Earlier quoted context omitted.
Out of interest, can I ask what made you decide to leave development for semi truck driving? :)
See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18796367 . It's his thread, he mentions why in the description
Thanks :)
Ask HN: Digital Nomads: What's Your Setup?
121–130 of 209 posts
Re: Ask HN: Digital Nomads: What's Your Setup?
#122Hardware is pretty minimal: MacBook, Android Phone, eReader, Roost Stand, Magic Keyboard/Trackpad.
But your question is more about data.
I travel internationally, and primarily use wifi at coffee shops, coworking spaces and Airbnbs. This year, that's been mostly wifi at the place I've called home all year. I've also got Google Fi which allows me to tether "unlimited" data. I think it has a cap at 22GB/mo, and maybe charges per GB after that, but I've never reached that.
If I were in the US in a motorhome, I'd probably try to get Starlink. That's a bit new and "untested" though. You could switch to Google Fi for a higher data cap, though beware that their coverage in the US is (last time I checked) not as widespread as Verizon, especially outside of cities.
You can also try to reduce your data use. I've used an app called TripMode on my Mac that allows me to block all data usage for apps and enable it on a per-app basis. That prevents things like Google Drive sync and other things that send a lot of data without my consciousness of it from blowing through data caps. It also lets you monitor exactly how much data you're using per session with each app.
Re: Ask HN: Digital Nomads: What's Your Setup?
#123my #1 reason for not going nomad is I HATE LAPTOPS. I just love my PC. my two big ass monitors. a keyboard and mouse. a station that's always set up. I don't need to drag around nothing. I am always connected via ethernet.
What's the issue with setting up your station inside an RV? A large RV should easily fit your setup I think.
Power
Re: Ask HN: Digital Nomads: What's Your Setup?
#124ImmersedVR and an Oculus Quest 2. Up to five monitors right on your face.
How well does it work? Do you suffer eyestrain at similar rates to normal monitors?
Re: Ask HN: Digital Nomads: What's Your Setup?
#125Hardware is pretty minimal: MacBook, Android Phone, eReader, Roost Stand, Magic Keyboard/Trackpad. But your question is more about data. I travel internationally, and primarily use wifi at coffee shops, coworking spaces and Airbnbs. This year, that's been mostly wifi at the place I've called home all year. I've also got Google Fi which allows me to tether "unlimited" data. I think it has a cap at 22GB/mo, and maybe c…
22 GB per month as a cap for google fiber, is that for real? I eat 22 GB per day. Looking at my network properties it says I've eat 725 GB in past 30 days, and that's low actually as I routinely go over 1 TB. And that's just me alone, not the rest of my household.
Re: Ask HN: Digital Nomads: What's Your Setup?
#126For 1.5 year I biked around the US camping with the occasional hotel.. I had an 11" macbook air with a data plan. Sometimes I would throw a rope over a branch and pull my phone up high to get cell signal, connecting to the phone via bluetooth.
I did hardware development, fortunately for mobile hardware, so that packed away nicely. I would charge/work at a nice cafe if there was one, then at night a bit, and every 7-10 days get a hotel and work nonstop. I had a solar panel for my phone, but if I were to do it again I would get a bigger one to charge my laptop as well.
I loved it. Check out adventurecycling.org if you are interested - there are maps for biking routes all over the US.
Re: Ask HN: Digital Nomads: What's Your Setup?
#127Earlier quoted context omitted.
>But honestly, if Zoom is your biggest bandwidth hog, just get a cell with unlimited data and use it instead of your laptop. Or mostly just use a dial-in number and do without video. Doesn't help if a presentation is being given and hasn't been shared in advance of course.
I've tried using a dial-in number a few times, and the latency was horrible - made it really hard to jump in and say things without interrupting others. Not sure if it was just the crappy connection, or if that is a product of using the cell network.
Not clear why that would be the case. I used to dial in to BlueJeans from a landline all the time and it was fine.
Don't have a lot of cell experience though. The one time I did it for an extended period was because my power/Internet had an extended outage. It didn't work well but it was actually better than using an app on my phone; my cell reception absent WiFi assist is pretty bad at home.
Re: Ask HN: Digital Nomads: What's Your Setup?
#128Hardware is pretty minimal: MacBook, Android Phone, eReader, Roost Stand, Magic Keyboard/Trackpad. But your question is more about data. I travel internationally, and primarily use wifi at coffee shops, coworking spaces and Airbnbs. This year, that's been mostly wifi at the place I've called home all year. I've also got Google Fi which allows me to tether "unlimited" data. I think it has a cap at 22GB/mo, and maybe c…
22 GB per month as a cap for google fiber, is that for real? I eat 22 GB per day. Looking at my network properties it says I've eat 725 GB in past 30 days, and that's low actually as I routinely go over 1 TB. And that's just me alone, not the rest of my household.
Think it's Google Fi, the cell phone plan Google offers with Pixel devices, not fiber.
Re: Ask HN: Digital Nomads: What's Your Setup?
#129I mostly nomad'ed around SE Asia, where free wifi in cafes is a given, and mobile caps are ridiculously huge/cheap (US$1 per week for 250Gb of download cap in Cambodia!) Video calls from cafes suck, obviously, but also pretty common. You get used to it. We got used to having "good wifi" as one of our primary considerations for Booking.com or Airbnb searches. I'm using a Purism 14 laptop running PureOS, with an additi…
Yeah I was in KH for many years, when I left I was astonished to find that wifi is not ubiquitous elsewhere, and data plans are 10-20x what I was paying.
I just had a vpn and basic privacy hygiene. The idea that a street noodle cart in rural Kratie has free wifi, but a coffeeshop in central [major western city] doesn't is ridiculous.
Re: Ask HN: Digital Nomads: What's Your Setup?
#130I’m not living this lifestyle, but I feel that Starlink will drastically alter this market and open up so much more remote working environments. You should consider to at least sign up for the beta so you can get access sooner, theoretically you would get 100+ mbps anywhere in the US with no caps within the next year or so, and I’m guessing they’ll make a remote-friendly plan. Right now you officially can’t travel wi…
> I feel that Starlink will drastically alter this market and open up so much more remote working environments You're not allowed to use Starlink in other location than you ordered. It's not for nomads. https://www.starlink.com/legal/terms-of-service-preorder 6.3 You acknowledge that you are only authorized to access Services at the location identified on your Order, and you will not divert the Starlink Kit or Servic…
Yes, currently, but I don't think anyone expects this to be their policy in the future.