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holiday

The world is getting unhappier, according to Twitter

'Tis the season to be jolly. And a lot of us are during the holidays, if statistical analyses of our tweets provide sufficient measure.

But overall happiness appears to be on a gradual decline since 2009, according to a University of Vermont analysis of some 46 billion words tweeted by 63 million users since 2009.

The team compared a wide range of words and phrases--including hahaha and lol--to "happiness scores" of the 10,000 most common English words. Words such as happy and laughter appear at the top of the 1-to-9 scale, while terrorist gets 1.30.

Not … Read more

Online holiday spending hit all-time high last week

Even though the economy is still having trouble kicking in to high gear, consumers are spending boatloads of cash on gifts this holiday season.

Between November 1 and December 18, U.S. online shoppers have spent a whopping $32 billion, jumping 15 percent compared with the same period last year, when sales hit $27.8 billion, research firm ComScore reported today. Last week's sales performance was most impressive, hitting $6.3 billion during the seven-day period ended December 18 and setting a new all-time spending record for a single week. Last year, online shoppers in the U.S. spent $… Read more

Get free next-day shipping from the Apple store

Procrastinators of the world, rejoice! If you want to give someone the very best gift of all--an Apple product--it's not too late. Apple is offering free next-day shipping on select items.

Don't worry--"select" doesn't mean only lame stuff like cases and cables. You can nab free expedited shipping on iPhones, Apple TVs, non-engraved iPods and iPads, and non-customized Macs. Normally this runs at least $16--and sometimes a lot more. (Depends on the product, natch.)

To get the deal, make sure to choose "free Express Shipping" at checkout.

Lots of other stores offer … Read more

Shopping for a gamer? CNET's Holiday Help Desk has your back

Gamers are possibly the most fun people to shop for. They always want something, and if you guess right, you're a hero for the rest of the year.

There's just so much that brings them insane amounts of joy: a new controller (woot!), the latest game (Batman: Arkham City, anyone?), a geeky gaming headset (hey, it's important), and the mother load of all gamer gifts, a brand-new console.

If you're still unsure which of these pretty sweet options to get for the adorable gaming addict in your life, let CNET's Holiday Help Desk help. … Read more

Multi-deal Monday: Free video editor, cheap games, last-minute gifts, and more!

First things first: Don't forget to join me for the final CNET Holiday Help Desk of 2011, which airs live today at noon PT (or 3 p.m. for my fellow ET-ers).

Speaking of holiday help, if you need to edit some scandalous Christmas-party videos, you might want something a little more powerful than Windows Live Movie Maker. Get Wondershare's Vivideo Video Editor for free when you enter passcode too hard to say goodbye, click Get It Free, and supply your name and e-mail address. (Be sure to click Get Keycode after that.) The program is available for … Read more

App makers rushing to beat Apple's holiday deadline

If you're an iOS app developer and you're hoping to get your new project in Apple's App Store in time for Christmas, you might want to stock up on Red Bull.

According to The New York Times, Apple's review team is quickly approaching its annual holiday shutdown. And that means that after Thursday, no one will be on hand to vet new iPhone or iPad apps until well after the holiday.

Christmas, writes Jenna Wortham in The Times,

is the biggest day of the year for app sales, which can mean big money for developers.

That … Read more

Christmas 2011 online shopping deadlines

Still haven't finished your Christmas shopping? Hey, we don't judge.

But you are down to the wire if you still hope to get some tech toys delivered before December 25. We've put together this list of shipping deadlines for popular places to pick up tech gifts to show you where and when to get your last-minute tech gifts delivered on time. Expect to pay a premium for procrastination, but these places will get the goods to your giftees just in the nick of time.

Keep in mind that the deadlines apply to the 48 contiguous U.S. … Read more

Awesome-sounding audio gift ideas

Looking for gift ideas for that special audiophile in your life? Here are some, priced from affordable to crazy expensive. Let's get started!

"Miles! Live at Montreux - The Definitive Miles Davis at Montreux Collection, 1973-1991" This historically important 10-DVD set ($150) captures all of Miles Davis' performances at the Montreux Jazz Festival between 1973 and 1991. The final concert features Davis paying tribute to his collaborator and close friend Gil Evans, who died in 1988. The audio and video quality of the collection varies, but most of it is surprisingly good.

Audio Technica ATH M50 headphones These headphones are nearly impossible to fault; they're extremely comfortable, great-sounding, ruggedly built, and fairly priced. The ATH M50 ($199) is a closed-back design and provides nearly as much isolation from external noise as noise-canceling headphones, but sounds better than any NC headphones I've heard to date.… Read more

At Levi Strauss, green trees are brown (photos)

SAN FRANCISCO--A holiday "tree" lot here at Levi Strauss & Company's headquarters is offering up a green alternative to live trees.

Antlre Creative, a San Francisco-based eco-conscious design company, created 100 percent recycled cardboard trees, which grew into a forest in Levi's buidling lobby (shown above).

The large trees sell for $35, and small ones for $25. Proceeds from the fundraiser go to Friends of the Urban Forest. These "greener" trees are produced and manufactured entirely with solar energy and are inspired by recycling.

And while we're in the holiday spirit, here's … Read more