Buyer's Guide

MOBILE PROVIDER

Verizon.

You live by your connection. It's the key to your life. We live in an era of communication and information, and if you don't have a signal, you're out of the loop. Verizon has more service in more locations and more LTE than any other provider.

Sprint is LTE challenged.

AT&T is a bit better, but still sucks.

T-Mobile is so lame, they had to reinvent their business model.

Don't be afraid to change. Just because tens of millions of people are on AT&T, that does not mean it doesn't suck.

You can either live in nirvana or nowheresville.

Switch to Verizon immediately.

(And don't trust me, trust "Consumer Reports," where Verizon is at the top and AT&T at the bottom in every survey. And, of course, Verizon is not perfect, it doesn't work at your house, get the service that does.)

MOBILE PHONE

iPhone 5.

I'm not going to get into an Android versus iPhone debate. If you are a power user and happy with your Android, that's fine by me. But the reason you use the iPhone is because of uniformity, they all work the same, support, you can just walk into the Genius Bar, the curated app store and its lack of malware, and the ability to upgrade the software easily.

iPHONE TO BUY

The iPhone 5.

Do not cheap out and buy a 4S or a 4. That's just plain ignorant. You think you're saving $100 or $200, but the real story is you're paying for these phones over two years, the life of the contract, so you should get the best. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish.

And the reason you want the iPhone 5 is not the faster chip or the extra row of icons, but LTE. Surfing on LTE on Verizon is faster than many people's home connection. The 4S and 4 are 3G devices only. LTE is to 3G as cycling is to walking.

COMPUTER

The one you've got.

Don't buy a new computer unless yours is broken or doesn't do something. Yes, if you upgrade you'll get something faster, but you're mainly surfing the web, and that's more a function of your Internet connection than your chip/hardware.

IF YOU BUY A NEW COMPUTER

Get a Mac. Because Windows 8 sucks. Trying to be everything, it's nothing.

INTERNET CONNECTION

Cable or FiOS, that's it. Absolutely do not buy home DSL, it's positively glacial in speed. You think you're saving money on the triple-play, but the joke is on you. You want at least 15 down and 1 up. Go to speedtest.net and check your speed. If it does not reach these numbers, upgrade.

AUTOMOBILE

Japanese.

German cars are better engineered and provide a better driving experience.

Despite the hype, American autos still aren't as problem free.

Just buy a Toyota and forget about it. If you need European status, know that you're gonna pay for it.

California leads in automobiles. The best-selling model? The Toyota Prius.

Yes, the Tesla Model S is a dream, but if you don't think there's a penalty in being an early adopter, you've never been one.

STREAMING MUSIC SERVICE

Unclear.

Spotify is the leader, but its search sucks and there are too many pauses. MOG, soon to be Daisy, has high quality streams, but a bad interface. The problem with Rdio is no one else is on it. And first and foremost, music is social.

You must have a streaming service subscription. Otherwise, you're out of the loop. You need to be able to check out new music instantly. There are no long term contracts. Sign up for Spotify today and be prepared to switch if something else is better and that's where all the people end up going.

DOWNLOADS

Don't buy 'em. A waste of money. They sound bad and are not forever. Oh, they'll last forever, it's just that technology marches on and today's formats are left in the dust. Just try opening a Word 1.5 document in today's program.

Streaming wins.

Just about everything available on iTunes is available for streaming. And when new, higher quality formats come online, you won't have to upgrade your collection.

CDs

For the ignorant. Vinyl sounds better. But they're both impractical, and we live in an era of convenience.

ONLINE VIDEO SERVICE

Forget Vimeo, DailyMotion is only good for porn, YouTube wins. That's what the old guard doesn't understand about the Internet. There's one winner. One iTunes, one Amazon, one YouTube...

TELEVISION

Samsung.

Everything's good, but Samsung is the best, and no more expensive than its direct competition. Of course you can buy a plasma with better blacks, but that format is not forever, just ask Pioneer.

BEST HOME COFFEE MACHINE

Technivorm Moccamaster.

It's about the water, getting it hot enough.

Don't cheap out. You drink coffee every day, you spend so much on beans, lay out the almost three hundred dollars, you'll thank me.

BEST PRINTER

HP.

Because they own the market. Competitors are good, but HP will update drivers first. In tech, you want to go where the swarm does.

BEST COLLEGE

The best one you get into. You can employ the ratings at the "U.S. News & World Report" to guide you. I'm not saying they're accurate, but they reflect perception. And you don't go to college to learn in the classroom, but outside of it, by interaction with the students. You'll upgrade your game by hanging with smarter, sharper, more worldly students. If you need training, go to graduate school. If you're worried about the money... Top tier colleges are worth it. They're worth borrowing for. If you don't get into one and are worried about cash, go for the cheaper option, save money, your mileage will be the same at the second or third tier liberal arts school as it will be at the state university.

BEST NEWS SOURCE

"New York Times" or "Wall Street Journal."

Because they both still have reporters. The locals have cut back too far and there's no depth in TV coverage, all they've got is the reporters you see on screen. Forget the financials, forget the supposed liberal bias, the "New York Times" sets the agenda for both parties, because it provides the most comprehensive coverage.

BEST PREMIUM CABLE CHANNEL

Showtime.

You really need both Showtime and HBO, but even though HBO shows get most of the press, there's more risk and more depth on Showtime.

BEST CABLES

Monoprice.

Don't waste your money on anything more expensive.

BEST E-MAIL PROVIDER

Gmail.

Get off of AOL, it's too slow. You could receive e-mail days late. Gmail's got all the features you want and Google keeps investing in it, everybody's there for a reason.


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