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$500 to blow... what to get for my computing enjoyment.

Whatever hardware you get, consider donating 10% to the EFF or Wikipaedia or Project Gutenberg. You'll feel all warm and involved and it'll help countless others.

Or make donations/payments to the writers of some of the large pile of shareware / donateware / freeware you undoubtedly depend on. They slaved away on it and gave it to you for free and get little thanks back. A donation, however small, would really make their week.

Take a look at what you use the most.

Just an idea.

x RT x
 
Could get a 500gb 7200 rpm drive. Those just came out and would only run 133@ newegg.

Could get an awesome pair of earbuds, I am really happy with my Shure SE530s I bought over christmas (depending on if you pay full retail that will cost you the full 500, down to 279 if you find a good deal for them) These are kinda useless if you are not an audiophile type person and think the stock whities sound good or even decent. The good thing about audio technology is that it really doesn't go obsolete. Good sounding speakers/earphones are good for several years. In fact I still have a pair of Studio monitors that I love that are probably 13-14 years old.
 
Do you already have Time Machine set up and backing up to an external? (you say you have an external but you don't say what you use it for.)

I'd regard that as an essential, not a luxury. If your external is too small, time for a new one.
 
Syonidism said:
There is the consideration that you COULD save up for something bigger.

Something harder, better, stronger...

Actually this was a project for me in the past but i was too lazy to do it. However its quite easy and you can DIY in a fairly equipped garage.

Mod your car so that the place where your stereo should usually be, your laptop shall be. (oooh aaaah)

It has many practical uses actually. If you are like me and cant stay OFF the internet and have a gprs card with constant connection, just use that and use it to get navigation software. 15" lcd for a car may look a lot. but believe me itll look really sweet.

however you can also save it up for rainy days also. Never know when you *might* spill something on your precious...
Click to expand...

I don't need to save it. All I ever do is save. I have two full time jobs that pay well, my debts are paid off, I have no spouse, I have no kids, if I spilt something on my MacBook, I would just go buy another.

A DIY is not a bad idea... hmmm...

Could get a 500gb 7200 rpm drive. Those just came out and would only run 133@ newegg.

Could get an awesome pair of earbuds, I am really happy with my Shure SE530s I bought over christmas (depending on if you pay full retail that will cost you the full 500, down to 279 if you find a good deal for them) These are kinda useless if you are not an audiophile type person and think the stock whities sound good or even decent. The good thing about audio technology is that it really doesn't go obsolete. Good sounding speakers/earphones are good for several years. In fact I still have a pair of Studio monitors that I love that are probably 13-14 years old.
Click to expand...

Earbuds... that's a good idea. I have over ear sets for recording but I don't really like my current earbuds.
 
Hmmm

Will that Bamboo tablet work with a macbook? I went to the site and saw "Windows Vista" but didnt see anything about macs
 
gixxerredliner said:
Will that Bamboo tablet work with a macbook? I went to the site and saw "Windows Vista" but didnt see anything about macs
Click to expand...

Yes it will, it says under system requirements Macintosh OSX 10.3 or higher. It also looks like it comes with a copy of Photoshop Elements, which for $99 with the pad is pretty cool if you are just getting into photo editing. It looks like that program alone costs 139 from Adobe's website
 
Xbox 360? It sounds like your "computing" needs have been met. If you were a cigar smoker, I'd say by a couple of boxes and burn your money. That's what I do! :cool:
 
JGC843 said:
Xbox 360? It sounds like your "computing" needs have been met. If you were a cigar smoker, I'd say by a couple of boxes and burn your money. That's what I do! :cool:
Click to expand...

Not much into games... the first game I've been able to get into in a while is Left 4 Dead... other than that, Warcraft III :p

Besides, I've decided on getting a stand, earbuds and a tablet. On that note, thanks guys!
 
Hi,

Get a small diaphragm condenser microphone. Most home studios don't have one. I think a matched pair from Rode are $500 + tax.

s.
 
paolo- said:
What instrument/music do you record, that might be a field that's worth investing into.
Click to expand...

I record guitar and bass at home. I'm pretty well setup for that. :D

mr.steevo said:
Hi,

Get a small diaphragm condenser microphone. Most home studios don't have one. I think a matched pair from Rode are $500 + tax.

s.
Click to expand...

I record my guitar with an SM57 and Bass direct. I've never used a condenser mic before... i'll look into that down the road.

alphaod said:
Get an Intel SSD
Click to expand...

I don't want to sacrifice internal drive space though.
 
Regardless of space, an SSD.

But no matter what you do, just make sure you spend it, Stimulate that economy, thats what the world needs. Hanging onto money does the world no good.
 
claimed4all said:
Regardless of space, an SSD.

But no matter what you do, just make sure you spend it, Stimulate that economy, thats what the world needs. Hanging onto money does the world no good.
Click to expand...

I will be spending money today... no worries. I do buy things don't get me wrong, but it's usually on a necessity basis. The SSD is out though, I want my internal space and here in Canada, they're a minimum of $725 before taxes (for a 256 gig) and i just don't want to spend it when I'm already contemplating purchasing the 7200 RPM 500 gig for mobile storage reasons. My laptop is with me at all times and I'm only ever at home for 3-4 days a week (I literally live at my one job for half of my time) so having a smaller drive can be frustrating when you're not near your home base.
 
I don't trust flash drives yet and apparently the same happens in entreprise.
 
cube said:
I don't trust flash drives yet and apparently the same happens in entreprise.
Click to expand...

I don't trust any drive :p

Hence backup. I'm looking forward to SSD tech gaining a little more age. Yes it's been around for a while but I won't be 100% satisfied until it's all but replaced platter technology.
 
Btw, if you do get a pair if in ear headphones, make sure they have an external volume control acessory. The aluminum MB and MBP have a low level hiss with low impedance audio equiptment. (drove me nuts, went to store and tested every macbook... and they all had it. even mbp... haven't tried new 17 inch yet though.)
 
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