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Plan B: Affordable Tech Alternatives

Every IT person has dreams about the technologies they really want for their business. In current economic conditions, however, you may need to downsize your expectations.

There's nothing to be ashamed of, and it doesn't have to be the end of the world. To help, bMighty.com has put together 17 affordable alternatives to the cool, cutting edge technologies you may not be able to afford right now.

For example, if you need an ultralight laptop, your Plan A might be an Macbook Air or Lenovo X300. Both are excellent choices, but both cost close to $2,000, or even more! But just because you don't have 2 large to drop on a laptop, that doesn't mean you have to carry around some 7-pound behemoth just to check to your email. Plan B is an MSI Wind, or other netbook that costs $300 to $400. Apart from the names, no one will confuse a Wind with an Air, but the Wind will do almost all of what the Air will do -- minus the style -- for a lot less moolah.

Don't Miss: Plan B: bMighty.com's Guide To Making Do During The Recession

To help you make the most of increasingly scarce dollars and resources, we've listed that comparison, and 16 more highly desirable technologies and other business extravagances (Plans A), along with a less-expensive, less-ostentatious, and easier-to-deal-with alternative for each one. We lay out the differences and even include a quick bottom-line comparison of just exactly what you save and what you give up.

So, if you can't afford that sweet 30-inch monitor you've had your eye on, take a look at this Plan B.

Want to do social networking but don't have time to blog? There is an (obvious) Plan B alternative.

Cuts in the travel budget keeping you from an important trade show? There's a virtual Plan B.

Microsoft Exchange costs ripping your budget to shreds? Plan B has a message for you.

If you're trying to make lemonade out of lemons, think of it this way: By going with Plan B you're doing your part for shared sacrifice and the new national mood of austerity and restraint. And you may find that sometimes -- just sometimes -- what seemed to be the lesser alternative turns out to be just as good or even better than what you originally wanted.

If not, well, time to suck it up and comfort yourself in the knowledge that you're helping your business survive 'till better days are back again.

As the late, great, Warren Zevon sang back in '82: "I appreciate the best, but I'm settling for less. I'm looking for the next best thing."

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