Ask HN: If I gave you $20.00 US, What would you buy?

I'd just put it in the bank to pay for the last 10 minutes I spent reading this thread and thinking about what I would spend only $20 on.

Beer.

[Edit: Sorry, I only read the title. I would probably not buy beer online.... so... I dunno. An ebook?]

I'd donate it to Aaron Diaz, in thanks for his work on http://dresdencodak.com.

I would buy a months worth of VPS over at linode.com, except that I already have one.

So my second choice would be a book on marketing, which I am guessing I would have to get used, which is no problem as they are usually the absolute best bargin.

Well, in reality, I would use it to buy food. Money is tight.

If we're talking some sort of online-only credit, I'd actually like to donate more to a number of podcasts I enjoy (escapeartists.net, drabblecast.org, starshipsofa.com). They work on a lot of productions that enrich the life of my mind.

20 lottery tickets.

The man in the high castle and Ubik by Philip K. Dick. They're next on my wishlist and I've already spent my book budget for this month.

If that's not an option I'd donate it to the development of Mongrel2.

If it has to be online, I would order some intelligentsia coffee. If not online, I would go to my local cafe and... buy some coffee.

Yes, I am an addict.

Bicycle fuel for the commute: a week's worth of healthy lunches. I'm living on high-sodium crap until payday.

Just yesterday there was a similar thread on AskReddit: "What is the coolest thing I can buy on the internet for under $20?" (http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/cqr6x/what_is_the...)

Personally, my vote goes to the TV-B-Gone. It's a small device that runs through all the common IR codes for turning TVs off when you press a button. ThinkGeek sells them for $20, but the "hacker" version (http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&...) runs for 50 cents less ;).

Two months of the International Herald Tribune for my Kindle. The subscription cost is half that of the New York Times, but the content is virtually identical, with more of an international focus.

I enjoy reading on my Kindle to reading on the computer. No distractions, and much less eyestrain.

Honestly, ice cream and I'd go watch Inception. Been living on a budget so both are out for now, and I have all the programming books I need right now.

A programming book from my wishlist: http://amzn.com/w/HWZ6Z22CY8TU

I would put it towards buying a ZipIt[1], which I would then use for web browsing (elinks), coding (vim) and maybe even DOS gaming (DosBOX). I like that it's hackable, and I like that it's affordable--unlike an iPod Touch or Android device :/

[1] - http://linux.zipitwireless.com/

Not sure what you are really asking. In practice, stuff that I buy online that does not result in a physical object turning up at my door are (in no particular order):

1. eBooks

2. iPhone apps/audiobooks

3. Freemium subscriptions

4. "Donate" buttons

Now if you are saying "here's $20, do something with it that you wouldn't do with your own money", I have no idea what I would do with it.

A copy of Lomby Zombie - http://www.wargamedownloads.com/item.php?item=762

And a Pizza from Papa Johns -http://www.papajohns.com/index.shtm

Last buck for the tip (or tax on the pizza)

I'm thinking of trying NearlyFreeSpeech.net - I'd been paying about $250/year for shared hosting that was so-so quality, and after I closed down a couple projects I don't have the traffic that I'd need lots of mediocre quality hosting. That's what I'd get online.

Offline, rice and coffee.

A megaupload / rapidshare premium account or would put it into advertising

http://gettingreal.37signals.com/ I feel bad for getting the ebook with a "getting real filetype:pdf" google query just today.

Chipotle! - carnitas burrito and some tacos.

That's assuming I read that right: "buy" and "subscribe online" are separate phrases. If I have to buy it online, then a tuner/metronome combo.

Likely something from iTunes. Either music or an iPad app.

BP shares for a few months. Then see what I could buy :)

I'd put it towards a magazine subscription - probably renewing I.D. (http://www.id-mag.com/)

Bandwidth and some outsourced coding.

Edit: oops, I read it as $2000 not $20. With $20 I would buy both of us a fast food meal, or maybe a few rounds of pool.

I would get a Manning ebook: http://manning.com/. Probably PostGIS in Action.

Double it and donate $40 to Khan's Academy.

The Unix Programming Environment (Prentice-Hall Software Series)

The cheapest offer on amazon.com is $20 including shipping costs.

I'd give $10 to each of my two daughters.

I'd put it towards my business registration costs. Waiting to hear back about my name approval request.

Cyberspace: I'd purchase the last 20 songs I bookmarked on Pandora.com.

Meatspace: I'd go play skeeball with my wife.

Slightly outdated textbooks, or (if online product/service only) 250 pages of documents from PACER.

Chicken McNuggets because someone just made me hungry for them.

oh has to be online? umm... some book.

Donate to a couple of Android devs. Cyanogen and probably the dev of LauncherPro.

Adword ads.

A 'Better Bottle' from Camelbak (they are simply improving the famous wheel)

Probably something on Steam.

A twelve pack of Blue Moon.

1 YHOO

Hosting, github or domain.

I'd probably end up buying > $20 worth of stuff on Amazon.

I'd get a logo created over at 99 Designs for my side project.

They call it "beer money" for a reason - that's what I'd buy.

A wordpress theme, or extend my last.fm subscription.

Monthly subscriptions to a few video/audio webcasts.

Parts for a reprap.

Aqua Sphere Kalman swimming goggles (Amber).

more friends. ;)

A romantic dinner for me and my girlfriend.

A domain name and some hosting.

A month of private SVN storage

ooh. either winnie the pooh or the jungle book dvd for my daughter :)

I'd invest in agriculture

Donate to Gigapedia.com

Something for the kids.

Music from iTunes.

sun block, coconuts, and a bit of gasoline

I'd send it to the ASPCA. Dogs rule!

Beer!