Making a pot of tea, by text messaging

Goodbye Starbucks, hello...text-activated tea and coffee maker? Imagine leaving the office after a hard day of work (or sitting on the couch on a lazy Sunday afternoon), and with a simple text message, making sure a hot pot of water awaits you. Add some coffee or tea, and voila! Ah, the comforts of modern technology.

Credit: PG Tips

The ReadyWhenUR kettle, devised by British tea maker PG Tips and U.K. cell phone network Orange and loosely inspired by invention-happy characters Wallace & Gromit, boils hot water upon receiving a text message that reads "switch on." It's that simple. The kettle is activated by SMS technology, with an integral radio receiver that can receive a text message sent by a cell phone. However, the user must be in close proximity to the pot for the feature to work, as the receiver is not incredibly strong.

Currently, only users of Orange cellular service in the U.K. have access to the product, which became available earlier this year for 100 pounds (about $188).

[sharedbranching]

Credit unions individually don?t have the conveniences of the mega banks, but unlike banks credit unions work together; they cooperate to compete . Many share their ATMs in large (up to 28,000) surcharge FREE ATM Networks. Even single branch credit unions can belong to the Shared Branching Network (www.cuservicecenter.com) allowing members to access their accounts at over 4,000 locations across the US. Many offer the same products & services as banks including online bill pay, mobile banking, and more. But most importantly, credit unions treat you as a member/owner not just as another customer. To find a credit union, use this link: www.findacreditunion.com.

[bootmanjohn]

Credit unions have joined together, internationally, in a cooperative effort to bring you a new choice in financial convenience, the CU Service Centers ? Network. You can now perform many of your financial transactions and obtain services at branches of other credit unions and self-service locations belonging to the network.

By using the CU Service Centers ? Network, your membership and accounts remain at your own credit union, but you can access your accounts and conduct business with your credit union through any of the convenient CU Services Centers ? locations. In this way, through a network of participating credit unions and retailers, access to your accounts and credit union services is made more convenient.

www.cuswirl.com

[sjc_1]

I am going from Bank of American to a credit union. I have one from my University days that allows me to be a member. Bank of American used to be a California bank until it got bought, then their customer service got worse and worse. Commercial banks are in it for the money and the heck with the customer.

[bigoldic]

This is well known, the problem is there arent too many credit unions around. As Americans we thrive on convenience, if its not
close to home or around our commute for the most part consumers wont go regardless of the savings, history has proven that. Another issue is if all of a sudden drones of people were to stop doing business with their current banks and joined unions it would only be a matter of time before their rates would increase(common law of supply and demand). Just look at the four posters on this site. That speaks volumes of those that actually give a crap about unions. Sad, were a
dummified group us Americans.

[rightbehind]

We all need to start joining credit unions!

[fleabag75]

I am 65 years old. The reason I mention that is because in my life I had been with 4 different banks before joining a credit union over 25 years ago and could be happier. I will stay with them forever or until the banks crush them. I have tried for years to get people to try a credit union. I don't know, for some reason seem they seem to be drawn to banks. To bad. Their loss.