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14+ money saving computer user ideas

makeyougohmm.com — "Below are some money saving ideas focused on the internet and computing. All of these are ones we ’ve tried ourselves or are in the process of trying." Some really good tips here, I just saved myself $30 per month.

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  • shelby1076, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Get it wireless card for your PC & steal Internet access from your neighbor. $50 saved a month.
  • pimpybra, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I would have liked to see a little bit more detail in some of them, particularly how to make the $$$$ w/ Second Life.

    Anyway, if you created an online business w/ SL, wouldn't you have to file taxes as a business, or would that run under as money obtained through a hobby? Hmmmm....
  • gyberedeemer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I suppose if I'm going to steal internet, I might as well steal my neighbor's cable, groceries, girlfriend... There's a difference between being frugal and being unethical.
  • DogHumpsMonkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"I would have liked to see a little bit more detail in some of them, particularly how to make the $$$$ w/ Second Life."

    http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70153-0.html?tw=wn_story_page_prev2

    As for the second part, I woould guess you'd be needing a 1099 misc. or some such thing. If you are making money, you can bet teh Gov. is gonna want their share.
  • andrew_m, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0"steal Internet access from your neighbor."
    Doing it as we speak, he never uses it, his always at work in White Sands. So the way I look at it, atleast it's not just sitting there.
  • andrew_m, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0and damn it's dugg to death already.
  • Seumas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Unless I can make $50/hr in Second Life, it isn't saving me money. It's costing me money since I could be making that doing actual work in the office.
  • windowlicker259, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Their webhost really makes me wanna say "HMM"... where's the bandwidth? hahaha
  • blackomegax, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0mirror?
  • slurpee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Got to love google for this :P

    http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:j-JLJhg79s4J:www.makeyougohmm.com/20060209/2935/+&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=firefox-a
  • nstrupp2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0There are some good ideas in there, but it's mostly common sense things. Canceling stuff you aren't using is usually a simple task.

    Probably the best, and the reason it's #1, is the switch to VOIP. Just the taxes/fees/extortions on a POTS line can be more than a VOIP line in some cases.
  • LatvianHedgehog, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0download games / movies / music, burn them on cd's, sell 'em. business, baby.
  • tawker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+074 digs and it's down. WOW
  • Nycto, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Common sense. No digg.

    Except for the bit about making money through Second Life. It's ridiculous to suggest that.
  • rm999, on 10/12/2007, -2/+03 legal things that should have been on the list:

    1. Build your own computer
    2. Use freeware/open source software
    3. Split the cost of the internet with your neighbors using wireless (And screw the cable company if this is against their TOS)


    And a few illegal things:

    1. Instead of getting TIVO or cable TV set up bittorrent to automatically download your shows. Watching TV is a waste of time - downloading your favorite shows and watching it them in your free time is smart!
    2. Give up any moral qualms about stealing from the RIAA, MPAA, and Microsoft.
  • brettotte1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I just got my g/f to cancel her home phone & dial-up & get Roadrunner instead with a better cell plan.

    Home phone with caller ID: almost $40/mo
    Dial-up: $9.95/mo

    Roadrunner: $29.95/6 mo then $34.95/mo (at least in Nebraska) + $50 referral for me:) Don't worry, I spent it on her for Valentine's Day

    Better cell plan merely by looking at her usage: same cost of $39.95

    I STILL to this day do not know why anyone gets TiVo or these other subscription services. DVR here is only $4.95 for the 80 hour box which means if it breaks I just get a newer one for nothing. I still don't have one, but our voip, cable, hbo/max, digital, roadrunner is $139.67/mo...yeah, we get a LOT of channels & all the tiers. My Vmobile cell phone is only about $10/mo with NO FEES except sales tax

    I wouldn't say to buy a cable modem. I've gone thru at least 10 in the 5 years I've had roadrunner. Comes free in the $34.95/mo fee & NO TAXES!
  • yvovandoorn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0you have gone through 10 cable modems?? woah!

    Only 2 here RCA POS for 2 years, Motorola SB4100 for 3 years.
  • bobb243, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0i think i played second life with a friend a year or so ago. he and i stole motorcycles and we rode them around and jumped off high cliffs. lol, good times.
  • mydobbs, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Use Linux and OSS
    Geee how come no one said this? :P
  • h00ligan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0this list is retarded.
  • PvUtrix, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1list by n00bs for n00bs... lame...
    no digg
  • frem001, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0music subscriptions?? what's the point, you lose everything when you stop paying the monthly fee
  • popsumer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+07:42 AM - post is down
  • PacoDG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Copy and pasted from the page from the Google cache link that someone posted above:


    1. Switch to VoIP. We saved over 75% on our telephone expenses by switching to VoIP nearly two years ago for both our home (completely) and both our businesses (75% of lines converted to VoIP, we kept a couple lines with the traditional telco)
    2. Keep a running list of online subscriptions, time spent using, and axe the ones you aren’t using. MMORPG might be cool, but if you haven’t logged into WoW in the last couple weeks, maybe it’s time to cut that one loose? Some online role-playing games like EverQuest will keep your characters activated after a certain level, so you could always come back later and continue onward. Games in general can be major time and money pits, so look very carefully at your online games spending.
    3. Consider turning your online hobbies into mini businesses. If you love Second Life, for example, can you make enough $Linden to offset your subscription costs? Wired ran an article recently how some SL citizens are making over $100,000 USD a year inside Second Life. For example, I became a SL citizen on 12/31/2005 and already have seen how $50 USD a month can be made, after land tier fees and premium membership fees. So this $50 USD could be used to offset other online subscriptions (see #2)
    4. Setup a MythTV box or buy a Media Center PC instead 0f subscribing to TiVO or paying the cable company extra for a PVR box. Yeah, TiVO might be cool, but unless you are a developer who writes programs to plug into TiVo Series2 devices, why pay for the cow when you can get the milk for free?
    5. Those with cable internet, stop renting the cable modem. You can buy a cable modem at your nearest retailer for 50 bones. Yeah, if you rent one for a three bucks a month, but let’s say that modem lasts 24 months, at $3/month that is $72 for a cable modem. You roll the dice that the modem you buy will last and odds are it will.
    6. Curb the practice of buying media multiple times. I’m really, really bad about this one and it’s definitely a cost cutting area. For example buying the Lost download via iTunes instead of PVR’ing it or waiting and buying it on DVD. Patience is a money saving idea in itself.
    7. Buy annual subscriptions or lifetime subscriptions instead of monthly for services you use regularly and believe will last three years or more. The cost break for an annual subscription is usually fairly substantial. Using Second Life as an example again, it costs $9.99/month ($119.88) vs. $72 USD, which works out to a 40% savings. Yes, more outlay upfront, but if you turn your hobby into a mini-business (see #3) you could reduce these expenses.
    8. Use music subscription services to decide which tunes/albums to buy. And consider tip #7. Unfortunately not online music subscriptions are equal so you may not be able to demo all the music you are interested in, but these services can save music buyers lots of money.
    9. Don’t forget to cancel after trials if you aren’t that interested. Trial offers are there not just to try the product/service but also can trap lazy consumers who sign up and forget about them. The longer trials like 30 days or more are especially useful for seeing just how much use you’ll get out of the product/service. If the answer is very little, then cancel before the plastic starts getting banged.
    10. Buy magazine subscriptions in multiple-year deals OR wait until the very last minute to renew. PC Magazine likes to send me increasingly better offers the closer I get to the cancellation date. The last offer and sometimes even the offer after you are gone is the best offer. Be patient and wait for it.
    11. Consider eBooks vs. print. This is a new one for me and I must say that many eBooks are priced more favorably than their paperback equivalent. You have to get used to reading on the screen but once you do — especially those with Tablet PCs where the screens are like built for e-reading — you will rarely look back at those tree killers again.
    12. Use technology to save gas. Let’s face it, gas can be a major expense, especially if you have some gas hogging vehicle. Use services like Gasbuddy to find the best gas prices and then Google Maps or virtual earth to plot the best distance to/from stations. Remember if you have to drive 40 miles and get 20 miles per gallon to factor that into the equation. This could be a good mashup idea: something that would monitor the optimal fueling station for cost savings.
    13. Join the reward clubs. This one is controversial and people are still commenting complaining about Best Buy Reward Zone program, but there are reward programs for a lot of things that pay back free offers and money, and if you are spending the money anyway, why not get something back for it? You also will get your share of spam, so make sure to sign up with emails that go through extreme spam filtering.
    14. Plug everything electronic into a good UPS. A proven method of shortening the life of your computers and electronics is to plug them directly into the wall. Get a good quality UPS and not only do you get some much needed surge protection you won’t be subject to brownouts. How does this save money? Easy, you won’t have to buy a new circuit board that is fried.
    15. Use anti-static mats and/or ground yourself before touching the computer. Static electricity kills electronics. Those who work with hardware know this one can be a major money drain. Definitely don’t touch your keyboard after you’ve been playing Dance Dance Revolution in your socks on a shag carpet.
  • id34, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Some pretty obvious tips but some were helpful. Site is down still..

    http://www.id34.com
  • wired4u, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Bittorrent all of your media, how much will that save me a year?
  • h0dg3s, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0

    15.Warez
    16.Warez
    17.etc...
  • philbo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Antistatic mats? yeah.. right. Just touch the case before you touch anything else.

    16. http://www.allofmp3.com
  • cmorrell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0rm999 wrote, "Build your own computer"

    This isn't necessarily true anymore. If you look into it, lower-end machines are cheaper to buy from a Dell or HP than to build. If you want a high-end machine it's normally still cheaper, but not an average "consumer" grade computer.
  • GlassUser, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Like the guy, said, by noobs, for noobs. And none of this is really interesting or groundbreaking any way.
  • lombarke, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0"Database connection is currently unavailable."

    Looks like they opted for the money-saving database...
  • Aflat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Bah, #7 and #4 contradict each other. Buy a new tivo for $50 after rebates, and get a lifetime subscription for $300. Or buy a used one on ebay or craigslist for $300 or less with lifetime. Then you never have to pay a fee again, and it takes about 2 years to break even.

    A mythTV box can cost about $300, even if you build it yourself, with most of it being the TVTuner and hard drive. And at $300, you don't get the same form factor, or wife acceptance. And a Windows Media PC, for less then $300? Doubtful.
  • eldivertido, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0
    The $50 tivo may only be a 40 hr one, but if you're patient, you can pick up a 200gb HD from someplace like OfficeMax for another $50 and suddenly you have a PVR that even your wife can't fill with her episodes of Flavor of Love :)
  • oldcyborg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Another URL bombed by us. This is getting out of hand. I hope someone is working on a solution for this. I admit, I sure don't have any ideas, but I'm losing patience with seeing something I like, and not being able to check it out.

    You genius's get to work on THIS one, and help us old fuddy duddies out. :)

    Cyborg
    yeah
  • TDavid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The site is back up now and 75% operational. Wasn't expecting to get dugg on this one, but will be making many changes so that we can handle this the next time around, Have been ./d a couple times and didn't buckle, but this onslaught did us in. Thank you for visiting, sorry for being down, we will be better next time, and the site should be *very* fast now. Pound away.
  • Darthmalt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Hmm this second life thing looks interesting. Anyone know if there is a need for people who are skilled in doing special effects for videos, i.e. After Effects type work. I'm a mass media college student so if there is this kind of thing could be right up my alley.
  • kingamoon, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0@mydobbs:
    because Linux SUCKS ASS. I'll stick with Windows until Microsoft successfully eliminates piracy :)
  • mikeroq, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0antistatic mat? wtf? i could run electricity through my body and it wont even touch the keyboard.
  • rm999, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"This isn't necessarily true anymore. If you look into it, lower-end machines are cheaper to buy from a Dell or HP than to build. If you want a high-end machine it's normally still cheaper, but not an average "consumer" grade computer."

    I could build a supercheap computer for 400 dollars that is better quality than anything you could from dell for less than 800. But you'd have to use Linux or use an old copy of windows to stay under 400.
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