Andy Laub

The fact has not escaped me that I tend to buy a lot of things, especially those on the more technological side of the spectrum. For the most part, I think I get my money’s worth, but admittedly there’s the occasional item that, while cool, just wasn’t worth it. On the other hand, there are some that I would buy again in a heartbeat if there was even a point. That said, here they are.

Do It

• Apple 20″ Cinema DisplayEasily the winner. The best thing you can do for yourself if you don’t already have one, and a steal at $1000. Now yours for just $800 brand freaking new. I think I saw a refurbed one at an Apple Store for $500 and if I had any use for another I would’ve bought it.
• Apple 60 Gb iPod with videoThis isn’t even a surprise. It’s a direct replacement for the old iPod that I used all the time.
• Canon PowerShot SD400The moment I laid eyes on this, I knew it was the camera for me. Best Buy was nice enough to give a discount to match J & R so it was a good buy as well. Now, thanks to its near-identical successor (the SD450), the SD400 is just $300.
• Jabra C150On a lark I picked it up from OfficeMax since I’d been thinking about one for some time. After probably 3 or 4 half-hour phone calls it’s already proved its worth.

Undecided

• Apple Airport ExtremeI think we bought it over the summer and Abe had issues getting it to go so it just sat neglected for months. Last weekend I finally got around to playing with it, and now it works like a charm. But still, it’s networking stuff, and that’s never overly fun or exciting.
• Apple 1 Gb iPod shuffleEssentially an impulse buy, the shuffle doesn’t see a lot of day-to-day use but it has saved me a couple of times when I needed a quick data transfer. I like that it can be replacement for CDs in more than one way: you can listen to music and store data. I don’t necessarily find the screenlessness to be a drawback, but it’s hard to just pick 50 or so songs to throw on.

Screw It

• Apple iSightYeah, aside from recording some quick iMovie stuff or snapping the occasional self-portrait, the iSight didn’t come in overly handy. Thanks to the double threat of me not knowing anyone who uses iChat anymore and having a real camera, the iSight drops to near obscurity.
• Sony h.ear MDR-J20I had another, older pair of Sony headphones similar to these; however, these new ones just aren’t nearly as nice. The buds are larger so they don’t fit as well in my ears, and they have some crazy assymetrical cord thing going on which drives me crazy. But hey, they’re…white, at least.