WIRED ON SHOPPING, and how to score the best deals online. I was at the mall doing Christmas shopping yesterday, and it was already really busy. I talked to several folks who work there, all of whom thought it would be a pretty big Christmas, retail-wise. That means I’ll be visiting the mall a lot less for the next month or so, until the rush is over. I’ve tried to do my meatspace shopping earlier, and leave the rest for online shopping so as to avoid the crowds.

But “buy early” — one of Wired’s suggestions — may not always be good advice: Amazon, at least, will be having a big Black Friday sale with special offers to compete with the malls.