One of the disadvantages of living in the boondocks is that it takes longer for technology to reach our neck of the woods. I live in the fringes of Sta. Rosa, Laguna and one of the frustrations I have in living in this place is the lack of a decent internet access. I do have access to dial-up internet but everyone knows that most modern online services requires something faster than the 56K speed achievable on a modem. I can’t view YouTube videos, I can’t do **ehem** BitTorrents, I can’t even do simple software updates for my spanking brand new MacBook!
Speaking of the MacBook, lack of DSL service in my area has been magnified because Apple, in their arrogance, has eliminated the built-in modem for their latest line of computers. To do dial-up on a new MacBook, one has to purchase a Php4,000++ Apple USB modem. Well, I decided to make things better – at least for me.
I set up my old iBook (which still have those ever-useful built-in modem) to dial in to my ISP and I configured it to share its internet access through its built-in Wi-Fi adapter. So that’s basically it! I get to enjoy surfing the ‘net (at dial-up speed) from the comfort of my bedroom by basically converting my old iBook into a dial-up wireless access point!
Well, thinking back, this may not be the most cost-effective way to have Wi-Fi at home but then again, I already have my iBook at hand and I might as well use it to make things better for me. Besides, that’s what technology is supposed to do for techies like us… make things better for us.
February 19, 2007 at 11:52 am
am also from sta rosa. we have smartbro and it works fine.
February 19, 2007 at 12:10 pm
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February 19, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Same deal at home, Berns. I got my desktop Mac to share the internet connection wirelessly, and it’s now the house’s wifi access point. Great minds think alike. *wink*
February 19, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Ah, with all the out-of-town trips I make I realized long ago that a modem and a PLDT Vibe card are musts in this country. Have you ever given MacBook + 3G phone + Smart 3G a try?
February 19, 2007 at 5:20 pm
@aor: call me old fashioned but I prefer my data packets to come in to the house through old reliable cables. I have nothing against Smart Bro (at least not yet) but with all the horror stories I hear from current subscribers, let me just say that I don’t want to contribute to the on-going epic being written by disgruntled/dis-satisfied “Bros” out there.
@reenigne: I’m flattered to be in your league (I’m not worthy… I’m not worthy!)
February 19, 2007 at 5:41 pm
@frugal traveler: Once our office-issued Visibility HSDPA modem comes in, I’ll be giving it a spin at home (and at the office, and at the mall, and at the highway, and at the restaurant….)
February 20, 2007 at 10:23 am
i don’t want to bash anybody, but i’d still like to comment on the following paragraph:
“Speaking of the MacBook, lack of DSL service in my area has been magnified because Apple, in their arrogance, has eliminated the built-in modem for their latest line of computers. To do dial-up on a new MacBook, one has to purchase a Php4,000++ Apple USB modem…”
i’m not an apple fan-boy (i don’t even own one!) but it sounds more like a design compromise than “arrogance”. it seems to me unreasonable to expect to have both wi-fi and a dialup modem on the macbook without penalizing the end-buyer in terms of price, battery performance and weight. i’m thinking the design engineers for the macbook thought “realistically, how many people are going to use dial-up?” rather than “how can we inconvenience users from sta. rosa, laguna?”
compare this to PC laptop monsters that have include all sorts of ways to plug-in (ethernet lan/wan, modem, wifi, kitchen sink…) and end up costing php 90k and weighting 3-4 kilos.
so seriously, instead of ragging on manufacturers (who already have to make so many design compromises) for not including gadget x or geegaw y, why don’t consider what specs you – the user – need and find the “best fit” for you?
February 20, 2007 at 10:42 am
on further evaluation, i’m not so sure if this is “kuripotech” or “asyong aksaya” tech (remember asyong aksaya? anyone? i guess i’m showing my age here…).
question: how many watts does it take to run your old ibook? how many watts for a USB modem (ridiculously small, i’m guessing since USB power is around 3v)?
so in order to avoid buying a php 4k apple modem (although no one’s stopping you from buying a similar 900 peso DLink USB modem…) you’re spending on X watts * Y hours of surfing * Z days in a month? i’m pretty sure that what you saved by not buying the modem is now being spent paying meralco.
techie points for the setup. negative economizer points though.
February 20, 2007 at 1:07 pm
im fairly sure talkintech did not mean it in the context it appears to you, chudez. Tongue in cheek is somewhat implied here.
February 20, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Gary,
point taken! i guess i’m being too serious