Mike's List 132
How To Survive the New Black Friday
Black Friday ain't what it used to be. In the past three years, it has devolved into a kind of "Gray November," with retailers angling to profit from Black Friday hype by violating the traditional timing of the event and fleecing customers with Big Deals that are really no big deal. That doesn't mean you can't find a really great prices. You can. But you’ve got to know what you’re doing. Black Friday is supposed to take place the day after Thanksgiving, and serve as the official start of the holiday shopping season. For years, most major retailers have opened early in the morning and offered incredible discounts. Black Friday officially takes place this year on Nov. 26. But retailers aren't waiting. Some have launched "pre-Black Friday" events -- Black Friday discounts offered before Thanksgiving. Some of
these, including at Wal-Mart and Best Buy are already in effect -- these stores are offering 32-inch HDTVs for under $300. Target is offering steep "pre-Black Friday" discounts on electronics and other goods starting on the Sunday before Thanksgiving (Nov. 21). Additional savings are available with coupons that will be published that Sunday. Many other retailers started offering prices marketed as "pre-Black Friday" discounts as early as the first weekend of November and in some cases even late October. They're trying to beat the competition by attracting the customers who can't wait. Retailers might be playing a game of wait-and-see. They may advertise actual Black Friday deals at the last minute that are lower than "pre-Black Friday" sales. Or they may not. We’ll have to wait-and-see as well. There are several ways major retailers can trick you into wasting time and money. Here's how they do it -- and how you can beat them at their own game.
Mike Elgan
http://elgan.com
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Why We Don't Need the Word 'Mobile' Anymore
During any product bifurcation, when one product category forks into two, an adjective emerges to describe the new product type. For example, when radios that used transistors emerged in the 1950s, we started to affix the word "transistor" to radio to distinguish "transistor radios" from regular radios, which were vacuum tube-based radios. Around the same time, when color TVs came on the market, TV manufacturers, TV studios and the general public added the word "color" to TV to differentiate from mainstream black-and-white sets. In the early 1990s, when most PCs had no CD player and could only make beep and buzz noises, a new type of PC that offered massive-storage media (CDs) and rich sound and video was called a "multimedia PC" to set these new computers apart from the older kind. We no longer use "transistor" with radio, "color" with TV and "multimedia" with PC. And, for the same reason, we no longer need to use "mobile" with computer or phone.
Five New Solar Gadgets for The Green And/Or Lazy
Solar gadgets add convenience and cut costs. That means you don't have to be motivated by a guilty conscience to embrace them. They're also great for lazy cheapskates. Here are five awesome new solar gadgets that charge themselves (so you don't have to!).
Why Microsoft Is a Friend, Not an Enemy, To Apple
When PC platforms were the central battlefield for technology, Microsoft was Apple’s big threat, hated enemy and all-purpose nemesis. But those days are gone. Yet some Apple Faithful rage on against Redmond like abandoned Japanese soldiers on remote Pacific islands long after the end of WWII. It’s time for those Apple fans to come back to civilization understand what’s really happening now. Microsoft is more a friend than an enemy to Apple.
Why 'nPad' is a Losing Name For an iPad Competitor
Because Apple is already using the brand name iPad, two companies have tried to name their competitive tablets something completely different: The nPad. Not recommended. Here's what happened.
Google Says Apple Is "Closed." But So Is Google Itself!
A war of words between the CEOs of Google and Apple makes for great headlines, but does little to illuminate reality. Google says its Android OS is "open," while Apple's iOS platform is "closed." Apple, on the other hand, claims Android is "fragmented," while iOS is "integrated." They're both right about Apple, at least with their respective spins, but wrong about Google. Google, in fact, is at least as "closed" as Apple.
Why Facebook Places Is Going Nowhere
Facebook Places has no mojo. No juice. No momentum. In still other words -- from the Facebook movie "The Social Network" -- Facebook Places isn't cool. So why are they trying to monetize it? And why is that monetization scheme itself so uncool?
Why Microsoft's Mall of America Store Will Fail
Software giant Microsoft plans to open a new retail store Nov. 6 in Minnesota’s gigantic Mall of America — directly opposite from the Apple Store. Microsoft’s Mall of America store will be much larger than the Apple Store across the walkway — reportedly 8,600 total square feet and 5,200 of which devoted to public showroom. And it will be a lot bigger than Microsoft’s existing retail stores in Scottsdale, Ariz., Lone Tree, Colo., and Mission Viejo and San Diego, Calif. (Apple has 310 stores.) The new Microsoft store will mimic Apple’s shiny modern industrial wood, metal and glass architectural style. Employees will high-five customers as they stream in on Day One. There will be computers and tablets and smart phones displayed. Microsoft’s strategy for competing technologies has always been to “embrace and extend.” The strategy for retail appears to be “copy and outspend.” Here's why that strategy will fail.
Let's Stop Comparing the HP Slate to the iPad!
HP released its Slate 500 tablet this week. Immediately, everyone is comparing it with Apple's iPad. But the two devices have nothing significant in common. They can even be thought of as opposites. The differences are of class, interface, generation, usability, market, application model and vision. Read my case here for why it's absurd and misleading to compare the Slate with the iPad.
Original Apple for Sale
You can still buy the original Apple computer. No, I mean the ORIGINAL: The very first Apple computer Steve Jobs sold, built by Steve Wozniak in Jobs' parent's garage, is going to be auctioned off at Christie's in London on November 23. Powered by 8k of RAM, it originally cost $666.66, but is expected to fetch $242,000.
Neologasms
n. A psychological disorder characterized by anxiety over being away from an Apple music player. box exhaustion
n. The feeling that there are just too many "boxes" attached to TV sets -- Blu-ray player, cable box, Apple TV, laptops, etc. discount seduction
n. When you enter a store for one thing, and end up spending a lot because everything is so cheap.
Found Video
It's a really bad idea to text while driving. A motorcycle. While lying on your back. You won't believe how relaxed this Indian motorcyclist is about texting on the highway.
Unfortunate Ad Placement
This is an outrage! I happened to know that the Queen of England is NOT Spanish.
Wacky Web Sites
Mystery Pic
What is it? Post your guess in the comments area below! If you're first with the right answer, you'll earn the dubious honor of getting your name in the next issue of Mike's List! (You must include your name and city to "win"!) Note: The answer will be revealed *exclusively* in the next e-mail subscription version of this newsletter.
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