We came across this article and after scanning through the old PC ads, we were somewhat shocked to discover that technology today is so much more affordable.

Picture this:

• The Apple Lisa cost $10,000 — ten times the price of an entry-level Macbook!
• A 10-MB Hard Disk cost $3,398; 40 times the price of a 1-TB drive! FYI, a 1-TB drive costs only $85 nowadays at its cheapest.
• A 16-KB RAM module cost $495 in those days; today, we can buy 4-GB RAM module for only $99.

When you take a look at the stark differences, only one thing can be said: It doesn’t pay to be an early adopter.

In those days, only big businesses needed computers, and the average family didn’t have much use for them. So it took a while before Steve Jobs’ dream of having personal computers in every household became a reality. And these days, a lot of mom and pop businesses run their offices at home on the backs of business credit cards and personal ISP connections.

But what do these atrocious prices mean to today’s consumer? More than the nostalgia, there are lessons that we can take away from what we’re seeing with these technology trends:

1. It really doesn’t pay to be a “tech victim.” While there are “fashion victims” who chase fashion trends at the expense of good taste, there are “tech victims” who chase tech trends at the expense of good sense — and their retirement fund. With the speed at which today’s gadgets develop, your gadget purchase is going to get obsolete just one year later. So make sure that you buy only machines that you know you will still be using many years after you purchase it.

2. You don’t need all the features found in every gadget. Sometimes, the price tag goes up for certain features that we don’t actually need. Do you honestly need a touchscreen on your work computer? Do you really overclock your machine? Why won’t a regular Dell suffice? Would an Alienware machine really be worth the premium you’ll be paying for it?

3. It doesn’t always pay to be brand-conscious. While I love Apple, we have to be honest that a Mac is not for everyone. Let’s do a bit of a feature comparison here:

We love our Macs, but we have to admit that there are some things that some people will not be comfortable living without. It’s therefore important to make not just price comparisons, but also careful feature comparisons. Maybe you’re better off with an Acer or a Dell. I, on the other hand, would miss the Exposé very badly.

5. Check for gadget redundancy. Do you really need an iPad, when you already have a workstation, a netbook, and a smartphone? Sometimes, all these new gadgets that Apple comes out with, much as we love them, aren’t really worth the investment. If you find that you barely use your e-readers anyway, how about springing for a convertible netbook instead, like a Lenovo S10-3T? It may be worth your money instead.

Some of us can appreciate Sony discount codes to use for the purchase of a Sony Vaio netbook. But some of us would much prefer the newly-released 11″ Macbook Air. The good news is that there are a lot of discounts online and off and it’s a new world where retail and electronics trends are coming together to provide the best products at the best prices for the average consumer. How easy it is to now buy gadgets on installment with our no annual fee credit cards?

It’s a good thing we’re no longer in the 80s. Despite the speed of machine upgrades (and possible obsolescence), keeping up with tech is now worth it.

Paying off your mortgage before it’s due is the dream of every American. The sooner the better, in most cases. Many would say that if they won the lottery tomorrow, they’d pay off their mortgage the day after. The good news is, it’s actually possible for just about anyone to pay off their mortgage faster. Here are three ways to get the job done.

First: Understand How Mortgage Amortization Works

Amortization is the process which covers the life of the mortgage loan and calculates interest for each payment as the principal shrinks. So over a 30-year time span, the interest payments versus the amount being paid towards the actual cost of the home begin to change positions on the ratio teeter-totter.

In the beginning, most mortgage holders are paying more interest than principal on their loan. As the principal shrinks over time, however, the interest does as well. So payments of $1,000/month might, on Day 1 of the loan, be 80% interest and 20% principal, but by Day 9,000 (nearly 25 years into it), the ratio may be 80% principal instead. This example, of course, is simplified and over-exaggerated for illustration, but this is basically how amortization works.

For most homes, the interest and the principal are roughly at a 2:1 ratio, so your home at $100,000 will actually cost you almost $200,000 in total payments. In most cases, the faster you pay it off, the lower that interest is (in dollars).

Second: Increase Payments

The quickest way that any homeowner can pay off that mortgage faster and save thousands in interest is to make more payments. This can be done by either increasing monthly payment amounts or speeding up the payment schedule. If your monthly payment is $1,000, boost that to $1,250 instead. This means you’re making 3 extra payments every year. Your mortgage will be paid in 24 years, or six years early.

The other option is to increase the payment schedule. Move it from a monthly to a bi-weekly, for instance, and you’ll probably keep the same overall monthly payment, but will increase your payment towards principal since interest should still be compounded monthly. This will mean lower interest overall.

Third: Refinance, But Don’t Raise

The third option is to refinance and lower the rates. Just don’t fall into the trap of adding more debt to the overall mortgage in the process, whether it be by consolidating other debt or lowering payments and then not applying more to the payoff. The best advice is to refinance at a shorter term. Many will find that with the lower interest rate and lower principal, since your equity is now free, will mean payments on a 15-year loan might be on par with their current payments on a 30-year loan.

Refinancing is not a simple decision, however, and should be done with the advice of a solid financial adviser.

No matter how you do it, speeding up the payoff on your home is going to be in your favor almost every time.

More and more Americans dream of cutting back on expenses and for most of us, home entertainment is one of the first budgetary items that is slashed. A growing number of TV viewers are doing away with their cable and turning to “off-the-grid” methods such as internet-based television and on demand web sites such as Hulu and YouTube. For some viewers, simply attaching your computer to your TV may work fine, but some of us want ease of use and a true cable or satellite alternative.

Sites like Hulu offer a massive amount of free content including current television hits such as The Office, 30 Rock, Dancing With the Stars and more (Hulu is jointly owned by NBC, Fox and ABC). Hulu offers an “On Demand” functionality that suits more of us “on the go” types who can’t watch shows live or whose goal is to cut costs, which, sadly, may include DVR service. Immediately after a show airs on a Hulu-carried network, that episode is added to the site. Though each network carries a solid amount of popular content, not all shows are added to Hulu, such as Fox hits American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance? (they only offer clips).

If you’re a swinging bachelor or bachelorette, sitting in front of your computer for an hour or two to watch a few shows may fit your lifestyle. For families this is simply not an option. Mentioned earlier, most PCs and Macs can be plugged into your TV’s input for easy viewing provided you own the right cords and adapters. One should also note that streaming content from your computer to an HDTV can contain harsh quality degradation along with eating up a huge amount of bandwidth.

If having to attach your computer to your TV every time you want to watch a show or movie sounds like a drag, other options may suit your needs. Largely seen as a failure by pundits, Apple Computer’s Apple TV box allows viewers to play music and videos from your iTunes on your HDTV. On the surface, the possibilities sound pretty lame. Enter Boxee. This popular third-party application can be used not only on your computer to stream Hulu, YouTube, Instant Netflix, Pandora Radio and iTunes content, but can also be added to your Apple TV device. This means all the free programming that currently exists on these videos are easily accessible without the need of computer cable hassles, cable television and a satellite dish. All you would need is high-speed cable internet. Considering the cost savings by eliminating your cable/satellite bill, the average American family will be able to save some cash hand-over-fist.

Using Netflix is also a popular way for TV and movie junkies to get their fix at a low rate. But besides their DVD-by-mail service, they offer a bevy of films and TV shows through their ‘Instant” service. Again, subscribers can either stream this content on their computer or purchase a Roku box for $99 and plug it into a TV. The Roku will also carry content through Amazon.com’s On Demand service. Though there is a cost for Netflix service, adding it to your Hulu or Boxee solution will further enhance your cable/satellite alternative.

Hulu is still widely seen as an experiment in programming and there is a lot of talk of content owners planning on adding a price plan to the site. There’s no guarantee that Hulu will remain free. You should also know that the use of Hulu through Boxee is an unsupported endeavor so Hulu outages in the application may occur from time to time. Still, with all the money you can save, it may be worth it.

In addition to watching TV online you also may want to look into switching to Satellite TV, which can be much more affordable than cable. Be sure to check out our site for a complete review of Dish Network and to order Dish Network online.