Technology innovation is both a blessing and curse, depending on “what” and “who.” The “who” is related to whether a person “gets it” or not. In other words, does the person understand how to use the technology. The “what” relates to how the technology is used … does it have any meaningful positive impact on our lives … does it make our lives simpler, save us money, or help us get things done faster?

I’ve been using a product developed by www.MagicJack.com for the last several months. I can honestly say that this device solves both the “what and the who.” It is brain dead simple to install and use and, yes, it does save you money … and lots of it.

For the uninitiated, MagicJack is a simple little USB device that connects into your computer and either: a) a headset or b) your regular telephone. It uses your broadband connection to make phone calls anywhere in the world. At it’s simplest it’s a VOIP or Voice Over Internet Protocol phone service. It includes: voice mail, 3-way calling, call waiting, and a DEDICATED phone number. You choose the area code from their list, which is quite extensive. And, it’s AMAZINGLY cheap – $39 for the 1st year and $19 per year thereafter.

I had intended  to use the device from www.MagicJack.com to replace my business phone service. And, of course, I did. I dropped my Comcast service and replaced it with MagicJack. If that was all I did, that would have been great. I would have saved about $600 per year. But, the buck did not stop there.

I also have a virtual assistant in the Philippines. I had actually bought two of these devices from www.MagicJack.com, one for my home office and the other to send to my assistant. And, guess what? This is where the REAL magic appears. My assistant in the Philippines can MAKE and ANSWER phone calls from the Phillipines to and from the US, WITHOUT incurring any international long distance charges. YES, you heard me correctly – NO international calling charges.

Imagine the savings! I figure with the amount of phone calls she makes every day to / from the US, I’ve probably already saved upwards of $1,500 … in just three short months.

The other magical aspect of this device / service is that I can call forward from any of these numbers without incurring any call forwarding charges. Unlike Sprint or perhaps other mobile sevice provider, call forwarding is free.

There are  many more aspects to this service that I’m planning to implement. But, I can’t give away all of my secrets, yet. The fact remains that the MagicJack is a disruptive technology that could displace traditional phone service from AT&T and others. In addition, it’s also magnitudes cheaper than Vonage and all of the other VOIP service providers.

And, the best thing about it is … it works!

Are you in the mood for a great flick? Hey, I’ve got an idea you’ll surely love. Get up off that couch and head to the closest movie theater. For a mere 8.50 you can get in and watch that brand new flick on the big screen. Hey, but don’t forget to bring an extra 50 bucks for popcorn, candy and a soft drink. After all, what would a wonderful outing to the theater be without refreshments? Wait a minute. That actually doesn’t sound ideal at all. Who in the heck made going to the movies so expensive anyway? Well, regardless of how pricey movie theaters have become in more recent times, one thing is for certain; you can simply rent the movies you love and forget about the gargantuan bill. Take the Blockbuster video store down the street for instance. They will rent you a flick for under five bucks and you can enjoy that one in the privacy of your own home. Any takers?

Are you an avid Blockbuster video store nut? If you’re not, who are all those people I constantly witness heading in and out of that place? I would say that any Blockbuster video store has to pull in a good sum of cash each and every day. Of course much more on the weekends. There’s just something about movies. None of us can ever seem to get enough of them. We watch and we watch and we watch. Then when we’re finished with all that watching, we plop down on the sofa and watch a little more. You know, to wind down from all the watching. The great thing about renting movies these days is the new-age access. We can almost say goodbye to the classic Blockbuster video store, and say hello to cyberspace. As I’m sure you’ve encountered at one point or another, you can literally rent movies from your laptop now days. I’m talking about a Blockbuster video store on the World-Wide-Web. Not to mention its competitors. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. Convenience is our middle name. I’m referring too human beings of course.

Are you searching for a local Blockbuster video store, but coming up short? Hey, don’t worry about it. You can find a Blockbuster video store closer than you thought. Blockbuster video rentals are available online now and check out the infinite movie rentals at your disposal. In today’s world of entertainment, you can have your cake and eat it too. Or should I say popcorn?

>> http://everypathnbeyond.com/blockbuster

Lots of chatter on the Internet around AT&T laying off between 10,000 and 15,000 employees or about 4 percent of its workforce. Of course, this is not surprising as everybody is laying off people right now. Unlike previous times, this is a real layoff, not a voluntary buyout.

I’d imagine, though, that with 160,000 plus workers, AT&T is bloated just like many government and private companies. It’s always sad to hear when someone / anyone loses their job. It’s especially discouraging when it happens during the Christmas holiday season.

This layoff is particularly interesting because of how it might affect iPhone sales and service. However, it appears that the layoffs are targeted toward employees who are primarily on the voice side of the business. The traditional voice business has been steadily losing customers to wireless / cell phone service for the last several years. AT&T also said that they would be hiring employees on their more profitable cell phone business.

These layoffs AND hiring come on the heels of consumers moving rapidly to adopt cell phones as their primary communication method.

Times are a-changing indeed in this industry. There so many cell phone / pda options for people now that consumers will likely see some real benefits from these slow economic times. For example, one of the latest rumors is that Walmart will start selling a $99 iPhone. The rumor continues that this will be a 4G version which was very popular, especially when the first iPod Touches were released.

Additionally, Google, of course, launched their heralded G1 a couple of months back. Reviews of this device have been lukewarm. But, it does speak to the fact that competition is healthy and will get even more intense as mobile device manufacturers try to knock off the king of the hill – Apple.

However, I don’t see widespread consumer adoption of any one device or operator until one of the big carriers drops their cost / min, cost / text, cost / data plan significantly. All of the operators continue to hold onto what little margins they have by increasing prices in one area or the other.

I know this is true for the iPhone for example. One cannot buy an Apple iPhone without at least buying the $30 data plan. And, a minimum, ya gotta have texting. Kaching … add at least $5 per month for 200 messages. And finally, ya also gotta get a minimum voice plan of $70. That’s a WHOPPING $105 for an individual plan. Talk about sockin’ it to you!

And, what is this nonsense about being charged to pay your bill? How absurd is that? If you decide to use a “live” operator rather than an automated system, you “could” be subject to a fee.

Remember the good old days when you went to fill up your gas tank. The attendant came out washed your windows, checked your oil, and then filled up your tank? Some of them even shook you hand.

No more …

True price reductions will only come from healthy competition, both on the DEVICE side and on the PLAN side. I applaud Google for bring some competition to the device side. But, hey, these devices are pretty much a commodity anyway.

One of the big carriers needs to start pushing the envelope on cellular rate plans. Then, the average consumer can begin to see the real benefits of affordable pricing.

Call your congressman today!