No more iPhone

So I sold my iPhone today. I feel nostalgic already. I believe the iPhone was the best phone I’ve ever owned. It was my ipod, my phone, my calendar, my todo list, my web surfing on the toilet, it did it all. The “Jesus Phone”. How I will miss you.

The reason why I sold it was to wait for the 2nd generation iPhone 2. I can’t go on without ever having the newest thing so I made the jump for now. So I sold my phone for $330 bucks which is not bad. I only lost $10 bucks total since I’ve had it. Great deal for me and the buyer.

My predictions of 2008 Macworld Conference

My predictions of 2008 Macworld Conference:

Bypass those annoying voicemail greetings

Verizon or Cingular: press *
Sprint: press 1
T-Mobile: press #

Verizon Wireless: If you don’t opt out, we get to share your CPNI call data

By Ken Fisher | Published: October 14, 2007 – 11:38PM CT

Over the weekend, a small storm erupted over new legal language that Verizon Wireless is passing quietly on to its subscribers. It appears as though the cellular provider is changing its terms of service to give the company the right to share sensitive calling data with third parties.
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* Verizon says phone record disclosure is protected free speech

At issue is so-called Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) data. While CPNI data does not include explicit information identifying your name and address or your phone number, it does include data on the calls you make and receive, and the services that you may make use of. This includes information about the features of your phone and its capabilities. The data could easily be mined to see what kinds of businesses you call and how often.

Verizon Wireless has been contacting its customers via snail mail to inform them of their intent to share CPNI data with its “affiliates, agents and parent companies (including Vodafone) and their subsidiaries.” The company says that customers who do not want their CPNI data shared need to call 1-800-333-9956 to “opt-out.” Upon dialing the opt-out number, Verizon customers will be prompted for their phone number, billing ZIP code, and last four digits of their Social Security Numbers (in the case of businesses, their Employer ID numbers). Failure to opt-out will be interpreted by Verizon Wireless as “consent” to the company’s data-sharing practices.

Although the Federal Communications Commission has said that it is very concerned about the protection of CPNI data, and is exploring the possibility of strengthening its rules on the issue, Verizon’s opt-out notice appears to fulfill the Commission’s CPNI disclosure requirements.

The Skydeck company blog was the first to suggest that what Verizon wants to do here is use CPNI data to offer targeted advertising. For its part, Verizon Wireless only says that it hope to improve its “services,” but give no concrete examples of what such improvements would look like. Without a doubt, the notice given by the company is extremely vague. Skydeck has a scanned PDF copy available for your perusal.

Verizon Wireless may just be a first mover among other telcos. The race is on in the telecom industry to tap the well of advertising for mobile services, and this opt-out approach is guaranteed to give Verizon a lot of CPNI data to share, an undeniable treasure trove of information for marketers. We don’t envision Verizon selling this data to third parties, using it instead to build its own analytic advertising system to capitalize on the targeting in-house. The company isn’t likely to broadcast such plans until they are very close to fruition, however.

We will update this story when we hear back from Verizon about this new policy. In the meantime, if you’re a VZW customer and don’t want your CPNI data shared, you know the number to call.

[news via ars technica]

Mac vs. PC Cost Comparisons – a Fair Fight?

Here’s an interesting article I came across Mactit.com

By: Chris Kerins
Published: Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Categories: Before You Buy, Switching from Windows

Nothing gets the wingnuts more fired up than a good ol’ cost comparison between Macs and PCs. Many people use the price comparison as a way to validate their choice for what platform they are using as if somehow saving $109 will justify the all the time spent on this computer rather than that one.

Usually it starts in the comments of an article praising how comparatively cheap Macs are these days. A PC Troll will pipe in giving you a break down of a similar Dell for $300 less. Then the Mac Zealot will counter with how different the specs really are and when he goes to the Dell site, it’s actually $175 more. Cue the recent Dell buyer who claims he got his for $450 below the listed price by using the last Friday of the month special code. Then of course Linux Larry jumps in with how he built his Linux box from spare parts in Mom’s basement and only spent $17 for a new power supply and did it over a fun-filled three day weekend.

My eyes just glaze over when I see that pattern these days.

So what is the real deal with the cost of the Mac versus an equivalent PC these days? Well, the real issue is that the question can be framed so many ways, you can support both sides. Do you just compare the number on the receipt for the computer? What about including the cost of anti-spyware and virus software with subscriptions that PC buyers are advised to get? Or should you look at total cost of ownership (TCO) that includes the amount of downtime and professional support that might be required to keep your computer operational? How about resale value? Should you back number that out? You can see that even getting the right question can be quite a furball.

The easiest comparison is the most limited one which just takes into account the out-the-door price. The difficulties with this reside mostly in finding the right PC to compare to a Mac. Because there are only 14 stock Mac models and a bajillion PC models to pick from, you really need to start with the Mac and find the closest match for the PC from a top-tier manufacturer like HP, Sony, Dell or Lenovo. Framed this way, the Mac fluctuates from a little above to a little below the PC price in general. Yes, there are always special deals someone might know about to tip the balance, but as far as telling your Mom to go buy it on her own, this should hold up. See Mac vs. PC cost analysis revisited for detailed info.

What about what the Mac doesn’t do? PC supporters are usually quick to highlight that they can go get a $299 special Desktop with monitor and the Mac can’t touch that. This goes to the point that Apple just doesn’t play in certain markets.

So where does Apple just opt out? In desktops, they don’t have any stripped down black or beige boxes and they don’t have any mid-range models without integrated monitors. This keeps away the bargain hunters (for better) and the corporate enterprise market (for worse). In laptops, because Apple scales the screen size with features, they don’t have any low-end large screen models or high-end sub notebooks. They also don’t play in tablets, but that market has yet to prove significant enough to go after.

So where does that leave Apple? With a product line-up that’s as carefully designed as their products are. Simple choices usually consisting of Good, Better and Best, each separated by a few hundred dollars. Are they missing out on some markets? Yes, but they are either too small or too low in margin. Ask Dell how the last few years of selling to bargain hunters has worked out for the company.

What doesn’t the PC do that the Mac does? Well, first the obvious answer is, “run the Mac OS.” But this has varying value to different people. There are legitimate reasons to prefer one OS over the other. But the Mac can claim to be able to run both Windows and Mac OS (as well as Linux and Unix, which both can do).

Secondly, Windows doesn’t have an equivalent for iLife at any price. You can patch together many of the functions without the finesse, but there is no seamless package which gets you the iLife experience in Windows.

Lastly, there is Apple’s award-winning industrial design to contend with. It’s hard to put a dollar value to, but it’s clear that PC manufacturers have decided not reach for that market just like Apple has abandoned other markets. Even Sony has backed away from having top-tier product design. (I think Sony is happy these days just getting products and services to market that don’t blow-up in their face.)

So where does that leave the comparisons? When you can get an even comparison, you’ll find that sometimes the Mac comes out ahead and sometimes the PC comes out ahead. What that means to me is for the time being, price really isn’t the issue people seem to make it. Yes, Apple used to have significantly higher priced products, but especially since switching to Intel, they are in the same ballpark as the PC. After reading all the comparisons on the web that I have, I’m calling it a draw.

If you are honestly comparing using a PC versus using a Mac, a 10% price difference either way shouldn’t stop you from getting the computer that will really suit your needs. The other differences between the platforms should be much more compelling than the $109 savings you might get judging them solely on price.

Somehow, the price of each sometimes eclipses the value when discussing Macs and PCs. Maybe it’s because I make my living using a computer, but I’d venture to say that if you aren’t getting many multiples of the price in the value of your computer, you picked the wrong one.

Can we put this all behind us now?!

Original article can be found here.

Mozy

I know this is old but I just signed up for Mozy service and it gives you free 2gb to use as an online back up service. It’s available for both windows and mac. so check it out through my refferal link https://mozy.com/?ref=JUZ888

New macbook pro!!! I want it so bad. GAHH!!! Santa Rosa Chipset, 4gb Memory, and LED displays!! What more can I ask for?!?!?

8 Confessions Of A Former Verizon Sales Rep

A former Verizon sales rep, let’s call him Steve, wrote to us recently offering insider advice to all Consumerist readers. We were excited because by knowing how the sales force at Verizon are compensated, consumers can get an edge when haggling over a new phone. What? Haggling!? Over a phone!? Yes, even you can do it. Verizon Steve confesses all he knows, from the simple to the sublime…:

• Never get a 2-year contract. “The only benefit to a 2 yr contract is a $50 savings on your phone. Its not worth it. Take the $50 and get a 1 year then you can upgrade to a new phone every 10 months.”

• Verizon reps get tons of money from new lines and certain accessories and text packages, take advantage of this. They won’t let a new customer walk out the door. “Play hardball, they will do anything to get the new lines. VZW makes $ off the service, not the phones. Tell them you don’t want to mail in the rebate. There does come a point of diminishing returns. For example, if you walked in and wanted a $39 plan and a free Treo 700, not gonna happen. But I have given away almost every non-PDA phone in the store for the right deal. Also tell them you will buy the accessories, and text package. Trust me here, these are 2 of the biggest metrics for the reps. Return the accessories the next day and call customer care to cancel your text package.”

• Mention the lost or stolen program to get 25% off a new phone, even if you’re under contract. Who’s to say you didn’t lose it?

• If you’re on a rate plan of $59.99 or higher, you can get “a new phone (and new contract) for the discounted price after 12 months.”

• Insurance is a rip-off. It costs too much and has a $50 deductible.

• Tell them you’ll sign up for the Unlimited Data Plan with your Treo. “Speaking of Treos, often they offer an extra $100 off if you get the Unlimited data plan. Get it.. Save $100 and cancel it the next day if you don’t want it. The leverage here is amazing also because that high end data package counts as a new activation in a roundabout way for the rep. None of the data packages are contractual. I use to tell the customers this just to save them $.”

• Reps don’t get as much money if you’re still in a contract. If you upgrade on the phone with Verizon, the store reps won’t be as motivated to help you.

• Ask for a loyalty credit on the phone before going to the store. “One way to work the system if you have New Every 2 and are out of contract is to call customer care, have them put you back into contract, but ask for a loyalty credit (up to $60 off your next months bill), then go into the retail store and use your New Every 2. The two credits can’t be combined and that is the only way to get both. I’ve never seen this not work, although they could technically say that you already got a credit, but the system are not that informative and I have never seen that happen. Just make sure you know the contract rules for VZW in your state, and make sure you go to the store in time to cancel the new contract in case you cant use the NE2.”

via- http://www.consumerist.com/

PS3 is now out!!!

All I hear about on the internet and radio is about the new PS3. Well it’s finally out! On ebay their going for about $5000 bucks!! Don’t you regret NOT standing in line for the past week? haha.. check this ebay auction… went for $9100!!!

Who gets what in a 99 cents download?

Record companies tend to complain about downloads, particularly since most songs are still downloaded illegally. But when it comes to legal downloads, they get most of the cash.

Record companies keep about 72.5 cents on average for a 99 cent song, Dave Jaworski, CEO of PassAlong Networks, at the AlwaysOn Stanford Summit. PassAlong sets up online music services for other web sites. It has a big store on Ebay too.

The credit card company then gets a small slice. The rest goes to the people who sold the song. In PassAlong’s case, the company divides the remainder with the retailer.

Ever wonder what it’d be like shove a buncha things into a microwave? Click here. (youtube.com)

10 nasty money habits to kick. Click Here