OK, OK, so I’ve been slacking off lately. I might as well just admit it and get it done with. Here’s hoping this will make some headway in making up for lost time, then: Woot is having a Sellout sale in which they’re letting the always desireable Xbox 360 Pro 60GB console go for just $229. I know what you’re thinking: “Oh, but it’s probably a refurb, and we all know how MS tends to treat refurbs”. Lucky for you, then, it’s not a refurb but a brand spankin’ new console.

Of course, you probably already know that the story has the 360 Elite (120GB) receiving a $100 price drop (to $299) to counter the newly minted PS3 slim 120GB version that was announced the other day at Gamescom, but still, for $229 you’d be hard pressed to find a better deal on the 360 right now. My feeling is snag it while it’s cheap, it won’t be too long before all you’ll get in this price range is the hard-drive-less Arcade model at $199 (though if Microsoft is smart, they’ll drop that sucker to $149 post-haste!).

Now about that Wii price drop…

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Today Apple, in what appears to be a vicious pattern of flogging my wallet until it cries, introduced the new iPhone 3G-S, which will launch in just shy of a week and a half. Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some hot iPhone action and I’ve been in a perpetual state of enthrallment with my current iPhone 3G since I got it in December. Nevertheless a gurgling, hissing voice has arisen with me and several heads have turned as I’ve uttered (uncontrollably) the words “We wants it, precious! Give it to us, it’s ours!” Yes, that’s just the kind of day I’ve had, thank you very much, Mr. Jobs.

So, beyond the obvious shiny, what does the new iPhone 3G-S bring to all those patient consumers who decided to tough it out? Here’s a quick and dirty chart to show you the difference and what you can expect to pay for that difference. Note also that the chart reflects todays price drop of the existing 8GB model iPhone 3G to 99 effing dollars.

Nevertheless, even the iPhone 3G remains an amazing device that can offer you the ability to be much more productive in your daily doings, so if the price has been what’s holding you back you no longer have any excuse. Unless I’m horribly mistaken (a distinct possibility, I haven’t done the research), this officially makes iPhone 3G the cheapest non-refurb Smartphone on the market.

Update: And it’s gone again. On the bright side, mine from the last deal arrived a couple of hours ago, so I’ll be posting my impressions in the next day or so!

Just a quick blurb to let you know, that Acer Netbook deal from TigerDirect is back! $199 is a killer deal!

I forget whether I’ve ever mentioned it before, but I’m a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff series, Angel. These two shows are, without a doubt, among the very best sci-fi/fantasy (and they contain elements of both, against a backdrop of our real world) ever committed to film for television. One of my favorite things about these series are the range of human experiences they reach out to. One episode might have you laughing your ass off, while the very next one might rip your still-beating heart out of your chest. Unlike most TV writers and their shows, the writers of Buffy and Angel are willing to do horrible things to the characters they’ve brought you to know and love, a fact which delivers a level of emotional interaction and drama that few shows will ever achieve.

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UPDATE: All good things must end, and this deal is dead as a doorknob! I got mine, did you get yours?

I realize I’ve had some substantial slackage of late, and for that I apologize. But on the bright side, today I’ve got a fantastic deal you should check out, and I just ordered one myself. TigerDirect is offering a refurbished Acer Aspire One Netbook for $199 with $1.99 shipping. I managed to get out the door for just over $201. The thing that sold me on it was that when I went to google reviews for it, I found that NotebookReview gave it very high marks and that, surprisingly to me, it also appears to be one of the best performing netbooks on the market compared to a bunch of others. That’ll all change once the nVidia ION platform launches, of course, but let’s face it, those will probably be twice the price for awhile, especially if their performance metrics are even close to what nVidia is claiming.

Interestingly, I also found a Youtube video demonstrating that this netbook will run Mac OSX, which I find surprising. I’ve also found that with a little work you can get the system to run Vista (ugh, why bother with that turd?), Windows 7 RC1, or even Ubuntu Linux if that’s your flavor. Pretty cool!

UPDATE: Bummer, it’s $38 now! Still, better than $50!

PREVIOUSLY: Well if that isn’t just the bee’s knees! Amazon has your Xbox Live Gold membership for a scant $29.97, no rebates required and you can get free shipping. If there was ever a good time to either subscribe or renew your subscription, this would be it! You can’t even get a cup of overly strong Starbuck’s coffee a month for this price!