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 'Star Wars' universe, it was Luke Skywalker's Rogue Squadron that was largely responsible for driving back the forces of the evil empire. However, in the world of computing, just about anything labeled "rogue" is a very bad thing indeed. So, reports of "rogue friends" on MySpace don't sound promising, and indeed they are not. Hacked and bogus accounts are nothing new on MySpace, but now they're packing viruses and have the potential to take over your computer.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
sue said 10:52AM on 2-14-2008
For all of your hackers out there: "Get a life will you!!! Try doing something productive in your life and get off your butt maybe take a walk of bake a cake. Or better yet, Join the Freaks Club. It's free and I here its the talk of the town.
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travelinvasion said 3:06PM on 1-17-2008
If you are reading this message, it means your computer is now infected
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mike said 9:20PM on 1-17-2008
I have already come across this myspace virus and my norton internet security has blocked the virus.The virus is called "downloader" it is a high security risk virus.If you get a friends request from a myspace user and the photo is of a female with a bikini,don't click on the profile just click deny.
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Chaz said 3:34PM on 1-17-2008
These morons that put viruses on computers,execute one of them and mavbe they will stop.
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Maria Stars said 4:17PM on 1-17-2008
Another fantastic reason to NEVER touch MySpace.com. I wouldn't touch it with a 10ft. pole!
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Dred said 4:09PM on 1-17-2008
Speaking as someone who has had his computer "hijacked" twice, all I can say about the needle dick dweebs who do this crap: beheading would be too kind a treatment. They have taken advantage of a necessity - the use of computers and the internet for commerce - and turned what is already a difficult situation into a nightmare. These people - the needle dick virus punks - add nothing to life and do not deserve it. I have no idea who they are but I do know that they are lower than pond scum on the chain of life and need to be eradicated forever.
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Ron said 4:14PM on 1-17-2008
What if your on auto downloads.
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Leigh said 4:18PM on 1-17-2008
I have a similar virus. It easily disabled through msconfig. Too bad these hacker kids can't direct their energy in a positive way.
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Gracie said 4:31PM on 1-17-2008
Sick,I mean can someone answer this question? Why do they do it? Also look for a "POP up" the keeps blocking your tabs on mySpace. If you are not careful you will click it.
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Bubba said 4:29PM on 1-17-2008
I am one of the few (I assume) that has never been there and have no interest in going to any my space place. So that does not mean I am fully protected or does it??? I am not sure...any one...please answer!!!
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ByteofK said 4:40PM on 1-17-2008
Of course it doesn't matter if you're on auto-download, the link isn't an official download so it won't download automatically!
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Buddy said 4:56PM on 1-17-2008
I say we super glue the assholes balls and meat whistle inside his ass if it were a man. A women, well then I say we super glue her curtains shut as well. Perhaps only then will they realize the damage they do.
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Webman said 5:11PM on 1-17-2008
Wow. They're not gonna get me!
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Ben said 5:23PM on 1-17-2008
Ohhh! Yeah, I had this nasty virus one time too. But I just went to the doctor and he gave me some penicillin. It went away.
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Dream said 5:23PM on 1-17-2008
You dont have to be on myspace to get viruses...myspace isnt the only site that has that issues...yahoo, aol, msn and so forth has all the same issues with those hackers around...only one thing can be done.....DONT OPEN OR DOWNLOAD SOMETHING YOU DONT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT!!!! DUH!!!!
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Dave said 5:31PM on 1-17-2008
Creating a virus to screw with people you never knew or ever will, what a great way to be hateful.That about sums it up to me.Totally useless.
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ricky whitten said 5:37PM on 1-17-2008
It may be the Secret Government Spooks doing this to quell free speech?
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catlady.brett said 5:40PM on 1-17-2008
i got a virus once and my computer wouldnt work at all for three weeks! it wouldnt even load at all! i had to get some of the best technical help, and it still took THAT long! Even worse, once my computer was running again, i found that everything was gone! and i mean EVERYTHING! i had to reinstall all my programs, my music was gone, and all my school documents were gone! i never thought something like that would happen to me so i never backed up any of my files, but it did. and it took me a good month to restore most of my stuff. even now probably a good 20% is missing.
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jbjj48 said 6:05PM on 1-17-2008
PEOPLE CAN DO HARM THAN GOOD!!!!
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Frankly said 6:07PM on 1-17-2008
Bush did it along with some help from Global warming.
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