Well, I've spent all day (since about 5 am this morning) trying to hook up the cell phone tether internet service. The problem is that, while I'm not totally ignorant of things electronic, I'm not exactly a whiz either. So, since 1) we don't have stacks of cash lying around 2) I'm already in trouble for switching our cell phone service before the contract ended (I was told the contract had expired) and 3) the new phones and cell plan are more costly than our old plan, I decided to buy the cable and the cell phone drivers on e-Bay and do a DUN (dial up network) connection. The difference in price of the two was pretty hefty - $70+ for the data kit (data cable & installation cd) as opposed to slightly under $11 for the data cable and drivers. You can see why I wanted to try to do it myself especially since there were some pretty clear cut instructions to be found on the internet!
Now, I'm good at following instructions and the steps outlined seemed really simple and they were. The only drawback is that whoever writes these things assumes you know as much as they do & I didn't!
So, by about 1:30 this afternoon, I finally got the drivers properly installed and figured the set-up would be a breeze since I've set up a DUN a few times. It was a breeze, simple as pie, but the danged thing still doesn't work!
So, I'm back to square one, taking a break to clear my mind & surfing on my old, slow dial up account!
Here's the question: Is it more cost-effective to take the easy way even if it costs way more or is it really saving money to struggle with the cheaper method??!!!!! I really want to be surfing on the tether and wish I'd bought the data kit. On the other hand, I'm rather enjoying pitting my brain against modern technology and I do feel that I'm learning something here.
Of course, it might be that I'm learning that it's best to just pay the money and get 'er done!
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About Me
- Jan
- I'm an artist living in the middle of the boonies but usually enjoying every minute of it. Living in the country means no cable or super fast internet connection and certainly no brick and mortar art stores within easy reach. But it also means that we have an abundance of wildlife right outside our door as well as beautiful landscape vistas just about anywhere we look. That's well worth the lack of modern conveniences to me.
2 comments:
You are soooo funny!! Yes, there are times that it PAYS to PAY! I'm sure you can now set MINE up when the time comes so perhaps that education you have received by going the FRED route will pay off in the long run. Often times, any 'savings' we try lead to much more expense:)
Yep, I'll bet I could! lol But, you'll be able to do it quickly and easily since I'm sure you have Bluetooth.
Actually, in this case, except for my time, I did save & saved quite a bit.
The problems occurred because the cd that came with the eBay data kit had instructions for installing the drivers buried under tons of wallpaper and ringtones that I wasn't interested in. After I got the drivers installed, the DUN was actually simple. I had problems because I overlooked a # sign that I didn't think was part of the setup!
Anyway, if I had to do it again, I'll bet I could do it in 15 minutes or less! lol I just took the long route because of the learning experience! hee hee
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