I got MagicJack in Jan 08 for US$19.95 for the dongle and US$19.95 for the first year of service.  In a word, GREAT.  $20 a year for unlimited calling to and in the US and Canada is a no-brainer.... you can recover that investment in the First Week!   I live in Costa Rica and plug in my MJ to my DSL enabled (512/256) computer and with my Florida number, call to where I like in the US and Canada whenever I like and for as long as I like... isn't that a no-brainer too?  You DON'T have to leave your computer on 24/7... incoming calls ring 4 times (currently, that can't be changed) and then it goes to VoiceMail... your caller leaves the message, MJ sends you an email about the message with attached audio file and you open the file and play it!  You DON'T need to go to your VoiceMail.  GOM Player does it well as does WMP... another no-brainer?  Calls to my AC305 Florida number ring HERE in Costa Rica, I answer the phone and have excellent audio.  I could be in Timbucktoo and the same would happen.  I have an old cordless phone plugged into it with good batteries and can have it anywhere in the house to receive and make calls.

International calling:  It was difficult to deposit the US$10 to my account but eventually it "took".  I saw in their initial announcement that AT&T was providing their long distance service but that announcement was quickly removed and now just mentions "the best quality International Provider in the world"... would that be AT&T?  However, once with an international credit, calls to Europe, South America, Middle East, etc. are about 30% cheaper than Skype and the voice quality is like "next door".    

The EULA is not draconian, just reflects the providers business sense and protects them from abuse as the service is offered for folks like you and me, not some corporate entity that will be calling 24/7.  I have not seen any attempts to "call home" and my Comodo suite doesn't pop up using it and a-squared does indicate some low risk activity but mostly related to MJ checking to see if it is connected and working.  If you feel it is invasive to your privacy, then don't use it for illegal activities but for personal communications, who cares if you are being profiled?  And no, I don't get any spam from them or any of their possible related activities.  In fact, I use Gmail so I don't get spam in my InBox anyway.

I acquired a "tiny" phone, Supra-Phone M6, cut the RJ-11 cord down to 8 inches and resoldered it to the pc board, and with my laptop connected to free WiFi in most airports, I can while away the waiting time chatting on MagicJack.  No, I have no MJ afiliation except that I am a more-than-satisfied customer... my US$40 investment is good for a year... that US$40 restaurant meal you had last night has already turned to crap.

Cons:  Once a month or so I get a call dropped and have to redial.  It was problematic to buy US$10 of international call time... needed "live aid" and a week wait.

Why not give it a try?

Ali

I run Zone Alarm Pro.  If I put the cursor on the Tray Icon when the red and green lights are blinking, is says "Traffic", but many times when I have NOTHING running, I still see a lot of "Traffic" and I am hoping that if there is not an existing proggy, a coding snack could tell me just what is this "Traffic"... I have explored the extensive menu and everything is very static, not telling me anything about what is going on... altho it seems safe enough, there is still a lot of "Traffic".  I am not looking for a "hook" into ZA, just a button I can click to SEE what the "Traffic" is...  Any ideas greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

Al