Traditionalists might balk, but the holiday shopping season is already underway. Skeptical? Head to your local department store and you'll be inundated by Christmas trees and ornaments. Bargain hunters, though, know that the real deals are more than a month away.
Black Friday, traditionally, is when retailers truly slash prices. Early birds can save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars off of their holiday bills. Switched.com checked with a few elves, who gave a sneak peek at what you can expect deal-wise this year.
Blu-ray Players and Movies: Blu-ray is shaping up to be the biggest door buster of this year's Black Friday. de Grandpre expects at least one retailer will offer a Blu-ray player for just $49. Look for bargains on Blu-ray films as well, with last year's hit titles (such as "Iron Man") to fall as low as $5.
Laptops: With the proliferation of Netbooks this year, it's never been easier to find affordable portable computing, but Dan de Grandpre, CEO of DealNews.com says it will get even cheaper on Black Friday. Look for well-equipped Netbooks to sell for $199 – and basic 15" laptops to go for as little as $249.
HDTVs (Pretty big): The holidays are typically the best time to buy a new TV – and Black Friday is the time to do it. If you're looking for a normal sized set, you're in luck. Piper Jaffrey analyst Mitch Kaiser says he expects to see 32-inch LCD sets for as low as $299. GottaDeal.com is estimating 37-inch plasma and LCD sets will fall to $399 or less.
HDTVs (Really big): Need something bigger? How about a 46-47 inch LCD set for $599 – a 25 percent savings? Or a 52-inch LCD for $999? Dealnews says you can expect both. Plasma deals will be a little harder to come by, but a 50-inch set should run roughly $899.
HD Camcorders: You've wanted to shoot your child's school play in HD for a while, but haven't been able to spring for the pricey camcorder. This might be the year. Low-end, flash-based 720p models could drop as low as $60 (though you won't be able to zoom with those). Expect a high quality 1080p HD camcorder for $349.
GPS: While navigation systems have dramatically expanded their reach this year – even making it onto the iPhone – there's still a market for car-based systems. Dealnews predicts you'll be able to find a no-name entry-level system for $49, while a Garmin or Tom-Tom brand will be as low as $69.
Digital Picture Frames: Showcasing your digital pictures consistently gets cheaper. This year, skip the 7-inch screens and focus on the 8- or 9-inch ones, which should be available on Black Friday for as little as $30.
Monitors: Computer monitors might not be the sexiest of gifts, but they're usually welcomed with open arms – and they'll be cheap this year. Name brand 22-inch LCD models may go for as low as $99, while 24-inch models will drop below $150.
Memory: Don't know anyone who needs a monitor? External hard drives are always popular, since they're an easy way to back-up data. Dealnews expects a 1TB drive to fall as low as $49 this year. Gottadeal is looking for 8GB flash drives to hit $15.
While the U.S. military remains mired in the ground conflict in Iraq, the Chinese military seems to be practicing for a war of the future. Earlier this year, reports surfaced about the Communist nation's testing of anti-satellite weapon technology. Now, reports are coming in that say the country has been implicated in a June hacking of Defense Secretary Robert Gates' work computer. This has spurred Pentagon IT folks to actually disable agency's network for more than a week while a fix can be determined.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
MEL said 1:09PM on 9-04-2007
WHY WORRY ABOUT CHINESE HACKERS?. JUST ASK THE
DEMOCRATS, THEY WILL GIVE THEM "ANY AND ALL'OF
THE SECRET INFORMATION WE HAVE."JUST" SO THEY
DONT GET UNHAPPY WITH US!
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Headshot said 3:52PM on 9-04-2007
Hey, MEL:
MAybe having retards in charge of our government who think the Internet is for porn and selling cheap crap for a dear price is the problem. Perhaps some of the free-market bull you right-wingers clamor for on the web needs a limit.
The biggest improvement to our cybersecurity needs? Hire people who know how to hack, crack and cyberassault with merciless precision. Hire the meanest, the nastiest and the dirtiest. Fire the idiots who only do the work now because their parents donated to a political campaign.
IN other words, stop the puritan crap and hire the bad guys, then knock the Chins and Hans right off the network. Constantly.
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Rytiko said 4:04PM on 9-04-2007
Headshot, an appropriate name for such a suggestion. However I am fully inclined to agree with you.
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Salvo said 6:11PM on 9-04-2007
How about have a board of the top computer scientists that the Gov't trusts award the govt's contracts for cyber defense to the best hackers each year. This board will oversee the honesty and credibility of the work. Each year the jobs (however many are needed) are up for review and for the newest and brightest to challenge for the spots. After the committee reviews all challengers then they can award each position based on performance. If you pay them all a million dollars a year or more with other money making incentives throughout the year then why wouldn't they want to kick the shtuff out of Xing Xong?
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Headshot said 1:11PM on 9-05-2007
Salvo:
That is a recipe for self-defeat. You don't overpay them as contractors, you hire them. Sure, pay them well. Sure, they need to be watched. But these types of assets, once identified and developed, need to be the employees of public agencies with the ability to jail them, not just fire them.
As we have seen with many "contractors" such as the myriad Carlisle affiliates, the highest bidder often buys out your capabilities, national security be damned. Say no to mercenaries, and use the status of employee to rein in the assets we already have, jailing anyone who goes rogue.
Contracting. Scumbags beg for all the money and no duty to go with it. I say we need the NRO and NSA to kick out most of those moneygrubbers, the politically connected scumbag neopuketardcons, so that we can get into the work of national security and out of the business of war profiteering and fear sales.
But keep the ones who happen to be competent. Just kill them if they give in to their greed. No muss, no fuss, just dead, greedy cyberspies who tried to sell out.
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GLENN said 7:11PM on 11-27-2007
we have probably been hacking their systems for years , it is just payback . but the asses in this country want to have their cake and eat it too. so now they are going crazy trying to secure their own data ,
"who do those chinamen think they are " they say ." this should be illegal ".
god help us , these people want to control the world . make laws for everyone else to obey and do whatever they want .
no wonder all of those arabs would rather blow themselves up than be a part of their plans .
i hope the chinamen really get in and do some damage , it would serve em right.
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steve said 8:06PM on 12-02-2007
You know what we have done,our economy is done because we have idiots running our ountry.We have no industry left,aloud the Communist to take over our manufacturing,now we have no jobs...you morons in Washington.You expect everyone working in retail stores for minimum wage,loose there homes and sell Chinese produts.Thank you very much... The idiot that came up with nafta PROGRAM You wonder how the Russian Mafia get to our top secret web sites A ten year old kid could do it.....
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funsurfer4u said 8:21PM on 12-02-2007
Lets get those super security guys to block out China and Russia...Or maybe just give them disinformation!
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J. Brian Thompson said 9:22PM on 12-02-2007
The Bush Administration hire hackers? Hey, George Bush can't string together a simple 5-word declarative sentence. He's never heard of e-mail. If it weren't for majong, he would never boot a computer. You're dealing with major dolts here.
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stan said 3:58AM on 12-03-2007
Hell-o and welcome china. Come on over, our borders are wide open, stay a couple nights or stay and wait for your citzenship like the rest. Heck bring your army. You don't have to bring anything else with you, everything here is from china anyway. Don't forget to pickup your one billion dollar giveaway to all foreign countries. If there is something you want but don't see, just ask the government will give it to you. Anything for a friend.
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greg of 61 yrs said 11:38PM on 1-14-2008
Hey Guys, Gals, & (Wonderfull Patriots) of America, etc,
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Go here for the real truth about our Gov't, Good ol Boys & Girls Club. (Dems & Reps) alike.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ueEfRXZCVA
Sincerely,
gfuss@aol.com
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