Magic Jack!

A buddy of mine turned me onto this.  Its called Magic Jack and seems like a really good deal:

Here's the deal: you order one at www.magicjack.com for $40 + shipping, and they send you the device for a month's free trial.  You plug it into your USB on your computer and (assuming you have broadband of course) voila...phone service!  Free local, free long distance...just pay once and make all the calls you want.  My buddy already got his and loves it.  He called me using it and it sounded great.  The initial $40 also covers the first year of service, and service after that is only $20 a year.

So the order is placed and should be here some time next week.  I believe my buddy told me when you activate it is when they give you a phone number, you have to choose your area code first.  I'll blog about how it works once it gets here.