My rules for technology acquisition

[dsrtao]

• Don't buy the first generation of any product.
  
• Don't buy in the first month.
  
• Where are you going to put it?
  
• What are the ongoing costs?
  
• What can it replace?
  

I hope these are all obvious by now. I'll just mention that ongoing costs include subscription fees, software purchases, accessories, media, and time-sink/time-savings tradeoff. A smartphone, for example, has a hardware cost (could be subsidized by) a contract, a new incompatible accessory like an earpiece or a battery, a new SD card, and some time savings (over not having a phone) and some time-sinks (getting it to sync with your gizmo thingy).

"What can it replace?" also means "are you going to stop using what it replaces? is the old one broken?"

Any others?

Comments

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

These may well be implicit in your excellent statements, but I include them here anyway.

"What will it replace" also includes "when will it be out of the house/yard?"

"Don't buy in the first month" also includes "don't buy it within a week of first hearing about it, and then do your research."

[siderea]

"How compatible with my extant systems?" (Man, upgrading past SCSI was traumatic. ;)

[robertdfeinman.livejournal.com]

How about: "do you really need it?"

I've replaced several items in the last year that had met my needs perfectly, but which stopped working properly. The cost of repairs makes this usually not cost effective, which says something about our priorities as a society.

I still expect things to last "forever" and get upset when they don't. I picked the thing because it had just the qualities I wanted and the new one usually involves some compromise. Seldom do I find the new features, if any, of personal benefit.

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

Where are you going to put what it can replace? (the curb *is* an acceptable answer, but I have N old computers in my house because...well, because.)

If it is replacing something, what feature of that thing *isn't* it replacing exactly? Is someone else using that feature?

When will it break? When will it be obsoleted?

How would you get it fixed if it breaks? (toss it/never replace it/tinker with it yourself/get help/get expensive help/return it/etc.)

Where will it go when you throw it out? Is it made from toxic components?

How cool will you look wearing it? wait, not one of yours...

Functional feature?

[cristovau.livejournal.com]

Will you use all of it? I like the idea of cell phone cameras, but in practice, I never use them. Likewise, my palm can play MP3s, but again, I don't use that.

Sometimes a feature adds expense. If you can isolate features you won't use and choose a device based on what will use, you can save some money & possibly frustration.

Also, what does Consumer Reports say about the device? They are good at finding a shortcoming or isolating feature sets that you might not have thought of.

[cellio]

Is this the cheapest/easiest answer to your current/projected needs? (E.g. it is not worth paying double for four times as much disk space if you only need half of what you're buying.)

Can you support its needs? This is like "what are the ongoing costs", but is meant to cover things like "I really can't connect another USB device" or "I can't safely run any more power strips there".

What proprietary formats does it rely on that I'll regret later?