Entries from June 2009 ↓

Somethings change during recessions. Somethings stay the same. New York will always be New York. In some ways it changes. In other ways it stays the same. In his tribute to the Big Apple, Daniel Norman captures a bit of a recession New York state of mind.

Be bold.  Be cheap.  Be alert when you buy a netbook.

RecessionGirl has been straight-up obsessed with netbooks and is the proud new parent of the HP 10.2 inch 1030 Atom.  The sticker price: $349.99.  Cheap and functional technology makes everyone want to shake their booty and dance with joy at the thought of a bargain.  But before you get stoked on your new mini-top, I just want to send a shout-out and warn ya on some of the financial fine print. Here’s what you need to know:

Microsoft Office costs $150 bucks and is sold separately.  Due to the antitrust action filed against Microsoft in 1998, it is illegal for the netbooks to be sold preloaded with the popular and recognized software.  I strongly recommend opting for ‘Open Office’ a FREE software application fully compatible with Microsoft Office that you can download in a few minutes http://www.openofficedownload.org/ver1a/index.php?se=AffID-210&affid=210&googleid=1041572243.

FYI, almost all netbooks come equipped with the ancient, arcane and just plane silly ‘Microsoft Works’.  It’s an abomination of software that is NOT compatible with MS Office for whatever bizarre reason; a cruel party joke that only Microsoft employees understand, but it’s easily overlooked when you’re jonesin for a netbook and focusing on the internet capabilities in the show room.  Stay focused and alert on your netbook test drive.  Recognize.

Here are some other costs that are thrown atcha:
(Prices vary depending on retailer, but are ball-park)

$59                  Standard 2 year warrante.
$129                2 year accident coverage warante.
$60                  Replacement battery (if you don’t rock the standard warrantee and you bust it).
$50                  1G upgrade.
$32.99             The cute little netbook carrying case.
$12.99             The not so cute little netbook carrying case.
8.625%            Big-ass New York State sales tax.

If I had opted for all of the bells and whistles strongly suggested by my sales person, my $349.99 laptop would have been about $800.

***Beware of the new commercial advertising the HP netbooks for $199.  HP and Verizon linked up on that deal and you will end up purchasing what amounts to what I call a ‘netberry’.  In addition to the sticker price for the netbook, you will be forking out roughly $40-$50 a month (depending on what kind of taxes, surcharges and other crap they tag on) because you’ve engaged in a binding 2-year contract with Verizon which is supplying you with 3G capability.  Great if you plan on traveling to Timbuktu or outer Mongolia and need to get a signal in a remote locale, but if you’re hitting Starbucks, your university library and other mainstream laplounges etc., it’s a ridiculously overpriced package, making your $200 purchase in the neighborhood of $1400 before taxes.  That price excludes requisite warantees and software.  Don’t get caught in the Net rifraf.  Keep it economical.  Keep it real.

Be bold.  Be cheap.  Be alert when you buy a netbook.

Nouriel. RecessionGirl loves you in a deep, emotional, spiritually profound, economic way. No one processes multiple, global-financial variables the way you do. In a tribute to you, I’d like to share some of your greatest hits with the fine citizens of the People’s Republic of Brooklyn.

For those of you unfamiliar with my economic Guru, here’s the ridiculously brief skinny: Nouriel Roubini is an NYU professor of economics and the chairman of RGE Monitor. He was one of the only predominant economists of our time to publicly discuss -on the record- the dangers of the financial practices that eventually led to our current credit crisis. He has been nicknamed Dr. Doom for his Nostradamus-like financial forecasting, but ya gotta give him props for his realism. He’s not an investor-puppet or a talking-head so you’ll find his comments less cheerleaderesque than your average financial spin-doctor. If I can just borrow a quick phrase that Renee Zellweger said to Tom Cruise in Jerry McGuire, “Nouriel. You complete me.”

Recessions inspire transition.  A moment to consider how life could be lived differently if the tables turned.  A minute to ponder reinvention of the self.  The promise of hope is there, but just a little out of reach.  You might find yourself lingering in the space in-between.  In this series titled ‘The In-Between’ Ariel Rubin presents fine art photography dedicated to the reflective process and what it means to grow in this day and age. 

www.arielrubin.com

Be bold.  Be cheap.  Go incognito.

Part of maintaining wealth (or your attempt at accruing it) involves protecting it from thieves.  While most credit card companies are generally quick to respond to fraudulent charges by crediting your account within the calendar month they receive the affidavit highlighting specific false charges; the hassle, headache and panic of someone running around with your numbers is no picnic.

Rest assured. Virtual credit cards are here.  RecessionGirl has just experimented with two online purchases via the virtual credit card.  Dang.  It was so simple. And fun. Try it. You’ll like it.

Citibank has a nice system that takes you through James Bond style security prompts and then, complete with ‘Mission Impossible’ sound effects, punches up numbers on a one-use, temporary, virtual credit card.  You’ll have to generate digits for each online purchase, but it’s a small price to pay for a hackless online-shop.

Also, as far as I can tell, the virtual card numbers are very objectcentric.  Meaning it’s great for online tangibles you might purchase on ebay, itunes or amazon.  But if you’re seeking reservations for a vacation, renting a car etc., it seems there are some road-blocks installed to protect companies from getting the bait-and-switch.  Overall, the virtual card gets RecessionGirl’s two thumbs up. 

Be bold.  Be cheap.  Go incognito.