I just discovered “Google Play” tonight. Full albums for $3.99! Only $5 for Hunger Games? Let’s just say I may need to hang up the iTunes store and check out Google!
Google lovers…Check it out!
Living it up in the Nation's Capital
I just discovered “Google Play” tonight. Full albums for $3.99! Only $5 for Hunger Games? Let’s just say I may need to hang up the iTunes store and check out Google!
Google lovers…Check it out!
The last time I was looking at the refurbished products on the Apple store site I was considering an iPad 2. It was $50 less than the new ones. I noticed that there was now an option to pickup refurbished items in the store.
After entering my zip code, I selected a nearby store and was provided 16 March 2012 as the availability. I clicked on another store with the same result. I thought… Hmm, odd how the stores are all getting stock of the same refurbished item on the same day.
A few days later, the new iPad was announced and go figure, the release date….. 16 March 2012. So, when I was looking at a refurbished MacBook Pro and a MacBook Air, I again noticed a store pickup option. I did not expect the availability of both to be the same date. So this could be a coincidence, or could be the date the models get a refresh.
Needless to say I’m going to hold off and wait until at least March 27th to see what is “in store” for Apple 🙂
While I cannot go into much detail since there was a police investigation initiated, but how do thieves sleep? I guess it all depends on how you are brought up, but there is no way I could steal anything and not feel so guilty about it. I have witnessed quite a few things over the years “grow legs and walk off.” Something as cheap as an Ethernet cable. If it were me, each time I used it, I would feel guilty. Is the guilty feeling really worth a $5 Ethernet cable?
The local police spotted the thieves and they have been apprehended. I am hoping that my computer is among the retrieved and still functional. There was no forced entry..so who knows, if they were not caught in the act…how many offices would have been ransacked! Can you really be that stupid? Besides the moral implications, the thieves pretty much have ruined their lives as they will likely be fired and not be able to get a job.
So…quite a few changes are being initiated. Machines will be locked down to hopefully prevent theft in the future. I also plan to secure my backup drive. Thankfully my backup drive was left and still functions. Being a Mac, my computer was backed up and it will be easy for me to import all of my profile settings, applications, and files if it is necessary to get a new computer.
Why are we required to buy a data plan for a smart phone? That is like saying that your all in one printer / fax / scanner being required to send faxes. Okay, so that is not a great analogy, but I think you get the point. While you may have a DVD/VCR Combination at home, that does not mean you will be watching a VHS tape this weekend.
When I purchased my first iPhone, I was on T-Mobile and was unable to use it as a phone, but it functioned quite fine as a iPod touch (with phone capability). After a year I decided to take the “brick risk” and free the phone from AT&T. I used it for 3 years on T-Mobile before upgrading to a new phone and switching to AT&T due to a customer service issue with T-Mobile.
When looking to get a local number I checked out the monthly cell phone plans. I really did not want to have a contract for 2 years and was happily surprised to discover that it cost less money per month without a contract!
Why is that?
Hmm..that list was much smaller than I thought it would be.
Reasons not to sign a contract
Once in a while I do wish I had a data plan, but at the current prices, have not even considered it. You can’t use a GPS function without it, but that just means you need to plan your route and print a map or get a GPS for you car which does not have a service charge.
Unlike data plan restrictions and rate increases, the number of free WiFi hotspots seems to be increasing. Businesses realize that customers want the convenience and competition has dictated the need.
I have heard rumor that the expansion of FiOS has stopped. Service providers are focusing on wireless Internet access at high costs over the faster, lower priced hard wired cable and phone company connections. Sure, satellite will always be an alternative to Cable TV, but will we have any options for Internet access in the future?
I believe it was the Federal Communications Commission that has required GMS phones to be unlocked. While it does take a little prodding from them, you will be provided unlock codes when available. While I don’t believe it, AT&T claims there are no unlock codes for iPhones, though you can buy unlocked iPhone 3Gs for $350, 4G for $550, and 4Gs for $650 from a provider or Apple directly.
Why does the government not step in a stop the rapid increase in data plan rates and the tightening data use restrictions? I am convinced there is price fixing going on between the various carriers. I also believe they have worked out an “understanding” to require those who purchase a “smart phone” to buy their expensive slow data plans.
For now I am happy I am not locked in, but as the data plan costs go up and the amount of data is being reduced, I wonder if I should quickly lock in a low priced unlimited data plan before they are gone. Not many companies still offer them, or if they do, they “throttle” down your data speed the more you use.
Free WiFi seems to be abundant, and someone near you on the bus probably has a Data Plan you can mooch if you need to 🙂