Recent Blog Posts
-
MSNBC.com "Knows a Trend When It Sees One"
Nov 23 20094:11 pm EDT -
Windows 7 Spin May Be on the Money
Nov 23 20098:44 am EDT -
Mapping Company Raises Millions
Nov 20 20094:09 pm EDT -
Facebook Valuations Are All Over the Map
Nov 20 200911:30 am EDT -
The Future of Tech, 2010 Edition
Nov 20 20099:13 am EDT -
Automatic Pancake-Making Machine Attracts $2 Million in Capital
Nov 19 20094:53 pm EDT -
Apple Talk of Microsoft's Annual Meeting
Nov 19 20091:27 pm EDT -
There Is Still Hope for the News Business
Nov 19 200911:50 am EDT -
The Google Phone May Be Near
Nov 18 20094:10 pm EDT -
Amazon Grocery Service Goes Mobile with iPhone
Nov 18 20099:13 am EDT
Links
- Engadget

- Pandora

- GigaOM

- USA TODAY Tech

- Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog

- Somewhat Frank's tech conference list

- BuzzTracker Tech

- The Long Tail

- Tom Foremski

- Roger McGuinn's Folk Den

- John Battelle's SearchBlog

- Mark Cuban's blog

- SciTech Daily

- Romenesko

- Kevin Maney's site

- Steven Johnson

- Marc Andreessen

- TechCrunch

- Fred Wilson

- paidContent

- Spiedies, mmmm

VZ Wireless Usage Controls -- For $4.99 a Month
Kevin Maney writes with mixed feelings: Verizon Wireless has finally come through with something that should've been available from wireless carriers for a long time: parental controls on cell phone use.
Early this year, Verizon Wireless said it was planning to create such controls -- and it's nice to see that the company followed through. Its new "usage controls" were launched last week, and they give parents a lot of the control they need. You can set time limits, for instance, so your kid can't engage in text messaging after a certain time on a school night. You can set limits on the number of texts, or block texts from certain numbers. (The other carriers offer nothing like this.)
My biggest beef: Verizon is charging $4.99 a month per phone to turn on usage controls. That just has the feel of nickel-and-dime money-grubbing. Giving parents the power to control phone use for their kids seems like the least a carrier should do, considering that the carriers are selling a service that's highly addictive for most teens and pre-teens. I'm sure plenty of parents will fork over the money, but by charging for controls, Verizon Wireless just missed an opportunity for enormous good will.
. □






