On Saturday 23 January 2010 09:00:07 [email protected] wrote: > > the down side of pre-paid is that the data expires fairly quickly. > > a few gigs typically only has a 30 day expiry. larger data blocks tend to > > last longer (up to 90 days on optus) > > > > you can just whip out your credit card and buy a data block. > > that may not sit well with the on call person... "heres a usb 3g modem, > > just add your CC# and expiry date as needed" > > Of course there is a down side, just as is the matter of higher cost > per megabyte. > > I usually hardly manage to use up 4 Gb/month from my home (including > two computers and a couple of WiFi phones), so I'd feel comfortable > with a 5Gb cap over a course of a weekend. > > On the other hand, in the long term there would be very little use of > this modem if at all. So far we managed without it and it'll be there > just for a reassurance that it's possible to connect if absolutely > needed. I can pre-charge them with a company CC if required. > > Still - so far I haven't heard that it works with Linux so I'm not > sure it's an option, unless I manage to test it successfully in the > shop somehow (my own company issued laptop's display died this week so > I'll have to buy a new one before I can do that).
After looking at all the 'If you stand on a mountain top, in a copper vase of water, during a storm saying all gods are bastards' then ... pre-paid plans and because of coverage up the west coast my friend used a telstra 3G phone with data connection which gave him the cheapest in-frequent internet access, and with a masthead antenna had coverage in the Abrolhaus islands 60Km out to sea from Geraldton. I was not specifically involved in the setup, but there were no anguished cries for help. James -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
