So Turkey Day has come and gone for another year here in the good old U-S-of-A, but what comes next might be even better — at least from a geek’s perspective.
That’s right, it’s Black Friday once again, and the tech shopping deals are ripe for the picking.
Who has time to worry about Novell, Attachmate, Microsoft or all those vulnerable newly acquired patents? And that next round of the ages-old “Year of Linux on the Desktop” debate will just have to wait. There’s shopping to be done!
Linux Girl is considering an excursion into the netbook waters this year, and is now gathering her strength for the adventure down at the blogosphere’s Broken Windows Lounge.
It might take more than a few Peppermint Penguins to make that happen, of course. In the meantime, she couldn’t resist asking her fellow geeks what their own shopping plans entailed.
‘A Couple of Blu-ray Players’
“I’m considering a new AMD(ATI) video card now that they actually have decent Linux drivers,” Montreal consultant and Slashdot blogger Gerhard Mack told Linux Girl.
On the other hand: “The holiday season is coming, so I suspect I’ll be giving a couple of blu-ray players as presents,” offered Barbara Hudson, a blogger on Slashdot who goes by “Tom” on the site.
After all, “DVD is kind of dying,” Hudson pointed out, adding, “… must … resist … BSD … comparison …”
‘A KVM Switch’
Some time in the new year, meanwhile — “probably the spring — it will be time to start looking for a second DTR (desktop replacement) laptop,” Hudson mused. “Before then, the old desktop is going to go into another room, where I don’t have to hear it.
“It’s done — it’s 7 years old, has been through the mid-life upgrade cycle, and now it’s time to go into semi-retirement,” she explained.
“In the meantime, a KVM switch is on my shopping list,” Hudson added. “I like the lack of fan noise from a good laptop, but I hate the keyboards; even though my 17-inch laptop has a full-sized keyboard, I won’t use it unless I’m stuck some place with no usb keyboard hanging around.”
‘As Long as I Can Install Linux’
Hudson’s needs are nothing if not modest, she pointed out.
“The display doesn’t have to be full HD,” she explained. “It will only be used as a secondary screen, so either 1440×900 (my current laptop) or 1600×900 is ‘good enough.’
“As long as it has a second drive bay so I can install linux on it, I’ll be happy,” Hudson concluded.
‘Blu-ray with Netflix’
Blu-ray also figured prominently in Hyperlogos blogger Martin Espinoza’s plans.
“Black Friday has been so diluted as to make me not care at all,” Espinoza began.
Nevertheless, “if I can find an inexpensive Blu-ray player with Netflix support, I might play anyway, but I don’t have any particular product in mind,” he said. “Sure would be nice to get Netflix on Linux, which is already working as a binary blob on some Linux-based systems…”
‘A Really Nice 14MP Camera’
Slashdot blogger hairyfeet was one of the early birds this year, and has already purchased what he wanted.
“Gotta looove those pre-Black Friday online sales, as I already got mine done!” hairyfeet told Linux Girl gleefully. “Got my baby a really nice 14MP camera WITH case AND SD card for just (US)$68 with shipping!”
Now that that’s done, “I’m helping my dad navigate his first Black Friday online with his hunt for a new TV,” hairyfeet added.
‘A 1TB External Drive’
“I tried to talk him into an LG or Vizio, as they have better prices, but he has his heart set on the Sony Bravia,” hairyfeet explained. “I can’t blame him, as it IS a nice set, and he wants to pay the extra for it. He should still get a good $100 off thanks to Black Friday.”
Of course, “I had to get me a… little something” as well, hairyfeet admitted — “I wouldn’t be much of a geek otherwise, LOL!”
Specifically, “I picked up a 1TB external drive,” he said. “Really nice and you can’t have enough space.”
‘I Know Santa Still Loves Me’
As Linux Girl was gearing up to set off bravely on her own shopping adventure, blogger and educator Robert Pogson was still full of hopes of his own.
“I keep sending shopping lists up the chain of command, but often there is no reply — not even a lump of coal,” Pogson lamented.
However, “I know Santa still loves me because from time to time something I did not request comes through the door, like shipments of PCs.”
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