KYYK 98.3 is having a radiothon today starting at 6:00 a.m. to benefit the local volunteer fire departments that are battling the blazes around Anderson County. Visit their Facebook page for more information.
Today, Morgan’s Computer Services will donate 50% of any sales received from PC Tune-Ups to the cause. PC tune-ups are $75/each and include:
Please contact Morgan by phone at (903) 483-2751 or by e-mail at www.morganscomputers.com
In light of the recent fires in East Texas, I wanted to do something to help. I know a lot of firefighters and what kind of danger they put themselves in in order to keep complete strangers safe. Yesterday, I drove to Percilla where the Slocum Volunteer Fire Department had been called out, to take pictures for their website, www.slocumfire.org. I’m originally from Slocum, so I designed and maintain the website free of charge. This got me to thinking… what more can I do? I wanted to grab a water hose and start helping put out the fires, but that would more than likely cause more damage than good. I’m not a trained firefighter, so I will let them do what they knew how to do.
So I decided to do what I know how to do.
As a big “THANK YOU,” Morgan’s Computer Services is offering FREE PC tune-ups to any public servant in and around Anderson County. These are valued at $75 each. This applies to firefighters, EMTs, police officers, and sheriff’s deputies (heck, even the sheriff). All you have to do is give me a call at (903)483-2751 or e-mail me at morgan@morganscomputers.com and provide proof of your public servant status to receive your tune-up.
That’s it! If you know of any public servants who would like to take advantage of this offer, please send them my way.
This offer is set to expire on September 10, 2011, but will likely be extended. Please refer to www.morganscomputers.com or our Facebook page to keep up-to-date.
*UPDATE: This offer will continue until further notice*
A question that I get asked a lot is, “How do you know so much about computers?” or “Did you go to school for this?”
I’ll start with the easiest question. The answer to question number two is simply, “No.” I learned everything I know via hands-on experience.
Now… the first question. How do I know so much about computers? Flash back to 1998. My grandpa bought my sister and I our first computer to share (which of course was disastrous for two children to share anything). It was a HP Pavilion running none other than Windows 98! Of course, back then it was the newest thing. It would be comparable to getting an iPad today. Oh, how we loved to play Frogger, Clockwerx, and even send e-mails to our grandparents. Yes, we were fortunate enough to have the telephone man for a dad so we had dial-up. Yay for 56K! I remember Papa teaching me how to change the background on our computer when we very first got it…. and so the nerd-ome began.
When you entrust a computer to an 8-year old, there is no telling what will happen. I did cause a lot of error messages back then, but I had motivation to learn how to repair the problem! What was my motivation? Either fix it before Daddy gets home and sees it or prepare for doom. I chose the former. That’s how I learned to troubleshoot error codes.
Also, for some strange reason, I had an obsession with saving and organizing pictures on my computer. I would literally search through program files, system files, even CDs, looking for any .jpg’s, .gif’s, or .bmp’s to save copies of in My Documents. Once I did this, I organized them by shape, color, type, and a number of other formats that I don’t exactly recall. This is how I learned about file types and which files to NOT alter.
Flash forward 2 years to the year 2000. That Christmas, my step-mom (being not-so-computer literate) bought me The Sims Vacation expansion pack. Unfortunately for me, you had to have the base game before you could play the expansion pack. So I saved a few years’ worth of birthday and Christmas money to buy The Sims. This is where I learned patience. (Working on computers definitely requires patience)
Again… flash forward 4 years to the year 2004. The Sims 2 was released! Oh, the excitement for a budding nerdling. Unfortunately… my computer wasn’t, shall we say, advanced enough to run The Sims 2. So I waited until the family acquired a new computer in order to play it. Patience…. again.
Flash forward 1 year to the year 2005. We acquire a new-to-us computer! What is this error, though? “Failed to find any DirectX 9.0c compatible graphics adapters in this system.” Once I finally resolved this issue, I tweaked The Sims to perform at optimum capacity and proceeded to spend at least 12 hours a day playing the game… that is, until my parents gave me a 1-hour time limit per day. Buzz kill. That’s how I learned about PC performance issues.
As a child, I basically lived on my computer. My intentions were not to grow up and be a computer genius or become addicted to Mythbusters, suffer withdrawals when going more than 5 minutes without checking my e-mail, or to be a self-appointed super nerd. I just thought computers were fun. That’s how I learned it all: by spending my childhood “playing” on the computer.
As promised, I have ready for you eager readers, my review of the magicJack. My first dilemma was whether or not I should wait until September 6th, when magicJack Plus will be released, to make my purchase. Because of the need for a dedicated line for my business (seeing as how the minutes usage for my cell phone was getting near my limit), I decided to go ahead and purchase the regular magicJack. After all, it is only $39.95 for the device and this includes a full year of service.
My first impression of the device was, “Wow. This is it?” All that was included in the packaging was the magicJack itself, a manual, and a 3-inch USB extension cord. I read the instructions and followed them accordingly. This was particularly hard for me to do because I rarely follow instructions, but I wanted to make sure it would work correctly. I simply plugged the magicJack into my computer, plugged my phone into the magicJack via a phone cord, waited about 5 minutes for the setup up to complete, and BAM! I was at the registration screen. I typed in my name, address, all that nonsense, and was presented with a few screens asking if I wanted a “vanity number” or any extras. Of course, I declined these because, well, I don’t want or need it.
Next, the registration prompted me to select my area code, 903, which I did. The only drawback here was that Palestine was not available, so I selected the next nearest city, Kilgore. Hence the “903-483” number. I contacted customer service, who informed me that they are still expanding the number of cities who are included in magicJack’s database. I won’t hold my breath for Palestine. It may take years to get a 729 or 723 number. This is ok, though, because at a price of $39.95 per year, I’m willing to make this sacrifice.
Once finished with selecting my options, that was it. I was presented with a window on my computer which enabled me to view my call log or make calls directly from my computer using my headset! I wasn’t aware of this feature when I bought it, so I was pleasantly surprised.
I have read a lot of complaints about users being required to connect the device to their computer. Personally, I love it. I basically live on my computer, so the more I can do directly from my computer, the better. But what about those of us who do not want to leave our computers on all the time to use the phone? First of all, why would you purchase a device that requires internet to operate and expect it to work without internet? Very contradictory that is. Also, most folks turn their computers off when they go to sleep. Do you really want the phone ringing at 3:00 in the morning? I didn’t think so. “What about if there is an emergency?” I’m sure all of us are aware of the nifty “not-so-new” devices called cell phones. Keep your cell phone on. As for me, my magicJack is used for business, so when I turn my computer off at 11:00 at night, it’s ok because if a client is trying to call me at 3:00 in the morning… this is a problem. That is, unless I have given them my cell phone number and expect to be awaken due to some sort of technical emergency. But again… cell phone.
I’ve also read complaints about not having phone service when a user’s internet goes down. People… there is a reason it is called VoIP (Voice Over IP). The device needs internet to work. If your phone isn’t working because your internet is down, don’t complain to magicJack. Complain to your ISP, because it is their fault that your internet, and consequently phone, is not working.
What most people fail to realize is that most phone companies charge at least $39.95 a month for phone service. When I’m getting phone service for $39.95 per year, I’m not going to complain about the little things. It works when I need it to, so that’s good enough for me.
I’m not here to rant, though. :)
I have made a few test calls with my phone using magicJack and am very pleased with the call quality. I have only had it a few days now, but have yet to experience any issues with it.
Overall, I would give the magicJack a 4.5/5 stars. I would give it a whole 5 stars, but they did not have Palestine listed for available phone numbers; however, I am still extremely pleased with this nifty little gadget.
This website has really good coupons every now and then. Because you have to take quizzes or “pledge” to recycle something, the coupons are usually more high value. Plus, by clicking this link, I get bonus points if you sign up. =D
Hi! My name is Morgan, owner of Morgan's Computer Services, in Palestine, Texas. This blog will have not only articles relating to technology that I find interesting, but I will also be posting some extreme couponing deals. I have been couponing for about six months now and have saved well over $1,000. So check back often for tech tidbits & crazy coupon deals!
