Marcster

Review: http://www.steves-digicams.com/2008_reviews/canon_rebel_xs.html However, the XS is a discontinued camera, and with their blowout price, B&H is now out of stock.

One caution I would have about that monitor -- rmol66 should first verify that the computer's graphics card can support the widescreen resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels. Since it is a Win98 computer, I would guess the graphics card would be about 10 years old as well. Widescreen monitors have only come out in the past few years. If rmol66's graphics card can be updated, it may add additional resolutions (go to www.ati.com or www.nvidia.com to download drivers). Barring that, I would suggest a standard format monitor. Here is a 17" standard format for $119.99 w/free shipping: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009136 Geeks.com has two 17" standard format refurb monitors for $99.99 plus shipping: http://www.geeks.com/products_sc.asp?cat=538 --- A standard format monitor is actually better for office-type work anyway. And I wouldn't go with a 14" monitor. Comparing a 14" standard format to a 17 standard format: A 14 standard format monitor: * Your viewing area is 11.2 in(w) x 8.4 in(h) * Total viewing area is 94.08 sq in. A 17 standard format monitor is 47% larger (for $31 more): * Your viewing area is 13.6 in(w) x 10.2 in(h) * Total viewing area is 138.72 sq in. --- Oh, and if you were wondering... a 17" widescreen: * Your viewing area is 14.4 in(w) x 9.0 in(h) * Total viewing area is 129.6 sq in. (7% smaller than a 17" standard format)

Best Buy typically has sales that last from Sunday morning to Saturday evening. With that in mind, the Canon deal would have ended on Saturday, 12/6. However, the deal at B&H photo has dropped even further to $499.95 w. free ship: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/589113-REG/Canon__EOS_Rebel_XS_a_k_a_.html B&H has 5,767 reviews averaging 9.67 (out of a possible 10): http://www.resellerratings.com/store/B_H_Photo_Video_Pro_Audio

Sony just reduced their prices across the board on a lot of their cameras (and camcorders too apparently). If I were you, I'd call SonyStyle and see if a price adjustment is possible.

Hey, that's great... That's what the Gottadeal Community is all about. http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/Marcster2005/Smileypad/Love/grouphugg.gif

I have the Jabra BT8010 and BT8040. Jabra is the best brand out of the 6 or so I've tried, IMHO.

Certain Black Eyed Peas songs, for instance Pump It: [YOUTUBE]4bn7eYJIQiI[/YOUTUBE] I'm not familiar with much of what is mentioned here, but give it a shot: http://www.amazon.com/clean-rap/forum/Fx1PGP1ENM5L0H3/Tx2HELPVK40HGW0/1 You should be able to search on Youtube for a video of anything mentioned there. --- But basically any Will Smith CD is a safe bet... Being a "clean" rapper is one of the things he is criticized for (no swear words, no degradation of women, etc.)

Since I am self employed, I don't have to deal with any of this but how about $10 worth of Chapstick from Target w/the gift recp't?

Here's a handy chart that shows the maximum recommended print size for a given pixel size: http://www.design215.com/toolbox/megapixels.php One thing that the chart doesn't take into account is the fact that the larger the print size the further away you will be from it when looking at it. For instance, a 4x6 is usually viewed at arm's length, but an 18x24 print hangs on the wall and you stand away from it to see the whole thing. One thing the chart does show -- 35mm print film is still king for larger prints. You would need a 18-20 Megapixel camera to be able to make large prints of the same caliber as a 35mm SLR.

www.newegg.com, www.amazon.com and www.jr.com are all reputable resellers too. Be sure to check www.resellerratings.com on anyone you buy from (online). There are a ton of dealers selling "gray-market" cameras which are cameras made for a company other than the U.S. that are imported here but will be denied any warranty coverage by the manufacturer. It's one thing to find a good price, but if it's 1/3 less than everyone else, something is wrong. --- Not to steer you/your mom into a bridge camera, but they are smaller/lighter than dSLRs too. If your mom had a Minolta camera, her SLR lenses could be fitted to a Sony camera with an adapter ring (readily available on ebay). When Minolta got out of the camera business, they sold their designs and lineup to Sony. Otherwise, you need to match brand for brand (Nikon SLR lenses on a Nikon dSLR body, etc.)

The style of camera is called dSLR (as in Digital Single Lense Reflex). For a low-priced model with two lenses (18-55 mm and 55-200mm -- basically a 3x lense and a 6x lense) you are looking at about $600 (for starters). Two thing she should be aware of: 1) Only the newest high-end dSLRs have live preview on the LCD (for all other cameras you need to look through the small viewfinder). 2) Only the newest high-end dSLRs have a mode to take movies. ---- Although not quite the same thing, a less expensive option would be a SLR-like camera (also called a bridge camera, as in it's a bridge between a point-and-shoot and a dSLR). Those are between $250 - $300 with one permanently fixed lense that can typically zoom up to 20x (500mm equivalent). They can shoot movies and photos (some models can even shoot 720p high-def movies). They have manual and fully-automatic modes and everything in between. I'm after a bridge camera myself and could give you a few recommendations and links if that would be a route you'd be interested in... http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/Marcster2005/Smileypad/Photography/camera4.gif

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2008_reviews/fuji_z100fd/fuji_z100fd_front.jpghttp://www.steves-digicams.com/2008_reviews/fuji_z100fd/fuji_z100fd_front2.jpg FUJIFILM Z100fd Silver 8.0 MP Digital Camera 5X optical zoom. Use code EMCBCAFBE to get it for $109.99 with free shipping(till 12/11) at Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16830122138 That's $5 less than they offered it on during the week of Black Friday. --- Review starts here (sample pics too): http://www.steves-digicams.com/2008_reviews/fuji_z100fd.html

I like this one a lot: http://www.miniclip.com/games/snowmen-invaders/en/

Yes, you hit the nail on the head.

Have you considered building your own? http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/Marcster2005/Smileypad/Mil-Computer/geek1.gif It's a lot of fun & you have complete control. All manufacturers charge overly-inflated prices for upgrades too. My system = Microsoft Vista Home Premium 64-bit, four 320 GB hard drives in RAID10, a Q6600 Quad core, 8GB of 1066Mhz RAM and soon to be three HD4650 graphics cards supporting 6 monitors.

Not that I'm aware of... And they really aren't regarded to be very good... Read this: http://alienwareproblems.blogspot.com/ More: http://www.google.com/search?q=alienware+problems

Wikipedia knows all...

If you look at www.half.com, some are listed as "new in shrink wrap" which would make them fine for gift-giving... But, they might ship media mail while may not make it by Christmas.

And Will Smith... [YOUTUBE]BIduOvEoVeQ[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]EjheiI0BFqg[/YOUTUBE] Kriss Kross (going back 16 years...) [YOUTUBE]5J5titd0Kbw[/YOUTUBE] Another Bad Creation (18 years ago) (actually their music was a mix of Rap and New Jack Swing) [YOUTUBE]QMgv6GrTLoQ[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]0JBTSLgE9cI[/YOUTUBE]

I think a gift card to the mall (or outlet center) (or a specific store) would be a better bet... Jeans are something that people really need to try on.

My wife and I were at Walmart earlier this week... They had a enormous display of women's socks in clear boxes. "Here, honey, I got you some socks..."

Tyler Durden: The first rule of Nose Hair Trimming Club is - you do not talk about Nose Hair Trimming Club. The second rule of Nose Hair Trimming Club is - you DO NOT talk about Nose Hair Trimming Club. Third rule of Nose Hair Trimming Club, someone yells Stop!, goes limp, taps out, the trimming is over. Fourth rule, only two two nostrils get trimmed. Fifth rule, one nostril at a time, fellas. Sixth rule, no shirt, no shoes. Seventh rule, trimming will go on as long as it has to. And the eighth and final rule, if this is your first night at Nose Hair Trimming Club, you have to trim. http://www.ugo.com/a/top11-screen-gems/images/fight-club2.jpg

http://www.tobethlehem.com/nosehair.jpg

Send it with no return address?

Two? I guess it's always good to have a backup... http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/Marcster2005/Smileypad/LOL/gigglesmile2.gif