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Students and Mobile Web Access:
Today, I was very happy to attend highschool again. You may ask,
"what is a silly old fool like the Gaffer going to do in
a highschool?" The simple fact is, I was invited to chat
with a computer class about our book, The Anatomy of a PC. This
was at Fenton Highschool in Fenton, MI. I throughly enjoyed the
visit. The young men and women were outstanding, as was their
instructor.
I think that is an essential combination. Most students want to be outstanding. If they have the support of an outstanding instructor, they will quickly respond with outstanding performance.
There was a very nice exchange. I was pleased to discover that the students were quite interested in the Wesoomi publishing experience. I told them the brutal truth. We did not intend it that way, but Wesoomi Publishing is a nonprofit enterprise. I believe I also made it clear that financial success is not our driving motive.
I do not remember the exact question, but one nice young woman inquired about my feelings on new technology. As I responded I remembered that I had promised to follow up on my cellphone modem experience. I told the students about that and again promised this essay. So, here it is.
Recently, I posted an essay which I titled Notebook Laptop. It is still in my archive if you wish to read it. In that, I said I had bought what was called a modem cellphone. The theory was that I could then use my notebook computer to log onto the internet without the need of a land line. Recently, I had time to test that theory.
I connected the cellphone to my notebook serial port with the cable which came with the modem software. With some trepidation I then installed the software for the device. That went so smoothly that I was shocked. It was an unusual experience for me with software.
Then I gathered up the notebook and the cellphone and went out to my front deck. Guess what? The darn thing worked as advertised. I was a bit stunned when I was able to log on to my ISP using the wireless connection. I looked at our website and I surfed the web. I also used WS_FTP to access and update the website. All of that with no land line connection.
Real Cool!
Now I can go anywhere in the USA and access the Wesoomi website. I have coast to coast cellphone service so any number I dial is toll free. I am no longer chained to a desktop computer for the weekly updates of our columns. Mrs. Gaffer is happy, because we can travel again. Some things were a bit slow. I logged on at 14.4 KB, but heck, I've had days when my 56K modem was not any faster.
Now here is the stuff you want to know. The notebook I used is a Dell Inspiron 8000. I am absolutely convinced that the make and model of the notebook is not important. Any one would do, but, for the record, that is what I used.
The cellphone is important. It must be a cellphone with a built in modem. It must also have a connecting cable and the correct software drivers for the modem. None of this is cheap. The cost of the phone with the connecting cable and software was a bit over $300.00.
I purchase the phone from Verizon Wireless at the same time that I bought my service contract. It is a Kyocera QCP 2035 phone. Don't ask. I never heard of it either, but Verizon said they stand behind it. I don't know how far behind. I did not ask. I do know that it has many features which I will never use. Seriously now, of what practical use is a text message on a 1&1/4 inch screen which must be entered with a finger no larger that a 3 year old's? And, who in the world needs to check the stock market every few minutes? Not I! But, I do want to do the website even if I leave town.
Are there other phones which would work? I am sure there are. Perhaps some of them are even less expensive. I simply bought what was offered by Verizon and I'm very pleased with the outcome.
Thank you students of Fenton High!
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