Neha Tiwari Pvt. Ltd.

A few days ago, a wonderful change took place on a website I frequent. YouTube took the leap to a widescreen player!

For as long as I have been in production, I have been a huge video player geek. One of my MOs at CNET News.com was to get a better video player for the site, because I really felt it affects the viewer experience. You can have video gold, but in a horrid player, it will never get the chance it deserves.

I have seen other sites have great players, like Revision3, Mevio, Hulu, and CNET TV. I also love how everyone is allowing HD uploads, including one of my faves, Vimeo. Let’s hope this upping of the bar at YouTube inspires every video provider to step it up. The only thing I am wondering is if embedding in widescreen is possible. I don’t think you can yet, but would be a great added feature.

In any case, congratulations YouTube on your new super snazzy video player!

After the turkey has been digested, the last board game played and the kitchen cleanup is underway, there is a family tradition that takes place in my household. It’s the time renowned tradition of grabbing your laptop and starting the cyber race to Black Friday deals!

Last year, I had a bit of a Black Friday extravaganza, but this year it will probably be more necessity based (hey, I am unemployed!) I am looking for a massive external hard drive, possibly 1 terabyte which will store all my media files. I would like to snag an all-in-one printer, fax, scanner laser color printer, and perhaps a new monitor for my PC. I currently have a Jabra Bluetooth for my cellphone, but will look for an affordable Jawbone. Lastly, some DVDs and thumbdrives that are typically dirt cheap.

I am sure you all will be making the rounds at Best Buy, Frys, Circuit City and other retailers, but there is also the web component where a number of good deals are found. Here are some of my favorite Black Friday sites (in no particular order):

1. Black Friday Ads: Black Friday Ads is a site that I have used extensively in the past. It is one of the most organized sites, with clear navigation and the option to sign-up for the Black Friday newsletter which will email deals to your inbox as they become available. Both electronic and more general items are listed, and the most popular deals are highlighted and starred.

2. Black-Friday.net: This simple blog shows off Black Friday deals in a Wordpress format, and also has categories and store subdivisions. This site includes many retailer ads, a good resource for those of us waking up at 4AM to get those doorbusters!

3.Black Friday @gottadeal.com: blackfriday.gottadeal.com is like a combination of the last two sites. Similar to Black Friday Ads, gottadeal has a newsletter sign-up; like Black-Friday.net is is subdivided by category. They have time line of what to expect on their site as the big day nears and an active forum for gains and gripes.

4. FatWallet.com: FatWallet is a great place to visit anytime you are looking for a deal, but they definitely cater to the Black Friday crowd as well. FatWallet offers an iPhone app to follow BF deals, as well as a Twitter account that everyone should follow. There is also the nice “compare prices” feature that comes in handy when trying to find the best deal.

5. TGI Black Friday: TGI Black Friday captures the spirit of the holiday and provides pictures for a number of the stuff that is on sale. You can make a shopping list by clicking the “add” button, or email it to a friend. There are many tech and non-tech items, as well as discount coupons for popular chains like Macy*s.

Most of the above sites will also continue coverage into Cyber Monday, so check them out again for the stuff you couldn’t acquire on Black Friday. I hope that you all get what you are eying! If anyone sees good deals on external hard drives or printers, please let me know. Happy holiday shopping, readers!

I’ve been reminiscing about my college days lately, especially about how I interacted with entertainment on the internet. Back then, the viral video was a new concept, largely untouched by marketing execs and advertisers. It was in its purest form with the intent focused on college kids across the country making fools of themselves on YouTube for short-lived notoriety.

One of the first videos that caught my attention [and is now synonymous with my college experience] was “Milk and Cereal.” It quickly became the anthem of college male roommates across the nation, and a number of different ‘covers’ popped up on YouTube. I saw what I believed was the original in my sophomore year, performed by two UC Berkeley students lip syncing to the song by G. Love and Special Sauce.

My friends and I would listen to the video over and over, and pretty much had it memorized. To this day, when anyone utters the words “milk and cereal” I always want to respond with “cereal and milk, cereal and milk.” The video with the two lovable Asian boys was passed around the campus, especially since they were students at our college. I remember finding out who they were and even friend requesting them on Facebook. How silly is that? Then again, I also am Facebook buds with William Hung since he bangs [and we both bleed blue and gold].

Viral videos were fun, random, and lacked ambition which retrospectively seems refreshing. There were no fakers like Lonely Girl, or complete websites devoted to making ‘funny viral videos’ like College Humor or Funny or Die. YouTube was filled with amateurs, a haven for the new generation of America’s Funniest Home Videos [sans commentary by Bob Saget], not aspiring actors.

My friend Sam showed me a great little time line that shows the internet memes, starting from the 1990s.

Thinking back, what was the first viral video that really struck you? I feel that there are so many great stories here–I would love to hear what you have to say in the comments.