Accessing this site via remote laptop access

Can anyone help (afraid I am a bit of a tech dinosor). My desktop pc is quite old now (about 6 years) and it's time to upgrade. I have been lead to believe that laptops these days are almost as good as desktops, so as occassionally I find myself going away for weekends etc I thought why not get a lpatop with remote internet access (3g datacard). Apparantly the monthly cost depends upon the amount of MB you download. Does anyone know how much data is being used to access this site and play? furthermore is it a one-off access data download or does it mount up by either/and accessing different pages and length of time on a particular page?

The site admins can give you better measurements, but overall, this site is very light when it comes to data downloads: about the biggest things are the forum avatars or player profile pictures. In terms of MB: very few if any.

On the subject of laptop vs. desktop, I think it has now become a question of what do you want to do: laptops are good enough for almost anyone who uses a PC: very few need the full power of a desktop. But desktops are much cheeper. There is also the small issue that desktops are easier to upgrade: again, if you are not a 'power user', you will find that by the time you feel like upgrading, the tech will have moved so far that it has become cheeper to buy the whole thing again.

So if you can afford one: go for the laptop. They take up less room in the house too. Or a silent PC media centre if your a gadget boy like me! 🙂

Originally posted by Toe
The site admins can give you better measurements, but overall, this site is very light when it comes to data downloads: about the biggest things are the forum avatars or player profile pictures. In terms of MB: very few if any.

On the subject of laptop vs. desktop, I think it has now become a question of what do you want to do: laptops are good enough for al ...[text shortened]... take up less room in the house too. Or a silent PC media centre if your a gadget boy like me! 🙂

Thanks I really appreciate that, it's so hard to walk into a store and get objective advice from a salesperson. Although I don't go away for that much per year it would be nice to have completely remote mobile internet access. The data deals that I have seen are for monthly costs for data downloads:

Low £11.75 5MB £2.35 for each additional MB
Medium £23.50 25MB £1.76 for each additional MB
High £53.00 150MB £0.88 for each additional MB
Power £99.99 500MB £0.59 for each additional MB

If there was a pay as you go system (without the monthly charge) that would be better (there may very well be?do you know if there is one?) as then I would keep my broadband connection at home and only use the 3G data card as a secondary account for access whilst away from home.

Sorry I'm not up on what wireless internet connections are available or what they cost. Hopefully somebody with more info will pass by this thread! Off the top of my head, if you only intend infrequent and low-bandwidth remote access, you might be better just to use a mobile phone to a standard pay-by-use dial up account alongside your laptop: it will be plenty quick enough for RHP. Remember that many hotels, airports and the like have ethernet access ports available so that you can plug your notebook in and get charged by use by them: I expect they will go wireless soon, so if you hve a wireless 602b/g card, then you should be ok there without a personal roaming wireless net account.

But I am making this up from hearsay: wait till you get some better advice before making your mind up!

Originally posted by Toe
Sorry I'm not up on what wireless internet connections are available or what they cost. Hopefully somebody with more info will pass by this thread! Off the top of my head, if you only intend infrequent and low-bandwidth remote access, you migh ...[text shortened]... : wait till you get some better advice before making your mind up!

Thanks I will look into that, it's at times like this (as well as playing a >2000 rated player of course) when I realize how little I know😕

I didn't realize that I could use my mobile in that way, that would work ie keep my existing broadband connection at home and connect using my mobile when going away. Do I need any special items to use my mobile in this way? ie data card or something? or is it simply arranging a pay by use account for my mobile? that would be a very good solution.

Steve,

You can use a mobile GPRS connection. You won't need additional hardware. (modems are integrated in new laptops). You may need a data cable to connect your mobile phone with your laptop. Ask your network provider for that.

Normally, networkproviders charge GPRS per bytes used and not by minutes used (which is always the case for GSM). So make sure you connect via GPRS (You won't have to pay for thinking time on RHP :-). That should be enough for a start. Once you've found out how much traffic you generate you can switch to GPRS-packages. You pay an additional flat rate for that but get much cheaper usage rates. Which pays off for regular data users in most cases.

A 3G card is required for a lot of data traffic which is not the case if you want to use it for RHP only and check your emails (without attachments) sporadically. Using 3G (UMTS) you are also limited to urban areas in most countries.

Finally, in some countries mobile network providers provide WLAN access on airports, hotels, restaurants, etc. You may consider this as an option, too. If you travel across countries be aware of markup fees!

Gotti

Use the following link to find out how GPRS works at vodafone UK:
http://www.vodafone.co.uk/cgi-bin/COUK/portal/ep/browse.do?channelPath=%2FVodafone+Portal%2FGet+more+from+your+mobile%2FInternet+on+the+move%2FInternet+Access&BV_SessionID=@@@@0285021777.1104678450@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccchadddhidhlikcflgcegjdgnfdffn.0

Gotti

edit: still that annoying word too long issue:
http://www.vodafone.co.uk
> Get more from your mobile
> Internet on the move
> Internet Access