I know that sounds really drastic but it is true. Why should we care though? Because, fact is, disabled people need the internet.

There are a lot of things that make me want to question all humanity, simply because it seems that common sense is becoming more and more a luxury than anything else today. Why? Today, I read an article that’s just promoting nothing more than false intentions.

I’m on twitter a lot and I read what my followers post a great deal. When I saw the article about the notion that Verizon was fighting against Net Neutrality to benefit the disabled populace, I didn’t have anything clever to say. I didn’t have a retort to utter. I didn’t even have a tweet to formulate in wake of this. Ladies and gents, there’s simply no other word to describe what they are claiming and the propositions that they claim, other than one. It’s a word that fits all, I believe, given this context and the huge array of just false debauchery that Verizon is trying to cook up.

LIES.

If you have not heard about the FCC and their latest plan to destroy the internet do a Google search for FCC and net neutrality. You will get some really interesting articles that basically outline what their new rules will entail.

It’s a proposal that would ban Internet providers from blocking or slowing down access to websites but may let them charge content companies for faster and more reliable delivery of their traffic to users.

It sounds good on paper and in a simple sentence like that. It’s not. I will briefly explain why.

Anything can be abused, including this new law. Internet service providers (ISPs), like Comcast or AT&T—believe that, as providers of internet access, they should be able to distribute bandwidth differently depending on the service.

They’d prefer, for example, to create tiers of internet service that’s more about paying for priority access than for bandwidth speeds. As such, in theory, they could charge high-bandwidth services—like Netflix, for example—extra money, since their service costs more for Comcast to provide to its customers—or they could charge users, like you and me, extra to access Netflix. They can also provide certain services to you at different speeds.

For example, perhaps your ISP might give preferential treatment to Hulu, so it streams Hulu videos quickly and for free, while Netflix is stuck running slowly (or we have to pay extra to access it). If you don’t think that won’t wrack up a huge bill, you are wrong.

How many people use cell phones and access Facebook, twitter, Netflix, ETC. This will affect everything that’s connected to the internet and they can all have a separate charge attached for that device to access websites and content.

This will also affect your tablets, game systems, ANYTHING that is hooked up to the internet. Knowing the USA, those fees can be taxed. enough said.

Imagine that Verizon or AT&T don’t like the idea of Google Voice, because it allows you to send text messages for free using your data connection. Your cellphone carrier could block access to Google Voice from your smartphone so you’re forced to pay for a texting plan from them. Or, they see that a lot of people are using Facebook on their smartphone, so even if they have the bandwidth to carry that traffic, they decide to charge you extra to access Facebook, just because they know it’s in high demand and that they can make a profit.

Obviously this will be great for people who have money spilling outa their pockets and who live in a financial bubble ignorant of the rest of us but I don’t think the FCC remembers that not everyone has money, If this rueling gets past it will ban some disabled people from using the internet. Let’s be real here.

Take SSI. How much is your internet bill per year now and how often do people on SSI rely on the internet and websites that host special content like Facebook, for social collaboration and school websites that often hold YouTube videos, which can have a steep price on it too on top of your internet bill if net neutrality is killed.

People on SSI or even SSDI won’t be able to pay all of that, given the fact that disabled people use the internet more than anything else for more than just socializing. People host teleconferences on Facebook, promote goods on blogs, the list goes on and I should not even have to point these out.

These ISP;s certainly won’t remember that not everyone has money because they want to have the money and they will want to have the money that they think they should have any way that they can get it, including charging people like you and I to use an email provider that isn’t with your default ISP like, for example, if you’re using Comcast and you look at your Gmail. Comcast could charge you to access Gmail even though Gmail is free.

The reason why blind people use Gmail is that it offers a lot of customization. For example, it offers free IMAP and POP3 access to mail clients. Yahoo does not.

This is why I say that Verizon is spewing illogical banter. There’s a stereotype about us Americans that say, frankly, we are greedy.

Verizon and Comcast really want to have this new rueling passed just so they can get more money and the fact that Verizon is using disabled people as a valuable excuse to justify why they want to kill Net Neutrality just so they can have more money really makes me, well, disappointed at my own country.

Hears the claim Verizon makes. Without a fast lane, disabled Americans could get stuck with subpar service as Internet traffic increases.

The issue that’s a constant problem isn’t even about the speed of access but, rather, the simple act of accessing something. I don’t understand how this will help us access something such as a website that isn’t designed to be accessible or obtaining some key information that’s in an accessible element on the inaccessible or partially accessible website. Since the internet often has inaccessible websites, even today, we would just turn to the phone, or, in my case, text one of my minions to look something up for me, adding a winking smiley at the end just because. The issue of speed doesn’t even culminate into a logical fit within this particular claim, if people really knew about screen readers and magnifiers and such. Instead of slower speeds dolling out a subpar service it’s the incomplete and botched content that we cannot access because developers didn’t make whatever accessible.

If there were, indeed, a way for ISPs to create two lanes of internet access, one slow, with costs to use all these demanding sites like Netflix and such, and one fast, combined with services like Facebook, it would ban a lot of disabled people from accessing some very key information all together all because of costs that would be designated by the ISP and then that would be yet another contender blind and visually impaired activists would have to constantly advocate for.

State rehabilitation will not pay for internet as is, and that’s just one monthly cost to access all websites and services. If this were to actually be enforced people with disabilities wouldn’t have access to certain sites at all because of the high costs that will, without a doubt, be determined by the ISP.

This could lead to loss of employment, fewer educational opportunities because this will affect schools too, and overall fewer productivity and would make the unemployment rate for disabled people increase because a lot of disabled people work from home, using many sites and services every day that wouldn’t be able to be accessed because, oh no! The bill is really high!

Speed is not the issue and it infuriates me that Verizon even uses that as a claim. If people know about screen readers, magnifiers, and accessibility issues with software and sites then they will see right through this fallacy. If they don’t know about disabled people and access technology it would be a simple conclusion that would make sense in their minds even though its hugely false, that speed would help us.

Access is an issue but the irony is access would be an even bigger issue, coupled with taxes and stuff, I’m sure, will be added onto these extra speed costs and costs to access content, thereby bridging the disabled homeless and otherwise on an even wider separation all because of money. Access won’t be an issue, it will morph into a barrier, one that will always be up.

This is just for work. Could you only imagine how disabled people wouldn’t have access to sites like twitter, where news is happening all day, every day? Oh my god!I don’t even want to entertain that nightmare.

I just cannot believe that Verizon would even say such a disingenuous thing. It won’t help disabled people at all. It would ban some from even using the internet, even some who are not disabled. I don’t think people who work at these companies know that not everyone works at Verizon or otherwise, but hey, in America, it’s all about the money. It’s all about the money.

Join Jamie, Ricky and Joe for this week’s edition of the podcast where they sip Apple juice and talk about all things iOS 8. If you’re tired of hearing about Apple, never fear; there are other stories in this week’s show as well. After the news, Buddy Brannan visits with Jim Gashel about the new release of the KNFB Reader app for iOS. Stories covered in this week’s podcast include:

National Federation of the Blind Applauds Release of KNFB Reader iPhone App

iOS 8 Adoption Lags Behind Past Upgrades — So Far

What’s New in iOS 8 Accessibility for Blind, Low-Vision, and Deaf-Blind Users

The Accessibility Bugs in iOS 8: From Serious To Minor

Apple Confirms HealthKit Bug, Promises Fix by End of September

BlindSquare: Acapela Voices Temporarily Not Available in iOS 8

Braille Moves Forward in iOS 8

Apple TV updated w/ Beats Music channel, refreshed design, Family Sharing, & iCloud Photos

new Victor Reader 2 Update now live

New audio channel makes fashion accessible for people with disabilities

Fred Gissoni

Code Factory becomes global! Check our new website

New TalkBack for Android released. Check the release notes to see what’s new

New Kindle Voyager docking soon

New Amazon Fire Kids Edition

The 3MT Reader Android app is a simple, intuitive way for blind users to read epub and txt books

Microsoft confirms Windows 9 event for September 30, Technical Preview to follow soon after

The new Ken Burns PBS series, The Roosevelts available on the Web with Audio description

Roundabout

Intel Unveils Connected Wheelchair

The 12-y.o. Hero Behind the Lego-Braille Printer: A Not Impossible Original

Here is a link to SeroTalk Podcast 188 featuring Buddy Brannan’s interview with Shubham Banerjee

The Tough MudderExperience

Maurie is back, to the happiness of Rodney and Byron, and she has brought along a fantastic topic for this month’s episode. Many low vision people struggle with where, when and what times they should self identify in public. Sure, the airport seems like a logical place to carry a cane, however, a trip to the local store might be the place where overconfidence can trump your need for assistance in interacting in that environment. Not to mention when reading the sides of cereal boxes. How did that text get so small anyway? Join us as we talk about examples of self identification, a few trademark ramblings off topic and another game review by Joe that you can play with your eyes open or closed.

Here is the link, to the NPR story, that got Maurie to thinking about low vision self identification

Additionally, from the ACLU, here is a link to a PDF about knowing your rights when talking with the authorities that Rodney found on the Daily Tech News Show website.

App Review: Blindfold Racer

Grab your headphones and driving gloves. It’s time to speed down the track, avoid chickens and turn in your best times with Blindfold Racer for iOS. This free app works with Voiceover and is a great pick up and play kind of game. You will tilt your device to steer around obstacles and barrel through turns. It sounds simple, but can you keep the center of the track between your ears as you avoid the crazy obstacles? Try out the app and see if you can be the ultimate driver!

How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast?

Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter

Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog

Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter

Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast

Follow Byron Lee on Twitter

Check out Byron’s LowVisionRants.com Website

Feel free to send your feedback on this show to resources@serotalk.com

You can always find the latest on this show and others on the SeroTalk Podcast Network

using iBlink Radio for your iOS device or your Android device. You can even leave us an iReport right from the iBlink app.

Thanks for listening!

After a bit of an absence, Jamie, Ricky and Joe are back with another podcast. Did you miss us? We decided to let the rest of the Serotek team have their say with our 2012 SPN holiday review special. In addition to our holiday review special, Ricky Enger, Mike Calvo and Joe Steinkamp sat down to discuss the current state of mobile accessibility in our latest SPN Mobile special: Scratching the Surface with Mike Calvo.

In SeroTalk Podcast 133, we discuss the top news of the week. Then, Jamie Pauls sits down with Dennis of Aftershokz to discuss the company’s latest generation of bone conduction headphones. And now, it’s time for the news!

Syria suffers Internet ‘blackout’; cut off from the outside world

Apple releases iTunes 11 with “dramatically simplified user interface”

Analyst: Apple’s iPad 4 is not selling well. Why? Blame the Mini

iPod Creator: Scott Forstall ‘Got What He Deserved’

Apple SVP Eddy Cue Fires Richard Williamson For Botching Apple Maps

Report: Apple bumps Android from top spot in U.S. smartphone market on strength of iPhone 5

Apple Sold 11 iPads Per Hour On Black Friday While Microsoft Sold Zero Surface Tablets

Windows 8 off to a slow start with consumers in month one, says NPD

Pricing for Microsoft’s Surface Pro Revealed; $899 for 64GB, $999 for 128GB

RIM’s Stock Up 55% in Past 30 Days on BlackBerry 10 Optimism

AT&T is the worst-rated wireless carrier for the third year in a row, according to Consumer Reports

Google+ chief: Facebook is the social network of the past

Like it or not, nonreplaceable CPUs may be the future of desktops

Every computer term you’ve ever wanted to know, explained in our tech dictionary:

Barnes And Noble’s Nook App Gets VoiceOver And Zoom Accessibility

Everything you ever wanted to know about iMessage – in a braille booklet

New Podcast: YouPlayer: Not Just Another YouTube App for iOS … it’s one that Claims Full VoiceOverSupport!

Navigating the Windows8 Start screen with the Keyboard

Mailbag

Blog comment from Jim

Roundabout

Smart specs may replace guide dogs

the voice behind Siri (interview with Kerin Jacobson)

Mike Calvo is joined by Ricky Enger and Lisa Salinger to discuss the recent mobile device updates as well as current and future trends.

A Look at the Latest in iOS and Android

iPhone 5

Arstechnica Review of iPhone 5

Drop and Durability Test for iPhone 5

iPhone 5 Lightning Adapters to Remain Reassuringly Expensive Courtesy of Authentication Chip

Teardown revives hopes that Lightning might be USB 3.0-compatible

Verizon won’t relock the iPhone 5’s GSM

iOS 6

Maccessibility » A First Look at VoiceOver in iOS 6

Op-ed: iOS 6′s Do Not Disturb and the ring/silent switch

Taking Apple’s Passbook for a real-world spin

How to add almost any gift card to Passbook

Wrong turn: Apple’s buggy iOS 6 maps lead to widespread complaints

Top 10 Secret Features of iOS 6

What can you say to Siri in iOS 6?

Android Jellybean

Google Nexus 7 review

Accessibility Gestures for Android 4.1, Jellybean

Acapela TTS for Android

Siri-ous New Voice Assistant for Android devices

This week, Buddy Brannan joins Jamie Pauls and Ricky Enger to discuss the news of the week. Stories discussed in this week’s podcast include:

Go Daddy: Sorry about the outage. And no, it wasn’t a hack

“Six strikes” Internet warning system will come to US this year

California passes driverless car bill

Global TV shipments down again as Samsung dominates

BlackBerry sinks to zero sales in ‘a meaningful number’ of stores

iOS 6 coming Sept 19, here’s what’s new

 Apple’s era of secrecy is over

Five reasons iPhone 5 disappoints

Five great things about iPhone 5

Get your iPhone ready for iOS 6

Verizon will enable iPhone’s FaceTime on all data plans, unlike AT&T

Google VP says Apple v Samsung verdict was a “wake-up call”

Blind and online: Progress, not perfection, for visually impaired tech users

Bionic revolution: The tech getting disabled people into work

New Tips for Amtrak Travel

Working To Improve Autocorrect, An App Finds An Unlikely Audience: The Blind

What’s New in JAWS 14 Public Beta

Roundabout

Winner Is Served: Christine Ha Takes Top Prize on MasterChef

Please take this screen reader user survey and help spread the word about System Access.

Join us for another episode of the SeroTalk Podcast as Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp tackle the top news stories of the week. After the news, Jamie Pauls and Patrick Purdue join Mike Calvo to discuss the iShower, a Bluetooth-enabled wireless shower speaker.

In The News

Amazon’s new 7-inch Kindle Fire: twice the RAM, faster processor, longer battery life, $159

Kindle Fire HD 8.9: how the new Kindle tablet compares with the competition

Amazon just put Android tablets on notice with the Kindle Fire product line

Amazon debuts new Kindle Fires, just don’t call them gadgets

The quest for the best search engine: Bing It On

Google wins patent on face-to-unlock feature

A Windows user’s life with the Mac, two months in

Nokia aims to dazzle with Windows Phone 8 Lumia 920

Nokia mangles Lumia phone launch by faking camera’s capabilities

No new Apple TV this year, report says

Apple: We didn’t pass iPhone, iPad device IDs to FBI

iPhone 5 rumor roundup

Apple claims dibs on new dock adapters, report says

The BrailleNote Battery Scandal

An indoor navigation solution for blind users? Check out Navatar

FSCast Episode 69, Augusst 2012 discusses the upcoming release of Jaws 14

Roundabout

AT&T to test Text-to-911 service in Tennessee

Why Remote Workers Are More (Yes, More) Engaged

Please take this screen reader user survey and help spread the word about System Access.

Replay the Accessible Event Archive of SeroSpectives: This Month in Tech for August 2012

About Our Guests

Rich Cavallaro is a computer information technology major at Hofstra

University graduating in December 2012. Technology has been a passion

of his since a very young age.  He has been an instructor for the

Technologically Empowered College Students (TECS) program for students

in New York since 2009. With his vast knowledge of both mainstream and

assistive technologies, he assists in developing the webinars to

ensure that TECS participants have the most accurate, up-to-date, and

accessible web resources available. During the weekly conferences,

Rich facilitates the discussion, answers questions, troubleshoots

technology and most importantly, shares his experiences and unique

perspective on life as a college student.  Besides technology, audio

is also something Rich enjoys.  He broadcasts quite frequently on his

college radio station, WRHU (We’re Radio Hofstra University).

He can be contacted either via email

or by following him on Twitter.

Luke Leiby, from New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, is fifteen years old

and in 10th grade. He is interested in music, especially production,

recording, and engineering. He writes: “To me, technology is growing quickly day

by day, and I like to keep up with the latest and the newest, and see

what technology the visually impaired can use.”

Estin Talavera is the Assistive Technology Specialist for the Envision

Vision Rehabilitation Center. In addition to assessing and training

patients on assistive technology, Estin is also one of the instructors

for the annual Envision Assistive Technology Camp for middle school and

high school students with vision impairments and a podcaster for the

YouTube Assistive Technology podcast “Tips, Tricks. .” Estin is

Also currently seeking a degree from Wichita State University in general

studies with emphasis in communication sciences and disorders,

psychology and sociology.

In the News

How to upgrade your Hotmail email address to @outlook.com

Windows 7 poised to topple XP as leading OS

SeroSpectives Special: Mountain Lion

Apple’s $1 Billion Win Over Samsung: Q&A

5 reasons the Apple Samsung Ruling is Good for Everyone

New iPhone’s Bigger Screen to Have 5th Row of Homescreen Icons?

iPhone 5 not likely to support NFC, says new report

This iPhone app reads your heart rate in seconds by staring at your face

Watch live TV on your phone! No, really

Amazon’s cloud music service gets scan and match

Blind and visually impaired fastest growing iPhone market

Verizon launches accessibility app for visually impaired

Ten Affordable Screen Readers

Super Egg Hunt Plus is now live.

Google’s Self-Driving Cars Complete 300K Miles Without Accident, Deemed Ready For Commuting

Will the elderly ever accept care from robots?

Welcome back to another episode of the SeroTalk podcast. In this week’s episode, Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp discuss all the news of the week. Following the news, Lisa Salinger demonstrates Voice Book VO, the new Facebook app discussed on last week’s podcast.

Microsoft

Attention all Windows users: patch your systems now

Nokia Maps to replace Bing Maps in Windows Phone 8, report says

Microsoft offers glimpse of Office 2013 on Windows RT tablet

General Tech

Verizon offers buckets of data with the Share Everything plan

Amazon Cloud Player

Facebook plugs in WordPress for social sharing

Now in Skype: Advertisements

Reality check: the self-driving car

‘MasterChef’ Blind Chef Contestant: The Judges Discuss Christine’s Unique Advantage

AT

Tech Sessions at the 2012 American Council of the Blind Conference and Convention

AppleVis:  Welcome our New Team Member!

Jamie and Joe appear on ACB Radio’s Main Menu show.

Android (Still) Not Very Accessible

direct Download for 30-day trial of Kurzweil K1000 13.01

NVDA 2012.2.1 Released   

Networks Set To Launch Video Descriptions

Apple

Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display  

Apple CEO says Mac Pro update to come ‘next year’

Here Are The Services, Businesses, And Markets Apple Just Shook Up 

Apple’s WWDC keynote: What we didn’t get

What iOS 6 tells us about the next iPhone

Apple selects TomTom as primary iOS 6 maps provider (update: confirmed)

Upcoming iOS 6 To Have Upgraded Accessibility Features

Apple could still strike Android, Windows Phone with iOS 6 zinger

How Garmin Failed to See the iPhone Threat

Roundabout

Blind Olympic torch bearer runs unguided, assisted only by smartphone

In this week’s podcast, Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp must do battle with a thunderstorm and a really loud lawn mower. There is one casualty as a result of the ensuing battle, but the show must go on and so it does. Who is forced off the island, so to speak? What are the top stories of the week? All of that and more awaits you as you listen to this week’s episode!

Entertainment

Dick Clark dies at age 82; fans pay tribute on Twitter

Social Media

Twitter’s no-lawsuit pledge: “We will not join the patent wars”

Why Facebook needs to build a browser

Legal Department

Apple and Samsung to meet out of court for settlement chat

Apple prepared to go to trial in the US over e-book pricing

Internet

Ex-FBI cyberexpert: Potential for digital Pearl Harbor is real

FedEx Office teams up with Google Cloud Print

Windows

5 Computer Maintenance Tips You Should Not Ignore!

Computer Maintenance Tools Available In Windows 7

How to bring the Start menu back to Windows 8

Cell Phones

Verizon’s 4G LTE blankets two-thirds of U.S. population

Next iPhone said to ditch glass for Liquidmetal, arrive in June

Carriers ponder Apple iPhone subsidy uprising: Will it work?

Will Windows Phone 8 makers be more free to tweak the OS?

Ebooks

Publishers Call for Industry Cohesion on Accessible e-Books

Why e-book DRM will die, and why this will make no difference to Amazon and Apple

AT

Learning Ally Audio App for your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad

Product Evaluation: BrailleNote Apex from HumanWare

Roundabout

Are Internet Friends Real Friends?

Jamie Pauls and Ricky Enger welcome Joe Steinkamp back to this week’s podcast. After a brief discussion about Joe’s recent computer problems, the three of them tackle the news of the week.

Smartphones

Why Apple should abandon its ‘thermonuclear’ war against Android

iPhone Vs. Android Phones, Which One is Dominating the Market?

Feature Writer Steve Famiglietti – A Personal Journey Through the iPhone 4S

Hospitals Warn Smartphones Could Distract Doctors

iPad

Apple ‘Must Fix’ iPad Battery Issue, Study Warns

Apple: iPad charging fine, keep it plugged in

General Tech

Is HTC prepping an iPod Touch rival?

AT&T striving to retain customers through new loyalty program

Twitter bug makes it seem you’re unfollowing people

Google Drive due as soon as April

Harry Potter Flies Onto eReaders as Pottermore Store Opens

Windows 8 Release Candidate rumored for June, retail release in October

AT

windows 8 narrator, provides hype and not hope

Volunteer for Exciting New Image Description Project!

A screen reader for everyone: why the world needs NVDA | Media Access Australia

Electroactive polymer key to durable full-screen Braille displays

Roundabout

Self-Driving Car Test: Steve Mahan (Audio Described) – YouTube

This week, Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger, and Joe Steinkamp once again discuss the top news stories of the week. Stories which we discuss in this episode include:

Big story

Are carriers responsible for mobile tracking software

Tech News Today discusses this story beginning with episode 384.

They continue the discussion in episode 385.

Apple

2 reports of iPhones smoking

You asked for it, now here it is! @LookTel releases a performance update today that significantly improves recognition performance!

iPad, iPhone, iPod touch are children’s 3 most-wanted gifts  

Holida Shopping

The 10 Most Awesome Apps You Need To Buy This Holiday Season

Last Christmas for tax free Internet shopping?: Washington Times | A bipartisan consensus appears to be forming …

The best tech gifts for under $50

Enjoy a feast of the 50 free apps we’re most thankful for

Those barcode-looking things? They’re called QR codes. Here’s what they do.

Black Friday, Cyber Monday euphoria: Clicks cannibalize bricks

How to get notified when prices drop on Amazon

Technology news

Amazon Releases Kindle Source Code

AT&T Acquisition of T-Mobile Looks Less Likely Than Ever

Facebook Just Made A Major Deal With The Government To Protect User’s Privacy

WordPress launches WordAds ad program in partnership with Federated Media

Microsoft rolls out public beta for latest Security Essentials

Assistive Technology

Window-Eyes 7.5.2 is Now Available!

NVDA 2011.3 Released!

New enhanced firmware 4.47 for Milestone 312 & 212 DAISY Players / Recorders now available

The BookSense Master is coming soon!  

BookSense Master is companion software for BookSense and BookSense XT…

ZoomText 10 Has Arrived!

@NFB_voice: Good news: you can now access our flagship publication, the Braille Monitor, on @NFB_NEWSLINE!

A new method for solving captchas is in the works. Will it work better than existing solutions?

On SPN

We discuss the following podcasts available on the SeroTalk Podcast Network:

This Month In AT for November

That Android Show 3 This is what a row of books sounds like

Mailbag:

We respond to several emails this month. We always appreciate your feedback, so keep those emails, tweets, calls, and iReports coming.

Round about

Disney Web Access Case Settles Before Trial

Research: Handwriting Communication System Could Let the Visually Impaired Feel Their Messages

New cane for the blind uses Foursquare checkins to locate nearby friends

Let’s do some math! On this plan, your Atom-based netbook running Windows XP will set you back about $1160 in total, assuming you’re somehow able to keep your internet usage below 200MB a month. (Note: Nobody does this.) If you want a slightly more realistic plan—a still-anemic 5GB a month—you’ll have to step up to $60 and month, which pushes your cost of ownership to $1640.

Even a modest cellphone plan adds up a to a lot in the long term, but we expect something in return: decent calling plans, effectively unlimited data, and a free, or at least heavily subsidized handset. The only thing you’re getting here is an oppressive transfer cap, some Wi-Fi hotspot access and about $100 off street price on a few modestly-specced netbooks. I guess if you’re set on AT&T’s data service anyway, it’s not a terrible deal, but it’s sure as hell not a good one. [