[badshot]

Hi, I'm not a technophobe nor a tech geek and have been using computers since 1985 and my profession since 1966 has been electronics installation, maintenance, and repair. My desk top system is roughly 10 years old. It uses an Athlon Acceleron processor running at 0.9 gig, the OS is XP Home Edition. My desktop is equipped with four USB 2.0 ports, a 3.5 "A" drive, and a 250 Meg zip drive. Most of my usage is for Internet and email access but I also dabble with genealogy, photoshop, and most MS Office products. I built my house in the 23438 zip code area which is located in rural Suffolk, VA less than 1/4 mile north of the North Carolina border. Internet access is strictly via land-line dial-up using Norfolk and/or Virginia Beach exchanges. Being far from those exchanges and close to the end of the line means the download speed is painfully slow.

My 56K modem bit the bullet last night so this seems to be a good time to research speedier options. Hughes Net offers satellite connectivity but the cost is exorbitant. I turned 61 in August and plan to retire at 62.5 if the economy will permit me that luxury so I'm searching for low cost alternatives. I use my company provided laptop on business trips. One of my coworkers has an "air card" which I have borrowed on occasion and this seems like a good solution to my Internet download speed problem.

I've done some checking around the web for a desktop compatible air card to no avail. Are adapters available to mate an air card to a desktop? Perhaps something that would plug into the USB? Your recommendations are eagerly awaited.

Thanks for your help.

[helpmerick]

Hello. Let's hope you can retire in 18 months or so!!

All the new air cards from cell phone companies are USB. Your friend must have had an older one. The costs are less than satellite and FASTER than satellite too. So, you should have the best of both worlds.

The other type of high speed to be on the look out for is microwave wireless. It's a line of sight wireless technology that is often deployed in rural areas by local Internet providers.

Good luck.