Mobile Computing.

Have you got a laptop? Got a mobile phone? Do you want to use the Internet as you travel around? Read on!

For occasional mobile computing since July 2009 if you have a laptop the Telstra ADSL prepaid USB dongle is probably the most convenient and cost efficient due to 3G network coverage both local and overseas. Do your homework!

I read with interest the article in the December 2007 PC Update by Trevor Lawrie, The Internet Unplugged. Now, here’s a man with my sort of attitude. He wants to get on the Internet when he’s touring without having to buy more equipment.

In ads on TV we have all seen vehicles with singing people traveling everywhere using a laptop to connect, as well as a chap sitting in a park with his laptop connected to the Internet.

My efforts in the past to use a mobile to connect to the Internet have always been full of assurances but unsatisfactory.

Various Telcos offer a plug-in card or dongle which connects your PC to the Internet. Interesting, but the cost of the unit and the on-going fees are substantial. This is OK for business people but it frightened me off.

As it happens, I have a BigPond broadband account and my mobile and home phone are also with Telstra. Recently, because neither my eyes nor my ears are as sharp as they once were, I became so frustrated with my squeaky micro-texted mobile phone that I decided to upgrade it.

I winced when the pimply Telstra child showed me an all singing and dancing NextG unit, but I could certainly hear it and the print, when putting in a number, was one centimeter high. I was cajoled into it when I factored in the free calls included, which meant little real change in overall costs. It offered HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) capability for BigPond, Internet and email, also multi media, a camera and all sorts of other stuff I didn’t want or need. Reading email on it is a pain and the camera is only just a camera. BigPond extras also can be a horrendously expensive trap – so beware!

When I got around to installing the software bundled with it (which installs on Windows 2000, XP and Vista but not Windows 98) I noticed an Internet Connection option. On investigation, this offered to connect the laptop to the internet through the mobile phone using my BigPond email address.

I was stunned - a true Eureka moment. For travelers, holiday makers and grey nomads this is equivalent to the Holy Grail. It had not been made clear to me when I did the deal that I could plug this mobile into a computer and through it access the Internet.

I use the USB option with the cable supplied (Bluetooth is also an option) and I am immediately dialed into my BigPond account using my email address and password. It’s just like using a modem and it is fast broadband - the HSDPA specs say 3.6Mb/s - plenty fast. Using this option the only fees have been for packet data, charged at around $1.95 per Mb. Mind you, at this extortionate rate I use it sparingly, using webmail to selectively check email, not for browsing or downloads.

So, here we have it – with the right laptop, the right phone and the right ISP you have Internet access without needing extra equipment and without having to change any settings - you can use the same Internet setup on your notebook as you use at home. If the NextG phone is getting a signal, it works, and NextG coverage is vast and expanding. Of course, if there is no signal then there is no phone, no Internet, no nuffin! This HSDPA mobile phone with its software is brilliant – just the phone and the laptop to carry around. The extra expense and inconvenience of a plug-in card or dongle is avoided.

If you are with a different NextG / 3G carrier or ISP you will have to do your homework. And always remember the Buyer’s Basic Rule: DON’T TELL ME, SHOW ME.

Using Your Internet Account.

Having an internet account involves expense. For those who choose to browse the internet only through free avenues, such as the local library, only limited functions are available. Free email accounts such as Gmail and Hotmail, and access to those accounts through free terminals are available. The costs are picked up by the suppliers of the free access points. If you want to keep records of your email, this is well nigh impossible. The most convenient way to browse and have an email account is to have your own computer and sign up with an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Part of the Windows Operating System is an email client called Outlook Express or Windows Mail. With the client configured, when you check your mailbox for messages, all the complete messages are downloaded from your ISPs mail server, saved in your computer and then deleted from the ISPs mail server.

Now you are able to reply to messages and retain records of everything. This is simple and convenient.

All this of course costs money. The computer is a given with whatever bits and pieces you have attached to it. The obvious question is, what are the costs of running the various types of accounts.

There are basically five different ways to connect to the Internet, each with its own set of charges.

Consider the first three; the last two have too many variations.

Minimising Costs.

For occasional mobile computing with your laptop the Telstra ADSL prepaid USB dongle is probably the most convenient and cost efficient due to 3G network coverage both local and overseas. Do your homework!

Once you have an account, the only way to minimise your costs is to avoid going beyond your monthly download allowance. If you rarely exceed the limit you have no problem except consideration of reducing the limit and so reducing the cost. If you are always way over the limit then you may choose to increase your allowance by paying more. With ADSL you may be able to change the speed and have a better service for the same outlay.

The only real consideration is when you have people sending you useless, large email attachments, which you simply don’t want or appreciate. Silly visual jokes and boring holiday snaps are two top contenders to get the blood pressure up when they exceed 500kb or so. They take a while to download too. One or two Mb of these per day means thirty to sixty MB per month and this may be helping you to exceed your monthly account limit.

Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer webmail, which operates in your Internet browser such as Internet Explorer, enabling you to handle your email. If your ISP does not offer webmail, generic webmail tools are available. Just browse Google for a selection.

When you check your mailbox using webmail, only the message and its headers are displayed. Nothing is saved in the computer at this point. If the message includes an attachment, the message may be read without downloading the attachment. The header and message is rarely more than a few kilobytes unless it’s a formatted HTML message. The content of other messages is usually sufficient to enable the sorting of essential messages from the dross. If it’s a formatted HTML message with pictures inserted you may not be able to stop it downloading in webmail. Now, after you have read a dubious message, you can delete those messages with silly, large attachments. Next, logoff webmail, load your client and so minimise your download.