The Tech Thread (was "Buying tech stuff online")

[ggould]

Anyone considering a new phone needs to this out:

AT&T iPhone* vs. Sprint Palm Pre vs. T-Mobile My Touch vs. Verizon Droid**

*keep in mind Google CEO Eric Schmidt sits on Apple's Board of Directors because...
**this is the just-released Motorola phone that is the first&only one available right now from any of the Big4 telecoms running Google's Android OS.  Android Market is now a direct competitor to iTunes Apps Store. iTunes apps has close to 100k, but Android already has 10k & will likely increase exponentially now that there's actually a phone & carrier connected to it.

My imho take:  The media hype is immediately geared toward Android/Verizon being an "iPhone Killer" but that's ridiculous.  No 'Disruptive Technology' has ever immediately killed the dominant incumbent, full stop.  It almost certainly kills off the 3rd & 4th players in that market unless they are supremely agile.  But the dominant incumbent (by virtue of their market dominance) only has to be moderately nimble to adjust and survive.  Granted history is filled with such examples, but does anyone think Apple realistically belongs in that category as long as Steve Jobs is alive?  So I think what this really is a Sprint killer, and a marginalizer of Palm (sorry Darryl!) & T-Mobile.  Apple is great, no question, but AT&T sucks compared to Verizon, so Google/Verizon will take a chunk out of Apple?AT&T's market share (but not revenue as that will grow faster than the market share loss).  Palm will never lose their (small) share of the market because of customer loyalty (unless they choke) ((you're wlecome Darryl!)), but any dreams they had of carving out chunks of market share at the expense of Apple can be forgotten. Furthermore, Sprint has made a massive commitment to WiMax becoming the 4G standard, and from what I hear in the tech world it will lose out to LTE. You don't really need to know what all this means, but one can find lots of info on all of this alphabet soup on Wiki.  However, since you are all my friends here, I would say that if you have a Sprint or T-Mobile contract, you should definitely consider swtitching when you can. 

If you hold Sprint stock, I would sell at the soonest possibility.  Same for any stock held in a GPS company, like Garmin or TomTom, which the Google Navigator app has just reduced to the margins of non-tech customers & rental car companies.

yes, I have an iPhone (original model; can't wait to get 3GS) and it's awesome what they've done, considering how heavily AT&T sucks.  Just imagine what would/will happen when/if Verizon is allowed to sell iPhone. I think the fight is for dominance in the Verizon market, which is huge, as long as Apple is hooked up with AT&T

[Alicat]

Anyone considering a new phone needs to this out:

AT&T iPhone* vs. Sprint Palm Pre vs. T-Mobile My Touch vs. Verizon Droid**

*keep in mind Google CEO Eric Schmidt sits on Apple's Board of Directors because...
**this is the just-released Motorola phone that is the first&only one available right now from any of the Big4 telecoms running Google's Android OS.  Android Market is now a direct competitor to iTunes Apps Store. iTunes apps has close to 100k, but Android already has 10k & will likely increase exponentially now that there's actually a phone & carrier connected to it.

My imho take:  The media hype is immediately geared toward Android/Verizon being an "iPhone Killer" but that's ridiculous.  No 'Disruptive Technology' has ever immediately killed the dominant incumbent, full stop.  It almost certainly kills off the 3rd & 4th players in that market unless they are supremely agile.  But the dominant incumbent (by virtue of their market dominance) only has to be moderately nimble to adjust and survive.  Granted history is filled with such examples, but does anyone think Apple realistically belongs in that category as long as Steve Jobs is alive?  So I think what this really is a Sprint killer, and a marginalizer of Palm (sorry Darryl!) & T-Mobile.  Apple is great, no question, but AT&T sucks compared to Verizon, so Google/Verizon will take a chunk out of Apple?AT&T's market share (but not revenue as that will grow faster than the market share loss).  Palm will never lose their (small) share of the market because of customer loyalty (unless they choke) ((you're wlecome Darryl!)), but any dreams they had of carving out chunks of market share at the expense of Apple can be forgotten. Furthermore, Sprint has made a massive commitment to WiMax becoming the 4G standard, and from what I hear in the tech world it will lose out to LTE. You don't really need to know what all this means, but one can find lots of info on all of this alphabet soup on Wiki.  However, since you are all my friends here, I would say that if you have a Sprint or T-Mobile contract, you should definitely consider swtitching when you can. 

If you hold Sprint stock, I would sell at the soonest possibility.  Same for any stock held in a GPS company, like Garmin or TomTom, which the Google Navigator app has just reduced to the margins of non-tech customers & rental car companies.

yes, I have an iPhone (original model; can't wait to get 3GS) and it's awesome what they've done, considering how heavily AT&T sucks.  Just imagine what would/will happen when/if Verizon is allowed to sell iPhone. I think the fight is for dominance in the Verizon market, which is huge, as long as Apple is hooked up with AT&T

You guys all know I'm working for Verizon now? Come to ME if you are leaving ATT or other for the Droid or just if you need to sign up for VZW service. I am commission based and need all the business I can get! The HTC Imagio is very iPhone-like and the Droid really does look amazing. I have been fooling around with it for a few days now and I'm getting formal training on Monday. Droid launches for sale on Friday. There are 2, the Moto Droid and the HTC Eris. Droid really seems to be a kick-ass smartphone. I have a feeling the iPhone won't get to Verizon because Apple wants a $$$ piece of all apps sold and Verizon doesn't bend over the way ATT did/does. Everyday I hear how people love the iPhone but hate the ATT network.

[mshray]

Barack Obama's State of the iPad address.

[ggould]

Colbert's bit with the iPad at the Grammy opening was pretty cool!

[Lightnin' Rod]

I finally took the leap and bought an I-Phone.  Pretty geeked about it.  Now I have to figure out how to get apps.  The golf course app looks pretty cool.  A golf buddy was showing me.

[ggould]

I finally took the leap and bought an I-Phone.  Pretty geeked about it.  Now I have to figure out how to get apps.  The golf course app looks pretty cool.  A golf buddy was showing me.

you'll find it pretty easy to add apps.

Keep me posted about the golf app.  I have avoided spending a dime so far on apps, but I'm sure some are worth the price.

[RGMike]

So now I'm finally able to burn CDs -- where do y'all buy good cheap blank CDs for burning?

BTW, I'm using Nemo to copy & burn (which came with my PC). Anyone else use it? If not, what apps do you use?

[mshray]

So now I'm finally able to burn CDs -- where do y'all buy good cheap blank CDs for burning?

BTW, I'm using Nemo to copy & burn (which came with my PC). Anyone else use it? If not, what apps do you use?

I've probably got 100 more blank CD's than I will ever use.  Want me to mail you a couple dozen?  Then again they are very cheap these days & you can buy them just about anywhere.

I don't do a lot of burning, but I mostly just use Windows Media Player for ripping, which I do a lot of.

[ggould]

So now I'm finally able to burn CDs -- where do y'all buy good cheap blank CDs for burning?

BTW, I'm using Nemo to copy & burn (which came with my PC). Anyone else use it? If not, what apps do you use?

costco.  Also blank DVD's

[urth]

So now I'm finally able to burn CDs -- where do y'all buy good cheap blank CDs for burning?

BTW, I'm using Nemo to copy & burn (which came with my PC). Anyone else use it? If not, what apps do you use?

costco.  Also blank DVD's

Don't buy TDK blank discs. They used to be trustworthy, but about 4 or 5 years ago their quality control went in the toilet and they started getting shoddy. I've got a number of discs I burned around that time that are faulty, and some of them are not able to be replaced. Never again.

I use Taiyo Yudens that I order online. Tape.com has 'em for $27 per 100 on a spindle.
http://www.tape.com/products/taiyo-yuden-cd-r.html

100 may sound like a lot of discs but you'd be surprised how fast you go thru them, particularly if you copy stuff for other people.

[ggould]

So now I'm finally able to burn CDs -- where do y'all buy good cheap blank CDs for burning?

BTW, I'm using Nemo to copy & burn (which came with my PC). Anyone else use it? If not, what apps do you use?

costco.  Also blank DVD's

Don't buy TDK blank discs. They used to be trustworthy, but about 4 or 5 years ago their quality control went in the toilet and they started getting shoddy. I've got a number of discs I burned around that time that are faulty, and some of them are not able to be replaced. Never again.

I use Taiyo Yudens that I order online. Tape.com has 'em for $27 per 100 on a spindle.
http://www.tape.com/products/taiyo-yuden-cd-r.html

100 may sound like a lot of discs but you'd be surprised how fast you go thru them, particularly if you copy stuff for other people.

I have no idea what kind of discs Costco sells.  I would take Urth's word on this over mine.  I don't do much disc burning.  I bought a stack of DVD blanks, and haven't opened them yet.

[urth]

Btw, Mike, I am guessing you meant "Nero" as your media burning application. That's what I use, too. It's fairly straightforward, easy to figure out. A couple of suggestions: Don't burn CDs faster than 8X. Any faster than that increases the chance of errors being transcribed. And if you're copying something linear like a live show, or, say, a 10@10 broadcast, remember to check the box that says "no 2-second gap between tracks"  (or words to that effect).

[RGMike]

Btw, Mike, I am guessing you meant "Nero" as your media burning application. That's what I use, too. It's fairly straightforward, easy to figure out. A couple of suggestions: Don't burn CDs faster than 8X. Any faster than that increases the chance of errors being transcribed. And if you're copying something linear like a live show, or, say, a 10@10 broadcast, remember to check the box that says "no 2-second gap between tracks"  (or words to that effect).

Thanks for the tip, and yes it's "Nero" not "Nemo". And I just now got the joke in that name -- Nero, Rome burns, CD burner... cute.

[SFGuy]

You want to buy online, supermediastore.com is a good place. I buy from them for DVD-R.

[Gazoo]

I buy Sony discs at Staples, where they're frequently on sale, and have always been satisfied.  (I use iTunes to burn.)