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Ask Slashdot: Top Black Friday Tech Picks?
theodp writes "Take a gander at the 2013 Black Friday ads and your head will be spinning with deals that seem too good to be true. And while the WSJ will try to slap you back to reality with a story on The Dirty Secret of Black Friday 'Discounts', it's still hard not to get jazzed over the prospect of picking up an iPad Mini w/$100 gift card for $299 (Walmart), a 16GB Nexus 7 for $199 (Staples), or a 32GB Microsoft Surface for $199.99 (Best Buy). So, if you're playing the game this year — either online or in-person (hey, what could go wrong?), — what are your top tech picks for Black Friday? Any strategy for improving your odds of getting them?"
Perhaps you need bigger guns if the people around here have scared you into posting anonymously.
You don't have to buy anything!
Don't stress out, don't skip spending time with your family and friends, don't become part of a violent mob.
You don't have to. You aren't defined by your possessions.
Consume, you fucking motherfucker, consume! Buy that shit, we don't care if you don't need it, buy buy buy!
What did I say that implies my stance on guns? Just making fun of you because people on a website have scared you into anonymity.
Poor people problems. I'll get my mini giraffes online and not have to deal with that mob.
Pro shoppers do not shop on Black Friday. It's crowded, noisy, simply annoying...wait and shop when it's less busy. Yes you miss out on some loss-leaders, but don't give into the hype, you will enjoy your Christmas better.
I suspect the poster you responded to was kidding. Yes, like thousands of others, I am a NRA Life Member and I saw it as kidding.
We all know that any kind of criminal usage, particularly he type mentioned are the rare, and extremely rare, firearms usages. Further, mass shooters have not done their mis-deeds with 38 specials (yes, there is probably an exception out there). Gasoline still hold the title for the tool of most killers in America.
Black Friday represents everything about America that the Terrorists hate, so help fight Terrorism by fighting your neighbors over a $300 TV. And remember to report any suspiciously non-American activity to the proper authorities, such as Fox News.
People said the same thing about the PS3 when it came out. My kid said "you are stupid to buy it now dad, let's wait till January" and we ended up with the higher end model for 100 bucks less than the cheap model before Christmas.
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
That's a very weird way to spend time with your family.
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
Yipes! Just don't do all four at the same time!
I'm white, you godamn racist holiday!
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
So you plan on supporting a company that deliberately put malware onto shiny disks with music on them?
After the rootkit fiasco, Sony will NEVER get another dollar of mine.
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
I'm with you on the rootkit fiasco. Sony has not gotten a dime from me since then. They probably didn't notice it, but I feel great about boycotting them nonetheless..
Frankly, I can't think of anything I want to buy at this stage of my life. I have a good stereo set, a decent flat screen TV, about 6 computers or so, a car I'm happy with, a boat that I'm happy with and I'm pretty much satisfied with my life. Oh yes, I have a good life partner, place to live and health (so far). Now and then I take a trip to the local "technology store" (Fry's) and I take a look at newegg and tigerdirect to see if I'm missing out on anything. I'm not. I seem to spend most of my discretionary funds on travel lately (mostly tropical places). If there was some trinket I needed to buy, I would have already bought it. I guess I'm just in the "enjoy life" stage and really don't want to buy any crap at this time. I already have enough of it. I'm a bad consumer. I'm happy with what I have.
i don't get all the haters here that say to avoid the day. if you NEED something, buy it if you can find a good deal, and if you want to avoid people then buy online. that's it.
sometimes Americans just try to find a cat's fifth paw .
Open Source Java Web Forum with LDAP authentication
We all spend our Thanksgiving with family and friends, giving thanks, watching football, etc. and not playing into the infinitely cynical hands of the retailers. I don't give a flying fuck about what killer deal Wal-Mart is offering to 20 "lucky customers" tomorrow. I really don't. Why do you?
We boycott any store that puts up "Christmas Sale" signs before Thanksgiving. Yeah, that's right! FU Wallzmart, I don't spend a penny at your stores!
I find it odd that *that* is what got you to stop going to Walmart
I refuse to support a system that makes everything possible as commercial as possible to the detriment of society as a whole.
...
What is it with people like you who assume that posting as AC means someone is "afraid" ?
Did you miss the part where the AC acronym is for Anonymous Coward??
"Somebody has to do something. It's just incredibly pathetic it has to be us."
--- Jerry Garcia
not to have to stand in the cold for hours, fight a mob, get cussed at by numerous irrational drones, guarantee that you'll come home miserable and exhausted, force a retail employee to skip Thanksgiving, and then stand in interminable check out line before going to do it again at another store? If this amount is greater than the $75 you'll save on that TV, then you should just stay home and do something you'll actually enjoy. How much is it worth to you to have a day off, to be able to read an extra book to your kids or, if you don't have any, to yourself?
1995 called. They want their web site design back.
"Somebody has to do something. It's just incredibly pathetic it has to be us."
--- Jerry Garcia
I won't buy one until they officially add media server software. Sony's excuse for not including it is... okay, but I don't believe them until it is officially in the software.
I picked up the Asus Nexus 7 16GB (2013 edition) for $151.12 off Amazon Prime just two weeks ago... How is $199.99 a deal in comparison?
TL;DR: Nothing is appealing this Black Friday.
What kind of asinine comment is this: " Those that carry anyway are patriots." To equate carrying a gun as being patriotic is beyond stupid. I know many gun owners who are big flag wavers and claim to be patriots, but in reality are self-centered redneck morons. I also know several gun owners who are actual patriots and demonstrate the same by trying to make their country better.
I have always voted for very "conservative" candidates, was in the military, and presently work as a civilian for the US Army. Despite this overwhelming right wing background I consider a true patriot someone who actually tries to do good for their country rather than some flag waving blowhard. Give me a committed CNDer (for you UK folks) or a Snowden any day over a lot of the NRA morons. I work with several of the latter and know what I'm talking about. Never, ever equate a gun ownership stance with patriotism.
I'm in the process of customizing/buying a Lenovo X230 for a family member, despite their BIOS whitelist shenanigans.
The Lenovo store always has a super special e-coupon discount, they are kind enough to give you the code right there in the checkout process.
A few days ago the laptop in my cart, with the coupon, was $1,037.
Now, after applying the new black friday e-coupon (10% discount), the price is $1,061.10
Perhaps I should buy it now, before they have an even better Christmas "sale".
I wondered what amazon.co.uk were going on about.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Who is *that* dumb?
Alas, most people.
Sales and marketing types have spent a lot of money on studies into what motivates buyers. Yes, most people react (more at an emotional level than a cognitive level) to that first significant digit. They don't "think" of $299.99 as closer to $200 than to $300, but they react that way.
Otherwise stores wouldn't price stuff like that.
(NB, /. readers are a self-selected atypical sample. You and I may not see $299.99 as $2xx.xx rather than $3xx.xx, but enough people do that it's worthwhile pricing things that way.)
-- Alastair