So, we lost our free cable feed. Turns out, they had just never turned it off from the previous tenant. Since Lisa works for AT&T, we signed up for the U-Verse 200 package with 15mb internet and a land line. Costs us $50 bucks per month. I have to admit, I love the DVR and getting a bunch of ESPN channels so that I can catch LSU basketball, but I have not paid for cable in a long time. Didn't need the land line, hell we haven't even plugged a phone into the jack. Had free wireless internet, but had to futz with it a lot. It's nice not to have to mess with it. The kids and momma are happy. Quality is not discernibly better than the free cable (with our built in digital tuner) and Netflix streaming, but it is much easier. I thought I would have to use AT&T's remote and my tv remote, but I don't. That makes me happy. It is only $50 bucks for us since Lisa works there. Otherwise I would have said screw it and done without.
This would be life for me if I wasn't married. The wife likes to take crap that other family members want to toss because it has sentimental value... So we have a bunch of **** stashed everywhere that will never get "restored" (not that much of it is worth the effort).
http://www.clear.com/packages 4G internet, just have to buy the hardware... they offer several different types (mobile hotspot, home router, usb stick). Price is 34.99 for 1.5mbps down (same as Cox) or 49.99 for "unlimited" speed (maxed out at 2.5mbps right now). Problem is that its not offered yet in LA... Its all over Texas though.
Google is getting into the streaming market. Their device, called Chromecast, is only $35. Right now it only streams Youtube, Google Play, and Netflix, but they say other apps are coming. It looks like a usb thumb drive. You just plug it straight into the HDMI port on your tv then stream from your phone, tablet, or pc. They say their goal is a Zero setup time and no learning curve device for streaming from all devices and platforms. Link
Sold... Saw article today and I recently switched from Itunes to Google Play for music right before they bumped it from $7.99 a month to $9.99. Won't be going back to Itunes ever again.
No kidding? My kids have iTunes, I am currently not using paid version of either. What do you like better about Google Play? (BTW, I think Google is more innovative than Apple as a general rule. I just am not familiar w/ paid version of either).
Google Play is a way to have all the music you want without buying each song, syncing, or wasting memory on your phone. Really interactive and works better through bluetooth than my itunes such as name and song and album information on my screen in car is more consistent. It is also a form of Pandora where you can start the radio with any song. Can also make playlist. No Syncing between my wife and my phone sharing an itunes account and customer service was the big sell for me. My wife dowloads more than 6 soungs a month so this saves me money as well. You can also store up to 20,000 songs from Itunes or wherever into Google Play. Only downside is will use your cell phone data plan if not on wifi but not an issue with me since we have a family plan with 10gb and some of my family uses very little of the plan. I heard Iphone was coming out with an app for Google Play very soon. Not sure exactly when. I just switched to the Galaxy S4 Active from Iphone.
The whole streaming thing was my issue. Even though I have AT&T unlimited, they throttle you back so slow at 5gb that I get worried about hitting that mark. The one time I did, they throttled me back to 2G speeds. It was pretty much unusable. Is you 10gig plan w/ AT&T? I wonder if that wouldn't be a better plan for us. Gonna take a closer look at GP. I had set it up and even uploaded my library, but then had that data issue.
Yes my plan is with AT&T and I haven't had any of those issues. When I updated I had to let go of the grandfather unlimited plan but I got the Hotspot in return. I am not the type who is on the phone doing business and emails all day off wifi so it made sense for us to give it up.
You got a hotspot on your phone? Does your 10gig plan cost less than the unlimited? I would be that 10gig would be plenty for us.
