magicJack gets hacked into a magicNetbook
By Donald Melanson 
posted September 16th 2009 12:59AM
posted September 16th 2009 12:59AM
magicJack may still be sorting out its own fairly ambitious cellular plans, but it looks like some folks are taking it upon themselves to put the cheap phone call-making device to some exciting new uses -- like this crafty modder who crammed his trusty "MJ" (as those in the know call it) into his Eee PC 1000HE netbook. That mod apparently took a full day of tweaking to get working just right, but it does indeed seem to work as promised, and will let you make dirt cheap phone calls simply by plugging any old phone directly into your netbook (via a headphone jack). Unfortunately, there's no step-by-step how-to just yet, but you can check out some pics of the process at the link below and do your best to follow along.
This comment has nothing to do with this post at all, but WHEN ARE YOU GUYS GONNA POST YOUR ZUNE HD REVIEW?????
Sory for the caps attack, but the wait is killing me! :(
ive been playing with mine all day and it isnt all that great :| the screen is nice and all but the games that are in the "app store" are terrible. Ive owned every zune model up to this point with the exception of the 4/16 cause i had the 8 but all the others are somewhere around my house... I got the 32gb one but something about it dissapointed me so imma hand it over to my gf, imma keep my n97 for my mp3 needs, it has 48gb of memory at the moment :)
Here's my review: friggin' awesome. Everything has worked perfectly, Zune player + software + wireless sync + etc., and the sound quality is great for a PMP. Screen is slightly smaller than expected, and will be tedious to watch movies or TV shows - but the screen quality is outstanding. OLED = TEH BLACK!
And about this MagicJack thing, sheesh. Try Skype or Google Voice.
That's just ridiculous. And hilarious. And I kind of want to try it....
^ Couldn't have said it better! I have been waiting a loong time, about all day, lol.
Guess its THAT good! They are completely addicted and can't get off the device! :P
Or, You know, you could take the dongle with you along with your netbook and not mangle your headphone jack...
I would say this falls into the category of "Remarkably Unnecessary" because you can hack the magic jack software to run without the dongle. Then, you would just use a headset like you would with Skype and avoid having to carry a Netbook AND a phone... Oh, and you also wouldn't have to mangle your headphone jack either...
In my opinion Skype is the better than the MJ.
Skype allows for peer to peer file transfer, video conferencing, text chat rooms, and 8 way conference calling (you can mix pc and landline calls), free PC to PC calling, and cheap international calls, skype allows you to have multiple international/domestic phone numbers on one account (So your daughter attending the Cordon Bleu can call her parents in California at no cost to her). With skype you dont have to lug around a PC, because you have several manufactures who make 802.11 cordless phones for skype. These are things you cannot do with Magic Jack..
With magic jack, in order to receive calls you have to leave your power hungry computer turned on all the time, infact you don't need a PC at all. The increased power consumption on your electric bill can outweigh any savings you get on your phone bill vs a low powered dedicated skype wifi phone.
Skype > Magic Jack
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=skype+802.11&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g1
Correction:
in fact with skype you don't need a PC at all.
I just bought a magic jack this week. Il have to say, it doesn't play nice with google voice. It keeps sending it to voicemail without ringing my other phones
My MJ is sitting somewhere collecting dust for almost a year. I'm thinking Ooma tho....just not sure how much I'll use the thing as I don't have teenagers that yap all day long.
And the Ooma is quite expensive from my wallet perspective.
Telephone...plugged into a headphone jack.
Well, I guess that explains the lighters and bits of "material" on the desk there.
Boy are YOU gonna be sorry in the morning.
all the MJ commercials/infomercials make it seem like it's so crappy.. it would be nice to see some production skills put into them so ppl could actually see wtf MJ actually is.
I also had mixed results with MJ until I gave it a dedicated PC to use. Now it works great because that is all the PC is doing. Still have to reboot it every month or so but I think that's more a Windows problem. $50 for MJ hardware and fist year + $200 PC + $60 for 5 years more of MJ. Sounds like the $250 Ooma is a much better deal.
google voice and gizmo do the same thing but for free
Can i get a witness? AMEN.
That would be super hot wired to a modem jack. Do any netbooks come with those?
I love my MagiJack it works great but making a pc just for MJ is a bit much if you ask me.
It is just so much easier to get it working on your iPhone it works great when you have wifi.
Magic Jack is a ripoff....
Why would you pay for something you can get for free (SKYPE or GOOGLE VOICE or any # of other software clients)???
I have been traveling overseas and the MJ works great and keeps me in touch with business and family whenever i have my notebook turned on. it has been a real life saver because of the voice messaging that it does. Never a missed call that is important.
So far in cost savings it has saved me over 2 grand in international fees. I have used skype and others and nothing so far compares to the MJ for me. I always keep my local options open. One more point is i am now in China and the MJ long distance from USA to China is less than what it costs to use the Mobile phones here. So whenever possible I even call the local phones using my USA MJ phone number.
I'm trying to get the word out that magic jack deals with a lot of businesses that are dealing illegal and/or counterfeit drugs online. It's weird cuz they have phone lists too. I've never ordered anything from an online pharmacy and all of a sudden these people call. Makes me wonder if MJ is selling phone lists too as a bonus offer to these businesses. The inventor of this device exudes sleaze. These "pharmacies" i use the word very loosely call me about 20 times a day trying to get me to buy alprazolam which is a benzodiazepine (Xanax) and is a schedule IV with the DEA and is illegal to be sent in the mail. I have been dealing with these people for about a year on my cell phone, /wrists. They do not let up even after saying you'll never buy anything from them, they want to conquer that sale. It's a fault of theirs since I get information out of them. I traced one of their numbers which popped up the magic jack. when you go to their website it has no contact #, physical business address and to my dismay no email address. That alone exudes much sleaze and i'm not really into sleaze. So you can't report to them that they're enabling crooks from another country to take advantage of the American people. Barislow...what is that? Polish? anyway since they decided to rub me the wrong way with their incessant calling and magic jack's lack of care to be contacted by any one I've decided to expose them for what they are. So, deal with MJ and you get shafted in some way and if you haven't yet...just wait for it. Or be smart and do the right thing, spread the word and tell your friends. Persons running MJ are immoral and don't really care about anything but the buck.