A mini-list on this last day of the year

[heidi]

Well, on the Jewish calendar, at least.

1. longtimegone and I were asquee this morning to see that the prices of external hard drives on Amazon were majorly reduced - we're both planning on ordering the 500GB Western Digital external hard drive for $124 (down from 300-something) - if you're interested in getting this or one of the others, if you could use the link below, then 4-6% will go to help FictionAlley on things like conference sponsorships.
Western Digital WDG1U5000 My Book Essential Edition 500 GB Hard Drive

It's so weird. I remember when the ZIP drive came out, and you could OMG WOW get 100 MB or even 250 MB of storage on this disky-cartridge thingy, and it was 200 for the drive, and each 100 MB disk was about twenty dollars. And isn't it amazing that a two second google search can get me a post from 1995 about the release of this major change to storage capabilities? Even as late as 2000, we were still thinking in terms of the YAY capacity of 100 MB. Now? I can walk into my local grocery and pick up a 2 gig jump drive for about seven dollars. Ten if I want it on a keychain. Woah.

In twelve years, how much storage capacity will we be able to get for two hundred and twenty dollars? What about for ten bucks?

2. Anita Roddick died - if her name sounds familiar, she founded The Body Shop back in the late 70s, and I was addicted to her store before Lush was ever invented. She was the first to bring organic materials, cruelty-free testing, Fair Trade and sustainable resources in terms of ingredients to cosmetics and skin care products on a large scale, and my gosh the stuff smelled wonderful! I've been to Body Shops in a dozen cities in the US, as well as in London, Mykonos, Dikili and Berlin. She changed the world of business, of cosmetics, of the way people think about beauty and community, and I'll miss her innovative thinking.

3. L'SHANA TOVA TIKATEIVU to all celebrating Rosh Hashana this week! May you have yummy apples dipped in stickygood honey, and a very sweet new year!
ETA!
4. And two fic recs!

Doctor Who - Doctor/Master, Doctor/Jack, sorta Doctor/Donna? by nostalgia_lj, here. Crack. Yay!

Heroes/Supernatural Crossover BigBoom fic by fictionalkatie which is entitled Five Powers Peter Used to Impress Sam Winchester and is (obviously) Peter/Sam. Gorgeous meshing of the 'verses, and wonderfully written. Excellent story!

5. And since I haven't seen it mentioned on my flist yet, Jon Stewart will be back to host the Oscars again this spring! YAY!

Comments

[musikologie.livejournal.com]

I was looking at the WD page on Amazon, because I think I'll be in danger of filling up my current HD soon, and my mind boggled to see that they're now selling 2TB drives. That's incredible. If you had told me even 5 years ago that anyone would possibly want that much storage, I would have laughed in your face.

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

I know! I mean, if you want to get rid of all your DVDs and your CDs and photo albums, then yeah, 2 TB makes sense, and it makes your house look a lot more streamlined. If it costs the same for a 2TB drive as it does for a unit that will hold 200 DVDs, then...

Meh, it's amazing to think about.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

L'shanah tovah!

Mmm... apples and honey. (There are times when I'm quite grateful for having grown up with the traditions from both religions in my family. *grins*)

Before apples... need coffee.

[tobymalfoy.livejournal.com]

Interstingly, the US seems to lag a bit behind Germany in terms of the prices of 500GB harddrives. We hit the under-€100 range for that about half a year ago.

Anyway, my predictions for storage capacity in 12 years: for $220 you will get 20 terabytes and for $10 you will get 500GB. Hmmm... I may be way too conservative there. Make it double that.

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

I wonder if a time will come where DVDs won't be a reasonable storage mechanism - too bulky, too easy to scratch - and you'll buy films and such on jump-drive equivilents. They've already started releasing pre-loaded audio books, which is somewhat similar...

[schmoo999.livejournal.com]

Yay for Jon Stewart hosting!!!:) and oooo shiny on the external hard drives.

[smilie117.livejournal.com]

Hmmm - thanks for the heads up on the external - I'll have to read up on it later as I've been looking for a way to back up my dying desktop and this may be it.

:)

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

They have some which are priced a little less, but the quality of the one I got is supposedly a smidge higher than the LaCie is, according to my brother in law, FWIW.

[smilie117.livejournal.com]

As I don't really have much knowledge of external harddrives as have not bought before, thanks for the extra info. :D I think I'll go read up on some reviews and decide soon, hopefully if going for it, before any price jumps.

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

I don't think the prices are going to be jumping much, but you can always wait for blingy one later this fall?

[smilie117.livejournal.com]

That's so shiny! It might be too shiny for my desktop though but I'll think on it still :) thanks for the info Heidi! *ponders*

[redina]

but the quality of the one I got is supposedly a smidge higher than the LaCie is

Possibly. The thing about externals, which you're aware of, is that they're comprised of multiple parts... IIRC, most of which Lacie does not make and why they're often pricey... That and they're geared for Mac folk, who already pay for overpriced hardware. Anyway, for example, some of the recent Calvalry 500gig externals (less than $100) have a WD hard drive inside. While the connections/chipsets are also outsourced by LaCie.

For all intents, the WD My Book is good enough. While no HD maker is prone from failed drives, Seagate (thanks to their five year warrantys), WD (usually three years), and Maxtors (1-3 years, even though some are rebadged Seagates - DiamondMax seem to be the better line) tend to be your best bets when it comes to HD manufacturers. Transfer speeds would be based on connections used, compatibility, and drive speed.

There are other folk more familiar with tech aspects; I know I've got gaping holes in tech. I just dabble in them a little bit from a consumer level.

Dina

[misscake]

Happy New Year to you and yours!

[wendywoowho.livejournal.com]

Happy new year to you, darlin'!

Re: changes in technology

[redina]

we're both planning on ordering the 500GB Western Digital external hard drive for $124 (down from 300-something)

Hm, that's still a little bit high. They should be around $95-$110. Even that exact same model has fluctuated below $100. But hey, for folk who wish to help out FictionAlley, then it works out. :-) Good cause.

It's so weird. I remember when the ZIP drive came out, and you could OMG WOW get 100 MB or even 250 MB of storage on this disky-cartridge thingy,

I still have over a hundred of those disks... mostly collecting dust. I know I was excited about them back in the late 90s to early 2000. {g}

Dina

Re: changes in technology

[redina]

Ah, found it. Let me emphasize this: the deal has expired... actually, it sold out fairly quickly.

During the last week of August, Staples had this WD 500gig external drive at $119.98 with free shipping. Adding code 59652 for an instant $10 off took it down to $109.98. You then had the option of adding additional codes such as $20 off $100, which I've got one of those emailed to me from Staples, or on eBay for the $25 off $100. Plus, there's the $3 "inkjet coupons" that you get for turning in used cartridges to Staples. Theoretically, it may have been possible to get this puppy down to $75.98-$89.98, before taxes.

If you're looking for computer parts, I can keep an eye out for stuff, if I know what you're looking for.

Dina

Re: changes in technology

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

I checked pricegrabber before I ordered it via Amazon, and nothing else was as close to the Amazon price as that - but yeah, I didn't think about coupon codes.

I think I'm pretty well set for the moment - three new computers in six months in various locations for various people in the family, and I'm knocked out, but in a good way.

I will be getting a GPS for the holidays, though, so anything you see along those lines would be lovely!

Re: changes in technology

[redina]

I will be getting a GPS for the holidays, though, so anything you see along those lines would be lovely!

Ah, not much of a GPS person, which might explain why I get lost so often. ;-)

Though, I was amused by this Jensen NVX227 GPS for $179.99 with free shipping. There's a $20 mail-in rebate to take the cost down to $159.99. *And* if you make yourself a 'new customer' (i.e. new Gmail address, new CC, new mailing address - this can be accomplished by just adding a Room, Floor, Suite #, etc to your existing address), there's an additional $10 off Google checkout to end at $149.99 with no FL tax. As a Supernatural fan, just the amusing thought of 'touching Jensen in your vehicle'. {chuckle}

But you probably want something along the lines of a TomTom... Hm, it was another pre-Labor Day sale at Staples like the WD hard drive. The sale had a TomTom One for $199.99 with a retail of $299.99. Add Staples coupons and utilize credit cards with 3% cashback on office store purchases... but yeah, just missed it.

There are better brands, but of course, the price goes up and I'm a bit 'rusty' on what's the "latest and greatest" models [with lemon fresh smell]. :-) Black Friday is coming up and that's usually a sweet time to look for deals.

Dina

GPS Re: changes in technology

[redina]

Ah, found the TomTom One at Amazon.com for $199.99 and no tax for FL and free shipping. Pump this puppy through an FA redirect, and if you've got an Amazon.com Visa, there's 3pts back per $1 spent. Decent GPS for the price seems to be the consensus. Something to think on.

Dina

[trinity_clare]

I was reading too fast and I thought you said Andy Roddick for a second there. Phew.

[heybritney.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the storage capacity of drives and how much they've changed is still amazing.
I'd also think about getting two because, I mean, I always keep data on two different drives. But that's also because I keep most of my files on my external drive and basically none on my computer.

[simons-flower.livejournal.com]

At Best Buy (the toy store -- that you can tell your parents about -- for adults), I saw a 750 GB Western Digital drive. They were asking something like $350 for it. I just found it on Amazon for $280. My jaw dropped when I say that.

[judyserenity.livejournal.com]

Happy Belated New Year, Heidi!