VoIP

Skype is a wonderful service! Cousin in Toronto convinced me to sign on and it allows us to talk using voip at no charge. Since my first talk, I've also found a longtime friend online, who lives in Saipan. She also skypes to keep in touch with her daughter, who lives in Japan; and now we skype, too. It's a trip to consider the time difference: I called her on Memorial Day, and it was already Tuesday in Saipan.

Now I've got a new toy: Magic Jack. We needed to replace our telephone, so I went shopping at Radio Shack. Got the phone, and a 20% discount would apply if I purchased the Magic Jack. So, what the hey! I like gadgets, and this one looked useful. It's a portable phone jack that you plug into any USB port on your computer or laptop, and the phone cord that normally would go from your phone to your wall jack plugs into the other end. This allows you to use your phone handset to make and receive VoIP calls. Free in the US and Canada. To land lines or cell phones. Unlimited minutes. For $19.95 per YEAR! And the purchase price includes the first year of service.

It installs its software that manages the calls, your contacts, and your voicemail; you get a new phone number that can be forwarded; if you are calling from your home address, it even works for emergency 911 calls.

I bought it because when Husband travels out of the country, our cell phone bill skyrockets due to international roaming fees. With his Magic Jack, he can make free calls home. The difference between Magic Jack and Skype is that with Skype, the calls are only free to another Skype user who happens to be online at the same time; if you call a land line, there is a fee. With Magic Jack, calls to a land line are free, and the person you're calling need not be online. Also, if you have a cordless phone, you don't need to be tethered to the computer! Walk around! It's wild!