Abandon The Phone Company?

Been there, done that.

And I couldn't be happier.

Back around the beginning of May, I got an e-mail from Time Warner Cable, inviting me to be one of the first to get a phone system using the internet instead of the traditional phone line from "The Phone Company."

I'm apparently known in their system as an "Early Adopter." I was one of their test cases for Road Runner service a few months before they made it available to the general public. I'm also a good customer for them. Along with having the Road Runner service from the very beginning, I also have their digital cable, some premium channels and lease one of their DVR boxes. You know, the cable version of Tivo. And I must say, I have been very happy with all of their service.

In all the years I have had Road Runner, I have had fewer outages than I would experience in just 6 months of all the dial up service I used to have. And once, when my DVR started acting weird, they came out the next day and gave me a brand new one. So I'm sure that their new phone service, or VOIP, which means Voice Over IP, would probably be just as reliable.

But I went down that path about a year ago, and now with a years experience in using VOIP, I'm ready to say that I trust it as much as I did my traditional wired telephone service.

A little over a year ago, I saw an Internet ad for Vonage, and boy did it look good. I was paying over $60.00 a month for local phone service, and any long distance was tacked on top of that. I had been debating dropping the phone service and going with cell phones only. But when I saw the Vonage ad and started checking out the company and the services they offered, I saw that I could get local phone service, 500 minutes of long distance and all the bells and whistles that I was paying a huge fee for with Southern Bell, for just $25.00 a month. And there were more bells and whistles available with Vonage than with Southern Bell. I'm a sucker for bells and whistles.

I went online to discussion boards to see what had been said about Vonage. They were a new company and just starting in Greensboro last year. But they had been in some other markets across the country for several months, so there was a track record to look at. And the track seemed to be in pretty good shape.

So I went online (the only way to order the service) and signed up for it. There was a $29.99 activation fee and I paid the first months service of $25.99. The digital to analog converter I would need was provided "free" with the service. I'm sure the activation fee covered it, but still, it was a great deal.

Three days later, the converter arrives. I plug the cable that came with it into the back of the converter, the other end into my router, which is of course plugged into my cable modem, and plug my phones into the converter. I pick up the phone, and damn if there wasn't a dial tone. It really was that easy. I haven't looked back since.

Here are the disadvantages of this service, if you really want to call them disadvantages. I don't consider them to be disadvantages at all.

You have to use 11 digits to dial anywhere, even your neighbor across the street. That is 1, the area code, and the number.

Unless you know how to hook the converter into your home phone system (I didn't even try) you need to use cordless phones. I had bought one of those cordless phones which has multiple handsets with their own chargers. You plug the base unit into the converter and then put the extra handsets with their chargers anywhere in the house you want a phone.

If your internet service goes out, your phone service goes out.

Thats about all the disadvantages I can think of.

The advantages....

Much lower monthly cost. They have actually had a price reduction in the past year and I now have unlimited long distance and local calling for just $29.99 a month.

I can take my converter box and my phone with me if I go on vacation, and if I have broadband internet service where I'm staying, I just plug the coverter into the internet service there, and I have my local phone. This applies even if I am vacationing in France, or Hong Kong. As long as I have broadband service, I have my local phone. (note...I've never been to France or Hong Kong, that was just an example.)

I can go onto the internet and access my vonage account anytime and see a record of all of my phone calls, both incoming and outgoing since I started my service.

I can listen to my voice mail on the internet, on the phone or via e-mail.

I can get a phone number in any area code in the country I want.

International LD rates are very low.

The number of bells and whistles is just amazing. Go online and see for yourself.

I probably won't switch to the new Time Warner phone service because, according to the link they sent me to check it out, it would cost me about $45.00 a month and I still would not have the features that I get for just $29.99 from Vonage. But with their record of reliability, they would probably be a good phone provider and save you money from what you are paying now.

Have any of you tried the new Time Warner phone service yet? What about some of the other VOIP companies besides Vonage? Any good or bad experiences? I would be curious to hear from you about them.

Heard on Rush Limbaugh Today

Rush was talking to a woman from Asheville, NC about F-9/11 today. During the conversation, Rush implied that only small "art House" type theatres were showing the movie in the "Republican" states such as NC.

I don't think the Greensboro theatre qualifies as such. I think he may have gotten that from the Free Republic thread on Sunday night discussing the "Standing O" the movie got in Greensboro. You remember, the thread where the poster named "Littlejon" from Reidsville referred to Greensboro as the "Liberal Mecca" and UNC-G as UNC-Gay.

That same thread had discussed the theatre in Fayetteville/Fort Bragg which dared to show the movie and there was a lot of talk about how it was just a "small art house" theatre with few seats.

Rush also discussed how the media won't show the beheading videos and how Americans should be seeing them and the planes crashing into the WTC. The reason being of course that, if Americans would just watch these things, they would want to vote for George Bush. Gee, why doesn't Rush post the beheading videos on his own web site and let people watch them there? I think I'll send him an e-mail and suggest that to him.

Ed Cone Had It First

Ed Cone told me today that he had written about the fact that 101.1 was going to a news talk format back on June 1st, and had scooped the "traditional" media. So I went back and read his posts. Good job Ed. Not having read the Biz Journal article either, did they give you the credit you deserved?

Bloggers on a national scale have brought some big stories to the mainstream media and have also kept some stories alive that the mainstream media kept ignoring. Is there any sort of national organization that makes blogging awards or recognizes exceptional blogging? If there aren't, I guarantee you there will be at some time in the future. Outside of MeetUp, is there any organized local blogger group? Or are bloggers and blogging by it's very nature incapable of being organized?

Beware of Pop Up Ads

Got this from ZD Net today:

 

Security Alert: A Trojan horse that installs itself through a pop-up ad can read keystrokes and steal passwords when victims visit any of nearly 50 targeted banking sites--including Citibank, Barclays Bank and Deutsche Bank--security researchers warned yesterday. Microsoft said IE users should raise security settings to high until the company issues a patch.

 

If you're like me, I do all of my banking and bill paying via the web. Haven't stepped into a bank in quite a while. Luckily though, this particular problem is not directed at my bank, Bank Of America. Here is the complete list of bank url's this hacker is trying to reach. See if one of them is yours.

 

.bendigobank.com.au

.anz.com

national.com.au

westpac.com.au

.hsbc.com.au

barclays.co.uk

lloydstsb.co.uk

citibank.com.au

.online-banking.standardchartered.com.hk

www.ebank.iba.com.hk

www.dahsing.com

www.citibank.com.hk

.hsbc.com.hk

.deutsche-bank.de

.citibank.de

.sparkasse-banking.de

banking.lbbw.de

dit-online.de

.dab-bank.com

www1.bmo.com

www.scotiaonline.scotiabank.com

cibconline.cibc.com

www1.royalbank.com

easyweb.tdcanadatrust.com

suncorpmetway.com.au

cd.citibank.co.ae

ebank.uae.hsbc.com

banknetpower.net

nbd.ae

online-banking.standardchartered.ae

standardchartered.com

www.cbdonline.ae

www.arabi-online.com

banking.mashreqbank.com

www.unb.com

online.nbad.com

pbg1.edc.citiaccess.com

www.privatebank.citibank.com.sg

ekocbank.kocbank.com.tr

internetsube.akbank.com.tr

hercules.pamukbank.com.tr

www.alahlionline.com

www.samba.com

www.almubasher.com.sa

www.sabbnet.com

.e-gold.com

 

 

Dennis Elliott
Read My Blog 
www.elliottfamily.com

 

More on new talk station

Saw Ogi's column today in the GGO lamenting the fact that his beach music on 920 AM was being displaced with news talk programming. He wondered why the AM and 101.1 FM were planning on simulcasting their news talk programming. The rumor I have heard, and again this is just a rumor, is that when the FM goes news talk, the AM is going to become a spanish formatted station.

Another rumor I heard today is that Leanne Petty, who did news on WMAG for many years is coming back from Pittsburgh to do news on the new 101.1 news talk station.

Going to be fun to see which rumors pan out and which ones don't.

New Talk Radio Station For The Triad?

I'm hearing that we are getting a new talk radio station for the Triad. And this one will be FM, not AM.

 

Word is, WPCM,101.1 FM in Burlington is going to flip this week from country music to Talk.

 

WPCM has been programming country music for the Burlington and Raleigh market for several years, but reportedly is going to direct their new talk programming format to the Triad.

 

They are owned by Curtis Media which owns several stations in the Raleigh market including the big talk powerhouse, WPTF, 680 AM.

 

They are managed by Howard Nemenz. Howard was the GM of WTQR for many years before he went to Las Vegas to manage the new NASCAR track there. He came back here a few years and ago and has owned his own advertising agency.

 

I've heard rumors that they are planning on doing all local talk with no syndicated programming. But I've also heard that they may be picking up the Neil Boortz show, which is syndicated by Cox Broadcasting from Atlanta. Neil's show is based on WSB in Atlanta.

 

They will probably try to be even more conservative in their programming than WSJS is now. Just my prediction.

Warning: The following is graphic and may be cosidered obscene in Alabama

This morning, I came into work and had to visit the mens room. When I walked in, there was Bill Flynn, our morning show host on WMAG, standing in front of the mirror without his shirt!

 

I looked away, but it was too late. Like passing a horrific accident on the highway, the brief scene had seared itself into my brain. The vision is now reappearing inside my head much the same way a song you hate repeats itself over and over in your head after you accidentally listen to it.

 

Do you remember the episode of Seinfeld, where it is revealed George takes his shirt off whenever he goes to the bathroom?

 

I don't know if Bill has adopted this habit or not since he was shaving when I inadvertantly saw him sans shirt. But Bill, please, do your shaving at home.

Is Fahrenheit 9/11 Making A Difference?

Article in today's News and Record about the popularity of F-9/11. I had heard the weekend shows sold out, but the article mentions that Monday's shows sold out also. This has got to be a sign of something. What, I'm not sure of yet.

The article also mentions that a theatre in High Point and one in Winston Salem will have the movie this weekend.

Boring Radio

I know this will sound like sour grapes since I was fired nearly 3 years ago by Tom Hamilton, the GM at WSJS, but they have the worst excuse for a talk show in the afternoon that I have ever heard. I know Mike Finley and he is personally a nice guy, but Mike just sounds like he is going through the paces.

Tuned in yesterday to see if he was talking about F-9/11 and sure enough, he mentioned it. Almost in passing.

He got a call about it and the caller was wondering if the show was playing in Winston Salem, or where it might be showing in Greensboro. Mike was clueless. Knew nothing about how it had done, if it was in WS (it isn't yet) or anything else concerning the movie. I just had to cut it off. And my feelings have nothing to do with the fact that Mike is a conservative. The afternoon talk host in Raleigh on WPTF is conservative also, but I enjoy listening to his show. He is informed and energetic. He is also wrong about most things, but that's beside the point.

Fahrenheit 9/11 Gets Standing "O" in Greensboro...And according to a poster on Free Republic, Greensboro is a "Liberal Mecca".

Michael Moore is reported on Drudge as saying that.....
MOORE: 'We sold out in Fayetteville, home of Fort Bragg, We sold out in Army-base towns. We set house records in some of these places. We set single-day records in a number of theaters. We got standing ovations in Greensboro, N.C... The biggest news to me this morning is this is a red-state movie. Republican states are embracing the movie, and it's sold out in Republican strongholds all over the country...

HARVEY WEINSTEIN: 'It's beyond anybody's expectations. I'd have to say the sky's the limit on this movie. Who knows what territory we're in'...

The Right Wing Nuts are going crazy over this. Just looking at Free Republic and some guy who apparently lives in Greensboro, was commenting on the statement by Moore concerning the Standing "O" in Greensboro.

To: Maceman
"We got standing ovations in Greensboro, N.C... "

This is hardly news. Anyone who knows anything about Greensboro knows it is a liberal mecca in a sea of conservatism. Home of the civil rights sit-ins and where Jesse Jackson went to school. Home of UNC-Greensboro or UNC-Gay as it is called around here. Home to some of the most liberal minded people in this part of the country.

I'll bet 'ol Mikey is pretty stoked about it selling out in Chapel Hill, too!

Now, IF he sold out in Fayetteville, that MIGHT be a story, but I seriously doubt military families went to see it. If anything, I would bet that liberals from Raleigh and Wilmington made the trek to Fayetteville and "sold out" the theaters there.

13 posted on 06/27/2004 4:55:38 PM PDT by Littlejon

Greensboro is a "Liberal Mecca"? UNC-G is called UNC-Gay? I've lived around here nearly all my life and I have never heard of either one. My oldest daughter goes to UNC-G, I'll have to ask her if she has ever heard this nickname for her school. I wish Greensboro was a liberal mecca.

If Bush Had Been Honest With Us

Here is a column from Robert Steinbeck, columnist with the Miami Herald he published on June 23rd. It purports to be a speech from President George Bush that he would have given to us if he had been honest about what he wanted to do when it came to Iraq. I think it rings very true.

by Robert Steinback | Jun 23 '04


Let's alter history just a little bit, and imagine that President Bush had given us an accurate case for war in Iraq 18 months ago.

"My fellow Americans, I'm appearing before you today to ask for your support as I make the most solemn decision a president can make: Committing our military troops to war.

"We must remove Saddam Hussein from power, although his only known threat to the United States is that he hates us. While we know that Hussein possessed and used weapons of mass destruction in the past, we have no evidence that he has them today or that he's making more. But he hasn't proved that he doesn't have them, and this constitutes an urgent threat to America.

"So we must act now, because Hussein, who had nothing to do with the Sept. 11 attacks, might choose to give the WMDs that he doesn't have to Osama bin Laden, with whom he has never collaborated.

Hussein hasn't attacked us

"That's why I've decided to shift the bulk of our military resources away from catching bin Laden, who has already attacked us and vows to do so again, so that we can pursue a man who hasn't attacked us and almost certainly can't, based on the remote possibility that he'll give aid to bin Laden, who no longer is my top priority.

"My fellow Americans, the case is clear. We must liberate the Iraqi people, though we have little evidence that they want us to invade their country. We must give them a chance at democracy, though history strongly suggests that a Western attempt to impose a government in this part of the world is doomed to fail.

"Our very presence is likely to attract terrorists from all over the region and inspire new recruits, dedicated to undermining our attempts to impose a new government.

"Still, we must ensure the establishment of a new, friendly government in Baghdad that won't have a prayer of survival without our help. Before long, they'll beg us to establish a military base in Iraq -- which is our primary objective. That, in theory, will enable us to threaten every other Middle Eastern nation that dares to stand against us. Peace will reign, oil will flow and profits will accumulate. Admittedly, experts consider this a pretty far-fetched scenario, but we can't fail because God is on our side. He tells me so.

Dangerous attorney general

"But we face a long, difficult, bloody operation. More than 800 American soldiers will die and 4,000 will be maimed during the first 15 months of war. We'll honor them by saying that their sacrifices helped preserve American freedom, which in fact is threatened more by my attorney general than by Hussein.

"In addition, this war will put us at odds with France, Germany and many other of our traditional allies. But we'll work to repair those ruptured bonds soon, when we go crawling back to the world community pleading for it to bail us out of the tar pit into which we're about to leap.

"And so, my fellow Americans, I'm asking you to commit a modest $200 billion of your hard-earned money over the next two years to support this patriotic endeavor. Don't worry; your money will be in good hands, as we will hand out billions in no-bid contracts to corporations well known to people in my administration.

"And you can count on firm leadership from me until our mission is accomplished. So that you never lose faith in me, I will refuse to take responsibility for anything that goes wrong, whether it's intelligence failures, prisoner-abuse scandals or insufficient body armor for our troops.

"I'd like to tell you that America will prevail and that terrorism will be defeated. But I'm here to give an honest evaluation of our situation.

Strategy a `total disaster'

'So I am compelled to tell you that more than two dozen retired military brass and diplomats from both major parties who doubt the wisdom and sanity of my call for war will take the unprecedented step of publicly describing my strategy as a `total disaster.' They'll say that my approach will make the world less safe, alienate us from the very allies we need to help construct a global anti-terrorism alliance and undermine our national prestige and honor.

"And they'll be right. But here is the ultimate truth that so many of my un-American, unpatriotic critics overlook: You won't care. You'll still like me and support me, no matter how badly things turn out. That's because you have short memories, and you'll believe just about anything I tell you, even if it contradicts what I've told you before.

"So, in closing, let me say, God bless you, and God bless America."

Fahrenheit 9/11

Wow Fahrenheit 9/11 seems to be doing very well. Good showing for any movie, but especially a documentary. This may be a movie I will to the theater to see. I love movies, but usually see them after they come out on DVD. I'm trying to remember the last movie I actually went to the theater to see. I'm thinking maybe it was the Harry Potter 2 movie when I took Dan and Cait. That was a long time ago.

It is gratifying to see a movie like this doing well. Hope it bodes well for defeating Bush in November.

NYT gives bad review for new Clinton Book

The NYT's gave a less than enthusiastic review of the new Bill Clinton book. But the reviewer did not reveal all. Especially important since the reviewer accused Clinton of lacking candor. Here is the link to find out more. http://mediamatters.org/items/200406200002

 

The same reviewer panned Hillarys book also and it didn't seem to have much effect on the sales of that one.

Taking a Break

Taking a break for lunch. Wonder how Dan is doing today? Did he enjoy his first night out in the woods sleeping in a tent? I woke up during the night thinking about him. Hope he is enjoying his trip. I'm sure they will keep him busy.

Well, better get back to work. More later today maybe.

Great new website for keeping track of what the right wing media is saying. They transcribe all the shows of Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Riley and all of the others and keep them on the website. You really need to bookmark them and check them out. They are called Media Matters.

Isn't it great what Yahoo has done with their e-mail? I have subscribed to the Mail Plus service for almost two years. Do all of my e-mail with yahoo and have not been bothered with viruses since I stopped using Outlook Express or any kind of local type of e-mail program.

I was paying for 50 megs of space and now I have 2 gigs worth. I was consistently around 65% full all the time. Now I am using 2%. And it hasn't moved above 2% all week. And it's cheaper! Instead of paying $29.95 a year, it's gone down to $19.95 a year. Is this a great country or what?

Ok, No explanation of why it has been nearly a year since my last posting. I'll just make a new post like nothing happened during the past year.

We took Dan to scout camp today. It is up near Asheboro. We had no idea we were going to have to hike in to get him set up. We walked at least a mile in and it may have been two miles for all I know. I'm not in good enough shape to walk a half a mile, least of all as far as we did. But we got him set up and hopefully he will enjoy himself this week. We shall see.

Watched the last half of Clinton's interview on 60 minutes. Can't wait to see what the right-wingers will have to say about it. I hope his book does really well just to piss off the people that dislike him.