I remember about one year ago when many users were complaining they couldn't get it to work right. Never tried it myself so I don't know what the issues were/are.

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Yeah, last time I looked about half were happy and the other half po'd. My cell has free US long distance with no restrictions so we just use that. The free Skype works dandy for conference calls when sitting at the pc playing online poker. Skip

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sounds good skip, but I would say you are spending alot more than $20 a yr on your cellphone :) And just wondering, does your cellphone work in different countries? Some HELP in posting on Computing.net plus free progs and instructions Cheers

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Hehe, I don't go to other countries. If I did, it'd be Mexico and the first thing I'd toss in the trash would be that cell phone. :) Sure, I spend more than 20 bucks a year on the cell. But, with a monochrome display on the old thing, I can actually see the screen in full sunlight. I can make phone calls too...from about anywhere I go. That's all I ask from a phone and we don't even have a landline at home anymore. Ever notice the only time you get a call is when you're doing something you don't want interrupted? Now, if I needed to be on long distance a helluva lot in different countries, I'd give MagicJack or something like it a shot. Skip

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you are right skip, a vacation should be a vacation, LOL....I guess I'm just thinking in cases of emergencies. And you are right about calls too, I always get called when I'm in the middle of something and it does become cumbersome. Thanks for your view I hrd Mexico is quite a groaner this year for american springbreak...lots of threats on whoever goes over there and that really sucks. Did you see that on the news too? It's sad to think some countries can get so hostile. Some HELP in posting on Computing.net plus free progs and instructions Cheers

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I guess you could call it a vacation. When I go, I ain't comin' back. Friend has a cattle ranch in southern Mexico; he doesn't worry about threats after a half century of handling Guatemalan rebels that flow across the border, I believe he has a couple pretty good solutions up his sleeve. As far as a vacation, Huatulco would be close. Think of all I'd be saving on airfare... :) Skip

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I keep checking on magic jack and as of yet I have not spoken to a single person in my area that has anything good to say about it. I thought of buying it just to play with but a friend did when he calls me, we only live two miles apart less as the crow flies, I am lucky to hear half of what he says. He said their tech support doesn't leave a little to desire as it would have to exsist to do that. Maybe one day I will try it but not this day. Practice makes perfect but only if you practice perfectly!

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Well, my MJ connection is really good, actually better than a cellphone, so I have no complaints. I got a friend of mine to buy one before he left for Germany last week. He set it up using a local number here in Fla. He got to Germany, plugged it into his daughters PC and gave me a call. Get this, it was just like he called me from the next house, awesome. So he is leaving it at his daughters place in Germany so she can call them whenever. He also didn't think the MJ would work. Yes, the tech support is not too good, but they always seem to keep updating the system and get it running better and said that soon they will have some toll free numbers for tech support. That will really help them. My suggestion, buy one from a retailer like Radio shack and if you don't like it, get your money back. I feel if you try it you will buy it, I too was really scheptical at first, but after a year I had saved lots of money and that's why I bought the 5 more yrs for $60, can't beat that price! Some HELP in posting on Computing.net plus free progs and instructions Cheers

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Don't forget the cost of having your computer on all the time just so you can have a phone line. Electricity ain't cheap these days. Not to mention to cost of components such as hard drives and fans failing sooner since they are on all the time. You're spending a lot more than $20 a year for phone service.

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Well, good point, BUT, it doesn't have to be on. If the PC is shut down, people will leave a voicemail that you can later retrieve from your e-mail as a wave form, plus of course the number that called you (caller ID), the MJ installation is internet based. What I do is leave my old HP laptop on with AC adapter so I'm sure that doesn't use up too much power. If it dies it dies, it was just sitting around anyways collecting dust.

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I'll buy one eventually. I've got a couple friends and a couple neighbors that have it. None like it. Until I can physically see it working I won't waste my money. I already have things to pay for that I don't like or want, ie: electric, groceries, phone, etc. etc......I am not going to add another right now. Practice makes perfect but only if you practice perfectly!

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LOL....hey , I hear ya, their support is quite lacking at times, in that case they should ask for a supervisor to help, that usually clears up the problems they are having. The regular so-called techs are just reading a manual. I have had my MJ for over a year now and the problems seem to be all ironed out. There is no delay while talking, it is just as clear as a landline, even better than cell-phone quality so that makes it worthwhile to me ;)

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Got another 2 calls from Germany, awesome voice quality and free.....I am impressed now. I have a cousin living in Thailand for 15 yrs, I'll send him a magicjack and see how it works from there. If it works fine, then I know I made the right choice! Some HELP in posting on Computing.net plus free progs and instructions Cheers

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From what I can read in Magic Jack's TOS there are a few points to be concerned about. 1. "...we are not required to provide you with access to emergency 911, E911, or similar access to emergency services" 2. "You also understand and agree that use of the magicJack device and Software will include advertisements...." 3. "Our computers may analyze the phone numbers and your registration information you call in order to improve the relevance of the ads." Also there is this: http://uninstallmagicjack.com/ Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals ... except the weasel. ~Homer Simpson~

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yellowbelt, that is quite amusing information. 1- you do put in your address for 911 services 2- that is really funny, because the ads on the dialer have nothing to do with the performance of the MJ, neither does it affect it in any way. 3- that one also doesn't affect the service. As far as the uninstallation, it is easy to do if you want it off your machine. From what I see, you probably haven't tried MJ so you are really only speculating, but hey, that is your perogative, np. If you give it a try, you may like it, that's all I can say. I even use mine to forward my MJ calls to my cell-phone when I'm travelling, has all the features of the other phones, 3 way calling, voice-mail etc. A real good deal for the money, but I can see that people are afraid to try something that is really inexpensive when it comes to replacing phone services. This is actually the vonage killer from what I've been reading, same principle at a fraction of the cost. I personally have saved hundreds of dollars in the 1st year I had it, alot of our clients are from out of state.

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