Posts Tagged ‘Choices’

…that is free? i would go back to land line if it wasn’t AT&T. I just don’t like them they have awful customer service.

If you’re browsing the internet in search of a satellite radio service for the US and Canada, then you need only check two websites: Sirius and XMRadio. These two giants are your only options and yet you’ll notice striking similarities between the two websites’ design, the product pricing and the programmer’s stations.

Rumors have been flying around that Sirius and XM will form a ground-breaking merger this year, uniting all 14+ million customers under one banner. However, as of right now, you’ll need to know what makes each slightly unique.

Country Music Fans may favor the XM Radio satellite service, which provides listeners with two extra stations – one focusing on Americana Country like Robert Plant or Blackfoot, and the other focusing on Folk Country like Tim Garrison and The Nitty Gritty Band. Both stations have country music from the 80s and 90s, new country, bluegrass and classic country.

Christian Music Fans may favor XM one. This service includes one more Christian music channel than Sirius – in addition to Christian Pop / Rock and Gospel, XM also hosts a Southern Gospel channel with Gold City, Greater Vision and The McKarneys.

Electronic Music Fans will prefer the Sirius service if they’d like a Breakbeat/Old SKool station, in addition to the usual Trance/Progressive stations that both satellite radio services provide. XM has exclusive rights to acclaimed BPM, but Sirius has a special Dance Hits station.

Rock Music Fans will probably prefer Sirius. While XM provides four different “alternative radio” stations, a punk station, a heavy metal station, a jam bands station, a college indie station and three classic rock stations, Sirius gives subscribers roughly 23 stations with everything that XM’s service has — plus New Wave, Glam Metal, Jimmy Buffet, Grateful Dead, Elvis, Canadian rock, UK rock, Garage, 60s Rock, 70s Rock and an additional punk/ska station.

World Music Fans will find that both service providers offering two French stations, but Spanish-speaking subscribers will find XM the better option, since they offer Rock En Espanol, Regional Mexican, Latin Pop, Latin Jazz, Hispanic Rhythmic and Spanish AC. Sirius, on the other hand, has only one Spanish music station for Latin Pop. Additionally, XM has a station for African and a business station in Italian.

Rap and Hip Hop Fans may prefer XM because their service focuses on more Soul and Funk, along with uncensored Hip Hop and Urban Contemporary — unless they’re big Slim Shady fans, in which case they may need Sirius Radio’s Eminem station.

In some ways, XM Radio caters to the aging population with Good Morning America, Casey Casem’s Top 40 Countdown, Theme Time with Bob Dylan and Wolfman Jack. On the other hand, Sirius Radio goes after the 20-somethings crowd with Bam Marguera, Howard Stern, Jamie Foxx and Tony Hawk shows. However, both satellite radio service providers are likely to give you something you can enjoy.

Sports Fans will find many similarities in XM and Sirius service options. For instance, both providers have ESPN, Nascar and NHL exclusives, as well as both college and NFL football. XM gives better golf / PGA Tour coverage and Fox Sports, while Sirius gives better NBA coverage. On XM, catch shows with Jimmy Johnson, Dale Jr, Coach K, James Carville, Luke Russert and Cal Ripkin.

With the Delphi SkiFi2 radio, you can get a sports ticker to show game scores on your display screen and the SportsCaster comes with 30 sports presets programmed in. However, Sirius gives you game alerts, 30 presets and lists all your favorite teams in one category with the Sportster and Streamer satellite radios. Additionally, get exclusive programming with Jerry Rice, Daryl Johnston, Randy Cross, Adam Schein, Shannon Sharpe, Ray Evernham, Tony Stewart, Rick Ackerman and Frank Isola.

Whichever satellite radio service you prefer, you’ll be surprised to find that both are competitively priced at $13/month and most of the radio components cost from $20 – $200. However, which ever service you choose for now, you will still need to purchase a satellite radio receiver and luckily, most of the satellite radios will work in your home and in your car.

The voice over internet protocol (VOIP) telephone system is a great model of how advances in one field of technology often go hand in hand with advancement in other areas. VOIP is an advancement made possible by computer technology that has directly affected phone systems, as well. While this type of phone system may seem foreign to many consumers, most people are aware of some type of VOIP provider, even if they don’t know it. Lingo, SunRocket, and Vonage are three providers of VOIP services that are relatively well known among many consumers.

The difference between a VOIP telephone system and a regular telephone system can be confusing for many people. Traditional phone calls work by sending “analog audio signals” via fiber optics that is provided by a traditional telephone company. The fiber optics is basically a fancy description of telephone lines, while the “analog audio signals” becomes the voices that are exchanged during a conversation. This is how a traditional telephone call works, whether it is over a land based line, or a cellular phone.

The way that VOIP works is that instead of using a system of “analog audio signals” to transmit voices, the VOIP system uses a method that causes it to switch data packets to different channels, depending on which one is the most open at the time. So unlike a regular phone system that has to have a dedicated channel to make or receive calls, a VOIP system can make use of any channel that happens to be open at the time the call is made. For many individuals, as well as many businesses, a VOIP system is cheaper because the method of making calls doesn’t require payment for set lines or an expensive per minute long distance rate.

VOIP saves the most money for individuals who tend to make a lot of long distance calls. The reason for this is that long distance calls with a regular telephone plan have a per minute charge, while that is not true with VOIP phones.

This can make this type of telephone system valuable not only for a family, but also for more and more businesses who are switching over to this system not only because it saves money, but for many types of phone calls the VOIP system is more efficient.

The main concern many people have when considering switching to a VOIP telephone system is that most people think of VOIP as solely computer to computer. This is one type of VOIP phone system, but it is not the only one!

There are phones that are basically ordinary telephones, they simply connect to a computer that’s on instead of getting plugged into a wall. There are also “Wi-Fi” phones, which work like cellular phones but use Internet and wireless hot spots instead of cell phone towers to connect calls.

VOIP telephone system technology is not perfect by any means, but it is highly effective and like all technologies, as it becomes increasingly popular with both homes and businesses the features and service will continue to improve as the new improved phone system replaces the old.