Tausi Insider

Photo : Joni Hanebutt ( Shutterstock ) Not only do Thanksgiving traditions vary across families (both biological and chosen), communities, and regions, they also have a tendency to evolve over time. This goes for the menu (e.g. the inclusion of Brussels sprouts since they became trendy in the early 21st century), as well as shopping habits. For some, digesting their dinner while waiting in line for discounted electronic devices became a yearly occurrence sometime in the 1990s or early 2000s. But that tradition has been fizzling out over recent years, as retailers respond to criticism that they’re ruining what’s supposed to be a “family holiday” for both shoppers and their employees, by closing on Thanksgiving Day. For your reference, here are some of the national retailers that will remain open on Thanksgiving Day, as well as a few that will be closed. Which stores are open on Thanksgiving Day 2022? Though the shift away from Thanksgiving Day shopping began before the days of...

Photo : Solid photos ( Shutterstock ) Smartphones have been the camera of choice for years, not only because of their convenience, but because of their excellent photo and video quality. Most of us like that about them. But if you’re online enough, you might have noticed something odd: More and more young people are choosing older point-and-shoot cameras to take their photos, rather than using their iPhones, or even a DSLR . Gen Z loves point-and-shoot cameras As evidenced by PetaPixel , the latest photography trend among Gen Z is the 2000s-era digital camera (or, as some loving refer to them, “shitty” cameras). The vibe you want is a slightly blurry, over or underexposed image with a classic orange date and timestamp in the corner of the frame. The shittiness is the point. The trend is taking advantage of a now “vintage” look (sorry, fellow millennials), invoking nostalgia for a more disconnected (if not analogue) photographic past some Gen Z’ers may or may not remember them...

Photo : SNAB ( Shutterstock ) Whether you love or hate Apple, we can all agree on one thing: Their products are expensive . Apple’s iPhones can easily cost over $1,000 , and MacBooks require a mortgage just to look at them. The thing is, you don’t need to buy these devices new in order to get the perks of buying new. The better way to shop Apple is to shop refurbished . If you haven’t heard of Apple’s Certified Refurbished store, that’s likely because Apple doesn’t advertise it much. After all, the company would prefer you to buy one of its latest products on the front page of its site. But if you’re not going to do that, it’d still like to sell you something, even if that something is previously used. With the Certified Refurbished store, Apple sells used devices at a discount. Depending on the device, the price cut can be modest or generous. As of this article, you can pick up a refurbished M1 MacBook Air for 15% off, leaving it $849 instead of $999. Apple lists this refurbi...

How Rakuten Works Formally known as Ebates, Rakuten is a cash back rewards app that earns you money when shopping with participating retailers. It’s fairly simple to use: If you’re on a website that supports Rakuten, you’ll see a pop-up appear letting you know how much cash back the stores allows, and offering a button that activates Rakuten then and there. Then, you continue to shop on the site, and anything you buy contributes to your Rakuten cash back. You’ll receive the cash back in the form of a check (no gimmicks!), but you do need to earn at least $15 before the check will be sent. Unfortunately, Rakuten’s biggest deals have come and gone following Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but there are still plenty of opportunities to take advantage of. If you’re already going to shop with these stores, why not make a little cash on the side? Not to mention, the app searches for available coupon codes to add at checkout, a feature central to another app you may have heard of ... ...

Photo : Emils Vanags ( Shutterstock ) If you’re buying Apple devices as last-minute gifts this holiday season, there’s an easy way to figure out if you still time to get them delivered before the big day. When ordering directly from Apple’s online store, you can quickly check if the iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and Apple Watches you’re looking for are indeed available to ship in time for you to wrap them. Head over to Apple’s holiday shipping page to check if the gadgets you want will be shipped on time. The “Order By” dates on the page reflect the last date you can place an order on Apple’s online store in order to get the gifts by Christmas. It’s too late for these items shipped from Apple At the time of writing, the following gadgets are listed as unavailable to ship in time for Christmas: iPhone 14 Pro iPhone 14 Pro Max AirPods Max (engraved) AirTag (engraved) Some other options, such as the iPad mini or non-engraved AirTags, are close to the cut-off dates for online orders on A...

Photo : ultrafx ( Shutterstock ) It’s not too late to get a deal on an Xbox for the holidays: Best Buy is offering the Xbox Series S right now for $250 and throwing a free wireless Xbox controller in the cart for you just in time for Christmas. The console already comes with one wireless controller, but having a second one (usually retailing for $40 to $65 ) feels extra nice . How to get the Best Buy Xbox Series S deal? When you add the Xbox Series S to your online cart, Best Buy should automatically add a free wireless Xbox controller to the order. You can pick it up at your local store or have it shipped to your home for free by Christmas. W ith Best Buy’s price- match program, you can also keep an eye out for any sweeter deals you find after the fact, such as t his Xbox Series S from BJ’s for $234.99 . The purchase will also come with free returns until Jan. 14, 2023 . How is the Series S different from the Series X? You can think of the Series S as the Series X’s younger ...

Photo : SolidMaks ( Shutterstock ) PlayStation 5 DualSense wireless controllers are selling for $50 right now at Walmart, and it’s the lowest price since their release. If you’re the only PS5 player in your family , consider this your Christmas present for yourself. You deserve it. Where to find PS5 Controllers for $25 off Right now, the DualSense Wireless controllers are also available for $50 at Target , Best Buy , Amazon , Newegg , and Walmart . However, only Walmart seems to be able to ship your order by Dec. 23 when buying online (although that always varies by ZIP code) . If Walmart sells out of stock, check out the other stores— there might be a chance you live close to one of their shipping distribution centers and could get it by Christmas. Also, most of the retailers give you the option to pick up the controller in person right away when you buy online. What’ s the DualSense Wireless Controller, anyway ? The DualSense Wireless Controller is the same controller...

Photo : Vitor Lando ( Shutterstock ) You’re Agent 47, dropped off at a high tech firm in Chongquing, China. Your objective is to eliminate a number of targets and hack the company’s data core. How you accomplish these tasks is completely up to you—just don’t get caught. The Hitman franchise has been around for decades, with the latest iteration beginning in 2016 and continuing in two sequels. Developer IO Interactive announced this month in a blog that the final installment of the trilogy, Hitman 3 , will become Hitman World of Assassination on Jan. 26, and will at that point include the previous entries, Hitman and Hitman 2 . The games are being consolidated in order to combine all the various versions and expansion packs into one title—and now is the time to buy it at a substantial discount. Why you should buy Hitman 3 right now All copies of Hitman 3 will update to Hitman: World of Assassination regardless of what platform you use to play the game. The all-in-one game w...

Photo : NYC Russ ( Shutterstock ) Getting a gift card at a discounted price can feel like a real win; it’s the sort of sale that truly feels like you’ve been given free money to tuck back into your pocket . However, it’s really only a deal if that gift card is for a store you were going to spend money in anyway— if you haven’t shopped at Old Navy in a decade , forcing yourself to do so because you got a deal on a gift card is unlikely to make you feel satisfied in the end. You should also always make sure the website you’re buying gift cards from is legit (a quick Google search can help, and if it seems at all sketchy, walk away); and i f you’re buying gift cards in a physical store,   inspect them to make sure they haven’t been tampered with . Where to find d eals on gift cards If you’ve ever looked to offload a gift card you knew you were never going to use, you may have heard of CardCookie . The website connects sellers of unwanted gift cards with buyers who covet th...

Photo : Serghei Starus ( Shutterstock ) Large appliances like refrigerators, ovens, washers, and dryers are major household investments. And while affordability is an important factor, you don’t want to have to constantly repair the appliance, or replace it too soon, so you don’t want to sacrifice quality. In many cases, being able to get the features you want at a price you can afford comes down to where you buy the appliance—including whether or not you can haggle. Here’s what to know. How to haggle when shopping for appliances It’s one thing to haggle when buying a used car, or piece of vintage furniture at a flea market, but according to a report from Consumer Reports (CR), it’s also possible to bargain when purchasing a new appliance. Using data from a survey of approximately 20,000 people who purchased more than 30,000 large and small appliances, CR analysts gained the following insights on consumers’ haggling successes and strategies: Just ask : Not sure where to start? A...

Photo : g0d4ather ( Shutterstock ) My friends, it’s been a great run—but Microsoft will stop selling Windows 10 on Tuesday, Jan. 31, one week from this article’s publication. The news isn’t necessarily shocking , since the company has been full-steam-ahead with Windows 11 since October 2021. However, it’s still a sad development. Windows 10 is the preferred OS for many PC users who still can’t stomach upgrading. Of course, Windows 10 isn’t dead . Microsoft will continue to support both Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro until Oct. 14, 2025, giving plenty of us on PC an excuse to keep running the OS until then. If you already have Windows 10 running on your PC, you’re good to go. But if you’re going to build a PC, you’re going to need a new license to install the beloved OS. Here’s where you can get one. Buy Windows 10 from Microsoft directly (while you can) As of this article, Microsoft is still selling Windows 10 licenses on its website. You can buy Windows 10 Home for $139, a...