SOME people collect shoes and handbags. I am a gizmo magnet.
At the last count, I have five computers (one of which is dead), five MP3 players, one inkjet printer, one printer-copier-scanner, one digital camera and several USB drives.

Add to that four cellphones - two are spares - one game console, one DVD player and a video camera.

How did I arrive at this bundle of toys?

Many, like the MP3 players, were Christmas presents. The USB drives were inherited from vendors who had given their large press releases to us on these portable drives.

Others, like the two- and three-year-old cellphones, have been relegated to the shelves because they were old and buggy - the ultimate was when one of them crashed three times in one day while I was talking to newsmakers.

As far as the five computers go, one, I admit, was an indulgence because a distributor had dangled a 30 per cent discount for a 15-inch laptop. Just too much to resist!

Going forward, such indulgences will have to stop. With the economy looking increasingly gloomy, belt-tightening is prudent, to say the least.

Use the gizmos till their dying days, I remind myself. Not just until they crash but for at least four to five years.

Admittedly, doing this will mean missing several upward churns that follow a technology life cycle.

If you, like me, don't drill deep into operating systems to discover their secrets or crunch complex Excel spreadsheets, then keeping up breathlessly with the latest and greatest in technology need not be a priority.

Truth be told, I use widgets mainly to write stories, surf the Web, rip music to MP3 players and watch movies. So really, the newest iterations of whatever can wait.

In the spirit of thrift for the tough economic times ahead, Digital Life will look at ways people can maximise the use of IT systems.

Digital Life's annual Tech Buyers' Guide next week kicks off this focus with the theme, the Tech Sweet Spot - the point at which you can get the best product or service performance at the lowest price.

The following week, the spotlight will be on ways small and medium-sized companies can tap technology - by trimming costs, upping productivity and creating new revenue streams - for healthier balance sheets.

Also, look out for our first 100 Insider Tech Tips - many of them free ways - to get more out of your systems and gadgets in the Nov 19 issue.

For families not heading to the heavily booked, snow-filled holiday destinations, our Nov 26 issue offers 10 projects which parents and children can do for stay-at-home fun.

Such as how to set up home wireless systems, turn your past holiday snapshots into a snazzy movie and build your own PC.

Back to my tech wanderlust: thoughts of upgrading to a very thin 15-inch notebook have flown out the window. Repentance, however, is a long-term process and I am, somewhat guiltily, still in the market for a high-resolution flat-screen monitor. High-definition movies is my justification for this buy.

But now, instead of considering the 24-inch version, I'll look at the 22-inch one and instead of getting the high-end model, a mid-range buy will be the compromise.

chngkeg@sph.com.sg

This story was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life on 29 October 2008.