# Magic Jack-phone



## DaMulta (Aug 26, 2009)

Anyone have one of these? I bought one today, but I have not turned it on yet.

I plan to wire into the house wiring for an all around usage. Instead of right in front of the computer. Of course I will have to cut the lines from the house.....in which I will be getting DSL. So I guess, 2 wires for DSL, and then cut the other 2 coming in from the phone company to stop back feed. Then wire the Magic Jack in for phone service using a home sever to power it. not bad 40USD you get the device, and then along with it a years worth of phone service. I'm just wondering if I'm going to need to install a DB amplifier to get it to push threw the whole house.....


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## Assassin48 (Aug 26, 2009)

I think fits has one 

I always seen the comercial all the time and thought it was fake, would like to see how it works for you


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## BroBQ (Aug 26, 2009)

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/majic-jack-c89272.html

Your PC must be on at all times and it installs a ton of junk on the PC that is a night mare to remove.


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## Mussels (Aug 26, 2009)

what is this magic jack?


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## BroBQ (Aug 26, 2009)

http://www.magicjack.com/1/index.asp


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## Mussels (Aug 26, 2009)

oh so its a cheap ass VOIP phone, where they profit by filling your PC with tons of crapware

i get that anyway, 10C untimed to any landline in AU... $0 a month plan. i think mines better


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## BroBQ (Aug 26, 2009)

yea, exactly... you are paying for adware/spyware to be installed on your PC

I have seen this also cause problems with the registry. It's not worth it!


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## Mussels (Aug 26, 2009)

you know what i'd do
install it to a VMware, or on a shitty spare pentium 3


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## hat (Aug 26, 2009)

I am a proud owner of a pentium 3 

Yeah, my uncle uses this. He was using it on a single core with 1gb ram. When the computer was in use (cpu load) the voice quality was very shitty. Once he upgraded to dual core the voice quality improved dramatically... but it still only had 1GB ram, so when I would go over and play BF2 w/ him any time a phone call came in it took like 2 minutes for BF2 to minimize and the phone to be useable. The phone would just ring solid for like a minute until BF2 started to minimize.

In short, only use it on dual core (or better) systems with 2GB ram, if the computer is going to be used. Single core with less than 2gb ram, blah, unless if it can be used as a dedicated phone machine, it's fine.


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## twilyth (Aug 26, 2009)

I have it as a spare phone line - to give out for shit where I don't actually want to hear from anyone (you know who you are - kidding   ).

I have malwarebytes and Avira installed and I'm reasonably sure that there isn't any spyware. 

What annoys me is that it adds 2 new drive letters.  One is for a CD and I forget what the other one is for.  When you boot up, it takes anywhere from 45-90 seconds for the software to fully load  and in the process it keeps grabbing focus.  It's not really a bit deal unless you reboot a lot though.  Definitely not something to install on your benching rig.

I wouldn't use it for a primary line, but it's ok for a backup, like if you don't have unlimited cellular time or you're always draining you're battery.

Really, if you want reliability, you have to go with POTS (plain old tele serv).  For bare bones, refugee-type service, it's less than $15/month, but don't plan on calling further away than a couple blocks.  Incoming calls are OK, but there might be some time restrictions - don't remember.  Your local telco will be happy to talk to you about it.  It's not like they have anything better to do.   :shadedshu 

For a primary line that is as reliable as your cable service (if that's your ISP), I would recommend ITP (note:  use this link - i googled them once and ended up at clone site).  They have a black/white list feature.  So if there is one telemarketer that is pissing you off, just turn on the feature and add them to the black list.  You can't imagine how satisfying it is to shitcan some of these douche bags.  It's a kind of joy that is . . . just indescribable.


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## 1Kurgan1 (Aug 26, 2009)

Morrison5891 said:


> http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/majic-jack-c89272.html
> 
> Your PC must be on at all times and it installs a ton of junk on the PC that is a night mare to remove.



It installs pretty much a virtual caller ID that has ads that flash on it. I have a Magicjack, it's not bad, def worth the price. But you will lag on calls when your are DL'ing, and sometimes have random call issues. Also make sure its not on your gaming PC it will minimize your game 

I put it on my gf's PC and let her deal with it


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## DaMulta (Aug 26, 2009)

O it shall be on it's own machine, and I plan on getting 12Mb DSL. Basically I plan on having a PC that is dedicated to just this alone. Set the priority level for the CPU load to high for it, and kill off all other services.


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## twilyth (Aug 26, 2009)

DaMulta said:


> O it shall be on it's own machine, and I plan on getting 12Mb DSL. Basically I plan on having a PC that is dedicated to just this alone. Set the priority level for the CPU load to high for it, and kill off all other services.



That sounds like a good idea for an old Linux box as long as it's low power draw.  Or maybe an Atom ITX/mini-ATX box.


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## 1Kurgan1 (Aug 26, 2009)

DaMulta said:


> O it shall be on it's own machine, and I plan on getting 12Mb DSL. Basically I plan on having a PC that is dedicated to just this alone. Set the priority level for the CPU load to high for it, and kill off all other services.



I wouldn't worry too much draw on the processor, the only reason to put it on a non-main PC is just so it doesn't minimize what your doing. Vut if you got the extra PC go for it, 12Mb DSL might not get lag while DL'ing, I'm not sure though, I'm only on 1Mb Cable, so your phone might run a lot smoother.


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## Soparik2 (Aug 26, 2009)

on 10Mb cable i dont see lag and what we did in my house is get a 5pc cordless phone set with the main base connected to the magic jack and the rest are spread around the whole house 
it works fine for our needs and we didnt have to wire the whole house


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## CDdude55 (Aug 26, 2009)

I hear it actually works.


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## newtekie1 (Aug 26, 2009)

It works, but I prefer Vonage.  Just overall a better experience, more expensive though too, but still a lot cheaper than a land line.  Plus you don't have to have a computer running 24/7, the entire service is run by a box that is no bigger than a Caller ID box(and it serves as a caller ID box also).  

To get it running through the whole house, I just had to disconnect my landline from the wiring in the basement, and plug the box into one of my unused phone jacks in the house.  I would assume the Magic Jack would be similar, I don't think you would need an amplifier to get the signal through the whole house, but I could be wrong, the Vonage box might put out a more powerful signal than the Magic Jack.  I never tried it when I had my magic jack, I wasn't too happy with the serivice so I switched to Vonage before getting rid of my land line wiring it to the whole house.  

Magic Jack really fucked with Skype on the machine it was on, though that would be an issue if you are installing it on a dedicated machine.  And I don't know if this is just a problem with the machine I was using it on, or something that happens a lot, but when I was making a call with the Magic Jack if I would type on the computer I could hear each key stroke as a very tiny pop and moving the mouse caused the same pops but in very rapid sucession(both keyboard and mouse were USB based).  Appearently the person on the other end that I was talking to couldn't hear them, only I could, so I'm thinking it was some kind of USB interference issue with the Magic Jack.


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## KainXS (Aug 26, 2009)

I had it, its decent but leaving my pc on all day and night is not for me

also, they have horrible customer support

I also had a problem where I would have it in and when I tried to burn a cd it would get knocked off, so I would have to restart the pc to get it back on


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## Mussels (Aug 26, 2009)

you guys just need to buy an ATA and get whoever the best VOIP provider is in your country.

plugs into ye olde router via ethernet, no need for a PC, no adware, no hassle.


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## twilyth (Aug 26, 2009)

I had Vonage for a few years.  For voice it was generally ok, but forget about any kind of fax/data transmission.  I had an old ReplayTV unit that needed to dial out and it constantly failed.  Faxes would go through maybe 20% of the time.  But this is 4 or 5 years ago.

For me, their service deteriorated over time.  I got a landline for faxes.  I dial toll-free number for a cheap calling card so there are no toll charges.  Transmission was iffy, but it's gotten better and I always have the option of eating the telco charges if I have to.  Basic service is around $13/month but that gets you very local numbers and toll-free plus the copper wires.  That's it.

Finally the quality was so consistently bad that I had to ditch them.  Customer service existed, but obviously they didn't help me.  I drew the line at re-wiring my network to trouble shoot the problem.


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## JrRacinFan (Aug 26, 2009)

Since having MagicJack and even though it's not a dedicated machine, that pc barely gets use. I couldn't find any kind of spyware. We live in an apartment and have a cordless with extension base. So 2 handsets, one base and can truly take the phone whereever we want within the first 2 floors of the complex.


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## MKmods (Aug 26, 2009)

I use it too. 
And like others said it has a few faults, but for $19 for a year its worth it to deal with them.
(I run mine on my Lego comp(atom 330) 24/7 and notice some probs at times with clarity, Vonage was much clearer. But for the $$ I will survive)


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## AKlass (Aug 26, 2009)

I have it and it works. I installed it on my dad's laptop and it seems to use anywhere from 1-1.5mbps when talking. I barely use it and want to build an atom to run it so I can leave it on 24/7. 
Ps. 1-900 numbers are blocked


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## Deleted member 74752 (Aug 26, 2009)

I have it and use it occasionally. Vonage and Comcast are clearer, but for the money it is a great buy especially for long distance calls. No problems ever detected as far as spyware and such...


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## Mussels (Aug 27, 2009)

AKlass said:


> I have it and it works. I installed it on my dad's laptop and it seems to use anywhere from 1-1.5mbps when talking. I barely use it and want to build an atom to run it so I can leave it on 24/7.
> Ps. 1-900 numbers are blocked



1.5Mb? jesus.

my VOIP software uses 8Kb or 64Kb depending on the codec i chose


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## Deleted member 74752 (Nov 23, 2010)

Have not used it for some time now. I decided to start back with it and ditch the Comcast phone as I rarely use the phone anyway. I have these parts coming and hope it will suffice for the MagicJack...I will leave this running 24/7 and that is all this pc will do. I hope it works out...I think in six months time it will have payed for itself.

Intel BOXD510MO Intel Atom D510 Intel NM10 Mini IT...

GeIL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) De...


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## twilyth (Nov 23, 2010)

rickss69 said:


> Have not used it for some time now. I decided to start back with it and ditch the Comcast phone as I rarely use the phone anyway. I have these parts coming and hope it will suffice for the MagicJack...I will leave this running 24/7 and that is all this pc will do. I hope it works out...I think in six months time it will have payed for itself.
> 
> Intel BOXD510MO Intel Atom D510 Intel NM10 Mini IT...
> 
> GeIL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) De...


Yeah, no problem, you could probably run it on a Commodore 64 if you could get it to run some version of windows.

I use it as a backup but prefer one of the products that uses an ethernet adapter.  According to PC World, Ooma is the best of them all but is more expensive.  If you have rigs that are on 24/7 and you don't spend a lot of time chatting on the phone, MJ is hard to beat for the price - especially with the 5 year plan.  I just hope they're still around in 5 years, but for $60 or whatever it was, I guess it's worth the gamble.


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## cheesy999 (Nov 23, 2010)

We have these sorts of things in Britain but most people just use a proper phone - were on Sky where the unlimited calls package is £5 a month  and calls to mobiles aren't covered but since i live in southeast england i can't think of a place you don't get mobile signal besides Tesco - my house has signal on every network but vodaphone so i know people who get by on just mobiles


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## 1Kurgan1 (Nov 23, 2010)

Magic Jack is a handy service, I use to pay about $100 a month for my cell phone, but paying $1200 a year for phone service just made no sense to me with how much I make at my current job. So I got a magicjack, went from $1200 a year to $15, such a large savings, I look at the new Androids, and I want one, but not until I get out of college and get a better job, just can't justify the cost.


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## DRDNA (Nov 23, 2010)

1Kurgan1 said:


> Magic Jack is a handy service, I use to pay about $100 a month for my cell phone, but paying $1200 a year for phone service just made no sense to me with how much I make at my current job. So I got a magicjack, went from $1200 a year to $15, such a large savings, I look at the new Androids, and I want one, but not until I get out of college and get a better job, just can't justify the cost.



Very wise choices you make Sir. When I open my Own employee ran business I want people like you working it!

EDIT: Damn...now you have me thinking...I am paying $2640 for my cells..and I would much rather be paying myself ( Saved toward retirement) that over 15 years $39,600 b4 investment options .Hmmm.


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## twilyth (Nov 23, 2010)

1Kurgan1 said:


> Magic Jack is a handy service, I use to pay about $100 a month for my cell phone, but paying $1200 a year for phone service just made no sense to me with how much I make at my current job. So I got a magicjack, went from $1200 a year to $15, such a large savings, I look at the new Androids, and I want one, but not until I get out of college and get a better job, just can't justify the cost.





DRDNA said:


> Very wise choices you make Sir. When I open my Own employee ran business I want people like you working it!
> 
> EDIT: Damn...now you have me thinking...I am paying $2640 for my cells..and I would much rather be paying myself ( Saved toward retirement) that over 15 years $39,600 b4 investment options .Hmmm.



Very good points.

I would advise everyone who has a monthly contract to look at their bills for the past 6 months or so.  How many minutes do you actually use every month.  How much does it vary.

Then look at how much a pay-as-you-go phone costs.  Since I'm home most of the time, I don't even keep my cell phone turned on, so I can go an entire year and not even use $100 worth of minutes.  That's a big difference from paying $60+ per month for an unlimited voice plan.  And that's probably on the cheap side. 

The only downside is that if you make even one call during the course of a day, they hit you with a $1 fee.  It can be a 20 second call and they still charge you the extra dollar.  That annoys me but I just remind myself of how much I'm saving and say screw it.  It's no different that stuffing a buck into a strippers g-string.


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## majestic12 (Nov 24, 2010)

I love my magicjack.  It's especially nice to have an American phone number while I live in Japan.  Any of my friends/family can call me and if my computer isn't on, the messages they leave get forwarded to my email.  It paid for itself within a week of purchase.

My cellular plan here in Japan is great for making local calls.  I only talk with a small circle of people, and my bill is around $10 a month.  I was even able to use it in the U.S. while I was on vacation.


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## Deleted member 74752 (Nov 24, 2010)

I kind of splurged a little and bought this case for it... Antec ISK 300-150 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel Mi...

It's on my work bench now running (I think it is, can't hear it lol). I put one of my old SuperTalent 32GB ssd's in it and loaded a stripped down XP OS. Hopefully that will be fine for this application. 

I agree about the cell phones...they are just too pricey to be of any benefit to me no more than I use a phone anymore.


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## zaqwsx (Nov 24, 2010)

I have had magic jack for 2.7 years now without any issues except I did have to get a replacement magicjack because mine would shut off if it was on for a week straight, it was a hardware problem but it happened like after 2 years of use so I just got it replaced for $20.

I currently have it running on a VIA VB7001 Mini-ITX main board powered by the 1.5GHz VIA C7®-D processor, with 1gb ddr2 ram, Windows XP Sp3, 80gb IDE Maxtor Drive. It doesn’t install a bunch of crap and it’s our everyday phone. Pc is quite only cost me $200 but I also have my printer hooked up to it and networked so everyone in the house can print. By saving a monthly payment for a phone it basically paid for that pc and know I have a pc I can always use!

Sound quality is great and it’s super clear. For internet I have Verizon FIOS 25Mbps down 20Mbps up

Here is an attached pic of my setup. I also have the house wired so any corded phone will work anywhere.


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## Hayder_Master (Nov 24, 2010)

i see the good thing in magic jack is u have a Unique global number and anyone from anywhere can call u


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## MohawkAngel (Nov 24, 2010)

I was thinking about using it longtime ago but we changed for Videotron cable company in Quebec. One black box plugged in the wall outlet and an inside battery that keep the phone line for up to 8h during electricity shutdown. Cable come from the wall then enter in the black box. If you want a TV put a splitter. The phone is plugged directly on that black modem so the connection is awesome it pass through the fiber optic of the tv cable. 75$ before tax for a 2.5 mbps connection, TV cable and phone line loaded with options and long distance calls.


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## Deleted member 74752 (Nov 24, 2010)

Lol! Broadcasting from the new MagicJack pc...I will post some pic's of it when I finalize the set-up.


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## Mussels (Nov 24, 2010)

question: why use magic jack, when you could just use any old VOIP/SIP company?


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## 1Kurgan1 (Nov 24, 2010)

Mussels said:


> question: why use magic jack, when you could just use any old VOIP/SIP company?



Because not everyone has a comp with skype and other voip programs, so then you have to pay a monthly fee for those programs to be able to call home phones. And while its cheaper than most phone plans, it still doesn't come close to only being like $1.25 a month like Magic Jack.

While it makes sense that everyone with a comp got voip and then did away with actually phone costs, I doubt I could ever convince my parents of it, and my grand parents dont even have a computer.


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## Mussels (Nov 24, 2010)

1Kurgan1 said:


> Because not everyone has a comp with skype and other voip programs, so then you have to pay a monthly fee for those programs to be able to call home phones. And while its cheaper than most phone plans, it still doesn't come close to only being like $1.25 a month like Magic Jack.
> 
> While it makes sense that everyone with a comp got voip and then did away with actually phone costs, I doubt I could ever convince my parents of it, and my grand parents dont even have a computer.



VOIP does not require a PC. hell skype is hardly even voip.


my cell phone does voip, i have an ATA device to get regular landline phones working on my voip account, and i pay $0 a month for $0.10 calls to any landline in australia, untimed...


edit: heres one of the ATA's i used to have:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linksys_PAP2
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10029/index.html

advantage over your magicjack seems to be that it requires no PC, merely an ethernet internet connection. much lower power consumption and required space.
downside: without port forwards, incoming calls arent gunna make it. i dont know if magicjack works better in situations like that.


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## H82LUZ73 (Nov 24, 2010)

my only gripe about Magic Jack is the load times and the USB plug is not sturdy It has a habit of unplugging slowly from the port.

Some of you guys just gave me an idea of what to use my old AMD64 for .This way i can take it of my dads main rig. 

Here in Canada some 1-800 are blocked say you try phoning the 1-800 for Bell (ExpressVu) They block it...lol But for guys like Kurgan on a college budget it is a great service.


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## Deleted member 74752 (Nov 24, 2010)

Mussels said:


> VOIP does not require a PC. hell skype is hardly even voip.
> 
> 
> my cell phone does voip, i have an ATA device to get regular landline phones working on my voip account, and i pay $0 a month for $0.10 calls to any landline in australia, untimed...
> ...



But you do have a cell phone which negates any savings from my perspective. My idea is to bypass all the others for maximum savings. I have used Vonage in the past, and to be honest would probably never have left it but for some stupid router problems which I did not understand at the time.


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## Mussels (Nov 24, 2010)

rickss69 said:


> But you do have a cell phone which negates any savings from my perspective. My idea is to bypass all the others for maximum savings. I have used Vonage in the past, and to be honest would probably never have left it but for some stupid router problems which I did not understand at the time.



i pay $5 a month for my phones plan, which gives me 1.5c per MB of data i use (when not on wifi)

with 10 cent untimed calls to landline and 15c per minute (vs 60-90c+ per minute normally), its damned cheap even on my cell - let alone doing it from home on the ATA.


also: damn its hard to say cell XD i'm translating from mobile phone for you linguistically funny americans


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## Deleted member 74752 (Nov 24, 2010)

Mussels said:


> i pay $5 a month for my phones plan, which gives me 1.5c per MB of data i use (when not on wifi)
> 
> with 10 cent untimed calls to landline and 15c per minute (vs 60-90c+ per minute normally), its damned cheap even on my cell - let alone doing it from home on the ATA.
> 
> ...



That's pretty cheap for a cell phone...I suspect you won't find many here with that plan. 

Still, for someone like me with no real need for a cell phone, this seems to be the most reliable and cheapest route.


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## Mussels (Nov 24, 2010)

rickss69 said:


> That's pretty cheap for a cell phone...I suspect you won't find many here with that plan.
> 
> Still, for someone like me with no real need for a cell phone, this seems to be the most reliable and cheapest route.



i'm not using it as a cell phone, i'm using it as a 3G modem with a web browser really XD


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## Deleted member 74752 (Nov 24, 2010)

Mussels said:


> i'm not using it as a cell phone, i'm using it as a 3G modem with a web browser really XD



Bottom line, what I am driving at.... is your sum total cost of voice communication per year comparable to the $25 a year MagicJack?


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## Mussels (Nov 24, 2010)

rickss69 said:


> Bottom line, what I am driving at.... is your sum total cost of voice communication per year comparable to the $25 a year MagicJack?



if i were to use it normally, yes. $0 a month, can be used from hardware boxes or any PC. portable so long as i have ethernet broadband wherever i am.  $25 is probably 4-5 months worth of calls for me, i dont know what limitations the magicjackinthebox has there.


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## Deleted member 74752 (Nov 24, 2010)

Mussels said:


> if i were to use it normally, yes. $0 a month, can be used from hardware boxes or any PC. portable so long as i have ethernet broadband wherever i am.  $25 is probably 4-5 months worth of calls for me, i dont know what limitations the magicjackinthebox has there.



Fail-sauce...  The "magicjackinthebox" reference gives you away. Carry on with your methods.


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## Taz100420 (Nov 24, 2010)

I do have a Magic Jack and no, I have not saw anything that they install besides the program you need. There is no other programs that get installed and its a breeze to remove from the computer.

I pay $50 a year for unlimited local and long distance. Only bad thing is, you have to keep the computer on all the time for it to work. IMHO, Magic Jack smashes my local phone company's rates.
The great thing is, you do not need a phone hooked up to it for it to work, just a headset. I browse the net and talk on my phone with no problems what so ever.

Just my two cents

Edit: Also forgot to say International calls too


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## hat (Nov 24, 2010)

Coming up on one year on mine. Still works great.


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## Deleted member 74752 (Nov 24, 2010)

Yes, I have had mine I guess over two years...just have not used it for some time. I originaly bought it as a novelty thinking there was no way this is going to pan out. I sure was proven wrong on that assumption.    (Not everything you see on TV is junk I guess)


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## Lost Hatter (Nov 24, 2010)

*Magic Jack*

Ive had 1 for about a year now. works great. u just need your PC on at all times to get calls.

only installs the phone program, nothing else. u can set it to send voicemails to email.




Very cool gadget for only 20$  beats paying a ton of money for Long distance. and its only 15$ a year.



But.............theirs an even easier way.    just use GOOGLE Voice it doesn't cost a dime


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## Deleted member 74752 (Nov 27, 2010)

Got it up and running. Thanks to Unclewebb for fixing the RealTemp issue!  I will post a pic of it shortly...


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## johnspack (Nov 27, 2010)

I have a magicjack as well.  My only issue is there are certain phones I can't phone.  So I use free google phone for those.


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## Mussels (Nov 27, 2010)

rickss69 said:


> Got it up and running. Thanks to Unclewebb for fixing the RealTemp issue!  I will post a pic of it shortly...



wrong thread?


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## Kantastic (Nov 27, 2010)

Mussels said:


> wrong thread?



Doubt it, he has a pic of Magic Jack in a computer.


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## Mussels (Nov 27, 2010)

Kantastic said:


> Doubt it, he has a pic of Magic Jack in a computer.



yeah but comments about uncle webb and realtemp?


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## Deleted member 74752 (Nov 28, 2010)

Just out of curiosity, how long would one expect this pc to last running 24 hours a day?


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## Kantastic (Nov 28, 2010)

rickss69 said:


> Just out of curiosity, how long would one expect this pc to last running 24 hours a day?



If it's not doing anything intensive and the power supply doesn't go out, years and years and years.


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