Every weekday, our guide to the Web takes care of business, tackling tech topics that really matter to everybody. From topic definitions to topical rants, Dan Gray’s pieces inform as much as they entertain.
Have you done away with your conventional telephone line? I’m giving it serious consideration here at Ranchero Indebto.
Back in the day, a family had one telephone line… perhaps two, if a “teenager’s line” was added to the bill. And a hefty bill it was. These days, everyone in the family has their own cell phone. [...]
The laws, they are a changin’. Here in the glorious Garden State, law enforcement authorities are now allowed to pull over and ticket drivers for using a cell phone while driving… but only if you are not using a hands-free phone.
You’re free to chat all you want, as long as you have a headset or [...]
I know I promised to cut back on regurgiblogging … but this one was too intriguing to pass up. Physorg.com is reporting that research in Sweden and Michigan has shown “that mobile phone radiation appeared to cause insomnia, headaches and concentration difficulties.”
Insomnia? Check.
Headaches? Check.
Concentration difficulties? Lets go ride bikes!
Seeing that I hardly use a cell phone these days, [...]
The lights go out at pre-paid cell phone provider Amp’d Mobile on Tuesday … on the heels of the demise of SunRocket last week. Coincidence? The beginning of the end of the telcom startups? Or just part of an inevitable phase of consolidation? Amp’d, like Sunrocket, had to burn a considerable amount of marketing [...]
$1,100 in cell phone text messaging charges? The Washington Post ran an article last Sunday about a teenager whose “incessant text-messaging racked up a huge phone bill on the family’s wireless plan.” Like it’s news that the cell phone companies are ripping us all off blind for those text messaging transgressions. It’s an all [...]
Is this the beginning of a trend? NPR reports that loan companies in Finland are accepting loan applications via text message. It seems these Finn lenders have taken the payday loan scheme a big step further into impulse land. “The loans are approved quickly but come with exorbitant interest rates.” The lure of cash in [...]
Check your mobile bills, my friends. Three of the big four cellular phone service providers are upping their per-message SMS rates for many by a whopping 50%. It all began with Sprint Nextel, then Cingular, and now Verizon … they’re all lining up to take advantage of the unwary. That’s the bad news. The good [...]
It’s not very often that a check arrives in the mail out of the blue. I opened the mailbox today to find a check from Verizon Wireless for $93.94. There was no explanation other than a form letter laser printed on the check stub.
Dear Customer,
Verizon Wireless has done an extensive audit of accounts and determined [...]
Pay as you go cell phones are a great solution for folks with modest airtime requirements and a limited budget. In these situations, plans that allow you to pay solely for airtime can conserve cash when compared to standard plans with yearly commitments. Why pay a high monthly minimum when you need a cell phone [...]
Oh those wacky ring tones. For better or for worse, they’re everywhere these days. Here’s your chance to share your opinions and sound off on the subject …
Living in the boonies can present plenty of obstacles for a geek lifestyle from the lack of electronic retailers, to the dearth of broadband, and the rarity of solid cellular service. Thank heavens for the workarounds… and for the Gnomies that bring us brave tales of geekdom (and reports on cool gear, like cellular repeaters) [...]
Faithful readers may be familiar with rancho indebto’s family cellphone saga … lost on the beach, run through the washing machine, $150 in IM charges … we’ve been through it all. After running without a single cellphone for months now, the pressure’s on to jump back on the wagon. I might roll the [...]
My Tmobile Sidekick finally gave up the ghost this weekend. It won’t connect for either voice or data. I’ve spent hours on the line with Tmobile trying to get things sorted out. This sad little Sidekick is long out of warranty, so it all comes down to how much I want to spend to replace [...]
You’ve put off getting a new cell phone. You’ve put off getting an MP3 player. You’re waiting for the convergence. “The first mobile phone with iTunes” has finally arrived. Is the new Motorola ROKR the answer to your dreams?
Identity theft is one thing. Losing your cellphone after a wild night on the town? That’s something else, altogether … especially when the cellphone’s phone book includes phone numbers for Bill Gates, two former presidents, and a host of music and movie stars. Just ask Jimmy Buffett …
Cellphones … can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em, some might say. To tell the truth, I can live without a cellphone. Easily. Of all of our modern conveniences, I find the mobile phone to be the most annoying. It’s not that I want to be out of touch — far from it. If [...]
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