TITAM - Technical issues that affected me

On browsing for a new phone (yes, I still have my Xperia X10i), I realized that I never posted any feedback about where I bought it. I got my Xperia from Omegacell Communications .  I checked them out beforehand, and they had a decent physical store and all the phones physically in stock (i.e. in hand, you can pick them up and use them).  I was initially leery because they appear to sell 'grey market' phones.  These phones don't seem to be distributed in Canada, but they get them anyway.  Which probably means they're not "sanctioned" by the manufacturers.  However, I took the chance after seeing that they actually had a phone to sell. The advantage is that they sell several leading-edge AWS compatible phones.  Good news for those of us who like WIND Mobile, but don't like the WIND Mobile phone selection.  They also correctly identify the 2100 MHz band as being completely unnecessary, kudos for that. Anyway, I did end up buying from them, and e...

Steve Jobs is dead. Much will be made of his accomplishments, followed (inevitably) by much being made of his shortcomings. He may be the best example possible of how enormously successful people are still - well - people.  Like you and me - only human.

So today I receive an email from My Cable Mart , a cable vendor in the USA that I used some years ago.  I used them because I needed long HDMI cables (50') and they were one of the only places that had them at a reasonable price. The email was punting a 15% off sale they are having.  It's been a long time since the last promo email - I can't even remember when that was - so either this is something unusual or times are tough (or both). Looking back, I paid $105 ($USD) for a 50' HDMI cable back in 2007 - same cable is now $102, with a much better exchange rate.  A quick check shows Future Shop selling them - finally - at $200 now, for their "house brand" no-name cable. I have nothing against no-name cables.  I love them.  They work, and you don't pay for all the marketing and other bullshit.  But it's pretty plain that the markup on cables is still huge. And why not?  When I worked in retail, we sold camera filters worth $1 to people for $15-$30...