I'll be entering the industry as a newbie in January.

I wanna get a brand new laptop good for OTR. I enjoy lots of YouTube stuff and cam2cam chit chat during my leisure times.

Obviously, I wanna hook up with the best wireless ISP that suits me.

I'm soliciting suggestions

What laptops are great for my OTR ambitions?
What ISP's are great for my OTR ambitions?
What power converters are best for laptops?

You get my drift?

Dells Xps M1330 is a great laptop. They are light weight very durable (road ready) and have enough power to run several applications simultaneously. I ordered 2. 1 for me and 1 for the wife. They currently have an 800.00 off promotion. Awesome reviews from everyone who has 1.

You can spec your new laptop with an internal air card in addition to the regular internal wifi connectivity. Your choices are Verizon, Sprint, or ATT. They all have large networks and will charge an activation fee as well as 50 to 60 per month for unlimited usage (for ATT anyway). With the air card you can get on line in the middle of a cornfield as long as there is a wireless cell tower in range.

The cost for the best configuration with webcam, fingerprint reader, upgrade memory etc. is just under 2 grand after the 800 off. Well worth the money.

Does the "unlimited usage" include cam2cam video streaming, video uploading/downloading. I vaguely recall that ATT wireless doesn't allow for that. Am I wrong about that?

This is a new service for me and have not used it yet. I have always used the normal wifi connection. I would suggest contacting each isp and questioning the reps to find which program will best suit your needs.

Something else to think about: Buy a small scanner-printer. When you get receipts (scale, lumpers, etc) and signed BOL's, scan then into the laptop so you have a copy. That way, if the company "loses" the BOL or receipt, you have a copy you can print or e-mail to the company for reimbursement.

Just an idea.

I never considered that. I have had receipts "disappear" and "bills" have been misplaced in the past delaying my pay for the trip until they were "found." How about a scanner that is tied to your computer that can then e-mail the image of the receipts and signed bills to the company? Is this technology available yet for the general public?
I think this is the premise Transflo uses but the convenience of scanning the documents in the truck rather than searching for a truckstop to scan your bills might be well worth the hundred bucks it costs for a scanner (deductible too lol).

I have seen them in a small (not flatbed) style for about $80. The only question on this is a power inverter strong enough to power it?

I have a Verizon National Broadband Access card and for $60 a month you get unlimited usage. I sometimes download close to a Gig on some days, but its close to 30mb daily and never had a extra charge above the $60.

You can get a signal just about anywhere.

I have just activated my new att aircard and was assured by the ATT rep that it is unlimited usage. I will see how the new computer handles in the sticks on att's network.
Right now I am sitting in Farmingdale New York waiting for my trailer to be emptied using my broadband connection. I am attempting to network my wifes computer (adhoc) into my internet connection but it says limited connectivity on her computer. Anyone know what I am doing wrong here?