Because I’m always hunting down the best deals, easiest technology for beginners to use and my inbox is full of “”which phone/computer/internet plan/printer is right for me, Trent?” I have both an Android Smartphone and an iPhone AND a basic mobile for testing phone and mobile Internet coverage in certain areas (I’m a very hands-on guy – no lab tests here!)

The one thing I have to say is if you are in Sydney, Vodafone is hard to beat!

Optus has had too many connection issues in all of my tests, so until someone else knocks them off their throne, Vodafone is my pick for small business phone access with internet for Facebook and email use that just works.

Here is some news about what they have been doing with their network; which explains why I’ve been seeing such dramatic improvements in coverage and Internet speeds compared to Optus and Telstra.

Vodafone have been upgrading its existing network and adding new sites to bring customers better call quality, improved coverage and faster data speeds, as well as building a new 850MHz network to improve performance for compatible smartphones and mobile broadband devices. This is obviously great for mobile phone and broadband users.

In addition to this, there is also a lot of work being done behind the scenes to improve the activation rate of placed orders, which reduces the time to getting your phone up and running ( saw this in person at the local store when I activated my iPhone earlier this year).

[source - Vodafone Australia, cut down and edited for the important bits by yours truly]

If you want to know how to make money on the internet, don’t click on another one of those pages promising money-back guarantees!

They are SCAMS! Don’t click on them and if you already have leave the site straight away! Don’t give them your email address!
(Click here for a list of special offer sites I’ve had complaints about)

I receive so many emails each week about which of these are real and “Do these Gurus really make millions on the internet, Trent?” is the most common question.

The answer is, YES! They are making money, but they are doing so in a way similar to Pyramid scams that are illegal in the real world.

How do they SCAM you out of your money?

Imagine 4 people get together, hire someone to recycle some information from around the internet, make it into a document and then sell it as “The latest way to make money on the internet!” then sell this valuable information for $30.

But wait! There is MORE! As soon as you try and either complete the purchase or (heaven forbid) leave the site, you are told of an exclusive offer worth THOUSANDS for only $300.

Oh you thought it had stopped? Oh no! As soon as you have signed up for THAT offer (or again make the silly attempt to leave their website) you are told of a consolation prize that is free (BUT you will pay each month when you forget to cancel your subscription)

So the answer is YES, you can make money like this – but whether you will sleep at night depends on whether you have the morals of a thief or not 

I’d like to point you to a video that showcases a technology which I think is the first big breakthrough in Internet communication since the old Bulletin Boards of the late 80s and early 90s. It could also be the answer to SPAM!

It’s called Google Wave and (amongst many other things) it combines email and IM (Instant Messaging) funtions into your browser (i.e. you won’t need to download yet more software before you can use it!). Now if this is all it did, it would already be something to sing about, but it doesn’t just give you the same instant messaging features, it improves them.

e.g. There’s nothing worse than waiting for an ‘instant’ reply and seeing that the other person “…is typing” their message, but you need to turn your computer off and leave. Instead, you now see what they are typing, as they are typing it. This also overcomes the time wasted on a reply from them which is on the wrong track – one of the main causes of messaging angst!

Work AND Play
Because it is helping with communication and allows you to share photos and other files on the fly, it means collaborating in a work environment is easier and it’s also really easy to share holiday pics with family and friends interstate/overseas without having to sign up for Flickr, etc.

NO MORE SPAM!
One added benefit of this system is that because you need to invite people, it’s not like the SPAM minefield that E-Mail is today. Although it’s early, this could be the ultimate SPAM-Buster – addressing a problem that has been chewing up Internet resources and your time for years now.

When is it coming?
At the moment, it’s scheduled for ‘later this year’ but the best part is that they are allowing developers to work with the software so that when it does come out officially you will have lots of toys to play with!

Here is the link. Bare in mind that the video is 80 minutes long, but it will give you a good idea of the many features coming soon.