Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and we all know what that means… It’s time for another Black Friday! Ah yes. The biggest shopping day of the year. Parents get up at the crack of dawn to race each other to Best Buy, Toys ‘R Us, Target, where ever, to get the presents that their kids want more than anything. Eyes will be gouged out, toes will be stepped on, and hair will be unceremoniously pulled from scalps.
It’s a very pleasant American holiday, trust me.
Naturally, it’s a big time of year for those of us in the tech industry. It’s also interesting to see what kind of deals various companies pull out of their behinds to make their product the Tickle Me Elmo of the tech enthusiast crowd. But what I’m trying to figure out is what the heck I want for Christmas! My family is giving money to Heifer International this year, but I still might get a little something-something for myself. Other than the gaming PC (which is a project in the works, for sure), I can’t really think of anything I need (or want).
What are the top presents you’re hoping to get this year? What are you buying for your family and friends? Is it mostly tech, or are you going another route? Are you going to wait for Cyber Monday, and buy everything online?
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I am the co-host of Revision3's tech-centric show, - NSFW! :P RT @GamesRadar: http://bit.ly/a3y5WP - TalkRadar 92, with special guest @Veronica Belmont, is live! 20 hrs ago
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24 Responses for "Black Friday & Cyber Monday"
Well personally I am planning on getting an iphone for myself. I haven’t been reading your blogs long, but I understand your a gamer. I just got Mario Galaxy for the Wii and its a ton of fun. Also if your gonna game seriously a nice speaker system is always a plus.
Josh
Last night my wife told me that she went online and bought our young son a bunch of Pokemon stuff he wanted, and my first thought was “oh, crap, I bet we could have gotten cheaper after Thanksgiving”. Hopefully, none of that particular stuff will go on sale!
I just saw a nifty little device on Diggnation that you and Ryan may like. It is a gizmo that lets you put video onto a flash drive and then, hook it straight into your TV’s inputs and play it. Lots of different formats supported, and it comes with a remote as well. Very small, dongle type device, it seems.
BTW, I found the name of the device, it is called TakeTV, here is the site:
http://www.take.tv/
I still want a Wii. Also, some noise-canceling headphones that don’t cost more than a Wii.
wishes that are unrealistic because of money or other circumstances: a cat, a roomba, laser etched zune 2, customized ultimate ears headphones, new years trip to london, chocolate from like brands i cant get, a one year subscription of the us edition of the playboy magazine, sirius radio subscription, really fast internet for a long time and a million other things.
stuff i might be getting: money, sidewinder gaming mouse, not having to watch soccer on tv…
V
Heifer is a great cause. I give to them myself. Their headquaters are close to me and I have done extensive environmental work for them. They built their headquarters on a Brownfield site in Little Rock.
i think that even though you get a great deal on some items, i think it’s not worth it if you have to spend thanksgiving outside a store rather than at home or a relative’s home relaxing, eating turkey, watching football and just spending time with family. you can’t put a value on that i think… and getting some item 50% off can never replace that. but of course to each his/her own…
only thing i really want is the new nikon d300 which is backordered and not available this weekend…
Good work re: Heifer…I think Im going to donate to them as well before the end of the year. I think its a sign of old age (well, ok, 29 isnt that old) but I cant think of a damn thing I want this year. Maybe some more black t-shirts? I did just get my Macbook Pro last week and an iPhone earlier in the year, so maybe I used up all my consumer energies already.
I couldn’t think of ANYTHING I wanted this year. Then my first generation Nano broke, and now I have to decide which iPod I want. And I got an urban outfitters catalog which spurred me to go to their website. Never before have I asked for so many clothes. And of course I’m asking for Super Mario Galaxy and a new moleskine.
I’d like to buy myself a new Mac Pro, but I’m guessing that’ll have to wait until January.
This year I will get my parents some of those digital picture frames. They are finally at a price I am willing to swallow to buy two of them. As for myself a ticket to MacWorld 2008 along with Hotel stay and a plane ticket.
Hi Veronica,
To turn Cyber Monday’s shopping into giving, a new way people can act more socially responsible is by using http://www.maatiam.com. It’s a new web site that turns online purchases into donations to your favorite charity without costing you or the nonprofit a dime.
Anytime you use maatiam.com and shop at any of our 200 prominent online partnered merchants, a percentage of your purchase is donated to the nonprofit of your choice. You pay the same price for the item as you normally would.
The donations don’t cost consumers a dime. And now nonprofits have a free and effortless way to raise funds.
I already have what I want for Christmas. My main problem is finding what to get my girlfriend. She’s slowly getting into tech-related things. For example, she’s a recent addict to W.O.W. What should I get her? What’s your overall wishlist so I can compare it to what she might like …
When I was living in Australia, the biggest shopping day evar was on Boxing Day, one day after Christmas.
Nothing like going to Chadstone Shopping Centre, one of the largest shopping malls in the southern hemisphere and watching tons of people shop for clearance sales. I just went to Borders, picked up a few books, ordered a mocha and sat down to watch the stampede from up above.
V, you know you want the Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party with Dance Pad for your Wii for Christmas!
All I want for Christmas is peace, just as the John Lennon song, Imagine.
This is the first Black Friday that the majority of shoppers are going to be truly “HD-aware” which means that the slightly older models (or possibly the newest stuff) are going to be on mega-sale. I’m thinking an $800, 56″ LCD-TV would make a nice Christmas gift for somebody who’s not easily impressed.
As for me… Well, I’m hoping to get some training DVD’s for various softwares at which I’m already pretty good but not good enough. Also, Halo 3: Original Soundtrack. I’ll be building a PC at the turn of the year which will be the best present ever (I build one about every 18 months and each time, I’m filled with glee).
Cyber Monday for me! There is too much madness in the stores. I don’t really have any needs for myself but I intend to get some cool gadgets for family members.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!
I tend to be the tech gift giver of the family as everyone asks my opinions anyway about what gadgets to buy before making their own purchase.
I’m still completely in the dark about what I want…
Definitely something audio but I can’t figure out what kind of device exactly (Sonos? Regular old school Hi-Fi system? etc.).
Antoine
I’m asking for an Ipod Touch 16GB. Today at macmall.com it’s going for $359.99, part of their 48 hour Thanksgiving Sale. Since, I’m the techie of the family, I told my mom to get my brother a Canon Powershot SD750 digital camera, and my sister a macbook. HAPPY HOLIDAYS VERONICA! I love Mahalo Daily!
Veronica-I am wayyyyy older than all you guys (50) so don’t laugh, but I am flying my family to Boston to see an Emerson College (alma mater-like you) production at the Majestic. F*k Broadway!
There are so many wonderful books in the world – books are (almost) always wonderful to receive. And if you get something you don’t want, you can return it and get something you do. I am shocked by how many gamer/sci-fi fans haven’t read Frank Herbert, or how many haven’t even heard of Ian M. Banks. Of course, I’m personally a huge LOTR fan, and I haven’t read any of the Unfinished Tales…
You could even get a D&D Player’s manual.
Speaking of gaming stuff, WoW has a trading card game that’s actually quite popular, and cards are always good gifts. Or starter sets. (Warning – it does get expensive).
But actually, these days I’m much more fond of receiving “experience” gifts – tickets to something, trips, dinners, and the like. There’s almost no performing art I wouldn’t like to go see (although my favorite is modern dance). Once again on the tech side there’s always getting a ticket to see something in IMAX 3D! (IMAX makes me realize how stupid it is to spend thousands on home theater – that’s hundreds of IMAX tickets wasted on a tiny little square of pixels and mediocre sound…and it will never be 3D).
Cyber Monday is fake. Veronica, you shouldn’t be perpetuating such things.
http://blogs.sun.com/kevin/entry/cyber_monday_is_fake
Unfortunately, I work at an online shopping site (AOL Shopping), so I had to be “on call” during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
I get Black Friday, but I don’t get Cyber Monday. Black Friday is something created by consumer’s practical buying needs and behaviors. People are around their families during Thanksgiving, and buying presents for them is at the top of people’s minds. The Friday after Thanksgiving is the ideal time to go Christmas shopping.
Cyber Monday, however, is a fabricated day created by businesses to convince consumers to buy. It isn’t grounded in consumer’s buying habits or desires. In fact, the biggest online shopping days are during the second week of December, because all the last-minute shoppers are trying to get their orders in before the “shipping in time for Christmas” cut-off date.
Cyber Monday is real only in the sense that businesses want your money. Black Friday is real in the sense that consumers want to buy.
Anyway, the only things on my wish list this year are Mac hardware and software (because I’m a recent convert from PC), and a bunch of HD-DVDs (because I don’t have the stomach to buy them myself due to the possible obsolescent factor).
Have a fabulous Christmas, Veronica!
Hey Veronica! I’m asking for Crysis for Christmas. sure i’ll have to keep all the graphics on ‘low’ or ‘medium’ to get my laptop to run it, but it may be something to think about for yourself as a reward for getting your gaming rig together – once you’ve got it, you’ll have a game that can just as easily push it to its limits…
Joey
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