When it seems the whole world has gone tech-crazy.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Unless your cellphone antenna is held on by scotch tape or your TV picture is somehow compromised, it’s a good bet you don’t really need a change. Unlike upgrades of old, like moving from VCR tapes to DVD’s, for example, there is no secret content for the flat-panel or over 32” crowd. With the massive amounts of layoffs and subsequent businesses in-trouble or closing, no one is going to be saving the world by purchasing an un-necessary flat screen. “But I’m supposed to spend money!” you say. “It’s economic stimulus!” Riiight. Which brings us to…
Don’t believe everything you hear.
For years, the consumer electronics market has been filled with descriptions ranging from ‘dynamic’ to ‘breathtaking’ to the uber-smug ‘next-level’. Even if they just pushed-out an extremely similar product six months ago, this one surely will blow your mind! Just like you don’t need to go rushing-out to buy everything you couldn’t afford without being in debt to ‘fix’ the economy, you might want to think twice about dropping more hard-earned dough for the next generation of something – unless it really is stone-aged. (I’m talking to you, Windows 98 users!) Also related to this discussion – ‘a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’. Why spend money to replace something that works, with something unknown that could cause you more headaches?
Less equals more.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t strive to have as many options as possible. I do think it’s silly to have multiple pieces when two-or-three will work just fine. Take for example, the splendid Xbox360. You got it to play “Rock Band” and re-live your dream of rock stardom (and embarrassing the kids is a bonus) but hold-on! Did you know it also handles DVD’s, including Blu-Ray and will stream Netflix? No need to drop another $99 for the Roku and if you join the growing trend of television owners who have kicked cable and satellite to the curb, you don’t need the DVR. What was once just ‘an expensive gaming system’ does it all – and that’s just one example. This goes beyond simply saving you money into the new push to be ‘green’. Each time you throw-away an old dvd player, vcr, tv or computer, you contribute to long-term pollution of landfills. Recycling that old technology is definitely ideal – and so is finding multi-tasking technology to replace it.
