http://money.msn.com/...
More typically elitist and wrong advice from MSN Money. Wasting money on dying technologies? How much does it cost in monthly smart phone data plans to access movies, TV shows, and music stored in online clouds? How much are the monthly cloud charges for this stored data? What are the monthly membership fees for Hulu, Netflix Spotify, Pandora, gaming, etc. ON TOP of the monthly data package fees (minimum $30 a month) you pay your wireless service for downloading all these things to you smartphone? And the costs of apps to download to your smartphone? Increase those costs if you also have an internet service that you connect to access and download entertainment stuff (and gaming for a separate monthly fee), including additional fees for increasing your allotted bandwidth.
Do you know why these technologies are dying? Because just like there are people dumb enough to vote Republican, there are people misguided enough to pay through the nose for the convenience of accessing data and entertainment on the run. This article never tells you to add up all the monthly fees you pay for the “birthing” technologies (as opposed to dying) and that’s the point. Most people don’t even think about all those fees because they’ve been conditioned not to. If I buy a DVD (or burn a copy of one FOR MY OWN USE ONLY), it’s a one-time cost and I own it for the life of the disc and I can still watch it on my home TV anytime I choose to take the disc off the family room DVD shelf. If I buy a desktop computer with a DVD burner, that again is a one-time cost, and the cost of a pack of blank DVDs is negligible in the long run. With my dumbphone, I have no data package costs at all. I have no cloud storage costs at all. With my desktop, I don’t have to worry about losing or stepping on my phone every day and then having to frantically replace it right away. With my dumb HDTV not connected to the internet, I can watch all the channels (satellite TV, not cable) I choose to pay and not worry about anyone hacking into my home network through vulnerable internet ports in my TV or smartphone.
Disconnect my landline? Then what do I do during the 3-4 power outages we suffer through in my area annually which cuts off cell phone service? And cell phone reception in my area is spotty and inconsistent at best?
Smartphone cameras instead of a digital camera? If taking pics is important to you, you can buy a much better digital camera than you can a cell phone that happens to have a camera at the same price point. And it’s much easier to download photos from a digital camera to a computer than it is from a cell phone. MUCH easier.
Say no to hotel rooms and pay someone to stay in their apartment or home instead? That’s fine if you’re a single, 20-something college student who is OK with sofa surfing and such in a stranger’s home, but if you’re family with kids or if you’re in your more mature years (like me), I’ll take a private room in a hotel or motel anytime.
I didn’t care about the other wasted money stuff in the article it didn’t apply to me. You are free to consider them as you will.
Again, MSN Money is joining in the con of convincing people that the hands picking their pockets are making deposits instead of withdrawals. It’s the same successful con that has convinced Republican voters to vote for the politicians that intend to rob them of their cheaper health insurance, Social Security benefits, voting rights, middle class wages, jobs, freedom over their own bodies (for the ladies), clean environment and safe food, affordable education, the right not to be shot to death when at the movies while in a public school kindergarten class. You pay the hidden costs either way.