Alexander’s Blog

I recently ordered this new gadget called magicJack that can be used to make free long distance calls anywhere in USA and Canada without a phone service or even a telephone set. All you need is a computer running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or an Intel-based Mac that has a broadband connection to the Internet.

How does magicJack work?
MagicJack is a new voice over IP (VoIP) device about the size of a matchbox that has two connectors. You plug one end into the USB port on your computer. The other end connects to an analog phone. Once you plug this product it takes about a minute or so for it to load and configure the software. It doesn’t install any software on the computer (except for a shortcut on the desktop). MagicJack’s software runs in memory and the device configures itself automatically. If you want to remove the software, all you have to do is unplug magicJack from the USB port and delete the shortcut icon on the desktop. That’s it. There’s nothing else that needs to be done.

When you plug magicJack into another computer, your Contacts list and other information is automatically displayed because the information is saved on the device, not on the computer where you initially configured the product. This allows you to simply roam between computers without re-configuring magicJack. For example, you can take this little gadget with you when you travel with your laptop. As long as your computer is connected to the Internet, you can can plug one end of your magicJack into your computer’s USB port and the other to an analog telephone set. You can then use the phone to dial as you normally would, except that your phone will not be plugged into the phone company’s wall jack. There is no need for a telephone service to use this device. However, in case your Internet connection is down you might want to have your cell phone handy to call 911 in case of an emergency. You don’t have to have a phone set to use magicJack, you can also use your computer’s microphone and a headset. Here’s what the initial setup screen looks like.

System requirements
In the past couple of days that I’ve used magicJack, I’ve successfully tested it on Windows XP Professional SP2 and Windows Vista. I haven’t had a chance to test it on a Mac but there is a beta version available right now that is supposed to work on Intel-based Macs. According to the manufacturer’s Web site, to upgrade your magicJack to work on a Macintosh, you must plug magicJack into a USB port on a Windows computer.

Price
As far as price, magicJack costs only $39.95, which includes the service charges for the first year. The following year you’ll pay only $20/year. That’s less than $2 per month. So technically the device costs $19.95 because the $39.95 includes one-year subscription. As far as I know, magicJack is cheaper to use than other VoIP service providers that have been around for a while.

Benefits
The nice thing about magicJack is that it lets you make free calls to anywhere in the United States and Canada regardless of your location. So whether you are in Brazil at an Internet cafe or at an office in Nepal, the calls you make to United States and Canada are free without any per-minute charges. I am sure Sprint, Verizon and other cell phone companies aren’t too happy to see this product in the market. Starting next month you will be able to call additional countries around the world and if the receiving party also has a magicJack then the call will be free, otherwise there would be a small per-minute fee for each call. You should expect the fees to be lower than what your long-distance companies charge.

I should point out that besides free long-distance calls to US and Canada, you also get free voice mail, free call forwarding, free three-way calling, free caller ID, and a free phone number of your choice of area code with magicJack. I haven’t had a chance to try the voice mail service or faxing through magicJack yet.

Drawbacks
MagicJack doesn’t allow you to import or export the Contacts list but there is an add-in for Microsoft Outlook that you can download. The add-in allows you to dial directly from your contacts in Outlook. The biggest challenge you will face after purchasing magicJack is getting it out of its bubble pack. On the Internet forums people rate magicJack’s packaging as its biggest flaw. I have also noticed that some of the links in the software are broken. Several of the components are relatively new or are still in beta so that might be a reason for some broken links. For example, you can supposedly optimize magicJack by clicking on a link but the link is broken and gives you file error. It takes you to the URL http://support.magicjack.com/magicfix/magicFix.html which does not exist. After doing some troubleshooting I discovered that it should be pointed to http://www.magicjack.com/site/magicfix.html.

I tried to access the technical forum at http://forum.magicjack.com/forum/index.php but I received the error “Sorry but this board is currently unavailable.” Again, the forum is in beta so one would expect such issues. By the way, make sure that you have the correct plug-ins for Javascripts for your browser or else you may encounter problems using magicJack’s Web site. This is not a drawback, it’s something that you need to do to use Web sites that utilize Javascripts.

Reviews
This product has been covered by several major news services, including CBS, CNBC, BBC, CNET, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe. Most, if not all, of the reviews of this product have been favorable in the press as well as on Internet forums. Click here to learn more about this product or to try it for free for 30-days.

Virtual PC 2007 has several shutdown options to choose from. If you install Virtual Machine Additions then you get some additional options. I highly recommend installing Virtual Machine Additions on every Virtual PC. Sometimes it is helpful to choose the option to automatically close the Virtual PC without prompting the user to choose an option, such as in a classroom environment or if you have configured a Virtual PC for your kids. The automatic close options depend on whether the undo drive is enabled or not. The manual method of closing a Virtual PC has relatively simple options. However, the automatic close option has several caveats. Microsoft explains the various options for shutting down the Virtual PC as described below.

1. Prompt for close options
When Show messages with these options at close is selected, the virtual machine will always display a prompt with the available close options every time the virtual machine is closed. One of the options must be selected in order to close the virtual machine. The available options are described below.

Save state

Includes the Save state option in the list of available close options. If the option is not selected, you are unable to save the virtual machine state when you close it.

Shut down

Includes the Shut down option from the list of available close options. If the option is not selected, you are unable to use the operating system shut down option. This option is available only if Virtual Machine Additions is installed.

Turn off

Includes the Turn off option in the list of available close options. If the option is not selected, all turn off options are unavailable when you close the virtual machine. If undo disks is enabled but this option is not selected, none of the turn off options for undo disks will be available.

You must always have at least one option selected.

2. Automatic close options
When Automatically close without a message and is selected, the virtual machine performs the selected option automatically without any prompts every time the virtual machine is closed. The available automatic close options are described below.

a) Automatic close options when undo drives is not enabled

Save state

Closes the virtual machine window and saves the information necessary to resume using the virtual machine at a later time in a .vsv file. Resources that were in use when the virtual machine was saved, such as the virtual hard disk, cannot be used by another virtual machine. Other resources, such as serial or parallel port devices, are released. No operations are performed by the virtual machine. As a result, when the virtual machine resumes, it will operate in the same state as when it was closed. This may cause problems, for example, if a virtual machine with a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) lease is closed using save state, its DHCP lease may expire while the virtual machine is not running. When the virtual machine resumes, an error message may be displayed if another computer is assigned the DHCP IP address that the virtual machine had when it was closed.

Shut down

Closes the virtual machine window and cleanly shuts down the operating system installed on the virtual machine. This option is available only if the operating system installed on the virtual machine supports the shut down options and Virtual Machine Additions is installed on that virtual machine. Any resources used while the virtual machine was running are released and may be used by another virtual machine. When you restart the virtual machine at a later time, it must go through the boot process.

Turn off

Equivalent to cutting power to a physical computer and does not give the operating system any chance to save data. When you restart the virtual machine at a later time, it must go through the boot process.

Warning
This option may damage data stored on the virtual hard disk.

b) Automatic close options when undo drives is enabled
By default all of the automatic close options, except Turn off and delete changes, keeps the undo drives. However, if you use automatic shutdown you cannot commit undo drive changes. To commit undo drive changes, you must select to prompt on close and then select Commit changes to the virtual hard disk.

If undo drives is enabled, and Turn off and delete changes is not selected, the user is prompted on close to save changes or delete, as well as whether to commit changes to the hard disk. If you want to enforce that changes to the virtual hard disk are always committed at close, undo drives should not be enabled on that virtual machine. If you do not want changes to be committed and do want the changes to be deleted, you should use differencing drives. For more information about differencing drives, see Creating virtual hard disks.

Save state

Closes the virtual machine window and saves the information necessary to resume using the virtual machine at a later time in a .vsv file. Resources that were in use when the virtual machine was saved, such as the virtual hard disk, cannot be used by another virtual machine. Other resources, such as serial or parallel port devices, are released. All changes on the undo disk are saved. No operations are performed by the virtual machine and no time passes. As a result, when the virtual machine resumes, it will operate in the same state as when it was closed. This may cause problems, for example, if a virtual machine with a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) lease is closed using save state, its DHCP lease may expire while the virtual machine is not running. When the virtual machine resumes, an error message may be displayed if another computer is assigned the DHCP IP address that the virtual machine had when it was closed.

Shut down

Shuts down the operating system installed on the virtual machine and closes the virtual machine window. This option is available only if the operating system installed on the virtual machine supports shutdown and Virtual Machine Additions is installed on that virtual machine. When you restart the virtual machine at a later time, it must go through the boot process. Any resources used while the virtual machine was running are released and may be used by another virtual machine. The state of the virtual machine is not saved. All changes on the undo disk are saved.

Turn off

Equivalent to cutting power to a physical computer and does not give the operating system any chance to save data. All changes on the undo disk are saved. When you restart the virtual machine at a later time, it must go through the boot process.

Warning
This option may damage data stored on the virtual hard disk.

Turn off and delete changes

Equivalent to cutting power to a physical computer and does not give the operating system any chance to save data. Deletes the undo drive, erasing any changes written to the undo disk since the virtual machine was started. This option is available only if undo drives is enabled on the virtual machine. When you restart the virtual machine at a later time, it must go through the boot process.

In addition, a new check box is displayed in the Close dialog box:

Commit changes to the virtual hard disk

When this box is selected, changes from the undo disk are incorporated into the original virtual hard disk on close. This option is available unless you have selected Turn off virtual machine and undo changes.

Notes
The Shut down option is available only if Virtual Machine Additions is installed.

When you close a virtual machine, any shared folders are automatically unshared. Permanent shared folders are automatically shared again the next time you start or restore the virtual machine, but temporary shared folders are not shared again.

Most Windows XP computers run close to 80 services. You’ll be amazed how many extraneous services are running on a typical Windows XP computer that aren’t necessarily required for day-to-day operations. The list of services required on a Windows XP corporate client will differ from the services required on a home PC. On an average Windows XP computer you may only need to run about 20 services. Running fewer services will conserve memory and other system resources which will result in better performance, faster speeds, and more reliable operating system.

Here’s a list of various services running on a typical Windows XP computer and some advice on how you can tweak your system by properly configuring the services. For simplicity, we will only discuss Windows XP Professional (and not the Home edition of Windows XP). If you have a choice between running the Home edition or Professional, always choose the Professional edition.

There are lots of articles on the Web that document the type of Windows XP services tweaks listed in this article. Be cautious when you start implementing suggestions listed in any article, including the one you are reading. What works for me and for someone else may not work for you. If you are unsure, leave the service to its default setting. I’ve seen several articles on tweaking XP services but I do not agree with several of the recommendations listed elsewhere, so I came up with my own recommendations. One Web site called blkviper.com has devoted a lot of material to this topic and the information is much more accurate than the other Web sites. Even though his suggested actions may not totally agree with mine, you’ll find lots of additional useful information on his Web site, including XP Home Edition and gaming configurations.

Before we look at the services and discuss any details, you should document the status of all your current services. If you get unexpected results after tweaking your system, you should set the settings back to the original configuration. If you don’t feel comfortable with the description and the purpose of a service, consider modifying one service at a time and observe the system behavior before making massive changes to your operating system. You can access the Services Console either by typing services.msc at Start, Run or through the Administrative Tools folder.

You should be aware that when you disable certain services you may get errors in the Event Viewer. If the errors bother you, consider either setting the service to Manual or to Automatic until the error disappears. Along with the name of the service, the description, and the recommended action, you will also notice the short name for the service. This can be useful if you decide to script to disable or stop certain services. For example, create a script that disables all the unnecessary services on your corporate Windows XP clients. You may also stop, start, pause, or continue a service using the “net” command at the command prompt.

Caution! You should always backup your Windows XP computer before making any changes to the services. For more information check out the article Automated System Recovery and System Restore in Windows XP.

Click here to read the rest of this article.

I recently evaluated a product called Fireman 3.0 by Honest Technology. It’s primarily a CD/DVD burner software but it’s like a Swiss army knife that includes several utilities in one package. With Fireman 3.0 you can create data, audio, or video discs. And with all the additional tools, you can do a whole lot more.

The audio burning capabilities include support for creating MP3 or WMA CD/DVDs. You can also import audio from a music CD. I can burn ISO images, which gives me the ability to store all files on a CD/DVD as a single file.

Fireman 3.0 supports creation of video CD (VCD), video super CD (SVCD), and video DVD using the DVD Authoring Studio. The DVD Authoring Studio is a basic utility that allows you to create simple video DVDs to watch on your home DVD player. It’s like a mini version of iDVD that you may have used on your Macintosh. However, this utility is fairly limited and you shouldn’t expect it to do any fancy work for you.

One nice feature of the DVD Authoring Studio is the ability to create photo slideshows on a DVD that you can watch on your home DVD player. You can also add music to the slideshow but the method is not documented and is not very intuitive. You’ll have to call the tech support to find out how.

Fireman 3.0 even includes a backup utility that you can use to backup and restore your important data. There are several additional tools included in the utility area, such as ability to erase re-writable CD/DVD, view Disc information, and make a label or cover for your CD/DVD. If that wasn’t enough, it also includes a Photo Viewer and even a DVD Player. I should point out that the label maker is a full-featured program that is included in the Fireman 3.0 package. Using LightScribe discs, you can create your own custom laser-etched CD/DVD labels using your personal photos, artwork, and text.

Photo Viewer supports magnification levels of 25% to 1000%. You can use the scroll button on your mouse to zoom in and out of magnification level which makes it very convenient. Another nice feature in Photo Viewer is the ability to start a slideshow with just one click.

Areas of Improvement
Windows Vista doesn’t come with a utility to create a copy of a CD or DVD, which comes as a big surprise to Windows Vista users. It includes tools such as Windows DVD Maker and Windows Media Center, neither of which can be used to make a copy of an existing CD or DVD. I was hoping that Fireman 3.0 will fill that gap but it doesn’t support copying of discs either. This is a major deficiency in a product that is meant to burn CD/DVD but it doesn’t include a basic feature such as disc copy.

If there is one area that needs the most help, it’s the Fireman 3.0 Help file. It needs some major work. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate the Help file as 1 – practically non-existent and completely useless. There is no way to search a topic and it lacks descriptions and details. Luckily, the Fireman 3.0 interface is so simple that you don’t really need to go to the Help file much. However, there are always questions about the capabilities of the software and if the Help file included some real documentation it would have been nice.

In addition to not being useful, Fireman 3.0 Help file is also not well-integrated. Depending on what topic you need help with, you have to go to that specific utility for help. For example, the DVD Authoring Studio, the DVD player and the Label Maker all include their own help files which cannot be accessed from the Fireman 3.0. The software developers failed to link all the help files. Hopefully, this bug will be fixed in the next version or with a patch.

One limitation in Fireman 3.0 has to do with the way it creates bootable discs. You can supposedly create bootable CD/DVDs. but this can be deceiving because it is not what you think. You cannot copy the source files of an operating system to a CD or DVD and easily make a bootable disc. With Fireman 3.0 only bootable floppy disks can be used to create bootable image. Most of the computers don’t even come with floppy drives anymore, so obviously this is a limitation in Fireman 3.0.

Summary
Overall, I found Fireman 3.0 to be an excellent utility. It is simple, reliable, intuitive, and works with Windows Vista. It definitely needs some improvement in the documentation area and lacks an important disc copy feature. However, for a reasonable price of $19.99, you will find Fireman 3.0 to be an excellent value for a product that is loaded with several useful tools.

Windows Vista has a ReadyBoost feature that can improve the performance of your Windows Vista computer. ReadyBoost has certain requirements so not all USB flash devices can be used for Windows ReadyBoost. Here’s a method that you can try to force ReadyBoost on a USB flash drive. I am not sure if it has any adverse effect so use it at your own risk.

1. Plug in your USB flash drive in Windows Vista.

2. In the AutoPlay window, click on the “Speed up my system” option. You may see the following on your screen which indicates that your USB device doesn’t support ReadyBoost.

If you don’t see the AutoPlay window, go to My Computer, right-click the USB drive, click on Properties, then click the ReadyBoost tab.

3. Uncheck the box “Stop retesting this device when I plug it in.”, click OK and then remove the USB drive.

4. Start the registry editor and go to the following location: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\EMDMgmt.

5. Look for the folder that starts with {”_??_” as shown in the following screen shot.

6. Set the values of ReadSpeedKBs and the WriteSpeedKBs to 1000 (decimal).

7. Plug in the USB device again and you should be able to use ReadyBoost.

This method may not work on every USB flash drive and you should know that you are modifying the registry at your own risk. However, I don’t use the same drive that I am using for ReadyBoost for storing my data so I am not worried about losing any data on the USB flash drive.