How to use less internet bandwidth?

I had my own basic ideas of how to use less internet.  Public library, public wifi, having go to tv shows on dvd/digital format offline music such as pandora..

but I wanted to see what other people have to curb their internet usage to get the most cost savings out of cheaper less sizeable bandwidth packages.  If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I'd love to hear about them.   Also if you want to talk about how you get the most out of your internet that be nice to hear.

This should be about using less internet while we still get to maintain a high quality of life.  Here goes nothing right?

My highest quality of life campsites only get 3g.

RVwiki article:  conserving bandwidth

I've never been any place where I could not get a free wifi, at a mall, library, or fastfood, within ten minutes. On rainy days I'm happy to sit there all day and upload/download anything I want (as well as do my job online).



(Of course, I mostly urban camp. It may not be an option if you boondock a lot.)

Vonbrown said:

https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-stop-using-all-your-mobile-data/

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That's quite useful! Thanks a lot for sharing.

for Gmail users (is there any other kind)
turn OFF "Always display external images"
and set it to 
"Ask before displaying external images"
this will not only SAVE DATA but speed up your email when the signal is slow
this is easy to do under the settings icon

this option is "ON" by default
just like i mentioned in an earlier post- the internet developers set every option to default for the highest data usage (at least that is the way it seems)

here is a good example of how it will save data:
IMAGES are data hogs-
i have several friends that like to forward me cute jokes and such-
many times these EMs are a long list of images that i really do not care to view-
BUT with the option "ON" as soon as i open their EM that data is WASTED

TURN OFF all IDOL streaming (unless you are right there watching)
LOL- i just read a post (another thread) where the user listed his streaming habits- he mentioned he likes YT on in background while doing other things- and he listed all the streaming services he pays for-
the CARRIERS love these kinds of users- not to mention the wasted $$$s on member fees!
for me i only have 2 eyes so i can not justify streaming YT while i am focused on other things-

https://www.popsci.com/block-pop-ups-alerts-autoplay-video

Good link to block autoplay videos and other things to lower bandwidth usage.

One rant in this regard are those sites that have all the image based ads and click bait stories.

In addition to all the other things people said on here like using a adblocker also use a compression proxy similar to how you would over a satellite terminal. Get an Android, go into the settings and mark the wifi AP you're connected to as a hotspot even if it's not. Then install the Opera mini browser and set the compression to maximum, most things still work fine and I can browse all day and only use 10-20mb.

Also play games for entertainment, most don't actually use much bandwidth like people would think it does. I play MMOs all the time and the only data used is to send you position and what your doing to the server. Everything else is stored locally on the cache in your computer.

Can you explain please this "mark the wifi AP you're connected to as a hotspot even if it's not"? And what does the compression do? I am guessing it masks a large streaming appearance?

Vonbrown said:

https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-stop-using-all-your-mobile-data/

Click to expand...

thanks for posting this link
it has some very good info
lots of which the average user could hardly ever find out how to use because they are hidden in technology

it mentions that unlimited plans can be costly 
BUT i find there are plenty of cheap unlimited internet plans available- especially for seniors and low income

DLTooley said:

My highest quality of life campsites only get 3g.

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i also used to think 3G was slow UNTIL i got the Verizon 3G unlimited MiFi and what i found is that a 2MB 3G provided enough speed to do everything i was doing on $100 Cable 50MB SCAM

i think the reason is that 3G towers have very few users on them so you get the full power of that 3G- its like driving the freeways in LA, Ca on a Sunday vs the Friday evening rush hour
UNLIKE 4G which is usually congested with users- 

i do not look forward to the time Verizon takes down the 3G network- but until then i will enjoy my $5/mon UNLIMITED INTERNET

lenny flank said:

I've never been any place where I could not get a free wifi, at a mall, library, or fastfood, within ten minutes. On rainy days I'm happy to sit there all day and upload/download anything I want (as well as do my job online).
(Of course, I mostly urban camp. It may not be an option if you boondock a lot.)

Click to expand...

that could be STEALING-
i doubt any business will authorize NON-customers to use their internet for free- of course some people think they have a right to use open WIFIs- especially in urban areas there are many open WIFIs so i know it can be tempting- i mean they are just sitting there for the taking- i suppose the same attitude can be applied to MONEY or CELL Ph or LAPTOP or etc when noticed those things just sitting there-
i suspect those living in urban areas can hack any WIFI password for their own use- 

in all the above situations SOMEONE IS PAYING for that ?free? internet-

i don't know where the line should be drawn- i guess it is up to each person to decide-

DLTooley said:

One rant in this regard are those sites that have all the image based ads and click bait stories.

Click to expand...

i agree 100%-
click bait is really just a nice way to say SCAM
there are many YT channels that publish only clickbait videos- it is very dishonest-
OF COURSE in todays world that is considered good business-

RVTravel said:

Can you explain please this "mark the wifi AP you're connected to as a hotspot even if it's not"? And what does the compression do? I am guessing it masks a large streaming appearance?

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Telling android that the AP is a hotspot allows you to define some data use limits. 

The compression proxy compresses web traffic, sometimes dramatically.  Some of it is effectively lossless (eliminating extra whitespace in HTML markup) and some is lossy (reducing image quality).  I find Opera on lowest image quality is just fine.  It reduces the amount of data you pull down for any given activity.

Since I prefer Firefox on the laptop, I run a ziproxy compression proxy that I run http traffic through.  I don't run https through it because I haven't set up the man-in-the-middle stuff yet.

brucedevauxone said:

that could be STEALING-

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Well, no. The library and the mall provide wifi to their patrons.

I have breakfast and/or lunch in the McDonalds/Burger King/whatever.

STEALING would be hacking a password to break into a system that nobody wants you to be on. That is bad juju.

When I have to draft long responses in emails I type it in a word processing program. Then later I copy and paste into the email. Saves all that time of sitting on the internet while not really needing the internet.