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.
Everybody knows that cyber-bullying (when someone goes out of their way to be a jerk online, a.k.a. 'griefing') is terrifically irritating. It's behavior that many gamers, particularly those in the online virtual world 'Second Life,' have turned into something of a degenerate art form. But is it a threat to our health? Yes, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The CDC has elevated the discussion of this issue from niche online nuisance to a decidedly mainstream issue.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JT Compton said 1:04PM on 8-27-2008
Anonymity has to be one of the biggest factors in any form of cyber bullying or flaming or hate speech. When insecure, hateful people are given the opportunity to act without the possibility of personal responsibility, they take it to extremes. It's a form of cowardice. They would never say to anyone face-to-face the things they write online, because they would be chastised and humiliated and scorned. But online, their personal demons are given free reign, to the annoyance of the rest of us. When our children are targeted, the effect is much worse, since most kids don't have the maturity to realize that cyber bullies are saying much more about their own character than the people they are bullying.
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Jah said 1:21PM on 8-27-2008
Cyberbullying is not a health crisis unless the issue is that there are far too many sick minded people in society. But even that is due to the rampant acceptance of immorality which is not a health crisis but does create one with the increase in mental and physical illness and disease. Just as the childhood song goes "sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me"; people need to realize that spoken or written words don't cause harm unless you let thm. So what if someone says something stupid on-line; unless an individual actually IS all of that stuff then there's nothing to worry about. And let me guess the only reason why this is such a "crisis" is because some weak-minded insecure white girl took her life because her parents let her do whatever the heck she wanted to - including chat openly online with someone she didn't know.
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MadMike said 5:06PM on 8-27-2008
You want to see perfect examples of Cyber-bullying take a look at any Engadget story's comments.
Sure the quick wit retort I am guilty of - especially to the less mentally inclined. But It gets real nasty, real quick.
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