Pimpin’ and protecting your tech

Gelaskin by Tim Sorsdahl

Originally uploaded by jonrawlinson

You have paid good money for your laptop investment so it’s not so strange to want to protect it a little and make it last a little longer. “But how can I do that without looking all untrendy?” I hear you ask. Well, I got a “bit o’ love fo’ ya”
Gelaskins, according to the site “…are removable covers for protecting and customizing your portable devices.” There are heaps of designs you can get from some well and lesser known artist (see pic). The gallery of covers is a bit slow to browse through on the site but well worth the effort. While you’re there you can get a matching skin for your iPod, iPhone or Blackberry.

If putting a massive sticker on your laptop makes you a bit nervous instead you can be “da biza” and “da shiza” with some kit from Foof. Truly trendy sleeves for your iPod, camera and laptop so next time you pull out your piece of technology everyone will go “Ooooh! That person is super cool and hip”. The website is super elegant and very browseable and all Foof-bags are handsewn in Australia.

No more salary sacrifice laptop?



Laptop
Originally uploaded by sp3ccylad

Did Kevin Rudd kill laptop salary sacrifice?

As such, there’s now little incentive for the employer to help you score a salary-sacrificed notebook PC as a tax-saving strategy, since it now costs the business money regardless.

Interesting article in APC magazine.
As someone who has salary sacrificed for a laptop in the past I have not double-dipped (made pre tax payments as well as depreciating the asset) and have only claimed a % of use as “work”. Admittedly that is around 90% (sad but true!)
I am not a tax expert so I have no idea how this shakes down for education institutions but it doesn’t look particularly promising. I have the good fortune at the moment to be working for an organisation that provides me with a machine to use but that was not the case in the past. It would be a great shame for the Federal government to be trying to put machines in front of students only to make if more difficult for a teacher to get one in front of them.

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