U.S. Senators’ “Trust Busting”–Why?

I recently posted to Twitter an article from PCWorld.com reporting that a group of Senators have sent a letter to the FCC urging it to consider regulating device/carrier exclusivity deals in the mobile device industry. The most obvious one that comes to mind is the iPhone deal between Apple Inc. and AT&T. If you want an iPhone you need AT&T. However Apple and AT&T are not, by any means, the only companies with such a deal.

There is a term in the business world that explains what agreements like these create: a competitive advantage. A competitive advantage is any inherent or created edge that a company possesses that sets it apart from its competitors. A competitive advantage may be created by partnering with another company.

First of all, the only Constitutional power given Congress that is even remotely related to business is the regulation of interstate commerce (Article I, Sect. 8, Clause 3). This enumerated power applies to commerce between states or with foreign powers. Phone/carrier exclusivity deals do not fall into either category.

On the night of Obama’s election to the presidency I wrote an article borrowing heavily from “Nineteen Eighty-Four” imagery. At the time I considered that perhaps I was too hasty had not given the new president enough time to prove himself. Well within the first six months of what is sure to be a long and grueling term, he has proven me right. And now it seems that liberals (and big government folks in general) are emboldened by the leftist presence in the Oval Office.

Gazelle Buys Your Stuff

This is my 300th post, by the way.

I am cursed with two expensive hobbies.

First of all I am a musician. As with most things I have expensive taste when it comes to my instruments. I am not into knock-offs or second-rate brands of instruments. My favorite guitar company is Gibson. My favorite guitar and the one I currently own is one of the most sought-after guitars in the world: the Gibson Les Paul Standard. Growing up it was my dream guitar. My dream amp has always been a Marshall JCM series half-stack. It took me until my late twenties to acquire both of these items and together they are valued upwards of $2,000. My other dream guitar is a Gibson Firebird. I pretty much need a very lucky lotto ticket to pick one of those up. Just Google it.

My second hobby is computers/tech gadgets. Again, I have expensive taste. Paint it any way you like, Apple products are the best and the most expensive. Sure, I could have gotten a Dell laptop for $800 or less. But no, I sprung for a $1,300 Macbook. Now I am already looking forward to getting a second Macbook so Lyndsay and I can each have one (though that will not happen for some time, I am afraid). Also when it comes to enjoying content on the go I must have the best: the iPod. Definitely not the cheapest mp3 player out there, but it is the best (in my opinion).

Now if you also enjoy tech gadgets, be it video game consoles, mp3 players, or computers then there is a chance that you have accumulated gadgets that you no longer use. Perhaps they are stuffed away in a closet or the attic. Well I learned of a way that you could sell those gadgets, get them out of your way, and makes some moolah.

The company is called Gazelle. I have not use them because I do not have anything to sell right now but it looks interesting. Basically you look up the item you want to sell and they will give you a quote on what they would pay you for that item. The quote is based on your evaluation of it’s condition as well as market demand for the item. If you agree to the quote then they send you a box, you send the item off, they inspect it for themselves, then they send you payment. Gazelle’s site states that it refurbishes these items and resells them through various wholesellers and vendors. But the important thing is Gazelle takes these unwanted gadgets off your hands and replaces them with cash money.

If anyone has used them or if you use them in the future, let me know what your experience is like with them. I would be curious to know what sort of payment folks get for their items.

Josh H.

Touch n’ Go: Surprising Early Birthday

I have greatly enjoyed my iPod Nano that Lyndsay gave me as a gift Christmas 2005. I have a job that allows me to use my Nano nearly all day at work. It’s great and helps immensely to pass the time listening to music and podcasts. However the thing is just about used up and I decided in October that I am finally going to save up and purchase a new iPod. And I thought I might as well go with the oh-so-intriguing iPod Touch.

The iPod Touch comes in three capacities: 8GB, 16GB, 32GB. Of course the higher the capacity the higher the price. I assessed my needs and determined that the lowest priced 8GB Touch would do it for me. So I set out to save the money needed leaning most heavily on writing articles for Associated Content. As of this past Friday I had raised about $95 putting me at over 1/3 of the way to reaching the amount needed for an 8GB Touch ($218 on Amazon.com).

In the meantime my father-in-law got himself and my mother-in-law a 32GB iPod Touch. Having played with his I was all the more determined to get mine (8GB though it be). But ol’ dad had a trick up his sleeve.

This past week my father-in-law made it known that he had also gotten two additional 32GB iPod Touches. One he gave to Steve, as a congrats on completing his exams for his PhD (and it was well-deserved). The other he gave to me as an early birthday present (I will be 30 on December 8). I was absolutely amazed. I went from a 2GB iPod Nano that was on its last leg due to hours upon hours of heavy use to a fancy-smancy iPod Touch that does music and video and with a whopping 32GB of storage.

I am so grateful for this amazing gift and I am enjoying it so much. Thank you, mom and dad, you are too generous. Love you guys!

Josh H.

ps: Jason, here’s hoping that you’ll join me in iPod Touch Land very soon, buddy!

The Good Thing About Saving

Lyndsay and I are very blessed to have a house that we love and the ability to do things that we love and enjoy. On the other hand we are by no means rolling in dough (I mean, that would be so messy–who wants Pillsbury’s all over their knickers?). Let me just say we do alright. But we don’t have an abundance of disposable income. We usually have to save up for more expensive items but we can eventually get the things we need/want.

I heard a successful business man on a podcast this week who immediately bought one of the new Apple Macbooks that were released this week. He said later that day he bought a second one because “he wanted two”. Did I mention that the new Macbooks cost $1,244? I didn’t? Well, they do. So this gentleman

Guitar Praise: Yes, That Is What It Is Called

On moral grounds most Christians do not support cloning. Well, not the cloning of humans anyway. Enter: Guitar Praise by a company called Digital Praise (how cute). This new game, to be released later this month, grabs Guitar Hero by the chords and it catches it up to the third Heaven. That’s right, trade in that harp, grab yourself a Guitar Praise axe, and kerrang for the kross! I mean, cross.

I am a Christian who listens to Christian music only and I am familiar with all of the artists that have been included on the Guitar Praise game (though I am most definitely not a fan of them all). These artists for Guitar Praise range in style from acoustic pop (Caedmon’s Call) to teeny-bopper punk/pop (Superchick) to post-hardcore hard rock (Flyleaf and Spoken). Quite a gamut.

I am surprised by many of the artists on here

Shoe Circus? Really!? Shoe Circus??

Ok, this is getting ridiculous! This is just so wierd. How does this help them?

Now, are you ready to switch to a Mac?

Apple “Let’s Rock” Event

Apple Inc. sent out an invitation this week to select members of the media for a special event to be held Tuesday, September 9. Due to the timing of the invitation and the style of the invitation, it is pretty much assumed (and rightly so) that this will be an event for the announcement of some new iPods. It is typical for Steve Jobs to come out and announce new iPod revs or models prior to the holiday buying season. The month of September is usually the month of choice for such announcements.

There was speculation everywhere of a completely new iPod Nano design, a new iPod Touch and probably a host of other things many of which are quite unlikely. But I can sum up the event for you in once sentence: The product(s) announced will once again dominate Christmas lists and achieve such a cool factor, nay, star status, that any kid who finds a Microsoft Zune under the tree on December 25 will immediately conclude that either he was a very bad boy this year or his parents no longer love him.

You can now head over to Apple’s website and choose which new iPod you want on your Christmas list. The new iPod Touch has been reduced in price (though not by enough, in my opinion) and now features a mobile App store, built-in speaker for casual listening and new high-quality earbuds. Or you can choose the completely redesigned and repackaged iPod Nano. The most to change about this product is the form factor. Time will tell whether the “fatboy” version or this new slimmer form factor will be most conducie to video viewing. Me? I will be staying with the first-generation iPod Nano that I have. Mostly because I want a light Christmas so that we can have some extra funds to fix our broken Macbook screen. So yeah. I’m getting a new Macbook screen for Christmas.

I think I need to go sob in a corner.

Josh H.

Apple “Let’s Rock” Event

Apple Inc. sent out an invitation this week to select members of the media for a special event to be held Tuesday, September 9. Due to the timing of the invitation and the style of the invitation, it is pretty much assumed (and rightly so) that this will be an event for the announcement of some new iPods. It is typical for Steve Jobs to come out and announce new iPod revs or models prior to the holiday buying season. The month of September is usually the month of choice for such announcements.

There is speculation everywhere of a completely new iPod Nano design, a new iPod Touch and probably a host of other things many of which are quite unlikely. But I can sum up the event for you in once sentence: The product(s) announced will once again dominate Christmas lists and achieve such a cool factor, nay, star status, that any kid who finds a Microsoft Zune under the tree on December 25 will immediately conclude that either he was a very bad boy this year or his parents no longer love him.

So check out Apple’s website Tuesday afternoon and choose which new iPod you want on your Christmas list. Me? I will be staying with the first-generation iPod Nano that I have. Mostly because I want a light Christmas so that we can have some extra funds to fix our broken Macbook screen. So yeah. I’m getting a new Macbook screen for Christmas.

I think I need to go sob in a corner.

Josh H.

I Never Win Anything…Sort Of

Have you ever known someone who always has things go his way? More specifically, have you ever known someone who always wins stuff. He may just casually buy a $1 raffle ticket or fill out a contest form on a whim at the fair. And lo and behold the guy always wins! Well I am at the other end of that spectrum because I never win anything. I have entered my fair share of contests, drawings, raffles and such and I have never won. But last week something changed for me.

“Avoid This Ebay Seller” and Other Computer Repair Mishaps

By now you all know the story of the freak accident involving my Macbook, a subwoofer enclosure, and a 3 1/2 foot drop. You also know that besides the screen being cracked and shattered, one of the keys of my keyboard (the letter X key) was chipped during this accident. Well I contacted Applecare (the extended warranty repair service for Apple, which costs extra by the way) and the guy told me that this is a case of accidental damage and Applecare only covers hardware and software malfunctions. He also told me though that sometimes the repair center will go ahead and repair even accidental damages under warranty even though officially they are not supposed to do so. So he drafted a service request for me and said that Applecare would be sending a box with which I would ship my Macbook to the service center.

However there is a major catch to all this.