FLASHBACK FRIDAY Is this thing working?

Remember TV with rabbit ears? And the only things digital were your fingers!

Now everybody has to have digital TV and high definition so they can watch their cartoons and sit-coms.

When I was a kid, I had a black and white portable Motorola TV and it lasted forever. It also weighed forever.

It got channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and a few UHF channels - including Channel 68 with the Uncle Floyd show.

Imagine if we needed a converter to watch normal everyday regular channels? There would have been a revolt. Heck, back then, nobody could imagine paying money to watch television - unless you were in the hospital.

Well, aren't we all blessed that the government decided to hold off on the mandatory conversion.

Otherwise I'd have to throw out my little table top TV in the kitchen where I watch the end of Jeopardy! when I get in from work every day.

What a crazy country. Banks with no money and the government's worrying about my television reception.

Somebody give me back those old Roy Rogers shows... please.

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Copyright © 2009 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.
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FiOS 1st Year Package = $94.99

Everybody keeps wondering what it'll cost after the first year promotional package ends.

When you look at your first few bills from Verizon FiOS, you will wonder what the heck you got into. It seems you pay your old bill a month ahead, plus part of the new bill and some credits and charges that get your head to spinning.

So, after the third FiOS bill that resembled part of the national debt, and having spoken to a robot that told me it would take the first two billing cycles to adjust to the new billing, I sent an email to my new friends at Verizon FiOS.

Here's what they explained about my FiOS bill for Internet, digital TV and telephone service:

The normal price of all three services is $137.97. If you subtract the discounts, $42.98, you will find you are receiving the $94.99 promotional price.

Of course, I'm aware that I pay extra for the Movie package, Set Top Box, DVR and Inside Wire Maintenance. But what I couldn't understand is why the bills were so huge and ran on for pages and pages of charges and credits that would challenge a CPA.

There was also an internet activation fee of $19.99 that I'm sure I authorized somewhere along the line.

Laura at the Verizon Center explained it all very well in her email. Thanks, Laura.

What is the most surprising is that a multi-billion-dollar technology company takes all that time to adjust a bill for a customer who already had Verizon telephone and DSL service.

You would think that in this day and age, the company would be set up to immediately convert its thousands and thousands of new customers it gets each day from rivals like Cablevision.

Obviously, the technology is not perfect. At the end of Laura's clear, concise email explaining the billing of my Internet, TV and phone service, was the following tag line:

Don't miss out on the best broadband value around! Check to see if you qualify for Verizon Online Broadband Internet Service at:

http://www.verizon.com/highspeedtoday

Frankly, I don't mind seeing a pop-up like ad for Verizon each time I change a channel, but will I be interested in paying about $43 more for the same service next year? It had better be good, real good.

And for that, only time will tell.

Copyright © 2007 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.