Saving Money Using Technology - Part 1: Never Pay a Phone Bill Again

  • S05E34
  • May 15, 2012

Have you ever been skeptical of the magicJack? Robbie is. So he set out to do a little myth-busting and gets to the bottom of whether we can really save $1000 on our phone bill. Per year.

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This episode is sponsored in part by: Eco Alkalines, Garden Gate Farms and Cordery Electric.

Topics Covered:

  • Robbie Ferguson and Hillary Rumball present live from the Category5 studios in Barrie, Ontario.
  • Why YouTube got a fright this week on the Category5 TV channel.
  • {play 6:02}Contest Announcement: The Eco Alkalines contest for a year supply of batteries has been re-opened!
  • Send your viewer postcard to Category5 TV.
  • {play 11:46}Viewer Questions.
  • Viewer Question: I downloaded a ready-made Photoshop web site template, but I can't see the slices. Is there a way to use the slices in GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP)?
  • Why some forms of slicing images should be considered obsolete.
  • Using more modern techniques to slice up a web page mockup.
  • Using GIMP's Autocrop Image tool to crop an image to make it smaller.
  • Making a web site with rounded corners doesn't require images anymore, thanks to border-radius.
  • Gradients on a web site no longer require images thanks to CSS gradients, and great tools like ColorZilla's Ultimate CSS Gradient Generator.
  • Viewer Question: I used to be able to launch the Category5 popup player and then save the video file to my computer, but that's not working anymmore. Is there a new way for me to download each episode?
  • Choosing an RSS feed from the Category5 TV web site to subscribe or download episodes of the show.
  • Viewer Comment: +1 for Miro!
  • Viewer Comment: In Entropia Univers / Planet Calypso you can friend me by searching for "Joshua Jot" or "Avarius".
  • Jot also shares a photo of his in-game avatar watching Category5 TV in-game on a virtual TV.
  • {play 30:46}Top Stories from the Category5.TV Newsroom
  • Catching up with Hillary Rumball.
  • {play 38:04}Feature: magicJack Plus - are the claims for real?
  • Robbie's phone service last month alone cost him $67.40. If that's the norm, that's $808.80 per year just to have a phone.
  • magicJack claims to offer unlimited calling in Canada and US for only $29.95 per year ($2.50 per month). A savings for Robbie of $778.85, plus free long distance? Can this be real?
  • Dispelling the myth: is magicJack so easy to setup that a baby can do it?
  • magicJack plus requires a Windows or Mac computer for the initial setup, but doesn't require a computer to run once the initial setup is complete.
  • Unboxing the magicJack Plus.
  • What's in the box.
  • Configuring the magicJack plus for the first time.
  • Registering an account to receive a local phone number where people can phone you.
  • magicJack offers free 911 service, so it's important to provide your correct street address.
  • The available number types: Vanity number, a US number, no phone number, a Canadian Number, or even transfer your existing number.
  • Robbie's new phone bill for the entire year is $10.48 (the cost of registering a Canadian phone number).
  • The actual hardware setup: connecting magicJack Plus without a computer, so you can start making calls.
  • The moment of truth: does the magicJack Plus actually work? Does it work well?
  • With magicJack Plus, you can call anywhere in Canada or the US for free.
  • magicJack relies on your Internet connection, so if you have an unreliable Internet connection, it may pose a problem to your phone service.
  • Travellers would love the magicJack Plus since you can take it with you overseas and still have your local calling number, and even still make calls to and from US and Canada for free, no matter where you are in the world.
  • You don't need to dial 1 since all calls in Canada and the US are local calls.
  • Robbie calls a handful of viewers in Canada and the US over the magicJack—and it worked.
  • The cheesy ads and over-the-top claims of the magicJack make people sceptical, but Robbie discovers that the claims are true; it actually works.
  • The price of the magicJack Plus.
  • The Category5 TV magicJack number is 254-5-CAT5TV (one of those fancy Vanity numbers).
  • You can make free magicJack to magicJack calls, so if you have family overseas, send them a magicJack and they can call you / you can call them for free.

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