DISQUS

A WWAN card can be integrated in a great number of the currently available netbooks or notebooks. In fact Dave, you could actually take the "guts" out of one of these modems and put in in your computer but there's an inherent problem, at least for me and my computer usage. As soon as you put an EV-DO or HSDPA module in the device, you've tied the 3G service to that device. I use 2 to 4 notebooks per day, depending on what I'm doing or where I'm going, so the USB method meets my needs for all the devices. One question: why aren't you inserting the device directly into the Eee PC, i.e.: why are you using a short cable with it?

John, I agree with you that the Cradlepoint products are nifty gadgets. But isn't the main purpose of it to turn your 3G connection into a shareable WiFi connection? What are the other main functions? If there aren't any, it doesn't matter if "broadcasting" the connection is optional or mandatory. If you want to share your connection, the Cradlepoint is great! If you don't (and I'm gathering that Dave doesn't, based on his above comment) then it's nothing more to him than a nifty gadget. ;)

Choosing between the U727 and 597 might be a matter of personal preference at this point. The 597 does indeed look a little shorter (and therefore protrudes less from the host device), but also looks a little wider. The U727 has a built-in, flip-up antenna, which I like. Having the installation software on the 597 is nice, but not a very useful feature to me personally. You could always keep the software on a microSD card and keep it in the slot of the 727 to achieve the same function. ;)

Dave, one requirement you didn't mention is budget. I suspect you're trying to keep the price down low, but to me it would be worth spending the extra $ to get the Novatel U727. I have the Verizon version of this and it's the smallest EV-DO modem I've ever used. It also has a microSD card reader and a GPS receiver. Verizon disables the GPS, but Sprint doesn't. The U720 does have GPS, but loses the card reader and is a little bigger. For me, a smaller modem card is less obtrusive, but of course it's a personal decision.

Why get the Cradlepoint at all? I realize it's a nice piece of hardware but the sole purpose of that is to share your EV-DO connection with others, essentially turning you into a 3G WiFi hotspot. You can share internet connections on Mac and PCs with software in the OS in a pinch. Unless you plan to share your 3G connection on a regular basis, I don't see the point of buying hardware you won't use that often.

Sadly, it's not just "new iPhone subscribers". Current customers / subscribers are in the same boat, which makes it even worse IMO. Thrilled that I upgraded my first-gen iPhone to firmware 2.0 yesterday morning at this point! :)

Completely agree; the web app is fine by itself. Two related thoughts. Windows users can use Prism from Mozilla to get similar funtionality to Fluid. Also: I use the the FriendFeed Google Gadget. Using that with FireFox, I can run FF on my browser sidebar all day. The gadget auto refreshes, which is key.

The lack of cut and paste is a pain, but it's pretty simple work around for now. Just create a contact with the e-mail address: call it ffpix or something meaningful.

Gotcha. Thanks for the explanation. Conceptually I get what you're saying now, but in reality, I'm not sure it applies. Windows Activation is meant to thwart software piracy. If I buy the software out of pocket, why wouldn't I activate it and if I don't, I don't have any additional expense. If I buy the iPhone out of pocket but don't activate it, I *DO* have to pay an additional expense. Not quite the same because these are two different product markets, but again, I see what you meant. ;)

I don't understand the "page from the Microsoft playbook" reference. Can you elaborate? Thanks!

The $199 and $299 prices are UN-subsidized. However, I just listened to the AT&T Investor Call on this topic and it sheds some light on the topic. Apple and AT&T have restructured the original revenue sharing deal. Going forward with the 3G iPhone, AT&T is retaining all voice and data revenues. That traditional method will allow them to subsidize the iPhone even further. http://www.jkontherun.com/2008/06/heres-why-you...

Sweet and glad you could join me! You and I probably have very similar computing needs because I spend most of my time writing blog posts and freelance articles. I immediately recognized the challenge for image editing and see you use (as I used to) MS Paint for basics. My first order of business was to attack that... I've got a web-based option now. More to follow on that as well my entertainment needs as I chronicle the experience! :)

Paul, the tweak I wrote about isn't perfect by any means, but it's a global hack. Meaning: you do it once for the browser and it should allow all of your extensions to be installed, i.e.: it's the same effort whether you use one or one hundred extensions. I agree with the central problem regarding extension compatibility, but that's up to each extension developer, not Mozilla. Just wanted to clarify on those points.

If a function can be had only by paying for an extension, I'd be willing, but it would have to be an extension I simply couldn't live without. There's the value / cost issue as well.

Regardless: your extension *may* well work with FF3 RCx, but the browser is built by design to not allow older, incompatible extensions to be installed. Consider a quick tweak to get around this and test: http://www.jkontherun.com/2008/06/how-to-force-...

Happy Birthday Judie! :)

It just hit me that what I was doing while talking could have had something to do with the call quality. I was downloading a very large file at the time... hard to say if that impacted the service quality.

I saw a contractor running fiber in front of our development just yesterday! w00t! Now the question is: how long between that and the actual availability?

Dave, WiMAX here in the U.S. isn't officially rolled out yet. Sprint has test areas in Chicago, Baltimore and D.C., if I recall. I attended the Sprint press event at CES this year and details were sketchy in terms of rollout, coverage and price. The expectation was that a rollout would start by this month, but like any wireless technology, it will take several years for the infrastructure to rollout to a large, national footprint. (Think of the 3G rollout, for example... it's still going on in some areas). The cost should be less than current 3G; my own guess is $40 to $50 for unlimited monthly service. There will be day-passes and other deals as well. Regardless, this type of service is a few years away from nationwide coverage.

I didn't propose on Twitter, but I did tweet that I was about to ask her and then tweeted her response. :) This was a year ago.

http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkontherun/2007/03/...

I've already dug up my receipt if needed. Supposedly, they'll be shipping them automatically, but if you don't receive one by May, you'll need to call.

Happy Birthday! Barb & I were supposed to join you folks this weekend, but couldn't find a sitter. Probably a good thing; I might have grabbed the Slacker player for myself when you weren't looking! ;)

I'm right there with you. I have my HD-DVD player for the Xbox 360 and it's unlikely I'll purchase any more titles for it, diminishing availability aside. For now, I'll use it as an upscaling DVD player and I'll continue to rent HD titles from Xbox Live. Don't think I'll invest in BR hardware for quite some time as the whole war has left a bitter taste in my mouth... and my wallet. ;)

I picked up a $5 adapter that's about 4-inches long. It does the trick with my Shure 210s but I think I would have preferred a solid headset with a mic. Gives another option. For $50, you can buy a long adapter from Shure that uses your old 'phones and adds a mic. Check the Shure site to see that option. If you don't need a mic, a small, cheap adapter (<$10) will work just fine. Oh, and stop resisting the lure of the iPhone... ;)

Best wishes and thanks for sharing the insights, Robert. I left my 15-year IT career last May to write, blog and create video content full time. Your thoughts echo many of the considerations required for a start-up... even on a smaller scale. Looking forward to seeing what you & your team produce!

Love the PC Mag video review Mr. Satz. ;) Seriously, you showed the product well. Thanks for the booth tour also; looks like 2008 will be an exciting year for SlingBox owners! :)

Hi Daniel. I saw mention of my name & quote; wanted to clarify that I'm not associated with, nor affiliated with Verizon in any way shape or form. The quote you picked up on was from my original blog post and used by Read/WriteWeb.