You’re probably thinking you have plenty of time to hunt down some gifts for that special tech lover in your family. Maybe it’s a “Secret Santa” thing and you need something for co-worker. Or maybe you just hate malls and the crazy people in them during the holidays. In case you haven’t looked at the calendar, there’s only a week left till Christmas and you still have to find something to give.
Of course, the economy isn’t helping anyone’s paycheck or assisting in easing stress levels. How do you keep the gifts fun, thoughtful, yet affordable? Here are some ideas that should put that fun back into Christmas. They range from fun to really cool and are in no particular order so enjoy!
For Video Lovers
Video recording has never been more popular. It seems there’s someone recording something everywhere at every moment whether it be someone doing stunts, people dancing at the mall, or adding your daily explorations to YouTube.
I’ve used a few mini video recorders like the Flip Mino and the Flip Ultra HD as well as the new Kodak Zi8 pocket sized video recorders. Any one of the regular Flip Mino and Flip Ultra HD or Mino HD recorders are arguably the easiest to work with in crowded, noisy areas since they record Mono audio only and give us resolutions up to 1280 x 720p. The Zi8 offers pretty decent Stereo recording as well as as an upgrade to 1080p video. Both support the most popular video formats which makes replaying video that much easier. The Flips take this up a notch by offering an extremely easy to use utility called Flip Share.
The Flip Video Line can be ordered directly from The Flip Website while the Kodak Zi8 can usually be found at NCIX or NewEgg though they seem to be scarce these days.
Useful Office Ideas
There are plenty of laptop accessories out there. However, this recent little find offers every useful laptop accessory we’ve all needed at one time or another all in one convenient little carrying case. Chances are that we still need one or two of the items in it now.
Included in the Laptop Essentials Kit are a Keypad, USB LED Light, Earbuds, USB Power Hub, USB Cabling, and Mouse. Either way, it’s one of the nicest little bundles I’ve seen guaranteed to accompany you on your business or personal travels. It’ll set you back around $49.95.
I recently found this LCD Monitor Shelf to be pretty handy. Or course, this is only one of many versions out there. This one just happened to offer a simple solution to a family member’s need for desk space. It also saved them from having to shell out another $100.00 for a new desk. It’s not a fun item, but it’s nice to save some money. Expect to pay about $39.99 for this.
The Fun Ideas
We all have those bleak, catatonic days at the office and would do just about anything to liven it up. Would you be willing to shock yourself back to life? No, we’re not suggesting Taser Wars. We’re suggesting the Laser Tag Shock Tanks.
A USB Rocket Launcher and the Laser Tag Shock Tanks would easily liven up the party even if there isn’t one. Heck, you could challenge your professional nemesis to a duel to settle differences of opinion. Don’t worry though. They don’t do enough damage to affect one’s pace maker or skin but everything has to have a disclaimer these days.
The tanks are about $60 for the pair while USB Rocket Launchers can run you about $25 but seem to be wildly popular so you may need to hunt around for them.
One of the coolest little tech toys I’ve come across is the EyeClops Night Vision Goggles. Until the recent release of the Modern War(Failure) 2: Prestige Edition which included a pair of toy NVGs, there wasn’t much interest in being able to see in the dark. The EyeClops cost about $60 to $80 rather than $160 and you don’t have to figure out what to do with one of the PC industry’s most hated game titles.
Computer Ideas
Rather than slam the Do-it-yourself enthusiasts with a hundred different computer upgrade ideas, we can easily just sum it all up by letting you know that upgrading your PC has never been so affordable. For as low as $500, one could upgrade to an Intel Quad Core i5 750 system. Or, $450 will land you a Quad Core AMD Phenom II system (even less if you opt for a Quad Core Athlon II).
Alas, the economy has also caused several integrated system builders to hack and slash prices like never before. This means even larger savings for you. If you don’t feel you have the drive to upgrade your own system, head over to iBUYPOWER and CyberPowerPC to see the holiday specials. I’ve never seen so much bang for the buck. It’s almost cheaper to buy a system than to build your own these days and both companies definitely know how to build them.
If you’re tired of the noisy performance components then you could be one of those Silent PC types. Check out Puget Systems who have quickly become the “professional integrators of silence”. They’ll whip you up a very quiet system with the latest components. You’ll find reasonable prices and you didn’t have to assemble it yourself.
Hurry Up!
You might not have a choice. You might HAVE to head to that crazy pit of hell known as “The Mall”. Or you can try your luck on the Interwebz. Though many retailers are competing with last minute shipping offers that guarantee a December 24th delivery, they have no control over traffic and other blunders perpetrated by the “Men in Brown” (or purple, or blue and red).
At any rate, we hope that these gift ideas give you some direction in finding those gifts that have evaded detection by your Holiday Gift Buying radar. Time is not on your side so hurry up and get out there, or click away on the Interwebz and hit order soon!
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