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.
Politicians are notoriously antiseptic characters (at least in public), so it was a shock when we found out that Daisy Tourne, Interior Minister of Uruguay, had posted a picture of herself in the shower on her Facebook page. 
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Graham said 2:26AM on 1-17-2009
Has anyone seen that lady? Shes butt-ugly even with her clothes on, I certainly don't want to see them off.
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dadikated said 6:54PM on 3-08-2009
a pumpkin on top a barrel ...
Tim said 9:19AM on 1-20-2009
Oh my god, why is this even news???? I am so tired of the media picking up on these stupid stories and calling them news. Who cares if a politican posted a pic of themself on face book or anywhere else for that mater.What should realy matter is thier politics not what they do away from the state house. It wasn't realy a surprise that she was naked under her cloths was it? Besides that, its not like she is a world class beauty or anything now is it.
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tim said 12:32PM on 1-20-2009
tim, your comments reflect exactly why we continue to have politicians embarassing themselves...the "i don't care what they are like privately as long as in public they perform."...it's not how our first leaders conducted themselves when america was truly great. washington could have been crowned king after 2 terms, yet he walked away from complete power to become a farmer...how many politicians would give up ultimate control today with no term limits? move ahead 200 years and you have clinton while in office in a public building commiting adultry with a girl young enough to be his daughter...and yet america said, like you, it's his business. when you become a public figure, you're public domain. what happened to morality, character, or decency?
AnDrade said 12:46PM on 1-20-2009
Thank you,Tim #2! A leader's moral character has everything to do with how they conduct themselves in office and more often than not is a window into their views on policy/decision making. Without proper judgement about a person's overall moral character, what could possibly be more important?
Maura said 8:01PM on 1-22-2009
Amen to that! When will everyone quit treating politicians like they are a God? They are human beings with the same quirks and desires as anyone else, she just happens to lack some sensibility and she will pay for it. But newsworthy? Hardly!
maximum joe said 10:53AM on 1-20-2009
Wonder if Paylin would consider something like this?
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Anna-P said 5:07AM on 1-23-2009
Re: tim's reply. Morality is still around, but no one owns the moral high ground 100%. Your example using Washington is interesting. He was a great political figure in American history; and a private citizen who farmed with slaves. Jackson, commemorated on the twenty dollar bill, defied a Supreme Court decision, took retribution due to a personal grudge that some say led to the collapse of the national bank at the time, and married a woman before her divorce was final. Welcome to the flawed, imperfect characters of the human race. By comparison, a Facebook photo in a shower is just silly
BOLT said 11:19AM on 1-20-2009
Who cares? We're all naked when we take off our clothes.
Get over it. Do you want us all in burkhrs? This "modesty" thing has gone too far.
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Mike said 11:27AM on 1-20-2009
Wonder if Paylin would consider something like this?
Who is "Paylin" ?????
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Hank said 4:59PM on 1-22-2009
If AOL was really taking care of business, they would have a poll about whether we would rather see Dick Chaney or Carl Rove naked in the shower. Of course, there should also be "None of the above" option to that question like there should be for a lot of AOL's polls.
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DJ said 5:41PM on 1-22-2009
Maybe she should have a caption that says "Change"
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xbplaya1122 said 6:15PM on 1-22-2009
possibly one of the worst things about this country is that everyone is watching you and waiting for you to "slip up"... its horrible, its getting out of control and its ruining peoples lives.... america's media needs a huge change.... this isnt news, this is gossip.. it shouldnt matter if she had a 12 inch dildo up her ass, what people do on their own time is their own business..... and if they wanna post pictures of it hey go for it.... im very dissapointed in switched.com for posting this crap
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jbjg24m said 6:17PM on 1-22-2009
CAPTION UNDER HER PIC SHOULD READ" PLEASE PUT YOUR CLOTHES BACK ON" !!
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Wendell said 7:52PM on 1-22-2009
My gosh, how many days is AOL going to carry this story??? No one cared the first day. Please find something else to feature. This is boring.
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Darlee said 8:49PM on 1-22-2009
What is wrong with modesty? Have our morals went down the drain so far that there is no self respect or decency anymore? Some of you porno stalkers might enjoy it but the majority do not!
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Jeff said 9:39PM on 1-22-2009
the devil walks amoung us tempting us more and more!!!
Mike said 11:03PM on 1-22-2009
I really don't have much of a comment about the story. My views are like this.........
The media is going to do what they can because of a little thing called "Freedom of Speech". Gossip, distaste or whether we like it or not is not the issue here and never will be.
All of the complainers came here for the same reason that I did. The story made us curious. Looks to me like the media did their job. Now the job of the complainers is the same as the rest of us. We ask ourselves , "Am I really interested enough to read it or not?" If we choose "Yes.", the next question is, "Do I care enough to finish reading it?".
It is far funnier to read some of these stupid complaints, than it is to actually finish the story. I did both and I was amused by you complainers far more than the actual story.
Some of you people need to get a life and stop spending all your time complaining about the content of the news stories that you cared enough to read in the first place. Why complain about something so trivial?
Bottom Line is, if you don't like it, click another link and leave it.
Duh. That's the glory of the internet.
For as many of the complaints I read day after day on these web pages, it's a wonder that they don't all put up a link that will take complainers to a website that caters entirely to complainers. A site built just so they can post all their bitches and gripes for the world to read. Then when the rest of us are in the mood to put up with it, we can go there, instead of a news page. LOL
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Mike said 11:11PM on 1-22-2009
Don't get my last comment wrong.
All of the funny comments made up for the complainers.
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sharon said 12:24AM on 1-23-2009
Woman and men just dont have any morals today.
Kick her out of office if she cant be better then that.
Our kids need something better
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