Black Friday is the opportunity for some of these shameless retailers to show off how much premium they are charging people on an everyday basis. I mean a TV that is going for a $1200 goes for $700 for Black Friday, and then the price goes back up to $1000 after Black Friday. I understand that these retailers pay much attention to making profit out of each and every single product that they have on shelves but it makes me wonder if it’s wise enough to stop shopping and save it all for these special occasions? It depends of course on how much you can resist the temptation of Big TVs or other cool stuff, but if you are not rich, then I rather wait than getting rid of my hard-earned money so easily.

Right after Fritz 11 came out, chessbase has done it again. Now Shredder 11 is out. Wonder which one is the stronger engine. My money would be on Fritz though Shredder used to be stronger in previous versions.

A few years ago when KaZaa ruled the P2P world, big corporations started dreaming about how they can maximize their profits and stop the bleeding that file sharing had caused them. Fast forward to today, and KaZaa is virtually dead. BitTorrent however is still alive, but barely. Demonoid, perhaps the best torrent file-sharing site, has bit the dust as the Canadian Record Industry has threatened the site’s web host. Come to think of it, it’s a fairly smart strategy. Instead of going after the heart of Demonoid (its users), they have gone after its very soul. Of course, Demonoid owners could actually set up their own servers and host their site privately, but then they will be vulnerable again as these big corporations have smelled the blood and they are going for the kill. P2P will live for a while longer, but I can’t see how the community can sustain these waves of attacks: Attack On Hosts, Owners, and individual users. Certainly doesn’t look good!

Have you ever been in a job situation where your boss dumps everything s/he has to do on you just to waste time on useless things or sit on her touche? Apparently, that happens a lot in the real world. Some people simply use this distasteful technique to have a 4 hour work day instead of 8 and some poor guy is going to have to pick up the tab in the process. My answer to this challenge has always been trying to show that you are motivated enough to pick up the tab so the higher ups could see the situation from distance. Obviously many quit their jobs as they get frustrated with the trend or just see no way to reverse it. How would you approach such as a situation?

For all you crazy chess fans, Fritz 11 is out! It is supposed to be 80 ELO stronger than Fritz 10, but we have heard that before. I am definitely looking forward to pitting Fritz 11 versus Rybka 3.0 to see which one is really stronger though at this point my money would be on Rybka. Why Rybka doesn’t get chess championship shots against the human world champ like Fritz and Junior have been getting in the past couple of years is really mind boggling to me as Rybka has proved to be the best chess engine in the world in the past 2 years.

I know many of us like to go out and buy the hottest gadget (”thing”) that there is out there. Apple iPhone comes out, and we go out and buy it without really thinking what we are paying for and whether its price is justified. But how come some of us manage to resist the urge and temptation that a shiny product such as iPhone brings about? As much as I would like to say that these guys are just stronger at heart, that is probably not true. Obviously, there are some people who just don’t see the need to buy an iPhone as it is not their thing. But for the rest of us, resisting a product such as iPhone can be possible by apply the “debrandation” process. Debrandation is the process of seperating what your feelings are for a particular brand in order to look at products from a more logical perspective. The Apple crazed often struggle with this process. If you ask an Apple gal, what the best MP3 player, should would tell you that it is Apple iPod. How about the best phone? iPhone! The best Car? hard to tell as iCar is not out! But is iPod really the best digital music player? Does it have all the features some of its less known rivals have? Does it have the best battery life? Of course, if you do not debrand iPod, you are probably never going to ask these questions. Now, I am not suggesting that iPod is or is not the best music player we have on the market. What I am suggesting is did you buy your iPod because you thought it was the best product or just because it was made by Apple.

Anyone who has to constantly call friends and family members overseas knows that prepaid calling phone cards are a very good option if you want to save some cash while enjoy more talking minutes. A story broke out yesterday that Latino’s in Chicago area were a target of scam prepaid calling card companies. These guys claim that they are given prepaid cards by companies that are simply not ready to deliver their pre-sale promises. Some of these companies even close shop after making enough sales. While this is a black mark for this $4 billion(!) industry, not every company in the prepaid phone business is a scam. I personally use Pingo for international calls to Iran, and I can tell you that they have never taken a minute away from me or cheated me any way. You get what you pay for and companies that are offering crazy rates on international calls are obviously to be avoided. Online prepaid calling cards are still a good way to save money on international calls, but if a rate is too good to be true, it probably is!

Many of us have experienced a magic act or two in our life. When I think of magicians, I imagine entertainers and not supernatural freaks. Of course, there is always magicians who claim to be able to cross through walls and move the earth. But magicians are simply as ordinary as you and I. They use different elements to trick their audience’s minds and pull off somewhat impossible acts. Phenomenon is the new show on NBC that is trying to bring super magic acts to the TV and let people decide who was able to best trick them. Personally, I am appalled by the scam that these guys have put on TV. You spend an hour or two of your time to get entertained, but you are counted as idiots by these people. These guys have mastered the scam that is magic and trickery. The funny thing is that these people are not really that good in what they do. While Phenomenon is a real disappointment for a TV show, there are plenty of capable Magicians that entertain. The question is, how much do you value your time and are you willing to spend a few hours of your time in this fantasy world.

In an era where 20 or 30 Web 2.0 companies pop out of nowhere every day, it is rare to find a service that is unique and brings something new to the table. iDeaBlob (ideablob.com) is that service. iDeaBlob is a cool new Web 2.0 service that enables entrepreneur and business owners to share notes and ideas and help each other out in the process. What makes ideablob unique is the $10,000 start up money that the best ideas receive every month. If you are an entrepreneur, a small business owner, or just someone with  a decent idea, then ideablob is your place. Of course, even if you don’t have an idea or clueless about life, you may be able to find some on ideablob. Either way, I can promise you it’s going to be a fun ride!