magicJack working with magicFCC and magicCarriers on magicFemtocell
By Chris Ziegler 
posted April 22nd 2009 3:48PM
posted April 22nd 2009 3:48PM
- Are these guys licensing spectrum from the gub'mint, sublicensing it from carriers, or just going rogue?
- Are any carriers in on this, and if so, why?
- If carriers aren't involved, why would they establish roaming deals that would allow carrier-branded phones and SIMs to roam on magicJack's rogue airwaves?
- If they're not working on roaming deals, the femtocells will need to spoof a carrier ID -- never mind the fact that TDMA femtocells are virtually impossible to design and install for technical reasons, which means these would have to be 3G. So magicJack's going to offer a UMTS femtocell?
- Do you get to keep your phone number when you roam on the magicFemtocell, and if so, how?
Helluva mess, isn't it? We're sure we'll eventually be able to find out the answers -- and a whole lot more for just one low price -- in a few months' time at 2 in the morning on your local Ion affiliate.
Do you believe in magic?
no.
Oh, gee, only a little bigger than the current one which blocks most of the surrounding USB ports? What a deal! And one of the main troubleshooting steps they give you is to avoid using a USB extension!
Considering what crap the current model is, I have no faith in future products of theirs. The software looks like it was designed in the early 90s and takes too long to load while blocking half the screen, and it insists on keeping a shortcut on your desktop and puts it back if you delete it (I finally hid it on my mother's computer). It's a terrible, terrible device, and I don't recommend it to anyone. Ever.
Sheesh.
The thing is inexpensive and works well. Criticize when they are charging $259 a year like vonage and have the complaints. I use both and they are great but the cost factors affect what they can give you.
Complain when you have a better product or service not when you want $1000 service for $40.
Actually the magicJack GUI (in small mode) takes up about 1/9th of the screen if you run a decent high-res resolution on a wide screen display. Alternatively, in that same mode it takes up less than a quarter of the screen if you run 1024x768 resolution. Certainly, running the GUI at a high res on your 15inch CRT probably doesn't look good. 15inch CRT's were all the rave back in the 80's. Alas, the GUI is just a "cosmetic" aspect. Who cares what the hell it looks like or the interface - as long as it functions you'll have to find some other hobby on what to complain about next. I own 6 magicJacks; they have never failed me. I can see how frustrated someone might be if they don't have moderate fault isolation skills with software/pc/networks, zero knowledge of POTS, and understanding of USB voltage & loss from poor extension cables from the 99Cent Store or the manufacturer. This is a clever device and business model for the guys running the show. FierceVoIP mentioned once that this little adapter may be responsible for up to 23% of landline loss (referring to POTS) in 2008 alone. Technically, I'm a compentitor to them but I've got to admit they've done very well. Hats off to taking flight when land lovers think men can't fly.
Who cares what it looks like? Most of the market. Looks are, sadly, everything. And when you have to stare at the ugly splash screen every time you boot or plug it in for as much as a minute while it does, indeed, block part of the screen (percentage is irrelevant when it's the CENTER), it matters more. Granted I could probably manage to make due with the thing and work around its shortcomings, but I'm not its target market. Its target market are people far less knowledgeable than you and I who are far more easily frustrated by its poor design. And none of its design flaws aren't easily overcome by better effort on the part of the designer.
TurboFool's just that; too quick to be stupid. For someone who ridicules a stinking software interface, dude, check out your own avatar. It looks like something from Incredible Hulk (1978). Stop using Microsoft Paint to do your artwork.
-50 for not knowing what reboot was.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReBoot
ReBoot is awesome. For a computer nerd who's also a Saturday morning cartoon fanatic, it was and still is mind blowing.
Your ad hominem attack skills are only surpassed by your lack of knowledge of pioneering animated television. In the future, stick to debating the topic you're familiar with instead of bypassing into a subject in which you're completely ignorant.
Ok, first of all, if you don't like the UI, you can hide it completely with a nifty little free app over at magicjacksupport.com. The UI shouldn't be a reason not to use a perfectly great cheap service.
Secondly, most of us MagicJack fans don't use it on our primary PCs. Mine is currently running on an old Pentium III laptop that was sitting around, draws about 20 Watts of power, and I leave it on with the lid closed all the time. Why would you want to leave your primary 300+Watt home PC on 24/7 anyway (the MJ won't work when in standby, so you'd have to just have your PC on waiting all day- I personally try to turn my PC off as often as possible)
I've seen people running MagicJacks on thinclient computers as well, which are basically 9 Watt simple windows embedded computers (about $100 on ebay).
I feel the same way about it as I do my bit torrents and other background apps... better left on a dedicated box. I think avoiding the service because it takes over your computer is a bit of a stretch.
It's not marketed to people who have machines they can dedicate it to, it's marketed to average joes who need cheap phone service and can't afford Vonage or the likes. Those are the people who aren't going to have an extra machine lying around to use JUST for this purpose. As such, it shouldn't require third-party hacks and dedicated servers to be useful. Same reason that, while I swear by my Windows Mobile phone, I would never support marketing it to my mother.
I agree with the Windows Mobile analogy- I love my WM device, but my wife won't touch them (she hates using my phone).
But that's a far cry from saying that the platform sucks and "It's a terrible, terrible device, and I don't recommend it to anyone. Ever." It works, but its not all flowers and roses. There's a small price to pay for this almost free service.
I dunno...I've heard a lot of bad things about magicJack and it's customer support. Kind of important if you want to be in a consumer electronics business.