Quality products

Whenever I go to buy something, I always have a debate with myself: is it worth it to buy a high quality (but VERY expensive) version of the product, or buy the lower quality (and sometimes dirt cheap) version? It's a complex question made even harder by the fact that some mid-grade brands try to pass themselves off as high-grade (Bose comes to mind, but are they even mid-grade?). Not that there is anything wrong with mid-grade (I buy plenty of mid-grade stuff... looking for the "best" at a price range I'm willing to swallow).

It involves balancing the overall price of the product, how long it will likely last, how frequently it will get used, and how good a job it will do.

A perfect example is cordless drills. I finally decided to go with a cheap one made in China because in order to get a cordless drill that is really worth having, you have to pony up quite a bit of money. Instead, I got the cheap one for the small projects and will get out my corded drill for the major ones.

Here's a list of some of the higher-end brands for things:

• Vacuum cleaners: Kirby and Electrolux. People rave about Dyson as well.
• Kensington trackballs
  

This could also expand into a list of things to beware of.

Fun stuff

Origami has always interested me. I think somewhere I have bookmarks for some sites, and I'm sure there are more - although perhaps not this serious.

Displaying data

There is so many ways to display data... just look at digg's cool tools for watching their stories. IBM has a tool for generalized data sets, it appears.

Savings: absolutely worth it!

Neat blog post about energy savings.
And for the machine I'm about to build: how about a high efficiency power supply? /.
Also need to investigate power savings in the form of ACPI for Linux.


"Deal sites":

• digg discussion
  
• moneysavingexpert (mostly UK stuff?)
  
• xpBargain seems ok, but almost lists too much stuff. Same with techbargins
• dealnews has decent categories
  
• I like Spoofee's listings better, although maybe it lists too little. Need a happy medium
• and of course, the kings, Fat wallet and Slick Deals (which has a better interface than FW)
  

General shopping sites I've found good deals at:

• Typical: newegg/chiefValue, Amazon.com, tigerdirect, macmall
  
• Smaller: 6thAve, J&R, Butterfly, Vann's, Crutchfield (during sales), Abt, mwave.com, buy.com, ecost.com (although beware of shipping delays that cause you to be ineligible for mail-in rebates), "Monitor outlet"
  
• Hit or Miss: Abes
  
• Beware: zoommania (lists things they don't have, and may not sell items unless you buy overpriced accessory packages) and Regal camera

And then we have savings as in money savings:

• http://www.umbrellabank.com/per_accounts/per_cds.php
• http://www.choicebankaz.com/interest-rates.asp
• http://www.indymacbank.com/Individuals/Banking/page.asp?pSection=msnMoneyCusCD&ck=1&imb=INF:MSm:CD
• http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/
• http://www.westsoundbank.com/onlinebanking.html
• https://savings.eloan.com/savingsrates?context=deposits&sid=FnA1FDmoRD8Te0Rkdmok2BZ1RuI&user=&mcode=
• https://bank.countrywide.com/CWBRates.aspx
• http://cdrates.bankaholic.com/

but be sure to check out the banks before you send them your money!
Speaking of saving money... Beware the planners.

Customer support

Digg has a link worth keeping to a useful site on how to actually get hold of someone for customer service.

The Internets

Speed testing:

• Miranda arl speed test
• same as web100 NDT at Stanford which lists several other speed test sites
• A huge list is here.
• Simple, but effective: Toast.net
  
• Speakeasy is just rebranded Speedtest
• Note that it might be affected by window size - maybe try tuning window scaling (RFC 1323).
  

Cable modem info... worth knowing before calling the cable company about poor bandwidth:

• DocsDiag - cable modem diagnostics - can grab current config (like speed ratings)
  

Domain hosting, in somewhat of a priority order:

• Dotster
• namecheap (reseller for ENOM, not a registrar?) Find discount code. Excellent reviews.
  
• GoDaddy supposedly has excellent customer service, at least compared to:
• 1and1 (fast cheap and reliable, but lots of reports of poor customer service)
• yahoo

Unknown:

• 777
• dynadot.com
• MyDomain.com / domain.com - use discount/coupon code "bargaincat.com"

http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=508849&page=3
Also, .info domains are dirt cheap.

My current (RCA /Thomson DCM310) cable modem responds like all good modems should, to http://192.168.100.1/ Example while connected:

Forward Path:	Return Path:
Signal Acquired at 615.000 MHz	Connection: Acquired
SNR: 34.0 dB	Frequency: 36.0 MHz
Received Signal Strength: -13.4 dBmV	Power Level: 50.5 dBmV
Micro-Reflections: 37 dBc	Channel ID: 3
Modulation: 256 QAM	Modulation: 16 QAM

Update: What if I need to get around a firewall that my cable company puts up? Wired has an article that is worth reading on that topic.