Category — MOBILE

How many of you would like (love?) to to have your own place and live for just what you’d pay in taxes? Assuming you already have a piece of land (hint, look for so called “junk” land and you can often have it for a song)… Well that’s precisely what Anna Hess and her husband Mark did. (more…)

Once you depend on your cellphone or Smartphone, finding yourself in a phone dead zone can be pretty traumatic.

The first thing you need to do is establish whether your difficulty is related to your area, your carrier, your house, or your phone. The remedy to your problem will depend to some degree which of these proves to be the difficulty. The steps given below by
alienintelligence-ga are pretty comprehensive. You can purchase gadgets for as little as $10 (such as the RF SuperBooster Cell Phone Signal Booster) and as much as $250 (Wilson Electronics Desktop Adjustable Gain Cell Phone Signal Booster for Home or Office – For Multiple Users (more…)

Thinking of buying a new Apple laptop? Treat yourself to a ThinkPad instead. And save hundreds on energy as well as up to $1500 on the cost of the computer.

Ever since Apple Computers (APPL) pulled its laptops out of a voluntary eco-rating scheme (EPEAT) last year, its been pretty obvious that the company has lost touch with its West Coast roots and become just another greedy hardware supplier – albeit with a booming software catalog to pull in the punters.

Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics is into its 18th edition and benchmarks the best practices (more…)

On sale now

The annual CES fair is always a hit with gadget fans, and, increasingly, it contains a string of products for those living off grid.

There is rarely anything groundbreaking, just the slow game of catch-up between the ease and comfort of off-grid life compared to grid–connected homes

Star gadgets this year included a (more…)

The giant software company has worked out a way to deliver cheap high-speed Internet to remote locations where there are no power or phone lines. Their new patent application transforms the options for people who are doing long-term planning about where to live or work, if they need to tap into the Internet for any reason such as health, or client communication, or just entertainment. (more…)

With a $12,000 budget, a San Fransisco couple decided to turn a 39-foot school bus into a dream home – that sleeps ten people.

To create their totally off-grid dwelling, Richard and Rachel, who run a blog, mounted six solar panels on the roof of the bus, installed a compost toilet, solar fridge and freezer and a propane-fed catalytic heater, stove and oven.

Rachel, who says they live rent-free, paying just $100 per month for maintenance, admitted that family and friends were ‘confused’ by their decision. ‘My mom’s reaction was “this isn’t the sixties.”

But as the duo explain on their blog, their dream was ‘to own our home, produce all of our necessities of living, and have the option to go where we wanted.’ (more…)

Five o’clock quickly arrived at my desk on my first night as a full-time RVer.  I left my office and walked into the dark parking lot knowing I would be home in less than 30 seconds.  No one from work knew it.  Since I land acting and print gigs on occasion, they believe my camper is to go on jobs out of town.  Half-truths go a long way.  I also made it a point for them to know that owning an RV has always been a dream of mine.  I considered letting my co-workers know of my new lifestyle, but I’ve grown less trusting with age.  My managers may feel less compelled to give me higher raises since I have fewer expenses.  My supervisor may look at me with scorn if I come in late on a snowy day. Co-workers may think I’m just plain kooky… and they would be right!  Yes, none of these things would be fair, but life isn’t fair and neither are people’s judgments and actions.  If the folks at work ever did find out (and some may already suspect), I guess it wouldn’t be a big deal.  However, why put myself out there if I don’t have to?

As I approached close to my camper, I visually took it all in.  “This is my home!”.  Realizing this felt odd, good… and a little scary.  I got in the van and drove to my RV friendly parking spot.  Like a dog, I instinctively circled the lot twice before parking.  There were two big rig trucks settled in for the night, so I parked next to them under a light post. (more…)

What do you have do to get Internet access when you don’t have a fixed phone line?

Which service do you use and why? – We are trying to find out what works best in different parts of the country – it can make a huge difference to your quality of life. Please let us know through comments at the end of this story, or in the forum if you prefer.

There are three main options
1. Satellite Internet – like Dish network and HuughesNet – relatively inexpensive but surprisingly high power consumption.

2. Mobile broadband via your cell – either on your cell or using it as a wireless hotspot and connecting your computer to it – lowest power consumption.

3. A purpose built device, like a roof-top antenna for 4G signals, connected to a wireless router inside the house like Home Fusion from Verizon. (more…)

Mochagypsy: Slowly outing herself as an off-grider

I’m happy to announce that I am now a full time RV-er!  I intended to write a climactic entry the night before my big move (the last day of October), but a hurricane Sandy came along and knocked out my Internet connection.  I will not complain too harshly since compared to many others in my region, I got off easy.  It’s somewhat strange for me to think about how I had an idea to change my life only a few months ago and now I’m writing this entry from the inside of my new home.  I guess life really is that simple.  It’s only the stops we take along the way in our journey that makes change seem so complicated.
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