professordealzmodo

posts about #professordealzmodo more →
Black Friday Anti-Deals: What Not To Buy
Last Minute Guide to Saving Money on Windows 7
Life Without Cable or Satellite TV Is Easier Than You Think
Recommended Reading For Prof. Dealzmodo's Smart Gadget Shopping 101
Why You Should Homebrew: Great Taste, Less Spending
The Real Cost of Upgrading to Mac OS X Snow Leopard
Why You Can't Complain About the Price of Today's Gadgets
How To Keep Cool Without Going Broke This Summer
Green Tech Upgrades That Boost Home Values and Reduce Bills
Screw the Recession: How to Spend Less and Get More

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crackel
11/24/09

In reply to Black Friday Anti-Deals: What Not To Buy
If people fall into that mob mentality and spend more than they should have for an item, it's their fault. They should do their research before they show up at the store. At least there's shoppers and black friday deal pages (and supposed "leaks") to give us some heads up time to do research, like Giz has so nicely done.

With the economy how it is, consumer spending creeping up so slowly, and GDP growth under where we wanted it to be, nobody should be surprised that retailers are trying to get people to buy things, no matter what.

I hate to say this, but a successful Black Friday with and lots of irresponsible spending is what the economy needs. On the other hand, gadget spending is not as great for us since most of the manufacturers are off-shore.
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Edited by crackel at 11/24/09 10:35 PM crackel was starred crackel was unstarred

EBone
11/24/09

In reply to Black Friday Anti-Deals: What Not To Buy
Nobody who reads Giz shops at brick-and-mortar black friday sales, right? We all know how to get the best deals online without frakking with that mess, right? Right?
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Monty
11/24/09

In reply to Black Friday Anti-Deals: What Not To Buy
Sean, send me your snail mail address and we will mail you some adult egg nog to put you in the holiday spirit. You deserve it. Such quality work, but I am concerned that you may be visited by three ghosts shortly, and I want to make certain you are drinking from the happy juice of life as we head into the holiday season.

Thanks for the article -- great information, and will keep all of us from saying "bah humbug" as we get trampled at Walmart on Friday.
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infmom
11/24/09

In reply to Black Friday Anti-Deals: What Not To Buy
If you use Firefox, get the Invisible Hand add-on. It'll let you know if a product you're looking at is available elsewhere for less.
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GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag
11/24/09

In reply to Black Friday Anti-Deals: What Not To Buy
Ahh "loss leaders". How often do you get suckers into the stores and make them fork over tons of cash while the smart consumers play the waiting game and shop JUST them.
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infmom
11/24/09

@GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag: Fry's Electronics has a policy of never providing ads in their stores in an attempt to keep customers from doing just that.
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dingus
11/24/09

@infmom: At least the Austin Fry's has a big plexiglass wall near the entrance with the current newspaper ads posted.
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EBone
11/24/09

@infmom: Both the Frys in San Diego County post their ads just inside the door so you can browse them as soon as you walk in.
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jesusio001
11/24/09

@infmom: Frys in Tempe, AZ has a bulletin board in the front of the store with all their ads. And the employee carry the weeks at around with them. You must have a sh*tty Frys.
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whootowl
11/24/09

@EBone: Right, but good luck finding any of the advertised kit, and it sure is fun to watch the salespeople run away when they sense you are about to ask them a question (like, where is the advertised... ? ).

#tips
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infmom
11/24/09

@dingus: @EBone: Yes, they have the ads posted behind plexiglass in the front of the store, but you can't just pick up an ad off a rack and carry it around with you. If you want to do that you have to bring in your own copy of the ad.

In the Burbank Fry's the ads are posted in the returns area, so getting at them is not exactly convenient if there's the usual mob of people trying to return stuff.
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infmom
11/24/09

@jesusio001: I worked at the Burbank Fry's for three years. What the employees carry around is a reduced size photocopy of their department's section of the ad, which you can look at if you ask about it and if your eyesight is up to the challenge (especially that of picking out the Fry's PLU numbers that will tell you which item is actually on sale). Fry's does not have copies of the full ad lying around for customers to pick up.
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infmom
11/24/09

@whootowl: Fry's homebrew inventory system sucks, so looking stuff up is always way more work than it needs to be. And if the system says the store has five or fewer of the item in stock chances are very good that one is the floor model and the rest are gone.
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dingus
11/24/09

@infmom: I know, right? I've gone in looking for things that I consider staple components (4.7uF radial caps, .1" pin headers, 1/4W resistors) and have gone bust every time. If I want 10base2 style tees and terminators, which nobody ever does, then I'm in luck.
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Hiphopopotamus
11/24/09

In reply to Black Friday Anti-Deals: What Not To Buy
Ok, two quick things...

1) Impressed and thank you for doing all of this monotonous research...

2) The Giz Gift Guide is sponsored by Windows Mobile, the Top Bar is sponsored by HTC, and this article appears to be sponsored by the Pixi... I'm just feeling a little scared and confused... hold me.
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Nathan Obbards
11/24/09

@Hiphopopotamus: ''I'm just feeling a little scared and confused... hold me.''

I'm sorry, there's not an app for that.
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Shamoononon: I shave my legs.
11/24/09

@Hiphopopotamus: You're going to need a hair cut first.
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Shamoononon: I shave my legs.
11/24/09

In reply to Black Friday Anti-Deals: What Not To Buy

HA HAHAHHA. I hate to be the second person posting a picture already, but you've got to see the cell-mate image.
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fdisk
11/24/09

@Shamoononon: I shave my legs.: I love a product that makes me think about prison rape and chivs with its name.
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00000000
11/24/09

@Shamoononon: I shave my legs.: Yiiiikes. Really? My god. should be renamed Celibate Mate. you're gurantee'd to not get any for having your device attached to your head.
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Gordonium
11/24/09

@00000000: Or Mate Free, or Mateless...
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Kaiser-Machead
11/24/09

In reply to Black Friday Anti-Deals: What Not To Buy
Now that I know that Best Buy hires grey people, I'm not going to shop there.
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rdopps
11/24/09

@Kaiser-Machead: "grey people" not sure what that means?
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Kaiser-Machead
11/24/09

@rdopps: Can't you see a grey person when you see one? You're probably one of them aren't you? They're destroying our country, our way of life.
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jakemg
11/24/09

@Kaiser-Machead: It's just an Asian person. Didn't you know that Asians are gray? I mean if you're going to discriminate, at least know what color they are.
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Kaiser-Machead
11/24/09

@jakemg: You're lying. Stop your lies. I've seen Asian people. They range from fair/pale to darko like me, never grey. This is all Greyish propaganda.
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Mikestan
11/24/09

In reply to Black Friday Anti-Deals: What Not To Buy

I sure hope that is fake because I could have used some of that
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Pyrowrx
11/24/09

@Mikestan: Money doesn't burn that color, it's fake
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Greatbam
11/24/09

@Mikestan: It's called photoshop..be around for years.

Oh and yeah you might be able to get a similar price on some tv's at amazon but personally if I was to spend 500$ and up on a tv I wouldn't be buying it online unless there was a substantial difference in price. I would hate having to mail it back if it was broke and have to deal with just a bunch of extra crap to get it back to amazon. If you buy from bestbuy you get to see the tv and can see if it's working before you get it out the door.
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Nick
11/24/09

@Greatbam: well, no. i have yet to see a BestBuy pull a TV from the box to check it for a customer and then pack it back up.
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Greatbam
02:07 AM

@Nick: have you ever asked to do that? I am sure many customers don't think to do that. I used to work at costco and I think I saw a few people do that before.
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MrBlahBlah
10/21/09

In reply to Last Minute Guide to Saving Money on Windows 7
one thing: the student deal is an "upgrade" version. Not sure how this will work with those of us with less than legit versions of windows on our computer. especially if those not legit versions are installed in bootcamp....since I don't think upgrading from XP to Win 7 within an existing bootcamp partition is a good idea. #windows7
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Zoolook
10/21/09

@MrBlahBlah: You can do a clean install with a Win7 upgrade disk, including the student version. I got 64-bit Professional for $29.99 and did a clean install just a few hours ago.

Bootcamp is also fine (I tested the RC on it), again a clean install is the way to go. Download the latest bootcamp drivers from the Apple site - almost all the Vista drivers work perfectly. #windows7
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350z-Racer
10/21/09

In reply to Last Minute Guide to Saving Money on Windows 7
bizspark - free msdn subscription - free everything including windows 7 and office lol. win. #windows7
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Platypus Man
10/21/09

@350z-Racer: Same here. Haven't installed it yet, but I probably will at some point. #windows7
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350z-Racer
10/21/09

@Platypus Man: I installed mine like 3 months ago. I like free Windows 7 Ultimate lol. #windows7
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ZacherySchiller
10/21/09

In reply to Last Minute Guide to Saving Money on Windows 7
Is this $30 student discount thing only until its released or can I buy it for that price in a couple weeks? #windows7
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Sean Fallon
10/21/09

@ZacherySchiller: Runs through Jan 3rd. #windows7
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Curves
10/21/09

In reply to Last Minute Guide to Saving Money on Windows 7
Sometime in the coming weeks, I finally get that new hardware I have wanted for months. I am SO excited. #windows7
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aec007
10/21/09

@Curves: HAHAHAHA...are we talking computer hardware?
Your statement SO begs the question....

:) #windows7
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Curves
10/21/09

@aec007: I did mean a new box, but, I do see your point. Maybe I can work out a 2fer deal with the sales person or something. Kill 2 boxes with one stone, as it were. #windows7
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maven2k
10/21/09

@Curves: Hah! Nice one. #windows7
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IN THE FACE!
10/22/09

@Curves: ha-HA! Double Entendre!
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Curves
10/22/09

@IN THE FACE!: Yes, I drop them all over the place here. Some people actually READ this stuff and pick them up. You must be one of them. I heart click those folks, just like I am doing to you now. :) #windows7
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Mike Zuniga: That was Unexpected
10/21/09

In reply to Last Minute Guide to Saving Money on Windows 7
Eh, getting Professional Edition for $30 using the student discount is good enough for me. #windows7
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fleebailey33
10/21/09

@Mike Zuniga: That was Unexpected: i get professional free from my school from MSDNAA you should make sure you don't if you do you can save 30. #windows7
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Mike Zuniga: That was Unexpected
10/21/09

@fleebailey33: I'd like to thank you for pointing this out. I was completely unaware my school had a deal with MSDNAA. It turns out I can get Professional for free ;) #windows7
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maven2k
10/07/09

In reply to Life Without Cable or Satellite TV Is Easier Than You Think
I wanna do this so bad, but as Sean said, my favorite channels aren't online friendly, yet. Discovery, HD Theater, History, Food Network, and Current TV (My favorite right now) are about all I watch. Current TV has a great website, but nowhere near replacing the actual channel. I wouldn't mind waiting for the new HBO shows (Curb and Bored To Death) to come to DVD, but I love those other channels. It just goes to show that if cable tv was a'la carte they would lose their ass.
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