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Funny, but inspirational story: my daughter makes very good $$$. No husband, no kids. Just herself to spend all that $$$ on. But she is cheap about some things, technology being one of those things. Last year she decided that she wanted a new laptop and digital camera. Didn't want to spend the cash, didn't want to charge. She lives in a huge high-rise just outside DC. She posted signs in the many laundry rooms offering cat-sitting services. She made way more than enough for the laptop and camera. The other upside is that she met quite a few cat people who can sit for her cats when she travels, which she does often.
Funny because had it been me, I'd flash plastic so fast it would make someone's eyes spin. Inspirational because I suppose we all could do something similar if we were just motivated enough.
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
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Spike said:
That's always the way. I'd love to be an early adopter of so many bits of new tech, but I just can't afford to. When the 2nd gen Touch came out, I drooled. It had more capacity, and features, than the 1st gen. But alas, it isn't in the cards this year.
I saw that new Kindle as well, Toger. I think it's too big. For whatever it's going to cost we could have a nifty netbook with greater functionality. I have the Kindle app for my Touch, but I haven't bought it any books yet. I'm trying to work my way through Classics, and a few others (the page-turning kind) I've downloaded. I also have about 5 unread Audible books just waiting. And that doesn't count the physical books in my pile.
We all need a book deal, or to win the lottery. Steerpike, I think you need a ghost writer. Hmmm…where could you find one of those?
I'm pretty sure I won't spring for a Kindle any time soon as I'm trying to adopt Alton Brown's disdain for single function gadgets. If it can't multi-task, why buy it? The only reason I don't have an iPhone (aside from price) is because my contract and phone are both pretty new, so there's no reason to upgrade. Yet.
I feel your pain with the multiple piles of books, both physical and digital. I started reading the sample book I downloaded last night and can hear the siren's call of "download the rest, it's only a couple of bucks!".[Image Can Not Be Found]
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Yeah, I hear you, Spike. I make very good $$$$ too and have no wife or children to spread it around on. I just feel irresponsible buying such a heap of wonderful toys when I should be buying worthwhile things, like soap and food.
I could sit for cats, I suppose, though my own cat would go ballistic; Ozzie does not like company, and her home is her domain. Instead I've been trying to land some speaking gig or something that I can parlay into Steerpike's Monster Peripheral Tech Upgrade 2009.
Or I'll do what Toger would - hers is very close to my own MO - and just fan a stack of credit cards down beside my mouse and start clickin'. 🙂
Life is the misery we endure between disappointments.
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Steerpike said:
Or I'll do what Toger would - hers is very close to my own MO - and just fan a stack of credit cards down beside my mouse and start clickin'.
That's what toger used to do. [Image Can Not Be Found]
I admit to spending a crazy amount of money on games - I actually hesitate to figure out just exactly how much. Knowing the full scale would probably kill me - but the big ticket items require months of talking myself into the purchase. I have no spouse to make me stop spending money, but my conscience does rear its ugly head when I'm contemplating the stuff I really don't need... like a Kindle. [Image Can Not Be Found]
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I do not make big $$$, and I tend to get into trouble with my credit cards. So I am on a cc diet, trying to keep my debt level down to some amount I can reasonably pay off in a year or less. Otherwise, I'd be fanning those bad boys out all over the place, Kindle, iTouch (don't care about iPhone much since I use my current cell phone less than once a month), new computer, or at least a new video card, dual monitors... the list goes on. Single-purpose gadgets are a-ok with me, as long as they fulfill that purpose well. My niece-in-law has a Kindle v.2, and I got to play with it last time I saw her. It is a thing of beauty! I probably will get an iTouch as soon as they start making it with more storage space, more along the lines of the regular iPod's 240 GB.
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So the Kindle DX was announced this morning. Bigger, blah, blah, blah. From the reviews I've read I get the impression that Kindle does one thing, and does it exceedingly well.
This from Amazon:
“Kindle's Basic Web browser works well to read simple, text-centric Web sites such as Google and Wikipedia.”
“Kindle also includes free built-in access to the world's most exhaustive and up-to-date encyclopedia–Wikipedia.org. With Kindle in hand, looking up people, places, events, and more has never been easier. It gives whole new meaning to the phrase walking encyclopedia.”
As much as I love Amazon, and would love to jump on their newest bandwagon, the Kindle DX doesn't offer 3 things that are deal breakers for me: no color, no backlight, and no web browsing with images (other than Wikipedia).
All Apple would need to do to hook me for the umpteenth time, would be a Touch on steroids, but relatively lightweight.
For now I'll stick with my Kindle app on my Touch. Games, check. Internet and email, check. Podcasts, check. Books, audio and other, check. Video, check. Oh, and music, too, of course.
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
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The Kindle really does not need backlighting--it looks almost exactly like ink on paper. Backlighting would let you read in dark places, true, but it would also eat into the battery life big time.
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I'd have to agree with Jen, the Kindle doesn't need backlighting. I've seen people reading them during commute times on the bus and they look exactly like paper. They're sexy-looking as hell but the price-tag keeps me from jumping in with both feet. The Kindle app will satiate my need for a while and it fits in the pocket of my purse.
And Jen, I'm the same way with credit cards. I finally got out from under last year and am living credit debt-free. It's crazy invigorating not to owe my soul to Visa or BastardCard. Online purchases are made on my Amex which forces me to rein in my spending to acceptable levels.
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I was the kid who read when I should have been sleeping - with a flashlight when necessary. I've always taken a book with me when going somewhere where I knew I'd be WAITING, in a doctor's office, band or sports practice, etc.
When my ex-husband and I met, one of the first things we found we had in common was our voracious appetite for reading. For 25 years, no matter what else we did, we ended each night by reading in bed. But since I usually wanted to read longer, light was an issue, so for christmas one year he gave me one of the original Itty Bitty Book Lights. Problem solved, mostly. I've still got that little guy tucked away somewhere.
I love sitting on my porch to read when the weather is nice, or walking the 1/2 block to a bench by the river to read, and now to use my iPod. I even do these things at night, especially in the summer when it's hot. This is why backlighting would be great for me. That's also why I've read the comments here about netbooks. I might just put that on my "gift to myself" list for christmas - unless I can make my ex think that it's his idea of the perfect gift for me!
And Bravo!, Jen and Toger, on your fiscal restraint and responsibility. Debt-free, or close to it, is peace of mind.
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
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No iphone or itouch here -- the young vermin has an iphone which turns me absolutely pea-green every time I see it -- every time I want a smoke (that's right kids, the v. has terminated that life-long bad habit since we last met!), 'I really need a cigarette and an iphone!' comes out of my mouth -- I know I have the same chance of having either. Zero. Nil. Never. Too bad. I'm a real tramp for new, shiny stuff.
I do, however, have a 1st gen Kindle courtesy of a very generous relative. I really like it a lot; my only complaint is that it's not possible to read when I'm falling asleep at night, which I must do, no matter what. The buttons are not designed to be used by the same hand that's holding it up. Not a huge complaint, but it is annoying.
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Congrats on kicking the habit, Vermin! Your lungs are pinkening as we speak.
I think the next leap forward in personal electronics like this will be the invention of a Kindle/iPhone that is squashy, that is, flexible like a wallet and similarly durable. I think some of the technology is here and plenty more is a few years away, but alongside battery life it seems like durability will be the key to getting everyone to own the thing.
Now that I know the iTouch has a Skype app I may have to give in to its siren's call.
Life is the misery we endure between disappointments.
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A site in praise of old stuff: http://lastyearsmodel.org/
I don't have a cell phone, mp3 player, or a modern game playing pc. [Image Can Not Be Found] We did replace our digital camera lately (and it works so much better) so we're not completely off the map. The gadgets we do have are giving us battery fatigue. I gave my partner a sansa mp3 player and the battery died when we left it in a speaker stand for a few weeks. I replaced this, but the new one died when we didn't charge it for several months. My work laptop battery lasts 14 minutes without a wall socket. I can't imagine being able to keep any more gadgets running
My Dark Souls single player sensibilities are protected by a +10 GfWL Firewall of Ineptitude
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Watching Jobs' keynote speech for the WWDC downtown (no, I'm not there but gdgt is liveblogging):
Netflix comes to the iPhone as does iBooks. I'm intrigued by iBooks because I can have the same book in my phone, iPod or iPad (if I had one) and it will automagically sync up and remember where I am. Also, you only have to purchase it once.
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I've been reading a bit of the live coverage at Mac Rumors. Still drooling over the iPad, which I can't afford, and I like to wait until the 2nd gen. anyway to wait for the bugs to be worked out. I don't think I like the design of the new iPhone. The squared off case looks clunky to me, but then all the new goodies crammed inside must make this necessary.
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
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I'm with you Spike. I'm not sure I really like the look of the new iPhone, but some of the features coming to OS4 are pretty cool, plus I'll be using my 3GS until the wheels fall off... or OS updates no longer work.
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I compared specs for 3Gs and 4. Weight is virtually the same (new one is 2 grams heavier), but the new one is narrower and shallower with height remaining the same. How do the magicians at Apple keep cramming more goodies into smaller and smaller cases each year? Amazing. I'm gonna be really pissed if the 4th gen. Touch comes with lots of the new iPhone 4 features. I've only had my 3rd gen. for 8 months. Can't see getting a new one just 1 year on. My budget doesn't run to that, especially when I'm drooling in advance over the 2nd gen. iPad that will inevitably come out next spring.
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
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Sounds like somebody needs a bit of enabliing but don't look at me. I'm perfectly happy with my 3GS too. To be honest I've only loaded up 2 apps in the few months I've had it. Daytrotter, a great music site that I listen to all the time and Remote which I never use. iPhone just hasn't wormed its way into my heart that much though it's very cool. And here Steerpike promised that it would complete me...
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To be honest, it took me a few months to load more than the Kindle app once I got mine. Then, slowly but surely, I found interesting things like:
- electronically paying bills without having to get up and turn on my desktop;
- buying movie tickets without my desktop;
- shopping Amazon without the desktop;
- reminders of which bills are due when,
- several games;
- the notepad for grocery lists;
- google maps when I'm lost;
- booking hotel rooms from said hotel's parking lot;
- accessing lots of recipes in google docs when I'm in the grocery store...
you get the picture. It's insidious. [Image Can Not Be Found]
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I use my Iphone mainly for time-killing, which I have to do a lot of, texting, and music-listening. I am not much of a phone-talker.
Iphone fun: I highly recommend that Spider game that Steerpike reviewed a while back, Secrets of Bryce Manor(?). There's a great logic puzzle game called PathPix if that's your cuppa. A fun Square Enix JRPG called Chaos Rings. Mighty Mighty Good Games Sudoku. IMDB app. Fandango app. I have tons of stuff on my Iphone, but these are the most-used. (And Kindle, it goes without saying.) Also, B&N has an e-reader app that I have downloaded but have yet to use since I have oodles of books queued up for Kindle.
Netflix has announced an Iphone streaming app for sometime this summer.
(Netflix is insidious.)
I only wish it was possible to delete the built-in shit that I never use and hate the fact of being forced to have, like stocks and YouTube.
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That Netflix app is gonna be killer. I watched the entire final season of The Shield on my Touch and totally loved it - crisp, clear and I could hear everything.
I cannot do spiders, not even animated ones. ick. I didn't mention games 'cause that's a given. [Image Can Not Be Found]
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