The LuxMob Info Tags

It seems like these days, there are a million and one different cellular phones and service plans on the market all claiming to be the BEST. How in world do you decide on which one to signup with?

Many people sign up for a $60 a month service plan, but only end up using about 20% of the allocated minutes! Others, sign up for “across the country” plans costing $150 a month, but rarely travel outside their own state!!

Today, you can typically find quite a number of local providers offering a wide variety of services to both individuals and businesses alike. Here are some tips to help you make the most of your cellular phone experience.

*MOST IMPORTANT: Talk To Your Friends & Neighbors
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The most valuable advice that mostly everyone forgets to take into consideration is the “friend factor”.

More than likely, you have a few friends, family members, neighbors who have cellular phones. The best way to learn about their particular phone and service provider is to simply ask them. Within minutes, you can find out how well they like their phone, service provider, and most importantly - the reception and clarity of calls.

Reception is THE MOST IMPORTANT factor to consider. For those of you familiar with cell phone static, garbled noise, echoing voices, and dropped calls, I think you’ll agree these annoyances will make your cell phone experience miserable.

EVEN IF you have the BEST phone, with the MOST minutes, for the CHEAPEST price, if you are NOT with a company that provides a solid clear reception for both incoming and outgoing calls, you will be VERY disappointed and angry since you probably signed a 1-2 year contract.

Take my word for it. I have been with four different service providers over the past five years and the ONLY reason I kept switching was due to my unsatisfaction with the reception. It wasn’t due to a lack of phone features, or even minutes provided, that can always be adjusted later or solved with the purchase of a higher end, more expensive phone. It ALL came down to the clarity of my cell phone calls, both incoming and outgoing.

Trust me, the first time you can’t understand, or unexpectantly lose an important phone call, you’ll remember this article and say “That guy from SavingSecrets.com told me about this!”

What can you do to educate yourself about cellular service? Talk to anyone you know who owns a cell phone. This is my best advice. Simply approach this topic by saying:

“Hey, I’m planning on getting a cell phone soon, but I’m a little unsure of which service provider to sign up with. There are so many options out there, I want to make sure I do my research before signing a lengthy contract. Could you tell me a little about your phone and service provider, and please be brutally honest.”

Then, just make sure you ask these type of questions:

-How do you like your particular phone?
-What are the costs/plan/minutes provided?
-Who is your service provider?
-Do you have clarity issues ie: alot of static, echoing noise, call drops?
-What are the pros and cons, in your opinion?

Personally, I recommend speaking to at least ten different people so you not only hear different opinions, but you can compare notes and see if you can find any consistencies amongst phones/providers.

CHOOSING SERVICE
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Before you decide on a company/policy that best suits your needs, you MUST determine what type of cell phone ‘user’ you’ll be. This will save you money month after month.

Take a moment to reflect on when you will be using your phone the most. Is your cell phone for business purposes? For personal use? Just on the weekends? What time of the day will you use the phone most?

Know the answers to these questions before signing any type of cellular phone service agreement. It will help guarantee you get the best deal for your money.

Other important information to know:

- Monthly Service Charge
- Number of Minutes Included in Plan
- Type of “FREE” minutes- weekend or anytime
- Per Minute Charge: Peek, Off Peak, Weekend
- Local Coverage Area
- Long Distance Charges
- Roaming Charges (when out of your designated calling area)

WHAT PHONE TO GET?
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This question can only be answered by you. Do you really NEED a cell phone that can play games, store thousands of names and numbers, and get the latest sports scores?

If you just want a cell phone to make occasional phone calls, you can probably settle for a $30-50 phone. Better yet, most carriers offer FREE phones with the signing of a service agreement (generally 1-2 years).

IMPORTANT - Make sure you try out the phone before you buy it. This is your chance to test the product. Is it too small? Are the buttons a good size for you fingers? How’s the clarity? etc. . .

Every service provider will let you make a call on the phone you’re interested in buying. Try, before you buy! And don’t just stand in the storeroom. *Make sure you ask first*, but walk around outside, go into a neighboring store, get in your car. Did the signal stay strong?

Also, have a friend call you on the phone so you can check how an incoming call sounds. If possible, have a friend call you from a cell phone to check what a cell-to-cell call sounds like.

ALREADY HAVE A CELL PHONE?
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Analyze the bill over the past two or three months. Do you see a calling pattern? When do you call more during the week or on weekends?

Write down an estimate of the hours you spend during peek (7am-7pm), off peak (7pm-7am) and weekend hours (Fri 12am-Sun 12am). Once you have an idea of when you spend your time on the phone, you can then speak with a service representative about changing to a plan that might better fit your needs.

If you did happen to sign a 1-2 year contract, ask what type of switching/changing options you have. Remember to be courteous and nice. It will not help to start shouting and screaming because then the representatives will not be inclined to help you. They’ll simply say “You signed the contract.”

Just politely state: “I am happy with your service and would like to remain your faithful customer, but I need have something adjusted that will better suit my calling habits….”

CONCLUSION
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The best advice to give to cell phone users is to educate yourself as much as possible. Find out what services are offered in your area. TALK TO people you know who have cell phones and ASK them what they think of their service. You’ll be able to tell right away if they are ‘happy’ or ‘frustrated’ with their cellular service.

*NOTE* Just BE SURE you do NOT sign any contract until you have carefully thought and read through everything.

Gregory Thomas, editor of http://www.SavingSecrets.com - has written hundreds of effective money-saving tips, strategies, and articles over the past 6 years. Visit their website and you’ll find FREE money-saving articles, a monthly newsletter, and even a FREE Ebook download just for stopping by!

Video technology has increased significantly over the past years, and is continuing to grow at an incredible rate. Digital Video Disc’s aka DVD’s are the most likely the last big jump in consumer video technology that everyone is familiar with. To keep up with the ever advancing world of electronics a new format of video storage will be released soon called Blu-ray.

Blu-Ray is a next generation optical disc that will blow the socks off of what we all know today: DVD. Conventional DVD’s use a red laser that have long wave lengths, which limits the storage capacity on a disc. Blu-Ray uses a blue laser which has much shorter wave lengths. Because the wave lengths on the Blu-Ray are much smaller it can focus on a spot with much greater precision, allowing for data to be packed much more tightly than the red laser DVD’s.

Blu-Ray discs can hold up to 50GB’s of information which 10 times that of a 4.5GB DVD. 10 times the storage will greatly increase the amount of information that we can save on any one disc and will change the way we save information. Dual Layer Blu-Ray discs will be able to hold up to 4 hours of High-Definition Video. High Definition video is going to hit big here, Blu-Ray is an example of a technology that is going to make it happen. 50GB is probably comparable to size of many of our hard-drives, and to picture having all of that information on a small disc that we can slide into a pocket and take wherever we want is a bit scary.

Expect to see Blu-Ray replacing DVD and VCR over the next few years, following along with the transition of video to High Definition Video. Video isn’t the only thing that will benefit from Blu-Ray technology; I would expect that it will also become the standard for PC and other types of storage.

Feel free to reprint this article as long as you keep the following caption and author biography in tact with all hyperlinks.

Ryan Fyfe is the owner and operator of Videos Area Which is a great web directory and information center on Videos and video technology such as dvd and blu-ray.

Tools needed:

1 - 10cc Injector

1 - 4″ - 5″ of fish tank air line tubing (Wal*Mart fish department) Windex (No Drip works best)

We are going to flush the print head out with the Windex cleaner. Some people from outside the US may not know about Windex. It is a
popular window cleaner sold here in the US. This fix is not authorized by Epson, it should only be used as a last ditch effort to fix your printer.

Cut four or five inches of fish tank air line tubing and attach it to the end of the injector, remove the needle first. Pull 3 - 5 cc of Windex into the injector. Hold the injector so that the tubing is pointing up and push the plunger a little until all the air is out of the tubing. You don’t want to inject any air into the cartridge. Put this assembly aside for now.

Turn your printer on and hold down the paper feed button until the carriage moves to the cartridge change position. Unplug the printer. This is important, you don’t want the carriage to move in the middle of the procedure.

Remove the cartridge that is giving you trouble. Look inside the carriage cavity for a small post that would normally be inserted into the ink port of the cartridge, in other words the post that supplies ink to the print head. You may need a flashlight to see it.

Attach the other end of the tubing (which is attached to the injector) to the post inside the carriage cavity. Be very careful not to break the post. If you do, GAME OVER. There is very little room to work but do the best you can. Try to get the tubing on the post firmly for an airtight connection. Slowly inject about 2cc of the Windex solution into the print head. Some of the Windex might leak out around the post, just try to get at least 2 cc injected into the print head. It may offer resistance, just be patient. Repeat this procedure for any other color that is not printing. Make sure to wash the tubing between each color.

Put in a brand new cartridge, not refilled. Don’t ignore this step or chances are the procedure will fail. New generic cartridges are ok.

Move the carriage back to the right position and plug in the printer. Run three cleaning cycles with a nozzle check before and after. If there is still a problem try running another three cleaning cycles. Then try a test print. If it still has problems let the printer sit over night and repeat the procedure. If the second day procedure fails then it’s time for the Epson repair shop, or buy a new one.

Sometimes this procedure will not work, we’re not sure why. It may be because there are other problems with the printer, not just clogged
nozzles.

Barry Shultz is the author of Atlascopy News, and President of Atlascopy, Inc. Atlascopy specializes in affordable alternatives to the high cost of printer supplies.

Sign up for the Atlascopy Newsletter for more tips and get 10% coupons every week in your email: http://atlascopy.com/signup_new.htm

Go to Atlascopy to save a bundle on your printer and refilling supplies: http://atlascopy.com

Free phone numbers are a highly valuable business service. Everyone loves to save money or avoid paying money on communicating via a phone. If you provide your potential customers with the convenience of a 0800 free telephone number, you will have a fairly sizeable ready-to-go market.

In fact, it’s been confirmed that a business project offering the convenience of a free number for clients generates at least three times the calls than what an ordinary number does. In addition to this, the process of hiring and using 0800 free telephone numbers is surprisingly affordable and easy to arrange.

The important reason for using a 0800 number is that it will give your business a more efficient, and reliable image. Free numbers encourage customers to phone more often and give your company a perfect opportunity to establish a strong relationship with your clients.

Using free 0800 numbers is the perfect way of breaking out of your geographic location in business. It is an ideal way to reach a large number of people who are not on the Internet. You cannot rely only on the web pages alone to promote your business.

0800 Number can Help Your Business in the following ways:

• It can allow you to manage your costs

• You can direct calls where you want them, anywhere in the country

• You can use the number with the Live Answering Service

• Encourage useful feedback

• You can use these numbers to support marketing activities, promotional campaigns and customer loyalty programs.

Free phone numbers can boost your business profile and increase your enquiry rate from prospective customers. When people are exploring your website, they are for sure looking for a toll free number or a live chat button on your site. These numbers allow callers to get in touch with your business without having to pay for the call themselves. They can be a powerful sale and promotion tool as well as a customer service or a helpline that many clients have come to expect.

Toll free number is very essential for product oriented companies. People may hesitate to pay a toll for placing an order. But if the number were toll free, they would not hesitate to call. For service-oriented companies like ISP, Telecommunication, toll free number is essential for technical support. These companies usually encourage customers for their feed backs.
Toll free numbers help companies a lot in knowing customer’s point of view about their company and products. Today, toll free numbers have become a very important part of any business, as far as the customer interaction is concerned. So if you’re not offering a toll-free number, you’re missing out on a lot of potential business.

Mobile Phone Numbers

Impact printers, as the very name implies means that the printing mechanism touches the paper for creating an image. Impact printers were used in early 70s and 80s. In Dot Matrix printers a series of small pins is used to strike on a ribbon coated with ink to transfer the image on the paper.

Other Impact Printers like Character printers are basically computerized typewriters. They have a series of bars or a ball with actual characters on them, which strike on the ink ribbon to transfer the characters on the paper. At a time only one character can be printed. Daisy Wheel printers use a plastic or metal wheel. These types of printers have limited usage though because they are limited to printing only characters or one type of font and not the graphics.

There are Line printers where a chain of characters or pins, print an entire line, which makes them pretty fast, but the print quality is not so good. Thermal printers are nothing but printers used in calculators and fax machines. They are inexpensive to use. Thermal printers work by pushing heated pins against special heat sensitive paper.

More efficient and advanced printers have come out now which use new Non-impact Technology.

Non-impact printers are those where the printing mechanism does not come into the contact of paper at all. This makes them quieter in operation in comparison to the impact printers.

In mid 1980s Inkjet printers were introduced. These have been the most widely used and popular printers so far. Colour printing got revolutionized after inkjet printers were invented. An Inkjet printer’s head has tiny nozzles, which place extremely tiny droplets of ink on the paper to create an image. These dots are so small that even the diameter of human hair is bigger. These dots are placed precisely and can be up to the resolution of 1440 x 720 per inch. Different combinations of ink cartridges can be used for these printers.

How an Inkjet printer works

The print head in this printer scans the page horizontally back and forth and another motor assembly rolls the paper vertically in strips and thus a strip is printed at a time. Only half a second is taken to print a strip. Inkjet printers were very popular because of their ability to colour print. Most inkjets use Thermal Technology. Plain copier paper can be used in these printers unlike thermal paper used for fax machines. Heat is used to fire ink onto the paper through the print head. Some print heads can have up to 300 nozzles. Heat resistant and water based ink is used for these printers.

The latest and fastest printers are Laser Printers. They use the principal of static electricity for printing it as in photocopiers. The principle of static electricity is that it can be built on an insulated object. Oppositely charged atoms of objects (positive and negative) are attracted to each other and cling together. For example, pieces of nylon material clinging to your body, or the static you get after brushing hair. A laser printer uses this same principle to glue ink on the paper.

How Laser Printer works:

Unlike the printers before, Laser printers use toner, static electricity and heat to create an image on the paper. Toner is dry ink. It contains colour and plastic particles. The toner passes through the fuser in the computer and the resulting heat binds it to any type of paper. Printing with laser printers is fast and non-smudge and the quality is excellent because of the high resolution that it can achieve with 300 dots per inch to almost 1200 dpi at the higher end.

Basic components of a laser printer are fuser, photoreceptor drum assembly, developer roller, laser scanning unit, toner hopper, corona wire and a discharge lamp. The laser beam creates an image on the drum and wherever it hits, it changes the electrical charge like positive or negative. The drum then is rolled on the toner. Toner is picked up by charged portion of the drum and gets transferred to the paper after passing through the fuser. Fuser heats up the paper to amalgamate ink and plastic in toner to create an image. Laser printers are called “page printers” because entire page is transferred to the drum before printing. Any type of paper can be used in these printers. Laser printers popularized DTP or Desk Top Publishing for it can print any number of fonts and any graphics..

This is how the computer and printer operate to print

When we want to print something we simply press the command “Print”. This information is sent to either RAM of the printer or the RAM of the computer depending upon the type of printer we have. The process of printing then starts. While the printing is going on, our computer can still perform a variety of operations. Jobs are put in a buffer or a special area in RAM or Random Access Memory and the printer pulls them off at its own pace. We can also line up our printing jobs this way. This way of simultaneously performing functions is called spooling. Our computer and the printer are thus in constant communication.

John Sollars is the managing director of Solar Electronics, which are both ink and pc peripheral suppliers based in Shropshire, UK. To access a comprehensive online shop of original and re-manufactured printer ink cartridges please visit http://www.stinkyinkshop.co.uk

All in one printers, also known as multifunction printers (MFPs), are printers that also can copy, scan, and in some cases, fax. These machines perform all of these functions, generally using a single set of ink cartridges for both printing and copying. They are not much larger than stand-alone printers, making them a great tool for small home offices.

You can find an excellent all-on-one Epson printer for under $200 - a steal if you ask me. Have you ever priced a copying machine? Good luck finding one for under $750. These little gems produce high quality printouts and color copies that are indistinguishable from the originals. You’d think that these machines would “drink” ink - I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is not the case. The copying process uses about the same quantity of ink as the printing process.

Most MFPs offer high resolution, photo-quality printouts without sacrificing speed. This makes them ideal for the amateur photographer, the average home owner, or even the college student who needs to print thesis papers and PowerPoint presentations. You can’t imagine how helpful it is having a copier in your home. For a few extra dollars, you can pick up a printer with a built in copier and never have to run to Staples again.

The printer market is so competitive right now that you can probably score a significant rebate on an all in one printer. Recently I’ve seen rebates for as much as $50 off new Epson all-one-printers. Check around, do some price-shopping, and you too can experience the luxury of a low-cost, home copier/printer.

Bill Smith has written hundreds of articles about printers and ink cartridges, some of which can be found at http://www.buythebestbuy.com.

If you’re a bargain shopper looking to get the most bang for your buck, you’ll find no shortage of deals on the Internet.

And that’s particularly true in the fast-changing world of laptop computers, where you’ll find three bargain sources right at your fingertips:

1. Clearance Sales

Just like many brick-and-mortar retail stores, many computer manufacturer websites have clearance sections. On these web pages, you can find great deals on last year’s leftovers.

These are all new products (unless otherwise stated) and carry their original warranties. The only difference is that the price has been reduced.

Of course the manufacturers aren’t the only ones with clearance merchandise.

Major electronics and office supply retailers also include clearance sections on their websites, where you may be able to find the laptop bargain of your dreams.

2. Refurbished Laptops

Factory refurbs represent another great bargain opportunity. It works something like this:

• Joe Blow buys a new laptop, but decides a week later he doesn’t like the color.

• He takes it back to the store within the store’s stated return period, so the store is stuck with it.

• Since they can’t sell the laptop as new, the store sends it back to the manufacturer to be “refurbished.”

• The factory inspects that laptop to make sure everything works right, and then ships it out to a retailer that deals in refurbs.

• The refurb retailer then sells it to you at a great discount off the original price.

Buying a refurb can literally save you hundreds.

3. Online Auctions

You can always logon to an auction website and find a great deal on a used laptop. However, beware!

Buying anything used carries with it some risk. Buying a used laptop carries more risk than most people should be willing to take.

When you buy a used laptop from a private party, you don’t get any sort of warranty beyond DOA.

DOA stands for “dead on arrival”, a common auction term that means the seller guarantees the item will work when it arrives at your house.

But what happens if your laptop dies two weeks after it arrives? You’re out of luck, that’s what.

There are enough bargains available on warrantied laptops that all but the most meager budgets should be able to avoid buying used.

Stick to clearance and refurb machines and you’ll save yourself hundreds on your next laptop computer.

Copyright (c) 2004 HowToBuyALaptop.com.

About The Author

The author, computer journalist John San Filippo, has created the definitive guide to help you navigate through the laptop jungle. Visit the site today and find out everything you need to know about laptops before you buy. Check out: http://HowToBuyALaptop.com/

When you’re browsing in a bookshop, do you ever wonder: “Is it cheaper on Amazon? Does Amazon have that edition in stock?” This is the Amazon Dilemma The past year has seen a new breed of websites that have arrived to help consumers address this problem and find the best price and availability, whilst on the move, for the price of a text or phonecall.

The first is a US site, www.ringfo.com, which allows mobile phone owners to call a dedicated phone number and enter, via the phone’s keypad, a code found on the bar code of the book (International Standard Book Number or ISBN). A computer-generated voice then reads the current price and customer reviews at amazon.com.

British site www.SMSprice.co.uk relies on SMS text messages to communicate with consumers, this time the ISBN code is sent by SMS and a reply is sent straight back containing the price and availability, from Amazon’s UK site.

Finally Australians are catered for by Buymate, which will return prices from a number of Australian stores.

These are examples of how access to Internet information on-the-move helps the consumer make an informed choice in-store. The reason these work as on-the-go services is that the timeliness of the information is key. The consumer needs to know the on-line price and availability while they are still shopping; waiting until they next access a computer is too late if the in-store offer proves the better deal. .

It is interesting to note that these sites do not use WAP or 3G Internet technologies but make use of technologies that larger sections of the population are familiar with, text messaging, or in the US where text messaging is not so prevalent, touch tone phones. Both allow a simple interface and the number can be stored in the phone’s phonebook for easy retrieval.

These services have been made possible by Amazon’s open approach to their data. In July 2002 Amazon made their data available to independent developers, allowing them to query the Amazon database from their websites and applications. This is a classic win win situation: independent websites can integrate extra content to their sites; meanwhile Amazon’s army of developers (over 140,000 according to their website) create new ways to present Amazon’s data, ultimately drawing more people to the products.

All this means that consumers have access to innovative new services, like Ringfo and SMSprice, designed to help them save money.

About The Author

Paul Chandler is owner of http://www.SMSprice.co.uk a site using SMS text messaging to provide you with instant real-time Amazon prices wherever you are.

This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

More than we want to admit it, perception is everything. After weeks of negative statements regarding an issue, the President’s ratings plummet. The President then hits the road with a PR campaign and his ratings go back up. What changed? Did the facts of the matter change or did perception just change in that short period?

You see it all the time in politics. You see it with celebrities. Why do celebrities care so much when a seemingly false accusation is leveled? Why not just blow it off? Because they know that a huge percentage of people believe what they are told, no matter if it doesn’t seem true or reasonable.

With their huge advertising and PR budgets, major carriers have the ability to change the perception of reality in millions of consumers’ minds.

I wonder why in reality my two prepaid cell phones are saving me over $25 per month over my previous contract phones. I rarely hear stories such as mine.

What I do hear is that prepaid is suitable for low use consumers, credit challenged, or young people. I hear that inexpensive, cool cell phones are not available for those interested in going prepaid, when they are. I even hear people who complain that they have to pay when they use their prepaid plan, when with their $39.99 monthly contract plan they received free minutes. Excuse me people, but you are paying for those “free” minutes in your monthly rate! Someone told me he was spending about $25.00 per month on his prepaid plan, but wasn’t getting any “free” minutes. He didn’t comprehend that he was talking the same amount of minutes for $15 less per month than his previous contract. Man, these mobile phone companies are good. They get people to spend more for less and accept it.

Do yourself a favor. Ignore the messages sent out by the major carriers. Ignore the free phone offers for phones that are never free. Buy yourself a nice prepaid phone from a reputable prepaid company like Cingular, STi Mobile, T-Mobile, Tracfone or Boost Mobile. You will be happy. If not, there is no contract to cancel, so just choose another prepaid company and have a nice day.

With that being said, it does look like prepaid mobile is just starting to gain the attention and maybe respect of the major mobile carriers. It is about time.

Russ Snapper works in marketing for cheapphonecards.com and Deal King

Used laptop computers are everywhere these days. How can you sift through the mass of available used laptop computers to narrow your search down to the right laptop for you? This fourth and final article strives to give you a few suggestions for your next laptop purchase.

Wireless Connectivity

Built-in wireless used to be a luxury. More and more now though, it really should be seen as a necessity. If the laptop you’re considering doesn’t have built-in wireless, you should at least have an external wireless card thrown in. Connecting to the internet and your local home network is something you’ll find yourself doing a lot of in the future. If you have a choice between 802.1b and 802.1g, make sure you choose the 802.1g as it has more range and greater speed.

USB Ports

How many USB ports come with the laptop? Older laptops may not have any. Some have only one. The more USB ports you can get, the more convenient it is. You should also ask if the laptop comes with USB 2.0 or the older original version 1.

Hard Drive: Choose a large one

In this day and age, anything less than 20GB is way too small. In fact, you should always choose a laptop with as large a hard drive as possible. Storage space fills up fast especially when you consider all the songs and movies people store on their laptops these days. Go as large as your budget allows.

User Computer Laptop Warranty

If you have followed my advice and are looking to buy from a reputable dealer, what kind of warranty do they offer? Don’t buy a used laptop from someone that offers you no warranty of any kind. At the very least, you want to get a 30 day warranty. The more the better. You never know if the hard drive is near failure or some other catastrophic problem in near. Reputable dealers offer warranties. Stay away from anyone that doesn’t offer one.

While I haven’t gone over every possible thing you need to look for when purchasing a laptop, I have covered the main things that should make sure you make a used computer laptop purchase you’re happy with.

Joe Duchesne is the Webmaster of Asklaptop.com a site that offers you information when you buy a laptop including related information. Reprint freely as long as the links in this resource box are live and point back to Asklaptop.com.