Dingle, Dangle, Dongle

I bought a 1 GB dongle from Telstra for this family trip.  It cost $29.  I haven’t used one before so was not sure how long 1GB would last.  I knew that downloading photos and videos would be out, but thought it should easily cope with me updating my blog, checking emails, twitter and facebook.  The boys were also checking their skype.

The 1 GB didn’t even last the week.  Four days, I think, which is extremely disappointing.  We used it conservatively, only turning it on once a day for less than half an hour.  With no metering I had no idea how much we were using, so didn’t get any warning that we were about to run dry.

Even though I ran out of data, I can still access the Telstra website, using the wifi on the dongle.  So I checked out just how much it would cost to top up my data.  The prices were outrageous!  I can’t believe that people actually pay that much for data on their smart phones, particularly if it gets sucked up as quickly as mine did.  Steve tells me his work phone has a 1GB plan and he seems to be able to use the internet and his email at will.  But again with no visual metering he has no idea how much he is actually using.

To put another 1GB on my dongle I will have to pay $40.  With no way of determining how much data I am using it is akin to pouring my money down a black hole.  $40 for a couple of days on internet access? No thank you.

I have an Optus mobile phone and often when I recharge it, Optus throw me 1GB of data for free.  1GB of data is almost impossible to use up on my phone as it is one of those cheap but cheerful older ones with a tiny screen.  Yes, technically it can access the internet, but it makes navigating the website extremely painful as you have to scroll around, only being able to see small snippets at a time.

When I go home and have access to our NBN wireless broadband I will search around and see if there is a better deal somewhere.  If there is not I will consign this little experiment to the dust bin of history until the teleco companies get their act together and start charging a reasonable amount, instead of ripping all of their customers off blind.

Internet Switch

I want something like this centrally located in my house so that I can, with great bravado, threaten the kids that I am going to switch off the internet.  This is my fantasy, that when I say "dinner is ready and it's time to get off the computer/laptop/other device, I mean now!  Don't make me have to use the switch."

I'd have the modem wired through it and then have it located in a nice visible area where I can make a big show of going over to the switch. Then I could put my hand on it and threaten, "I'm gonna do it".
I could then drag out the action of wrenching the switch from the on to the off position.

I would also like to imagine, the sounds of whirring industry slowly winding down, as all the devices and computers grind to a halt.  Silence would descend for a split second before the indignant voices of protest rise up to complain about the unfairness of it all.  I could stand there smugly saying "I warned you".

Ahhh to be never ignored again when I tell the kids to come to dinner, go to bed, have a shower..... or whatever other requests I may make of them that would require them to physically extract themselves from the magnetic pull of their chosen technology.

Someone should market this idea and give me a chance to live out my dream.  Imagine a ceremonial shutting down of the wifi at bedtime, it would give me such pleasure.  I know I can achieve the same ends with the itty bitty button on the back of the modem, but somehow it lacks the drama and theatre that the big wall mounted switch would have.