“Oklahoma, where the Internet comes sweepin’ down the Broadband plains,

And the Satellite, up in its flight, sends the signal flowing down like rain….”

Rogers and Hammerstein may be rolling over in their graves right about now, but the good folks of the State of Oklahoma, all 3,751,351 of them, sure appreciate having rural broadband internet access throughout their state of nearly seventy thousand square miles!

Can’t you just picture all those Okies, or Sooners as they’re also called, dancing around in their colorful skirts, checked shirts and shiny cowboy boots singing the praises of the internet?  Well, maybe not since they’re a hard-working people with a fast growing economy and ranking among the highest in per capita income and gross domestic product of all the US states. That may not leave a whole lot of time for dancin’ and singin’!

Known for its cowboys and Indians (the largest Native American population in the country), the state is chock full of other interesting things.  Perhaps that accounts for the unique wit and astute commentary of one of its favorite sons, Will Rogers.  Growing up surrounded by the kind of folks who would pass laws requiring the presence of an engineer to open a soda bottle while also nurturing the fellows who invented both the shopping cart and the parking meter, Mr. Rogers had quite a variety of ideas influencing his personality’s development.  A real mix of quirkiness and practicality combined.

Oklahoma also claims some notoriety as having the most tornadoes in the country, though folks might think Kansas might hold that distinction.  Well, Dorothy of Oz fame may have flown her house through a tornado in the movie, but in reality, that exact thing happened to a couple from Ponca City when their house was lifted up (with them in it!) and deposited gently back down to the ground!

Will Rogers was well known as a radio and motion picture cowboy, but equally appreciated for his sharp political and social commentary, cloaked in humor.  Growing up in the state that houses both the Cowboy Hall of Fame and the tribal headquarters for 39 Indian tribes, yet is dotted with oil rigs and home to the Getty oil fortune must have brought the clash of cultures very close to home.  His humor and commentary combined the folksiness of his rural roots and his awareness of the encroachment of modern times with an appreciation of the absurdity that lawmakers can be capable of.

Looking around, he could see examples of unrestrained lawmaking such as laws requiring you to tether your car in front of public buildings yet making it illegal to tie your horse in front of city hall!  And don’t even consider bringing an elephant into downtown Tulsa or wearing your boots to bed!

The larger-than-life personality that was Will Rogers reflected his times and the world around him.  If he was alive today with the information available to him that Rural Broadband Satellite Internet Access provides, there is no doubt that he would still be entertaining us with his humor and educating us with his own special brand of commentary.

Louisiana was so named by Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (shortened to Robert de La Salle thankfully!) in honor of King Louis XIV when he claimed the area for France. He actually called it La Louisiane meaning ‘land of Louis’. Those French could sure spin a name! Swamp land was prevalent and with nothing but their wits these explorers found this rich land at the end of the Mississippi River’s long run to the sea. Imagine a time when nothing existed but nature itself – no technology and no Satellite Internet!

American Indians were already present and had been for eons but after the French came the Spanish and eventually slaves were brought from Africa to help build up this territory. The confluence of these distinct peoples produced a multicultural, multilingual population that continues its influence to this day in a population of Creoles. A fascinating ethnic heritage that should be explored but since space precludes an in-depth accounting so if you have Satellite Broadband Internet, do a search, and discover this information for yourself. Believe me; it will be worth your time.

If you don’t have satellite internet, here are two solutions: First, get satellite internet, or second, go directly to the source and explore the state for yourself.

As soon as you set foot in Louisiana the word ‘magical’ immediately comes to mind. Even the heavy, damp air feels exotic and exhilarating at the same time. Bursts of thunderstorms appear and disappear with regularity leaving everything smelling fresh and steamy. Always carry an umbrella or just get a good drenching from time to time for a nature’s shower.

The bayous are everything you can imagine. It’s a little mysterious and scary but the beauty of it can leave you speechless. Species of flora and fauna that most of us have never seen before are teaming along the waterways.

Step out of the wetlands and take a tour of the famous French Quarter of New Orleans. It is so heavy with history that goose bumps appear even in the heat. An area that has seen its share of pirates (that’s right, pirates!) and still has the original building that housed Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop and Bar that was used as a front for the privateer Lafitte and his band of buccaneers. Depending on who you listen to, he was either a hero, pirate, entrepreneur, opportunist or all of the above. It’s also a good place to stop for a favorite local drink, the Hurricane!

Of course, in Lafitte’s day, you couldn’t enjoy a Hurricane or log onto your Satellite Broadband Internet Service like you can today but what’s nice is that you can still make believe you are back in a time before we even split from England.

This magical, mystical land is still recovering from ‘Katrina’ but has not lost any of its charms. The people are intrepid and will continue to build up after a disaster that took the entire country by surprise. Recover, Restore, Rebuild was the motto after the hurricane but they are now back to the old one that says “Laissez les bon temps rouler”, French for “Let the good times roll!” And they are.

Not so long ago if we saw someone walking down the sidewalk talking away to nobody it was quite natural to assume that they might be a few bricks short of a load or maybe had a couple too many cocktails. Every town had one and we would just kind of chuckle and feel a bit sorry for them.  But nowadays it is not unusual at all to see someone chatting away merrily and just generally appearing to be off in a world of their own. Has the whole world gone mad? No, it simply is the growth in popularity of headsets which enables the wearer to talk hands-free on their satellite phone or cell phone.  It looks pretty strange but is so common now that we hardly notice anymore.

Now a new technology has come along, still in development stage, which literally puts your I-phone into the palm of your hand!  Called the Invisible Phone, it allows the user to use one hand as a touchscreen and a finger on the other hand as a pointer. By moving the finger across the palm, the user can push ‘buttons’ and ‘letters’ just like they would on a regular I-phone except that…there’s nothing to point at!

The prototype uses an Xbox type of depth camera to ‘see’ finger movements on the hand and translate them to the screen of a phone or computer using ‘muscle memory’ like a Smartphone does. The user then can see the results on their phone or computer screen just as they would using a regular keypad. Studies have shown that the majority of people tested were able to ‘remember’ the positions of letters and buttons well enough without looking at a screen that it works quite well, similar to how a typist remembers the position of the keys. Using satellite internet access with technology would enable folks to surf the web easily without having to hold a device in their hands while they were doing it.

Not only would this be a convenience for everyday users, I can foresee this technology as being a boon for disabled persons. Many such people have limited mobility but can still use their fingers to some degree. By substituting the hand-rest on a wheelchair for one’s hand, a person could have full use of the internet, phone and other computer resources by simply moving one finger. It could greatly improve the quality of life and ability to communicate for those who are currently limited to using a keyboard.

This technology is not yet available to the consumer but doubtless will be soon, as any worthwhile technology tends to be grabbed up quickly. It won’t be long until we’ll be seeing folks walking around waving their arms in the air and pointing at nothing while yakking away to no one! As it becomes available to broadband satellite internet-enabled phones it may become more entertaining just watching people on the street than actually going online!

So many small business owners, specifically the ones who spend boatloads on making their storefront as attractive as possible, are essentially wasting their money.  If it’s a restaurant or nationwide chain of Super-sized grocery stores, I can see the reasoning behind the expensive signs – the glamor that screams “MY STORE IS BETTER THAN YOURS!” Also, all the businesses who pay to get their name in the local phone book’s yellow pages are also continuing on a downward trial leading to a dying trend.  In other words, they are using ancient marketing techniques and expecting modern day results while at the same time paying futuristic prices.

Just a quick question for you so that you can get a grasp of what exactly I’m talking about:  Is it cheaper to send a potential client an email to his/her computer that they will look at everyday or a letter in the mail they might check once or twice a week?  Now, if you can’t answer this question correctly, you should not be in business for yourself.  This one change in your advertising campaign could possibly save you thousands of dollars and still give you better results.

“But where my office is located they don’t have high speed Internet.” You say? Well, today is your lucky day my friend and mybluedish.com is rolling you that 7 and 11 you’ve been needing at life’s craps table, high speed Internet anywhere in the United States that has a clear view to the southern sky.  So, relish this opportunity to maximize your company’s potential by turning your regionally limited client base into an enormously more profitable national or possibly global list of clientele.  Unless of course you’re in business because you love to work for as little profit and recognition as possible…that was a joke by the way…stay tuned for more helpful hints and witty sarcasm.

As many of you may know we have dedicated a couple of articles to comparing wireless technology to satellite internet.  Up until now however, we have not looked at some of the new up and coming technologies that are gaining popularity in the wireless industry.  Two of these technologies are WiMax and Mifi.  In case these terms are new to you I will attempt to offer a brief explanation, as these technologies have not quite made it main stream yet.  Mifi is more or less, a router that utilizes wireless data signal such as 3G or the new 4G technology to connect a network of computers.  It operates in much of the same way your Wi-Fi router would at home except it is more portable.  A Mifi device can operate anywhere you can get a good wireless broadband connection.

WiMax is simply a new wireless technology similar to that of 3G and 4G.  There are two types of WiMax technology, Fixed WiMax and Mobile WiMax.  Mobile WiMax is the most popular as Fixed WiMax provides no means of portability.  The advantages of this technology are that it provides a solution to the last mile problem that many current internet solutions have.  The last mile problem refers to the significant costs of providing internet access to the last region of a network, which may actually consist of more than a mile.  This is largely due to the additional cables and wires that must be placed in the last area of a network.  In addition, WiMax can currently provide download speeds of up to 40mbps with speeds of 1gbps expected with an upcoming upgrade to the technology.  It is likely that this type of technology is indeed the future of the wireless industry.  One might not think that the current satellite internet technology available here in the US can compare to these new wireless technologies.  However, we must also look at the future of satellite internet.  Just next year WildBlue plans to update its satellite to allow download speeds of up to 10mbps.  Satellite technology used in Japan is already producing download speeds of up to 1.2gbps.  Considering the fact that satellite internet technology can reach a much larger audience than WiMax or any other wireless technology it seems that the future of satellite internet is just as bright if not brighter than that of wireless internet.

I have discussed in previous articles the comparisons between satellite internet and wireless internet.  I thought it might be nice to expand upon those comparisons with mention of some of the newest technologies in both industries.  I have heard arguments that with the increasing adoption of 4g that there would be no question of whether or not wireless was the better option.  However, what people fail to realize is at the same time wireless is updating its technology satellite internet is also updating its technology.  The fact of the matter is that 4G is nowhere near main stream, and there are very very few wireless services that offer it in the United States.  In addition to this, there have been several reports that 4G is not a major step up from 3G.  Therefore, if on the very unlikely chance you are able to receive a 4G signal in your area it is most likely not going to be a huge improvement over 3G.  Now, we should compare this to the improvements being made in the satellite internet service industry.  WildBlue is releasing a new satellite into orbit with new technology developed from its parent company ViaSat.  This technology is going to increase download speeds from the current 1.5mbps to 10mbps.  In addition, this new technology involves processes that are much more cost efficient. So, it is likely to make satellite internet service cheaper for consumers in the long run.  When these aspects are compared from each industry there is no question that satellite internet is the better option.  However, one has to consider how the internet connection will be used.  If you are going to be traveling a lot or just seem to be on the move the majority of the time wireless internet will be a much more mobile option.  However, if you are going to be using the connection as a stationary in-home connection satellite internet is still by far the better option.

Maybe you are living in an area that does not have access to cable or DSL and you are tired of the slow speeds of dial-up, but you are not sure you can afford the price increase to Satellite Internet.  Did you know there are actually ways you could make your Satellite Internet service pay for itself.  If you are on dial-up you are most likely paying close to $15 a month, and you can get WildBlue Satellite Internet Service stating at around $49 a month.  So, you just have to save $35 with your satellite internet service and it will basically be paying for its self.

If you are a music lover the high speeds of satellite internet will allow you to purchase and download your music from the internet.  Most likely, on dial-up your download speed is too slow to do much music downloading which forces you to purchase your music from a retail store.  Often, you can save $5 on an album by purchasing it online.  If you buy only two albums a month this is $10 a month satellite internet has saved you.

You will no longer need the extra phone line you have to pay for with dial-up internet because Satellite Internet does not require the use of a phone line to browse the web or even download files.  In addition to saving you a great deal of hassle this will also save you close to $15 a month by not having to pay for an extra phone line.

Cancel your newspaper subscriptions.  Satellite Internet will be fast enough to enable you to view your newspapers online, which is often free.  In addition you will be able to get involved with social media which often produces news faster than any other source because it comes directly from people that have been involved in the news stories.  Depending on how many newspapers you subscribe to this could save you another $10 a month.

As you can see it is very easy to find ways to save money with high-speed Satellite Internet service, and these are only a few examples.  If you were to do some brainstorming you could most likely find several more ways to save money, which means you could be enjoying high-speed internet at the same price or less than you have to put up with your slow dial up internet.