Adding data on top of the verizon plan is probably your best shot -- that'll give you unlimited calling to and from anywhere in Canada and the US for $60 (plan) + $30 (data) + $35 (global email) = $125. Their website says that the global email plan is only available for gsm + cdma phones, but it's also available for any of the CDMA smartphones, just not listed. Look into getting a cell phone that supports skype mobile, and for not too much you can have a Skype canadian number forwarded if anyone in Canada wants to call you. AT&T has new calling plans that support Canada, but you can't get unlimited (or even 5/6 gig) data for a decent price. Assuming you're sticking with the verizon plan anyways, the cheapest smartphone contract you can find in Canada will be about ~$75 once you add taxes and the system access fee, and you don't want to know their fees for data in the US.
If skype forwarding doesn't work or you'd like Canadians to be able to text message you, you might want to look into a cheap pay as you go phone. Canadian cell phones still charge you extra for long distance, so you'll probably find yourself calling most people on your US phone anyways.
Also, I'm not sure how long you'll be in school, but be aware that Rogers, at least, tries heavily to lock you in to a 3-year contract for most smartphones, and it's $500 to quit early that you're not going to be able to get out of even if you graduate beforehand.
The last time I needed to call IBM (to get the recovery cds for my laptop, they don't ship with them anymore...) I was quite surprised to be connected to a quite knowledgeable guy from Georgia (In the United States). Zero time on hold, took less than five minutes to get everything that I need, and I had the cds in two days.
Compare this to Toshiba, where I have not only never gotten anyone who remotely speaks English, but every repair also seems to involve shipping your laptop back to them, and waiting for two weeks for "parts" that you were told would be in stock every day for a week.
I've also heard good stories about Apple, but nothing can beat my experience with IBM so far.
Normally I don't have a problem with companies charging more for high bandwidth users, but with the way Comcast has been going lately, they haven't even been able to provide basic service to people. Whereas @home managed to keep speeds fairly good even at peak times, Comcast service intermittantly slows to a crawl at least 5 times a day, and their dns servers are constantly out. They've already capped upload and download speeds to almost nothing, now they're using their own network problems as an excuse to charge more money for the same crappy service.
It looks good, if it really is the size of, or slightly larger than the ipod, I'd definitely think of buying it. Unfortunately, it's limited to USB, which mostly negates the ability to use it as a portable hard drive/ transfer music to it quickly. If a company finds a way to release something the size of an ipod with firewire, but useable on pc's, I'd definitely get it, as it has so many uses.
Of what use, exactly, are these open networks? My wireless station doesn't even reach outside the house, and I doubt you could boost it to cover more than a few homes. Unless you plan to let flocks of people park on your lawn and use their laptops, wouldn't the only others using it be neighbours, who will stay in one place, and let you give them access to it anyway?
Apparently, the film would have been rated pg-13 if they showed human-like red blood, but by changing it to bubble-gummy blood, they managed to stay with a pg rating.
I've used Comcast@home for two years and was upload capped at 16kbps. When I saw my neighbours getting upload speeds of around 100kbps I did some checking, and it turns out that most of the caps are in the modem themselves. I bought a new 3com modem and (although it took over a month to set up, @Home's support stinks) now I'm upload capped at 128; still crappy, but a lot faster. Downstream is better too.
Pludo
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Adding data on top of the verizon plan is probably your best shot -- that'll give you unlimited calling to and from anywhere in Canada and the US for $60 (plan) + $30 (data) + $35 (global email) = $125. Their website says that the global email plan is only available for gsm + cdma phones, but it's also available for any of the CDMA smartphones, just not listed. Look into getting a cell phone that supports skype mobile, and for not too much you can have a Skype canadian number forwarded if anyone in Canada wants to call you. AT&T has new calling plans that support Canada, but you can't get unlimited (or even 5/6 gig) data for a decent price. Assuming you're sticking with the verizon plan anyways, the cheapest smartphone contract you can find in Canada will be about ~$75 once you add taxes and the system access fee, and you don't want to know their fees for data in the US.
If skype forwarding doesn't work or you'd like Canadians to be able to text message you, you might want to look into a cheap pay as you go phone. Canadian cell phones still charge you extra for long distance, so you'll probably find yourself calling most people on your US phone anyways.
Also, I'm not sure how long you'll be in school, but be aware that Rogers, at least, tries heavily to lock you in to a 3-year contract for most smartphones, and it's $500 to quit early that you're not going to be able to get out of even if you graduate beforehand.
The last time I needed to call IBM (to get the recovery cds for my laptop, they don't ship with them anymore...) I was quite surprised to be connected to a quite knowledgeable guy from Georgia (In the United States). Zero time on hold, took less than five minutes to get everything that I need, and I had the cds in two days.
Compare this to Toshiba, where I have not only never gotten anyone who remotely speaks English, but every repair also seems to involve shipping your laptop back to them, and waiting for two weeks for "parts" that you were told would be in stock every day for a week.
I've also heard good stories about Apple, but nothing can beat my experience with IBM so far.
Normally I don't have a problem with companies charging more for high bandwidth users, but with the way Comcast has been going lately, they haven't even been able to provide basic service to people. Whereas @home managed to keep speeds fairly good even at peak times, Comcast service intermittantly slows to a crawl at least 5 times a day, and their dns servers are constantly out. They've already capped upload and download speeds to almost nothing, now they're using their own network problems as an excuse to charge more money for the same crappy service.
It looks good, if it really is the size of, or slightly larger than the ipod, I'd definitely think of buying it. Unfortunately, it's limited to USB, which mostly negates the ability to use it as a portable hard drive/ transfer music to it quickly. If a company finds a way to release something the size of an ipod with firewire, but useable on pc's, I'd definitely get it, as it has so many uses.
Strangely, Aim filter seems to take advantage of a few exploits in AIM as well... Kinda strange recommending this.
Oh well, I guess our free reign is over.
If only we had had these back in the old days, maybe the soviet union wouldn't have collapsed afterall.
Of what use, exactly, are these open networks? My wireless station doesn't even reach outside the house, and I doubt you could boost it to cover more than a few homes. Unless you plan to let flocks of people park on your lawn and use their laptops, wouldn't the only others using it be neighbours, who will stay in one place, and let you give them access to it anyway?
I think I speak for everyone when I say... Don't these people have anything better to do?
The real question is, how many swallows does it take to carry one?
Apparently, the film would have been rated pg-13 if they showed human-like red blood, but by changing it to bubble-gummy blood, they managed to stay with a pg rating.
Pludo
http://members.home.com/pludodog/page1.htm
My friend took this from the Jersey shore with his cam, they may not be better than the news, but they're still frickin scary.
Of course, if someone found an exploit, would they report it? Or simply leave it be, and use it during the election?
I've used Comcast@home for two years and was upload capped at 16kbps. When I saw my neighbours getting upload speeds of around 100kbps I did some checking, and it turns out that most of the caps are in the modem themselves. I bought a new 3com modem and (although it took over a month to set up, @Home's support stinks) now I'm upload capped at 128; still crappy, but a lot faster. Downstream is better too. Pludo
What use does the average person have for sending email underwater?
Considering how many drivers get into accidents just fooling with a radio or cell phone, another car gadget is just what we need...
All I can say is... woof!