Other Options & a Reply to Misty
You can also get a Pocket PC (or Palm or other PDA) and connect to the internet either via Wi-Fi (wireless Ethernet) (you would need a wi-fi card for the Pocket PC) - but would need a "hotspot" to do so (many airports have wi-fi hotspots, and many coffee houses are installing them, including Starbucks) - fairly decent transfer rates for wireless. Or in the absence of a wi-fi hotspot, you can connect the Pocket PC to your cell phone (with the proper cable) and would need an IPS that you could dial into (this is a bit slow, so I wouldn't want to do any serious web surfing that way, but it's ok to just look something up quick)
I do this all the time for work. I'm a network engineer with dozens of servers that one week a month I'm on call to support. There's nothing more annoying than being out with friends, getting a page, and having to spend an hour plus for a round trip to a computer terminal just to issue to or three commands that only take ½ minute to do. A Pocket PC (with the proper software & encryption tools) solved that issue for me; it can do the same for your “I need a review now” issue...
Mystique>Misty said:
Just a thought here all .....for those of us that are concerned about privacy Im wondering how private this would be ...?? Im
not a rocket scientist but it seems to me that it would not be as private as some of us might need . For instance what if your wife or girlfriend were to get a hold of your cell phone and somehow they accessed your account only to reveal your secret life >>?? Im from the States and my cell carrier keeps track off all outgoing and incoming calls to my cell phone even if its out of the country or State . I guess my concern in having access to blackberry would be that you gents make sure you always know where your phone is so that it does not get in the wrong hands . Sorry to be devils advocate here but someone needed to address this . Happy and safe hobbying to all ..>>> Misty
Not that I have to worry about such issues since I am 100% single at the moment – and I only participate in the hobby when not actively seeing someone. Nonetheless, with proper security measures, the things you describe can be avoided. For example, with a PDA (or BlackBerry device as applicable) you'd want to use proper password protection, encryption, and clean-up of the browser’s cache after surfing, etc (just as you would want to do with your home PC so no one can reveal your surfing habits). The thing you'd have to be careful with the most… is your cell phone bill since it usually details every call made; but many providers (at least in the US) offer a no-detail billing option; with this option, all your bill says is you had x minutes and owe us so much. Shy of a court order, your partner would not be able to access who you called. (Of course you'd want to delete out any numbers from the "last 10 numbers dialed" list on your phone itself so if they got a hold of the physical phone itself, you’d be covered…or… Many cell phones can be set up with password protection, so the only number that can be dialed without a password is 911 (since by law (in the US at least) all cell phones must be able to dial 911 - even if not currently linked to an account). Most of these phone don’t allow access to the phone log of phone directory with out the password. This is a good option to
always have on so if your phone is stolen or lost, someone doesn’t call Brazil on your dime. Or your "friend" while at your house can't pick up your cell and call Timbucktoo at $10.00 a second.
The bottom line, if you take precautions and are constantly thinking security and privacy, you can remain "protected". The problem is most people don't think about such issues until its too late...
