Get iPhone-like service everywhere less expensively than through AT&T or Verizon's commitments

If you want to save money on cell phone service and still get Iphone-like service, here’s an inexpensive option.

cell phone: Net10 service at $15 per month if you don't talk too much ($15 will get you 150 minutes per month under their $30/300 minutes/2 month plan).

Buy any old iPod touch. This will run your iPhone apps, the same as an iPhone but no voice calls. It will run on wifi. For instance, $150 for Refurbished iPod touch, 8GB (previous generation) at the Apple Store now!

Then buy a Virgin Mobile USB modem from Walmart (must buy from Walmart to get their special one month, 1Gb data plan) which will work on your laptop. It also works with a Cradlepoint portable wifi router.

Plug the Virgin Mobile USB modem in the Cradlepoint, and you get a wifi signal! $20 per month for 1Gb of data. You can use your laptop, ipod touch, an ipad, etc on the wifi router. It's portable and has a battery that lasts three hours.

monthly charge:

Net10 cell phone $15

Virgin Mobile data 20

Total monthly only $35 per month!!!!

Upfront costs:

ipod touch $150

Net10 phone free, from Norb, or I can point you to the website

Cradlepoint router $65

Virgin USB modem 70

Total upfront equipment costs: $285

No early termination fees. Month to month, prepaid. Out of town for a month -- no problem. Just don't pay, and restart the service when you are back.

I am using the above, and have been extremely happy with the Virgin Mobile service. It is just about anywhere I have been.

Another option to the above is the Virgin Mobile Peel, which attaches to an iPod touch and provides a wifi signal to the iPod touch, thus transforming it into an iPhone. Add voice capabilities with a Skype application.

You can also buy a Blackberry from Walmart for $99 and get unlimited data and voice from Virgin Mobile for $35 per month.

Google Maps Takes Me on a Ride in Seattle

When the sun comes out in Seattle, all these pear-shaped, shabbily-dressed, pale white people come outside from their caves. Some of the men take their shirts off, which is not a good thing to see. The city becomes crowded with people who walk in the streets instead of the sidewalk. Folks who should not be driving decide to take their car out for a spin. Perhaps even the computers that serve up directions on Google Maps get a little heady. I was the recipient of this stuff from Google Maps.

I asked for directions from Google Maps, from a friend's house to the Seatac airport. Attached are the resulting directions.

The directions aren't bad at first glance. I drove following the first 8 lines just fine. When the directions said "turn L at Mercer Street" then I started to get into trouble. Mercer Street was closed for repairs. I don't blame Google Maps for this, and the city had posted detour signs.

However, trying to follow the detour, I ran into a huge traffic jam. Seattle drivers do not know that they should leave intersections open with their cars. As a result, even if a light turned green, no one could move. I threaded my way for about an hour to get to a street where I could finally get onto I-5.

I had been to Seatac several times before, but I was not confident, so I followed Google Maps. If you look at the directions, you will see that Google Maps must have wanted me to see different parts of the city before arriving at the airport. It had me get off I-5, get onto I-90 East, then exit at Rainier Avenue and then take a leisurely loop tour in the North Beacon Hill area. This took another hour or so. I went through all kinds of small streets, having no idea why.

I was finally directed back to I-5 after this side trip, and I made it to Seatac airport, about 2 and a half hours after leaving my friend Dave's place near Ballard Locks.

I checked the same route for Google Maps today, and I could not re-create the route it gave me yesterday. The directions put me on I-5 and kept me on I-5 until I reached Seatac, very direct, very easy, 30 minutes rather than 150 minutes. WTF?

Thanks again to my friend Dave for inviting me to his wedding party, the only social event I've been invited to in about 4 years.

Ways to Extend Your Internet Wifi Signal in a Large House

I have a friend who asked me how to get his internet signal to the far parts of his house.

Here are some ways to have your network go to various parts of your house.

First, the internet signal comes into your house via DSL or cable internet modem. I alternate between the two. Once in your house, internet signal is internet signal. No difference.

From the modem, internet signal goes to a wifi router. This is what you have already. The wifi router has a switch, likely 4 ports that you can string Ethernet cables to various computers. But computers within your wifi range will just use wifi, not Ethernet.

Use (if your wires in the house are on the same circuit), what are called Ethernet over Power, or Powerline adapters to get the internet signal from one side of the house to another, if your house is large. For instance, we get our internet signal at the guest house in Crocker. Deanna's office is 100 yards away, in the main house. She cannot get a good wifi signal there. So I bought two POE adapters. I put one near the router, connected by an Ethernet cable. The other one is on an AC outlet in her room, and an Ethernet cable goes from the POE adapter to her computer. Very easy to set up. Some of the AC outlets in her room did NOT work. Some did.

http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Powerline-Wireless-N-Extender-XAVNB2001/dp/B0046SQ8VW/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1310399607&sr=1-3

I've seen these or similars sold for $25 each, $50 a pair.


Some POE adapters come with a switch so you can connect four devices to one POE adapter. You can also put a wifi router on the POE adapter to become a second wifi base station. Any router can do this but it can take a lot of hassle. I think that products called wifi bridges, repeaters, or access points do the same thing.

Wireless AP / Bridges / Repeaters
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=335&name=Wireless-AP-Bridges


You can also get wifi range extenders. I have not tried these. You just plug these into an AC outlet that is far away, but within reach of your wifi signal, and it provides a strong signal from there.

http://www.amazon.com/Netgear-Universal-Range-Extender-WN3000RP/dp/B004YAYM06/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1310399607&sr=1-2

Getting Sound on Your HDTV using HDMI from a Windows 7 Laptop

I bought an inexpensive MSI laptop a few months ago, and I've been impressed with it and Windows 7. It does just about everything I need it to. I forgot my power supply for my MacBook Pro on a recent trip and was forced to use the MSI laptop to do everything.

There's less and less difference now between using a Mac and a PC. Firefox browsers work the same on both platforms. I use (and like very much) the Thunderbird email program for the Mac; the PC version is much the same.

The great thing about this new Windows 7 laptop is that it comes with Windows Media Player software installed as part of the Windows 7 Home Premium operating system. I can use the laptop as a DVR, to schedule and record my favorite television programs. This is a remarkably good and easy-to-use software package.

The MSI laptop comes with an HDMI output. I simply attached an HDMI cable from the laptop to my HDTV, and voila! I had a great picture on the television that mirrored what I saw on the laptop screen. I initially had sound that came over the HDMI cable and came out through the TV speakers, but I lost that once I plugged headphones into the laptop.

This is where the old Windows took over, where you had to spend hours fiddling with the machine to finally get things working again. Luckily for me, there was a web post that explained the solution to this problem. I am pretty dumbfounded that the solution was so hard to find and that Windows makes this problem so hard to solve. I guess that Macs are still better than PC's!

Here's the solution:
Go to the "manage audio devices window" in the Control Panel (or right-click on the "sound" icon in system tray). On an empty or blank part of the window, right-click and check the box which comes up saying show disabled devices. On my laptop, an option to enable my Panasonic TV appeared, and I had to enable it to allow sound to go to it again.

This worked on Windows 7. For more information on how to do this in Vista, which is very similar:

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/143447-audio-device-enable-hidden-devices.html

I hope that this helps some folks.

Ebay and Paypal Are Astonishingly Unfair to Sellers

I've been selling some things on Ebay. If you ever plan on selling on Ebay, here are some things to watch for. Yes, they are good for getting rid of stuff you may otherwise never sell. But Ebay seems hellbent on emasculating sellers. For instance, buyers can leave negative feedback for sellers for any reason whatsoever, and sellers CANNOT leave negative feedback for buyers!

This is a less visible, but far more serious problem. Ebay and Paypal will force any seller, at any time a buyer complains, to accept the return of an item and eat the shipping cost to that buyer. Anytime, for any reason, EVEN IF YOUR LISTING STATES "NO RETURNS ACCEPTED"!!!

Let me state this again: Even if you list an item on Ebay and choose the option "no returns accepted", Ebay or Paypal will still override you and force you to accept returns. You will be forced to accept the return and will LOSE the cost of shipping to the buyer. The buyer will have to pay the cost of shipping the item back to you. All the buyer has to do to get his money back is ship something with a tracking number; it could be a rock. Once Ebay/Paypal sees that a package has been delivered, they will refund the buyer.

Why do they even bother giving sellers the option of not accepting returns!? Giving sellers the option "no returns accepted" when listing an item for sale is an illusion. It seems downright fraudulent.

Here are some communications from Paypal and Ebay as an example. I listed a Net10 phone on Ebay which clearly stated that the phone was a manufacturer-refurbished item, and no returns would be accepted. The phone was still covered by a limited one-year warranty by Net10. The buyer still had and has the option to return the phone to Net10, but he instead chose to force me to accept his return of the phone. Paypal is forcing me to accept the return AND pay for my cost of shipping to him.

Subject: Status Update - Case #PP-001-xxx Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2011 07:27:28 -0700

Hello Norbert Wu,  As you know, we've been investigating a recent
transaction involving items that were damaged or significantly not as
described.
-----------------------------------
Transaction Details
----------------------------------- 
Buyer's name: paul xx
Transaction ID: xx
Transaction date: Jun 10, 2011
Transaction amount: $35.00 USD
Your transaction ID: xx Case number: PP-001-xx
Refund amount: $35.00
USD

We've determined that the buyer should receive a $35.00 USD refund
if they ship the merchandise back to you. The merchandise will be in the
same condition as when the buyer received it and the buyer is
responsible for all shipping and handling costs.



6/17/2011 10:54 PDT - PayPal: Seller escalated this dispute to a Claim.

6/17/2011 10:54 PDT - Seller: The buyer is unhappy because he purchased a manufacturer-refurbished item from me, and he claims that the item does not work. The item was purchased on Ebay (item 190540788767) and the listing option states that no returns will be accepted, as well as the following text in the listing: "No returns accepted; contact Net10 for any issues. " The buyer's claim that the item is not as described is incorrect.

The item is definitely as described; the listing clearly states that it is a refurbished phone from Net10 and that the seller should contact Net10 for any issues.

The seller filed a dispute on this transaction with Ebay, who refused to allow the claim. He is now filing the dispute with Paypal.

I wrote the seller after he contacted me for a refund as follows: "Hi -- Sorry that you are having trouble with your phone. Unfortunately, my listing stated the following: No returns accepted; contact Net10 for any issues. The item is definitely as described; the listing clearly states that it is a refurbished phone from Net10 and that you should contact Net10 for any issues. This phone comes with a 1-year limited warranty from Net10. There should have been a card in the box showing the warranty and how to obtain a return authorization number. I am happy to email you a scan of that card (but I will need your direct email address) along with my receipt for the purchase of the phone from Net10, which was made last month or so. The warranty states: To obtain a RA# and shipping address, please contact Net10 Direct sales customer service at 1-877-836-2368. If your problem cannot be remedied over the phone, our Net10 technicians will provide you with a Return Authorization Number, which you will use to send your phone or accessories to the designated Net10 service center for repair or replacement at Net10's option.

6/17/2011 09:10 PDT - Buyer: This item does not work and I am very unhappy. I bought this item thinking it would work but net 10 said there is something wrong with the phone. I want a full refund since they sold me a non working correctly phone!

Install tracking software on your Mac or PC before it gets stolen!

The local news station ran a story about a guy who had his MacBook stolen. He went to the police, who of course were no help. He had installed tracking software called Hidden on his Mac. This software, like others, will allow you to track your PC or Mac's location, and also take photos remotely -- showing the person who is using your stolen Mac.

He went to the police with photos of the suspect, along with the exact location of his laptop -- and they finally got his computer back for him.

I myself have been using the product undercover for my Macs for several years now. It provides basic tracking information, and a new feature takes photos. I believe it is only for the Mac, and it costs a flat $45 for five Macs. There is no annual or recurring charge.

Hidden costs something like $15 per computer per year.

I recently discovered Prey for Macs and PCs, as well as Android. It is a free open-source software that provides the same capabilities that I describe above, and more. I will likely be installing this on my computers in the future.

New Square Up service allows small businesses to accept credit cards directly!

Check out https://squareup.com/

be sure you use https and not http.

This is a great new service that lets small businesses like mine accept credit cards. My office can now accept credit cards over the phone or email, or with a swipe. The card-reading equipment is free; you do need an ipad or iphone. In the past, small businesses had just one way to accept credit cards -- Paypal, which is a confusing service (not to mention being very unfair in the way it handles disputes or problems). Square Up does take a commission of 2.75% if swiping with a credit card, and 3.5% plus 15 cents if entering a transaction manually, with no physical credit card available. Frigging amazing! Very simple to use.