With Thanksgiving come and gone, the holidays are in full swing for many Americans. This time of year likely means time with family – wherever they may be located. The average long-distance trip around Christmas and New Year’s is 275 miles. Holiday travel is now increasing for the fourth year in a row.

But before you can relax with hot cocoa and gingerbread, there always are some holiday headaches, such as baggage fees on airlines, highway traffic and the chorus of “Are we there yet?”

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The Running of the Shoppers

This past summer we were treated to watching the world’s best athletes compete in the Olympics. Next week, million’s of Americans will be participating in a different type of competition: Black Friday shopping.

We’ve all seen the images of Pampalona-like stampedes into Wal-Mart stores at midnight and much like the running of the bulls, people get gored and run over. If you were unfortunate enough to be at this Wal-Mart location, you might have gotten an eye full of pepper spray.

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Signs are pointing to a spooky and record-breaking Halloween this year, as 170 million people plan to celebrate the holiday, spending an average of almost $80 per person on decorations, costumes and candy.

But one of the best parts of Halloween often costs much less: a good scare. And we do love good, terrifying fun.

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Americans claim certain unalienable rights, such as the freedom of expression, the democratic system and voting, and – the right to be connected anytime and anywhere! If the millions of apps and Facebook IPO craze is not a sign of the times, consider the following stats from industry experts:

• In a report issued last month, shipments of core home networking equipment and networked-enabled media devices will exceed one billion units by 2014
• Smartphone shipments grew 41% year-over-year to 144.6 million as of the quarter ending March 2012
• By 2020, there will be more than 80 billion connected devices or 500 devices per square kilometer
• Last month’s report predicted that by 2014 every new car will include connectivity capabilities.

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With Father’s Day approaching this weekend we stop and reflect on how the television, one of a fathers favorite pastimes, and the television industry has shifted during the lifetime of your dad. Back in “the good ol’ days” of your father (anyone over 40), each and every week more than 67 million people sat down to watch any number of TV shows without fail. Flash forward to today’s top shows, and only 21 million are watching American Idol and a mere 14 million tune-in to Modern Family. In an interview with Evan Shapiro, Forbes outlines why TV is not dead, despite dwindling viewership.


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If you are just now reading this, chances are you’re running late on giving mom her well deserved gift. While it’s too late for us to help you on that, unless you don’t mind springing for overnight shipping, we have some suggestions to keep mom happy while she waits for her belated gift.

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Come Friday, November 25th, 2011, millions will dutifully line up at retail stores all across the USA. Then, on the following Monday, millions will visit the websites of their favorite stores, all looking for the best deals of the year.

CBSAtlanta.com says:

“Last year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) reported that 212 million individuals hit the shopping aisles on Black Friday. They spent an estimated $45 billion, or roughly $365 per person, which was up more than 6% from 2009.”



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As we near the holiday shopping season, retailers will soon start rolling out the deals in an effort to entice shoppers to spend their hard-earned dollars. With the emergence of the Internet, and the 24-hour shopping cycle it provides, we have much greater shopping flexibility than we did 10 years ago, but the questions remains: Where are the better deals, online or in the store? And where do people prefer to buy their technology?


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Well, if you trust The NPD Group analyst firm, their research shows that when it comes to tech purchases:

“56 percent of people read up on new TVs at retail websites, but only 19 percent follow through with an online purchase – the lowest number for all included CE. Online smartphone shoppers weren’t too far off though, with 23 percent balking at the concept of purchasing a new phone online. Meanwhile, 52 percent of those buyers had looked up deals and other information on the web.”

So, based on this research, it looks like shoppers rely more heavily on the web for researching their prospective purchases than actually making them. Fair enough, but what if you want to compare prices and get the best deal on a wireless HTCP keyboard or computer to TV streaming kit? What’s the best way to determine the best value available?

For this task, the web has a clear advantage over brick and mortar stores since there are dedicated websites that can help you determine the best possible price for the exact product you need. Short of calling every Best Buy or Walmart in your area and asking for the best prices on a given product, the web is a far more efficient tool for determining value. One site that provides a robust price comparison platform is Pricewatch.com, which provides listings of the best online deals for many computer peripherals and products from tablets and printers to HDMI cables, adapters and motherboards.

Of course, you can always buy direct from the manufacturer by visiting sites like our own Shop.IOGEAR.com, but it’s really just a matter of convenience and how much research you’re willing to put into it.

The bottom line is, the holidays often bring out all sorts of deals. Cyber Monday, Black Thursday, free shipping, cash back on store credit cards and more are all used to motivate us as shoppers. And while these can sometimes motivate an impulse purchase, the best buy is always a well-researched one.

Don’t forget to check out our Twitter deals feed, which we update twice weekly with great IOGEAR deals.

On Sunday, September 25 the Simpson’s started their 23rd season, which includes the 500th episode, which is sure to bring out some interesting cameos. Anyone who’s been alive for the past two decades has seen at least one episode, and more likely, a lot more, so it’s nearly impossible to pick out a favorite.

Fortunately, the staff at Wired, took it upon themselves to choose the Best. Simpsons Clips. Ever, compiling favorites such as the Monorail episode, the Carny episode and many other animated highlights we’ve all enjoyed.


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Mom loved getting hand-made cards, macaroni art and birdhouses when you were a kid, but with age comes the responsibility to honor your Mother with something a bit more useful. This could mean something useful like a new pair of garden gloves or set of knives (yaaaaawn), or you could express your never-ending appreciation with something more unexpected.


Before we get carried away with gifting, let’s get a grip and remember that Mother’s Day is really about spending quality time with the woman who went through serious amounts of pain to push you out into the world. If you can’t make the time to sit down and visit, have a meal or at the very least give mom a call, you shouldn’t even bother with a gift. More than anything, Mom wants an expression of love, the gift is simply complimentary. So don’t forget the hug!

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