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.
In the realm of cyber terrorism, the botnet is a terrible thing. It's a collection of computers hijacked through malicious software that can be used to stage massive attacks, like the ones that shut down networks across Estonia earlier this year. One of the ringleaders in a global 1.3-milliion-computer botnet has been arrested, and surprisingly, he's only 18.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
paul said 2:03PM on 1-25-2008
Post pictures and addresses of Graffiti Artists in neighborhoods so that we can send them gifts for painting our property......
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jerry a. Myers said 3:25PM on 2-13-2008
THE new era of producing Governmental data
is no longer hacking. With the advannt of
extreme superior use of the numeral and
zero system towards producing data is an
undetectable structure of literally gathering
data on space and defense with out hacking.
THE teen hacker is old school. THIS new
world of creating Governmental data is yet
to command attention. THIS is Cyber space
defense worst nightmare.
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Angela said 11:47AM on 11-30-2007
Why not release his name? Last I heard, 18 years old makes a person an adult. Don't treat him like a baby!
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rasta said 11:57AM on 11-30-2007
1337 gibson hax0r
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NDB said 11:57AM on 11-30-2007
Why is it so surprising that he is only 18? It's at that age and younger when people are at their prime as far as discovering and working through aspects of any kind of things that they feel is a challenge to them or catches their fancy...like he was supposed become a genius once he was 21 or something.
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Jordan said 12:03PM on 11-30-2007
Put him in jail and hard labor picking rocks seven days a week, and then hang him in the yard in front of the other prisoners; these criminals are causing too much anxiety to millions of us, AND stealing millions of Dollars
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blondie said 12:04PM on 11-30-2007
What is up with the picture of Mr.T? What does that picture have to do with the article?
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dee law said 12:10PM on 11-30-2007
All young offenders names SHOULD be released. It is for this very reason some young adults are NOT afraid to do things they other wise might not do. They KNOW they can get by with it, that it will not be made known. If they do the crime , it should be told. Maybe then, some of this violence will stop
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Mike said 12:41PM on 11-30-2007
Blondie:
"He is said to be tied to a botnet gang known as the A-Team, who the FBI hopes will also be behind bars soon"
I pity da fool dat mess wit botnet!!
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Tom said 12:32PM on 11-30-2007
This is surprising that he is only 18? He doesn't have anything better to do but hack on his computer all day obviously. Lock this guy and his up and throw away the key!!! NEVER LET HIM OR HIS GANG TOUCH ANYTHING ELECTRONIC EVER AGAIN!!!! He and his gang are just a handful of the people that give the rest of us more grief than any of us need with computer fraud, theft, and UPDATES to try to stop these people from stealing our money. Why not disclose his name? Are the authorities afraid someone will take care of this thief themself? I can't say I would blame anybody for that. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there that are just as sick and tired of thieves as I am and it wouldn't hurt my feelings any if internet theft was a prison sentence for life.
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Isabella said 12:36PM on 11-30-2007
This 18 year old should have his name released. He committed an adult crime, and everyone should know who he is. We coddle criminals too much in this world right now. As far as I'm concerned if you commit a serious crime, I'm not worried about infringing their civil rights. You should not have any civil rights !
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mike said 12:38PM on 11-30-2007
This is nuts he is old enough to murder people in the name of God and country, get laid, and in most places own firearms, and drink alcohol. My guess is there is something rotten in the FBI or the age of consent has been raised again. Also could be the FBI is tired of being sued for arresting the wrong person.. I do not feel the name of a person should be released until they are found guilty. This prevents the lives of people from being destroyed by over zealous Police and FBI agents and irresponsible media whores. Actually I would be interested in some information on how and what he did so I could protect my self form his particular scam. The biggest thing anyone can do in disconnect from the inter net when you are not actively using it. If you user a routes change the base IP address at least once a month, I have a program I wrote that shutdowns 27 monitoring programs started by major software companies during startup. I shutdown these programs before the internet connection is made.
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rafa said 12:44PM on 11-30-2007
The reason why name is not released is because he is cooperating with the fbi to nab the rest of his cyber thieve friends.
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LMT said 12:48PM on 11-30-2007
Put the kid to work for the FBI and other "good- guy" organizations as a way of paying for what he did. Use the thief to catch other thieves. That mind of his is too good to waste!
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kiwifan said 12:51PM on 11-30-2007
the kid's name is owen wilson from whitianga...he was homeschooled and works for trios software development...he enlisted a group of computer dudes called the a-team...that is why the picture accompanies this article..by and by, he still lives at home and is described as a loner
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Tobi said 12:50PM on 11-30-2007
What's the deal with the picture of The "A" Team?
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pawntail said 12:53PM on 11-30-2007
Did you people every think that they arent releasing his name because they might use him as an operative in their own forces? A kid with that much talent can usually be forced into working FOR the FBI instead of going to jail. They said he was part of a ring of people, he has extremely valuable information on other cyberterrorists and to release his name is counterproductive on the investigation. Also, who cares what his name is? DO YOU KNOW HIM? Doubt it! So what would YOU knowing his name do? He's in serious trouble, they WILL lock him up at some point. So get over not knowing every single juicy bit!
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bobby said 1:22PM on 11-30-2007
i always knew that Murdoch was just "craaaaaa...ZY"
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kelly said 1:37PM on 11-30-2007
What do you expect a kid in the Waikato region on New zealand to do?? there is nothing for kids to do here but milk cows, screw sheep, get pregnant young, drink and figure out ways to mess up people lives.. It is all done in the name of trying beaintg the bordom... the kid is from just outside Hamilton...
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Mike Glen said 1:30PM on 11-30-2007
Another bored cyber baby.
These kids seem to think ripping off the net is fun. How about we tell them they will be billed for all the damage and they will not be allowed back on the net for life.
The net is a fantastic thing and should be protected from these cyberdelinquents.
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