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VoIPdevotee
| reply to laserjobs
Re: Why MagicJack has a competitive advantage in VoIP
I have to tell you, some of these messages remind me so much of the enthusiastic messages we used to see from the "sunshine pumpers" when SunRocket first came out. If you believe this company can be financially viable under the current pricing model, I've got a lovely bridge in Brooklyn to sell you...
However as I said in another post in the SR section, I suspect that this company THINKS they are going to make money by pushing ads to customers. Read the Terms and Conditions. I'm guessing this is why they will not let you use a standalone adapter, and why they haven't made their stick compatible with Macintosh or Linux computers. If I had to guess, my thinking is that they want to push annoying ads to users (these ads may or may not be limited to times when you are actually using the phone). Windows is a platform that allows them to do this, although if the ads become annoying enough, I'll bet that someone will come up with a hack that disables them completely.
The problem is, I do NOT EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES want my primary phone service dependent upon a computer running ANY Microsoft operating system. If you think Windows is reliable enough for the purpose, and don't mind the fact that you might miss an important call because Windows has decided to lock up, or you are rebooting after installing or updating a new piece of software (or Windows itself), then so be it. I might use one of these devices for a kids' line or just for long distance calls, but no way would I ever use it for my primary phone service.
My attitude might be different if they used an ATA, or even if they would let you plug their device into something other than Windows (for example, a Linksys NSLU2 doesn't use much electricity, and that device can run the Linux OS and will run for months between reboots). But I'm sure they won't ever support devices like that, because you wouldn't be able to see their forthcoming advertising if you had the stick plugged into a device that doesn't even have a video display.
Some of you folks are looking at the service the way it is today. It's cheap, you say it works fairly well, and you aren't getting hit with intrusive advertising. That does NOT mean that all of those things will continue to be true. We have seen many VoIP providers experience downturns in service once they started growing too quickly. And right now they may not have enough users to interest advertisers. But keep pumping this unit and those things just might change.
I have to admit that there is just one reason I personally don't like this unit, and that's because it depends on your computer being powered-up AND functioning correctly (AND probably not tied up in a CPU-intensive process). I don't have that kind of confidence in my computer, or ANY computer that runs the Windows operating system. I don't use Linux on my main system (I might but there is software I use that has no Linux equivalents and won't run properly under Wine) but I do note that most Linux computers can go for months without being rebooted, and also that most truly low-powered devices run some form of Linux. But this unit won't work with Linux, and they have no plans to make it do so.
But beyond that, while I'd love to think that you can now actually make money just by selling unlimited service for about $20 a year, the practical side of me says that's like believing in the Tooth Fairy. You can make up all the theories you want for why it should work but the FACT is that when they complete calls to the PSTN they have to pay per-minute terminating charges, and there's no way they can avoid those charges unless they are doing something illegal (or some billionaire just decided to pay for everyone's phone usage out of the goodness of his heart - and I'd believe in the Tooth Fairy before I'd believe that would ever happen). Unless they can somehow convince people to sign up for the service and then not use it to actually make calls that transverse the PSTN, they are going to lose money. It doesn't matter if they are their own CLEC; that doesn't relieve them of the obligation to pay when they send calls to other carriers.
For those of you who don't mind relying on your computer for you phone service, don't mind paying for the extra electricity, and think a great price is everything, enjoy it while you can, because I'd be extremely surprised if it's going to be around in a year or two (unless, as I said in another thread, they totally change the deal so they can actually make money). But I'd be real careful about pumping this unit on forums like this, and especially to friends, family, bosses, co-workers, etc. There are a lot of SunRocket users whose name is mud right now because they did that. Just a word to the wise.
As always the above is just my opinion! | |
no1g8r
join:2005-05-05
Lawrenceville, GA
 ·callwithus
| Just a follow-up to the "But this unit won't work with Linux, and they have no plans to make it do so" comment.
I was in a chat with Dan Borislow, the inventor of the MagicJack, and asked about the device running on Linux. He replied that he knows for a fact that it DOES run on Linux, but that it is not currently supported under Linux. When asked when it would be supported he said "probably later this year".
Obviously that's not a commitment, but on the other hand it is confirmation that it will run under Linux now (others have posted that they have it up and running under Linux as well - I haven't tried it yet), which throws that part of your statement out the window.
I don't disagree with the sentiment behind your post, and I agree that folks shouldn't put all their phone communication eggs in the MagicJack basket, but for folks who are looking for a bargain on LD calling, the return compared to others offering this service is around 2 months. So a person who doesn't mind the VOIP change-game process would be "gambling" that MagicJack will last at least 2 months before going away. Anything beyond that is gravy.
That's a big difference from gambling that Sunrocket would last another 2 years (or even 1 year, if they didn't get the special). $40 at risk isn't huge for most folks. For folks that it IS a big deal for, they should probably avoid this.
Otherwise, it will be interesting to see how it all unfolds. Dan Borislow has solid experience in the telecomms industry, responsible for the success behind his YMax communications company and a key player in the SJLabs softphone, if I remember correctly. Given that experience, I have to believe that he sees profit potential that we may be overlooking. At least he believes that he sees it.
Quotes from the past:
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
"While theoretically and technically television may be feasible, commercially and financially I consider it an impossibility, a development of which we need waste little time dreaming." -- Lee DeForest, American radio pioneer and inventor of the vacuum tube, 1926
Will this also be a quote from the past:
"If you believe this company can be financially viable under the current pricing model, I've got a lovely bridge in Brooklyn to sell you..." - VOIPdevotee, 2007 
Only time will tell. In the meantime let's see how long (and how well) the MagicJack trudges along. | |
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