Verizon Wireless Sued Over V710 Bluetooth Limitations
Relax and think this one through...
Obviously this is a hot topic with nearly 50 messages on this news article. Why? T-mobile got hacked and secret service files were in the open, but techy nerds (no offense as I'm one of them) have such contempt for VzW, they are more concerned with this class action suit about the features of one particular phone model..?
Let's look at the facts...
"connect to your PC or PDA whenever and wherever you want"
This statement as advertised requires what? The phone to be capable to "connect to your PC or PDA," right? Well, it does...
The only thing that's disabled is OBEX - three bluetooth profiles are enabled, and a PAN is utilized, therefore, t...
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Stevo2k4 said:...
I think the people who post here should relax a seconda and think this one through...
Obviously this is a hot topic with nearly 50 messages on this news article. Why? T-mobile got hacked and secret service files were in the open, but techy nerds (no offense as I'm one of them) have such contempt for VzW, they are more concerned with this class action suit about the features of one particular phone model..?
Let's look at the facts...
"connect to your PC or PDA whenever and wherever you want"
This statement as advertised requires what? The phone to be capable to "connect to your PC or PDA," right? Well, it does...
The only thing that's disabled is OBEX - three bluetooth profiles are enabled,
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Why say "connect to your PC or PDA whenever and wherever you want" without having some sort of asterics saying via our service, charges may apply or note: OBEX profile for bluetooth is disabled? Seems shady to me. Yes they are around to make a profit but they have been playing up the bluetooth'ness about this phone without being totally honest.
I contacted Motorola directly a while ago asking if I could buy a generic v710 from them and their response was that I had to choose a service plan b/c each phone was different for each carrier, even though ...
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staiano said:...
Buyer beware is true but the fact that so many people seem to be clueless tells me that Verizon was at least not being 100% truthful (not just b/c of buyer ignorance).
Why say "connect to your PC or PDA whenever and wherever you want" without having some sort of asterics saying via our service, charges may apply or note: OBEX profile for bluetooth is disabled? Seems shady to me. Yes they are around to make a profit but they have been playing up the bluetooth'ness about this phone without being totally honest.
I contacted Motorola directly a while ago asking if I could buy a generic v710 from them and their response was that I had to choose a service plan b/c each phone was differ
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sciguy37 said:
Not according to the U.S. Anti trust law..... Ask the lawyers at Microsoft about tat one....
Antitrust law??? I think you're confusing the issue. Microsoft??? Microsoft's suit I believe you're referring to are in regards to the company monopolizing software. What do you mean?
My point was simply that salepeople use half-truths all of the time to sell things. It's just reality.
~Steve
sciguy37 said:
Under Anti trust there are many different facets. One is the monopoly and from what my friend the lawyer told me is others include practices which in any other business would be called deceptive. Since Verizon is a multy state company it would fall under this..... Not exactly sure but this is what I was told.....
Yeah... I'm a little confused about all of this anti-trust stuff you're mentioning as well. If you have a link to somewhere I can read more about it, I love to learn new things...
~Steve
Read all but read section "B" it seems to fit
sciguy37 said:
http://assembler.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode1 ... »
Read all but read section "B" it seems to fit
Good stuff... thanks.
~Steve
Stevo2k4 said:
My point was simply that salepeople use half-truths all of the time to sell things. It's just reality.
~Steve
That violates the ethics that we all want to say we have. No, the truth does not need to be compromised to make a sale. The problem with the wireless industry is that phones are sold at retail stores. Most retail sales people are abysmally trained. I know I try to train them.
Teaching salespeople to find out the customer's wants and needs and to know enough about the product to help them make an intelligent decision is difficult.
When I shop competitors stores and kiosks I find that their people are often trained to misrepresent, that is that they wholeheartedly believe th...
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jramossteel said:
*************
Nicely put but the point is, there must be some type of a chance there or the suit would not be going through.
True... there is a chance... the suit has been filed... there's also a chance the suit gets dismissed quickly. The purpose of the suit being filed may only be to get some bad publicity for VzW... if that's the case - then the plaintiffs achieved that objective...
And, no offense really, but do you know how many frivolous cases are on the docket country-wide that have no chance... I won't even name any, though there are many humorous ones (and some websites dedicated to posting them).
~Steve
jramossteel said:...Stevo2k4 said:
I think the people who post here should relax a seconda and think this one through...
Obviously this is a hot topic with nearly 50 messages on this news article. Why? T-mobile got hacked and secret service files were in the open, but techy nerds (no offense as I'm one of them) have such contempt for VzW, they are more concerned with this class action suit about the features of one particular phone model..?
Let's look at the facts...
"connect to your PC or PDA whenever and wherever you want"
This statement as advertised requires what? The phone to be capable to "connect to your PC or PDA," right? Well, it does...
The only thing that's disabled is OBEX -
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sciguy37 said:
If it goes to trial how are they ever going to find a jury that has not heard of the case, been screwed by a Cell company, or want to get back at big BELL.... Good luck
This post is a joke, right? of probably 100 or so people I know personally that have cell phones guess how many use BT? close to ZERO. What do you think the percentage of cell users to BT users is. Miniscule at best. There will be plenty of jurors to choose from. And if they're good jurors, they won't predispose their opinions based on whether or not they've been "screwed by a Cell company." At least, that's how it should work.
~Steve
Stevo2k4 said:sciguy37 said:
If it goes to trial how are they ever going to find a jury that has not heard of the case, been screwed by a Cell company, or want to get back at big BELL.... Good luck
This post is a joke, right? of probably 100 or so people I know personally that have cell phones guess how many use BT? close to ZERO. What do you think the percentage of cell users to BT users is. Miniscule at best. There will be plenty of jurors to choose from. And if they're good jurors, they won't predispose their opinions based on whether or not they've been "screwed by a Cell company." At least, that's how it should work.
~Steve
And, if the lawyers for VZW ar...
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sciguy37 said:
Go watch the movie Runaway Jury..... Then think again..... Its not about the BT, Its about Verizon and their deceptive practices. Did you hear about the Audiovox 9900??? Verizon took it out of their collection because Audiovox had their Phone tools that would sync with the computer so Verizon ditched the phone without a word.
First on the Audiovox 9900, I'm not sure what you're talking about. Perhaps you could be more specific. VzW does sell the Audiovox 9900, but it's not a BT phone. I'm not sure what you mean Verizon ditched the phone without a word. They sell the phone. Check their website.
Secondly, the movie runaway jury was indeed a fantastic and entertaining movie (love Joh...
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and runaway jury was a great movie but it can happen... with the best intentions we can have a runaway jury.
sciguy37 said:...
Check website again.... I just did.... There is the 8910 but not the 9900... they have it in the store but when you say you want it as I did they say its no longer available and steer you to the 265 or the 6100....
Yes, I can see that the item is not on the website - you're right about that. The phone is available in select stores, but is currently in a "close out" status, meaning availability is limited stock. It's listed among others such as the audiovox 8600 and 8900 models, Motorola v60s, the Nokia 3589i, the blackberry 6750 and more...
If there's something you know of that we do not, please share with us. Is there a link to any document stating that VzW discontinued the model bec
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sciguy37 said:Well then we've got them now! Brilliant work, Detective!
I was in the store and wanted the phone because I thought it was perfect for me until I was told that it was discontinued and they told me why.
sciguy37 said:You watch WAY too many movies.
Check website again.... I just did.... There is the 8910 but not the 9900... they have it in the store but when you say you want it as I did they say its no longer available and steer you to the 265 or the 6100....
and runaway jury was a great movie but it can happen... with the best intentions we can have a runaway jury.
sciguy37 said:Still bitching about how the American consumer shouldn't be held accountable for anything, huh?
Go watch the movie Runaway Jury..... Then think again..... Its not about the BT, Its about Verizon and their deceptive practices. Did you hear about the Audiovox 9900??? Verizon took it out of their collection because Audiovox had their Phone tools that would sync with the computer so Verizon ditched the phone without a word.
And to be certain, a half truth is a whole lie.
~Steve
Stevo2k4 said:
Wow... as an update... there are 125 posts on the topic (the most on any news subject in a long time) and all of this in just over 3 hours. What a heated topic...
~Steve
Nerd 😁
The point is the nerds who post on this site, in a way, demonstrated the piddly crap they really care about (don't be offended I"m one of those nerds). There are now over 200 posts on this news item in less than 24 hours, but the T-Mobile U.S. secret service agent's e-mail being hacked and over 400 americans personal info being exposed.... well... only 16 people had a response to that...
That's all I'm saying...
~Steve
BigRob said:
Verizon is one of, if not the, most expensive cell phone companies. They have enough subscriber base that they can easily afford the decrease in Brew usage created by a fully functional bluetooth phone. Smaller carriers allow it, and still remain profitable. I think this is a just a case of a company going too far to empty the pockets of comsumers.
I whole-heartedly agree...
That doesn't mean they have to... 42.1 million people as of the end of 3Q, 2004 didn't think they had to...
~Steve
Remember in order for a user to send a BREW app to another person (and in theory cheat) it has to be usable so both people would need the v710. My SE z600 doesn't care about a BREW app, but a contact, sure.
In the end does the bad press and money to fight the suit outway the money loss they would have lost? Maybe, maybe not.
Being a geek myself I know I have stayed away from Verizon for years b/c of their lack of bluetooth phones. I am sure there are a few others like me out there.
staiano said:
But it's not like all 42 million are going out to buy the v710 for the bluetooth (see the post from the person who knows barely anyone who uses bluetooth).
Remember in order for a user to send a BREW app to another person (and in theory cheat) it has to be usable so both people would need the v710. My SE z600 doesn't care about a BREW app, but a contact, sure.
In the end does the bad press and money to fight the suit outway the money loss they would have lost? Maybe, maybe not.
Being a geek myself I know I have stayed away from Verizon for years b/c of their lack of bluetooth phones. I am sure there are a few others like me out there.
You're right, and I'm sure there are many othe...
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Stevo2k4 said:
You're right, and I'm sure there are many others like you out there. I'm one of them, I don't use VzW personally. But people like you and me, and the other geeks 😛 are miniscule in the big picture, really...
~Steve
I agree so the whole worry about bluetooth and it's uses seems like such a drop in the bucket for verizon to act (what seems to be) very shady.
Most of my friends have no clue what bluetooth does or can do, (besides what I have told them I use it for), even the people that are tech savy.
staiano said:Stevo2k4 said:
You're right, and I'm sure there are many others like you out there. I'm one of them, I don't use VzW personally. But people like you and me, and the other geeks 😛 are miniscule in the big picture, really...
~Steve
I agree so the whole worry about bluetooth and it's uses seems like such a drop in the bucket for verizon to act (what seems to be) very shady.
Most of my friends have no clue what bluetooth does or can do, (besides what I have told them I use it for), even the people that are tech savy.
I whole-heartedly agree.
Stevo2k4 said:staiano said:Stevo2k4 said:
You're right, and I'm sure there are many others like you out there. I'm one of them, I don't use VzW personally. But people like you and me, and the other geeks 😛 are miniscule in the big picture, really...
~Steve
I agree so the whole worry about bluetooth and it's uses seems like such a drop in the bucket for verizon to act (what seems to be) very shady.
Most of my friends have no clue what bluetooth does or can do, (besides what I have told them I use it for), even the people that are tech savy.
I whole-heartedly agree.
A few years ago nobody cared about anything a phone could do ...
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Aleq said:...
A few years ago nobody cared about anything a phone could do other than make a call--but as time goes on today's edgy geeks-only techie toy becomes tomorrow's Joe Sixpack gotta-have. With that in mind, this case becomes important because it sends a clear message about how we WANT new technology to be implemented and supported, and it shapes the business models of all the wireless carriers. If consumers, both by indirect means (gravitating toward companies whose attitudes toward new tech toys are wide open and invite use and experimentation) and direct ones (suing companies who wilfully attempt to hinder and block the implementation and use of new technologies) make it clear how we want companies to behave, it
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Stevo2k4 said:...Aleq said:
A few years ago nobody cared about anything a phone could do other than make a call--but as time goes on today's edgy geeks-only techie toy becomes tomorrow's Joe Sixpack gotta-have. With that in mind, this case becomes important because it sends a clear message about how we WANT new technology to be implemented and supported, and it shapes the business models of all the wireless carriers. If consumers, both by indirect means (gravitating toward companies whose attitudes toward new tech toys are wide open and invite use and experimentation) and direct ones (suing companies who wilfully attempt to hinder and block the implementation and use of new technologies) make it clear
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Aleq said:So the fact that anyone with half a brain could simply do an internet search to see that this particular phon...
I recall that at one time TV was considered to be "just a fad" and would never replace radio and movies as a major entertainment medium. As I said, today's techie toy is tomorrow's commonplace item, and can we agree that if the US had adopted the UK's approach to TV (minimal state run channels, licenses to own a TV, etc.) we would probably not today be the leading exporter of entertainment in the world? The means and freedoms of how a technology are implemented are of crucial importance to the future, and just because you don't see that right now doesn't mean that it's not a valid concern.
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Aleq said:...
Another thing we can do, as adults, is to use our resources to persuade reluctant companies to comply with our wishes as consumers. If a company has crossed a line into deceptive or misleading business practices, we have additional recourse to the law to correct it. You may not like this, personally, but it's not your call. The purpose of law is to set, clarify, amplify and implement precedents according to the changing needs of society. As such, if a company is found in breach of law in its business practices, it will be forced to comply. If it has not, then those findings will become part of the precedent and law, and will then influence further test cases regarding how technology is implemented. It wou
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jramossteel said:True, but that does not mean that a company should cover things up like unavailable features.
So you as a product manufacturer would showcase your product by telling the world what features it DOESNT have? Riiiiiiiiiiight
TheVerizonMan said:jramossteel said:True, but that does not mean that a company should cover things up like unavailable features.
So you as a product manufacturer would showcase your product by telling the world what features it DOESNT have? Riiiiiiiiiiight
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In this specific case yes. If I wanted to avoid bad publicity like this. Also think about it this way... If you sell a video capable phone, you advise someone how long the video clips are able to be? Riiiiiight? So to say to someone that the phone has bluetooth but does not have OBEX is not so much different? Riiiiiight?
TheVerizonMan said:jramossteel said:True, but that does not mean that a company should cover things up like unavailable features.
So you as a product manufacturer would showcase your product by telling the world what features it DOESNT have? Riiiiiiiiiiight
It's not even a question of Verizon not telling the world what features the v710 doesn't have. All you had to do is read up on the product. Ta da! Problem solved.
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jramossteel said:There are certain things I won't abide, and one of them's not taking responsibility for the decisions you make. I knew that the v710 wouldn't support OBEX months be...
Caveat emptor... Buyers are responsible for the research and their purchases... True, but that does not mean that a company should cover things up like unavailable features. I just think that they should have worded things differently. Personally. But that's just it, an opinion. And that is what a forum is based on, opinions. SO we all can continue to argue on this, but I don't think any amount of arguing will change the opinions of the people on this forum. I think that has been established by the 300+ previous posts. 🙄
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muchdrama said:Okay. Perhaps I'll use a bullhorn. There. Were. No. Deceptive. Practices. Some schmuck decided he didn't like the consequences of not doing his homework on a purchase. Verizon has every right in the world to build their business model exactly like they want. If they want to put BREW in every damn phone they want...they can. YOU, as a consumer, don't have to buy any product they produce. If you don't want a bluetooth phone that doesn't necessarily support every bluetooth profile in the world...go buy a Cingular phone. The truth is, besides phone dorks like ourselves, people use the headset function and the headset function only. Ever hear of caveat emptor?...
P.S. "The purpose of law is to set, clarify, ampli
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BigRob said:
Verizon is one of, if not the, most expensive cell phone companies. They have enough subscriber base that they can easily afford the decrease in Brew usage created by a fully functional bluetooth phone. Smaller carriers allow it, and still remain profitable. I think this is a just a case of a company going too far to empty the pockets of comsumers.
Oh yeah, by the way, haven't you ever heard the saying "you get what you pay for?"
One VzW subscriber put it to me in this form: "It's like cars, you have Mercedes and then you have Volkswagon Bugs... Volkswagon Bugs are fine and they get you around, but I'd rather drive the Mercedes..."
That's not an exact quote of course, but adapted. But...
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BigRob said:
What is your deal??? Why are you so chipper abouta company ripping off hard working american people? You must be a bleeding heart liberal. Your statement just proves how uneducated Verizon subscribers are. They are not "world class" There phones suck, and here in Olando,FL their service sucks too. In case you aven't noticed, the "world class" people are infatuated with things. Expensive, nicelooking things with all the bells and whistles. The "world cLass person" would not have Verizon. My sister had a nicer toy phone in kindergarten.
As I stated previously I don't consider business "ripping people off." Companies exist to make a profit. VzW chose to do it this way. I wouldn't have gone th...
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Stevo2k4 said:...BigRob said:
What is your deal??? Why are you so chipper abouta company ripping off hard working american people? You must be a bleeding heart liberal. Your statement just proves how uneducated Verizon subscribers are. They are not "world class" There phones suck, and here in Olando,FL their service sucks too. In case you aven't noticed, the "world class" people are infatuated with things. Expensive, nicelooking things with all the bells and whistles. The "world cLass person" would not have Verizon. My sister had a nicer toy phone in kindergarten.
As I stated previously I don't consider business "ripping people off." Companies exist to make a profit. VzW chose to do it
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In my opinion, VZW isn't screwing the customers over. If the customer's felt they were paying too much, there wouldn't be 42 million of them and VZW would be forced to drop their prices in order to remain competitive and gain customers. Instead, they are the 2nd largest US wireless carrier and growing.
That's the way capitalism works. You offer a product for a price, if your price is too high, demand will be low. If that's the case, you lower your price u...
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staiano said:
But it's not like the phone is $60 and limited bluetooth. It's $300. Sounds like the Mercedes of the Verizon phones to me, both in price and how the company has been touting it.
Well, I was referring to the service in general. But I don't disagree. Excluding PDAs, smartphones, and blackberrys, it probably is the nicest phone currently.
Still, not sure what you mean. Do you mean to imply that if the phone were cheaper it would be somehow more acceptable to disable a BT profile? Why? The company admitted that the profile was disabled to prevent piracy of GIN downloads as we all suspected. The audiovox (UT Starcom) XV6600 from VzW has OBEX enabled because it is not GIN capable. So wh...
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I feel verizon advertized the V710 as a Mercedes and is charging like it is without telling you about features being missing (which make is less than the top of the line).
coldsteel said:
W00t! Nice post!
Thanks, coldsteel... that may be the nicest thing you've said to me... 😉
~Steve
Stevo2k4 said:
I mean, one day maybe UNICEF will get into the wireless industry, but until then, tens of millions of people think VzW is the place to go.
This whole post was great, but this line was far and away the best. 🙂
For one, you need to look at the underlying reason as to why the Bluetooth was disabled. It wasn't for a technical reason or some issue with Brew licensing. Fact is, Verizon did it as a means to increase their revenue and FORCE people to use their absolutely stupid picture messaging service.
So how does "buyer beware" apply if I was specifically told by the Verizon rep that YES, the phone would allow me to connect to my computer and transfer images.
I was also then told by a Verizon technical support rep ALONG with a Motorola support rep that a patch was in the works ...
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*I apologize, sir, but people get 'burned all the time. I just bought some Tide at the store that said it would get the ink stain out of my shirt. It didn't. I guess I got burned. Should I sue? No. Fact is, VzW has a right to disable OBEX for any reason they see fit.
"For one, you need to look at the underlying reason as to why the Bluetooth was disabled. It wasn't for a technical reason or some issue with Brew licensing. Fact is, Verizon did it as a means to increase their revenue and FORCE people to use their absolutely stupid picture messaging service. "
*I c...
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mlaurel said:
For one, you need to look at the underlying reason as to why the Bluetooth was disabled. It wasn't for a technical reason or some issue with Brew licensing. Fact is, Verizon did it as a means to increase their revenue and FORCE people to use their absolutely stupid picture messaging service.
I dont know why you guys wont take in the fact that if Verizon really wanted to force you to use their picture messaging then they wouldnt have had the TransFlash card on there. The TF card allows you to transfer images, ringtones, and movies to and from your phone. If they were trying to force you then you wouldnt see the TF card slot on it. Bluetooth OBEX is a luxury. Its for lazy people who do not w...
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TheVerizonMan said:
Microsoft has a bluetooth keyboard but is it not bluetooth because it says "connect to your computer wirelessly" and you cant transfer files? Is that lying to the consumer or misleading them?
TheVerizonMan said:...
Toyotas are manufactured in Japan but does that mean the manual and writing all over the car should be Japanese? No, wait that didnt make sense. Hold on...........Ahh here we go...ok.....Reality TV shows blur out and bleep out anything and everything before it is shown to us. So we should have the right to sue the cable companies (Verizon) because they edit out certain parts (OBEX)? But they would get sued by other organizations (BREW) for letting curse words and body parts fly all over the place unedited (OBEX). But the cable companies (Verizon) has other alternatives for giving the consumer what they want by offering unedited viewing (Transflash Card)for an additional fee (Price of TF Card)! Whew...
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TheVerizonMan said:...
Toyotas are manufactured in Japan but does that mean the manual and writing all over the car should be Japanese? No, wait that didnt make sense. Hold on...........Ahh here we go...ok.....Reality TV shows blur out and bleep out anything and everything before it is shown to us. So we should have the right to sue the cable companies (Verizon) because they edit out certain parts (OBEX)? But they would get sued by other organizations (BREW) for letting curse words and body parts fly all over the place unedited (OBEX). But the cable companies (Verizon) has other alternatives for giving the consumer what they want by offering unedited viewing (Transflash Card)for an additional fee (Price of TF Card)! Whew...
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For one, you need to look at the underlying reason as to why the Bluetooth was disabled. It wasn't for a technical reason or some issue with Brew licensing. Fact is, Verizon did it as a means to increase their revenue and FORCE people to use their absolutely stupid picture messaging service.Verizon didn't force anybody to do anything. If you don't research how a carrier's data services are set up before you purchase the phone then you're an idiot. Period.
muchdrama said:
Verizon didn't force anybody to do anything. If you don't research how a carrier's data services are set up before you purchase the phone then you're an idiot. Period.
Quite straight-forward. I like the cut of your jib and expect the same response to my posts. 😁
~Steve
This forum is closed.