As summer looms, we thought it would be an appropriate time to offer a few recommendations to find savings in your Etilities.

• Switch from monthly plans to annual plans.  Many service providers offer annual payment plans which are economically advantageous over their monthly plans.  If you have a service that you aren’t planning on changing anytime soon, considering the annual payment plan may be beneficial.  In the case of Vonage (Etilities Forum) for instance, the annual pre-pay plan can save clients $59 per year.  If you are a satisfied Vonage customer, you should seriously consider it.
• Going on vacation?  It is not uncommon for individuals or families to go on vacation for several weeks at a time away from home.  What few people know is that many cables companies offer a vacation plan.  Cox Communications (Etilities Forum) for examples allows you to essentially de-activate your TV, Internet and Phone without returning your modem or worrying about termination or re-activation fees.  Instead, for a low $10 a month fee, you can simply leave your house for several months and reactivate all your services back to normal upon your return.  Some of the providers offer packages of up to 4 months which can save hundreds of dollars over the summer.
• Sign-Up for the Assistant.  By signing-up for the Etilities.Com assistant and completing your profile, we will continuously monitor the industry and evaluate savings opportunities.  If you have unique needs or specific questions about your Etilities, you may also e-mail directly at assistant@etilities.com.

Enjoy your Summer!
©2008-2009, Gallop Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

Links for Friday, May 29 2009:

• AT&T / Cingular class action gets go ahead from federal court [www.engadget.com]
• Verizon Says It Won’t Give Refunds To Storm Victims Left Without Phone Service [Stingy] [feeds.gawker.com]
• Sprint affirms Palm Pre exclusivity “through 2009″ [www.engadget.com]

These links were generated by the the etilities.com Wire, and they can be filtered based on your personal technology profile. For more information, sign up at http://assistant.etilities.com/signup

©2008-2009, Gallop Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Senate is apparently looking into shady practices of companies like Webloyalty or Vertrue. The complaint is that when consumers visit common sites such as Orbitz, Petco, Priceline and others, pop-up links offering “cash-back” often lure them into $9-$12 monthly fees without their explicit knowledge.  The Better Business Bureau has been receiving large amounts of complaints about these companies and their practices. As a response, Congress has increased pressure on the the offenders and demanded that they come explain themselves to Jay Rockefeller’s (D-WV) Senate Commerce Committee.  We applaud Congress’ effort to bring transparency to these practices.
©2008-2009, Gallop Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

Links for Thursday, May 28 2009:

• 100Mbps Comcast Coming Soon? [Rumor] [feeds.gawker.com]
• To Bing or not to Bing? Hands on with Microsoft’s new search [feeds.arstechnica.com]
• Google Wave unveiled, new live chat medium for browsers, iPhone and Android [www.engadget.com]
• Some of Google’s services may ditch their perpetual beta tag [feeds.arstechnica.com]
• Hulu Desktop app puts a remote control friendly face on for Macs & PCs [feedproxy.google.com]

These links were generated by the the etilities.com Wire, and they can be filtered based on your personal technology profile. For more information, sign up at http://assistant.etilities.com/signup

©2008-2009, Gallop Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

Links for Wednesday, May 27 2009:

• Evernote for Mac Gets Quick Look and HTML Export [feedproxy.google.com]
• Verizon Widens Availability of Its Fastest DSL-Enabled High Speed Internet Service [newscenter.verizon.com]
• AT&T to Deliver 3G Mobile Broadband Speed Boost (AT&T) [www.techmeme.com]
• TiVo Posts Loss as Revenue Sags [online.wsj.com]

These links were generated by the the etilities.com Wire, and they can be filtered based on your personal technology profile. For more information, sign up at http://assistant.etilities.com/signup

©2008-2009, Gallop Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

Links for Monday, May 25 2009:

• Sony Is Clearly Considering Digital PSP Game Rentals [Unconfirmed] [feeds.gawker.com]
• iPhone to get iTunes TV and Movies! (KwameJones’s Open Salon Blog) [www.techmeme.com]
• Cablevision Takes Away Analog Stations Before DTV Transition, Confuses Customers [Dtv Transition] [feeds.gawker.com]

These links were generated by the the etilities.com Wire, and they can be filtered based on your personal technology profile. For more information, sign up at http://assistant.etilities.com/signup

©2008-2009, Gallop Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

Links for Thursday, May 21 2009:

• Pandora One: Upgrade the Pandora Experience [blog.pandora.com]
• AT&T may introduce $20 limited iPhone data plan [feeds.digg.com]
• Hulu set for September UK launch (Emma Barnett/Telegraph) [www.techmeme.com]
• Virgin America lights up entire fleet with in-flight WiFi [www.engadget.com]
• 12TB DVDs Could Be On The Way [Storage] [feeds.gawker.com]
• Netflix comes to Windows Media Center [feeds.digg.com]
• Netflix CFO talks Watch Now selection, competition [feedproxy.google.com]

These links were generated by the the etilities.com Wire, and they can be filtered based on your personal technology profile. For more information, sign up at http://assistant.etilities.com/signup

©2008-2009, Gallop Services, Inc. All rights reserved.