stationchief

Umm ... didn't quite get all that, but from what I understood you got Mario Party 8 and you don't have a Nintendo Wii. About MP8, it's quite addicting just to warn 'ya. I play it at the store display and all those lil' mini games are way too much fun.

All depends on the individual, however here's the skinny on the portable videogame systems: Leapster = pre-schoolers GBA = elememtary schoolers (that system is old tech and should be leaving shelves soon) Nintendo DS = elementary to Jr high kids, some gams for teens and adults PSP = Jr high to high school teens and up to adults

Being 7-8, your son should be getting into the PS3/Wii stage soon. The GBA seems to attract the slightlty younger kids into Pokemon and all that while the PSP is aimed towards the teens. All depends on the games he likes and your pocketbook (there's some heavy price differences there), but I'd recommend the PSP.

The only real place I've noticed where prices are noticably different per area is Wal-Mart. They're prices tend to be a bit regional. Clearance items also greatly depend on the specific store's location. Sale items aren't like that as much since they're advertised and they may be required to price match.

In my younger years my parents learned the hard way to NEVER hid the presents at the home. I was such the snoop and knew how to get to every crack and corner that I'd find just about everything. I was such a naughty 'lil boy. After a few spoiled christmasses they got smart and started wrapping and hiding everything at the neighbors until christmas eve. Nowdays, with just the wife to hide stuff from, I just keep it in the trunk of the car until I decide to wrap 'em up and place 'em under the 'lil tree.

Start counting the days, everyone! Three months to go and the anticipation is here already! I just love the countdown timer. GottaDeal should have one on their front page.

Of course, black friday is considered a legitimate religion to some of us. All depends on how you celebrate.

Your laptop really does have 512MB of memory. It's just that your graphics chip is taking up some of that because it's shared video memory. 512MB physical memory - 128MB reserved specifically for video = 384MB. To change it, you need to go into the system BIOS screen. When you boot up your computer, it'll tell you what key to hit to enter BIOS/setup. Usually it's either the F2, F10, or DELETE key. Once there, you can do a lot of changes to your computer, including droping the shared video memory all the way down (32MB or so) to have more physical memory or crank it all the way up (128MB) to play those high-tech games.

The eMachine should have 512MB (MegaBytes), not KB (KiloBytes), of PC2-4200 memory. Not sure if it's just one chip or two 256MB chips, but it shouldn't matter too much as you should have at least one more memory slot. And I hope 'ya didn't literally CRACK open your Toshiba. It's just a tiny lil' screw.

Usually you get a one year limited warranty, so that just barely ran out. Talk about bad timing. I have the same Pavillion laptop from WM last year and aside form some loose hinges on the monitor it's still going strong.

"And I heard Brad and Ross exclaim as my PC turns out it's light, 'Happy holidays to all, and see you next year on this site!'" THE END. (Yes, I know this site is here all year 'round. Everyone stick around after the holidays! Now someone should compile all the poems in this thread, put 'em in the right order, then publish the GottaDeal BF 2006 Storybook. )

Maybe that's the whole reason why the lines were soo much larger at the popular places this year. Guess there's a downside to GottaDeal's newfound media attention after all.

Believe it or not ... about $15. Used almost $200 in Best Buy Bucks from a previous endeavor. The only thing I paid cash for were a ton of DVDs I wasn't allowed to use more than $3 in BBB on, and the cashier messed that up anyways.

It's really lucky that you got your laptop after all. Some people just don't realize what they're doing by having one person wait in line for 4-5 people in the family. Usually there's security that keeps anyone from stepping in line for whatever reason. That's the way it should be.

I'd like to show some sympathy, but I'm just too busy laughing right now. Your 3 year old being strong enough to pick it up and mash it a couple times is almost as amazing as your state of mind when you left it in harm's way. Chalk it up as a hard lesson learned.

Way to stick it to the man! There's no real reason why they'd price match other items and not that SD card for you. Probably just caught the higher-ups in a bad mood on the worst day of the year. I would've suggested taking the ad and leaving to go to a different WalMart to get it price matched over there.

Impressive list of upgrades, but you're still stuck with the Celeron D processor. Maybe would've been cheaper, and a lot less time consuming if you waited in line for that eMachine, just to get a processor/mobo combo from Fry's Electronics or someplace similar if you've really got that much already.

So, who wants to upgrade their memory or install a new graphics card? Bring on the questions!

"And now the best part comes as I feel I'm in heaven It's time to start counting the days 'till black friday 2007!"

Here's the long-awited complete specs on the $398 WM Compaq: To answer your specific questions: It will allow you to connect a DSL/Cable modem (erthernet cable), burn CDs but will only play DVDs, surf the net, and should even be powerful enough to play "The Sims". So this computer should do you perfectly. Enjoy it. You need a major computer upgrade. And once you do it for the first time, you're no longer a virgin. Welcome to GottaDeal!

Now we all hav post-BF shopping anxiety. BF shopping is like an addiction. Only 364 more days until BF 2007!

Yup, just like showing up early enough in line to get a laptop in person, 'ya gotta jump on these online deals quickly before they all sell out. Looks like it sold out pretty fast, like within an hour or so.

Nope. I forget exactly what they're called, but basically it's a cellular PC card for laptops. It acts like a cellular modem and lets your laptop dial out to Cingular's internet service, like what your cellphone does when you access the internet. Like mobile internet on the go wherever you are. No WiFi access or hotspot needed.

I'd have to say BB was the hands-down winner for the most insanely long lines this year. Dunno exactly what happened. Perhaps people were more well informed this year. Or maybe it's just that BB had the best deals ever. The line at the local BB I went to was crazy long by the time the doors opened. When I first got there I chatted for a moment with the guy camped out at the front of the line. He said he, #2 in line, and the other guy, very first to go in, both got there wednesday evening mostly for the special BF PS3 shipment. YIKES! Over 24 hours waiting in line!? These guys reaked of eBay. I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid.

Been wanting to get that to go with my Cingular service. Mobile internet on my laptop sounds pretty neat, and $19.95 for unlimited internet access ain't too bad. Must be pretty sweet.