Money comes in. Money goes out.

Red-XIII

Red-XIII

New member
So, I'm proud to say I've been pretty damn successful at this whole Ebay thing, but it's not the get cash quick fix I thought it would be. Just sold my DS,PSP,GBA package for $191 and have made $474.48 total with 3 sales. Thing is I've already spent $282.28 (after shipping & taxes) of it.

That said it's all been on stuff that still holds value to plenty of people and I'll probably be able to dump it for equal or more than I paid. My shopping list so far is... a 1st gen Ipod Touch for $139.99, a practically new Apple TV for $125, a car cradle kit for the iPod for $4.69, a snap on case for the iPod for 3.60 and a 2GB Kingston USB Flash Drive for $9.00.

I'm not done of course. If I can sell the PC parts I have up for $350 or more I got my eye on a 20 or 60GB original launch model PS3 and an ION Drum Rocker Kit for Rockband 2 or a new HDTV for the bedroom.

So how much does money burn a hole in your pocket and does it happen even if you really can't afford to let that money go?
 
Unfortunately, I can't say that I've managed money as well as I could. I realized how bad it actually got when I cycled through computers so fast I didn't even know the specifications of the system I was using. I love technology, and I love spending money. Those two are a very bad combination.

Currently, I'm working on cutting down my $8,000 of credit card debt that's accumulated. :(
 
One time, I spent $6000 on a mixer, 2 QSC 500W 2 way powered speakers and 1 QSC 700W sub, 6 drum mics, 2 SM57 mics, 2 SM58 mics, 5 mic stands, 12 XLR cables, and pro tools digi 002 rack.

The up side is, now I can put on local shows. I've done 3 already, the biggest one had roughly 280 people in the audience. It pays pretty well too.

But other than that, (and my sick ass leather couch that I got a disgusting discount on) I'm pretty responsible with my money.
 
I'm more responsible than I want to be. The upside is that I have zero debt. There are some things I wish I could buy right now though...new graphics card, for example.
 
I have a PNY XLR8 GeForce 9800GT 1GB DDR3 in my desktop. I think it has exceptional performance and it was fairly cheap when I got it aout a year ago. I think they run around $119 now if you can find them. Mostly 512MB versions I see floating around online now.
 
My video card is actually the one thing I've skimped on... I have two computers with a Gigabyte GeForce 7900GS. At the time I bought it, it was a decent mid-range card but obviously it hasn't aged gracefully. I don't mind it for my media center which will at the most run a few PSX/N64 games but for my main desktop it's a pretty big deficiency. Hopefully this Christmas I can pick up a Radeon 5850 to replace it.
 
VT-Vincent said:
My video card is actually the one thing I've skimped on... I have two computers with a Gigabyte GeForce 7900GS. At the time I bought it, it was a decent mid-range card but obviously it hasn't aged gracefully. I don't mind it for my media center which will at the most run a few PSX/N64 games but for my main desktop it's a pretty big deficiency. Hopefully this Christmas I can pick up a Radeon 5850 to replace it.
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Well, it's decent, but I wish that I'd spent a bit more when putting this box together. Partly it's lacking for things like PS2 games. Besides, something is funky about this card...it mostly works, but occasionally it becomes unreliable and causes the computer to freeze. Does not happen often, but it's a bit annoying when it does happen. I'd going to assume it's my mistake in getting a passively cooled card, but it could certainly be something else wrong with the card (don't think it's anything else since besides that, this system runs well).
 
Red-XIII said:
My shopping list so far is... a 1st gen Ipod Touch for $139.99, a practically new Apple TV for $125, a car cradle kit for the iPod for $4.69, a snap on case for the iPod for 3.60...
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A part of me wants to dip your face a boiling solution of Sodium Hydroxide and water for that...
 
The 9th Sage said:
Well, it's decent, but I wish that I'd spent a bit more when putting this box together. Partly it's lacking for things like PS2 games. Besides, something is funky about this card...it mostly works, but occasionally it becomes unreliable and causes the computer to freeze. Does not happen often, but it's a bit annoying when it does happen. I'd going to assume it's my mistake in getting a passively cooled card, but it could certainly be something else wrong with the card (don't think it's anything else since besides that, this system runs well).
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Freezing isn't good... there's definitely a possibility the card is defective or there is some sort of odd conflict going on with your motherboard. The latter is rare, but I have seen it happen before. Also, a lot of manufacturers these days give lifetime warranties on their cards, if that's the case you may want to consider RMA'ing it just to rule the card out as a possible issue.

Reaper man said:
A part of me wants to dip your face a boiling solution of Sodium Hydroxide and water for that...
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Not an Apple fan I take it?
 
Red-XIII said:
Show me another company that makes something equal or similar to either of these products and I'll understand.
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Red XIII, I would have to agree with you on this. One of Apple's strengths is their digital media distribution system. There are many services that offer some of the content that iTunes does, but none that can really match the full library of everything. In addition to that, there's also the reliability aspect. You never need to worry about the service dying and all of your content going down the drain like with PressPlay, Plays For Sure (what an oxymoron) and any other the other failed services.

The Apple product I'm the most fond of personally is the iPhone, it's simply one of the best smartphones available. I think the App Store's restrictions and the device's DRM is heavy, but nothing really compares to the mobile internet experience it offers. I've had many devices over the years running Palm OS and Windows Mobile and I can tell you that despite having a better selection of applications, they just don't offer the same core functionality. All mobile web browsers I've used to this point have been a joke compared to Safari on the iPhone.
 
VT-Vincent said:
There are many services that offer some of the content that iTunes does, but none that can really match the full library of everything.
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I'd be tempted to say that The Pirate Bay has an even bigger collection, and you get it without having to pay anyone anything. But I've actually avoided downloading music through BitTorrent after hearing one too many horror stories. But since I have no intention of paying for the music I may otherwise be listening to (look, I just do not have the money, my finances are very tight), I've avoided contemporary music completely. The palpable sense of danger hasn't put me in a spending mood.
 
Lillymon said:
I'd be tempted to say that The Pirate Bay has an even bigger collection, and you get it without having to pay anyone anything. But I've actually avoided downloading music through BitTorrent after hearing one too many horror stories. But since I have no intention of paying for the music I may otherwise be listening to (look, I just do not have the money, my finances are very tight), I've avoided contemporary music completely. The palpable sense of danger hasn't put me in a spending mood.
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I can understand where you're coming from, but honestly TBP is a whole other discussion. Personally though, I've made it a point to purchase all media and software I consume as long as it's made available in a fair and reasonable fashion.
 
Red-XIII said:
Show me another company that makes something equal or similar to either of these products and I'll understand.
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Sure, have fun.

VT-Vincent said:
Red XIII, I would have to agree with you on this. One of Apple's strengths is their digital media distribution system. There are many services that offer some of the content that iTunes does, but none that can really match the full library of everything. In addition to that, there's also the reliability aspect. You never need to worry about the service dying and all of your content going down the drain like with PressPlay, Plays For Sure (what an oxymoron) and any other the other failed services.
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itunes has to be one the most absolutely shittiest programs I have ever encountered. Not only that, but if I want to install quicktime, it FORCES that shitty program on me. Guess what apple, I DON'T FUCKING WANT IT ON MY MACHINE, YOU DICKS! Needless to say, I rely on quicktime alternative for my needs. Besides, even though you don't think so, there are plenty of other ways to get music. I tend to torrent mine, myself, but then again I'm not one of those "hip, trendy" appletards that needs to download/buy every indie song out there just to feel "cool." I mean, why don't you go and praise Starbucks while you're at it?

VT-Vincent said:
The Apple product I'm the most fond of personally is the iPhone, it's simply one of the best smartphones available. I think the App Store's restrictions and the device's DRM is heavy, but nothing really compares to the mobile internet experience it offers. I've had many devices over the years running Palm OS and Windows Mobile and I can tell you that despite having a better selection of applications, they just don't offer the same core functionality. All mobile web browsers I've used to this point have been a joke compared to Safari on the iPhone.
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The iphone is a piece of shit, and so is your face.
 
I can't stand Quicktime either. It's not like we need another proprietary encoding format but Apple like Real keeps making this stuff and people for some reason keep using it. As for the Ipod why would I pay that much. I can get an portable A/V player at the dollar store down the street for $20 and the MP3 player I own costs me $10 new and it doesn't give a crap whether my music has copy protection or not.
 
Are you kidding!? Quick time is the best! All the other media players make you watch your videos instantly, whereas quicktime let's you take a dirty wet shit (and wipe) before the video starts.

And iTunes is sooooo trendy!! My favorite feature in iTunes is the way it makes me want to die.

And the iPhone... What a masterpeice!! Did you know it has a library of over 10 000 shitty games that are worse than the games on the Odessey? And it makes PHONE CALLS!!
 
Maximum Potion said:
Are you kidding!? Quick time is the best! All the other media players make you watch your videos instantly, whereas quicktime let's you take a dirty wet shit (and wipe) before the video starts.

And iTunes is sooooo trendy!! My favorite feature in iTunes is the way it makes me want to die.

And the iPhone... What a masterpeice!! Did you know it has a library of over 10 000 shitty games that are worse than the games on the Odessey? And it makes PHONE CALLS!!
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You forgot about the new scratch resistant feature made of glass for the new iPhone that shatters if you accidentally drop the phone even if nothing else breaks. Don't even get me started on how cool the original iMac's looked. :)
 
Reaper man said:
itunes has to be one the most absolutely shittiest programs I have ever encountered. Not only that, but if I want to install quicktime, it FORCES that shitty program on me. Guess what apple, I DON'T FUCKING WANT IT ON MY MACHINE, YOU DICKS! Needless to say, I rely on quicktime alternative for my needs. Besides, even though you don't think so, there are plenty of other ways to get music. I tend to torrent mine, myself, but then again I'm not one of those "hip, trendy" appletards that needs to download/buy every indie song out there just to feel "cool." I mean, why don't you go and praise Starbucks while you're at it?
Click to expand...

My only complaint with iTunes is with how slow it is. While the QuickTime installation can be annoying, it is actually a required component as QuickTime provides playback support for iTunes. Personally, I'm more annoyed that they install their own updater (as does just about every other company at this point).

You can of course find music through other means, but most of those are either illegal or tied to a service that will be gone in a year or two. iTunes provides the majority of the music I want in a high quality DRM-free format. What more could I want?

Reaper man said:
The iphone is a piece of shit, and so is your face.
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I will say that the iPhone isn't a device for everyone (contrary to the marketing). One of the valid points that site made was text input. If you do a lot of messaging or other tasks that require a lot of text input, a physical keyboard would obviously hold an advantage. The App Store is kind of a drag as well due to Apple's limitations, so if you're looking for a lot of decent 3rd party software the iPhone is at a disadvantage there as well.

The reason I like the device is mainly because of their web browser. While virtually all phones come with a browser, they are all garbage. They either poorly scale full-size websites, are only usable for "the little web", or like on the Palm side, just aren't useful for anything. Safari on the iPhone provides the closest possible experience to a conventional web browser.

All the devices I've owned in the past have seen a small amount of use but were quickly reduced to being nothing more than a bloated cell phone since none of them actually managed to do what I wanted them to. My iPhone on the other hand, was cheaper than all of them and has had near constant use since I've owned it. In the end, I think I made the right choice.
 
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