Using your laptop (computer) in America

[david viewing]

The popularity of threads on flying in the US reminds me of what I find to be one of the biggest inconveniences there - how to connect to the Internet.

My own solution is to sign up with SBC Yahoo! dial up http://www.all-free-isp.com/sbc_yahoo.php which you can join and then cancel within one month at no charge. You have to give a US street address, which can be your hotel or FBO. When I go to cancel, I tell them exactly why, and they are always completely charming about it.

However, there must be a better way. SBC local numbers are only available in larger towns and cities and for instance there isn't one at Las Vegas, NM. (That's New Mexico, not Nevada!).

So can anyone please suggest a better method, preferably using a toll free number?

[flyingwysiwyg]

Hi David,

Try Pipex dial:-

www.dial.pipex.com (http://www.dial.pipex.com)

They have a global roaming service with local Points of Presence in most places. I use them for work, and haven't found anywhere yet where you can't find a number (usually local).

You might want to post this in Computers / Internet as there are many PPRune computer gurus that frequent that forum who will probably be able to give better advice.

Good Luck,

F - Wyg

[BRL]

Just copied it there for you Dave, keep an eye on it there too.
P.

[david viewing]

BRL: Thank you very much

F - wyg: Many thanks for the tip. But unfortunately Pipex isn't free and has the same local access problem as SBC - not in small airport towns like Page, Kingman, Payson, etc. Calling the nearest POP (Point of Presence) from any of these places can run up massive hotel phone bills and sometimes won't connect at all because of the long distance carrier characteristics.

It would be much better to pay $1.00/min for an 800 number than $10-$20 for a slow long distance call on a hotel phone.

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

david viewing,

It is very easy to get a 30 day free trial from an ISP in the U.S. Most stores have the CDs right next to the checkout counters for any who wants to take one.

Also check with the school you are thinking of going to. We offer an internet computer which is a dedicated computer for our students to check email, etc. I am sure the other schools offer similar services.

Happy Flying,

Capt. Richard J. Gentil, Pres.
Naples Air Center, Inc.

[IO540]

Every flying school should have internet access :O

I would watch the one thing which is very popular in the USA, and thankfully not yet popular here: recurring credit card debits. They can be awfully difficult to stop - reckon on 6 months minimum if the merchant decides to ignore your emails...

[Flyin'Dutch']

IO,

You can easily sort this by contacting your CC and saying you have lost your card.

They will cancel the old account and set up a new one with a new number.

FD

[FWA NATCA]

David,

One option is to purchase a 30 day WIFI account if you are flying into major cities. Some FBO's offer internet service, and the majority of the hotels have high speed (Cable or DSL) available.

Mike

[BayAreaLondoner]

Many Starbucks in the US offer T-Mobile HotSpots. Cost is reasonable and you can go for a "pay as you go" plan, which I use, so you aren't wasting money.

[englishal]

I use a calling card when in the US. Many of them give you 5c / min even when calling back to the UK, then use my ISPs (pipex) "international calling" number....

Even dialing internally in the states, its often cheaper to use a calling card than use a hotel phone with "free" local calls. Normally they bung on a 50c charge per local call, and if you only want to check your email, then its just as cheap to use a calling card (especially when you get kicked off after 10 mins and have to reconnect).....

The other way I do it is borrow my Brother in law's AOL account, set up a new screen name, and use the AOL local access number....

EA:D

[RomeoTangoFoxtrotMike]

I have used www.maglobe.com (http://www.maglobe.com/) for roaming with no problems. See, inter alia, this link http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=107642&highlight=maglobe

[david viewing]

Thanks for the replies. Prepaid seems the way to go and in addition to maglobe I see that AT&T http://www.consumer.att.com/prepaidcard/cu.html and budget dialup http://www.budgetdialup.com/ offer similar services. The crucial bit is the 800 number (you can always fall back to a cheaper local number if there is one).

Happy new year everyone!