Symbian Mobile Phone Blog

My Trip To Israel - Thinking About Telecommunications

Lately I've realized that I need to go off the grid. I had this really bad cell phone that doesn't work half the time, and I needed to charge it up pretty frequently. I lost it at the worst time possible- I was away from home, visiting friends I needed to contact. Luckily I remembered their numbers but I had to use a payphone.

Looking back on the experience and looking forward to a trip to Israel this summer, I am considering my options: I could buy another cell phone, pay the exorbidant full price or extend my contract another two years to get a discount. What a disaster, the cell phone company has me hostage. I could try to find a used phone but to find one with a simcard would be hard.

My only other options for telephone use are to get a prepaid phone or to get a phone card. The trouble with a prepaid is that I have no idea what the fine print of contracts says (I don't have time for such details) and I suspect that my minutes might wear down quickly.

If I had had a calling card when I lost my phone I would not have been under such duress as to need to withdraw cash from an ATM just to get change to use the phone. I would have felt a lot better knowing I have some way to make a phone call without asking to borrow someone else's.

I am planning a trip to Israel this summer and I will probably want to make at least a couple of phone calls while I'm there, although I usually don't make calls when I'm on vacation. Another problem with a prepaid phone is that I don't know whether it will work overseas. So I'm probably just gonna check out some international calling cards to see how expensive they would be. Probably not difficult to use and rather cheap in today's world of high connectivity and infrastructure.

Tips for the novice Internet and computer user

Have you ever gauged your skills at web-surfing?  Is there a better way?  How come I have to wade through 10 unwanted websites before I can find the information or service that I am looking for? 

Most people only use the internet for a few, limited operations, like checking their email and searching for songs, maybe blogging.  Because of the ready supply of information on advanced internet and computer use, it isn't necessary to list anything but broad categories- perhaps a top five list of literacy items will do (in no particular order).

1. Alternative operating systems

Learning to use a variety of O/S programs is almost like being multilingual- each time you expand your horizons and learn something new it becomes easier the next time.

2. Open source software

Going along with #1, there are many software programs which you can download for free that have as much utility, and sometimes more, than programs that cost hundreds of dollars.  Such software is available because of the dedicated efforts of many freely contributing individuals.

3. User-edited media

Numerous websites have sprung up lately that offer lots of postings of materials such as free songs, free movies, or free television episodes. 

4. Filesharing

While lots of media attention is given to sites like napster that are taken down and prosecuted, filesharing continues to be a problem in the intellectual property sectors of business.  A bit of research on filesharing is advised to make sure you know the difference between fair use and copyright violation.

5. Search terms

Google, yahoo, and other search engines run complex formulas to determine the order that websites appear in their search engines.  Learn to search efficiently- thinking of a more accurate search term will also exercise your vocabulary!

Last one: If you still can't figure out how to use the Internet to your advantage, there are many other manuals more complicated and thorough than this one that will help you access all the free movies, software, games, and lots more, you could ever need.

Das Internet ist voll von nuetzlichen und unnuetzen Informationen, so dass es mittlerweile die Hauptaufgabe eines jeden Internetnutzers ist, die relevantesten Daten herauszufiltern. Ein Grossteil der Surfer sucht nach Unterhaltung wie zum Bespiel kostenlose Filme, kostenlose Musik Downloads oder ein kleines Onlinespiel für zwischendurch. Scheinschatten.de hält viele nuetzliche Informationen zu diesen Themen bereit, um dir so die Suche im Internet zu erleichtern.