[Ridemonkey]

My text messaging charges for ONE WEEK of roaming in California were $61!!! How is that possible??? $0.50 per roaming text message. Unbelievable. My half hour voice conversation with my mom in Ireland was cheaper!

**END VENT**

 

[laura]

you sent 120 text messages while you where in CA? That's funny.

 

[N8 v2.0]

Roaming charges are the Devil's work!

 

[Ridemonkey]

you sent 120 text messages while you where in CA? That's funny.

Yeah, 6-7 per conversation over the course of a week...not all that unreasonable, especially when you're on the road. Better than calling at $1/minute.

 

[jonKranked]

what service provider do you use?

 

[dirtydirtysouf]

My text messaging charges for ONE WEEK of roaming in California were $61!!! How is that possible??? $0.50 per roaming text message. Unbelievable. My half hour voice conversation with my mom in Ireland was cheaper!

**END VENT**

get verizon and stop your crying

 

[Ridemonkey]

what service provider do you use?

Rogers AT&T. Mainly because I get my Internet and Digital Cable through them and get a bundled rate. I don't travel too often, so it's not like this is a regular thing, but a pain in the ass no less.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

Where were you in Cali?

 

[narlus]

you sent 120 text messages while you where in CA? That's funny.

i text much more than i talk.

 

[Ridemonkey]

In your hood (San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Carmel, Monterrey, Napa, Sonoma, etc).

 

[jonKranked]

AT&T isn't bad. I'm pretty sure they merged with Cingular here in the states. You probably got hit hard because your home territory is in a diff country. I use verizon and have only seen the roaming icon on my phone like twice.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Teenyboppers and their text messaging...

 

[jonKranked]

i text much more than i talk.

i text a ton too. Sometimes upwards of 80 a day. I have unlimited texts to other verizon custs, and another 500/month to other people. I also have 900 peak weekday minutes a month, and I use most of them.

 

[Ridemonkey]

AT&T isn't bad. I'm pretty sure they merged with Cingular here in the states. You probably got hit hard because your home territory is in a diff country. I use verizon and have only seen the roaming icon on my phone like twice.

Yeah, as soon as you cross the bridge you get a text message saying "Welcome to the USA" (which I probably get charged for), and the roaming goes on right away. In the eastern states it's on AT&T, and out west I think it switches to Cingular.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

In your hood (San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Carmel, Monterrey, Napa, Sonoma, etc).

How did you like it? First time here?

 

[Ridemonkey]

It was awesome. Yeah, first time in California, been to the west coast lots though. The drive down the PCH was awesome.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

It was awesome. Yeah, first time in California, been to the west coast lots though. The drive down the PCH was awesome.

Glad to hear you liked it, next time you're out here we'll have to hook up for food & beer,

 

[Ridemonkey]

Glad to hear you liked it, next time you're out here we'll have to hook up for food & beer,

Definitely. As you can imagine hitting all those spots in a week was a little hectic, next time I want to just chill in SF for a few days and do some riding in the area.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

Definitely. As you can imagine hitting all those spots in a week was a little hectic, next time I want to just chill in SF for a few days and do some riding in the area.

That's a lot of driving it's best to give yourself 10-14 days here.

 

[Bushwhacker]

I just got my Alltel bill that I've been letting a friend use because my wife and I have Nextels. He was in Massena , NY on a job site. Well, Massena is a mere hop, skip and jump from Canada. All the calls he made bounced from Canada and were considered "international" calls to the tune of .99 a minute. The total bill was 289 bucks...luckily one call to alltel cleared it up and they dropped the excess charges. Whew....

 

[narlus]

Teenyboppers and their text messaging...

sounds like the AARP magazine needs to include a primer on the benefits of texting.

it's nice to send/receive messages where you don't want to be intrusive (ie, in a meeting), or when conditions don't allow for talking (very low signal strength, loud environments, etc).

and i use predictive text (ie, T9) so it's not just a jumble of consonants.

 

[Ridemonkey]

That's a lot of driving it's best to give yourself 10-14 days here.

Well it wasn't on purpose...my dad had to be there for a few meetings so I figured I'd meet him there and hang out for a few days, couldn't really be away from work for longer than that. Next time I'll take a couple weeks and do it properly.

 

[SkaredShtles]

Suck it up, Princess.

 

[blt2ride]

Rogers AT&T. Mainly because I get my Internet and Digital Cable through them and get a bundled rate. I don't travel too often, so it's not like this is a regular thing, but a pain in the ass no less.

I had the same problem with AT&T. I was out of town for one week; about 3 hours away from home. My roaming charges for that week were nearly $200...

 

[DirtyDog]

you sent 120 text messages while you where in CA? That's funny.

He's part of the Real World generation

 

[laura]

i text much more than i talk.

I think I used my phone twice on vacation. And once was for my sisters b-day.

 

[DirtyDog]

I think I used my phone twice on vacation. And once was for my sisters b-day.

Amen. I think people should go to phone rehab. I often wonder who everyone around me is on the phone with 24/7. Their lives must me much more exciting than mine.

 

[SkaredShtles]

Amen. I think people should go to phone rehab. I often wonder who everyone around me is on the phone with 24/7. Their lives must me much more exciting than mine.

When we went out to California on holiday this past May I turned my phone off. Except when I needed to make a call.

And nobody called me.

 

[Ridemonkey]

What can I say? I'm kind of a big deal.

 

[narlus]

I think I used my phone twice on vacation. And once was for my sisters b-day.

when i am on vacation i don't use my phone for much, but i assume that you or TN needed to use it to coordinate w/ Zark at least once, no?

i fear that my upcoming vacation will not be work-free, and i'll need to have phone and net access. :wonky2:

 

[laura]

when i am on vacation i don't use my phone for much, but i assume that you or TN needed to use it to coordinate w/ Zark at least once, no?

i fear that my upcoming vacation will not be work-free, and i'll need to have phone and net access. :wonky2:

Yes, we actually sent him 120 text messages to get everything nailed down.

 

[SkaredShtles]

<snip>

i fear that my upcoming vacation will not be work-free, and i'll need to have phone and net access. :wonky2:

I would not consider it, technically, a vacation at that point.

 

[N8 v2.0]

This just in....


E-Mail Losing Its Clout
Jul 18 2:57 PM US/Eastern
By MARTHA IRVINE
AP National Writer


CHICAGO - E-mail is so last millennium. Young people see it as a good way to reach an elder _ a parent, teacher or a boss _ or to receive an attached file. But increasingly, the former darling of high-tech communication is losing favor to instant and text messaging, and to the chatter generated on blogs and social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.

The shift is starting to creep into workplace communication, too.

"In this world of instant gratification, e-mail has become the new snail mail," says 25-year-old Rachel Quizon from Norwalk, Calif. She became addicted to instant messaging in college, where many students are logged on 24/7.

Much like home postal boxes have become receptacles for junk mail, bills and the occasional greeting card, electronic mailboxes have become cluttered with spam. That makes them a pain to weed through, and the problem is only expected to worsen as some e-mail providers allow online marketers to bypass spam filters for a fee.

Beyond that, e-mail has become most associated with school and work.

"It used to be just fun," says Danah Boyd, a doctoral candidate who studies social media at the University of California, Berkeley. "Now it's about parents and authority."

It means that many people often don't respond to e-mails unless they have to.

Boyd's own Web page carries this note: "please note that i'm months behind on e-mail and i may not respond in a timely manner." She, too, is more easily reached with the "ping" of an instant message.

That said, no one is predicting the death of e-mail. Besides its usefulness in formal correspondence, it also offers the ability to send something from "one to many," says Anne Kirah, a senior design anthropologist at Microsoft who studies people's high-tech habits. That might include an announcement for a club or invitation to a party.

Quizon e-mails frequently in her corporate communications job at a hospital, and also uses it when she needs documentation _ for instance, when dealing with vendors for her upcoming wedding. In those cases, she says e-mail "still holds more clout."

But when immediacy is a factor _ as it often is _ most young people much prefer the telephone or instant messaging for everything from casual to heart-to-heart conversations, according to research from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

"And there is a very strong sense that the migration away from e-mail continues," says Lee Rainie, the director at Pew.

For many young people, it's about choosing the best communication tool for the situation.

You might use text messaging during a meeting that requires quiet, Rainie says, or make a phone call to discuss sensitive subjects so there's no written record.

Still, some who've gotten caught up in the trend toward brevity wonder if it's making things too impersonal. "Don't want to see someone? Then call them. Don't want to call someone? E-mail them. Don't want to take the trouble of writing sentences? Text them," says 33-year-old Matthew Felling, an admitted "serial texter" who is also the spokesman for the Center for Media and Public Affairs in Washington.

"It's the ultimate social crutch to avoid personal communication."

But others don't see it that way. They think the shift toward IM and text is simply more efficient and convenient.

Chintan Talati, who is 28, often uses instant message with other younger peers at his work, a California-based Web site that provides automotive information to consumers. He prefers IM over e-mail. "It's a way to get a quicker answer," he says.

His baby boomer colleagues don't necessarily share that view _ and often find instant messaging overwhelming.

Boyd has found much the same in her research at Berkeley.

"Adults who learn to use IM later have major difficulty talking to more than two people at one time _ whereas the teens who grew up on it have no problem talking to a bazillion people at once," Boyd says. "They understand how to negotiate the interruptions a lot better."

Kirah, at Microsoft, even thinks young people's brains work differently because they've grown up with IM, making them more adept at it.

For that reason, she says bosses should go right ahead and use their e-mail _ and shouldn't feel threatened by IM.

"Like parents, they try to control their children," she says. "But companies really need to respond to the way people work and communicate."

The focus, she says, should be the outcome.

"Nine to 5 has been replaced with 'Give me a deadline and I will meet your deadline,'" Kirah says of young people's work habits. "They're saying 'I might work until 2 a.m. that night. But I will do it all on my terms.'"

 

[Transcend]

Rogers blows for anything data related. My texts in New Zealand will cost less than texts from the USA. (20c vs 40c). Data at home is like 5c a kb. Ridiculous when its all you can east for $20 in the us.