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Are the phones smarter than us yet?

Ceetar Apr 14 2016 09:00 AM

I just noticed (because who reads the convulated 10-page billing document Verizon sends you for blurbs?) that Verizon raised the price of unlimited data from $30 to $50 in November for the hell of it. (for greed) So now I'm suddenly paying $40 more a month! Brilliant! I'd been putting off getting a new phone to see if someone was better than the Galaxy S7 (i.e. has a removable battery, quality camera, and removable storage) but their BOGO offer right now is perhaps too good to pass up considering all the money I'd save downgrading to 10gigs of data shared.

Edgy MD Apr 14 2016 09:26 AM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

Worth noting that perhaps 40,000 Verizon workers have walked off their jobs and gone on strike. Bad time to be backing that horse, but they're my carrier.

Ceetar Apr 14 2016 09:56 AM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

Edgy MD wrote: Worth noting that perhaps 40,000 Verizon workers have walked off their jobs, and gone on strike. Bad time to be backing that horse, but they're my carrier. Verizon communications, not wireless though right? or all of them? I'm friends with someone that works there, though he's not part of the union so is still working. Oh, they're a horrible company but they're better than the other horrible companies.

batmagadanleadoff Apr 14 2016 10:24 AM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

Ceetar wrote: I just noticed (because who reads the convulated 10-page billing document Verizon sends you for blurbs?) that Verizon raised the price of unlimited data from $30 to $50 in November for the hell of it. (for greed) So now I'm suddenly paying $40 more a month! Brilliant! I'd been putting off getting a new phone to see if someone was better than the Galaxy S7 (i.e. has a removable battery, quality camera, and removable storage) but their BOGO offer right now is perhaps too good to pass up considering all the money I'd save downgrading to 10gigs of data shared. It's funny you say all this because I just noticed this week myself that I'm paying like $40/mo. more than I usually do for my cell phone, and I think it's been going on for a few months. Only I don't have Verizon. It's not really funny.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Apr 14 2016 10:28 AM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

"Buck" Bucketdad, my father-in-law, was an old-school Ma Bell/Verizon union lineman. Now retired (early thanks to a buyout and union pension), he couldn't possibly have had a chance to own a home or maybe even a vehicle without the Local.

Ceetar Apr 14 2016 10:32 AM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: "Buck" Bucketdad, my father-in-law, was an old-school Ma Bell/Verizon union lineman. Now retired (early thanks to a buyout and union pension), he couldn't possibly have had a chance to own a home or maybe even a vehicle without the Local. he also probably wouldn't be retired because VZ would probably still own him somehow.

d'Kong76 Apr 14 2016 10:37 AM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

I think the strike affects the whole shabang from wireless to land to tv and internet. One of my fb friends is picketing this morning. Companies like Verizon are just a smidgen below the likes of the Yankees. Fuck them! (but keep my internet flowing, I'm a junkie man)

cooby classic Apr 14 2016 10:42 AM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

I forgot to pay my verizon wireless bill until the day after it was due this month. My little protest. (hopefully my service doesn't get shut off :( )

Ceetar Apr 14 2016 10:44 AM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

cooby wrote: I forgot to pay my verizon wireless bill until the day after it was due this month. My little protest. (hopefully my service doesn't get shut off :( ) I'm a rut where I've been paying like 10 days late and then I generally pay by going to Bank of America and looking when I paid last month and figuring i still have a few days so .. Also my Wireless bill is in my mother in law's name because they won't let me change it.

themetfairy Apr 14 2016 10:44 AM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

I used to have Comcast. Comcast suxx. I rarely use the word hate, but I truly hate Comcast. When FiOS became available I greeted them as a liberator. Which isn't to glorify Verizon. But when you've had the very, very worst, then it doesn't take a whole lot to make you happy.

cooby classic Apr 14 2016 10:48 AM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

My phone THINKS it's smarter than i am. Once when my husband asked me what I wanted for supper, I mistyped "hot dogs" and it turned it into "goths". As in: He: Supper? I: I bought some goths. But I didn't buy any buns for them Another time he wrote to say he was at the state store and did I want any? It changed "Niagara" into "Biafra"

d'Kong76 Apr 14 2016 11:10 AM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

themetfairy wrote: When FiOS became available I greeted them as a liberator. I love FiOS! We've had this discussion before I'm sure. The price that we pay for phone, internet, and television is disgraceful. The whole point of allowing all companies offer everything and breaking up the monopolies was supposedly to create healthy competition but it's done nothing to help save J. Q. Sudsbucket a couple of sheckles. It's actually worse. *falls off soapbox, dusts himself off*

RealityChuck Apr 14 2016 12:50 PM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

I'd get FIOS in a minute, but Time Warner has their local headquarters in my town, so FIOS is not available. A friend said it was likely FIOS's decision, but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if TW made the town agree to not allow competition in exchange for putting their headquarters. Look, unless you live in the boonies, all cell phone providers are the same. It's a commodity, and you choose any commodity by price. Walmart Family Mobile (which is T-Mobile) is under $30 a month ($35 after taxes). That's for unlimited data (1 Gig at 4G), text, and calling. You have to buy a phone, but that's the smart way to do it anyway (you pay far less).

Lefty Specialist Apr 14 2016 02:09 PM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

themetfairy wrote: I used to have Comcast. Comcast suxx. I rarely use the word hate, but I truly hate Comcast. When FiOS became available I greeted them as a liberator. Which isn't to glorify Verizon. But when you've had the very, very worst, then it doesn't take a whole lot to make you happy. My wife's mom passed away last year. We cancelled her Comcast service, but they still kept her on the books and were sending angry notices for months. It took my wife pulling an epic 'Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment' meltdown in the Comcast office to finally get them to stop. Comcast is evil.

themetfairy Apr 14 2016 02:16 PM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

Lefty Specialist wrote: themetfairy wrote: I used to have Comcast. Comcast suxx. I rarely use the word hate, but I truly hate Comcast. When FiOS became available I greeted them as a liberator. Which isn't to glorify Verizon. But when you've had the very, very worst, then it doesn't take a whole lot to make you happy. My wife's mom passed away last year. We cancelled her Comcast service, but they still kept her on the books and were sending angry notices for months. It took my wife pulling an epic 'Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment' meltdown in the Comcast office to finally get them to stop. Comcast is evil. Pure evil. I'm sorry that you guys had to go through that.

Lefty Specialist Apr 14 2016 02:29 PM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

The best part was that they were simultaneously sending her mail with discount offers saying, 'We want you back!!!!' Can't make this stuff up.

d'Kong76 Apr 14 2016 02:44 PM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

I have a box of three cable boxes, a router, remotes, etc. in my basement from when we left Cablevision. I knew we had to return them, just didn't. Then I started getting calls and mail from a lawyer demanding like $1,000 for un-returned equipment. Old equipment. Stuff they likely dumpster when you bring it in. It aggravates the shitznozzle out of me. I get two mailings per weeks wanting me back though. They all suck bhmc, but whatever...

Ceetar Apr 14 2016 02:52 PM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

d'Kong76 wrote: I have a box of three cable boxes, a router, remotes, etc. in my basement from when we left Cablevision. I knew we had to return them, just didn't. Then I started getting calls and mail from a lawyer demanding like $1,000 for un-returned equipment. Old equipment. Stuff they likely dumpster when you bring it in. It aggravates the shitznozzle out of me. I get two mailings per weeks wanting me back though. They all suck bhmc, but whatever... I'm tempted to go back to Cablevision because I think the price is currently lower than Verizon (though it's hard to tell exactly because they try to vary the features/packages just enough) I'm pissed at myself about the phone, looks like Verizon's BOGO offer for the Galaxy S7 ended yesterday, might have saved myself $650 over the next 24 months.

d'Kong76 Apr 14 2016 03:25 PM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

I'm told this is more a land-line issue as opposed to company- wide issue for Verizon. Nobody wants or uses regular phones anymore and Verizon doesn't want to give operators, service people, etc. a good contract because they're kinda becoming obsolete. Who knows, another sign of the times....

Frayed Knot Apr 14 2016 03:51 PM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

With the presidential candidates in NY, the strikers are drawing some extra attention. Bernie, not surprisingly, was first to join the picket walkers which caused Clinton to quickly been seen also. Now Bernie's camp has let it be known that one of Hillary's big money speaking fees (reportedly $200K) was for ... wait for it ... Verizon!

cooby classic Apr 17 2016 06:50 PM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

You know, if my daughter, and my daughter in law, didn't rely on my cell phone to contact me, I could happily throw mine in next Thursday's garbage bin. Cranky tonight.

Frayed Knot Apr 21 2016 10:51 AM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

d'Kong76 wrote: themetfairy wrote: When FiOS became available I greeted them as a liberator. I love FiOS! We've had this discussion before I'm sure. The price that we pay for phone, internet, and television is disgraceful. The whole point of allowing all companies offer everything and breaking up the monopolies was supposedly to create healthy competition but it's done nothing to help save J. Q. Sudsbucket a couple of sheckles. It's actually worse. *falls off soapbox, dusts himself off* One possible development in all this is that the FCC is currently looking into actions which could force cable providers to accept 'boxes' sold by outside manufacturers. It seems strange that, some 30+ years after it was belatedly decided that is was legal to go out and purchase your own phone rather than being forced to rent each one from the PHONE COMPANY -- think of all those years your parents and/or grandparents paid something like $3 per phone, per month (for the standard black, heavy, dial phone) before finally being able to buy one for maybe $25 bucks and own it forever -- that no such option exists in the cable market.

themetfairy Apr 21 2016 11:19 AM Re: Are the phones smarter than us yet?

Frayed Knot wrote: One possible development in all this is that the FCC is currently looking into actions which could force cable providers to accept 'boxes' sold by outside manufacturers. It seems strange that, some 30+ years after it was belatedly decided that is was legal to go out and purchase your own phone rather than being forced to rent each one from the PHONE COMPANY -- think of all those years your parents and/or grandparents paid something like $3 per phone, per month (for the standard black, heavy, dial phone) before finally being able to buy one for maybe $25 bucks and own it forever -- that no such option exists in the cable market. OMG - I remember the phone company unions totally losing their shit when people were allowed to purchase their own phones. I distinctly remember a TV commercial with a heavily New York accented actor playing a union guy and saying, "When your store-bought phone breaks, YOU find someone to fix it!" As if we couldn't just buy a new phone every year for less than the price of their service plan.