As for the article/post… I agree completely. Especially the gadgets part. People are idiots. My friend sold his iPod for like 1/4 what he paid for it new just so he could buy the next generation iPod at full price. What do you get with the next gen iPod? AFAIK, the ability to tilt it and flip through albums and shake it to mix songs. Wow. No thanks.

Anywho, I agree that most of this stuff is a waste of money. Although that corkscrew we have is cool, we’d never spend our own money on one. It’s the equivalent of an electric can opener (though the electric can opener is even worse, b/c you have to waste counterspace for it!) :-)

The iPhone…well, I’m not the target demographic anyway — I just need my phone to be a phone. I do know the iPhone plan equals my wife and I’s combined plan.

The “rabbit” corkscrews are awesome. They just are. You must be really buying a crap one to keep breaking them.

I agree about the iphone, even though I’ve seriously been considering getting one. I did the research though, and to get a plan that compares to what I have now it would cost me $125 per month (incl taxes) which is just more than DOUBLE what I pay at T mobile for almost the exact plan minus internet access. They priced everything (messaging plan, talk plan, data plan – all of which have to be chosen separately) where you can’t get by with the cheapest option but the next cheapest option is way more expensive.

So it would cost me $720 more a year plus the $200 phone PLUS the phone cover (it will shatter if you drop it otherwise), charger and all the other crap you have to buy separately. So we’re talking over $1000 I could put in the bank vs have the iphone this year. I can’t justify it. Besides which everyone I know who has one is SO FREAKING ANNOYING because all they do all the time is look at their iphone. Do you really need to check your Facebook during a dinner out???

Something fun however that you might want to try is The Wall Street Survivor http://www.wallstreetsurvivor.com . This is a virtual stock exchange platform that is free and fun.

I’d almost say… anything that is cutting edge is too expensive for my life… I like to wait until a new version pops up, and buy the older version…

I think he only factored in the $30 price of the must purchase data plan in addition to the regular talk plan which most of us like to enjoy. $30 times 24 months = $720 plus the price of the phone $199 is still getting pretty close to $1k (not including tax and other fees). Sure it’s not $2k but it’s still a substantial sum of money many would prefer to go into an IRA than to Apple stockholders.

It depends on which one you get. We got the “celebrity” bed, as it was the most comfortable for my wife (she has arthritis, and the firmness, along the pillow top is perfect for her). It runs for ~$3700, or you can get a cheaper one for ~$1700 or a more expensive one (I know they’re all expensive). But they’re worth it, especially for my wife, as now she can actually sleep a full night w/out waking up due to pain from pressure points where she comes in contact w/the springs. I also appreciate it as I have a bad back, and it’s been good for me.

I’ve heard of it taking some people a few days to adjust to b/c it does feel different (my wife and I were comfy w/it the second night, my inlaws it took about a week).

One side note…where you’re at, if you get it during the winter, don’t expect it to be comfy the first night…it will be rock hard. My wife and I lived not too far from you and we bought it in the winter. It took it about a day to warm up, but after that, it was great.