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Comparing Wireless Internet Services
Carl Oppedahl writes "AT&T has released its new "Edge" wireless Internet access service, claiming it is twice as fast (100-130K) as Sprint's "PCS Vision" wireless service (50-70K). I have written up a few comments on my experiences with the services. What data rates are others getting with Edge? I rarely get the advertised faster speeds."
I'm paying $8/mo for 1MB of GMRS data transfer. That's barely a few web pages these days. Each extra KILOBYTE is something like EIGHT cents.
Frankly, GMRS is plenty fast enough for me; it's just way, way, WAY too expensive. It's stupid, because the data rates pale in comparison to a voice call, and they're come+go...you'd think much cheaper for them to handle.
Of course, this is all because AT&T and every other provider seems obsessed with cameraphones. I don't know a single person in my office who has a cameraphone, nor a single person that wants one. They're useless toys, but because the wireless companies are fixated on 'em, and they're giving 'em away, they've jacked up the costs on data transfer to the point that anyone trying to actually use the phone for real work can't afford it unless they're a billionaire.
When I talk with friends, they don't say "oh, i want a phone with a camera!" They say things like: a)better reception b)fits in pocket(the camera phones are pretty damn big) c)easy to hold+use d)good battery life(and a battery that will NOT be gone within a year), and so on. Bluetooth is getting up there among my coworkers. Anyone at the phone companies listening?
Please help metamoderate.
You got to read closer. For as long as I can remember monitors always advertised the viewable area and dot pitch. If you buy monitors from Kanka or something than that's your problem.
As for 20GB disks to be fair there is space "wasted" by sector encodings and other data [ecc]. So really you do have 20GB [or more] of data on disk, just not 20GB usable by the FS.
As for the modems, again same thing. Sure it's called 56K but they've put "the 53.3K cap" on the boxes forever now. Why they don't just call them 53K modems? Not as catchy.
In general I do agree that advertising is almost always misleading which leads to the "once burned twice shy" syndrome most people encounter...
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
Why not use a booster to ensure the best data rate.? An number of vendors offer a range of fixed directional antennas and repeaters and phone booster antennas.
Unless you are driving in a car or reading email as you walk, "mobile" users are stationary during actual use (a car-top cellphone antenna might be the answer for truly mobile use). For semi-mobile use, a little stand and a Yagi antenna would help improve transmission/reception to the local cell tower. A simple signal strength app would help you point the antenna (for extra credit it could even help you find a tower in an adjacent, less used cell for access to more slots). For boosted use in a hotel room, cafe, or client office, a directional antenna or repeater would be quite useful.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.