wrote:
> Please note that on or around July 15, 2009, AT&T will no longer be
> offering access to the Usenet Netnews service. If you wish to continue
> reading Usenet newsgroups, access is available through third-party vendors.
>
> Distribution: AT&T SouthEast Newsgroups Servers

Why?

George Shirley wrote:
> wrote:
>> Please note that on or around July 15, 2009, AT&T will no longer be
>> offering access to the Usenet Netnews service. If you wish to continue
>> reading Usenet newsgroups, access is available through third-party
>> vendors.
>>
>> Distribution: AT&T SouthEast Newsgroups Servers
>
> Why?
Sorry about this extraneous post, hit the send key without looking. Mea
Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa.

George Shirley wrote:
> George Shirley wrote:
>> wrote:
>>> Please note that on or around July 15, 2009, AT&T will no longer be
>>> offering access to the Usenet Netnews service. If you wish to continue
>>> reading Usenet newsgroups, access is available through third-party
>>> vendors.
>>>
>>> Distribution: AT&T SouthEast Newsgroups Servers
>>
>> Why?
> Sorry about this extraneous post, hit the send key without looking. Mea
> Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa.



I'm surprised that they forgot to say "For your convenience...", or "To
serve you better..." ;-)

Bob

zxcvbob wrote:
> George Shirley wrote:
>> George Shirley wrote:
>>> wrote:
>>>> Please note that on or around July 15, 2009, AT&T will no longer be
>>>> offering access to the Usenet Netnews service. If you wish to continue
>>>> reading Usenet newsgroups, access is available through third-party
>>>> vendors.
>>>>
>>>> Distribution: AT&T SouthEast Newsgroups Servers
>>>
>>> Why?
>> Sorry about this extraneous post, hit the send key without looking.
>> Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa.
>
>
>
> I'm surprised that they forgot to say "For your convenience...", or "To
> serve you better..." ;-)
>
> Bob
I called their DSL service center a wee bit ago. They're doing this to,
in their own words, "Hold down costs for our valued customers." My
answer was somewhat profane but accurate, it's related to what falls out
of a bulls butt on a daily basis.

I'm in the process of getting rid of the landline, moving to MagicJack,
works good for only $19.95 a year versus $60 a month for AT&T. Already
got an old peoples cell phone, Jitterbug, costs us $20 a month no more
than we use a cell phone. I would probably switch over to cable service
for internet but they're more expensive and less reliable than Ma Bell's
DSL around here.

Do you think these monopolies really care? Sure they do, that's why
their call centers are in Mumbai nowadays.

George Shirley wrote:
> I'm in the process of getting rid of the landline, moving to MagicJack,
> works good for only $19.95 a year versus $60 a month for AT&T.

Before you waste the money on the Magic Jack, I suggest that you check out
the various forums and articles that have sprung up with unsatisfied customers.

Be aware that they "astroturf". That's hiring professional reports to post
messages on local mailing lists, bulletin boards, etc, with homey, friendly,
"look what I found" messages, which are just advertisements.

One journalist as he called himself did that on a local mailing list, and
when I asked him some details told me to look at their website. I asked what
his experience was and he told me the truth, they paid him to write the
article, and he never really used the thing, nor was it used in this country.

If you want to save money, there really are good VoIP companies out there,
which have low volume plans (unlimited incoming calls and 500 minutes a
month to anywhere in the US) for under $15, I can recommend the one I use
if you ask in email.

Be aware that no matter what you buy, it requires a stable Internet connection
with decent throughput. If you buy something like a MagicJack, which plugs
into your computer, it requires that the computer be on all the time you
want to receive or make phone calls, and as it pops a "telephone" on the
screen, you may have trouble using it for other things while you or
someone else is "on the phone".

The company I use has several options. I use both a "box" which lets me
connect telephones in my home, and a "softphone" which runs on my laptop,
so I can make calls if my laptop and I go out as long as I can find an
Internet connection. I can even call my own number and reach my home.

Geoff.
--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM

Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
> George Shirley wrote:
>> I'm in the process of getting rid of the landline, moving to MagicJack,
>> works good for only $19.95 a year versus $60 a month for AT&T.
>
> Before you waste the money on the Magic Jack, I suggest that you check out
> the various forums and articles that have sprung up with unsatisfied customers.
>
> Be aware that they "astroturf". That's hiring professional reports to post
> messages on local mailing lists, bulletin boards, etc, with homey, friendly,
> "look what I found" messages, which are just advertisements.
>
> One journalist as he called himself did that on a local mailing list, and
> when I asked him some details told me to look at their website. I asked what
> his experience was and he told me the truth, they paid him to write the
> article, and he never really used the thing, nor was it used in this country.
>
> If you want to save money, there really are good VoIP companies out there,
> which have low volume plans (unlimited incoming calls and 500 minutes a
> month to anywhere in the US) for under $15, I can recommend the one I use
> if you ask in email.
>
> Be aware that no matter what you buy, it requires a stable Internet connection
> with decent throughput. If you buy something like a MagicJack, which plugs
> into your computer, it requires that the computer be on all the time you
> want to receive or make phone calls, and as it pops a "telephone" on the
> screen, you may have trouble using it for other things while you or
> someone else is "on the phone".
>
> The company I use has several options. I use both a "box" which lets me
> connect telephones in my home, and a "softphone" which runs on my laptop,
> so I can make calls if my laptop and I go out as long as I can find an
> Internet connection. I can even call my own number and reach my home.
>
> Geoff.


Would it work with an old laptop with a broken screen that still runs
OK? It could be set-up on top of the upright freezer and dedicated to
the MagicJack, and its aging battery would even provide a half-hour or
so of uninterruptible power supply.

I have a Virgin Mobile cellphone that I don't use much. It costs me $5
per month for more minutes than I use so they just accumulate.

The land-line bill has so many taxes and surcharges added on (no matter
who the carrier) it costs more for that than the actual phone service.
I'm currently getting phone service from the cable company -- doesn't
seem any better or worse than the phone company except now the phone
goes out when we lose power -- and I can't dial out with my old rotary
phones.

Bob

Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
> George Shirley wrote:
>> I'm in the process of getting rid of the landline, moving to MagicJack,
>> works good for only $19.95 a year versus $60 a month for AT&T.
>
> Before you waste the money on the Magic Jack, I suggest that you check out
> the various forums and articles that have sprung up with unsatisfied customers.

Read all of them, have had it for several months now, no problems but
one and their tech service provided me with a fix for it almost immediately.
>
> Be aware that they "astroturf". That's hiring professional reports to post
> messages on local mailing lists, bulletin boards, etc, with homey, friendly,
> "look what I found" messages, which are just advertisements.

So do a lot of other services. I got my reports from an independent
bunch of phone hackers.

>
> One journalist as he called himself did that on a local mailing list, and
> when I asked him some details told me to look at their website. I asked what
> his experience was and he told me the truth, they paid him to write the
> article, and he never really used the thing, nor was it used in this country.
>
> If you want to save money, there really are good VoIP companies out there,
> which have low volume plans (unlimited incoming calls and 500 minutes a
> month to anywhere in the US) for under $15, I can recommend the one I use
> if you ask in email.
>
> Be aware that no matter what you buy, it requires a stable Internet connection
> with decent throughput. If you buy something like a MagicJack, which plugs
> into your computer, it requires that the computer be on all the time you
> want to receive or make phone calls, and as it pops a "telephone" on the
> screen, you may have trouble using it for other things while you or
> someone else is "on the phone".

So far, no such problems, my internet connection is stable except for
the rare power outage in our area. My has always been "on." I also surf
while on the phone.
>
> The company I use has several options. I use both a "box" which lets me
> connect telephones in my home, and a "softphone" which runs on my laptop,
> so I can make calls if my laptop and I go out as long as I can find an
> Internet connection. I can even call my own number and reach my home.
>
> Geoff.

I ran a line from MagicJack directly into the phone jack behind the
computer desk, MagicJack works on every phone in the house now. There
may ultimately be some problems but, as of the moment, it works fine.
Thanks for the info though Geoff.