 Who Killed Black Friday?
Don't look now, but Black Friday is dead.
Use of the term Black Friday to refer to the first day of the holiday shopping season goes all the way back to 1965. Its more modern connotation as the day when you can get the very lowest prices on consumer electronics, computers and other products, stems from the 1990s. Black Friday is also assumed to be the biggest shopping day of the year.
Welcome to November, 2009. Black Friday is none of these things.
The holiday shopping season began before Halloween this year. Low prices are everywhere. And Black Friday hasn't  been the biggest shopping day of the year since 2005.
The headlines say it all: "Wal-Mart and Its Rivals Have Left Black Friday Behind"; "Retailers Are Making 'Black Friday' A Month-Long Effort"; "Black Friday 2009 Has Begun and Begun Early"; and "'Black Friday' Sales Being Pushed Sooner."
Go here to find out how to get the lowest prices on consumer electronics. computers and gadgets -- without getting up early and fighting the crowds on Black Friday!
Online publishing for the cheap and lazy
I'm a lazy cheapskate. And I'm often on the move. But as a columnist, I'm also interested in exposing as many readers as possible to my brilliant insights -- which means I should engage in social media and online publishing. What to do? I've finally figured out how to publish just about everywhere online -- social media, a blog and a newsletter -- at very low cost and with almost no effort. Here's how I do it.
Are you ready for a Windows 7 cell phone?
A customizable cell phone called the xpPhone will be available running the full desktop version of Windows 7 (or Windows XP or DOS). The idea with this phone is that it's a build-to-order device, like a Dell PC. Go here for details.
Would you sleep in a box?
What if it had clean sheets, high-def TV and Wi-Fi? A design firm called Arch Group has created concept illustrations for airport sleep pods they call "Sleep Boxes." Sheets are changed robotically. Each pod provides personal work space, with a table for your laptop and electrical outlets. It also includes sound alerts, a ventilation system, TV, Wi-Fi, luggage space.
Google to provide free Wi-Fi at airports during holidays
Google announced that the company is picking up the tab for your Wi-Fi at major airports across the United States starting now through January 15.
Can gadgets be too small, cheap and feature rich?
Everybody knows mobile gadgets get smaller, cheaper and more feature-rich over time. But at what point are they too small, cheap or functional? When netbooks are smaller than cell phones, they pay you $100 to take cell phones out of the store, and when pocket-size accessories no longer fit in your pocket, I'd say gadgets have become too small, cheap and feature rich!
Digital camera improves your golf swing
The Exilim Casio EX-FS10 ships with a feature that helps you analyze your golf swing.
Everyone loves giant, public error messages!
PCmag.com editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff snapped this picture in New York's Times Square.
Device lets you evesdrop on conversations in the next room
The online catalog ChinaGrabber.com is selling a $62.99 device for listening to conversations in the next room. It's basically the old cup-against-the-wall trick, but electronically enhanced.
New mouse has 18 buttons!
The OpenOfficeMouse mouse has 18 -- count 'em 18! -- programmable buttons, which collectively support 52 key commands. The mouse is designed to support OpenOffice.org applications, including default profiles for Writer, Calc, Impress, Base, and Draw. The monster mouse has three different button "modes." The left side of the mouse has an Xbox-style joystick. This company knows how to build mouse functionality. They just don't know when to stop.
Bathroom scale rats you out, tweets your weight
A French company called Withings has added the dubious "feature" to its wireless bathroom scale of broadcasting your weight to Twitter.
Toothbrush with built-in spy cam 'ideal for CIA agents'
A cheap-ass $243 pinhole spy camera built into a counterfeit Oral-B toothbrush is now on sale at disreputable spy shops everywhere. It records AVI video at VGA resolution, and has 8 GB internal memory. The best bit: The project page says it's "ideal for CIA agents."
Real calculators look just like the ones in Windows, Mac
A designer has created a concept called the OS Calculator, which is a real calculator that looks like a software one. Concepts include the standard Windows and Mac calculators.
News You Can Lose
Communist Chinese government blacklists Yahoo, places them on 'vulgar content' list.
Blockbuster is testing the rental of movies on SD cards.
Big Baker Is Watching You: Panera Bread blocks Bit.ly links over its free Wi-Fi.
Worried about H1N1? "Touch Sticks" let you type without touching.
Cell Phone Follies
American and Australian scientists are working on software that will listen to you , and diagnose what ails you by comparing the sound of your cough against a database of cough sounds associated with various health problems.
Chinese Communist propaganda iPhone app gets over 500,000 users. Why?
AT&T promised iPhone tethering "soon" more than one year ago.
Gotta-Get-It Gadgets
This incredibly tiny netbook runs any version of Windows, including Windows 7, and also Linux. It's powered by an Intel Atom Z530, and has a 4.8-inch screen. The freakishly small netbook was spotted at the recent Hong Kong Electronic Fair.
Whacky Web Sites
A blog devoted entirely to horrible hair: Don't Judge My Hair
Think Jim Carrey is weird and extreme? Wait 'till you see his web page: Jim Carrey's Official Site
This blog chronicles bad repair jobs. No, I mean really bad: There, I Fixed It
Mystery Pic o' the Week
What is it? Post your guess here! 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!
 LAST WEEK'S MYSTERY PIC: No, it's not a phone "crash test," an episode of mythbusters or even the Hulk trying to upgrade his laptop with Windows 7 as suggested by some readers. In fact, it's a cell phone being blasted through a wall as part of a photoshoot for the French gaming magazine, Amusement. Congratulations to Eric Sandbach for being first with the right answer.
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