Image this: You finally decide to buy a new computer. You do all the research, test drive models in stores, compare prices, talk to friends, etc., and then finally take the plunge, swipe the card, and bring home a beautiful new laptop or desktop.

Everything's going fine until a couple weeks later, when the manufacturer releases an upgraded version of your computer—it's sleeker, it's lighter, it's faster, and loaded with built-in whatevers and other features that instantly tarnish your recent purchase as stale technology.

Has this ever happened to you? More Here...

In 2010, we're all hoping to see the economy get back on track, but that doesn't let us totally off the hook—the start of a new year is an excellent time to revamp your financial habits. Here are some of my financial resolutions:

• Cook more. That advice question on simple recipes reminded me how much money I could be saving if I prepared more of my own meals. I mean, I make a mean quesadilla. 
• Be awesome at work. I've been working at my new job for about three weeks now, but once the holidays are over things will be less chaotic and interrupted by vacations. I hope to prove myself as a hard worker and all around team player (as corny as that sounds). More Here...

DailyFinance has a neat article up about the most annoying, redundant, and otherwise loathsome business phrases of our rapidly ending decade. Here are some highlights:

Meta: I actually like this term, but I'm also aware of how annoying it can be. Although it has other technical uses, people use meta to describe something self-referential. Like when a TV show acknowledges its own plot hole.

Synergy: That alleged magic that happens when two people or companies put their heads together. Not a bad concept, but this term is so overused it's become cringe-worthy.

______ 2.0: Personally I prefer appending part deux to titles when making up sequels, but 2.0 is the hip, aggravating alternative. DailyFinance provided the following (fabulously awful) example: "I wonder what Tiger Woods '2.0' will look like."

Jump the Shark: Again, I kind of like this one, but DailyFinance singled it out. Inspired by the desperately stupid Happy Days episode where Fonzie attempts to jump a shark on water skis, jump the shark now describes any shameless, last-ditch effort to regain ground.

Social Media: Ideally, we could use this term to describe sites like Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook, but it's tragically become a blanket phrase to describe things on the Internet, from YouTube to e-mail, that are vaguely connective in nature.

Bandwidth: When a network cannot host the necessary amount of data, it's over its bandwidth. But you can be too! Lately, a popular excuse in the tech community has been "I don't have enough bandwidth to handle this."

It Is What It Is: Um, duh. This phrase seems to have hit its peak during the first season of Top Chef, when contestants would dejectedly write off their food as, well, what is was. If they overcooked a dish, then it was overcooked—what can you do?

Takeaway/Learnings: Words annoying bosses use to ask you what you got out of a meeting, experience, or whatever. It just makes you want to roll your eyes, doesn't it?

Dialogue/Facetime: These words describe talking, but they make it sound like a revolutionary concept that will just knock your socks off. (And who knows, maybe it is in our digital age.)

What business terms do you love, hate, or love to hate?

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