Opinions, please

Since I've been saving a ton this past year and not really spending much, I decided I was going to splurge on something for myself for my birthday. I'm torn between doing two things:

1) Buying a new iphone 3Gs (I would have to buy it outright since I used up all my phone points last year)
2) Buying an iphone 3G and a netbook.

I keep going back and forth because I've decided to cross over to the dark side and get an iphone and I'd really like to have the radio feature of the new 3Gs (and it would mean I could get rid of my mp3 player). But on the other hand, it'd be really nice to have a netbook that I could just throw in my purse when traveling - my laptop is a dinosaur and weighs just as much, so it's a pain to lug it around all the time.

Does anyone out there have a netbook? I'm just wondering how practical they actually are - I'd basically be using it for internet browsing and email when away from home. I checked out a few today and the keyboards just seemed so small. Plus, the ones I looked at basically only had Internet Explorer loaded and no other software.

Some people have suggested just using the iphone while traveling, but I think it's just a bit too small for it to be my only internet access for a week at a time...

Can you imagine going without electricity, water or a phone for several days straight? Most of you have probably heard about the big storms that the South of France experienced last weekend, and I've been watching it unfold every day on the news. About 30% of my clients down there, and the majority of them are in les Landes, the area that took the brunt of it. It's so strange for me to see all of those tiny towns on the news - sort of like their 15 minutes of fame, though not in a good way.

I haven't been able to reach many of them so far because their phone lines are still out - pretty much every time I try, I get a message saying "This number does not exist". I hope they haven't suffered too much damage though, and that none of their animals were hurt. I'd almost planned on going down there this week too, but I'm really glad I didn't now. Staying in a hotel is already getting old, let alone in a hotel with no electricity or running water!

I guess it just goes to show how spoiled we all are nowadays. I've tried to think about how I would deal here with no heat, no fridge, no oven, no lights, etc - I'm certainly not equipped for it. In fact, the only thing I am equipped for is internet, since my blackberry can act as a modem for my computer if need be! (Though without electricity, my laptop wouldn't last long.) It all just makes what Riana's doing look even smarter, ie going back to the basics and not being a slave to consumerism and technology....

Coolest thing ever

I cannot believe I forgot to post about this - I'd heard about it before, but only really took notice of it a few weeks back while showing a co-worker where I lived.

I'm talking about Google Street View, ie. one more reason to love the internet. If you haven't checked it out yet, I highly encourage you to. My family has now been able to see where I live and "walk" around my neighborhood. It was so bizarre - like "This is where I live - that's the rich people door and here's the servant door where I go in". "This is my grocery store" and "This is where I go buy my bread". And "There's the Luxembourg gardens on your right and the Pantheon on your left".

It is too too cool, and a great way to get your Paris fix if you're far away!

FYI: It's also available for other major cities in France, the US, Australia, Japan, Italy, Spain & New Zealand).