Let the hive mind of Engadget get that for you.
"As someone who doesn't reside in the USA, I was wondering what would be the best way to get internet for my computer in the US for a couple of weeks? If it were Europe I know I'd look for some prepaid data. Is there anything similar offered by American carriers? A MiFi or a data SIM that I can tether from would work, but I'm trying to maintain a tight budget. Help!"
Okay, bare with me. This isn't that stupid. Imagine an audio hobbyist who is riding the cutting edge for fun and they have set up a room with a computer in it with the sole purpose of downloading and delivering huge and completely uncompressed audio files to very nice stereo speakers for their listening enjoyment. They already own a range of other components and speakers for CD's, SACD's, etc, and they have no interest in email, browsing, or anything else, this is a dedicated music station. I balked at first, but after thinking about it, I understand it. Every audio enthusiast knows the amp is crucial to sound quality but who makes an amp as dedicated to this experiment as this one? It could actually be a fun setup for those outliers purely interested in great music via the internet. The $800 price tag, surprisingly to the uninitiated, puts it in the "mad money" range of most people who would own a system like this. It's definitely a niche. Maybe I think the niche is more narrow that it actually is. Two questions: Can USB carry an undiminished signal? Are the internals of this amp decent and worth the $800?
Two very good questions, and two that I can't answer, which is why I'm beginning to look into amps like this one and the Peachtree I mentioned before. I have a great two-channel system, and my home theater is pretty good. But here in the computer room, I've just got a little Marantz receiver hooked up to the headphone jack out of my PC. I like to watch Netflix, and I'm a big fan of Last.fm internet radio, so I'm looking for a better way to get the sound out of my PC. I don't need a lot of power or perfect sound, just the USB and the DAC...