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The Dongle, so much in a tiny package
There are a multitude of urban legends circulating around the world such as the many alien abductions and the giant alligators living in the New York sewer system. As well as the story of the dongle being named after an engineer called Don Gall as jokingly claimed in 1992 by staff at Rainbow Technologies.
Like most urban myths although untrue the story is now entrenched in computer history. Another claim often made is that size does not matter; in the case of the dongle that would be true; along with many other modern technologies, the size of the dongle does not represent its power.
About the size of a man's finger, the dongle has the capability of connecting a computer to the world. In essence there are two types of dongle, a fact that confuses some purchasers. The original dongle is a device at times referred to as a hardware token or security device which is used for protecting software from piracy. It is known for its Hardware Against Software Piracy or HASP capabilities dating back to the early 80s.
Although much newer on the computer scene the broadband dongle (which is what we're interested in) is now more well-known and in more widespread use than its security-conscious cousin. You simply plug your dongle into your computer's USB port to access the internet at broadband speeds via the 3G mobile phone network. There is no need to search out an access point or use your own wireless router. Instead this type of dongle, which can be purchased as a Pay As You Go accessory or on monthly contracts, will connect you directly to the internet via the operator's mobile telephone network.
Pay-as-you-go dongles
Pay As You Go dongles are growing very rapidly in popularity as they do not require a long-term contract to enable a PC, laptop or notebook user to connect to the internet. The customer simply buys a dongle which has a set amount of time and data download capabilities.
The dongle is then plugged in to the computer as a plug-and-play device allowing for instant broadband access to the internet without a contract. The customer just uses the connection until they have used up the available amount of cash they originally purchased.
They can then just repeat the process thus avoiding a contract commitment of 12, 18 or 24 months to a mobile broadband operator. This system works very well for many users, providing them with access to the Internet, albeit with a limit in the time and the amount of available download before the credit is exhausted.
Customers who make use of their computer for longer periods of time each month very often opt to sign up for a contract with one of the big operators such as Vodafone, 3, Carphone Warehouse or Orange.
Contract dongle
Although the same operators also offer pay-as-you-go deals, many people prefer the added convenience of long-term contract connection. The two systems basically operate in the same way making use of a broadband dongle to connect the computer to the Internet.
A contract connection offers the advantage of being simpler and cheaper to run on a month-to-month basis than pay-as-you-go wireless Dongles. The savings can actually be quite considerable if you make a large amount of use of your internet connection each month.
Downloading can be far more practical financially with a long-term contract. Many people feel that 18 or 24 month commitments can be outpaced by developments in the mobile broadband connection field. Therefore the most popular contract is one for 12 months giving a good degree of flexibility to move with the ever-changing broadband times.
In this way should you find a deal that suits your needs better, or there is a new technological developments with connection capabilities it is not a prohibitively long period until your contract comes up for renewal.
Both Pay As You Go and contract connections offer advantages and disadvantages. It is wise to consider which best suits your personal broadband Internet needs. As a rule of thumb longer hours spent surfing the web each month or large amounts of data download requirements favour a long-term contract.
Less time spent surfing and little need for major amounts of data download are best suited to be more flexible Pay As You Go dongle connections.
