MissMeliss: Escribition

I’m still loving my mobile router from Powerful Signal, so much so that I’ve done a video review about it. It uses images from trips to SoDak, where I’d have given my eye teeth and Zorro’s too if I’d had one then. As it was, I still have nightmares about the ‘net withdrawl I went through on that trip.

Here’s why I’m so tickled that I got to receive one of these cellular routers to play with:

1. It’s compact. About the size of an answering machine.
2. The folks who work at Powerful Signal are incredibly nice. It came pre-configured, and they answered all my emailed questions in record time.
3. The signal from this router is usually stronger than the signal I get from the wifi router wired into my Uverse connection.
4. Even without pre-configuration, setup takes five minutes. One disk, two plugs, and a cardslot.
5. It works anywhere there’s a cell signal. So, pretty much, unless I’m in the no-signal zone in the Mohave Desert, I have net. And so do you.

About the only thing I’d do to improve this product is make it run on batteries. Or a car charger, although there’s a model that does the latter, I think. Even so, I’m planning to take it with me to San Francisco next month…just in case the advertised wifi at the hotel doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to.

Oh, and, here’s my review, in words and still images, because for some reason my computer is not detecting the integrated camera.

So, I’ve been playing with this very cool mobile router for about a week, and I’m totally in love with it. It’s smaller than the regular router wired into our Uverse connection, and in most of the house the signal is actually stronger, which is pretty impressive when you consider that the signal is coming from a two-year-old wifi card. Thankfully, I’ve got an unlimited data plan on the card (it must cost a fortune to use cellular routers without such a plan), so I can use it forever without killing my cell phone bill, but I do have to be careful because the card tends to run hot. It ran hot in my laptop, as well, so I suspect it’s just the nature of cell cards.

While I have to admit that I’m not entirely new to the concept of cellular routers, I am seriously impressed by how easy this was to set up (plug in card, plug in power, load software that I didn’t even need to muck with because it came pre-configured), and how compact it is.

Also, Kevin at PowerfulSignal.com is the nicest guy ever, and really patient when it comes to answering questions, especially from people like me who know just enough to be dangerous.

When Fuzzy gets home from Hong Kong, he’ll be playing with it as well, and we’ll eventually be posting a full review here in my blog.

Stay tuned.

P.S. Not a flickr fan? You can also check this video out on YouTube:

A few weeks ago I found out that I was going to be receiving one of these very cool cellular routers from Powerful Signal to test, use, and play with. It’s a device that uses a cellular card (which I have) and turns that signal into a wifi hotspot within your house. During the spring and summer, we’re prone to major storms, and while we don’t lose power for long stretches of time, usually, we do have blips long enough to make the Uverse router et a little nutsy, so I’m really excited about this.

(I’m also excited about it, because it means we don’t have to stress over finding hotels with wifi when we travel. Since my cell card has unlimited hours/traffic we can stay or visit pretty much anywhere, and bring our wifi with us.)

As part of the review of this router, I’ll eventually be making a video about it, which I’ll be sharing here. I’m still learning the whole video thing, but I’m sure it will be fun to play with.

I have to confess, the concept of playing with this mobile router has my husband pretty excited as well, mainly because he remembers me complaining about having almost no signal when we visited his parents at their farm.

Dogs in Yard

Originally uploaded by MissMelysse.

Even though I walk our dogs most days, most of the time when I’m home, the back door is open wide enough for them to go in and out, so they can chase birds, sniff things, attempt to catch geckos, and generally hang out and indulge in serious doggie Zen.

This is fine, except that our back yard hosts the cable drop for much of the network, which means we often have workers traipsing in without bothering to tell us first, and while our dogs are relatively harmless, an open gate is a ticket to exploration, even for a chihuahua.

When I was given the opportunity to review one of these cool from beware of dog signs from DogInYard.com, then, how could I refuse? Their products are so much nicer than those cheap plastic-laminate black and orange things from the grocery store, after all, and come in fashion colors, with the right hardware for your fence (screws for our wood fence, cable ties for folks with link fences).

Not only that, but I had a response within five minutes of my order, stating that they’d received it, and confirming my address, and that they invoice - invoice! Can you believe it? - and that mine would reflect a zero balance (it being a review product and all) - the regular price is under $20, however, and these signs are totally worth it - they even offer a choice of DOG or DOGS in the lettering.

DogInYard.com ships before you pay, and ships quickly. I don’t think it even took a week for my sign to arrive, and the only reason it’s not actually ON the gate already is that Fuzzy came home from Hong Kong with a badly sprained ankle, and I’m afraid of our drill. Their invoice reminds you that fast payment is good Karma, and these folks are so nice, I really hope ALL their customers pay on time.

In any case, the sign is lovely, and I’ll feel better about leaving Zorro and Cleo out there on the odd afternoon, once it’s up.