The Cheapskate

Remember the TomTom One 3rd Edition GPS from a couple weeks ago? It was a sweet deal at $119.99, but now it's even sweeter: Buy.com has refurbished Ones on sale for $99.99 (after a $20 mail-in rebate). Shipping is on the house.

I won't reinvent the wheel, here--check out my original post if you want to read more about this well-regarded navigator. I will say that it's rare to find a big-name GPS for under $100; most models in that price range are off brands. The rebate deal ends April 20, so if you … Read more

Update: I'm not entirely sure what happened with this, but the price is now $69.99 after rebate. I tried contacting TigerDirect to see why the original price disappeared so quickly, but did not get a reply. All prices that I post are accurate at the time I post them, but unfortunately sales sometimes end without warning, inventories sell out, and so on. My apologies for the confusion over this deal!

Tired of juggling remotes? Replace them all with the Logitech Harmony 550, which sold for $150 when it debuted a couple years ago, lists for $129.99 now, … Read more

Know how I'm always going on and on about TV tuners and Windows Media Center? One ingredient that's almost always missing from the equation is a remote. Enter the Pinnacle Remote Kit, which lets you operate Windows Media Center from afar (or from the couch, anyway). Woot Sellout has the remote on sale for $14.99 (plus $5 shipping), a decent savings over the $29.99 list price.

To use the kit, you need Windows Vista Premium or Ultimate. (Rumor has it there's a hack that'll allow it to work with the XP version of Media … Read more

Much as I prefer to avoid paper, sometimes you just need hard copy. And at those times, you don't want to wait. Samsung's ML-2510 laser printer cranks out 24 pages per minute, so there's very little waiting required. Buy.com has the ML-2510 on sale for just $44.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. These are new units, not refurbs, and shipping is gratis.

Although CNET refers to this as a "workgroup" printer, to me that implies an Ethernet or Wi-Fi interface. The ML-2510 offers neither: It connects via USB or, if you're working … Read more

If you thought the $34 HP DeskJet F2110 printer/scanner/copier was a good deal, try this on for size: Wal-Mart has the Lexmark X3430 printer/scanner/copier for a mere $27.88.

The X3430 combines a tri-color inkjet printer with a flatbed scanner and copier. It can churn out documents at up to 17 pages per minute (according to Lexmark) and scan to PDF or OCR. It prints 4x6-inch borderless photos and includes slots for most kinds of memory cards. It also has a basic control panel, something the HP lacks.

The printer relies solely on tri-color ink cartridges (… Read more

Tired of waiting an eternity for your computer to boot? Malware could be the culprit, so make sure to run anti-spyware software. But another cause of slow booting is all the software that's trying to run the moment Windows starts. Startup Delayer takes a clever approach to this by letting you delay selected programs.

For example, I need my anti-virus and desktop-search programs to run right away, but Adobe Reader Speed Launcher? iTunesHelper? LightScribe Control Panel? They can wait. Using Startup Delayer, I can configure programs like those to run at, say, 2-minute intervals, starting a full 15 minutes … Read more

Most desktop replacements (so named for having giant screens, full-size keyboards, and other desktop amenities) start at around $800-900, but Buy.com has the Acer Aspire 7720-6155 on sale for just $599.99 shipped. It's a factory-refurbished model, but it's also very nicely loaded.

Indeed, the Aspire 7720 features a 1.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and a 17-inch widescreen LCD. It also includes a dual-layer DVD burner, a Webcam, a 5-in-1 media card reader, and, well, just about everything else you'd find in a full-bore desktop. The only … Read more

Cell phones and smartphones increasingly rely on microSD media for added storage. A 2GB card would let you carry a few ripped movies, about 500 MP3s, loads of photos, countless documents, and so on. SuperMediaStore.com has a PQI 2GB microSD card on sale for just $8.99. No rebates, free shipping, beat that.

The card comes with a fairly important extra: an SD adapter so you can use it with the vast majority of media-card readers (few of which have microSD slots). It even comes in a retail package, so it qualifies for PQI's lifetime warranty. Pretty sweet … Read more

Ever tried Restaurant.com? Me neither, but I've heard good things. Basically, you search for a participating restaurant in your area, then buy a gift certificate on the cheap: $3 for a $10 certificate, for example, or $10 for $25. There are requirements, of course, usually in the form of a minimum food and/or drink purchase. But it's not like you have to order three bottles of wine or anything. And you can print the coupon right on your own printer: It's immediately ready for use.

To make an already good deal even better, Restaurant.com … Read more