Entity Jim Felder spoke thus:

> The idea is internet access and maybe TV when we travel. Anybody have
> any experience with this at home or traveling, or any warnings or
> alternatives I should consider?
You might as well forget about DirecPC/Direcway, the hardware is a bulky
powerhog and the satellite is hard to find. It's not mobile technology. I
know the Roadhaus had sat tv but that was just for ostentation.

Your best bet is a DVD laptop. You can use free public WiFi hotspots which
are plentiful in the city, especially with an antenna you can do it in your
driver's seat stealthily:
http://quickertek.com/products.html#al1517whip

My TiBook rests nicely in the steering wheel for comfortable surfing. Run
"Stumbler" software while bmoving to find AP's (Access Points). An external
antenna like this will get you a lot more range with tight directionality:
http://Gnarlodious.com/Vanagon/Electrical/Pages/Internet.html

A text-based cellphone can fill in the gaps while you don't have internet
access although they are difficult to use and you are limited to sending
from your cellphone's ISP so you can't send to mailing lists.

For visual entertainment, DVD's are great. They take up little room and you
can rent/buy on the road. Your laptop can run from a DC-DC converter so you
can save power by not even needing an inverter.

If you want realtime media anywhere the best deal is Sirius or XM. If you
just want music an iPod can be the most efficient way, you can have
thousands of songs on it and broadcast on your Van sound system.

-- Gnarlie