Originally posted by: AnitaPeterson
Good riddance...
I really can't understand this fascination with VOIP... if you don't have internet connection OR power, you're also left without phone service...
......packet switched technology (the internet as it exists today, which is consequently VoIP's operational domain) is superior to circuit-switched (old POTS system)in every aspect except that the "brains" eat a lot of juice and keeping them running when the power goes is a lot of work and you can't expect a lot of uptime as more and more time passes out without electricity. That said, it's worth it to millions and millions of customers, private and corporate alike.
Economies are based on assumptions, as are their goods and services, especially as you get into economies of scale where a whole infrastructure is created just for a good and/or service. If we are to assume that you have an unreliable electrical provider/wiring, you have bigger problems to worry about.
LED/DLP/Satelite/nanotubes/TDMA /CDMA/GSM/ the internet as a whole/ multiplexers/toasters/loaves of bread/ SaaS (software as a service)/ email/ light bulbs Soylent Green...
okay..maybe not that last one..at least not yet
These all technologies and/o goods and services that DEPEND and exist ONLY AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE SYSTEM THAT PRODUCES,MAINTAINS, and ALLOWS THE PUBLIC TO MAKE USE OF THEM. They have just gotten more intricate and shifted what are considered critical amenities/goods/services to a new infrastructure....
Don't knock it baby cause it's the future
Originally posted by: eplebnista
Originally posted by: NuclearNed
Originally posted by: Goosemaster
Originally posted by: NuclearNed
I was on the verge of signing up with Sunrocket this weekend when I began reading all the bad news about them.
After more reading, I think I'm sold on MagicJack. With them, there is an initial hardware purchase of $40, the first year of service is free, then only $20 a year afterwards. Virtually everything I've read on the net about them is glowing. One nice thing about them is that you can use regular telephones.
Think about it. The telco's are waging a Lobbying war and are taking out all the little guys and you are going with a comp that is giving it away for free?
Stay away.far far away.
Well, look at it this way - the first year (both the hardware and the service) only costs $40. My monthly land line currently costs over $30 a month. If I spend $40 and MagicJack goes under in two months, I've still come out ahead (other than the annoyance of once again having to find another provider).
On the other hand, if MagicJack makes it, I'm paying only $20 a year for phone service after the first year.
The worst case scenario is that I pay $40 for a device that doesn't work. Considering that this device has been featured on CNBC by a reporter who was very enthusiastic about it, I think the risk is minimal.
That is my thinking too(that $40 is low enough to make it worth a try). Although I would use the MagicJack service just for long distance and keep my land line as it is. I just wished I had heard of it before now, as I just racked up $33 worth of long distance charges last month alone.
having your number out for 2weeks while it gets switched over though is a PITA...at least it took that long for me....how long is it these days?
It's simply econ...to each there own....
I pay more for less risk but less than some other options....POTS is sort of tank-proof but a ripoff....so technically I pay less because they are introducing more risk (risk of E911 and new technology (which is a side note at most these days))