250MB free ADSL bandwidth (and free unlimited Dialup)

Get 250MB free ADSL usage from this newly launched service (26Nov)... but are there any catches? HTT analyses the "Save More" offer in detail and mentions the other plans on offer.

Obviously, this business model relies on the users running out (or growing out) of the first free 250MB and then topping up the MB, or switching to other packages: MaxiSave Lite, MaxiSave Plus.

ADSL accounts are free for the first 250MB. Dial-up access is free and unlimited.

See here for the MyISP offer: http://www.myisp.co.za/

Summary + things to be aware of on the Free plan:

* Free Unlimited Dial-up

* Free 250MB ADSL usage

* Topups: R60 for additional 500MB (= 12c/MB) --> called "SaveMore".

* there's no email box nor other services (web space, hosting, etc)

* Use it or lose it? {topup bandwidth is probably lost if unused at month end}
* Support line is an 0861 number (charged at about cell phone rates)

* www.myisp.co.za doesn't mention that the 250MB is allocated free per month - so perhaps it's a once off free allocation - thereafter you might need to pay R60 per 500MB! Altho the MyBroadband article (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Broadband/6152.html) does mention that this is a per month free allocation

* no email box (use the free and excellent www.gmail.com - unless you're sensitive about privacy/"BigBrother" issues)

HTT's summary on the free offer:

* Sounds like a good idea - tech savvy people might switch to get the first 250MB free - that will save them about R17 per month. Thereafter they will probably switch back to their R70 per GB account (eg: WebAfrica or other)

* Free dialup will be attractive to all that still access the Internet using dialup (but then you will need to subscribe to a free email provider)

Other plans on offer:

MaxiSave Lite:

* Free Unlimited Dial-up

* Free 300MB ADSL usage

* Compulsory 1x mailbox @ R29 per month

* Topups: 500MB @ R55 (=11c/MB)

MaxiSave Plus:

* Free Unlimited Dial-up

* Free 300MB ADSL usage, thereafter pay-as-U-use @ 10c/MB {cutoff at 1000MB}

* Compulsory 1x mailbox @ R29 per month

Minor issue: topups listed per MB (not per GB). 1GB is not 1000MB (it's actually 1024 MB)

Read more...

See here for an article including an interview with Leon Gerber (MyISP's director): http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Broadband/6152.html

See here for a forum discussions on the offer:
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=147839&page=2
http://forums.prophecy.co.za/f76/myisp-free-internet-57846/

See here for other HTT articles on ADSL accounts:

If you're not using WebAfrica's ADSL ISP then you ARE paying too much! R70/GB [that's 7c per MB!]: NO "use-it-or-lose-it" http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/01/if-youre-not-using-webafricas-adsl-isp.html

Stop throwing away unused ADSL bandwidth at the end of every month.... http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/07/stop-throwing-away-unused-adsl.html

Cheap, very cheap is not so cheap! False Advertising! I'm getting really P'd off hearing that ADSL-ad on CapeTalk all the time! http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/09/cheap-very-cheap-is-not-so-cheap-false.html

Use your cell phone's free minutes to make international calls

Further to the posting "Make a CellC call and speak to over 60 international countries for no extra cost", here's an even better deal that allows you to use your free minutes: http://www.mybottomline.co.za

Dial 087 94 12345 from your mobile phone (not Telkom) followed by your international number to over 90 fixed-line international destinations.

No hidden costs, no contract, no catches

See here if your destination is covered:

http://www.mybottomline.co.za/LetsTalkMoney.aspx

Here's HTT's latest "calculator": how to choose your Discovery Health Plan and how much will it be?

Yes, it’s that time of the year again – time to choose your Discovery Health plan….all those options and all that paperwork to read and understand…..

This article might save you a lot of reading and paging through all the web pages on the Discovery web site.

The http://www.discovery.co.za/ web site contains detailed information about each plan and the costs. I have created most of these to pdf files {email me for these pdf files [1.1MB]: handytechtipper at gmail.com

I have collated all the information on the various plans into a spreadsheet which takes into account the number of people in your family and allows you to compare the actual cost of each plan.

Download the calculator: DiscoveryOptions2009calculator.zip

Narrowing your choice of plan:

Use the pyramids to compare the plans - note the missing parts of the pyramids to see "what's missing" from each plan. Note too, that the size of each segment shows smaller ATBs and larger SPGs

So, if you want a plan with "out of hospital" cover, then you need a plan that has an MSA (Medical Savings Account) - so don't choose the Core plans (since Core plans don't provide MSA).

If you need that "parachute" to kick in when out of hospital expenses get too much then you need a plan that offers the ATB facility (Above Threshold Benefit): so select from the Executive, Comprehensive or Priority plans (either: Executive, Classic Comprehensive, Essential Comprehensive, Classic Priority or Essential Priority). Note: Priority plan has "limited ATB"

The Self Payment Gap is the amount that you need to pay once you have run out of MSA.

If you want a small SPG (Self Payment Gap) then you need to select a Comprehensive plan

If you want zero SPG (Self Payment Gap) then you need to select the Executive plan (as you can see the smaller the gap, the more expensive the plan becomes)

The DeltaSaver plans are similar to the Saver plans; and the DeltaCore plans are similar to the Core plans except (mainly) that you are limited to the Delta network of hospitals (and you pay 25% less)

Using the spreadsheet (Figures2009 worksheet):

[Please read the disclaimer at the top of the spreadsheet]

Modify the following “purple” cells to suit your situation i.e. number of dependants, Vitality, Discovery card (and type and travel points benefit).

Compiling the spreadsheet has highlighted some points which I did not understand previously and I am sure the following pointers will assist you in choosing which plan is best for you:

· There are 8 categories of cover: Executive, Comprehensive, Priority, Saver, Delta Saver, Core, Delta Core and KeyCare.

· These categories sometimes have sub-categories: Classic, Essential and Coastal

· The "Saver" and “Core” plans are cheaper mainly because they have no ATB (Above Threshold Benefit) which means when your out-of-hospital expenses have used up your MSA (Medical Savings Account) then you will need to pay all out of hospital costs out of your (after tax) pocket. All the other plans have an ATB which kicks in as soon as you have paid a certain amount (the “gap”).

· The “Priority” plans are cheaper mainly because they have co-payments for some hospital procedures (see DiscoveryPrioritySeries2009.pdf for details)

· If you only need a ‘hospital plan’, then the “core” or "saver" plans are for you… "Core" have no MSA nor ATB and "Saver" plans have a small MSA - remember that out of hospital expenses can add up very quickly e.g. MRI scans etc. and can wipe out the monthly savings of being on a cheaper plan (although a maximum of R1,800 will be paid out of your MSA (or out of your pocket if you're on the "Core" plan), the remainder comes out of your in-hospital benefit)

· “Classic” and “Essential” plans have almost the same in-hospital cover except for the rate paid: Classic pays up to 300% of the Discovery Health rate while Essential pays up to the Discovery Health rate. [In my experience, the doctors will charge the maximum that they can! So, if you have cover for the 300% then that’s what they’ll charge. It is no indication of their “rate”]

· The MSA amount is now fixed according to the plan you're on (25% or 15% of your contribution).

· The “prescribed medicine” sub-limit (see “TabularComparePlans2009” worksheet) has some widely differing benefits so study these carefully when selecting your plan.

· Go to: https://www.discoveryworld.co.za ->Your Health Plan->Benefits & Cover->Benefits Used and see your current year’s benefit usage to give you an idea of what cover you have used this year. (Note: the past usage is no indication of next year’s needs) See here for other HTT (HandyTechTipper) calculators: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/search?q=calculator See here for more info on Discovery: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/search?q=discovery

To all you surf watchers out there, ever wanted to know if/when the surf’s up?

Well this site is for you: WindGuru {will take you to Strand beach's info}

Shows lots of information like: wind speed and direction, wave height, temperature, wave period (in secs), etc.

Remove ads from your webpage printouts for free

Ever print a webpage only to find your printout is full of ads, empty space and other junk you don't want? PrintWhatYouLike (for free) is a free webpage editor that gives you control of how web pages look when printed.

Try it out by clicking here: http://www.printwhatyoulike.com/print?url=www.printwhatyoulike.com

Stop theft now! Register your cell phone for free and your laptop for R50 per year

Register your cell phone for free here: http://www.itcrimes.co.za/cellreg.htm
Register the rest of your household goods for free here: Tagga
Register your laptop for R50 per year: http://www.itcrimes.co.za
This web site collects all sorts of information from your laptop e.g. Mac address, HDD serial number, motherboard serial number, and more….

When stolen laptops are recovered, the hardware is scanned and matched with the database and returned to the rightful owners.
This initiative was founded with the aim of eliminating the theft of computer equipment throughout South Africa.

By partnering Government, South African Police Service, Insurance Companies, Second-hand Dealers and YOU the Taxpayer, ITCrimes have made it their mission to declare WAR on Computer/Laptop and Cellphone THEFT...

See here for more Tagga posts: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/search?q=tagga

Send SMSs anywhere in the world for FREE! (OK, you pay <1c for the GPRS costs)

Powered by advertising, now you can send a text message to any cell phone in the world for free.

Mobile web portal mjoy.com is offering a groundbreaking new service: from now on, any cellphone user can send messages to any phone in the world, unlimited, to all countries and completely free of charge.

I couldn't figure out the details of what was involved by reading their web site, so I decided to try it out, and sure enough I could send free SMSs to cell phones for free! The delivery was almost immediate as well - so, so far, I'm pretty impressed.

Oh, 1 more thing - the text messages have no character limit!

The process was simple. Here's what I had to do:

1) Once you've set up your cell phone for GPRS use (here are some instructions: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/03/in-this-day-and-age-im-amazed-by-low.html) open your cell phone's Internet browser and connect to http://www.mjoy.com

2) Click on "Join" and fill in your details: Country, cell number

3) Mjoy will then send an SMS to your cell phone with a URL that you need to follow to activate your account

4) Open the SMS, and click on the URL - your browser should open and you'll be taken to Step 3 of the registration process: Choose a nickname and password, then click on "Send me the link".

5) You should then get a "Registration successful" message, then click on the "Login" button, then "Home" button

6) Bookmark this page for future use

7) To send SMSs, click on the "Free Text" button, then on "New Message" and fill in the destination cell number and message, then click "Send"

The recipient will receive your text message along with an advert like "I am texting for FREE with http://mjoy.com"

(Seems like if you are registered on mjoy, then you don't actually receive the text message - you receive a message pointing you to your InBox on the mjoy.com web site: "New mjoy message - open the link http://mjoy.com/m/t/abcdef............")

For other ways to send free SMSs see here:

Did you know that you can send FREE SMSs to Vodacom cell phones?: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/03/did-you-know-that-you-can-send-free.html

Send 1 free SMS every 2 hours to any network in South Africa; and 5 SMSs every 4 hours to Zim - and it works!: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/04/send-1-free-sms-every-2-hours-to-any.html