Sunday, September 29, 2013

waiting for 3D printing...

3D printing is currently being overhyped in the media - towards us consumers. Sure its revolutionary, and may radically change our lives, but there is nothing that us consumers can do with the consumer 3D printers that will change much in our lives - except make our wallets/bank accounts lighter.
That being said, technology (in general) is changing more and more rapidly. And possibly in the next year and a half, it may be more justifiable as a purchase for the common household.

Here are several 3D printers you can purchase now, and more are being release daily. So do look around before making your purchase: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/29/3d-printer-guide/

Before you make your purchase, and to help you decide, please visit your local hackerspace or makerspace. The people there may be able to answer your questions, and you may get first hand experience on a couple different models.

What you need to know about buying a 3D printer

THINKING OF BUYING A 3D PRINTER? HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

How to Get Started with 3D Printing (Without Spending a Fortune)
http://lifehacker.com/how-to-get-started-with-3d-printing-without-spending-a-1340345210

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

the smart money is on MVNO

It may actually be worth it to break your contract to get started on saving money on cellular/wireless service via an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator - also know as a reseller). Not all MVNO's are alike. MVNO's differ by parent company (ATT vs Verizon vs T-Mobile vs Sprint). They may even differ by how data is routed (higher latencies) and priority during peak hours. In general, Gophone and possibly Aio (a subsidiary of ATT) may be the prepaid choices that are directly below ATT postpaid customers. Dumping AT&T for an MVNO keeps you on the same towers for a lot less -- and no fees, taxes or activation charges.

Some examples are:
http://www.ptel.com/plans - T-Mobile
Rates: Talk 5c Text 2c Data is 10c MB
http://www.lycamobile.us/en/national-plans - use T-Mobile towers
$16/mo plan.  It states "recharge and pay only 2c/minute, 4c/text and 6c/MB with Pay As You Go.
http://goredpocket.com/ - ATT
http://www.puretalkusa.com/mobile-flex-plan.php - ATT
Customers can choose their level of data (or choose none), and will be able to keep any data that they don't use month to month. They now offer rollover data with our plans (a first among MVNOs).
https://www.h2owirelessnow.com - ATT
year plan is 2000 minutes for $100
One warning about H20 is their monthly plan comes with some data. For example, the $30/mo plan is unlimited voice & text and comes with 50MB of data. I rarely use data but the balance says 0 so I called cust serv. Was told I've used up all my data for the month. I checked my phone log and it shows I used less than 10MB so far. WTF. They also said they cannot supply a log of my data usage. In other words, they can say whatever they want regarding my data balance and I have to like it.
AirVoice
$10 plan (4c min/2c text) and I add $10 about every 25 days.
SkyView
Net10 (the AT&T card version - avoid the T-Mobile version).  All these services work off AT&T towers and include roaming in HI, AK, VI, and PR.
Voyager mobile, Knoxville, Tenn is $17.00 unlimited talk and $ 19.00 unlimited talk&text

>> FreedomPop Takes Aim At Carriers With Its New, Free Phone Plan

How to Get Unlimited Talk, Text, and Data on an iPhone for $30 a Month
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/10/the-tech-block-cheap-data-plan/

Wikipedia link for all of the US MVNO - It also shows which towers/carriers they use
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_mobile_virtual_network_operators

SOURCE
>> http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/1299318/
Picking Your Wireless Carrier part 02: AT&T MVNOs
>> http://pika2000.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/picking-your-wireless-carrier-part-02-att-mvnos/
Picking Your Wireless Carrier part 03: T-Mobile MVNOs
>> http://pika2000.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/picking-your-wireless-carrier-part-03-t-mobile-mvnos/
Picking Your Wireless Carrier part 04: CDMA MVNOs
>> http://pika2000.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/picking-your-wireless-carrier-part-04-cdma-mvnos/
OTHER PLANS
>> http://www.clarkhoward.com/topics/cheap_cell_plans/
PHONE FLASHING SOFTWARE
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EztZl5GznAg

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

View movies / live sports online

Yes, these websites even work on tablets and cellphones. Just make sure you are using wifi - and not running up the bill on your data plan.

Watch any sporting event (PPV, Live, doesn't matter) free. Just make sure you have an adblocker of some sort installed.
>> http://www.vipboxonline.eu
>> https://adblockplus.org

Better for sports. Less popups and advertising...
>> http://www.usagoals.me
>> http://mkvxstream.blogspot.com/2013/06/front-row-sports-live-stream-for-cable.html

>> http://glowgaze.com
>> http://www.stream2watch.me

>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahuQHAVgND0
>> http://xbmc.org/

>> http://www.myp2pguide.com/

>> http://www.wiziwig.tv/index.php?part=sports

>> http://www.time4tv.com/

Get NFL Gameday Pass for Free
>> http://www.reddit.com/r/cordcutters/comments/1k8tck/get_nfl_gameday_pass_for_free/

>> http://www.firstrowsports.eu

NCAA Mobile Streaming Links
>> http://66.172.33.99/

Watch the Simpsons Online
>> http://wtso.tv/

Now the question is, why is anyone paying for cable TV?