Slashdot comments

So I posted a story to Slashdot regarding this project and so far, some of the issues brought up have been:

Latency
Might have to live with bad lag ala international phone calls circa 1995. It seems to be out of my control to do anything about the network's characteristics, but hopefully, getting a good adapter should alleviate this to some extent. Let's see if this kills the project.

911
The Google Voice TOS explicitly states:

You acknowledge and understand that Google Voice does NOT currently allow you to access any 911 or similar emergency services (no traditional 911, E911, or similar access to emergency services). You should always have an alternative means of accessing 911 or similar emergency services. Please inform others who use your Google Voice service and devices used to access Google Voice that they must access these numbers directly through a traditional landline or mobile phone. Google Voice is not intended to replace your primary phone service, such as traditional landline or mobile phone.

Let's see if Skype is any better.

Skype is not a replacement for your landline or your mobile phone. Skype does not offer you the ability to call emergency services for help if you are in distress.

Nope. I guess a pre-paid phone should do the trick though.

Battery Life
My ultraportable does give me up to 7 hours of battery life with the extended battery which I'd say will go down to 4-5 hours with Wimax + BT always on. I am guessing most people don't get away from home/work regularly for longer periods. For the occasional time this is the case, pre-paid to the rescue.

Network Coverage
Wimax coverage isn't getting any praise from current users. The solution? Pre-paid.

It increasingly seems as if a pre-paid to fall back on is indispensible. I am definitely hoping that I will only rarely have to use it although it no longer seems to be optional.