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 2)
carole said 7:16AM on 8-27-2008
How awesome to think in these terms. Maybe we'll figure out how to care for our planet and one another soon....I hope so.
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Jim said 7:39AM on 8-27-2008
Now, why would anyone want to even dream of a building with 100,000 people in it, much less more than ONE MILLION!
While the immediate building might be carbon neutral, the outside support would not be. Perishabel and other consumer goods would still need to get there.
Absurd concept on such a scale.... now, single family, and reasonable sized multi-family complexes along the same line.... that would be useful.
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Heather said 7:39AM on 8-27-2008
The ziggurat/pyramid design is obviously an ages old concept. My question is this... are their gods going to get the apartment on top?
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ecobuilder said 7:58AM on 8-27-2008
Learn how to make your home eco-friendly, solar, wind, geo thermal, more ecobuild@ptd.net
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barry said 7:56AM on 8-27-2008
If it is people that are destroying the World.....Make less people. Is it time for Population control...Like China? I think maybe it is...Let's see...How about not allowing people on Welfare to have kids...I mean, if they can't take care of themselves, how are they going to support kids?? How about Parents that abuse their kids??? No more kids for them...Don't give money to girls that get pregnant. That will reduce the number of "I need a Government Check" babies.
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Avonelle said 8:53AM on 8-27-2008
How about fathers actually helping to support those babies? Then possibly the teenage girls, who, by the way, didn't create a baby all by themselves, wouldn't need to depend on welfare to support the children.
M. Lundberg said 9:58AM on 8-27-2008
Population control!!! Absolutely!! Why aren't governments and media talking about this? Back in the early 80s, a teacher at our local high school demonstrated an "energy board," a computerized console covering about half the top of a card table. On it were levers to increase/decrease various sources of energy, as well as to increase/decrease worldwide uses of energy. No matter how we adjusted the levers, the board showed the world running out of energy in 100 years or so. The only exception was that IF WE TURNED DOWN THE POPULATION GROWTH DIAL, the energy supply would last longer. I have been a long time supporter of the concept Zero Population Growth!!! The China one-child policy seems draconian . . . unless one considers the alternative! Just like population expansion, let the spread of the Zero Population Growth idea also expand GEOMETRICALLY (2-4-8-16-32, etc.). PASS IT ON!!!
Cristina said 1:00PM on 8-27-2008
Barry, people like you make me sick for your ignorant remarks. I am one of those "pregnant girls" that you speak of. Yes I did get pregnant and now rely on Medicaid to help provide a healthy pregnancy for me and my unborn child. And guess what, I am a woman with a Bachelor's Degree. So sorry if our economy is going to crap and I can't find a job that will provide me the insurance I need to take care of me and my future family. So just an FYI, not everyone that uses government help abuses those privileges.
Amy said 2:10PM on 8-27-2008
How about chemically neutering men like yourself who are dumbing up the gene pool to begin with? Who do you think you are? Next you're going to say that everybody should be "lo-jacked"! If you like the idea of population control so much, maybe you need to move to China. Although I don't think they would take you.
DENNIS ABERT said 8:16AM on 8-27-2008
Nesting deep in the high Arizona-Sonoran Desert, futurist architect Palo Solari has been building a "real city" with a similar Ziggurat Tower as the crowning touch. Solari came to Scottsdale, AZ from Italy to study with Frank Lloyd Wright in the early 1960's and developed the mega-city- structure "concept" at that time. In those days most people thought Solari's idea was weird + impractical + stupid since America had plenty of land, energy, water, clean air and fewer people... now America + the world is choking and we have seriously abused our land, resources and people... however the epic Greek battle between the Epicureans and Stoics flavored with the Tower of Babble will never be won by either side... the Dubai Pyramid is nothing more that a giant prison cell and a metaphor for the final coffin for mankind... isn't interesting that it Jesus' shadow can be seen in the sand... all we need to do "now" is read our manual for living life... BIBLE.
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jon said 8:19AM on 8-27-2008
Does anyone remember the movie Logans Run? This is not a good idea.
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Mike Mayes said 8:43AM on 8-27-2008
This concept is finally gaining appreciation. Eco-friendly, it also allows for less topographical coverage. I don't particularly envy the idea of what might be considered a condensed city, the beneficial environmental aspects shouldn't be overlooked. As our population continues to grow, more and more space is being taken away from this fair planet.Consolidation of mass populace could save many endangered species of life, from flora to animal life. Self sufficient natural power sources might still be relatively new, investing in the development of our own natural power sources instead of wondering if one of the countries we obtain fossil fuels is pissed at us,would be a problem no longer. Short of a few imports, we could tell them we win the pissing match!
We could possibly even discontinue out-sourcing of work As youg adults, we need help from other, this way we won't require help from anyone but ourselves! Bravo to whoever had the ability to make such an ingenious presentation. Well worth researching.
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Mimi Kelly said 9:24AM on 8-27-2008
OK... how do you deal with crime in this building? ... talk about too close for comfort. Imagine the sewage this kind of a facility would generate? the water pressure needed to sustain water usage for a million people all crammed in a a 2.3 square kilometer area... this is .89 square miles.. Can you say Matrix? This would never work unless we were all locked in pods and comatose.
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sunnie said 9:24AM on 8-27-2008
Wow!!! Maybe this is the answer to our prison overcrowing. Send all the prisioners here and let them fend for themselves. Yes I remember Logans Run. Prisioners - Logans Run - Possible answer to alot of todays problems.
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charles said 9:38AM on 8-27-2008
Avonelle @ Aug 27th 2008 8:53AM
How about fathers actually helping to support those babies? Then possibly the teenage girls, who, by the way, didn't create a baby all by themselves, wouldn't need to depend on welfare to support the children.
How about "chasity belts" for all women until they get married. That would stop these girls/women from poppin' out kids just for the welfare checks !!
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MJ said 10:41AM on 8-27-2008
Hey Charles how about CASTRATING you men because you can't control your Peckers. You make it sound like it is all the girls fault take some F*cking responsibility and stop blaming everyone else. Chastity belts... give me a break
tod rushing said 10:43AM on 8-27-2008
The whole premise foe this 'pyramid' habitat is : its a completely socialist means of housing citizens. People living there would either work for the govt. or live on welfare. There would be no 'commuting' to a job or a shopping mall. All services would be provided by government( like mail, water, electric, TV channels and maybe phone service.,, Hell folks it would be a glorified PRISON. You had best be happy citizen
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TSJ said 10:57AM on 8-27-2008
Maybe they can pile all the members of Hamas, Hezbollah and Al Qaeda into that hunk of crap and hit it with one good nuke. We could flush that pyramidal toilet and clean up the world a little bit.
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Richard said 11:24AM on 8-27-2008
Hey, 1.1 Million. All we need is 20 of these and we could let all the illegal aliens live there.
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Dawn said 11:50AM on 8-27-2008
This looks a bit wierd to me. Too many people in one place. Although, the prison concept might work out. It is an old design, I'd like to see more.
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