IS IT TIME TO CUT YOUR LANDLINE FOR GOOD?

January 4, 2006

Is it time to cut your landline for good?
By Tom Regan, The Christian Science Monitor
When I left the Monitor as a full-time staffer to work from home as a freelance writer last fall, I knew that, among the various items I’d need to pursue this endeavor (laptop, wireless Internet, fax machine) would be a second phone line.
We already had one phone, a landline, that handled most of the family needs. But I was going to need a line for work-related calls. I wasn’t all that enthused about getting another “regular phone” — appointments waiting for service people to come, holes drilled into my house, yet another way for telemarketers to contact me.

So I went to the local mall and bought a cellphone instead. Now I had a phone number that was all mine; I could carry the phone wherever I went; people could reach me when they needed me, and I had access to e-mail, text messaging, and the Web. I even started using the alarm clock feature to wake me up in the morning. And all for a price that was less than what I paid every month for my landline. Hmmm, I wondered, Why do I need that landline again?

Turns out, plenty of people are considering this option. According to a Harris Interactive Technology Research poll taken last spring, 9% of Americans have already switched from landlines to cellphones, another 5% were considering it within the next year, and a whopping 47% of Americans had given the idea some thought. Last summer the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a report showing that the number of cellphones in the United States had surpassed the number of landlines — 181.1 million cellphones vs. 177.9 million landlines.

So I called a friend in Boston who had already made the switch from landline to cellphone to see what it’s been like for her. Sara Steindorf and her husband, David Sterrett, have been mobile-only for about a year. Sara, who works for a public-relations firm, says cost and convenience were some of the main reasons she switched to a cellphone only.

“In our old apartment we had high-speed cable Internet, so we didn’t need a landline,” she says. “So why have a home phone?”

• Home Entertainment
• Digital Photography
• Consumer Goods
• Computers
• Mobile
• Software

Sara finds more pluses than minuses to using a cellphone. But one of the drawbacks is when relatives call. “David’s parents tend to call him on his phone and my parents on mine, so I don’t get to talk to my in-laws as much as I would like,” she says.

Other factors, however, may work against people moving to mobile only. Jim Grier, a consultant in mobile technology, wrote recently on TechBuilder.org that even with advances in technology, landlines have not become obsolete — yet. After writing about his own switch to a cellphone only in his weekly newsletter, Mr. Grier received lots of feedback from his subscribers about why landlines are still a good deal.

Landlines don’t have batteries that run out and never need to be recharged in the middle of a call (unless you’re using a cordless phone). The way most landline agreements work, it’s pretty hard to “go over your minutes” and get billed extra. Some users find their cellphones have poor reception. And then there’s the 911 situation.

“Most cellphones don’t have GPS [Global Positioning], so 911 operators can’t pinpoint the location of the caller” if there is a medical emergency, Grier wrote. “With landline phones, however, the 911 operator receives the exact address of the caller automatically.”

Respondents in the Harris Interactive Poll also cited two other reasons for not switching to mobile phones only: the need for Internet access (high speed DSL service or dial-up) and lack of plans with good pricing.

So how do you decide if you should make the switch? Much of that answer depends on your personal situation. Single people or couples without children will find it easier to switch to cellphone-only service. Younger people who have grown up with a sense of mobility will appreciate this cellphone feature, along with the extras that come with a cellphone, such as text messaging, a way to take and store personal photos, and even a way to listen to music.

Families will probably want to have at least one landline in their homes for the safety reason mentioned above. And if you make a lot of international calls (as I do), in most cases you receive a much better rate on a landline.

The reality is that for now, most people see cellphones as a realistic choice as the “second phone” in the house, or for a small business. Even people who only use cellphones for voice conversations might get a basic landline for Internet access or as a fax line. But even if you want a landline, there is an increasingly common way to get that line — Voice over Internet (VoIP).

I’ll investigate that prospect in my next column, which will appear in two weeks.

Copyright 2006, The Christian Science Monitor

SIMPLICITY FROM INFO@DEFENSORESFIDEI.COM

NATURALNESS AND SIMPLICITY
The Messiah came to the temple in his Mother’s arms. No one would have paid much attention to the young couple who were taking a little child to present him to the Lord.

The mothers had to wait for the priest at the East gate. Mary went there with the other women and waited for her turn when the priest would take her Son in his arms. Joseph was by her side, ready to pay the ransom. The ceremony of Mary’s purification and the ransom of the Child from service to the Temple was no different in appearance from what normally happened on those occasions.

The whole of Mary’s life is permeated with a deep simplicity. She always carries out her vocation as Mother of the Redeemer naturally. She appears in her cousin Elizabeth’s house to help and look after her during those three months. She prepares the swaddling clothes and everything for her Son. She lives for thirty years with Jesus, never tiring of looking at Him, treating Him with great love, but with complete simplicity. When she obtains his first miracle from her Son in Cana she does it so naturally that not even the bride and groom realize what a wonderful event has taken place. She never makes show of her special privileges. Mary, the most holy Mother of God, passes unnoticed as just one more among the women of her town. Learn from her how to live with naturalness. Our Lady’s simplicity and naturalness made her humanly very specially welcoming and attractive. Jesus, her Son, during the thirty years of His hidden life, is always the model of perfect simplicity. When He begins to preach the Good News He does not carry out a noisy, spectacular activity. Jesus is simplicity itself in His birth, in the presentation in the Temple, or when He manifests His Divinity through the miracles which God alone can work.

Our Savior shuns all show and vain-glory and false, theatrical gestures. He makes Himself accessible to all: to the incurably sick and the most abandoned, who come to him trustingly to beg the remedy for their infirmities; to the Apostles, who ask him the meaning of the parables, to the little children, who embrace him confidently.

Simplicity is a sign of humility. It is radically opposed to anything false, artificial or deceitful. It is also a very necessary virtue for our dealings with God, for spiritual guidance and for our daily life with those around us. Naturalness. Let your lives as Christians men, as Christian women – your salt and your light – flow spontaneously, without anything odd or absurd; always carry with you our spirit of simplicity.

Excerpts from IN CONVERSATION WITH GOD by Francis Fernandez.
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