So I called up D-Link’s customer service and I got Letty on the phone.  Letty was AWESOME!  He listened to me and talked with me about my issue.  I wasn’t even going to call and complain but Oscar changed my mind on that.  I told Letty that I have spent thousands of dollar over the years with D-Link, and the one time that I needed D-Link, I get really poor customer service.  I don’t even get an apology, no we are sorry Joe, nothing.  I even pointed Letty to my blog and she went to it to read my previous post about this issue.  She made a comment on how “young” I looked.  Thank you Letty!  Well, we will see what happens and if I get a call from Oscar at D-Link and get an apology.  That is all I want.  I don’t want anything else from them.  I don’t know…we shall see.  I don’t think I’m going to hold my breath on this one.

My opinion about D-Link’s SecureSpot…A++.  I am glad I spent the $30 a year fee to get this.  Setting it up, depending on how many devices you have, will take a bit, but once it is done then you are all setup and secure.

I just got back from teaching a class and wouldn’t you know it, that time has come.  Britney came to me the other day and showed me a website that one of her friends showed her, this was definitely not a site that I want her going to.  So I am now looking at Parental Controls for my home network.  I have a Dlink DIR-655 wireless router and Dlink has come out with a new firmware upgrade for it that has their SecureSpot software.  This come with Parental Controls and all sorts of cool stuff.  I am going to try it out and see how I like it.  I’ll post up my thoughts after I have had a chance to play with it and all.

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.

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

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.

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!

Better yet, seriously, get a Mac!!!