HOUR 2:
Tech News & Commentary
Tim in Detroit, Michigan listens online and on 800AM called in and asked us: “I currently have Packet8 service. I’m thinking of getting NetTalk, Ooma, or MagicJack. Could you do a comparison of all three?”
Even though they are all VoIP services, these three are different in some fairly important ways. They differ in cost, they differ in what they’re plugged in to and how you use them, and they differ in call quality and available features. Let’s see if we can sort them out for you.
• Ooma gives you a single device that connects to your Internet router, then you plug your telephone in to that box, and bingo you have dial tone. In reality it’s not quite that smooth. There can be issues interfacing it with various routers, the ideal configuration is for the Ooma to connect in between your Internet source (DSL or cable modem) and router, but that can cause some glitches because the Ooma gets your network traffic before the router does. The base station includes an integrated answering machine. Faxes and home alarm systems will not work with this. You have a satellite connector that lets you plug a second phone in at another location in the house, but this is primarily for checking voicemails or for using with the second line (if you buy their premium service). Ooma costs $250, but does not require any monthly fee at all. It’s “lifetime” telephone service for a one time payment. That would be the lifetime of the company, of course, as with any sort of warranty or guarantee. For $13 a month or $100 a year, you can get their premium features that include a second line, call conferencing, call screening and blocking, to name a few. If you want to port your old number over, that’ll cost $40.
• MagicJack, which we’ve talked about on the show before, is a device the size of a flash drive that plugs in to a computer’s USB port, and then a telephone handset plugs in to it. There is no connecting to your network or router, MagicJack either plugs in to a computer or it doesn’t work at all. The software, for Windows at least, is included on the device and loads automatically when you connect it. MagicJack bundles in a lot of features, such as voicemail, call waiting, and call forwarding. The initial price is $39.95 and that includes your first year’s service. Each additional year is $19.95. A number of reviewers have commented on MagicJack’s apparent high quality sound. Some of that can no doubt be attributed to the power of the computer where you’ve plugged in MagicJack, but the company claims to have a “better quality network.” Whether that’s true or not, the bottom line is MagicJack’s audio quality is very good, certainly as good as any other VoIP solutions. With MagicJack, you will choose incoming numbers from their list of what’s available.
• The netTALK DUO gives you a bit of both. If you connect the device to your computer via USB cable, then connect your telephone, netTALK works a lot like MagicJack. However! You can connect the netTALK DUO directly to your Internet router. You can then use your telephone without having to boot up the computer. So in that respect, it’s more like Ooma than MagicJack. But Ooma has no option for going portable and using it with a USB port. netTALK DUO has the usual feature list, and you’ll be once again choosing a number from a pool of available lines. It’s priced at $69.95 for the device and first year’s service. Subsequent years are $39.95 per year.
What you really must do now is decide where and how you will use this. Is portability a key feature for you? That would rule out Ooma. Are you comfortable spending $250 up front? Your Ooma would have to last you several years before you’re at a break even point, compared with the other two choices. However, Ooma is the only one to offer the satellite connector that uses your home’s telephone wiring and, once it’s installed, you don’t have to pay much attention to it. Is call quality the most important thing to you? MagicJack would seem to take top spot there, perhaps due to having the processing power of your computer to draw upon. netTALK DUO is the most flexible, but you pay more for that flexibility.
Tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast for more details.
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline
Sherrie in Southfield, Michigan listening on 800AM CKLW called and asked: “Heard that the smartphones and cordless phones are very bad for our brain and that it’s going to be worse in the future. Is it possible to educate the public and the people who make the items and communicate to them that maybe it’s better not to do it. and to do things the way wee did a long time ago more often and make things only if they’re safe. The microwave oven and everything else. I don’t have a cell phone and never will. I don’t use a computer and probably never will. They’re harming our health anyway because the cell phone towers are bad for our health because they’re in our environment. I don’t want to see a whole nation of 30 year olds in the nursing home with Alzheimer’s. I heard a doctor on the radio who said it’s possible in 20 years or so. I would like them not to continue on the way they are and to make the items we use in a safer way. And that people should not be using them to the extent that they do. And they’re also causing car accidents.”
The link between cell phone usage and health issues has been a topic of debate for as long as cell phones have been around. Still, there is no hard evidence that cell phones cause any type of brain or other tissue damage. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration’s website has a section dedicated to answering the question about whether cell phones pose a health risk. Chris will share some of what their site says:
“Many people are concerned that cell phone radiation will cause cancer or other serious health hazards. The weight of scientific evidence has not linked cell phones with any health problems. Cell phones emit low levels of radiofrequency energy (RF). Over the past 15 years, scientists have conducted hundreds of studies looking at the biological effects of the radiofrequency energy emitted by cell phones. While some researchers have reported biological changes associated with RF energy, these studies have failed to be replicated. The majority of studies published have failed to show an association between exposure to radiofrequency from a cell phone and health problems.”
For the full site you can click here.
As far as cell phones causing Alzheimer’s Disease, What you heard is not necessarily correct. In fact, the reverse may be true. A study that was reported about in National Geographic earlier this year, showed that cell phone usage may actually fight off Alzheimer’s Disease.
In the experiment, scientists examined the effects of cell phone radiation on 96 mice that were genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer’s-like symptoms. The mice normally developed the first signs of the disease around 6 months. By 8 months they were already experiencing cognitive declines. Both the Alzheimer’s-prone mice and normal mice were then exposed to cell phone-level microwave radiation for two one-hour periods daily for seven to nine months. The study found that if cell phone exposure began before the genetically engineered mice started showing signs of Alzheimer’s, they were less likely to develop symptoms later on in life.
Click here for that full article.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Guest in this hour:
Lynda Weinman, Co-Founder – Lynda.com
PC World’s “Best Tech Products of 2010” List is out. Who made the cut this year? Steve shares some his favorites and how they got on the list.
“Into Tomorrow” Product Spotlight with Rob Almanza: Tech Holiday Gifts Part 2 — Click Here or on Rob’s face for details
‘Tis the season for all of us to try to figure out what gifts to get for our high tech friends this holiday. Rob brings you Part 1 of some of OUR suggestions. Items that you might want to take a look at, and that most of can afford.
Barbara in Phoenix, AZ listening on Sirius asked us: “We have what’s called Crawler on our computer. I cannot get it off. We’ve done everything we know how to do and we just need this thing off.”
Crawler is one of the many toolbars that claims to do all kinds of helpful things for it’s users and ends up doing basically nothing but redirecting more and more people to their website.
The removal process should be simple enough, there should be an entry under your windows “Add/Remove programs” utility and you should also be able to get rid of it by just right clicking it and selecting “help” and then “uninstall”.
Unfortunately, that almost never seems to work and you’re going to have to go through a longer and more involved process.
We should mention there’s a simple solution: many websites offer simple uninstall utilities that let you just double click on them and be down with Crawler, but unfortunately they can’t always be trusted as bad guys sometimes offer these as a simple way to infect victims who are not tech savvy enough to easily rid themselves of whatever malware these bad guys are trying to distribute.
The instructions to manually delete every trace of Crawler are long and require a little extra knowledge, if you want to read them you can click here, but we suggest that before you try them you install and run a few spyware and adware removers like Spyboy S&D and CCleaner (both free), they will probably offer to take care of Crawler for you and you won’t need to know any more than how to install a program and how to click on “scan”.
Tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast for more details.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Balanzza: Digital Luggage Scales – not only for weighing your holiday packages, but this can be your best way to save on baggage fees BEFORE you get to the airport by checking the weight of your luggage.
CTA Products: Several Cloth Addictions – The microfiber cloth that cleans ANY screen: iPads, Phones and Monitors. Take your screens to a whole new level of clarity!
Honestech: Copies of Audio Recorder 2.0 Deluxe – Software to convert your analog music into digital formats including MP3s and audio CDs. Save those great musical memories.