So Blast, if I click 10 times. does that buy you a beer?

The internet is very good for comparing prices.

I research the heck out of products online, then go in to buy them locally if they're available and not outrageously priced. Unfortunately, many salespeople these days just don't know what they're selling. Their goal is to sell you something, your goal is to buy yourself the most appropriate something for your use. These two goals are usually mutually exclusive, so I do prior research on the internet to gain knowledge BEFORE shopping. Prepared thusly, 99 times out of 100 I know more about the product in the store than the salesperson does.

More likely it would get him banned from Adsense for click fraud

On the other hand I just read that some bloggers had some success by changing the "Paypal Donate" button to "Buy Me A Beer"

Another thing the internet is good for is cutting communication costs especially with "voice over internet protocol" instead of racking up long distance telephone bills.

Very true. I know a couple whose daughter is working in Australia. They use some sort of VOIP/video link to talk several times a week.

The cool part is that they talk more and longer than when they all lived in the same house. Absence makes the heart ... &tc.

Very good point. I had forgotten about all the perfectly good and free software there is on-line.

One of the best IMHO is Open office which can substitute for MS Word. I also like Abi-word.

I've been Windows - free since 1997, and haven't looked back. But having been programming in Unix since the late 70's helps also.

I've been successful at getting some of my family to at least switch to Macs. Even though they are pricey, having a Unix based operating system has saved them many hundreds of hours of frustration.

The internet has been great. Sometimes I buy locally, when I'm trying to find something that's not available, I love being able to go to Amazon and use free shipping.

There are times when I like to use a local merchant, and there are times when I feel I'm being held hostage, and like to go on-line to circumvent them. And there are times when I want to hold what I'm buying before I buy it. It really depends on the situation.