Marcster

Today is the last day of the sale!

Not trying to rain on everyone's parade, but I always thought that Omaha Steaks prices were so high, it would be the same price to go out to a steakhouse, have someone else cook it and wash the dishes, and get vegetables to boot.

Bay -- probably depends on how close you are to the front of the line when WM opens and how many things you need to pick up...

Jana -- First of all, one of my pet names for my wife is Anna Banana (her name is Ann). Secondly... who is your carrier? There is no restriction like that with Cingular (my carrier).

What phone do you have? If you have a Motorola phone (my wife has the RAZR), you need "mobile phone tools" and the correct cord which goes for around $20 on eBay. The software will even allow you to copy the photos you take with your camera onto your computer, make mp3 ringtones and crop photos to use as your phone's "wallpaper" and upload them to the phone. This is what I bought, but not from this seller: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5822648168 Nokia, Samsung, and the rest of the gang have their own kits.

I dunno, it can be kind of romantic or funny... I made a ringtone of Enrique Iglesias' "Hero" to be my wife's ringtone when I called her. She found it to be "cute", but a little too much PDA... You could set up Sammy Kershaw's "National Working Woman's Holiday" for when your work calls you...

I'll second one of me2's suggestions -- a digital camera can be a lot of fun too. This site has a review for every camera I've ever looked for: http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html Each survey goes into great detail and has sample pictures take with the camera in question... www.epinions.com is a good site as well! Be sure to buy rechargeable batteries if the camera doesn't come with them.

Yeah, Outnumbered, I agree... But you can buy a transfer cord & software for around $20.00 and then make your own ringtones from CDs/MP3 files you already own...

Keith--it's $1.99 each with most services I think. In the long run, it's cheaper to buy the transfer kit, make them yourself, and upload them to your phone.

Nano problem = http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/ptech/09/28/ipod.problem/ (less than 10% of those shipped. apparently). The used iPod Minis are going for $270 - $300 on eBay. I think that's more than they sold for new!!! I think the 1GB Shuffle would be a great present for an 11-yr-old. Songs through iTunes are $.99 each (which she could then put on her iPod, in addition to listening on the computer). You could also buy her prepaid iTunes Gift Card as a Stocking Stuffer: http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?family=iTMSCardsCertificates.

Aren't they though??? The hard part would be to select from the 100+ designs for whichever iPod you buy her...

*tips hat* My pleasure... Let me know if you have any questions. OH I ALMOST FORGOT: If you want to get her a stocking stuffer or two... Get her an iPod Skin to personalize her iPod... These look really cool - $2.99 each! They have like 100 designs for each size of Apple. http://www.decalgirl.com/browse.cfm/2,197.htm (the link is for the Shuffle, but they have Nano Skins too if you go that route) http://www.decalgirl.com/prodimg/shuffle/ips-bflames-300.jpghttp://www.decalgirl.com/prodimg/shuffle/ips-juicyp-300.jpg Enter GIMME10 to save 10% on your order (just saw that on the site)... so it would be $2.69 each.

If your daughter REALLY wants a screen and playlists, but the Nano is more than you want to spend, get her an iRiver. The iRiver is a competing product (not made by Apple). People love their iRivers: http://www.epinions.com/MP3_and_Digital_Media_Players/search_string_~iriver/adv_search_~1 Overstock has a few (some of which are factory reconditioned - read the description carefully if that matters to you): http://www.overstock.com/?PAGE=ENDECA&N=1012&keywords=iriver&x=14&y=24 There might be some on BF deals too... A good rule of thumb to select a MP3 player is to DIVIDE THE MEMORY BY FIVE MEGABYTES and that will be how many songs can be stored on it. For instance, a 512 MB MP3 player would be 512 divided by 5 = 102 songs (approx.)... a 1 GB MP3 player would be 1000 divided by 5 = 200 songs. There might be doorbuster deals on BF for 128 MB MP3 players, but using my non-scientific math, it would only store 25.6 songs (hardly worth bothering for like 90 minutes of music).

I just looked @ overstock and they have the 1 GB Shuffle for $109.99 plus shipping of $2.95. They have the 512 MB Shuffle for $89.99 plus Shipping. For just a $20 spread, definitely go for the bigger one. :) You can even get a 2 year protection plan for $9.99. http://www.overstock.com/?page=proframe&prod_id=1678305 You could also put in a request on the Overstock.com "Make Your Own Deal" thread: http://forums.gottadeal.com/showthread.php?t=14285, but Overstock Adam hasn't been around much to answer the deal requests (and Overstock says they're almost out). Here are some reviews: http://www.epinions.com/Apple_iPod_Shuffle_1_GB_MP3_Player/display_~reviews

Casbug - I don't have an iPod, but the Apple website does a great job explaining them. Go here: http://www.apple.com/ipod/ and click on any of the iPods to find out more about that one. Be sure to get her a case to keep it in (specifically made for whichever iPod you buy her) -- they're famous for accumulating scratches. I don't know what you were thinking of spending, the 512 MB iPod Shuffle retails for $99 and it's big brother, the 1 GB retails for $129. For $30 more, I'd go with the higher memory (she can store twice as much music). However, the Shuffles are just that -- music is played in a random order. The 2 GB Nano is $199 and the 4GB is $249. These are SUPER-THIN, I'm sure you've seen the commercials on TV. The Nanos replaced the iPod Mini. The Nano can have playlists that she could set up in advance (or it can play randomly) and it has a screen. I don't think I'd go for the 30GB and 60BG iPod, it can be a lot of money out the window if your daughter drops it or loses it.

I dunno. I bought my wife the RAZR and I bought Mobile Phone Tools off of eBay. Made up a few ringtones and added them to her phone. Even had a lil' romantic one for when I call... She had me set it all back to the silly "Cingular" ringtone. No, when the phone I want is released (SE w600i)... Then everone will have a different ring!

Hey, I was in Staples last night. They had six laptops on clearance (there was a display board inbetween the double doors.) I looked, but I didn't remember anything specific, none of them have 17" screens (that's what I am after). You could give your local Staples a call and see what they have... Also, Sam's is a good place to get a deal if you want to walk-in and walk-out with a lappy.

Not quite what you are looking for, but still interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_%28shopping%29

If it works out for you, Geekdrew, go for a Centrino processor. I set up one for a friend yesterday -- only heard the laptop's fan come one like three times and I was installing Quickbooks, Office, Windows updates, etc. So quiet! And tons of battery life.

I had a Rewards Card and was shopping at a BB while I was on vacation, cashier asked if I owned my own business (we do), so she signed me up for a Rewards Zone for Business cards. It's like a year later and the cashier's at the Philly area BB still do a double-take. Must be a California-only thing. As far as I can tell, differences include, card design, payout is at $15, not $5 and there is no renewal cost for a busines card (but the cashier didn't charge me for my card 'cause I had a "regular" one already).

Yeah, if you ban me, I'd just find some other forum to haunt.

Sounds good, Brad. As you can tell by my growing post count, I like it here.

Oh, I know, the Gottadealers have all been great. I was just wondering if someone ever tried to "rock the boat". Some people are wacko, you know.

At the risk of being slightly off-topic, here is a great site I found that can compare two different screen sizes for screen size. For instance, a 32" 16:9 Widescreen TV vs. a 36" 16:9 Widescreen TV, 4 inches, right? Well, yes it's only 4 inches, but it's 26% more screen size!!! http://www.cavecreations.com/tv2.cgi Hope this helps someone...

When did Gottadeal start?Membership milemarkers?The GottaDealers I've encounted have all been super nice. Has anyone ever been banned? Reason? (trolling, spamming, etc.)Does anyone have someone else on their ignore list?