Puna internet options - the good, the bad, and the ugly

[randomq]

Calyx resells T-mobile, truly unlimited hotspots: https://calyxinstitute.org/membership/internet I've found T-Mobile to be the fastest 5G, but they are not everywhere.

US Mobile Unlimited Premium offers 200GB high speed plus unlimited 600kb/s after that on their AT&T "Dark Star" network. (They are an interesting carrier in that they have all three major tower networks to choose from, but limits vary.)

Visible is a Verizon MVNO that offers 5, 10, or 15mbit unlimited hotspot as part of their phone plans. They don't have 5G and have unfortunately been the "safe choice" for coverage for a long time, so the congestion in Hilo and some areas is maddening. But if your local tower is not congested it is a viable option.

[HiloJulie]

But whatever your strong feelings, you'll still give him your money. Apparently your convictions are pretty shallow, if you'll support a purveyor of kiddie porn just to get your dog videos a little more quickly or consistently.

I guess it is, for some, still okay however, to give their money for stuff that gets shipped in a brown box with a smile on it and/or subscribe to a prime video streaming service, or participate on various other social media platforms all run by various other guys with a different type of a kiddie something, just not this purveyor of kiddie porn, so in that light, I think it would be fair to say that a lot of other people's convictions are a hell of a lot more shallower than mine, however, maybe this could probably a prototypical example of when to assume the best, and ask questions?

[MyManao]

I think it would be fair to say...

Morals that are for sale aren't morals at all.

[HiloJulie]

Morals that are for sale aren't morals at all.

I'm sure you are quite the expert at selling out your morals. Interesting where your various authored books show up for sale. And shipped in a brown box with a smile too.

[HiloJulie]

If your moral philosophy is so bereft that it can only see money saved as the best and highest purpose, then maybe put on those Rowdy Rowdy Piper sunglasses and look past your capitalist consumerism for some other inspirations about making choices that are pono in their own right, regardless of what everyone else is willing to goosestep along with.

You know Yak, an old proverb came to mind. "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones." In my lifetime, I've found that most people, including myself, can find it easy to point out someone else's lack of morals, convictions and character traits, but generally those who do that mostly ignore their own somewhat flexible, or lack of their own morals, convictions and character.

As for my purchase of Musk's Starlink, I first did it as a test, based solely upon recommendations of some of what people, including yourself, have said are PunaWeb's best long time members suggested.

I bought it. I tested it. It worked. Flawlessly. But then, more importantly, tremendously better and more reliable than Hawaiian Telcom fiber. And then at 2/3's the total cost.

Now if YOU were in MY shoes, what do YOU do? Consideration variables include, retired, limited income for rest of life, no longer needing massive uploading/downloading speeds for work, and after 3 plus months of testing it out, is a far superior product that is 1/3 cheaper?

So, do you make the change? Or just goosestep along with the rest paying more for a substandard product and then claim your being pono?

[ironyak]

HJ - I guess it is, for some, still okay however, to give their money for stuff...
"Two wrongs don't make a right", "It doesn't matter what other people are doing. What matters is what you are doing", "Dare to be different", and so forth. Your strange defense of the status quo would fit perfectly with a defense of slavery, of denying the right to vote based on race or gender, of forbidding Hawaiians from speaking their ancestral languages and performing their ancestral practices, and a hundred other immoral and amoral historical social arrangements that people just went along with because everyone else was doing it.

You know Yak, an old proverb came to mind. "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones."
If you can point to me making excuses and supporting fascistic pedophiliac billionaires in order to save a few bucks, please point them out. You have evidence for your claims right "counselor"?

based solely upon recommendations of some of what people, including yourself, have said are PunaWeb's best long time members suggested.
Again, if you can point to me endorsing the views of these "best long time members" please do so. Otherwise, the proverbs that come to mind are "You will be judged by the company you keep" and "you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious." ;)

Now if YOU were in MY shoes, what do YOU do?
Apparently do like randomq does and make decisions that include political and ethical concerns along with economic considerations. You really do have a choice, despite your best efforts at convincing yourself otherwise.

randomq - Calyx resells T-mobile, truly unlimited hotspots: https://calyxinstitute.org/membership/internet
That is a great resource and good read - thanks for sharing! Don't need new internet provider currently but will kick them some bucks to support the good work they're doing. Along with a fairphone finally being available stateside, the EFF/FOSS vision for the promise of tech and software might still have a chance! (now I just have to wait till I actually need a phone upgrade and a fairphone is available used as second-hand tech keeps those high-energy-investment/high-complexity objects out of the e-waste stream and best matches my HI redemption and thrifted threads :)

https://calyxinstitute.org/about
"We at Calyx believe that everyone has an equal right to access the internet and digital communications with security and personal data privacy. We strive to create a world where data protection is the norm and everyone is equipped with the means they need to make informed choices about their online lives. From our inception, we have been and remain committed to a revenue model that allows us to prioritize people and privacy over profit."

[HiloJulie]

HJ - I guess it is, for some, still okay however, to give their money for stuff...
"Two wrongs don't make a right", "It doesn't matter what other people are doing. What matters is what you are doing", "Dare to be different", and so forth. Your strange defense of the status quo would fit perfectly with a defense of slavery, of denying the right to vote based on race or gender, of forbidding Hawaiians from speaking their ancestral languages and performing their ancestral practices, and a hundred other immoral and amoral historical social arrangements that people just went along with because everyone else was doing it.

You know Yak, an old proverb came to mind. "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones."
If you can point to me making excuses and supporting fascistic pedophiliac billionaires in order to save a few bucks, please point them out. You have evidence for your claims right "councilor"?

based solely upon recommendations of some of what people, including yourself, have said are PunaWeb's best long time members suggested.
Again, if you can point to me endorsing the views of these "best long time members" please do so. Otherwise, the proverbs that come to mind are "You will be judged by the company you keep" and "you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious"

Now if YOU were in MY shoes, what do YOU do?
Apparently do like randomq does and make decisions that include political and ethical concerns along with economic considerations. You really do have a choice, despite your best efforts at convincing yourself otherwise.

First and foremost, it is "Counselor" and not "Councilor" (I see you corrected that spelling error! Good on you!)

As for your claim of my "defense of the status quo" and all the other stuff, yet, you found it perfectly OK to defend another poster who called an accomplished Black woman a "black chick." I dared to be different, and called that out. But, you defended the poster and the term used as well as the poster's claim that it was his "culture" that allowed him to call her that. 

Additionally, your request that "If you can point to me making excuses and supporting fascistic pedophiliac billionaires in order to save a few bucks, please point them out. You have evidence for your claims right "councilor"" 

Well, in fact, yes, yes I do: 

There is this and this and this and this and this but then, I guess one can imagine that you would claim you never hit the "Buy Now" button, but were just "window shopping?" I can imagine you NEVER once bought anything ever on Amazon, or watched a movie on Prime ever. You just make recommendations to everyone else to support fascistic pedophiliac billionaires in order to save a few bucks but because YOU have morals and convictions, you would never partake yourself. Right? Or is it that two wrongs don't make a right, unless YOU have to turn right? Right?

At any event, I did what I did, with no regrets. 

In conclusion, it does, however, take a special kind of person to sit in judgement of others, while at the same time doing what "everyone else does" but, isn't that "hypocrisy?"

[ChunksterK]

When this thread started, I thought, "Finally, a thread on Punaweb that will offer some helpful, practical information on a matter important to almost everyone." But no, it took exactly three posts for this to become yet another political pissing contest. Since then, only four of 17 posts have actually had the nuts and bolts of internet in Puna as the primary focus.

Some of us, Frau Chunkster and I included, have the means to express our ideology through our spending habits. Many, many folks in Puna do not have that luxury, however, so it would be nice for all the options to be put on the table without the political overtones. Despite the efforts of Rob Tucker and Moderator2 (and the provision of a place to bicker) the downhill slide of Punaweb continuies. It's quite sad actually.

[ironyak]

Hey ChunksterK - I'd note that this thread is actually an attempt to prevent the same conversation overwhelming the storm impact and recovery thread and at least focus the debate on the factors involved with choosing an internet provider in Puna. I would also note that I think most of the points raised are beyond just "political overtones" - we're not discussing the proper percentage for a Mill tax to support the local library, but whether all people should have basic human rights regardless of their ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, and whether undermining democratic systems to protect those rights is worth saving a few bucks on the internet bills that show up in your mailbox in Puna.

I'd also offer up the notion that reducing choices to a matter of just economics is not keeping things local, nor reflective of the culture of Hawai'i, but rather the artifact of a foreign, and some would say colonizing, mindset. Spend time with some Hawaiians and the Hawaiian language and you see an entirely different set of beliefs and priorities related to morals and the community good probably worth considering when trying to figure out the Best option for any given choice here on the islands.

HJ - it is "Counselor" and not "Councilor"
Yeah, caught it on re-read. I'm more accustomed to conversing with County Councilors than lawyers, thank the gods for small mercies.

you found it perfectly OK to defend another poster who called an accomplished Black woman a "black chick."
I'll reply on the Bicker Board as this clearly has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

There is this and this and this and this and this
Some of the interesting context there is that the first three examples are from March and April 2020. So at the onset of a global respiratory pandemic with all the concerns about viral transmission and stay at home orders in Hawai'i, I'd say putting aside qualms about Amazon's monopolistic practices to help protect human life and well-being was the more moral choice. (I'd also point out this probably falls in the "I bought it before [Billionaire X] went crazy" territory as Bezos hadn't gone all in on the "fascism is the merger of state and corporate power" thing yet)

The other two (and one of the previous) I mention Amazon as an option amongst several, including some free ones. As a vendor of last resort for essential items, yeah Amazon has a role to play given the limited options on island IMO - again, as we've discussed before, you can choose to reduce harms, instead of it being a black and white, all or nothing choice, and if someone else is doing it, why shouldn't I (burn tons of fossil fuels leaving centuries of warming and imperiling the ability of the planet to support life just to serve the whims of my entertainment interests) mentality.

At any event, I did what I did, with no regrets.
You had no choice, and now have no ability to choose otherwise. How convenient. It's this sort of self-serving rationalization that gives so many boomers a bad reputation in the eyes of the younger "woke" generations. Guess we can add the rise of authoritarian fascism and propagation of child exploitation media to the environmental degradation, massive income inequality, degradations in health, education, housing, and affordibility standards that is the legacy of your larger-than-all-other-demographics collective choices, both at the ballot box, and with your wallets. But hey, at least you saved yourself a few bucks.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Calyx… US Mobile… Visible…

randomq,
Do you know if any of these hotspot capable phones can stream to a TV? Is there anyway to use their data for streaming services like Netflix or Criterion, on a TV, not phone or iPad?