Blitzing Fast Internet Speeds WIth Charter Ultra60

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Charter. All opinions are 100% mine.

I watched a documentary about the history of Apple Computers; it was fascinating. The best part of all, I thought, was the comparison of the Internet of 15 years ago, and the Internet of today. Holy cow, the Internet used to CRAAAAWL through the wiring back then, eh? So much has changed, and we are connected to the Internet is so many ways that were unthinkable back then. We use our computers for the kids’ education, but also for word processing, financial management, and especially now– for our entertainment. I am a real sucker for LOL Cats videos! And we create and upload a lot of videos we’ve made, share photos, listen to music, and stream movies.

It doesn’t seem that too many Internet Service Providers are keeping pace with the online demands of their consumers. Some companies are, like Charter. I’ve been watching this company for over a year now (I can’t wait until we can get service in my area); Charter has consistently listened to its customers by offering their superior service and speed. They’ve also had some very nice giveaways, too.

The latest Charter development is the Charter Ultra Fast 60, a blitzing-fast connection– one of the fastest in the U.S. It had it’s beginning in St. Louis where it was wildly successful (no surprise there), had spread to Southern California, and is FINALLY coming to the Northeast in the near future; Charter hopes to cover its own areas with this new “phatband” technology by 2010! It promises speeds up to 60 Mbps, a nice wide-open pike for sending and receiving huge files, watching movies, gaming, and more. Sweet!

You can go to the Charter website to check out the new Charter Ultra Fast 60 service, look around, see what’s new. I like Charter. I have heard only good reviews about them, and they really seem to be attuned to the customer.

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Compare Auto Insurance Quotes Online

How cool is the Internet?? So cool that you can check ONLINE and compare various auto insurance quotes. We are very thrifty with our insurance (and my husband used to work in the business for a few years). We remember those agonizing days of calling various insurance companies, harvesting lengthy information to get comparison quotes. Here in New York State, insurance (as well as everything else) is very expensive, so every hard-earned dollar counts. I hated making those yearly calls… ick!

But with the Internet and websites like PremiumAutoInsurance.net, everything is a breeze! We spent some time comparing our policy with several of the “name-brand” companies, including Liberty Mutual, Travelers, Geico, Progressive, and more. Click here to do your Free Auto Insurance Quotes online.

When you get to the page, you enter your zip code, which will show you available insurers for your area. You can choose which company you’d like to compare, and enter in your information.

All in all, Geico looks very good, and may be the best bet for us, although Progressive is pretty close and we’ll continue to keep our eyes on rates there.

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It’s a great way to compare auto quotes, to make sure you are getting the best bang for your buck. Check it out, it’s free to use, and it’s extremely convenient!

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Win a Laptop With Charter Sweepstakes

Boy, I love these things. Charter is having another sweepstakes! I’m very impressed with this company– at a time when other Internet and Cable TV communications companies are pinching pennies, raising prices, and decreasing in customer satisfaction, Charter has stepped up the plate to be a real winner with their customers. It’s a great example of what a company SHOULD do to get more people– and to get more HAPPY people. A great, great company. I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for Charter’s phenomenal high-speed Internet service to come to my area.The prices are very good, much better than what I pay right now (we are monopolized by one company available to us here in New York State).

So Charter is having another sweepstakes! It’s the Laptop-a-Day Sweepstakes. This is a very nice one– winners will get an HP 550 Notebook 15-inch with Windows Vista and a NeoTec Compu Backpack, perfect for back-to-school time. The contest is running NOW until September 15, 2009. The sweepstakes is only available to residential customers within the areas that Charter serves, however.

Charter recently had an HDTV-A-Day sweepstakes, and before that, they’ve given away laptops, Xboxes, and even a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid! (I need a new laptop, as I gave mine to my daughter for her schoolwork.) This particular laptop is a nice HP laptop, 160GB hard drive, Celeron processor, 15.4″ display– it’s a really nice model for a student or businessperson.

You can read up on all the details at the Laptop-a-Day Sweepstakes at Charter’s website. And you can also follow Charter on Twitter and see Charter on Facebook. Charter is also giving away gift cards up to $100 for folks who sign up for their services. I hope we get Charter service available soon!

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CallWave Internet Answering Machine

I wrote about discovering Phone Tray (which I will soon be reviewing), and in so doing, I was reminded of another, similar program called CallWave. I used this program extensively for several years when I had dialup Internet service. It was free (but I think either it eventually became a paid-for service, or perhaps I upgraded, I can’t remember now), and extremely convenient.

As you dialup users know, unless you have a separate phone line with a separate number, you cannot receive normal telephone calls when you are online. Your callers get a busy signal or are directed to voice mail (if your phone service offers it). For us, this was a great inconvenience. CallWave is a program that is installed on your computer, and is like an answering machine through your computer. It also came with Caller ID (a very nice feature) and voicemail that you can control right off your computer desktop.

I checked out the CallWave website, and the software has changed a bit since I stopped using it three years ago (we got DSL at that time). Apparently, there’s a 30-day free trial, but after that the charge is $7.95. I think that’s a little steep. I mean, if you were going to pay $8 more a month, you may as well spend that $8 and upgrade to DSL service, and free up your phone line plus get the high speed of DSL. But CallWave may be a God send for you folks out in rural areas, where the only thing available to you is dialup.

Anyway, it’s a neat little program. And there just may be a free version in there somewhere. Be sure to do a little digging before you make that choice to pay for it.

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Buy Car Parts Online

Is it just me, or do ALL cars eat through brake pads like sliced butter?! We are having to buy new ones every three months or so. I think that’s a lot. Our local retailers ask upwards of $60 for a brake pad set, yow. So I’m going to the Internet even for auto parts, now. BuyAutoParts.com is a new wholesaler I’ve seen– they have wholesale prices on tons of car parts for all the major auto makers. I am impressed! A set of brake pads for my Dodge minivan is only $45!! And there’s free shipping on all orders over $50. BuyAutoParts.com also guarantees a full warranty on every auto part sold. Check out the website; the company is based in California and their number is toll-free 1-888-907-7225. And one of the best things about buying auto parts online? The store is always open!

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U.S. President Can Shut Down Internet?

Yikes. This news story reports the unconscionable! Some goofy politicians want to be able to “shut down” the Internet when they declare an “state of emergency”! Outrageous!

A recently proposed but little-noticed Senate bill would allow the federal government to shut down the Internet in times of declared emergency, and enables unprecedented federal oversight of private network administration.

The bill’s draft states that “the president may order a cybersecurity emergency and order the limitation or shutdown of Internet traffic” and would give the government ongoing access to “all relevant data concerning (critical infrastructure) networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting such access.”

This is basically a suspension of the freedom of speech, or something?? Hello– the Internet is much more than a bastion of YouTube videos and diet pill reviews!! For a lot of us, the Internet is our way of communicating with the world! In a time of emergency, we need the Internet all the more! Why is it merely the Net being shut down, and not the ridiculous TV “news” shows, huh?

It seems to me that the purpose of this bill is to silence the little guy… I have yet to find out if this bill passed. If anyone knows about this, please leave a comment.

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