The Edge of I-Hacked

from XBOX

XBOX Live will be giving a full copy of Texas Hold’em away for free for 2 days only, from Wednesday August 23rd through Friday August 25. After that it’ll cost 800 MS Points to buy the full copy. Don’t forget to download this!

from Microsoft Windows Vista Quiz

Thank you for taking out time to test your knowledge on Microsoft Windows Vista. Answer the following simple questions and get your copy of Windows Vista Beta 2 CD.

Please note:
• You need to answer all questions.
• Post completion of the quiz, you’ll be redirected to the registration page. Please fill-in all the requested information to enable smooth dispatch of CD.

Did someone ask for ANSWERS?
1.Vista
2.Clarity
3.November 2006
4.True
5.Aero
6.All
7.All
8.512

from system76

Show your Ubuntu pride !!
FREE strip of four ‘powered by Ubuntu’ stickers

Send a self addressed stamped envelope to:

System76, Inc. (Free Sticker)
875 S. Colorado Blvd. #765
Denver, Colorado 80246

from Personal Finance Advice

I don’t know why people don’t like to call the different companies that give them services to try and get a better price, but there are a lot of people out there. My mom is one of them. I wrote last September that we shaved my mom’s cable bill from $65 to $39.95 a month last September. After doing so, I specifically told her that she needed to call back every 3 months to get a better rate, which she promptly failed to do. Even worse, she decided to upgrade her account to a silver level to get some of the premium movie channels and I found she was paying $79.20 a month for cable.

That was ridiculous when there were other competing firms offering a free month and $29.95 a month after that for similar service. So I gave a call to the cable company today to see if we could get a better deal for her. I simply called like I always had done in the past and went directly to the cancel service option. I explained I had a better deal from one of their competitors (they asked which offer and I gave the company name and the offer), but really didn’t want to go through all the hassle of changing if they could give me a similar deal. While they didn’t match the deal, they did drop the rates significantly over what she had been paying.

They actually came back with a number of different options and I ended up taking the one that offered the exact same service (including the premium channels my mom likes) for $39.95 a month rather than the $79.20 which is good for 6 months - that’s a nearly a 50% savings a month and a total savings of $235.50 over the 6 months of the offer. Certainly not bad for a 15 minute phone call.

This goes back to my philosophy that most people can save a significant amount of money by following through on painless saving - my mother has the exact same service that she had yesterday, but is paying half the price for it for it. And that money can go straight into an investment account instead of into the pocket of the cable company.

It also is a great illustration that saving money is the best investment that you can make. 15 minutes earned me the same amount that $4,500 in a 5% account would have earned in a full year. This is the reason why I don’t understand why people are not willing to make the calls - the worst that can happen is they service says “no” and you pay exactly what you have always been paying - or more likely you can save hundreds like I just did for my mom.

from News4Gamers.com

It looks like Microsoft is planning to crash Sony’s PS3 launch party by dropping the price of the Xbox 360 this coming Christmas. A source close to Microsoft says consumers can expect a price drop of almost $100.

The source also revealed according to Britxbox.co.uk that the Xbox 360 hardware team are now busy redesigning the chips supplied by ATI and IBM to cut costs and allow a price drop to coincide with the release of Sony’s Playstation 3.

If this holds true you will be able to buy an Xbox 360 for half the price of the PS3 this Xmas. This will certainly put Microsoft in a very lucrative position when the next-gen console war starts for real later this year.

from Joystiq

A little earlier than expected, Sony announced today that they’ve reduced the recommended retail price for the PlayStation 2 from $149.99 to $129.99/$139.99 CND. Just as the earlier report suggested, Sony didn’t opt for a more dramatic $99 price drop, instead going for a more subtle cut ahead of this May’s E3.

So, will Microsoft follow suit by cutting the price of the original Xbox from $149? Considering the company’s willingness to leave their previous generation console behind, we’d say the chances are unlikely. Meanwhile, the Nintendo GameCube has been sitting pretty at a $99 price point since September 2003.

from audiusa.com
Ok, so you are still waiting on your thumbdrive from Microsoft.. Why not get a free 32mb USB thumb drive from Audi.

from CNET News.com

Microsoft will offer free access to its Xbox Live Gold service from March 31 through April 2, the company said Thursday.

The company already offers full-time free access to a lower, silver level of its live service. Users there can create player profiles, maintain lists of friends, access the Xbox Live marketplace, play multiplayer online games, and send and receive voice and text messages.

Gold-level users, who usually pay $49.99 a year, get all those features, plus enhanced gamer feedback, better friends list management, access to more sophisticated online game play and more.

As part of the Free Xbox Live Gold Weekend, which is being sponsored by Verizon to promote that company’s high-speed broadband connections, Xbox Live will host a series of special events, including the ability to play in certain games against celebrities, download special high-definition performances from musicians and more.

from CompUSA (pdf)
Links to sale ad pdf, includes $500 toshiba laptop, $25 100 pack of dvd+r’s that is instant, among many other pretty good deals.

from Mystery Solved

Answers:
Here are the answers to the four questions:
Q1. How many ways are there to obtain a full Microsoft® Windows® Desktop license?
Answer:: 2

Q2: Volume License Agreements cover Windows Desktop operating system upgrades only.
Answer: True

Q3: OEM operating system licenses are non-transferable.
Answer: True

Q4: The most cost-effective way to acquire an initial, full underlying Windows Desktop license is preinstalled.
Answer: True