Category: Geeks r Us
The tell me by phone information has a new phone number: 888-835-5630. The old number didn't work for me yesterday, and I got word there is a new number in case anybody is interested.
I just tried 18005558355 and it still works.
So what's up is it closing or is it here to stay? Last night the announcement that played sounded like it was gone for good. I couldn't find any infomation on what was up.
awhile back, a friend posted something on twitter saying it's going away for good. if that's true, I can't say I'm surprised.
I wouldn't be surprised if it did just pissed off. Yes before June first in May there was a message saying it was going away then that message vannished and it stayed. Heard a roomer some other company brought it and lots of other things but can not find any information on it myself.
why would you be pissed off? there are other ways to get information it provides.
Other ways for us who are online, yes. But for those still marginalized and offline, and for the seniors, it is a problem. Blame me for my concerns about these types of things: it's part of being the sandwich generation, caught between supporting lfao-textin hipster hypers and having aging parents.
I understand that, Leo; I just thought said poster might have another reason.
Sometimes you're on the go, and you want to check the weather or the news, or kill some time by playing blackjack. I admit I rarely use the number myself anymore, but it's kind of neat to know it's still there. And before someone says "well a smart phone can do all that and more", some of us choose not to get them for whatever reason. But if Tell Me does go away it's certainly understandable, given the ever-increasing population who does use them.
sorry, but I have to. you can do all that on the iPhone, and, dare I say, it's probably a hell of a lot faster.
I wondered about an i-phone myself. I can upgrade my AT and T cell phone in November. So many going away rumors about tell me. My whole family does the texting thing, so i would like to go with that even if there is a learning curve. I'm lucky I like technology so much.
Bea, you were a technology user when you worked, so you are in a way like my parents-in-law.
I understand as we get older some things are harder to learn, take more effort. Hell, I'm only 41 and I don't memorize like I used to, or like the young 21-year-old impudents running around as interns, though I fully realize I was them once.
All that said, you know how to listen to speech, and the VoiceOver on the iPhone is a real benefit to you. My parents-in-law have been very successful with theirs for several reasons: Like you, they're not really looking backwards or trying to relive better days, as can happen to people in that age group: they're doing what they can with what they have. Also, they only use what they want to use: phone, text, maps to some extent, but are under no pressure to feel like they have to download apps.
This past weekend we got them up to speed even on moving apps around on the screen, how they can organize their own iPhone to put things where they can find them, etc.
The other reason is that we sent our daughter, their granddaughter, to help them out. I had a talk with her first though: take it slow, show them what you're doing and how. So if you have a young relative, use them as a resource. You're helping them by them spending a bit of time with you rather than just their peers: they might grow an inch or two.
But the challenge with them is, they really don't know how they do things: it's all so reflexive. Unlike my generation who came up in the 70s and 80s, they've had this stuff for most of their adolescence, had a computer since childhood. So they don't really think about what they're doing (with all that that implies, by the way), so just ask. They can even learn quickly how you use the VoiceOver and so help you when you are using it. It's not like the old days when nobody's gonna help the blind guy because they don't know how all that so-called special stuff works. Think about this: They share phones, look at each other's texts, pass their phones around to each other to oogle and oggle at what each other has, even though we parents tell them not to for privacy reasons. They're all as comfortable with a iPhone as they are with a Android. My daughter had never seen a old Windows phone before, but last night I had her help her mom with the camera on my T-Mobile Dash, now it's hers since I got the iPhone. Anyway, even though she hadn't messed with the Dash before, she had the camera working in minutes, if not seconds.
So, if you can afford the data plan, get an iPhone. If you're home most of the time, get the lowest data plan you can afford - though no less than 2 gigabytes. Then at home or at your favorite coffeeshop, you can use wi fi. Also find out about the city where you live: most of them have free wi fi in the downtown area anymore, and that will help with your data usage. Theere's a lot of decent GPS apps for the iPhone, Ariadne comes to mind as it announces upcoming cross streets. Maybe not as sexy as the full-blown blind GPS apps of yesterday, but for those of us (myself included) who never had those, these new ones are great.
And get a young one to help you where you have trouble. Make sure they understand what it is you want to do, rather than what cool skinny-jeans thing they think you want to do. And, in doing so, you might contribute to them growing an inch or two.
to back up what Leo just said, I have WiFi set up at home and it makes things so much easier.
I'm currently on the lowest costing data plan there is, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
and, if I'm at someone's house who has WiFi and I need to use it for something, they give me their password to connect since most networks are secure, and boom, there I go.
Yes yes we all know that there are other things out there. It's like the NFB Newsline it's another resorse like a Library can we please keep this topic about Tell Me that is the title after all. I don't mean to be rude but it would be like a I phone topic talking about Tell Me or access to the Zone by phone. Onces a phone the other is a line you call.
if tell me goes down these are other options. it fits in the topic just fine.
Sure and that's great but we are trying to find out what's up with Tell Me.
and, I'm trying to educate people that even if it goes away, there are other things out there. it fits just fine.
As I understand it, microsoft has a company called 24-7, and that's who has tell me now. So if folks call microsoft and ask about tell me, would microsoft realize there is a demand for the service?
it couldn't hurt, could it?
Interesting. I have been hearing of tell me disappearing for a long time so haven't bothered trying it. But as of today, July 8, it still works. I had heard that a replacement number was 1-800-bing411 (1-800-2464-411), but ironically that number does not work.
I haven't called tell me in a long while.
I remember when you use to beable to call people on there for free but they took that off.
but it is all good though.
hey folks good news on the tell me front. Its still up and running as of July 9.
Thanks to voice assistant apps on both android and IOS "genie and serie for Iphone" you can find stuff pretty fast. I have seen serie used with my super visers phone she works quite well. Same for genie for android. So that is why tell me will probly go away adventually. Seems to me MS. is working on win8 and win8 phones trying to tightly intagrate bing in to that OS so you can do what you would with tel me.
I view smart phones now like most people viewed computers five to 10 years ago: They're certainly on the rise, and within a few years, you'll be doing yourself a disservice not to at least learn to use them, but I don't think we're quite at that point with smart phones yet, so all things considered, I think it's good that Tell me still works.
I enjoy useing tell me from time to time. it is a great service. glad to hear it still works. yay:
What is the other phone services other than Tell ME?
something about NFB and Microsoft?
Shoutmail used to be good.
Anyone have any clues?
I like TellMe.
I use it when i wanna check the weather and have used it to hear news from my cell phone, since it isn't smart, and I choose to continue to use an older model Tri-band phone from Verizon.
Damn, someone who remembers Shoutmail? lol. That was even before my time, but I know a few people who used to use it. As for other systems similar to TellMe, there's Free411 (800-373-3411). It has many of the same services. I called TellMe this morning and discovered that they've finally taken the main number down. However, they gave a different number that is supposed to have similar services, and when I called it, it turned out to be TellMe, with all the same features. The number is 888-247-2425.
Becky
Becky is correct.
Becky Wrote:
there's Free411 (800-373-3411). It has many of the same services.
Really?when i called it did exactly what I thought it would do, asked for business, government or residental, as how 411 would work.
I didn't hear anything simular to TellME via that service.
Dating myself here. Who remembers Topica? who remembers when it was 555-1212 for information? lol .
After those three options, it also has weather and horoscopes. I remember 555-1212. lol, I think I'll start another topic later for all those late, great chatlines and phone systems we used to know and love.
Becky
Anyone remember the loup it was a teen talk line shut down in 2007 2008? Anyway it had trivea games chat all sorts of cool stuff. Used to spend hours on there.
I loved The Loop.
Remember compuserve? Remember geni? When the vendor got those boards set up for me, he could see how into them I was. Had major surgery right around then, so those sites kept my mind busy.
I much prefer research it, the weather on there seems much more accurate, but if someone needs the new number it's now.
1-888-247-2425
Yeah, but one of the things that research it is supposed to do breaks at least once a month, so I quit using it quite awhile ago. Really, it's not that hard. If you're already on the computer, you can check the weather, go on Wikipedia, or do anything else that Research It has condensed into its nice little package.
there's also an ohio number dunno why it's 3302477411
I just tried calling the old tell me number today and was told it is no longer available but was directed to call 1-888-247-2425. When I called this number, I got the exact same voice giving me the exact same choices as the old tell me line. Don't know why they changed the number when it is the same service.
that's pretty ridiculous to me, as well.
the older number was easy to remember IMO, too
I used TellMe quite often and was saddened in July when I discovered the number no longer worked. However, I just dialed the number the original poster listed, and it works! Yay! I totally added it to my contacts.