Technology for Cheapskates: Need Advice
Aug. 23rd, 2010 12:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
acmespaceshipOn Thursday evening, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
e_m_b noticed a wire down in the alley. We had no problems at the house, and none of the neighbors were complaining. We have a lot of old wires in the neighborhood and so we assumed this was a dead wire.
On Friday, the wire was still down, but someone had helpfully tied it to a fencepost to get it out of the way of traffic. We wondered if somebody should call somebody to get it cleaned up.
On Saturday night, as we walked past the wire again, I suddenly thought to ask my beloved husband, "have you used the telephone lately?" Sure enough, our landline had no dial tone. A trip to AT&T's website scheduled a repair guy, who showed up on Sunday and fixed the wire. The guy was working in the alley, 40 feet from our pack porch, and called EMB's cell to let us know he was working at the scene. We were sitting on the back porch at the time. And so the landline repair guy and my DH were talking on cell phones... although they could also hear each other directly using a technology called EARS and the planet's atmosphere which transmits soundwaves but doesn't require a monthly subscription fee.
Now we have dial tone again. Yes, I know it's time to get rid of the landline. But landline + $5/month Virgin Mobile cells is still cheaper than any cell plan I've found for people who never use telephones... except for the occasional 2-hour conference call from hell.
So... do we cut the landline? Use Skype for conference calls (I work from home)? Between VOIP and SMS and IM and email and Twitter and wi-fi and 3/4G and Google Voice ... I figure there has to be a way to job the system and still be able to call the vet to make cat appointments. Any suggestions?
e_m_b noticed a wire down in the alley. We had no problems at the house, and none of the neighbors were complaining. We have a lot of old wires in the neighborhood and so we assumed this was a dead wire.On Friday, the wire was still down, but someone had helpfully tied it to a fencepost to get it out of the way of traffic. We wondered if somebody should call somebody to get it cleaned up.
On Saturday night, as we walked past the wire again, I suddenly thought to ask my beloved husband, "have you used the telephone lately?" Sure enough, our landline had no dial tone. A trip to AT&T's website scheduled a repair guy, who showed up on Sunday and fixed the wire. The guy was working in the alley, 40 feet from our pack porch, and called EMB's cell to let us know he was working at the scene. We were sitting on the back porch at the time. And so the landline repair guy and my DH were talking on cell phones... although they could also hear each other directly using a technology called EARS and the planet's atmosphere which transmits soundwaves but doesn't require a monthly subscription fee.
Now we have dial tone again. Yes, I know it's time to get rid of the landline. But landline + $5/month Virgin Mobile cells is still cheaper than any cell plan I've found for people who never use telephones... except for the occasional 2-hour conference call from hell.
So... do we cut the landline? Use Skype for conference calls (I work from home)? Between VOIP and SMS and IM and email and Twitter and wi-fi and 3/4G and Google Voice ... I figure there has to be a way to job the system and still be able to call the vet to make cat appointments. Any suggestions?
