I have been assimilated

Sherardp

I'm slowly getting there myself. Just starting to really dig Apple products, let alone the automation and features within these products is what I really enjoy. I have the 27" iMac, two iPhones, 3 Ipads, and the Ipod classic. Really can't go wrong with Apple. I'm planning to put a 128gb Crucial M4 SSD in my imac soon. I have the drive sitting on my desk, just need to chop to it.

AsSiMiLaTeD

That's a tough install job on the SSD, let me know how it turns out.

maximillian

I haven't had an all around experience such as yours, but here are some minor examples. These are listed because I have no real reason to be a fanboy and maybe there are reasons that should push me away, but I do enjoy using/buying them and it keeps me a little loyal.

- Nintendo... I just love Mario games. Amazing how they can still milk this franchise. I prefer playing Mario games on my DS than any iPhone or Android game out there. Just got Mario tennis for the 3DS. Thought it would be boring, but it proves my point exactly.

- Sears... maybe not the best stuff out there, but love their parts department for older stuff.

- Microsoft... Excel and Xbox. Two great products IMO.

- Best Buy... prices not great, pushy and dumb sales people, stock is mediocre for PC parts, but I'm glad they exist. I couldn't imagine buying some large, high ticket items elsewhere.

- Tivo... want to hate them for their high price on new gear, but I just love their user interface.

- Lego... probably spent just as much on Lego as audio gear, well maybe not "just" but way too much. It's insane what little colored plastic will do to you, and how much you are willing to spend.


Not a huge or all inclusive list. And probably many would disagree, but just trying to stay on-topic.

AsSiMiLaTeD

That's funny, I share a couple of those with you. I also have a somewhat irrational liking towards Best Buy, I've just had good experience with them over the years and will typically pay more for an item there vs buying online somewhere, that's a tangent for another thread though. I'm also a huge TiVo fan, have been for years now. They used to have really high prices, but these days are actually very reasonable on their new and refurb boxes, funny how they have some of the best stuff on the market and yet AFAIK have mostly been considered a commercial failure.

maximillian

Well, not to turn this into another bash-fest... again I love Tivo over other DVR's and have two of them in my home. However, I bought both boxes for free after rebate and then paid between $200-$250 for lifetime subscriptions. Even with the multi-unit discount, Tivo Premiere box is $99 and the lifetime subscription is $399. So that will be $500 to upgrade to the latest hardware. Fortunately, I know how to replace the HD's in both my units and have done so twice already (they're old).

Thought about DirectTV-Tivo setup, but then the content monthly payment would go up considerably. Oh well. Thought about rolling my own, but again I want something simple, out of the box, and don't have to administer.

AsSiMiLaTeD

I never do lifetime on any of my TiVos and don't tend to think in those terms, which is probably why we see things differently in terms of price. The lifetime is probably ultimately cheaper depending on how long your box lasts, but I do the monthly plans. For me, the monthly cost of the lesser equipped crappier cable HD DVRs was more than I'm paying for the TiVo boxes, so that's a wash. The only price for me was really the purchase price of the box.