The Move in Progress
So far, I can't complain: the technology giants upon which I am dependent have, by and large, come through for me.
Time-Warner cable guys quickly set up my cable television and cable Internet access. (I use Earthlink via Time-Warner.) So far, cable Internet access is considerably faster than my old DSL service from Verizon—and every few weeks, that service would mysteriously go down for no apparent reason, usually just when I was on some sort of deadline for which I required Internet access and e-mail.
I've also switched my phone service from Verizon to Vonage. Since I work at home, I make a lot of phone calls, and I had an unlimited phone plan from Verizon for about $70 a month. I have the exact same plan with Vonage, which transmits telephone calls over the Internet, for $25 a month. If I were you, I'd sell your Verizon stock. (I did.)
Surprisingly, the one company I had trouble with was Apple, whose customer service is generally first-rate. A bizarre thing happened on my way to setting up here in Soha/NoCo (south of Harlem, for long-time residents; north of Columbia, for real estate brokers selling to latecomers like me): I lost the ability to receive e-mails. I could find them on the web, at the page Earthlink uses for web access to e-mail; but my computer was not grabbing them from the Internet.
So I called Apple and spoke with one of those tech guys you sometimes encounter who seems to be thinking out loud as he walks you through a repair process. Or maybe making it up as he went along. Suddenly—after over an hour on the phone—several thousand saved e-mails mysteriously vanished from my computer. At that point, the tech guy mumbled something about getting a product specialist on the line, and after a very lengthy hold, he handed the phone call off to someone named Daniel.
Instant relief. Daniel knew exactly what he was doing, and in about ten minutes we fixed the problem and my e-mails were restored. He and I then had a nice chat about Apple's switch to computer chips made by Intel, whether I should buy a new iMac, whether I should buy a new iPod, and the virtues of a home wireless system. (It'll be a good thing in the long run, yes, they're amazing machines, yes, they're amazing machines, and yes, it's very cool to play music from your computer wirelessly through your stereo.) A disastrous experience was salvaged.
The conclusion? Verizon is the big loser, and I have to say, it couldn't have happened to a more deserving company. As anyone who's ever tried to get Verizon on the phone knows, this is probably the most user-hostile of all the conglomerates/monopolies that grip us in their velvet claws. Their customer service is lousy, their products mediocre, and their prices far higher than a free market would support. (If you don't believe me, Google "Verizon sucks" and enjoy some of the 216,000 hits that come up, including the aptly named website, Verizon Sucks.) I love that Vonage has popped up to exploit a niche in the technology—and tons of customers who've taken abuse from Verizon for so many years finally have a choice. Vonage takes a little bit of tech savvy to set up. But so far, it's a lifesaver.
Now if we could only get those cable bills down....
