My partner's auntie from Scotland arrived in NZ the other day.

She's here until mid March and bought a teeny tiny notebook specifically so that she can check her emails etc comfortably from her couch/table/outside in the sunshine etc. She's no technophobe for a 70-something year old! :lol:

What she didn't count on was the dial-up connection my partner's dad has.

We called Vodafone and it is looking like a horifically expensive exercise getting her connected for such a short period of time (2 1/2 months), starting with $250 for the modem stick and $90 a month because of the short time. I'm currently completely buried up to my eyeballs trying to glean any information on other suppliers, but trying to look at too much at once.... i'm going a little hysterically blind

Does anyone have any other experience with this kind of situation and/or have and ideas on how to bring the price down?

I remember once reading the fine print for Vodem and it came to something ludicrous like $700 per GB over your plan :-?

She could always visit an iCafe, but that would defeat the purpose of being able to check your emails outside

Aside from signing up for contracts on aircards and what not, one of the only things that come to mind is a product like a 3Com 3C886. A router with a built in modem. Not too sure if there's wireless ones.

I've read about converters allowing dial up modems to connect through a serial port, but yet again, not too sure. If so these products are pretty uncommon.

Sadly dial up is being less catered for

Maybe the time for an upgrade to broadband has arrived.

Good luck and keep us posted, might be some cheap way around this you find out that could help some others

Check with various ISPs about getting broadband installed. Perhaps it is time the people in the house where she is staying went to this :lol:

How about the neighbours? Have they got broadband with a wireless link and are they friendly?

I know it isn't the same but a lot of libraries these days offer free wireless, or some other form of internet access. I know ours does as you can't sit and read there anymore cos all the chairs and tables are taken up with young people and their laptops!

Starbucks used to as well but I don't know if they still do.

Telecom offer a month's trial for their broadband I think so that may be worth looking at (check their fine print though).

It's not advised to tap onto an unsecured wireless network either.

Some people know what they're doing and get pretty stroppy :lol:

Check with various ISPs about getting broadband installed. Perhaps it is time the people in the house where she is staying went to this :lol:

How about the neighbours? Have they got broadband with a wireless link and are they friendly?

I know it isn't the same but a lot of libraries these days offer free wireless, or some other form of internet access. I know ours does as you can't sit and read there anymore cos all the chairs and tables are taken up with young people and their laptops!

Starbucks used to as well but I don't know if they still do.

Telecom offer a month's trial for their broadband I think so that may be worth looking at (check their fine print though).

I was just about to say this :lol: some Christchurch libraries offer free wireless- check this out

http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Services/Wireless/

Our library is too poor to offer free wireless

also other places such as McDonalds Sydenham, up by the Movie Theatre at Ricarton Mall... if everyone can keep adding to the list you might get pretty good coverage (be able to stop at the nearest place each day)

Thanks for the replies, I'm still looking into it all but so far it seems the cheapest way so far is to get her a vodem and a prepay sim card.

Main point being she's a 70+ yo lady from Scotland, in NZ without transport, staying in Hornby (outskirts) and wanting to keep in regular contact with her friends and family back there. Much as she wouldn't mind having a nice cup of tea in some wireless hotspot occasionally, every day is a heck of a mission to accomplish :lol:

I tried getting a USB external dial-up modem, so she could just run around the house/yard with a massive extension cord.... but they're hard to find and not as re-sellable as a vodem would be after she goes home. It would be even better if I could find some place that leases vodems to tourists (though given what tourists are typically charged, it'd be cheaper to buy!)

As I said I'm still looking into it, so I'm still welcoming suggestions

Thanks

I know your dilema Jenna.

cheaper way of doing it if she is here for a year is to get landline broadband and then get a wireless adsl router.

I know that telecom are giving them away with their setup, but not too sure about whether it is 12 or 24 month term you sign up for.

This way she can move around the garden without the cords and it would be cheaper than wireless.

If she is not surfing the net much and only doing emails then vodafone offers $1/day for 10mb of data.

Worth a look especially if you have a 3G phone.

Paul

Gotta be careful with those plans though.

That $1 for 10MB is a further $1 per MB over.

A couple of email attachments later, visit a few sites and things start to add up.

Gotta be careful with those plans though.

That $1 for 10MB is a further $1 per MB over.

A couple of email attachments later, visit a few sites and things start to add up.

Not wrong there. That happened to me over xmas.

lucky only a couple mbs over.

As I said. a little surfing and checking emails is fine.

Forget about uploading and downloading stuff :-?

How does anyone survive on 10mb? Glad I'm not on that plan, my bill this month so far would be $37,200.

Not wrong there. That happened to me over xmas.

lucky only a couple mbs over.

As I said. a little surfing and checking emails is fine.

Forget about uploading and downloading stuff :-?

haha yeah, emails and maybe a very little surfing is all she's really interested in.

Anything bigger (including any security downloads first time she connects) can be done at my house over my wireless network, but her day to day stuff shouldn't go over the 10MB mark 8)