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How the 'Grinch bots' stole Christmas
Resellers have existed since way before the internet. But with the surge of online shopping, they have found the perfect weapon to aid their business: bots, automated software that can add products to a virtual cart and purchase them faster than any human. Even if your browser autofills personal information, like your address and credit card, and it only took you one minute to get to the checkout page -- that's too slow. Bots can buy almost anything in a matter of seconds, which is why they've become the ideal tool for people who make money by snatching up coveted items and selling them on eBay, Amazon and Craigslist for a profit.
Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Shopping Edition!
It's Sunday once again and this can mean only one thing: Talkcast Time! If the holiday crazies haven't completely overcome you yet, join me at 5PM Hawaii/7PM Pacific/10PM Eastern for some holiday goings-on. We'll be discussing gifts for those who haven't finished shopping already, primarily from our own Holiday Gift Guides, but we're also looking for your suggestions as well. What's the one thing you've asked Santa for? What's the killer gift idea you have for someone else? Let us know! As usual, the chat room will be providing color commentary and generally trying to cause trouble, so do join them, it's always a lovely conversation going on in conjunction with the recording. And besides, you never know who will actually show up! Also keep in mind that we are planning to have some aftershow tonight, and it's been a while since the last one so it's bound to be interesting. Come find out why we never EVER record it! Your calls and questions help us make the show the best it can be, otherwise I'm just talking to myself! To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (yay for free cellphone weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite, or Blink Lite SIP clients; basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!
Ablegamers releases shopping list for disabled players
If you are a disabled player or know one, you might need some help with your gift shopping. Well, worry no more: Ablegamers.com has compiled a pretty nice list of items for your loved ones! Let's say you want a great iPad mount -- well someone has made one. Perhaps you're really needing an old-fashioned joystick controller, complete with extenders and customizable buttons? Well, there's one of those too! There are literally millions upon millions of disabled people in North America alone. Of those, a good percentage are gamers -- or want to be gamers but have issues connecting to and participating in these wonderful games that we all love. Why not buy one of these items for the disabled person in your life? Or perhaps you could locate a stranger who needs the item -- just ask your gaming buddies. Don't be surprised when someone knows somebody else who could use something that appears on this list! Thanks to Ablegamers.com, some players will not be left out of the game!
Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide: Toys
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today's bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. So, you're here, and you probably like toys, or you're just really stuck with what to get for your lesser-geeks family and friends. Our guess is that you want something that even you want to play with (and maybe eventually repossess them when the love is over), but at the same time you want to avoid toys that'll drive you nuts when you're living with the lucky recipient. We know it's no easy task here, so we've picked out some of the hottest toys this year to keep things fresh for a while. Read on for some joyous gift inspiration.%Gallery-79794%
IGN picks its top 10 PSP games for this holiday
Just in time for next week's infamous Black Thursday, IGN has released its 2006 Holiday Buyer's Guide and has also added their 10 choices for PSP games that should fill your stockings this Christmas. That's if you've been a good boy or girl, because if you've been bad, you get Family Guy. Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception Daxter Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories Killzone: Liberation LocoRoco Medal of Honor Heroes Mercury Meltdown Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror Tekken: Dark Resurrection What, no Sega Genesis Collection or EA Replay? And while Daxter is a very good game, I don't think too many kids will go Nintendo 64 Kid crazy over getting a game released in March. Still, this is a pretty decent list, and I can't argue with it too much. If you're PSP shopping for someone, you might want to refer to this list.
