I need opinions again. ^^ (cell phones, etc.)

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danceu4ia
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I need opinions again. ^^ (cell phones, etc.)

Post by danceu4ia »

Thanks for stopping by this thread. Danceu4ia (me) is moving 8 hours away from her hometown in southern Ontario, to her nation's capital, Ottawa, for University.

Since that is definitely considered long distance, my family and I have been shopping around for different cell phone plans. And it's not looking good...the company we used to trust is no longer trustworthy to us (Bell), and so we are once again thrust into the confusing world of salespeople. XD
There are a couple of questions here:

1. I've heard of free internet phone calls, where can I find this miracle, and is it available in Canada?
2. Can iChat work between an apple and a Dell?
3. What is your mobile plan, and do you recommend it?

The last question mostly applies to Canadians living in Ontario, but all other opinions, voices, comments, etc. are appreciated.

Thank you in advance. ^^ Have a good weekend!
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Wingsrising
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Re: I need opinions again. ^^ (cell phones, etc.)

Post by Wingsrising »

I can't answer #2 or #3, but the answer to #1 is Skype. Works anywhere as far as I know. If you have a webcam, you can do video calls, too. I've started calling my parents like that all the time. (Downside is me and mom can no longer play computer games while we talk.)
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AngharadTy
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Re: I need opinions again. ^^ (cell phones, etc.)

Post by AngharadTy »

Ew, Skype. Teamspeak is where it's at.

I have a PC and used to talk to my Dad sometimes, and he uses iChat on a Mac; I think there were possibly some unavailable features, but it worked fine for text and I think some other things. Best to just try it out and see how it goes.
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Wingsrising
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Re: I need opinions again. ^^ (cell phones, etc.)

Post by Wingsrising »

What's wrong with Skype? I've never heard of Teamspeak. What are its advantages? If it works better I can try setting it up on my Mom's computer while I'm home next month.
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AngharadTy
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Re: I need opinions again. ^^ (cell phones, etc.)

Post by AngharadTy »

Admittedly, Teamspeak is designed by people who wanted it to be usable in games. The advantage of Skype is that you can "call" people; with Teamspeak, we just always have our server on, so our friends can join up and talk to us at any time of the day. It's a little apples-and-oranges, but I'm a gamer, and I hate anything phone-like, so having a server where my friends can easily come and chat is a win. The other advantage of Teamspeak is that it's a less intensive program, and (except for someone from NC) I've never heard of any problems with it. In fact, it's nearly got a legendary status in my friend circle--MSN can die, Xfire can die, the game we're playing can die, but Teamspeak stays up until you unplug the freakin' computer. Hehe. If TS goes down, that means there's something wrong.
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Arviragus
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Re: I need opinions again. ^^ (cell phones, etc.)

Post by Arviragus »

I'm a Canadian out west, Dance, and I use Skype just fine :). Well, was, until I decided that my ex-friend in England was a jerk and I didn't need to talk to him anymore, but that's a whole other story, but up until that point I loved Skype. It was a free download, and after spending I think it was 40 bucks on a headset I was set to go. I just need to convert the rest of my friends to using it so my long distance bill doesn't hit triple digits again :S.
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Kidnemo
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Re: I need opinions again. ^^ (cell phones, etc.)

Post by Kidnemo »

As regards to iChat, you can sign into that with an AIM username so you can chat with other AIM users no problem, regardless of your computer type. I don't know about .Mac accounts though, but yeah, iChat-AIM is fine.
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danceu4ia
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Re: I need opinions again. ^^ (cell phones, etc.)

Post by danceu4ia »

wow, you guys are fantastic. ^^ I went and signed onto Skype right away (gaming isn't really an issue for me ^^) and tested it with my laptop which will be coming with me, and the family computer downstairs. worked like a dream, and my mom was in awe.

My dad just liked that it was free. "So this is free, right?" XD

I'll look into AIM, maybe it'll be my backup plan if skype does stupid things, like I am being warned it will.

I am so ridiculously happy about this, you don't even know. Though I do feel ridiculously stupid for not knowing about it before... damn long distance bills! XD

Thanks again guys! Oh, and on the cellphone note, I invested in an LG Rumor, with the full QWERTY keyboard, since texting is cheaper than calling, no matter what payment style, texting will probably be my main form of communication. Might as well make it more ergonomically friendly!

Have a Great week! ^^
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