Response to the real Bruce.

Of course the phone will cost money. duh
My goal is to find one to replace the land line and not add a 2nd phone.

If I can ditch the land line, that's $45 a month towards a smart phone
with enough minutes to carry on normally.

On 16/04/2021 13:21, Gary wrote:
> Response to the real Bruce.
>
> Of course the phone will cost money. duh
> My goal is to find one to replace the land line and not add a 2nd phone.
>
> If I can ditch the land line, that's $45 a month towards a smart phone
> with enough minutes to carry on normally.
>
T-Mobile sometimes has good offers, with unlimited talk and text. We use
them for our US phones. (An extra benefit for us, is unlimited texts
when we are in the UK, and reasonable roaming prices for calls.)

Also - you are often much better buying an unlocked phone, and going for
a SIM-only plan with your provider. That way, if you decide to change
providers, you only need to insert a new SIM, rather than get a new phone.

Check Amazon for unlocked phones - there's quite a range of prices. I
bought my current one there, a dual-SIM Nokia, for a very reasonable price.

You could consider using your wifi connection to talk with your mother
on something like Skype, if your phone plan offers limited minutes.

On 4/16/2021 8:21 AM, Gary wrote:
> Response to the real Bruce.
>
> Of course the phone will cost money. duh
> My goal is to find one to replace the land line and not add a 2nd phone.
>
> If I can ditch the land line, that's $45 a month towards a smart phone
> with enough minutes to carry on normally.
>
>
>
Spectrum is advertising $14.95 a month, unlimited calls.

On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 08:21:34 -0400, Gary wrote:

> Response to the real Bruce.
>
> Of course the phone will cost money. duh
> My goal is to find one to replace the land line and not add a 2nd phone.
>
> If I can ditch the land line, that's $45 a month towards a smart phone
> with enough minutes to carry on normally.

You pay $45 for a landline and dialup?!?!?! I pay $45/mo for Google
fiber 500mb plan and about $7/mo for the Tracfone as my personal
phone (somebody else pays for my second Smartphone).

-sw

On 4/16/2021 10:25 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 08:21:34 -0400, Gary wrote:
>
>> Response to the real Bruce.
>>
>> Of course the phone will cost money. duh
>> My goal is to find one to replace the land line and not add a 2nd phone.
>>
>> If I can ditch the land line, that's $45 a month towards a smart phone
>> with enough minutes to carry on normally.
>
> You pay $45 for a landline and dialup?!?!?! I pay $45/mo for Google
> fiber 500mb plan and about $7/mo for the Tracfone as my personal
> phone (somebody else pays for my second Smartphone).

Worse than that. Landline phone $45 PLUS $25 internet dialup access.
The internet access ended 5 months ago.
Free neighborhood wifi for now but it's not "secure."

On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 10:32:37 -0400, Gary wrote:

> On 4/16/2021 10:25 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
>> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 08:21:34 -0400, Gary wrote:
>>
>>> Response to the real Bruce.
>>>
>>> Of course the phone will cost money. duh
>>> My goal is to find one to replace the land line and not add a 2nd phone.
>>>
>>> If I can ditch the land line, that's $45 a month towards a smart phone
>>> with enough minutes to carry on normally.
>>
>> You pay $45 for a landline and dialup?!?!?! I pay $45/mo for Google
>> fiber 500mb plan and about $7/mo for the Tracfone as my personal
>> phone (somebody else pays for my second Smartphone).
>
> Worse than that. Landline phone $45 PLUS $25 internet dialup access.
> The internet access ended 5 months ago.
> Free neighborhood wifi for now but it's not "secure."

Cox cable internet at your complex is 25Mbps is $30/mo (50Mbps is
$10 more). And you can do VoIP ("landline") for an extra $10 or
less.

-sw

On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 2:21:47 AM UTC-10, Gary wrote:
> Response to the real Bruce.
>
> Of course the phone will cost money. duh
> My goal is to find one to replace the land line and not add a 2nd phone.
>
> If I can ditch the land line, that's $45 a month towards a smart phone
> with enough minutes to carry on normally.

You might want to check out the Motorola line of phones. They tend to be pretty cheap. I use mintmobile.com, and pay 27 bucks a month.
I'm looking for a phone to replace my Motorola G6. My phone works fine but I'm thinking that I need a phone that's capable of point-of-sale contactless payments i.e., has NFC capabilities. It's pretty obvious that contactless payments on cell phones are the future of purchasing stuff.

https://www.amazon.com/Moto-Unlocked.../dp/B08GL2HKLT

On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 9:32:49 AM UTC-5, Gary wrote:
>
> On 4/16/2021 10:25 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
> > On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 08:21:34 -0400, Gary wrote:
> >
> Landline phone $45 PLUS $25 internet dialup access.
> The internet access ended 5 months ago.
> Free neighborhood wifi for now but it's not "secure."
>
I didn't know any companies still offered dial-up access.
But with the $45 per month wired phone, don't you also
get long distance included in that price?

On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 13:49:10 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

> On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 9:32:49 AM UTC-5, Gary wrote:
>>
>> On 4/16/2021 10:25 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
>>> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 08:21:34 -0400, Gary wrote:
>>>
>> Landline phone $45 PLUS $25 internet dialup access.
>> The internet access ended 5 months ago.
>> Free neighborhood wifi for now but it's not "secure."
>>
> I didn't know any companies still offered dial-up access.
> But with the $45 per month wired phone, don't you also
> get long distance included in that price?

If anybody is still charging for long distance, they need to be
dumped. All companies are offering the same VoIP which includes
unlimited local and long distance for $10/mo or less(*). The only
thing that might be extra is any NEW copper phone lines which are
already hooked up in Gary's place.

He's been getting ripped off for an extra $35/mo x 15+ years. It
costs less to transmit 30 minutes of long distance phone
conversation than it does to stream your local 6:PM newscast over
your Internet connection (and both of those costs are $0). They use
the same conduits, except for Gary's copper phone lines the first
600 yards - which is already installed and working. Then it just
connects to the same SS7 networks as any other cell phone, VoIP, or
landline and whoosh! - off it goes at the same $0 price. The $10
pays for infrastructure only, and Gary's physical infrastructure is
literally 50-60 years old. That $80 worth of copper lines have more
than paid off in that time, and have made for $billions of profits.
You should at most only be paying $2 just for the "privilege" of
just billing you for that $2 and the maintenance of the copper
infrastructure.

But seeing as how it's hurricane territory, $3 would be fair enough.

-sw

On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 7:28:32 PM UTC-5, Sqwertz wrote:
> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 13:49:10 -0700 (PDT),
> wrote:
> > On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 9:32:49 AM UTC-5, Gary wrote:
> >>
> >> On 4/16/2021 10:25 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
> >>>
> >>> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 08:21:34 -0400, Gary wrote:
> >>>
> >> Landline phone $45 PLUS $25 internet dialup access.
> >> The internet access ended 5 months ago.
> >>
> > I didn't know any companies still offered dial-up access.
> > But with the $45 per month wired phone, don't you also
> > get long distance included in that price?
> >
> If anybody is still charging for long distance, they need to be
> dumped. All companies are offering the same VoIP which includes
> unlimited local and long distance for $10/mo or less(*). The only
> thing that might be extra is any NEW copper phone lines which are
> already hooked up in Gary's place.
>
Here, copper wiring is no more. Everything now is digital and copper
wiring is no longer installed or even maintained. The downside to
digital service is when electrical power is lost so is the phone service
and no internet service, either.

A cell phone is useful for emergencies but if power is not available
for days then a car charging port is needed. Gary says he no longer
or soon will no longer have a vehicle. I can't see him sitting in a
restaurant for a few hours charging his phone.

On 4/16/2021 6:52 PM, wrote:
> On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 7:28:32 PM UTC-5, Sqwertz wrote:
>> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 13:49:10 -0700 (PDT),
>> wrote:
>>> On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 9:32:49 AM UTC-5, Gary wrote:
>>>>
>>>> On 4/16/2021 10:25 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 08:21:34 -0400, Gary wrote:
>>>>>
>>>> Landline phone $45 PLUS $25 internet dialup access.
>>>> The internet access ended 5 months ago.
>>>>
>>> I didn't know any companies still offered dial-up access.
>>> But with the $45 per month wired phone, don't you also
>>> get long distance included in that price?
>>>
>> If anybody is still charging for long distance, they need to be
>> dumped. All companies are offering the same VoIP which includes
>> unlimited local and long distance for $10/mo or less(*). The only
>> thing that might be extra is any NEW copper phone lines which are
>> already hooked up in Gary's place.
>>
> Here, copper wiring is no more. Everything now is digital and copper
> wiring is no longer installed or even maintained. The downside to
> digital service is when electrical power is lost so is the phone service
> and no internet service, either.

That is not necessarily true. And you need to have your phone and modem
on a UPS.

>
> A cell phone is useful for emergencies but if power is not available
> for days then a car charging port is needed. Gary says he no longer
> or soon will no longer have a vehicle. I can't see him sitting in a
> restaurant for a few hours charging his phone.
>

Buy and keep charged a suitable battery, such as for jumping cars. A
cell phone will last a LONG time on that baby.

Plan ahead. Use your head.

On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 3:56:07 PM UTC-10, Taxed and Spent wrote:
> On 4/16/2021 6:52 PM, wrote:
> > On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 7:28:32 PM UTC-5, Sqwertz wrote:
> >> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 13:49:10 -0700 (PDT),
> >> wrote:
> >>> On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 9:32:49 AM UTC-5, Gary wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> On 4/16/2021 10:25 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 08:21:34 -0400, Gary wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>> Landline phone $45 PLUS $25 internet dialup access.
> >>>> The internet access ended 5 months ago.
> >>>>
> >>> I didn't know any companies still offered dial-up access.
> >>> But with the $45 per month wired phone, don't you also
> >>> get long distance included in that price?
> >>>
> >> If anybody is still charging for long distance, they need to be
> >> dumped. All companies are offering the same VoIP which includes
> >> unlimited local and long distance for $10/mo or less(*). The only
> >> thing that might be extra is any NEW copper phone lines which are
> >> already hooked up in Gary's place.
> >>
> > Here, copper wiring is no more. Everything now is digital and copper
> > wiring is no longer installed or even maintained. The downside to
> > digital service is when electrical power is lost so is the phone service
> > and no internet service, either.
> That is not necessarily true. And you need to have your phone and modem
> on a UPS.
> >
> > A cell phone is useful for emergencies but if power is not available
> > for days then a car charging port is needed. Gary says he no longer
> > or soon will no longer have a vehicle. I can't see him sitting in a
> > restaurant for a few hours charging his phone.
> >
> Buy and keep charged a suitable battery, such as for jumping cars. A
> cell phone will last a LONG time on that baby.
>
> Plan ahead. Use your head.

We had our power go out in my little town - the aftermath of a hurricane. The cell phones were useful for a few hours. After that, the batteries on the cell towers fizzled out. Then you can use the cell phones as a flashlight or take pictures of the devastation. What you won't be able to do is make a call.

On 4/16/2021 9:52 PM, wrote:
> On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 7:28:32 PM UTC-5, Sqwertz wrote:
>> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 13:49:10 -0700 (PDT),
>> wrote:
>>> On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 9:32:49 AM UTC-5, Gary wrote:
>>>>
>>>> On 4/16/2021 10:25 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 08:21:34 -0400, Gary wrote:
>>>>>
>>>> Landline phone $45 PLUS $25 internet dialup access.
>>>> The internet access ended 5 months ago.
>>>>
>>> I didn't know any companies still offered dial-up access.
>>> But with the $45 per month wired phone, don't you also
>>> get long distance included in that price?
>>>
>> If anybody is still charging for long distance, they need to be
>> dumped. All companies are offering the same VoIP which includes
>> unlimited local and long distance for $10/mo or less(*). The only
>> thing that might be extra is any NEW copper phone lines which are
>> already hooked up in Gary's place.
>>
> Here, copper wiring is no more. Everything now is digital and copper
> wiring is no longer installed or even maintained. The downside to
> digital service is when electrical power is lost so is the phone service
> and no internet service, either.
>
> A cell phone is useful for emergencies but if power is not available
> for days then a car charging port is needed. Gary says he no longer
> or soon will no longer have a vehicle. I can't see him sitting in a
> restaurant for a few hours charging his phone.
>
I have a UPS unit so will at least have internet and wifi for a time. I
have a small generator but I don't want to have to run it for hours just
for internet. Originally bought it for medical devices and the
refrigerator. Under normal use my phone is good for 3 days.

On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 8:56:07 PM UTC-5, Taxed and Spent wrote:
>
> On 4/16/2021 6:52 PM, wrote:
> >
> > Here, copper wiring is no more. Everything now is digital and copper
> > wiring is no longer installed or even maintained. The downside to
> > digital service is when electrical power is lost so is the phone service
> > and no internet service, either.
> >
> That is not necessarily true. And you need to have your phone and modem
> on a UPS.
>
That's quite possible but I'd rather have ALL my power back instead of just
the phone and modem powered by a $150 and up.
> >
> > A cell phone is useful for emergencies but if power is not available
> > for days then a car charging port is needed. Gary says he no longer
> > or soon will no longer have a vehicle. I can't see him sitting in a
> > restaurant for a few hours charging his phone.
> >
> Buy and keep charged a suitable battery, such as for jumping cars. A
> cell phone will last a LONG time on that baby.
>
> Plan ahead. Use your head.
>
When I lose power I just go to my car and charge the phone which is not
used that much. I don't need an extra battery when the ports in the car
are available. I use my head by not buying unnecessary items.

On 4/16/2021 8:21 AM, Gary wrote:
> Response to the real Bruce.
>
> Of course the phone will cost money. duh
> My goal is to find one to replace the land line and not add a 2nd phone.
>
> If I can ditch the land line, that's $45 a month towards a smart phone
> with enough minutes to carry on normally.
>
>
>

You couldn't convince me enough to drop my land line. It's worth every
penny of the ~$40 I pay for it monthly. Real land lines work when the
power goes out. I've lost cell service in outages and still have a dial
tone. Rotary dial western electric phone on my kitchen wall still rings
no matter what. The call quality of a cell won't match up either.

On 4/16/2021 10:32 AM, Gary wrote:
> On 4/16/2021 10:25 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
>> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 08:21:34 -0400, Gary wrote:
>>
>>> Response to the real Bruce.
>>>
>>> Of course the phone will cost money. duh
>>> My goal is to find one to replace the land line and not add a 2nd phone.
>>>
>>> If I can ditch the land line, that's $45 a month towards a smart phone
>>> with enough minutes to carry on normally.
>>
>> You pay $45 for a landline and dialup?!?!?! I pay $45/mo for Google
>> fiber 500mb plan and about $7/mo for the Tracfone as my personal
>> phone (somebody else pays for my second Smartphone).
>
> Worse than that. Landline phone $45 PLUS $25 internet dialup access.
> The internet access ended 5 months ago.
> Free neighborhood wifi for now but it's not "secure."
>
>
>
>
>
>

I have a back-up dial up plan that costs $4.85/mo in case the DSL goes
out. There is far cheaper than what you pay out there. Even MSN
unlimited is $15/mo when paid annually.

On 4/16/2021 8:28 PM, Sqwertz wrote:
> If anybody is still charging for long distance, they need to be
> dumped. All companies are offering the same VoIP which includes
> unlimited local and long distance for $10/mo or less(*). The only
> thing that might be extra is any NEW copper phone lines which are
> already hooked up in Gary's place.

Trouble is call quality and VoIP reliability. You get what you pay for.
AT&T bills me about $40/mo after taxes for my land line, and TCI long
distance +1 calling is 5 cents per minute domestic and Canada. Overseas
rates are very reasonable. For about an hour of long distance per
month, including tax/fees, it costs me maybe $5 for long distance.
That's well worth the added cost for peace of mind and reliability.

On 4/16/2021 1:47 PM, dsi1 wrote:
> My phone works fine but I'm thinking that I need a phone that's capable of point-of-sale contactless payments i.e., has NFC capabilities. It's pretty obvious that contactless payments on cell phones are the future of purchasing stuff.

No thanks. I only carry cash. No cards or smart phone. If they don't
take cash, I'm not buying. You couldn't pay me enough to trust these
smart phones and related companies like Google to have access to my
financial info.

Michael Trew wrote:

> On 4/16/2021 8:21 AM, Gary wrote:
> > Response to the real Bruce.
> >
> > Of course the phone will cost money. duh
> > My goal is to find one to replace the land line and not add a 2nd
> > phone.
> >
> > If I can ditch the land line, that's $45 a month towards a smart
> > phone with enough minutes to carry on normally.
> >
> >
> >
>
> You couldn't convince me enough to drop my land line. It's worth
> every penny of the ~$40 I pay for it monthly. Real land lines work
> when the power goes out. I've lost cell service in outages and still
> have a dial tone. Rotary dial western electric phone on my kitchen
> wall still rings no matter what. The call quality of a cell won't
> match up either.

Finally something that's more expensive in the US than in Australia.

--
The real Dr. Bruce posts with uni-berlin.de - individual.net

Michael Trew wrote:

> On 4/16/2021 8:21 AM, Gary wrote:
> > Response to the real Bruce.
> >
> > Of course the phone will cost money. duh
> > My goal is to find one to replace the land line and not add a 2nd
> > phone.
> >
> > If I can ditch the land line, that's $45 a month towards a smart
> > phone with enough minutes to carry on normally.
> >
> >
> >
>
> You couldn't convince me enough to drop my land line. It's worth
> every penny of the ~$40 I pay for it monthly. Real land lines work
> when the power goes out. I've lost cell service in outages and still
> have a dial tone. Rotary dial western electric phone on my kitchen
> wall still rings no matter what. The call quality of a cell won't
> match up either.

And it costs a HUGE amount to add a real landline back in. More like
120$ a month here.

On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 09:48:36 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

> On 4/16/2021 8:21 AM, Gary wrote:
>> Response to the real Bruce.
>>
>> Of course the phone will cost money. duh
>> My goal is to find one to replace the land line and not add a 2nd phone.
>>
>> If I can ditch the land line, that's $45 a month towards a smart phone
>> with enough minutes to carry on normally.
>>
> Spectrum is advertising $14.95 a month, unlimited calls.

Spectrum is a cable company. They would only provide phone service
with a paid Internet or TV plan (at least in most states). Watch out
for those damned "bundles" in the fine print (and that only last for
12 months before they double the price).

And +$15 would be overpriced. VoIP phone plans almost always cap at
$10/mo. Vonage(tm) set that price point probably 15 years ago.
Nowadays you can even get VoIP "free"(*) if you purchase a $100
converter. You still need internet service on top of that, but so
do all the other VoIP services provided by Internet companies. The
"Bells" and AT&T are the ONLY companies that offer home phones
without having Internet service (and for $45/mo). They're robbing
seniors.

(*) https://www.ooma.com/home-phone/plans/

It's not really "free" since the States and Feds still require you
to pay monthly/yearly taxes on that "free stuff" - about
$3-$6/month.

Irony: You always have to pay taxes even on the free shit in "The
Land of the Free" (unless you're a church <grrrr>).

-sw

On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 5:06:41 PM UTC-10, Michael Trew wrote:
> On 4/16/2021 1:47 PM, dsi1 wrote:
> > My phone works fine but I'm thinking that I need a phone that's capable of point-of-sale contactless payments i.e., has NFC capabilities. It's pretty obvious that contactless payments on cell phones are the future of purchasing stuff.
> No thanks. I only carry cash. No cards or smart phone. If they don't
> take cash, I'm not buying. You couldn't pay me enough to trust these
> smart phones and related companies like Google to have access to my
> financial info.

These days, it's not real important what you or I think or do as far as influencing trends or shaping the future. It's the younger generation that will lead the way to the world of tomorrow. We're pretty irrelevant as far as the marketing guys are concerned. That's the breaks.
All I know is that NFC capability will become an increasingly important feature in phones very shortly. "NFC" by the way, does not mean "Nobody ****ing Cares."

https://www.engadget.com/sf-bay-area...125028599.html

dsi1 wrote:

> On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 5:06:41 PM UTC-10, Michael Trew wrote:
> > On 4/16/2021 1:47 PM, dsi1 wrote:
> > > My phone works fine but I'm thinking that I need a phone that's
> > > capable of point-of-sale contactless payments i.e., has NFC
> > > capabilities. It's pretty obvious that contactless payments on
> > > cell phones are the future of purchasing stuff.
> > No thanks. I only carry cash. No cards or smart phone. If they
> > don't take cash, I'm not buying. You couldn't pay me enough to
> > trust these smart phones and related companies like Google to have
> > access to my financial info.
>
> These days, it's not real important what you or I think or do as far
> as influencing trends or shaping the future. It's the younger
> generation that will lead the way to the world of tomorrow. We're
> pretty irrelevant as far as the marketing guys are concerned. That's
> the breaks.

60+ people are very important to marketing people. They're a huge group
and they have a lot of spending money.

--
The real Dr. Bruce posts with uni-berlin.de - individual.net

On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 7:17:44 PM UTC-10, Dr. Bruce wrote:
> dsi1 wrote:
>
> > On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 5:06:41 PM UTC-10, Michael Trew wrote:
> > > On 4/16/2021 1:47 PM, dsi1 wrote:
> > > > My phone works fine but I'm thinking that I need a phone that's
> > > > capable of point-of-sale contactless payments i.e., has NFC
> > > > capabilities. It's pretty obvious that contactless payments on
> > > > cell phones are the future of purchasing stuff.
> > > No thanks. I only carry cash. No cards or smart phone. If they
> > > don't take cash, I'm not buying. You couldn't pay me enough to
> > > trust these smart phones and related companies like Google to have
> > > access to my financial info.
> >
> > These days, it's not real important what you or I think or do as far
> > as influencing trends or shaping the future. It's the younger
> > generation that will lead the way to the world of tomorrow. We're
> > pretty irrelevant as far as the marketing guys are concerned. That's
> > the breaks.
> 60+ people are very important to marketing people. They're a huge group
> and they have a lot of spending money.
> --
> The real Dr. Bruce posts with uni-berlin.de - individual.net

I'd say that the exact opposite is true. Advertising to old folks are mostly for adult diapers, heart medicine, supplemental health insurance, funeral insurance, yadda, yadda, yadda. My guess is that majority of seniors don't have a lot of money to burn. You are correct that they are a huge group.

On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 18:52:47 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

> On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 7:28:32 PM UTC-5, Sqwertz wrote:

>> If anybody is still charging for long distance, they need to be
>> dumped. All companies are offering the same VoIP which includes
>> unlimited local and long distance for $10/mo or less(*). The only
>> thing that might be extra is any NEW copper phone lines which are
>> already hooked up in Gary's place.
>>
> Here, copper wiring is no more. Everything now is digital and copper
> wiring is no longer installed or even maintained.

The Bells (and AT&T) have not shut down their copper services yet
and are still required to maintain them for grandfathered
neighborhoods in areas where they have no yet converted to fiber.
Which is why Gary was paying $45/mo for phone. He doesn't have
AT&T/Bell fiber options.

> The downside to
> digital service is when electrical power is lost so is the phone service
> and no internet service, either.

I have a battery backup from the DSL router which SBCglobal gave me
for free and didn't require my returning it when I cut the service
It's never been plugged in until recently during the "Big Texas
Freeze" exactly 2 months ago. I charged it and converted the output
polarity to match my current router and it holds a charge and powers
the router for almost 6 hours. So I would have still had landline
through my Google fiber VoIP service when I chose to use it. It also
has a USB jack, but I'm not sure why or even if it ouputs the
optional .5A of power.

But I was somehow in the 8% of the city that still had power, heat,
phone, Internet, and food the whole 4-6 days (**** you Ted Cruz!).
But I did run out of booze for 3 days.

And my cellphones have plenty of extra batteries since I have
several of the same phone with pre-charged batteries. When I start
to leave the house and see I'm below 30%, I just swap out the
batteries. They each last almost a week with my usage.

And while there is a car in the driveway with a charged battery, I
don't have a USB cigarette butt plug for it. Don't need the damned
car to charge a phone. Hrmpf.

> Gary says he no longer
> or soon will no longer have a vehicle. I can't see him sitting in a
> restaurant for a few hours charging his phone.

I can. But they may not have broccoli pizza or Swanson TV dinners,
is the real problem.

Not having a car is not a problem for those of us without cars (or
vans).

-sw

On Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 12:35:12 AM UTC-5, Sqwertz wrote:
>
> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 18:52:47 -0700 (PDT),
> wrote:
> >
> > Here, copper wiring is no more. Everything now is digital and copper
> > wiring is no longer installed or even maintained.
> >
> The Bells (and AT&T) have not shut down their copper services yet
> and are still required to maintain them for grandfathered
> neighborhoods in areas where they have no yet converted to fiber.
> Which is why Gary was paying $45/mo for phone. He doesn't have
> AT&T/Bell fiber options.
>
About 5 years ago I was noticing I was not receiving any phone calls which
was kind of nice. But then people were complaining "I've called you a dozen
times but you never answer." My reply was the phone didn't ring. I was able
to make calls and internet was chugging right along with no problem. So,
I made the service call and it was my copper wiring. Could they have fixed
it? Probably, but I converted to digital and went wireless with my laptop.
> >
> I have a battery backup from the DSL router which SBCglobal gave me
> for free and didn't require my returning it when I cut the service
> It's never been plugged in until recently during the "Big Texas
> Freeze" exactly 2 months ago. I charged it and converted the output
> polarity to match my current router and it holds a charge and powers
> the router for almost 6 hours. So I would have still had landline
> through my Google fiber VoIP service when I chose to use it. It also
> has a USB jack, but I'm not sure why or even if it ouputs the
> optional .5A of power.
>
When the Christmas Day bombing occurred here in front of the AT&T
building everybody had phone and cell phone service until about noon.
That was that for about a week.
>
> And while there is a car in the driveway with a charged battery, I
> don't have a USB cigarette butt plug for it. Don't need the damned
> car to charge a phone. Hrmpf.
>
Oh well. It is a nice feature on newer cars and did come in handy
last year when the tornado roared through here and no phone service
for 5 days.
> >
> > Gary says he no longer
> > or soon will no longer have a vehicle. I can't see him sitting in a
> > restaurant for a few hours charging his phone.
> >
> I can. But they may not have broccoli pizza or Swanson TV dinners,
> is the real problem.
>
Hahahahahahahaaaa!
>
> Not having a car is not a problem for those of us without cars (or
> vans).
>
> -sw
>
Ok.

On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 19:05:52 -0700 (PDT), dsi1 wrote:

> On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 3:56:07 PM UTC-10, Taxed and Spent wrote:
>> On 4/16/2021 6:52 PM, wrote:
>>
>>> A cell phone is useful for emergencies but if power is not available
>>> for days then a car charging port is needed. Gary says he no longer
>>> or soon will no longer have a vehicle. I can't see him sitting in a
>>> restaurant for a few hours charging his phone.
>>>
>> Buy and keep charged a suitable battery, such as for jumping cars. A
>> cell phone will last a LONG time on that baby.
>>
>> Plan ahead. Use your head.
>
> We had our power go out in my little town - the aftermath of a
> hurricane. The cell phones were useful for a few hours. After
> that, the batteries on the cell towers fizzled out. Then you can
> use the cell phones as a flashlight or take pictures of the
> devastation. What you won't be able to do is make a call.

Which is an excellent point. Your cell phones will probably last
longer than the cell towers to send/and receive your phone
communications in a power outage. They usually have batteries for 4
hours backup, and generators for longer periods, but they don't
sustain if nobody can come fill them up with diesel gas every 6-7
hours. And the gas stations are all without power, too...

And even if gets refilled, it often relies on 1-3 others nearby to
also be working at the same time.

ObFood: Long Live the Copper POTS!

("POTS" stands for "Plain Old Telephone System", BTW)

-sw

dsi1 wrote:

> On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 7:17:44 PM UTC-10, Dr. Bruce wrote:
> > dsi1 wrote:
> >
> > > On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 5:06:41 PM UTC-10, Michael Trew
> > > wrote:
> > > > On 4/16/2021 1:47 PM, dsi1 wrote:
> > > > > My phone works fine but I'm thinking that I need a phone
> > > > > that's capable of point-of-sale contactless payments i.e.,
> > > > > has NFC capabilities. It's pretty obvious that contactless
> > > > > payments on cell phones are the future of purchasing stuff.
> > > > No thanks. I only carry cash. No cards or smart phone. If they
> > > > don't take cash, I'm not buying. You couldn't pay me enough to
> > > > trust these smart phones and related companies like Google to
> > > > have access to my financial info.
> > >
> > > These days, it's not real important what you or I think or do as
> > > far as influencing trends or shaping the future. It's the younger
> > > generation that will lead the way to the world of tomorrow. We're
> > > pretty irrelevant as far as the marketing guys are concerned.
> > > That's the breaks.
> > 60+ people are very important to marketing people. They're a huge
> > group and they have a lot of spending money.
> > --
> > The real Dr. Bruce posts with uni-berlin.de - individual.net
>
> I'd say that the exact opposite is true. Advertising to old folks are
> mostly for adult diapers, heart medicine, supplemental health
> insurance, funeral insurance, yadda, yadda, yadda. My guess is that
> majority of seniors don't have a lot of money to burn. You are
> correct that they are a huge group.

Well, they're probably better off than when they were young.

You can't turn on Australian TV during the day or you get one life or
funeral insurance ad after another. It must be a severely contested
market.

--
The real Dr. Bruce posts with uni-berlin.de - individual.net

On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 19:52:27 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

> On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 8:56:07 PM UTC-5, Taxed and Spent wrote:
>>
>> On 4/16/2021 6:52 PM, wrote:
>>>
>>> Here, copper wiring is no more. Everything now is digital and copper
>>> wiring is no longer installed or even maintained. The downside to
>>> digital service is when electrical power is lost so is the phone service
>>> and no internet service, either.
>>>
>> That is not necessarily true. And you need to have your phone and modem
>> on a UPS.

Corded handset phones that are not designed for PBX will (should)
still work without power, but just for voice and generic rings. Any
integrated answering machine or digital features will be defunct
without power. They have pass-through current and continuity from
the phone line connected to the router. Only your router needs to
have power (and any separate ObiTalk-like device) for your attached
VoIP phone line to provide your phone the continuity to carry voice
calls.

BUT:

That incoming "RING RING" can drain the shit out of your UPS
100-500X times faster than just speaking on the phone for the same
time(*). So answer your phone ASAP or keep the phone unplugged until
you need to make outgoing calls in a power outage when using a UPS.
You don't want spam callers ringing your phone on your UPS-powered
phone.

(*) Remember the old movies where they'd click the phone hook to get
a line out? Only the ringing of the phone required any real power.
For voice, the mere clicking of the Off-Hook lever or the sound of
voices vibrating the magnets in the phone's speaker and mouthpiece
provide the current necessary to travel for miles until it was
acknowledged at an operators station. Where it was then slightly
amplified (still with very low voltage), and passed onto somebody
else at the other end.

The ringing, OTOH, could take up to 75V and 2amps back then (we had
those obnoxious bells mounted on our floor joists back then). But
12v and .5 amp draws are more typical on today's phone lines for
ringing.

I'm sure John could have told you the same thing, seeing as how he
has all the degrees in this shit.

-sw

On 17/04/2021 02:52, wrote:

> A cell phone is useful for emergencies but if power is not available
> for days then a car charging port is needed. Gary says he no longer
> or soon will no longer have a vehicle. I can't see him sitting in a
> restaurant for a few hours charging his phone.
>
He could spend a few dollars on a solar-powered charger. I have one, and
it works well.

On 2021 Apr 16, , wrote
(in >):

> When the Christmas Day bombing occurred here in front of the AT&T
> building everybody had phone and cell phone service until about noon.
> That was that for about a week.
> > <Snip> Oh well. It is a nice feature on newer cars and did come in handy
> last year when the tornado roared through here and no phone service
> for 5 days.

We all had a helluva year, but yours was extra-special ;-)

On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 22:46:35 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

> About 5 years ago I was noticing I was not receiving any phone calls which
> was kind of nice. But then people were complaining "I've called you a dozen
> times but you never answer." My reply was the phone didn't ring. I was able
> to make calls and internet was chugging right along with no problem. So,
> I made the service call and it was my copper wiring. Could they have fixed
> it? Probably, but I converted to digital and went wireless with my laptop.

The battery that provides the current for the phone to ring was dead
or stolen, and they didn't want to replace it. A typical technique
to get people to upgrade. They are still required to maintain post
if they don't offer at least VoIP phone, and a battery backup if you
only have phone service.

-sw

On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 23:00:28 -0400, Michael Trew wrote:

> I have a back-up dial up plan that costs $4.85/mo in case the DSL goes
> out.

Wait a second.....

You pay $45/mo for a land line ON TOP of what you pay already pay
for DSL over that same copper. PLUS a $5/mo extra for "backup
dial-up internet" - that also goes out through the same copper, plus
$5 for long distance - also copper?

And 5 minutes later you say that you enjoy "peace of mind and
reliability copper gives you">

You do know that if one goes out, THEY ALL GO OUT, right? When your
DSL goes out you also have no phone line to use your $5/mo "backup
dialup plan" either. No Phone. No Internet, No dialup. And no cell
phone (because cell phones don't charge $05/minute for domestic).
You could just to landline VoIP over your DSL and have the EXACT
SAME RELIABLITY! OMG! Dude, just get Vonage or something and screw
that $40/mo and the $5/backup plan.

DSL does not go out while phone service remains active - they both
go out at the same time! Your phone may have a dialtone, but it will
not dial out if DSL is also out.

-sw

On 4/16/2021 7:52 PM, wrote:
> On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 8:56:07 PM UTC-5, Taxed and Spent wrote:
>>
>> On 4/16/2021 6:52 PM, wrote:
>>>
>>> Here, copper wiring is no more. Everything now is digital and copper
>>> wiring is no longer installed or even maintained. The downside to
>>> digital service is when electrical power is lost so is the phone service
>>> and no internet service, either.
>>>
>> That is not necessarily true. And you need to have your phone and modem
>> on a UPS.
>>
> That's quite possible but I'd rather have ALL my power back instead of just
> the phone and modem powered by a $150 and up.
>>>
>>> A cell phone is useful for emergencies but if power is not available
>>> for days then a car charging port is needed. Gary says he no longer
>>> or soon will no longer have a vehicle. I can't see him sitting in a
>>> restaurant for a few hours charging his phone.
>>>
>> Buy and keep charged a suitable battery, such as for jumping cars. A
>> cell phone will last a LONG time on that baby.
>>
>> Plan ahead. Use your head.
>>
> When I lose power I just go to my car and charge the phone which is not
> used that much. I don't need an extra battery when the ports in the car
> are available. I use my head by not buying unnecessary items.
>


Yes, but "Gary says he no longer or soon will no longer have a vehicle.
I can't see him sitting in a restaurant for a few hours charging his phone."

Taxed and Spent wrote:

> On 4/16/2021 7:52 PM, wrote:
> > >
> > That's quite possible but I'd rather have ALL my power back instead
> > of just the phone and modem powered by a $150 and up.
> > > >
> > > > A cell phone is useful for emergencies but if power is not
> > > > available for days then a car charging port is needed. Gary
> > > > says he no longer or soon will no longer have a vehicle. I
> > > > can't see him sitting in a restaurant for a few hours charging
> > > > his phone.
> > > >
> > > Buy and keep charged a suitable battery, such as for jumping
> > > cars. A cell phone will last a LONG time on that baby.
> > >
> > > Plan ahead. Use your head.
> > >
> > When I lose power I just go to my car and charge the phone which is
> > not used that much. I don't need an extra battery when the ports
> > in the car are available. I use my head by not buying unnecessary
> > items.
>
> Yes, but "Gary says he no longer or soon will no longer have a
> vehicle. I can't see him sitting in a restaurant for a few hours
> charging his phone."

No. If they'd ask him to order something, he'd go into anaphylactic
shock.

--
The real Dr. Bruce posts with uni-berlin.de - individual.net

On 4/16/2021 4:49 PM, wrote:
> On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 9:32:49 AM UTC-5, Gary wrote:
>>
>> On 4/16/2021 10:25 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
>>> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 08:21:34 -0400, Gary wrote:
>>>
>> Landline phone $45 PLUS $25 internet dialup access.
>> The internet access ended 5 months ago.
>> Free neighborhood wifi for now but it's not "secure."
>>
> I didn't know any companies still offered dial-up access.
> But with the $45 per month wired phone, don't you also
> get long distance included in that price?

Not like any cell phone does. My land line is unlimited but only for my
area code. Long distance is a separate thing...pay so much a month
whether you use it or not, then so much per minute when you do use it.
Total ripoff. My landline is Verizon.

My mom has unlimited LD calls like normal people do so she calls me each
Saturday morning and we talk for a couple of hours. No charge for me
since it's an incoming call and no charge for her since she has unlimited.

The only long distance person I can call is my daughter. She bought her
cell phone here years ago so she has the local area code (757).

On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 22:34:32 -0700 (PDT), dsi1
> wrote:

>On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 7:17:44 PM UTC-10, Dr. Bruce wrote:
>> dsi1 wrote:
>>
>> > On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 5:06:41 PM UTC-10, Michael Trew wrote:
>> > > On 4/16/2021 1:47 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>> > > > My phone works fine but I'm thinking that I need a phone that's
>> > > > capable of point-of-sale contactless payments i.e., has NFC
>> > > > capabilities. It's pretty obvious that contactless payments on
>> > > > cell phones are the future of purchasing stuff.
>> > > No thanks. I only carry cash. No cards or smart phone. If they
>> > > don't take cash, I'm not buying. You couldn't pay me enough to
>> > > trust these smart phones and related companies like Google to have
>> > > access to my financial info.
>> >
>> > These days, it's not real important what you or I think or do as far
>> > as influencing trends or shaping the future. It's the younger
>> > generation that will lead the way to the world of tomorrow. We're
>> > pretty irrelevant as far as the marketing guys are concerned. That's
>> > the breaks.
>> 60+ people are very important to marketing people. They're a huge group
>> and they have a lot of spending money.
>> --
>> The real Dr. Bruce posts with uni-berlin.de - individual.net
>
>I'd say that the exact opposite is true. Advertising to old folks are mostly for adult diapers, heart medicine, supplemental health insurance, funeral insurance, yadda, yadda, yadda. My guess is that majority of seniors don't have a lot of money to burn. You are correct that they are a huge group.

You are, pretty much corrects. Oh, there are a few categories to add
for which geezers are targeted, but unless things have changed
radically in the last 2 years, marketing is focused on the young.

Take cell phones for an example- there has been a string of posts
right here with what seems to be a contest to claim bragging rights
for the most bare bones capabilities and costs of phones and plans,
and there are companies (Consumer Cellular comes to mind among them)
that pitch to oldsters primarily emphasizing their phones and plan
simplicity, but the heavy duty advertising one sees is from Apple and
Samsung and the major cell providers. Looking at the people one sees
in these latter TV ads, which are plentiful, it is the young,
emphasizing photos and all the banking and financial services you
mention, as well as families emphasizing streaming.

Damn near everything is managed on the phone - social media, info and
news, shopping, mortgages, investments, entertainment and gaming.
Tablets are tolerated, as are laptops, at times, and desktops are
twenty-three skidoo.

My carbon footprint in one area is hideous. I happen to be an
electronics junkie. If it beeps, lights up or takes batteries, I like
it. I am stilting at a desk with a senior set up of desktop and two
large monitors. There is a similar view on my husband's desk on the
other side of the study.

I've a iPad, a Surface, a couple of HP laptops, a Samsung tablet to
plot on the kitchen counter for recipes, an iPhone, an Apple watch.
keep the industry afloat all by myself, probably. This gadgets list
gets changed out and I pass along the previous generations to friends
and family members.

I have my own version of the sale of indulgences and as penance for
the electronic gluttony, I am very careful about touchie-feelie
conservation in other areas. C'est la vie.

On 4/17/2021 12:22 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 09:48:36 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
>> On 4/16/2021 8:21 AM, Gary wrote:
>>> Response to the real Bruce.
>>>
>>> Of course the phone will cost money. duh
>>> My goal is to find one to replace the land line and not add a 2nd phone.
>>>
>>> If I can ditch the land line, that's $45 a month towards a smart phone
>>> with enough minutes to carry on normally.
>>>
>> Spectrum is advertising $14.95 a month, unlimited calls.
>
> Spectrum is a cable company. They would only provide phone service
> with a paid Internet or TV plan (at least in most states). Watch out
> for those damned "bundles" in the fine print (and that only last for
> 12 months before they double the price).
>

No, they are also a mobile phone company

https://www.spectrum.com/mobile

On 4/17/2021 9:39 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> On 4/17/2021 12:22 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
>> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 09:48:36 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>
>>> On 4/16/2021 8:21 AM, Gary wrote:
>>>> Response to the real Bruce.
>>>>
>>>> Of course the phone will cost money. duh
>>>> My goal is to find one to replace the land line and not add a 2nd
>>>> phone.
>>>>
>>>> If I can ditch the land line, that's $45 a month towards a smart phone
>>>> with enough minutes to carry on normally.
>>>>
>>> Spectrum is advertising $14.95 a month, unlimited calls.
>>
>> Spectrum is a cable company. They would only provide phone service
>> with a paid Internet or TV plan (at least in most states). Watch out
>> for those damned "bundles" in the fine print (and that only last for
>> 12 months before they double the price).
>>
>
> No, they are also a mobile phone company
>
> https://www.spectrum.com/mobile
>
You're required to be a spectrum cable subscriber in
order to use their mobile phone service.

On 4/17/2021 8:16 AM, Gary wrote:
> On 4/16/2021 4:49 PM, wrote:
>> On Friday, April 16, 2021 at 9:32:49 AM UTC-5, Gary wrote:
>>>
>>> On 4/16/2021 10:25 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
>>>> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 08:21:34 -0400, Gary wrote:
>>>>
>>> Landline phone $45 PLUS $25 internet dialup access.
>>> The internet access ended 5 months ago.
>>> Free neighborhood wifi for now but it's not "secure."
>>>
>> I didn't know any companies still offered dial-up access.
>> But with the $45 per month wired phone, don't you also
>> get long distance included in that price?
>
> Not like any cell phone does. My land line is unlimited but only for my
> area code. Long distance is a separate thing...pay so much a month
> whether you use it or not, then so much per minute when you do use it.
> Total ripoff. My landline is Verizon.
>
> My mom has unlimited LD calls like normal people do so she calls me each
> Saturday morning and we talk for a couple of hours. No charge for me
> since it's an incoming call and no charge for her since she has unlimited.
>
> The only long distance person I can call is my daughter. She bought her
> cell phone here years ago so she has the local area code (757).
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

If you have long distance through Verizon, they are ripping you off.
The carriers like Verizon, AT&T, etc change a boat-load for long
distance. Usually a $5 monthly fee, and tons of taxes to boot. If you
keep your land line, let me know, and I can recommend you to a much
cheaper long distance company that only charges $5 total if you use an
hour of outbound long distance, down to maybe a buck if you use nothing.

When I call long distance, I also ask people to call me back so I make
the call free... lol