Give Me Techo Advice IV: multi-question edition

By Dan on Nov 14, 2008 in Techno

A couple of weeks ago, there were several merchants offering Flip camcorders for sell on Amazon in the $60-$80 range. They no longer seem to be available, and I’m given to understand that the low price was the result of merchants unloading previous models of the video camera prior to the release of a new model. Now that the new model is out, I can’t find any of the discounted ones. But surely not everyone cleared out their stock.

I noticed the same thing right before Windows released Vista. There were some great deals on machines running XP, but the day before Vista came out, the shelves of the big box electronic stores were devoid of computers.

Does anyone know of an outlet for older model electronics? I’m specifically looking for a Flip in the sub-$100 range for my daughter Maria, but it’s a Christmas present, so don’t tell  her.

Another possible Christmas purchase:

If the economy continues to flounder and poor consumer spending leads to sharp price reductions, we may make a move on a new family PC in the next month. I was looking at Dell’s most basic home PC and going through the options, opting against most upgrades and add-ons, when they asked me if I would like a TV tuner. My question to you is – Do I need a TV tuner in my PC?

Our PC isn’t connected to cable, we have DSL, and I have no plans on paying to have the satellite feed connected. For some reason, however, it seems as if the integration between TV and PC will become indispensable in the coming years and I might regret it if I don’t have the ability to integrate.

Bonus question: Is Dell’s basic computer good enough?

We have basic needs. Store photos and music. Manage the finances. The kids play some games, but nothing terribly graphic-intensive. I don’t want to pay for more than we need, but I also don’t want to have to start upgrading components in the next couple of years.

As always, your advice is greatly appreciated. If you ever need any tips on authoring a pointless and little-read blog, just drop me a line, I’d be happy to steer you in the right direction.

3 Comment(s)

  1. The TV tuner would essentially let you turn your PC into a TV set and DVR. If the monitor isn’t sexy enough to be better than your current TVs and you already have DVR capabilities then skip it. The hassle of doing that isn’t worth it.

    I recently got a new Dell and got way more than the basic but I play a bunch of graphics intensive games. Go Fallout 3! I got my wife the basic model and it was great for internet browsing, ripping music, running Office apps. You’ll be fine with the basic. Hers still does everything she needs 3 years later and I don’t plan to upgrade anything for a while. Maybe up memory at the start and get a larger hard drive and you’ll be happy untilyou or the kids want to play any ‘real’ games on it.

    Gish | Nov 14, 2008 | Reply

  2. I’ll let someone else answer the Flip question – just hit Google Shopping and didn’t see any for under $100.

    If you don’t have a need for the TV tuner now, I really doubt you’re going to wake up one day and think “I need TV on that thing.” And even if that happens, you can always go purchase an add-on card at that time. So I’d just skip it.

    Re: Dell – Those basic computers look like they’ll be fine. I would go with the $329 Inspiron 518 that come with 2GB of RAM and a Pentium chip (avoid those that have a Celeron). The one I’m seeing (http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/desktop-inspiron-518?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs far left) doesn’t include a monitor though, don’t know if that’s important or not.

    The other thing I like about this one is that its 2GB is only using 2 memory slots, leaving you room (typically two more slots) to expand later. I see they have some models that come with 3GB of RAM but are using all 4 memory slots, which will cause you to purchase 2GB in the future to upgrade to 4GB (because you’ll have to toss out two of the pre-installed ones).

    So, in summary – avoid Celeron, avoid less than 2GB of memory, and if you have the choice get one that isn’t using all 4 memory slots.

    EJ | Nov 14, 2008 | Reply

  3. Opt out of the tuner. It’s not something you’ll use now, and it’s just a card you pop in a slot, so if you feel the urge down the road you can always pick one up at Best Buy.

    I would bet you’ll see sub $100 Flips on Black Friday. Set your alarm.

    Russ | Nov 15, 2008 | Reply

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