Master Index of Archived Threads


Finally saying goodbye to Ma Bell ...

KC Dec 01 2005 12:32 PM

... or at least her great great grandchild, Verizon. Everytime it rains our phone gets crackily or goes out all together. The DSL acts up when this happens, and I really don't see Verizon moving into the TV act too quickly like they've been promising. Our DSL service has always been very good, but lately it's been slipping. We already have the digital cable anyway, for the MLB package mostly, and now we'll have phone, tv, and internet and allegedly save some dough. Anyone have any cable nightmare stories by taking the full household plunge?

Yancy Street Gang Dec 01 2005 01:06 PM

You're able to get the MLB package with digital cable? I thought it was only available with DirecTV. I'll have to check with my cable provider.

Johnny Dickshot Dec 01 2005 01:24 PM

Vonage, SunRocket and/or Packet 8 provide VOIP phone cheaper than your cable company will and MUCH cheaper than Ma Bell. My phone bill was slashed from Verizon (around $70/mo.) to Vonage ($25/mo.) I've been very satisfied with Vonage, zero issues so far, you can check & listen to voice mail via computer anywhere. I can't speak for Sunrocket or P8, service-wise but I understand they offer similar packages. If anyone wants to switch to Vonage let 'em know your old pal Johnny Dickshot sent ya and I'll get discounted service (I think, 2 free months, which I'll pay back in beer at a Mets game)

KC Dec 01 2005 01:46 PM

>>>You're able to get the MLB package with digital cable?<<< I've had it on Cablevision digital cable the last two seasons. Mrs. Fields has it and I'm pretty sure she's not on Cablevision. They have the NBA, NHL too - no NFL yet - which I'm not interested in anyway since during a good year I'm outside watching football half the year.

ScarletKnight41 Dec 01 2005 02:33 PM

I have Comcast digital cable, and I've had the MLB package over the last two seasons.

Yancy Street Gang Dec 01 2005 03:32 PM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: I have Comcast digital cable, and I've had the MLB package over the last two seasons. Really? I had no idea. And you're able to get Mets games on it? How many games per day do you get to choose from? About how many Mets games do you see each year? It sounds like a better way to watch the Mets than in front of my PC on MLB.com.

holychicken Dec 01 2005 03:46 PM

Better, yancy, yes. . . but much more expensive. MLB.com is around 80. . . while the digi cableversion (at least for me) was up around 200. . . IIRC.

Yancy Street Gang Dec 01 2005 03:55 PM

Hmmm. I'll have to think about that. I had avoided digital cable in the past because you need that stupid box, and when you have a box your VCR can't change channels. And since almost everything I watch is pre-recorded, that wouldn't have worked for me. Now I have TiVo, and TiVo is supposed to work with digital boxes. I'll have to consider that for 2006. Thanks for the info!

ScarletKnight41 Dec 01 2005 04:14 PM

Yancy Street Gang wrote: ="ScarletKnight41"]I have Comcast digital cable, and I've had the MLB package over the last two seasons. Really? Really. I get Mets games, although my friend who lives one township south of me didn't get FSNY. However, since Comcast is supposed to be a partner of the new Mets channel, I'm hopeful that we'll all get Mets games next year (I'm dreaming big - I want Mets games on HD in 2006!). As for the MLB package, it varies. Some days there are only a couple of games, and there are no games on Saturday afternoons when Fox has the exclusive rights. However, on most days there are at least 7 or 8 games, often more. It's not cheap, but we watched it enough the last few seasons that I felt that we got our money's worth.

Yancy Street Gang Dec 01 2005 04:20 PM

Thanks, Scarlett. I'm thinking it sounds like it's worth a try, especially if I can verify that TiVo won't have a problem with it.

ScarletKnight41 Dec 01 2005 04:25 PM

You're very welcome :)

MFS62 Dec 02 2005 02:12 PM

You are draining money from my pension fund. I worked for a while at NYNEX, which became Bell Atlantic and then became Verizon. I hat you. Bastages. Later

KC Dec 02 2005 04:37 PM

What's has happened to AT&T since 1/1/84 is truly a nightmare from an accounting (tax-wise) standpoint. I wonder what $1,000 of AT&T stock owned at 12/31/83 would be worth if you just sat on everything and re-invested all the dividends. Today you'd own shares in AT&T, Lucent Technologies, Avaya, NCR, Qwest, Vodafone, SBC Communications, Agere Class A and B, Comcast, and Verizon. AT&T Wireless was purchased by Cingular for cash last year. There were 36 cost basis adjustments for spin-offs, split-offs and mergers and 24 cost per share adjustments for splits. Many of the companies that you'd have owned over the years are gone and/or merged with others. I can think of around 17 company names and I'm sure I'm missing one or two. They sell a program to help figure your basis in old untouched AT&T stock which is where I cut and pasted some of this from. (I'm a geek, but I ain't that geeky off the top of my head geeky).

MFS62 Dec 02 2005 05:43 PM

KC wrote: What's has happened to AT&T since 1/1/84 is truly a nightmare . Yep. Judge Green was a real Bell buster. Later

A Boy Named Seo Jan 04 2006 03:58 PM

Just wanted to let you folks know I switched over to Vonage after reading this and so far (the first couple of days) think it's the cat's pajamas. The voice mail control panel is really neat, and the setup was painless. If you're looking to ditch your regular POTS line provider to save some dough, look into Vonage and tell 'em your pal Johnny Dickshot sent you. I did.

soupcan Jan 04 2006 04:22 PM

Isn't there some issue with calling 911 or something? Can you keep your same phone number?

A Boy Named Seo Jan 04 2006 04:49 PM

I was able to keep the same number, which I've had for 6 years. That would've been a deal-breaker for me. As for the 9-11 thing, they make you fill out a form providing your home address and then they provide it, along with your home phone number, to your local 9-11 dispatch, and they call that "Enhanced 9-11". Their website says: "If local authorities cannot display your registered information Vonage sends along with your 911 call, your call will be delivered through the traditional 911 network and answered by a trained dispatcher in your local 911 center. This service is known as basic 911. The dispatcher will not have your address and may not have your phone number, so be prepared to provide it." If there was a fire or some other catastrophe and time was of the essence, as it is in most emergencies, those few seconds could be precious. Also keep in mind that if your power was out, or your internet service was down for whatever reason, so too is your Vonage service and your 9-11 access. Make sure that cellie's charged.

cooby Jan 04 2006 04:55 PM

Seo did you have to break your old contract? With verizon it's a $175 fee

A Boy Named Seo Jan 04 2006 05:30 PM

I had no disconnect fee. You just scared me and I called Verizon again and they confirmed.

cooby Jan 04 2006 05:38 PM

How did you manage that? Everytime one of us has to get a new phone, they add another year to the end of the whole family's contract. Since there are three phones, naturally one goes bad at least once a year.

A Boy Named Seo Jan 04 2006 05:44 PM

I kinda flirted with the girl a little, maybe that helped. I'm talking home phone. Are you talking home phone, too? That's the one I killed and I kept my cellie.

Johnny Dickshot Jan 04 2006 05:56 PM

If Seo can pay his billz on time, I'll get a referral bonus, so if you sign up, tell 'em A Boy Named Seo sent ya. Then you take over the pyramid, and so on. Another bonus of Vonage -- no bills through the mail. I suppose that's a convenience that moight be available thru Ma Bell or your bank, but it's nice & easy this way.

cooby Jan 04 2006 06:29 PM

A Boy Named Seo wrote: I kinda flirted with the girl a little, maybe that helped. I'm talking home phone. Are you talking home phone, too? That's the one I killed and I kept my cellie. Oh, nonono, I am talking strictly about verizon wireless. Now I get it!