Geldpress

Microsoft sells their new operating system, Windows Vista Ultimate for roughly $250. They also sell their Office Ultimate package for over $500. And if you need a good graphics program, then you can pick up Adobe Photoshop CS3 for $650. But if you really intend to run the latest versions of those software packages, then you better be prepared to also buy a new and faster computer for those applications from Microsoft or Adobe.

But there is another way, and you will be pleasantly surprised at the cost. All three of those useful programs are available for free as near equivalent freeware programs. Freeware is similar to shareware, but completely free, without any limited trial restrictions. Freeware is written by volunteer programmers, and some large and sophisticated applications are written by teams of volunteer programmers collaborating together. There are literally thousands of freeware programs, but the most valuable programs needed on every machine are the operating system, an office suite, and a graphic editing program.

Operating System - Use Linux instead of windows. There are several versions available of the free Linux operating system, but my new favorite is Ubuntu. It is freely available for download in either the desktop version or the server version direct from the Ubuntu website. There is even free online documentation and user forum support available. From the Ubuntu website:

Ubuntu is and always will be free of charge. You do not pay any licensing fees. You can download, use and share Ubuntu with your friends, family, school or business for absolutely nothing. Everything you need comes on one CD, providing a complete working environment. Additional software is available online. The graphical installer enables you to get up and running quickly and easily. A standard installation should take less than 25 minutes. Once installed your system is immediately ready-to-use. On the desktop you have a full set of productivity, internet, drawing and graphics applications, and games.

Office Suite - Open Office is a free multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. It is compatible with all other major office suites, is free to download and free to use. It is also remarkably similar to the Microsoft applications (prior to the new version with those annoying ribbons!), so learning it will be a breeze. You can download it free at the open office website.

Graphic editing - GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. The list of features is very extensive, and even photoshop power users will be pleasantly surprised with the performance from Gimp. It can be downloaded free of charge from the Gimp website.

You may have seen the Magicjack advertised on late night television. That’s where I first saw it, and I was a little skeptical of how a company could sell unlimited home phone service for only $20 per year. Just as you are doing now, I jumped on line and searched for a few magicjack reviews. The turning point was when I found a positive review from my favorite CNBC commentator Herb Greenberg. If a fellow skeptic like Herb could like it, then I knew it was worth a shot for me!

You don’t have to wait for a replay of the commercial to buy one. They are available for purchase directly from the magicjack website or Amazon.com.   From the magicjack website it will cost you $40 plus shipping and handling - $20 for the device and $20 for the first full year of service. They even offer a 30 day money back guarantee but once I tried it, I quickly realized it was well worth my $40 total investment. Of course, there was the typical attempts to up sell the product such as prioritized availability, expedited delivery and extra pre paid years of service.  I found the up selling options on the magicjack site very confusing and misleading.  That check out process was really my only complaint from the magicjack experience.  For that reason, and for a quicker shopping experience with much less hassle, I highly recommend purchasing the magicjack directly on Amazon.com at the following link.

The magicjack packaging was slim and simple but the device was well padded and did work right out of the box. I just plugged the magicjack directly into my Dell computer, and the magicjack software automatically installed itself. The magicjack has just 2 ports - one end goes into the USB connector of your computer, and the other end is where you plug in any standard phone with an RJ11 plug. I use my GE 900 Mhz cordless phone with my magicjack. You can make calls either using the magicjack software interface or directly from your standard phone. Here are a few pictures:

Surprisingly, the magicjack is pretty well featured for such an inexpensive device and service. The list of features include:

• Your own dedicated phone number for both inbound and outbound calls
• Free directory assistance calls to 411
• 911 service works but there are reasonable limitations, as explained on the magicjack website.
• Free call waiting
• Free voicemail
• Free caller ID if your phone supports it
• Free international calls to other magicjack users - other international calls at reasonable rates
• You can even set up call forwarding to a cell phone or other number

A few limitations of the magicjack are:

• Number portability is not in place yet. You will receive a brand new phone number for your magicjack line
• Your Internet connection must be available to use your magicjack phone
• Your computer must be turned on to make or receive calls with the magicjack
• 911 service limitations really need to be understood completely, especially if you do not have a backup device for 911

Note: Even with my computer turned off, I was still able to receive magicjack voicemail. When new voicemails are received, the magicjack service automatically emails a wave file recording of the message to your email address on file. This is probably my favorite magicjack feature!

Of all the magicjack limitations, the one that many customers may have a hard time with is the requirement to have the computer on. With other VOIP calling services such as Vonage or Comcast voice, only the VOIP router needs to be on because the phone plugs directly into the router, and not the computer. But those other services are significantly more expensive then the magicjack. Vonage has an unlimited calling plan for $24.95 per month ($300 per year), and the Comcast triple play goes for $33 per month ($396 per year).

The bottom line is that if you can live with the limitations, then the magicjack is an incredibly good deal for unlimited home phone service at only $20 per year.  Remember to purchase it on Amazon for a quicker check out process.

The exact terms of the 5 year exclusivity agreement for AT&T to distribute the iPhone are unknown, but one certainty is that AT&T will struggle to make a profit with iphones. In the early days of wireless, carriers had an agenda of “growth at any cost”, and often incurred substantial losses in the process. Those days are over and the stockholders now have an agenda of “show me the money”. Customers and fellow bloggers may gripe at the $30 monthly data charge for the iphone, but even with that meager price increase, AT&T will still struggle to make money.

The evolution of AT&T’s data network has gone from GPRS to EDGE to UMTS to HSDPA, but they are all based on the TDMA (time division multiple access) protocol. Time slots can be configured by AT&T to be voice channels or data channels. While during a voice call, the phone is only capable of using a single voice channel, data usage on the iphone can occupy several data channels simultaneously. The exact RF network configuration for AT&T is unknown, and probably differs by region and area, but it is certainly feasible that a high data usage iphone customer can at times hog up 4 or even 8 simultaneous data channels. As data usage goes higher and higher, AT&T is forced to allocate more of those precious and expensive RF channels to data users, and thus forces them to spend more money building out additional voice channels.

Voice calls are charged on a per minute basis and AT&T can easily produce high margins with them. A typical 450 minute plan is charged out at $40 per month, or roughly 8.9 cents per minute. For those 450 minutes of voice calls, a user will only occupy 450 minutes of a single time slot dedicated to voice calls. The new 3G iphone data plan is charged out at $30 for unlimited data. Lets assume that an average iphone customer uses only 15 minutes of high bandwidth data per month, and that AT&T has their data network tuned to allow only 4 simultaneous data channels per customer. That iphone data customer is using the RF equivalent of 1800 minutes of voice calls, but at a cost of only $30 per month for the data plan. From my perspective, it appears that AT&T has re-adopted the “growth at any cost” agenda. Combined with the subsidized handsets, and the often rumored monthly kickbacks to Apple, I can’t see how AT&T will make any money on the iphone. The real winner on the iphone is Apple, and the real question to AT&T is how much money are they losing on the iphone.