Messages

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2006 / Really OT: My wife's cousin was killed last week as part of a trip

« on: July 24, 2006, 09:25:58 PM »

New details, the stepmom and baby return home after seeing the segment on "America's Most Wanted".

Story here:

http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=39783

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2006 / Really OT: My wife's cousin was killed last week as part of a trip

« on: July 24, 2006, 04:31:35 PM »

Thx for the kind words gunug

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2006 / Skype for Mac

« on: July 23, 2006, 03:57:44 PM »

I enjoyed chatting with you the other day.

Concerning the headset, I guess 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'.

I don't know what the sound quality was on your end, but on mine, it was excellent.  I look forward to talking with you again.

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2006 / Really OT: My wife's cousin was killed last week as part of a trip

« on: July 23, 2006, 03:35:16 PM »

I watched the "America's Most Wanted" TV show, and coverage of the story was quite limited, it was in the "15 seconds of shame" segment.

The local Fox affiliate, in the local news that followed AMW, said that a more detailed segment would be on the show next week.

Thanks to all for the condolences.

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2006 / Really OT: My wife's cousin was killed last week as part of a trip

« on: July 22, 2006, 06:21:45 PM »

Here is a news report from a local TV station that has his picture:

http://14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?s=5163313

Click on the "Stephanie Silvey live at the Scene" link and Windows Media player will start with a report.

More details here:

http://14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?s=5167373

click on the "Family Waits, Police Track Suspect" link.

Here's the link from "America's Most Wanted' web site:

http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=39783

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2006 / OT: Humming birds

« on: July 22, 2006, 05:27:19 PM »

My mother-in-law has 33 hummingbird feeders at her place.  

It's amazing, in the evenings how many birds are around her deck.

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2006 / Really OT: My wife's cousin was killed last week as part of a trip

« on: July 22, 2006, 04:50:50 PM »

i know this is really off topic but this is one of those things you think will never happen to you.  

My wife's cousin was in the wrong place at the wrong time this week when a jealous boyfriend shot his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend and, I guess, all the witnesses to the event which included her. Three people were killed, and  some of those were knifed before being shot.

He shot a fourth person and left him for dead, but, he wasn't, and thanks to his having a cell phone, he was able to call for help and identify the killer. If he hadn't had his cell phone on him, he probably wouldn't have been found until harvest time in September, as he was in a corn field.

The killer is currently on the run right now, and may possibly be in Oregon.  Here's more on my blog:

http://my.opera.com/kadams9181/blog/

Americans can watch "America's Most Wanted" TV show at 9 PM Eastern on the Fox Network, Saturday night as the story will be featured on it.

Please keep our family in your prayers.

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2006 / Skype for Mac

« on: July 21, 2006, 05:13:08 PM »

Here's a review in Macworld that covers various VoIP programs including Skype:

http://www.macworld.com/2006/07/reviews/voip/index.php

Hope this is helpful.

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2006 / Skype for Mac

« on: July 20, 2006, 08:02:24 PM »

You must use headphones or the party on the other end will hear the sound from your speakers causing the echo that jcarter refers to. With 'phones on, there is no echo. There is a slight delay, after you speak something before the other party hears you.

I've got a headset, actually, which has a mic plus headphones, but, for some reason, the mic doesn't work in my computer, so I just use my plaintalk mic with the headphones. (it must be some of those headsets jcarter's referring to)

The quality is very good, but, when network traffic, is heavy, you will hear some audio artifacts, at times, but not enough to be annoying.  

I don't think I would replace my conventional land based phones, but, at least for the time being, all long distance calls made from my house are done through Skype.

It's really not bad at all.

10

2006 / Skype for Mac

« on: July 20, 2006, 05:17:07 PM »

I've got it. I signed up only because all computer to land based phone calls are free until the end of the year.  My mom lives 250 miles away, so our weekly communication is now free (at least until years end).

We don't have the 'Skype In' functionality, which allows people with phones to actually call my computer, just 'Skype Out' capability.  

I'm not sure what the per minute charges are, but, I think it's less than Vonage. So, it you are looking at a VoIP alternative, Skype works well, and is cheaper than the competition.

One thing though, three way calling doesn't work well unless you've got a very fast connection (I'm on a WISP).