HALP, y'all?

[x_los]

Thinking seriously about the logistics of it, for writing stuff and for my own sanity, I really, really don't want to give up the internet for a whole year while off in Israel. I know I said I didn't want to prejudice the experiment, but considering the actual things I want to investigate, Teh Intarwebz...aren't really a variable, so why be a masochist about it? Since some of the kibbutzim are within a not-terrible distance of Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, I'm relatively comfortable asserting that I'll be within range of a cell phone tower. Or that I can finagle my way into one that is.

So: isn't there something one can do with like a cell phone or a wireless modem or something to Make Internet Where there Was None Before?

I mean I'm going to just ask if one of the Super Modern ones /has/ wireless proper, but in case I can't squirm onto that one, I'm /sure/ there's something one can do with a cell, I just dunno what.

Comments

[deborah-judge.livejournal.com]

Israel is a major high-tech producer - high-tech is their major industry (after tourism). They're better wired there than in the US. I am quite sure that a kibbutz will have some form or another of internet access. Whether they'll share it with you, a humble volunteer, is another issue (b/c it might take you away from the life of the community or something), but really just ask.

[x-los.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was more worried about the whole 'humble volunteer, plz to be granting me ur webz' bit. But thanks! V. reassuring! I'll just ask the Kibbutz Application Board people. Say, didn't you live there for a year or two yourself?

[deborah-judge.livejournal.com]

Eleven, actually. ;)

[x-los.livejournal.com]

Oh! Wow! Doing grad work, or just working?

[gothic-hamlet.livejournal.com]

I think Deborah_Judge has the right answer for you, but you might be thinking of a cellular card for your laptop/phone. That would allow you to access the net through a cell phone network, and while the one that I'd tested years back was kinda crappy and would lose connection a lot, apparently the ones that Sprint makes are pretty good.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

I'm not certain how, because I haven't had to try it myself (though I believe it doesn't involve anything much more extensive than the proper cable), but I know it's possible to hook your cell phone up to your laptop and use it as a wireless modem. Even better, if your phone has the EVDO/3g wireless thing going on (most of the models in the last couple of years do), that means that essentially, you have wireless capability anywhere in the world, regardless of hotspots. Anyplace outside of an area wired for broadband, you'd effectively be at dial-up speed, but I wouldn't be surprised if Israel's broadband wireless network is more extensive than ours anyway.

You'll want to check with your cell phone company for policies and procedures on overseas use, and if you're thinking about using your cell phone extensively as a modem, you might want to alter your plan for a higher limit on free data transfer. Otherwise, using your phone as a modem could suddenly get really expensive.

[x-los.livejournal.com]

1) cute icon
2) And yes, that is the sort of thing I was thinking! Thanks! If they lol hard at my request to have some of their apparently bountiful internet, that will totally be the thing to bring, thanks!

[x-los.livejournal.com]

Oh, awesome! Thanks! Piggybacking off their broadband with my own cell for emergencies sounds like the winning combination, tbh.

Mm, yeah, I'm going to have to deal with them /anyway/ re: go-phones for Israel to replace my own, etc, b/c I'm certain I can't just take my existing plan over there and expect stuff to be dandy.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

What company are you with? I know Verizon has international plans in place that you can switch to for situations like this, which I think means you get to keep the phone you have now. I imagine it might be the same for other major carriers.

[x-los.livejournal.com]

Oh now that /would/ be convenient. It's just a Cingular carrier with a nigh-unfuckupable (vital, if you're me, and have lost phones in the California scrub, dropped them down gear shafts, lost them in couches for over a month, etc.) LG phone.

I'll pop into their store and ask them about their plans.