Canceling/Alternate use of internet

[JohnnyH]

Home internet cancelled!... CyanogenMod has USB tethering & WIFI hotspot built into the ROM, which I tested at 1.6 mb/s down, .5 mb/s up. Completely fine for reference use... Cell phone + internet down to $32.33/mo with this method, but I imagine speed throttling starts at 2-5gb/mo... Shouldn't be an issue, I have an open, unlimited wifi at work for large downloads.

[GandK]

Congratulations! I love Cyanogen ROMs. For added security, I also enjoy the WiFi Tether app for root. You can set it up to notify you whenever a device connects to your hotspot.

[theanimal]

Congrats JohnnyH! Let us know if there are any big drawbacks. I doubt there will be but just curious.

[fiby41]

You can use the internet at work, realizing that your employer has the right to monitor your internet use.

You can use proxy servers or just paste the URL into Google Translate and click translate for the page to load into it, after going through Google's secure servers.

This will also get you through web filters.

[chenda]

I often think we would all be much better off without the internet. At least, I'm not convinced the benefits will outweigh the long term social costs. But like nuclear weapons, we cant uninvent it.

[Dave]

I will cancel my internet service the day I leave my telecommuting job.

Like you, I wish to simplify my life and cutting out all of the time spent reading arguably useless information online is one way to do so. By doing this, I would force myself to read actual books or engage in, you know, real, activity.

And if you are friends with your neighbors, live near somewhere with free Wifi, or are close to a library, it is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Actually I think this is a pretty good way to approach things because you are 1) Wasting less time on unproductive browsing thereby 2) Engaging in more productive pursuits, potentially physically active (opposite of web browsing 3) Saving some amount of money, albeit not much and 4) Still able to take advantage of the Internet. Think about it like an 80/20 - you get 80% of the benefit of your Internet time from 20% of the time spent online.

That' is my thought process, but we'll see if I actually implement it when I am FI .

[C40]

I canceled my home internet after they raised the price and wouldn't lower it back down the first time I called. I use my work phone data hotspot. It's 4G, unlimited data, with no throttling. It's every bit as fast as the DSL service I had. I have to pair my phone with my computer each time I use it.

[vexed87]

You can use the internet at work, realizing that your employer has the right to monitor your internet use.

You can use proxy servers or just paste the URL into Google Translate and click translate for the page to load into it, after going through Google's secure servers.

This will also get you through web filters.

Circumventing your employer's restrictions/monitoring is a good way to raise even more alarm bells and get the sack. Great if you are suffering "1 more year" syndrome, not so great if you are not yet FI

I did the tethering thing for 2 years, it worked really well, now my mobile provider has put restrictions on the data so I've dropped to PAYG monthly and instead buy 10GB on a separate sim only plan with a mobile modem (no contract, so if it isn't enough, I'll cut them loose.)

@JohnnyH, Is tethering part of your plan or are you doing it behind your providers back?

[black_son_of_gray]

For people that are worried about productivity/too many hours browsing random stuff, another option is a browser extension that lets you limit the time you spend on specific websites or just browsing in general (e.g. Leechblock)... I have found these tools very helpful for curtailing mindless browsing.