Today I have to rant about how bad internet options are out where we live. Currently our internet connection is from an AT&T LaptopConnect card. Specifically it’s a Sierra Wireless 875U (USB wireless modem).

The connection from this card is so-so… The speed is better than a 56K dial up modem but not by much. A lot of the time I actually think the modem would be faster. The reliability of this card or AT&T service, not sure which stinks! It drops connections a lot and the speed goes from slow to worse all of the time.

Usability within different OS’s is interesting. Currently the card is connected to a Linux box acting as a DHCP server and Internet facing router for my home network. The card works fine under Linux using native kernel drivers. The configuration is as simple as any other modem and the ppp connection just works. The card works just as well under Windows XP which is what my work laptop runs. But the funny thing as with most things is that it doesn’t work at all under Windows Vista. Others have reported that it works but nothing I have done will get the card to work under Vista. The software installs, the drivers load everything looks like it should work. I hit the connect button and it says it’s connected but there’s absolutely NO data traffic. I sniff the connection and there isn’t anything come or going through the connection. Oh well the Linux box can continue running as a router for now.

I did buy a modem the other day but it wouldn’t even power on so I returned it. I may get another one and set it up as a backup just to have when AT&T decides not to work.

Everyone asks what about cable or DSL? Well it’s just not available out here yet. So I’ve looked into Satelite but that is so expensive just to get setup with the upfront purchase of the equipment and such. Plus they have Fair Access Policies (FAP) which means you only get a certain amount of bandwidth per day or with some per month. So for me it may or may not be useful since I do a lot on the internet. I know for sure I couldn’t actually download much of anything certainly not a Linux ISO that would blow the FAP immediately.

Yes, I’ve thought of getting a T1 to the house, but at $500 a month I can’t quite justify that. Not yet anyways and no my work won’t pay for it, I tried that as well

Sprint has their EV-DO service half a mile from my house… which really sucks! That would be great to have at this point. I’ve did sign up and buy an adapter to see if I could get it but the signal just didn’t reach me. I’ve thought about trying again and buying a booster and antenna to try and see if that works, but then again that’s several hundred dollars for a boost and antenna just to see if something works and if it doesn’t the hassle of returning everything if they will take it back.

So in the meantime I live in internet purgatory….

It’s been a long time in between updates. Here’s somewhat of a status of what’s been going on.

Got tractor… it’s helped a lot in clearing out the soon to be garden area. The area is clear and mostly clean and we are beginning to plant.

Corn has been planted

Giant Pumpkins have been planted

The chickens have gotten larger and their house is 99% complete. I still need to add nesting boxes and put a hinged cover over one of the windows to get access to the nesting boxes. Will be done soon but the chickens aren’t yet laying and won’t for a few months.

On the same subject of the chickens Erin has decided to try the “free ranging” method and now for two days the chickens have been running free. They are enjoying it eating up the greens and the bugs.