Dana Vaccaro, Features Editor Conquer your New Year's resolution by Dana Vaccaro features editor It was just two weeks ago, when everyone brought the year 2003 to an end and rang in 2004. It was just two weeks ago, when everyone was screaming, cheering and celebrating a new beginning. It was just two weeks ago, New Year's resolutions where made. The question today is has the resolution been successful? Listed are a few tidbits to help in making the resolution be a victory. One of the most popular resolutions is to give up a habit, particularly smoking. According to the American Cancer Society there are four crucial factors to quit smoking: making the decision to quit; setting a quit date and choosing a quit plan; dealing with withdrawal; New semester, new beginnings, new books Students voice their opinions on bookstore Sheri Rose, COMM Ql,AeliqctivioVierbook tp,adcl . ,to her hefty stack Cell phones add `rescue' ring by Jon Fortt Knight Ridder Newspapers It's so cruel, but so clever. Virgin Mobile USA's "rescue ring" lets sub scribers program their cell phones to ring during a bad date, providing a con venient escape. A new breed of wireless carrier is relying on ideas such as the rescue ring and American Idol-related polls (does Ryan wear boxers, briefs or nothing at all?) to attract young cell phone users. As mainstream cell phone service providers struggle to attract custom ers and increase sales in the grim economy, two maverick companies are changing the rules of the wireless game. Virgin Mobile and rival Boost Mobile are targeting the high school and college-age crowd with simple pre-paid wireless plans, and features based on fun and convenience rather than just pricing. Unlike mainstream plans that do credit checks and lock customers into annual contracts, Virgin Mobile and Boost-both part-owned by major cel lular companies-let customers buy minutes through calling cards sold at music and electronics stores. Pre-teens are able to buy and manage their own wireless minutes. And unlike existing prepaid plans, Virgin Mobile and Boost offer cutting-edge services and a hip image. But what makes these pre-paid new comers even more intriguing to the in dustry is their ability to control costs through simplicity. Virgin Mobile said its service plan is so straightforward, 87 percent of subscribers added min utes to their account in January with out speaking to customer service and 50 percent activated their phones online. Those numbers have the wireless in dustry salivating because, aside from marketing, calls to customer service are one of the biggest costs in the busi- Andrew Cole, wireless industry ana lyst at consulting firm Adventis, said Virgin Mobile's results show how pre paid companies can make money. "No carrier in the U.S. would have in and continuing to stay quit. Making the decision to quit is up to one person, you, the smoker. The Health Belief Model says smokers are more likely to quit smoking if they believe they could get a tobacco-related disease. Another belief that smokers may have to quit smoking is they can make an honest attempt to do so. Smokers may also believe that the benefits of quitting can outweigh the benefits of smoking. Lastly, smokers are more likely to quit because they know someone who has had a health problem related to tobacco use. The next step in quitting is to set a specific date to quit and also choose a quitting plan: Will you use another form of nicotine, or will you attend a class? The American Cancer Society their wildest dreams come up with the rescue ring. It's a good example of how these companies are important and rel evant," Cole said. "If it's done well, it can actually make the market more ef ficient." Though it might seem like a gimmick, the rescue ring is just one example of how Virgin Mobile is trying to create a community and a culture among its us ers. Here's how it works: To use the rescue ring, a cell phone user preprograms the phone to ring at a time when the user might need an es cape. There's even a choice of several MTV personalities to voice the rescue. When the phone rings, the user can choose to ignore or answer, depending on the circumstances. Virgin Mobile also has features such as a "balance but ton" that shows how much talk time the user has left, and message groups where users can share opinions through text messages. So far, the strategy appears to be working. Virgin Mobile USA has amassed about 450,000 new customers since it went live last August, said CEO Dan Schulman. And he's on track to reach a half million by this month. "The rock in our slingshot in this battle of David versus many Goliaths is focus," Schulman said. "We built this from the ground up to focus on the youth market." Virgin Mobile and Boost have been around for less than a year, and several young people in Silicon Valley said they are still skeptical of the pre-paid new comers. "It's like, hmm, too good to be true," said Hava Brchich, 16. But competitors in the wireless mar ket are taking notice. Analysts are whis pering that other companies, spurred by Virgin Mobile's early success, are think ing about launching similar ventures fo cusing on teens and young adults. Particularly, some in the wireless in dustry now think that some of these po tential young customers-contrarian teens who listen to rap-metal, for instance would never buy a phone from the same wireless carrier their parents use. It will take a different brand name and a dif ferent marketing message to reach them. FEATURES & FUNNIES Friday, January 16,2004 recommends setting a quitting date within a month so that you do not have extra time to rethink the idea. Once a date is set, circle it on the calendar and start the plan. It is suggested to stock up on oral devices such as lollipops, carrot sticks and/ or hard candy to control your nicotine cravings. Once the circled date arrives, throw away all of your cigarettes, lighter, ashtrays and any other items related to smoking. Another suggestion from the American Cancer Society is to drink lots of water and juices and also keep active through walking, exercising or other activities. For more information about quitting smoking go to the American Cancer Society's web site at www.cancer.org. For those of you whose New Year's by Justin Bootes staff writer The first week of class is all about Z writing those checks, swiping the plastic, 0 or paying cold hard cash for the books u l all students need to fulfill the dream of co an A. z • Students have a few options when it cc • comes to obtaining the latest edition of co w required text. The first option lets you ifs purchase books off of another student. The second option, you can go to the c.) • bookstore and hand over a premium • amount of money for the books. Lastly, z • you can go to an online bookstore and c purchase the book at a lower price, yet wait a week for it to arrive on the g doorstep. 0 , The price of books seems to be double eL sometimes triple the bookstore. Some students wonder why. "I buy 90 percent of my books online," said Jason Camble, Crossword ACROSS 1 Baby's bed 5 Luxurious 9 Danish golfer Thomas 14 Perspiration opening 15 Japanese drink 16 Scoundrel 17 Ladd or Thicke 18 Opera highlight 19 Shoelace tip 20 Followup films 22 California team 24 RKO rival 25 Take down a peg 26 Entrance foyer 29 Border on 30 Cleaning cloths 34 Make impatient 36 Trig ratio 37 Full hairpiece 38 Explosive combination 39 Do one's best 41 Quarterback Marino 42 Notion 44 Tire-shaped candies 47 Peddle 48 Frosted 49 Soup server 50 Like thick eyebrows 52 Broadcast 53 Souvenir 56 Becomes more candid 60 Employers 61 Coarse seaweed 63 Concerning 64 Outpouring 65 Diabolical 66 Scorch 67 Underwater scanner 68 Rational 69 Tiller DOWN 1 Audit pros 2 Actor's part 3 Baghdad land 4 Deadens 5 Sacred song 6 Dinghy tools resolution is to exercise more, the place to go is free and convenient: the Junker Center. According to Yahoo Health, there are several steps that need to be taken when exercising. The first step is to check in with the doctor before beginning a fitness program. Seeing a doctor is especially important if you are over 40, a smoker or if there is family history of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, diabetes, arthritis, or asthma. The next step is to have fun and chose an activity that you will most likely will stick with. Another important thing to remember is to start slowly and progress gradually. This will benefit you and also reduce risk of injury to yourself. Always remember to MIS 05. "This semester I saved over $230. That is including shipping and handling. I don't think they should charge so much at the bookstore because they change books so much." Despite the complaints such as the one Camble had about an increase in costs, many students still chose to pay more money for the books than what is necessary. "I buy my books from the school," said Ryan Alexander, MIS 07. "I just don't feel like searching on the Net for books. I know I pay more, but I don't care." The new question is who owns the school bookstore? Does the school actually own the store or does a huge corporation off campus own it? The answer to the question is Barnes & Noble Booksellers. "I buy my books from the store, even though I don't like to buy them from the store because it is too expensive," Dan Gregery, MIS 05, said. "It bugs me that they buy them so cheap or they don't buy them at all. When they do buy them they lID 2004 Tribune Media Services, Inc All rights reserved. Hit the slopes Congratulated on the gridiron, perhaps Thin nails Some runners Eye impolitely Remorseful one Seines African nation Horse operas Lawyers' org. and Clark Rust, for example Ring-shaped roll Vegetables with hearts Gave a hand to Tree knot Good judgment Join up New Haven student Calgary's province "SNL2' writer Tina Glossy coating Solutions Al or Bobby of auto racing Rome or pippin Tousle NHL star Phil, to fans Stingy 52 53 54 The Behrend Beacon set goals and of course reward yourself. If your goal was to lose a certain amount of pounds, reward yourself by buying a shirt or going to the movies (notice I did not say go to the bar, because the object is to get in shape.) When it is time to exercise, bring a friend along, since it is more fun and it is easier to keep each other on track. Along with having partner, add a little of variety into the workout schedule. Do strength training one day and aerobics the next. Lastly, stick with it: 30 minutes a day is all it takes to see improvement. For more information on exercising, go to, http:// health.yahoo.com/health/centers/ fitness/. re-sell them for so much money." "I used to purchase books from the bookstore because it was easier," said Sheldon Bailey, Physics 07. "I received a membership at the local Barnes & Noble bookstore where I can get a 10 percent discount." Bailey was not only dissatisfied about the cost of the books, but he was also dissatisfied about the amount of money he had received during buy back week. "The return policy is horrible," he complained. "When I tried to resell my books when I first came here in 2001 they bought books back for 75 percent. Now they only buy them back for 50 percent." Bailey does not sell back his books anymore, because he would rather keep them for future reference. The convenience of the bookstore may cost one a large sum of money, but with the options of saving on Internet bookstores or buying hooks off of friends, there are many ways for one not to end up with an empty pocket. Actress Lena Macbeth's dagger River to the Caspian Beauty parlor do Zsa Zsa's sister Page 01/24/04
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