Archive for the 'Mac' Category

Magic Jack - Update

Published
by
Joe Barnes
on November 14, 2008
in Joe, Mac and Stuff
. 1 Comment

www.magicjack.com

So, I have now had my Magic Jack for 6 months and I have to say that I am very impressed with this little gadget.  Everything that the website has said about this gadget has been the truth.  So, what can you do with this Magic Jack?

1.  Get rid of your expensive phone bill!  As long as you have fast enough Internet access, the Magic Jack will work.  I was in DR Congo, Africa and we were using satellite for Internet, when it was up.  The speed was not fast at all, maybe around 128k or so.  The Magic Jack worked!  Yes, in the middle of no where in Africa!  So, if you can get out of your home phone bill, do it and get one of these.  Again, it cost me $50 for the first YEAR and then $20 dollars every YEAR after.  Yes, YEAR…not month.

2.  If you travel outside of the U.S., this is for you!  I bought a second Magic Jack and left it in Africa so they could call back to the U.S.  It does not matter where you are in the world, you can call back to the US, and I believe Canada, for that small yearly price.  Oh, and you do have to have internet access.  I you know of a missionary, this would be something so awesome to give to them.

I have a cousin that her and her husband are in Italy.  He is in the Navy and is stationed over there.  I told my aunt about the Magic Jack, so she bought one for them.  They will not need to get phone service while they are in Italy.  As long as they have internet access, they will be able to use this and call back home.

I also have a buddy of mine that is teaching a class for my company over in Germany.  He bought a Magic Jack so I told him he needed to bring it with him to Germany and use it.  He told me that AT&T cell phone service for him over in Germany would be .99 cents a minute.  WOW!  So he brought his Magic Jack and is making free calls back home.

My daughter is getting to that age where she likes to get on the phone, and stay on it.  Instead of getting an additional phone line from TWC, I am going to get another Magic Jack and connect it to her computer.  Then she will have her own phone and it will not tie up the home phone.  Plus, it will save me a lot of money each month.

With all that said, I do not work for Magic Jack.  I have never met Magic, or Jack.  I got it because I was tired of paying my $30 - $40 dollar a month phone bill.  I saw the commercial and thought, you know what, for $50 dollars, why not try it.  I did and I have been so impressed.  The I got a second one for the DR Congo, Africa mission trip I went on and that was truley a gift from God.

So, if you have any questions about this, post a comment and I will answer your question.  I get so many “hits” on this blog site every day from people that are searching for Magic Jack, and if it really work. YES, it does, and again, if you have questions, post a comment and I will answer them.

Microsoft Ads created on a Mac….AWESOME!!!

Published
by
Joe Barnes
on October 1, 2008
in Mac
. 0 Comments

While browsing the wonderful Internet I found quite a few websites that are stating that our good friends at Microsoft used Apple computers to edit and publish their new ads that you are seeing on TV.  You know, the “I’m a PC” ads.  Here is a link to one article that I found.  Roughly Drafted.com

How cool is that?!?!  Microsoft using Apple computers to create ads against Apple Computers….hmmmmm.  Oh, and by the way, what was up with the Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates commercials?  What a waste of money and resources.  Looks like Jerry is laughing all the way to the bank.

Mr. Gates, I would be more than happy to be in your next commercial.  I won’t even charge the 10 million you paid Jerry.  I will do it for 1 million, or better yet, just pay off my house….what do ya say about that?  I’ll be patiently waiting for your prompt reply :)

Apple worth more than Google

Published
by
Joe Barnes
on August 13, 2008
in Mac
. 0 Comments

I was on MacRumors.com and this was one of the head-lining articles. I thought it was great. Look at the quote at the bottom from Michael Dell….boy, was he way off! Go Apple!!!

Digital Daily notes that Apple’s market capitalization at $159.37 billion is now worth more than Google’s which is at $157.56 billion. Apple’s market cap first exceeded $100 billion in May of 2007. Apple was included into the S&P 100 index at that time. For interest, MacDailyNews compiled a list of the market values of other notable companies:

- Microsoft (MSFT) - $255,648,204,000
- IBM (IBM) - $169,964,678,000
- Apple (AAPL) - $157,012,662,240
- Google (GOOG) - $156,392,862,560
- Cisco (CSCO) - $142,125,692,160
- Intel (INTC) - $135,658,860,000
- Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) - $111,866,423,760
- Nokia (NOK) - $97,746,699,520
- Research In Motion (RIMM) - $71,143,935,000
- Disney (DIS) - $59,257,501,500
- Dell (DELL) - $50,483,256,060

The practical significance of this ranking of market cap is little, but does always revive a famous comment by Michael Dell in 1997 when asked about what he would do to fix the then money-losing Apple:

“What would I do? I’d shut [Apple] down and give the money back to the shareholders,” Michael Dell said before a crowd of several thousand IT executives.

Apple ACSP Course

Published
by
Joe Barnes
on July 14, 2008
in Joe and Mac
. 1 Comment

I am very happy to say that the Apple course that I have been working on the past couple of months has payed off. The first class we had was last week and the instructor said that it was a smooth course, he loved teaching it, and the students enjoyed it. Plus, the pass rates for the students were outstanding. Go APPLE!!! He is now teaching a second class this week!!! Yeah!!!!

If you are interested in attending the Apple ACSP course, go the www.trainingcamp.com

Magic Jack - Does it work? - update

Published
by
Joe Barnes
on June 9, 2008
in Mac and Stuff
. 6 Comments

Does it work….YES!  However, this is what I have found out:

On a Windows computer you get all the features; caller id, call waiting, better “control panel” software on your computer.

On a Mac computer you do not get all the features.  However, you do still get outstanding phone service.

Cons:
Computer has to be running 24/7 for phone service
All features don’t work if you are using it on a Mac

Pros:
1st year is $50 a year, each year after that is $20…common….that is cheap!!!!
Quality of service has been better than expected.
Customer service department has answered and helped me and the experience was great.
I get to cancel my $30 a month phone bill!!!

Conclusion, I think this product is great.  So much that I ordered a second one, that will be going to Africa with me.  I have already recommended this to my friends and family.  With the way the economy is going right now, every penny counts!

Apple ACSP

Published
by
Joe Barnes
on June 9, 2008
in Mac
. 0 Comments

I took my Apple ACSP (Apple Certified Systems Professional) exam yesterday and passed!!!  Got to love Apple!  Now I have to get this course written and ready for an upcoming class.

If you are interested in attending this course, go to www.trainingcamp.com

Anti-Virus Protection Update

Published
by
Joe Barnes
on June 4, 2008
in Mac and Microsoft
. 0 Comments

For those of you on a Microsoft Windows computer, GET A MAC!!!  No, really, if you are paying for an anti-virus program or not, AVG Anti-Virus, in my opinion, is one of the best (FREE) anti-virus programs out there.  If you already have it, great.  They have updated their program and there is a new, better version out.  I would recommend you download it and install it as soon as possible.  Here is the link to the download page.  Free AVG Anit-Virus

Better yet, seriously, get a Mac!!!

Magic Jack - Does it work?

Published
by
Joe Barnes
on May 28, 2008
in Mac and Stuff
. 0 Comments

So I ordered a Magic Jack the other day. It cost me $50. Their web site says that for $50 I get calls within the US for free, for a year. Yes…for a year. Then after the first year, each year after it is like $20 or $30. Hmmm…I pay $30 a month, not including taxes. That is $360 a year, again, not including taxes. So I decided to get this little gadget and see for myself if it works. I actually installed it today. It took less than 5 minutes, oh, and I did it on my Mac. I called Melanie at the church and it was more clear than my Time Warner Cable phone. I had a friend of mine call me at the new number and he was really impressed. I will play around with it for the next month. If all is good, I am probably going to cancel my TWC phone service. With gas prices going up, we need to save every penny we got. I will post up later my pro/cons of the Magic Jack.

Need Help Finding…

Published
by
Joe Barnes
on May 7, 2008
in Joe, Mac and Mission Trip
. 0 Comments

In the past week there have been numerous emails about the computer network infrastructure at the seminary in DR Congo. I have been banging it around in my head about taking my Apple MacBook Pro. The only problem with this is it cost me a lot of money and it would be horrible if anything happened to it, like it getting taken away from me by the border patrol in DR Congo…YIKES!!! So what I am looking for is an older Apple laptop. My budget is $300 - $400. I need a laptop so I can do my mission work. So I am asking that if anyone has an old Apple laptop or know of someone that has one, please let me know. I am also thinking about just leaving the laptop there so they can get the full experience of how AWESOME Apple is, or I just might keep it for future mission trips. Not sure yet, still praying for the whole thing.

God Bless Your Day

Twitter and iPhones Rock!

Published
by
Joe Barnes
on May 6, 2008
in Joe and Mac
. 0 Comments

Twitter and iPhones go hand-in-hand!!!

2 things I am getting really excited about, but are more than a month away.
1.  Africa Mission Trip
2.  The release of the new iPhone