I admit it, I am a total geek. I would imagine I am not alone in this, so I thought I would write an article aimed at those like me. Cool geek is how I refer to myself. I am a proud member of “Geeks are Sexy” (yes, they are) over at Facebook, and keep up to date with the Mashable App on my iPad.
I am, however, not a rich geek, and a pretty thrifty one as well. The iPad was a gift, and wifi, not 3g. I do not own an iPhone. In fact, I recently downgraded all the phones on my current “family plan” to newer flip phones (with qwertys of course) and got rid of all internet plans on them. Do I miss it? A little admittedly. However, I would much rather view the web on my larger iPad screen, then on this itty bitty phone screen, and, for free. My family plan bill dropped a whopping $80 dollars by doing it. I just couldn’t justify the $80 for our phones to have internet, and the additional $50 or so that goes to my cable company for home access.
I own a MAC. Yes, I put out a good sum to get it a couple of years ago, but the headaches and cost it has saved me in the long run is well worth every penny. Now I know that statement may have irritated a few PC users, and I’m sorry for that. I was a PC user for years, fearing the switch, but I jumped over anyway, and am so glad I did. I was a PC Technician for years, and the one thing a PC Tech will never tell the customer? “Get a Mac.” It would put us out of business!
I also own a Tivo Box and Wii, and am becoming a Netflix and Hulu streaming extraordinaire. Now, one might say that I am putting all this money out on those services (Tivo, Netflix) how can that make me a thrifty geek? Well, I cut my cable bill WAY down, only receiving, at the moment, cable’s basic service. I’m sure the cable company can’t be that happy with me. Eventually, I plan on going strictly antenna, and cutting the cable TV service all together. It’s just a matter of finding the time to re-wire the house. It’s on the agenda for 2011 however. Now if MagicJack would get number portability…. (prod prod poke poke)…
I just got so tired of every bill I get costing me around $200 a month. When did $200 a month become the norm?
Anyway, I digress. Let’s take a look at this week’s tech headlines:
iPhone coming to Verizon: I heard about this a few days ago, and the Verizon announcement has been made. The iPhone 4 will be exclusively offered for pre-order to current Verizon customers on Feb 3rd and Feb 10th for everyone else.
Now I have to say, if you are interested in getting the iPhone and paying the monthly price, it is well worth it to make the switch. One, it’s an iPhone, and they are, well, awesome. Second, it’s the Verizon Network. You will actually be able to use the “phone” part without dropping calls or losing signal. Nice huh?
Apple Launches the Mac App Store: Yep, now there is one for your Mac. It doesn’t sound like such a big deal since there are already app stores for all other Apple products it seems, but it actually is a big deal. Having an app store (for free and paid apps) will allow for more development, and more business opportunity for developers. Matter of fact, hopefully there will be a YakkityYaks app out there soon! Now, if they can get it together to offer it up to us old Leopard users…. As of now, it’s currently available to Snow Leopard users. I’m hoping they will remember we are out here soon.
Facebook NOT shutting down on March 15th. I repeat, Facebook is not shutting down on March 15th. I have heard the rumors, seen them spread like wildfire, especially on Facebook itself, and it’s just not true. Just days before, as a matter of fact, Facebook raised $500 Million in funding, so yeah, not shutting down.
Those are the big stories this week! I’m sure there are plenty more, but I have kept you long enough for now. Come check out our FORUMS and talk about the latest in all things tech!