Reader's Digest

[W3WN]

Since we've been beating up XM Radio in the other thread...

I've been getting Reader's Digest on & off for years. Was going to drop my subscription a few months back, but I got a "3rd & Final" notice from them demanding my renewal payment, figured I must have renewed & forgot, so I paid it. That was then.

New issue came yesterday. Opened it up this morning, took a look at the "insert" that has the actual mailing information... it had a note that the envelope enclosed had to do with a "renewal discount." Glad I opened it...

Seems that RD has switched all of the subscriptions to auto-renew. So you have to tell them that you want to stop. Didn't know that? Well, they claim that you agreed to it on your last renewal (Bullshnitz, I say, bullshnitz) so that they're well within their rights.

And if you're like most people (myself included) and ignore those little inserts (which used to just be advertising crap), you're going to get burned.

It's not the $18, it's the principle of the thing.

So, the bill goes back marked "CANCEL" in big red letters. Should they call or write me to ask why, I'll tell them. Their short term stunt to get me for one year has cost them a subscriber for good. (That they're now giving you issues every other month instead of monthly for the same price is also a factor).

If you get RD -- make sure you read that insert, not just throw it away!

[N7RJD]

I grew up in a house with the proverbial stack of RD on the back of the tank or on the floor next to.
Basically having grown up with them being around I tried out a subscription for a year at one point.
I quickly found that they really didn't offer anything I wanted. That and they took every opportunity
to try and sell me whatever they could. It was like paying to have a constant infomercial delivered.

[w3bny]

Readers digest....a good sign that you have gotten old or are in a doctors office.

[W3WN]

Readers digest....a good sign that you have gotten old or are in a doctors office.

It's just something to read on the commute home and back. QST and CQ are just not convenient to carry, and WorldRadio no longer exists in a physical form.

Frankly, the current issue (which announces a "revamp") is dull. I'm probably going to call them and cancel the rest of the subscription. Who knows, I might get a buck or two back (hah!)

[KA5PIU]

Hello.

Remember the Infomercial machines in doctors offices?
They changed formats or something so they installed a new one.
The doc got to keep the TV inside and I got the cabinet and all the goodies inside.
What is inside is a satellite receiver and a surge protector, nothing more.
The satellite receiver is a FTA unit.
http://www.ftalist.com/master.php
The Arabs will send you pretty much the same thing for just the cost of shipping, look on the web for Arab TV.
Sometimes a store will move that had satellite audio, and sometimes video also.
Usually this is also a satellite FTA receiver.
Ask management if you can have it before they throw it away, explain that you are a ham.
Most will roll eyes and tell you go for it.
I have an entire IP telephone panel I got for free this way also.
Remember, we are hams, we are cheap as they come, and I still want a TACO!

[W3WN]

Hello.

Remember the Infomercial machines in doctors offices?
They changed formats or something so they installed a new one.
The doc got to keep the TV inside and I got the cabinet and all the goodies inside.
What is inside is a satellite receiver and a surge protector, nothing more.
The satellite receiver is a FTA unit.
http://www.ftalist.com/master.php
The Arabs will send you pretty much the same thing for just the cost of shipping, look on the web for Arab TV.
Sometimes a store will move that had satellite audio, and sometimes video also.
Usually this is also a satellite FTA receiver.
Ask management if you can have it before they throw it away, explain that you are a ham.
Most will roll eyes and tell you go for it.
I have an entire IP telephone panel I got for free this way also.
Remember, we are hams, we are cheap as they come, and I still want a TACO!

What does this have to do with a subscription to Readers Digest?

[W3MIV]

It's just something to read on the commute home and back. QST and CQ are just not convenient to carry, and WorldRadio no longer exists in a physical form.

Buy a Kindle. Download lots of free books, especially lots of classics. Gutenberg Project, among others. Lots of stuff available for a buck or less. Thing will hold over a thousand books and is about the same size as that POS RD.

[W1GUH]

Buy a Kindle. Download lots of free books, especially lots of classics. Gutenberg Project, among others. Lots of stuff available for a buck or less. Thing will hold over a thousand books and is about the same size as that POS RD.

Those things are next year's thrown out hi-tech toys. Maybe if they folded and I could stick one in my jacket or jeans pocket, like a paper back, but the way they are they just won't ever replace a paperback or a rolled-up magazine. And if I'm into a hard cover...that'd be a book that's worth carrying. How do you make marginal notes on a Kindle?

[w3bny]

Buy a Kindle. Download lots of free books, especially lots of classics. Gutenberg Project, among others. Lots of stuff available for a buck or less. Thing will hold over a thousand books and is about the same size as that POS RD.

Until Amazon decides you dont need that book anymore then..POOF.. Kinda like you having a room full of books then someone coming over and taking them back after you paid for them.

[W3MIV]

Until Amazon decides you dont need that book anymore then..POOF.. Kinda like you having a room full of books then someone coming over and taking them back after you paid for them.

There is a lot of material available outside of Amazon, and you can download the books you obtain from any of the source, including Amazon, to a PC, swapping them to and from the device as you choose. If you turn the WiFi in the Kindle off, not only does the battery last for weeks without recharging, but the Kindle is detached from their system. The eBook wars that are now being fought out among Amazon, B&N and Borders over competitive formats has lead Amazon to now permit "lending" of books among Kindle owners. I am not sure how that will work out over time -- I do not buy many books from Amazon (or other vendors); there is enough free stuff out there, and enough innovative writing that is priced way "under market."

The price of Kindle has dropped to $139 for the base model -- which is about the sam as a half-dozen hardbacks from BJs or Costco. If you need textbooks or reference non-fiction, by all means invest in the forest; for most purposes, though, photons are one hell of a lot cheaper.