len_mullen

Shopping Spree ($987.94)... Best Buy: Sony Smart 3D WiFi Built-in Blu-ray Player $59.99 Radio Shack: RC Drone w/ Video Camera $34.99 Staples: Amazon Fire TV Wireless Media Streamer $74.99Staples: Asus 11.6" Celeron Laptop w/ 2GB, 32GB, Windows 8.1 $99.99 Staples: WD My Book 3TB Desktop Hard Drive $119.99 Staples: Keurig K145 Office Pro Coffee Brewer w/ Free $20 Gift Card $80.99 ($107.99 - 25% off coupon) Wal-mart: 50" 1080p LED HDTV, Brands May Vary by Store $218.00 Wal-mart: Coleman Spa with Digital Control Panel $299.00

pretty good

If you have (or get) Prime, Fire TV has a nice voice search feature. Best place to get Fire TVs is Staples. $74 on BF is a very good price. It's $84 this week. You can apply $25 off $75, 25% back in rewards, and 20% off coupons with those prices plus you can return it to a B&M if you are unhappy. Same applies for the Roku 3. As for the Roku models, there are a lot of refurbs out there, so you can get a decent discount. The refurbs have the same 90 day warranty as the new units (Fire TV is ony year). Of the 'current' models... - Roku 3 is their flagship. It is 5x faster than the other models. You can plug a set of earbuds into the remote control for private listening. Remote is wifi not line-of-sight (IR) or bluetooth. People have problems with wifi. There is a wired ethernet port as well as a usb port you can plug a disk into. It gets all the updates first. There is no analog audio/composite out for people who want to send that to an older TV or the aux in on their HTIB. - Roku Stick got the new Netflix client with profiles. Only this and the Roku 3 get this. - Roku 1 and Roku 2 are legacy products already, but have analog/composite out if you need it.

The Chromecast might be best for that. With Chromecast, he could browse to the show on a PC or tablet using the Chrome browser then tabcast the content to the Chromecast. If the host (is fast) the mirroring will be fast.

I have a half dozen Rokus. I have recently moved on to Amazon's Fire TV and the most recent streaming device I bought was a Sony BDP-S5100. The reason I stopped buying Rokus is that my favorite -- the Roku 2XS -- has not worked well for three consecutive updates. The device crashes when playing files from Netflix or my Plex server. Things have stabilized, but it still crashes. No other streaming device I own or have ever owned has crashed on my. They are working on another update now, and I fully expect to go through another round of problems. Except for the Roku 3 and their latest stick, Rokus do not and will not support Netflix with profiles. I bought a Fire TV when it came out in April. It's much better hardware than any other streamer. It supports games as well as entertainment and you can plug an XBox controller into the USB port (or a mouse or a keyboard). The Fire TV doesn't have as many apps as the Roku, but they have been adding about two a day and the library sits at 586 this morning. The Fire TV streams all the major services. This week a CBS News channel was added that streams live news and ondemand content. This morning BBC News was added. The last 'streamer' I bought was a Sony BDP-S5100. I chose this simply because it had a sleep timer. Generally, I fall asleep with the television on. It is smart enough to shut itself off when there is no incoming signal. My DVR has a sleep timer. Most streamers are always on, so my TV never shuts off if I fall asleep to something on the Plex server or Netflix. This BD player has a sleep timer and it streams just about everything. It uses the Sony PS3 interface and the Opera app store. http://freetvforme.wordpress.com/2014/10/04/amazon-fire-tv-hands-on http://freetvforme.wordpress.com/2014/10/04/sony-bdp-s5100-review I'm going to try to grab an BDPS5200 for $59.99 at Best Buy or the BDPS3200 for $49.99. You will not find a better streamer in that price range...and they do not reboot in the middle of a movie ;-)

I think this inexpensive laptop with a small form and 8 hour battery life would be great for taking notes in class or working on homework just about anywhere. I might add that $99.99 24" display and a full size keyboard and mouse for working at home, but a lot of people do work on phones and tablets, so this would be better than that. Seems like some posts were pruned from this thread. I wonder if that was related to yesterday's outage or if Brad did not like the sneak peak items piggybacked on his press release,..

This should be a banner year for streaming media. Apple, Chromecast, Fire TV, and Roku streamers will no doubt be under trees as Netflix, Prime, Vudu, and YouTube compete for our eyes. This Topic is a place to discuss the streamers, apps, and services. Best Buy Amazon Fire TV Wireless Media Streamer $74.99 Best Buy Apple TV Wireless Media Player w/ Free $10 Gift Card $89.99 Best Buy Roku Streaming Stick HDMI Adapter w/ Remote $39.99 Best Buy Sony Smart 3D WiFi Built-in Blu-ray Player $59.99 Best Buy Sony Smart WiFi Built-in Blu-ray Player $49.99 Radio Shack Roku Streaming Stick HDMI Version $39.99 Sam's Club Roku HDMI Streaming Stick $39.86 Staples Amazon Fire TV Wireless Media Streamer $74.00 TargetApple TV Wireless Media Player$89.00 TargetSony BDP-S3200 Blu-ray Disc Player with WiFi$49.99 Walmart Roku 1 Streaming Player $28.00 Happy Streaming!

My wife asked me if I would go out and get one of these for her. I will venture out so no one has an excuse to borrow my t100 -- which also has no optical disk ;-)

Well this was fun. It's sad that we could only post five items. So far, my lucky kid has a cool race track, an awesome electric car, an official Red Rider carbine action two hundred shot range model air rifle, and a crazy car. For the grand finale... BURGUNDY RED COMET PEDAL CAR http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/ODE0WDEwNjI=/z/JPcAAOSwEppUNeFp/$_57.JPG My father got one of these which looked a little like his car and repainted it so it looked a LOT like his car -- right down to the license plate. Like all cars built in the 60s, it succumbed to body rot (the plastic electric car is in my attic). Any kid would love a car like this. I did. In fact, I loved every single posted toy. My mother did most of the Christmas work -- decorating, meal, stocking stuffing, and all the little gifts under the tree -- but my father always got the 'big gifts'. They were very memorable. Thanks dad!

Maybe, but I was buying laptops before desktops had optical drives. The venerable IBM 600 series laptop had a removable bay which could hold an optical drive, a floppy drive, a magnetic drive, or an extra battery. While the definition of a laptop may not be precise, wrapping definitions in historical perspective might help. Initially, there were computers which came as components or all-in-one configurations. Then we got portables and 'luggables' which were designed to stand up to the rigors of transportation. The Gavilan SC was the first computer actually marketed as a laptop. Launched in 1984, it ran on batteries and had the familiar clam shell style case and a 400×64 LCD display, but no optical drive. A year later, the first 'IBM compatible' laptop arrived. The Kaypro 2000 had no optical drive. Optical disks did not become important or common until Windows 95. Windows 95 could be installed from optical disk or floppy -- the upgrade version came on 25 floppies. Office Pro came on 30! I believe the first consumer laptops that came with an optical disk were Gateways. Notebook is a nebulous term created by marketing types. Generally, it was supposed to conjure images of increased portability at the expense of power. The Grid Compass (1979) was called a notebook and the Gateway Solo 9100 -- which had a bay for an optical drive -- was called a notebook. Apple produced a 17" notebook! In 1992, Gateway introduced a 'Handbook' which was half the size of a subnotebook. I believe the Asus eee pc was the first netbook (2007). Its key characteristics were size and cost. It did not run on intel iron and ran linux not Windows and had a solid state drive. That was followed by atom based devices which did run some flavor of windows. The tablet has been around since the fifties and Microsoft and Apple both had tablets on the market in the nineties. Generally, any computer which abandons mouse and keyboard in favor of touch and pen is considered a tablet. Of course, now we have computers which use both and tablets have keyboard and mouse accessories. The bottom line is that it doesn't really matter what you call this or any portable computer. You really need to consider and specify the various components. This is definitely not a tablet simply because the keyboard is attached, but I think it's OK to refer to it as a laptop or notebook -- even though its specs more closely track to what you would expect in a tablet.

Could be a special order. Regardless, good hunting and it's probably pretty close even if it isn't THE laptop.

I see nothing to corroborate bribri25's speculation, but, if true, this is a really good deal. I have had a T100 since August and it is a very capable laptop. There's no optical drive, but that is not unusual these days. Performance is very snappy. For $100, I think an 8 hour touchscreen laptop would be welcome under a lot of trees. Looking forward to the ad scans.

Amloid Krazy Kar Ride http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MzQ1WDUwMA==/z/Lv0AAOxy3yNThFVk/$_12.JPG More exercise than Call of Duty. Another great toy from my childhood. I think my great nephew would love this.

Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTUwWDU1MA==/z/~VcAAOSwmUdUU~e7/$_12.JPG What kid would not want a BB gun for Christmas? My father noticed one more thing behind the curtains by the tree many years before Ralphie got his... http://www.wolfgnards.com/media/blogs/photos/art/ralphie-christmas-story.jpg

ANTIQUE MARX 1950'S? 1960'S BATTERY OP 42" STUTZ BEARCAT PEDAL CAR The seller doesn't know what he has. This electric car ran on dry cells that could not be recharged. My father spent an arm and a leg on batteries. I still have the car and here is a picture of my oldest riding mine nearly 20 years ago... Other than new (rechargeable) batteries and the bulb horn, this car is original bumper to bumper. An electric car is a great car for any small child.

Johnny Lightning Topper 1971 Indy 500 Race Set In Box With Orig Cars This is a variation of a toy I had in 1969... http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/45/58/af/4558af0076247c825749af2713cbd8b3.jpg http://hooniverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/johnny-lightning-1970-JCPenneys.jpg http://www.vintagetoysillustrated.com/vintagetoy/forsale/september/2009/TOPPER_TOYS_JOHNNY_LIGHTNING_ROCKET_500_INDY_TRACK_SET_BOX_LID.JPG https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO5QPeSrKsY This race track had a hill (right side of picture) with slide controls. When your car reached the bottom of the hill, you slid the slide control from left to right. A hook would grab the bottom of the car and pull it up the hill. If you moved the slide too fast, the car would lose control and fly off the track. If you moved it too slow, the car would not finish the next lap. This track was a lot more fun that watching hot wheels or squeezing the controller of a slot car set. In the early 70s, Topper went under due to fraud. About the same time, my younger sister toddled through mine breaking a few of the tracks which could not be replaced. In 1994, Playing Mantis bought the rights to some topper toys including Johnny Lightning and a new racing set was introduced. I bought two -- one to play with and one for spare parts. They are still a lot of fun to play with (I still haven't invited my sister to play). My kids and our cats really enjoyed this track. If you know someone who once owned one or would like to make some kid's Christmas very exciting, get one of these tracks. The cars are really unusual and fun to collect. I have a few (a lot really) we play with and even more still in original packaging. When the Johnny Lightning brand was discontinued in 2013, the tracks and cars got a lot more expensive (my tracks were $10 new) and more difficult to find. http://www.entertainmentearth.com/images/AUTOIMAGES/RA50152ABlg.jpg

At any given price point for a given screen size, a plasma will look much better than an LED. Both can have dead pixels or cells. The night before the last superbowl, I paid less than $600 for a 60" 1080p plasma that looks great.

You have to wear pants in most stores.

Walmart I'll probably go out after breakfast on Friday. Walmart announced 20000 rollbacks effective yesterday, so I guess their sale has begun. Last year they opened their doors at 6:00 pm Thursday. That is probably a good guess. Their doors will be open at midnight, so, technically, their Friday sale will begin at 12:00am.

You don't. You could negotiate holidays off as a condition of employment. You could also seek employment in a field that does not require holiday work. If you choose to take a position that requires holiday work, then you ought to do it cheerfully. That's what they pay you for.

Police, firemen, hospital employees, security guards, military personnel, and many, many others work on holidays.

A couple years ago, K-mart announced they would be open Thanksgiving. Since our travel plans would put us near the store at opening time, I decided to stop in. The place looked like a bomb hit it. Turns out Massachusetts would not let its stores open on Thursday, so K-mart kicked off Wednesday night instead. Salem New Hampshire decided to do the same. People who waited in line on T-Day found all the door all the doorbusters gone and no rainchecks. I have not shopped at K-mart since. A sign on the door would have been considerate.

As long as people are willing to work and shop. I wish them all well. I don't think it is my place to prohibit people from doing either. Let the free market prevail!

OP, I also recommend a Kindle Fire. I think you will find the device itself less expensive than most handhelds and the games that are not free (at least once in a while) are very inexpensive. Besides playing games, the Fire can be used to surf the internet, check mail, read books, and do some educational things.

For me, this forum is almost purely social. I enjoy sharing the anticipation of BF with other members and helping people with product selection.