MagicJack is a cheap telephone service solution.

Nowadays, when it comes to choosing a phone service to make or receive a call, their are so many options available that they can be overwhelming. Mobile phone have so much exploded that now more people own a mobile device than land based one. And with the never ending flood of the so called smart phones hitting the market almost on a daily base, a legitimate question can be raised about the future of land based telephone service. But there is a good news on that front thanks to Internet based telephone service. The technology has been around for a while now and the interesting part is that in most cases, it combines an old technology which is the traditional land based telephone service with the Internet to offer lower rates for phone calls. One product offering Internet phone services for less is the MajicJack which combines a software in a device looking like a laptop mobile Internet card. It has two ends; one is just like a regular USB connector that plugs in a PC or laptop and the other end is a standard phone jack that plugs in a phone a phone. It is made by a small company called YMAX corp based in Florida and retails for about $40 and is available at various retail spots including drug stores.The software that comes with the device self installs itself on any computer it is plugged in and for the phone service to work, the device needs to stay plugged to a computer connected to the Internet at any given moment because the calls are made and received through the Internet.The first year of service is free and it costs $20 after that for unlimited domestic calls to or from the U.S., Canada and certain territories like Porto Rico and the U.S.Virgin Islands.And according to the Wall Street Journal, you can buy "low cost prepaid international minutes or if you travel overseas, take your majicJack with you to make free calls here to the U.S.The device is compatible with both PC and Mac and works either way with a wired handset or a cordless-phone.After signing with the service, you are assigned a new number by the company behind the technology which promises landlines number portability in the near future. As with all Internet based phone services, MajicJack users are required to register their addresses with 911 emergency system. The whole system is set to receive a makeover when the company release a new version without the traditional hardware as reports the Wall Street Journal. Also is planned a MajicJack mobile version that will turn a cellphone into a wireless Internet phone, still according to the Wall Street Journal.

For more, see WSJ.com

WaveSecure is a free app to help remotely locate a lost cellphone.

With the ubiquitous nature of cellphones in our lives today, the thought of loosing one with all the information stored in it, is frightening. What makes it even more frightening, is the fact that most people do not use a password to secure their cellphone in case it falls onto the wrong hands. Usually, they do not realize the need to do so till they are separated with their beloved device. Now, if you loose your unlocked phone, their is a way to not only lock down the phone remotely from a PC, but better yet, to locate it, erase its memory, and restore much of it once it is recovered.
All these possibilities are offered by WaveSecure, an free app for Android run phones, but also available for some non Android phones like Nokias.
According to the New York Times, "WaveSecure do offers more features on some other phones like allowing automatic backups, with the company promising to add those functions and more, to Android phones."

For more, see NewYork Times.com

Fun and interactive way to digitize old VHS tapes.

If you have a stash of old VHS tapes containing long forgotten back yard fun or high school memories, you may be able to steal the show this holidays season by bringing them back to life in a modern way that will get people talking.
A new company called Pixorial, Pixorial.com, offers a simple and interactive way to transform piles of VHS tapes into an exciting and lively viewing experience. For $15 a piece, Pixorial will digitize VHS tapes or other analog video media and put the content on a password protected part of its own Website according to the New York Times.
Once there, users will have access to Pixorial editing tools which will allow them to cut and slice through the footages as a film director would. That is just the beginning, as the user can invite friends and family to not only watch the videos, but add their own comments in full resolution on any given scene in real time.

Free solutions for digitally recording TV programs.

Citing the Wall Street Journal in a response to a reader's question, in today's digital world, people have more options when it comes to recording free TV programs without the hassle of using a VCR and keeping VHS tapes.
The first option that comes to mind is a TiVo digital recorder box, a very popular device that when connected to the TV's antenna, will allow you to watch free over the air programs.
Another option that may surprise a lot of people, resides in your Windows based computer if it came equipped with the right tools. The tools in question here are a built-in TV tuner found in most middle to high end Windows based computers and the accompanying software available in PCs running Vista Home Premium or Vista Ultimate or the newer Windows 7. With that combination, users should be able to watch TV shows on their computers and record them on their hard drive for later viewing.
And if your PC did not come with the built-in turner, all hope are not lost as you can buy an add-on TV turner provided the fact that most Windows versions come with the software needed to watch TV on your computer.
As you may have noticed, we have been only talking about Windows based computers as Macs based ones, do not come equipped with that option. But the good news is that there are some hardware and software add-on in the market for Mac users.

The need to know in retailers' return policies.

With the busy shopping season upon us, stores' returns policies may be the last thing in shoppers' minds. To the opposite, it seems that everyone is preoccupied to get the best deals possible on that much coveted item either for oneself or a loved one. But equally important is the need to know about the retailer's return policy. This is where things get very interesting as different retailers have different policies and various rules are applied by retailers to various categories of items with those same rules changing from time to time with some exceptions made during the holidays.
Complicating matters, is the surge of Online commerce which brings a new set of confusion over what items bought Online can be returned to a physical store and under what circumstances.
Whether Online or in store, the general rule of thumb is to do your homework and check the store return policy.
A recent trend among retailers is to allow purchases made during November or December to be returned through January. But in general, as they become more popular, electronic items like computers and digital cameras, are subject to more restrictions with a two weeks return window and a restocking fees for opened items.
And this time of year being the season of giving, gift recipients may be faced with additional challenges when it comes to returning gift items. When it comes to policies regarding the return of gifts, "many retailers will provide refunds only to the person who originally made the purchase, while the gift recipient even with a gift receipt, can only make exchanges for merchandise, or receive a store credit or gift card" according to the NYTimes.
For more sampling for stores return policies, see the article in NYTimes.com.

Boxee software to be made available in a set-top box.

For many tech savvy who want to watch the limitless Internet videos on their PCs in a visually friendly format resembling a TV directory, Boxee software has been one of the most popular choices. The only downsize has been that users has to install the software on their PC or Mac and settle with the smaller screen of their computers. Or maybe if they were savvy enough, they may have been among the few that were able to install the software on Apple TV, Apple's set-top box.
But now the company behind the software want to change all that by making the experience more mainstream in a collaboration with a D-Link, a Taiwanese manufacturer of networking equipment.
The collaboration announced earlier this month, will result in the manufacture of Boxee own Television set-top device that will allow people to browse and directly watch Internet videos on their TV sets with no need to download or use their computers.
The new device is set to go on sale next year with both companies hoping to keep the price affordable at under $200.

For more, see NYTimes.com

How to save the content of a Windows alert box.

When facing a Windows alert box in the middle of a computer session, the natural reaction may be to try to write down the content of the message for when talking to a technical support person later on. But such messages are often written in not too friendly technical language and they can be too long to jolt down when most likely you are going into panic mode.
Fortunately, there is a handy tip to help solve the problem the next time it occurs.
According to the New York Times, all you have to do is click on the alert box to select it and press Control-C to copy the content and the next step is to open a working word-processing program or e-mail message and press Control-V to past and save the content.