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I'd love to record my lectures, but I don't have $400 for an iRiver

Neither do I, that's why I've been waiting for this little analog/digital recording gem to turn up in my Gold Box.

Regular price is $130 (after rebate). You can get a $30 coupon from Amazon for signing up for a credit card. Apparently the Gold Box Archos Offer takes another $20 off the price.

So the total cost for a 20GB analog/digital mp3 recorder/player would be around $70. It's electrical digital, not optical like the iRiver.

Now I just have to figure out why all I get in my Gold Box are lame kitchen appliances.

here is a post on fatwallet about removing it, to use in other devices. since it retails for around $500 this can be a good deal.

post

I built my own PVR last year, but even with MyHTPC it failed the spouse test badly. So when I saw those $150 ReplayTVs for sale in Radio Shack I pounced on them. I bought two. At $150 they deliver amazingly good MPEG-2 capture so for the same price as a PVR-250 I get free guide and streaming.

Contrary to the experiences described in this article, my ReplayTVs work flawlessly. Plugged in to the home network, DHCP served them up IPs, they downloaded their info and updated their software. They use uPnP to auto-discover other ReplayTVs on the network and integrate them very well in their on-screen UI.

In fact the UI is a big win - it passes the spouse test easily. Browsing material on the base machine, from another ReplayTV, or from the PC file server is takes a single button push. The ReplayTVs handle program contention intelligently, offering to offload a conflicted recording slot to a "spare" ReplayTV on the network.

The clever Java program DVArchive uses uPnP to imitate a ReplayTV and enables you to upload, stream, or move recorded content from the auto-discovered ReplayTVs. In effect, each ReplayTV acts like a big, external MPEG-2 capture card with lots of ports and functionality.

All ReplayTVs on the network can, of course, stream from any DVArchive-equipped file server to any ReplayTV.

You can even schedule DVArchive to automatically grab recorded material from the ReplayTVs on a batch basis, providing an easy way to create large archives. I have set up some watched folders where new material gets automatically batch encoded to MPEG-4 (xvid) for archiving.

There's a big user community associated with DVArchive.

All in all I am very satisfied with my ReplayTV setup. It is totally integrated into my home media setup (1 TB RAID-5 file server) and works effortlessly. The ReplayTVs automatically skip adverts (works pretty well) and there's an active between ReplayTV units. Useful if you want to pick up a season half-way through.

I avoided Tivo, partly because of cost, but mainly because of its incipient DRM. I was afraid I would have to expend significant effort to create a spouse-friendly PVR system but thankfully my networked ReplayTVs have obviated this requirement for a while.

Speaking of price, I just bought a bunch of the music builder series to give as gifts.

Here's the fatwallet thread describing the deal.

$9 instead of $49 is pretty sweet!

AC

I have seen the real hidden costs of bargin equipment!

As many great deals that I have found in fatwallet forums, I'll be damned that it seems I get more and more broke everytime I visit there...

Of course, whenever my bookoo of rebate money rolls in, I'll be doing much better.

Damn you fatwallet! :)

AC

I just ordered one today. Check FatWallet.com's Hot Deals forum for deals such as this all the time. If I was more on-the-ball, I could have gotten a WAP for free after rebate in weeks past.

For further discussion, legal talk, and the whole history... here's the fatwallet thread.

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?ca tid=24&threadid=254797

Davak

Ran across this Burton Snowboard Backpack with Laptop Sleeve, it's onsale for $37.99 shipped. If it's made for snowboarding, it's gotta be strong. Now if they only had WIFI at the top of the mountain.....

fatwallet.com
mysimon.com
pricewatch.com
pricegrabber.com ?

The first site is a great place to find great deals at larger retailer sites (and lots of not-so-large ones). People post what deals they find. The other ones are competitive shopping sites where you can compare prices. (Check more than one, and check the DETAILS!)

$20 HD

Unfortunately not available anymore. Anyway, here's my machine. Please tell me how you'll build one just as good for the same price(and BTW I got slightly screwed on some of these component prices, mainly because I need the stuff "now" and couldn't wait for deals):

- 2.4GHz P4 HT
- 512MB PC3200 DDR
- 200GB Western Digital 7200RPM/8MB
- 160GB Western Digital 7200RPM/8MB
- 8X AGP slot
- 4 PCI slots
- 6 USB/USB2 ports
- Gigabit Ethernet
- SATA support
- nVidia Ti4200
- Turtle Beach Santa Cruz 5.1
- decent Dell keyboard
- shitty Dell mouse

Oh, and no OS included, so that makes your job a bit easier

Total price: $515

Brand name & AMD is going to be tough. Good luck. I would recommend something like this if you can wait for it to be available again, or something like this if you have the money and want the quality.

Note: Macs are quality. I have a Dell and I have a Mac. Dells are fast, and they are cheap, but its basically just a motherboard and some components shoved into a cheap plastic case. This isn't a bad thing, it's just a choice.

As I have posted and read about the subject of the DMCA lawsuit, I have noticed that a lot of people are posting and speculating about the FatWallet suit based solely on the article -- but the article did provide a link for the FatWallet complaint. If you read the FatWallet complaint then the implication and what it means will make sense. The real discussion should be about the legal brief and what it says. The article is so condensed and does not contain any analsys, and thus we are left to comment and guess. It reminds me so much of the telephone game we all played in kindergarden.

I will get off my soup box now.

Trade secrets is another thing. And FatWallet addresses the concerns, but says that if they violated trade secrets that is a state, not federal violation. The only issue here is that a trade secret was stolen, not any copyrighted material.

Further, the freedom of speech issue here is the right to annoymous speech. The Supreme Court has ruled that annoymous speech is a protected form of speech, and that unless an actual violation of law has occured then you can not compel annoymous speech to have a name attached to it.

When commenting about a legal proceeding, read the legal briefs if they are available. I know that 19 pages can be rather boring, but if you want to comment and sound intellegent, then read it. All these issues have been addressed in the brief.

Now, I will give you room and assume that you did not read the legal brief, because my comments where on the affects of what the court case could do. Where it could impact RIAA and the MPAA is that they would actually have to have pending litigation in order to file the subpoenas. That is the impact. RIAA and the MPAA might think twice before going after a file trader if they actually had to have a case prepared or where willing to go to court over twenty music files. That is the implications of this suit.

Further reading of the brief, and I will save you the quotes, states that it is also a violation of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to issue and demand response in a court other than the defendants court. It is article number 55.

With out being rude, I must say, RTFB [Read...Brief] before commenting on it.

http://bestbookbuys.com (compares prices for books accross most online bookstores)
http://consumerreports.com (untainted consumer information, subscription required)
http://edmunds.com (a good read before you buy a car)
http://insweb.com (cheap online insurance agency with a number of insurance providers)
http://www.ftc.gov (to learn your rights as a consumer or as a business)
http://forums.ebay.com/db1/forum.jsp?forum=107 (scams performed on Ebay -- good read for Ebay newcomers)
http://resellerratings.com (to check the track record of electronics resellers, some of the cheapest electronics resellers are one-fly-night operations that take your money one day, go bankrupt the next, and restart the day after under a new name)
http://pricewatch.com or http://pricescan.com (compares prices on pc hardware and electronics)
http://techbargains.com
http://bottomdollar.com

This isn't the first time FatWallet.com has stood up to DCMA-pushers.

They sure do, IMHO, but it's not going to happen unless they find a spine and use it. Has anyone else checked the fatwallet forums and noted that the "Hopefully FatWallet will stand up for themselves again..." doesn't seem to be happening? Heck, seems to me that Tim from Fatwallet has folded faster than Superman on laundry day, to wit:

Here's FW's current position:

Message from the FatWallet, inc.

At approximately 11PM CST on 11/14/03, We became aware of a D.M.C.A. notification and subpoena from what appears to be the legal firm representing Best Buy Enterprise Services, Inc. (The email appears to have been sent at 5:20PM)

Due to the late hour and legal counsel not being immediately available, we are taking the action to remove the content we believe the notification is referring to. We ask that FatWallet members do not post further information regarding this matter or links to third party sites containing the information. Under the terms of the D.M.C.A., we will have an obligation to remove such information as we become aware of it.

We will follow up with legal counsel and take further action as appropriate.

Thank you in advance for your patience, cooperation and understanding.

Tim Storm
President
FatWallet, inc


What does the unavailability of counsel have to do with anything, other than as a weak excuse to cave instantly? I mean, it's the same thing as last year, and it's the same DMCA, yet there are thirty-five (35) instances of "content removed" in that thread alone. More in others. Even links to other sites with the balls to keep the info up are being removed!

FYI, some of the deals sites with spines (so far!) include: slickdeals, Anandtech's hotdeal forum, and Dealcatcher. I've posted the "offending info" in as many places as I can and will continue to do so in hopes that increasing the number of potential defendants will increase the odds that one of them sticks up for sanity in this.

Buy.com has it for $89.77 with free shipping. If you set up an account at fatwallet.com and order through their referral link you can also get 2% cash back.

Some may remember the deal discussion forum Fatwallet.com from when several retailers sued them because users posted Black Friday sales fliers ahead of time. They also got sued by a guy named Todd Short, who was running a fraudulent scheme where he was selling laptops, claiming you would pay him now and get your laptop several months later. Users did, never got their laptops, and posted their experiences on the forum. The forum, along with a user who created a website, got sued by Todd. Later, he declared bankrucy.

Fatwallet JC Morris Thread

Website about JC Morris Scam

from link:

In a blatant misuse of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, over the past two weeks a group of national retailers forced FatWallet.com (www.fatwallet.com) to remove Day After Thanksgiving sales information from its site. In letters sent to FatWallet, each retailer claimed that the Copyright Act gives it a monopoly over this price data. Today, the Samuelson Clinic and Gray Matters, on behalf of FatWallet.com, challenges those letters as abuses of federal law, insists on damages, and refuses to disclose identifying information on the individuals who posted the sales information. For more about this issue, please read the press release [PDF], FatWallet's online story or the Chilling Effects story.

A whole slew of fatwallet users got the 180B5 for less than a $1000 bucks. I was one of these lucky guys, and I have been extremely happy. These little updates really help...

Latest touchpad drivers: http://www.synaptics.com

Latest wireless drivers: http://www.agere.com/support/drivers/

I would also suggest updating the ATI drivers, although it is difficult because you have to find the notebook version instead of the generic ATI drivers.

The VPRmatrix listed drivers are useless.

Oh, IMHO the extended protection plan from Best Buy is actually worth it since batteries and nontraumatic LCD problems are both fully covered. Heck, everybody will need at least one new battery in 3 years time. Since VPRmatrix may not be around forever, you insure that you have protection for at least three years.

Anyway... I love my box. Good luck finding one!

Davak

A whole slew of fatwallet users got the 180B5 for less than a $1000 bucks. I was one of these lucky guys, and I have been extremely happy. These little updates really help...

Latest touchpad drivers: http://www.synaptics.com

Latest wireless drivers: http://www.agere.com/support/drivers/

I would also suggest updating the ATI drivers, although it is difficult because you have to find the notebook version instead of the generic ATI drivers.

The VPRmatrix listed drivers are useless.

Oh, IMHO the extended protection plan from Best Buy is actually worth it since batteries and nontraumatic LCD problems are both fully covered. Heck, everybody will need at least one new battery in 3 years time. Since VPRmatrix may not be around forever, you insure that you have protection for at least three years.

Anyway... I love my box. Good luck finding one!

Davak

Often times, store rebates will allow a copy of the UPC if there are two rebates on it. You should contact the store where you purchased it (well, it's too late now for this one, but for future purchases) to make sure. CompUSA does this, Staples as well.

Beware CompUSA purchases with rebate, though. I bought two Handspring Visors a year and 1/2 ago. They were supposed to be free after rebate (2 x $100). The rebate was denied because...get this...the receipt was used on more than one purchase. For two separate items. And, yes, the rebate clearly stated "Limit Two Per Household."

CompUSA has been notorious for their rebates. See http://fatwallet.com/forums/ for horror stories.

The fact of the matter is that with a good set of rebates (and coupons, pricematches, etc) you can get items at absolutely amazing prices. A quick peek at forums like FatWallet reveals some astonishing deals.

The trick is to beat the rebate companies at their own game. First off, check the rebate for submissions deadline and send it in ASAP (though make sure you don't need to return the item). ALWAYS make copies of everything you submit. This gives you the leverage you need if rebates "get lost". Then, so you don't forget to follow up, put an entry into your favorite calendar program for 8 weeks from the mailing date and safely tuck away your rebate copies.

In more than one case, I had companies find no record of my submission after 8 weeks, but in ALL those cases when I emailed or faxed my copies they were taken care of. In one case it took 3 attempts, on the last of which I spoke with a supervisor and had my check 5 days later.

This behavior could also be exploited to your advantage should you forget to mail in your rebate in time. Mailing it in late guarantees you a denial, but what is to stop you (other than your conscience) from making photocopies anyway, calling after 8 weeks, acting surprised that it's not in the system and sending in those copies?? Rebate companies love to tell you the rebate must have gotten "lost in the mail", so you could just throw that back at them.

Of course I would never condone such behavior, but in theory it should work. Rebate companies are inherently evil, so you why not sweep morals under the table?

There has been an ongoing discussion at fatwallet.com about some dell rebates for a Dimension 8250. It appears that Dell had 5 rebates up for the same computer through their EPP/FSS program (Employees and Education, Faculty groups). Dell later backed out of two of the rebates for most applicants stating that they were for "specific institutions only" even though that appeared nowhere on the rebate. Many people haven't gotten their other rebate checks. It seems to some that they are saying they mailed the checks when they really haven't hoping you won't call or write and request a reissue. The entire thing seems pretty sketchy. It's disapointing to see as respected a company as Dell treating their customers this way. Several customers have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau or are trying to take their case to small claims court.

Link to Fatwallet Thread

Rebate tracking - great forum from FatWallet.com, search for company name before you purchase anything that requires a rebate.

I would recommend Dell, Amazon.com and Viking Components for rebate deals - never had problems with either one of those, and just got another $50 Dell Axim rebate in the mail today. The rules are always clear, the fulfillment is on time.

The whole rebate thing does strike me as odd - if they can pay you back the money, why not lower the price right there in the store? You still have to pay state sales tax on the before-rebate price.

If you buy an SJ22 Sony Clie from Staples and use one of the $30 off $150 coupons that are floating around. $170 + tax isn't too bad for sweet little PDA.

Look at Fatwallet's or Anandtech's Hot Deals Forums for LCD's...

I always find Screamin deals on LCD's there, I bought 3 Dell 1900FP's Just before X-mas for $1300, Dell was running a Buy 2 get one free deal, and I couldnt pass it up the LCD's are GREAT

Do a tiny bit of digging and you'll find a 15% off coupon as well.

Go check out fat wallet.

You might find this thread about purchasing used textbooks from England at a substantial savings to be helpful:

Tip on buying textbooks...

they have tons of people who find deals on electronics and post them to a forum. I got a 120GB HD for my XBOX for $100!

Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com

they have tons of people who find deals on electronics and post them to a forum. I got a 120GB HD for my XBOX for $100!

Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com

they have tons of people who find deals on electronics and post them to a forum. I got a 120GB HD for my XBOX for $100!

Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com

they have tons of people who find deals on electronics and post them to a forum. I got a 120GB HD for my XBOX for $100!

Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com

they have tons of people who find deals on electronics and post them to a forum. I got a 120GB HD for my XBOX for $100!

Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com
Link for the lazy: www.fatwallet.com

like techbargains and fatwallet

i bought a 17" dell 1702fp (samsung/dvi+analog) for $500 with no tax and free shipping about a year ago

recently the dell 2000fp (1600x1200 native 20" dvi/analog/svideo lcd), highly reviewed here, was going for $800 including shipping.

like techbargains and fatwallet

i bought a 17" dell 1702fp (samsung/dvi+analog) for $500 with no tax and free shipping about a year ago

recently the dell 2000fp (1600x1200 native 20" dvi/analog/svideo lcd), highly reviewed here, was going for $800 including shipping.

It was that little 'Smiley' guy that is always cutting the prices.

When I read the first article posted on Slashdot, I thought the same thing everyone else does: prices aren't copyrightable, so Walmart's and the others' claims were baseless. However, at the bottom of this new article, there is a link to Walmart's letters to Fatwallet and Fatwallet's replies to those letters. In their letters Walmart claims that the Circular was posted.

The Circular definitely is copyrighted, because it's more than just prices. It's a way of presenting those prices, along with pictures and other things. If the actual circular was posted, as Walmart claims, that's copyright infringement. However, Walmart didn't make a claim of copyright infringement. They made a claim of violating the DMCA.

If the person who posted the prices bypassed some "technology" that controlled access to the actual circular (not just a list of prices) in order to get the prices, then the DMCA applies. If they didn't, then it doesn't. In that case, it doesn't matter what was actually published, and Fatwallet would not itself be guilty of violating the DMCA.

Personally, I think it's unlikely that the DMCA was violated in any way, but it is possible based on what I know about what happened.

Megan E. Gray is a principle in the law firm Gray Matters in Washington, DC. She represents many clients in connection with intellectual property matters, internet issues, online privacy, anonymous speech, and related issues. More information about Gray Matters can be found at http://www.megangray.com.

The Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic at Boalt Hall represents individuals and non-profits on privacy, copyright, and First Amendment issues relating to the Internet and other advanced technology. More information about the Samuelson Clinic can be found at http://samuelsonclinic.org.

and since the slashdot 'junk' filter is preventing me from posting the text of FatWallet's public announcement of their intent to challenge the Wal-Mart subpeona on the basis of the DMCA, I'll just have to provide you with the link and hope that FatWallet has FatServers...

FatWallet Challenges Abusive DMCA Claims and Protects Users' Privacy Rights

This article has somewhat more background information, including how it all started, and opinions of various legal scholars.

and got a really great deal on a rear-projection wide-screen television courtesy of a "hot deal" listed on fatwallet.com by crossing the border into the 'states. However, Black Friday won't hold a candle to the awesome deals I'll get on Boxing Day in Montréal. Muah ha ha ha.

Just check the consumer site Fatwallet for a list, sorted by Zip code.

You mean, something like the Videoblaster?

Check out the hot deal forums over at sites like Fatwallet.com or Anandtech. Here's a thread about cheap firewalls from the latter.

Why pay $300 for the Xbox when it will be on sale for $200 this Friday at Walmart? Thanks to fatwallet.com for posting this, even though they had to take it down.

- XBOX with 3 games: Jetset Radio Future, Sega GT 2002, and Amped: $199.94

Fatwallet have reposted their price lists. They have found a loophole in the DMCA, and are exploiting it to republish the lists completly legally! Kudos for pulling your ass out of the noose in such an elegant way! Teaches those cartooneys whose best at twisting the law!

When I clicked on the link to Fat Wallet's front page and was greeted with a link to their "Featured Store", which is none other than Target.

This is truely The Worst Part, being screwed by your "Partners". This looks like a case of the lawyers not doing their research.

Show your support for the cause at the Black Friday Yahoo Group. It was founded today and already has approximately 700 members as of this post!