Is this feasible or am I dreaming.

[Rickten]

Okay so for as long as I can remember at least once a year my family has driven to see my grandparents who live in Iowa. We live in California. This is a non-stop drive 32 hour straight hell on earth trip. A piece of crap 1990 minivan with 6 people and a dog all trying to not go insane from boredom. We only stop for gas. My mom even forces us to pack a cooler of food so that we don't have to stop for food. Like I said hell on earth. Now to the point. This trip is boring. You can only listen to music so long. So a goal of mine for the trip next summer will be to have a laptop and possibly some kind of internet access. This goal or dream should I say hopefully is possible.

Now to the hardware issue. Is there any kind of wireless connection that could provide me constant connection to the internet on my laptop over I believe five states if I recall correctly while sitting in the back of a mini van that is moving at 70 miles an hour. This of course can't cost some crazy amount of money for a service. I'll understand if the equipment is expensive but I can't justify paying some 100 fee for roaming along with 100 bucks for a service that isn't even guaranteed to work.

I recall some bluetooth thing or blue something but can't remember. Does anybody know of a wireless solution that may fit my needs. Go ahead and recommend no matter how expensive. I'll decide if its worth it or not.

 

[TunaBoo]

You can get a special cell phone (sprint PCS maybe?) and use that for net access. Will be about 33.6 kb a sec, and cost a few cents a minute I would imagine. Depending on your plan, there may/may not be roaming fees.

However, it IS just a 36 hour trip. Read a good book and enjoy the time away from the computer

 

[ledzepp98]

i just recently got a notebook and i'm not so familiar with them, so forgive me if this is a stupid comment...but...

the battery of a notebook lasts ~4-4.5 hours if you get a notebook that is meant to have a long battery life. out of 32 hours that isn't very long...

 

[Rickten]

well I can plug the laptop into the cig lighter.

anyone else. I was thinking that plugging into a cell phone would be the only way.

32 hours both ways. I get sick reading books in the car.

 

[sMashPiranha]

You don't need the internet, just put on a copy of Doom 2!! RaaaggH!!

 

[Rickten]

I need to surf the anandtech forums. 32 hours is a long time I might miss out on an insane hot deal. Imagine trying to pricematch with staples and using coupons while driving through utah at 70 miles an hour.

 

[Rickten]

If anybody cares I've found this.

Text

well my pipe dream is over. I can't afford 400 bucks. for something I'll use once a year. Hopefully someday though.

 

[CZroe]

Sprint PCS has really bad coverage. You can only find a signal (Without a dual-mode phone incurring roaming charges in analog mode, wich is incompatible w/ PSC Internet anyway) in the cities. I live REALY close to Atlanta, & I can only use mine when I go to work. It's very clear, and coverage is expanding (Good job Sprint) though They were going to put up a tower in my very neighborhood a year ago but the damn neighbors threw a fit & got the project canceled! *GrRrR*

 

[Chubbbs]

I beliebe that there's a service called Ricochet that allows for DSL speeds with no wires. I think that the modem costs about 200 bucks and the service costs another 70 bucks a month. Its expensive, but its better than a cell phone if you're paying by the minute.

 

[Chubbbs]

Just visited the website for Metricom, the maker of Ricochet. They filed for chapter 11 one month ago and shut down their network. So much for that idea.

 

[Rickten]

Ricochet is what I'm looking for but is limited to major cities. No coverage in the middle of nebraska. Damn


edit: doh chapter 11

 

[CZroe]

Even in the major cities coverage is EXTREMELY spotty. Don't expect to use it while moving! But of course, no one can use it at all now

 

[goog40]

Try some chloroform?

 

[gsaldivar]

Ricochet went bankrupt a few weeks ago, guys.

"...Is there any kind of wireless connection that could provide me constant connection to the internet on my laptop over I believe five states..."

Other than a direct-to-satellite connection, or browsing the web by cellphone - there isn't really an "affordable" option at the moment.

I would get yourself a Gameboy advance and a few good games to keep you company

 

[Rickten]

Hopefully in a few more years. For now I'll just have to be content playing games and watching movies.

honestly though that would be awesome surfing the web like that.

 

[kreno]

shizat, that would be a handy thing to have!

 

[rbV5]

<< 32 hours both ways. I get sick reading books in the car. >>



You'd just get sick surfing the internet anyway.

 

[samgau]

On the bright side, soon we will be able to surf the internet while travelling just not right now..