10 Things Not to Buy in 2010

Ten years ago, most homes relied on dial-up connections to access the Internet and iPods, flat-screen TVs and the Nintendo Wii didn’t exist.

As we prepare to ring in 2010, consumer should expect to see more revolutionary products supplanting old mainstays. In media, DVDs, books, newspapers and magazines will continue to lose ground to services like in-home movie rentals and gadgets like the Amazon (AMZN: 134.52, -1.97, -1.44%) Kindle. In big-ticket items, the push for energy efficiency will continue to influence consumer decisions on cars and home upgrades.

As a result, some consumer products appear poised for a dip in sales, which could be a prelude to obsolescence. Here are 10 items not to buy in 2010.

DVDs

The days of going to a video shop to rent a movie are at an end. In September, Blockbuster (BBI: 0.67, -0.03, -4.28%) said it plans to close roughly 22% of its stores by the end of 2010; meanwhile, third-quarter revenue was down 21% from the year-ago period. (The company didn’t return calls for comment.)

Looking ahead, DVD purchases could turn cold, as well. On average, DVDs sell for at least $20 each. That’s pricier than signing up for Netflix (NFLX: 55.09, -0.54, -0.97%) or renting movies from cable providers’ on-demand channels. Netflix charges as little as $8.99 a month to rent one DVD at a time (with no limit to the number of monthly rentals).

Time Warner Cable offers thousands of movies on demand for around $4.99 each. Verizon Fios cable service charges $5.99 a month to download unlimited movies.

Home telephone service

It will probably take a while, but home landlines could become as archaic as the rotary phone.

According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, more than one in five U.S. homes (22.7%) had cellphones – and no landlines – during the first half of 2009, up from 10.5% during the same period in 2006.

Ditching your home phone is easier now than it has been in the past, as cell phone companies compete for greater market share and alternatives to the home landline continue growing. For example, magicJack provides phone service when it’s plugged into a computer’s USB port and a home phone. It costs $39.95 and includes a one-year license for calls in the U.S. and Canada; after that, service costs $19.95 per year. (By contrast, Time Warner Cable’s digital home phone service costs $39.95 per month.)

And, consider Skype, which is free when you communicate with other Skype users; this software application uses the Internet as a platform to make calls, hold video conferences and send instant messages.

External hard drives

Consumers who keep their computers for years and upload thousands of songs, videos, movies and photos will need to get more space at some point.

External hard drives are one option, but an up-and-coming alternative might be simpler and save you another transition down the road. Online backup services, like Carbonite.com or Mozy.com, allow users to back up data over the Internet.

These services are more expensive than purchasing an external hard drive, which typically starts at around $70. At Carbonite.com, a one-year subscription starts at $54.95, and at Mozy.com monthly subscription costs total $54.45 for a year.

Smartphone also-rans

In the past few years, several smartphones hit the market with similar features to the iPhone and BlackBerry, but they haven’t generated the same buzz. As a result, fewer developers are likely to create applications and other products that cater to those phones.

Today, the BlackBerry dominates the smartphone market with 40% market share, followed by the iPhone with 25%, according to data released by ComScore in December. In the near term, both are expected to stay at the top. ComScore found that most consumers who’ll be shopping for smartphones in the next three months plan to purchase a Blackberry (51%) or an iPhone (20%).

By contrast, only 5% of respondents said they planned to purchase T-Mobile’s MyTouch. The Palm Pre and Palm Centro received 2% and 1% of the vote, respectively.

A possible upcoming competitor that could shake up the space is Google’s (GOOG: 619.98, -2.75, -0.44%) Android. According to ComScore, as of October, the Android’s market share had doubled to 3.5% in the past year.

Compact digital cameras

For nearly a decade, digital compact cameras were must-haves for most consumers.

But during the past several years, another type of digital camera has been slowly rising in popularity: the single-lens reflex (SLR) camera, from manufacturers including Nikon, Canon (CAJ: 42.32, -0.30, -0.70%), Sony (SNE: 29.00, -0.30, -1.02%) and Olympus. Although bulkier, these cameras produce pictures that more accurately represent what’s in their viewfinders than those that use older technology.

They’re also pricier. For example, Canon’s digital compact cameras start at $110, while the SLRs start at $570.

Newspaper subscriptions

The past few years have been unkind to the publishing industry.

In 2008, newspaper advertising revenues declined by 17.7%, according to the Newspaper Association of America. Meanwhile, average daily circulation at 379 newspapers fell 10.6% from April through September 2009, compared to the same period a year ago, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Magazines haven’t fared any better. In 2009, more than 360 magazines shut down. During the first half of 2009, ad pages fell 27.9% when compared to the same period in 2008, according to Publishers Information Bureau.

The morning newspaper has been replaced by a growing online media presence – much of which is accessible for free. The Amazon Kindle – even with its price tag of around $250 – and other eBook readers could increasingly become one-stop sources to access newspapers, magazines and books.

CDs

When was the last time you bought a CD or even walked into a record store?

The past decade was one of the worst for the industry. In the beginning, there was Napster. Then came iTunes, which was introduced in 2001 and offered affordable pricing and easy accessibility. Face it, CDs aren’t coming back.

Record stores are feeling the pinch. Most Virgin Megastores in the U.S. have shut down following declines in sales and revenues. In 2004, Tower Records entered bankruptcy and by 2006 most locations had closed.

New college textbooks

Unless a student absolutely needs brand-new textbooks, they can use several alternatives to save.

Shop for used textbooks, which can help you save 70% to 90% off the retail price, says Mike Gatti, the executive director at the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, a trade group. Check out web sites like CheapestTextbooks.com, Booksprice.com or Amazon.com. Many college bookstores also sell used texts.

Another option is downloading books online. Sites like Coursesmart.com sell subscriptions to digital copies of more than 7,000 textbooks. TextbookMedia.com allows students to download textbooks for free. You can also rent textbooks on Chegg.com.

Gas-guzzling cars

Skyrocketing gasoline prices dominated headlines during most of the decade, and they remain volatile.

The Energy Information Administration estimates that crude oil prices will average around $77 a barrel for the fourth quarter of 2009, up from $42.90 in the first quarter. The EIA also projects prices will rise in 2010 to their highest point in more than two years: $81.33 a barrel.

Recent announcements by car manufacturers to mass produce fuel-efficient cars could help push consumers away from gas-guzzling vehicles.

According to the Department of Energy, the most efficient cars include the Honda Civic Hybrid, which gets 40 miles per gallon (mpg) in the city and 45 mpg on the highway, the Volkswagen Jetta and Golf, which each get 30 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway, and the Toyota Prius hybrid (51/48 mpg).

Energy-inefficient homes and appliances

Ten years ago, shopping for home upgrades involved looking at a product’s functionality and aesthetic. Now, there’s another component: energy efficiency.

Today, the products most touted by manufacturers and retailers are those that are Energy Star certified and those that meet new federal environmental standards – most of which have higher price tags than their counterparts but help to lower heating and cooling bills.

The government is offering a federal tax credit of up to $1,500 on energy-efficient home upgrades through Dec. 31, 2016. But many are set to expire by Dec. 31, 2010; these include eligible insulation, roofs and windows and doors

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How the law Works

How law is made 
Our legal system is based on laws made by Parliament and cases decided incourts and tribunals. Law has to be reasonably precise but it must also be possible for the law to change as sociaty develops and changes. The legal system attempts to achieve those two conflicting aims. 
Parliament and the law 
Laws made by Parliament are supreme over all other law in Britain including lawdecided by the courts. Acts of parliament start their life as Bills which are discussed by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Bills are usually amended by the two Houses and then become binding at a date decided by Parliament. The law making process does not stop there. Most Acts contain provisions for making Regulations which deal with matters that need to be laid down with greater precision and detail than id needed in Act itself. Government Ministers promote this type of delefated legislation which will itself have to be approved by Parliament. And in some types of legislation Ministers or others are given power to give diections which are themselves legally binding. whe have no written constitutuion so Parliament can always change or repeal laws it has itself made. 
The courts and he law 
Courts were for centuries the main law makers. A system of law was developed from individual cases both in criminal and non-criminal matters. Decisions by judges establishe precedents which provided principles on which later cases were decided. Only over the last hundred years has the body of law changed significantly because of Parliament's activity. The precedent system still dominates in the courts. The higher the court the more important its decisions. So cases decided by the House of Lords bind all other courts. Those decided by the Court of Appeal bind, usauallt, that court itself and always inferior courts. Cases decided by the High Court will bind County Courts, but not other High Court cases. Decisions of magistares courts, County Courts and Crown Courts will not creat law.

NINJA ASSASSIN REVIEW

 

This film was reviewed as part of Fantastic Fest

PLOT: Raised by a secret ninja clan as a young orphan to be an assassin, Raizo (Rain) is now on the run after engaging in a secret affair and defying his "father". Meanwhile, Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris), is working with Europol investigating strange deaths and a string of clues that seem to lead back to a secret society of ninjas-for-hire. Once she stumbles upon this she becomes marked by the Ozunu Clan (Raizo's clan) and joins forces with Raizo to bring the clan down.

REVIEW: NINJA ASSASSIN had a lot of potential to become the dream film of many fanboys. And until those fanboys see it, it may remain so. However, I found my dream slightly shattered after witnessing the film for myself. The first area in which this film fails, and the element that works entirely to its detriment, is in story. For a movie like this to work without exception we either need to believe in the ninja as a real being traveling the world unnoticed and assassinating people, or we need to not care that they aren't real. Unfortunately, NINJA ASSASSIN plays everything straight faced and we're left to force ourselves to remain interested until the next CGI-blood soaked action scene.

During these segments of storyline, many huge gaps in logic become very frustrating. One utterly painful story point (a MAJOR story point at that) comes when Raizo, who we have spent the entire film learning is a badass ninja, makes a stupid mistake and is caught completely off his guard. Why the extended scenes of ninja training if you're going to throw it completely out the window when the story needs a turning point? Things like this rear their heads throughout the film and further negate the need for any story at all. Furthermore, Maika's entire investigation (the scenes where we are meant to "believe" that this could all be true) is so forced and weak that we have to literally be fed spoonfuls of exposition to summarize her findings.

The actors attempt their best to deliver some of the worst dialogue seen in a big budget action movie. In an attempt to demystify the ninja, the script isn't sure what style of dialogue to use. No matter, though, as it all comes out uniformly wooden by the cast. Rain may be a gigantic Korean pop-star and he may play well with the ladies, but when handed bad English dialogue, he can make your ears bleed. Every other major character is drawn from the shallowest of stereotypes. So maybe it's not the actors but, again, the script that is to blame for the failures.

So it's up to director James McTeigue (V FOR VENDETTA) to save the day with visual flair and spectacular action sequences. Unfortunately, it's a mixed bag in the direction and action department. The story scenes are directed adequately at best with no real attempt made to mask the story and dialogue problems. The action scenes are quite bloody. In fact, this is probably one of the most blood soaked films I've seen at the theater. Unfortunately, McTeigue made a conscious decision to use CGI blood to make the action more comic book style. Not only does it look rather fake most of the time, it directly conflicts with the stylistic choice to ground this tale in some semblance of reality.

Outside of the blood though, there is more often little going on on screen of interest. Ninjas and shurikens fly by quickly with McTeigue never really settling on the best way to capture the action of an entity that is never seen as part of its mythology. The camera never stops moving, the takes are only seconds long and there's never a real grasp on who is fighting who. It's all just a big ninja mess with one particular extended action scene in the middle being reduced to uselessness by the wild direction that prevents the audience from having really any shred of an idea of what is going on. This, in turn, further diminishes the story as we are left to guess what the stakes are when we can't tell who is winning a battle.

Overall, NINJA ASSASIN is a failure. However, the film opens with a strong sequence that really captures the spirit of the ninja legend. The final action scenes are actually enough over-the-top that there's some good fun to be had. McTeigue's cameramen seem to have gotten a bit worn out by the time they filmed these scenes as the movements of the camera are far less seizure-like. In between there are brief moments where we get to see what we have imagined it must be like for a ninja to slip in and out of the shadows. Had this been incorporated better in the action, had McTeigue rented a steadicam, had the mythology been made fun we might have a solid ninja film to return to time and time again. Instead we have a watch once and throw away, frustrating curiosity.(Joblo)

google phone review

The good: The T-Mobile G1 features a full QWERTY keyboard, 3G support, Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth. The Google Android operating system offers good integration with Google applications as well as access to the Amazon MP3 Store and YouTube. As more applications become available, the G1 will also become a more powerful smartphone for all types of users.

The bad: The G1 doesn't include a standard heaphone jack and lacks Microsoft Exchange support. There are some annoying design quirks that make the smartphone uncomfortable to hold and difficult to use. You can't save downloaded applications to a memory card. Speakerphone quality wasn't the greatest.

The bottom line: While we're not in love with the design and would have liked some additional features, the real beauty of the T-Mobile G1 is the Google Android platform, as it has the potential to make smartphones more personal and powerful. That said, it's not quite there yet, so for now, the G1 is best suited for early adopters and gadget hounds, rather than consumers and business users.

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is more like traditional Ethernet networks, and requires configuration
to set up shared resources, transmit files, and to set up audio links (for
example, headsets and hands-free devices). It uses the same radio frequencies as
Bluetooth, but with higher power output resulting in a stronger connection.
Wi-Fi is sometimes called "wireless Ethernet." This description is accurate;
it also provides an indication of its relative strengths and weaknesses. Wi-Fi requires more setup, but is better suited for operating full-scale networks
because it enables a faster connection, better range from the base station, and
better security than Bluetooth. A personal computer must have a Bluetooth
adapter in order to be able to communicate with other Bluetooth devices (such
as mobile phones, mice and keyboards). While some desktop computers already
contain an internal Bluetooth adapter, most require an external Bluetooth dongle.
Most recent laptops come with a built-in Bluetooth adapter.
Unlike its predecessor, IrDA, which requires a
separate adapter for each device, Bluetooth allows multiple devices to
communicate with a computer over a single adapter