Apple Buying Cycles

Everybody loves a shiny new gadget. Getting the latest, coolest, fastest, shiniest toy is always fun. What's not so fun is when, only a few months or even weeks after buying your new drool worthy tech toy, a newer better upgrade is on the market. Heck. Not just 'better', but a revolutionary leap forward. All of the sudden your brand new expensive, once-every-five-years purchase is outdated before it's even accumulated any dust or smudges. You're left with a brand new relic, and no budget room to replace it.

Most companies, Apple definitely included, do not announce what's coming down the pike.  You're pretty much left to your own devices to figure out whether or not this is a good time to upgrade your laptop, phone, or music player.

You are however, not alone. Once again the mighty interweb comes to the rescue. Over at MacRumors they've been tracking Apple's various product cycles closely for years. They gotten it down to an art form. No matter which product is currently on your wishlist, they've got Buy/No Buy recommendations, and a few handy data points to back up their recs.

So if you're a Machead, head on over to this very useful site, and bookmark it, so that the next time you're looking to upgrade your computer, iPad, iPhone or iPod — you'll know exactly when to wait, and when to buy.

Apple Fix

I know, I know. Some of you hate Apple, despise OSX, scoff at the iPhone, and wouldn't be caught dead wearing white earbuds. Some of you may even have a point. Droid does indeed rock, and Windows 7 has, against all odds, bucked Microsoft's relentless and proud tradition of creating ever crappier operating systems. Linux? Well, any self respecting Linux user is not even reading this blog. They're too busy recompiling their own print drivers. You know, for fun.

If however you are a fan of using technology, without feeling an irresistible urge to take it all apart, then chances are good that you have an Apple product somewhere in your household. Perhaps an iMac or a Powerbook laptop. If not that, maybe an iPhone, or an iPad. Still holding out? There's no way there's not at least one iPod somewhere in the house/car/gym bag. Let's face it, only Microsoft employees own Zunes.

If you have Apple products anywhere, then your technolife will sooner or later begin to revolve around Apple's products and in anticipation of the next best (or better) thing, their announcements. Apple is however, highly secretive. They love making the grand announcements, but they also hold the cards very close beforehand. If you need to know more than what's at the Apple site, or in the Apple store, there are a few very good Apple news sites — dedicated to reporting on what's going on with Apple's new products, current products, and much much more. Hop on over to any of the following sites, and discover more about Apple and its inner workings than you ever thought possible. Good stuff to know if you're trying to make sure you don't buy a new laptop, only to see its better and faster upgraded version to be released two weeks later.