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.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 29)
Laura said 9:23AM on 2-23-2008
Talk about "swinging both ways"...
Focus people!
You can make her go in either direction.
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Laura said 9:24AM on 2-23-2008
... and I still think the E-Trade baby was the best Superbowl commercial
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Laura said 9:42AM on 2-23-2008
I see her simply awaying back and forth - not turning in full circles... what does THAT mean?
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tggr said 8:48AM on 3-09-2008
Its a hoax. the leg she's standing on changes when she changes direction. So does the arm she has raised.
There are several ways to see it:
One - just wait long enough and she'll change directions. Wait longer and she'll switch back
Dont understand why the time varies between switches? Just think random number generator.
Two - See which leg is raised when she's rotating one way. Then come back and see which leg is raised when she's rotating the other way.
Three - Think about the arguments being presented:
"is because there is a single frame in which your brain cannot tell if she is facing towards you or away from you, so your brain "chooses" subconsciously."
-and-
"Because she is totally black (no pun intended) there is nothing to focus on for rotation."
I've seen worse arguments trying to authenticate this, but none of them make sense. Think about it this way. If everyone saw objects turning in different directions based on the part of the brain they were using at that time. We'd have more traffic accidents than cars.
I've seen the argument that 'there isn't enough information in the frame so your brain doesn't have enough reference points to actually see which way she's turning. So what you see is dependent on your perception' presented in many different forms.
But then you've seen a car turn in the dark haven't you? You didn't run into it did you? You've seen a horror movie where the bad guy is advancing on his/her intended victim in scenes darker than this with fewer visual cues than this scene and sometimes with lots of stuff thrown in to confuse you. But you still saw the killer coming for his victim, right? And so did everyone else.
If the above argument were true we'd be unable to avoid collisions with all manner of moving objects. So you don't really have to "see" the legs and arms change to understandthat this is a hoax.
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HWS said 1:59AM on 11-20-2008
Nice theories and all.. too bad they're incorrect. A car turning at night can't be compared to this in the least. You can tell which directoin it is going because of the silhouette. Because the front end of a car and the back end do not look the same.
Silhouettes look exactly the same from the front and the back this is nothing more than a simple optical illusion. Another fact your number 2 argument fails cause the raised leg is both the right and the left at the same time. LIkewise with the arms and legs.
Also there is no random number generator involved. Its just a simple gif, no hidden code no nothing. I've even saved the picture to my computer to show others.
Lastly its not that the arguments to authenticate it don't make sense. Its that you don't understand them. I can understand how this works plain as day, but I've also had classes dealing with optical illusions and how they work.
Roni said 12:20PM on 3-16-2008
I don't have to concentrate or look at her feet or let my eyes go out of focus or any of the tricks that people use for her to change directions. She just does. I guess that means that I use both sides of my brain equally, and I am not right- or left-brained.
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sallyann said 12:56AM on 9-05-2008
If you blink when the foot reaches the right side, it will change directions. You can blink at the left side and it will change back. Try it.
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Dennis said 7:24AM on 9-05-2008
If you watch very carefully it changes direction totaly at one point the right leg is up and at another point the left leg is up. you can also see by watching the breast at one point the riht breast is leading and then it switches to the left breast. change takes place when the body is in on line streight up and down and only one leg is seen.
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Dobe said 7:49AM on 9-05-2008
Spined clockwise one spin and stopped, did the same thing when I have reload the page un Firefox.
I have downoloaded, and viewed again in my player, did the same thing one spin clockwise and stop.
Don't have time to try this again now.
Very cool.
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Dobe said 7:50AM on 9-05-2008
No more spinning or movement ay all... what it this mean?
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patrick said 9:03AM on 9-05-2008
you think thats cool Theres a picture of a black cat that looks like its moving zazzle.com/ptrotter
right to left
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vito said 11:37AM on 9-05-2008
i love it when people say this is an hoax and she swithces direction...
ITS NOT an hoax.. once you keep starring and staring at her you will see you are the one who controls which way she spins.. its a sick illusion.
no one really knows which way she is naturally spinng cuz your brain decides.. its quite awesome
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Ralph Wilson said 12:27PM on 9-05-2008
This spinning chick is hot! For this eye-trick they even put nipples on her!
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Tony West said 1:14PM on 9-05-2008
She spins counter clockwise until I start reading and then she switches and for the life of me I can't get her to switch back.
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Robyn said 2:35PM on 9-05-2008
I see both. And especially if you close your eyes and imagine her spinning to the left or to the right, then open your eyes...she will turn the direction you decided on.
Robyn
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jc said 6:55PM on 9-05-2008
It spun clockwise at first and then it spun counter clockwise the rest of the time.
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VBinATL said 7:01PM on 9-05-2008
Fortunately, I have two monitors. This image is not an illusion. There are two diffferent images, one goes clockwise with right leg up and right arm up. The other image is counterclockwise with the left leg up and left arm up. If you keep refreshing the page, the image will eventually change to the other - just like ad banners. Just simple clicks and impressions. That's all.
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Karla said 8:29PM on 9-09-2008
I can only see her go counter-clockwise
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LIBS said 9:42AM on 9-09-2008
I ALSO CAUGHT HER WHEN SHE CHANGES DIRECTIONS. THIS IS TOTALLY FAKE
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AG said 9:21PM on 9-05-2008
It's fake, and I can prove it. The image simply changes directions. The key is the shadow of the foot - the one that disappears out of the frame. It always moves right to left, but when she is turning clockwise, you see the shadow when the extended foot is in the foreground, and vice versa.
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