The Science Behind Black Friday Madness

[27Thousand]

So I've been looking at all these ads and it appears there's all this cool stuff being sold Friday morning, some of it is on major clearance at many stores. Is anyone into Black Friday?

I'm thinking that I'm going to wait in line at Walmart at 10 PM tonight; they open the path to their goods 5AM Friday. There's quite a few laptops on super clearance at Walmart, and I'm looking at one in particular.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Make sure its a decent laptop. The last time I was looking at walmart for a laptop and found one on sale for a great price the sales guy himself warned me off of it saying that the processor was so slow it could only barely run Windows.

I went one year to look for Black Friday bargains. Just looking at the lines changed my mind. I am claustrophobic. One of the places I looked had a line going through the store so you pretty much had to stand in line waiting to get to what ever section you wanted so you could pass by looking to see if there was anything you wanted and then continue on in line until you reached the register to pay. Not really, but that's what it looked like from outside. ;-)

 

[Evo]

I don't leave the house on black friday. Stay up all night with crazy people so that you can get stampeded and fight over substandard one-off items called 'derivitives' in the industry?

 

[pzona]

There's nothing I love more than not participating in Black Friday sales. The only thing I like about it is the high demand for security at places like WalMart. I'm going in around 1 tonight, staying till 9, and making $9.50 an hour. Being a poor college student, it's a pretty good way to make some quick money.

 

[mcknia07]

I used to go out shopping, our family made it a girls day. I loved it! Still do, but work and school are more important to me... though, I asked mom if she would go with me She has to get Christmas ideas for me, I'm a hard one to buy for.

Dad is going to be one of them that go to Office Depot before they even open. They are having an awesome deal on a computer and the store only has 4 of them. He's not one to do that but, it's super cheap and a nice one at that.

 

[Monocerotis]

most of the stuff at best buy is marked up as high as 400%

you're buying it for a lot cheaper on "black friday" but you're still getting ripped off

you can get these "amazing" prices at tiger direct any day of the year

 

[Moonbear]

I usually do my best to avoid being anywhere near a mall on Black Friday. Usually I just stay home that day, but tomorrow I'll be on the road back home for a reunion (and now I'm wondering why I ever decided to do this...maybe because I don't look as fat, gray-haired and old as all the former cheerleaders do now ). One part of the trip will be a bit dicey, since I can't avoid passing a big outlet mall on the way, which is close to a regular mall. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it's not too horrendous by the time I'm passing there in the early afternoon. The rest of the travel route is planned to avoid malls.

I'm going to also try to avoid exchanging any gifts this year so nobody has to go out shopping. I'm accomplishing this by not giving my mom or sister my mailing address. I know, I'm an awful daughter. My mom has no idea where I live now. I just keep conveniently forgetting to give her my address when she asks. At some point I'll have to give it to her, but I hope I can at least get past the holidays first.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I get off work at 7am. Hopefully there won't be too much traffic. Where I live there's a mall or major outlet store within a stones throw no matter where you are.

 

[Chi Meson]

My plan for "Black Friday" is to wash my siding.whee

 

[Monique]

My friday will be sparkling (I'm scrubbing the house)

 

[27Thousand]

Okay, I don't know if I should really call it a fun experience, but it was extremely well worth it. I got in line at Walmart 10:30PM last night, and was 3rd in line for the laptop I wanted. It seemed like a very long 6 1/2 hours. However I got what I wanted, and that laptop line filled up fast! The laptop seems to be working smoothly so far. I bought my last one in 2005, so I guess anything in 2009 runs much better.

Then after that I went to Best Buy and bought Civilization IV for 1/4 of the price it normally is.

It was a little humorous watching the Walmart customers though. I don't know if the better metaphor is that they were wild pack animals, or wild pirahnas! Or when I would see a worker shout "HEY!" at some customers, and the customers would keep at it.

 

[leroyjenkens]

I just look forward to the videos online of people acting like animals to get a few bucks off of something they don't need.

 

[cristo]

Okay, I don't know if I should really call it a fun experience, but it was extremely well worth it. I got in line at Walmart 10:30PM last night, and was 3rd in line for the laptop I wanted. It seemed like a very long 6 1/2 hours. However I got what I wanted, and that laptop line filled up fast! The laptop seems to be working smoothly so far. I bought my last one in 2005, so I guess anything in 2009 runs much better.

You queued 6 1/2 hours just for a laptop? I hope it was more or less free!

 

[Chi Meson]

I've finished powerwashing about 1/2 of my house. That's enough for now.

Let's go shopping!

 

[hypatia]

I went early and got portable DVD players for the grandkids. RCA 7 inch screens for 40 dollars each, which was a good deal. I ended up getting some good deals on winter dog coats too.

 

[turbo]

No shopping today! My wife and I made turkey soup and I took some to a friend and to my father. We made snacks of chicken, beans, etc, rolled up in wonton wrappers and baked. Very nice with habanero salsa. Black Friday is snacks, soups, and relaxation.

 

[Ben Niehoff]

I'm staying home today. My girlfriend has to work. :\

I suppose my job today is to deal with the aftermath of last night...namely, our kitchen is a disaster area! :P

 

[physics girl phd]

No shopping for us... We went bowling! (This is the first time I've gone bowling in years, and my natural body action is now back-and-forth baby-swaying... so don't ask my scores... )

 

[Moonbear]

I ended up getting some good deals on winter dog coats too.

All the dogs I ever had grew their own winter coats. They even shed enough to share an extra coat with someone else if it was needed.

 

[turbo]

All the dogs I ever had grew their own winter coats. They even shed enough to share an extra coat with someone else if it was needed.

My dog sheds enough that every couple of days, I sweep up enough hair to completely populate my neighbor's Pomeranian. It's funny - the owner is the town's fire-chief and he trucks pulp-wood and logs for a living. Big burly guy who takes his ferret-sized dog everywhere. She's about 1-1/2#. My dog likes her, but can knock her over just by giving her a "kiss" with his tongue, so she's appropriately cautious of his attention.

 

[Evo]

Okay, I don't know if I should really call it a fun experience, but it was extremely well worth it. I got in line at Walmart 10:30PM last night, and was 3rd in line for the laptop I wanted. It seemed like a very long 6 1/2 hours. However I got what I wanted, and that laptop line filled up fast! The laptop seems to be working smoothly so far. I bought my last one in 2005, so I guess anything in 2009 runs much better.

Then after that I went to Best Buy and bought Civilization IV for 1/4 of the price it normally is.

It was a little humorous watching the Walmart customers though. I don't know if the better metaphor is that they were wild pack animals, or wild pirahnas! Or when I would see a worker shout "HEY!" at some customers, and the customers would keep at it.

How cheap was the computer? I got an e-mail from HP the other day, the Compaq Presario, regular price $349.99.

 

[Choronzon]

Two years ago on Black Friday I was driving down the road minding my own business when this old woman in a huge Cadillac sideswiped me as she was pulling out of a Wal-Mart. The officer asked her if she had seen me in the road when she pulled out, and she told him that "She had to get to Target quick."

I haven't left the house before 9:00 PM Black Friday since.

 

[hypatia]

All the dogs I ever had grew their own winter coats. They even shed enough to share an extra coat with someone else if it was needed.

Lol, that's true enough, but the corgi is only 12 inches tall at the shoulders. So it has more to do with keeping the wet mess off the dog. And of course you can't get something for one dog and not get it for the other.

 

[Chi Meson]

Awesome day! My siding is clean and I just got back from a free They Might be Giants concert at one of our local casinos, and it's still just 10 PM and I can still get me some good prices on some useless crap!

What a country!

 

[Evo]

Awesome day! My siding is clean and I just got back from a free They Might be Giants concert at one of our local casinos, and it's still just 10 PM and I can still get me some good prices on some useless crap!

What a country!

Oooh, I love They Might be Giants!

 

[noblegas]

I really don't see why black friday is relevant anymore. You can find cheap stuff online that would otherwise seem costly in conventional stores and even "cheap" departmart stores like wal-mart throughout the year and not just on black friday.

 

[JasonRox]

Best way to save is not to buy. We don't need all that junk.

People have bought me stuff for Christmas the past few years and I gave pretty much all of it away. And when they give it to me, I actually do say "When am I ever going to use this?" (LOL, I just typed in a $ $ sign. Yes, typing LaTeX all day.)

Everything in my apartment is free...

The Lamp Table
The TV
The Bed
The Carpet
The Vacuum
The Single Couch
The Microwave
The Toaster Over
The Dresser
The Closet
The Coffee Table
The Towels
The Plates and Bowls and all my kitchen stuff

(All things people offered to give me and I took.)

I vowed not to buy any junk until I own a place to live (no mortgage).

I don't think I'll live up to that but I'll try.

Note: I do spend lots on vacations. Spent close to $9000 on vacations in 2008, for one person.

 

[27Thousand]

How cheap was the computer? I got an e-mail from HP the other day, the Compaq Presario, regular price $349.99.

$198 for a laptop, don't confuse with netbooks which are only 10" screen/crammed up keyboard/no DVD drive. The one I bought at Walmart was 2GB RAM, 160GB Hard Drive, 64 bit, 15.6" screen, Windows 7 Home Premium (none of that 7 Starter or XP stuff that some of the same priced netbooks have). It also came with the DVD burner, which most netbooks at $300 don't get.

As far as why I considered it an excellent deal:

Basically I bought a laptop in 2005 for $900, 0.5 GB RAM and 60 GB Hard Drive. Then earlier this year the power jack gave out. I went to many stores and all of them gave me quotes of $200-250 to open it up and fix. I finally got it fixed because I needed something. Then two months later the same hardware power jack problem happened. Think about it this way, if you were in that situation you probably would think it wouldn't be worthwhile to pay another $200 over and over again.

So check this out, right before Black Friday I saw many ads for netbooks which were normally $300, but marked down to $200, with 1GB RAM, only 10" screens, Windows XP, and no DVD drives/burner. Many editors from review sites said that many Black Friday specials were rip offs, but that the Acer Aspire One netbook for $200 was good quality for the price. I thought to myself that could be an excellent temporary fix until finances are better later on. However, then I CAUGHT EYE of the laptop at Walmart (manufacturer's website http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eME627-5279 ) marked down to the same price as those netbooks, so I was very excited. Yes maybe it wasn't one of those 6GB RAM 720GB Hard Drive Black Friday specials, but I was very excited. Comparing it to the $900 laptop I bought in 2005, it works extremely well (64 bit and 2GB RAM) and Windows 7 I like. Although it doesn't have the dual processor, I compared the processor to the netbooks which were rated as great budget Black Friday buys, and the processor is just as good specification wise, and the 64 bit is better than much of what I use anyway, plus add the 2GB RAM to the picture for $200.

 

[27Thousand]

Another reason I felt good about buying this computer is I went to PC Magazine where the editors said about eMachines:

"eMachines' low-cost PCs are less likely to need repairs than systems from any other vendor save Apple. Whereas only 9 percent of eMachines desktops less than a year old needed repairs, according to readers, the rates of comparably new systems from Dell and Gateway needing repairs were 11 and 15 percent, respectively. Only 1 percent of all eMachines systems needed to be replaced. This translates into a lower cost of doing business, which helps keep prices down."

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1623601,00.asp"

 

[27Thousand]

I really don't see why black friday is relevant anymore. You can find cheap stuff online that would otherwise seem costly in conventional stores and even "cheap" departmart stores like wal-mart throughout the year and not just on black friday.

That may be true for many items, however when I went to shopping.com and looked at the stuff I wanted I couldn't find it for cheaper. Websites which sell for cheaper than what shopping.com can give you often have reviews of selling people things without telling them they removed the warranty, etc, to make it cheaper (which is not good if you want expensive electronic goods). I've also bought things online before from newegg/other places that people say they like, and then found it a problem when you open it up and your electronic device has a defect. Many online places say you still have pay the shipping/handling when returning something defective, along with many places you not knowing if you've gotten a "real" warranty with it (I've even called manufacturers before and they say many online sites they won't honor the warranty because it's in their own contract, even if the seller's website says so that doesn't mean so).

 

[magpies]

I'm amazed that system can run windows sorry :(

 

[27Thousand]

I'm amazed that system can run windows sorry :(

2GB RAM 64 bit computer seems to be more smooth than any $300-400 1GB RAM 160 HD netbooks people have let me try out, and definitely better compared to my 2005 laptop. Windows 7 is also definitely better than XP.

It's definitely a better deal than paying $200 to fix the power jack on my 2005 computer to get it so it can charge with electricity again (so either $200 for the new and much much better laptop, or to fix the laptop I paid $900 for in 2005).

 

[Equate]

I've also bought things online before from newegg/other places that people say they like, and then found it a problem when you open it up and your electronic device has a defect.

Don't you badmouth NewEgg! The most awesomest (yes, with an "st") store EVER!

 

[Equate]

I'm amazed that system can run windows

Me too...

 

[Pengwuino]

LORDY I just saw a news story about the black friday nonsense here and it was quite... weird. One person being interviewed was saying he bought 2 ipods, 2 digital cameras, 2 flat screen tv's, and 2 of something else expensive. What the hell, we had 17% unemployment and people are just going nuts! One guy was even saying he just buys all his electronics for the year plus his christmas gifts.

I guess "tough times" means many different things to many different people!

 

[JasonRox]

LORDY I just saw a news story about the black friday nonsense here and it was quite... weird. One person being interviewed was saying he bought 2 ipods, 2 digital cameras, 2 flat screen tv's, and 2 of something else expensive. What the hell, we had 17% unemployment and people are just going nuts! One guy was even saying he just buys all his electronics for the year plus his christmas gifts.

I guess "tough times" means many different things to many different people!

This is why I say good economic times are far away.

Canadian and Americans need to review their spending habits. I think that's a key element.

 

[leroyjenkens]

One person being interviewed was saying he bought 2 ipods, 2 digital cameras, 2 flat screen tv's, and 2 of something else expensive.

Yeah, you know, essentials.

 

[27Thousand]

Best way to save is not to buy. We don't need all that junk.

People have bought me stuff for Christmas the past few years and I gave pretty much all of it away. And when they give it to me, I actually do say "When am I ever going to use this?" (LOL, I just typed in a $ $ sign. Yes, typing LaTeX all day.)

Everything in my apartment is free...

The Lamp Table
The TV
The Bed
The Carpet
The Vacuum
The Single Couch
The Microwave
The Toaster Over
The Dresser
The Closet
The Coffee Table
The Towels
The Plates and Bowls and all my kitchen stuff

(All things people offered to give me and I took.)

I vowed not to buy any junk until I own a place to live (no mortgage).

I don't think I'll live up to that but I'll try.

Note: I do spend lots on vacations. Spent close to $9000 on vacations in 2008, for one person.

And you're absolutely right. So from my perspective, rather than spend $200 to fix my 2005 laptop which is already out of date or $1200 to buy an excellent laptop, I just spent $200 to get a laptop on a major sale that comes with 2GB RAM, 160GB Hard Drive, 16 bit, 15" screen, DVD burner, with Windows 7 Home Premium. Just checking it out, I should be plenty content for a while, and didn't spend much money. It runs quite nicely.

As far as necessity, out of everything with the exception of food and a place to live, I think a laptop is extremely useful.

 

[GeorginaS]

And you're absolutely right. So from my perspective, rather than spend $200 to fix my 2005 laptop which is already out of date or $1200 to buy an excellent laptop, I just spent $200 to get a laptop on a major sale that comes with 2GB RAM, 160GB Hard Drive, 16 bit, 15" screen, DVD burner, with Windows 7 Home Premium. Just checking it out, I should be plenty content for a while, and didn't spend much money. It runs quite nicely.

As far as necessity, out of everything with the exception of food and a place to live, I think a laptop is extremely useful.

Not sure where you got a "16 bit" from, because as far as I know, it comes 32 or 64 bit. But anyway, assuming you have 64 bit Windows 7, hardware requirement is 2 GB RAM for the OS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7#Hardware_requirements" My super-dooper inexpensive (less than $400.00) full-sized, full-load laptop came with 2 GB RAM too, so I threw another 4 GB stick in for around $50.00. No big deal, and it runs like a dream.

 

[JasonRox]

And you're absolutely right. So from my perspective, rather than spend $200 to fix my 2005 laptop which is already out of date or $1200 to buy an excellent laptop, I just spent $200 to get a laptop on a major sale that comes with 2GB RAM, 160GB Hard Drive, 16 bit, 15" screen, DVD burner, with Windows 7 Home Premium. Just checking it out, I should be plenty content for a while, and didn't spend much money. It runs quite nicely.

As far as necessity, out of everything with the exception of food and a place to live, I think a laptop is extremely useful.

I agree with your purchase. Although a computer isn't a necessity, it still does rank highest in the want section so why not satisfy that want.

If something is below my 3rd or 5th "want", I don't care to have it at all. I see people with lists that never end and need to satisfy each want even if it is number 124. It's sad.

 

[27Thousand]

Not sure where you got a "16 bit" from, because as far as I know, it comes 32 or 64 bit. But anyway, assuming you have 64 bit Windows 7, hardware requirement is 2 GB RAM for the OS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7#Hardware_requirements" My super-dooper inexpensive (less than $400.00) full-sized, full-load laptop came with 2 GB RAM too, so I threw another 4 GB stick in for around $50.00. No big deal, and it runs like a dream.

I went to various stores two days before Black Friday, to scope out the places. At that time, I hadn't seen the Walmart $198 laptop yet but had seen many review sites say the Acer Aspire One netbook was going to be on major sale for $199 at many places and although many products were rip offs the Acer Aspire One netbook was supposed to be very good deal for the actual money you pay. When I went to one of the stores, the lady said, "All of the computers on this side of the shelf are 64 bit and the ones on the other side are 32 bit. The 64 bit are going to run much faster." This http://www.lockergnome.com/windows/2009/01/07/32-bit-vs-64-bit-windows/" also talks about 64 vs. 32 bit Windows, and how 64 bit Windows runs faster. So when I came across the 15.6" screen laptop at Walmart for $198 I was very excited for 64 bit with Windows 7 Home (not that 7 Starter inferior stuff) and 2GB RAM! Plus the Acer netbooks on Black Friday sale for $199 didn't have DVD burners and only Windows XP. I'm working on my laptop right now and it's running smoothly.

When I click on properties for "Computer", it lists a bunch of stuff about the laptop. It says "System type: 64-bit Operating System", and it says "Windows Home Premium". Then the manufacter's website http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eME627-5279" says the same thing.

My 2005 $900 laptop is already out of date, and I'm excited to only pay $198 for something much better, even if it's not one of those 4GB RAM 320GB Hard Drive laptops.

 

[27Thousand]

I agree with your purchase. Although a computer isn't a necessity, it still does rank highest in the want section so why not satisfy that want.

If something is below my 3rd or 5th "want", I don't care to have it at all. I see people with lists that never end and need to satisfy each want even if it is number 124. It's sad.

Although another purchase I made wasn't so necessary, after Walmart I went to Best Buy and bought Civilization IV for $5, normally $20.

It was a good thing I got to Walmart 10:30PM the night before, because I got the 3rd of this type of laptop and by 1AM I think the person who got the 20th one (last one) was in line. Then after I got my laptop, it was kind of fun to watch how people acted like animals grabbing at other things I know I shouldn't be entertained by that, but it was fun to watch.

 

[GeorginaS]

My 2005 $900 laptop is already out of date, and I'm excited to only pay $198 for something much better, even if it's not one of those 4GB RAM 320GB Hard Drive laptops.

Right. So it's a 64 bit, not 16. Okay. And, yes, it sounds like you got a terrific buy at $198. I'm just telling you that the Microsoft hardware specs for proper performance of your machine is to have 2 GB of memory just for Windows 7 alone. And I was saying that, I too purchased a standard-sized laptop (w/DVD burner etc.) that only had 2 GB RAM and found that an upgrade was both inexpensive and easy.

That's it. Sounds like you got a nifty keen deal. You'll likely need a memory upgrade because of the OS. But yes, you got a spiffy good deal.

 

[Critical]

Yay more Walmart stampedes for $60 digital cameras. Jesus is quite impressed with American materialism and capitalism. Christmas has long faded into a commercial hoax.

 

[27Thousand]

Right. So it's a 64 bit, not 16. Okay. And, yes, it sounds like you got a terrific buy at $198. I'm just telling you that the Microsoft hardware specs for proper performance of your machine is to have 2 GB of memory just for Windows 7 alone. And I was saying that, I too purchased a standard-sized laptop (w/DVD burner etc.) that only had 2 GB RAM and found that an upgrade was both inexpensive and easy.

That's it. Sounds like you got a nifty keen deal. You'll likely need a memory upgrade because of the OS. But yes, you got a spiffy good deal.

So if you don't mind me asking, did you need a memory upgrade right away, or was it quite a bit of time later on? So far the 2GB RAM has seemed quite good for me, but who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Maybe this laptop may even be seen as romantic by a future special someone. I'm using it to learn programming language for statistics programs and visualizing programs, which may help me create some mathematical equations for reading whether women are trying to send a guy hints or not. Newton used math to separate himself from others, so it's important to use scientific creativity. Maybe a future someone will say, "Oh, that's so romantic how you put all this time and effort into mathematical equations just for me. How thoughtful!" But I'm serious, I've heard that women like it when men can read their moods without even asking, and that they think men need to learn how to take hints about when to make a move. So in that way, this laptop could be useful for the money right there. It could be a romance machine!

 

[GeorginaS]

Maybe this laptop may even be seen as romantic by a future special someone. I'm using it to learn programming language for statistics programs and visualizing programs, which may help me create some mathematical equations for reading whether women are trying to send a guy hints or not. Newton used math to separate himself from others, so it's important to use scientific creativity. Maybe a future someone will say, "Oh, that's so romantic how you put all this time and effort into mathematical equations just for me. How thoughtful!" But I'm serious, I've heard that women like it when men can read their moods without even asking, and that they think men need to learn how to take hints about when to make a move. So in that way, this laptop could be useful for the money right there. It could be a romance machine!

Just don't want to let that go, huh? I wish you the best of luck. Zoobyshoe and Moonbear gave you fantastic feedback on this on the relationship board.

As for the memory upgrade, yes, I did it right away because of the OS specs. I wanted to do more with my laptop than just run Windows. So I did something inexpensive and easy that made my really inexpensive laptop really terrific. If you're not having issues with bare-bones memory, then I'm happy for you about that too.

 

[Sorry!]

Lol I would upgrade your RAM right away to the max amount your system can handle... make sure it's good quality RAM too, none of that cheap stuff (which you probably have in your system right now).
You keep talking about 2GB ram as if it's a big thing, it really isn't lol

The most important part to IMO about a laptop is the video card. If you buy a laptop that has all those features that they try to sell to the public, like memory and hard drive space, and DVD burners, but you have a crappy video card, then good luck using your laptop for a lot of things you wish it could do. (Such as play video games, watch movies, burn DVDS without overheating) And of course your laptop is running smooth right now, you just have your OS installed plus a few things from the whichever company you bought it from. Wait until you start installing things you need to use, do some updates to the OS...

My laptop right now runs quite smoothly and I have everything installed/upgraded but if I reinstall a fresh copy of Vista on here oh boy, I probably won't have any wait times for anything.

 

[27Thousand]

Lol I would upgrade your RAM right away to the max amount your system can handle... make sure it's good quality RAM too, none of that cheap stuff (which you probably have in your system right now).
You keep talking about 2GB ram as if it's a big thing, it really isn't lol

The most important part to IMO about a laptop is the video card. If you buy a laptop that has all those features that they try to sell to the public, like memory and hard drive space, and DVD burners, but you have a crappy video card, then good luck using your laptop for a lot of things you wish it could do. (Such as play video games, watch movies, burn DVDS without overheating) And of course your laptop is running smooth right now, you just have your OS installed plus a few things from the whichever company you bought it from. Wait until you start installing things you need to use, do some updates to the OS...

My laptop right now runs quite smoothly and I have everything installed/upgraded but if I reinstall a fresh copy of Vista on here oh boy, I probably won't have any wait times for anything.

Yes you're correct, for 2009 2GB RAM may not be the best. However, remember I thought although it's not necessary the best for 2009, I ran away with a good deal for $200. Remember I had a $900 laptop from 2005 which would cost $200 to fix the power jack from all the places I checked. Also I didn't want to pay $1200-$1500 for a good 2009 laptop, and instead of $200 to fix the old laptop I paid the same amount for a much better laptop than what I had for Black Friday. Many reviews said the Black Friday deal of $200 for the usual $300 Acer Aspire One Netbook was good, and although that particular netbook wasn't the best it had been rated by many computer review sites as one of the best for a "budget netbook". Just wanting something to last temporary until paying $1200-1500 for a good laptop, I found the even better deal of $200 for a real laptop which was better than that Black Friday netbook. So yes, not tip top for 2009, but I felt like waiting in line at Walmart the night before was extremely worth it for the eMachines laptop. I've already installed 40GB worth of programs on it, but then of course I guess I have the habit of sometimes disabling certain programs from starting up using msconfig. However it still runs much much better than the older laptop, and can have many more programs running at once. I'm excited, even if it's not a tip top 2009 product.

The best part of all is I have a computer in my hands which doesn't have a damaged power jack (old laptop) and so I have something to play around with R Statistical Computing programming language (think 3D graphics for flirting data sets which you can rotate/manipulate with the mouse!).

 

[Sorry!]

(think 3D graphics for flirting data sets which you can rotate/manipulate with the mouse!).

Ohhhh, exciting. I think you'd be better off if you just learned robotics and programing and made yourself a girlfriend.

 

[27Thousand]

Ohhhh, exciting. I think you'd be better off if you just learned robotics and programing and made yourself a girlfriend.

Dang right you better believe it's exciting! Think about it this way, are cell phones creative? How do you think they went about making new technology? Remembering back to those Science Fair days, you'd say, "If this idea is correct, we predict this will happen." If it can predict what will happen from many different angles, regardless of whether it's absolute truth it's down to Earth practical, can be applied to the real world, good for technology, you get my drift.

In Science they say the better something is at predicting, the better it is for technology. Now the reason why I care about mathematical models for flirting here, using mathematics takes a principle and maximizes its ability to predict. You know what I'm saying? If I can come up with equations that predict "If you have these values for these 5 variables, then there is a 85% probability of being between this and this range for if the woman is flirting", then it's going to be applicable. Then I can do what engineers did in coming up with cell phones, take principles mapped out with the Scientific Method and combine them together in unique/useful ways. It may be useful for trying finding the right women, just like you want to pick the right clothes when you need new ones. They especially used math when coming up with cell phones.