Last year I held off on many purchases that I just could not justify, what with the economy going downhill and becoming a freelancer (again) I needed to penny pinch. This has caused a bit of a backlog on my wanted list and it needs addressing, either I need to trim this list down or win the lottery. So I’ve picked my top five from the list, and reasoned through why I want/need the item, and added a score of how likely I am to get it. This is a list of things that ideally I would like to get this year, and (hopefully) when I actually come around to getting each item I can refer back here to make sure that I still have valid reasons for the expense. Anyhoo, here goes.
iPhone
It seems that no self-respecting geek should be without one of these, but when the original iPhone was released in June 07 I was only two months into an eighteen month contract on a Nokia N95 with Vodafone. This meant that when the 3G version was released a year later, I still had several months left on my contract. Not only that but I was hoping a couple of gripes (copy & paste and notes/to-do syncing) would be fixed.
However, there are some really good apps now available (notably ‘Things’) and so I’ve made the decision to get the next version regardless of what has or has not been fixed. I’ll be out of my existing contract and so long as Apple release an upgrade to the 3G model this year, then I’ll be found somewhere near the front of the queue.
Likelihood of actually getting: 90%
Netbook
These funky little laptops are all the rage these days and seem to be the natural extension of the computer platform. Despite owning far too many computers already, I think I can actually justify one of these. When I’ve got a project on the go design or coding I am pretty good at disconnecting myself from the net and actually getting on with the task in hand. The same cannot be said for writing, I often find myself looking something up on wikipedia or elsewhere and distracting myself. The rat-holes I go down can devastate what I am trying to achieve. I have a white MacBook that could easily perform this task, but I don’t actually feel comfortable taking it anywhere but the coffee house (like now). I imagine being more able to throw a netbook into a bag and take it off with me for a few hours writing in the park or in the woods. I appreciate that there is a romantic side to this that may be a little unrealistic but who cares!
What I really want is a modern version of a Psion, but they gave up years ago. I will probably end up with something like a Samsung NC10 with decent battery life.
Likelihood of actually getting: 30%
Expand CD Collection
As a (part-time) musician films like High Fidelity appeal to me for the absolute unashamed geeky music knowledge. I pride myself on knowing the music I like, but I envy the rows and rows of LPs in Rob Gordon’s vast collection. I really want a music collection that I can look back on in later life, and love. Please not that I am talking about a collection of physical media not mp3s, but CDs. I am pretty good at getting the latest albums I like, but I’m terrible at back dating my collection. Notable examples of CDs missing from my collection include: Broken Toybox by E, Joshua Tree by U2, and at least on more Faith No More album. My plan is to order at least three CDs from amazon each month.
Likelyhood of actually happening: 70%
Low Power Home Server
For personal and development purposes I run a linux server from home. This allows be to tinker with (and break) the latest web apps without the chance of damaging my main server. I also use it for backing up and sharing data with my family. However, this beast is my pre-Apple Pentium 4 which draws a minimum of 80 watts, and that just isn’t environmentally friendly enough for me. I currently only have it running during waking hours, and less if I can help it. If I have the determination to change all the lighting in our house to energy saving bulbs then I need to look at my server too. Since I really want an ‘always on’ solution it should be energy efficient (no more that 20W), be able to crunch data quickly (at least 1Ghz) and be cheap (less than £200). The best solution is probably the Asus Eee Desktop, but I will need to do a little more research before I commit.
Likelihood of actually getting: 20%
Quicken 2004 (again)
Update: I’ve now got this – it cost me £30 and Intuit a reputation.
About two years ago Intuit got out of the UK market with respect to Quicken, they also decided to close down their DRM server. So when I came to switching off my last Windows XP box to put a linux server on it, I bought VM Ware Fusion for my Mac on which I had hoped to continue running Quicken 2004. Lets get this out of the way, DRM sucks! It does not prevent people like The Pirate Bay or other P2P fans from cracking software and releasing a DRM free version, it does however screw over their own users who have paid for the product and have a legal right to use it. I have now vowed never to use software that relies on an external DRM server to use it.
Before I get too bitter and twisted I should say that before having to buy a second copy of Quicken 2004, I have tried just about every open source or nearly free money management program out there. None of them provided the ease of use, security or functionality that Quicken 2004 did. I called Intuit up, had a dull conversation with them, which resulted in being offered an unprotected version for about £80. Bearing in mind the original cost me less than £40 in 2005 I laughed, then got frustrated with the sales operator before turning to eBay.
The unprotected second release version occasionally pops up on eBay for about £30 so I will have to get that. This year more than any I need to have full control over my finances, and short of writing my own app this is the best way for me to go.
If I had any balls, I would buy it and upload it to a P2P network, but I don’t.