Net Xpress: There are deals galore, even before Black Friday

It’s hard to believe this year is just about over. November is here and from here until the first week or so in January, many have their minds focused on holiday shopping. With the current state of  the economy, folks have made a slight shift in how this task is being carried out.
Consumers no longer have to wait in the dark and cold weather conditions to snag a great buy for themselves or their loved ones. Not only can they choose to purchase online, but they can buy weeks in advance and avoid the holiday scurry.
Retailers are already offering better than Black Friday sales throughout the month to lure shoppers and their money. Tech buys such as laptops, netbooks, desktop computers and gaming systems are all being presented at unbelievable prices.
Online stores also are offering plenty of great deals for holiday shoppers. One store, Newegg.com, is offering a month-long sale event called Black November.
There are several online sites that are dedicated in helping holiday shoppers discover the best buys during the holiday season. One of my most favorite of these is a site called Black Friday Ads at www.bfads.net. A simple search of the words “black friday” should deliver more than plenty others.
The best way to keep up with all your favorite stores and their holiday offerings is to join their mailing lists. Folks on those mailing lists are usually privy to details about upcoming sales at least a day or two before the general public gets the information.
One added bonus for shoppers is that they can usually purchase the sale items they see in a flyer online. This saves time, gas and sometimes a few extra dollars.
If you are leery of shopping online, one option is to purchase a prepaid Visa or Mastercard and use that instead of your personal bank card for online purchases.
No matter how you intend to shop this season, remember to shop smart. Make your shopping lists and always compare prices. Do research on the items online before you go so you know what to expect. Try to avoid impulse buys so you don’t get distracted from what you really intend on purchasing.
Good luck on your shopping adventures!

Microsoft security updates
Microsoft released three security patches to fix 11 flaws in their software for their November security updates. Among those one was rated critical and the other two were rated important.
Programs affected by the flaws include Microsoft Office products including Microsoft Office for Mac 2011, Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer and Microsoft Office XP SP3/2003 SP3/2007 SP2/2010 32- and 64-bit; and Microsoft Forefront Unified Access Gateway.
Read more at www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms10-nov.mspx.

Linux update
xPUD is a unique kind of Linux distro that mainly consists of a Web browser and a media player. The distro is fast and light and its size is usually under 35MB. xPUD only requires 256MB RAM and 64MB free disk space. This makes it a great choice for kiosks, netbooks and other areas where Web apps are needed.
xPud is presented with a simple graphical interface. The xPUD interface features four tabs: Home, Menu, File and Setting. All of xPUD’s applications reside within the Menu tab.
xPUD can run from either a CD, a USB flash drive or a hard drive. The distro can run as a standalone operating system, in a Virtual Machine or as a dual-boot OS along with Windows or Linux.
Learn more about xPUD at www.xpud.org/.

Sites to see
November is Diabetes Awareness Month. Visit the American Diabetes Association Web site at www.diabetes.org.

E-mail me at sheila@amnews.com; fax me at (859) 236-9566; or write me snail mail at The Advocate-Messenger, P.O. Box 149, Danville, KY 40423-0149.