For part four of our test we configured magicJack over a wireless connection like you would find at an internet cafe, McDonalds, or Barnes and Noble. We have that setup in our labs, so we started the test. Test bed items consisted of a weak 2.0 GHz Intel Celeron computer running only 512 meg of RAM and Windows XP. The wireless device was a USB Motorola WU830G which has been knocked quite a bit in reviews over the years. We never had a problem with ours. The wireless router is a Buffalo Airstation without encryption hooked to DSL via a Kingston switch running at 10/100/1000. All cables were Cat5 and Cat6. After establishing a good connection to the router and we plugged in the magicJack USB cable. Windows XP said it found a USB phone [+]

If you are joining our discussion of test results here is part one and this is where you will find part two. Having said that, our testing continued throughout the night with some interesting discoveries. By the way we also had time to talk to Jaxtr callers from Morroco and Egypt. After all, we did ask for your help. Those calls were free, clear, and fun thanks to Jaxtr. You know the connection is clear when you hear all the background sounds in somebody's house, even if they are calling from 6520 miles away. Back to the test results. If you remember we were trying to discover the source of a problem we had when a Jaxtr caller terminated their call to a magicJack telephone number. To refresh our readers, conversations were clear from magicJack [+]

As many of you pointed out there is very little reason to perform testing of Jaxtr and magicJack. Jaxtr links two telephones, while magicJack is a telephone jack and telephone number that uses your computer's USB port. The question is whether a magicJack users can use Jaxtr. Obviously they can. Would the person prefer to associate their cell phone with Jaxtr? The answer would depend on the person's cell phone plan. If you have unlimited calling and rollover minutes you certainly don't need to be as careful as if you had a plan with night and weekend free calls only. TracFone users would prefer to associate magicJack with Jaxtr, but the person would need to be near their computer to do so. Those who cruise the Internet on their cell phones would not [+]

A few weeks ago we decided to clear out the labs as we got ready to test Magic Jack - or technically magicJack - which is a USB to telephone jack interface. Besides, we had 37 Telxon toughbooks on the benches and the project is almost complete. We were installing operating systems and testing the Telxons before making them available to the public. magicJack claims to offer unlimited telephone calls for only $19.95 a year. We purchased one magicJack for $39.95, which includes the first year of phone service, and plugged it in to the USB port on a Windows XP machine. Within two minutes we had a Sedalia Missouri phone number (area code 660, with a 530 telephone number) and made our first test call. Everything was good, including clarity, call volume, and listening volume. [+]

This week I received free Jaxtr telephone calls from Nepal and Netherlands Antilles. The Himalaya mountain range runs across Nepal's northern and western parts, and eight of the world's ten highest mountains, including the highest, Mount Everest, are within its territory. Sometimes I tend to look at fields and pasture baking in 100 degree (38 degree Celsius) weather and take it for granted. Then a free phone call from Nepal reminds me of how big, beautiful, and different the world is. I also received, as I said, a free call from Netherlands Antilles, which is in the island chain north of Venezuela and south of Puerto Rico. Just for fun I tried to get directions from Google Maps. It said: "We could not calculate driving directions between 108 S Main St, Windsor, MO 65360 and [+]