Daniel Choi.net - my thoughts and ideas

It’s been about a month since I moved to Cupertino from Cleveland, OH. Apartment rent is about twice more expensive compare to Cleveland, but I picked Cupertino because it is Silicon Valley! Among many good reasons living Silicon Valley, I will share couple of my own.

FRYS

When I was in Cleveland, only stores that I could buy computer related stuff was Best Buy and Micro Center. They both didn’t have many choices for different brands and products. And they were OVER PRICED. On the other hand there is Newegg.com, probably the best online store for buying computer related parts. I probably spent more than $5,000 buying parts from Newegg during my college days. The problem with Newegg is the shipping cost and transition time. When I moved here, I was introduced to Frys. They are big electronic store that has wide range of different brand and products. The big catch is, they are CHEAP. I always bring my iPhone to compare the price between in-store and online, most of the times their price are same as Newegg.com. The best part is, no shipping cost, and I can take home and use it right away.

Community

As a Mac addict, I have always wanted to visit the Apple Computer’s headquarter. Every Mac you buy, as a default, there is Apple Inc, contact info in Address Book. 1 Infinite Loop, a street name which every mac user probably has come across at least once. I actually live less than a mile from that exact location. Also, Silicon Valley is home to many great computer companies, such as Facebook, Google, HP and many more. Although there were the dark days of dot-com bubble, I believe that IT sector is going to lead the US market down the line, and probably forever. Living in the community that develops next generation technology definitely feels good. Some day…. I will contribute to this great community.

People

Last weekend, I was exchanging a SATA controller card I bought from FRYS. Since iPhone is little bulky to put up against the ear, I always use Jawbone bluetooth headset. This guy next to me asked, how I liked the new Jawbone that was in hanging from my ear. I told him how I loved it and I definitely recommend buying if he was considering. The response I was expecting was totally off. He said, “I spent three months in China making that product.” He was busy, so we couldn’t talk much, but it was great new experience for me. It’s not every day when you get to talk to the developer who makes one of your favorite gadget.