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Ripped off
About a month ago when we had our major plumbing problem, we just picked a plumber to do the work and didn't shop around. We didn't have much of a choice as we needed the water back on. We chose Rescue Rooter and the plumber did a good job. When he was doing the work, I was trying to do some calculations to see what it really should have cost based on say $85/hour for a plumber (that's what I was charged in the past for non-emergency work). The plumber said the rate was the same if it was an emergency or non-emergency. The repair cost a lot, but I started to forget about it.
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Dealing with screenshots
Over the years, I've had to take screenshots for documentation, to report bugs, and to help other people. Up until recently, the primary application I used was SnapzProX. However, it took awhile for them to come up with an Intel native version and pretty much has remained the same for years. This isn't really a bad thing as the program worked, but I was longing for something more. There have been a number of programs brought to market since SnapzProX, but nothing has really come close to meeting my needs.
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The end of desktop sync?
While this probably isn't news to many, I have almost come to the conclusion that syncing a handheld with the desktop is dead. The only exception is media as OTA (over the air) sync is far too slow (currently) to handle large photos, music, and movie (for the most part). It has taken me awhile to come to this conclusion as I spent many years working on desktop sync software. In the last few weeks, we installed Zimbra at work and are moving people towards syncing their handhelds (Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, iPhone, and Palm OS devices) over the air (primarily cellular). In these cases, the desktop just becomes another sync client and not the master; the server handles the synchronization.
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Bottom of the line
When I look to buy lasting goods I don't usually don't buy the top of the line as it is not affordable nor would I get the value out of it (however, I do buy my Macs at almost the top of the line). The other day I had to take my circular saw in for service as it didn't quite sound right; I bought it a few months ago reconditioned. I know I didn't buy the top of the line (the saw along with a drill, flashlight and reciprocating saw was $199), but didn't buy the bottom. When I started talking to the folks at the repair shop, they pretty much laughed at me with my saw. These people repair professional tools and my rinky dink saw was basically a toy. I admitted that I knew what I was getting, but it definitely wasn't the bottom of the line; it did come with lithium ion batteries which should have moved it up a notch. However, they didn't agree. After talking with the manager for a bit, I learned that the price of the tool doesn't necessarily mean anything as they get all tools in for repair; it really doesn't matter the brand (there are only a few manufacturers of electric tools as there have been a lot of mergers).