cell phone | Ain't Complicated

Two Traveler Tips

Here’s a great service for anyone wanting to keep in touch while traveling abroad. They provide a Global SIM card that can be used with any GSM Tri or Quad band phone to travel just about anywhere in the world. You will save as much as 90% or more on cellular calls while traveling abroad. Best of all they will assign you a local U.S. number to take with you so that friends and family here in the U.S. can easily keep in touch with you without making an International Long Distance call.

Safe water for Pennies

Here’s absolute bacteria and virus protection in a light weight water purifier-filter. This product reportedly provides 5 gallons of safe water from any source in 42 minutes. Using new technology developed for kidney dialysis, these new .02 micron hollow fiber membrane purifiers give 100% protection against bacteria and viruses and they never need replacement! These inexpensive and lightweight water purifiers-filters will revolutionize safe water procurement for anyone traveling overseas. You can also give the lifesaving gift of safe water for an entire village by leaving one after your missions trip.

Wanted: Boost Mobile Reviews

Here’s this enticing bit of news from Clark Howard:

Boost Mobile offers new unlimited calling/texting/web plan

Most of the Big 4 carriers have plans that hover near $100/month. But on Thursday, Jan. 22, Boost Mobile will roll out a nationwide unlimited calling/texting/web plan with no contracts for just $50/month.

There are, however, some downsides. The cell phones available through Boost are antiquated, according to Clark. And they’re not subsidized, so be sure to look on eBay or Craigslist for a deal on a used one. In addition, Boost operates on the Nextel network, which doesn’t always offer the best call quality.

And here’s some additional plan info from the Boost Mobile site:

Unlimited talk
Unlimited text including multi-media messaging
Unlimited web
Unlimited walkie-talkie
Voicemail, long distance and nationwide network included
No hidden fees, no contracts and no credit checks
No roaming charges
Low rates for international calls and international walkie-talkie

I’m a Verizon user at the end of my (third?) two-year contract.

Do you have experience with Boost Mobile?

The Meaning of Is

Here’s part of the story:

Flirting goes high-tech with racy photos shared on cellphones, Web

Passing a flirtatious note to get someone’s attention is so yesterday. These days, young people use technology instead.

About a third of young adults 20-26 and 20% of teens say they’ve sent or posted naked or semi-naked photos or videos of themselves, mostly to be “fun or flirtatious,” a survey finds.

A third of teen boys and 40% of young men say they’ve seen nude or semi-nude images sent to someone else; about a quarter of teen girls and young adult women have.

[…]

Most of those surveyed (73%) said they knew sending sexually suggestive content “can have serious negative consequences,” yet 22% said it’s “no big deal.”

Adrift.

And so the moral decline continues.

Cell Phone Security

I keep trying to get the point across to people that email and cell phones should not be considered private and secure. I think most think I’m a paranoid kook. Or at least paranoid. Albeit a well-meaning one. Like a kindly old uncle (which I am, which I feel like, which I am) or a gentle befuddled grandpa (which I’m kinda, which I’m not, which I am) 🙄

Well, here’s something new I learned this morning while scanning the newsletter of a mission-related agency:

2) Is Cell Phone Security Even Worse Than We Thought?

Here’s a question from a field worker who writes, “Our mission team is located in a ‘police state.’ We know the police listen to our phone calls regularly. We also know they can use triangulation to locate us. We’re fine with that stuff. 🙂 But now we’re facing a couple of new concerns:

“*** REMOTELY EAVESDROPPING WHEN WE’RE NOT ON THE PHONE — The microphones in cell phones are now being turned on remotely to allow eavesdropping on their owners anytime (even when you’re not making a call). We’ve figured out how to overcome this problem… but we kind of hate to always have the batteries out of our cell phones. 🙂 [By the way, if you think this worker has been watching too many episodes of “24”, just do an Internet search for the term, “FBI taps cell phone mic as eavesdropping tool.”]

“*** REMOTELY ACCESSING CONTENTS OF YOUR PHONE — We’re hearing (from some pretty tech-smart guys) that it’s easy to remotely hack into the contents of our phone, getting full access to our pics, calendars, docs, task lists, etc. The implications are huge. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Now what?

Worse Than DUI

Texting while driving “more dangerous than drugs or alcohol”

Texting behind the wheel is more dangerous than driving while under the influence of alcohol or cannabis, researchers said Thursday.

Research carried out on young drivers (aged 17-24) using a simulator found that reaction time slowed by 35% when they were writing or reading text messages while driving. In comparison, reaction time deteriorated by 21% for those under the influence of cannabis, and by 12% at the legal alcohol limit.

I’m no teenager (and only two of our five flesh-and-blood children are still teenagers), but I better remember this the next time texting while driving seems so urgent. 😯

Cell Phone Peril

This is a public service warning to all cellphone users and photographers and videorecorders living in or visiting Oregon: Get permission for the audio part!

Oregon law allows audio material to be recorded only if one of the parties is aware the recording is taking place. Judge said Vang was recording video and audio using his cell phone camera. Only the audio recording violated Oregon law, she stressed.

And failing (or opting not) to get permission for the audio, turn it off before shooting your video.

If you’re reading this from an Oregon prison cell due to your video indiscretions, be advised to read Ain’t Complicated daily.

Global Cell Phone

I read this earlier this morning in an email I received from Brigada Today:

Check out their product called Celtrek Global SIM Card. It provides the latest in global communications technology by allowing users to travel practically anywhere around the world and use their own cellular phones to make and receive calls at a fraction of the rate their network carrier would normally charge. You simply replace your network carrier SIM card with the Global SIM Card and start saving up to 90% or more on mobile calls from overseas. Best of all, you have one U.S. based phone number assigned to you no matter how many different countries you travel to. If you happen to be from the USA, this allows for all calls from friends and family in the states to be local calls. If you’re from other countries, check with GlobalAirtime about other deals for your land. Learn more at http://www.globalairtime.com.

I haven’t yet, but I want to check into this. It sounds like a very neat and handy service.