Laptops and Mobiles?

Guys i need to ask if anyone is taking
a laptop,notebook or netbook
to Florida with them can you get broadband out in USA?
As i have a PC at home and it will be tuned off while im away
im unsure what to do? Do i cancel my contract with Tiscali
and get a Netbook pc i have my eye on but whats the best to do for internet
connection?
Also my moblie phone contract is up soon,
what do i do there,
cancel with O2 and get a pay as you go in Florida?
But i want to keep my old number.
Any ideas guys!

 

alright daz, i'm not exactly the best person to ask, but here's what i'd suggest:
- laptop - i'm taking mine with me i think, it all depends if you have one etc, but i'm sure they'd be cheap enough if you wanted to buy one over there (look on walmart.com or something if you want an idea of prices)
- broadband - some internet connection is supplied in the apartments, i assume it'd be broadband
- definately cancel your contract with tiscali, i'm currently paying about £20 a month for that and that is definately one expense you neither want nor need
- with your phone, you may be able to cancel your contract package but keep it on a 'pay as you use basis', which would mean that you could keep your number and then arrange for a new contract to be set up when you come back to the uk. however, best thing is to arrange O2

hope that helps mate

 

you don't pay for any internet here daz, it's already in the apartments.

I brought my laptop out with me, it isn't wireless broadband so you will need an ethernet cables, there are wireless networks available when you have a look for them but none of them are secure so i don't really want to use them, i have once or twice and they're quite slow.

 

heya, im not sure what to do about the computers but im on the same boat with the mobile. I've cancelled my contract with orange (i was at the end of my 18 mnth contract andthey were rubbish anyway) so think im gonna take out a monthly contract, either the simplicity (o2), liberty sim (virgin), or the same idea from t-mobile. you keep your number and its just a month to month contract and can be cancelled at any time. ive had a wee look around and they seem to be the best deals from o2 its something like 150 mins and 600 texts for £15 a month (online only, otherwise if you do it in store you half the number of texts), virgin is 350 mins and 1000 text for £15 a month and t-mobile has something similar (but im not sure what they are like as a network). Hope this helps a little, sorry for the rambling explanation

 

My 18 month orange Contract is up in July thankfully so no issues there. I don't plan to take a phone with me.

I'm taking my laptop with my and hope to mainly use that to keep in contact with everyone at Home. If anyone is without a computer then they're more than welcome to use mine.

 

Remember if you take a monthly contract out
you will not get any money going into youre UK bank account
as you are paid into the Partners Account out there,
so direct debits will have to be cancelled before you go
unless you already have enough money in the UK account
to cover them while youre away!

 

my mum is nice enough to be using my phone and paying the rest of the contract for me!

but yeah, if your not in a contract just buy a cheapy $10 from walmart, mine is a bog standard little samsung phone and it already had $10 credit already on, it does the job.

i definately wouldn't reccomend bringing your own phone out here, the bills would bbe ridiculous.

 

Are you using the phone to call back in the UK? Is it expensive?

 

Nah, i'm using phonecards or email to contact back home.

We have phones in our apartments, they're free to use to ring other apartments and local numbers but you'll need a phonecard to call home. Theres a phonecard called juicycard or something and for around $10 you can ring home for around 8 hours, pretty good value!

 

Ah, awesome that's that sorted for me then

 

Oooh
what an exciting subject

Ive got an ethernet cable
and my orange contract is up
18 months of hell! haha
i hate orange! so its up
and im on an o2 genie thing, top up so much and get so much free texts
Does me just fine, and its not tieing me down with any direct debits aha

When i went to florida couple o' weeks ago
was looking round Wal-mart, they got some pretty standard phones for cheap as chips [love a bit o' david dickinson]
and that will do for me

text and ring
and i was planning on skyping home
or getting a phone card
whichever i can be bothered doing at the time haha

 

I will buy new one before go

Any suggestion between Dell 1310 and MacBook

Dell 1310 Rate at around $970

Intel Core 2 Duo T5670 (2.1 GHz)
2GB - 2 DIMM (DDR2-667) (4GB max)
320GB HDD
Intel Graphic Accelerator X3100
13.3" WXGA Antiglare
Slot-loading 8x DVD +/- RW
VISTA home premium (license)
Window home and student version (license)
webcam 1.3 Mpixel
8 in 1 media card reader
Express slot
network 10/100/1000 mb
Dell True mobile (Bluetooth)
Dell 1505 Wireless-N Mini Card (802.11a/g/n)


MacBook Rate at around $1,000

Intel Core 2 Duo T5670 (2.1 GHz)
1GB - (DDR2)
120GB HDD
Intel Graphic Accelerator X3100
13.3" WXGA Antiglare
Slot-loading DVD +/- RW

 

DEFINITELY MAC!

they don't get viruses AND they never crash OR freeze! they're absolutely amazing! trust me... once u have one, u'll wonder why u ever used PCs!

 

i've had a dell since june and fair play it's been really good so far (*touch wood*), but mac's also seem to be good...i think it depends on what style you prefer and what you need it for

 

I've had my dell for nearly 5 years and it has only started acting up the last couple months. I got a brutal virus in Jan and now I think the power cord is starting to go. I hate macs and I'd gladly get another dell.

As for cell phones. Net10 has a thing for Canadians and Mexicans where you can get a special number to give friends and family. When they use that number you don't have to pay international long distance. I haven't really compared the normal stuff to other phones yet, but I am going to look into seeing if it is cheaper to use calling cards.

 

I have a compaq or something like that
got it for christmas
been amazing so far
still running fast, touch wood no viruses or problems yet
but still its only 3 month old

 

My poor little laptop is on its last legs. I adore it but its been so well used. I really want a little notebook but I might wait and buy one out there. I'd be quite lost without a laptop if I didn't have one.

 

My sister has a Mac and within 3 months of having it, her hard-drive went on her. But I wouldn't say that for all Mac's as my sister cares less about her stuff, and she spent over 2,000 for hers. I have a Toshiba, the only problem I have with it is that it's kinda slow, but I got it on sale for 900, so who cares. I also have a dell desktop, after 2 years the hard drive went in it, but since it was still under warranty they fixed it for free. Thing about Mac's and viruses. There ARE viruses for Mac out there. Last year there was only 4 known, and all through hotmail. Now there are more, after talking with a computer tech, they are becoming more known. If a Mac get's a virus, they are hard to get rid of, and very very deadly (unlike PC's there are extreme, and not so extreme and usually can be cleared up pretty quickly. Good luck with your choice.

 

Mac FTW....

 

i've had Dell PCs in the past... they're amazingly resilient! if anybody should get a PC, definitely get a DELL! those things are indestructible!

but still! Team MAC all the way! 8)