You may be somewhat weary of all the many ads about lower cost telephone calls. I have reviewed Skype which allows contact by computer where each party can see the other while conversing. It is free, if both parties have a computer with camera and microphone.

The latest unit that I tested is a bit different. It is called magicJack and also uses the VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). It is extremely simple to use because you simply plug a regular telephone into a small gadget which plugs into the USB port of your computer. For good results you need a computer with a USB port and a broadband connection. That is all. No computer is needed at the other end. You do not need to do anything else but turn on your computer and start dialing your standard telephone set. There is no charge for any call to the U.S., Canada or Mexico.

I decided to test the device which my son had when he travelled. The real value of such a device is when you go overseas, and as long as you have access to high speed Internet connection, you can place calls back to any phone in the U.S.

MagicJack provides a telephone number, which is not in Connecticut. This can confuse the other party if they have caller ID. In our area, the sending number is in Area Code 914. My son’s device was purchased in Salt Lake City so when I tested it, it reported an incoming call from Utah. This is really unimportant since you generally would not use the device to receive calls.

There is an original cost for the hardware and one year of unlimited service of $40. After that, the cost would be $20 per year. If this intrigues you, you can find out more directly from the horse’s mouth on the Internet at magicJack.com. It will tell you about the caller ID, redialing features and others. If one makes a lot of long distance call, it is a great money saver, especially if you give one to your kids in college.

Computer Reboot

I am curious. Why does the computer recommend restarting my computer when I install new software? Antoine S.

Dear Antoine: When you install new software, changes are frequently made to the Registry. The registry is only read by the computer and placed in its memory when it is started. If the registry is not involved, then a restart is not necessary. Another reason is that sometimes updated files are added, but the old version is still in memory until the program is restarted.

There is a side benefit to the restarting operation. If the new software is not compatible or causes problems due to code changes in some files, the problem will show up at once. You can then go back to the previous registry to repair any damage. This is why it is good practice to create a Restore point before adding software. Go to Help and search for Restore Point for a full explanation of the steps involved. It is useful to understand the value of the restore points when disaster strikes.

Hiding desktop icons

I have many icons on my desktop. Is there a way I can see the background picture without having to delete or move many of them? It is a photo of our whole family and relatives. I am not referring to my screen saver. Thanks. Shirley S.

Dear Shirley:  It is quite easy to hide all the shortcut icons, without deleting them. Just right click on an area without icons. Then on the context menu move the mouse cursor on “View.” A submenu will appear and one item is “Show Desktop Icons” which will have a checkmark. Click on that item, the checkmark will disappear as will all the icons and you should be able to see your photograph without any interference. To get back your icons, use the same procedure again and after you click on item, the check mark will reappear, as will all the icons on your desktop.

Another option is to go to the same menu and uncheck “Align to Grid.” It is then possible to locate the icons anywhere on the screen. I do that and drag them to a less interesting part of the desktop picture.

Computer Corner 1042. Copyright 2008 by Roger Giler. Send questions for this column to P.O. Box 402, Wilton 06897 or e-mail Roger@Giler.com.