January 10, 201412 yr Well, kinda free. The wife and I have recently decided to cut some costs. The first and obvious choice was Cable TV and phone service. We currently pay $187/month for TV/Internet/Phone. However, I'll be damned if I am giving up my broadband! So, the first thing I did was run out to the local Best Buy and grabbed one of these ($47): http://www.amazon.com/RCA-ANT751-Quality-Durable-Compact/dp/B0024R4B5C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389390842&sr=8-1&keywords=ant751 Remarkably powerful for such a small antenna. We are exactly 30 miles from the Philly towers and I can pick up all locals with 95% - 100% strength. For anyone who has never seen OTA HD, it blows away the compressed crap that cable companies push out! Between OTA and XBMC streaming content I don't think we will be missing cable too much. But I digress... Next on the hit list was phone service. Being the dork that I am, I have fiddled with both Vonage and MagicJack in the past. So, I started to poke around the internet and stumbled across this fabulous little app: http://www.pcphonesoft.com/gvjackappdetails.html What this thing essentially does is turn your old, expired MagicJack adapter into a Google Voice ATA adapter. It has a 7 day free trial. After that, the cost of the software is only $20. No monthly phone bill ever again!!! I am in day 5 of my trial and I couldn't be happier with the service. Not a single dropped call and they are all crystal clear. I will most definitely be "donating" $20 to tell the cable company to suck it! For those of you who would like a more "conventional" approach, check out the OBi100: http://www.amazon.com/OBi100-Telephone-Adapter-Service-Bridge/dp/B004LO098O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389391284&sr=8-1&keywords=obi100 This essentially does the same thing but with no computer required. You just pay $38 for the device. ...now if I can just find free broadband. John
January 10, 201412 yr Note that you lose 911 service with this - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Voice#No_emergency_calling. Also, the Obihai may not work after May 2014, as GV is terminating support of XMPP - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Voice#Third-party_devices. This says that your MagicJack using GVJackApp will still work, though you may want to research before spending the $20.
January 11, 201412 yr Author Note that you lose 911 service with this - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Voice#No_emergency_calling. Also, the Obihai may not work after May 2014, as GV is terminating support of XMPP - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Voice#Third-party_devices. This says that your MagicJack using GVJackApp will still work, though you may want to research before spending the $20. Yep...read the same stuff. For $20 I'll take the chance. If it doesn't pan out, I'll just get the MJ Plus. I'm building a WIN7 VM right now to see if I can pass through the MJ adapter. John
January 11, 201412 yr Yep... Google voice is essentially dead in a few months. :'( I've used GV for years! This is distressing... [me=DaleWilliams] notes the irony as he scurries off to google the changes to google voice...[/me]
January 11, 201412 yr Author http://www.pcphonesoft.com/gvjackapp-unaffected-by-xmpp-retirement-May-2014.html ANNOUNCEMENT - Nov. 3, 2013 According to recent announcements, Google has positioned their new advanced WebRTC oriented Google Hangouts platform as the future of Google Voice. In moving forward, Google intend to fully retire the use of the legacy XMPP signalling platform that is still supported in the Google Voice network in May 2014. We can definitively confirm that the GVJackApp for magicJack is a next generation application that is completely signalling independent. It was also originally designed specifically with future WebRTC web based communication applications in mind that are now becoming a reality like the Google Hangouts platform. As a result, the GVJackApp for magicJack will not be adversely affected by Google's plans to retire XMPP signalling or by their decision to transition Google Voice over to the Google Hangouts platform. The same is true for our GVMate Phone Adapter and GVMate Phone products. The GVJackApp for magicjack will continue to extend the VoIP based Google Voice calling capabilities that are built into a user's Gmail account to his/her phone and its keypad as it does today. A slightly modified version of the GVJackApp for magicJack that works with the Google Hangouts facility enabled in Gmail has in fact been working in our development lab for several months. Prior to May 2014 and as soon as it is clear from Google that the Google Hangouts platform integration with existing Google Voice features has been completed, we will be releasing a free upgrade of the GVJackApp for magicJack that makes use of the new Google Hangouts facility in Gmail. From our internal assessment, the transition should to be fairly seamless to end users.
January 11, 201412 yr Thanks to the OP for starting this thread. I 'cut the cord' over a year ago for TV (actually satellite), but have not cut the phone cord yet, though I do have cell phones. One quick note on the OBi device, it looks like it is going to die when GV changes in May, but can continue for $40/year http://blog.obihai.com/2013/10/important-message-about-google-voice.html with other services. I use a Winegard GS-2200 amplified antenna in my attic with the GS-WING add-on. It is bidirectional and allows me to pull in channels NNE & S of me since I sit between two metropolitan areas (Cincinnati and Dayton/Springfield). http://www.amazon.com/Winegard-GS-2200-Sensar-Amplified-Antenna/dp/B001DFVJ6K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389452822&sr=8-1&keywords=GS-2200 http://www.amazon.com/Winegard-GS-WING-Sensar-DTV-Upgrade/dp/B002DPTQXW/ref=pd_sim_e_2 Does anyone know if the PCPhoneSoft service will go to charging a yearly fee after the transition to Hangouts? MJ dongles are cheap on eebay... This looks interesting. Is there a version of MJ that does not require a computer and work with PCPhoneSoft? Would like to be able to receive calls without having the computer on, if that is possible.
January 11, 201412 yr Author The MJ Plus does not require a computer. It is very much like the Obi but does not rely on GV. Upfront cost is $49.95 and gets you 6 months of free service. After that... Six months of free local and long distance calling to the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, along with all the other great magicJack features are included with your initial purchase. A small non-refundable fee may apply for additional features such as Vanity, Custom, Canadian, and Ported Numbers. You can purchase an additional year of access at $29.95 and if you purchase the five year plan, the cost is $19.95 per year. On a side note I failed miserably at passing through my old MJ device to a WIN7 VM. It may be related to the ESXi/USB passthrough issues so I think I'll build a XenServer box and see how that makes out.
January 11, 201412 yr I uses voip.ms myself and it is a setup yourself pay as you use service. Kryspy
January 11, 201412 yr I 'cut the cord' over a year ago for TV (actually satellite), but have not cut the phone cord yet, though I do have cell phones. So while you're trying to save all this $$ on TV and perhaps a land line, how much are you paying for cell phones? The economics of this always surprises me. FWIW, we pay $10/month for digital phone with unlimited LD, and ~ $50/year for our cell phones The deal on our digital phone DOES require that we remain Time Warner customers ... but since they're my internet provider that's not a big deal (no requirement to retain TV service ... although we do have it at the moment).
January 12, 201412 yr I 'cut the cord' over a year ago for TV (actually satellite), but have not cut the phone cord yet, though I do have cell phones. So while you're trying to save all this $$ on TV and perhaps a land line, how much are you paying for cell phones? The economics of this always surprises me. FWIW, we pay $10/month for digital phone with unlimited LD, and ~ $50/year for our cell phones The deal on our digital phone DOES require that we remain Time Warner customers ... but since they're my internet provider that's not a big deal (no requirement to retain TV service ... although we do have it at the moment). Pay $60/mo for two phones, 550 w/rollover family plan. The phone line is a relic left over from Dish days and haven't dropped is as the wife receives all her talk-all-day calls on it which keeps the cell bill what it is. We are years out of our contract so the next plan is to move over to a pay as you go service. What do you use for your cell service for $50/year?
January 12, 201412 yr I use T-Mobile's prepaid service -- $100 for 1,000 minutes ... but once you've bought 1,000 minutes then ANY additional purchase ($10, $25, $50, etc.) will extend the expiration for a full year. I use my cell all I want, but NOT as my primary phone ... and don't come close to using 1,000 minutes in a year. The first year I had this (~ 6-8 years ago) I bought my 1,000 minutes ... when it was close to expiring (a year later) I still had over 600 minutes, so I bought $25 worth. I've bought $50 a couple times, $10 one year, etc. I've averaged about $50/year. I just have a basic phone with Bluetooth (so it's hands-free in the car) -- it has a camera, but I've never used it. My wife switched to the same thing a year or so after I did, and she's never had to buy more than $50 after the first year -- in fact I just bought $10 for hers to extend her expiration another year. This works very well as long as you use your landline as your primary "talk all day" phone -- but clearly wouldn't work if you're used to the cell phone being the primary number. But I always get a chuckle out of folks trying to get their landline bills down to zero while often paying $100/month or more for cell phones. My total cable bill for TV, 20Mb internet service, and digital phone is less than that ... with enough left over to pay for my cell phones
January 12, 201412 yr I, too, am astounded at the cost of cell phone service vs. wired. I've used GV for years--I like the mailbox transcription, the follow me service, and keeping the same phone number as I change employers/wireless companies/houses, etc. I buy 'smartphones' that have WiFi connectivity and that can be used with GV via WiFi--with the ubiquity of WiFi, I use very few actual 'talk'minutes on my cell phone. I had a $25/month plan for unlimited data and 300 minutes for a long time, but that smart phone couldn't keep up with the evolving new apps. (Google Maps, in particular, was running too slowly after a few years.) When I finally bought a new phone (unlocked Nexus G5, usable on multiple carriers), I ended up with a $45/month unlimited voice/text/data plan. Prepay for a year, and its ~$40/month. I'd like to kill our 'wired' home phone line, but my wife wants 911 and service during power outages. (I tried explaining about Vonage 911, and the FIOS battery in the basement, but no joy ) For TV, I'd be very happy with Netflix and other internet TV, plus an over the air antenna for local stations, but I see two problems--the directory (TV Guide) and serendipity. Google is trying, but so far, I've not found a way to get a 'directory' of just my personal programming/channel choices. The second, serendipity, is a psychological problem. Sometimes I don't WANT to have to decide. I want to be surprised by something. And sometimes, its just too much energy to deliberately choose--I'll settle for whatever's the least objectionable show currently being broadcast.
January 13, 201412 yr But I always get a chuckle out of folks trying to get their landline bills down to zero while often paying $100/month or more for cell phones. My total cable bill for TV, 20Mb internet service, and digital phone is less than that ... with enough left over to pay for my cell phones Not to sound snarky but it's called data... Data is where they are charging out the nose. Clearly you don't have a smartphone and therefore don't need data. Not saying anything is wrong with that but certain generations of people have been brought up with always being connected /streaming everything etc. Once you start down that path your never going to go back to a regular phone. And when I say you I mean it rhetorically. Some people just don't have any need /use of a smart phone. Though I've seen many that didn't think they had any use for a smart phone but now couldn't live without them. Add texting on top of that and the cell companies have you by the balls. And they know that, that's why the shift in cost. Now voice is cheap and unlimited. Data on the other hand has risen in cost. And to put that slightly in perspective, I typed this on my smartphone, and if you see all theTapatalk signatures around the fourm/Internet you'll see how much they are used. And that doesn't take into account all the Facebook /YouTube people. Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk
January 13, 201412 yr I'm well aware of the costs that data plans can run up. I just refuse to buy into it. I know many young folks who have had serious credit issues; lost their homes to foreclosure; are on food stamps to help with their groceries; etc. ... and yet they still have their smart phones and will pay that bill before they'll pay their utilities !! College kids complain about the tens of thousands of $$ in debt they're incurring for education ... but over 4 years it's not uncommon for $5,000 of that debt to be cell phone bills (and when you factor in the interest costs, it's easily 2-3 times that). It's largely a generational thing ... and I have no real problem with it as long as you can afford it -- but I just don't need one. In our case it's not an affordability issue ... it's just a value choice -- I do NOT think it's worth $1000/yr or more to have one. I have no problem spending $$ on things we want to do ... we travel quite a bit (easily $50k or more/year), and have a fair number of "toys" - but a smartphone is not one of them. NOT sent via TapaTalk or a Blackberry or an iPhone or an iPad or an Android or ... 8)
January 13, 201412 yr ... NOT sent via TapaTalk or a Blackberry or an iPhone or an iPad or an Android or ... 8) OMG! (as the kids would say) ;D
January 13, 201412 yr It's partially a generational thing, but like garycase says it's more about choice. There's no doubt you pay out the nose for smartphone data plans. I pay around $50/month for my iPhone and another $10/month for my iPad data, which isn't bad, all things considered. I haven't had a landline in 15 years and cut the satellite/cable cord two years ago. What I save on those pays for my smartphone and iPad monthly costs.
January 13, 201412 yr I use a SIP service, costs £3.20 a month plus calls. I basically only use it for inbound however, can carry the number on my mobile when I need to.
January 13, 201412 yr Yes. I'd say that 95% of the time, I'm at a location (home, work, clients) where I have good WiFi access. My real goal is a phone with traditional cell service, but no contract or monthly fee. (but still able to access 911 ) Add a SIP number and the WiFi works just fine for traditional calls. If I'm driving and have no WiFi, the calls could just go to voicemail. I buy my phones and use prepaid/no-contract wireless service...when I figure out a decent SIP that works well, I'm cutting the cell-cord.
January 16, 201412 yr Author Quick note about the whole "cord cutting" topic... I installed this antenna in my attic and it is absolutely amazing! http://www.amazon.com/RCA-ANT751-Quality-Durable-Compact/dp/B0024R4B5C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389872191&sr=8-1&keywords=ant751 This antenna is only ~3ft long and outperforms many/most of the 12ft - 15ft antennas. For $48 you can't go wrong, especially since I found mine at a local Best Buy and could have returned it easily if needed. The real key was getting the thing up as high as possible. My review can be read here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RYJDVBPEWFH7N/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0024R4B5C&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=
January 18, 201412 yr This is my setup. 2.5 years and counting. 37 channels. Kryspy Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
January 18, 201412 yr DaleWilliams, I bought a Nexus 5 no contract. $349 is a decent price. Now they've released a Moto G or something like that for even less. Kryspy
January 18, 201412 yr DaleWilliams, I bought a Nexus 5 no contract. $349 is a decent price. Now they've released a Moto G or something like that for even less. Kryspy I bought a Nexus 5 last week. Nice phone. Fast. I'm really pleased. Its just big enough that my 7" tablet feels unnecessary. My old phone's USB charge port had finally broken and my soldering skills (or my eyes) aren't good enough for such detail fixes. A Qi wireless charger came from Amazon a couple of days ago....now I can just drop the phone onto the charger plate and walk away! Woo! I'm still plotting out my SIP strategy! Since I use my phone for work, I need to get it right.
January 18, 201412 yr Check out VoIP.ms. I have it set up on my Nexus 5 as well, When I place a call it gives me the option of how Id like to call. My Nexus 7 has become a bit of a glorified reader now. Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
January 18, 201412 yr Check out VoIP.ms. I have it set up on my Nexus 5 as well, When I place a call it gives me the option of how Id like to call. My Nexus 7 has become a bit of a glorified reader now. Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk Thanks for that. I'll look into VoIP.ms. As for my Nexus 7, it was one of the first release versions...but now its become just a reader. I find that Dropbox and Box make it useful for reading work documents, and of course the usual web browsing and Kindle-ing. I'm thinking about 'upgrading' to a 10" just to lessen the eye strain
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