Look, we’d like to think that if we didn’t tell you about all of these fabulous tech deals, you’d just go on your merry way and save your cash. But we both know that isn’t the case. So read on to score a $.98 version of Half-Life, a $100 external hard drive, or one of the many good buys that you see above. Or, you know. Don’t.

Computing
• Seagate FreeAgent Go 320GB Portable Hard Drive for $99.99 plus free shipping (originally $122.99).
• Western Digital WDH1B5000N 500GB External Hard Drive for $99.99 plus free shipping (originally $199.99).

Flash Memory
• Kingston DT101Y/4GB Flash Drive for $8.99 plus free shipping (originally $32.25).
• Kingston 8GB SDHC Class 4 Flash Card for $14.98 plus free shipping (originally $75.75).
• SanDisk 8GB MicroSDHC Flash Card with SD Card Adapter for $35.99 plus free shipping (originally $69.99).

Home Accessories
• Logitech Harmony 880 Remote Control for $74.99 plus free shipping (originally $199.99).
• iRobot Roomba 415 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner $99.99 plus free shipping (originally $299.99).

Home Entertainment
• Memorex MVBD2510 Blu-Ray Player for $149.99 plus free shipping (originally $279.99).
• Philips BDP7200 Blu-Ray Player for $199.97 plus free shipping (originally $399.99).
• HANNspree 37″ 16:9 720p LCD HDTV for $499.99 plus free shipping (originally $799.999).
• Sony VPL-AW10 Bravia Widescreen Home Theater LCD Projector for $699.95 (originally $999).

Portable Devices (MP3 Players, Cameras, Etc.)
• SanDisk 1GB Sansa Express MP3 Player for $10.99 plus free shipping (originally $79.99).
• Microsoft Zune 3.2″ Black 120GB MP4 Player for $224.99 (originally $249.99).
• Nikon D200 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera for $799.98 plus free shipping (originally $1,849).

Stocking Stuffers
• The Complete Monty Python’s Flying Circus 16-Ton Megaset for $39.99 (originally $99.95 - valid today only).

Video Games
• Half-Life on Steam for $0.98 (originally $9.99).
• Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite Holiday Bundle for $319.20 (originally $399.99).

Hobomodo
• USB Flash Drive for $0 (priceless).

Look, we’d like to think that if we didn’t tell you about all of these fabulous tech deals, you’d just go on your merry way and save your cash. But we both know that isn’t the case. So read on to score a $.98 version of Half-Life, a $100 external hard drive, or one of the many good buys that you see above. Or, you know. Don’t.

Computing
• Seagate FreeAgent Go 320GB Portable Hard Drive for $99.99 plus free shipping (originally $122.99).
• Western Digital WDH1B5000N 500GB External Hard Drive for $99.99 plus free shipping (originally $199.99).

Flash Memory
• Kingston DT101Y/4GB Flash Drive for $8.99 plus free shipping (originally $32.25).
• Kingston 8GB SDHC Class 4 Flash Card for $14.98 plus free shipping (originally $75.75).
• SanDisk 8GB MicroSDHC Flash Card with SD Card Adapter for $35.99 plus free shipping (originally $69.99).

Home Accessories
• Logitech Harmony 880 Remote Control for $74.99 plus free shipping (originally $199.99).
• iRobot Roomba 415 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner $99.99 plus free shipping (originally $299.99).

Home Entertainment
• Memorex MVBD2510 Blu-Ray Player for $149.99 plus free shipping (originally $279.99).
• Philips BDP7200 Blu-Ray Player for $199.97 plus free shipping (originally $399.99).
• HANNspree 37″ 16:9 720p LCD HDTV for $499.99 plus free shipping (originally $799.999).
• Sony VPL-AW10 Bravia Widescreen Home Theater LCD Projector for $699.95 (originally $999).

Portable Devices (MP3 Players, Cameras, Etc.)
• SanDisk 1GB Sansa Express MP3 Player for $10.99 plus free shipping (originally $79.99).
• Microsoft Zune 3.2″ Black 120GB MP4 Player for $224.99 (originally $249.99).
• Nikon D200 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera for $799.98 plus free shipping (originally $1,849).

Stocking Stuffers
• The Complete Monty Python’s Flying Circus 16-Ton Megaset for $39.99 (originally $99.95 - valid today only).

Video Games
• Half-Life on Steam for $0.98 (originally $9.99).
• Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite Holiday Bundle for $319.20 (originally $399.99).

Hobomodo
• USB Flash Drive for $0 (priceless).

Look, we’d like to think that if we didn’t tell you about all of these fabulous tech deals, you’d just go on your merry way and save your cash. But we both know that isn’t the case. So read on to score a $.98 version of Half-Life, a $100 external hard drive, or one of the many good buys that you see above. Or, you know. Don’t.

Computing
• Seagate FreeAgent Go 320GB Portable Hard Drive for $99.99 plus free shipping (originally $122.99).
• Western Digital WDH1B5000N 500GB External Hard Drive for $99.99 plus free shipping (originally $199.99).

Flash Memory
• Kingston DT101Y/4GB Flash Drive for $8.99 plus free shipping (originally $32.25).
• Kingston 8GB SDHC Class 4 Flash Card for $14.98 plus free shipping (originally $75.75).
• SanDisk 8GB MicroSDHC Flash Card with SD Card Adapter for $35.99 plus free shipping (originally $69.99).

Home Accessories
• Logitech Harmony 880 Remote Control for $74.99 plus free shipping (originally $199.99).
• iRobot Roomba 415 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner $99.99 plus free shipping (originally $299.99).

Home Entertainment
• Memorex MVBD2510 Blu-Ray Player for $149.99 plus free shipping (originally $279.99).
• Philips BDP7200 Blu-Ray Player for $199.97 plus free shipping (originally $399.99).
• HANNspree 37″ 16:9 720p LCD HDTV for $499.99 plus free shipping (originally $799.999).
• Sony VPL-AW10 Bravia Widescreen Home Theater LCD Projector for $699.95 (originally $999).

Portable Devices (MP3 Players, Cameras, Etc.)
• SanDisk 1GB Sansa Express MP3 Player for $10.99 plus free shipping (originally $79.99).
• Microsoft Zune 3.2″ Black 120GB MP4 Player for $224.99 (originally $249.99).
• Nikon D200 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera for $799.98 plus free shipping (originally $1,849).

Stocking Stuffers
• The Complete Monty Python’s Flying Circus 16-Ton Megaset for $39.99 (originally $99.95 - valid today only).

Video Games
• Half-Life on Steam for $0.98 (originally $9.99).
• Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite Holiday Bundle for $319.20 (originally $399.99).

Hobomodo
• USB Flash Drive for $0 (priceless).

Toys ‘R’ Us a is building up the hype about their upcoming Black Friday event by giving us a taste of the deals they have in store. Apparently, this year will boast 50% more Doorbusters than last year—a total of 150 from 5am to 1pm on November 28th. Toys ‘R’ Us will be unveiling 100 of these doorbusters on their website starting on midnight November 26th/27th and in a 24-page circular that will appear in newspapers on Thanksgiving day. An additional 50 “mystery deals” will be unveiled in stores only on Black Friday. However, a sample of the deals shoppers can expect on Black Friday and over the course of their 2-day sales event can be found right now—after the break.

Doorbusters:

* FREE Play Station 2 Deal – 6 FREE Games, FREE “21” DVD and FREE Play Station 2 DVD Remote with the purchase of the Play Station 2 System
* FREE $50 Toys“R”Us Gift Card with the purchase of a Black 16GB iPod nano®
* FREE Nintendo® DS™ accessory with the purchase of Nintendo® DS™ Brain Age Bundle or Nintendo® DS™ Super Mario Bros. Bundle
* More than 80% off Xbox 360 Wired Guitar Hero Game Controller
* 60% off TOYMAX EyeClops® from JAKKS Pacific®
* 60% off Disney® High School Musical 2 Figures 3-Pack
* More than 50% off Littlest Pet Shop VIP Plush Pets from Hasbro®
* Up to 50% off Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle for Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360
* 50% off Little Tikes® Diggers
* 50% off Jumbo Talking Elmo from Fisher-Price®
* 50% off Huffy® Scooters (Power Rangers and Cinderella, sold separately)
* 33% off V-Tech® Learning Laptop
* More than 30% off Thomas & Friends® Train Sets (Thomas & Percy Wooden Starter Set and Great Race Take Along Set, sold separately)
* $60 off iHome® Portable iPod® Docking Station (iPod® sold separately)
* $50 off Sony® 7.2MP Pink Cybershot Digital Camera

Deals for 2-day sales event (Friday, November 28, and Saturday, November 29):

* FREE Smart Animals 2-Pack with the purchase of Smart Animals Scanopedia from Discovery Kids®
* FREE Spiral Train Set with the purchase of Arch Train Table from Imaginarium®
* More than 70% off Nick® Scene It? and Pirates of the Caribbean Scene It?
* More than 65% off Dance Dance Revolution DVD Game and Twister® DVD Game
* Up to 55% off Select Hasbro® Games
* 50% off Star Wars 10” Transformers Millennium Falcon from Hasbro®
* 50% off Barbie® Princess 2-Pack Dolls from Mattel®
* 50% off Infrared Mini R/C Helicopter from Fast Lane
* 50% off iPod® Dock & Clock Radio (iPod® sold separately)
* $9.99 Sale on ALL Skateboards, Helmet & Pads from Channel One®
* $20 off Disney® High School Musical Alarm Clock with iPod® Dock (iPod® sold separately)
* More than $40 off Electric Guitar Pack from First Act®
* $70 off Woodland Climber from Step 2®
* $80 off Picnic on the Patio Playhouse from Little Tikes®
* $500 off Easton 7-foot 2-in-1 Swivel Combo Table

[Businesswire via I4U News]

Toys ‘R’ Us a is building up the hype about their upcoming Black Friday event by giving us a taste of the deals they have in store. Apparently, this year will boast 50% more Doorbusters than last year—a total of 150 from 5am to 1pm on November 28th. Toys ‘R’ Us will be unveiling 100 of these doorbusters on their website starting on midnight November 26th/27th and in a 24-page circular that will appear in newspapers on Thanksgiving day. An additional 50 “mystery deals” will be unveiled in stores only on Black Friday. However, a sample of the deals shoppers can expect on Black Friday and over the course of their 2-day sales event can be found right now—after the break.

Doorbusters:

* FREE Play Station 2 Deal – 6 FREE Games, FREE “21” DVD and FREE Play Station 2 DVD Remote with the purchase of the Play Station 2 System
* FREE $50 Toys“R”Us Gift Card with the purchase of a Black 16GB iPod nano®
* FREE Nintendo® DS™ accessory with the purchase of Nintendo® DS™ Brain Age Bundle or Nintendo® DS™ Super Mario Bros. Bundle
* More than 80% off Xbox 360 Wired Guitar Hero Game Controller
* 60% off TOYMAX EyeClops® from JAKKS Pacific®
* 60% off Disney® High School Musical 2 Figures 3-Pack
* More than 50% off Littlest Pet Shop VIP Plush Pets from Hasbro®
* Up to 50% off Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle for Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360
* 50% off Little Tikes® Diggers
* 50% off Jumbo Talking Elmo from Fisher-Price®
* 50% off Huffy® Scooters (Power Rangers and Cinderella, sold separately)
* 33% off V-Tech® Learning Laptop
* More than 30% off Thomas & Friends® Train Sets (Thomas & Percy Wooden Starter Set and Great Race Take Along Set, sold separately)
* $60 off iHome® Portable iPod® Docking Station (iPod® sold separately)
* $50 off Sony® 7.2MP Pink Cybershot Digital Camera

Deals for 2-day sales event (Friday, November 28, and Saturday, November 29):

* FREE Smart Animals 2-Pack with the purchase of Smart Animals Scanopedia from Discovery Kids®
* FREE Spiral Train Set with the purchase of Arch Train Table from Imaginarium®
* More than 70% off Nick® Scene It? and Pirates of the Caribbean Scene It?
* More than 65% off Dance Dance Revolution DVD Game and Twister® DVD Game
* Up to 55% off Select Hasbro® Games
* 50% off Star Wars 10” Transformers Millennium Falcon from Hasbro®
* 50% off Barbie® Princess 2-Pack Dolls from Mattel®
* 50% off Infrared Mini R/C Helicopter from Fast Lane
* 50% off iPod® Dock & Clock Radio (iPod® sold separately)
* $9.99 Sale on ALL Skateboards, Helmet & Pads from Channel One®
* $20 off Disney® High School Musical Alarm Clock with iPod® Dock (iPod® sold separately)
* More than $40 off Electric Guitar Pack from First Act®
* $70 off Woodland Climber from Step 2®
* $80 off Picnic on the Patio Playhouse from Little Tikes®
* $500 off Easton 7-foot 2-in-1 Swivel Combo Table

[Businesswire via I4U News]

Toys ‘R’ Us a is building up the hype about their upcoming Black Friday event by giving us a taste of the deals they have in store. Apparently, this year will boast 50% more Doorbusters than last year—a total of 150 from 5am to 1pm on November 28th. Toys ‘R’ Us will be unveiling 100 of these doorbusters on their website starting on midnight November 26th/27th and in a 24-page circular that will appear in newspapers on Thanksgiving day. An additional 50 “mystery deals” will be unveiled in stores only on Black Friday. However, a sample of the deals shoppers can expect on Black Friday and over the course of their 2-day sales event can be found right now—after the break.

Doorbusters:

* FREE Play Station 2 Deal – 6 FREE Games, FREE “21” DVD and FREE Play Station 2 DVD Remote with the purchase of the Play Station 2 System
* FREE $50 Toys“R”Us Gift Card with the purchase of a Black 16GB iPod nano®
* FREE Nintendo® DS™ accessory with the purchase of Nintendo® DS™ Brain Age Bundle or Nintendo® DS™ Super Mario Bros. Bundle
* More than 80% off Xbox 360 Wired Guitar Hero Game Controller
* 60% off TOYMAX EyeClops® from JAKKS Pacific®
* 60% off Disney® High School Musical 2 Figures 3-Pack
* More than 50% off Littlest Pet Shop VIP Plush Pets from Hasbro®
* Up to 50% off Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle for Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360
* 50% off Little Tikes® Diggers
* 50% off Jumbo Talking Elmo from Fisher-Price®
* 50% off Huffy® Scooters (Power Rangers and Cinderella, sold separately)
* 33% off V-Tech® Learning Laptop
* More than 30% off Thomas & Friends® Train Sets (Thomas & Percy Wooden Starter Set and Great Race Take Along Set, sold separately)
* $60 off iHome® Portable iPod® Docking Station (iPod® sold separately)
* $50 off Sony® 7.2MP Pink Cybershot Digital Camera

Deals for 2-day sales event (Friday, November 28, and Saturday, November 29):

* FREE Smart Animals 2-Pack with the purchase of Smart Animals Scanopedia from Discovery Kids®
* FREE Spiral Train Set with the purchase of Arch Train Table from Imaginarium®
* More than 70% off Nick® Scene It? and Pirates of the Caribbean Scene It?
* More than 65% off Dance Dance Revolution DVD Game and Twister® DVD Game
* Up to 55% off Select Hasbro® Games
* 50% off Star Wars 10” Transformers Millennium Falcon from Hasbro®
* 50% off Barbie® Princess 2-Pack Dolls from Mattel®
* 50% off Infrared Mini R/C Helicopter from Fast Lane
* 50% off iPod® Dock & Clock Radio (iPod® sold separately)
* $9.99 Sale on ALL Skateboards, Helmet & Pads from Channel One®
* $20 off Disney® High School Musical Alarm Clock with iPod® Dock (iPod® sold separately)
* More than $40 off Electric Guitar Pack from First Act®
* $70 off Woodland Climber from Step 2®
* $80 off Picnic on the Patio Playhouse from Little Tikes®
* $500 off Easton 7-foot 2-in-1 Swivel Combo Table

[Businesswire via I4U News]

A recent report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has revealed that video game console usage across America stands at approximately 16 billion kilowatt-hours per year—which is roughly the amount consumed by the entire city of San Diego. This is only a rough estimation, but there is no doubt that many of us waste a significant amount of energy when we leave our consoles running for hours on end. Even Energy Star has recognized the problem and begun setting standards on energy consumption for these devices. Obviously, the short-term solution to the problem would be to save your game and shut off the system when you are done—but it’s a bad habit that is hard to break. So, my question is: do you leave your game console running when you are not playing?

Do You Leave Your Game Consoles Running When You’re Not Playing?
( polls)

Results from “Do You Plan to Gadget Shop on Black Friday?“

Yes 18%
Yes, but I’m sticking with online stores. 17%
Yes, I will try online and brick and mortar stores. 11%
No 37%
Maybe 17%

[NRDC via Ars Technica via DVICE]

A recent report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has revealed that video game console usage across America stands at approximately 16 billion kilowatt-hours per year—which is roughly the amount consumed by the entire city of San Diego. This is only a rough estimation, but there is no doubt that many of us waste a significant amount of energy when we leave our consoles running for hours on end. Even Energy Star has recognized the problem and begun setting standards on energy consumption for these devices. Obviously, the short-term solution to the problem would be to save your game and shut off the system when you are done—but it’s a bad habit that is hard to break. So, my question is: do you leave your game console running when you are not playing?

Do You Leave Your Game Consoles Running When You’re Not Playing?
( polls)

Results from “Do You Plan to Gadget Shop on Black Friday?“

Yes 18%
Yes, but I’m sticking with online stores. 17%
Yes, I will try online and brick and mortar stores. 11%
No 37%
Maybe 17%

[NRDC via Ars Technica via DVICE]

A recent report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has revealed that video game console usage across America stands at approximately 16 billion kilowatt-hours per year—which is roughly the amount consumed by the entire city of San Diego. This is only a rough estimation, but there is no doubt that many of us waste a significant amount of energy when we leave our consoles running for hours on end. Even Energy Star has recognized the problem and begun setting standards on energy consumption for these devices. Obviously, the short-term solution to the problem would be to save your game and shut off the system when you are done—but it’s a bad habit that is hard to break. So, my question is: do you leave your game console running when you are not playing?

Do You Leave Your Game Consoles Running When You’re Not Playing?
( polls)

Results from “Do You Plan to Gadget Shop on Black Friday?“

Yes 18%
Yes, but I’m sticking with online stores. 17%
Yes, I will try online and brick and mortar stores. 11%
No 37%
Maybe 17%

[NRDC via Ars Technica via DVICE]

I’ve long suspected that the best job ever would be to work in product stress testing—because you basically get paid to break shit all day. Nokia sent over a bunch of info detailing how their test centers operate, leaving me fully convinced this would indeed be my dream gig. Not only do they run over 200 mechanical tests on these things, but where else could you play with a bunch of machines that bend, bake, humidify, spray, poke and drop phones? (And yeah, that phone in the picture above just got poked a million times…literally.)

Here’s a look at a handful of different tests and what each one tries to accomplish.

Liquids

Nokia places a phone under a bunch of needle-sized water dispensers and then lets it drip all over the phone, which tests for resistance in situations like rain, or splashing from a pool.

The humidity simulation, which tests the durability of phones in up to 95% humidity, is helpful in determining if a phone will hold up in particularly damp areas like South and Central America, where gadgets don’t have the longest lifespan.

Nokia also tests how the phone reacts to various liquids, creams and gels (lotions, hand sanitizers, etc…), since stuff like that tends to accidentally spill while sitting in a purse or backpack with the phone.

Sturdiness

Tests for bending and twisting are pretty straight forward and self explanatory. Still, you can’t help but cringe to see a phone placed in such an unnatural position. Nokia says when you have your phone in your back pocket and you sit on it, it’s susceptible to bending.

One of the cooler stress tests that exists is the Drop test—not only because it uses a giant friggin’ machine, but also because they record the drops using a camera that can record 100,000 frames per second, which is 3,000 times faster than the normal video camera. The videos are then analyzed frame by frame, determining the degree to which a device becomes distorted upon impact. Check it out.

When Nokia drops a phone, they drop it from about the height of a shirt pocket onto concrete, since that’s a likely scenario for dropped phones. They also attatch a phone under a steel device that pushes down 100 newtons of force.

Wear and Tear

Nokia has a series of wear and tear stress tests, when gauge the phone’s ability to take bumps, scratches from daily use. Dust testing involves throwing a handful of phones in a dust filled box and letting everything co-mingle. How much dust gets inside? And do buttons stop working when foreign substances get under the surface? This is where you find out.

They also let phones roll around in a bunch of pieces of hard, pointy plastic to see where it might scratch, scuff or crack under duress. These pieces are like plastic chocolate chips and bite-sized pyramids, and they’re pretty sharp. This phone met an unfortunate demise in the name of quality control.

***

Other weird tests include rubbing a piece of denim up against a phone to test the effect of friction when the phone rubs up against your clothes and subjection the phone to temperatures ranging between -40 and 185 degrees Fahrenheit; this determines whether or not the phone can survive in the most extreme conditions on earth.

When testing is finished, they have a battery of analytic procedures to determine how well or how poorly a phone held up. This includes analyzing a phone under electron microscopes, 3D X-rays and X-ray Spectroscopes to check for any related damage; possible micron-sized soldering cracks, component failure or any breakdowns in the materials.

As you can see, these tests aren’t lightweight by any means, and most of my Nokia phones over the years have been pretty durable. What about yours? [Nokia on Giz]