I don’t know about you, but since the middle of last week I’ve been bombarded with adverts for “Black Friday” sales. I’ve always thought it’s a bit of an odd idea to have sales before Christmas, but I swear it gets sillier every year.
So the actual day “Black Friday” is the 29th November (two weeks away) – and in America, that’s the day when there are big sales on all over the country to kick off the Christmas shopping season. It sort of makes sense, because it’s the day after Thanksgiving.
But over the last ten years or so, it’s gradually been making its way across the pond to us – largely thanks to companies like Amazon. And just like Christmas itself (the tree’s up in my local Tesco already!) it’s creeping earlier every year.
Anyway, if you’re looking for good deals on techy stuff, Currys and PC World have started their Black Friday sales now, and they’ve given a price guarantee. If you buy something in the sale today and the price goes down between now and the 29th, they’ll refund you the difference. Not bad if you’re looking for something anyway!
What I would say is that the very best pre-Christmas deals on tech stuff tend to be on Cyber Monday – which is the Monday after Black Friday (the 1st December this year). Don’t ask me why – that’s just the way it is. And if you can wait until after Christmas, you might be better off trying the Boxing Day sales.
Personally, though, I’m covering my ears and going “la, la, la” until after my birthday at the end of this month. That’s plenty early enough to start thinking about Christmas!
If you’re finding something awkward – there might be an easier way to do it
I’ve talked quite a bit about the new book Technology Help is at Hand already – I know lots of you have ordered copies and I can’t wait to get them sent off to you as soon as they’re in stock. (If you haven’t already ordered one, the full info and place to order is here.)
But I haven’t said much yet about the second book that we’re bringing out at the same time. It’s another one that’s based on an old classic of Tim’s, actually – fully updated and expanded to include PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones. It’s called Simple Ways to make your PC, Laptop, Tablet or Smartphone Easier to Use.
With PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones, there are lots of settings, tricks and techniques that can make using them so much easier. As usual, once you know what they are and where they are, it’s pretty simple to go in and tweak a setting to suit you – making using your device quicker, simpler, easier and less stressful! But if you don’t know about them… well you’d never know to look!
So in this 128 page book, we’ve shown you a range of equipment and settings to help you get your device set up the way you like it. Shortcuts and quick tricks to get things done more easily and with less fuss. And tips for taking care of your device and keeping it running smoothly – prevention is the best cure and all that…
You can order the book along with Technology Help is at Hand – if you order online here, just tick the box where it says “Tick the box to get “Simple Ways to Make your PC, Laptop, Tablet & Smartphone Easier to Use” as well” when you’re putting in your name and address for us to post the books to.
If you’ve already ordered Technology Help is at Hand and you’d like to add Simple Ways, then just drop us an email (you can reply to this one) letting us know or call 01229 777606 and we’ll include it for you with no extra P&P. Or if you did want only Simple Ways, just email us or ring us and we’ll sort it out for you.