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Raw Bytes Computer News KPBX FM 91.1 Radio National Public Radio Network Frank Delaney Producer Broadcast on Wednesday Morning 7:35 AM During Morning Edition Support Public Radio ! The Theater Of the Mind |
In computer news this week 08/06/2008 Cell phones for people who
don’t like cell phones and using them with the internet I like
many people don’t like cell phones. I realize their positive aspects
for emergencies and other situations, and I acknowledge their convenience. On
the other hand, I have seen way too many people driving erratically because
of cell phones, and I for one am tired of hearing boorish people and their
stupid cell phone conversations in restaurants, grocery stores, movie
theaters and other places I think they should be banned. I was a
Navy Communications Technician for 4 years during Vietnam and operated the
world’s most sophisticated communications equipment, so I am not
anti-communications technology.
For several years I had the Timex watch that received emails, which
they finally stopped making after they figured out it was way too much of a
good deal, compared to what cell phone companies charge. But I’m just
never away from my office phone or email – which I can get from anywhere
now - long enough to want a cell phone. There are
a few exceptions, and for both of them I bought a temporary Tracfone –
which are sold all over like at stores Shopko – and you buy time cards
as you need them. You activate
them through the internet, and you can buy additional time thru the internet
too. When I
went to Mississippi in the Summer of 2006 to do research for a special I am
producing on the old bluesman Mississippi John Hurt. I bought the smallest
Tracfone they had, at a local Riteaid store, and a cellphone time card of 60 minutes.
The total was $ 30 for the phone and the minutes. I bought it home, plugged the phone in
to charge it, and went to http://tracfone.com/
for further instructions. I was able to activate the phone while it was
charging, and get my card minutes added to it, and I was an official cell
phone user in minutes. This was your barebones cellphone, 1 step up from the
Campbell’s soup can and a string. I used it
a couple times to test it. and then in some airports, and a few times in
Mississippi, and then came home with minutes still left and threw it in a
cabinet. A few
weeks ago I planned a trip to Seattle, and decided I might need a cellphone
again. In 2 years, my old phone
had become obsolete, so I had to buy another one. This time I went to Shopko
which has a big Tracfone display, and bought a Motorola W370 phone because the
logo looks like the Batman logo and I thought that was cool, and included double minutes for life. The total
was about $ 55 for the phone and 120 minutes plus bonus minutes for
activating it thru the web, which are good until Christmas. Again I charged
and activated it and get my card minutes added to it on the internet, and I
was an official new generation cell phone user in minutes
Although
certainly not a Blackberry high end cellphone, it does have a hands free
speaker, and I can use it as a regular cellphone or send text messages and
emails too. It has built-in functions like a calculator and an alarm clock,
games, and you can download all the kiddy delight ringtones and wallpaper
that you want. It’s also supposed to surf the web, but does a poor job.
I’ve tried several cell phone for web surfing and none of them are
stellar. There are
now twice as many cell phones as there are pc’s, so they’re not
going away, but you don’t have to always join them. |
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For Raw Bytes This is Frank Delaney (C) 2008 MTA Micro
Technology Associates http://www.mtamicro.com/kpbx.html PO Box 31522 Spokane, Wa 99223-1522 (509)624-7230 |
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