Do You Get Charged for using AIM Mobile?

With the Aim help forums down, we tackle a question thats been asked on other help sites. We’ll tackle the American carriers and see how much it would cost to use AIM. Let’s take a look into some definitions first.

What’s the difference?

SMS Text: SMS messages are quite commonly known as texts. If your AIM Mobile application uses text messages, you will get charged one text for signing on, one for retrieving your buddy list, and one for updating your buddy list.

Additionally you will be charged for sending an IM and charged for receiving an IM. If you take this route it should take you at least 4 text messages to sign on and off. If your a heavy AIM user, you might want to consider asking for unlimited texting plan.

Data: Data messages are sent over your mobile phone’s data stream. This is commonly known as 3G, Edge, or Wi-Fi. 3G and Edge is provided by your cellphone carrier. More likely than not if you use 3G or Edge, you probably have an unlimited data plan, but you should still check with your carrier to make sure.

If you use Wi-Fi, it’s for the most part free if you have your own coverage at home. However in public facilities companies may charge Wi-Fi access, luckily they require a password before you connect, meaning that you won’t get charged until you supply credit card info.

 

In Plain English Please?

Texting: You will get charged per text, unless you have unlimited text messages.

Data: You will get charged per kilobyte or megabyte, unless you have unlimited data plan.

 

Sending Text Messages from the Computer?

If your on the computer, AIM allows you to send text messages to cellphones for free. The person who sends text messages on the computer will not be charged. 

The person who recieves the text message will get charged. Before texting anyone, please make sure to ask them before hand if they have a texting plan.

Any differences between phones?

• What about the Blackberry?
  • Blackberry for the most part uses a data plan. However T-Mobile’s built in application will use text messages. You can however download different IM applications for blackberry. Read here for more info.

 

• What about Windows Mobile?
  • Windows mobile phones use data. AOL has provided a beta for AIM for Windows Mobile.

 

• What about the iPhone?
  • The iPhone uses data through Edge, 3G, or Wi-Fi. The iPhone has an unlimited data plan so feel free to use AIM anytime.

 

• What about my Cellphone?
  • The regular run of the mill cell phone will most likely use texting. However there are some crafty ways around this. You can sign onto Aim without using any text messages.

 

The Sims 3: The Road to Sunset Valley

New Info! 5/21/09!

The Sims 3 is nearing its June 2, 2009 release date.

As we get closer and closer to the date, it’s time to update some information from the previous articles.

Over the past few months various information, promotions, and CDs have been released to the public.

We”ll try to condense all that information into one blog post, sticking on the more important things.

Obtaining The Sims 3

EA has listed several release dates based on where you are in the world. The two options for buying The Sims 3 include purchasing it in a store, or purchasing it as a digital download. Please note that the digital download version includes the SecuRom DRM.  

EA states you will be able to download The Sims 3 at 7am PST on June 2nd, 2009. This may not apply to other areas outside of US/Canada. The Sims 3 costs $49.95 and is available for Pre-ordering now!

May 17th, 2009: It also appears The Sims 3 has been leaked illegally online. Please don’t ask on this site where to find the game.

 

The Sims 3 Story

The storyline is sort of a prequel setting up all the families you’ve seen in past games. The main family everyone keep’s track of is the Goths. This time Mortimer Goth will be a kid. You’ll be able to see both his parents Gunther and Cornelia Goth.

The second family everyone loves to hate is the Crumplebottoms! This time Mrs. Crumplebottom is at her younger adult age and will be haunted by the ghost of her husband. (Presumably if The Sims 1 is Canon, her husband died from a chandelier accident.)

Next up is the Landgraabs who were featured in many Sim titles, including Simcity 3000. There appears to be a rival between the Landgraabs and the Altos.

 

Welcome to Sunset Valley

Sunset Valley is the main town featured in The Sims 3. In Sunset Valley there are a few areas your Sim can visit, the beach, science center, gym, library, city hall, park, public pool, hospital, cafe, police station, graveyard, stadium, a local diner, movie theatre, and more. Though your Sim may be able to visit such places it does not mean you as the player will be able to see inside all of them.

Updated 05/18/09 Message for SnootySims Forum:  As for the areas you can walk  inside with your Sim, so far the park, public pool, library, beach, gym, the art gallery, and the graveyard, are currently known. These are the non “rabbit hole” areas shown to the public.  This list is not 100% complete and confirmation of other areas would be revealed eventually.

You will play as one family at a time, you can switch between different families if you choose to. Everyone around you will age and die alongside with you. Your neighbors can get married, move in, move out, have kids,  and get promotions on their own. Your neighbors actions are directed through story progression and autonomy sliders. The higher the autonomy, the more drastic changes you will see in your neighborhood.

 

The Map view will be your guide to getting around on the game. In this view you can see every building with their appropriate icons. By hovering your mouse over an area, you can see what Sims are currently in that vicinity, and instantly zoom in without any loading screens at all.

You can also allow your Sim to travel to different buildings by zooming out to this view. You can select a house icon and your sim will travel their by car and even by bike.

This zoomed out shot will also be the home for a neighborhood editing screen.  This is where you’ll switch families to play with. After you create a Sim you have the option to move a family into a lot. You select the family you want at the bottom right corner and click on an empty house or lot to move into. If you would like to switch between families, click on the options button, then click Edit Town, then Click Change Active household.

Neighborhood View screenshots via [gamesguide]

Selecting the hand will allow you to move lots around. Selecting the bulldozer would allow you to delete a lot. The paint and saw would be editing a lot. The button at the top of the shot means “return to game.”

You can also view where your Sims go to work and actually see them travel to that location. However once they are at work they will disappear from the map screen. The map view actually reminds me of  the canceled Simsville game.

 

Welcome to Riverview

Riverview is the second Sims 3 neighborhood to be released after you register the game. Not much is known about this particular neighborhood other than it includes a river that splits and converges back into one. This neighborhood takes place along the Simomon river. More and more Sims have escaped city life to this picturesque and serene town.

Riverview screenshots via [simfans]

 

Careers and Entrepreneurs

The Sims 3 explores different ways one may earn income. The main system will be through careers. Your Sim can travel to one of the many career buildings in town and start a job there. There will be different careers shipped with the game, some of these include athletic, music, medical, politics, chef, and more.

Once your Sim heads off to work they will disappear from the screen.

Your Sim doesn’t have to work in a 9-5 job to make money, there are other ways to earn by looking around the neighborhood. Your can earn money through fishing, collect bugs and selling them, painting, stealing, gardening, becoming an author, investing in businesses, among others.

 

Pregnancy and Babies

Screenshot via [SimsDomination]

This seems to be a hot topic. I don’t know why. You people are so obsessed! Pregnancy pretty much plays out like it does in The Sims 2. One major change is now you can select which location to give birth. You can give birth at home or at a hospital.

At home your Sim will scream and shout as they are about to deliver. Next, you name the baby and it will show you what traits it has taken from the parents.  The baby appears magically out of thin air and the mom spins around and grabs the baby.

If you choose to give birth in a hospital, the mom and dad will go off into a cab and will walk into the hospital. After a while the mother will walk out with the baby in hand and drive back home in a cab.

The mom and dad can now carry the baby around with them.

 

Create A Sim – Create a Style

Create A Sim has been enhanced further to allow for more customization over past games. This is due to the Create a Style feature. In Create A Style, you will be able to set up patterns and colors for any object, floor, wall, and clothing. The create a style has a small palette dock where you set all the colors and patterns. If you drag this dock to a specific item, it’s colors and patterns will change. This makes unlimited color combinations for clothes.

For example, in Sims 2, if a dress didn’t come in a certain color, you would have to edit the color through Photoshop. In the Sims 3, all you would have to do is select any color you want and apply it to your dress and it will instantly change to that color.

Personality, Wishes, and Skills

Each Sim will have their own personality through the selection of traits. After you create your Sim, you will be able to choose up to 5 traits that describe his behavior. These traits will dictate his personality and actions. 

The inappropriate trait will let a Sim belch in public or sneeze in public. A Sim  with a kleptomaniac trait might even steal items from your home. A Sim with the hot headed trait will get angry very quickly and yell at others. These personality traits can be changed by purchasing a special mid life crisis item.

You’ll also be allowed to customize what “preferences” your Sim has, like their favorite food, favorite music, and favorite color but you will not be able to change any of these after you create your Sim.

For a little eye candy, once your Sims’ family has been created, they will be placed in a little picture frame on a wall as the neighborhood screen loads.

 

After you select traits, you will be provided with a few lifetime wishes. If you fulfill them they will make your sim happy. There are also short term wishes that can be fulfilled at any time. By spending your happiness points, you can obtain achievement traits, which are special traits that allow your Sims to “cheat” their way through life. For example the haggler achievement trait lets your Sims get discounts when they go shopping.

 

Skills have been brought back yet again, but this time skills have a more social experience than before. If you excell at a particular skill, other Sims might want you to run errands for them. Some opportunities at work might arise and allow your Sim to be promoted in a field. There was one example where your boss might ask you to bring in a piece of artwork you made since he knows your creativity skill is high.

 

Freed from your need

Needs are one of the most boring features of the Sims. You often found yourself  having limited time to do anything just because you had to go pee or sit down. The Sims 3 will still include needs but the game has been designed to have less focus on them. Instead you’ll have more time participating in socialization and achieving your Sims’ wishes and lifelong dreams. Your family for the first time will be able to take care of themselves on their own.  This frees up time for you to explore the town and meet new Sims.

 

 

The Sims 3 will be released in NA on June 2nd, 2009

The Sims 3 will be released in UK on June 5th, 2009

The Sims 3 will be released in AU on June 4th, 2009

Minimum Requirements

Windows XP SP2

• Pentium IV 2.0 GHz / Athlon XP 2000+ or equivalent
• 1GB RAM
• 6.5 GB of hard drive space with 1 GB additional space for custom content
• 128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0

Windows Vista SP1

• Pentium IV 2.4 GHz / Athlon XP 2400+ or equivalent
• 1.5 GB RAM of Memory
• 6.5 GB of hard drive space with  1 GB additional space for custom content
• 128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0

Computers with built in Graphics Chipsets

• Intel Integrated Chipset, GMA X3000 or above.
• 2.6 GHz Pentium D CPU, or 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo, or equivalent
• 1.5 GB RAM (XP), 2 GB RAM (Vista)

NVIDIA GeForce series

• FX 5900, FX 5950
• 6200, 6500, 6600, 6800
• 7200, 7300, 7600, 7800, 7900, 7950
• 8400, 8500, 8600, 8800
• 9600, 9800, GTX 260, GTX 280

ATI Radeon™ series

• 9500, 9600, 9800
• X300, X600, X700, X800, X850
• X1300, X1600, X1800, X1900, X1950
• 2400, 2600, 2900
• 3450, 3650, 3850, 3870
• 4850, 4870

 iPhone 2.0 or iPod Touch