[Hidden-tech] Phone Service Alternatives?

[Frank Aronson]

David -

I'm using MagickJack and it works okay.  Not great, but okay.  That's all I
really expect for $20/year, really.  The call quality is not great (often
there is a lot of echo on the line and it doesn't engage immediately upon
picking up) and there will be no caller ID on the handset (you will see
who's calling from the MagicJack console on the machine that's running it).
 Similarly, when you make an outgoing call, the person on the receiving end
will not see a caller ID.  This may sound like a good thing, but really,
people are less likely to pick up a call that comes in as "Massachusetts,"
rather than "Farkas, David F."  You will have to keep a computer running
during the hours you wish to make phone calls as this is a VoIP device, not
a *real* land line, so if you currently *don't* have a machine on full time,
you will have to subtract the cost of the added electrical usage from your
cost savings.

Finally, as Will correctly states, Comcast will charge more for your
Internet-only service (Verizon will do the same thing).  The house always
wins, I'm afraid.

I do have a Google Voice account, but that's used to tie my cell and
MagicJack numbers together, so clients will have only one number to call.
 If you need a Google Voice invitation, I have some available.

Frank

-- 
The Computer Mensch
"When not just ANY geek will do!"
Cell: (413) 537-5238
Work: (413) 282-8855
fsaronson at comcast.net

On Mon, Jan 4, 2010 at 9:22 PM, David F. Farkas <david at farkas.com> wrote:

>   ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>   ** If you did, we all thank you.
>
>
>
> Hi folks. Merry Everything and Happy Always!
>
> I've wanted to drop Comcast phone and TV so I've been looking for a way to
> keep my landline number at a lower cost. Best option seemed to be MagicJack
> which has been threatening to port existing numbers all year, but has not
> come through with that.
>
> I guess I could port the old number to a voicemail service and get an
> outgoing number from MagicJack, but....
>
> So tech mavens... what other alternatives do I have? An inexpensive way to
> keep the landline service and have local and US / Canada long distance
> service?
>
> Thanx!
> David
>
> --
>
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>  Snowmen Fall From Heaven... Unassembled
>
> DAVID  FRANKLIN  FARKAS
>   www.HouseHealing.com
>   Remote Healing for Real Estate, People & Business
>
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>            Email:  david at HouseHealing.com
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>
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-- 
The Computer Mensch
"When not just ANY geek will do!"
Cell: (413) 537-5238
Work: (413) 835-9721
fsaronson at comcast.net
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