Virgin Mobile Did what to my Data Speeds?

Paul

Got this text Message!

VMFreeMsg: Starting 5/6/14, if you use over 2.5GB of data during your mo. plan cycle, data speeds will now be reduced to 2G speeds. Info at http://msg4u.us/vwae

I don’t know about anyone else but when I first got this text message, I was like so How fast is 2g speeds verses 3g speeds on Google Now!  So Here’s is the breakdown of this:

Speeds

 

  • 2g is on average about 115 kilobytes per second  (A little faster than voice calling people)
  • 3g is on average about 614 Kilobytes per second (Good for some streaming media)
  • 4g is on average about 20 Megabytes per Secong (On average it varies from phone to phone)

 

As you can see this doesn’t really explain it very well but let’s try to make it easier to understand this:

1 byte is 8 bits, so 1000 kilobytes(1,024 bytes which is 8192 bits) and you need 65536 kilobytes to make 1 Megabyte of data.   So you can see that the larger the file or anything you do on the phone will be drastically slowed down on the phone.   If yo do the math or at least think about it, you can go to a free wifi hotspot to get better speeds than this.   

Virgin Mobile and Boost is screwing you!

Virgin mobile seems to want you to go to another prepaid service.   Even with Straight Talk, they do something like this on their networks.   They do limit there speeds but I am unsure as to what the speeds are lately but they aren’t unlimited either.

It looks like I have a few options, Straight Talk although they do the same thing but not as bad, T-mobile Which looks to be comparable to Virgin Mobile or Boost.   You could try MetroPCS but I can’t seem to verify that it is truly unlimited and that is what I am looking for.   I am asking for help to find something that isn’t as restrictive as what Virgin Mobile is doing.   I might buy a data plan for my home now.   So I am going to look into this some more but if you know of a prepaid plan that is truly unlimited, please leave a comment and let everyone know!

Why I do not click “Here” in emails and why you should to!!

Paul
 

tools4technow.com

That isn’t going to happen!!

It isn’t like I do not know what might happen, but before I even did anything I check out the link by looking up the domain which if you want to check out what I see you will see the there isn’t really a main site link at the top of the Google search.   Odd isn’t it, well I then looked at the urls that was after the domain name and I found:>

/-wqs-/generallaborer.com/Free/GetStarted.asp?aff=F7288B41-CC5D-4D08-B06C-FB03EF98DEFB

As you can see it looks to be a redirect to “generallaborer.com” with an Affiliate link that means someone gets paid for links that use that link.   You can tell that someone gets paid by the “AFF=”.   I also have my own affiliate links but you will know when I put a link on my site that pays me money when you use my link to buy stuff with.

Spam

It appears to be a scam or a way someone makes money when you sign up with a link to that site.   I do know know what actually happens because I did not click on those links.   I can only assume that it was a link spam and not a scam but I will never truly know and I am not really worried about that type of help from people who try to make money off you without telling you.   

You rarely know what the links really go to from emails.   They can be masked or hidden and you could even get a virus on your computer as easily as you can get one just surfing the net.   It could also make you think your are logging into a site you visit often but in truth you are giving your password away to someone who will use it for all sorts of purposes.   These are the main I will never click on links without some looking up of the domain in question.   You should never click links that your are not expecting or from people who you do not know!   Each one of these should be a first step to prevent something terrible from happening to you or your computer.

 

How to know if your battery is on it’s way out on cell phones!

Paul

Batteries won’t last!

I know this all to well.   With all my phones from the Lg Optimus F3 to my Kyocera Risa.  Every phone I have had, I get to know when the battery should just be replaced.   I will talk about my experiences and hopefully it will help you when it comes time to replace that battery.

Nothing I say should constitute you going out and buying a battery but it will at least help you know if you might need to.   It however is up to you when and if you get a replacement battery.

Shorter charge cycles!

This one is the first sign the battery, which has circuits that close off to prevent the battery from fully charging.  These circuits help keep the battery from exploding or leaking and causing serious damage to you or the phone.  It can show itself in several ways.   You might find that you have to charge your phone up more frequently or that it says you have a full battery one hour ago and now it is down to half or almost empty.   

Phone gets warm to touch while charging!

It isn’t uncommon that from time to time when your charging your phone the phone may get slightly warm due to the charging of the batteries but it gets warmer than usual.   This is caused by the phone trying to force charge the battery to charge a cell that looks to be almost dead and it is trying to keep it alive.

Bulges on cell battery!

It isn’t always the case but if you examine your battery of your phone.   I saw this with my HTC inspire 4g Phone, where the battery was getting a slight bulge and shorter charge and discharge cycles were happening.  

Cell Phone Apps

Although I will remind you that even getting a new battery might not be cause of your phone not keeping charge.   Some android phones use more battery life due to apps or other such widgets that are constantly be used on the phone.   These tend to help reduce the life of your battery and it will not help if you battery isn’t dead or on it’s way out.  You may find it helps for the small time but you will be back at where you left off.   Before you consider buying a new battery, consider looking into which apps you might not need and remove them.   This will greatly increase your battery life and your experiences.

Got a Story you want to tell people, just leave a comment and tell me your experiences in this subject matter!

First Impressions of the LG Optimus F3 4g LTE by Virgin Mobile!

Paul

Specifications:

Display: 4.0-inches (Gorilla Glass)
Camera: 5-MP Processor 3-MP Front
Speed: 1.2 GHz OS:
Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)
Wifi
Blue tooth
NFC (Near Field Communications)
CDMA, 4G (EVDO+HSPA), 3G

Since getting my ZTE phone wet the last few weeks ago, I decided I would jump up and try a new phone out.  So this weekend I went to Walmart to see what they had and I was surprised that they were out of the ZTE’s, I liked that phone because the screen size.   Even though they both say 4.0 screen size, I could swear the ZTE is slightly bigger probably more closer to 4.1 but that is just me.   You can read my full review of the ZTE AWE and decide for yourself.

First Impression:

I have done this in past with the ZTE Awe and I’ll talk about my first impressions of this phone and go into more detail later.   First off, it has no way to do the Wifi Hotspot like the ZTE but you do have the option of Blue tooth Tethering your phone and I can also do a hard tethering from the phone to Windows/Mac laptop.   So you can still use the 4G speed for surfing the net.  I will look into finding out how to get complete wifi tethering later on.   I know I will have to circumvent Virgin Mobile but that seems to be the only way to have true wifi tethering enable with them.   They seem to try to frustrate the customers who do want true unlimited service.   I haven’t really had the chance to see if they consider 4g as true unlimited, or if it is still bound by the reduce in speed of 3g after 2.5 GB of bandwidth.

Comparing it to the ZTE AWE!

After using the ZTE Awe, I thought I should oa quick comparison of the two phones.   Each has unique properties and have reasons why you will want to use that particular phone.   So I’m going to tell you my experience in hopes this will help you make a choice of the two.   It won’t be an in depth comparison but it will be a quick overview.

ZTE awe is a little lighter and lest thicker than the LG Optimus.   It depends on on what your looking for with weight and thickness but I honestly think the LG Optimus is slightly thicker and heavier to either to make you believe it is stronger or it is stronger.  The LG Optimus has better camera properties, even though they both have 5 Mega pixel cameras, it looks like the Awe uses software to make it get to 5mp.  You can tell when I used the camera on the LG Optimus, it actually looks better and much more responsive.  The Awe only comes with a 1mp front camera and the LG Optimus comes with a 3mp front camera.  If your going to be doing video chats on a phone, I think you will want to be much more details.  

The Touch screen on the AWE doesn’t feel anywhere like the Gorilla glass that comes with the LG Optimus F3.   I do not know how to describe this but I do enjoy the touch screen on the LG Optimus better than I do with the ZTE Awe.   If feels much more sturdier and less breakable.   Although I have dropped the AWE several times, and the phone has yet to shatter.   So I know the AWE will not break as much as it looks.  

Finally, The LG Optimus F3 is a good buy for those who want to have a better experience with photos, and even the speed.   I have been able to pick up data signal’s in places I usually had a hard time getting signals.  So that is also another plus.   The Zte AWE is good for those who need a cheap phone for games and watching movies on it.  So I’ll let you decide which on you want to buy.  

Why being Single is freaking Awesome!

Paul

Myles Munroe – January 28, 2005

This Book helped me with Singleness!

I have been reading “Single, Married, Seperated, and life after Divorce” (Amazon Affiliate link) and after reading this.   I can’t but help tell you why being single helps me in so many ways.   I although know the desires of my heart and others where you may want to find that special someone.   This book however has so many good qualities to help people learn that being single can be so undeserving.   Being single can be so much fun and less stressful.  

I’m going to share with you some of the things that I have learned from this book that will help you wanting to be single even more!

No unexpected expenses!

Let’s face it being married, you have to know what your partner bought and forgot to tell you.   The only thing you have to worry about is having enough saved to pay for unexpected car repairs.  Even with both you in constant communications with your spouse, there is always going to be things your spouse will buy and tell you afterwards.   

No fights!

When I was with my ex, I was always having stress because we would be at odds with each other and we would always have to compromise.   While I am single, I do not have to worry about any compromising.   It’s my way and I do not have to listen to no one!

Myths about Married and Single People!

I seriously love the show Mythbusters and watch it every chance  I get.   So this myth that being married or even being single has so many disadvantages but it is clearly a myth.   Being unique is something that we should strive for in our day to day life.   Whether we are married or single, no one understand that being single can be a very make for more enjoyment.  Most people confuse Singleness with what it’s like being single.   People see others hugging, and showing affection and they yearn for that closeness but yet they do not know themselves.   Until you know yourself, you can not understand others and this is why being single is so Awesome!

I’ve pretty much told you my take on why being Awesome is so good, but I would love to hear yours.  Please feel free to leave a comment and tell me your thoughts on this book!  I learned so much from this book and I’ll probably reread it to learn even more!  

I encourage people to go read the book and become an individual (Amazon Affiliate Link).   When you do that and have a life filled with singleness, then you may find that special someone walking into your life!