First of all, we have cable TV now, which I suppose is more 20th century than 21st, but we only got it so we could get cable-based Internet, which is definitely 21st century. Since getting it (about a week ago), we have watched exactly zero non-network channels. We're not much of a TV family. I expect that will change during the
Second of all, we're killing our traditional phone service in favor of a voice-over-IP scheme from Vonage. Getting cable and Vonage turned out to be considerably cheaper than DSL and local/long distance on a land line. By the way, if anyone wants to switch to Vonage, let me know, because I'll be happy to refer you so both you and I will get a free month of service.
(The unfortunate part of all this is that our cable Internet isn't working yet; there's some kind of fault at the cable box that serves our townhome. Comcast is working on it, and I hope they solve it soon, because we're due to lose our traditional phone service in 20 days--and since that means no DSL as well, that means no IP-phone, no email, no contact with the outside world at all, in fact, short of snail-mail.)
Third of all, I'm blogging from my dining-room table. Yes, I finally succumbed and bought a wireless router (Mike, WiFi evangelist extraordinaire, is no doubt chanting "One of us... one of us..."), which I suppose isn't that big a deal among the technically elite, but considering that it was the wife who was demanding it (and who unlike me doesn't have a waptop*), it's significant, if only for its utter frivolity. As I alluded above, I live in a townhouse. According to my computer, my unit is now within three hotspots--all of them password-protected. Ah well...
So there it is, my Week o' Technology. Yet, I still don't own a cell phone...
*waptop: This was a typo, but it occurs to me it's a pretty good neologism for "Wi-Fi laptop," don'tcha think?
4 comments:
So how does that VoIP thing work? Do you still use actual telephone handsets, or do you have to be at the computer to make/receive a phone call?
Do you have a phone number in your local area code, or would your next-door neighbor have to make an out-of-area-code call to reach you?
Karen and I have been trying to exist only on our cellphone, but we get really crappy reception in our own home. (Though, ironically, it had great reception in our last place, when we had a land-based phone line as our primary number.)
You use a regular phone--the voice "decoder" is attached directly to the cable modem, either up or downstream of the router (they prefer upstream of it, but I do downstream). The decoder comes with two phone ports, one for a phone and one for an extension, which (once the land-line is disconnected) you can plug into the wall, so you can use your house wiring as a series of extensions, essentially, and use phones all over the house.
As for the area codes, we're keeping our old number, so that's not an issue. But not only can you most likely get an area code and prefix that matches your neighborhood, you can if you choose get extra "virtual numbers" from almost any area code in the country--so you could, say, get a Tampa number that your friends could call, and they'd be charged for a local call, even though your phone is ringing in Tallahassee.
It's not so good with DSL, since you have to maintain a traditional telephone line in any case (though I suppose you could cancel all the frills and keep it on the cheap). But with cable, it's the way to go. The biggest drawbacks are that if the power or the cable is out, so is the phone; and that although 911 dialing works, it works in a different way and can't automatically pinpoint your location. And, of course, if you have an emergency while the power is out, you're screwed.
You know, that sounds pretty good. And the prices look really reasonable.
That virtual number thing looks great — but I suspect that if I got the plan with free local calls, and added a virtual number in Tampa, calls to Tampa numbers wouldn't be considered "local"...
Heh, prolly not. Oh, and it's not clear on their web site, but a virtual number actually costs an extra $4.95 a month. (I only found that out by accessing my account and trying to get one. That's the only time they've been less-than-forthcoming about pricing.)
If you go for it, let me know and I'll refer you so you can get a free month.
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