bobbysketch

Paying $15 a month for txt messaging really bothers me. Every time I get my phone bill from AT&T, I am irked by that one line item. If I’m paying $30 for unlimited data service, why do I need to pay for SMS? Isn’t that just data also? Oh, and if I want unlimited txt capability, it’s $20. I’m sure I’m not the first to complain about this, and I’m sure that I won’t really do anything about it – other than complain. Half the reason I txt so often is that any call lasting more than a few minutes seems to get dropped. Gotta love that AT&T.

Here’s a very interesting article from Popular mechanics talking about how it isn’t physically impossible for a “wormhole” to form and thus result in a bending of time. None of us will live to see this, though.

UPDATE 3:45PM: Home Depot – 20% off, kinda. You spend $50, you get $10 back instantly. Pretty good deal.

I bought the Dynex 32″ LCD HDTV from Best Buy for $449. Not sure if I’ll keep it yet, though. I went at 11am or so and they had plenty of stuff. The best deal I saw was a 50″ Samsung Plasma for $1299.

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Best Buy seems to be the best retail place for electronics on Black Friday – and for only one reason: no mail in rebates. I hate those things and so does Best Buy. They decided to get rid of them altogether, from what I’m told.

Here’s a Black Friday tip: take advantage of price guarantees. Some stores offer 110% guarantees (Circuit City, for instance). So, just take that ad for the $399 Element LCD HDTV at Best Buy (because you know they’ll be sold out) to a competitor that will match the price – and you’re all set.

But, you can avoid all of that hassle altogether and just shop online. My favorite sites for online shopping: Amazon.com (Black Friday Specials here), Overstock.com, and dealsea.com for getting pointed in the right direction.

Happy Shopping and Happy Thanksgiving!

Verizon Wireless launched into a full-scale overhaul of their service plans today, and the results for consumers are mixed. Here are the main points:

* They’re now called “Nationwide Plans”
* Everybody now gets “Mobile Web,” which used to cost $5.
* Data connections that used to take minutes out of your bucket, no longer do.
* But you’re charged $1.99/MB for some data services.
* If you want to switch, you don’t have to re-up your contract

In other words, if you have been a cheap bastard using your cell phone as a dialup modem, which used to only cost you your minutes; that perk is gone and now you will be charged for them. So that bootleg of the latest blockbuster you wanted to see, forget about downloading it and just buy it from that shady guy on the streets.

The very popular and exclusive “sharing” site has been shut down by British and Dutch police. Sad. Sad. Sad.