Info On "mobile Technology"

[*Ant*]

My other half works for the NHS, basically most of her working time is spent night sitting at terminally ill patients own homes.

 

Now what she is after is information about mobile technology laptops for use when she is at work. I'm no help so thought i'd seek some info for her here.

 

Can she get on-line somehow without using a telephone socket at her patients homes? I've heard of Centrino (sp) processors but don't know exactly how they work and what they allow in terms of "mobile".

 

Any help very much appreciated.

[jimpy0]

dont quote me but i think bluetooth is the way to go

[Newt]

Anthony - she can certainly do what you are asking about but you will need some gadgetry in most cases. I may be corrected on some of this since I don't use the technology and may be out of date but ....

 

She will need a PC with a wireless network card - and for her needs, a laptop is the only thing that makes sense. You can get small, handheld devices that combine phone & display but for extended surfing the net, they aren't a lot of fun.

 

Unless the client happens to have a wireless access point at home and is willing to share bandwidth (or a close neighbor has an unprotected system so she could silently use their bandwidth) she will need a way to connect. The usual method is to have a setup so her laptop can use her cell phone to dial the internet connection.

 

Bluetooth is good but is mainly standards for letting your personal handheld devices connect with each other. It has simplified the laptop->cell phone->internet piece as standards always do.

 

Centrino processors are simply CPU chips that are optimized for use in portable devices so low heat output and low power requirements. They act like the CPU (brain) of your home PC and have nothing directly to do with mobile internet connections other than making it possible to create some nifty small portable devices.

[Steve Walker]

She wants something like this:

 

http://online.vodafone.co.uk/dispatch/Port...&pageID=BS_0112

 

It's a card which plugs into more or less any laptop and allows access to the Internet via the mobile phone network.

 

It is surprisingly expensive to use, mind.

[*Ant*]

Thanking you all.

[corydoras]

...(or a close neighbor has an unprotected system so she could silently use their bandwidth) ...

Be careful Newt, such behaviour is regarded as criminal in the UK. See here for details.

[Newt]

My suggestion was tongue-in-cheek but I'm glad to see that particular law in place and being enforced. Good idea to post the warning here too.

[melpen]

I find the G3 service limited, as i travel all over the UK, i am finding around big cities you are ok, but if you live anywhere outside, signal strength is down, But G3 is on the increase very rapidly.

[Scopex]

Centrino processors are simply CPU chips that are optimized for use in portable devices so low heat output and low power requirements. They act like the CPU (brain) of your home PC and have nothing directly to do with mobile internet connections other than making it possible to create some nifty small portable devices.

 

Not quite, the Centrino range have Pentium M processors with intergrated Intel wireless (Wi-Fi) capability but hey, I prefer AMD anyway!

[UK-Fishing-Tackle.co.uk]

Agreed, Centrino is just a brand name encompassing various things such as the motherboard chipset and the Pentium M processor - it's advertised like it is the CPU that does everything - but Centrino is the motherboard as well.

 

Mobile phone / gsm card technology would appear to be the best solution, I suspect it is unlikely to affect any equipment you may be using but would be worth checking (Hospitals readily admit now it is highly unlikely for a phone to affect anything they currently use - one of the biggest reasons for banning them is because third party companies provide incoming premium rate telephony services to most hospitals now!).