kalotte

Thank you ariadgr, I guess his not having a computer makes information about these things hard to come by, and your input will be very helpful to him.! Ya'll make a great forum-I'm glad I found it! :) Athena

Hey Aris and electric eye, Thanks so much for your responses, they do make sense!! El. eye, I don't use a translator for my messages; just dig deep in my mind for words I have not ever used before in Greece and I only know them by their English names-please keep correcting me :) Athena

My handicapped friend in Athens says that it's not worh having a computer in Greece because "surges" in electricity cause damage to computers. I suspect this is his excuse for not trying something new. But I have no personal experience since I don't live there, other than I see nothing in your posts about surges and damages to your machines. So....is your computer pretty safe from surges there? Athena

Well.... I have been reading for hours the pages of services and charges from OTE, VIVODI, etc.....what I see is that they use "word for word" translation from English pages to Greek, and also the use of automated translation programs is evident, resulting in an almost unintelligible barage of techno-speak in very formal Greek. The kind of language no one can understand. :( Add to that minute technical info. from their manuals, and you have a built-in reason people would yawn and leave the site. How their high executives don't see that this costs them lost customers is a mystery to me.... Vivodi's site is much more understood than OTE's, but still will sound like gibberish to the average layman. It also seems to be cheaper. Thank you for reading my gripe!

It used to be almost the same here, some years back: AmericaOnLine had phone numbers in SOME cities only- for those who lived nearby, it was a free call, since our phone companies do not charge us for local calls. Those who lived far away, would choose AOL phone numbers to connect to, that were closest to them. Eventually, I don't think anyone pays anything to connect, as time passed and AOL added more and more local numbers and/or toll-free (800) numbers. I guess as things progress, they get cheaper-isn't that the rule..... But it seems that in the beginning they charge more to get money for their initial expenses etc.... esp.because they don't have that many customers early on...as they get more customers and all their stuff (connections, etc) are already in place, plus competition, drives prices down...right? Athena

It used to be almost the same here, some years back: AmericaOnLine had phone numbers in SOME cities only- for those who lived nearby, it was a free call, since our phone companies do not charge us for local calls. Those who lived far away, would choose AOL phone numbers to connect to, that were closest to them. Eventually, I don't think anyone pays anything to connect, as time passed and AOL added more and more local numbers and/or toll-free (800) numbers. I guess as things progress, they get cheaper-isn't that the rule..... But it seems that in the beginning they charge more to get money for their initial expenses etc.... esp.because they don't have that many customers early on...as they get more customers and all their stuff (connections, etc) are already in place, plus competition, drives prices down...right? Athena

Xourxoulitso, Φίλιππος ,hostolis ,porcupine, cosco, ariadgr, You guys ROCK-thank you SO MUCH for your helful and intelligent information!!!!! I appreciate it so much-you have no idea how much! I see so many 'αηδιες' in the American forums, this one is like a breath of fresh air!!! A big hug to you! Athena

:o I have become so paranoid with the browser hijackings and the adware that is bundled with so many search bars and toolbars, that caused so many problems in my computer, that I was grateful I could trust Google!! Athena

Thank you SO MUCH Phillipe, I so appreciate your answer! Now all I have to find out is if the laptop I plan to send him, a Compac Armada, which says 'Input 100-240V -0.95A" "50-60Hz" can be used there. It's the '.95A" that confuses me. Would you know anything about that? Athena Athena

I happen to use http://www.google.com for my home page because I like searching using Google so much. Google has the free Google toolbar, which you get in a few seconds when you click "about Google' and "google tools". It has a very effective pop-up blocker which dos not block ME from opening multiple windows in Internet explorer. It also has the ability to automatically fill in my name, address etc. I hope this helps!

ΓΕΙΑ ΣΟΥ ΦΙΛΛΙΠΠΕ, Actually I understand English better about technical matters-thank you so much for your response!!!!!! In a few sentences you managed to totally explain what Hellas on Line cannot, in numerous pages!!! My last question is this: The DSL line he gets from OTE is dedicated , right? So he should get a new phone line, just for DSL, in order to be able to use his telephone WHILE he is online. In this case his expenses would be for the DSL connectiohn from HellasOnLine, and the monthly fee to OTE for the dedicated DSL line. Thank you so much in advance my friend!!!! Athena

ΓΕΙΑ ΣΟΥ ΦΙΛΛΙΠΠΕ, Actually I understand English better about technical matters-thank you so much for your response!!!!!!

Ειναι μηνυματα που εχουν ψευτικο περιεχομενο. Π.Χ ενα μηνυμα σου λεει οτι ενας νεος ιος προσβαλλει ολους τους υπολογιστες και αν βαλης το ταδε προγραμμα θα τον νικησης. Αυτη η σελιδα περιεχει σχεδον ολα τα hoax kai eivai kalo va kyttas ekei prin kaneis tipota. http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html

Εγω εχω βρει σωτηρια με 2 τσαμπα προγραμματα AVG-Antivirus from http://www.grisoft.com & Bazooka from http://www.kephyr.com AVG ειναι κανονικο προγραμμα και δουλευει θαυμασια αν το update it καθε μερα. Βαζοοκα δεν σβυνει τους Σασσερ κλπ, αλλα σε 2 δευτερολεπτα σας λει αν υπαρχει τιποτα κακο στον υπολογιστη σας, και σας λεει πως να το σβυσετε με το χερι (manually). Maζι με το Ad-Aware from http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware kai Spybot S&D from http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html exω επιζησει ολες τις επιθεσεις.

Μενω στην Αμερικη και θα ηθελα να στειλω ενα computer σε ενα φιλο που ειναι αναπηρος, στην Αθηνα. Εχει ενα κοινο τηλεφωνο οπως ολοι. Περασα ωρες διαβαζοντας σελιδες της HOL και δεν τις καταλαβαινω καθολου Εγω ξερω μονο τι συμβαινει εδω, αν κανεις εχει ΑμερικαΟνΛινε(ΑΟΛ), η, cable modem. Me AOL, πληρωνω την ΑΟΛ περιπου $25 το μηνα, και δεν πληρωνω τιποτα αλλο-χρισιμοποιει την ιδια τηλ. γραμμη που εχω το τηλεφωνο μου, και το τηλεφωνημα στον ΑΟΛ αριθμο που με συνδεει στο Ιντερνετ ειναι δωρεαν, ακομα κάι αν ειμαι στο Ιντερνετ ολη μερα. Με το cable modem συνδεομαι στο Ιντερνετ με την εταιρια που εχω τηλεοραση για $45 το μηνα, ωστε δεν χρισιμοποιει τηλ. γραμμη. * Μπορω να σε ρωτησω΅-μπορει ο φιλος μου να πληρωνη μονο το μηνιαιο ποσον οπως εγω, η θα πληρωνη στην τηλ. εταιρια (ΟΤΕ) ΕΠΙΣΗΣ, για καθε ωρα η λεπτα που ειναι συνδεμενος, ας πουμε βια HELLAS ON LINE (HOL)? *Επισης, ας πουμε οτι συνδεθηκε-μπορει να εχη δωρεαν email απο Υαhoo.com η Hotmail.com οπως εχουμε εδω? *Επισης, μπορει να εχη "Instant Messenger" σαν της ΑΟΛ το ΑΙΜ, η το ΜΣΝ Μessenger? Μιλαω πολυ καλα Αγγλικα αν προτιμας να απαντησεις στα Αγγλικα. Σ'ευχαριστω με ολη μου την καρδια, Αθηνα Kalotte8@hotmail.com