After having spent probably close to $300 over the past couple of years on one POS "digital" and "wireless" house phone after another - each one an absurdly over-expensive, over-complex pain-in-the-ass - I have decided to go back to simplicity and sanity in the form of a perfectly functional (in fact, better functioning) basic wall phone with the basic keypad, a cord, that's it.
Less than $15 vs. $100 or more for one of those overdone pieces d' shit that's encrusted with more buttons and LCD displays and various annoying chirping sounds than the bridge of the Battlestar Galactica.
For Christ's sake, I just want to make an effing phone call!
So, as with cell phones (never had one, never will have one) I am sticking with a basic phone. No more spending ludicrous sums of money for equipment I don't need, or wasting my time (and adding to my stress load) over idiocy that's completely unnecessary.
I have a relatively cheap cord-less phone and it only lasted about a year. It had a pathetic range. The battery just stopped working, it doesn't hold a charge anymore. So I went back to a proper corded phone, and have no plans to return to a cordless anytime soon.
Yesssssss! I am not alone!Originally Posted by dieseleverything
I bought cordless phones a few years ago when I moved, because the place was wired for only one phone and I didn't want to string phone cable. I bought a cordless system, with a base unit and two satellite units. The base has a built-in digital answering machine. So far, they have been excellent. No problems whatsoever.
I did recently have a noisy line problem with AT&T however, that took 3 service calls to fix. Turned out to be a piece of faulty switching equipment in their main office. (This, after 3 technicians swore up and down it had to be "something inside the house" because they got good meter readings on the lines).
I had checked that myself, unhooked the line from the house, hooked a phone up directly to the line at the box. The problem was, I couldn't hear any noise on my phone, only the person calling in heard the noise. It was a one-way noise!
My main recent phone problem has nothing to do with the phones. It has to do with some godforsaken collection agency that keeps calling, looking for someone who doesn't live here and never did, who apparently gave some creditor the wrong phone number. Finally threatened to report them to the FTC and Attorney general if they didn't stop calling the WRONG number.....
Eric -
Look on eBay for one of the Western Electric phones from the 1970's.
Those things were built like tanks.
My parents still have a rotary phone that was made in the late 1940's. It's so heavy it's their backup self-defense weapon.
Chip H.
"My main recent phone problem has nothing to do with the phones. It has to do with some godforsaken collection agency that keeps calling, looking for someone who doesn't live here and never did, who apparently gave some creditor the wrong phone number. Finally threatened to report them to the FTC and Attorney general if they didn't stop calling the WRONG number....."
Funny you should mention...
For the past couple of days some ass clown has been calling us about "working with us" on our "credit card balance." Well, we don't have any credit card balances. Zero. Ever. We always pay off the entire amount each month; we do not pay interest because we do not buy things we can't pay for in full. I have no idea why this bastard is calling us. He's left two messages so far.
Eric, you know you want some help with your "credit card balance." That is awful nice of them to "work with you" and I think you should be more appreciative! LOL
Speaking of phones.. I purchased a 900 hertz, or whatever cordless contraption about two years ago and it worked great for a few months. Then I ended up having to leave it on the charger all the time just to be able to talk for a few minutes. I played that crap for way to long.
Here is my rig now and the prices:
- Magic Jack $39 with includes $19 for the first year of service
- Walmart corded phone $5
Total cost for the first year of phone service = $44
Each additional year = $19
Then I have two Tracfones for emergencies which comes out to about $150 a year.
I done paying excess money for basic communication!
I have more important shit to waste my money on, like six speed transmissions, motorcycle lifts, tools, and fucking guns! HA
"Tutto nello Stato, niente al di fuori dello Stato, nulla contro lo Stato " -Mussolini
All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.
"Eric, you know you want some help with your "credit card balance." That is awful nice of them to "work with you" and I think you should be more appreciative! LOL"
Yeah! The bastard hasn't called back; I was hoping to catch him live....
"Speaking of phones.. I purchased a 900 hertz, or whatever cordless contraption about two years ago and it worked great for a few months. Then I ended up having to leave it on the charger all the time just to be able to talk for a few minutes. I played that crap for way to long. "
Throw it in the woods!
Here is my rig now and the prices:
- Magic Jack $39 with includes $19 for the first year of service
- Walmart corded phone $5
Total cost for the first year of phone service = $44
Each additional year = $19
Then I have two Tracfones for emergencies which comes out to about $150 a year.
I done paying excess money for basic communication! "
Amen!
I think that by just not having a cell we save at least $200-$300 per year; not to mention the reduction in hassle. Who needs to be reachable 24/7? I'm not a freaking trauma surgeon!
"I have more important shit to waste my money on, like six speed transmissions, motorcycle lifts, tools, and fucking guns!"
That's the ticket!
House phone is a Panasonic cordless, no problem at all over three years, also have a corded phone as a second house phone. I have a simple Sony Ericsson K510i cell phone on an Orange 'Pay As You Go' tariff. I top it up with £10/$16 each year and am currently about £20/$32 in credit. It is used for such long conversations with my wife as 'On my way.' when I'm leaving the club, etc., or, on our shopping trips when we usually split up so she can do girly things (while I browse 'man' shops killing time) until she rings to say 'I'm finished, see you outside M&S.' These conversation could, I'm sure, be abreviated further but, what the hell, I can afford it. The phone is crystal clear, gets charged about once a month (if it needs it) has quite a few functions which I will never use but includes a camera which takes quite reasonable snaps."Eric, you know you want some help with your "credit card balance." That is awful nice of them to "work with you" and I think you should be more appreciative! LOL"
Yeah! The bastard hasn't called back; I was hoping to catch him live....
"Speaking of phones.. I purchased a 900 hertz, or whatever cordless contraption about two years ago and it worked great for a few months. Then I ended up having to leave it on the charger all the time just to be able to talk for a few minutes. I played that crap for way to long. "
Throw it in the woods!
Here is my rig now and the prices:
Total cost for the first year of phone service = $44
- Magic Jack $39 with includes $19 for the first year of service
- Walmart corded phone $5
Each additional year = $19
Then I have two Tracfones for emergencies which comes out to about $150 a year.
I done paying excess money for basic communication! "
Amen!
I think that by just not having a cell we save at least $200-$300 per year; not to mention the reduction in hassle. Who needs to be reachable 24/7? I'm not a freaking trauma surgeon!
"I have more important shit to waste my money on, like six speed transmissions, motorcycle lifts, tools, and fucking guns!"
That's the ticket!
Ken.
Last edited by Ken; 02-27-2010 at 11:52 AM.
Die dulci fruimini!
Ken.
Wolds Bikers, Lincolnshire, England.
Eric - just ignore those calls. They're an identity theft scam.
Don't call them back - if you do they'll know the number is "live" and will make money selling it to all their scammer friends.
Chip H.
I have a BlackBerry Curve 8530 and I love it. It has everything that I could possibly need. If you go deluxe - paying USD$500.00 up front and a couple hundred bucks a month - you can almost replace your home computer with one of these babies.
Think of the newest mobile phones as little computers (which is what they really are) and youll probably enjoy them more.
If we should give Abraham Lincoln credit for uniting America, then we should give Adolf Hitler credit for uniting Europe, as both men used the same methods for the same goals.
Not this Rebel!
No cell phones for me, ever -
Eric, you need a cell phone.
I even have one, albeit a tracfone but it's there for emergencies and when I need it.
"Tutto nello Stato, niente al di fuori dello Stato, nulla contro lo Stato " -Mussolini
All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.
Not me!
I just don't feel the need to be reachable when I'm in my car or walking around somewhere. I don't have the urge to call people all the time. If someone needs to reach me, I've got a house phone with an answering machine. It works perfectly well for me.
And I won't be getting an implanted phone either (just wait, it's coming....)
Well, just by having a cell phone does not mean you need to leave it on and answer it all the time!
I never answer mine unless I am expecting an important informational call from my wife, or a gun store saying my unit is ready for pick up.
Here is a small, but excellent example.
Say you have something at a store that you are waiting on. You are in town for the day doing some shopping. Would you prefer to a. go all the way home to realize you have a message and your item is ready for pick-up, or b. get a ring on your cell saying you can come pick up the unit now and save a trip all the way home and back out again?
Also another, if your shit box breaks down on the side of the street would you rather freeze your ass off walking for miles, or just call for help?
Get a cell and think/use it as a walkie talkie in emergency situations, or convenient situations. That's what I do.
"Tutto nello Stato, niente al di fuori dello Stato, nulla contro lo Stato " -Mussolini
All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.
Exactly, I have a cheap phone with a cheap plan from work. I don't use it to socialize, I just use if for common sense convenience, and emergencies.
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