Free phone calls all year long w/ the Magic Jack

Last weekend I helped one of my family members to setup his home network and he was nice enough to hook me up with a MagicJack.

The Magic Jack is a little usb device that attaches to your computer and uses your broadband internet connection allowing you to make free phone calls using a regular phone. The technology behind this is the same as using other voice over IP services like Skype, Vonage, etc.

To set it up it was really simple, there is no CDs or software to install. I just plugged it into my laptop's usb port, and waited while the autorun feature on the device mounted itself and launched the application. I filled out couple of questions (name, address, email, etc).  Then I was asked for an area code for the number I was going to get and last but not least I had to verify my email address in order to activate the service. 

I started talking to colleagues about the device so I brought it with me to the office. I plugged the MagicJack in my computer at work and I was able to use my number and call anyone in no time. This means you can take the device with you anywhere in the world and as long as you have internet connection, you will be able to make free phone calls. This actually gave me a really good idea which many others are currently doing, I will buy couple of these devices and activate them in the states, then ship them to the Dominican Republic so my family members can call me for free anytime they want... No more calling cards!

Pros:

• Call quality is impressive, sometimes I even forget I'm talking through the Magic Jack.
• Cheap!!! Only $29 to buy the device and it includes one year of service, free voice mail, free call waiting. Then after the first year, it's only $20 a year going forward.
• Easy to use, just plug and play. Not like many others were you do plug and pray! :)
• *** You can use the Magic Jack without the device plugged into the computer, but requires a little bit of hacking*** :-)

Cons:

• Must use a computer in order to make and receive phone calls
• Must have a broadband connection
• Can't really use the jack to send/receive faxes, but according to forums it's possible depending on specific settings.

Would I recommend the Magic Jack? Yes absolutely!

Remote Control Your Home Computer From Anywhere

During my technology lifespan I've tried many ways and software utilities to remote into my home PC.  Sometimes I'm either in the office or visiting family members, friends, and even while traveling overseas. There is always something when least expected and have to remote into my system to get files, photos, etc.

I've tried VNC, I tried GoToMyPC, and even played around with Remote Desktop opening port 3389 on my router and more. I never really felt these utilities were not doing it for me, that's until I came across LogmeIn and tried their free service.

LogMein has different solutions depending on your needs. I've been using LogMein Free account for over two years without issues and you can remote different systems Windows or Mac OS X alike. The best thing about it is that it's fast, simple to use and very straight forward. Did I say free? :-)

To setup LogMeIn:

1. Visit logmein.com and sign up for a free account. 

2. Add computer you would like to remote control. You'll be prompted to download and install a very small utility.

3. Assign a user name and password

4. Then to access your system, visit logmein.com and login using your email address and password created when you first signed up. You'll be presented with the computer (s) you added.

5. Click on the computer name and you'll feel like you are right in front of your system.

I hope this has been helpful to you as it has been to me.

Extend your network and Internet connection in seconds

You might be thinking that I'm about to talk about setting up a wireless router and call it a day; well I'm not. 

Have you been in a situation where you have a couple of computer system and devices around the house that requires an internet connection, but the wireless signal doesn't reach or is too weak? How about getting rid of that long network cable you have running all around it?

Here is my personal dilemma and my solution...

I have a wireless Linksys router in my bedroom and right next to it I have my network storage device.  I also have a Sony Playstation 3 which I use as my Media player, unfortunately it's all the way in other side of the apartment and my wireless signal is only about 48%. I'm able to stream media to my PS3, but I have had many dropped connections because of the poor signal quality.

I actually had three solutions...

a) Run a network cable all the way from my bedroom to my PS3 and deal with the mess.

b) Buy a newer router with better signal (antennas) and see if my signal would improve.

c) Extend my internet/network connection using my existing power lines.

I was able to turn one of my electrical outlets into a network connection and was able to get the signal all the way across the apartment by using two Netgear Powerline Ethernet Adapters.

The way this works is simple, connect one adapter to any electrical outlet close to the router. Connect the RJ45 or ethernet cable from your router to the Powerline adapter. Then go anywhere within the house/apartment and connect the second Powerline adapter, plugin the ethernet cable to your other device, in my case the PS3 and voila!

This is completely plug and play without any software or configuration to mess with, pretty much straight forward. I paid $67 dollars from eCost.com for the adapters and I'm now a happy camper.

Click here if you want to learn more about How Power-line Networking Works.

iPhone 2G - Loudest Speaker Volume Ever!

You might have stumbled upon this trick which I wrote about about a year ago on modmyi.com. 

Someone actually made a nice video without giving me any credit, how dare him :-) Click here to see it.

If you are an iPhone user (first model to be specific), you might have noticed how much of pain the speaker volume really is. You might have missed a few phone calls because you were unable to hear your beloved ringtones.

I recall being at my computer one night and tried every single software hack I could in order to increase the speaker volume. I modified many of the system files on the iPhone without luck. Then I thought of cleaning the phone and went for the tiny holes that cover the speaker phone.

Below is what I did...

Caution: Not for the faint of heart!

1. Get a needle or any pointing device that's small enough to fit through the tiny little holes on the bottom left hand side of your iPhone (Don't try this on the iPhone 3G). There are 23 tiny holes in total.

2. Go ahead and poke through the center 10 little holes. You'll feel it when the needle penetrates a very small plastic cover inside the iPhone. YOU WILL NOT DAMAGE YOUR PHONE BY DOING THIS. Click here to see what you are actually poking.

3. Play any music track through the speakerphone and there should be a HUGE increase on the speaker volume.

Citrix License issues anyone?

Are you one of those users that work from home and remote to your company's network? If you were provided with Citrix client access, you would notice than after a while you will start receiving a warning message that reads:

"Your terminal services temporary client license will expire in %number% days . Please contact your system administrator to get a permanent license"

If you're into fixing computer issues yourself, perform the steps below and the warning will stop and you will continue to access your company's network without issues.

Mac users:

1. Exit out of Citrix

2. Browse to folder "Macintosh HD/Users/UserName/Library/Preferences/Citrix ICA Client/

3. Remove file name "CitrixID"

4. Connect back to Citrix (this will recreate the CitrixID file previously removed).

PC Users:

1. Go into your PC's Registry…Start Menu -> Run -> type Regedit and press Enter

2. Locate and then click the following key in the registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\MSLicensing

3. Delete the whole MSLicensing key from the registry.

4. Quit Registry Editor.

5. Connect to the Terminal Services server.

Blackberry Storm Scratch Resistant?

Can this be that the Blackberry Storm aside from being ridiculous slow and buggy still is able to withstand any scratches? Judge for yourself.... Honestly I'm impressed!

Which laptop system and how much should you spend?

Many friends, colleagues and family members would usually approach me with this question and I always give them the same answer. For your enjoying pleasure, here are my thoughts on the subject...

Nowadays there are so many different makers and models, options and features when it comes to computer systems. We visit our local computer stores and there is always a never ending lists of computers to choose from, that even the most computer savvy person could easily get intimidated.

The first thing I always ask before I recommend a system "what is going to be used for? Homework? Online browsing? Specific projects for home or business?" We are always accustom to two things: go for the best and greatest when we can afford it or go for everything that looks great on paper. Computer makers love attracting buyers by detailing everything they can right in front of their eyes. Many users look at system specifications and make their decisions based on a list of cute little numbers and computer terms. Unfortunately 99% of time they have no idea what any of these terms mean or they don't use 1/2 of the features they get.

Netbook or Laptop? well, Netbooks are cheaper, smaller, lighter and with less system resources than a laptop. If you love surfing the web and only need the system to do your homework, you definitely want to consider a Netbook system. That's if you don't mind a really tiny keyboard and small screen to work with.

Laptops are a usually a little more expensive than Netbooks, but then again there are tons of makes and models out there to decide from. It's always best to go online, search and read for reviews and comparison on the system you're looking to buy. Most of the time you learn about the system more than what you expect and end up going for a different one that is more suitable (better) and less expensive.

Which laptop would I choose personally? heh heh... I will cover that on another post.