AT&T Gophone Data usage - *777*3# no longer works

So this is really far off base from my normal reviews but it's one of the things I don't have a good outlet for, so why not rant on here.  AT&T recently stopped the *777*3# code to check data and they claim you can check through their app, but that's a flat lie.

Moral of this whole story is: if you're looking for your gophone data usage under the new plan you need to call customer service.  Also there is a certain threshold that they'll send you an automated message saying you're almost out of high speed data, on the $45 plan that's 100MB remaining, or 90% usage.  (I spent a half hour on hold for that answer, you're welcome)

Full story:

AT&T GoPhone plans for smartphones recently started to have unlimited data, awesome right?  Well you get capped at a certain amount, my plan is the $45 plan, 1GB high speed then the rest of the month at a reduced speed...but I have no idea how fast or slow the reduced speed is.  This sounds like just whining over not being able to surf Facebook (which I RARELY use and pretty much despise) but for me it's more.

 The biggest thing I'm concerned about is my GPS.  I recently moved near Boston and can't find my way around anywhere yet and I rely very heavily on my smartphone to get me there.  I have a stand alone GPS but it's less reliable, out of date, and MUCH slower.  I could buy a new one but what a waste of money and electronics that'll just end up polluting a dump.

So when I hit my data limit what will happen to my GPS?  How much data does it actually use?  Will it load the images fast enough?  I have no idea.

And yes there are other options. :
-I could raise my account to $60 a month because I know I've NEVER gone over 2GB...but why should I pay extra because of their shortcomings?
-I could switch to T-Mobile I have a phone from abroad and started with them because they're cheaper...you get what you pay for.  I'd rather pay more for better service and be in the dark.
-I can buy extra data part of the way through the month...but the extra data doesn't carry over.  I'd pay $15 for 1GB and use it for what?  7 days?  4 days?  That's ridiculous.

So really I think there are two options for AT&T to get back on my good side.  One: give us back a way to check our data.  Two: Let us carry over high speed data for a month or two.

I can't believe I'm gonna say this but really I'd rather know where I stand and have limited data than unlimited and not be able to access my information.  Why are we required to be left in the dark?

And yes, their app is useless and just sends you to their equally useless website.

Hiatus

So ended up taking an extended hiatus from semi-officially reviewing books.  I was spending a year in Korea and it just didn't mesh well with creating lesson plans and learning to live in a very different society.  After I came back I did some bouncing around jobs and such until I finally found one that should stick for a while.  Related to this job I'm most likely going to be going to grad school in less than a year SO in between studying for an entrance exam (haven't decided which yet...) and applying and all that fun I'm going to try and get in some reviews.

So why write this instead of just jumping into doing a review?  Good question...hopefully this will be my motivation?  Yeah, we'll go with that.

As every Amazon user (and many avid readers) have seen there is now the "Kindle Unlimited" option where for $10 a month you get access to around 600,000 titles.  My next few entries are going to be focused around those titles and whether I think it's worth the cost (still undecided).

The Secret to Living Your Life Fully: Lessons on Mindfulness - Jennifer Brooks **4/5**

Quick & Dirty:

• Background guide as well as how-to, I would not recommend this book to anyone who is not looking for/willing to read through the background information.
• Solid introduction without being a long and daunting read.
• The authors writing style made the reading a bit awkward at times.

Long & Wordy:

77 Ways to Find New Readers - Laura Pepper Wu *5/5*

Quick & Dirty:

• Concise, practical, and relevant.
• Simple and straightforward advice.
• Useful advice for everyone, whether you're a techie or afraid of a keyboard.

Long & Wordy:

Before I picked up this book I was scared.  I thought "oh she's going to tell you to flood facebook and all these other services and you are going to drive your readers INSANE."

No.

If you follow her advice, keep it simple, you're on your way to successfully marketing your book.  Hope you wrote a good one...

Very simple and straight forward book to help you get a larger audience for an indie published book.  Really, this advice is mostly universal to anyone trying to make a mark online or otherwise, and not limited to authors.

The book is pretty short, but don't let this fool you.  Not only is the book filled with great ideas, it also has links to help you actually apply these tips and (hopefully) be successful.  

Many of the links connect back to her blog, but considering the blog is a "30 day" blog, you're going to find some extras in the book.

It also gives practical advice for the services you're already using.  Sometimes we need a reminder to "keep it simple stupid", and this book does that wonderfully.

As is, this is a wonderful book.  I mentioned that there are links, which are really where the depth of the book comes in, which is a big positive and negative...a pain to click through to more but allows the book to be less bulky and cumbersome.  My only real concern is that over time some of the links may be disconnected, but because many of them are for her blog this is pretty unlikely.  

Check it out on Amazon.

Overall 5/5

***I received this book as an ARC.  This in no way effected my review.***

Gamers - Thomas Carpenter *3/5*

Quick & Dirty:

• Interesting story about life turning into a large computer game.

• With the wide variety of YA dystopian novels available now this one falls in the middle of the pack.

• A few annoying bits of...’borrowed’ slang don’t destroy the book but aren't an asset.

Long & Wordy: