Re: Really Inexpensive Phone : magicJack

On Jan 9, 8:36 am, Jim10...@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
On Fri, 9 Jan 2009 07:24:28 -0800 (PST), mg <mgkel...@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:



On Jan 9, 2:17 am, Rita <R...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Thu, 8 Jan 2009 21:08:59 -0800 (PST), mg <mgkel...@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Jan 8, 9:29 pm, Rita <R...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Thu, 8 Jan 2009 20:05:08 -0800 (PST), mg <mgkel...@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Jan 8, 3:28 pm, Jim10...@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
On Thu, 8 Jan 2009 13:58:54 -0800 (PST), mg <mgkel...@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Jan 8, 1:44 pm, "Lawrence Akutagawa" <lakuNOS...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
"mg" <mgkel...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:966d6560-193b-48ae-a1cb-9c120f24397b@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Jan 8, 10:37 am, Rumpelstiltskin

<PleaseDoNotReplyByEm...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Thu, 8 Jan 2009 00:08:30 -0800 (PST), mg <mgkel...@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Dec 29 2008, 7:49 pm, Sir Frederick <mmcne...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
So I am trying out my new
magicJack phone gadget.
It works quite well :http://www.magicjack.com

I will be glad when I can port my copper wire
phone number over. In the meanwhile, no more
long distance phone charges. Just about $1.00 per
month.
--

Anyone interested in Magic Jack might want to also look at Vonage (or
Skype). There's a summary of the differences between the two at:
http://voip2u.org/compare-magic-jackskypevonage-features

Thanks for the chart. I haven't picked a long distance
method to replace my completely unsatisfactory SpeedyPin
yet, but I'll have to move soon.

My phone bill, not counting my internet connection (which
is AT&T, so it shows up on the phone bill) is only about $10
a month. Vonage is $25 a month, that seems to
disqualify them immediately.

Since I have DSL, I'm not sure if it would be even possible
to dump my AT&T service, though I haven't used their long
distance for a long time, mostly because of the monthly fixed
fees which are not cost-sensible for me, since I only average
about 1 or 2 long distance calls a month.

I have no plans to own a cell phone, ever.

How can one have a phone bill of only $10 a month? Is that one of
those "package" deals where they raise your prices later?

****************
I'll answer this one.  AT&T just raised the rate on its basic flat rate home
phone service.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_10798659?source=rss

As noted in the Mercury News article, it used to be $10.94  - it's now
(effectivie Jan 1, 2009) $13.50.

https://swot.sbc.com/swot/telcoProductDetail.do?productOfferId=155497

The lowest price dsl plan that AT&T has is $14.99 as per

http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=6431

My phone bill from Qwest is about $34.00/month and that's without any
long distance, but does include caller ID which is $8.50. I use a long
distance calling card for long distance calls. \

The "Taxes, Fees, and Surcharges" on my bill is $5.57 and the "Federal
Access Charge" is $6.38. That means I'm paying more for taxes, fees,
surcharges, and the federal access charge, than Rumpel is paying for
his entire phone bill.

We wacked out our international calling as we do that and most of our
long distance on Skype.  It adds up to nice savings.  We have a cell
phone for 33.78 a month (T-Mobile) with nation wide plan and have
never gone over our minutes.  I don't know how many we have and will
only get interested if we suddenly go over.

Then we use Verizon FIOS for TV, Internet, local phone and it is about
160 a month including unlimited use on internet, Chinese add on
package, HBO, STARS, Showtime.  We used to pay more having a cable
company for TV, a long distance carrier, and such.  Consolidation
saved us money and I will probably dump T=Mobile at some point for
verizon cell phone as I understand there is cheaper for more
consolidation.

But, always looking for better way to save.

I get DirecTV, with 3 DVRs and all the HDTV channels, but no premium
channels for about $100/mo. My fiber optic ISP is about $41 and my
land line is $34/mo and I'm on my daughters unlimited cell-phone plan
for $10/mo. I could save $34, by dumping my land line, but old habits
die hard.

I have Time Warner Road Runner High Speed Internet, HDTV TV, DVR,
expanded channel package but no premium channels, and Time Warner
cable phone with call answering and free long distance for a total of
$130 a month.  The cable phone works separately from the computer
and just plugs into the cable modem.

I have a cell phone on a son's account but keep conversations on
that phone short as I share it with two other members of his
family. It costs me nothing and  I don't abuse it.  That is
the reason I chose the cable phone with free long distance as I
have some daughters who like to talk for long, long time. The cell
phone I carry with me when I go out -- consider it a safety measure..
Also it is nice to have with me when I travel out of town.

All of the above work well and I am sold on Time Warner  for their
excellent tech support and overall courteous and excellent service.

I want nothing to do with the phone company, AT&T.

Everyone is making me wonder if I ought to bundle, but that strikes me
as being communistic somehow. So I ain't gonnu.

I have two reasons for bundling.  One is there is only one bill to
pay monthly.  But perhaps more importantly I like Time Warner's
reliability and service.  I was with them in New York City before I
moved to California and I don't hear really good reviews of my
alternatives here. And I don't want a phone service that uses my
computer -- no way. It is possible, I suppose I could put something
together that would save me a few bucks.  But I ain't goonu.

When my wife alive, she used to handle all the bills. I always told
her I would be glad to do it, but I think she liked the feeling of
control that it gave her :-) She used to write individual checks the
old fashioned way. When she passed away she had papers about 4 levels
deep on the kitchen table. I didn't even try to deal with it. I opened
a brand new account with my credit union and sort of let the old
checking account just die a natural death.

After that, I started paying my bills on line with my credit union and
I have others automatically deducted like my DirecTV bill and Internet
service, for example. So, bundling wouldn't really save me any work
since I'm already maxed out on the laziness index :-)

Lazy here too and pay anything possible online.  But, not going for
auto pay.  On a local Chinese group there was a lively discussion of
companies that have cheated by double billing, adding on unknown
charges, or otherwise snuck things into the bill one never knew about.

I get the bill in snailmail and read all the little notices and will
stick to that.  And bundling for me means I don't write pay AT&T and
the cable companies online any more.  I am lazy - but frugal is even
deeper in my thoughts.

It's true. There is a real danger with the automatic deductions. I
think larger companies are safer than smaller ones, though. With a
small company that could go bankrupt, for example, you could really
run into problems, if their computer starts malfunctioning or
something, you could really run into problems where they they charge
10 times in one month, or add an extra zero to your bill, etc. One
should look at the automatic deductions just as carefully with manual
payments. However, I confess, I don't do that. I do look at my
checking account on line a couple of times a month to make sure
nothing looks out of place, and beyond that I just take my chances.

I had an interesting situation after my wife died, incidentally, with
my city utility bill. In looking at the bill, I noticed they were
charging for 3 garbage cans instead of two and had been doing so for
about 8 years.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Really Inexpensive Phone : magicJack
    ... long distance phone charges. ... his entire phone bill. ...  The cable phone works separately from the computer ... pay monthly. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Really Inexpensive Phone : magicJack
    ... On Jan 8, 10:37 am, Rumpelstiltskin ... long distance phone charges. ... his entire phone bill. ...  The cable phone works separately from the computer ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Really Inexpensive Phone : magicJack
    ... long distance phone charges. ... his entire phone bill. ...  The cable phone works separately from the computer ... pay monthly. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Distance, Duration & Action, oops camera
    ... Bill goes to near the bottom of a gravity ... potential well and Tom goes to near the top. ... He calculates his rod and it measures one distance. ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
  • Re: What really is "Light" (assuming SR is correct)??
    ... > it as before for a point object moving at velocity v relative to John: ... I assume that Bill is actually sitting at the object moving at ... distance between both, ... > relativity or Special Relativity Bill may think he is not moving and it ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
Loading