Want Music? Get Spam!

I recently got a new LG 8300 cell phone from Verizon. I decided to get a phone that plays music, as I cannot bring myself to part with money to get a music player. I have to carry a phone anyway, and it means that I have one less device to carry with me, if all the stuff is integrated into my phone. Now, in light of saving money, there were some things I had to buy to play music on the phone. I went to eBay and purchased a music essentials kit, the same kit, at half the price, that the Verizon store sells. I also purchased another music essentials kit, which was information on how to configure the phone to make better use of it. I also ordered a 1GB micro-SD card so that I could use the extra memory to hold songs, pix, etc. I purchased the information from evolutionxiii(191) , and I purchased the micro-SD card from http://www.dz-tech.com for about a fourth of what Verizon wanted. This is actually the third purchase I have made from DZ-tech, and I have not been disappointed.

Anyway, I now had to get a provider of music. My tastes are not the standard hip-hop, etc. I wanted music like a "Theme to a Summer's Place," the theme to "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly," etc. I also did not want to pay a subscription to a music service. I just wanted to download some music at $.99 each and be done with it. I found some services that seemed to do that, but they all looked the same, and when I started to register, a box appeared with an instant message from "Steve," who started to offer me extra-cost add-ons. Since this was similar on several services, I figured that all these sites were owned by the same company. My advice is don't sign up. Actually, these sites promised free downloads with a subscription, and they would give me a grace period to unsubscribe. They feel like scams. I finally went to Rhapsody, which gave a 14-day free period to unsubscribe and charges $.99 for a download. Rhapsody is from Real Networks. Real Networks has been around for a long time, so I felt better about joining. I have an aversion to giving out my regular email address to commercial entities, so I used a free hotmail address which I have decided to abandon after I unsubscribe. I currently have 3 hotmail addresses, in addition to 3 regular email addresses. I also already get 200-300 spams a day on the regular addresses, and don't need any more. Amazingly, I never used to get any email on this particular hotmail address that I am going to abandon. Since signing up with Rhapsody, I got 4 spams on that address. Interesting. Here's the kicker: I have to call Rhapsody to cancel. I can't do it online. The joke's on them. I just bought new phones that each have a speaker function. I don't care if I'm on hold. I will just carry the phone around and set it down wherever I am at. Further kicker: I download 15 songs, go through all to download them to my new phone, and find that the file format is incompatible with my phone. Now, my phone can play mp3s. This is the best format as they take up the least room. I call tech support at Rhapsody, and they tell me my phone is not on the list. So I can burn a CD from Rhapsody music, put it back into the computer and use a program called Switch to convert it to MP3s, and take the micro-SD card and download them through my card reader. I can now listen to music on my phone. I can also use the CD in my cars, and living room.

Moral: There is no free lunch. Be prepared for everyone to stick their hand in your pocket. Don't sign up for services without using subterfuge (i.e. a disposable email account) as they will sell your info to everyone. At least that way you can avoid the extra spam.

What to watch for in a car lease

Some years ago, we leased an SUV on a thirty month term, when we lived in California. It was our first lease, and we didn't think ahead. In California, you are charged a percentage of your car's value when you register your car, or renew your registration. That covers you for one year. That one year starts on the purchase date. The lease on the car was up after thirty months, or at the half-year point. There are no refunds on the registration. We had to also buy a full registration on the replacement automobile.

Moral to the story: Be aware that you may wind up paying for two registrations in the same year, if your lease isn't in full year increments. It is not so bad in our present home state of Washington. I believe the registration in Washington for a passenger car is something like $30-$40. In California, and some other states, it can get quite pricey.