Money Saving Tech Tips & Philosophic Musings

A Guy’s Guide to Affordable Electronics for Your Man Cave--A Guest Post

2012-02-01T07:00:00.007-05:00

Every guy needs a place where he can go and just be a guy. No, work and the local pub don't count. You need a room in your own home that's just yours, with your things, and where you can do the things you like to do that maybe don't interest the rest of the family. You need a man cave. Or man room. Call it whatever you like, you need one.

No room can be called a man cave if it's just a TV, a recliner, and a table to hold your snacks. That's basically the living room. No, this room needs to be decked out with gadgets and electronics to indulge your senses and your hobbies. You could easily go into debt when outfitting your man cave, choosing the latest, most expensive electronics. But that's not necessary. You can create just as enjoyable an experience while adhering to a budget. Here's what you need, and how to get it without taking out a loan.

Television

With so many options to choose from, what TV to get will probably be the most difficult decision you make when outfitting your man cave. It's also the most important. The TV will be one of the focal points of the room. It's where you'll watch games, play games, watch movies, stream video, and maybe even surf the Internet if you hook it up and make it your monitor. With your budget in mind, you need to figure out what kind of television you want: plasma, LED or LCD; 1080p, 1080i, or 720p; stand or wall-mounted; plus every size from 19 to 65 inches, or more. The good thing is, there are TVs out there in every price range. The type of flat-screen TV you choose is going to depend on everything from where it will be located in the room and how much lighting is available, to concerns about power consumption and just personal preference.

The best, most basic piece of advice is, get the best TV you can afford, and buy at the right time. Look for sales and discounts, and consider buying from a big box store rather than a specialty electronics store where the prices will probably be inflated. The other advantage to doing that is general merchandise stores usually offer better discounts. For example, instead of Best Buy, check out Target, but look for Target coupon codes before you shop. Just don't tell your significant other you're so shopping-savvy.

Blu-ray

It's doubtful that at this point, you're not familiar with Blu-ray. But just in case you've been living in an actual cave, Blu-ray is to DVD what VHS was to Betamax. Blu-ray devices use a blue laser to read discs rather than the red one DVD players use. Because the blue laser has a shorter wavelength than a red laser, Blu-ray discs can store more information than DVDs.

Technical stuff aside, what you really need to know is, the picture generated by a Blu-ray disc is far superior to one from a DVD. Lines are sharper, colors are brighter, resolution is greater, and it makes the movie-watching experience much better and more enjoyable. There are Blu-ray players out there that go for more than $1,000. But we're talking affordable here. You can get a good Blu-ray player for under a hundred bucks, or a little more if you want bells and whistles. Just remember—if your man cave doesn't have a Blu-ray player, it's just a den.

Gaming System

Now, the ultimate man cave would probably have one of each of the main gaming consoles available—a Playstation 3, an Xbox 360, and a Nintendo Wii so you could choose what to play depending on what mood you were in. But if you're going to outfit your man cave and stick to your budget, you'll want to choose a favorite. You can always add a second or even a third later. Each console has its pros and cons, but there's an area where the PS3 and the Xbox clearly excel over the Wii—online gaming.

Having a man cave means you'll want to have friends over to hang out, watch manly movies, and yes, play video games. But you don't want other guys in your space too often. That's where online gaming comes in. You can embark on missions together, see each others' avatars on the screen, and communicate via headsets. This feature is available on all three consoles, but the Xbox and PS3 outdo the Wii, and between those two, the Xbox seems to outperform the PS3. The decision comes down to what games you want to play, and whether they're multi-platform-compatible or platform-specific. Another feature all the consoles share is the ability to stream video from services like Netflix, so no matter which one you choose, you'll have access to a ton of great content in addition to games. Opt for that, and you may be able to save money on premium cable channels.

Home Theater System

What is the point of having a flat-screen TV, a Blu-ray player, and a top-notch gaming system if you're just going to listen to everything through your TV's built-in speakers? If you go that route, you may as well just stick with a CRT, a VCR, and your old Atari and call it a day. Sure, television speakers have come a long way, and they don't have that tinny TV sound anymore. But they're still inferior compared to a home theater stereo system with surround sound.

Installing speakers around your man cave and trying to replicate theater sound can definitely be expensive, but it doesn't have to be. Home theater systems go for anywhere from 35 bucks to more than 3,000. You don't want to go the cheapest route because you do want quality, but you don't have to go broke, either. Look for a home theater system somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 to 300 dollars, from a good, reliable brand like Sony, Samsung, or Philips. That way, you'll know you're getting both quality and affordability. And by the way, the PS3 doubles as a Blu-ray player, so that may factor into your decision of what gaming console to buy because you can cover two man cave essentials with one purchase.

Universal Remote

And one remote to rule them all! Come on, you know you've made that reference before. Okay, maybe you didn't actually say it out loud, but you thought it. Ahem. Anyway, nothing will ruin the ambiance of your newly outfitted man cave more than a bunch of remotes lying around, getting lost in the couch cushions. You're not going to be able to replace your gaming controller—nor would you want to—but you can definitely consolidate the TV, Blu-ray, and home theater system remotes into one.

To really get the most out of your universal remote, you do want to spend a little more here than you normally would on a remote. You need something that's going to allow you to control three or more devices, with the ability to quickly and easily switch between them. Universal remotes with hybrid touchscreen interfaces seem to be the best for this. Even then, you can still get a high-quality remote for less than $100. Just be sure it's compatible with all your device brands.

When it comes to decorating your man cave, well, you're on your own there. You can go Mad Men with it, or make it a room no woman would want to set foot in, if that's your goal. Whether you go for comfort or style, as long as you have the right electronics, it won't really matter what you're sitting in when you use them.

Stephanie Larson is a freelance writer with diverse interests. When she is not writing, she enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her family.

This is a guest post, I do not recommend or endorse any of the links in the post. Thank You Stephanie for your interesting post and your awareness of the male psychic.

99 Cent Movies Through TIVO

2012-01-27T07:00:00.003-05:00

For those of you who have been doing this for years, read no further. For the rest of the world this was my first experience using Amazon movies through my TIVO. I have an non-HD TIVO. I will have it until it dies and then I will consider a replacement. Due to the non-HD aspect of my TIVO I have been less than thrilled with the playback of many of the things I have TIVOed. However being genetically predisposed to use things until they drop, I have been unable to replace my TIVO. So on this past Christmas holiday when my choices of viewing were limited to reruns both OnDemand and live or animated chipmunks, I tried the movie feature through my TIVO.

I discovered that the viewing quality was excellent. Downloaded movies, for whatever reason, are much better viewing quality that what I TIVO. An additional discovery was that I could watch a movie for $0.99. That is $2.00 cheaper than anything on my Comcast OnDemand menu. In addition, I wanted to watch the first Sherlock Holmes movie to decide whether to go to the theater to see the new one. Sherlock Holmes was not to be found on Comcast.

A minor caveat, you will want to set up the Amazon synch prior to watching your movie as they caution it may take up to 30 minutes to download a movie.

To wrap it up, I saw a movie I wanted to see in my time frame, I didn’t have to leave the comfort of my humble abode to battle unruly holiday mobs and it cost me $0.99.

How is that for a Money Saving Tech Tip?

Gillette ProGlide Styler

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

First this works really, really well so do not, I repeat do not use the trimmer without comb attachment unless you want a very, very tight cut. It isn’t shaving razor cut but it is Marine Corp tight. With that said, it works as advertised. I used it to trim my eyebrows, sideburns and shave. The shave was no better nor worse than my normal Gillette Fusion power razor, a nice shave but no better. The trimmer works very well as I now have serious whitewalls above my ears. I suggest the #2 comb as opposed to the no comb use.

I particularly like the ability to wash the hair out. That is a big deal since getting the hair out of even a razor can be problematic. This is a nice trimmer, I suspect it will be even nicer for the folks who have beards or mustaches. I couldn’t find a price on this anywhere so I don’t know if it is a good value but it is a good product.

Great Ways To Safeguard Against Life’s Not So Pleasant Surprises: A Guest Post

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

You never know what kind of challenges; hurdles and unexpected surprises that your life is going to come up with for you, and while there is nothing you can do about a lot of them, you can make things way easier on you and your family by being prepared.

You never know what kind of challenges, hurdles and unexpected surprises that your life is going to come up with for you, and while there is nothing you can do about a lot of them, you can make things way easier on you and your family by being prepared. Even just thinking about possible situations before hand can make a huge difference, though going a step further and getting some tools to help out if you need them, can mean a horrible situation all of a sudden is a lot less of a problem The following are some of the great ways that you can safeguard yourself against some of life’s not so pleasant surprises.

Income Protection Insurance

Having a serious health issue can be a traumatic experience, and often can come totally out of nowhere. So if you are unfortunate enough to have to take time off work to deal with a health concern, it’s a good idea to have a way to ensure that your income won’t just disappear once your few paid sick days are used up. Income Protection insurance is a great way to have you prepared for any hidden health hurdle that you may just have to deal with.

Travel Insurance

There is nothing better than finally having some time off work to relax and enjoy your holidays, though as unfair as it may seem, sometimes things don’t always work out, even on your special holiday. If you have the unpleasant surprise of being robbed, having travel plans ruined by poor weather or political disturbances, or you require health services, having travel insurance will ensure that you have all the back up you need to be able to deal with the situation and take whatever action necessary. Don’t go on any trip outside of your home country without good travel insurance.

Make A Will

The most unpleasant of surprises is obviously one that proves to be fatal. Make sure you have all your paperwork in order and a will made up just in case your number comes up sooner than you expected. Death isn’t something to be feared, it really is just another part of life, though make sure your death won’t create a nightmare for your family and get yourself a will made up while you have the time to do it properly.

A Panic Alarm

If you are an elderly person and live alone, a great way to be prepared for the unexpected and to give yourself some extra peace of mind is to get a panic alarm that you wear around your neck. This way if you have a fall, are attacked or have any other type of emergency you will be able to simply press the button and have someone come to your aid immediately.

Self Defense Skills

A great thing for every person to have is some basic self-defense skills. Hopefully you’ll never need to use them but if you have the unpleasant surprise of someone breaking into your home or attempting to attack you in a back alley, having skills enough to repel someone is a great thing to have. You shouldn’t need to do intensive training though you’ll be ready for just about anything armed with even just a couple of good self defense skills.

This is a guest post, I run them when I think they make sense for my blog. The links obviously benefit the linked companies. That is reasonable, they are writing a common sense article that has some value. I do not endorse any of the linked companies or products nor do I benefit in any manner except I have one less post to write.
Bill

Viewsonic VFA720W Digital Photo Frame

2012-01-15T11:38:00.000-05:00

Viewsonic VFA720W Digital Photo Frame

I am a fan of these little photo slide show frames. This one is a nice size and supports SD cards and USB. I’m a little disappointed in the resolution though. It isn’t as clear as the last one I had. It was priced nicely but it certainly isn’t as nice as the no name brand that I had last time. Frankly I didn't check out how poor the resolution was, so note that when you buy your next one. The control settings are not that easy to use either. Clumsy best describes them. Frankly I'm almost shocked as I have had plenty of Viewsonic monitors over the years (I sold them.) and this picture frame is a disappointment.

Brand: ViewSonic
Model: FA720w-50
Color: Black
Display Screen Size:7"
Resolution:480 x 234
Aspect Ratio:16:9
Format Card Reader Function: Yes
Memory Card Supported: SD/SDHC/MMC/MS
Image File Format: JPEG, BMP
Other:
Power Supply
Slideshow with transition effects
Interface:USB Port
Intuitive menu control LED back light Contemporary frame
Dimensions & Weight: 8.66" x 7.09" x 2.64"//0.95lbs

Another Super Free Service--Weebly

2012-01-11T07:00:00.001-05:00

Not long ago I wondered what value I was getting from my website. I don’t sell on it. I use it to inform people about my writing. $72/year was not exorbitant but besides having an email address that was to my website, what was I getting.

I pondered that and then Googled free websites and read reviews and read more reviews and then more reviews. I’m convinced that there is a positive, a negative and a neutral opinion on everything and it is on the web. I settled on Weebly. I haven’t found Google Adsense a revenue generator. If I had, I probably would not have chosen Weebly. The most frequent complaint I read about Weebly was that they take 50% of your Adsense revenue. Well, 50% of nothing is nothing so I wasn’t overly concerned about that.

They have a slick interface and idiot proof tools for creating and more importantly maintaining your website. It is easy to use, highly customizable and dismayingly more professional than the site that I had laboriously created myself using such antiquated tools as Pagemaker, Dreamweaver and WebPlus 4X. Not to mention software that I didn’t use long enough to remember its name.

So after a month, I am happy with what I created at Weebly…FOR FREE!

Free Tool For Your Web Site or Blog

2012-01-07T07:00:00.001-05:00

Stat Counter is a super tool that is FREE. I have used it for several years and after recently redesigning my website I added more Stat Counter buttons. This software allows you to track the number of visitors to your site or to individual pages. It provides you with a report you can set to arrive at your time specifications, i.e. weekly, monthly etc.

It does not track ip addresses or who is visiting just numbers. It is customizable and can even be invisible. You can set it to show count or just to show you are counting. The reports are invaluable when you want to determine traffic changes. A great tool and did I mention.. IT’s FREE!

www.statcounter.com

Great Monitor Deal 18.5" for $69, 3Year WarnT

2012-01-06T08:47:00.004-05:00

This deal is at New Egg, it is VGA only but it is a great deal if you need a very nice monitor at a very low price and the three year warranty is outstanding.
I have no financial connection to New Egg or Acer and I earn nothing for posting this, it is just a darn good deal that fits well with Money Saving Tech Tips!

Click Here

Acer America G185HAb

Model

Brand: Acer

Model: G185HAb

Cabinet Color: Black

Display

Screen Size: 18.5"

LED Backlight: No

Widescreen: Yes

Recommended Resolution: 1366 x 768

Viewing Angle: 160°(H) / 160°(V)

Pixel Pitch: 0.30mm

Display Colors: 16.7 Million

Brightness: 250 cd/m2

Contrast Ratio: 50000:1(ACM), 1000:1

Response Time: 5ms

Horizontal Refresh Rate: 30 - 80KHz

Vertical Refresh Rate: 55 - 75Hz

Connectivity

Connectors: D-Sub

DVI: No

HDMI: No

Power

Complies with: Energy Star

Power Supply: 100V-240V

Power Consumption: 15.5W (typ.)

Convenience

Regulatory Approvals: MPRII

Stand Adjustments: Tilt

Built-in TV Tuner: No

Built-in Speakers: No

HDCP Support: No

Features: VESA Wall Mounting: 100 x 100mm

Dimensions

Dimensions: 17.82" x 13.74" x 6.84"

Weight: 8.81 lbs.

Manufacturer Warranty

Parts: 3 years limited

Labor: 3 years limited

Fujifilm Finepix F505EXR

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

This may be my 7^th digital camera, I’m not sureanymore. It is as small as my lastcamera but with more features. I’m notsure what you couldn’t do as an amateur with this camera.

It fits into a front pocket on my jeans which is good sinceI will not hesitate to take it with me. The shutter lag I have had in many of my digital cameras does not existin this camera. If you have activegrandchildren, that is huge. I took avideo of my one grandson playing the piano in very low light conditions. The video was more than adequate. I am not impressed with the microphonethough. If you are looking for goodsound quality in your video, this isn’t your first choice.

The self timer is self evident and works well. I particularly like the burst feature, againthe active grandkids. This helps get agood photo when they are moving. Thered eye does not seem to screw up the shutter speed which I noticed in one ofmy past cameras. Red eye removal workswell.

It took 1 hour and 50 minutes to charge the battery. That is the bad news. The good news is that I have taken a boatloadof photos and video and the battery is still going strong. I have long avoided cameras that used proprietarybatteries due to the expense of a backup battery. I have always tried to have cameras thatused AA batteries. This battery maychange my mind due to it’s apparent staying power.

My photos have turned out as I expected and I am pleasedwith the camera. This would be a goodchoice if you are looking for a pocket size, full featured 16megapixel digitalcamera. I think it would make aterrific stocking stuffer!

SpecsHere
I was provided this camera for review purposes.

Epson EX5210 MultiMedia Projector

2011-12-30T14:16:00.001-05:00

It is probably overstating that I am in love but this is onesweet projector. I pulled it out of thebox, read the quick start guide and in a matter of minutes had my laptop screenup to big screen size! Not only thatbut within that initial 15 minutes I had YouTube videos running on my wall, ina very well light (sunlight bright) room. Within the first 30 minutes I was running Ice Age and feeling prettydarn chipper about the ease of use of this very portable projector.

I’m retired so I don’t need this for business. I will use it for presentations now andagain but I am more excited about using it as a big screen TV on the occasionalshore trip where there are just little tube type TVs. I’m also looking forward to running anoutside film fest for the grandkids on the side of the house.

The sound is adequate on the projector but you probably willwant to put something beefier on the source to give you better sound. The on screen menu and source selection wasself evident and easy to use. Focus andorientation were also a piece of cake. Is it clear I really liked this little fellow? Admittedly I haven’t played with one latelybut his puppy beats the bejabbers out of the ones I have used previously. Clarity is amazing on a flat white wall, Ihave to assume a screen would be even better.

It comes with a nice padded case. My only suggestion would be to have anotherpocket on the case for the cables. Itcame with VGA and USB, I added to it an SVHS and component, with the powercable you have a bunch of wire, an extra pocket on the case would behandy. If you are actually traveling with this, I’msure you have a spare pocket on your laptop case for the projector cables.

To summarize, this was extremely easy to setup and getworking in a astoundingly short time. Iam really going to enjoy using it.

Specscan be found here.

I was provided this projector for review.

Backups Revisited

2011-12-26T21:40:00.000-05:00

I’m an ex-computer geek, I can’t help myself but mygrandson’s computer crapped out recently and he was devastated. As much as I preach backup he had nobackup.

Then I got an email from a fellow blogger who said she hadlost over 30 unpublished posts when her hard drive died.

So in spite of obvious redundancies I am going to repeatmyself.

I I hate losing stuff. I use a bunch of different ways to back up but here are a couple ofideas besides having multiple computers and hard drives.

2nd copy at http://www.centered.com/ is a inexpensive backup type software thatyou can tell to just copy stuff on a schedule. Like every night. It is easy touse and inexpensive.

Thumb drives are now down to about a $1.00 a gb and a 8gbthumb drive will save a lot of posts. (Amazon had a 16gb flash drive for $17.72 and free supersaver shipping.)

Online or cloud storage is available for free. 50gb at http://www.adrive.com/ This is also good for archiving things youdon’t want to lose. DropBox is anotherplace to off site backup.

If you are worried about putting stuff in the cloud forstorage, http://www.axantum.com/axcrypt/is a free encryption program that is easy to use.

Google and Microsoft have 2gb of free online storage too.

I’m bald already but if you hope to avoid pulling out allyour hair, some type of backup strategy MUST be implemented.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T18:56:00.000-05:00

May all your wishes come true this holiday season!
Merry Christmas!

Case Logic ECC-101 Point and Shoot Camera Case (Black)

2011-12-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

This precisely sized case protects your point and shoot camera inside and out with a ribbed exterior and scratch-resistant interior. Features: Fits most popular point and shoot cameras / Durable molded EVA exterior protects your camera / Compact design allows this case to fit easily into any bag / Soft, nylex-lined interior protects LCD screen from scratches / Internal mesh pocket for an SD card or cable / Two zipper pulls and elastic side gussets eliminate fumbling when accessing the camera / Removable lanyard included for an additional carry option

External Dimensions: 3.4 x 1.3 x 5" / Internal Dimensions: 2.3 x .9 x 3.8"

This is a sweet little camera case. It has a pocket for the camera and a second pocket that can hold the USB cable or a spare set batteries or SD card. I like the semi-hard shell as well. It seems like it should provide excellent protection for the camera. I was provided this case at no charge for review purposes. Please know that if it was crapola I would say so.

Sapphire Radeon HD5450 Video Card

2011-12-18T11:46:00.005-05:00

First off, if you are a gamer I did not test this with any games. I got it to keep my on board video card from grabbing RAM from my base memory. That feature seems to work just fine. This is a very good video card for the price. The onboard 1gb off DDR3 memory just astounds me. Keep in mind that my computer roots go back to computers that had 64k of memory, let alone video cards with 1gb of RAM.

It does include the low profile bracket.

SAPPHIRE

Model

100292DDR3L

Form Factor

Low Profile Ready

Low Profile Bracket Included

Yes

Interface

PCI Express 2.1 x16

Chipset

Chipset Manufacturer

ATI

GPU

Radeon HD 5450

Core Clock

650MHz

Stream Processors

80 Stream Processing Units

Memory

Effective Memory Clock

1600MHz

Memory Size

1GB

Memory Interface

64-bit

Memory Type

DDR3

3D API

DirectX

DirectX 11

OpenGL

OpenGL 3.2

Ports

HDMI

1 x HDMI

D-SUB

1 x D-SUB

DVI

1 x DVI

General

Cooler

Fanless

Dual-Link DVI Supported

Yes

HDCP Ready

Yes

Manufacturer Warranty

Parts

2 years limited

Labor

2 years limited

House Party Money Saving Tips for Christmas and New Years (A Guest Post)

2011-12-14T07:00:00.002-05:00

Planning ahead for the end of year parties is the key to saving money. Marquee hire and event hire companies are going to be busy. If you don’t have patios, pergolas or carports to use as your staging ground, you had better get on with booking now! Here are some more tips to saving money and party like a Rock star this year

If you live in the Southern Hemisphere or near the equator, now is the time to start partying! The warmer months are now. Here in Colombia, there is an excuse for a ‘fiesta’ everywhere. Australian’s love to drink beer, and party the day and night away this time of the year. If you are lucky enough to have access to patios or pergolas for a backyard party, now is your time to get cracking. If you are stuck in the Northern Hemisphere, you should still make plans for house parties. It is the silly season after all.

· What you need out the back. Out-door structures, carports and any other part of your home with some cover, make the best place to set up your bar and food serving stations. If you are in the cold, don’t let it stop you. Why not go with marquee hire? There are models that come with a central heater, and you will have the warmest party in town. If you are hiring, see if you can do a deal to keep that party tent for a week or more. It is a busy time for event hire companies everywhere, so now is the time to start organising! You can do both Christmas and New Year, and all the days in between.

· Brew your own. Not everyone is obsessed with beer, but let’s face it, there will be a lot of consumption in most places around the world. Have you thought about preparing your own special brews for that week of fun and silliness? Home brewing can save you a lot of money. Add fruity flavours to your brews so that everyone can drink what you create.

· Entertainment. Lots of people think they need to set up some expensive sound system to keep the guests entertained. There are plenty more ways you can do it. Have you thought about games and contests that will keep everyone occupied? Social games can get hilarious. Why not do something different to just playing music and letting everyone chatter away? Keep them active!

· Gift giving. Gift giving and sharing can get hectic. An excellent way to create more fun, and have something that will keep everyone very entertained is to make a lucky dip. Everyone should bring one present per person. This way, you will have enough gifts for everyone. Run your lucky dip and make it a focus of your entertainment. A microphone, and something of stage for focus, will help to set the stage for laughter. Everyone will be bartering and bargaining after all prizes are dished out anyway.

· Everything else. Cleaning up can be costly. It is worth looking at what you can buy in bulk, use to eat and drink, and ultimately, throw it away. There are plenty of eco-friendly serving options available on the market, and because this is the time of year they are all competing for your business, prices are as good as they will get. Don’t forget to shop online. That way, you can get it all delivered. The other way to use online shopping is to push the price down on your traditional retailer. Show them the price you can get online with your smartphone

Invite your neighbours so you won’t have trouble with the police. At least give them a warning, and don’t forget to walk around the street. It is not only the houses left and right of you.

This is a guest post by a company called Article Exchange. They write articles that have links within advertising their clients. I accept the articles as long as the links appear to be legitimate businesses. I am not endorsing the businesses or recommending them.

Marcy Recumbent Mag Cycle ME709

2011-12-09T11:35:00.002-05:00

In an effort to maintain some semblance of health once it is too cold to swim, I ride an exercise bike. My old upright bike was beating up my knees. I got this bike after discussing my concerns with two of my bridge playing doc friends.

The bike needs assembly when it arrives. That was not arduous but it was not a 5 minute job either. The instructions were clear and amazingly enough all the parts were there. The bike adjusts easily after assembly.

The computer on mine was not working correctly and I called customer service at Marcy. Imagine my surprise when I got a delightful young woman who seemed genuinely glad to get my call and to provide me with superior customer service. She was eager to help and promised a new computer would be on the way that day. I told her that I was truly impressed with how easy it was to rectify my problem and how happy I was with my service. I got the new computer in less than a week from the west coast and over a holiday! Totally impressive!

If you are considering an exercise bike this one works well for me but in my opinion, even more importantly, it is imperative then we all support companies that offer exceptional customer support.

Making Money From Books Online: A Guest Post

2011-12-05T07:00:00.002-05:00

Saving money is one thing, making it is the other side of the same coin. Here is my top tip for making a little money from home, and maybe saving some too. It is something I have tried myself, as a young mum struggling to make ends meet, and found it worked. My friends have made money this way too, so pass the advice on to any hard up young graduates you know. It is surprising how few of them realize what an asset they have on their bookshelves. They might not make a million, but it may just keep the wolf from the door, and at the same time be helping out other students who may be struggling financially too.

It may seem obvious advice, but it is surprising how few people take advantage of the superb system Amazon have for selling second-hand books. It really is simplicity itself, and there is none of the time-consuming photographing, description and uploading work to be done, as on ebay. I found that the books that could be sold for the most were academic textbooks. Since I had finished my college courses I had piles of books from my studies just cluttering up the shelves. Some were close to my heart, but others I was quite happy to pass on to another student. Luckily I am not a book scribbler, so they were in good condition. Since academic books can cost $60 or sometimes much more, buying one for a third of that is a great option for hard-up students.

Making an account

Setting up a seller account is simple, as it is just tagged onto your buyers account. The interface is really clear too. Simply search for the book you want to sell, click on the ‘Sell one like this’ link, and follow the simple instructions from there. You are asked to describe the condition of the book, and I suggest you be honest here to avoid complaint. Students don’t seem to mind ‘some pencil marks’ or ‘in reasonable used condition’. You decide on the price, so assess how much others are selling for, how widely used the text book may be, and set your price at a level that is right for you. I needed money quickly, so tended to simply undercut everyone else, gaining the ‘Low Price’ label for my book, which gives a psychological advantage for those wanting a quick sale.

One thing I particularly liked about the Amazon book selling option is the fact that they contribute towards the postage of the item, which can be a big proportion of the price you get otherwise. The rate is not at all bad either, although it is different in each country, obviously. One pitfall is when you have very heavy book, so just be careful not to advertise a book which will cost you $8 to post, if you only get $4 for postage, unless the price is sufficiently high for it not to matter. If it’s a slim paperback you can actually make money on the postage!

Fiction - a penny a piece

Fiction books are not really worth selling on Amazon, as there is virtually no money to be made. Commercial sellers will advertise the book for one cent to get the sale and make money on the postage, and probably post out in bulk with a business rate. It is seldom worth selling your ordinary fiction books, which will actually fetch a better price (if any) on Ebay. If you go down this route it is best to fix a price for a book rather that put it onto an Ebay auction. Ebay favours more unusual and niche books, although you can sell these on Amazon too by taking and submitting a picture. Collectors will hunt it out either way, and I managed to sell a rare wartime Denis Wheatley book this way to a collector, for around $50. I have no idea it was worth a cent, but took some advice, on a hunch, and worked out a guide price.

Payments from Amazon have always been quick, and they take a comparatively small amount of the sale price in my experience. Once you have listed your title it is like fishing. You just wait. I used to package up my books in advance if I knew they would sell, to save time when the email arrived telling me to post out. It’s great to post within two days if at all possible, so that you get a good rating from your buyer.

Easier than it sounds

And that is all there is to it. It’s simple and effective, and you will not only be recycling, but helping out poorer students too, whilst helping yourself – because everyone needs a helping hand from time to time. I passed this tip on to a friend recently, who rang me to say he had earned over $600 in two months just selling his old university college books, which is why I thought I would write about it here. He was thrilled, and it helped him out of a financial hole. So why not pass the tip on to your kids and their friends, and start checking out your bookshelves today.

Izzy Woods is a freelance writer and self confessed bookworm. She writes for online publications including a 0 credit cards specialist, but can otherwise be found knee-deep in a meaty hardback.

Save Money On A Great E-Book!

2011-12-03T15:57:00.001-05:00

Win-Win Christmas Gift

Whit Gentry wrote an excellent psycho thriller. I reviewed it on Pick of the Literate. This fall Whit’s grandson died suddenly. As a grandparent I can not imagine the pain that ensued from that sad event.

Whit has put his book on Smashwords.com which is a website that presents Ebook formats that can be downloaded to all ebook readers, PCs, laptops, and Ipads. Smashwords is a user friendly web-site, they will not be contacting you to buy items. He put the price of his book in ebook format at $0.99 (less than a dollar).

Whatever sales yield between now and Christmas will be donated to St Jude in the name of his grandson Cager Neal Gentry. He will post the money order that he will send to St Jude's for all to see what was achieved.

If you're interested, this will take you to the purchase page -- www.smashwords.com/books/view/109205

I am posting this wherever I can to promote both Whit’s excellent book but also to help honor the memory of his grandson.

Whit is one of the good guys which proves that adage that sometimes bad things happen to good people. Rather than bitterness he is trying to help other families and their children through his donation to St. Judes.

It’s less than a buck, do what you can!

Please pass this along if you are so moved. I certainly was.

Bill

Assassin's Creed Revelations Best Price 12/2/11

2011-12-02T20:20:00.004-05:00

Just a heads up for you XBox fans, New Egg has it for $49.99 including shipping. They are the least expensive I have found anywhere that is known to be legitimate. There are some sites that have it for less but they got slammed on reviews. Best Buy was advertising it but only as a loss leader to get you into the stores, they would not ship it. Some how it escapes them that many of us won't be caught dead fighting the holiday crowds. If I can't buy it locally, I'm certainly not getting into my car to drive to some big entity that has no interest in customer service.

I was not impressed with Cyber Monday. I noticed that several things I had looked at the previous week were actually more expensive on Cyber Monday. Ahhh the adage buyer beware holds true now and forever!

Custom T-Shirts from ooshirts Reviewed

2011-12-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

I got an email from a custom T-shirt company recently. Company name is ooshirts. I had never heard of them and was truly surprised they heard of me. They asked if I would be willing to review their T-shirts. I told them that was pretty tough considering I had never seen one of their shirts. They then asked if they sent me a couple of shirts would I review them. I cautioned them that “I calls them as I sees them”. I was assured that they wanted an honest and objective review. I agreed to do it.

I went to their site and designed a shirt. I got the shirt promptly and was quite pleased with the quality. I washed one a couple of times to see how the design would hold up after repeated washings. The design was crisp and bright after washing. The 2xx was a real double x, both longer and taller. I get grumpy when clothiers dictate that 2xx is just wider not taller. Frankly I am way taller than I am wide. The quality was good, the service was good and the shirt looks good so I am more than satisfied. So ooshirts, your strategy was solid, you garnered a future customer and I really like the shirts you sent me. Thanks!

Win a copy of Antiquitas Lost: The Last of the Shamalans

2011-11-29T20:36:00.001-05:00

Starting December 3rd

Win a copy of Antiquitas Lost: The Last of the Shamalans a rollicking fantasy. Authored by Robert Louis Smith M.D., MSc by entering at Azure Dwarf on December 3rd or on the Interview with the Author that will be posted at Azure Dwarf on December 6th. The Contest runs from Dec. 3 to Dec. 10 and shipping has been restricted to the U.S. or Canada.

Online Shopping Frustrations

2011-11-28T10:50:00.002-05:00

One of my pet peeves is the hidden costs of shipping. I’m guessing that the retailers hope you will ignore the cost of shipping once you get to checkout. I just was on the Walmart site and was going to buy something that seemed to be aggressively priced. It had free shipping to the store. If I wanted to go to the store I would not have been shopping on line. Duhh!

It would not give me the price with shipping until I went through the checkout procedures. Guess what! Not worth my trouble when I think they are playing head games. Give me the full price before I have to put in my credit card not after! Lost sale due to annoyance!

You would think these guys would learn by now that annoyance probably costs them far more sales than sneaking in the shipping costs at the end earn them in sales.

Grinch me not!

10 iPad Aps on Finances--Guest post

2011-11-24T11:08:00.002-05:00

This post is a repost from bestonlinecolleges.com. and is just a brief summary. Click on the link to get the real skinny on the 10 apps they have researched. Thanks to Rose King from bestonlinecolleges.com for the link and post. This is not an endorsement of their services or products just a repost of an interesting post.

So much of our time is spent using a device to keep us connected to the world, so why not use these gadgets to manage our money as well? The iPad's portability and user-friendly features make it the perfect tool for managing your cash flow and accomplishing your financial goals in one convenient place. All you have to do next is load up on a handful of reliable financial apps, and you've got yourself a portable and personal financial adviser. Get your money in check with these 10 iPad apps.

1. Mint.com

2. Shoeboxed Receipt Tracker and Reader

3. Pageonce

4. powerOne Financial Calculator

5. Ace Budget

6. ATM Hunter

7. Loan Shark

8. MoneyWell

9. iCompta

10. PayPal

AmazonBasics 8 GB microSDHC Class 10 Flash Memory Card with SD Adapter

2011-11-20T14:43:00.000-05:00

First of all I love the form factor of the microSDHC memory cards. It goes into so many things. I have converters to make it into a standard SD memory card or a USB drive. So the form factor gives it great versatility.

This specific card was appreciably faster than one that was two years old. Sadly I have no specs on the 2 year old one. I did a relatively unscientific but practical test of the cards speed. I copied a 10gb file from my hard drive to the new AmazonBasics card and it showed up in substantially less than a second. I copied the same file on my 2 year old card and it took 4.5 seconds. So from a layman’s point of view this card is seriously faster.

I liked it.

I was provided this card at no charge for testing and review.

Sharable 1TB Hard Drive, LG’s Super-Multi NAS N1A1

2011-11-16T07:00:00.001-05:00

This drive set up beautifully. No issues, three different users on three different computers accessing the drive through a wireless router. It was $89.99 with free shipping from Buy.com. The following is copied directly from their site. The accolades above are due to a product that set up easily out of the box with no calls to tech support necessary.

With smart phones and tablet PCs becoming essential tools for business, healthcare and education, LG’s Super-Multi NAS N1A1 is able to stream information and media directly to portable devices. Open up new possibilities of distributing information to clients, doctors, patients and students. The LG NAS lets you go beyond the storage limitations of handheld devices and gain access to videos, music and presentations via the internet. Whether streaming video seminars to students or sharing medical information with patients, the LG NAS delivers a new level of interactivity.

Features:

Access Data or Stream Media via the Internet

1 Terabyte Storage

Gigabit Ethernet Support (10/100/1000)

USB 2.0 ports for freedom to add additional drives

Remote Access/Multiple User Access

Network Print Server Support

Built-in FTP Server Functionality

Active Directory Support

Auto Sync. Back Up Support

iTunes® Music Server Support

One Touch USB/Memory Copy & Synchronized Backup

Journaled File System

Processor Marvell 88F6281 1.0GHz

Memory 128MB

Speed (Read/Write) Read: 60MB/s

Write: 40MB/s

HDD Capacity 1TB * 1 (3.5", 7,200rpm)

Manufacturer Hitachi®

RPM 7200

Buffer 8MB / 16MB

Size 3.5”

File Sharing Protocol CIFS/SMB

Network Services DHCP

Management HTTP/HTTPs, FTP/FTPs

Time Syncronization NTP