What I Bought in 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 10:19AM I thought I'd reflect on the technology-related purchases I made this past year and share them with you in a blog post (inspired by Tony Vincent and David Pogue's blog posts). Tech enthusiasts often wonder how other tech enthusiasts/journalists spend their hard-earned dollars, so if you're curious, read on.
Epson Artisan 710 Wireless Color Inkjet All-In-One Printer
One day while shopping at Fry's Electronics for a printer, I struck up a conversation with a rep from Epson. He happened to be a videographer, like myself, and he recommended the Epson Artisan series. The ink is pricey, but the results are stunning. This is my first printer I ever purchased that offered on-disk printing, and I am very happy with the results: both on the disks, and the labels.
Apple iPod touch 8 GB (3rd Generation) NEWEST MODEL
Thank you Circle City Kiwanis for funding a grant I wrote that integrates iPods into the curriculum. Because of you, I was able to purchase a second iPod touch to use in the classroom. A one-to-one laptop program would be great, but for less than $200, a student can perform most PC-like tasks on an iPod touch without the complications a PC brings.
Skullcandy Slider Case for iPod touch - Black
The nice thing about this case is that it's hard, so it protects the iPod well in the event of a fall. And it also comes with a plastic adhesive protective film.
Canon EOS 50D 15.1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens
For most point-and-shoot moments, I use my trusty Sanyo Xacti C6, which I've owned for years. But like most point-and-shoot cameras, they have their limitations. My wife and I both wanted a camera we could grow into - her, for travel photos; and myself for those times I need to cover an event.
Corsair Flash Survivor 16 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive
I want to carry my digital data around with me. Therefore, all my important files need to reside on a USB flash drive that's tough. Metal and durable are two words that just seem to go together. You could drive a truck over this flash drive and the data will be unaffected. I also like the sturdiness of the key hole so you can carry it on a key ring without worrying about breaking (or losing) the cap. In fact, the cap screws on, making a water resistant seal.
Finally, an auxiliary iPod/iPhone mini input jack! Fraham Dodge Jeep Chrysler in Norco offers teachers fleet pricing whether you work in Corona-Norco Unified School District or not! His wife teaches high school, so he has a special place in his heart for educators. Call Lance Weaver, Fleet Manager (951) 817-5543 direct!
Sans 3.5 Hotswap 2 Bay Dual Esata To Sata Ext Enclosure
Last year, I thought I had lost a bunch of data in what, thankfully, turned out to be a false alarm. Nonetheless, I vowed to invest in a better data storage solution for my wedding video company ActionTouch Media. This Sans Digital dual external hard drive is a 2 Bay External RAID 0 and JBOD solution that I mainly use for video editing and backup. I use it as two separate drives.
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1 TB 7200RPM SATA 3 GB/s 32 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Hard Drive
I love how inexpensive external SATA drives are these days. You should always keep two copies of your projects. Warning: One copy on the same hard drive is not a backup!
Sharp AF-S80PX 8000 Btu Air Conditioner
I recently converted my garage from merely a storage facility to an office/workstation, complete with computer, file cabinets, and phone. But living in Southern California means that summers are hot, so rather than running central air from the house, I decided to just install this unit into my side door and it works quite well.
The Swiffer is great because when you squeeze the trigger, just the right amount of cleaning solution shoots out onto the floor in front of the mop head. Sadly, I broke the handle from scrubbing too hard. Luckily, I was able to super glue it back together, and it's as good as new. And no, I don't do windows.
TomTom ONE 140-S 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
This was a reluctant purchase because our five-year old TomTom was stolen from our car one night (along with my wife's wet suit, and my Duracell power inverter). Although we didn't want to purchase another GPS, I'm glad it worked out that way. After all, our old model wouldn't hold a charge at all, so it always had to reacquire the satellites, even if we just turned the car off to refuel. When it comes to size, I love how compact and inexpensive this model is.
Velcro Reusable Self-Gripping Ties, 0.5 Inches x 8 Inches, Black/Gray, 50 Ties per Pack
Never underestimate the power of velcro. I have purchased three packs of these velcro strips for the countless cords that used to lay tangled up in drawers and strewn across various work areas. Now, my cords are all wrapped up nice and tidy.
This USB CF card reader is an essential part of our photography workflow. As soon as my wife or I snap the pictures we need, we just pop the card into this handy reader, plug it into our USB port, and upload the pictures to the computer. A blue indicator light flashes when content is being uploaded so you know when it's safe to pull it out of the computer.
Canabalt and Brothers in Arms were two of my favorite games in 2009. For student creativity, I like two cartoon apps: Comic Touch and Strip Designer. As for general education, I really like Seismometer when teaching about earthquakes. For social media, I use Twitterific on the iPhone.
What's also interesting to note are the things I didn't buy, which speaks well of the gear I've purchased in the past. For example, I did not need to buy a new laptop this year. Even though my Macbook pro is almost four years old, it still runs great! Thanks in part to my brother-in-law Chris Graham of the Mac Shac, it continues to serve me well. I upgraded the internal hard drive from 100 GB to 250 GB, and even replaced a noisy fan. My 20" iMac is running well, too (without Snow Leopard, which I'm waiting for a compelling reason to upgrade), as is my school-issued HP laptop. My family still enjoys our Wii, and with hundreds of thousands of apps, my iPhone feels like a new device every day, so I didn't feel the need to upgrade to the 3Gs. I wonder what shiny new gadgets 2010 will bring?
Reader Comments (2)
Buzz, thanks for sharing! I actually broke my WetJet. I scrubbed too hard and it broke. I just bought a new one--it's still in the box. I could never go back to a regular mop.
It certainly will exciting to reflect on 2010 in a year!
thanks a lot dear, im very interesting for your article. im very impresing for this :)
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