Did You Buy Any Gadgets on Black Friday? [MakeUseOf Poll]

The United States of America has given thanks for another year, and that means Black Friday has also been and gone. Yes, you survived it yet again, managing to avoid being crushed under foot by stampeding bargain-hunters. Congratulations, one and all.

Then again, perhaps you avoided this unfortunate fate by staying in and binge-watching television all day instead. There’s only one way to find out… Poll!

Seedy CD Conversations

To answer this week’s question please scroll down the page until you see the poll staring back at you. But first, we need to look at the results from last week, when we asked, “Do You Still Own a CD Player?”

Out of a total of 395 votes, 42.8% chose Yes, But I Rarely Use It, 26.6% chose Yes, And I Use It Regularly, 12.9% chose Yes, But I Never Use It, 8.6% chose No, I Stream Everything, 4.6% chose No, I’m a Naughty Pirate, 3.5% chose No, I Buy Music Digitally, and 1% chose What Is a CD Player?

These results show that most people do indeed still own a CD player, with a total of 82.3% of people answering in the affirmative. However, the majority of those admit to rarely using it, if indeed ever.

Of those who don’t own a CD player, the majority stream their music through services like Spotify or Apple Music, while others either buy music digitally, or (Shock! Horror!) pirate everything.

Comment of the Week

We received a lot of great comments, including those from Colonel Angus, Bob Brandt, and Jon Glass. Comment of the Week goes to Marty Monroe, who earns our admiration and affection for this comment:

I still use a radio/CD/cassette almost every day, in addition to the CD player that is hooked up to my hi-fi. When I can, I purchase all my music on vinyl. When I can’t get the vinyl, then it’s a CD. I have never considered streaming music or buying digital downloads. Call me old fashioned by I like to own something physical.

I also regularly listen to cassettes. I have many old radio comedies that I recorded in the 1960s and 70s, many of which are unavailable in any other format. Back then, I spent many an hour tracking programs down, swapping them with like minded people around the world.

A few years ago, a friend gave me all of the surviving Hancock Half Hours as mp3s on CDs, which have all been cleaned up. I listened to one particularly rare episode which contains a number of brief pauses. These correspond exactly with the dropouts on my original cassette recording. So this has come home. Whenever I listen to these old comedies I always drag out the cassette. All that background noise adds to the authenticity of the listening experience.

We chose this comment because it offers an interesting insight from someone of a certain age. Over the last 50 years we have used vinyl, audio cassettes, compact discs, and (most recently) digital downloads.

However, just because a new format emerges doesn’t mean everybody automatically moves on from the older formats. As the resurgence of vinyl in recent years has demonstrated.

Black Friday Bickering

Black Friday has happened, with the holiday season now being in full swing. Retailers are desperate for you to buy stuff from them, whether you need it or not. And they kicked things off by cutting prices left, right, and center on Black Friday. And Cyber Monday. Probably.

We want to know whether you managed to nab a bargain over this past weekend. As MakeUseOf is a technology site, we’re only interested in the gadgets you have bought, so hand towels and garden furniture don’t really cut it. Do be sure to leave a comment detailing your purchase though.

Once you have voted in the poll above, please explain in the comments section below why you voted that way. If you got a bargain, what product was it and how much did you pay? If you didn’t get a bargain, how come you missed out? What made you choose to avoid Black Friday?

The more information you can provide with your comment, the more accurate our conclusions can be based on the results. The best comment of the week will win our everlasting admiration and affection. At least until we all meet back here again this time next week with a new question.

Image Credits: Alan Cleaver via Flickr