AT&T will provide the subsidy unlock code to you on request for no charge (unless you own an iPhone). You can buy any phone without a contract by paying full price (often steep) or purchasing one of the prepaid plans/phones with no commitment.
I have an unlocked HTC Hermes/AT&T 8525 that I use with a prepaid plan. I paid more for the phone, but I can decide at any time to switch carriers with no penalty and keep the same phone.
While more education is definitely needed, it will be very difficult to educate an uninterested population. One of the most looming problems facing the US school system is the fact that being intelligent and passionate about learning is not "cool" - and this attitude does not seem to change after high school graduation.
Nothing would make me happier right now than to see the US population thinking about the terrorist attacks, our future course of action, and our role in world society. Unfortunately, that is happening very little. There is thoughtful talk on Usenet and on other parts of the Internet - but too little of it in the mainstream media.
The US population has let itself be trained into "trendy" thinking - not only will we need to write to our congresspeople to encourage more education, but a grass roots movement is really needed to galvanize interest in learning about world cultures and politics. Most people seem to prefer to mutter about justice and bury their heads in the sand than to really confront the situation of this past week and the broad implications of our actions. They are used to swallowing whatever popular media says - and have swalled the "Encryption is bad and must be banned" mantra hook, line, and sinker.
I don't know how to change this - although I'd love to know how. I just can't think of a way to motivate an entire population to think instead of react blindy (which can be done without "betraying" the hurt that is in our hearts).
I don't think US congresspeople will have any solution as to how to motivate people to take advantage of education, either.
Slashdot Mirror
AOL has had an SMS gateway for years, so this isn't exactly newsworthy except for it having to do with the iPhone.
AT&T will provide the subsidy unlock code to you on request for no charge (unless you own an iPhone). You can buy any phone without a contract by paying full price (often steep) or purchasing one of the prepaid plans/phones with no commitment.
I have an unlocked HTC Hermes/AT&T 8525 that I use with a prepaid plan. I paid more for the phone, but I can decide at any time to switch carriers with no penalty and keep the same phone.
While more education is definitely needed, it will be very difficult to educate an uninterested population. One of the most looming problems facing the US school system is the fact that being intelligent and passionate about learning is not "cool" - and this attitude does not seem to change after high school graduation. Nothing would make me happier right now than to see the US population thinking about the terrorist attacks, our future course of action, and our role in world society. Unfortunately, that is happening very little. There is thoughtful talk on Usenet and on other parts of the Internet - but too little of it in the mainstream media. The US population has let itself be trained into "trendy" thinking - not only will we need to write to our congresspeople to encourage more education, but a grass roots movement is really needed to galvanize interest in learning about world cultures and politics. Most people seem to prefer to mutter about justice and bury their heads in the sand than to really confront the situation of this past week and the broad implications of our actions. They are used to swallowing whatever popular media says - and have swalled the "Encryption is bad and must be banned" mantra hook, line, and sinker. I don't know how to change this - although I'd love to know how. I just can't think of a way to motivate an entire population to think instead of react blindy (which can be done without "betraying" the hurt that is in our hearts). I don't think US congresspeople will have any solution as to how to motivate people to take advantage of education, either.