USB modems being what they are, you might have to remove the dongle from the router every now and then and pop it back in to restart the modem. In theory, provided the USB modem doesn't freeze, if the connection drops the wireless router should handle the reconnects. Most routers are configured using a web browser - no software required on the Mac itself. I'm not familiar with the Huawei E585 but if you buy a battery operated device make sure it continues to work when plugged into the mains (charging) - some don't. Unfortunately most of the dongles UK providers give out for free (or for a nominal charge) are generally of poor quality. For modem I use Option
ICON 505 but it's not cheap (around £90). I like the Novatel brand as well for performance. If your mum's comfortable plugging the dongle into the Mac whenever she needs it, or selecting the MiFi network through Airport, plus a few steps to click connect you won't need an always on router.
do they ALL drop the 3G connection if they have no connected clients or those clients are not requiring traffic?
Not by design but if you set up the connection with idle disconnect options it would. The IP address is likely to change after a drop.
A good way to keep track of dynamic IP addresses is to get an account with
DynDNS.com and install the
update client software on the Mac. It runs unobtrusively in the background and starts up with the OS. I pay $15 per year for the Pro account just to keep my domains alive otherwise it needs a periodical reconfirmation of use by logging in to the account.
Sorry I don't have any direct experience using LogMeIn but that's the sort of the service I would go for. I use MobileMe (
Back-to-my-Mac) for this purpose.
bosie
Edited by bosie (Sun 01-Aug-10 09:34:45)