Web Site of Joe Budelis

View my:
Residential and small business Telecommunications site at: Persimmon.homestead.com
Medium to large business Telecommunications site at: T1Guy.net
Personal blog at: joebudelis.blogspot.com
Telecommunications blog at: persimmontelecom.blogspot.com
Linked in Profile at: www.linkedin.com/in/joebudelis

Useful Info:
Below is some info that may be of interest to you. I welcome your feedback and comments. E-mail me.

Best Phone and other Telecom Services
Lots of Telecommunications offers that you see have Gotchas in the small print, e.g. 1.9 cents per minute long distance with a minimum of 10 or 20 minutes per call, or 1.9 cents per minute for out-of-state calls but an unstated large cost for in-state calls. I found a company that has volume contracts with a number of Telecommunications firms allowing agents to offer low rates to everyone. I've become an agent. Go to http://Persimmon.homestead.com to review options and to sign up for one of the cost effective services. Run the Best Rate Calculator for your situation or contact me if you would like me to help you choose the best service for your needs. The future solution for telephone needs appears to be VoIP service. If you have a high speed internet connection, this is probably the best solution for your phone needs. If you don't have a high speed internet connection, see the latter part of the next paragraph. I use VoIP service for my outgoing calls.

Best Internet Access Options
You can find which residential Internet Access options are available at your location at Residential High Speed Internet Service Providers. For business high speed internet access, check your options at T1 Guy. There are more Internet Access options available than most people would suspect. However, what is available to you, depends on your location! Let me know if you would like more info on any of these options.

Cloud Computing – Access your files anywhere
By installing Dropbox on your computer, you can have files on your computer stored in “the cloud” and thus instantly accessible from any device that can access the web. Dropbox keeps your files up-to-date; whenever a change is made on any of the devices tied in to Dropbox, Dropbox automatically updates the files on other connected devices. Also, you can place files in a public folder to share them with others. Dropbox gives you 2 K of storage for free. By referring others to Dropbox, you can increase the free amount. Join Dropbox via a link in this paragraph so that my free space is increased. I’m glad to bring this info to you and I thank you for using me as your referral.

Free Directory Assistance
When you need directory assistance, simply dial 1 800 GOOG-411 or 1-800-466-4411 without incurring any charge except for cell phone minutes if you call from a cell phone. It works great and there is no charge at all. Cell phone companies are charging $1.50 or more for 411 calls.

The New PayPal
Revolution Money is better than PayPal in so much as it's free to send and receive money between MoneyExchange accountholders, and it's free to transfer money to your bank account. With "venture capital funding from Citi, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Revolution LLC, and a world-class Board of Directors", including Steve Case, former Chairman of AOL Time Warner, "Revolution Money has strong financial resources and leadership to compete and grow". The only disadvantage that I see is that you don't receive interest on any monies that sit in your account. Click this button to sign-up.

Other Web Resources that you may find of interest
On my Telecommunications Internet Marketing site, I've put together a page of Resources that I've found to be of interest; maybe some of them will be of value to you.

Discounts at Barnes & Noble and Borders
If you have your own business, apply for corporate membership at Barnes & Noble and at Borders. They will then give you 10 to 15% discounts and even higher on large purchases.

How to get a good deal on Borrowing Money
You can borrow up to $25,000 at competitive rates via a people-to-people bidding approach. There is a web site that allows thousands of lenders to bid for your loan. Go to https://www.prosper.com/referrals/all.aspx?utm_content=link&utm_campaign=referrals-all&utm_medium=referral-link&utm_source=referrer-JoeBee to sign-up at no cost and to view the options.

Backup you PC Data Automatically for Free
If you have had a disk drive fail or a serious virus or other malware take over your computer, you probably know all too well the importance of having a backup copy of important files on your disk drive. There are two services which provide free, remote backups of files on your PC or MAC. Both services also offer additional storage and services on a paid basis.
Mozy is backup service established in 2005 that offers 2 GB of backup free. Use the link in the previous sentence and you will be given free backups for 2 GB of your data. Each time you refer a new person to Mozy, your Mozy storage will be increased by 250 KB. Mozy offers many options; I have it set to backup my important files early in the AM every day.
IDrive is a another backup service which offers 5 GB of backup free to start. Each time you refer a new person to IDrive, your IDrive storage is increased by 1 GB. I plan to back up on IDrive some files that aren't backed up on Mozy.
If you haven't already done so, you should read the paragraph above on Cloud Computing.

How to avoid getting hooked
Millions of people have gotten "urgent" emails asking them to take immediate action to prevent some impending disaster. "Our bank has a new security system. Update your information now or you won't be able to access your account," or "We couldn't verify your information; click here to update your account." Sometimes the email claims that there is a significant sum of money that you might obtain, as in "The sum of $30,000,000 is going to go to the Government unless you help me transfer it to your bank account." Read this Google Security blog entry and avoid falling for such schemes.

How to use the Internet more safely
Sadly, the problems and hazards on the Internet have reached a point where even casual PC users need to be informed of the defensive measures that are needed. An associate of mine has created this Web site (linked to via the title of this paragraph) to help the average PC user make full and safe use of the Internet. It is a collection of pages outlining defenses against the various threats and annoyances and the steps that can be taken to ensure that we continue to enjoy the Internet. If you do not have a software Firewall, or even if you do, you should consider using Comodo Internet Security, a security application that includes a firewall and antivirus protection. At Spyware Quiz, there is a 5 question quiz to test and/or reinforce your understanding of spyware. You should periodically run more than one antispyware program on your PC. One to consider is Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware which I use.

How to inform Correspondents of your New Email Address
This link takes you to a web service that can help family, friends and other correspondents find your new Email address. First, you should inform everyone you can think of about your Email address change. However, by registering with this service, those who did not receive or read your notification, are able to find your new Email ID. You are given the option of who will receive the new address before it is sent to them.

How to Obtain Free High Quality Books Legally
WOWIO allows you to download high quality ebooks free. These include new releases, textbooks, and a vast variety of choices. Of course, nothing is completely free. You will be subject to some ads but it doesn't seem to be obtrusive. You also must provide identity verification as explained on their site.

How to Obtain Free Useful Software and Programs
FileHippo is a good source of free software that is useful for your PC. It's a one stop site for links to free Anti-Spyware, Browsers and Plugins, Audio and Video, AntiVirus, Firewalls and Security, File Transfer, Drivers and many other programs.

Coupons, Freebies and Tips
This site gives good tips for saving money. It offers deals, coupons, freebies and tips on saving. The one complaint is that some of the offers are still listed after they have expired. However, if you have some spare time to spend browsing this site, you are sure to find some ways that will save you some money.

Free Things
This site matches people who no longer have a need for things with people who can use them. The Freecycle Network is made up of people who offer for free items that they would otherwise discard which would result in our landfills growing in size. It's amazing how often you can find something of use to you which someone else no longer wants.


Info on Safely Forwarding Jokes and Other Interesting Material:
I've written a page that explains how you can forward E-Mails to your friends and relatives safely and courteously, that is, with minimum likelihood of adding your E-Mail ID and that of your friends (originators or senders) to spammers' lists.