magicJack?

[compirate]

It is not why do they charge so little...it is why do the big co charge so much.

But I still wonder, if you just hook up your phone the jack, and leave your monitor off, you never have to see the ads. So that means they can't be making that much off advertising to subsidize it. I suppose the other people are that greedy and he's just making pennies instead of dollars on each one. It just seems to me that the other companies would lower their prices because they can to compete. It just seems too good to be true, wonder when the shoe's gonna drop?

[mudfud]

just saw a magicJack ad at the top...

do you think that they are collecting your internet surfing information, too?

they say that collecting data on us is big money, so they can see trends, profile us for advertisements, etc...

gee, I wonder what the profile looks like for pachitalk members. I'm gonna guess a little "different" than the norm

[JACKSJE4]

You probably need to give them an email address to set up service, so based on your calling habits you probably will see an uptick in spam emails in addition to the ads on the screen.

Like Sid, I use Skype for much of my lengthy long distance calls. It's free and includes video if you have a webcam. My cell phone service doesn't charge for domestic long distance so I use that phone for the shorter calls.

My land line is stripped down to the most basic (and cheapest) level of service you can have. At $40 per month it gives me peace of mind for 911 service, and even my kids can work it. The phone service has never gone out in the 13 years I have lived here, but my high speed internet line (through the cable company) is down 2-3 times a year at minimum.

[NJ_Mike]

I don't know how valuable this is, as I haven't looked into it myself, however I have seen some discussion about MagicJack having really bad user license agreements, being able to monitor your usage, gather information from your PC, etc.

This could all be the typical misconceptions that come up because you have to install something on your PC, but my advice would be to read the ULA carefully before you agree to try it.

[FTKServices]

There is also another that can connect to your router instead of your computer, so you dont have to have your computer on.
https://www.tk6000.com/
it is $100 for life. no monthly payments. I am thinking about getting this one once I am in TN.