My best friend was just over to work on his wife's van in my garage. Told
me about a job his son is going to apply for.

Giving away cell phones! Giving away freakin' cell phones.

He has a friend that is doing it and took home a check for $500 for one
weeks worth of effort.

Must be an election year, huh?

How is that not buying votes?

How is that not simply insane?

Freakin' disgusting - again!

--

-Mike-

"Mike Marlow" wrote:

My best friend was just over to work on his wife's van in my garage.
Told me about a job his son is going to apply for.

Giving away cell phones! Giving away freakin' cell phones.

He has a friend that is doing it and took home a check for $500 for
one weeks worth of effort.

Must be an election year, huh?

How is that not buying votes?

How is that not simply insane?

Freakin' disgusting - again!
-------------------------------------------------
What qualifies a person to receive a free phone?

Lew

On 10/14/2014 9:26 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:
My best friend was just over to work on his wife's van in my garage. Told
me about a job his son is going to apply for.

Giving away cell phones! Giving away freakin' cell phones.

He has a friend that is doing it and took home a check for $500 for one
weeks worth of effort.

Must be an election year, huh?

How is that not buying votes?

The origin of this traces to Reagan and George W expanded it to
cellphones. So, tell me, what were they thinking?

I can see that if you don't have a phone that getting a job is
impossible. But it is clearly abused and businesses are in it for the
money. Apparently enough to make them spring up like mushrooms after a rain.

How is that not simply insane?

Freakin' disgusting - again!



--
pentapus

On 10/14/2014 9:58 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote:
"Mike Marlow" wrote:

My best friend was just over to work on his wife's van in my garage.
Told me about a job his son is going to apply for.

Giving away cell phones! Giving away freakin' cell phones.

He has a friend that is doing it and took home a check for $500 for
one weeks worth of effort.

Must be an election year, huh?

How is that not buying votes?

How is that not simply insane?

Freakin' disgusting - again!
-------------------------------------------------
What qualifies a person to receive a free phone?

http://www.freegovernmentcellphones.net/basics/qualify

Where I live they are restricted to 300 minutes. You can buy extra, and
the phones are very cheap types.

Lew





--
pentapus

Lew Hodgett wrote:
"Mike Marlow" wrote:

My best friend was just over to work on his wife's van in my garage.
Told me about a job his son is going to apply for.

Giving away cell phones! Giving away freakin' cell phones.

He has a friend that is doing it and took home a check for $500 for
one weeks worth of effort.

Must be an election year, huh?

How is that not buying votes?

How is that not simply insane?

Freakin' disgusting - again!
-------------------------------------------------

What qualifies a person to receive a free phone?


I don't have a clue Lew.

--

-Mike-

pentapus wrote:
On 10/14/2014 9:58 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote:
"Mike Marlow" wrote:

My best friend was just over to work on his wife's van in my garage.
Told me about a job his son is going to apply for.

Giving away cell phones! Giving away freakin' cell phones.

He has a friend that is doing it and took home a check for $500 for
one weeks worth of effort.

Must be an election year, huh?

How is that not buying votes?

How is that not simply insane?

Freakin' disgusting - again!
-------------------------------------------------
What qualifies a person to receive a free phone?

http://www.freegovernmentcellphones.net/basics/qualify

Where I live they are restricted to 300 minutes. You can buy extra,
and the phones are very cheap types.

I have heard 250 minutes around here and they are iPhones.

--

-Mike-

Must be on assistance such as public housing, SNAP, SSI, LIHEAP, TANF, free school lunches....it is an extension of telephone service for NEEDY folks that stems from land line only days. Everyone with a phone way back when paid something like a $1 per month into the Universal Telephone Assistance Program so that others may have access to call 911. Now they set up in tents and there have been numerous news reports over the past few years about how easy it is to walk up and get a cellphone or three or four with so many hours per month and texting. I believe the original program predates Bush or Reagan. Just like many other great society programs enrollment skyrocketed in the past 6 years. Step right up.

On 10/14/2014 11:23 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:
pentapus wrote:
On 10/14/2014 9:58 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote:
"Mike Marlow" wrote:

My best friend was just over to work on his wife's van in my garage.
Told me about a job his son is going to apply for.

Giving away cell phones! Giving away freakin' cell phones.

He has a friend that is doing it and took home a check for $500 for
one weeks worth of effort.

Must be an election year, huh?

How is that not buying votes?

How is that not simply insane?

Freakin' disgusting - again!
-------------------------------------------------
What qualifies a person to receive a free phone?

http://www.freegovernmentcellphones.net/basics/qualify

Where I live they are restricted to 300 minutes. You can buy extra,
and the phones are very cheap types.

I have heard 250 minutes around here and they are iPhones.

More on this:

http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/26/tech...e-free-phones/

The subsidy is from a government-created program called Lifeline, which
is paid for by customer fees on most phone bills. The program is
overseen by the Federal Communications Commission, and has its roots in
a universal access initiative that began in 1985, during Ronald Reagan's
administration.
Here's how it works: If you're eligible for other forms of government
assistance like Medicaid or food stamps (the rules differ by state),
then you qualify to receive a $9.25 per month phone subsidy.
Participating wireless companies will typically offer a free phone (paid
for by the company), with an allotment of Lifeline minutes each month.
Lifeline subscribers can collect only one monthly subsidy, for either a
landline or a wireless phone. Around 75% of them have chosen to go wireless.
Where does the money for Lifeline subsidy come from? You.
Take a look at your phone bill and you'll see a charge -- typically a
few dollars a month -- for payments to the "Universal Service Fund."
That's the umbrella program covering various ventures, including
Lifeline, that are designed to make telephone communications universally
available to all Americans.
The government requires most telecoms to pay into the fund. The carriers
then typically pass the costs on to their customers as a monthly
surcharge. Last year, Lifeline accounted for 20% of the $8.1 billion
Universal Service Fund distributed to support connections for rural
areas, schools, hospitals and low-income individuals.
There are 17 million households currently signed up for the program, up
from under 7 million just four years ago.
There are two reasons for the rapid growth.
First, the recession dramatically increased the number of people who are
eligible.
Second, in 2008, during George W. Bush's administration, the FCC allowed
wireless carrier Tracfone to join the program's list of approved providers.
Tracfone has aggressively gone after Lifeline customers. It advertises
its "free phone" on television, pays commissioned street teams to canvas
low-income neighborhoods for new subscribers, and signs customers up
through a splashy website that promises "250 Free Minutes Every Month!
Pay Nothing!"



--
pentapus

On 10/14/2014 8:26 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:
My best friend was just over to work on his wife's van in my garage. Told
me about a job his son is going to apply for.

Giving away cell phones! Giving away freakin' cell phones.

He has a friend that is doing it and took home a check for $500 for one
weeks worth of effort.

Must be an election year, huh?

How is that not buying votes?

How is that not simply insane?

Freakin' disgusting - again!



Well cell phones, like printers, are not about selling the phone/printer
so much as selling the minutes-data-texts/ink.

FWIW you can get an iPhone from APPLE and most any carrier for free.

On 10/14/2014 8:58 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote:
"Mike Marlow" wrote:

My best friend was just over to work on his wife's van in my garage.
Told me about a job his son is going to apply for.

Giving away cell phones! Giving away freakin' cell phones.

He has a friend that is doing it and took home a check for $500 for
one weeks worth of effort.

Must be an election year, huh?

How is that not buying votes?

How is that not simply insane?

Freakin' disgusting - again!
-------------------------------------------------
What qualifies a person to receive a free phone?

Lew
Walking into an Apple store and asking for one.

On Wed, 15 Oct 2014 14:41:07 +0000 (UTC), Baxter
wrote:


Shouldn't this rant be in a .politics group instead of a woodworking
group?

Ever hear of a "kill file" or "next" key? Instead of becoming a
netkop, learn to use one of them.

Leon wrote:
On 10/14/2014 8:58 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote:
"Mike Marlow" wrote:

My best friend was just over to work on his wife's van in my garage.
Told me about a job his son is going to apply for.

Giving away cell phones! Giving away freakin' cell phones.

He has a friend that is doing it and took home a check for $500 for
one weeks worth of effort.

Must be an election year, huh?

How is that not buying votes?

How is that not simply insane?

Freakin' disgusting - again!
-------------------------------------------------
What qualifies a person to receive a free phone?

Lew

Walking into an Apple store and asking for one.

I'm not so sure that is possible anymore. A year or so ago I was able to
replace an iPhone 4S that my wife owned and broke, for $ 0.99 through our
carrier (ATT). I've not seen similar offers for a while now. Certainly
hadn't stumbled across any free offers.

--

-Mike-

pentapus wrote:


If this anecdotal on your part, it is not what I see at all. I have
reason to go in the hood and I see these year after year, not more now
than last year, nor the year before. What you do hear more of on the
election years is it being brought up on talk radio.


Fist off - this is anecdotal on your part. You have reason to go into the
hood and see things but how much do you genuinely evaluate any one of these
things? Second - you clearly missed or ignord my original point. I never
made any mention of talk radio, rather of somewhat close personal
experience. You jumped to the talk radio thing that has not even been a
part of this conversation to this point. That alone is cause enough to
write you off.


It's about the money, and although it is only about 20% of the fee,
with the rest going to rural and schools and such, but it is still
real money. Follow the money and you see what is going on, the
politics of this favors the right not the left, which is why all the
agitation is on the right.

Follow the politics - unless that is against your lean.




As far as buying votes, the rabble you most complain about with the
"Free" phones are not voters. Giving them a phone and they are no more
inclined to vote than before, or change parties.

Cite...?

The facts are not
there, regardless of what some talking head says.

So - talking head would include internet voices like yours.

The right will get
more votes out of arousing their base on this than the left will
counting on deadbeats with free phones to be inspired to push the D.
That is fiction and fantasy to believe that is where the D votes are.

Interesting - you brought the right vs left into this. That was not an
element of this discussion until you brought it up. Why is that such a
prevelant thought in your mind when it has not been introduced by anyone
else? I sense an agenda at work here.


Follow the money, see where it goes, and you will have a better idea.

Follow the politics and you will see, but I doubt that will ever happen.
I'm now dropping out of this conversation with you.

--

-Mike-

On 10/15/2014 2:08 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:
Leon wrote:
On 10/14/2014 8:58 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote:
"Mike Marlow" wrote:

My best friend was just over to work on his wife's van in my garage.
Told me about a job his son is going to apply for.

Giving away cell phones! Giving away freakin' cell phones.

He has a friend that is doing it and took home a check for $500 for
one weeks worth of effort.

Must be an election year, huh?

How is that not buying votes?

How is that not simply insane?

Freakin' disgusting - again!
-------------------------------------------------
What qualifies a person to receive a free phone?

Lew

Walking into an Apple store and asking for one.

I'm not so sure that is possible anymore. A year or so ago I was able to
replace an iPhone 4S that my wife owned and broke, for $ 0.99 through our
carrier (ATT). I've not seen similar offers for a while now. Certainly
hadn't stumbled across any free offers.


http://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/

Scroll down a touch and you will see the free one. ATT and other
carriers do this too.

On 10/15/2014 12:55 PM, Leon wrote:

[snip]


Well cell phones, like printers, are not about selling the phone/printer
so much as selling the minutes-data-texts/ink.

FWIW you can get an iPhone from APPLE and most any carrier for free.

Put your money where your mouth is, Leon. I'm calling bull**** on that
last comment.

You can pick up an iPhone if you have credit without any money done but
you'll find you're paying $22 to $26 month for 24 months (depending on
which model you're getting) in ADDITION to your call/data/text/line charge.

TINSTAAFL! Unless you're one of worthless POS's holding out your hand
for a free ride off the backs of the diminishing minority in the country
with a work ethic.

Life line? WTF needs 300 or more minutes and texts each month to
SURVIVE? Six hours on the phone better spent looking for work or doing
**** that you CAN do for yourself rather than expecting somebody else
(the government) to do it for you.

So... Show me the free iPhone. Should be easy for you to do since, "you
can get an iPhone from APPLE and most any carrier for free" g

On Wednesday, October 15, 2014 9:16:18 PM UTC-5, Leon wrote:


http://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/



Scroll down a touch and you will see the free one. ATT and other

carriers do this too.

Sorry, old chum. No free lunch, no free ride. Free means no strings attached. Free would mean I could walk into the Apple store and ask for a phone, they would hand me one, we would shake hands and I would walk out.

Not the case, and the phone companies have been doing this for years. They simply add the price of the phone to the plan. To get your "free" phone, all you have to do is sign a two year contract based on your desire to get a "free" phone. To find out how "free" the phone actually is, cancel your two year contract, or more immediately, drive the Apple store and try to walk out with a new Apple phone of any model without signing a 24 month commitment or paying for the phone.

To follow up your link, this is the next step called "choosing your carrier".

http://store.apple.com/us/buy-iphone/iphone5c

Note that they actually do offer that phone contract free, unlocked and ready to go as a phone ONLY for a mere $450.

Just sayin'. Everything costs something.

My younger sister crows about the fact that she has a new Samsung Galaxy that was "free". Really excited!

She was really upset and nearly refused to believe she was paying for the phone until we contacted Verizon and they told her that she could get the same service plan with her own Samsung Galaxy for $25 less a month with no 24 month commitment. Probably not so coincidentally, the 24 months X $25 per month extra she is paying is exactly the price of her Galaxy of $599.

Robert

Robert

On 10/19/2014 3:15 PM, wrote:
On Wednesday, October 15, 2014 9:16:18 PM UTC-5, Leon wrote:


http://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/



Scroll down a touch and you will see the free one. ATT and other

carriers do this too.

Sorry, old chum. No free lunch, no free ride. Free means no strings attached. Free would mean I could walk into the Apple store and ask for a phone, they would hand me one, we would shake hands and I would walk out.

Not the case, and the phone companies have been doing this for years. They simply add the price of the phone to the plan. To get your "free" phone, all you have to do is sign a two year contract based on your desire to get a "free" phone. To find out how "free" the phone actually is, cancel your two year contract, or more immediately, drive the Apple store and try to walk out with a new Apple phone of any model without signing a 24 month commitment or paying for the phone.

To follow up your link, this is the next step called "choosing your carrier".

http://store.apple.com/us/buy-iphone/iphone5c

Note that they actually do offer that phone contract free, unlocked and ready to go as a phone ONLY for a mere $450.

Just sayin'. Everything costs something.

My younger sister crows about the fact that she has a new Samsung Galaxy that was "free". Really excited!

She was really upset and nearly refused to believe she was paying for the phone until we contacted Verizon and they told her that she could get the same service plan with her own Samsung Galaxy for $25 less a month with no 24 month commitment. Probably not so coincidentally, the 24 months X $25 per month extra she is paying is exactly the price of her Galaxy of $599.

Robert

Robert


Well yes, the phone will cost you, but the phone itself is free. It
only stands to reason that you will need to agree to a 2 year plan, the
phone is worthless with out the plan.

But as a comparison, the 2 year plan/ commitment cost is the same for
the free phone as it is for the $500 iPhone 6+, and $500 less.

cut and paste from the FCC website...don't think Reagan was in office in '96. Maybe that was William Jefferson or his wife. I can see him now with that pointed finger pulled back in saying" I did not give cell phones to that woman"




Prior to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the Universal Service Fund (USF) operated as a mechanism by which interstate long distance carriers were assessed to subsidize telephone service to low-income households and high-cost areas. The Communications Act of 1934 stated that all people in the United States shall have access to rapid, efficient, nationwide communications service with adequate facilities at reasonable charges.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 expanded the traditional definition of universal service - affordable, nationwide telephone service to include among other things rural health care providers and eligible schools and libraries. Today, FCC provides universal service support through four mechanisms:

High Cost Support Mechanism provides support to certain qualifying telephone companies that serve high cost areas, thereby making phone service affordable for the residents of these regions.
Low Income Support Mechanism assists low-income customers by helping to pay for monthly telephone charges as well as connection charges to initiate telephone service.
Rural Health Care Support Mechanism allows rural health care providers to pay rates for telecommunications services similar to those of their urban counterparts, making telehealth services affordable.
Schools and Libraries Support Mechanism, popularly know as the "E-Rate," provides telecommunication services (e.g., local and long-distance calling, high-speed lines), Internet access, and internal connections (the equipment to deliver these services) to eligible schools and libraries.

On 10/15/2014 9:18 PM, Unquestionably Confused wrote:
On 10/15/2014 12:55 PM, Leon wrote:

[snip]


Well cell phones, like printers, are not about selling the phone/printer
so much as selling the minutes-data-texts/ink.

FWIW you can get an iPhone from APPLE and most any carrier for free.

Put your money where your mouth is, Leon. I'm calling bull**** on that
last comment.

Actually you can call it what you want. If you are willing to pay for
service you can get any number of telephones at zero "extra" cost to you.


You can pick up an iPhone if you have credit without any money done but
you'll find you're paying $22 to $26 month for 24 months (depending on
which model you're getting) in ADDITION to your call/data/text/line charge.

My son pays for data, and text and $10 for talk time, he can get an
iPhone 4C or a less featured phone for no extra cost, My wife did the
same 2 years ago.
My wife got a phone for free and only pays the $10 per month for her
share of the talk plan. She was not required to get a data or text plan
although the phone id capable of receiving both.

When our family started getting cell phones on a single family plan, the
price for 5 phones per month was and still is $100, first phone service
was $60 plus taxes each additional phone $10 each.
Three of us opted for the $20 Sony phones which were fine for just a
phone and 2 of us opted for the 1 cent phones. They all worked as
expected. 3 of us have up graded to iPhones so we pay more for data but
the others have upgraded for free and still only pay the $10 for service.

I can get an iPhone 5C for free this November and not pay any more for
service than I am right now. Since 2008 we have not paid any more for
phone service than we did then and all of us have upgraded 2~3 times,
some of us have paid $200 for the latest and greatest iPhones and some
of us have opted for the free phones.

What it boils down to is you can get a phone for free if you are willing
to not have the latest versions, although these are new phones, and will
pay for the service.

When I look at leaving my service the same and upgrading my phone from a
5 to a 6 or 5C, I can pay $200 for the 6 or $0 for the 5C with no
additional cost to me.

And for those that are wondering, I typically get the new phone set up
charge reversed since we have 5 phones on the same plan.

Leon wrote:


My son pays for data, and text and $10 for talk time, he can get an
iPhone 4C or a less featured phone for no extra cost, My wife did the
same 2 years ago.

I did something similar (we're on ATT) with my wife's phone. Got an iPhone
4 or 4S (can't remember now), factory reconditioned, for $0.99. Did not
even have to re-sign if I recall correctly, directly off the ATT web site.
Had it delivered the very next day by FedEx. Did not even have to pay
shipping. I looked for a similar deal not too long ago, and there were none
like that. Don't know if there is now that the iPhone 6 has come out.
Sometimes it's a matter of what new technology has just hit the streets.


My wife got a phone for free and only pays the $10 per month for her
share of the talk plan. She was not required to get a data or text
plan although the phone id capable of receiving both.

ATT requires you to take a data plan for all smartphones. Used to be you
could get away with just not signing up for data, but they changed that a
couple of years ago.



I can get an iPhone 5C for free this November and not pay any more for
service than I am right now. Since 2008 we have not paid any more for
phone service than we did then and all of us have upgraded 2~3 times,
some of us have paid $200 for the latest and greatest iPhones and some
of us have opted for the free phones.

I really have to check into this stuff myself because I need to upgrade my
Galaxy S3 - it's getting slow and the battery life is intermittently
horrible. Not completely a phone problem, but I'm getting tired of the S3
being treated like a forgotten child by ATT. Last I looked, it seemed that
the carriers were going to a new plan - instead of almost giving away
current phones, they now charge you a monthly fee for the phone which comes
out to nearly full retail if you keep it the life of the agreement. People
seem to think it's ok to pay $30 per month for a phone that we used to get
for no more than $99 under the old way of upgrading phones and signing a new
2 year agreement. I'm not sure exactly how these new programs work, and I
need to check into it, but it appears this is a new direction with the
Carriers.


--

-Mike-

"Leon" lcb11211@swbelldotnet wrote in message


My son pays for data, and text and $10 for talk time, he can get an
iPhone 4C or a less featured phone for no extra cost, My wife did the
same 2 years ago.
My wife got a phone for free and only pays the $10 per month for her
share of the talk plan. She was not required to get a data or text plan
although the phone id capable of receiving both.

When our family started getting cell phones on a single family plan, the
price for 5 phones per month was and still is $100, first phone service
was $60 plus taxes each additional phone $10 each.
Three of us opted for the $20 Sony phones which were fine for just a
phone and 2 of us opted for the 1 cent phones. They all worked as
expected. 3 of us have up graded to iPhones so we pay more for data but
the others have upgraded for free and still only pay the $10 for
service.

I can get an iPhone 5C for free this November and not pay any more for
service than I am right now. Since 2008 we have not paid any more for
phone service than we did then and all of us have upgraded 2~3 times,
some of us have paid $200 for the latest and greatest iPhones and some
of us have opted for the free phones.

What it boils down to is you can get a phone for free if you are willing
to not have the latest versions, although these are new phones, and will
pay for the service.

When I look at leaving my service the same and upgrading my phone from a
5 to a 6 or 5C, I can pay $200 for the 6 or $0 for the 5C with no
additional cost to me.

And for those that are wondering, I typically get the new phone set up
charge reversed since we have 5 phones on the same plan.

Gee, I wonder if I should give up my rotary dial, pulse phone?

--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

On 10/21/2014 12:37 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:
Leon wrote:


My son pays for data, and text and $10 for talk time, he can get an
iPhone 4C or a less featured phone for no extra cost, My wife did the
same 2 years ago.

I did something similar (we're on ATT) with my wife's phone. Got an iPhone
4 or 4S (can't remember now), factory reconditioned, for $0.99. Did not
even have to re-sign if I recall correctly, directly off the ATT web site.
Had it delivered the very next day by FedEx. Did not even have to pay
shipping. I looked for a similar deal not too long ago, and there were none
like that. Don't know if there is now that the iPhone 6 has come out.
Sometimes it's a matter of what new technology has just hit the streets.


My wife got a phone for free and only pays the $10 per month for her
share of the talk plan. She was not required to get a data or text
plan although the phone id capable of receiving both.

ATT requires you to take a data plan for all smartphones. Used to be you
could get away with just not signing up for data, but they changed that a
couple of years ago.



I can get an iPhone 5C for free this November and not pay any more for
service than I am right now. Since 2008 we have not paid any more for
phone service than we did then and all of us have upgraded 2~3 times,
some of us have paid $200 for the latest and greatest iPhones and some
of us have opted for the free phones.

I really have to check into this stuff myself because I need to upgrade my
Galaxy S3 - it's getting slow and the battery life is intermittently
horrible. Not completely a phone problem, but I'm getting tired of the S3
being treated like a forgotten child by ATT. Last I looked, it seemed that
the carriers were going to a new plan - instead of almost giving away
current phones, they now charge you a monthly fee for the phone which comes
out to nearly full retail if you keep it the life of the agreement. People
seem to think it's ok to pay $30 per month for a phone that we used to get
for no more than $99 under the old way of upgrading phones and signing a new
2 year agreement. I'm not sure exactly how these new programs work, and I
need to check into it, but it appears this is a new direction with the
Carriers.


Being total cheapskates, my wife and I have TracFone smart phones. Cost
us $100 for a year with 1350 minutes talk + 1350 texts + 1.3GB data.
Plenty for us.


--
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure,the creed of ignorance, and the
gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery"
-Winston Churchill

On Tue, 21 Oct 2014 16:29:01 -0400, "dadiOH"
wrote:

"Leon" lcb11211@swbelldotnet wrote in message
m

My son pays for data, and text and $10 for talk time, he can get an
iPhone 4C or a less featured phone for no extra cost, My wife did the
same 2 years ago.
My wife got a phone for free and only pays the $10 per month for her
share of the talk plan. She was not required to get a data or text plan
although the phone id capable of receiving both.

When our family started getting cell phones on a single family plan, the
price for 5 phones per month was and still is $100, first phone service
was $60 plus taxes each additional phone $10 each.
Three of us opted for the $20 Sony phones which were fine for just a
phone and 2 of us opted for the 1 cent phones. They all worked as
expected. 3 of us have up graded to iPhones so we pay more for data but
the others have upgraded for free and still only pay the $10 for
service.

I can get an iPhone 5C for free this November and not pay any more for
service than I am right now. Since 2008 we have not paid any more for
phone service than we did then and all of us have upgraded 2~3 times,
some of us have paid $200 for the latest and greatest iPhones and some
of us have opted for the free phones.

What it boils down to is you can get a phone for free if you are willing
to not have the latest versions, although these are new phones, and will
pay for the service.

When I look at leaving my service the same and upgrading my phone from a
5 to a 6 or 5C, I can pay $200 for the 6 or $0 for the 5C with no
additional cost to me.

And for those that are wondering, I typically get the new phone set up
charge reversed since we have 5 phones on the same plan.

Gee, I wonder if I should give up my rotary dial, pulse phone?

I have a rotary dial app for my smart phone. ;-)

On 10/21/2014 3:37 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:

Last I looked, it seemed that
the carriers were going to a new plan - instead of almost giving away
current phones, they now charge you a monthly fee for the phone which comes
out to nearly full retail if you keep it the life of the agreement. People
seem to think it's ok to pay $30 per month for a phone that we used to get
for no more than $99 under the old way of upgrading phones and signing a new
2 year agreement. I'm not sure exactly how these new programs work, and I
need to check into it, but it appears this is a new direction with the
Carriers.


Things have changed, be that good or bad. I got a smart phone and data
plan a couple of years ago. Recently my wife decided she wanted a smart
phone so I headed to ATT. Ended up upgrading my smart
phone, upgrading her from a flip to a smart. Unlimited calling, text,
and a 1G shared data plan and it is not much more than I paid with no
texting.

I really like the Galaxy S5

"Doug Winterburn" wrote:


Being total cheapskates, my wife and I have TracFone smart phones.
Cost us $100 for a year with 1350 minutes talk + 1350 texts + 1.3GB
data. Plenty for us.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Once I determined that I didn't need an electronic nurse maid
(AKA: Cell Phone), my communication needs became straight
forward.

When I started looking at cell phones (1990), they were very
expensive, bulky, required a bulky equipment installation
in the vehicle including an antenna and had many dead spots
just when you needed your cell most.

Finally they got rid of the bulky equipment in the vehicle, but
it was still a very expensive system and usage rates were high.

Prices for hardware kept dropping, coverage kept improving,
but my needs just never got to the point I could justify the
hardware and usage costs.

My customers could always get a call back if they left a message
on my voice mail and that was drove my whole thought process.

If I didn't lose orders, there was no need to solve a problem
that didn't exist.

Local and Long Distance is covered by Magic Jack for $20/year.

High Speed ISP service is another $50/month.

A "Burn" phone makes some sense these days if you are
traveling.

Air travel isn't what it once was.

If you are a woman traveling by herself these days, then
a cell phone becomes a security tool in addition to a
communication device.

Different ball game.

Lew

On 10/21/2014 10:18 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote:

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Once I determined that I didn't need an electronic nurse maid
(AKA: Cell Phone), my communication needs became straight
forward.



My customers could always get a call back if they left a message
on my voice mail and that was drove my whole thought process.

If I didn't lose orders, there was no need to solve a problem
that didn't exist.

Local and Long Distance is covered by Magic Jack for $20/year.

We've converted "wants" to "needs". The world managed to get by without
the use of cell phones for a long time. They are convenient, but you
can still get through life without one.

We used to walk to school about 1 1/2 miles in the dark because the sun
was not invented yet. Now, Johnny needs a cell phone because something
bad might happen while he walks three blocks to school.

When I was on the road in sales, I'd call into the office twice a day
for messages. Now the customer can call directly to the cell phone.
Questionable as to whether that is an improvement.

On 10/21/2014 3:38 PM, Doug Winterburn wrote:
On 10/21/2014 12:37 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:
Leon wrote:


My son pays for data, and text and $10 for talk time, he can get an
iPhone 4C or a less featured phone for no extra cost, My wife did the
same 2 years ago.

I did something similar (we're on ATT) with my wife's phone. Got an
iPhone
4 or 4S (can't remember now), factory reconditioned, for $0.99. Did not
even have to re-sign if I recall correctly, directly off the ATT web
site.
Had it delivered the very next day by FedEx. Did not even have to pay
shipping. I looked for a similar deal not too long ago, and there
were none
like that. Don't know if there is now that the iPhone 6 has come out.
Sometimes it's a matter of what new technology has just hit the streets.


My wife got a phone for free and only pays the $10 per month for her
share of the talk plan. She was not required to get a data or text
plan although the phone id capable of receiving both.

ATT requires you to take a data plan for all smartphones. Used to be you
could get away with just not signing up for data, but they changed that a
couple of years ago.



I can get an iPhone 5C for free this November and not pay any more for
service than I am right now. Since 2008 we have not paid any more for
phone service than we did then and all of us have upgraded 2~3 times,
some of us have paid $200 for the latest and greatest iPhones and some
of us have opted for the free phones.

I really have to check into this stuff myself because I need to
upgrade my
Galaxy S3 - it's getting slow and the battery life is intermittently
horrible. Not completely a phone problem, but I'm getting tired of
the S3
being treated like a forgotten child by ATT. Last I looked, it seemed
that
the carriers were going to a new plan - instead of almost giving away
current phones, they now charge you a monthly fee for the phone which
comes
out to nearly full retail if you keep it the life of the agreement.
People
seem to think it's ok to pay $30 per month for a phone that we used to
get
for no more than $99 under the old way of upgrading phones and signing
a new
2 year agreement. I'm not sure exactly how these new programs work,
and I
need to check into it, but it appears this is a new direction with the
Carriers.


Being total cheapskates, my wife and I have TracFone smart phones. Cost
us $100 for a year with 1350 minutes talk + 1350 texts + 1.3GB data.
Plenty for us.



Nothing wrong with that. We are on an old Unity plan, 5 users share 700
minutes a month. We have over 5000 carry over minutes that have
accumulated. If we call any number serviced by ATT we get don't get
charged with talk time or if we call after 8~9 pm week days or anytime
on weekends.

I also have unlimited data for $30 a month.

On 10/21/2014 2:37 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:
Leon wrote:


My son pays for data, and text and $10 for talk time, he can get an
iPhone 4C or a less featured phone for no extra cost, My wife did the
same 2 years ago.

I did something similar (we're on ATT) with my wife's phone. Got an iPhone
4 or 4S (can't remember now), factory reconditioned, for $0.99. Did not
even have to re-sign if I recall correctly, directly off the ATT web site.
Had it delivered the very next day by FedEx. Did not even have to pay
shipping. I looked for a similar deal not too long ago, and there were none
like that. Don't know if there is now that the iPhone 6 has come out.
Sometimes it's a matter of what new technology has just hit the streets.


My wife got a phone for free and only pays the $10 per month for her
share of the talk plan. She was not required to get a data or text
plan although the phone id capable of receiving both.

ATT requires you to take a data plan for all smartphones. Used to be you
could get away with just not signing up for data, but they changed that a
couple of years ago.



I can get an iPhone 5C for free this November and not pay any more for
service than I am right now. Since 2008 we have not paid any more for
phone service than we did then and all of us have upgraded 2~3 times,
some of us have paid $200 for the latest and greatest iPhones and some
of us have opted for the free phones.

I really have to check into this stuff myself because I need to upgrade my
Galaxy S3 - it's getting slow and the battery life is intermittently
horrible. Not completely a phone problem, but I'm getting tired of the S3
being treated like a forgotten child by ATT. Last I looked, it seemed that
the carriers were going to a new plan - instead of almost giving away
current phones, they now charge you a monthly fee for the phone which comes
out to nearly full retail if you keep it the life of the agreement. People
seem to think it's ok to pay $30 per month for a phone that we used to get
for no more than $99 under the old way of upgrading phones and signing a new
2 year agreement. I'm not sure exactly how these new programs work, and I
need to check into it, but it appears this is a new direction with the
Carriers.


Yeah they have introduced Next, IIRC. It allows up to 9 phones with
unlimited talk and text. Each phone is $15. You buy your own phone
interest free, on top of the $15, and can trade it back in in 12 and 18
month intervals for credit towards a new phone IIRC. Once you phone is
paid for your bill is back to $15. NO Contract.


With our current plan once the 2 year obligation is up the payment
remains the same.

This looks like a better deal for us if we choose to not upgrade every 2
years.

On 10/22/2014 7:57 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 10/21/2014 10:18 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote:

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Once I determined that I didn't need an electronic nurse maid
(AKA: Cell Phone), my communication needs became straight
forward.



My customers could always get a call back if they left a message
on my voice mail and that was drove my whole thought process.

If I didn't lose orders, there was no need to solve a problem
that didn't exist.

Local and Long Distance is covered by Magic Jack for $20/year.

We've converted "wants" to "needs". The world managed to get by without
the use of cell phones for a long time. They are convenient, but you
can still get through life without one.

Have you seen the absence of pay phones? ;~)

That and breaking down on the highway are the number one reasons that we
all made the switch 6 years ago.

On 10/21/2014 3:29 PM, dadiOH wrote:
"Leon" lcb11211@swbelldotnet wrote in message


My son pays for data, and text and $10 for talk time, he can get an
iPhone 4C or a less featured phone for no extra cost, My wife did the
same 2 years ago.
My wife got a phone for free and only pays the $10 per month for her
share of the talk plan. She was not required to get a data or text plan
although the phone id capable of receiving both.

When our family started getting cell phones on a single family plan, the
price for 5 phones per month was and still is $100, first phone service
was $60 plus taxes each additional phone $10 each.
Three of us opted for the $20 Sony phones which were fine for just a
phone and 2 of us opted for the 1 cent phones. They all worked as
expected. 3 of us have up graded to iPhones so we pay more for data but
the others have upgraded for free and still only pay the $10 for service.

I can get an iPhone 5C for free this November and not pay any more for
service than I am right now. Since 2008 we have not paid any more for
phone service than we did then and all of us have upgraded 2~3 times,
some of us have paid $200 for the latest and greatest iPhones and some
of us have opted for the free phones.

What it boils down to is you can get a phone for free if you are willing
to not have the latest versions, although these are new phones, and will
pay for the service.

When I look at leaving my service the same and upgrading my phone from a
5 to a 6 or 5C, I can pay $200 for the 6 or $0 for the 5C with no
additional cost to me.

And for those that are wondering, I typically get the new phone set up
charge reversed since we have 5 phones on the same plan.

Gee, I wonder if I should give up my rotary dial, pulse phone?

Yes! And take it to The Antiques Road Show for an appraisal. ;~)

"Leon" lcb11211@swbelldotnet wrote in message


Have you seen the absence of pay phones? ;~)

Yeah, I kinda miss them.

I joined the navy in July, 1951 when I was just shy of 18. Since I was
from Indiana, they naturally sent me to San Diego for boot camp. One of
the first things I learned from the California guys was how to make a pay
phone think a penny was a nickel (calls were $0.05 back then). About the
second thing was what to do with a cup of coffee and a benzedrine inhaler.
Those CA guys were a caution

That and breaking down on the highway are the number one reasons that we
all made the switch 6 years ago.

I ain't gonna switch, no need, my wife has one. I hate it.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

"Leon" wrote:

Have you seen the absence of pay phones?
------------------------------------------------
Did you see the bit from the UK the other day?

They are running a test in London by converting abandoned pay
phone booths into charging stations for phones/electronics/etc.

Lew

On Wed, 22 Oct 2014 08:57:51 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 10/21/2014 10:18 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote:

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Once I determined that I didn't need an electronic nurse maid
(AKA: Cell Phone), my communication needs became straight
forward.



My customers could always get a call back if they left a message
on my voice mail and that was drove my whole thought process.

If I didn't lose orders, there was no need to solve a problem
that didn't exist.

Local and Long Distance is covered by Magic Jack for $20/year.

We've converted "wants" to "needs". The world managed to get by without
the use of cell phones for a long time. They are convenient, but you
can still get through life without one.

Sure, I don't *need* a smart phone but it the real-time Navi was very
nice driving down to the bowels of Atlanta during rush hour (both
ways). It's also *nice* read the news when I'm waiting in line, the
doctor's office, or whatever.

We used to walk to school about 1 1/2 miles in the dark because the sun
was not invented yet. Now, Johnny needs a cell phone because something
bad might happen while he walks three blocks to school.

Johnny can't play in the dirt with his friends, either. The only
sports are organized by the parents (or schools). I always thought
pick up games were far more fun than organized games. Who needs
parents getting all serious? ;-)

When I was on the road in sales, I'd call into the office twice a day
for messages. Now the customer can call directly to the cell phone.
Questionable as to whether that is an improvement.

I'm at the other end of the phone but I think it's definitely an
improvement. I can get ahold of support or sales people quickly. I
imagine they're pretty useful for building contractors, too.

On 10/22/2014 7:56 PM, wrote:

Sure, I don't *need* a smart phone but it the real-time Navi was very
nice driving down to the bowels of Atlanta during rush hour (both
ways). It's also *nice* read the news when I'm waiting in line, the
doctor's office, or whatever.


They work in the bathroom too. My wife thinks it is terrible that I
text her from the bathroom.

On Wed, 22 Oct 2014 21:58:30 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 10/22/2014 7:56 PM, wrote:

Sure, I don't *need* a smart phone but it the real-time Navi was very
nice driving down to the bowels of Atlanta during rush hour (both
ways). It's also *nice* read the news when I'm waiting in line, the
doctor's office, or whatever.


They work in the bathroom too. My wife thinks it is terrible that I
text her from the bathroom.

Texting is one thing, but the guy holding a business phone call from
the next stall is a bit icky.

On 10/22/2014 9:37 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 22 Oct 2014 21:58:30 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 10/22/2014 7:56 PM, wrote:

Sure, I don't *need* a smart phone but it the real-time Navi was very
nice driving down to the bowels of Atlanta during rush hour (both
ways). It's also *nice* read the news when I'm waiting in line, the
doctor's office, or whatever.


They work in the bathroom too. My wife thinks it is terrible that I
text her from the bathroom.

Texting is one thing, but the guy holding a business phone call from
the next stall is a bit icky.

I can just hear the echo in his call - and a flush next door...
and the customer rolls his eyes.

Martin

On Wed, 22 Oct 2014 21:58:30 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
They work in the bathroom too. My wife thinks it is terrible that I
text her from the bathroom.

You've probably heard of this method, but for those who haven't, it
appears to work (sometimes)!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJAteBSMvbA

On 10/23/2014 11:23 AM, wrote:
On Wed, 22 Oct 2014 21:58:30 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
They work in the bathroom too. My wife thinks it is terrible that I
text her from the bathroom.

You've probably heard of this method, but for those who haven't, it
appears to work (sometimes)!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJAteBSMvbA


Fortunately, my new Samsung is waterproof. Hope I never have to find out
how well it works. An incredible number of phones meet their demise in
the toilet though.

This is really interesting, have you got a link for this Lew?

On Thu, 23 Oct 2014 21:43:38 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

Fortunately, my new Samsung is waterproof. Hope I never have to find out
how well it works. An incredible number of phones meet their demise in
the toilet though.

FYI, I have the Samsung S5 Active. A friend of mine has the same
phone. He forgot he had it in his back pocket and when swimming this
summer. After 30 minutes in the pool he realized his mistake. There
was no damage and the moisture indicators did not turn red.
--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA