Unlike other VoiP services, Ooma offers “free” home phone service after the initial device purchase (more on why it’s “free” later).  As of this writing, Ooma is selling this device for $200 on their website, found here.  You simply plug the device into your router and plug your phones into the device.  Here is the complete list of the steps I went through setting up my Ooma device:

1. Go to Ooma.com/activate
2. Type in the Activation Code found on the back of the Ooma Telo device
3. Enter area code and prefix to select a phone number in my local calling area
4. Enter contact and address information (used for 911 services)
5. Enter billing information (here’s the “free” part again)
6. Pick a password and security question and click Activate Now

That’s it!  After those few steps I was up and running and making local and long distance calls on my new land line.  Here’s the “free” part I keep mentioning.  Visit Ooma’s Tax Calculator to determine what local taxes and fees you’ll be responsible for.  As mentioned previously, I only pay $3.47 per month.  Ooma estimates $3.50 as the average individuals’ monthly phone bill for their free service.

When compared to traditional land lines or other VoiP services, $3.47 is hard, if not impossible, to beat.  I’ve been using my Ooma device 6 months and have yet to have a single problem with it.  Crystal clear calls, no outages, and just $3.47 automatically deducted from my bank account each month.

Leave a comment below if you use Ooma or perhaps want to use Ooma but have questions.

If you are like me, you have, at one point or another, used a computer to charge your Android device.  Furthermore, you probably had your browser unexpectedly open the Verizon Wireless V CAST webpage while an AutoPlay dialog box appeared asking if you would like to install drives from your Verizon Mobile CD Drive.  Follow these simple steps to stop both from happening:

1. Dial ##PROGRAM (##7764726)
2. Enter a password of 000000 (6 zeros) and click OK
3. Press Feature Settings
4. Press CD ROM
5. Select Disable
6. Press OK
7. Press your menu button then Commit Modifications (a popup will say “no items changed”)
8. Press your back button twice to return to your home screen

Finally, No more AutoPlay dialog box and no more auto-opening V CAST webpage.  Click the “Like” button below or post a comment if you’ve used these steps to stop Verizon from hijacking your USB connection.

Not only does our Gmail contain potentially sensitive correspondence among friends and family, but what about all of the emails regarding your bank or credit cards?  How about your gas, electric, cable, and cell phone bills?  If someone were to gain access to your Gmail account they could easily determine where you live, your cell phone number, which credit cards you have, and even where you bank!  Once in, they can also change your password to prevent you from logging in to your own account.  It’s all downhill from there.

So how do you prevent this tragedy from happening?  Hopefully, your Gmail is already secure and don’t even know it. Just check your browser’s address bar when you’re in your Gmail–if it begins with “https” you’re all set.  To make sure you are always browsing your Gmail securely, following these steps:

1. Login to Gmail and click the gear icon in the upper right corner of the page and click Mail Settings.
2. Find the options for Browser connection and make sure Always use https is selected

That’s it!  Easy huh?  Now you can sleep soundly at night knowing that when you check your Gmail from work, school, or the coffee shop that you are protected against someone hijacking your email.  As always, there is no such thing as “perfect” security but this simple setting will go a long way toward protecting your Gmail from all sorts of evildoers.

Don’t forget to check out how you can Secure your Facebook with HTTPS as well!  The same security mentioned here can be had on Facebook with just three easy steps.  There’s no reason not to be secure!

1. Login to Facebook and go to Account Settings (under Account in the upper right corner of the page).
2. Click Account Security to expand those options.
3. Check the box under Secure Browsing (https).

There you have it, just that simple! Now, when you visit Facebook you should notice that the address bar begins with “https” rather than “http.” (Note that not all Facebook pages offer https.) Depending on your browser you may also notice a padlock icon that indicates secure browsing. Though this isn’t bulletproof security, it makes your browsing much more secure than it was yesterday.

Remember that there is no “perfect” security when using the Internet. This setting, though, goes a great distance toward making your Internet browsing more secure. With Facebook representing such a large part of everyone’s personal identity, it would be ridiculous to not enable this option.

Now, click the “Like” button below to share this article, leave a comment to let me know that you enabled this option, and share this with your friends so they too can be better protected while using Facebook!

Handcent SMS extends the functionality of text messaging on your Android device with nearly limitless configuration options.  Combine Handcent SMS with ShapeWriter Keyboard and your phone is now an unstoppable messaging machine.  You can configure, among other things, conversation list style, bubble style of messages, the size of your contacts’ picture, notifications of new messages, reminders of unread messages, and much more.  Here is a rundown of the various items I change, configure, and find all-around useful:

• Notification settings
  • Disable the popup
  • Enable notifications (don’t forget to disable the notifications in the standard “messages” app or you’ll be notified twice for each new message)
  • Notification Settings
    • Enable Privacy mode (removes message text from the notification bar)
    • Set “Vibrate” to always (will vibrate even when phone ringer volume is turned up)
    • Change vibrate pattern to “0,200,300,200,300,200″ which will vibrate three times (since ‘text message’ has three syllables – helps differentiate between incoming text and email messages)
    • Enable reminders
    • Set number of reminder to unlimited
    • Set reminder interval to 5 minutes
  • Sent notifications – disable (I don’t care that the messages was since since I will still be notified if a message fails to send)
• Send Message Settings
  • Display message counter (unnecessary, but fun to see)
  • Split 160 – Split by word & add counter (ensures that people with “dumb” phones will see all of my message while letting them know how many I sent in case one fails)

At most, the settings above constitute no more than a quarter of the total configuration options available but represent those that I find most useful.  The single best reason to get this app?  Notification Settings.  Setting a custom vibrate pattern for incoming messages and getting recurring reminders that I have a new message are two features I would gladly pay for.  Luckily, Handcent SMS is free and well worth the $0 price tag.  I hope you find Handcent as useful as I do and add it to your list of must-have apps for your Android device!

There are two ways you can download this app to your device:

1. From your computer – Scan the QR code above with Barcode Scanner
2. From your phone – Click Here to download the app from the Android market

Today is ShapeWriter Keyboard.  Gone are the days of typing one letter at a time (at least for me).  This app gives you a new keyboard with the ability to slide your finger from one letter to the next to spell out your words.  For example, to spell Google, simply press the “G” key and without lifting your finger slide to the “O” then back to “G” then onto “L” and finally to “E” where you can lift your finger.  There you have it!  Your first word on a keyboard that you can no longer live without.  Notice, you only slide to the “O” then back off.  ”But there are two O’s in Google!”  Yes, there are, and ShapeWrite guessed what you were trying to spell.  If it guesses wrong simply select a new word from the little box above the keyboard (slide side-to-side to show more words).

There are advanced features as well.  For example, the ability to turn on/off “literal” mode that will stop auto-capitalizing words (for entering password) or entering spaces between words automatically.

For some reason the company responsible for this app has removed it from the Android market.  However, if you know where to find it you can still get it (instructions below).  Once you download the app you will need to activate it.  To do this, navigate to your Settings area and find the section for “Language & keyboard.”  Checking the checkbox next to “ShapeWriter keyboard” will get you on your way.  This is where you can also mess with keyboard settings such as “Vibrate on keypress” and the like.  Now that your new keyboard is active, you want to tell your phone to actually use it.  Open up any applications with text input (browser, messages, email, etc) and long-press (press and hold) in the text input area.  In the popup window, select “Input method” and change it to “ShapeWriter keyboard.”  You are now ready to begin using one of the best apps I have found for Android.

Download ShapeWriter, give it a fair try (you can’t give up on it after one day), and let me know what you think.

There are two ways you can download this app to your device:

1. From your computer – Scan the QR code above with Barcode Scanner
2. From your phone – Click Here to download the app

Update:

The company behind ShapeWriter has completely pulled this app from the Android Market.  You can download the application directly from my site by using the QR code above using the same download instructions.  In order to install an application from somewhere other than the market (as in this case) you will need to allow your phone to install applications from “Unknown Sources”  in your settings.