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Computer Downsizing – The future is TINY… But limitless

Game Changing

All too often we hear the word “game changer” as if it’s something so revolutionary we’re all left in awe. As if we’re supposed to then get down on our knees to worship at the feet of the developers behind it. This happens pretty often in the tech world. We’re left scratching our heads. On one hand they may actually be useful. On the other hand we have no idea how we could add it into our busy lives.

Let’s introduce you to the concept of the future.

Computer Downsizing, it’s here, it’s real, and you can’t do anything about it.

WiFi

Smart Devices have become a thing lately. With the hype of the Apple Watch being downgraded to merely giving such a wearer a cursory glance. We only recently gave these wearables permission to join our little family of scattered devices laying around our homes. Everything needs to be charged, everything needs to be synced, everything needs WiFi

So what do we need to have that we don’t already have?

That’s always going to be up to you to decide. Just don’t bring up Google Glass–trust us, they don’t–some say it was ahead of its time, others say there was never a time.

Our list of downsizing is remarkable. There are so many variants of mobility today that it’s become difficult to keep track of them. Many made the list, many didn’t. If only we had the time and space to bring them under the limelight, sigh.

When we think computer we think of desktop PCs. We’d bet many of you reading this right now have used Windows 3.1 for word processing. We agree, learning how to navigate through MS-DOS was a pain but Command line was a useful foundation to learn.

What we have here is the ASUS VivoPC.

There are several models to choose that don’t get above 190mm by length or width. They come with mandatory Solid State Drives, which is a great thing because if you read our earlier post on SSDs you’ll understand why! They all have HDMI outputs, two audio jacks, an onboard LAN, WiFi, bluetooth, and expandable RAM up to 16 GB. The CPU isn’t too shabby either. They’ve managed to cram in an Intel Celeron 2957U @ 1.40 GHz at the lower end and an Intel Core i5-4210U @ 1.7 GHz at the higher end. The GPU performance is standard with an integrated Intel HD graphics card. The exeception would be the VM62N; it has an Nvidia GeForce 820M.

All are upgradable to Windows 10. If you wanted Windows 7 we assume it wouldn’t be hard to install it provided you knew how.

Ultrabooks

Ultrabooks, the main competitor for the Macbook Air are out this year with a vengeance. We have the Lenovo LaVie Z. Touted as “the lightest ultrabook in the world.” At 1.87 lb, it packs a 2.40 GHz Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD integrated graphics 5500, 8GB RAM, 2k screen, and 256 GB SSD! As you might expect, having to cram all of those things into something less than a foot long is an expensive process. Accept that none of the ultrabooks on the market now are that affordable.

Ultraportable Laptops

As far as Ultraportable Laptops go, Apple has always been the go-to for those with the means and a lifestyle that would rather have something that just works right out of the box. It is a bit long in the tooth but being last years model, it’s better priced. The 2015 Macbook sports a 12-inch 1440p screen, 1.1GHz Core M processor, 8GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz, and an Intel HD integrated graphics card. The base model comes with a 256 SSD and of course everything gets tied together in OSX 10.10.2 Yosemite.

All contents © IDG, except when © Mac Publishing LLC.

We’ve looked at the witchcraft that is the ASUS VivoPC, ultrabooks, ultraportable laptops, what’s next?

Desktop PCs.

How small can we get?

Pretty small

The smallest of the bunch seems to be the Intel Compute Stick. It sells for $99.99 on Amazon in early 2015 and has since been surpassed by the Cherry Trail Atom at $154.64. Lenovo and ASUS have also made the jump to stuffing functional OS’s into something the size of a flash drive.

NUC

The next step up might be the NUC class. According to Computer Shopper, NUC stands for “Next Unit of Computing.” This initiative is being led by Intel as a catalyst for developing very small Windows-based desktop PCs using mobile processors. The HP Pavilion Mini is one such example. The best part? It affixes to the back of your LCD monitor.

This then brings us to another huge question…

What about Raspberry Pi?

Raspberry Pi seems like something everyone has heard at some point but since it wasn’t much more than a PCM board with a few connectors it sort of just slipped under the radar. Going to RaspberryPi.org we found a lot of help with our definition of just what exactly this thing was.

The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. It is a capable little device that enables people of all ages to explore computing, and to learn how to program in languages like Scratch and Python. It’s capable of doing everything you’d expect a desktop computer to do, from browsing the internet and playing high-definition video, to making spreadsheets, word-processing, and playing games.

It’s basically whatever you choose to make it.

We still don’t understand it. Rather than try to explain it, it’s best you just watch this video.

Smartwatches and more.

We own a Moto 360, and while we often forget to charge it overnight it’s made sure we’re on top of things at all times. Especially when we really don’t feel like pulling our phone out. In our model we get the ability to look through messages, browse the web, watch videos (with bluetooth headphones), send text messages through voice, and answer calls with a swipe across your watch. They feature interchangeable digital faces as well. The hot watch this year is going to be the Moto Sport 360 running the newest edition of Android Wear.

Unmentionables

There are quite a few mentionables such as Athena which is supposed to track and protect women via an alarm and GPS alerts, super small earpiece devices coined “hearables”, YouTube 360 taking advantage of the VR movement, “invisibles” or “tech tattoos” designed to do… something, wearable payments embedded in bracelets, and wearables marketed directly to fashion conscious women.

Virtual Reality

The idea of Virtual Reality has been around for a long time. If you can remember “The Lawnmower Man” in the 90’s and it’s successors, “Virtuosity,” and “Arcade” then you know what we mean when we say things have come a lo-o-o-o-o-ng way.

The Lawnmower Man (1992)

Virtuosity (1995)

Arcade (1993)

Oculus Rift and its little brother Gear VR by Samsung take readings from motion sensors embedded in the headset to determine how you’re interacting with the virtual environment. Controls in the Samsung Gear VR rest on the side of the device and you choose by either using a small set of buttons for directions or you make choices while looking at virtual menu boards in the viewfinder–or whatever’s in front of your eyes because you do forget you’re looking through goggles pretty often.

The Oculus Rift is a little different in that it uses dedicated control pads–either an Xbox controller or the proprietary controllers dubbed “Oculus Touch.” The requirements of Gear VR are as simple as owning one of the Galaxy S6 & S7 line of phones or the Galaxy Note 5 & 6. Requirements of the Rift are a more demanding. You’re going to need a PC that runs $400.00 GPUs or better. That means you need to have at least an r9 290x. If you’re on team green make that a least an Nvidia GTX 970.

CPU power start at an Intel i5-4590 or AMD equivalent and 8GB of RAM. Don’t think you can skimp on your OS either. You’re going to need a 64-bit system; Windows 7 and onward.

Why does all this matter to me?

It matters because “all this” has become embodied and now resides in our daily lives. Smart homes are no longer a dream of science fiction, nor are concepts like smart clothing for athletes. Despite many failures--Google Glass, Blackberry Playbook, Nokia N-Gage–we’ve come to terms with the idea that these tiny devices are going to continue to be a big part of our lives. We have smart TVs, RF microchipped pets, and kitchen appliances that tell you when you need to toss bad food. Then there’s that thing you carry around in your pocket, a supercomputer that you might only use for Facebook.

We know… we know

Yes we’ve left some out. Fitbit, Garmin, GPS Navi systems, cars with smart networking features by Toyota, NFC powered phones, wireless printing, and the like. Did we really need to tell you that they exist? We all use these devices never thinking twice about it. The Internet has in all respects, truly come alive. It’s right here in our living rooms, our garages, our workplaces, perhaps even in our bedrooms…smart “toys” anyone?

The future is both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

There’s no other time I’d rather be alive.

Mar 31, 2016 0 comment

Featured Smartphones

Samsung Galaxy S7 Can you really afford it?

written by Elias Stevens

Samsung Galaxy S7… Can I really afford this thing?

We’ve heard so much on the Samsung Galaxy S7 this year and we don’t feel there’s going to be any change from that trend. It’s been billed as one of the best phones ever developed by several individuals who review these devices for a living. The interwebs are peppered with posts and articles on the best that the Galaxy S7 has to offer as well as advice on whether or not you should get it. You wouldn’t be able to walk into a room without bumping into someone who’s taken the bait for leasing or making installments on their brand new state-of-the-art mobile device.

That isn’t to say that they’ve made the wrong choice. I mean it has:

“Best of the best in smartphone specs,” and “A best in class camera experience.” SAYS KELLEX FROM DROID LIFE.COM

If the Founder of Droid Life has that to say then that’s really saying something. The question of quality was never an issue. The question comes down to a few things. But, first let’s take on the role of the Devil’s Advocate here. Here are some great reasons you NEED to get this phone TODAY:

The microSD card slot is back!
The camera is brilliant
The battery’s massive
It’s really, really good-looking
It’s the perfect size
It’s always on
It’s tougher than the S6

Gary Marshall on Androidpit.com:7 reasons to buy the Galaxy S7 Edge

Taking a note of what Forbes.com reported:

MicroSD
Dust & Waterproof
Performance
Camera
Battery

Jay McGregor on Forbes.com:5 Reasons to buy the Samsung Galaxy S7

Speaking of durability…

What have we learned?

We have learned that out of the seven reasons from Androidpit, four of those reasons are pretty subjective. It may not be nice looking to you or I. It may not be the perfect size. It may not be tougher than the S6 depending on how you use it. The camera may not be as brilliant to us as it was to him.

Out of the five reasons from Forbes, performance is subjective as it depends on what types of apps you have installed. The camera again might not be what you like, and depending on how you use it, the battery may not be that big a deal.

Let’s look at the tangible reasons we should buy this phone.

It brings back the SD card slot with a massive upgrade in storage capacity, upwards of 200 GB! It has been rated dust and waterproof. The battery power is better than the S6. Finally, it’s made of premium materials–though again that last one might not matter if you keep it in a case.

Specifications are telling. It’s the supercomputer of mobile phones.

All good points.

Now why you might not want to buy it

The cost
The lack of updates
The non-removable battery

Notice that we have a very small list. The cost is right up there at the top only because we want to go out on a limb and say perhaps most of us aren’t too aware of how the costs add up over time when we see that it’s only $35.00 extra dollars a month to finance.

In order to set things in perspective we had to run some numbers. So please bear with us. In the typical individual’s life we are going to list several expenses that matter.

Living Costs such as mortgage and rent
Transportation costs including maintenance, fuel, and insurance
Food Expenses
Utilities including Mobile Phone, Internet, Electricity, Water, Etc.
Average Debt
Average Income

Average Income

Starting with income this is going to be the largest variable in our study. “According to the Census ACS survey, the median household income for the United States was $53,657 in 2014.“ This is household only. Per capita income is significantly less at, “$28,889 in 2014.”

Average Debt

According to statistics published by the Census Bureau, $10,200 (is the average) debt for every man, woman and child that lives here in the United States. Anyone thinking that statistic isn’t alarming needs to keep this in mind: the $10,600 per person doesn’t include debt associated with mortgages.

Average Living Costs – Mortgage / Rent

“The national average for a home loan is $222,261 with a $1,061 average monthly payment for a 30-year mortgage at 4 percent, according to LendingTree” states Realtor Mag, while Median monthly gross residential rent in the United States was $934 in 2014 according to the Census ACS survey.

Average Auto Expenses

As of 2015, Experian(‘s) report shows that the amount borrowed to buy a new car in the fourth quarter hit a record $28,381. Average cost of auto insurance in 2014 was $907.38 according to ValuePenguin. As far as Fuel and Oil go, you’re looking at $1086.00.

Food Expenses

Another big variable. This depends on what you reach for at the grocery aisle. If you buy in bulk, get off-brand items, and cook most of the time then your costs will be lower. If you eat out regularly and buy ready-to-eat or brand name then expect this to go up. If you have a family of 4 and they’re teenagers expect this to go up.

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/CostofFoodAug2015.pdf

Average Utilities

According to latest release from the U.S. Department of Energy – Energy Information Administration (EIA), the average residential monthly electric bill was $110.21 in 2013. Although sometimes taken care of in rent, the average utility costs per month typically includes a water and sewer bill…The average bill for each falls between $10 and $30 a month, although you may be billed at a flat rate for both that can cost between $20 and $60, according to Apartment Ratings. Quartz.com found Internet prices…hit an average of $47.30 a month. If that wasn’t enough, the average American is now shelling out around $110 per month on cell phone service!

Is that it?

There are a multitude of items we’ve not covered such as health insurance, home or renters insurance, life insurance, and strangely enough pet insurance–which many people do have.

What else have we learned?

As we look over the various charges above, we may fall in between somewhere that isn’t the norm. We may live in Hawaii with it’s insane home and rent prices. We may live in places with abundant local food sources. We may opt for a motorcycle instead of a car. We may not have children. We may have a higher paying job than most. There are so many variables that it’s hard to say for sure that any of these items are average. But in an example let’s assume we had a family of four.

Example

We make $75,000 a year with $10,750 of that taxable. That’s $63,750 in take home pay yearly.

We pay our credit card bills at about $100.00 a month.
We pay $900.00 a month in Mortgage/Rent payments.
We pay $1250.00 a month on a two Toyota Corollas, a scooter, and a motorcycle. $350.00 of that is insurance. We commute 50 miles a day to work and back working four days a week. This costs us roughly $200.00 a month with added oil changes.
We spend $800.00 a month on food–because we’re cheap.
We pay $175.00 a month for water and power. $50.00 a month on Internet. If Sprint is any example, we’re paying about $150 for a base plan that does not yet include phones and phone insurance.
Various insurances such as homeowners, medical, and life may run us around $200 a month. I have seen these amounts on paper before.
This doesn’t take into account everything else that a family of four needs/wants. My son might need clothes, $175.00 a month. My daughter might need the same plus her beauty products (her brother is going to use one bottle of shampoo for everything!) this is about $175.00 or more. My wife might feel left out so there’s another $200.00. As for myself? I’d say $150.00 is enough because I’m a little more practical.

Together we get paid $5,312.50 per month. After all is said and done we have around $387.50 left over. What does an s7 cost per month on Sprint?

Total Phones and Coverage

The total cost for our bill on sprint is about $325.00 and this does not include taxes which average at about $6.00 a phone. So realistically we are at about $400.00 for our family. That’s an extra $250.00 on top of the $150.00 base plan.

Subtract that from what we had left and our family now has this much left:

$137.50

So we’re supposed to save for retirement, possibly extra expenses for a vacation or in case of emergencies? Notwithstanding it may need a battery replacement at some point, and it may get dropped. There’s a deductible and service charge. More bills.

If you’re still on the fence about it, don’t take our word for it

Conclusions

Nobody said this phone was cheap. Nobody said that it was for everyone either. I know it definitely isn’t for me unless I buy one in full and make the rest of my fictional family use Alcatel flip phones. What we’ve learned from these numbers are, we have plenty of room to move figures around to match our personal situations but at the end of the day we have to wonder, sure we might want it.

But do we really need it?

Mar 27, 2016 0 comment

Featured Gadgets Tech News Technology

Drones and the Law

written by Elias Stevens

Drones and the Law

It hasn’t been since Batteries not included that we ever really thought about the possibility of tiny machines flying through the air. It hasn’t been until recently that we’ve understood the far reaching impact of these little robotic aviators. Not surprisingly, drones in general are not a new technology. If we were to take into account the bare essentials of what defines a drone we can say with conviction that this technology goes as far back as 1849 when one of the first recorded uses stemmed from pilotless balloons carried bombs to release over the city of Venice by the Austrians in July of that year.

Intrepid Drone, Shaw, 2014

Drones today

What we attribute to drones today are one of three machines. We have military “Hunter-Killer Drones,” “Surveillance Drones,” and our friendly “Consumer Drones”–perhaps… toys if you will. One of the more well-known drone models for the military was the Predator, which later evolved into the Reaper before shooting off into the Raven.

The laws concerning these machines are murky at best. At what point did the United States really foresee citizens purchasing what was formerly too cost-prohibitive for ordinary Americans? The question begs to be asked, “At what point did toy helicopters and remote controlled airplanes shift into fully functional flying computers?” The change is drastic enough that today, we have CBS reporting well-known businesses like online retailer Amazon getting their feet wet in the drone pool.

Drone on the Pavement

Drones and the FAA

The fact that they’ve had extensive military use only increases the unease in which we’re beginning to see Federal entities such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) getting involved with regulations associated with drone ownership and operation. One of those regulations include civil penalties of up to $27,500 USD for failure to register their drones–even if they’re being used recreationally. This registration must include: name, physical address, email addresses, and a credit card payment of $5.00 for user authentification purposes.

“WE’RE KIND OF IN THE WILD WEST WHEN IT COMES TO DRONES,” SAID CLAY COLEMAN AN OCEANIC AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER SUPERVISOR AT THE FAA AND DIRECTOR OF THE BAY AREA DRONE FILM FESTIVAL.

“…a lot of people that are doing this have no idea about airspace and about the problems that they can cause…it’s just a matter of time in this scenario before somebody gets hurt or even worse,” Coleman said in an interview with CNBC.

(CBS Evening News, 2015)

A few of the major points according to the FAA Website regarding Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS/DRONES):

Public Operations (Governmental)

Certification of Waiver or Authorization (COA) required, issued by the FAA
COA are issued for a specific period–usually up to two years
Basic parameters include (but not limited to) not operating in a populated area
One requirement of the COA is that a registrant is a recognized political subdivision of the US under Title 49 of the United Stated Code (USC) section (§) 40102(a)(41)(c) or (d) and that the proponent will operate its unmanned aircraft in accordance with 49 USC. § 40125(b) (not for commercial purposes).
Approval typically takes 60 days

Civil Operations (Non-Governmental)

Any operation not meeting criteria for public aircraft operation is considered a civil aircraft operation
Section 333 Exemption grants operations to perform commercial tasks in low-risk, controlled environments
Special Airworthiness Certificate (SAC) requires applicants to describe their aircraft system design, construction, and manufacture including engineering, software, and quality assurance procedures, along with where they intend to fly

Model Aircraft (Hobby or Recreation Only)

Fly below 400 feet and remain clear of surrounding obstacles
Keep the aircraft within visual line of sight at all times
Remain well clear of and do not interfere with manned aircraft operations
Don’t fly within 5 miles of an airport unless you contact the airport and control tower before flying
Don’t fly near people or stadiums
Don’t fly an aircraft that weighs more than 55 lbs
Don’t be careless or reckless with your unmanned aircraft – you could be fined for endangering people or other aircraft

(Model Aircraft Operations, FAA Website, 2016)

Drones and Business don’t mix

The line between what is considered non-commercial and commercial is a thin one. Let’s say you wanted to take pictures from a drone with a camera. If you use those pictures for your own personal use then it is not commercial. If you happen to sell them or if you begin to sell them to others then that’s commercial and requires FAA authorization.

(FOX Business, 2015)

Drones and the changing landscape

Laws change all the time and as much as we want things to have a straightforward answer, they don’t. As little as one month ago the FAA updated their rules for Washington D.C. when before they originally prohibited any type of drone to operate therein.

Although the FAA controls and regulates airspace, many smaller municipalities and townships across the US have been under pressure to pass laws regulating how those drones operate within their jurisdictions–if at all.

Drone over Bridge

Drones and California

Lawmakers in California have also begun to consider the possibility of treating drones as they would cars, with two bills concerning drones requiring a license, insurance, and a kill switch to help combat potentially dangerous encounters with larger aircraft, and to address liability concerns when another person is harmed on accident.

“When you cause an accident in your car, California law says you have to stay at the scene and give the injured party and the police your identification,” Chau said, adding that, if a drone falls from the sky for whatever reason, “the operator needs to do the responsible thing and come forward and identify himself to the victim and to the police. This bill will make that responsibility the law.”

Drones and you

The problems facing hobbyists as well as commercial pilots for legitimate business purposes are only expounded by those who are not adhering to the new registration rules and operational guidelines purposed by the FAA. By educating yourself on both local and federal laws in addition to operating your drone within the COA’s and recreational statutes you can avoid a slew of trouble when–not if–the unexpected happens. For a link to the FAA website concerning official mandates please visit: The Federal Aviation Administration’s website on Unmanned Aircraft Systems.

Mar 21, 2016 0 comment

Featured Guides Other

Black Friday is Upon Us – How to Navigate the Deals

written by Elias Stevens

Black Friday is Upon Us

40″ LED flat screen TVs on sale for $349.00, Brand-new lawn mowers with special financing available, and the dubious 40% off all women’s intimates at JCPenny. These promotions know no bounds, they ascend even up to Toyota dealerships with $4,000.00 friends and family rebates. We’ve all seen them. We’ve seen the newspapers with announcements that seem to creep earlier and earlier into the week. We should be calling this time of year “Retail Week” instead of “Black Friday” or something to that effect.

After perusing articles written over the past month or so I’ve come to conclude one thing. Everyone has their own opinions. What I do know to be true is something that most of us that work in retail already know.

Retailers make money even in the face of insane sales, navigating the shopping season get’s a bit tricky. Sit back, get a cup of coffee, and keep your credit cards in your pockets.

This advice is free.

What not to buy BEFORE Black Friday

TV’s especially 4K sets
Kindle Fire Tablets all sizes
Appliances
Laptops
Movies, Gaming Bundles, Streaming Systems, and Outerwear.

A great example of this section would be my own impatience. I went into Fry’s Electronics in Tempe, AZ a few weeks ago and I saw a 42″ 4K Sony Bravia on sale. I tried to buy the thing and was refused because the 20-something attendant didn’t know they weren’t supposed to be out on the floor–until I wanted to buy it. It was priced at $549.00 and I hadn’t seen it that low anywhere else. Frustrated, I settled and bought a 48″ 1080p Sony Bravia because I just wanted my TV and to start the 4 hour trip home.

While walking down the aisle last week I noticed Walmart has priced a 42″ 4K Vizio for 538.00. I can only imagine what it’ll be marked down to this weekend.

Cue facepalm.

While we can’t forecast what will sell and what won’t sell, we can reasonably assume that the draw this year is going to be both 4K and 1080p TV’s.

Our reasoning:

Retailers need to make room for 4K offerings for the next year as well as speed up 4K adoption rates for suppliers who want to push 4K sales across the board. More 4K sales means more support for higher streaming resolutions, higher graphics cards, faster computing, better Blu-Ray discs, basically all of these products supporting 4K is a cash cow for suppliers. Another factoid, more data bandwidth consumption due to 4K equals more money for Internet Providers.

1080p TV’s are on the way out.

In order to make room they need to be sold. It might be several years until they are the new 720p HD Plasma’s but more 4K means more money for everyone supporting the platform.

Kindle–well… tablets in general–, Laptops/PC’s, Gaming Console Bundles, and Movies are going to be discounted pretty deeply. The more of these items that are sold the faster the adoption rate for technology occurs and the more money suppliers can make on secondary tech such as more expensive Blu-Ray Players or Special Edition discs during the holidays.

The more laptops and PC’s that are sold equal a higher rate of adoption for the new Windows 10 Platform. Once that is done, developers can safely assume that supporting the new OS is going to be a lot less risky and more profitable. Gaming systems have always been high but with the sales offered during the holidays, we are definitely going to see the demand for software for these consoles spike in the next year or so. This keeps gaming developers happy right along with the hardware producers who get a little cut of that pie.

Appliances are like cars. They need to be sold so new models can be ordered. Look for a slightly older models in order to find the best deals.

Items to avoid THROUGH Black Friday

This list is all about those things that have a logical reason behind avoiding them this shopping season. Looking at the sales during the winter months we typically always see the cold weather items going on sale in the summer, and vice versa. If anything we plan on seeing a reduction of 10% for those items that are usually already discounted throughout the rest of the year. An example is a cardigan you see at Charlotte Russe which is normally 85.00 marked down by 10% off what was usually already marked down by 20%.

Winter Apparel
Cars
Furniture
Exercise Equipment
Fine Jewelry
Apple Products (No Bias Here)

Cars usually go on sale toward the end of the year in December as dealerships want to move product. As a matter of fact, if you wait just one more month they may get desperate enough to let you sign off on a new car with subprime credit and no driver’s license–my brother-in-law–true story.

Furniture can seem enticing at low prices this weekend but based on historical trends, most furniture sales happen during the summer months as more people spend their time indoors during the fall and winter. New models of… new models of… new models of couch? (is that the correct way to say it?) also get released during the fall.

Exercise equipment comes out around January to make way for the New Years’ Resolution crowds. Wait until then to buy that deeply discounted treadmill or elliptical.

Fine Jewelry will have better sales just before Christmas. Although diamonds almost never go below a certain amount of money per carat they will certainly have a better deal even if it’s just the insurance that’s free with purchase.

Apple products from the Apple Store… (Apple boys and girls… don’t flame me just yet)

Let’s look at the facts:

Apple does not want to be associated with bargain products and low prices because like diamonds they’re selling an image.
They’re selling luxury and investment in premium product lines.
Looking back over the previous years, we didn’t see many sales except for gift cards from the iTunes store.

A good tip is to check third party retailers, they may have better deals.

Other things to avoid

Smart Phones
Computers and Laptops
Cutting Edge Gadgets
Used Gaming Consoles

In the age of Nextel and Sprint’s Wi-Max network, the big four were elbows deep in a system of using subsidized phones to push contracts. When they noticed the trend of users consuming more data the two biggest opted-out of providing new Unlimited Plans. This changed the way telecom did business forever. Fast forward to today, we have subsidized phones from only 2 carriers with 1 of them stopping the practice by the end of 2015. This promotes full up front pricing, installment payments based on credit, or the ubiquitous lease. What does this mean for me you ask?

You aren’t going to see many deals with free, low-cost, or otherwise cheap two year subsidized phones.

Buying a Computer in general seems to be a great option this season and it is… Unless you want to buy future insurance by looking for a product that dances on the bleeding edge of technology–which I recommend, by the way. Technology moves so fast we would rather see you buying at a slightly reduced premium–the best gear–in order to keep yourself from having to upgrade for at least 3 years.

Not only that but features editor Marcy Bonebright on Dealnews.com, reported back-to-school sales for PC’s and Laptops in July and September reign supreme with a 9% cheaper deal than even November’s best deals. 9% may not be a whole lot but if your looking for a gaming rig at around 1999.99 then that’s almost 200.00 in savings.

Used game consoles may be a terrible idea depending on where you go. Gamestop has their own in-house extended warranty you can buy but not much can be said on buying online from Amazon or Ebay. When brand new consoles like the PS4 and XBox One may even be on sale at ultra low prices. Buying a used system at only 50 dollars in savings compared to new… doesn’t make a lot of sense and you may find yourself wishing you hadn’t bought refurbed.

Things to consider

Staggered Sales across the weekend
Not everything is discounted… read (price gouging)
Some of the best deals are online
Check for Free Shipping
Stay Patient

One thing we noticed over the past year was different retailers offering special deals on several items but on different days of the week due to complaints from consumers that felt they were cheated when they came to stores for specific items and arrived only to find them sold out.

Mentioning this, not everything is going to be discounted. According to Shop Adviser on the Consumer Affairs’ website states:

As a matter of fact, Black Friday turned out to be the day on which shoppers begin to see prices spike on select items. On Black Friday itself, 24% of the toys on Shop Adviser’s list were priced above their initial holiday season price. The company’s survey last year pretty much confirmed that trend remains intact (Huffman, 2015).

Why the bait and switch?

Standard practice is to have sales to draw people in but mark up items to offset the cost of the sales. Coming to a department store you may see winter coats on sale (again, less 10% overall) and find that you like a pair of earrings that were priced at 149.00 marked down to 119.00 (originally 129.00 previously marked down to 109.99). This leaves you paying 10.00 more in some cases!

Retailers need to make money, bottomline.

Some of the best sales are online due to not having to worry about taking up valuable retail floor space. Online retailers are able to charge less than those stocking in-store solely based on overhead. But with this is a grain of salt. Make sure you look for free shipping, otherwise it may make more sense to go to the retail store and buy a slightly overpriced item–but what you pay you pay for being able to take it home and not having to pay shipping (Shipping gets included in the product pricing, but it is cheaper to ship hundreds of items at once than to ship one item at a time).

Remember, patience pays off. Last minute changes in item sales, restocking inventory without telling anyone, staggered sales throughout the week, and in an economy that always seems to be in recovery… merchandisers are going to be under a lot of pressure to sell. By the time Christmas rolls around we could see them bidding for your dollar.

Stores with the best online deals

According to Donna Doyle from Dealnews.com the best retailers to shop online with are:

Amazon
NewEgg
Best Buy
Walmart
Target

Why don’t you take a look at their sites using the links below for an idea of what they offer:

Amazon.com Black Friday Deals

Newegg.com Black Friday Deals

Bestbuy Black Friday Deals

Walmart Black Friday Deals

Target Black Friday Deals

Outliers

Some deals are only in-app for retailers (So far the main retailer doing this is Amazon. According to Lindsay Sakraida from Dealnews.com: …these deals can be found on the “App Only Deals” tab and “will be released daily from 3pm PT to 11pm PT starting Thanksgiving through Wednesday, December 9.” Shoppers can use the “Watch a Deal” function to be alerted via push notification about when these offers go live, which is a convenient way to avoid checking your phone all day.
You really, really have to watch your online purchases, make sure you’re able to get a refund and make sure you understand you may not get it even with money in hand. How fast can retailers–or anyone really–place orders, check inventory, update information, etc., if 10,000 people are all pressing “Buy Now” at the same time?

Cyber Monday

Finally we have a small list of top 10 stores for Black Friday Deals (average discount percentage in parenthesis) followed by the top 10 to avoid this season courtesy of Wallethub.com:

Top Ten Performers:

JCPenny (68%)
Kohl’s (66.7%)
Stage (63.9%)
Groupon (63.7)
Belk (59.5%)
Macy’s (56%)
Kmart (50.1%)
Panasonic (47%)
Fred Meyer (45.3%)
Office Depot and OfficeMax (42.8%)

Bottom Ten Performers:

Costco (19.5%)
Sam’s Club (24.9%)
Amazon (25.8%)
Big Lots (27.1%)
Walgreens (28.7%)
Toys R Us (28.9%)
Gamestop (29.2%)
Walmart (30.1%)
BJ’s (30.6%)
Home Depot (31.4%)

Afterword

There are many myths surrounding the hype. The worst is that you have to camp out at big box stores all night on thanksgiving or that people behave like animals and things get dangerous during the door opening. I’m telling you if you shop smart, and enter in this week with a game plan, the season should give you the best bang for your buck. What was Black Friday like for you?

Please take a moment to share your own Black Friday Experiences in the comments below!

Nov 24, 2015 0 comment

Featured Featured Articles Infographics Mobile Apps

Infographic: 50 Apps to Track Everything…

written by Irfan Ahmad

Modern mobile technology is powerful, and apparently, so is our need to track almost everything we do. So, now, there are apps that let you track your social life, your eating habits, and how well you sleep.

Find out what apps are out there to help you take control of your life, in this infographic which comes courtesy of Vouchercloud.

Aug 31, 2015 0 comment

Featured Gadgets Infographics Technology

The Rise of the Dashcam (And How to Pick the Right One) – infographic

written by Irfan Ahmad

Driving a car can be a nightmare during the peak hours of downtown traffic. While we would all love to live in a safe world where every driver follows rules and the traffic is all orderly, this is rarely if ever true. In fact the world is full of speeding maniacs who flaunt every rule in the traffic book. To add to this already dismal scenario are fraudsters who stage crashes in order to gain insurance money.

Fraudulent insurance claims are on the rise in both US and UK. Things are the worst in Russia which probably is the reason why dashcams are the most popular there. Dashcams are cameras mounted on the dashboard of a car. The infographic here gives us a brief history of these car cameras and talks about their utility in resolving road disputes. It also provides some helpful tips about using these cameras the right way.

The most surprising factor presented here is that there are some insurance companies which provide a discount in premium for people with dashcams installed. This shows the very real threat posed by the insurance fraudsters. However, the good news is that we can easily foil such misuse of car insurance by installing dashcams and using them diligently.

Rise of the Dashcam Infographic courtesy Carfinance247.

Aug 6, 2015 0 comment

Featured Infographics Technology

Infographic: The Internet Then and Now

written by Irfan Ahmad

There was a time not long ago when international calls used to cost a hand and a foot. A loved one going out of the country meant that we could talk with them on the phone once every month if we were affluent or once a quarter for the more penny-pinching souls. Fast forward a couple of decades and now thanks to Skype, Facetime and more we can interact with our loved ones each and every day no matter where they are and we can manage it at almost no cost at all. It’s the power of internet that has made this possible.

Internet has enriched our lives manifold. We have started taking this technology for granted now, however a peak into its origins can help us appreciate what we have a little better. This infographic here shows how far we have travelled since the 1950s when the first satellite, the Sputnik was launched into space.

The internet has made some giant strides in the last decade. From those snail-paced dial-up modems to the 4G networks of today, the advances made are mind-boggling. The latest in the world of internet is the launch of Rocket Fiber in 2015 which promises to make our internet experience a lot faster, secure and affordable.

Hat tip: Visualistan.

Jul 16, 2015 0 comment

Featured

50 Keyboard Shortcuts That Will Change Your Life – infographic

written by Irfan Ahmad

There is a lot more that we can accomplish today in a day’s work than what our parents managed. This is mainly because the way we do things is smarter and much faster. Typing as opposed to writing, e-mailing as opposed to a visit to the mailbox, a quick phone call as opposed to a walk down the block, these are all great time savers and each of them can be attributed to the technological developments that have exploded into our horizons in the last couple of decades.

Despite all the extra help on offer we are still putting in 12 hour workdays. This shows that there is a lot of improvement still on the cards. While technology will definitely further our convenience this infographic here aims to help us save our valuable time through some cool keyboard shortcuts.

A few of them like Ctrl+A for text selection or Ctrl+P for printing in Windows are fairly well-known. However, did you know that Ctrl+Shift+T in Chrome can allow you to open the last 10 closed tab or that those pesky tabs in Safari that keep popping up can be closed with a simple Cmd+Option+W. Check out this infographic for a number of such helpful keyboard shortcuts which can save a few extra minutes in your busy day.
Infographic by: conosco

Jul 13, 2015 0 comment

Featured Infographics Technology

How Your Smartphone Can Make You Healthier – infographic

written by Irfan Ahmad

The time spent behind an office desk has increased manifold in the last generation. While our parents found it possible to go for long, leisurely strolls we can hardly find enough time for a 15 minute stint on a treadmill. Thus, it has become increasingly difficult to remain healthy in the work stressed world of today. However, technology seems to have intervened and can help us lead fuller and healthier lives if only we would give it a chance.

Smartphones are our constant companions through the day, thus it is only natural that they be used to monitor and track our health. The infographic here shows the rise in the popularity of health apps which can log everything from our food and water intake to the number of steps walked by us on a daily basis. These apps can help us come up with health goals and ensure that we remain focused by keeping us aware of our progress in the right direction.

Some apps like MyFitnessPal and Argus seem especially useful as they not only track the exercise that we received on a particular day but also keep track of the calories we burnt against the number of calories ingested. Several devices like the Smart Body Analyzer, FitBit Flex and more can also help us in losing those extra kilos with ease.

infographic via: whoishostingthis.

Jul 6, 2015 0 comment

Featured

Mastercard Experimenting with Facial Recognition to Approve Online Transactions

written by Hemendra Jain

Look around you and chances are you might end up spotting someone pouting for a selfie. As annoying as it may seem, the Banking giant Mastercard is looking to turn this teen obsession into a payment authorization method. Intrigued? Read on.

Ajay Bhalla, the man in charge of transaction security at Mastercard says, “The new generation, which is into selfies … I think they’ll find it cool. They’ll embrace it.” This would also help Mastercard cut the risk of credit card frauds. Most banking cards presently work with a transaction password when shopping online. While it’s relatively secure, there’s always a risk of it being forgotten, stolen or intercepted.

Biometric is increasingly being accepted as a safer mean to transact. Thanks to Apple’s finger print scanner TouchID, it’s more widely used than ever before. TouchID is being used in Apple’s mobile payment system, Apple Pay.

Mastercard will try the new facial authentication in a closed study group to iron out any issues and roll it out to a larger audience once the system is perfect. Mastercard has tied up with a number of smartphone manufacturers to roll this out. The partners include Apple, Blackberry, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung. They are also in talks with banks to roll this out.

How Facial Authentication Works

You will need to download the Mastercard App on your smartphone to pay using facial authentication.

At the time of purchase when asked for authentication, you can choose fingerprint scan or facial authentication. For the latter, you need to look in to your smartphone screen and blink – and you’re done! The app doesn’t click a picture of you every time but blinking prevents anyone using your picture to authenticate purchases.

The facial scan maps your face and transmits the data to Mastercard’s secure servers. Mastercard is also said to be working on a voice authentication system where you will be able to make payments just speaking into your smartphone.

So, when this rolls out expect longer delays at the checkout counters, what with customers trying to look their best making the payment!

image credit: bigstockphoto.com

Jul 4, 2015 0 comment