• by Christopher M. Schroeder , December 13, 2004

Dear Santa Claus,

I have been very good this year. Well, for the most part.

I keep my computer clean of cookies, and haven't seen or thought of a pop-up ad since last Christmas when you gave me such easy tools.

I DVR only educational programming (those "other" shows that slipped through came recommended from my TiVo profile, so what could I do? "Desperate Housewives," actually, was VERY educational). I get my sports fix primarily online now as I can find just about any game I want at any time I want it. I have plenty of storage, thanks to that 200 gig hard drive last year, so I can pretty much find any independent movie and progressively more other legal ones. Okay, I've peeked at BitTorrent, but never the copyrighted stuff...

Actually, I love not only finding any one program I want when I want it, but finding segments of shows that interest me. Why watch a whole "Saturday Night Live," when I can find just Ashlee Simpson doing her Milli Vanilli alone?

I haven't seen a TV ad for some time, not since that Burger King chicken ad. Oh, wait, that was online. Sometimes as I speed through ads, something catches my attention, but if there is anything really cool or funny, someone e-mails me or I find it online. The fact is I've been multi-tasking, channel surfing, or leaving the room for years when ads come on in any event.

I must confess I'm not watching as much television anyway, as it takes away from one of my multi-player games. Thank you for Firefox, which makes all this a ton easier than Internet Explorer.

I'm sorry I only read a newspaper once a week, mostly on Sunday and mostly for the coupons. But I check my RSS Reader 100 times a day to stay informed, and my friends e-mail and IM me when things happen that interest us.

Whenever I want to buy something, I pretty much rely on Google, but only if I couldn't find it on Amazon or eBay or Overstock first.

I found a new job on Craigslist and a new apartment, so please make note of my address change for your records.

I didn't have any time, or interest really, this year to buy any new CDs. But thank you so much for the iPod you gave me last year and for including an XM Radio in my new car.

You'll be glad to know, that I don't waste any money to mention on long distance phone bills any more, thanks to Skype. And my cell phone has all but replaced my local service carrier. If my parents didn't want me to be extra secure, I'd cancel that too.

I really don't need much this year. But, like I ask every year, a Microsoft product without bugs, a coherent cell phone bill, and anything that represents customer service from my broadband provider would be nice.

But don't really sweat this. Innovation and competition will eventually take care of these and a whole lot more, and I can find just about anything else I need online.

Merry Christmas and don't work too hard. (In fact, have you considered using eBay?)

Sincerely, The Ghost of Christmas Future

P.S. The Ghost of Christmas Present helped me write this letter.