7 kinds of deals you shouldn't fall for on Black Friday (Sorry if it's too late!)

1. Black Friday deals on no-name or poorly-rated gadgets

Stores advertise “doorbusters” enthusiastically, often touting low prices that make the gadget at hand seem like a steal. But both online retailers and brick-and-mortar stores often have doorbusters that aren’t quite the great deal that you might imagine. Many such gadgets are low-end models that don’t have all the same features as their rivals and may earn poor marks from online reviewers. Others are models that are manufactured specifically for a given retailer, which can be a red flag when it comes to quality and longevity. The upshot? Always research the manufacturer and the model of any gadget you’re thinking of purchasing, no matter how good the deal sounds. Don’t let that low price force you to make a hasty purchasing decision.

2. Deals on TVs that are manufactured specifically for Black Friday

We’ve already mentioned that some retailers offer deals on gadgets that are manufactured specifically for them. But did you know that sometimes items like TVs are made especially for Black Friday? These models are made to be offered at what looks like a heavily discounted price. So in the case of TVs, they often have things like lower-quality displays, or they lack features that most other models have. If you’re thinking of buying a TV on Black Friday, research the model number. If it’s only offered by one retailer, you might want to think about skipping it and buying a new television at another time of the year. (Perhaps think about purchasing one in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, which is a great time for discounts.)

3. Black Friday deals and doorbusters that are offered in extremely limited quantities

The deals that retailers advertise most enthusiastically are often those that they offer in the most limited quantities. In most cases, those deals are going to be gone within minutes of the store opening. So if you don’t want to be there early, standing in line in the cold, you’ll have virtually no chance of actually getting the deals that were advertised. If you miss the deals, you’ll either go home empty-handed or end up spending a lot more than you intended on items that you may or may not have been planning to buy.

4. Deals on outdated models and gadgets that have been updated

When you’re looking at deals for devices that are updated on a yearly or otherwise regular schedule, make sure that you know which model you’re getting. It may be that the price of a laptop or a set-top box or even a smartphone is so good because it’s last year’s model. There’s nothing wrong with buying an old model if it has the features and specifications you need. But you should always make sure that you know which model you’re getting, and that you’re actually getting a good deal on it. After all, Black Friday shopping isn’t worth the hassle if you’re just getting the same price a store offers on a much less hectic shopping day.

Fighting is not uncommon in stores on Black Friday.AP Images

5. Black Friday deals that people will be fighting over

Every year, incidents of people being trampled, punched, and otherwise injured or even killed make headlines following Black Friday. And they should make you think twice about venturing out into the fray. If you’re thinking of purchasing a big-ticket item that lots of other people are going to be there to fight over, you may want to think again. Sure, that big-screen TV may be a great model that’s heavily discounted, but purchasing it probably isn’t worth it if you need to get into a fistfight to take it home. The odds that you’ll land in the ER after going Black Friday shopping are pretty low, but if you want to avoid the stress altogether, you might want to sit this kind of deal out.

6. Deals that aren’t much better than what you’d get on a different day

We’ve established that shopping for electronics on Black Friday can be a pretty big pain. So it bears mentioning that Black Friday deals that aren’t much better than the price you’d get on another day are rarely worth the effort. Many retailers start offering holiday season deals even before Black Friday arrives, and even more offer promotions and discounts after Black Friday. Do your research, and make sure that the discounts you’re getting on Black Friday are actually significantly better than what you can expect on another day.

7. Black Friday deals that are also offered online

Most people think of Black Friday as a day to shop at their local brick-and-mortar stores. But it’s not worth dragging yourself to the store Thursday night or early Friday morning for sales that are also being offered online. You’ll need to do your research on which deals are going to be online, and which ones are in-store only. But if you’re seriously considering a tech purchase, it’s a good idea to check out which retailers are offering deals on the gadget you want. If somebody’s offering a great deal online, that’s probably the best way to go. You’ll get to spend more time at home with your family while avoiding being pushed and shoved at your local Walmart or Best Buy.

Read the original article on The Cheat Sheet. Copyright 2016. Follow The Cheat Sheet on Twitter.

   

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Don’t buy the crap T-Mobile (or anyone else) is selling

T-Mobile CEO John Legere took to YouTube this week to unleash one of his patented down-with-the-kids tirades against Verizon. The subject? Verizon’s recent ad campaign against T-Mobile, which Legere claims to be a bunch of misleading lies.

That may well be true, but T-Mobile is no better. In his four-minute rant, Legere manages to cherry-pick his way around a number of issues without actually telling the truth about his own company’s data plans.

It’s not his fault. Cell plans and mobile data are currently a twisted mess of half-truths and fudged definitions that are all supposed to hide the same fact: no carrier is actually pro-consumer, because no carrier offers actual unlimited data. Anyone saying otherwise — no matter how hip their hoodie — is lying.

 

Legere hits out against Verizon’s negative ads, a lot of which are truly misleading. Verizon claimed that T-Mobile hasn’t won any awards, doesn’t have a next-gen network, and uses bad math to claim you can use 12GB of data for just $80. To its credit, T-Mobile’s network technology with LTE-Advanced is up there with the competition, and it is frequently named the fastest carrier in some nationwide tests, depending on how you interpret the data.

But other things Verizon says, and Legere refutes, are completely false. “‘T-Mobile doesn’t offer unlimited high-speed data’ — Well, that’s just a straight up lie,” Legere says. But it’s not.

T-Mobile doesn’t actually offer unlimited data. Its signature ONE plan, which promises unlimited data for a family of four for $35 per month, comes with a long list of caveats. Tethering is capped at slow speeds, video and audio streams are capped at standard definition, and if you go over 28GB of data, you’re liable to be throttled for the rest of the month.

None of those restrictions mean T-Mobile’s plan is bad! If you only occasionally watch videos on the go, don’t tether often, and use a faintly reasonable amount of data, T-Mobile’s plan is cheap and has no risk of overage charges.

But it’s still not unlimited.

T-Mobile is not the only cell network that does this. AT&T, Sprint and Verizon are all guilty of using confusing terms: they call things unlimited* and attach a paragraph of limits to the end of the ad. They describe speeds as “4G Advanced!” or 2G or 3G, rather than just saying an actual number like 5Mbps, which we all understand.

It’s easy to see why. Years ago, the mobile business was very different. Plans included minutes, texts, roaming charges, some data, and a lot of fees involving three-year contracts for cellphones. These days, it’s mostly no-term contracts and upfront phone payments, all calls and texts are unlimited, and the only thing left to differentiate between different plans is the amount of data.

Rather than trying to compete to push the price of a gigabyte of data lower, carriers are instead resorting to using novel pricing strategies and obscure terms to make their plans seem better than the competition.

Want to see what a real simple, transparent, consumer-friendly network looks like? Take a look at Google Fi, which sells data by the gigabyte as you need it. There’s no bulk discounts, you don’t pay for data you don’t use, and billing is stupid-simple. It’s remarkably simple and easy to understand, and it doesn’t involve CEOs taking to Twitter to swear at each other on a weekly basis.

T-Mobile has already been fined $7.5 million by the FCC for misleading consumers over the meaning of “unlimited,” but the problem is far from fixed. Cell plans themselves are getting better, faster and cheaper every year. It’s just a shame that the networks are going to such lengths to hide that fact underneath a mountain of bull.

Change The Login Screen Background In Windows 10

Windows 10 has a lock screen and a login screen. The login screen is the one you see when you hit Escape on the lock screen and where you enter your password to get to your desktop. Windows 10 has made it super easy to change the lock screen background but the same cannot be said for the Login screen. At present, you are saddled with the Hero background on the login screen and there doesn’t seem to be any straight forward way to change it. There isn’t even a registry key that you can edit to get a different background. There is, however, an app; ‘Windows 10 Login Screen Background Changer‘ that does let you change it. It’s free and warns you to use it at your own risk (and we agree). The Windows 10 Anniversary update had added a setting that lets you change the login screen background natively. Read for more details.

Download the app from the link below and run it as an Administrator. You can set an image as a background or a solid color. If you plan on using an image, make sure you’ve already saved it and do not save it to your desktop as that gives an error when used with the app. You can save it to your Pictures folder.

If you want to set an image, click the ‘Browse for an image’ button and then select it. If you want to set a solid color, click ‘Choose a color’ and pick the color. The app lets you preview what your login screen will look like. Once you’re satisfied, click the ‘Change background’ button and wait for the app to confirm the change.

It looks flawless;

I didn’t observe any problems after making this change. The lock screen was a bit slow to roll away when we hit the escape key but it’s likely an isolated case or a result of other tinkering done to the OS. The developer posted this small app on My Digital Life forums where you will need to sign in to view the post. I’ve provided the download link below to make it easier for you to download.

Download Windows 10 Login Screen Background Changer

How to Clean Up Windows 10 With the Refresh Windows Tool

One of the problems of buying a new PC is that it typically comes loaded with junkware—usually trial or limited pieces of software that you don't want or don't need. And that software can slow down your computer and chew up memory.

You can try to uninstall each piece of junkware to clean up your PC. But that takes time and can still leave files, Registry entries, and other unwanted stuff behind. Instead, you can return your Windows 10 computer to a pristine state via a free software tool offered by Microsoft.

Microsoft's Refresh Windows tool purges all applications that don't come built into Windows 10 by installing a fresh copy of the operating system. That includes all third-party software, including unwanted junkware. It also includes software you may want to keep, such as Microsoft Office, so you'll need to make sure you have the necessary media to reinstall such programs. Further, your Windows settings are reset to their default options. Finally, the tool can keep your documents and other personal files intact or remove them completely.

To access this tool in Windows 10, click on the Start button > Settings > the category for Update & security. From the Update & security window, click on the setting in the left pane for Recovery. Then click on the link in the right pane under "More recovery options" that reads: Learn how to start fresh with a clean installation of Windows.

That link brings you to a webpage with information on the Refresh Windows tool along with a button for downloading it.

Since the tool is accessible via a webpage, you can save time by simply launching your browser and directly opening this page. Click on the "download tool now" button to save the software on your PC. Then run the tool to install it.

The second screen asks you if you want to get rid of your apps and settings and keep your personal files or get rid of everything. Unless you want a totally clean machine, you'll most likely want to retain your personal files, so choose the option to "Keep personal files only" and then click the Start button.

The tool then downloads and installs Windows 10 from scratch. You'll want to take a nice, loooong coffee break as this process takes awhile to complete.

Finally, Windows delivers you to the Lock screen and then the sign-in screen. Log in as you normally would.

Windows will now set itself up. After the setup completes, you'll see that Windows 10 has reverted to a clean state with none of the junkware that plagued it before.

Of course, you'll have to reinstall any software or apps and restablish any customized settings to bring Windows back to the way you want it. That's why the best time to run the Refresh Windows tool, at least on a brand new PC, is as soon as you get it home and take it out of the box. That means less work for you and a PC unburdened by junkware.

Want to test your Internet speed? Google makes it very simple to do..

The Google search home page does quite a few tricks. Type in ‘Atari break out’ in Google image search or ‘Do a barrel roll’ on the search home page and you can see two of the most popular Google Easter eggs in action. The search page isn’t all games and quirks though. It can do lots of other things like perform unit, time, and currency conversations. You can also get the weather for your current location and look up the pronunciation of a word. The results are all displayed in a card on the Google Search page negating the need to click on and open a link. Another neat trick the Google search page can do is test your internet speed. Simply type ‘Speed Test’ in the search box and hit enter.

Open Google or, if Google is your default search provider, you can simply type ‘Speed Test’ into your browser’s search bar. On the Google search results page, you will see a card at the top with a ‘Run Speed Test’ button. Click it to start the speed test.

Make sure you do not have any file uploads or downloads in progress or it will impact the results.

The speed test will test both the upload and download speed you’re getting. The results appear in a card overlay on the search page and include the highest upload and download speed you’re getting. The results also tell you which server was pinged during the test as well as the latency.

You will also be told how slow or fast your internet speed is. If it’s too slow to stream a video, the result card will tell you as much. It’s pretty useful if you’re thinking of signing up for Netflix or Hulu.

 

You can rerun the test by clicking on ‘Test Again’ on the results page. The test comes courtesy of Measurement Lab, a partner of Google Open Source Research.

HP Printers Reject 3rd Party Ink Cartridges

On September 13^th, a firmware update, apparently released in March of this year became active, and disabled the use of any non HP security chipped cartridges.

3^rd party manufacturers and users have been quick to food HP with disgruntled comments and anger at the move. Disquiet was also evident in the covert manner with which HP executed the move, installing the firmware in March but not making it active until almost 6 months later in a move clearly designed to ensure as full a blanket penetration as possible.

Some of the error messages encountered by HP users include ‘cartridge problem,’ ‘one or more cartridges are missing or damaged,’ and ‘older generation cartridge.’ There were also reports on HP forums that genuine HP cartridges were being rejected as ‘damaged,’ or faulty.

HP issued this statement a few days after allegedly initially denying they had made any changes to their hardware:

“Beginning in 2015, HP implemented updates to the firmware related to the security chip in HP OfficeJet, OfficeJet Pro and OfficeJet Pro X printers that maintains secure communications between the cartridge and the printer. The purpose of this update is to protect HP’s innovations and intellectual property. These printers will continue to work with refilled or re-manufactured cartridges with an Original HP security chip. Other cartridges may not function. In many cases this functionality was installed in the HP printer and in some cases it has been implemented as part of an update to the printer’s firmware.”

HP users may not be forced to use HP only ink for long however. 3^rd party Dutch manufacturer, 123inkt.nl has said it may already have found a way to circumnavigate the new HP firmware update by making new ink cartridges that can bypass the efforts made by HP.

Time will tell.