# magic jack?



## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

i have a deep hatred for phones-
damm things ringing all the time and stuff, people calling just to say nothing
but i have to call my folks once in a while, and its long distance.
nobody finds it strange if i dont call for a few months, but my phone hasnt been active since xmas lol-
everybody i ever call is long distance, often in europe- thats expensive when you use a pay as you go cell phone.
but somebody gave me this thing- i plug it into my usb hub, theres an app that runs on my pc, and it works.
called my mum last night.
seems too good to be true, and im paranoid as all get out.
anybody have any experience with this?


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## dodgechargerfan (Mar 22, 2006)

Yep. Love it. 
I got mine before they offered any Canadian numbers. So, I have a Las Vegas phone number.  

My wife has family there. 

I have another one that I will set up soon

My ultimate plan is to set up a SIP based pbx in my house and program it to route LD calls out the magic jacks. 

I just need an analog gateway and I'll be all set. The pbx software is free. 
Since I need a PC for each magic Jack, I'm thinking that I will set up a couple of vmware machines on the same PC as the pbx and run the magic jacks off of those and the analog gateway will plug in to them as if they were regular analog lines.


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## keeperofthegood (Apr 30, 2008)

My cats breath smells like cat food.


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

cool- great to know- thanks .
can i call you dcf?
i used to own a 67 monaco- 383 magnum with one of them funky shifters on the tree- called the police pursuit package
drove that thing for 11 years


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

keeperofthegood said:


> My cats breath smells like cat food.


i know it does keeps, i know.


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## keeperofthegood (Apr 30, 2008)

one of these days it would be cool if you could translate this thread into something even I could understand


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

i could translate it into german- but that wouldnt help 
and in french it would sound really gay.
im not very good with any of the other languages.
much of what dodgechargerfan said is technically beyond me, really- but the fact he gives his thumbs up is all i need


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

I gave my mom one for Mother's Day. So I assume that since my mom is in her 70's it's not as high-tech as it sounds. For the uninitiated, it's literally a phone jack that you plug into your usb port that you can use to call anywhere in North America for $20/year. After it installs in your computer, just plug your regular phone into the jack and off you go. They provide you with a phone number that people can call you although they only provide numbers in the US. It also means you need to have your pc on all the time. My mom uses it to call some of our relatives living in the west coast as well as any long distance calls she has to make. It also works well for people who travel overseas a lot. All you need is an internet connection, a phone and you can call anyone in NA for free.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

fraser said:


> everybody i ever call is long distance, often in europe- thats expensive when you use a pay as you go cell phone.


You can use this to call outside of NA, like Europe but there would be charges. The Magic Jack allows you to call anyone in NA from anywhere in the world, but not vice-versa. I have a friend in Australia who came to the US for a visit last fall, bought a magic jack, brought it to Melbourne and now his calls to the US/Canada are free. He just called me about a month ago and I didn't even realize he was using it until he told me.


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

Chito said:


> You can use this to call outside of NA, like Europe but there would be charges. The Magic Jack allows you to call anyone in NA from anywhere in the world, but not vice-versa. I have a friend in Australia who came to the US for a visit last fall, bought a magic jack, brought it to Melbourne and now his calls to the US/Canada are free. He just called me about a month ago and I didn't even realize he was using it until he told me.


interesting- and thanks chito
i dont know anything really, apart from plugging the thing into my usb, and the phone into that
how exactly is billing/payment done?
mine is working just fine- it seems too easy lol
granted, when all this happened i was drunk, and the fella who gave it to me needed his car fixed
i can fix a car, but im not a rocket scientist
just a drunk assed guitar player.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

MagicJack's EULA says it will spy on you and force you into arbitration | Boing Boing Gadgets

And from Wikipedia:



> Criticisms
> 
> Users have expressed concerns with the advertisements displayed by the product and the policy, which allows YMAX to analyze numbers called by customers. From the EULA (End User License Agreement):
> 
> ...


magicJack - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

i dunno- i havent seen any advertisements
and i never answer a ringing phone
its possible that something is attached to the software-i havent seen anything yet.
they can spy on me all they want.
all theyll see is a longhgair who doesnt wear a shirt unless he has too.
if thats what theyre into tho- shouldnt i be getting paid?
i can edit my registry-im pretty good with pcs, just have a very outdated mode of thinking
thats why all this stuff seems unreal to me


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

I'm not going to make any arguments about it. There's nothing there that I know I'm being scammed about. I've not lost any money, nor been bombarded with advertising.As for analyzing the phone calls called, that's nothing new. I don't know what they would get out of my mom's phone calls. So try it at your own risk. I think the $20 bucks for an option to call long distance when you want to without getting charged like crazy is not much of a risk for me.


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

thats kinda how i saw it chito-
guy asked if i had a phone, when i said no he said hed set this thing up and it wouldnt cost me anything
if it costs me $50 bucks at the end of the month ill throw it out lol.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

The one I gave my mom cost me $50 actually but that's $30 for the jack itself and $20 for the subscription. I ordered mine from the US. I believe there's a canadian distributor. You can also pick it up in any Walmart or Radio Shack in the US.


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

Chito said:


> The one I gave my mom cost me $50 actually but that's $30 for the jack itself and $20 for the subscription. I ordered mine from the US. I believe there's a canadian distributor. You can also pick it up in any Walmart or Radio Shack in the US.


lol- i had never heard of it till now. im a rube lol
thanks again chito- 
this thing is still working


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

I don't know about any of that spyware stuff, but we tried and and if you want to use it with a corded phone fine, but it works like Shite for a Cordless phone. BOTH parties need to be on a corded phone. Might as well have burned two 20's!


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

Starbuck said:


> I don't know about any of that spyware stuff, but we tried and and if you want to use it with a corded phone fine, but it works like Shite for a Cordless phone. BOTH parties need to be on a corded phone. Might as well have burned two 20's!


really, thats kinda messed up!
the guy gave me a corded phone with it- brand new.
im sure with the minimal use itll recieve itll be cool.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Starbuck said:


> I don't know about any of that spyware stuff, but we tried and and if you want to use it with a corded phone fine, but it works like Shite for a Cordless phone. BOTH parties need to be on a corded phone. Might as well have burned two 20's!


You mean 2 people both on MJs, right? I haven't had any problems with people who use it to call me on my cell phone, works all the time with no issues at all. Now I know cordless phones are a bit different.


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

Nope. Doesn't work if two parties are on cordless phones.


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## LaRSin (Nov 27, 2006)

Starbuck said:


> Nope. Doesn't work if two parties are on cordless phones.


Yes it works with cordless , I have a cheap cordless and it works fine,And the computer is hooked up wireless, But if your doing dowloads at the same time ,It could cause problems, It's not the best but for the money not bad.


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## ccuwan (Jul 9, 2008)

*+1 Magic Jack*

I'm with you Fraser....I hate phones but unfortunately they are a necessity in my life.

Trashed my Rogers service about 2 months ago, saving about $50 per month.....bought a MJ from The Source (Bell strangely enough) and haven't looked back. 

The issue about 2 cordless phones is new to me. I have mine wired to my home phone system meaning 2 corded phones and 2 cordless and 1 Magic Jack. I've not had any problems like Star and I talk to my brother in Florida with cordless regularly. 

downside
new phone number
local numbers are available only in select (larger) markets
computer has to be on to receive a call
upside
price
long distance eliminated
even if PC is off, it sends an email to you letting you know you missed as call with a wave file of the message
the telemarketeers haven't found me yet

Beyond that, my experience says I bought a low priced home phone. I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop.


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