Marcster

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So far, the best GPS deal I've found based on features to price ratio is the TomTom XL350-S to be offered at Target on BF. 4.3" widescreen, text-to-speech, lane assist, and maps of all of North America (yep, that's all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, and they even threw in Puerto Rico for good measure). However, this unit gets some seriously awful reviews from actual owners: http://www.testfreaks.com/gps-navigation-devices/tomtom-xl-340s/ http://reviews.cnet.com/car-gps-navigation/tomtom-xl-340-s/4505-3430_7-33606060.html http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16858194079&cm_re=340-s-_-58-194-079-_-CustomerReview Whatever unit you buy, read - read - read the reviews and actual owner reports (but remember that people are more likely to complain about than praise a product).

Yes. http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/products/3dollar_inkrecycle Yes. Remember the 10% off of one single item is for redemption on Saturday, not on Black Friday. Typically, door busters are not offered online.

The Garmin Nuvi 225w has text-to-speech. The TomTom One XL 330 does not. Is text-to-speech worth another $20? IMHO, yes, it is...

Wow... Even the 12 pack of Duracell AA batteries for FREE after Easy Rebate doesn't excite you? You can get two of them for free...

Yeah, that Seagate price is hot!

Along the same lines, it is no longer PC to tell someone to have a "Merry Christmas", since they might be Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Agnostic, Atheist, etc. Instead, you must tell them "Happy Holidays!" But what about those Agnostics and Athiests? They don't have a holiday to celebrate... So they might feel slighted. Can't do that! Even wishing someone a cheery "Good Morning!" is incorrect. Perhaps that person just had a death in the family, their car was stolen, their jelly donut was jelly-less... Nothing quite so good about it, eh? I think eventually we'll all just stop talking to eachother, otherwise you might offend someone. http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/Marcster2005/Smileypad/Hmmm/zip.gif

As the economy retracts, that's what happens... As the economy rebounds, other chains will capitalize on the low real estate values and move in to the now empty storefronts and expand their market share.

You haven't seen that one yet? http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/Marcster2005/Smileypad/Hmmm/Scratch-Head.gif

My wife and I go to my in-laws for Thanksgiving, so we don't cook a turkey. If we do grocery shop enough to earn a free turkey, we give it to my MIL. She cooks them and cuts it into turkey barbecue for the church's annual apple festival. She'll typically cook 6 turkeys and then the church sells the sandwiches to raise money. Not sure why it's called turkey barbecue, because it is not cooked on a grill and it does not include BBQ sauce. Think of moist shredded turkey, on a hamburger bun, typically topped with catusp and a slice of American cheese. If anything, it's more like a sauce-less sloppy joe made with turkey.

I totally misread this thread's title. I was expecting it to be Equal Presents (as in "Masterpiece Theater presents The Taming of the Shrew"). http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3089/2754208533_474257bcc5.jpg

What would that person have to say about Taco Bell's latest culinary invention (and the other items mentioned in the commercial?): [YOUTUBE]zuEdFsq1y5w[/YOUTUBE] Maybe your company should rename it "Licorice Friday" or "That Really Big Shopping Day the Day After Thanksgiving When You Can Pick Up All the Good Deals"?

The TomTom One 125 is the same TomTom One LE that I bought two years ago on Black Friday for 120 from BB. The only real difference is a different suction cup mounting system (and updates to the maps and Points of Interest, of course, and the deletion of Canadian maps). The TomTom One 125 was here last BF too. It's not a bad unit, but it certainly is bare bones, and lacks text-to-speech. Review: http://www.gpslodge.com/archives/023062.php If you have an upcoming trip before BF, you could buy this and not hate yourself, but otherwise, there will be better deals... ----- If you need Canadian maps, look for the TomTom One 130, but this model still lacks text-to-speech. To make it easier to find models with text-to-speech, TomTom denotes models with a "-s" if they have that feature. For instance, the TomTom One 130-S has TTS, but the TomTom One 130 does not. The TomTom 130-S would meet all your requirements, but would still be the 3.5" screen, not the 4.3" screen. It's available from Amazon for $123.53, and is a much better deal than the one from Wal-Mart, unless you need to buy it in person. http://www.amazon.com/TomTom-ONE-3-5-Inch-Portable-Navigator/dp/B00160TYR8

Just got an e-mail that Amazon is having a sale on pocket knives: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=pe_32160_12593930_fe_txt_3/?node=3400851&brand=Victorinox

Best Buy will have a wide range... And Newegg usually has some.

A truly classic scene: [YOUTUBE]wFnILW2TrNc[/YOUTUBE]

Puppy Linux might work. The entire OS will run from 64MB of RAM: http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=puppy http://www.puppylinux.com

A round of golf & lunch?

If you got a pair of tickets for each groomsman and also for the ElCid2002 & bride for a local team (like AA- or AAA-level baseball or semi-pro hockey), the OP could also pick up the tab for food/drinks and make it more of an "event". Semi-pro sports typically have cheaper tix and food/drinks. Our AA-level baseball team even has free parking...

I've been married for 10.5 years, so MP3 players weren't an option... I got each of my groomsmen a really nice super-multifunction pocketknife.

Also, the web browser included with this laptop is likely to be severely limited. It may or may not be able to play Flash-based games, Youtube videos, or even be able to access secured web sites (be able to access your bank account, for instance).

For just playing music, not videos and movies and Internet access, it would be unnecessary to go beyond a Sansa Clip or Clip+. The "plus" versions can be expanded with a media card for even more capacity. I love my 4GB Sansa Clip. It's just wonderful... They have 8GB versions now. The Sansa Clip has a built-in FM tuner, audio recorder, graphic equalizer, the ability to play playlists or random, and can play books on tape (with the ability to automatically mark the "page" where you stopped).

To add to the others input... Windows CE is extemely long in the tooth and typically only used in previous generation smartphones (new smartphones use Windows Mobile 5.0, if they use a Microsoft OS). From an interface standpoint, Windows CE bears a striking resemblance to Windows 98: http://www.guidebookgallery.org/pics/gui/extra/windowsce/desktop.png It can view Office documents and pdfs, but you cannot load traditional Windows programs (such as games, Quicken, etc.) You'll have to find any needed programs on sites like this: http://www.hpc.net/ and this http://wince.pdatopsoft.com/, since programs would need to have been written specifically for Windows CE. To refer to it as the netbook equivalent of a low-end smart phone is 100% accurate. Traditional netbooks can function low-end laptops (because they are), but this Kmart job really is JUST for surfing the net. If you think you or your kids would be OK with that, then you should look at getting an Apple Touch -- that's a much better/useful device. You WON'T even be able to print from this thing. There's going to be a lot of disappointed kids on Christmas morning, "Gee, uhm, thanks... I guess..."

It should be noted that the fancier voices, like Homer Simpson are only typically only available for GPS units that lack "text to speech". Text to speech is the ability for a GPS to call out specific road names, such as "Turn right in one half mile onto Vancouver Road." Units that don't have text to speech will say "Turn right in one half mile." instead. I wouldn't say it's a deal breaker either way, but when you are driving in a city, the blocks come up quickly and "Turn right at the third intersection in 800 yards." is more confusing than a comand of "Turn right at the third intersection in 800 yards onto Elm Street." When you are at a traffic circle or five points intersection, text to speech becomes even more valuable. If you live out in the sticks, it may not matter too much to you. ------------------- As to brands, I wouldn't recommend anything other than a Garmin or TomTom. Maybe a Navigon or Mio. There are plenty of off-brands, but you are venturing into the unknown. How up to date are the maps? How many POIs are included (points of interest, like restaurants, skating rinks, shops, etc.)? How accurate and up-to-date are those POIs? How quickly does the GPS get a signal from the satellites? How does it handle adverse conditions (such as driving in an area with heavy trees)? By going with a major brand, all of those questions have been addressed -- an off-brand can certainly be a tossup and you are more likely to be buying blind, since the reviews of off-brand units are slim. Some might say that Magellan and Nexstar are also major brands, but they consistently get ugly reviews. Stick with a Garmin or TomTom to be assured quality. ------------------- In terms of which individual unit to go with, for sure you need to read some reviews. You can go to a review site like www.gpslodge.com, www.gpsmagazine.com, reviews.cnet.com/gps, etc. I will say that TomTom shows more information right on the main screen (such as time and mileage to your destination), which the Garmin pushes off to a secondary screen, but more information is shown on that secondary screen such as your stopped time and highest speed. The typical TomTom: http://i38.tinypic.com/fyptnd.jpg The typical Garmin: http://gps-systems.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/garmin-265wt-gps.jpg ------------------- TomToms have more room for personalization. There are free additional color packs, voices, startup screens, etc. available for download from sites like www.tomtomforums.com. Garmins are more structured, but you can download free vehicle icons (the pointer on the main screen) direct for Garmin. Both brands have many different additional POI lists that can be downloaded to the units (if you want to be sure you have all of the Smokey Bones restaurants at your fingertips vs. hoping that they have them in your GPS' built-in POI list, for instance). POI lists are supported by the general casual user (you could make a POI list if you wanted), but they are unique to the brand of the unit. Again, adding POI lists are another place where the off-brands come up short. Not only with the quantity of lists that are available, but also in whether you can add lists to begin with (last time I checked, Navigon didn't even allow you to add lists). ------------------- Garmin has an edge when it comes to preplanning your route on the computer. They have a tie-in with www.mapquest.com that allows you to plan an entire multi-stop route on Mapquest and then simply sync it to your connected Garmin GPS.

And Amazon (had) them too: http://www.amazon.com/MHP-Sandler-All-Wood-Coffin/dp/B001CHN4TO/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_ttl_in Love the "reviews" on Amazon... http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/Marcster2005/Smileypad/Halloween/8_1_208.gif