I was driving out of a parking garage tonight when a car coming in oblivious to the fact that there was an in and out divider, came in on the out route. You guessed it, the female driver was yakking away on a cell phone. After a middle finger salute, I gave her a few more choice words but since she was the mother of one of my ESL students, I doubt she understood what I said.
A few minutes later, I was following another moron driving 1/2 the posted limit. Yup, texting on his cell phone. Middle finger, horn and a few more choice words that rhyme with f+_(%^ing azzhole.
So when I got home and watched the news, I was overjoyed to see that B.C. has finally entered the 21st century and decided to ban cell phone usage when driving.
Sure, it will be difficult to enforce but I can't wait to take a picture of someone using a cellphone while driving. Oh wait a minute, that too may be illegal. Ahh, it'll be worth the expression on their face trying to cover up their criminal activity when they see my cell phone camera.
It's about time this provincial government that I'm ashamed to admit I voted for finally got something right.
I'm not certain whether I'm shocked or happy or both that as someone who draws from the CPP (Canada Pension Plan) that I now have a vested interest in Skype. Actually, I have used Skype for years both as a free and a paid user and I think it's great. Well now, I think it's really really great-wait, no, it's fantastic. So come on Canadians, sign up now if you haven't already, because the CPP which is basically a nice little monthly prop for us 60+ in Canada has now moved into the 21st century. I'm sure Gen X and Y hope the investment goes well.
Another day, another report on how Canadians get screwed over on something else-this time cell phone rates. We know it and for some reason, most Canadians just, albeit grudgingly, accept it. It's why I moved to a pay per use phone a while ago and use it as little as possible.Look at the poll below of what Canadians think of their cell phone rates.
A new entry in the Smartphone market from Nova Scotia. Eat your hearts out iPhone and Blackberry-this phone has features they can only dream about.The Pomegranate phone will soon be introduced.
We've posted a couple of times about Jitterbug phones targeted at older consumers but now they are being recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for a possible failure to be able to reach a 911 service.
For the past two years, Accenture has
been conducting in-depth research about the usage patterns of various types of
consumer technology products and services among U.S. consumers.
The research was completed in the winter of 2008/2009 and provides direct
comparisons with last winter’s 2007/2008 research data. The goal was to
determine if there had been any changes in usage between Baby Boomers + (age 45
and older) and Generation Y (ages 18 to 24). The research uncovered
several interesting trends.
You can view and download the whole report in a pdf file.
Note-This post is really about Canadian cell phone usage as I'm not familiar with U.S. plans but I have the feeling the basics are similar.
My first cell phone cost me $3,000, airtime was 75 cents a minute and it was wired into my car. That was it-take it or leave it-no plans to choose from. How things have changed.
I've thought about going totally wireless and dumping the landline but
I like being able to answer a call on 1 of 6 phones around the house
rather than constantly carrying around the phone. When they market extensions for cell phones, then I'll think about it. So for now a cell phone is a convenience rather than a necessity. Besides I want to own a cell phone instead of the phone owning me (think IPhone.)
You need a degree in stats to compare all the plans available. They also all have the same problem-they tie you into a contract for up to 3 years. You want out, you usually pay a penalty. They suck you in by offering you high end phones at a low price which they more than get back in contract revenue. Cable, landlines, internet connections usually don't make you sign long-term contracts, but the cell phone industry has always pushed them, even though they offer no contract plans.
The thing is, wireless sales people get no or very little commission off you if you use pay as you go. Indeed, when I was shopping for a pay as you go plan, one salesman basically told me it was really only for people who couldn't get credit. What he failed to mention is that is also a good and usually much cheaper option for low volume users. These sales people have no clue about what a pain all these plans are to consumers. Remember, wireless sales reps get free air time and free phones so their empathy quotients are minimal. You should trust them as much as you trust a car sales person.
By low, I mean less than 200 minutes a month. Of course if you are dependent on your cell for business, that doesn't work, but I have a plan now from Virgin Mobile for 200 monthly minutes and that includes call display, voice mail, and 911 service for $20 a month. Best of all, no rip-off system access fee of approximately $6 a month that all Canadian cell providers charge on monthly plans. That same monthly cost on a plan would be about $40 a month with the same features. And it would be for 3 years, whereas I can cancel my plan anytime. I notice now that some providers are offering several different pay as you go plans even including features like "Fave 5."
The downside is that with the 3 year plan I'd have a "gee-whiz" phone because pay as you go means you have to buy a phone up front with not much discount available but unless you need a lot of bells and whistles (and I don't believe most boomers need or want many of them), you can get something decent for under $100. Long distance is expensive but I dial a local ld service that charges about 2 cents a minute.
One thing to be aware of on these plans is that when you top-up your phone, the unused credit will expire within a set time period, usually 30-60 days for amounts between $20 and $50. However most carriers offer a 1 year period if you buy $100 credit. So even if you only get a very basic plan that charges 30 cents a minute, you've got a year to talk about 330 minutes-less than a minute a day so chances of that expiring before you use it up are minimal.
Another benefit I find is that I really only use it now to make calls that can't wait, and if you think about it, how many calls are really that urgent? I often let incoming calls go into voice mail which I then return from a landline to keep the minutes down. I'll occasionally text in order to keep the minutes and cost down. Of course, that won't work for the younger crowd with the instant gratification and need to know now attitude. That mindset is what cell phone companies thrive on.
So, unless you have a reason for needing to talk a lot on a cell phone, check out pay as you go. I'd say at least 1/2 of my boomer friends use this option which makes a lot of sense in today's economy. This older gentleman below found a unique use for his cell phone.
Phone slamming is a new term to me that I discovered on the CBC website about a telemarketer doing this to a 95 year old woman. Be sure to read the article and if you are friends or children of seniors who may get confused from time to time, ask to look at their telephone bills to make sure some ratbag organization isn't ripping them off.
What pisses me off most about the article is that the telemarketer must have known that he was dealing with an older person who was confused about what was going on and took full advantage of the situation. If there's a hell, these kind of people should get VIP passes.
