2D is something we take for granted when we’re shopping for a new GPU. But if you do a lot of work on your desktop (and don’t we all?), it bears a little more attention. We spent some time testing 2D performance and came up with some surprising results.
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2D, Acceleration, And Windows: Aren’t All Graphics Cards Equal?
Is all your shopping done for Christmas yet? I hope it is. But if it isn’t, or you just happen to love new shiny tech things (like I do), then peruse these last deals before we resume to the regularly scheduled program on December 26
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Wednesday Deals: Last Batch Before Christmas
Black Friday and Cyber Monday kicked off the holiday shopping season, and according to Sony, it also underscored better-than-expected early holiday demand, particularly for its PlayStation 3 console.
"We saw a very positive sales increase television, computers, and PS3 in particular," Sony Chief Executive Howard Stringer told a group of reporters today. "I don't think there were any negatives, but we need a little more time to find out how big it was."
The company has reason to be excited. After basically introducing the mobile music market some three decades ago with its Walkman, Sony has since faced stiff competition with South Korean rivals and a handful of U.S. IT firms. Apple's iPod now rules the portable music scene, and Samsung leads the way in the global flat screen television market.
Going forward, Sony sees an opportunity to turn things around by focusing on batteries.
"Don't forget we started lithium-ion batteries at Sony... If you produce the right battery, they will come," Stringer added. "It's worth putting our best engineers at it... It's worth a shot, I think."
Image Credit: playstationlifestyle.net
Forget about dealing with pushy crowds and getting up in the wee morning hours during a holiday vacation only to have to wait in line for that one item everyone else is after as well. According to comScore, an increasing number of consumers opted to plant their rumps on the couch or home office chair and shop the Black Friday deals online rather than venture out into the real world.
For the holiday season to date, some $10.57 billion has been spent online, which is 3 percent more than the same time period one year ago. And on Black Friday, consumers spent $595 million online, marking an 11 percent increase over last year. That also ranks as the second heaviest online spending day so far in 2009.
"Black Friday, better known as a shopping bonanza in brick-and-mortar retail stores, is increasingly becoming one of the landmark days in the online holiday shopping world," said comScore chairman, Gian Fulgoni. "The $595 million in online spending this Black Friday represents the second heaviest online spending day of the season-to-date and a double-digit increase from last year. While this acceleration in spending suggests the online holiday season may be shaping up slightly more optimistically than anticipated, it may also reflect the heavy discounting and creative promotions being put forth by retailers that now encompass the use of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter."
Fulgoni went on to say that Cyber Monday (today) and subsequent weeks will provide the real measuring stick for how online retailers fare this season, but that they're off to a great start.
Image Credit: dynamicbusiness.com
Second verse, same as the first! It's Cyber-Monday, that retailer-coined holiday term that's supposed to be a continuation of Black Friday deals mainly offered via online purchases. It remains to be seen whether this day is actually a "prime" shopping day or not, as not nearly as many retailers are offering as good of a discount as what you might have seen this past Friday (or weekend, for that matter).
Suffice, Cyber-Monday is here, and we've rounded up a list of items that might catch your fancy if you're into that whole "I like to buy goods and services when they cost less than their original price" sort of thing. Without further ado, click the jump and get ready to spend!
Cooler Master Storm Scout chassis
Originally: $100
Cyber Monday: $90
Savings: $10
OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W power supply
Originally: $100
Cyber Monday: $75
Savings: $25
CyberpowerPC Gamer Xtreme 1030 Intel Core i5 desktop
Cyber Monday: $770
Gateway FHD2401 Black 24" display
Originally: $300
Cyber Monday: $190
Savings: $110
ASUS P5Q Pro Turbo LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
Originally: $135
Cyber Monday: $105
Savings: $30
Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EADS 2TB hard drive
Cyber Monday: $140
Originally: $520
Cyber Monday: $360
Savings: $160
HP Pavilion p6270z (quad-core)
Cyber Monday: $430
Originally: $1,325
Cyber Monday: $1,000
Savings: $325
HP Photosmart Premium All-in-One printer
Originally: $200
Cyber Monday: $100
Savings: $100
Acer X213HBbd 21.5" LCD Monitor
Originally: $180
Cyber Monday: $120
Savings: $60
Seagate Expansion 2TB External Desktop Hard Drive
Originally: $250
Cyber Monday: $160
Savings: $90
Linksys WRT120N Wireless N Router
Originally: $80
Cyber Monday: $50
Savings: $30
Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 (WIN)
Originally: $100
Cyber Monday: $70
Savings: $30
Acer - Aspire Laptop with AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core Processor (AS5534-1121)
Originally: $500
Cyber Monday: $400
Savings: $100
D-Link DIR-615 Wireless-N Router
Originally: $70
Cyber Monday: $20
Savings: $50
Originally: $200
Cyber Monday: $100
Savings: $100
Seagate - Expansion 500GB External USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive
Originally: $95
Cyber Monday: $50
Savings: $45
Originally: $500
Cyber Monday: $450
Savings: $50
Toshiba Satellite T135-S1307 TruBrite 13.3-Inch Ultrathin Black Laptop
Originally: $700
Cyber Monday: $550
Savings: $150
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1.5 TB Hard Drive
Originally: $200
Cyber Monday: $90
Savings: $110
Kingston DataTraveler 101 - 16 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive
Originally: $54
Cyber Monday: $30
Savings: $24
Eye-Fi Pro 4 GB Wi-Fi SDHC Flash Memory Card
Originally: $170
Cyber Monday: $100
Savings: $70
Razer DeathAdder 3G Infrared Gaming Mouse
Originally: $60
Cyber Monday: $33
Savings: $27
Originally: $50
Cyber Monday: $10
Savings: $40
Dell Mini 10v
Originally: $400
Cyber Monday: $280
Savings: $120
Inspiron 17
Originally: $820
Cyber Monday: $550
Savings: $270
Dell 24-inch Monitor
Originally: $260
Cyber Monday: $185
Savings: $75
Western Digital 1.5TB Hard Drive
Originally: $150
Cyber Monday: $100
Savings: $50
"But wait," you say. Surely there are more deals than just these listed stores? Indeed, that is true. This is but a smattering of retailers of both the electronics and general varieties that are offering deals on their wares today. If you want to really save as much cash as possible--or browse for more potential savings than what's listed above--here are a few resources for maximizing your Black Friday experience. We recommend these sites wholeheartedly... as does my bank account. Scan them throughout the day to make sure you're catching all the latest deals as they pop up:
David Murphy (@ Acererak) is a technology journalist and former Maximum PC editor. He writes weekly columns about the wide world of open-source as well as weekly roundups of awesome, freebie software. Befriend him on Twitter, especially if you have an awesome app or game you're dying to recommend!
Black Friday. It's big. There's a lot of shopping going on. You can acquire goods and services for far below the actual cost of the items. Unless you can catch said deals online, you will likely spend a lot of time fighting your peers for low-priced products. You might start to hate shopping. You might vow to never shop on Black Friday again.
Those are the ground rules. Let's get to the deals. As mentioned, there are a lot of awesome things you can pick up on Black Friday for a cheaper-than-expected cost. I've scoured a number of online sites to find just exactly what it is that's going on come Black Friday. I'll be listing out a number of awesome deals to check out below, as well as a handful of sites that you can check out to further supplement your tech-themed Black Friday purchases. I've really scoured the categories to find some great savings and great products--in the case of the storage category, for example, that's the most inexpensive capacity points you're going to find for those prices!
Anyway, enough reading. Let's get to the spending. Black Friday 2009... begin!
HP Pavilion Elite e9250t
Originally: $1,025
Black Friday: $800
Savings: $225
Source: HP Direct
HP P6214Y Pavilion Desktop
Originally: $580
Black Friday: $500
Savings: $80
Source: Best Buy
iBUYPOWER Gamer Extreme
Originally: $940
Black Friday: $800
Savings: $140
Source: Newegg
CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra Desktop
Originally: $540
Black Friday: $400
Savings: $140
Source: Newegg
HP 15.6-inch Laptop w/ Windows 7
Cost: $300
Time: starts 6 a.m.
Source: Staples
Sony VAIO VGN-NW26SF
Originally: $660
Black Friday: $480
Savings: $180
Source: Best Buy
HP G60-519WM
Black Friday: $300
Source: Walmart
Acer 15.6" Notebook
Originally: $550
Black Friday: $399
Savings: $151
Source: Radio Shack
Apple 13.3" MacBook Air
Originally: $1,499
Black Friday: $1,149
Savings: $350
Source: MacMall
Apple 13.3" MacBook Pro
Originally: $1,199
Black Friday: $1,099
Savings: $100
Source: MacMall
Acer 23" Wide-Screen LCD Monitor
Originally: $200
Black Friday: $140
Savings: $60
Source: Staples
LG 21.5" 1080p LCD Monitor
Originally: $200
Black Friday: $120
Savings: $80
Source: Newegg
Dell 20" LCD Monitor
Originally: $200
Black Friday: $100
Savings: $100
Source: Best Buy
D-Link Basic N Wireless Router
Originally: $50
Black Friday: $20
Savings: $30
Source: Office Depot
Linksys Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router
Originally: $130
Black Friday: $90
Savings: $40
Source: Staples
Linksys Wireless-N Rangeplus Router
Originally: $90
Black Friday: $40
Savings: $50
Source: Office Depot
HP v125 8GB USB Flash Drive
Originally: $35
Black Friday: $13
Savings: $22
Source: Staples
SanDisk 16GB Cruzer USB Flash Drive
Originally: $80
Black Friday: $28
Savings: $52
Source: Office Depot
Corsair Flash Voyager 32GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive
Originally: $90
Black Friday: $60
Savings: $30
Source: Newegg
Western Digital Elements 1TB External Hard Drive
Originally: $100
Black Friday: $60
Savings: $40
Source: Target
Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB Internal Hard Drive
Black Friday: $98
Source: Newegg
Wacom Intuos3 6x8" Pen Tablet
Originally: $330
Black Friday: $200
Savings: $130
Source: Amazon
Logitech G9 Gaming Mouse
Originally: $100
Black Friday: $50
Savings: $50
Source: HP
Logitech Illuminated Keyboard
Originally: $80
Black Friday: $30
Savings: $50
Source: Staples
Rosewill 45-Piece Computer Tool Kit
Originally: $30
Black Friday: $15
Savings: $15
Source: Newegg
Thermaltake V9 Black Edition ATX Computer Gaming Chassis
Originally: $115
Black Friday: $50
Savings: $65
Source: Newegg
Microsoft Office Home And Student 2007
Originally: $150
Black Friday: $70
Savings: $80
Source: Best Buy
Adobe Photoshop Elements
Originally: $100
Black Friday: $50
Savings: $50
Source: Staples
HP Photosmart Plus All-in-One Printer
Originally: $150
Black Friday: $75
Savings: $75
Source: Staples
If you think these deals are awesome, then great! But, trust me, there's a lot more out there than what my meager list can provide. Be sure to scan sites like Slickdeals and Fatwallet throughout Thursday (and even Friday) to hear about all the latest bargains as soon as they hit (including Amazon's current batch of Gold Box sales). For a comprehensive list of Black Friday deals that you can sort by store, category, and price, hit up TGI Black Friday (or grab their iPhone app!). The mobile app ShopSavvy can also let you know if you're getting a good price on a particular product, and following ol' CheapTweet on Twitter will inform you the second new deals hit popularity!
David Murphy (@ Acererak) is a technology journalist and former Maximum PC editor. He writes weekly columns about the wide world of open-source as well as weekly roundups of awesome, freebie software. Befriend him on Twitter, especially if you have an awesome app or game you're dying to recommend!
The guys and gals at Woot have added another portal to their stable of daily deal sites. The deals.woot site is a bit of a departure for Woot. All their preexisting sites feature a product chosen by Woot employees, but deals.woot is a user driven site akin to a Digg for bargain shopping.
Woot has made waves in the tech/geek community by offering a daily deal, which is sometimes an insanely good value. More recently, Woot has expanded to various specialized portals like shirt.woot, wine.woot, and sellout.woot. The new site uses an algorithm to bring the users’ favorite deals to the surface for all to see. The top of the landing page, however, isn’t user driven. It is populated by sponsored deals.
Woot explained the sponsored links saying, “OK, yes, companies pay a little something to be Sponsored Deals. But we don’t allow just any old crap in this section… If we find the deal compelling enough that our members will appreciate us bringing it to their attention, we’ll feature it here.” If you’re the type that enjoys a good tech bargain (and who doesn’t?) check it out at deal.woot.com.
In a few more days, Black Friday will be here, and if you plan on braving the crowds, that means getting up early (or staying up late) and making a mad dash for the electronics section among a frenzy of shoppers with no qualms about pushing, shoving, and trampling anyone who gets in their way. But should your reach your destination unscathed, you may find that the deals are nothing to get excited over considering stores have already had to mark prices down in the current economic climate, or that quantities are so low that if you're not near the front of the line donning a pair of running shoes, you're going to miss out.
CNNMoney.com reveals that in some cases, stores may stock as little as 3 units of those enticing low-priced electronics advertised in your local flier. Sale items could also be "derivatives" of the real deal, such as a large screen HDTV with lower image quality or a less desirable image contrast.
"It's a sleazy practice," said Craig Johnson, retailing expert and president of retail consulting group Customer Growth Partners. "I am old school. If a retailer is advertising a juicy deal and they are not prepared to have in sufficient quantity, don't advertise it. Or give consumers a raincheck."
Read the full report here.
Image Credit: 3.bp.blogspot.com
Starting your holiday shopping? Stuff your stockings with some Maximum PC goodness! We're pleased to announce the launch of Future US techmart, a online store for Maximum PC and Mac|Life related products. Here, you'll find copies of our newest special issues -- handbooks and guides to building and optimizing your PC. Check it out!
Ever imagined a world where 6-foot Care Bears roam the streets going door-to-door begging for sweet treats while you're trying to watch the Phillies take a 2-to-1 lead over the Yankees in the World Series? That may be the scene tomorrow, based on the most popular online Halloween costume searches, according to frightening data put together by Hitwise.
You're also likely to see Michael Jackson and Balloon Boy getups, which held the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. But of the searches beginning with the word 'adult, 'adult Care Bear costume' came in third, right behind 'adult cat costume' (No. 1) and 'adult Snow White costume' (No. 2).
You're also likely to run into more themed pets than ever before. Compared to 2008, Hitwise noted a 97 percent increase in searches for "pet costumes." Better toss some Milk Bones in with those fun-sized Snicker bars.
Image Credit: akinaiblog.com
