To avoid being scammed with countless pre-paid calling cards everywhere take a peak into these quality tips before deciding to buy one.

Low in propaganda and mystery, look for cheap rates. there are pre-paid calling cards out there that have low rates, attractive prints, no monthly fees and cheap plans for calls but there is a lot of complicated information that are still hidden on their websites. It could be a low calling rate if the call is made within the state but the rates goes extremely high for out of state calls. Look at the per call charge, 3 minute rounding, connection fees, and long talk time charges.

Excellent customer service. When there’s a problem, contacting the customer service should never be a problem. There must be no auto response telling the caller that they will try to do a call back within forty eight hours. Why? Because after forty eight long hours, a caller will just end up still waiting.

There is an enticement to switch the current local phone company to the pre-paid calling card’s sister phone company. There are pre-paid calling card companies that will ask the users to switch their phone providers to their mother company with an agreement to stay for twelve or twenty four months. If this is considered, check out the termination fees that will be applied if ever their service is not a quality.

Check out the expiration policy: Pre-paid calling cards have expiration indeed. But check out those that will expire only within thirty days if the card is not used. These calling cards do not care whether the user is on a vacation or is just saving the calls for more important occasions, they just deactivate the card and that’s it!

Fuzzy billing: Some pre-paid calling cards have a lot of teasers to offer that do not really help but just bugs the mind of the user. Be wise and use the calculator. Add the taxes and the fees that come with the card.

Watch out for the very expensive international calls. Heaven forbid if you decide to dial international number and call your parents or loved ones overseas, you will realize that your talk time is speedy talk time so that you can finish your conversation.

Mind boggling plans and more plans: As soon as a pre-paid calling card is chosen, the next dilemma will be, which plan to choose. It is so hard to understand the perks for each plan. There are double or triple plans, night plans, day plans, weekend plans and even unlimited plans. Pick the best plan that will go well with the chosen lifestyle.

Best and fun features: PIN numbers specially those that promote the privacy and security of the user is highly important. This is more needed when making long distance and international calls. But beware, there are pre-paid calling cards that ask for eight or ten PIN numbers, and this is a waste of time for callers who make a lot of calls.

One time use cards. Avoid this! It’s frustrating to know in the end that the calling card is not enough to make another call after the first call.

As someone who works in the telecommunications industry, I am well aware that monopolies in a free market society will ultimately be forced to divest themselves of their stranglehold on competition, and deliver products that meet consumers' needs at prices they can afford.

This divestiture will take place by hook or by crook, or more specifically as it applied to telecommunications and the break-up of the Bell Companies, by enforcement of anti-trust regulation, by new technology, and by downward market pricing pressures.

This is why telecom companies who used to charge upwards of $1 per minute for some calls are scrambling to get you to sign on to their services for a mere .05 per minute, and why upstarts like Vonage who use the Internet to relay voice calls at a song are throwing a wrench in everyone's process.

The Cable TV industry, alas, is one reigning monopoly that still survives, and has been given a free pass on market pricing, technology and consumer choice.

Consider the brouhaha that the industry--and some critics--have raised over the FCC's decision to review the possibility of "a la carte cable" offerings. This is the simple, and sensible, idea that consumers should be able to choose their own cable channels and build their own packages, rather than rely on Cable's fixed, bundled offerings that force consumers to receive channels they don't want.

Some broadcasters of the more "undesirable" channels claim that if consumers get to choose only the channels they want, these ugly duckling channels would be forced out of business...because no one would choose them!

Well…

That's why it's called a free market economy, stupid!

And as I said, these broadcasters are getting a free pass. My opinion is that if the American public thinks you have no reason to be--and they will vote with their wallet--then either you provide more desirable programming or find some other line of business.

Choice is what a free market economy is about, and consumers should have a choice in the channels they want to receive.

Telling me, "Well, you can just block out the channels you don't like" is not the answer; because I am still paying for those channels I don't want.

The Cable industry claims that apart from the bundling, we would be forced to pay higher prices for a la carte offerings.

Not if they drop the channels that no one wants. That's less overhead right there.

As I said, technology and market forces will ultimately force these cable operators to offer a la carte offerings. Technology is giving us video on demand, and movies and TV shows that you can pay to download to your computer.

Is this not, in principle, the idea behind a la carte? And it is happening already. Technology is taking the lead, as it continues to do so in the telecom industry.

And technology will ultimately prevail with cable as well.

When most people think of electronics, they think of audiovisual devices like cameras, computers, TVs, and recorders. Spy electronics also encompass all of things. The main difference is that while all of the above items are mainly used for entertainment purposes, spy electronics are meant to be used in surveillance. These electronics can be very technologically advanced, and some of them can be so well disguised that others do not even realize that they are being watched or listened to.

Spy electronics are necessary to make the whole surveillance profession work. After all, if you do not have recording equipment, or equipment to recover the recordings, then it is no good. You cannot perform effective surveillance. Additionally, electronics in places like command centers and control rooms are what coordinate the efforts of individual pieces of electronic equipment and they also direct the surveillance efforts. In today’s world, the professional needs electronics to be an effective bounty hunter or private investigator.

Spy electronics are not only necessary for people like PIs and bounty hunters. The military makes extensive use of these things. Indeed, their electronic spy devices include things like unmanned spy planes and prototypes for other high tech equipment. Police and government intelligence agencies also make heavy use of spy electronics. Wiretaps and the equipment to listen to what is heard fall into the category of electronics. Other forms of surveillance, such as cameras and other listening devices are also necessary.

Other spy electronics that also perform useful functions include TVs and other screens that display information and computers that keep track of tracking devices and maps. Additionally, computers can direct remote cameras to find new angles and they can also record information and display it a way that is more useful to the user. There is no doubt that computers are becoming very important pieces of electronic equipment that can be used for surveillance purposes.

Without spy electronics, the possibilities for evidence and intelligence gathering, whether for national security or for your divorce case, would be much more limited. Technology has made it possible with a variety of advancements to find out just about anything that you might need to know to help you maintain your quality of life. And it is all made possible with information gathered and analyzed with the aid of spy electronics.

If you want to make the move from surveillance amateur to surveillance professional, you need high tech spy equipment. The best private investigators and bounty hunters use the best available spy equipment and bring in the results. Not only can good equipment help you improve your results, it also provides an impressive display of prowess and ability. Clients and potential customers alike will be impressed, and your reputation as a true professional that can get the job done spreads.

The best spy equipment, however, is not cheap. You will probably not get away with spending a couple thousand dollars to get professional grade equipment. When you purchase a superior system that comes with portable DVR, ability to remotely check on your cameras, and multi-channel capability, you will spend close to $10,000. You can spend as little as $3,000 or $4,000, but these models lack some of the more advanced features that will prove to your potential clients that you have what it takes to get the job done.

Other high tech spy equipment includes location trackers that allow you to follow your subject in real time and pull up a location history. Cheap location trackers that simply tell you where someone is at the time are abundant, but they do not keep track of history; you have to do that yourself, rather than work on another project at the same time. An advanced tracker hooked up to your advanced system allows you to periodically see where the subject is, and to find out where he or she has been.

High tech spy equipment also encompasses small hidden cameras that look like ordinary objects, portable bugs that allow you to hear in digital quality, and wireless systems that allow you to have a mobile base. You can check in on your cases from anywhere. When you have high quality equipment, your surveillance is more accurate and more efficient. It also instills your customers with a sense of confidence in your abilities.

Professional spy equipment is just like any other business expense. You need to spend money in order to get the best, and you will receive a return on your investment. So, if you are ready to be a true surveillance professional, upgrade your spy equipment.

If you are looking for the best mobile deals available in the market, the Orange mobile deals are the right kind to suit you. Among the best deals by Orange, you can benefit from the Pay Monthly phones and tariffs, and the Pay As You Go phones and tariffs. With the great value plans or Pay Monthly offer by Orange phone network, you can get promotional packages including Panther, Canary, Racoon, and Dolphin with unlimited evening and weekend mobile internet browsing for 2 months. The Pay As You Go offer avails you up to 50% bonus top-up, where you can get up to 1000 Orange texts or up to 50% of your credit back. You can even shop online at Orange for a Pay Monthly or Pay As You Go phone including a vast range of smart accessories.

You can get up to 12 months free line rental and ½ price line rental with Orange on different mobile phones available on the Orange mobile network ranging from Nokia, Samsung including Orange itself to Sony Eriksson, Motorola and LG. You can also get access to unlimited fast broadband up to 8 Meg speed with free livebox wireless modem on selected mobile phones.

Some of the best Orange mobile deals include special offers up to 50% extra minutes and texts every month, unlimited free calls to your magic numbers, unlimited off-peak mobile internet for 2 months, free TV for 2 months, on the selected handsets of Sony Ericsson K800i, Motorola V3i and Nokia 7380 under the plan of Dolphin £35 - 18 months. On Motorola U6 PEBL and Motorola L6 Pink handsets, you can get up to 50% extra credit available when you top-up and up to 1000 free texts. The new animal tariff plans launched for October offer you free connection, 3 months free insurance and free accessories on all the Orange mobile phones.

A plethora of advertisements on the Internet and magazines these days can make for a confusing and complicated decision regarding which prepaid calling card to purchase. Prepaid calling cards are intended for utility while being away from the home city or hometown for an excursion or business trip somewhere else. These handy accessories are designed to provide ease in calling from most phones as well as affordability by slashing those astounding charges or surcharges tolled by hoteliers in most tourist attractions. Usually, the prepaid phone card calling rates are as good as to those imposed by major telecom companies such as AT&T, Sprint, and MCI WorldCom. These telecom giants levy users within the range of 69 to 89 cents per minute for long distance calls with an additional surcharge if not renewed monthly.

Contrary to expectations, schemes for paying a monthly subscription dramatically bring down calling card costs. For instance, a monthly fee of $2 to MCI will slash down prepaid calling card rates to just 15 cents per minute; a monthly fee of $1 to AT&T will cut it down to 25 cents per minute; Sprint is offering dime-a-minute deals on prepaid calling cards for a monthly subscription of a whopping $10.95. This is the main reason that prepaid calling-cards with rates hovering around a penny per minute are becoming more and more preferred by many users each day.

Owing to a deliberately deregulated telecommunication market, many prepaid calling card companies that offer really cheap rates have sprung up. Furthermore, because of a very tight competition within the calling card industry, many companies use marketing perks in order to entice customers. One need to be aware about scams out there and thus should be careful in selecting a prepaid calling card to buy. The primary difficulty that is confronted by many people today is to choosing the best-valued prepaid calling card among numerous providers. “Best-valued” implies the lowest final cost of a call. Cheap calling rate does not necessarily mean low final cost because some deals are subject to hidden charges and surcharges.

The disadvantage of using a prepaid calling card is that, before one dials a destination number there is a need to dial a special 1-800 number and a long PIN that can hardly ever be memorized. Yet in spite of this minor hassle, prepaid calling cards are very popular among international callers because of the low calling costs that they charge. There are three basic things one should learn about prepaid calling cards in order to be aware of neglected aspects while or before using them. Many prepaid calling cards charge a standard connection fee for every successfully connected call on top of the per minute rate charges. However, if a prepaid calling card is used to make long calls. The longer a call is, the lower its cost per minute. Thus, it turns out that using prepaid calling cards render a less per minute cost because of a fixed connection cost that typically is at 49 cents. Lastly, whenever you make a call using these cards, a computer advises you about the status of the card, i.e., how much airtime credits are still available.

Are you missing somebody at home? Or is your sweetheart out of the country? The best way to make international long-distance calls is by using an international calling card. Such telephone cards were introduced to make long distance calls simple and effortless. But they have slowly developed into the cheapest way of making telephone calls from one country to another, owing to the increase in the number of private telecom companies and their price wars.

Before the advent of calling cards, it required a lot of time, money and preparation to make an international call, and involved contemplation on how much should be spent, how to convey maximum information in the shortest time, and how many minutes that would take.

Today’s international calling cards are activated either by entering a pin number into a toll free number, or by placing a call from a number that is pre-registered. A secret pin number can be used to activate some cards. Others use a combination of any of these methods. You can pay for these cards online, or by cash or credit cards. Many cards are prepaid and will automatically hang up once you have used the allocated amount of time. But there are some calling cards that allow you to extend the time of call by paying extra, even after the allocated amount is used up.

There are many calling card operators on the web as well as in your neighborhood. You need to be judicious while buying a card, and choose your operator prudently. You have to check the reliability, rates and time slabs offered by each operator and for different countries. Customer service standards of the operator have to be taken into consideration; also, avoid any problematic pin codes or disrupted voice lines.

For sometime, I have been looking at this phenomena wondering if I am right. I seem to hear more xxx language these days especially out in public. Some of these foul words have become ‘in’. They have a new meaning to the younger generation. They are used as part of everyday conversation.

In the past, this language was limited to times of frustration and anger. Now, cursing is just part of everyday speech. This is causing us to become oblivious to the actual amount of cussing going around. This is bringing the profanity that, at one time, was hidden in the shadows of conversations, into daylight.

According to Donna Jo Napoli, a professor of linguistics at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, young people are more likely to use the ‘f-bomb’ in friendly context as opposed to cursing someone out or using it to be mean. The Associated Press took a poll recently and determined that forty-two percent of people hear cursing and swearing in the public. Sixty-seven percent of those polled thought this is much more often that what they heard twenty years ago. More than thirty-six percent said they were bothered a lot when they heard the profanity in public.

The shift in language began in the 1960s. This was a time of new movements and a push for more individual freedom and equality. Language has become more casual. Our children hear this daily. Since we are the caretakers of our youth, I believe we should set a better example. I personally do not appreciate hearing foul language in everyday speech. There is a time and place for everything. I don’t believe in subjecting others to profanity.