The guys over at Dealnews have published a rather nonsensical list that will probably help you discern what exactly is a good buy and what’s not on Black Friday.

1. Know the Price History for the Item
2. Consider Other Colors
3. Compare to Prices on Similar Items
4. Consider Bundle Offers
5. Look for Coupons That Apply to Your Selection
6. Look for a Coupon for Competing Stores
7. Does Shipping Kill the Deal?
8. Don’t Forget Sales Tax

Sounds like common sense, sounds like something we all should already know, but let’s be honest. If you have 16 screaming, kung-fu grip mommies around you grabbing everything around you and you get caught up in the fever of purchasing a $79 dollar point-and-click camera made by a name brand that’s only sold in certain stores and perhaps isn’t the best name brand out there I’m not talking from experience… I’m really not… damn cheap friggin’ camera…

So yes. Head over to Dealnews.com and read the whole article. Who knows, you might be able to save some money on some rather useless camera gadget and buy more bang for the buck.

[ Links: Dealnews - 8 Tips to Get the Best Deals on Black Friday ]

After reading that a lot of my friends had hit up stores, waiting in line until 4am for $300 televisions or $180 laptops or some other madness, I decided to go the other way. I slept in – still suffering from the Thanksgiving food induced coma – and still got some killer deals via online purchases. But even that might pale in comparison to the upcoming Cyber Monday.

Where to go? Here’s a quick list:

Overstock.com – They have sales that have started on Black Friday and will continue through Cyber Monday.
Dealnews.com – Pretty much one of the deal sites that I go to almost daily.
Cyber Monday 2010 – Part of Bradsdeals.com that’s updated quite frequently.
Dealighted.com – A frequently updated list that scours Fatwallet, Slickdeals and other sites.
Top Hot Deal – A collection of heavily discounted Amazon offerings – I found Mad Men Seasons 1-3 on Blu-Ray for $9.99 here.

I’ll add more when I’m able to overcome my tryptophan overdose.

[ Links: Overstock.com, Top Hot Deal, Dealighted.com, Cyber Monday 2010 ]

Whether it breaks the core functionality of the Internet or not, there’s very few ISPs left who aren’t using DNS redirection advertising. The “service” essentially creates an entirely new revenue stream for ISPs, by presenting users with an ad-laden search portal instead of the traditional page not found error when they mistype a URL or enter a non-existent one. Given the money being made by ISPs and operations like OpenDNS, it makes sense that Google today announced they’re jumping into this arena with Google Public DNS.

Like ISPs, Google argues they’re providing an improved “experience,” not simply trying to cash in on clumsy typists:

The average Internet user ends up performing hundreds of DNS lookups each day, and some complex pages require multiple DNS lookups before they start loading. This can slow down the browsing experience. Our research has shown that speed matters to Internet users, so over the past several months our engineers have been working to make improvements to our public DNS resolver to make users’ web-surfing experiences faster, safer and more reliable.

At launch Google says they won’t be utilizing behavioral ad redirection, but given Google’s an ad company – it seems unlikely things will stay that way. Google’s initial sales pitch for the service is about performance, privacy, and general network altruism. Google’s also initially promising not to use the data collected for profit. Ultimately though, the idea they’ll leave billions in user tracking and behavioral ad revenue untouched as the project evolves – seems unlikely. More likely is that, unlike ISPs, Google wants to make a valuable consumer DNS service first – and then prop the project up with revenue at a later date.

For broader context, total DNS server meltdowns used to be a regular occurrence for even the biggest ISP a few years back. Each outage acted as an advertisement for OpenDNS, an operation that’s since become very popular among our users. OpenDNS handles 20 million DNS requests a day, has 15 million users, and generates (as of 2008) $20,000 per day off of ads presented after URL errors.

What keeps customers onboard? OpenDNS offers users a slew of network management options, anti-phishing protection, website filters, and (depending on the DNS servers you were using) a faster browsing experience. As ISPs discovered that OpenDNS was eroding a possible revenue stream (redirection portal ads) and doing a better job at running DNS servers then they were, many ISPs rushed to offer DNS redirection systems of their own – with various degrees of success. < Most ISPs were so blinded by the cash, they implemented the service without adding value, tools, or even informing users. A number of ISPs didn't bother to make sure the "opt out" process worked (cough, Embarq) and others didn’t offer “clean” DNS servers for users who didn’t want to participate. When Earthlink was among the first ISPs to use DNS redirection back in 2006, they mistakenly brushed aside the concerns of “ISP geeks” entirely. DSL Extreme had to scrap their system after user complaints.

More recently, we’re starting to see ISPs smarten up and realize that it’s about more than just making a buck off of mistyped URLs. ISPs are now competing with third party DNS operations. Comcast has interestingly been one of the smarter ISPs on this front, implementing DNS redirection, but also offering users value in terms of a new DNS health portal, clean DNS servers and a functional opt-out process — all documented transparently via the RFC process and with an ongoing conversation with our users.

Google of course belatedly wants to hone in this evolving DNS market, just as they do every other ad market. Google’s entry is a warning shot to ISPs who still haven’t beefed up their DNS servers — or those ISPs that are using DNS redirection but doing a crappy job of it. ISPs should have already figured out that offering great DNS servers and useful DNS tools is now a competitive differentiator. With Google’s entry, ISPs who haven’t should be getting a wake up call shortly.

As for OpenDNS, founder David Ulevitch shares his thoughts on Google’s launch over at OpenDNS. Not too surprisingly, he tries to downplay Google’s move as a threat to OpenDNS, even though the threat is undeniable. It’s not clear what else you can say when the Internet’s most powerful company aims its cannons directly at a niche you’ve been quietly cultivating for half a decade. Honestly, it’s a little surprising it took Google this long to identify that the niche is worth targeting.

Users interested in using Google’s new DNS system can head here for instructions and technical specifics.

Link to the original article…

[ Related: Introducing Google Public DNS ]

Once again, I’ll be sitting back watching the news and surfing the internet while somebody unfortunately gets trampled for a relatively inexpensive gadget somewhere in America. Let’s save some lives as well as some money… the following links will hopefully save both.

Dealnews Black Friday Deals – Some Black Friday deals are already active, more tomorrow
Black Friday 2009 – Another collection of Black Friday deals and announcements of best deals
Dealighted’s Black Friday Deals – True to form, Dealighted.com also has some collected Black Friday Deals online
Fatwallet Black Friday/Cyber Monday Reviews – The great thing about Fatwallet is that the members will outright tell you the pros and cons of the ongoing sales
Black Friday Watcher by Deals2buy.com – Yet another ongoing list of Black Friday sales, with some online sales that aren’t highly publicized
Amazon.com Black Friday Deals – Get your refresh button finger ready… some killer deals indeed pop up there

Even though I joke, who knows… this might just save a life or two. Hope that you get everything that you’re looking for.

[ Related: RTL Deals ]

Dealnews.com [ site here ] is how I start my day. The site collects not only which Apple iPhone apps are free that day or which sales are going on at that moment – some sales are 24-hour only and by the time I read all of my e-mail, I just don’t see them until it is way too late – but in preparation for the Christmas shopping season, Dealnews is collecting any/all of the Black Friday (November 27th) ads available as they come to light [ view here ]

In short, I love Dealnews.com. Combined with the fact they also collect coupons and coupon codes, online sales and specials, you just need to bookmark Dealnews.

[ Dealnews ] [ Dealnews Black Friday ] [ Related: RTL Deals ]

Built out of quality materials, the OtterBox Apple iPhone cases, the Defender Case (pictured above) and other OtterBox Apple iPhone cases are now being offered in the AT&T stores.

Looking to personalize your iPhone™ with stylish and rugged protection? Available only at AT&T, OtterBox announces two custom color options for the Defender™ Series for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, a black shell with white silicone or pink shell with black silicone—ready to take on all the bumps, drops and scratches of life!

With 99 percent coverage to keep your iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS looking new, the OtterBox Defender Series offers three layers.* First, a thin, clear membrane covers the touchscreen to keep it safe from scratches. Second, a tough polycarbonate shell fortifies the iPhone against drops and impact and finally, a silicone skin absorbs shock and keeps dust and dirt out of ports and plugs.

“The OtterBox Defender Series provides iPhone users with the ultimate protection against expensive repairs and replacements,” said Curt Richardson, OtterBox CEO. “It has been our most popular model to date and now customers can find customizable colors through AT&T.”

The Defender sells for $49.95 at the OtterBox online store [ site here ] and in the AT&T stores.

[ OtterBox ] [ AT&T Cell Phone Accessories ]

Link to the original article…

For the last few years, I’ve done my absolute best to avoid Black Friday sales. You’ve all heard the stories… grandmas getting trampled for that $39 DVD player, grown men wrestling over a toy in front of their kids, soccer moms becoming ninjas in the clothing section using hairpins in ways that make even Chuck Norris cringe.

The horror… the horror.

I’m happy just to sit home, ride out my tryptophan overdose and find potentially less dangerous ways to get those hot items online. Sounds lazy, sounds “new age”, but I’d rather avoid getting dropkicked by some geriatric soccer ninja dad with a peg leg for a Tickle Me Elmo.

Here’s a few websites that make my life easier:

Blackfriday.info
Dealnews
Dealighted
The Bargainist

Feel free to share your favorites.

However one word of caution; do not forget that Circuit City is currently in bankruptcy. So be aware if they have any mail-in rebates because you just might not get them. Also Continental Promotion Group, one of the largest rebate processors has gone out of business and even if you get a rebate check back, you might want to avoid cashing it to avoid fees, read more here.