Chris Pirillo » telephone http://chris.pirillo.com News and Reviews! Geek, Internet Entrepreneur, Hardware Addict, Software Junkie, Book Author, Once TV Show Host, Technology Enthusiast, Shameless Self-Promoter, Tech Conference Coordinator, Early Adopter, Idea Evangelist, Tech Support Blogger, Bootstrapper, Media Personality, Technology Consultant, Thicker Quicker Picker Upper. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:15:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 © chris@pirillo.com () chris@pirillo.com() Geek, Internet Entrepreneur, Hardware Addict, Software Junkie, Book Author, Once TV Show Host, Technology Enthusiast, Shameless Self-Promoter, Tech Conference Coordinator, Early Adopter, Idea Evangelist, Tech Support Blogger, Bootstrapper, Media Personality, Technology Consultant, Thicker Quicker Picker Upper. chris@pirillo.com No no http://chris.pirillo.com/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpgChris Pirillohttp://chris.pirillo.com 144 144 What is MagicJack?http://chris.pirillo.com/what-is-magicjack/ http://chris.pirillo.com/what-is-magicjack/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 09:52:06 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/?p=13190 What is MagicJack? is a post from Chris Pirillo


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What do you currently use for your phone service? Do you use a traditional land-line company, or something like Vonage? I’ve been using Vonage in my home for a couple of years now. Lately, though, some people were asking me what I thought about MagicJack, so I decided to try it out.

I figured we’d set it up together in this video. After all, the package promises “60 seconds to a lifetime of savings!”. It also talks about having free voice mail, free International calling, and even free local and long-distance. All you need is a phone and a broadband connection.

I actually had to go buy a cheap corded phone, because all of the phones in my house were cordless! I plugged the MagicJack in, and it instantly opened. The little interface told me to click a button to start calling – even while everything was downloading.

Within about 30 seconds, I was ready to register. I entered my email and a password into the program. I was told that following activation I would receive a confirmation email to finish the process. Then, it asked me my name, and approximate location for proper 911 services. After this step, it gave me the option of which area code I wanted to go with for where I live. Then, I could choose any number I wanted. Heck, I could’ve even chosen a number and area code back in Iowa!

I then had to of course agree to the Terms of Service. Don’t do as I did – or didn’t do. Always read your Terms of Service before agreeing! After doing that, I had my very own MagicJack phone number. I didn’t like the giant banner ad in the middle of the dialer though. I guess that’s what we get for having free phone service though.

I plugged the phone it, picked it up and dialed. It went through! That quickly, I called myself! I even answered myself. The sound was pretty clear, as well. I was impressed at this point, for sure. It took no time to set up, and it works!

If you shut down the MagicJack application on your computer, you cannot receive incoming calls. So – keep that in mind! Oh! Cool! There’s a call log! However, I don’t like that the address book cannot coordinate with my address book within my operating system. That would rock! Maybe they can work on that with a future release.

Well, there you go. There’s my opinion on MagicJack. It’s free, it’s simple, and it works. Try it for yourself. You may want to consider this as an alternative to a traditional land-line phone.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> What is MagicJack? is a post from Chris Pirillo


Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

What do you currently use for your phone service? Do you use a traditional land-line company, or something like Vonage? I’ve been using Vonage in my home for a couple of years now. Lately, though, some people were asking me what I thought about MagicJack, so I decided to try it out.

I figured we’d set it up together in this video. After all, the package promises “60 seconds to a lifetime of savings!”. It also talks about having free voice mail, free International calling, and even free local and long-distance. All you need is a phone and a broadband connection.

I actually had to go buy a cheap corded phone, because all of the phones in my house were cordless! I plugged the MagicJack in, and it instantly opened. The little interface told me to click a button to start calling – even while everything was downloading.

Within about 30 seconds, I was ready to register. I entered my email and a password into the program. I was told that following activation I would receive a confirmation email to finish the process. Then, it asked me my name, and approximate location for proper 911 services. After this step, it gave me the option of which area code I wanted to go with for where I live. Then, I could choose any number I wanted. Heck, I could’ve even chosen a number and area code back in Iowa!

I then had to of course agree to the Terms of Service. Don’t do as I did – or didn’t do. Always read your Terms of Service before agreeing! After doing that, I had my very own MagicJack phone number. I didn’t like the giant banner ad in the middle of the dialer though. I guess that’s what we get for having free phone service though.

I plugged the phone it, picked it up and dialed. It went through! That quickly, I called myself! I even answered myself. The sound was pretty clear, as well. I was impressed at this point, for sure. It took no time to set up, and it works!

If you shut down the MagicJack application on your computer, you cannot receive incoming calls. So – keep that in mind! Oh! Cool! There’s a call log! However, I don’t like that the address book cannot coordinate with my address book within my operating system. That would rock! Maybe they can work on that with a future release.

Well, there you go. There’s my opinion on MagicJack. It’s free, it’s simple, and it works. Try it for yourself. You may want to consider this as an alternative to a traditional land-line phone.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/what-is-magicjack/feed/ 29 Christmas with the Pirillo Family (by Phone)http://chris.pirillo.com/christmas-with-the-pirillo-family-by-phone/ http://chris.pirillo.com/christmas-with-the-pirillo-family-by-phone/#comments Sat, 29 Dec 2007 04:31:49 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/12/28/christmas-with-the-pirillo-family-by-phone/ Christmas with the Pirillo Family (by Phone) is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Ponzi and I couldn’t travel to Iowa this year to be with my family on Christmas. Instead, we did a conference call on Christmas Eve with the gang, and recorded it for everyone to share with us.

You can see Ponzi and I, of course. On the phone, you can hear my Mom and Dad, and my brother Adam. Apparently, Adam is partaking in Mom’s Merlot wine, and she got after him about it. Growing up with these people was fun, to say the least.

The first thing they opened is a box of gizmos, gadgets and toys that I sent. Inside of it, they found two Annoy-A-Tron’s, two Spy Remote Controls, and two of the 8-Bit Ties. Dad was happy to receive these, and is so far refusing to give one of each to my brother. Adam is demanding his own set of gizmos!

Next up, Dad opened the package addressed to him that came from Amazon. He was tickled to discover that he got the helmet-cam he’s been wanting. It’s a camcorder that is specifically designed to mount to a helmet, motorcycle, car, etc. He’s been wanting one of these for awhile now, so he finally has one!

Lastly, Ponzi and I told them to open the canvas package. Ponzi is very excited about seeing their reaction. However, first we had to wait for Dad to get back from wandering about the house, and hear Mom yelling at Adam to behave himself. Finally, they opened the package, and you can hear Mom yell out “Oh my God this is AWESOME!”. We took a wonderful picture of Mom and Dad that was taken at our wedding, and had it printed onto canvas, to make it look like a painting. Also, the person who made this for us put actual brushstrokes onto the canvas by hand, to make it look even more like a painting. It turned out beautifully, and Mom and Dad love it.

Of course, Ponzi still needs to get the wedding album (and the 8×10) to Mom. She’s working on it, I promise!

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> Christmas with the Pirillo Family (by Phone) is a post from Chris Pirillo

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

Ponzi and I couldn’t travel to Iowa this year to be with my family on Christmas. Instead, we did a conference call on Christmas Eve with the gang, and recorded it for everyone to share with us.

You can see Ponzi and I, of course. On the phone, you can hear my Mom and Dad, and my brother Adam. Apparently, Adam is partaking in Mom’s Merlot wine, and she got after him about it. Growing up with these people was fun, to say the least.

The first thing they opened is a box of gizmos, gadgets and toys that I sent. Inside of it, they found two Annoy-A-Tron’s, two Spy Remote Controls, and two of the 8-Bit Ties. Dad was happy to receive these, and is so far refusing to give one of each to my brother. Adam is demanding his own set of gizmos!

Next up, Dad opened the package addressed to him that came from Amazon. He was tickled to discover that he got the helmet-cam he’s been wanting. It’s a camcorder that is specifically designed to mount to a helmet, motorcycle, car, etc. He’s been wanting one of these for awhile now, so he finally has one!

Lastly, Ponzi and I told them to open the canvas package. Ponzi is very excited about seeing their reaction. However, first we had to wait for Dad to get back from wandering about the house, and hear Mom yelling at Adam to behave himself. Finally, they opened the package, and you can hear Mom yell out “Oh my God this is AWESOME!”. We took a wonderful picture of Mom and Dad that was taken at our wedding, and had it printed onto canvas, to make it look like a painting. Also, the person who made this for us put actual brushstrokes onto the canvas by hand, to make it look even more like a painting. It turned out beautifully, and Mom and Dad love it.

Of course, Ponzi still needs to get the wedding album (and the 8×10) to Mom. She’s working on it, I promise!

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/christmas-with-the-pirillo-family-by-phone/feed/ 28 The Ultimate Skype Add-inhttp://chris.pirillo.com/the-ultimate-skype-add-in/ http://chris.pirillo.com/the-ultimate-skype-add-in/#comments Tue, 19 Sep 2006 04:26:14 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/2006/09/18/the-ultimate-skype-add-in/ The Ultimate Skype Add-in is a post from Chris Pirillo

Skype Me!

]]> The Ultimate Skype Add-in is a post from Chris Pirillo

Skype Me!

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/the-ultimate-skype-add-in/feed/ 2 Vonage Suckshttp://chris.pirillo.com/vonage-sucks/ http://chris.pirillo.com/vonage-sucks/#comments Fri, 18 Aug 2006 22:25:21 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/2006/08/18/vonage-sucks/ Vonage Sucks is a post from Chris Pirillo

Vonage doesn’t live up to the hype – end of story. Hussey’s getting huffy about it, too. Tris is dropping Vonage and having to incur a $150 disconnection fee in the process! It’s as easy to get out of the contract as it is to get motherf*cking snakes off a motherf*cking plane:

Now for the why. I wasn’t able to have consistently good quality calls. I tried to put up with it and thought it might just be network congestion. But this week and last I’ve had to be on the phone with tech support people a bunch and had to do most of it on my cell. Not good. It’s not a good sign when the cell call sounds better! Yes, I tried tweaking my router. Yes, I had my line checked. But hey, I’m online all the time. I just a lot of bandwidth day to day. It’s rather annoying to have to shutdown download just to answer the phone … and it still suck.

The only people who call our Vonage number anymore are telemarketers. I’ve got a cell phone and line lines for the show. Don’t think I’m too hip on keeping that Vonage number around for too much longer.

]]> Vonage Sucks is a post from Chris Pirillo

Vonage doesn’t live up to the hype – end of story. Hussey’s getting huffy about it, too. Tris is dropping Vonage and having to incur a $150 disconnection fee in the process! It’s as easy to get out of the contract as it is to get motherf*cking snakes off a motherf*cking plane:

Now for the why. I wasn’t able to have consistently good quality calls. I tried to put up with it and thought it might just be network congestion. But this week and last I’ve had to be on the phone with tech support people a bunch and had to do most of it on my cell. Not good. It’s not a good sign when the cell call sounds better! Yes, I tried tweaking my router. Yes, I had my line checked. But hey, I’m online all the time. I just a lot of bandwidth day to day. It’s rather annoying to have to shutdown download just to answer the phone … and it still suck.

The only people who call our Vonage number anymore are telemarketers. I’ve got a cell phone and line lines for the show. Don’t think I’m too hip on keeping that Vonage number around for too much longer.

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/vonage-sucks/feed/ 65 How to Handle Remote Tech Support <em>Using <a href="http://www.gotoassist.com/chris">GoToAssist</a> is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party. </em> chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) Partner Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMThttp://gotoassist.com/chris/ http://gotoassist.com/chris/ Network Tools for Windows You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. <a href="http://support.solarwinds.com/updates/New-Customer.cfm?ProdID=568&campaign=ipmon_DL_lockergnome&CMP=BAC-ipmonDL_lockergnome">SolarWinds ipMonitor</a>: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. <a href="http://support.solarwinds.com/updates/New-Customer.cfm?ProdID=568&campaign=ipmon_DL_lockergnome&CMP=BAC-ipmonDL_lockergnome">Download your free trial today</a>. Or, try their <a href="http://www.solarwinds.com/products/freetools/">totally free tools</a>! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase <a href="http://store.solarwinds.com/s.nl/sc.16/.f">ipMonitor 9.0</a>. chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) Partner Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMThttp://support.solarwinds.com/updates/New-Customer.cfm?ProdID=568&campaign=ipmon_DL_lockergnome&CMP=BAC-ipmonDL_lockergnome http://support.solarwinds.com/updates/New-Customer.cfm?ProdID=568&campaign=ipmon_DL_lockergnome&CMP=BAC-ipmonDL_lockergnome Get Your Own Web Site Starting at just $3.99/month, web hosting from <a href="http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=cp2">GoDaddy</a> includes 99.9% uptime, 24/7 support and free access to GoDaddy Hosting Connection, THE place to install over 30 FREE applications sure to help you get the most from your hosting plan and Web site. Enter <a href="http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=cp2">code CP2</a> at checkout, and save an additional 10% on any order. <p>Plus, as a friend of Chris Pirillo, enter code <a href="http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=chris7">CHRIS7</a>, that's C-H-R-I-S and the number 7, when you check out, and save an additional 10% on any order. Get your piece of the internet at <a href="http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=chris7">GoDaddy.com</a>.</p> chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) Partner Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMThttp://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=cp1 http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=cp1 VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either <a href="http://send.onenetworkdirect.net/z/13766/rn_a32755/">Parallels</a> or <a href="http://send.onenetworkdirect.net/z/17081/rn_a32755/">VMware</a> (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with <a href="http://send.onenetworkdirect.net/z/17081/rn_a32755/">VMware</a> and/or <a href="http://send.onenetworkdirect.net/z/13766/rn_a32755/">Parallels</a>. chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) Partner Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMThttp://chris.pirillo.com/2008/02/19/parallels-or-vmware/ http://chris.pirillo.com/2008/02/19/parallels-or-vmware/ Coupons for Online Shopping <p style="color: red">This feed is fueled by Lockergnome <a href="http://www.lockergnome.com/buy/">Online Shopping and Coupon Codes</a></p> <p> Before you shop next time, see if we have <a href="http://coupons.lockergnome.com/">a coupon</a> first. </p> chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) Partner Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMThttp://coupons.lockergnome.com/ http://coupons.lockergnome.com/