Today’s strip was totally me 5-10 years ago. When some new gadget or console would come out, I’d have to buy it, even if I couldn’t exactly afford it at the time. The original XBOX, Gamecube, PS2 and Gameboy Advance all went on my credit cards upon their release, along with a few games for each – and it wasn’t until several years later that I would pay those cards off, not to mention the interest they accrued. I’m much better about spending money (or credit) these days and am debt free now, I’m happy to say.
That said, I did buy an iPad recently, but it was after much consideration, saving of money and the pending expiration of a gift certificate I had. I’m loving the device, but I’m sure you’ll hear all about it in future strips.
Could it be that I am first?
Anyway, I totally understand where you’re coming from, having been a Nintendo Fanboy for some time (until the Wii, tbh).
Nowadays there’s only a few things I know I must have at release, which, strangely enough, are mostly games by Blizzard, and the remakes of the Monkey Island games series :p
Funny how, over the course of several years, one’s priorities shift from buying the latest gadgets and games, to first seeing if their experience matches up to their cost… (I won’t blindly buy the next Zelda game, even though it will probably be awesome, and I still haven’t got Mario Galaxy 2)
yep! you’re first, Chibby. take these: 😎
and i’m with ya on all your faves: Blizzard, Nintendo and the Monkey Island games are all awesome. unfortunately, although there are some exceptions, i’ll still buy Nintendo’s flagship products sight unseen. i have Mario Galaxy 2 and Zelda: Spirit Tracks (though i haven’t had time to open them, yet) and will definitely be getting the 3DS upon release. I’m thinking Starcraft II and Diablo III will have to be bought, too. looks like it’ll take a few more years for my priorities to shift.
😉
StarCraft 2 will probably be in the mail today… I dread it, yet I want it… Ah well, if anything it’ll get me off WoW for a while…
fiscal what? LOL
exactly. 😉
lolzzzz. thats the way JB hahahaha. BTW. if u are thinking of getting rid of your ipad in the near future please inform me. ur situation happened to me too. i bought the first iphone. was disappointed and returned it for a nokia n97. lolz.
so far, i’m LOVING my ipad, jf#300! but if it suddenly turns on me and i decide to ditch it, i’ll definitey notify you. 🙂
yahoooooooo!!!!!
OYE if only this was the case. “Bill” sends me love letters constantly. Shoulda been born rich instead of so GD good looking! *wink*
Ya know, I think I want an IPad but I’m still not sure. I will certainly wait til they come down in price and I want to be able to pay cash for it. When that happens I will then consider it. First I think I will get a netbook and a portable hard drive. Home computer is the sucketh at the moment.
I will be trying to find a new place to live and packing next week. JOY!! *searches for the sarcasm font* So I most likely will miss next weeks comics. Can’t wait to come back the week after next and see whatcha got for me!
yes, it’s the curse of the beautiful, Pixie. you’ll just have to learn to live with it!
i’m sure when the new iPads come out next year the prices will come down. and although, in the past, i would’ve just put one on my credit card the day they came out, i paid for mine out of my checking account. i guess my priorities have shifted a bit!
man, everybody’s been moving recently! hope you have an easy time of it, and i’ll see you in a week! 😀
I was the same way and it took a lot of realization to come to grasps that buying something the day it comes out is as smart as buying a new car. 6 months down the road the same thing is cheaper and comes with more stuff.
but then 6 months from that, the same thing will be even cheaper, with even more stuff, jh3! 😀
I have uncanny patience with this. most of the time. I can wait 6+ months to buy a “new” model after it came out so it’ll be cheaper. Am even willing to wait a whole year or more, lol.
oh, and I love how jefbot’s still staring at the tv as he answers cornfather, without changing his expression, haha
i’ve started employing that practice with (some of) my video game purchases, Jaeh – i have so many unplayed games now, that i’m not as compelled to buy games as soon as they come out, anymore. i still need to finish Mass Effect 2 and Pokemon SoulSilver (among others) and need to start Red Dead Redemption and Mario Galaxy 2 (among others) which means i probably won’t need to buy Spider Man: Shattered Dimensions or Halo: Reach the day they come out. okay, maybe Halo, but only because my friends will be playing that online. *sigh*
and yeah, bot’s watching Tron, so can’t give the Cornfather his complete attention. 🙂
Gawd I hate the Ipad it has less features then an netbook and cost far more just cause it has the streamline design apple is famous for. I will give apple props for the app store, but I refuse to justify its need to create the Ipad. Good comic as usual I did get a chuckle out of it.
i had the same thinking as you, Prophet (as you’ll see in the next strip), but after a guy i respect told me i should give the iPad a try, i did, and i absolutely love it. it’s a completely different device than a laptop or netbook, and fills a completely different need. i really didn’t think i was going to dig it as much as i have.
If I knew anything about fiscal responsi..uh..responsa….
I wouldn’t be going out and getting a new tattoo today. At least an iPad is entertaining…LOL *sigh* ooooh wellllll
ooh, i wanna see! i wanna see! send me a pic, ESQ! (or at least tell me what the design was.) 😀
Fiscal responsibility is something everyone needs to learn on their own on their own pace. Still seeing as Im waiting for Starcraft 2 to come out to order it and all Starcraft books I should probably just shut up.
i played a little Starcraft 2 at blizzcon a couple’a years ago, Maryz, and thought it was pretty awesome. not sure if i’ll get it at launch, but it’s definitely on my “to get” list. see you on Battle.net? 😉
I don’t have a technology-buying problem. I have a yarn-buying problem (and sometimes a bead-buying problem). It is a well-known phenomenon in the world of knitters, crocheters, and spinners. The fiber stockpile is known as a stash, and I’ve got a big one. In fact, I just bought 4 bags of 10 balls each (they were on sale for $10 a bag – that’s $1 each! And they are 100% wool! How could I resist???) plus 3 undyed sock yarns for dyeing and knitting. They should be arriving soon. I haven’t broken it to my husband yet…
So Jefbot, just wait till you have a spouse to have to tell about your buying sprees. It might not slow them down (it sounds like you have already got them pretty under control), but it WILL add lots of guilt. 😛
Ha! You sound like a spinner/weaver friend of mine! But to be fair, her husband is an armor hoarder, so they balance somewhere… (I’m part of a Middle Ages re-enactment group, and we tend to attract people who are already into that kind of thing…)
“armor hoarder”!? and i thought hoarding video games and comic books took up a lot of space, Tiana! i’d think you’d need a separate garage in which to store armor. or a castle. 🙂
where do you store your stash, Shanna? definitely sounds like you can relate to my hoarding tendencies. and while i don’t really have my buying sprees “under control,” i do spend way less than i used to! which is progress, right?
My yarn stash is stored in 4 giant plastic bins on shelves in the basement. Plus I now have two smaller bins of fiber for spinning. And then there is most of another shelf of random other stuff related to yarny pursuits. And a bunch of books and magazines, and a drawer full of knitting needles and crochet hooks. There is probably more, but that is the bulk of it. 😀
CFs’ expression in the last one is priceless.
thanks, Animie fan! glad you liked it!
I usually drool over the newest gadget, but don’t tend to spend money on them, just because my old iPod still works great, my cell phone does what I need it to, and my desktop PC hasn’t crashed in a while. For that money, I can get more armor…or more Doctor Who DVDs…or otherwise feed my obsessions. 😉
Good news! I have an audition for the newest Drew Barrymore movie tomorrow! A single line extra…I’m hopeful!
ooh – i’m in the midst of watching Christopher Eccleston’s run as the Doctor on my iPad, Tiana! and i respect your “drooling” but not “spending” on the latest gadget – as i mentioned in a past strip, sometimes the “wanting” is better than the “having.”
break a leg on that audition and let me know how it goes! 😀
Hahaha! That third panel is priceless! Awesome comic, dude!
glad you liked both the comic and that panel, tdp! thanks! 🙂
Hey, the iPad is an investment! Great job Jefbot! Love the last frame, The Cornfathers eyes are perfection!
it’s true, Funnyshaffer! though at the moment, i wouldn’t wanna sell it. well, until iPad 2.0 comes out.
Semi-Autobiographocal….ha! More like FULLY-Autobiographical. This strip sums you up to a “T”, bot. You’re such a good son and an even better consumer. I love the dialogue and how you always include the latest gizmos and gadgets. And you always find the funny! Way to go, bot!
thanks, MC! glad you liked the dialogue and the funny in this one! …though i’m not sure about your assertion that the strip’s “FULLY” autobiographical. more like 90% autobiographical. 😉
LOVE it, Jeff!
thanks, sacobin!
Well played, Bot. Well played. Which version of the iPod Touch XL did you get?
it really is an iPod Touch XL (although apple freaks always hate this designation) – but the extra size (and the better processor) give it functionality beyond its roots as an iPod/iPhone. so awesome.
64gb wifi/3G
Of course you did…. WHY!?! the money used to buy an iPad coulda bought you 500 beers!! BEERS!! PLURAL!!! WHYYYYYY!!!!
you make me sadpanda.
ha! if i thought about any of my purchases in terms of how much alcohol i could buy instead, i’d never buy any new gadgets, Steve! 😉
I made the same face that Cornfather did when I found out you actually bought one. I am still disappointed in you for that.
don’t knock i ’til you try it, DJ! it’s actually a really cool device. i loves it. 🙂
My boyfriend has the iTouch, if I got a touch screen wifi defice, I’d get that one. I don’t like the fact that I can’t fit an iPad into my pocket like an iTouch. I just hate how expensive they are. I almost got one when I upgraded my iPod but I went for the 160gb classic for a lower price and a giant harddrive.
Haha! Yeah those Frickin 3D tv’s are expensive. Tho I’m not sure if, in reality, you could get 2 2D’s and an iPad for the price of one…I must confess to a lack of knowledge as to the actual cost of a 3D tv due to my inherent lack of interest in owning one 😛
Great expression on Cornfather in the last panel. I can remember having that face a time or two, and having it levered my way 😛
depends on which 3D TV you buy, Eptha. but even if jefbot bought one in the low range, say, $3000 – you can now buy a 40″ LCD for $700-$800 and an iPad for $499 – $800, so in actuality, jefbot could buy even more stuff with the money he saved! 😉
glad you like the Cornfather’s expression, even if you’ve seen it from jefbot’s POV before. heheh.
So which version did you get? Mine is the 64G/Wi-Fi only.
same, (64gig) but with the 3G, reynard61. and i only bought that so i can activate it when i’m traveling. (like when i start doing comic conventions!)
So, this happens to be relevant not to this but to a previous strip, about lucid dreams. We were discussing how I keep nearly having them. Well, I nearly had one again, where I realised I was dreaming but somehow failed to control it, and then I was woken up.
On the topic of THIS strip: I don’t really get the point of an iPad. Isn’t it just like a giant iPhone, or something? Then again, I’m not a huge fan of anything Apple.
keep on trying, Spaarfor – the more you practice, the more control you’ll have. realizing i was dreaming/losing control/waking up was exactly what i went through when i first started practicing. you’ll get the hang of it eventually.
the iPad controls exactly like a giant iPhone, yes, but being able to *really* surf the web, type, play games, watch netflix and ripped movies, and more, all on a compact device i don’t need to power up like my laptop – is AWESOME. i use it every day, which is way more than i thought i would.
Ewww… iPad. I really have NO love for Apple products. Over priced, over hyped, and easy to break. Ok, granted, the IDEAS behind some of their products are kinda cool, but they way they’re marketed and produced is what makes them fail. But, if you make it shiny and tell people its the coolest thing in the world, then the iSheep will inevitably flock to it.
i can tell you as a cross platform user (and not an apple fanboy), Alexander: apple’s products aren’t hugely successful (apple recently passed MS as the world’s biggest tech company) just because of hype. there’s a reason that Android, Palm and Windows phones all changed their UI to copy the iPhone, and there’s a reason video/sound editors and graphic designers mostly use Macs. sure, i still use PCs and like ’em (especially for games and at the office), but the premium i pay for my apple products is well worth it. well, mostly. 😉
and of course as soon as you bought it…it was out-dated.
ahhh. so true. after many, many years, i’ve come to accept that as a reality of the gadget/gizmo/tech world, t_d. otherwise, i’d never buy anything.
HAHAHA!
Bad money sense prevails
“bad money sense” is so hard to fight, Rinthia!
You really bought the ipad?? Bring it to New Years I wanna see it!! (:
yep! come on over the next time i’m by your place and i’ll show it to ya. 🙂
iPad, eh? Too bad it’s not a portable tablet personal computer from apple. Then you’d REALLY have fun with it! And no, that was not a crack at something. Anyways, have you tried my experiment yet? I’m dying to taste the results vicariously.
Oh yeah, and obligatory link to a truly awesome something that can barely be called a webcomic. If I know anyone in the right age range, you’ll find some parts absolutely hilarious.
i was one of the ones who wanted a real tablet from apple so badly, NeoDarklight, but the iPad is something totally different, and i’m digging it. maybe someday, someone will make a real, amazing, tablet. but until that day, i’ll be tied to my macbook pro and cintiq tablet to create this strip. 🙂
haven’t tried the experiment yet – my local grocery store doesn’t carry strawberry quik! but when i find it, i’ll give the experiment a try.
looked at that webcomic, Neo, and it’s pretty funny! i love seeing different takes on the webcomics genre.
HAHA this is just like how I am with my … how did you say … fiscal responsibility. This is why I, too, bought an iPad.
hooray! JEFbot iPad club needs to happen, Slave1. 😉
I’ll be president…I got mine WAY before you 😛
I want one!
And again with the gratuitous Mac garbage. -.- I seriously hope that tablet fad dies quickly. They are just so thrice blasted annoying!