Here's an update on magicJack, a small gizmo that promises a full year of unlimited phone calls for just $40. It uses an Internet connection to route calls from your PC to traditional land line or cellular phone numbers.

I first told you about magicJack in October, after a buzz developed when there was a brief item about the technology on our Daybreak program.

At the time I hadn't seen the product personally, but I did write that it all sounded "too good to be true."

That prompted a communique from magicJack representatives, who arranged a phone call from Don Burns, the company's CEO.

He was keen to defnd the cmopany as a legitimate telecommunications concern, saying it is actually playing ball on the same field as the AT&Ts and Verizons of the world.

"We have built our own national competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) network across the country, including switches in 31 cities and interconnection agreements with other regulated telephone companies," Burns said.

"We are peers to other telephone companies, as opposed to customers of," he added.

Burns said magicJack had its infrastructure in place before offering the service to customers

"The product is fair, it's simple, and it doesn't really have any gotchas," he said.

Computer Corner doesn't have a testing lab, but I was able to try magicJack under several scenarios.

The product is about the size of a large matchbox, with a USB connector at one end to plug into your Windows computer (Mac support is coming), and a standard telephone jack at the other. If you choose, you can also use a headset/microphone combo plugged into your computer to talk via magicJack.

The appearance of magicJack does not inspire confidence. It's a chrome plastic assembly with a "window" on the front that is illuminated by a blue LED when operational. Frankly, it looks a little cheesy.

My initial experience was frustrating. I connected magicJack to a Windows XP desktop computer at my desk at Channel 8 and was not able to make it work. This is likely due to corporate firewalls and filters that could potentially be adjusted to let magicJack calls go through.

I did have success placing phone calls using a notebook computer at home over a Wi-Fi connection. The voice quality was clear, and it was simple to use.

While the magicJack Web site promises "plug-and-play" operation, there was a time consuming installation procedure, which involved a new software download and potential interference with other software.

MagicJack says Yahoo Music software, for instance, should be uninstalled, which means I would have to give up on my music collection to make cheap phone calls.

Nevertheless, magicJack is a remarkable value that Burns said could find an even bigger market overseas than domestically.

"When you send the magicJack to any country around the globe where you have a family member stationed, they're going to call you like you're next door," he said. "We have an office in St. Petersburg, Russia, and they use the product over there, and we call each other like we're in the next cubicle."

Burns said customers have suggested that mobile professionals could also benefit by tossing a magicJack in their computer bag.

"The magicJack "follow-me" feature allows them essentially to use their land line foot forward—with their magicJack number on their business card—and then—invisibly to their customers, when they unplug the magicJack and throw it in their briefcase—their calls automatically roll over to their cell phone."

After the first year of unlimited service, magicJack hopes you'll sign up for more. You can get year 2 for $20 if you buy it along with the magicJack device.

You can now get a local phone number for the 214, 469 and 903 area codes in North Texas.

It's been almost four years now since Computer Corner soared into the sky on what we thought at the time would be the start of a revolution in in-flight entertainment.

It was a test flight for Connexion by Boeing, which let computer users pop open their notebooks and link to the Internet for e-mail, Web sites and more, using a satellite hookup on top of the jet.

It worked just fine, but U.S. airlines didn't buy into it. Boeing announced it was discontinuing the service last year.

A company called Aircell has another idea with the same goal.

They're building between 75 and 90 ground stations in North America to relay the Internet to aircraft using cell phone technology

. American Airlines is set to be among the first U.S. carriers to test Wi-Fi in the sky on transcontinental flights starting early next year.

If that works out, American says it will roll out the service systemwide. You can probably expect to pay around $10 for Internet access on a typical flight.

AOL Search has been checking its records to find out what people have been looking for on the Internet this year.

We could have told them that "weather" would be the number-one most sought-after topic.

The hottest celebrity being searched was Britney Spears; no surprise there.

But the top shopping brand? Pottery Barn. Never would have guessed that one!

Watch Computer Corner every week on News 8 Midday at noon (usually seen on Wednesdays), or online any time.

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