What’s a Lovenest seat @ SterKinekor.com?

I was booking a movie at www.sterkinekor.com and the (recently updated) seating plan listed various coloured seats one of which was a pink “Lovenest seat”.  I searched through the FAQs on the site but couldn’t find what was different about these seats. 

 
Available seat, booked seat, wheel chair seat, lovenest seat, selected seat.

Seating plan:


So, I decided to book 2 of those seats and then all was revealed:
  

“Cosy double seat with no arm rest to separate the two” – nice, very nice!

PrePaid airtime offers not to be missed: R400 gives you R1,176 airtime (VC), or R800 for R2,400 (MTN), or R800 for R2,760 (CellC)

Here’s an airtime offer that seems too good to be true!  MTN and CellC have also thrown in some free SMSs! Pay these once off fees with no credit check and get lots of free airtime.  This seems to be a fantastic offer!  What’s the catch??  If you’re on a VodaGo prepaid account, on the old per minute billing, then I see this is a per second billed plan… so the per minute cost is probably more, and so you win on the “short” calls (i.e. those that terminate before the 30sec mark), but lose on the “long” calls (i.e. those that terminate close to the 59 sec mark).
I wonder if there are any other catches?  Like, what happens after the 24 month period?  Does it revert back to the VodaGo per minute billing? – Probably not, so this is a way of getting people onto a “contract” and on to per second billing?
What happens if this offer’s minutes (R49 in the Vodacom case) run out during the month, can you topup by buying airtime at your currently used outlets?  {See here for an HTT article on where to buy your airtime: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2009/02/buying-airtime-can-be-done-in-numerous.html}

Here are more details:

 

Vodacom TopUp49 for R400.00 once off giving:                  R49 airtime per month for 24 months – a total of R1,176 Airtime                  Total Saving of 66%                  FREE SIM connection                  FREE CLI activation                  Calls billed per second

 

MTN TopUp100 for R800.00 once off giving:                  R100 airtime per month for 24 months – a total of R2,400 Airtime                  25 SMSs per month for 24 months – a total of 600 SMSs                  43.5 minutes talktime per month for 24 months a total of 1,044 minutes of talktime                  A total saving versus prepaid of R2,854 or 83%

 

Cell C ControlChat 100 for R800.00 once off giving:                  R115 airtime per month for 24 months – a total of R2,760 Airtime                  100 SMSs per month                  FREE SIM connection                  FREE CLI activation                  Calls billed per second                  Friends and family discounts to 7 numbers

Download the application forms here: http://www.mobile2mobile.co.za/downloads  {make sure that you have the latest Adobe Reader else you will get an error “There was an error opening this document. The file is damaged and could not be repaired.”}

Update on Wed23Sept2009:  Feedback from mobile2mobile CEO Warwick Ward-Cox answering some of the questions that I posed above:
”
From: Warwick Ward-Cox
Sent: 23 September 2009 09:04
To: HandyTechTipper@gmail.com

Morning HTT,

You are correct it’s an awesome deal,  I've personally taken out 3 now for the family.  This has to be the cheapest way to get airtime,  and with the networks now reducing call costs these deals will in the future be even more attractive if not already  ;)

The catch,  well you don't get a "free phone".  At the end of the 24 months, you have the option to carry on and pay an additional amount and carry on with the contract, or you will be downgraded to prepaid at the end of the 24 months.

Oh yes, and we don't do any network activation, until your deposit reflects in the bank account and has been cleared,  so depending on where you EFT from it can take about 3 days or so to be activated.  If it’s a cheque deposit then minimum 8 days until the cheque has cleared.  

Regards

Warwick Ward-Cox

Mobile 2 Mobile
http://www.mobile2mobile.co.za
”

AfriHost offering 1GB for R29 per month will force other ISPs to lower their prices

What a great marketing ploy!  AfriHost have decided to spend their monthly advertising budget on subsidising their bandwidth offerings… and I think it’s working – everyone at the office is talking about it and signing up!
So, what’s the deal?  There are varying offerings, which are all based on a monthly fee of R29 per GB, use-it-or-lose-it.  There’s also a prepaid offering of R49 per GB where there’s no monthly fee and any unused bandwidth can be carried over.
This could save you a lot of $s and force the other ISPs (like WebAfrica, Axxess, GConnect) to lower their prices too: 10GB for R290 per month, or 20GB for R580, or 50GB for R1,450, or 100GB for R2,900:  http://www.afrihost.com/adsl-power-high-bandwidth.php.
For home use:  1GB for R29 per month, or 2GB for R58, or 3GB for R87, or 5GB for R145 (all per month, use it or lose it). http://www.afrihost.com/adsl-broadband-internet.php

No contract, month to month, can pay by credit card, no setup fees, fibre link, 1 month notice to stop, and you can topup for R29 per GB (while the special is on, else <R49 per GB if the special ends) {note, the topup @R29/GB is on a use-it-or-lose-it basis; use the R49 carry over prepaid offer if you’re not likely to use ~600MB (that’s the cross over point of using 29 Rands worth of data at the higher rate of R49 per GB).

Topup at the same rate on a use it or lose it basis or purchase prepaid @ R49 per GB:

Get it now at: http://www.afrihost.com/29-Rand-Per-GB
Signup is immediate ie: from today (or when the ID is approved), pro-rated – so, if you’ve chosen a R29 per month (for 1GB), then you will get charged for 8 days ie: R7.73 and limited to 273MB.

What’s the catch?  Well, I can’t see one!  :)  {There is a 1 month notice period to stop – if you call that a catch!}  There’s no local bandwidth-only connection if you run out.
For me, it means changing from prepaid to a monthly fee, but at this rate, it’s worth it.  I’m currently using the GConnect R50 per GB prepaid offering.

Here’s the AfriHost welcome letter (due for launch tomorrow 23Sept)):  http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=193421&page=3 and http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=193421&page=4
Note, from their newsletter:  “(If you don't see the new price of R29.00 then it means that we have unfortunately reached our limit of new signups and are not offering the special anymore).”

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=193421&page=2
From the FAQ:
“
What happens to my pricing once the offer is removed?
Your price for your package will always be locked in - even when the special is no longer available to new signups.

Here is an example of how it works:
You buy the 3 GB package for R87 per month.
You will pay us the R87 for the 3 GB's included in your package as long as you are with us - no matter when the special offer ends.
While we are running the special if in any given month you use more than your 3 GB's then you can top up and get extra GB's of traffic at R29 per GB.
However, when the special is ended, even though you'll still pay only R87.00 per month for your first 3 GB's, if you do need more GB's and need to top up your package you will pay the after-special rate (this will never be more than R49.00 per GB and may be less).
Thus, it may be wise to get as many GB's in your monthly package as you will need in the future - this will ensure you maximise your ongoing saving.
”
Still sounds really good after the special ends.

How are they able to offer this price?:
”
Some of these factors are:
- Our new offer causes a massive upheaval in the ADSL market and all service providers start offering lower prices. This will in turn put pressure on Telkom to decrease their wholesale prices.
- There are real savings realised from Seacom and this decreases our per GB cost.
- As all of our clients move more GB's our per GB rate we pay will come down.
”

See more in the mybroadband forums – it’s verrry active at the moment: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=193421&page=10

Update: 24Nov2009:
Here’s an article where you can get 3GB for R60 per month (plus 50MB of WiFi bandwidth included free): http://mybroadband.co.za/news/ADSL/10557.html from MyISP

Update on 30Nov2009:
Here’s an article describing AfriHost’s reduced Prepaid ADSL bandwidth for R39 per GB! (that doesn’t expire at the end of the month ie: no use-it-or-lose-it policy).  That’s even cheaper than GConnect’s offering of about R49 per GB: http://mybroadband.co.za/news/ADSL/10642.html

Update on 5thDec2009:
From http://mybroadband.co.za: Use-it-or-lose-it ADSL now @ 9GB for R200 (=R22.50/GB) from GConnect strikes back (@AfriHost (R29/GB), MyISP (@ R60/3GB=R20/GB), Screamer Telecoms (R115/5GB=R38.33/GB), and DigiChilli R300 pm, 1 connection, no cap)

R200 for a 30 Day Broadband Pass from GConnect:
Get up to 9GB of data with this 30-Day Broadband Pass!

Save money by making your razor blades last longer (for 1 year!)

I was amazed by this article that seems to be legitimate – it was tried and tested by a talk show host Clark Howard.  It explains that drying your razor blades extends shelf life – so after you shave you need to dry the razor with a towel or dip them in some alcohol or blow dry them or wrap it in a tissue until the next use.  The science behind it: leaving the metal blades wet encourages the corrosion in razor blades. Oxygen in air and salt from skin are the main culprits.  Easiest is to keep a small vial of oil, alcohol, or glycerine in bathroom and just keep razor there between shaves.

Here’s a video showing how the blades can be dried by rubbing them on some denim to make them last longer:

Reading the comments, I came across another trick:  “I use a Sensor razor, and I've discovered that a package of disposable Sensor 3 razors is cheaper per razor than a package of Sensor Excel or even regular Sensor cartridges, and the Sensor 3 cartridge is exactly the same as the Sensor Excel cartridge except with the addition of a third blade (seriously, I can even remove them from the disposable handle and use them on my Sensor handle).”

Let me know if you experience longer lasting blades :)

My DECT cordless phone is now actually working with Skype and SkypeOut and VoipBuster and VOIP calls – cool, and so convenient!

My USB Phone Adapter (TelBox USB to RJ11 converter [USB-B2K]) arrived and now I can use my Panasonic DECT cordless phone to make and receive Skype, SkypeOut, VoipBuster and any other type of SIP calls.  Here’s how I did it for under R400 (including some tricks to get the hash to work):
1) If you haven’t read my first article on the device and the software then read it now: Hooray, I’ve found a way to use my cordless DECT phone to make Skype and SIP VoipBuster calls – Solved :)

2) Unpack the device and the included cables: 1x USB cable, 1x telephone RJ11 cable (no external power needed – gr8!)
3) Connect the TelBox to the USB port on the PC; and take the Telkom line from the cordless phone to the TelBox’s “Line” input; and connect the new RJ11 cable to the cordless phone’s “Line” input and the TelBox’s “Phone” input.  Test the connection by checking for dial tone on the cordless phone – if there’s no dial tone, then you’ve connected the wires up incorrectly (so read step 3 again).
What’s nice is that when the PC is off or TelBox is disconnected from the USB port, then the TelBox turns off and the cordless phone still works (as if there was no TelBox in the loop).

 
4a) For VoipBuster: download and install VoipBuster and VoipBusterMate and purchase credits
4b) Change the VoipBuster audio settings to use the new TelBox device: VoipBuster->Tools->Options->Sound Devices->Audio In=USB device  and  Audio Out=USB device.
4c) I prefer to dial 2 stars (**) to make the TelBox dial using the USB port, so change the settings as follows:
(from “How to Change * Key Used by USB Adapter”):
Close VoipBusterMate: in system tray, right click the VoipBusterMate icon and select Exit.  Click on Start->Run and type in %appdata%
The ApplicationData folder will appear in a window, open the VoipBusterMate folder; Edit the "Custom.ini" file and find the following line (located about 3/4 of the way down): szBoxTurnCommand = *
Change to: szBoxTurnCommand = **
Save and close Custom.ini and restart VoipBusterMate. Now when you want to switch between landline and VoipBuster mode, dial ** on your phone's keypad.
Note: the two stars works better on my setup – it seems that one star is not as reliable as using 2 stars.
4d) Open VoipBuster and create speed dials for the contacts that you want to dial on your DECT cordless phone: VoipBuster->Contacts tab->right click on the contact->Set speed dial->100
Note: I found that my Panasonic KX-TCD430 base station or KX-A143 handset didn’t dial the hash # unless the speed dials were at least 3 digits long!  The hash is needed to tell VoipBuster to “Call”.  I found that using a single digit speed dial, say 1 or 01, would cause VoipBuster (and Skype) to wait until the “Call” button was pressed using the mouse.  I suspect that the handset didn’t dial the hash unless more than 3 digits had been dialled.
4e) Then to make the call, I dial **100# and the TelBox is activated (USB light turns on), and VoipBuster dials speed dial 100 and the call is connected :)  Awesome!


5a) For Skype: download and install Skype and SkypeMate
5b) Change the Skype audio settings to use the new TelBox device: Skype->Tools->Options->Audio Settings->Microphone=USB device  and  Speakers=USB device.
5c) I prefer to dial 2 stars (**) to make the TelBox dial using the USB port, so change the settings as follows:
(from “How to Change * Key Used by USB Skype Adapter”):
Close Skype : in system tray, right click the Skype icon and select Exit.  Click on Start->Run and type in %appdata%
The ApplicationData folder will appear in a window, open the SkypeMate folder; Edit the "Custom.ini" file and find the following line (located about 3/4 of the way down): szBoxTurnCommand = *
Change to: szBoxTurnCommand = **
Save and close Custom.ini and restart SkypeMate. Now when you want to switch between landline and SkypeMate mode, dial ** on your phone's keypad.
Note: the two stars works better on my setup – it seems that one star is not as reliable as using 2 stars.
5d) Creating speed dials in Skype 4.0 is not so easy… since they removed the speed dial feature from this version :(  There are a couple of workarounds for this:  i) Use SkypeSpeedDial from here [250Kb]: http://skypespeeddial.blogspot.com or ii) Use Skype’s Tracer from here: SkypeTracer.
Remember to use a speed dial number >= 100 else some phones will not dial the hash.
Set speed dials for the contacts that you want to dial on your DECT cordless phone.
Note: I found that my Panasonic KX-TCD430 base station or KX-A143 handset didn’t dial the hash # unless the speed dials were at least 3 digits long!  The hash is needed to tell VoipBuster to “Call”.  I found that using a single digit speed dial, say 1 or 01, would cause Skype (and VoipBuster) to wait until the “Call” button was pressed using the mouse.  I suspect that the handset didn’t dial the hash unless more than 3 digits had been dialled.
5e) Then to make the call, I dial **100# and the TelBox is activated (USB light turns on), and Skype dials speed dial 100 and the call is connected :)  Awesome!

For more details on using the TelBox USB to RJ11 converter: User Guide for USB-RJ11 Adapter (Windows)

Note: the “under R400” applies in my case since I already had a PC with USB port and a wireless phone, so all I needed to purchase was the TelBox USB adapter.

On the TelBox packaging: USB to RJ11 converter; USB Phone Adapter; Supports wireless phones; 1 USB interface to PC; 1 FXS for regular phone; 1 FXO for PSTN call relays; Driver built in; No external power needed.

Using your phone to receive and send emails is so easy – you need to start using it now!

A colleague recently had a problem with their ADSL line at home and was literally cut off from his emails and Skype.  He couldn’t get to his emails and had to clamour to get to an Internet cafe to access his emails using Web mail.  Then he “discovered” GMail (and Fring) on his phone and he was “cured”.  He could even receive and send emails from other email accounts eg: work address.  Also, GMail works off-line if the cellular signal is weak (like underground) – when you’re online again, then emails are sent in the background.

{If your phone isn’t set up to connect to the Internet, then read this article first: In this day and age I'm amazed by the low number of people that use their cell phones to connect to the Internet for email, www access, cheap IM etc}

Here are the steps to getting GMail to work for you:
1) Watch the GMail video here: http://www.google.com/mobile/products
2) Type this URL into your cell phone's browser: m.google.com/mail and download the program onto your phone
3) Create a GMail account for yourself: www.gmail.com using your PC’s browser (it’s just easier on your PC) and click on “Create an account” and follow the prompts.
4) Optional: Enable your other accounts on GMail: from GMail on your PC: click Settings->Accounts and Import, then enable receiving and sending from the other accounts (verification steps need to be followed)
5) Login to GMail on your phone (and if you’ve enabled your other accounts, then add them to your phone’s GMail program)
6) Start sending and receiving from your mobile phone!

Enjoy…

Save paper when printing web pages

Print web pages without the ads, menus, empty space and other junk:  PrintWhatYouLike is a free online editor that lets you format any web page for printing in seconds!  It’s easy: 1) GoTo http://www.printwhatyoulike.com 2) Enter a URL; 3) Select the parts that you want to print; 4) Print it.
There is nothing to download - everything runs in your browser
To save even more paper, you could use a virtual printer like Pdf Creator [free 16MB] and save the file on your computer.

• Save money and the environment by reducing your paper and ink usage
• Condense any web page down to just the content you want in one click - no more pasting into MS Word!
• Fix common printing problems such as text running off the page
• Make the page more readable by changing the font size and type and removing the background
• Combine multiple web pages - edit & print them as one document!
• Save your modified page as a PDF or HTML document
• Remove ads and other junk you don't want.

Live WebCam of beached ship in Bloubergstrand – updated every 2 minutes

Here’s a webcam that’s updated every 2 minutes (during the day):
http://www.tablemountainview.com showing the ship (and Table Mountain).

The ship had 25 Turkish crew members on board.

From www.iol.co.za
“
The ship, Seli 1, ran aground just before midnight on Monday after massive swells and gale force winds sent waves crashing over the bow of the 77 metre Panamanian-registered coal bulk-carrier, which rolled and listed in the rising tide.
Twenty-five Turkish crew members had to be rescued. One of them was treated for mild hypothermia.
”

Here are some close-up pics of the cargo ship and rescue operation (from Aki Anastasiou’s blog – the presenter from Talk Radio 702) taken by Clinton Geyser:  http://aki702.posterous.com/incredible-pictures-of-the-turkish-ship-that

Update on 30Nov2009:
Well done Darren Rahme – he’s decided to rescue the coast line by investing over R3m Rands to salvage the stricken ship and its contents: Developer buys coal from wrecked cargo vessel

Yippee: False advertising on www.solarquip.co.za has been removed – thanks to everyone involved

A friend took this issue up and emailed CapeTalk, Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA) http://www.asasa.org.za/ and SABS and it seems to have (eventually) worked.  SolarQuip have removed the logos from their web site.
The previous HTT article was posted on 20 May 2008, so it’s taken over 15 months to get the issue resolved.

Original article:  Beware of scammers using false logos eg: SolarQuip http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2009/05/beware-of-scammers-using-false-logos-eg.html 

 
Here are screen shots of the before and after:

Before (May 2008):

After (Sept 2009):


Thanks to everyone involved!  :)

International calling from your South African PrePaid cell phone: if you’re with Vodacom, then you’re getting ripped off!

If you have a Vodacom PrePaid cell phone, then here are some tips to avoid the very high Vodacom call charges (R10 per minute).  One could use an MTN SIM card and save over R6.51 per minute!  Or dial a local CellC number and save over R6.40 per minute – here’s how:

A friend asked me how much it was to call Italy from his MTN Prepaid cell phone – here are the outcomes from my investigations:
Vodacom PrePaid cell phone to Italy from a PayAsYouGo phone is R10 per minute. http://www.vodacom.co.za/pkgcr.do?action=getpkgmenus&pkgTypeId=2&pageId=21

{If you had a contract: Vodacom Talk120: International Calls (Per minute):
Off Peak: 0.99 + Telkom Off-peak (landline = 0.83; mobile = 2.82) ===> Off peak to a landline: R1.82 per minute; Off peak to a mobile: R3.81 per minute.
Peak: 2.10 + Telkom Peak (landline = 0.99; mobile = 3.19) ===> Peak to a landline: R3.09 per minute; Peak to a mobile: R5.29 per minute.
http://www.telkom.co.za/products_services/internationalcallservice/cost.html
}

 

For MTN PrePaid Classic: it costs (per minute) R3.49 to dial a mobile phone directly in Italy, and R2.90 to a landline in Italy (billed on a per second basis).
http://www.mtn.co.za/Travel/International%20Calling/Pages/default.aspx?index=2 

Wow, seems like MTN is MUCH cheaper than Vodacom…. But still, VoipBuster to Italy landline is free for 120 days!  See here for more details: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2009/08/voipbuster-over-skypeout-verdict-read.html

You could also dial this CellC number (084 198 0001) and speak to over 60 international countries for no extra cost: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/10/make-cellc-call-and-speak-to-over-60.html . This works for landlines only in Italy.
{Works for cell phones in these countries: USA (most networks); Canada; China; Singapore; Hong Kong.}

Costs of calls to CellC:
For Vodacom pre-paid Vodago to CellC: to Value-Added Services Off-Peak: R1.08; Peak: R3.60 http://www.vodacom.co.za/pkgcr.do?action=getpkgsgroups&pkgTypeId=2&pkgGroupId=8&packageId=17

For Vodacom contract Talk 240 to CellC: Value-Added Services Off-Peak: R0.98; Peak: R1.88 http://www.vodacom.co.za/pkgcr.do?action=getpkgsgroups&pkgTypeId=1&pkgGroupId=1&packageId=4

For MTN PayG Classic to CellC: Peak: R2.85; Off peak: R1.60 per minute.

See here for details of MTN’s peak and off peak calling times: http://www.mtn.co.za/Support/faq/NewSubscribers/Pages/MakingTakingcalls.aspx

So, HTT’s verdict:  since my friend was already with MTN (whew), his cheapest option to call a landline in Italy @off peak times is to dial the local CellC number which would cost R1.60 per minute. 
At peak times he should rather dial direct (ie: MTN call) @R2.90 per minute (the CellC number’s cost is R2.85 but the call setup time (while you’re keying in the international number on the CellC call) will use up time and nullify the 5c per minute savings).
If he needed to call a cell phone in Italy (the CellC number doesn’t cover cell phones in Italy yet) then he would need to dial directly @R3.49 per minute.

HTT’s verdict for other Vodacom PrePaid users: rather than paying the R10 per minute, get an MTN SIM card for your international calls.

But, for all of you that read this far… these costs can be slashed further if you use VOIP – even on your cell phone.  Install NimBuzz and configure a SIP connection using your VoipBuster account.  Then for the 1st 120 days you’ll pay nothing for landline calls to major international cities except for the data costs (R2 per MB on prepaid if you don’t have a data bundle). See here for more info:  VoipBuster over SkypeOut: the verdict? Read this for hands on tips on saving on your phone bill