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	Frequently asked Questions about general stuff

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Can I ask a general computer question? You can, but some of the items may be out-dated. Generic Computer FAQ

How can I get my USPS address removed from junk mail lists? Back in August of 2005, we were getting a lot of junk mail, including about 10 credit card pre-approved offers each week. USPS.com didn't help me at all, most likely because they want people to send bulk mail and get the postage revenue. I did a search on the web for junk mail removal, and many sites references Direct Marketing Associates (DMA) mail preference service, and an opt-out service for pre-approved credit/insurance offers. Even the FBI's web site recommended them. The services take a little while to go into effect but once they do you have less junk that you have to sort through. However, you have to manually contact companies that: ou've already conducted business with those who don't subscribe to DMA's MPS are local (pennysaver, etc) Here's all of the information you need. The first two links are the most useful, but he other sites give you ideas for getting off of other national mailing lists, etc. DMAchoice for participating company removal. OptOutPrescreen.com for pre-approved credit/insurance offer removal Information sites, ranked by how useful I found them: Obviously.com Federal Trade Commission PrivacyRights.org One of the sites mentioned above mentioned filling out a change of address card for a previous resident at your address stating "MOVED - address unknown" -- However, mail forwarding is a completely manual service carried out by the carrier as I am told, and mistakes can easily be made. When we moved into a new house, we signed up for mail forwarding for my wife's maiden name at our old address, because there was one company we didn't have her name changed with yet. We eventually got the mail that we wanted, but we also started to get more mail addressed to her maiden name than we had been getting before. The Post Office must've sold the name/address. So, I did what the web site mentioned. However, the post office assumed that since the the old name and the new name were the same person, and started rejecting most (but not all) mail to either her, including at least one birthday card and three mailings from the DMV. Their assumption was correct, but it was not the intent. We had to remove the name from the mail forwarding service. The mailings to her maiden name eventually stopped. Now that the members of DMA are asked to remove your name, you can start sending letters to companies that aren't members. Many companies will remove you without problem, realizing that if you don't want to receive their mail, you probably won't buy from them anyway, so they'll save postage. Now if only e-mail spammers were that bright and didn't try to trick anti-spam software! Mail that was sent "first class" or "address service requested" is easy. Just circle those words and write "refused - return to sender" with an arrow to the return address. Presorted bulk mail mail is different unless it has the address service endorsement. Because the company paid less money for postage, one site said this would result in the post office discarding the mail. However, when I tried this once by mistake, I received the junk mail back. Sometimes you have to write a letter. What I have done is attempt to find mailing list removal information on the company's web site and remove that way. That will be faster and easier. If that doesn't work, I send a letter to the return address of the mail, or the customer service address if that isn't noted. I also write "attn: customer service - mailing list removal" on the envelope. The letter itself must include your address and the mailing label that they used. Here's a sample letter that I have sent:   John Smith 1 Way St Schenectady, NY 12345 September 2, 2010 GEICO 1 GEICO Plaza Washington, DC 20076-0001   To Whom It May Concern: Please permanently remove the above address from your mailing list(s) and do not share the name/address with other companies. Attached is your mailing label. Thank you. Sincerely, John Smith I also save every letter that I send places, just in case. I include a textbox under where I attach the mailing label so that I can save the exact name that is on their mailing list, just in case each my wife and I are on the list and I need to send another request. Note: I sent a request to LL Bean asking them to remove my wife's name (maiden) from their list, stating that no person by that name lived here. They did, but they added my name to the list. The lesson is don't attempt to explain it, just request the removal. Anyway, I hope this helps. Do not contact me with any questions... I don't accept unsolicited mail! All of my information is either shared here or included in the above links anyway.

What type of cordless phone do you suggest? Hmm... this category seems to be no longer an issue, but there may still be a couple of items worth noting. Consider 5.8GHz or higher, so that your phone won't interfere with your computer network. Consider a expandable set. Replace all of the cordless phones in your house and/or add new ones. These expandable sets require only one phone line, can be used as an intercom or monitor in a pinch, and most handsets will allow listening to answering machine messages right from the handset. most expandable sets can be upgraded later, but it's cheaper to get the whole thing at the same time as the base. Then you won't feel so bad about the expense when the base unit eventually dies. Does the base unit have a battery backup? Cordless is great, but if the power goes out when you're on the phone, it's annoying. The last time I looked for cordless phones (2005), only one model (AT&T) offered battery backup on the base unit. Consider retaining a corded phone on every level of your home in case of power outage or cordless phone failure. As far as phone service to use these phones on, I prefer analog despite the expense. I use IDT local/unlimited package which costs $40/month plus about $20/month in taxes in my area. I could switch to digital phone and save a lot each month, but I will not be satisfied until the modem has a long battery backup available. I've compared Vonage to my local TWC digital phone and vonage offers more features for less money, but the network setup seemed too complex and therefore I'd be concerned that complexity would lead to problems. Another disadvantage of digital phone is that it requires electricity. Yea, so do cordless phones they'll tell you, but in the event of a cordless phone you can just buy a $10 corded phone to use during power outages. With digital phone you'd have to purchase a UPS and/or a whole generator. UPS starts at $30 for the basic model which will last for a couple of minutes, and generators start at $500 for respectable models. I'll stick with analog phone for now. :)

What type of two way radio do you use? Who uses these when cell phones are so prevalent? They're faster, so if you're driving in a caravan of cars and you notice the car in front of you is in the wrong lane, a hand-held radio is faster than dialing the cell phone. A cell phone requires the other person to answer, whereas on radios, the recipient hears you without having to do anything. Plus, hand held radios are legal to use whereas cell phones require a hands-free set in most states. I use a Cobra FRS/GMRS radio with 22 channels and 37 sub-channels (privacy codes) on each channel. If you're going to get a radio, spend the extra couple of dollars on a set that has privacy codes. People on the same channel without privacy codes will be able to hear you, but you won't be able to hear them. You'll especially notice a difference when driving through or near a city. FRS stands for family radio service or something like that. The key word is "family." As with any communication device, you have to be careful of what you say as others may be listening. FRS radios work up to two miles, keeping in mind that hills, trees, etc interfere with the signal. I believe two miles is only accurate when on water in nice weather. You do not need a license for FRS. Many FRS radios these days include a few GMRS channels. These channels are a higher wattage and allow you to talk over greater distances. Each radio is different, but my GMRS channels allow communication up to 6 miles. (some are less, some are more). When buying a radio, anything that offers distances greater than 2 miles or has more channels than 14 is GMRS. HOWEVER, you need a license To legally use the GMRS channels on your radio, and they're not cheap. Some might say that if you play it smart while talking on a GMRS channel, no one will report you and you'll be OK because the FCC doesn't typically enforce that. But, it's still breaking the law. With respect to other features, I've noticed the cheaper radios do not have many options, so you may be forced to live with a feature that you don't like, such as a "roger beep" which sends a tone to the other party when you've let go of the talk button. I also like my radios that have (and came with) an optional microphone/earpiece. that comes in handy when you need to be quiet for whatever reason, such as you're driving and you have sleeping children in the back. I'm not sure how legal this is, though. As far as brands, Motorola has been the best known name in two-way radio communication devices for a while, but my first pair of FRS was motorola broke within 2-3 years. Cobra is almost as well known, and I now have two pairs of cobra radios, which have been working well since 2004 or thereabouts.