When I checked my email this morning, I had an email from Dell touting their new mini laptops. The Dell Inspiron Mini 9, similar to netbook offerings by Asus, Acer, MSI, HP and a few others, has an 8.9 inch screen, Intel Atom processor, a solid state hard drive, and 1 gigabyte of DDR2 RAM for a bargain price of $299. Once you get past the initial "Ohmigosh! A whole laptop for $300 bucks!" you need to evaluate what you're really getting for your money before you rush out and buy one.

I neglected to post a follow-up blog to my cracked iPhone adventure, so I am making ammends. As some of you may recall, I dropped my iPhone during he Christmas parade in December. Let it be known that I have not gone without since that time.

My iPhone situation has gone from bad to worse it seems. You may recall my last missive involving my beloved iPhone's cracked screen. Well, lets just say once and for all that Apple's iPhone is no match for Christmas parades.

Most of us rely heavily on our mobile phones. For me, friends, this is an understatement. I have had an iPhone since they first came out and use it constantly for both work and play. I have found it to be quite durable actually, but this weekend I found the iPHone's kryptonite - a four-foot drop onto gravel.