ActuaryTm

Do hope you mean 5:00 am Christmas day, as I imagine there will be quite a line already built up by 5:00 am the day after Christmas at most stores.

You might want to check the URL Ross listed below, under the Ethernet section:

Flights out west just seem to be getting ridiculously cheap. Nyc to Seattle or Portland is running $100 to $150 each way.

Agreed, on all counts.

Link.

Depending on when you need it, your willingness to purchase the day after Christmas, and how firm your requirements are on your specifications, this may be an option: http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/8062/microcenteraceraspirenoug7.gif

In short, yes. Hence the "a Dell EPP offer, if you qualify" portion above. You'll need to be a member of a group that offers Dell EPP as a benefit. There are a multitude of groups and companies that offer this. From the combo box on the splash page: Large Corporation (Over 3500 employees)Small to Medium Business (500 - 3500 employees)Higher Education Faculty, Students and StaffK-12 Faculty and StaffHealth CareFederal & CivilianDepartment of DefenseState & Local GovernmentVeterans

The closest to $700 I could find was $713 and $704.62 (using Option 1 above and a Dell EPP offer, if you qualify), and adjust a few of the components (concessions had to be made to keep near your price point): AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+ Genuine Windows® XP Professional Upgrade to Windows Vista Business from XP Pro, $10 payable at redemption 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ 16x DVD+/-RW Drive 19 inch E197FP Analog Flat Panel NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE Integrated Graphics GPU Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio 1 Year On-site Economy Plan $713 with free 3 -5 day shipping (use Option 1 above, and make the appropriate changes) AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+ Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Home Premium from XP Media Center Edition - $10 payable at redemption 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs 160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ 16x DVD+/-RW Drive 17 inch E177FP Analog Flat Panel NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE Integrated Graphics GPU Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio 1Yr Ltd Warranty and At-Home Service 56K PCI Data Fax Modem $704.62 with free ground shipping on Select Dimension Systems over $599 - Link (select the $636 option) Some better components were included by default above the desired specifications (better processor, larger hard drive, better optical drive, etc). Functionally speaking, Media Center and Xp Professional are near equivalent. Any particular reason why they require Xp Professional and 2GB of ram? For most users, both are unnecessary and are two of the largest priced upgrades on a machine at this price point. Not to mention, additional ram could always be added later - especially when the cost of ram drops back down to a reasonable price equilibrium.

Likely the best deals for the immediate future on the E521 are as follows (and expire tonight/tommorrow according to the sales representative I spoke to yesterday): Option 1: http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/667/e521wmonimgwu4.jpg AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+ Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition Upgrade to Windows Vista Home Basic from XP Home, $55 payable at redemption 512MB Single Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz - 1DIMM 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ 16x DVD+/-RW Drive NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE Integrated Graphics GPU Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio 19 inch E197FP Analog Flat Panel 1 Year On-site Economy Plan $549 with free 3 -5 day shipping - Link Option 2: http://img474.imageshack.us/img474/5923/dimene521xq9.jpg (choose E521, then the Dual-Core option, then remove the monitor) AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+ Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition Upgrade to Windows Vista Home Basic from XP Home, $55 payable at redemption 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs 160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ 16X DVD ROM Drive No Monitor NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE Integrated Graphics GPU Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio 1 Year On-site Economy Plan $389 with free 3 -5 day shipping - Link For other the other Small Business deals mentioned above (since I have no plans to make use of the gingerbread4 promotional codes), here is are two more: $380 on select Dell desktops : 72$SKG5?QWNR15 $310 on select laptops : C?T9HFPFV8HK0F While they will unfortunately not help alimfp , perhaps others might make use of them since a few had already posted theirs in this thread. Remember, the two E521 deals posted above expire December 6th or 7th.

"54g 802.11 b/g wireless LAN with 125HSM/SpeedBooster support" GottaDeal laptop comparison chart Compaq support page

Direct link to the video for the lazy (like me). "You snooze... you lose!"

I adore Ross and Brad's sense of humor. Anyone capture the airing for the slackers amongst us (including myself)?

Good thinking, Ross. Was just about to post that. For those that can, attempt to capture the airing so the rest of us can enjoy.

Hope you all are keeping Ross busy on the phone lines. I may allegedly have recorded a conversation regarding pizza, but as Ross didn't sign my legal release form, it cannot be shared. Sorry. ; )

I confess I have been tempted to call the Wal-Mart Hot Deals corporate office, let it begin to ring, call 415-287-DEAL, mute myself, and then listen in on the ensuing confusion and conversation. But this is my week to exercise self-restraint.