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Laptop question

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
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Ohio
Okay, I did it. I need a laptop for some aspects of my business. Our current laptop is 4-5yrs old and the kids have pretty much taken it over. I also need one next week when I am hunting southern Ohio to reply to some Work Orders for certain customers I cannot do from my phone. I spent $500 today on a laptop. Sort of an impulse buy, because I didn't research it like I normally would. Upon coming home to compare online, it looks like I did alright.

Question: Do any of you guys spend money on the add on deal through your cellular carrier or do you just hook it to your phone? Keep in mind I am pretty tech-tarded. I have a Blackberry Tour if this helps. I have unlimited everything on my plan.

Help a computer illiterate out!
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
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Most cellular providers charge extra to tether your phone to your laptop. Droid and Iphone have some hinkey apps that piggyback the cell data signal but for the most part they suck. I think they want something like 15 bucks a month for tether abilities.

The easiest way by far is to go to a hotspot. McDonald's, Wendy's, burger king, Panera bread, etc all have free wifi.. Almost any coffee shop too... Hotels are hit or miss if the hotspot is open.. Apartment complexes are also great places to pull up out front and piggy back off someone unsecured wireless. Don't bother driving around condos etc as they're usually full of old people who don't have wireless. Apartment complexes are the best for good unsecured wireless hotspots. Most people bring home a wireless router, hook it up, and never configure the security to lock it down thus leaving it open to the world. Trust me. There is always one..
 
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hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
..whatdaja get?

I don't know. Will tell you when I pick it up tomorrow. hahahahahha

Cheapy. Acer something or other. Should be more than adequate for handling email and downloading trail camera pictures from the field though. That is all I want it for. The wife can have it the rest of the time.


Joe- This could be a problem then come next week. I will have to drive into Nelsonville or something to do my work after dark.
 

Jackalope

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Hotels also have you log in through their shit and in my experiences, it works less than half the time and you end up saying fugg it

That's why i said it was hit or miss as to if they are open or not. Some have you enter your room number and name to gain access... Personally i just walk in, flash a southern boy smile and explain that i really need to use their wireless as i'm on business and in a bind.... Nine times out of ten you'll be sitting in the lobby, eating complementary cookies, drinking free coffee, plugged into house power, and surfing within ten minutes.. ;) What are they gonna say to a business traveler.. Get out of here you fuggin leech.. nope.. You're a potential future customer. :)
 

Huckleberry Finn

Senior Member
15,973
135
Acer's aren't bad. A close family member bought one of their netbooks right when they were new and it's still running well 4 or 5 years later...

Laptops dont last that long...
 

Huckleberry Finn

Senior Member
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That's why i said it was hit or miss as to if they are open or not. Some have you enter your room number and name to gain access... Personally i just walk in, flash a southern boy smile and explain that i really need to use their wireless as i'm on business and in a bind.... Nine times out of ten you'll be sitting in the lobby, eating complementary cookies, drinking free coffee, plugged into house power, and surfing within ten minutes.. What are they gonna say to a business traveler.. Get out of here you fuggin leech.. nope.. You're a potential future customer.

Even with the password/room number I've had difficulties with it...and when it's 11 or 12 in the morning, you just say fugg it. I've also had it not work on my personal computer and work on my work computer, and visa versa. Pain in the ass man.

And yea, how any other people do you know that are my age with travel accounts with hotels?!?
 

Jackalope

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Even with the password/room number I've had difficulties with it...and when it's 11 or 12 in the morning, you just say fugg it. I've also had it not work on my personal computer and work on my work computer, and visa versa. Pain in the ass man.

And yea, how any other people do you know that are my age with travel accounts with hotels?!?

You don't need one. Just be nice and courteous. They can get you online. They have generic accounts to give to people having problems with the room number name thing. They usually just give you one of those. I was a marriott platinum traveler and Hilton diamond. never did they ask for credentials.
 

hickslawns

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Ohio
I am going to be in BFE. Might just drive close to the nearest town and hangout along the road. Highly doubt many of the locals have passwords on their wireless. Probably be able to mooch off someone. They will never know. lol
 

Huckleberry Finn

Senior Member
15,973
135
White suga you gonna get your ass capped.

---

I see what you're saying Jackalope and that's a good thing to keep in mind!
 

RedCloud

Super Moderator
Super Mod
17,381
193
North Central Ohio
Drive to the nearest hospital lol. Ours has free wifi and if I was about 100 yards closer I could tell time warner to kiss off and just use the hospitals wifi lmao. I have a few people that comes up when I hooked my wifi router up but they had them locked lol.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
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39,721
248
Ohio
Intel Core B950 Processor
2.1GHz 2MB L3cache
Intel HD Graphics
15.6" HD LED LCD
DVD Super Multi DL drive
4GB DDR3 Memory
500GB HDD

Not sure what it all adds up to, but should be plenty to download trail camera pictures from the field and respond to emails and internet on the run!
 

Beentown

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,740
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Sunbury, OH
Yeah I usually build my desktops. They are alot easier to build than most people would think. I would like to build another desktop also but my issue with them is space. I don't want to dedicate an area for the darn thing. I have a decent desktop now but don't even have it hooked up.
 

RedCloud

Super Moderator
Super Mod
17,381
193
North Central Ohio
I like building them. It's a lot of fun piecing all the components together lol. The only thing is, I can find better computers on the store shelves now for cheaper then I can build them. It has been that way for the past 2-3 years now. Use to be the other way around and now it sucks lol. I hate store bought computers loaded with a bunch of crap you will never use and add in the backup disks that are junk. Speaking of that, I still need to do one for this computer lmao.


Intel Core B950 Processor
2.1GHz 2MB L3cache
Intel HD Graphics
15.6" HD LED LCD
DVD Super Multi DL drive
4GB DDR3 Memory
500GB HDD

Not sure what it all adds up to, but should be plenty to download trail camera pictures from the field and respond to emails and internet on the run!

Hicks, That laptop will do fine for what your going to use it for.