laptop and cordless mess

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somjitb
MagicJack Newbie
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Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2009 1:04 pm

laptop and cordless mess

Post by somjitb »

I have 2 laptops at home and 1 MJ. Everytime I switch laptops and/or move my laptop, it's a mess having to unplug/replug the MJ, getting under the table and plugging in my cordless phone bla bla. Any suggestions other than having to buy a laptop? Thanks.
maine-iac
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Post by maine-iac »

I suppose you could hire someone to get under the table and reconnect everything for you.
az2008
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Re: laptop and cordless mess

Post by az2008 »

somjitb wrote:getting under the table and plugging in my cordless phone bla bla. Any suggestions other than having to buy a laptop?
Why do you have to get under the table? Don't you keep your laptops tabletop?

If not, you can buy a powered USB hub. (One that comes with a lot of recommendations is linked to from the wiki FAQ.). Keep the hub on the tabletop. It might fix other problems too, and protect your laptops' USB circuitry from MJ's high power requirements (which have been reported to burn out the circuitry of some poorly-designed computers).

Mark
See the MagicJack Wiki (FAQ, How-To, history and more).
somjitb
MagicJack Newbie
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2009 1:04 pm

laptop cable mess

Post by somjitb »

Thanks Mark for your response. But basically someone like me who uses only laptops has his/her mobility severely restricted by the MJ. After all, the whole point of havig a laptop is its portability, right? It looks like the only other option is to buy a desktop and have the MJ hooked up to it permanently. I wish the MJ manufacturers had paid attention to this problem.
az2008
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Re: laptop cable mess

Post by az2008 »

somjitb wrote:basically someone like me who uses only laptops has his/her mobility severely restricted by the MJ. After all, the whole point of havig a laptop is its portability, right?
I still don't understand the problem, why you have to crawl under desks, etc.

I use MJ with a laptop. It sets on the tabletop. If I want to disconnect the dongle, it's at arm's length just like a flash drive is.

I have a desktop under the table. If I want to use the dongle with it, I connect it to a powered USB hub sitting on top of the desk. It's as much of a reach as the laptop.

Mark
See the MagicJack Wiki (FAQ, How-To, history and more).
mberlant
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Post by mberlant »

If you really need to have a fixed home phone, but also need to carry your laptop away from your home, you should investigate putting your MJ service on a hardware ATA. There are many discussions here that talk about just that. Have a look through them and see if this might just be a better solution for you than having a dongle plugged into a laptop.
somjitb
MagicJack Newbie
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Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2009 1:04 pm

laptop cable mess

Post by somjitb »

Thanks folks for your responses.
MOA
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Re: laptop and cordless mess

Post by MOA »

somjitb wrote:I have 2 laptops at home and 1 MJ. Everytime I switch laptops and/or move my laptop, it's a mess having to unplug/replug the MJ, getting under the table and plugging in my cordless phone bla bla. Any suggestions other than having to buy a laptop? Thanks.
not sure this will work for you but ...

I have my MJ plugged into the dongle then plugged into a NON powered hub with a 3 foot lead that plugs into the laptop ... the MJ etc is on the floor ...

when I am on the go I unplug the lead ...

No crawling ...
somjitb
MagicJack Newbie
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Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2009 1:04 pm

laptop cable mess

Post by somjitb »

Thanks...this might be something I might try down the raod. Another question: why I am unable to call certain numbers (including some 800 numbers) from MJ? I can dial those perfectly ok from my cell phone though!
arcadia2uk
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Post by arcadia2uk »

How about installing an ATA.
msiam
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Post by msiam »

:shock: maine-iac's responce is hilarious :shock:

Your problem could be solved with a little bit of Velcro and the little ext cord, or velcro on the actual powered hub. I have a laptop that I have a portable Hard Drive velcroed to the lid when it is needed, if I dont want the stuff on there later, I just pull it off and remove the glue from the adhesive.. Aint no big Prob!! 8) Or velcro everything to the bottom of the table..
ImageImage
somjitb
MagicJack Newbie
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2009 1:04 pm

laptop and cordless mess

Post by somjitb »

Thank you, thank you. I seem to be part of an unbelievably helpful group!
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