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 1)
mary said 8:26PM on 9-25-2009
Most medical schools lack guidelines? BS There are laws regarding this, it is called HIPPA and you can get fired or lose your license if you access or post patient information. This should also apply to medical students working in a hospital since it applies to all people working in health care, from administrators to the housekeeping staff and everyone inbetween. the medical schools just don't want to enforce this among their students. sure the students work hard and they are smart but historically they get lots and lots of leeway to do whatever they want. Its up to the teachers to enforce this-but if the doctors themselves do this themselves how can they teach the students not to.
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Mark said 5:34PM on 9-25-2009
I highly doubt they are posting "patient details". More probably they are just venting about their day or sharing something particularly interesting about something they saw.
Certainly it might be possible for someone with an extra interest to maybe track down their schedule, correlate times, and determine which patient they are talking about, and this is something that should be watched out for, but its also extremely unlikely.
Doctors are people, albiet for the most part very well trained and discreet people, and sharing something interesting from their day is going to happen. Who cares. Maybe you should take better care of yourself instead of complaining about people being people.
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John Huckleberry said 8:13AM on 9-26-2009
Mark, I hope you're not a Doctor or in the medical industry. "Take better care of your self"? Sure... tell that to a victim of a drunk driver, someone with breast cancer, MS, OCD, Spinal Biffada (sp) or a host of other ills people don't do to themselves. You're a thin skinned sick puppy kid. If I ever found my medical information on the Internet I'd sue the hell out of the student. If it stopped them from ever being a Doctor good. There's enough Doctors in it just for themselves. mho. I've been taken care of in teaching hospitals and they're a nightmare full of loose cannons acting like kids but being Doctors with Teachers who back them up.
Shawn G. said 6:24PM on 9-25-2009
I agree for the most part. I mean, a lot of the students are probably ranting and raving about their day but if they are putting patient details in their blogs, this could be a major problem. Not only is it violating the privacy laws that the practice has, but it is not fair to the patient, as well. If you are going to rant and rave that is fine, but don't bring the patients into it, as hard as that is to do.
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sashay said 7:24PM on 9-25-2009
hey, mark, in case you are not aware, the confidentiality of medical information is protected by federal law. "people being people" can end up in jail...and the hospital/clinic that employs them can be fined. Thank god YOU are not a medical professional..."take better care of themselves". Aren't you just the charming little sociopath. Not all doctor/hospital visits are because someone did not take care of them....and even if that is the cause, no one deserves to have some punk ass resident posting their medical information on line. Of course most residents these days are too stupid to create a coherent sentence anyway...but still...everyone deserves privacy.
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Mark said 4:21PM on 9-26-2009
You are absolutely correct in the instances you are talking about. When a doctor tweets "Sashay (or whoever) was in my office today and man he had a gross tumor on his face" thats illegal and downright unethical.
A doctor tweeting "Had a long day, a couple colonoscopies and an ugly tumor removal that exhausted me" is TOTALLY acceptable. Granted we might not want to hear about that stuff but no patient information is revealed and the focus is really on the doctor is worn out.
Linda states my point again in a very clear way.
And for the most part, doctors are good people who are very overworked.
SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread - XBL: SoCoolCurt) said 8:38PM on 9-25-2009
they had me up until "Fox News reports"......
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KatyD said 10:42PM on 9-25-2009
A few major lawsuits and/or arrests will nip this problem in the bud.
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Linda said 1:12AM on 9-26-2009
Posting about cases in which the identify of a patient is not disclosed and cannot be determined by the facts of the case is not a violation of confidentiality. It is also not a violation of HIPPA or confidentiality to vent or discuss situations as long as patient privacy is protected. I would thnk med students and grad students would know how to engage in this sort of communication without violating any laws, ethics or patient conficientialty. If students break the rules or disclose information which can be traced to a person by posting identifying information, they should be punished accordingly.
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henry said 10:24PM on 9-26-2009
It is not "HIPPA" but rather "HIPAA" (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 )
"If it stopped them from ever being a Doctor good. There's enough Doctors in it just for themselves. mho. I've been taken care of in teaching hospitals and they're a nightmare full of loose cannons acting like kids but being Doctors with Teachers who back them up."
Wow!, that's a lot of vehemence. Apparently you had a bad experience, but I've found most (not all, but a definite majority of) doctors work incredibly hard, take enormous abuse from (understandably) stressed patients and families. The legal, financial and administrative pressures on physicians is amazing, and students are under similar pressures. As they say "Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes"
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