Take your laptop out to dinner

You know how great it is to take your iPhone out at the local cafe and check your emails?
And you know how packed Starbucks gets with people who want to use the WiFi? Why can't all Laptops be like iphones and contain internal wifi, and be placed on a family plan that incorporates all phones, ipads and laptops?? So you can take your laptop anywhere and get wifi!? So I can take my laptop to my Grans and get wifi without having to purchase an awkward extra mobile modem that has to be configured each time! This idea is inevitable. WIFI is such a stupid thing! Having passwords etc...really annoying! Every family should just have one account that allows a certain number of devices..and that number can vary, depending on price. You have to do this Apple! Team up with Verizon!@

There are tons of computers out there that have WWAN capabilities. Apple just chose to never incorporate them into theirs. With pretty much every device having hotspot capabilities there is really no need to have the option in all devices and pay a fee for each of them.

Petrina said:

You know how great it is to take your iPhone out at the local cafe and check your emails?
And you know how packed Starbucks gets with people who want to use the WiFi? Why can't all Laptops be like iphones and contain internal wifi, and be placed on a family plan that incorporates all phones, ipads and laptops?? So you can take your laptop anywhere and get wifi!? So I can take my laptop to my Grans and get wifi without having to purchase an awkward extra mobile modem that has to be configured each time! This idea is inevitable. WIFI is such a stupid thing! Having passwords etc...really annoying! Every family should just have one account that allows a certain number of devices..and that number can vary, depending on price. You have to do this Apple! Team up with Verizon!@

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I'm sure that sort of thing will become more of the norm. I think some PC's already come with wireless data capabilities, I know you can get Panasonic Toughbooks with 3G (and possibly LTE now) data built in.

I think it's only a matter of time before Apple would incorporate that tech into their laptops, although if they did it would probably undermine on iPad sales since one of the strongest advantages of iPads over laptops at this point is wireless data.

Petrina said:

Why can't all Laptops be like iphones and contain internal wifi, and be placed on a family plan that incorporates all phones, ipads and laptops?? So you can take your laptop anywhere and get wifi!?

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I'm really not sure if I'm:

- misunderstanding what you've written
- maybe you are using different terminology than I am used to
- if you are located in a different country than I am...and things are different

But all Apple laptops since around 2006 have builtin WiFi hardware...and are able to connect to the WiFi networks at a Starbucks or "Gran's" (if "Gran's" has a WiFi network at home).

Please explain.

- Nick

No, I mean, it would be great if there was no need to hook into any wifi. No wifi at all. Burn all Modems. Torch those awful little things. Just make everything like a cell phone and each household could have a plan for several devices. No wifi needed anywhere ever...hate it!

Petrina said:

No, I mean, it would be great if there was no need to hook into any wifi. No wifi at all. Burn all Modems. Torch those awful little things. Just make everything like a cell phone and each household could have a plan for several devices. No wifi needed anywhere ever...hate it!

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What you're talking about is 24-7 cellphone-like/satellite based internet access. Do you have any idea how expensive that would be?

- Have you ever thought about the number of hours the average person spends on their computer on the internet (at home) versus a cell phone?
- Have you compared the cost of a cell phone plan versus home DSL or cable modem service? AND how much more that cell phone plan would be for all of the extra bandwidth used with a home computer for hours & hours & hours of use each day?
- Have you considered that DSL and cable modem service is so much faster than the cell phone service?
- Have you thought about how "spotty"/unreliable cell phone coverage can be sometimes?

If (at least with technology as it stands now)...everyone's devices (including computers) could have WiFi or internet via satellite just like a cell phones (without any loss of speedor greater cost $$$$)...I think that someone would be trying to do it.

And from a historical perspective...how much of a pain in the butt do you think it was BEFORE there was such a thing as cell phones...or wireless computer networks (ethernet only)!

There's really nothing wrong with wireless networking as it stands (WiFi). If everything was satellite based like cell phones...it would be SUPER expensive...and MUCH slower.

Then folks would be complaining about how expensive it was and how slow it was!

- Nick

Ack! Really! You think it's *really* *that* expensive for suppliers to provide satellite internet access for laptops? Or do you think it's probably more lucrative to continue on as they are right now? The current system is clunky and always breaking down in schools and businesses. It's such a stone-age way to exist!

Ack! Really! You think it's *really* *that* expensive for suppliers to provide satellite internet access for laptops?

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Are you kidding? What world are you living in? Nick was right on target with his reply.

Edit: And no need to cross post the same message to our "contact us" page. It doesn't belong there and I'm wondering now what your purpose for posting it here is?

I'll take wi-fi speeds over LTE 4G any day!

pigoo3 said:

What you're talking about is 24-7 cellphone-like/satellite based internet access. Do you have any idea how expensive that would be?

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This. My mobile operator charges $35 for 5GB of data. That's $7/GB. My internet package is $38 for 300GB which works out to 12.7¢ per GB. The mobile plan is 55 times more expensive than the internet package I have. I'd much rather avoid this and make use of the ever increasing pervasiveness of free WiFi.

I already pay enough for internet access for my home and my phone. I don't need or want to pay extra just so my computer can have internet access "anywhere."

vansmith said:

This. My mobile operator charges $35 for 5GB of data. That's $7/GB. My internet package is $38 for 300GB which works out to 12.7¢ per GB. The mobile plan is 55 times more expensive than the internet package I have.

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YIKES! Thanks for putting some exact numbers on things (55x more expensive)! Whoa!!!

- Nick

Not to mention with all the smartphones overloading carriers and having calls go to voice mail or just plain dropped no thank you I need my computer connection to be more reliable than that wi-fi works great when setup correctly.

Well I try to be open-minded. Maybe someday the cost of satellite communications will decrease.

Heck some/many of us know how a 10meg (that's right...megabyte) hard drive back in the 80's cost $500 bucks. And a 15" LCD flat panel display back around 1998 cost $1999...so who knows.

But right now...not gonna happen!

And hey...I'm pretty happy with WiFi at home...and WiFi at free places such as (Starbucks, McD's, etc.). And cellphone/satellite access when absolutely needed (expensive).

Would it be nice to have safe, secure, fast, cheap WiFi anywhere anytime?...definitley. But it's probably going to take some significant new technology.

- Nick

For those of us that grew up with no such thing as a computer in every (any) home, the internet, nor in fact, wireless communication of any sort except perhaps those old walkie talkies, these youngsters may get their wish in another 20 years or something.

All communications via satellite and companies wouldn't need to go building all these towers and/or running land lines everywhere. How much will that cost us for access to the grid?

Am paying $34.99 with NO limit. No Cap, No monthly limit at all. With the forums I am Mod and Admin and groups doing the same and downloads, and email and everything else I go over many GB a month easily.

I agree with Bobtomay, It will come down the line but right now Internet is better for power users like me.

Bob, I built Heathkit Walkie Talkies in the 60s so been down that road also! Grin

I think the OP was just wishing for pervasive, worldwide Wi-Fi/Satellite that is available almost anywhere, with the cost of the infrastructure underwritten by governments rather than profit-seeking entities.

It's a nice dream, and he might even live long enough to see it happen. I live in the downtown area of my town, and we have a zone here where Wi-Fi is indeed pervasive. It's handy, but I don't think you'll find it outside the big cities and downtown zones for a very long time.

pigoo3 said:

Heck some/many of us know how a 10meg (that's right...megabyte) hard drive back in the 80's cost $500 bucks. And a 15" LCD flat panel display back around 1998 cost $1999...so who knows.

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Absolutely. It wasn't all that long ago when EDGE networks were the norm and mobile devices were really designed to do no more than email and telephony. Look where we are now. For now though, as we've both noted, we don't have the infrastructure (technical and economic) for this to be widely feasible (both technically and economically).