I'm *trying* to give you money, people....

[lizvogel]

What the hell happened to ThinkGeek? It used to be a good source for tech toys of a practical nature along with the silly stuff, with decent write-ups about actual usability; now it seems to be entirely media tie-in tchotchke. I'll admit the Hogwarts tableware is seductive, but I'm just trying to buy a good low-profile USB drive.

This is after a frustrating trip to Staples yesterday, which no longer has anything like the USB drives I bought for keychain-use a couple years ago. Or much of anything else I went there for. (They did manage the single color copy I needed -- eventually, after walking me over to the self-serve kiosks, making me authorize my credit card -- for one copy! -- because they apparently have no capacity to take cash, printing a blank page on the first try because even their employees can't figure out the interface, and oh yes, charging me for the blank page, which I didn't discover until I got home and looked at the receipt. Note to self: Next time, just go to Kinko's.)

No luck with CDW or NewEgg, either. Though at least they try, especially NewEgg.

Amazon has all the usual issues with having to wade through way too much stuff, unhelpful product descriptions, and reviews that aren't linked to the specific item, but it's looking like they're going to get my money anyway. Not my first, second, or third choice, but they're the best of a bad lot.


ETA: And then I started shopping for laptop security cables. Oh, my god. *headdesk*

Comments

[fjbryan]

Security cables was the one that did my head in. Why would Dell make computers that don't have Kensington slots? Why???

[lizvogel]

It really is nuts. At least Dell tells you that they have a proprietary slot. For my little HP, the user manual implies it's a standard Kensington, the service guide says it's a mini, and the slot itself is unlabeled. And HP is notorious for giving people just plain wrong information; one poor sod on the forums went through five cables (each time armed with the specs HP Support had given him) before he finally found one that fit.

I'm going to have to take Skippy the Streambook out shopping with me just to find out the right kind of cable. And then I'm probably going to have to buy on-line anyway to get what I want (low profile, key lock, etc.), because the selection in stores these days is so stupidly limited.

[fjbryan]

Yes you will. All I can figure is that the guys at Kensington must not be greasing enough palms to get their slots made standard on Dells. On my 3rd machine that doesn't have a K slot and I'm fucking tired of it!

[lizvogel]

Dell is special like that. I remember when the housemate was considering buying one, many years ago; their non-English-speaking phone jockeys could not grasp that Minneapolis and Michigan were not the same place, and having the website point "MI" to Minneapolis was not going to get us to one of their stores. Shockingly, she did not end up buying from them.