Cutting The Cord

Discussion in 'Gadgets & Tech Talk' started by Von Jones, Mar 16, 2016.

  1. Krissttina Isobe

    Krissttina Isobe Veteran Member
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    :cool:So far no such deals here in Hawaii that I know of, but it would be nice to have such deals for a bundle type situation. I borrow my netbook from the library and there is a long waiting list to do this, but if I had my own computer I'd love a community wi-fi for our neighborhood! They do have bundle services for people interested in getting phone, computer internet and cable too, but you've got to do it on your own to get the bundle you like to have.
     
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  2. Krissttina Isobe

    Krissttina Isobe Veteran Member
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    :DNow that I too am a Senior Citizen I try to get all the deals and discounts I can get for Mother and I. Saving money is great and when you can get a Senior Discount it's even better for you feel good about your age when you get a discount!
     
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  3. Diane Lane

    Diane Lane Veteran Member
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  4. Diane Lane

    Diane Lane Veteran Member
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    This article is by the local CBS affiliate. I haven't seen the subject widely discussed, but I've always wondered why Amazon didn't do this, so was glad to see it finally coming to pass. It seems they are trying to compete more on a level playing field with Netflix, so have decided to offer an unbundled option for their streaming video services. The deal is that rather than paying up front for a year of Amazon Prime services, people can pay a monthly subscription rate. The services don't include the shipping portion that accompanies the yearlong subscription to Amazon Prime, nor have I seen any mention of any Kindle benefits.

    Although the monthly cost is slightly higher than the cost of a year's subscription to Amazon Prime, when divided out by monthly cost, this will enable people to avoid having to come up with $99 all at once, while sampling the services, to see if they want to keep it, or move over to the yearlong subscription. Additionally, it might be beneficial for some to sign up for limited time spans, such as to view a particular show (I would really like to see Bosch, for instance), or for the Summer, when children are off from school and might be watching more television/movies. http://www.khou.com/tech/cutting-the-cord-amazon-unbundles-to-take-on-netflix/154050565
     
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  5. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Hopefully, they will continue to offer their streaming to Prime customers because I don't use Amazon streaming enough to warrant a monthly charge. In order to compete with Netflix, they are going to have to offer a lot more. As it is, they seldom add anything I don't have to pay extra for.
     
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  6. Diane Lane

    Diane Lane Veteran Member
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    Well, I finally did it. I finally cut the cord, at least as much as I'm comfortable doing during Hurricane Season. I logged on to get my account number for my cable service and compare plans and prices, and freaked out when I saw the amount due. I called and cut down from the level I had to just the local channels. I have been debating between doing that and cutting it off entirely, but when I saw that the charge for local channels was $19, and knew that if I cut it off entirely I'd be charged a $20/month 'unbundling' fee, it was a no brainer. Now I don't have to worry about using the antennas and having to buy another one, and I'll have a more stable signal for Hurricane Season, just in case something does happen. I already have Netflix, and Hulu as well, although I have Hulu on pause for a few months. I will probably keep Hulu on pause while I marathon some shows on Netflix for a few months. I plan to cut back somewhat on my television viewing anyway, because I'd rather focus on reading and other things.
     
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  7. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    When we went to Robin’s for Christmas, she was telling us that she had cancelled her DirecTV because she doesn’t watch it, and she said it cost her an $80 cancellation fee. We started out about the next month after she did, and our 2 years is up this spring, too; so it should cost me about the same as it cost Robin to cancel hers.
    Tomorrow, I am going to call them and cancel the service. The bill is almost $100 per month anyway, so the charge to disconnect will only be like paying for a month of service.
    I was looking for low-income internet plans, and they have a bunch of them; but none that will work for us. Most of them require that you have a child in school, or (if a senior) that you are on SSI for low income (which I do not qualify for).
    The ones that would. Accept us are not available where we live. So, at this point, we can’t use any of those plans for internet.

    However....... there is good news !
    Robin said that we can use the hotspots on our iPhones and connect to the internet with that. We both tried it, and can connect right up; so that seems like it will be a viable option for us.
    At least we can try it and see.
    Robin said that she has unlimited data on all of our plans; so it won’t cost her any more for us to use the hotspots, which was my main concern about doing that.
     
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  8. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    We used our Verizon hotspot as our ISP for years. You just have to watch your data. If you don't have unlimited data, it can add up fast.
     
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  9. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Well, today I called ATT and cancelled the satellite and internet, so that part is done. They will send us some address labels to print out, and then we just take the package to UPS and they will ship it back for free (to us).
    After that, I called the ATT Access, which is their low-income provider , and filled out the online application and submitted it. They have to review it and then let me know if I am accepted; but the only proof of qualifying that I had to send was the pictures of my SNAP card. Since we already know we are in an area they service, I don’t see any reason it will not go through, and then it will cost $5-$10 per month depending on the internet speed. Ours will probably be the higher speed, which is good, and I am fine with $10.
    Once this is all done, I will take some of the money we save from not having DTV and get some renter’s insurance. Hopefully, there will be no more break-ins; but at least we would have some insurance to cover it if it did happen again.
    At least as far as I can see today, life is coming together this year.
     
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  10. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    AT&T still has not turned off our internet, but they have called me at least every other day since I cancelled the DirecTV, and trying to get me to come back , and offering me special deals. I keep telling them that our television quit working and we do not want to have any kind of special offers, and we are just cancelling everything.
    I have asked them several time now to take me off of their calling list because I am not interested; but they do not seem to have interoffice communication about those type of things, just that I am cancelling the service.
    I received the letter from ATT Access and they said that I qualify for their program, so next week, I will call them and see what I need to do to change from the program we are on to the new Access one.
    So, if all goes well, this should be the last payment I have to make for DirecTV, and then we will be on the $10 per month plan for internet.
     
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  11. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    Yay and good for you...something I need to work on also.
     
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  12. Neville Telen

    Neville Telen Veteran Member
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    Try looking around on dslreports forum to see what ISPs are in your area, then call each one and do some comparison shopping.
     
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  13. Neville Telen

    Neville Telen Veteran Member
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    You will need a really good antenna, preferably an outside one, as all the indoor sort are awful. That will serve for over-the-air stations. For more options, Internet-TV freesites all the way to go, but you will need a good enough PC to avoid buffering.
     
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  14. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    Thank you for the info and

    upload_2018-2-19_9-41-36.png to SOC.
     
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  15. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Hulu has been impossible for me for the past month or more. I used it for years without connection difficulties, and I still don't have any problems with Netflix or Amazon, but all Hulu does is buffer now. I'm not talking annoyances; it's worse than that - it won't play more than a few seconds of anything before buffering. I never liked Hulu much anyhow so I suppose I can do without it, but there are a few series that I have been watching on it that are no longer watchable.
     
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