GameUtopia

I keep hearing talk about Blockbuster going bankrupt. The latest news I read claimed it wasn't a matter of will they, but when. Implying that it is just a matter of time.

I guess some suggest that there is just too much competition out there for Blockbuster. Netflix, there main online competitor continues to do well. Then, there is all of those kiosk rental machines on every corner and in every store where you can rent a movie for as little as $1.

At any rate I do like Blockbuster. Mostly because they offer monthly plans that allow you unlimited movies by mail, with the addition of you can bring the mailer to a local Blockbuster store for a free movie. Of course it wouldn't benefit you if you didn't have a Blockbuster retail store in the town you live in. Since I do it works out great for me and only $11.99 per month. At that rate I usually end up with 7-10+ movies per month with both online by mail and in store trades. Consider half of those are by mail, which I don't even need to leave my house for and you really can't beat that deal.




I could go uptown and get one of those $1 movies in a kiosk and maybe save a little. However, they really don't have that many new releases available. Plus there is the waste of time to run uptown to go get one, and the hassle of returning the following day or pay a late fee.

Netflix has either similar or exactly the same pricing as Blockbuster. The only difference between the two that I am aware of is Netflix has a large selection of movies you can watch online included in the price of membership where as Blockbuster does not. But Blockbuster has membership packages where you can return the mailer to a retail store for a free movie trade. Netflix does not have the ability to do this.

So the two are similar by nature. I guess it just depends on if you are one that would sit in front of the computer screen to watch a movie. If so, then Netflix would work great for you. If you are more into sitting in front of a TV rather than a computer to watch a movie, then Blockbuster might be the better option.

I will continue using Blockbuster. Should they go bankrupt, then I would probably switch to Netflix. Until that happens I have content with what I have.

Can you imagine your wedding costing you over 3 million dollars? Most of could only dream about having that much money, not to mention shelling it out for a wedding.

According to CNN Entertainment the former first daughters wedding could end up costing just that. Included in the cost: $15,000 for portable toilets and half a million for flowers! Ouch!




I know a wedding is a big deal for some, and various news outlets often refer to the Clinton's as America's royalty. I don't know about that, but they are popular here in the U.S.

I don't care who you are isn't that a little crazy to spend anywhere near 3 million dollars on a wedding? I wonder who is actually paying for the thing? Chelsea's husband to be is said to be some investment banker. Maybe he is loaded too who knows. I do have a feeling that Chelsea's mommy and daddy might be taking care of the costs. After all, I hear there are a lot of Bill and Hillary Clinton's big wig friends that are attending and they wouldn't want anyone to think they were being stingy.

I really wonder how much waste there will be just to show off to their high class friends and family. Makes you wonder how much the Clintons are actually worth?

It's no wonder the price of everything has skyrocketed out of control with everyone suing everyone for everything. No kidding. Anything you can think up people are suing for, and not just little piddly amount. I am talking multi-millions.

Shit we never thought about suing anyone or any company for the crap they do now. Back then it was our own fault or negligence. Now that isn't the case. Any little piddly thing you can think up people are suing for.

What is up with that really?




No wonder things are skyrocketing. Some company gets slapped with some multi-million dollar law suite well guess what they have to pay for that somehow. So it gets passed along to us end consumers.

I can see a few cases, but so many of them are bull shit people just trying to make a quick buck. Most of the crap allowed now wouldn't even be considered or even happen when I grew up.

I wonder if a lot of the inflation or increased pricing of many things could be directly related to these sue happy crazies.

Many of you are old enough to remember the popular film camera. Most likely you probably had a 35 mm at some point in your life if you are 20+ years of age. Some of the younger generation and kids are young enough that they will have never used one, nor will they ever remember them. Sort of like cassette tapes, but that is another story.

You can still get film for your 35mm camera yet, but I wouldn't expect that to last forever. I guess you can stock up a bit, but sooner or later they will probably stop selling it completely and/or stop developing it.

There are always the die hard 35mm camera and film fans that just can't or won't give in to digital. I have heard claims of digital images are no match for a good 35mm film image. Honestly, I can't see or tell the difference.






I just can't believe someone would still want to use 35mm film camera's anymore. Digital is so convenient. You have no film to buy. Maybe a memory card to store pictures on which can really hold a lot and they are very reasonable in price. If you mess up, it doesn't turn out, or you just don't like it you really aren't out anything. No hassle of developing film, and no fee unless you are to get prints. Just viewing on your computer, emailing, or sharing on the web costs you almost nothing.

I think most people have taken the plunge into digital photography by now, but I am sure there are a few stragglers out there yet.

I don't know if you all follow the computer industry or not. It is difficult to keep up with. There is always something bigger, faster, better, etc. The minute you buy any electronic gizmo something better comes along, or the one you just bought suddenly costs less.

I think it has got to the point where you just buy the thing with the expectation that something better will come along shortly after doing so.

Laptop computer prices have come down considerably in the past few years. With multi-core cpu's, ram, hard drives, etc. so cheap these days it's no wonder they are so popular. I really don't know how they make any money off some of these.




Although most laptops are usually no match for a desktop computer in the same price range, the majority of them are very good performers. And if portability is your thing you really can't go wrong.

At the time I am posting this, you can get a decent laptop computer in the $299 to $499 usd range. Just a few years back that would have cost you more in the neighborhood of $699 to $999 or more.

I still prefer a desktop over a laptop, but if I were a traveler or worked at an office I would most likely choose a laptop over a desktop.

It should be interesting to see what the next few years bring in terms of performance, power, and price.