Some of us probably brushed this off as an isolated incident, as Apple really does not have a blockbuster product this holiday season to draw the crazed Black Friday masses in. But according to Piper Jaffray Apple analyst Gene Munster, his research is showing that slowness at Apple Stores may have actually been the norm.

About 8.3 Macs per hour were sold at retail that day at stores visited by Munster’s team, well down from the 13 per hour rate last year. However, it would be fair to note that Best Buy’s Apple “store-within-a-store” has expanded significantly and a few more Apple Stores have opened since last year.

(Some of Apple’s partners were also offering much better discounts on Apple products than the company was, too…)

Before Redmond starts dancing in the streets, take this into account. Analysis of Apple’s online store performance shows 39 percent year over year growth in sales. This outperformed the entire e-commerce sector by three times. Munster says that this online jump should be more than enough to offset any losses at retail.

But I did have fun thinking about both landmark shopping days as I wrote the first piece I’ve done for WePC.com in awhile. This one’s called “A Smart Skeptic’s Guide to PC Deals on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Beyond,” and is my attempt to summarize much of the advice I give friends and relatives who are shopping for computers during the holiday season. Take a look, share any tips of your own, then poke around WePC a bit–there’s lots of cool stuff there, including the opportunity to win free computers.

Apparently, someone in Redmond neglected to remember that Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year. The Cashback site was unable to cope with the heavy volume, and some customers–ones that were able to access the site at all, that is–were left with the wrong amount of cash back credited to their accounts.

One of the biggest snafus occurred when customers that were trying to take advantage of a generous 40 percent discount on HP products received as little as 3 percent cash back posted to their account, according to News.com, which also reported that Microsoft apoligized to shoppers who encountered Cashback glitches . A spokesperson told Technologizer that customers interested in following up on their Cashback rebate should contract Microsoft Live Search support to have their accounts credited.

The company’s initiative to compensate people for using its search engine began in May. Since that time, Microsoft’s share of the search business has fallen, according to multiple surveys. That’s not to say that the Live Search Cashback program is a bad idea–Microsoft is an underdog, and it needs to be creative and scrappy.

However, it had an opportunity to benefit from word of mouth had its Black Friday promotion gone well, and its failure to execute has left it at best no better off than it would have been on any given Friday.

comScore says that $534 million was spent by consumers online on Friday, likely attracted by better-than-normal deals being offered by desperate retailers. There was some crazy deals: the Epson store offered its R280 photo printer for $29.99, a $70 savings.

Traditionally, heavier online shopping comes today, known as “Cyber Monday.” This is basically due to the fact that as people return to work, they use their downtime to further complete their holiday shopping. It has also been perpetuated by online retailers, which have begun to offer special deals just for the day.

Looking around, there’s not as many deals this year, although Best Buy has its own special page as does competitor Circuit City. comScore says to watch the growth for Cyber Monday: typically it has come within a few percentage points of the overall holiday season growth for online shopping.

If comScore is right, expect that number to be flat. The firm says it sees no growth year-over-year for online shopping.

Can we all agree that there’s no discount on a 52-inch TV or a GPS device that is worth a single human life, or even the real risk of the loss of a single human life? And that American’s retailers should be damn careful about intentionally whipping teeming crowds of people into a frenzy?

Comparatively uninmportant side note: Sears.com crashed today, presumably under the weight of Black Friday traffic. It was down for about two hours.

Report on my day: I spent much of it bumming around bookstores in Northern California’s Sonoma county, getting a head start on my Christmas shopping. Got some good deals, too. I saw no angry crowds, didn’t have to engage in any fistfights, and don’t even remember standing in line for more than a couple of minutes…

Today, in case you hadn’t noticed, is Black Friday–America’s legendary shopping-day-of-all-shopping-days. The sales are unprecedented, the shopping hours are extended, and hey, it might even help nurse our battered economy back to health. But me, I may get through the day without buying anything more costly than a Diet Coke. I love saving money on gizmos and gadgets as much as the next technophile, but I’ve never found Black Friday alluring–in fact, I take a great deal of pleasure in ignoring it.

How come? Lots of reasons, actually–all of which you’ll find after the jump.

1. There’s no such thing as a once-in-a-lifetime price. In fact, everything on sale today will eventually be available at prices as good or better every day of the year. So why rush?

2. I don’t wanna run the risk of encountering massive discounts on things I’ve recently bought at full price and getting all depressed.

3. Even in pleasant Northern California, lining up in front of a strip mall at 2am to be first in line for a 4am store opening in late November involves a real risk of frostbite.

4. Shoppers scrambling for insaaaaaaaaaaaaane sales always makes me think of old movies and/or cartoons involving swarms of women whacking each other over the head with their handbags and bopping each other in the snoot as they fight over discounted girdles.

5. They also make me think of tragic madness-of-crowds phenomena such as soccer disasters. There may be no recorded instances of mass casualties involving consumers squabbling over $40 GPS units, but I don’t want to risk it.

6. Even as I write this, genuinely horrifying news items about this year’s Black Friday are emerging.

7.The name “Black Friday” is strangely discordant for an event you’re supposed to want to participate in. Wikipedia reminds us of these other Black Fridays, none of which were exactly cheery:

Black Friday (1869), the Fisk-Gould Scandal (24 Sep), a financial crisis in the United States

Haymarket affair (11 November 1887), four Chicago anarchists hanged, without evidence, for the deaths of seven police officers during a labor meeting

Black Friday (1919), the Battle of George Square (31 Jan), a riot stemming from industrial unrest in Glasgow, Scotland

Black Friday (1939), a day of devastating fires in Australia (13 Jan)

Black Friday (1944), a disastrous attack by the The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada (13 Oct) near Woensdrecht during the Battle of the Scheldt

Hollywood Black Friday (5 October 1945), a riot at the Warner Bros. studios stemming from a Confederation of Studio Unions (CSU) strike leading to the eventual breakup of the CSU

Black Friday (1978), a massacre of protesters in Iran (8 Sep)

1985 United States-Canadian tornado outbreak/The Barrie Tornado, (May 31, 1985)

Edmonton Tornado (July 31, 1987), a tornado touching down in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Black Friday (1982), the Argentinian invasion of the Falkland Islands, sparking the Falklands War

Black Friday (Maldives) (2004), a crackdown in Maldives, Malé (13 Aug) on peaceful protesters

8. The name “Black Friday” also reminds me of Black Sunday, John Frankenheimer’s 1977 movie about a zeppelin-propelled terrorist attack on the Super Bowl.

9. Come to think of it, the name reminds me of any unfortunate historical event whose name had a disturbing adjective and a day of the week in it, such as multiple Bloody Sundays.

10. I need to save my dough for all those Cyber Monday sales coming next week.

11. I’d rather spend quality time at home with friends and family in front of a cozy fire. Assuming that I can find anyone who isn’t spending the entire day at Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, and/or Wal-Mart.

12. Fairly or unfairly, bizarre irrational discounts also remind me of car-dealer scams –you know, the ones involving something like a $12,995 Toyota Camry that’s trumpeted in ads but is impossible to buy. I assume the “best” Black Friday deals work something like that.

13. I have these paranoid fantasies that manufacturers somehow keep track of which products were bought dirt cheap on Black Friday and provide intentionally cruddy tech support and warranty service to those buyers.

14. We’re in the middle of the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression (at least!). I need to save my money for necessities. Most of which you can’t plug into the wall, and none of which have high-resolution color screens.

15. Also, if I’m going to end up living in a refrigerator box, I won’t have room for a 52-inch HDTV anyhow.

16. It doesn’t seem unrealistic to assume that retailers are heading into a disappointing holiday season and may therefore have to resort to multiple Black Friday-like sales between now and Christmas.

17. And then hold post-Christmas sales that are at least as crazy.

18. I’m pretty conservative when it comes to buying things on credit, so “No Interest for 18 Months Storewide“-type deals don’t get me excited. I’m just not willing to plunge into years of debt to have a better TV picture or more channels of sound.

19. A little piece of me dies every time I steer my shopping cart to the front of a store and find lines snaking right past the jewelry counter into the lingerie section.

20. The Google search “Wal-Mart stampede” returns 167,000 results.

21. This:

22. I belong to AmazonPrime, which means I can get almost anything Amazon sells shipped to me overnight for $3.99. No waking up at 1am, no frostbite, no stampede, no lines into the lingerie section.

23. Skipping Black Friday is a virtually painless way to convince yourself you’re part of the anti-consumerist movement. Leaving 364 other days each year to do what you will.

24. I kind of assume that the best products are the ones least likely to be offered at bizarre, irrational discounts.

25. The first known reference to Black Friday dates only from 1966; if humanity survived for that long without it, so can I.

26. Those of us who are self-employed should really be working today. In my case, that means writing this post.

27. Almost by definition, next year’s Black Friday deals will be better than this year’s. Why not wait and reap the rewards?

28. With the economy in the shape it’s in, I’m waiting for the even better deals that will surely be available at going-out-of-business sales held by major retailers who will be forced to liquidate after disappointing Black Friday sales.

29 I love my car and don’t want to expose it to the Death Race 2000-like madness to be found in mall parking lots today (and, probably, every day through Christmas eve).

30. I’m still shaking off my Tryptophan-induced coma from yesterday.

And with that, I think I’ll take another nap. Happy shopping, everybody!

71 percent of online consumers plan to spend less during the holiday, citing inflation and the worsening economy as reasons for doing so. Two-thirds plan to give “practical” gifts, which include cash, gas cards, money, and other necessities.

Only 13 percent seem unfazed, saying they are not changing their spending habits as a result of economic conditions. A quarter are not changing their spending habits but attempting to save money when possible, and the remainder are making a concerted effort to pull back.

Some of the techniques most commonly used are sticking to a budget (53 percent), shopping at discount/outlet stores (43 percent — Walmart stock anyone?), and using shopping comparison websites (37 percent).

Many are staying home to shop: 55 percent expect to do a majority of their holiday purchasing online, up 10 percent from last year.

All this likely means less money will be spent on those big ticket high-tech gifts: HDTVs, Blu-ray players, DVRs, and so forth. That is not good news for the tech sector — which up until recently was actually fairing well when compared to other industries.

I know I have been beating the drum for the bears of Wall Street a lot here lately. However, in an increasingly technology-hungry society, a significant downturn will have significant effects for tech. In the last significant recession back in the early 1990s, the industry was still in its infancy. Now, we’ve got our eggs in a lot more baskets, and a lot more prone to the vagaries of the economy.

(Note: the PriceGrabber survey was taken October 20 to November 10, and surveyed 2,641 respondents through an online survey. It has a margin of error of 2%.)

As Harry has covered so well over the past few weeks, the major electronics retailer has filed for bankruptcy, and that it was closing 115 of its locations.

Black Friday would seemingly not be the best thing for a company that’s trying to dig itself out of a hole. But, suprisingly enough, Circuit City’s offerings (or at least the presentation of them) seem to be one of the more aggressive.

Four HDTVs would be available: An Element 18.5″ 720p for $199.99, an Toshiba 32″ LCD for $449.99, ans two Samsungs: a 42″ 720p plasma for 699.99, and a 46″ 1080p for $1099.99.

Things that caught our eye: The Xbox 360 bundles. The Arcade bundle for $199 includes a game, wireless controller, and refurbished 20GB HDD, for $100 more you can step up to the 60GB HDD, an additional free game, and a $30 gift card.

At least 60 CD and DVD titles would be priced at $2.99, and about 200 more would be priced at $3.99. Like other retailers it would offer the standard $399 laptop.

Here’s the ad scan courtesy of blackfriday.info.

See our other Black Friday tech deal coverage by clicking here.

According to a copy of a circular obtained by CNNMoney.com, here are the specials — and they look pretty much like the standard fare. What stands out to us is the Samsung 50-inch plasma HDTV for $798, a hundred bucks cheaper than Best Buy (probably the same model, too!).

Other items that may or may not get you moving after all that turducken:

• Xbox 360 package for $199, includes Guitar Hero III and wireless guitar;
• A Magnavox Blu-ray player for $128 (this is already on sale for $198);
• and an HP Pavilion desktop computer for $398.

Standard fare on DVD and CD specials and whatnot, We don’t have the ad, and don’t expect to — Walmart is pretty quick to send out cease and desists to those that dare leak its Black Friday ads. But there you go, sorry it isn’t more exciting.

See our other Black Friday tech deal coverage by clicking here.

Our first stop on our journey is our friends at Best Buy. Now mind you, this is the company that said there was a “rapid, seismic drop” in its sales and called the current retail environment “the most difficult climate we’ve ever seen.” So, don’t be surprised when the leaked details of its sales are nowhere near what they have been in years past.

Among the deals we’re seeing are a 80GB PS3 with Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction and the Blu-ray title Casino Royale for $399.99 (basically, you’re getting a game and movie you’d probably not buy on your own for free), a Panasonic Viera 50″ Plasma for $899.99 (I’m guessing it is a discontinued set cause the model numbers don’t match the currently available 50″ Viera through the retailer, nor is it available through Amazon), and a Toshiba laptop for $379.99.

Nothing really crazy here, but the discounts on items don’t seem to be as great as they were in past years. You have your typical deals on CDs and DVDs, your standard discounts on video cameras, HDTVs, and peripherals, but the true deep discounted stuff is few and far between here.

Hat tip to blackfday.com for the ad, which can be seen here.

See our other Black Friday tech deal coverage by clicking here.