kren

My hubby is a complete Luddite. Hates computers with a passion (talk about opposites!). He's the type to write in Word, surf the internet and check his e-mail -- that's it. Maybe open a video on YouTube once or twice a day. He is scared to death of my Mac and is resisting change like ... some people I could mention, but won't :) Anyway, I am saving up to change our entire household (three computers) over to Mac. I will let you know how it goes. But I envision smooth sailing. Once he gets used to maybe three things that he does automatically on Windows that are different on Macs (like how to close a program), he will only notice how little he notices his computer! It's seamless. I agree, though. If you have programs in Windows that you would need to buy in Mac, you need to factor that in -- or find alternates. I use shareware Mac word-processing programs because I don't want to buy Office again. I save them as Word documents, and nobody's the wiser. The one thing that I'm bummed about is Photoshop -- I just can't afford the buy, and my copy on the PC is so old I get no upgrade.

Update -- I bought her the DS today, the 25% off deal that includes the $29.99 game and $29.99 accessory. And my friend, who works at TRU, came along and we used his employee card. Whole thing, including tax, came to $141. I'm happy. She'd better be <g>

I realize this probably isn't helping the original questioner, who just wants to get a serviceable computer at the best price, but we Mac converts can't help ourselves. I don't mean to belabor the point either, but I'm a PC geek from the 80s, built my own computers, loved tinkering in the innards, and absolutely looked down my nose at Mac people all that time. When things go wrong on a Mac, I used to tell them, all you get is a frowny face or the infamous bomb. No way to do anything about it. I liked getting into the system files, writing my own batch files, etc etc (this is well before the days of the Windows registry). I also have stayed overnight to get the cheapie PC laptops at BF -- my last one was 2006. It's not that anything horrible went wrong with anything I ever owned, but I gotta tell y'all - I am SICK TO DEATH of being the IT department at my house. Sick of struggling to kill viruses, keep software updated, remove spyware, and on and on. Sick of incomprehensible dialog boxes, and unexplained crashes. Sick of bloated software that eats up the hard drive every six months unless you add/remove programs. You get the idea. Last Christmas I swallowed hard and spent $1800 on a MacbookPro. It was the first time I'd ever used one for longer than two minutes. I will NEVER go back!!! It's October, and the computer has not crashed. I have never seen any kind of virus warning. Whenever there are software updates, the computer asks once if I want to install them, and then does it in the background and I never hear about it again. The commercials are right: It just works. If you're also sick of Windows but hesitant because of the cost and the unfamiliarity and want to go slowly, buy the Mini, use your old monitor, keyboard and mouse (I use a MSoft mouse), and spend the $600. I have the dual-boot option with Leopard (that's the operating system name), but I have never seen the need to go over to Windows. It's a nice safety net and psychologically, it helps a Windows user, but jeez, why go back? It's awful over there! I know, because I have to use Windows at work every night, where it's back to the crashes, the screen freeze-ups, the updates and the warning notices. Sorry to go on and on. I realize it's OT. But seriously, the time you spend waiting in line on BF to buy a low-end laptop could be better used enjoying your Mac!

excellent news! i'll head there tomorrow!!! thank you so much!

It's all out of stock online. !@#$^()*$&^#*$& My daughter's b'day is this weekend!!!!!!!! Does anyone know if the offer is online only? I read the fine print online and it does NOT say that. Maybe I shld try the B&M stores?

Yeah, you're right -- the obsolescence is probably not going to matter as much as my physical PAIN when the darn thing goes for half-price sometime soon! Aiyeeee!

My timing is HORRIBLE. Daughter turns 7 this weekend. Toys R Us just reinstituted its 25% off sale (if you buy a $29.99 game and a $29.99 accessory). I thought I was golden, though I was sad I would miss whatever BF deal comes along. But then! Then! There's this story, which says a successor is coming to market by the end of the year. I'm buying something that'll be obsolete in no time! Blech! http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10053046-1.html

If you can wait, the bean bookbags do go on sale at pretty steep discounts. I got the "junior" rolling bookbag -- gecko design -- for $35. I had paid $20 or so every year for bookbags that invariably had broken straps and zippers by the end of the year and I figured it was time to pay more for a bookbag that, if it ever breaks in any way, can be returned for a free replacement, no questions asked. It's a lifetime guarantee -- can't beat it.

Yeah, I'm not that impressed. Even if the regular prices are good, and not inflated (which TRU is), it's only 33% off. I don't get outta bed for 33% off!!!!

couldn't get it to take off the $10...

I've been looking for a larger shadowbox for years; ACMoore and Michaels don't have larger sizes (From memory, I'm thinking about 30" tall by 18" or so.) It's for an antique Indonesian shadow puppet. If anyone can think of a place that would sell such a thing premade, great -- but I've pretty much resigned myself to a custom framing job, which never seems to make it to the top of the priority list when we've had $$!!

Yes, please don't post things for sale from this company. They're completely criminal.

I also got tons of the toiletries (bubble bath, foot scrub, lotion and body wash) for a quarter apiece. In clothes -- men's shorts are 75% off and I picked up three pairs for hubby for $5-$6 apiece. It was such a good deal I went back today and got me a pair!! The women's shorts also are 75% off, but they were picked over pretty good.

bumping this. someone on another site actually posted one of their new e-mail deals

Have you looked into outdoor wood furnaces? I'm not a fan of the wood-burning stove indoors, mainly because it's so huge and intrusive, unless you're decorating in the rustic style, it really looks out of place (at least to me; don't mean to offend anyone). http://www.woodmaster.com/ We built 10 years ago, and while we were ahead of our time in terms of looking into all the alternative energy sources, we were *not* ahead of our time in terms of the money we had to build with <g>. What I mean is that the alternative sources are EXPENSIVE. Geothermal would've been about 20 grand back then. Solar wasn't an option for us (we're also in the woods) and wind wasn't at all an option because we get little wind in the mountainous ravine where we live. This outdoor wood furnace, which can hook into existing forced hot air ductwork, is not that expensive, and we're seriously considering getting one this season.

I was all set to commit to a DS after getting advice here last week, but then we were in Target two days ago and my DD, age 6.11, saw the Didj by LeapFrog. Looks like a DS, but has educational pretensions. Anyone else get one of these? She LOVED it (but loves everything, so I'm not yet convinced)

You don't have to have a CC on file with them. They saved your CC info when you ordered. If you haven't been hit yet, count your blessings. I don't know for sure, but the fraud may have stopped because of all the complaints people have filed. But just because you didn't save any profile info like a CC with them doesn't mean they didn't have it.

Somewhere in the Poconos

You'd be CRAZY to order from that company.

I tried to find a number at their site last night to contact them and there isn't one. So I filled out their online form demanding restitution, then contacted my bank via online form. Today my bank has deactivated my debit card, but get this -- classiccloseouts put through ANOTHER $69.99 charge last night after receiving my complaint!!!! Total is now $139.98. I'm spending all freaking day dealing with this now.

OMG, I just saw this warning and checked a month back and they got my debit for $69.99. BASTARDS! I'm upset it took me a month to discover it (I had vacation & family visits & barely paid bills at all in the past month, but that's no excuse)... now I probably will have to eat it. I haven't ordered anything from them in at least two years.

thanks, melissaS -- was this recently?

I hear on the news that toy prices are going to be higher this Christmas as manufacturers and retailers try to absorb the energy hikes. So I'm beginning to look for gift deals earlier than usual... Playmobil -- not made in China, so it's one of my top priorities -- is always hard to find on sale. Anyone seen good deals lately? And does anyone use one of those e-mail alert services to find out bargains? Thanks!

OK, has anybody heard of www.discountthemeparkvacations.com? They have a "buy two one-day passes to seaworld, get two passes free" deal for $57 for each ticket. That would be $104 for four tix to Sea World ... pretty much unbeatable. They have nothing showing online about Aquatica, though. If anyone can vouch for their credibility, I will take the time to call them and see what else they offer.

Conj, we only were planning to go to Sea World one day and the waterpark on a second day (if we decide to go that route at all). But my mom lives only an hour away; the concept of unlimited admission started sounding pretty good when we thought about it -- you know, mosey on over for an afternoon and not feel like we're on the Bataan Tourist Death March, having to fit everything in or else. Rachaelb, thanks for the eBay tip -- I will check it out! And I don't think a passport is for us, since we won't be back in Florida this year.... am I right?