A dongle isn't necessary as long as the receiver is supported by the private sever. rq-sssp-client works well, with the PC acting as a dongle. It works better under Linux than under Windows. Try Ubuntu; it is easier to use than most other distros and there is good support. Currently only two public servers are a little bit stable, but are still unreliable. I wouldn't recommend a free server other than satzen or iLink. Therefore, your best alternative right now is to subscribe to a private server using above setup. You should also know that the reported mismatch error on the coolsats is fixed by a new channel list. Most people currently prefer to have private server subscription ($35 - $200 per year) in order to get more channels and options.