What does the Fox say?

[Road Guy]

mine and my wifes contracts are up next month. I went by AT&T and they really don't seem to make just a regular phone anymore.. I have wifi at work, home, etc. I am going to give the old flip phone a go I think for a while. tired of having a $200+ cell phone bill(5 peoples)... but I tried finding a decent phone that would just talk and text and its almost like you have to get a disposable phone for that to work these days.. they had Nextel like flip phones but at the AT&T store but not much else..

anyone see any other similar models like the slide phones they used to have?

 

[FLBuff PE]

I have a 4s, and am up for a new phone soon as well. I'm looking at the HTC One (M8).

The M8 is a pretty awesome phone. The screen resolution is pretty spectacular, among other things.

Have you heard anything about the call quality of the HTC on the Verizon Network? I've also had an iphone for 6 years (I know...I know), and am contemplating the switch to Android. Mrs. Buff had one of the first HTC droids, and hated it. A lot of the time, it would drop calls, not make calls, or not send texts. I assume that things have changed significantly since then. I'm also a little intimidated by the iOS to Droid switch, but have researched a lot on cnet, newegg, etc to feel a little more comfortable about it. My wife just got a new iphone 5s, so we'll be cross-platform communicating.

 

[mudpuppy]

anyone see any other similar models like the slide phones they used to have?

Take a look at Straight Talk or Tracfone. They work on either AT&T or Verizon's network and are a lot cheaper, and offer cheap phones.

 

[Road Guy]

I was thinking of buying one of theirs but then adding to my at&t account, its only $10 a month to have it through at&t-----------

 

[mudpuppy]

If you do that, just make sure you buy a phone that is AT&T compatible since they sell both AT&T phones and Verizon phones. Might have to do some research to figure out which kind they sell in your area.

 

[Road Guy]

ive been looking on line also , they have a lot more selections.. im going to try and give it a whirl for a year and see if I am miserable without it.. work doesn't pay for anyones cell phones unless you are out in the field 50% or more..

 

[mudpuppy]

If you buy online they base your phone type (AT&T (GSM) or Verizon (CDMA)) off your zip code, so just make sure your zip code uses AT&T phones. At one point I found a website that told you which types of phones they offer based on zip code but I haven't looked in years.

 

[MetsFan]

So that's why Apple stock is down today.

I'd guess that has more to do with boobs than phones.

That's what I thought too, but the stock soared to all time highs on Monday, the day after the boobs hit the web. I read part of it also has to do with Samsung's partnership with FB for a virtual reality headset.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/03/samsung-virtual-reality/

 

[snickerd3]

Ok mr Fox...what are your thoughts on the sandboxie? My FIL attended a computer workshop their township hosted and sent mr snick all the slides of the crap they recommended. He had never heard of sandboxie. That and some free antivirus program (AVG FREE?) they claim is better than a paid norton subscription. FIL is Cheap Ass so he would always opt for free vs something that actually works.

 

[knight1fox3]

Ok mr Fox...what are your thoughts on the sandboxie? My FIL attended a computer workshop their township hosted and sent mr snick all the slides of the crap they recommended. He had never heard of sandboxie. That and some free antivirus program (AVG FREE?) they claim is better than a paid norton subscription. FIL is Cheap Ass so he would always opt for free vs something that actually works.

Also never heard of Sandboxie. At first glance, their documentation is poor in terms of technically describing what their software does. They seem to like to use analogies/metaphors to describe how it functions rather than providing all the actual details. Perhaps they're trying to appeal to the "non-techy" crowd though, in which case it's probably working for them. To me it looks like a glorified virtual machine (VM) program. VMs are great for running old programs on old operating systems. They are also great at providing a "test bed" for software you are unsure about or suspect of malware. Can it protect a PC 100% of the time? Nadda. But then again I do not know of any software package that can.

As for AVG (paid or free), I kicked them to the curb years ago after getting burned by them 3 or more times in a row. Again, the 99% rule comes into play here but come on, it seemed to be letting things through more often than not. My PC protection software of choice is a combination of Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) and Comodo free firewall. Been running that combo for a number of years on every PC in my house and to date it has been rock solid. Any PC that I build/repair leaves my workshop with MSE installed at a minimum and Comodo if I know the user's level of PC knowledge. Regardless of what they decide to use on their own. I was never a fan of any Norton software but from what I read, their Internet Security package seems decent. But I'm also not a fan of monthly paid subscriptions when it comes to anti-malware. HTH.

 

[snickerd3]

FIL was wanting to use the sandiebox for when MIL uses the computer especially for her FB and email, she will open or watch anything anyone sends her or that she finds on the internet. She literally has no short term memory capacity due to an illness years ago so telling her not to do that doesn't click that next time she is on the internet.

 

[knight1fox3]

FIL was wanting to use the sandiebox for when MIL uses the computer especially for her FB and email, she will open or watch anything anyone sends her or that she finds on the internet. She literally has no short term memory capacity due to an illness years ago so telling her not to do that doesn't click that next time she is on the internet.

Sounds like that is a prime candidate for the use of a VM. Whether or not Sandboxie will be user-friendly remains to be seen I guess. What's nice is that if the VM becomes infected and you can't clean it, just delete it and create a new one. That way the primary PC is protected.

 

[snickerd3]

Mr snick had already set up virtual machine on the new computer for them. Although now he just has to write up instructions for its use and any future deletions if needed.

 

[knight1fox3]

Mr snick had already set up virtual machine on the new computer for them. Although now he just has to write up instructions for its use and any future deletions if needed.

Depending on what VMware he implemented, once it's set up you should be able to save/export all the settings which makes creating a new one much simpler the next time around.

 

[engineergurl]

I am scared by the fact that I actually know what you are talking about for once.

 

[knight1fox3]

Umm......YES PLEASE!!! <runs to add this to my Xmas list>

http://gizmodo.com/while-you-werent-looking-dell-announced-the-worlds-mos-1632621335

First off—just to get this out of the way—it's the thinnest tablet the world has ever produced. At just 6mm thick and a badass gunmetal-grey aluminum chassis.

Second, this slate also comes with arguably the world's best tablet screen: a gorgeous 8.4-inch, 2560 x 1600 OLED panel with colors to die for. It's a Samsung panel, which shouldn't be too surprising.

There's practically no bezel to block your view. Instead, there's a single grip on the left which houses speakers and two of the tablet's FOUR cameras.

Using three cameras, the software can even triangulate to figure out the distance between two points in the picture: whichever two points you pick out. Intel's CEO quipped that there will no longer be any question how big a fish you caught.

What the what?! :blink:

<drools>

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

Why does everyone drool so much over how thin their phone/tablet is? Sure, they can be too thick, but does being 6mm vs 8mm really constitute a "feature"?

 

[knight1fox3]

It does to an enthusiast type user.

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

What what does 6mm actually do that 8mm doesn't (aside from breaking easier)? I can understand being more lightweight, but that isn't the selling point. It can play hide& seek and use a pencil as a hiding place? It falls in between the cushions of the couch easier?

Cameras = feature

screen colors and clarity = feature

speaker size & clarity = feature

2mm thinner = gimmick

 

[MetsFan]

but does it run iOS?

On a serious note, that's a bad place for the speaker since your hand is going to be there holding it.