My pain is your gain

I know you people love the price drops, but they never fail to cause me a royal pain in the rear.

I know some of y'all out there think we're getting super-secret advance-notice spy messages from Apple warning us when new product is coming, but we don't. The closest I ever get to that is when my officially-declared "Favorite Customer" (he knows who he is - I love you all, but only one of you has it in writing from me) sends me links to articles at the rumor mill sites hinting there might be something coming.

So in short, no, I don't have a Bat-phone that puts me in direct contact with Steve Jobs. I know you all think I'm that cool, and maybe I am, but there's no Bat-phone. Sorry.

So anyway, new iMacs out today. They'll be hitting the shelves next week sometime. And so I FINALLY was able to hash out with Roland new pricing and wrestle the new prices on our current remaining inventory into our whiz-bang computerized inventory system here. Whew! What a chore! Anyway, prices start at $999. See the main site for full specs and pricing.

And AppleCare is coming off sale (right now it's $20 off) on Wednesday. So if you've been on the fence, do it quick, baby!

And get down here and get your name in for Jeff's birthday drawing. Woot!

Fair warning...

Heads-up! I have good news and bad - I'm taking all iPod nanos and classics off sale on Monday - but I'm slashing the prices on MacBook Pros! Models MA896LL/A and MA897LL/A will come down another $100, and MB133LL/A, MB134LL/A and MB166LL/A will come down $50 more!

Moral of the story - buy your iPods quick, and buy your MBPs next week!

Running on empty

Hey, bargain hunters - we're running low on clearance MacBooks, but here's a secret - on those MB061LL/B and MB063LL/B models, we're DOWN, but NOT OUT!

No, I'm not lying on my website - I just post up there our inventory at Manoa only. We do have a few of those machines left (and I mean, very few) at UH Hilo, and Windward and Maui CC's, which we'll be happy to recall back here if you ask us extra-special nice-like.

Also...iSkin sale starts today, Shoreline sale ends on Saturday.

And in other news - Hawaii Foodbank is running their annual Food Drive through the end of this month. I hear donations are way down this year - as they are across the country. Times are hard, what with the Fed blowing up the dollar and this ridiculous ethanol initiative that takes food and puts it in gas tanks (all for neutral to negative energy production - that means it takes as much energy or more to produce ethanol than we get out of it!) that's sending food prices sky-high. But I know that all of us who are gainfully employed have something to share, you know? Me, here's my stategy - I'm going to empty out my pantry, check the expiration dates, and all those cans of Spam, Beefaroni, sardines (:p yuck, but my husband eats them) and Chunky Soup that I can't seriously picture myself eating before the year's out are getting donated. Wish me luck - it's going to be a big job; my pantry's so stuffed we're ready for Armageddon and beyond!

If you'd like to donate but don't know where to drop off, bring it to our counter. We have a bin in the back for employee donations and we're happy to chip in yours, too.

We're havin' a party!

Awwww...Jeff (a.k.a., the baby of the Computer Dept family) is having a birthday - and it's the big TWO-ONE, baby! It's the 27th, which is a Sunday, and since we're not open on Sundays, we'll be celebrating on Monday the 28th (provided Jeff's able to drag himself in the day after). And sweethearts that we are - YOU get the gifts! Thus far we've got a printer (I mean, a REALLY nice one), a Swiss Army laptop case (wonder if it has a cork-screw in it....), iFrogz Audio Wrapz and SkullCandy stuff to give away - just for coming in to say happy birthday to our boy! Woo-hoo! Be there....

On the road again...

For those of you who don't already know, I'm a bit of a tree-hugger. So much so that I refused to buy a car for nearly 3 years. But recently we found a car that NOT ONLY gets better milage than a Prius, but can be run totally off a sustainable, renewable, locally produced fuel source. I'm talking about my super-cute new VW Jetta TDI, baby!

It's a diesel, get it? And we pump only locally produced Pacific Biodiesel fuel in it, which is made from recovered restaurant cooking oil waste. Neat!

And NO, my car does NOT smell like I have french fries or Chinese take-out in the tailpipe, nor do I have "every dog in the neighborhood" chasing my car, as some have suggested would be the case with the biodiesel. It's just sooooo cute. And efficient.

Did I mention it's really, really cute, too?

Anyway, took it up to KCC today. Had a visit with the manager up there. Gave her a couple free samples of iFrogz Audiowrapz iPod cases I'd received. So here's the deal. They work with 3rd gen nanos. They're silicone sleeves that also have speakers built in. Neat. Named best in show at both MacWorld AND CES. So if you're looking for a 3rd gen nano anyway, go to KCC's Bookstore; they've got a couple to give away to whomever buys the next few iPods. And we might give a few away to folks who come in to say Happy Birthday to Jeff on the 28th, too.

And back to tree-hugging - those Act2 GreenSmart laptop cases go on sale TOMORROW, 20% off. Also, cheap printers still on sale until the end of the week!

Woo-hoo! Someone reads this blog!

I can tell SOMEONE out there reads this. Know how?

There was CREAMER in the breakroom today. That's how.

AWESOME. I feel like I've been welcomed back to civilization.

Anyway, work-related stuff: sale on Skullcandy ends today, printers are still $30, Shoreline Act2 cases will be 20% off starting Wednesday, the 16th. Those things are nice because they're made out of 100% post-consumer plastic waste. Good stuff.

Spent yesterday afternoon shopping with other people's money. :) Actually, I was buying for the store, but I'm a girl and it's kinda fun sometimes. Anyway, bought a bunch of new BuiltNY sleeves - neoprene laptop covers, new colors and paterns. Also Skullcandy is now making their Skullcrushers in black, so those are on the way, too. Look for them next week.

For the uninitiated: Skullcrushers are over-the-ear headphones with a POWERED SUBWOOFER. Seriously. We've got a pair we busted open to demo to people; they're at the counter, so just ask one of the kids to let you try them. My husband's comment was, I thought, the best description - "It's like getting your brain massaged from the inside." Really. You need to check these out.

And I just found out UH Hilo's Bookstore has one lonely MB062LL/A MacBook in-stock. We gotta mark that down and move it out. It'll be low. Trust me. Like, $749. Brand new, still in the box, may have to pay to ship it up here, but that's, like, $18. And I think I gotta take a look at what Maui, Windward and Hilo are using as demos; watch our clearance list, because those may come up soon and they'll be lightly used and in great condition. Leave a comment or e-mail me at clakins@hawaii.edu if you need more info.

It pays to read my blog

Hey!

I'm going to drop the price of all remaining clearance MacBooks and MacBook Pros another $100 effective Monday, April 14th. You heard it here first!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. My excuse is that the coffee-supply fairies who take the quarters we leave in the old mayonnaise jar in the employee lounge and magically transform them into sugar and creamer have miserably failed in their duties of late; we have sugar coming out our ears and no freakin' creamer. So I'm on day 2 of black coffee. Say a prayer for me. Don't know how much more I can take.

Must...have...decent....joe! Gasp!

There's no place like home...

Well, I'm back from my whirlwind tour of UCSD, UCI, UCLA, Stanford, Apple HQ and CCRA's annual conference and expo (that's Campus Computer Reseller's Alliance, for you uninitiated).  I brought back waaaay too many souvenirs for my already-spoiled kid, piles of free pens for my staff, and a really nasty head cold.  But not to worry - the DayQuil will kick in any moment and I'll be flyin'!

BTW, that's a pic of Mariann and Nico rehearsing their dance moves.  Thought I was kidding about that in the last post?  Think again.... (spring break was a bit slow around here).

Hey, we also have a Facebook page now, and Mariann and Jeff just stroked my middle-aged ego by adding me as friends and becoming "fans" of the store.  Check it out:

The Computer Department on Facebook!

Hey, head's up - printers going on sale on Wednesday - $30 off Canon MP210s and Epson Stylus R280s.

Who ARE these people?!?

Aloha!  I'm Chris, the manager of the UH Bookstore Computer Department, and shown is 2/3 of my crack staff, including (from left to right):

* Nico Sipin - senior, business major.  Past-times include scavenging parts from dead macs in a continuing attempt to build the ultimate franken-computer.  Habitually gets his bike stolen.  If you have a spare, let him know!

* Mariann Major - senior, psychology major.  Our department color.  Currently pursuing her ambition to form our staff into America's Next Great Dance Troupe.  She's, uh, got a loooooong way to go.

* Jeff Racca - junior, business major.  Currently eagerly awaiting his 21st birthday later this month.  Always on the look-out for a hat that fits.

* Altair Kaneshiro - our service technician (a.k.a. the resident know-it-all).  You think he's got an unusual name?  You should meet his twin brother, Antares.

* Roland Co (not pictured) - assistant manager.  The serious one of the crew.  While at work, anyway.  But we suspect there's more to the story, on First Fridays, at least...

* Chris Akins (not pictured) - manager.  My picture may not be up there, but you'll know me when you see me.  I'm tall.  I have glasses and freckles.  And I'm a natural blonde.  That's my excuse.