As you already know, I live out in the country. But it’s not just any “country”, it’s the foothills of the Ozarks. That means lots of high hills all around. My Mother lives further north in the state, and is in the mountains. Well, here’s the deal. There are many “dead zones” around here, between here and Mom’s, and up around Mom’s house. Places where you don’t get any cell phone reception at all. And they all seem to be on the loneliest stretches of road, where there aren’t any homes or businesses.

Why does this concern me? I’m a widow, which means I am generally alone in my car. My car isn’t new and neither are the tires. If I break down or have a flat in one of those areas, there’s no telling when I could get help. Even though I have Auto Club from the place where my oil is changed, it’s useless if my cell phone doesn’t get any reception. This is where a portable cell phone booster would be a lifesaver for me. I could get a stronger signal and call for help if anything were to happen while I’m driving.

Since my Mom lives 100 miles from here, that’s a long stretch of roadways to break down on, and there’s no way I could walk for help. Not only would it be physically impossible for me to do that, given my back and hip problems, but it could be dangerous. Anyone could attack me on those stretches of roads and I wouldn’t have any help for hours.

Of course, it would be nice to use the portable cell phone booster for my wireless aircard internet connection, too, so I could have 3G all the time. That’s not as vital to me as having help in a crisis, though. I can’t lift the spare tire or loosen the lug nuts if I have a flat. I’m at the mercy of anyone who happens along with bad intentions. This is of special concern when I work at night, since I don’t get off until after midnight. Alone, and in the dark? Yeah, I think about that all the time on my drive home.

A cell phone booster of 3 watts is 10 times more signal than my cell phone supplies. This can be used either in my car, by plugging it into the cigarette lighter, or in my house using the regular outlet. It’s a complete kit, having a vented carrying case, the antennas, the cords needed, the universal adapter, and full installation instructions. Adding this innovative tool to my current repertoire of technological devices really wouldn’t be a luxury at all. It could be my lifeline.

Technorati Tags: cell phone, Auto Club, 3G, cell phone booster, technological devices

Posted: February 10th, 2008 under Phones, Tech, Shopping.
Comments: none

VoIP (Voice over IP) is a system for using the telephone through your broadband internet connection. That’s the simple definition anyway. VoIP systems are great for small or large businesses because they can help reduce the expenditures on long distance phone charges when phoning branch offices that are out of your dialing area. Packet8.net offers this service through a PBX Phone System which might be easier for a small business to actually set up and use.

A PBX phone system operates on the VoIP principles but there is no hardware to install in your business. This is a hosted service for delivering digital phone calls to and from your place of business. Being hosted reduces the start-up costs of the system since there is no installed hardware to have to buy. Yet, it offers the advantages of unlimited long distance calling, both nationwide and international. Included are fax, the ability to add lines or services as needed, the ability to manage extensions online, and the management of contacts online.

There are a variety of packages you an subscribe to, depending on your small business budget and your business needs. You can expect complete support from Packet8 as well.

If I were just getting into this kind of technology, I think I’d opt for the Virtual Office and have the unlimited calling option for it. More can be added later, if needed, and you can upgrade your account when your business outgrows the basic set-up. Upgrades include such things as Auto-Attendant, which eliminates the need for a receptionist, and Microsoft Outlook Integration, so that Outlook can be used to store contact information and set schedules for calls.

Technorati Tags: VoIP, telephone, broadband, small business, PBX, Packet8, technology

Posted: October 1st, 2007 under Phones, Tech, Business and finance, Review.
Comments: none

Guess what I discovered a few minutes ago? I can record my own voice notes on my cell phone. Hmm. Why didn’t I discover that before?

This gives me a solution to the problem mentioned in the previous post about forgetting things I want to blog about. I can record voice notes in my phone as I get ideas, then listen to them later for my writing projects.

You know, I never realized just how many functions that little cell phone has, and it seems like I’m discovering new ones every day. I recently purchased this Samsung cell phone and my daughter added me to her plan.

Technorati Tags: cell phone, blog

Posted: July 3rd, 2007 under Phones.
Comments: none

I am currently looking at cell phones in order to buy a new one. There are many to choose from and they all seem to have unique functions. After looking at dozens of them, I have come to the conclusion that IR