North Carolina: Internet With Conditions

Tweet I have to be mindful of my internet usage.

I have few options, one of which is satellite-delivered internet. It's ok if you are checking your email and doing a bit of surfing, using twitter or writing a blog. Skype doesn't work at all.  Downloading movies and music are also a no-no -- simply because of the limits on download usage.

In the woods with my laptop.

In addition to the satellite internet, I use a not-very-stable data flash-key that delivers internet via a mobile phone provider.  I plug into the USB port on my laptop and sometimes it works, but most times it doesn't.  However, if I climb to the top of the mountain behind the house (great exercise) -- the flash-key works really well -- although the speed is so-so.  Still, I grabbed my laptop, stuck it in my backpack and hiked up through the woods to give it a try.  I was curious to see if I would be able to download a movie.

I sat down on the high ground -- with five bars on my flash-key and gave it a whirl. 

The result:  a 90 minute movie would have taken about ten hours to download. 

If only there were electrical outlets deep in the forest!