Will us elders soon be computerless?

On Sat, 11 Apr 2015 22:43:41 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:

double the monthly bill. I dont make many LD calls, but if I do, I use
the cell. But to make any cell calls, I have to drive (or walk) up the
hill. 100ft uphill makes a huge difference in signal power. 1/2 mile
away I get 6 to 8 bars on the cell. Yet, inside the house I get no
signal. (Metal siding and too far downhill).

My situation rural isn't all that much difference than yours. When
I moved here, all I had was dialup, but I didn't pay any long distance
phone charges. Dialup was all local calling.

Why would yours be any different?

My dialup is a local call, and it's included with my phone service at no
extra charge. (I used to have to pay extra for it). But I would also
have to pay extra for long distance service (FOR CALLS). Just to *have*
long distance service is something like $20 more per month, even if I
dont make any LD calls. And then it costs per minute to use it. So, I
just removed the LD access. I use my cell for the few LD calls I make
each year. Most businesses have 800 numbers and those I can still call
with my landline. I save $20 to $50 a month on the landline by not
having the LD service. The only drawback is that to make a LD call on
my cell, I have to drive up the hill. But I normally go to town almost
every day anyhow, so I just call from my car.

| Yes, I have a landline, same line I use for the internet, I can use for
| phone calls too. But I also have a prepaid cellphone. However, I do
| not have access to long distance on the landline. That would more than
| double the monthly bill.

I don't know if this will help you.... it probably
depends on your location: For a few years
I was using phone cards from RNKTel for long
distance. 1,000 minutes, for 6 months, for $5.
I spent $10/year and saved something like
$15/month on phone bills. Then Verizon and
RCN, my two options, both did away with plans.
They now only sell unlimited, national coverage.
But for you it might be worth looking into cards.
Two caveats: 1) Oddly, the different phone cards
vary greatly. Some are very expensive. 2) You need
to be sure that the card you use has a phone
access number in your local calling area.

On 4/12/15 4:38 AM, wrote:
On Sat, 11 Apr 2015 22:43:41 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:

double the monthly bill. I dont make many LD calls, but if I do, I use
the cell. But to make any cell calls, I have to drive (or walk) up the
hill. 100ft uphill makes a huge difference in signal power. 1/2 mile
away I get 6 to 8 bars on the cell. Yet, inside the house I get no
signal. (Metal siding and too far downhill).

My situation rural isn't all that much difference than yours. When
I moved here, all I had was dialup, but I didn't pay any long distance
phone charges. Dialup was all local calling.

Why would yours be any different?

My dialup is a local call, and it's included with my phone service at no
extra charge. (I used to have to pay extra for it). But I would also
have to pay extra for long distance service (FOR CALLS). Just to *have*
long distance service is something like $20 more per month, even if I
dont make any LD calls. And then it costs per minute to use it. So, I
just removed the LD access. I use my cell for the few LD calls I make
each year. Most businesses have 800 numbers and those I can still call
with my landline. I save $20 to $50 a month on the landline by not
having the LD service. The only drawback is that to make a LD call on
my cell, I have to drive up the hill. But I normally go to town almost
every day anyhow, so I just call from my car.

Check into Google Voice (voice.google.com). Free long distance calling.

My long distance charges max out at $20/month, but since I use Google
Voice for the occasional call... Well..... No charges at all. LOL




--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 36.0.4
Thunderbird 31.5
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

On Sun, 12 Apr 2015 09:18:02 -0400, "Mayayana"
wrote:


I don't know if this will help you.... it probably
depends on your location: For a few years
I was using phone cards from RNKTel for long
distance. 1,000 minutes, for 6 months, for $5.
I spent $10/year and saved something like
$15/month on phone bills. Then Verizon and
RCN, my two options, both did away with plans.
They now only sell unlimited, national coverage.
But for you it might be worth looking into cards.
Two caveats: 1) Oddly, the different phone cards
vary greatly. Some are very expensive. 2) You need
to be sure that the card you use has a phone
access number in your local calling area.


Before my mother passed away, I used to buy those phone cards so we
could talk for awhile, not limit calls to 10 minutes or so. I used to
shop around for them, and while some were a good price, thers were very
costly. But one thing I watched on them was the "per call deduction". A
1000 minute card might only cost $8, but everytime a call was made, as
much as 30 minutes was taken off immediately. So, if I made 10 one
minute calls, I used up 310 minutes. You really need to read all th fine
print on them. On top of that, they expire after 3 months or 6 or
whatever. I once bought one and misplaced it. A year later I found it
and it was worthless, even though I have never used it. Somehow they
are dated by the date of sale.

One of the best ones I found, was sold at one of the dollar stores. It
was cheap, and fair in it's policies. Then I went to buy another one,
and it was no longer sold.

But now a days, I dont make enough LD calls to justify them. I just use
my call, and keep the calls short. Plus, most of my distant friends have
computers and we just send email, which I find almost a better way to
communicate, because we can share photos and stuff. Of course some of
the toung generation say email is obsolete. They say "just post
everything to facebook". I dont care if it's just a picture of my dog, I
really dont want to share it with strangers, who may make rude comments
about the dog.
Some things are just not meant to be public, and I dont care how
selective you are with FB, it seems that strangers still can read what I
posted. (I have a FB account for about 3 weeks, probably 5 years ago....
I killed it, after some assholes began being more than rude, because of
a slightly off color joke about Santa Claus at xmas time!!!) [And the
joke was not vulgar, sexist or racist, just adult content].

However, my dog has a FB account. It includes his first name, his FAKE
last name, his date of birth WITH 25 YEARS ADDED, a photo of "a dog"
stolen from a website, and his favorite hobby "chewing bones". He has
no "FB friends", and has never posted anything after signing up.

The only purpose of that FB acct. is because I have found some local
music bands who post their performance schedule on a (FB member only)
account. So, (after disabling all my FB blockers), I can sign on and
read all their stuff.

Other than that, I wouldn't touch FB with someone elses "salami" on the
end of a 10 foot pole! And I clear all my browser cache, cookies, etc
right afterwards.

| But one thing I watched on them was the "per call deduction". A
| 1000 minute card might only cost $8, but everytime a call was made, as
| much as 30 minutes was taken off immediately. So, if I made 10 one
| minute calls, I used up 310 minutes. You really need to read all th fine
| print on them. On top of that, they expire after 3 months or 6 or
| whatever. I once bought one and misplaced it.

That's true. That's why I said RNKTel. The first card
I tried was something like $.45 to place the call. But
RNKTel was just what it said: 1,000 minutes for $5
for 6 months. I always had minutes left over by the
time the card expired, so I literally spent $10/year.
(It's very odd how much they vary. I can only guess
that the exploitive companies stay in business due
to customer ignorance.)