Has anybody heard? There’s a recession!

In the past week, both Vonage and DirecTV have sent me e-mails announcing rate increases.

“Because your business is important to us, we want you to know about any changes to your DIRECTV service as far in advance as possible,” said one message.

Joined by a Vonage “Customer Service” e-mail which announced a $3/month hike saying, “We're proud that we remain one of the most competitive choices among home phone providers..”

Both  companies’ announcements sounded like they were written by George Orwell:  price hikes are good for you and we know you want them.

Let’s see,  What else could I do for phone service?  Oh, my AT&T iPhone plan is more than I can use; maybe I don’t need land lines anymore.  Maybe Vonage is one of those thinking about buying Skype - before I switch to it, too.

And Bruce Springsteen’s half time Super Bowl performance has already been BitTorrented.  Lots of other movies there, too ... and the TV networks can’t seem to wait to post their latest shows online.

Looks to me like there are plenty of less expensive alternatives the services I’ve have been paying for for years.  maybe this is a wake-up call.