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Unlimited Data Plans Take A Major Hit
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 If you missed it, about 3 weeks ago, Verizon stopped offering an unlimited monthly data plan and replaced it with a 2 Gigabyte monthly allocation for, yes, the same price as the unlimited plan had been. Those customers who had a data plan with unlimited get to keep it forever, presuming they don't change carriers or open a new account. New data plans on the same account, like added family members who now require a data plan, will have to settle for that 2 GIG limit.
So what does that mean for all you email picker uppers, YouTube watchers and music streamers? Well, with a 2 GIG plan you can watch Lady Gaga's Bad Romance Video 55 times in a month. Or, for the same money have four 1- hour video conferences. If you want to watch, say, the Wizard of Oz on that IPhone or Droid, you would be paying for 8 Gigabytes in overcharges. Good luck with that.
So here are some steps to take to avoid that overcharge at the end of the month. Wi-Fi it wherever and whenever possible. That means in your home or office use the wireless network emanating from your router to gain access to services from your phone. If you're an Optimum customer, use the free Wi-Fi coverage that you will find blankets Westchester County. While Optimum isn't everywhere, it is in a good part of the County. The same holds true for connecting in a Starbucks, a McDonalds or any other establishment that has free Wi-Fi. Should you decide to use Wi-Fi to send email, you will, in most instances, need to change the smtp (the outgoing mail carrier) from whomever provides your data plan to the smtp of your ISP. If you are with Optimum that's "mail.optonline.net".
Stop streaming music; store it before you leave home. It would take but 40 hours of Pandora a month to consume that entire 2 GIG. If you're using Verizon's VZ Navigator, it makes sense to download the route before you detach from your home network. Better yet, get a GPS. Online Graphic intensive games gobble bandwidth. That photo you took of cute little Sherman? Wait till your back on that home network to transmit it! Finally, all the providers offer a way to check your consumed monthly allocation for free and from your phone.
Want to get a better handle on how much data you might use in a given month? Try Verizon's Data Calculator Here.
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On That Note
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Texting is not just for kids anymore: 1/3 of U.S adults prefer texting to talking. Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project discovered that 83% of Americans own Cell phones, 73% send and receive text messages. Of those 73%, better than 30% would rather text than talk.
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Beware of Online pharmacies!
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 I have recently had opportunity to do quite a bit of research on behalf of a client, who, due to the cost, amount and nature of the drug, has had me order a product for him from a variety of pharmacies, all in Canada and apparently all getting product transshipped to the buyer from India. The products that arrived have varied in efficaciousness from manufacturer to manufacturer, some overly potent, some not potent at all.
Now, to make matters worse, a new study has found that a full one-third of online search results for prescription drugs are hacked websites that redirect users to illegal online pharmacies. Many of the infected sites have .edu or .gov addresses to give the site false credibility.
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- Don't know much about computers? Need help with Excel or Word? Maybe Facebook needs you and you want to know how to connect? All for free! Try this link. LearnFree. BTW there's more to learn here than just computer, so please take a peek!
- Interested in seeing what the "Dead Sea Scrolls" look like or perhaps reviewing some of the text within? No trips to Israel necessary, just follow the link! Dead Sea Scrolls.
- Freemake Video Downloader is a free app that rips flash video from online sources and converts it to the format you prefer for offline viewing. Here!
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Manilla.com sorts your electronic mail and helps you stay on top of your bills.
- Simplee.com "collects and explains those medical bills".
Please Note: Services like Mint, Manilla and Simplee are in it for the money, so expect their services not to be free forever and/or for the website to offer a more advanced version of the product, in the future, for a monthly fee.
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