5 ms·

Satellite internet is probably the way to go if you want reliable coverage. Though WiFi/3G might be cheaper, it's also much more unreliable. http://www.groundc

by kylec 17y ago

Satellite internet is probably the way to go if you want reliable coverage. Though WiFi/3G might be cheaper, it's also much more unreliable. http://www.groundcontrol.com/RV-Internet.htm http://www.groundcontrol.com/RV-Internet.htm

SwellJoe 17y ago
I don't have four+ grand just sitting around to get started with satellite Internet. I spent nearly every penny to my name in order to buy the RV. I was unable to get a loan (banks hate startup founders with spotty income history; even with a mid-700s credit score and up to 40% down, no bank was interested in lending me money), so I had to pay cash and buy an older/smaller coach. I have suspected for a little while now that most the US has good enough WiFi availability that I'll be able to get by without satellite. And, when I have 3G, my phone is an acceptable source of connectivity.
- kylec 17y ago
  It's something to keep in mind though when/if you do get the money. The thought of parking an RV in the middle of Yellowstone miles away from any people or cell towers and hacking away is, I must say, very appealing. One of these days...
  - aaronblohowiak 17y ago
    you dont need internet to hack.
    - davidw 17y ago
      It's such a part of my workflow that I think I at least would be crippled without it. Hack hack hack...hrm... need docs, go fetch them... hack hack hack ... need some source code ... fetch it ... hack hack hack ... need some examples or to talk to someone on irc ... hack hack hack.
    - sailormoon 17y ago
      To be honest, I do. I am constantly referring to online notes, docs, manuals, blog posts, and every other source of information you could name. I make at least 3 or 4 programming-related searches an hour, I reckon. While I will readily admit I am probably one of the more clueless programmers here, I doubt I'm alone in this...
      - dagw 17y ago
        I imagine with a bit of planning of what I'll be working on I could probably download the vast majority of docs and manuals I need in advance. Sure it wouldn't be 100% coverage, but good enough to keep me hacking. Then every time I completely hit a wall I'd make a note of what I need and move on to some other part of my project. Next time I have internet I'll look up everything on my list and repeat.
        joss82 17y ago
        I was thinking of doing that. But does it work in real life conditions? One advantage would be that I won't be tempted to compulsively browse HN and other news web sites.
        aaronblohowiak 17y ago
        Yes, it does. It will slow you down by a bunch at first. Then, you will learn to keep local copies of documentation and how to access them. Then, you will get to know your debugging tools better. Eventually, you will become more self-reliant. Remember, people used to program on displays that showed one line at a time.. and there was no google to query for answers.
        dagw 17y ago
        I've never actually tried it (other than sporadically on planes and similar), but thinking about it it sounds like an interesting idea. I know I have tendency to start idly browsing when I go to check up some programming thing on the web. Perhaps I'll try unplugging my network cable for a few hours a day, just to see what it does to my productivity.
- darien 17y ago
  next time try www.lendingclub.com (This is not a plug, but an honest suggestion)
lsc 17y ago
huh. I thought latency on satellite was pretty bad.
shpxnvz 17y ago
When I moved out to the farmland with no cable or DSL service I tried satellite. I found it next to useless due to the latency, incredibly slow uplink and spotty connectivity (it may just be HughesNet, but that thing was down for something like two hours a day at random times). I switched to a Sprint 3G card and have been comparatively happy for three years. The data cap is worrisome, the latency isn't great and neither is the throughput, but it's a vast improvement over satellite, especially in reliability.

by kylec 17y ago

SwellJoe 17y ago

I don't have four+ grand just sitting around to get started with satellite Internet. I spent nearly every penny to my name in order to buy the RV. I was unable to get a loan (banks hate startup founders with spotty income history; even with a mid-700s credit score and up to 40% down, no bank was interested in lending me money), so I had to pay cash and buy an older/smaller coach. I have suspected for a little while now that most the US has good enough WiFi availability that I'll be able to get by without satellite. And, when I have 3G, my phone is an acceptable source of connectivity.

kylec 17y ago
It's something to keep in mind though when/if you do get the money. The thought of parking an RV in the middle of Yellowstone miles away from any people or cell towers and hacking away is, I must say, very appealing. One of these days...
- aaronblohowiak 17y ago
  you dont need internet to hack.
  - davidw 17y ago
    It's such a part of my workflow that I think I at least would be crippled without it. Hack hack hack...hrm... need docs, go fetch them... hack hack hack ... need some source code ... fetch it ... hack hack hack ... need some examples or to talk to someone on irc ... hack hack hack.
  - sailormoon 17y ago
    To be honest, I do. I am constantly referring to online notes, docs, manuals, blog posts, and every other source of information you could name. I make at least 3 or 4 programming-related searches an hour, I reckon. While I will readily admit I am probably one of the more clueless programmers here, I doubt I'm alone in this...
    - dagw 17y ago
      I imagine with a bit of planning of what I'll be working on I could probably download the vast majority of docs and manuals I need in advance. Sure it wouldn't be 100% coverage, but good enough to keep me hacking. Then every time I completely hit a wall I'd make a note of what I need and move on to some other part of my project. Next time I have internet I'll look up everything on my list and repeat.
      - joss82 17y ago
        I was thinking of doing that. But does it work in real life conditions? One advantage would be that I won't be tempted to compulsively browse HN and other news web sites.
        aaronblohowiak 17y ago
        Yes, it does. It will slow you down by a bunch at first. Then, you will learn to keep local copies of documentation and how to access them. Then, you will get to know your debugging tools better. Eventually, you will become more self-reliant. Remember, people used to program on displays that showed one line at a time.. and there was no google to query for answers.
        dagw 17y ago
        I've never actually tried it (other than sporadically on planes and similar), but thinking about it it sounds like an interesting idea. I know I have tendency to start idly browsing when I go to check up some programming thing on the web. Perhaps I'll try unplugging my network cable for a few hours a day, just to see what it does to my productivity.
darien 17y ago
next time try www.lendingclub.com (This is not a plug, but an honest suggestion)

lsc 17y ago

huh. I thought latency on satellite was pretty bad.

shpxnvz 17y ago

When I moved out to the farmland with no cable or DSL service I tried satellite. I found it next to useless due to the latency, incredibly slow uplink and spotty connectivity (it may just be HughesNet, but that thing was down for something like two hours a day at random times). I switched to a Sprint 3G card and have been comparatively happy for three years. The data cap is worrisome, the latency isn't great and neither is the throughput, but it's a vast improvement over satellite, especially in reliability.