Let’s get back to the Garmin InReach Mini 2. In part 1, I’ve given a general overview of how satellite messaging services works with the device in general. In this part, I’ll have a closer look at how to get started and how long it takes to activate a device. Once you have the device … Continue reading When All Else Fails – The Garmin InReach Mini 2 – Part 2: Activation
The times are getting stranger and stranger. Only a few years ago, I didn’t worry too much about scenarios which would prevent me from communicating with members of the household while any of us were traveling. But the world has changed massively in the past few years, and at least from a European point of … Continue reading When All Else Fails: The Garmin InReach Mini 2 – Part 1
Internet access over Starlink is definitely an interesting topic and has me captivated ever since first reports appeared of individuals who got themselves a dish when the public beta test first started in 2020. While their reports are often impressive, there is relatively little information of the overall capacity of the system today and its … Continue reading Starlink – Let’s Play With Numbers
A bit of a history and hardware post today: 12 years ago, back in November 2009, I bought my last notebook I mainly used with Windows for a few years, a Toshiba Satellite L550. At €555 euros, it was a mid-priced notebook and surprisingly, it has lasted me 12 years, and was in use almost … Continue reading Decommissioning My 2009 Notebook And A Look Inside
Last year I wrote about my first experiences with the European In-Flight Internet system. I came away quite impressed at the time despite only using a significantly rate limited option. When I was recently on two flights again that had the system installed, I decided that I would give the top-tier 15 Mbit/s option a … Continue reading In-Flight Internet in the EU – Update 2019
When I recently flew from Europe to the US with Delta Airlines I was quite positively surprised about the Internet access that was offered on board. Over recent years, I noticed that Internet connectivity in the air significantly slowed down to a point where it is almost unusable. On this flight however, I could browse … Continue reading Gogo Inflight Traffic Shapping
One thing that I think borders on modern (digital) piracy are the charges for data roaming on board of (some) ships. Cellular on-board networks are often connected via satellite and typically, 1 MB of data transfer, which is barely enough to load the front page of a web site these days, is charged in steps … Continue reading Telefonica Germany Blocks Data Roaming On Ships
I’m on planes quite often and on many intercontinental flights, airlines are offering satellite Internet access these days. Unfortunately, quality over the years has significantly deteriorated, the satellites used for the service are probably quite busy these days or airlines artificially throttle throughput to save costs. Who knows… In the US, ground based Internet connectivity … Continue reading In-Flight Internet in the EU
Back in 2011 I had my first intercontinental in-flight Internet experience over satellite on a flight from New York to Europe. Back then I found the service extremely fast with sustained downlink speeds of 2.5 Mbit/s and 500 kbit/s in uplink. And this was 2011 when terrestrial 3G with similar speeds was the new kid … Continue reading Intercontinental In-Flight Internet Is Slowing Down
It’s winter time in Europe which means its dark and cold right now. While I mostly write about books I’ve read that deal with past and present communication technology and computing, I thought I’d make an exception today for a different book on a totally unrelated topic I recently read that fits the season. My … Continue reading Book Review – Farthest North by Fridtjof Nansen