too expensive for me.
Satellite 2-way internet service.. I use it, when not at home
Park-Wi-Fi. IF the park offers FREE WI-FI This is your best choice cause it's hard to beat free.. Also Panara Bread, Some Fast Food and/or coffee places (McDonalds, Starbucks) UPS stores, Old Country Buffet (Some, not all) some other sit down and eat places, libraries and truck stops and even rest stops
Some free, some fee www.jwire.com for more info on those
Nothin adds excitment like something that is none of your business
John is Near Kenwood TS-2000 housed in a 2005 Damon Intruder 377
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SallyCO
Castle Rock, CO
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Joined: 11/27/2007
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wa8yxm wrote:
Verizion (And others) are really pushing cellular connections, IT's a device you plug into the USB port and that's really about all there is to it. I'm not a fan of verizon but.. For your use, it might be the best AT&T is good too Sprint/Nextel is good but way too expensive for me.
If you get enough enjoyment out of the internet to justify $60 a month, the cellular cards are the way to go.
I had Verizon for several years starting in 2003 - and it was $80 a month. It's dropped to $60 a month.
Sprint is the same... I've been on Sprint now for a few years... and the service is better in that it doesn't have limitations like Verizon does.
Currently, Sprint is $60 a month (at least in my market)
AT&T and Cingular use a different technology (EDGE). Verizon and Sprint use EVDO - and it's faster.
Between Verizon and Sprint - the coverage will be the same, but the service is better with Sprint.
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2SAM
Florida
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Joined: 10/24/2003
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WIFI only way to go and usually FREE...after dial up, you'll think you've died and gone to heaven, much, much faster!
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Clay L
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
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Joined: 07/01/2002
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2SAM wrote:WIFI only way to go and usually FREE...after dial up, you'll think you've died and gone to heaven, much, much faster!
Sorry I don't agree that it's the only way to go - not if you want to be able to access the internet most of the time.
We find free WIFI less than half the time in the RV parks we stay in and often you have to be close the office to connect. Also if a lot of people are using it at the same time it can slow to almost a stop at many places.
We have a Verizon aircard and in the last couple of years there have only been a couple of times we couldn't connect to the internet where we stopped for the night.
Clay (WA5NMR), Lee,(Wife) Codi, Brandi (Shelties) and Damncat (damn cat)
Full Timing in a 2004 Winnebago Sightseer 35N, Workhorse chassis, Honda Accord toad
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