This is a sponsored post, but I'm not here to advertise anything, just to "talk about technology" in general.  As the title would suggest, I'm buying an HDTV and since I'm doing the research and Black Friday is coming up, I thought I'd share it with you.  Enjoy.

First of all, why did it take me so long to buy an HDTV?  I have seen what a difference they make and it is pretty jaw dropping I must admit.  But, ...well, to be blunt, I'm cheap.  

You've got your bleeding edge tech geeks, your early adopters, your mainstream buyers, your "wait for it to come down in price" buyers, and the occasional "you mean they make TVs in color now?" folks.  Put me in the "wait for it to come down in price" category.

The good news is that we're finally seeing the prices on these things fall.  Overstock and low demand is dropping prices and the theory is that they will drop further on Black Friday.  That doesn't mean you should pass up on any deep discounts you see.  Some of the "early bird" sales are pretty good and the longer you wait the more you risk seeing the selection dwindle (at any particular store).

Below are some bullet point pointers that I've gleaned over the last few weeks of research.  Please feel free to add your own.

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This is a sponsored post but I get to pick the topic, so I'm going to talk about twitter.

This whole Villanueva issue has brought the social media platform back to the forefront of NBA news.  Danny Ainge, for one, isn't a fan. (via Chris Forsberg)

"And the other point I'd like to make, before we move on to real basketball, is ... tweeting is about self-promotion in most cases. He's [Villanueva] not trying to be a public servant by telling everybody. As a matter of fact he's the one who brings light to this attention, and if anybody is offended it's Charlie Villanueva who has brought that to attention, not KG.

While he isn't much of a fan of it either, Doc isn't going to pull the plug on the players.

"I can't go in and say 'Hey guys let's make a rule that there's no Tweeting.' That's nothing I'm going to do. The Tweeting thing doesn't bother me, it's what we're Tweeting about and when.

He's probably wise not to stop the tweets.  Back in August I pointed out that there are a whopping 10 Cetlics on twitter.  Here's the list:

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This is a sponsored post by Samsung.  You may have noticed an ad or two of theirs on the site.  The thing is, they only really gave me a vague idea on what they want me to write about.  They said "whatever you want to write about regarding technology being used to enhance the fan experience."  So with that open ended guidance, I thought I'd pass the question along to you and ask you how you interact with technology in relation to being a fan.  It is an interesting topic and something that I'm sure many of you are passionate about.

So here are some topic starters:

• Blogs: Well, obviously if you are reading this, you like blogs.  But how do you access them?  Do you have an RSS reader or do you always come right to the site?  (I mean, this IS your homepage right?)
• Social Media: (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)  I'm getting more into these things as I go along and get used to them.  They certainly seem to be the fastest growing trend out there right now.  (related: twitpic, twitvid, etc.)
• Smartphones: For surfing the web, checking your favorite blogs (here's our mobile-friendly site!), and even watching the games.  I'm sure there's much more, but I don't have one so I guess I'm behind the times (hint hint to advertisers, hook me up!).
• League Pass: Pretty much essential for the non-local fan needing their daily fix.  They also have broadband access to watch the games from your computer.
• Podcasts: By now you are familiar with our friends from Celtics Stuff Live, but there are plenty of other options for downloading NBA podcasts so you never have to sit through endless radio commercials.
• High Def. TV's: Another thing that I'm a little behind the times on - but I hope to be upgrading the home equipment before too long.  Seeing the game in high def really makes you never want to watch it in anything but that again.