Laptop and wifi

[Jumbo]

I am going back out on the road soon and would like to have a laptop to take advantage of all the free wifi everybody seems to be offering. What do I need? I could just go to a Mega store and have them help me but you guys might know what cards or such to stay away from. Also eventually I would like to add a directions program but want the best without worrying about price(If it is the best i don't mind paying more)

[Malaki86]

It'd be hard to find a laptop that doesn't come with built in wi-fi. Just make sure that it's a 802.1 a/b/g adapter (which it should be).

However, free wifi isn't easy to find. You may get close to a motel now and then to grab theirs for free or use a few of the rest areas that offer it, but for the most part you'll be parked in a truckstop and have to pay to use theirs.

Myself, I don't use the wifi except when I'm at home. I have a Sprint aircard that costs me $50/month for unlimited service and I can use it almost anywhere, including traveling down the road. I can probably count the number of places that I haven't had a signal on one hand. It was the best thing I've invested in.

[Malaki86]

I forgot about the routing program you asked about. I'd suggest getting either Microsoft Streets & Trips or Delorme Street Atlas. You can get either one for around $100 with the GPS receiver.

Myself, I use ALK's CoPilot 9 Laptop for Trucks. It does a really good job (but not 100%). Don't get their version 11 until they start offering some update patches for it. CoPilot costs in the range of $300.

[countryhorseman]

Be very very careful with any free (unsecured wireless internet). There are trojan horses, viruses, and other crap that lurk to get in your new PC. I quit using the WiFi on the road because of this, even with the secured network the Flying J has!

If you want reliable service, get an AirCard! They can be a bit expensive, but if you use your PC for routing, weather and highway reports, staying in touch, and receiving messages from your fleet manager, broker, etc (hint - tax deduction) it is well worth-it.

When I was OTR and even now doing overnight runs, my Aircard is on all the time. SprintPCS is about $50.00 a month and is reliable pretty much around the country. There were times my aircard had service and my Sprint cell phone did not, go figure!

My Aircard and XM Radio are both used as legitimate tax deductions at the end of the year. So at the end of year, you have really lost nothing!

[flood]

IMHO what brand of laptop you get realy doesn't matter if it's cheep or high dollar but how you take care of it will make a big difference in how long it will last.

if you are going to use it for gps then you will need a stand for it. i would stay away from a mount/stand that will not let the laptop move " a little " ours is monted to the air ride part of the passenger seat so it can move with the seat and not transfer the bumps and jars to the laptop.
http://www.ram-mount.com/laptop_moun...ptop_desks.htm

as to wifi it would not be my first choice, alot of the free wifi are to slow "some are good and fast" others "like washington rest area's" are restricted as to ware to can go on the net. if i were you i would look into an air-card thru your cell company.

[Malaki86]

There's nothing like getting an address for a shipper/receiver I've never been to (or even just the company name), jumping on Google Maps and finding the exact location where it is, along with satelite images to see if there's parking nearby - not to mention checking the weather and traffic for the route.

[Jumbo]

It'd be hard to find a laptop that doesn't come with built in wi-fi. Just make sure that it's a 802.1 a/b/g adapter (which it should be).

However, free wifi isn't easy to find. You may get close to a motel now and then to grab theirs for free or use a few of the rest areas that offer it, but for the most part you'll be parked in a truckstop and have to pay to use theirs.

Myself, I don't use the wifi except when I'm at home. I have a Sprint aircard that costs me $50/month for unlimited service and I can use it almost anywhere, including traveling down the road. I can probably count the number of places that I haven't had a signal on one hand. It was the best thing I've invested in.

Do you need to have a Sprint phone to purchase an aircard? Do I just go into a sprint store and buy and sign up for an aircard? Does this thing just slide into the laptop? My wife has only had laptops for work and i never really looked that close at them before til now. Thank you for the advice so far.

[Malaki86]

No - you can get the aircard on it's own without other phones on the plan.

As far as the aircard - there are different types. There are PCMIA, Express54 and USB. Myself, I'd recommend the USB one as you can use it on 99.9% of the computers out there. I've got a PCMIA one now, but will be upgrading to a USB one in June.

[countryhorseman]

No, you can get an aircard contract without a phone. Set-mine up through Radio Shack, just because it was close to the house. But any real sprint store or even online will work!
http://nextelonline.nextel.com/NASAp...BroadbandCards

You may want to decide on the Laptop first, or you may find yourselves with an Aircard that does not play well with your laptop or VISTA. I choose an Aircard that goes into the USB port, since VISTA does not support the old type PCI slot cards.

If you purchase your laptop from someplace like Circuit City or Best Buy, their people can help you choose the proper Aircard for that unit!

It'd be hard to find a laptop that doesn't come with built in wi-fi. Just make sure that it's a 802.1 a/b/g adapter (which it should be).

However, free wifi isn't easy to find. You may get close to a motel now and then to grab theirs for free or use a few of the rest areas that offer it, but for the most part you'll be parked in a truckstop and have to pay to use theirs.

Myself, I don't use the wifi except when I'm at home. I have a Sprint aircard that costs me $50/month for unlimited service and I can use it almost anywhere, including traveling down the road. I can probably count the number of places that I haven't had a signal on one hand. It was the best thing I've invested in.

Do you need to have a Sprint phone to purchase an aircard? Do I just go into a sprint store and buy and sign up for an aircard? Does this thing just slide into the laptop? My wife has only had laptops for work and i never really looked that close at them before til now. Thank you for the advice so far.

[Jumbo]

How much is an Aircard to get? The $50.00 a month unlimited sounds like a great deal. What brand of laptop do you guys use? The one my wife uses is custom made by another brach of the place she works so there isn't a brand name on it.

[countryhorseman]

See the link above for Sprint! I run a HP Pavillion, purchased 3 years ago, it was $680 then. Still works great and has taken a beating!

How much is an Aircard to get? The $50.00 a month unlimited sounds like a great deal. What brand of laptop do you guys use? The one my wife uses is custom made by another brach of the place she works so there isn't a brand name on it.

[flood]

dell of hp would be my first choice i'm on a $550 two year old hp right now.

also something to think about is anyone with a laptop and the right software and the right antenna CAN hack into your laptop if you are using wifi....!

you can get an air card w/o having a cell phone but it will cost you alot more than $50-$60 per month, as to the air card will run you around $100 maybe less w/rebate and most will requier 2 year contract

[SwervynMervyn]

I just bought a Sprint Mobile Broadband USB Modem by Sierra Wireless.

With a 2 year contract it cost $79 with a $50 mail in rebate.

The service is $59.99 a month with unlimited usage. I have a 30 day free trial period to return if it doesn't work out.

Works great here at home, I leave out on the road tonight so I will see how it really works then. So far I really like it .

I just had to have my computer worked on, probably some of the probs I had were caused by getting on free Wifi. So that is why I bought the Sprint card

I use a Dell Insprion 6000 for my laptop.

[countryhorseman]

dell of hp would be my first choice i'm on a $550 two year old hp right now.

also something to think about is anyone with a laptop and the right software and the right antenna CAN hack into your laptop if you are using wifi....!

you can get an air card w/o having a cell phone but it will cost you alot more than $50-$60 per month, as to the air card will run you around $100 maybe less w/rebate and most will requier 2 year contract

Sprint is the same price for unlimited service $59 a month, with or without cell service, and yes, almost all providers require a 2 year contract!

Again, it is a legitimate tax deduction if you itemize, so at the end of the year, it is all a wash!

[ChikinTrucka]

What about Verizon Wireless? They offer a similar service and I get great coverage with their phone service. I think it's $80/month. Anyone try them?

[TK THE TRUCKER]

I don't know how everyone else feels but it you're going to invest in a laptop and don't care about weight or overall size get a wide screen one that also has the number pad included in the keyboard. I have a 17" wide screen Toshiba that I've had almost 4 years. It's the first laptop I ever had and am glad I went for the wide screen.

Definitely go with a wireless air card, it's the way to go out here. Forget wi-fi. 8) 8)

[flood]

Again, it is a legitimate tax deduction if you itemize, so at the end of the year, it is all a wash!

yes it is a legitimate tax deduction but at the end of the year it is NOT a wash

$59 x 12 = $708 pre year right
you get to write off $708 (this comes off you gross income)
lowering your gross income by $708 saves you (at 30%) $212.40 in taxes
so you paid $708 - $212.40 (tax saving) it still cost you $495.60

ChikinTrucka
What about Verizon Wireless? They offer a similar service and I get great coverage with their phone service. I think it's $80/month. Anyone try them?

that is what we use and we are very happy with it.$59.95 a month.

[PA]

I got the Verizon broadband thingy too!
I like it cuz I don't need to have an account at several truck stops and sometimes I fire up the computer at a shipper, etc.

[ChikinTrucka]

I already have Verizon Cell phone, so I'll probably use them when I get my lap top. I'm looking at the "tough books" by Panasonic? on eBay. Anyone have any opinions on them. Only about $200 if I have my own hard drive, which I do. Or can someone recommend a good brand for low bucks. I'm not spending $800+ for something that could get smashed or stolen on the road.
Latah,
Chikin Trucka.

[Malaki86]

My laptop is an HP Pavilion DV8000. It's a little over 2 years old now and is still perfect except for a couple scratches on it. It has the 17" widescreen, dual hard drives, 1gig of RAM, Windows XP Media Center and a 2ghz AMD cpu. It was a great purchase, even at $1,200 that I paid for it. The only time I've ever had an issue and had to call HP was with the drivers for the touchpad. Other than that, no probs whatsoever. Oh wait - that's a lie - the battery has died on it, but it's not an issue as the computer stays plugged into the power inverter/APC battery backup. I didn't see any reason to pay $150 for a battery when I've ran the computer off it's own battery for maybe 15 mins total since I bought it.