tablets for parents

[Smylers]

Nicholas Clark writes:

> It seems that my parents are finally cracking and amenable to the idea
> of buying a device for the purpose of videoconferencing. My sister and
> I suspect that the right thing is a tablet connected via 3G
> 
> (my parents alternate between two locations in southern England, so
> fixed line would mean 2 fixed lines, and two lots of fixed
> infrastructure, which feels like a pain)

It has occurred to me that you might not need two fixed lines: BT
Broadband includes use of BT wi-fi. So it's possible that fixed-line
ADSL in one location plus wi-fi in the other would work, if at least one
of the locations has BT wi-fi coverage. See:
http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/broadband/free-wifi

You can use any BT Openzone or Fon wi-fi hotspot. In practice, town
centres tend to have good coverage, as do housing estates (if a
neighbour is BT broadband customer, then their router is likely doubling
as a Fon hotspot[*1]).

I'm not claiming this is a superior option for you versus 3G, merely
pointing it out as a possible alternative.

Smylers

[*1] Weirdly, if your ADSL plan has a data quota, the quota only applies
to usage through your own fixed line, not any through BT wi-fi hotspots.
The router BT send you provides a Fon hotspot. Anybody spot the loophole
here?

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