Shopping After a Birthday

I've had yet another birthday come and go without much incident, but as usual, I now have all the cash my family has given me and am expected to buy something with it to show them. It's tempting to tell them to go back to picking the presents themselves, but after more than a few major "incidents" in childhood, I think I'll stick with the cash, thank you. Last year, I opted to buy RAM for my MacPro, but that didn't go over so well; I spent the next six months trying to explain what I had purchased, why I wanted it, and why it was indeed a good thing to have more of than I had before. So, this time, it's clothing and software that comes in shiny boxes.

Windows 7

As most of my family is still using Windows, despite my best efforts to swing them over to Linux, I think they should understand why I want a copy of the Windows 7 upgrade -- especially while it's $50.00.

iLife 09

This one would be a harder sell, but I think the promise of family-friendly DVDs of family events should be enough, and it doesn't hurt that none of them would know that I already have all of the software, just in an older version.

iWork 09

Now, I don't know if I actually want a copy of iWork, because I use OpenOffice.org, Textmate, and WriteRoom for just about everything. My only regret is that I do not have good -- and pretty -- presentation software.

Mobile Me

This is the most sketchy one... I don't eve know why I want it... I think it's mostly because of the Reality Distortion Field, and the fact that I had a subscription that has now lapsed, and I really want my Mac to stop nagging me about it. However, if I do ever break down, switch to AT&T, and get an iPhone, I'll actually have a use for MobileMe beyond Yet Another Backup. (I'm already using MOZY, DropBox, Live Mesh Beta, and network-attached storage.)