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Following on from the recent article by our resident expat expert, concerning communication, we have decided to take a look at telephone calling cards.

If you are living as an expatriate, you will no doubt need to make international calls, probably to loved ones back home. Although the cost of telephone calls are coming down in price generally, it can still be a financial burden staying in touch with home.

There are many new ways in which you can start reducing the cost of your communication, just like using Skype. This has been discussed previously in an article by Kim, our expat expert. Another option you may not know about, is calling cards.

Traditionally, the telephone and the telephone system had been monopolised by the major telecommunication companies. Since governments, certainly that of the UK, decided to make the major players of the telecomms world open up their services to competitors, we have seen a significant decline in the cost for communications, especially telephone and Internet services. Just like other utility services which have been de-regulated, like gas and electricity, the supply is still governed and maintained by a service provider. In the case of UK telecommunications, this is British Telecom (BT).

Smaller companies now have the opportunity to buy bulk amounts of telephone calls from the governing provider, and in a lot of cases, can actually offer a cheaper price than the company whom they are buying from. Considering the size of a company like BT, the actual running costs are enormous. Compare this to the smaller company with smaller operating costs and increased efficiency.

By taking advantage of the competition in the telecommunications world, you can now benefit from making international calls from as little as 1p (1 cent) per minute, and in some cases, for FREE. There are some cards available that will bundle FREE minutes, depending on how many minutes you buy. Typically, cards come in various denominations, ranging from £10, up to £50.

It is relatively easy to make the calls and you can do so from your own home phone. Normally, you would dial the free phone number on the card (some cards may charge a connection fee) and then follow the instructions. Call quality is exactly the same as that of the normal phone service.

If you have been making international calls through your phone service provider, you may want to start shopping around to find a better deal. There are hundreds of choices and many can be ordered online with a debit or credit card. You may want to try Planet Phone Cards as they offer a handy comparison feature on their site.

Many people are paralyzed when their laptop computers are broken or damaged. They are willing to do almost anything or pay any price to get the offending piece or part replaced so that they can get on with their lives.

One part that is especially vulnerable on a laptop computer is the screen. An LCD screen, the type of screen that is used in most laptop computers, is very vulnerable to scratching or other damage.

Fortunately, a damaged LCD screen is not the end of your laptop. Replacement LCD screens can be very affordable and the turn around time to getting them fixed can be very quick if you know where to go and what to look for.

The first thing you will want to do when you are looking for replacement LCD screens is to not panic. Many people get too upset when their computers aren’t working and then they set themselves up to get taken advantage of.

Investing even an hour or two into finding the right price and an honest repairman could make all the difference in the quality of repair that you get.

However, that extra hour or two that you should spend shopping for replacement LCD screens usually won’t get your computer back to you any faster and may end up costing you time.

Look for local places with good reputations. Call around and ask about pricing before you show up. You may also want to call friends, family, and acquaintances for recommendations.

Actually, the ideal time to locate honest and good computer repair people is when you first get your new computer. After the warranty runs out, you will need to take care of problems yourself.

Ideally, you should do the research on where to get replacement LCD screens and other parts and repairs when you first get your computer. However, if you didn’t do that, all is not lost. You can still quickly determine where the best place to go to get replacement LCD screens with just a couple of simple tips.

There are many stores that offer great prices on the internet for replacement LCD screens. However, unless you are sending your computer back to the manufacturer for a covered repair, sending out your laptop for repairs like getting replacement LCD screens is ill-advised.

With the mail, you are only lengthening the amount of time you are without your computer. Secondly, replacement LCD screens are a common repair and don’t require sending it to some company far from where you live.

Also, you run the risk of losing or damaging your computer while it is being shipped. Lastly, what do you really know about the company where you are mailing your computer?

It could be a scam of some kind and taking action would be very difficult and expensive. Staying close to home is usually a much better and quicker policy.