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Your Holiday Present Wish List
Paul Boutin from Wired approached me to help them do a Holiday Present list for last-minute shoppers ... but I'm lazy, so I figured I'd ask you guys to help (in exchange for your services, the $750 writers fee will be donated to the EFF to help make sure that the net is still free next Thursday). Anyway, this is part one: The Call For Recommendations. Read on to see what we're looking for. Part 2 will come in December, and it will run both on Slashdot and in the print version of Wired, in time for your last-minute shopping. (Yeah, that's months away, but print moves a little slower then us ;) )
We're looking for suggestions in 3 different price tiers.
- Cheaper Then a Playstation 2 ($300 or less)
- Cheaper Then a Playstation 2's rumored eBay sale value ($301-$1500)
- Unlimited (Mommy, can I have a stealth bomber for Christmas?)
The suggestions posted in this discussion will be milked for ideas for creating "The List". If you post an idea, you run the risk of seeing your name show up in Wired and Slashdot (Santa reads at least one of them right?) and helping distribute Christmas (or fill-in-the-blank with whatever excuse for presents you can come up with in december... Merry Yaksmas! ) cheer to good little boys and girls.
Try to include a URL to a site where more information can be found on your Present Proposal. And try to include helpful information like price, and just why this is a good present idea.
And we'll pick this up in December.
So there's only one thing I really want.
THS
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THS
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"Poor girl looks as confused as a blind lesbian in a fish market." - Simon R. Green
http://www.phanderson.com/T_kit/overview.html A temperature monitering kit KIT-1820. Up to 8 temperature probes off of a serial port. Great for the tinkerer at only $25 (only includes one temp probe) If you read around on this guys webpage he sounds like something else, the wonderfull teacher (who actually cares) that many of us never had.
That's a good name--ground! I wonder if it will be friends with me?
On the other hand, who needs stupid Wired where more than 50 per cent of the pages got ads, when we got our trusty /.
http://dtum.livejournal.com
paulb
Paul Bettner
Game Developer et al
Sorry, I don't recall the price. I don't think Amazon sells it, either.
Alright first the MP-786. Likko sells it under its brand name. Its a 160$ (including shipping) cd player that also plays mp3's burned on cd. Its a kick ass mp3 player you can buy from www.lik-sang.com. Check out mp3.com's glowing review at http://hardware.mp3.com/hardware/individual/portab le/3116.html. I actually bought two of 'em!
and second.....
"Infrared See-Through Filter PF" by kaya optics. Umm I'd like to explain it but the website does a pretty good job..http://www.kaya-optics.com/products/applicati ons.htm
When you click on the link below the where it says "Voyuerism not encouraged" im sure the movie they show is illegal in most of the world...
those two would be the coooolest presents for anyone to have.
aucun potage pour vous!
By the way, check out this posting to see some cool info about Porsche. ;)
.org/co mments.pl?sid=00/10/02/1235207&cid=193
http://slashdot
Refrag
I have a website. It's about Macs.
Mae Ling Mak, we salute you.
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All generalizations are false.
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I like to watch.
How about a personalized domain name and website? www.my-moms-first-name-last-name.com (you get the idea) I see a lot of registrars offering cheap 1yr registrations with a small website and email included. (try www.dotster.com or www.enom.com). Why so great? 1. You don't have to leave the house. 2. Near instant gratification on your purchase 3. You can wait until 10 minutes before you leave for Christmas dinner to buy it, and it's ready and waiting by the time you arrive. 4. No fumbling with wrapping paper/tape/ribbon Gigs
Actually, they're the same system now. May have been different before, but last time I checked the same company owned both brandnames and marketted the same product as both, depending on where.
A heck of a lot of parts - even of the old stuff - were interchangeable, though.
Greg
(Inside a nuclear plant)
Aaaarrrggh! Run! The canary has mutated!
I'll second the recommendations for the folding keyboard for the Visor (and Palm). I use it on my Visor Deluxe to take notes in class daily, and it's been an amazing success.
What I want (now! not x-mas) is the Citizen pn60i printer. IR port, as small as a (Maglight) Flashlight, so I can print my essays in class. Add in Palm Print to communicate with it and you're set (in theory, I guess I'll find out soon).
Not the same. You're still stuck with a 160*160 screen for one thing, while I get 640*240. Also, it don't exactly look stable. I can hold in one hand and type in the other without any problems at all.
Seriously, the keyboard isn't the only issue. The whole system is just better. It feels like a proper computer, while the Palm feels like a jumped up personal organiser. And no, that doesn't cause problems by being too complicated, it works beautifully.
Greg
(Inside a nuclear plant)
Aaaarrrggh! Run! The canary has mutated!
I want whatever came out yesterday.
Kurdt
I'm not anti-social. Just pro-technology.
I agree with your sentiment. O'Reilly hasn't put out any classics in years... I guess they've just run out of material. Though the joys of UNIX are infinite, the amount you can write about it is not. ;-)
All of the O'Reilly 'must-haves' are years old. The camel book, Hunt's TCP/IP book, Frisch's sysadmin book, Liu's DNS/BIND book, UNIX in a Nutshell, Java in a Nutshell...
They've even gone as far as taking their Unix books and repackaging them as Linux books, for the clueless newbies^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^HRed Hat users, I suppose. For instance, that Linux network admin book is useless if you already have Hunt's TCP/IP admin book.
I think the only really awesome O'Reilly book to come out lately is Spurgeon's Ethernet: The Definitive Guide. When I first heard about it, I thought it sounded shallow and unnecessary, but it's really quite a gem -- complement's Hunt's TCP/IP book beautifullly. It talks about hardware, standards, network topologies and architecture, troubleshooting... great stuff.
As for your feelings on TCatB and Illiad's crap, I mostly agree, and though ESR may be a fruity gun-nut and Illiad may be a hack who sold out to SuSE, if ORA hadn't published their books, I'll bet no-one else would have. ;-)
As for the BSD stuff... I've been trying to find the 4.4BSD printed manuals, which were jointly published by O'Reilly and the CSRG, for about a year. This includes the user section, USD, programmer's section, PSD, and SMM (five books in total). I've tried the used book search services at Amazon.com, Border's website, and Barnes & Noble's website. I've also contacted O'Reilly, but they don't even have copies left in their warehouse, supposedly. That's what I really want for Xmas.
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All generalizations are false.
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I like to watch.
Or maybe just the script.
The fake trailer was just too much of a tease!
-Justin
PS
If it's not too much trouble, a geek girl would be
nice, too.
Gotta get me one of these!
the Icom IC-R3 Handheld audio/video receiver!
This thing rocks! With a frequency coverage of 0.495-2450 MHz (cellular frequencies blocked), and AM, FM, WFM modes built-in. You can watch live camera feeds, security cameras, TV, and tons more! This used to be an NSA and FBI toy -- now anyone can get one. Lot's of fun to be had with this thing.
Seems slashcode limits you to 90-character words. So much for long URLS in your HREF tags.
Give me my freedom, and I'll take care of my own security, thank you.
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All generalizations are false.
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I like to watch.
Be generous this Christmas. Spend as little as ten bucks to help a third-world family.
http://catalog.heifer.org/index.cfm
These guys have phenomenally low administration overhead costs compared to the big-name charities. And they appear to not be evangelising/converting their recipients.
There are almost certainly people in your family/gift-giving circle who you don't trust to get you something you'll like, or who can't afford to get you something useful or fun.
Have them purchase a rabbit in your name. It'll make a world of difference.
Thanks. [And Taco, thanks especially to *you* if you can slip this into your WiReD article!]
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Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
I asked my boss for one. he said I might get a sparc 20 if I was good. (not even an ultra...)
-Space for rent
Because OCT 31 == DEC 25
- Joe
-Joe
If Santa's got a blank check, I'd like to have the gift that literally keeps on giving: immortality! The US$50,000 price tag for a neurosuspension at Alcor (http://www.alcor.org) seems cheap considering the potential benefit!
The really big enchilada, though, would be a general nanoassembler (or universal constructor, if you prefer)! Then EVERY day would be Christmas, 'cause you could manufacture pretty much anything you wanted out of dirt and a few heavy metals. Woo hoo!
http://www.zyvex.com/nanotech/selfRepNATO.html
-Cybrex
Boundless Expansion, Self-Transformation, Dynamic Optimism, Intelligent Technology, Spontaneous Order- BEST DO IT SO!
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All generalizations are false.
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I like to watch.
No more cables!! Buying a linksys access point and nic card might even still fit in the less than a PS2 category
I think the web lost its "charm feel" a long time ago ... right about the time John Q. Public started using the place to "surf".
/. is the kind of place that, in order to post news in a very timely manner, would sacrifice the simple things. However, given the procedure that must be followed in order to get a story posted on /. (usually several dozen people bugging a /. "editor" to post a story), I'm more inclined to think that the whole selection process is less hasty.
/. are geeks and as such, have a very good understanding of the English language. Also, the large programming-based audience of /. tends to be made of people of meticulous nature (sloppy programmers are not good programmers). If an "editor" had mis-typed a line of C code, would people be any less brutal? I think not ...
I'd like to think that
Therefore, if the story takes a little while to trickle in, clarify and confirm, why not take a minute to check it for spelling mistakes?
Keep in mind that most of the people that read
rLowe
----- rL
The hovercraft that used to cross the Channel were just recently replaced and are looking for a good home. I don't know about you, but I'd like one.
When posting Slashdot should remind you if you've moderated a story and will be undoing your moderation.
A couple of Grams of Cocaine would go down nicely, in light of current trends.
"...print moves a little slower then us."
That's because print takes time to proofread.
--
Non-meta-modded "Overrated" mods are killing Slashdot
(Hey Ryan! Here's your proof!)
My one complaint so far is that even with the skip protection buffer on, there's still about a 2 second pause in between tracks when playing mp3s. This is annoying on those CDs where two tracks may run together without any break. Seems like if the thing is buffering ahead of itself, it ought to be able to get rid of the gap. But then, I've already whipped up a script to automatically re-convert those instances from two separate tracks to one big track for the Expanium. Perl rocks. ;-) The script automatically reformats directories/filenames from my mp3 database into an iso image that the Expanium can understand, then burns it. I'm in the middle of making 3 CD-RWs for my business trip tomorrow. About 25-30 hours of music for the plane/hotel. Nice.
Guess I just couldn't wait til December. This may be the last portable CD/mp3 player I buy...
If Slashdot didn't have a silly bug that limited word lengths to 90 characters, I could post the following URL as a link:
s k_Array_Overview/RackMain/rackmain.htm
http://www.raidzone.com/Products___Solutions/Di
I want the one on the left.
Give me my freedom, and I'll take care of my own security, thank you.
1) Red Hat Linux 7.0 downloaded over my DSL connection :Cue:Cat free from Radio Slack
2)
3) MP3's from MP3.com
4) Internet Junkbuster
5) WinAmp with DeCSS
Grand total: Free-nintey-free.
Isn't life grand?
Is this going to be a serious list, or can I suggest something like gift certificates for therapy for windows users?
"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."
Time is fun when you're having flies.
-Kermit the Frog
hahaha
Look kid, before you start coming down on people why the hell dont you actually open your mind.
You little disciples are absolutely horrid. (not a religious reference for anyone curious)
Not only can you not hold a real conversation about Linux or GNU - but you can't even hold a conversation in relation to anthropology and philosphy and trying to identify with other people.
And I'm not trolling for anything.
Doesn't matter to me one way or the other. It's kids like you that are ruining all of the old school games, message boards, online games.. all of it. It's sad, but it's inevitable. Everything goes away, but why can it never be useless sacks of flesh like yourself (until you prove a benefit to society otherwise; that is how I perceive you) instead of things passionate people care about?
Another nuance of the world.
Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
HOW-about a good HOW-TO on getting X to work well with OpenGL so we can play those kick ass Linux games from Loki??? SOF would be great if it ran at more than .5 frames per minute.
i read this story top to bottom, there isnt shit about the a wishlist, ohhh, your lazy ass is screwed. hehehehehehe
"Sorry, but I don't there's anything charming about ignorance and carelessness." -LordNimon
This is not fair, in US it costs 12 bucks (1 year), in Canada it is 40 bucks (US). Now what's up with that. eh?
http://dtum.livejournal.com
So while this is a really novel gift idea, it sounds like a scam. Unless these people promise to defend the land...
SUWAIN: Slashdot User Without An Interesting Name
SUWAIN: Slashdot User Without An Interesting Name
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All generalizations are false.
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I like to watch.
You forgot the RIAA/SDMI compliant digital music player. Not one of those illegal MP3 ones.
However, an advantage of going the IBM route is their support of GNU/Linux. No one's going to put GNU/Linux on those B50's, but if our hardware vendor starts really supporting it, maybe I can convert a few workgroup servers and PCs.
I've really been getting off lately on the price/performance advantage you get with GNU/Linux. I mean, everyone always talks about it, but I'm currently trying to migrate my personal x86 BSD server to something SVR4-ish. I'd like to run Netscape for HTTP, and use a decent RDB. Solaris x86 was my first choice, but iPlanet doesn't do Solaris x86. Plus, I can't use ATA/66, or the late-model LNE100TX NIC I have. GNU/Linux supports all of my hardware beautifully, plus I can run Oracle 8i, iPlanet web server, and get JDK1.3 from IBM.
Schweet.
I'm simultaneously upgrading my Thinkpad to something SVR4-ish, and Solaris 8 x86 doesn't do PCMCIA or APM properly, and it won't detect my Linksys PCMPC100. Oh well, GNU/Linux works great there too.
The other option for SVR4-ish x86 Unix is SCO, and SCO costs lots of money. Just not worth it, sorry. GNU/Linux is free, Solaris 8 binary license is $80. SCO can't beat either of them.
So I find myself, a UNIX bigot (as in UNIX rules, Linux sucks), coming to the side of the script kiddies, Slashdot lusers, industry buzz, and all that. Linux has almost completely turned me. GNU/Linux beats everybody for x86 hardware support, and its software support is finally good enough to make it an execllent e-commerce platform.
This was an offtopic rant, but fuck it. I'm impressed.
I'm using Debian, by the way. But of course.
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All generalizations are false.
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I like to watch.
I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned anywhere. I would just LOVE to find an iPaq under my Christmas tree.
SUWAIN: Slashdot User Without An Interesting Name
SUWAIN: Slashdot User Without An Interesting Name
I agree completely. If we all truly believe in free software as much as we puport, why don't we all use the money we would have spent on the latest version of game X, CD Y, or cool gizmo Z, and donate it to free software projects that we support or whose software we use? [For me, donations to free software projects should come after those to humanitarian groups in third world countries.]
I will survive without touch screen remote control, but will a small and dedicated free software project?
Do the math:
1/10th of the Linux users, or 1 million people, giving $100 would be $100,000,000 to free software projects [1 * 10^8]
That's a lot of funding for charities and free software projects.
http://ocularis.sourceforge.net
Linux and free software for the visually impaired.
A girlfriend - er...did I say that out loud?
A faster delivery system from the US to Australia. So all the cool toys I want get her quicker then 7 weeks.
Do Not Read Burgatronics... It's Evil
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All generalizations are false.
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I like to watch.
x10 is awsome, i have a ton of their autmation modules. if you sign up for their mailing list, you get all kinds of free vouchers for every holiday you could think of. ill bet they even send one out for pot day. i recommend their stuff. its fun, you dont have to get up to control your lights :). they also have a neat wireless camera
Ennui
"I walk in the air, between the rain, through myself an
I guess that would be pretty nice and unselfish of me, however they didn't have that on EBay nor could I find any other sites where they sold Peace on Earth. Guess I'd have to settle for a copy of Baldur's Gate II then. Doubt anyone needs a link to find that! :0)
.sig
There was a time when (almost) everyone wanted peace in the world.
Yopy and a MP3 player for my car are OK, but there's lots of people suffering out there.
Let's make Peace one of ours wish list entries.
--
EOF
... and you could join in the Degree Confluence Project
Strunk and White's Elements of Style should be on the bookshelf of every English speaker, but especially the shelves of most of the programmers I've known. We've all read comments that were as mystifying as the code they were in. Elements of Style is an invaluable guide to concise and effective communication, beloved of English teachers and editors the world over.
Perhaps someone should send a few of them to Slashdot HQ, while we're on the subject.
player with a cd frontloader and a removable faceplate that is not vapourware or homemade, for under $300.
So I can
Actually, that's exactly why I bought mine when I did - to replace a Palm III which failed when I accidentally conducted that test. Cracked the glass over the screen, which rendered the digitiser useless.
Whichever twit stuck glass in there and made it inseparable from the screen should lose their job. That little incident made it a non-economic repair. Why they couldn't jsut use perspex. Wouldn't even scratch - there was a screen protector over the glass, too.
Greg
(Inside a nuclear plant)
Aaaarrrggh! Run! The canary has mutated!
Second, I wouldn't mind one of these mp3 cd players. They also plays VCD, and are fairly inexpensive.
Finally, for sheer coolness factor and utility, I would take a Ricoh RDC-7 "Image Capture Device". This thing is amazing! It can fit in a shirt pocket, has a very high-res 2" LCD, zoom to 3x optically, and can record movies with sound or just sound alone (with a built-in speaker for playback). It also has a 3 megapixel CCD chip with two focusing modes which makes it a very capable digital camera. Need to become an international spy? This thing quickly sucks up highly compressed blank and white .tif files for OCR. As if that's not enough, it also places the CCD on a special piezo-electric mount so that it can shift it by a half a pixel and combine two exposures into a 7 megapixel image for when you need that extra, extra, extra fine detail. Phew! I've got to stop talking about it. Just go to either here or here for a review. And it only ranges from around $600 to $900, too! Just don't expect to have too much manual photographic control over aperture or shutter speed. But screw a Handspring, I'd take one of those and keep all my documents on it! Just think of it as a pocket size tape recorder, digital camera, camcorder, scanner, and taker of big-ass 7 megapixel files. (And the unreleased successer in Japan has wireless Internet access, a touchscreen, and PDA functionality! Imagine that...)
Yummy. A SCART version for us Europeans would be peachy. Please, someone make one. My console cables are getting terribly worn from all that plugging and unplugging.
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This is really the only thing anyone needs. Its called the Sinterstation 2500plus , and it will basically build anything you can design as a CAD model in plastic, metal, ceramic, or elastomer materials. They don't say much about pricing. Space in my apartment is limited but, Santa, I could put it in the spare bedroom, cover it with a few sheets and pillows, and call it the guest bed. Thanks.
- Do not paint -
For the record, the railroad car should be equipped with a bunch of computers, networked of course, and hooked to the internet with a wireless connection.
And I would also want a Ham Radio station on board.
Kenf
gadgets may be fun for a short time. but if children are taught through christmas, and birthdays, that "stuff is life", they will belive, that spending money, and buying stuff will make them happy, and will live life as such.
...[snip]... that sounds much more enjoyable, and definitly healthier than everyone spending tons of money on just stuff.
Ahem. Since when giving somebody a gift is teaching them that "stuff is life"? And, anyway, I can make a completely opposite argument: buying stuff for kids will teach them (through their own experiences) that stuff can be fun, but will NOT make them happy by itself. Not buying stuff for them, on the other hand, is likely to lead to neuroses regarding material possessions and an illusion that only if they had that stuff, they would be happy. Breaking such illusions is much more painful for an adult.
i often got legos,
Heh. It sounds like "stuff" to you is what you don't like. Legos are fun, but I consider them heavily overpriced, for example.
I think that what you are trying to say is that the value of gifts should not be measured in money. I agree completely.
Kaa
Kaa
Kaa's Law: In any sufficiently large group of people most are idiots.
how about:
some ethics in business...
some credibility and intelligence in politics...
absence of bigotry and intolerance...
compassion for others...
religious and political freedom...
a helping hand for those in need...
more solutions... less babble...
looking toward the future...
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All generalizations are false.
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I like to watch.
And a big monster trashing New York City would be a bad thing? Probably dominate the evening news for a couple days, but that's probably as annoying as it could get...
--
Chief Frog Inspector
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
OK, so it'll be socks and sweaters again... :)
Shut up, be happy. The conveniences you demanded are now mandatory. -- Jello Biafra
May have good bass, but if you look at the response they drop sharply at 16KHz, being down to basically nothing by 20KHz... Not exactly what one would expect from high-end headphones. They may work great if you're one of the people who just care about the bass, but they look like they'd be horible for stuff with a lot of high-end. And I'm not about to spend $300 to find out when the specs look this bad...
That's easy. How about buying a house to put the BMW into before you're 30.
If you can't afford a house, buy a $50K car as a consolation present. Welcome to Silicon Valley.
Been there, done that. (Of course, mucho thanks to you for helping me with it...)
Then again, with $50K and some skill, one could buy an apartment manager some clue re: in-unit networking...
Now, if you want to reciprocate:
Cheapest: Yoda Furby
Not-so-cheap: Sapphire ring
Unlimited: Trip to Barbados
I'm asking santa for the desktop refigerator - $75 from thinkgeek
. cgi?action=view&type=item&itemid=3619&at=c olor
http://www.thinkgeek.com/brain/bazaar/mart/cart
- bridgette
I would kill for a DSL. Or a T3 if its not too much.
-AJ
"SPOOOOON!!!!" - The Tick
In the 'Under PlayStation 2' category, I've got to go with the wierd non-computer games from Looney Labs . Specifically they're all under the $40 mark.
You'll find more information on their site, but here's a quick rundown:
--
Erskin
geek.
I am suprised no one has posted this one: the car mp3 player at Empeg.com. It costs anywere from $1199 (USD) to $1949 (USD), depending on HD space. The part you guys would like, though, is that it runs LINUX!!! Not only that but you can take it out and use it as an MP3 server because it has an ethernet port (also comes with USB). You can also move it between cars and take it to parties. This is what I want when I get my drivers license. I don't know, but there seams like something nice about being able to go for nearly a month without listening to the same song. Just a suggestion,
Andrew.
I feel more sorry for the ones on the salad bar...
Dog is my co-pilot.
Ok, here goes...
Cheaper Then a Playstation 2 ($300 or less)
;)
Ok, that buys 3, maybe 4 Swisstools, which is Victorinox's take on the Leatherman. Way cool and you can pretty much do everything to a PC (or housecat) with it, including saw in half! The extras make good backups (I have 2) and we all know you can never have enough backups
Cheaper Then a Playstation 2's rumored eBay sale value ($301-$1500)
As many Legos as $1,500 will buy, next.
Unlimited (Mommy, can I have a stealth bomber for Christmas?)
100 luscious lolly pops and a big red balloon!
Oh, and a BMW 323 Sportwagon, leather interior, 5 Spd, CD changer, Foglamps, sportwheels and a get out of Jail Free card.
--
Chief Frog Inspector
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Yeah, that (the printed version) was my best christmas pressie
Now it's on-line you can all share it too...
- Later this week, Nokia will be introducing a new mobile phone that not only has the now-standard built-in Tetris game and GPS receiver, but also wireless voice-over-IP support and a built-in webcam for videoconferencing! (A friend of mine works on this project, which is how I know about it.)
- Also this week (I know, funny coincidence, but everyone's trying to get their new products out in time for the Xmas shopping season), Oster will be introducing new microwave ovens, toasters, and blenders with built-in Ethernet interfaces and firmware support for the new Linux Open-Source Kitchen Automation project (I forget the URL, but it's hosted at SourceForge). These devices will allow you to program and monitor your kitchen devices over your home LAN. They also have built-in webcams so you can watch your kitchen in action, from a much more intimate viewpoint than has ever before been possible (in the case of the blender, the cam actually views up from beneath the whirling blades).
- And speaking of intimate viewpoints, Symbian will shortly be introducing a new vibrator with a webcam built into the tip. Configure it with an URL to upload images to, and watch it go in and out, in and out...
- Lastly, Web monitoring company Keynote will be entering the consumer hardware business with a new PCI add-in board for better DIY monitoring of your own website. Just plug it in and the onboard webcam shows you the packets going in and out through your network interface.
Hope this helps!--
Free music from Jack Merlot.
Mommy, I want my very own copy of Blue Gene!! I just know it will have killer quake frame rates. And with only one million processors I will domainate the neighborhood seti stats.
I'd rather have a Pilatus PC-12. Better range, better load, better avionics, slightly slower, way cheaper, and can get into smaller airports.
The next Cmdr Taco duplicate will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and see it early!
Lite Brite
I want one of those handy dandy Aiwa car Mp3 players so I can blast The Shizit all around my hood.
2nd in line is an SMP chipset for Durons and Thunderbirds.
Other than that I'd like to get rid of all the Ebay people that bid in the last 2 seconds 25 cents over my bid.
Get paid to code OSS
In the unlimited class The Iridium network with data access to open source OS only But if Santa has a budget RAM because you never have enough
By definition, a government has no conscience. Sometimes it has a policy, but nothing more. - Albert Camus
Comment removed based on user account deletion
What I'd really like is for Tribes 2 to make it's release date... :-(
Free music from Jack Merlot.
I want a real live, can hold it in my hands, Linux PDA...Hopefully it's a VR3 from Agenda Computing. It's been mentioned a couple of times on Slashdot. If you pre-register you can get a developer model for a discount($200 or less) and it's going to come with 16MB of flash.
Thats all.
I'd like just one vendor to actually commit to providing me with a >56k connection.
Not much to ask...I'll even pay for it.
This sig left unintentionally blank.
Easy...
1) Linux CDs. (we want the stores to sell out so that Bill gets scared)
2) Since the article will come from this thread, why not just read this thread in a day or so? See what looks good, and go buy it beforehand. Make a killing selling them on ebay.
"Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
$300 at thinkgeek! Find one thing any self respecting geek wouldn't want.
-redial
I've got one. They are way cool.
They don't need direct light. (And, in fact, it is bad for them). I've got mine on a desk in a fairly dim den. Those little buggers have been going strong for about two years now.
The cake is a pie
One of those Desk-tops firewalls would be cool. :)
DVD player with the workarounds
beer
Whiskey
a new job
Street sweeper shotgun moded to use a belt feed.
Yes I can not spell...Wait....for a second there I almost cared.
Lego Mindstorms Robotics Invention System 1.5
about $200 -- info @ http://mindstorms.lego.com
Developed from work by the MIT AI Lab, the programmable brick is the ultimate synthesis of two great techie toys: LEGO, and computers. The Mindstorms RIS appeals to the hacker mindset, too. By exposing the internals, LEGO makes it easy to ignore the included software and program the brick using a wide range of tools and environments, including Linux.
Definitely gets my vote for the "cheaper than a Playstation" entry.
--
"200 Quatloos on the newcomer!" "300 Quatloos against!"
That's for the really fun topic, CmdrTaco, it's the best!
--
Chief Frog Inspector
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Woohoo now my Karma's back down to zero...YES!!! I guess a moderators sense of humor is a little different then mine...sarcasm people...it's called sarcasm...
cheap: x10/smarthome stuff.m
mid range: TIVO!!!!
expensive: the most fantastic monitor the world has ever scene. http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/home/pdphd_1.ht
of course you could go w/ the whole machine at:
http://www.geek.com/htbc/glanin.htm
gotta love toys
Great if you fly. I have a set of Sony MDR-NC5s. About $100
Well, what I'd like most is:
1) things in the unlimited price category to be in the $300-$1500 category
2) things in the $300-$1500 group to cost in the under $300 dolar group
3) things in the under $300 dollar group to be all under $20.
But I know, we're supposed to wish for objects and not events (if we didn't wish for objects then what would happen to the economy? And if we were wishing for events, we'd wish for the dismantling of the WTO, WIPO, MPAA, RIAA, and several other TLAs).
So as for objects:
A Kurzweil k2000/2500 series synth, with all the trimmings. Or something equivalent, though I doubt it exists. About $1000 used to $4000 new, these are the deepest sound-producing boxes I have ever played with -- and yet it doesn't take long to start making music with them. And music making is a pleasant break from coding.
You can also throw in a full Digidesign setup.
Libertarianism is rich wolves and poor sheep playing gambler's ruin for dinner.
This is one I've been eyeing for a while - a little outside the $300-$1000 range, but still in the ballpark ($1199).
100 hours of MP3 in your dash! Empeg
The whole idea is to get your girlfriend hooked to the PC as well. That way you can post to Slashdot while getting laid. You just need to make sure she stores her pr0n in her own directory:-)
People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
One thing geeks like to get. Non-geek stuff. Unless it's given by a fellow geek. Here's the problem:
geek's mother: "Now, *geek's name*, i know you'll REALLY love this, the guy at the computer store said you would."
geek: thinking, "oh boy..." opens package *sounds of tearing* Pulls out a 20MB (says type 2 on the drive) IDE hard drive, mutters "Hmmm, must've been his last day"
geek's mother (a little hard of hearing *thank god*): "What was that?"
geek: "I said that I love it, mom, It'll go good next to my AOL CD collection!"
geek's mother: smiles
geek: wanted diablo II
Generic things to get a geek that they may need:
Clothes. Buy them stuff that they already wear. They don't want to dress like you want to dress, they like to dress how they dress.
Widgets. Really cool mechanical widgets, like mag-lev spacemen, and whatnot. Really interesting clocks are also cool.
Gift certificates. To bookstores (not Amazon or unless you want a nice holiday argument), software stores (not m$), etc.
Books. Look through their bookcase. You will see at least ONE book that isn't a programming book. Get new, popular books of that genre. It might take them a few years to get to reading it, but when they do, they will enjoy it
But, the #1 way to figure out what to get your geek:
Ask, and listen for hints!
1. Aiwa car mp3 player. My wife got one and they are pretty nice. 2. 18.1" Flat Panel Monitor 3. More Nerf weapons for the office. 4. Gift Certificate to ThinkGeek and/or Copyleft 5. Wireless Network Cards for the notebook.
I have my xmas list with links to order online on my webpage. visit it http://cro.wox.org/things.i.want.html
---
I post links to stuff here
If we are talking about last minute shopping, they need to make e-mailable (is that a word yet?) or printable gift certificates. That way you can buy one on-line at 4:30am Dec 25th.
I'm sorry, but I just don't believe in giving Bill Gates any money. He already has enough.
Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government!
$300 && $1500:
GM - Estimated Value: $35.877B
Why? 'Cause it's big. Besides, I think I could push out a Ballard powered car quicker that way.
Oh well, no point in steering now.
-rt
======
Now, I think it would be GOOD to buy FIVE or SIX STUDEBAKERS
and CRUISE for ARTIFICIAL FLAVORING!!
One of those "Clean" Vegas Hookers.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Is for some airline to decide it's time to let people move about the world for much less. > $1000 to visit my Sister and Mother in Australia for a measly two week vacation at most, is way too expensive. And that's JUST the airfare!
Linux - 0 dollars
G4 Cube - 3000 dollars
GeForce2 GTS - $300 dollars
CmdrTaco not displaying Alzheimer symtoms when posting new articles - priceless.
Try a Christmas holiday without consumerism. Your electronic appliances work just fine without replacing them. Spend some time with friends and family. Save some money. Enjoy yourself.
Check out The Center for a New American Dream.
Definately cool! Where did you find the prices, though? (The web page needs more information!)
--
Wooden armaments to battle your imaginary foes!
Oddly enough, each of these goals fits nicely into each of the three catagories. Hmmm... coincidence?
================
================
Microsoft is not the answer, Microsoft is the question. The answer is "no".
actually, you've come up with an explanation: it was not an error. If Slashdot appears right behind print Wired in order of speed one could say, "Wired moves slower, then us."
My boss approached me to get me to do my job...but I'm lazy so I figured I'd ask you guys to help (in exchange for your services, the money I make will be donated to the bank on behalf of my mortgage)
"The market alone cannot provide sufficient constraints on corporation's penchant to cause harm." -- Joel Bakan
I. A Tivo. With or without a year of service in advance.
2. A Palm VII or a Qualcomm PDQ (I want a cellphone/palm!)
c. My poor VW Jetta restored (Wolfsburg, 1986, red, custom ordered from Germany, hit by speeder while pulling out of my driveway last year).
Hello little man. I will destroy you!
How about a US-III powered Sun Blade.
Cheap Option: An Nvidia MX Card. Speedy, but cheap. Then I could play UT at a reasonable speed.
While I generally think nVidia cards are great, if you're looking for something primarily for Unreal Tournament then try a Voodoo card of some sort. I've both a TNT2 and a Voodoo2, and UT is a lot happier with the Voodoo2. Why? Apparently the Unreal Engine was targeted at Glide and then ported over to D3D and OpenGL as an afterthough (which leads to slow performance under the two APIs).
-j
Jack Valenti's head on a stick.
-JimTheta
---
My stupid web site
Looks like someone spraypainted it and poured on Bon-Ami. Is that the ghetto method of trimming a christmas tree?
"Ancillary does not mean you get to rule the world." --U.S. Circuit Judge Harry Edwards, speaking to the FCC's lawyer
No bloody way. And call me for tech support, I suppose? Objection, your honor. And that goes for all the other crap we're supporting as well:-)
People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
SEP. Definitely SEP. And then your modem breaks down so you can't replace it...
People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
Mommy I want world peace for christmas
So close and yet so far from the world's perfect ID number
Make it connect to your system via 10BT or WaveLAN/Bluetooth and run Linux, and I wouldn't wait to buy it myself!
Fortune favors the bold. -Virgil
What I would like to buy for Christmas...
:-) That's about 100 hours of playing time... and it's the same size as the book of CD's I lug to work with me every day :-) It costs about $640 from thinkgeek.com
El Cheapo...
Nerf Wildfire. Nothing says lovin' like blasting one of your co-workers with 20 shots off the Nerf Wildfire. At a cost of about $35.00 from thinkgeek.com, this bad boy redefines the meaning of "office politics."
The Big thing...
Portable MP3 Player. This particular one comes with 6Gb of storage space
And if I could have anything bought...
1 congressman to introduce a bill to repeal the DCMA, and improve copyright laws, and about 200 more to support it. Total cost, about $9.075 million. That way, we wouldn't have to worry about
--You will rephrase your request for me to go to hell. Goto statements are not acceptable programming constructs
Me?
I want some good 19th (and early 20th) High tech. When I go home, I work on steam engines - REAL ones.
Low range?
Next installment of castings for my train, OR tooling for my lathe/mill.
Mid range?
The boiler for the engine I'm working on (Just makes it under the upper limit), OR a CNC setup for my mill
High end?
A bigger house to fit all the geek toys
-- 73 de KG2V For the Children - RKBA! "You are what you do when it counts" - the Masso
- Cheaper than a Playstation: If the "free" in "free time" equates to "free (as in beer)," I'd like some more of that. That is to
say, End the Culture of ultraproductivity in
the US.
- Cheaper than a PlayStation2 on Ebay:
A maid, or at least a helper to come once a week and help me get my house in order, so I can do all the things that a homeowner is supposed to get done in the course of normal life that I don't have time to do (see above).
- Unlimited:My own lobbyist. Or a patrol of them. Not to badger pols into legislation that only benefits me, but to nudge the government into a lane of common sense (Patents on hyperlinks? *Bzzzt* Oil prospecting in National Parks? *Are you nuts?* Solving social problem with unenforcable laws and empty talk on TV? *C'mon guys. This is the real world.* And what happened to the 40-hour work week? huh? HUH? I *like* life outside of work.
Or something like that.-O
$301-$1500 range: PhatBox Car MP3 player. This one integrates to your own car stereo through the CD-Changer interface. And the packaging is killer.
Unlimited price range: HDTV, 16x9 widescreen format, plasma display, thin/light enough to hang on a wall.
Of course, if Santa wanted to render an indisputable legal decision on DeCSS in favor of Free Software (not to mention common sense), I'd happily give up any of the three above things!
At US$499, the Bose Wave Radio/CD falls nicely into the middle category. I got mine before the built-in CD was an option (and before they were available in grey), and the sound is great. The clock/radio functions aren't bad, either.
i o_cd/
http://www.bose.com/home_audio/wave_systems/rad
I'm really fine with any sort of cool gadget or device, as long as Microtek doesn't have anything to do with it - they have universally made the worst hardware I've ever dealt with in my 8 years working with a lot of stuff.
- --
-----------------------------------------------
There are some odd things afoot now, in the Villa Straylight.
disclaimer - State of the art is fine; high resolution, more processing power, and higher bandwidth can be upgrades later. If I want to get all that, I've got my computer at work ;)
"Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
It costs about $150 for a domain with hosting at www.dreamhost.com for a year. And refer me, while yer at it :). That 10 bucks a month, and 30 bucks for the domain name.
A region hack for the ATI DVD software/hardware player;
A stable Linux 2.4 kernel;
KDE 2 Gold;
A Handspring Visor with 8MB RAM;
The entire run of "Daria" on DVD with original music intact, including "Is It Fall Yet?";
Enough parts to get my classic Mac collection in full working order, and help to get the work done;
A 1GHz Athlon box with at least 256MB RAM, an ASUS motherboard, a RAID array with at least 50GB worth of IBM HDs, a Plextor 40X Ultra SCSI CD-ROM, a top-end Plextor CD-RW, a 32MB Radeon video card and a 17" flat screen display running Mandrake 7.1 and Windoze2K Pro on a dual boot;
A high-end SDSL pipe -- anything less than T-1 speed will not do -- to plug that bad mofo and all the rest of my machines into;
A bowl of grits partially eaten by Natalie Portman;
And a penis bird in a pear tree!!!
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
As a secular Jew (happy new year!) myself, I have to wonder what a "Jewish atheist" is. It seems like that choice of religion would raise an awful lot of Null Pointer Exceptions.
I mean, if you got so pissed off in Hebrew school at the religious doctrine and the spoiled JAP's, just come out and say so. Lord (oh, sorry) knows I do.
For more information, click here.
Well, I figured since we're on the subject of what to buy as a gift for someone else, I figured I'd hint as to some things you may want to avoid putting in a gift box.
First of all, if you're going to buy someone a new set of tires for christmas, don't buy Firestones. I think that goes without saying.
Secondly, a free membership to Bally's or Weight Watchers may have you sleeping in the basement until New Year's
Cleaning tools are likely to be thrown back at you (or exchanged for expensive perfume). Never buy someone vacuum cleaner or a mop.
Although we're very tempted to. I'd advice you NOT to buy him/her something that you want yourself. Explaining how much she needs a new 3HP cordless drill will leave your relationship on a tightrope.
No name perfume which costs you $1.99, such as Eu de Toilet, which actually smells like the bathroom, a $10 whore, or your dirty socks. If you are going to buy her perfume, spring for the brand names.
NO CLOTHES! I repeat, NO CLOTHES! Oh, and let me reiterate,... NO CLOTHES! If they're too big, you'll be in trouble,... and if they're too small, you'll be in even MORE trouble. Just trust me,... don't buy her clothes!
And people,... no more Chia Pets.
Ummm. They GPL'd all of MySQL a while back. It's completely free in all ways for all platforms now. Really. Go check. I'll wait. See?
LetterJ
The Glass is Too Big: My Take on Things
pronoblem
Glide is dead.
Not sure what category they'd fall under, but I would like a bunch of politicians so I can repeal crap like DMCA and the like. While I'm at it, I'd get rid of patents on mathematical formulae, and deem programs as mathematical formulae. Oh, mommy, can I also get Mr. Bezo to get rid of Amazon.com's 1-Click patent too?
--
Harry Potter Bookends?
--
Chief Frog Inspector
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
OK. We're all nerds here, and this is what we need: I Glasses. Sure.. the IGlasses will lead to EYE glasses, but that's not the point. The point is that EVERYTHING will be up close and personal. Just imaging IRC with these puppies!
:)
check it out at thinkgeek.com.
These ultimately remind me of the movie Hackers.
It's here.
Best Slashdot Co
The AudioRequest home mp3 system from thinkgeek, currently priced at $799 list ($999 MSRP).
Who wouldn't be overjoyed this holiday season by reaching into their stocking and pulling out a fist full of nads?!
?? Did I strike a nerve? Or just miss a punch-line?
EFF's blue ribbon T-Shirt
Join EFC (Canada) and get a T-Shirt
RedHat Wear
Stocking stuffers? I'm hoping for BAWLS.
I bought one of these puppies on Friday:
Quick rundown:
USB connection (500kb/s)
headphone and 2 line out (4 speaker-surround sound), 1 line in.
6 "GB" drive (5700MB avail)
8 rechargable AA batteries, only 4 needed
8MB buffer, hard drive only spins up every 5-6 minutes and at the beginning of a song.
Pros:
Small - the size of a portable CD player.
Backlighting of the good-sized LCD screen
Line in port in case you want to record a lecture or something (need a powered mic tho)
Arranged nicely - select songs by artist, genre, album, or pre-made playlist, all read from the MP3 ID
Cons:
Batteries last only 4 hrs. But with 8 batteries, you can run for about 8 hrs. (charge time is 4 hrs)
Can't copy music from jukebox to PC. Doesn't matter to me, except for the fact that there's already about 1GB of music on the jukebox when you get it. I'd like to offload it and listen to it later, but I can't. Oh well.
Sometimes the screen flutters, like it's lost power. Might just be the CPU busy decoding music, as I encode at 160kbps.
Windows only software (right now)
Hard drive spins up at the beginning of a song. This causes a bit of a delay (1-2 seconds) between songs. I wish the software would buffer up the next song before the present one ends. 8MB should be enough space to do this.
Future plans (according to Creative):
There's an IR receive port, I guess to handle a remote.
Car adapter with (woo!) RF transmitter. Sounds like no need for a cassette adapter.
In all, I'm pretty happy with it. Worth the $500.
-- Ever notice that fast-burning fuse looks exactly the same as slow-burning fuse? I didn't... (Edgar Montrose)
http://www.zorb.com/
Definitely on my list.
Anything faster than a 26400-28800 modem connections! No cable modem service and DSL here. Satellite services, IDSL, and ISDN are way too expensive for my budget. :(
:(
That is all I asked for.
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
to quote that freaky dancing would be robber from 5th Element
"gimme da caaaassssshhhhh!"
Shoot, accidentally hit enter.
Anyway, nobody asked for world peace! What's wrong with you people?
This would go in the 'unlimited' category. You could just pay off everybody to be peaceful.
I'd like a trip to Mir, and that Jet pack that they had on slash dot last year.
Fight Spammers!
TiVo (some people may prefer ReplayTV)
Playstation 2
portable MP3 player (Diamond Rio or others)
MP3/CD player for car
X10 remote control devices for home automation
Aibo
Lego Mindstorms
DV video camera and FireWare card to hook it to a PC
USB radio device
TV receiver card for PC
latest PC video card (with nVidia GTS2 or MX chip)
Yopy (ifit ever comes out) or iPaq handheld
Software sucks. Open Source sucks less.
Expensive option: Audio Request MP3 Server
Unlimited option: 100Mb connection to the net with an ethernet connection in every room of the house (2 in the basement)
Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government!
I own a one also, and I want this:
http://www.handspring.com/products/visorphone/
Do not read this
...and lots of it.
--------- Beware the dragon, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.
If not, I could think up a lot of things :)
This is my sig, this is my gun. This one's for flaming, this one's for fun.
Failing that, I'd like free unlimited bandwidth website hosting for a year, and a puppy.
Genocide Man -- Life is funny. Death is funnier. Mass murder can be hilarious.
Some decent barbecue (for those that don't have any locally).
I can tell you the meaning of life,
I can tell you the meaning of life,
but you have to promise not to laugh.
despite the fact that Thanksgiving (or even Halloween, for that matter!)
OR, despite the fact that Halloween (or even Thanksgiving, for that matter!) hasn't been celebrated yet.
Yay for Canadia.
Will WIRED include a de-clawed Cue:Cat with a UPC scanning driver? That'd be the right thing to do, after what they did as an accomplice to D:C's scam.
"Ancillary does not mean you get to rule the world." --U.S. Circuit Judge Harry Edwards, speaking to the FCC's lawyer
I'd like to see a change in copyright laws to make them more consumer and artist friendly.
I figure this goes in the unlimited category since it costs to brib... er.. lobby the politicians.
MySQL is the backend for slash, scoop and many other really innovative weblog/moderation systems. I've wanted to try using these for several months now for nonprofit experiments, but the only machines I have are Win32 (Win2K) machines which I use in my employer's work.
MySQL is 'free as in beer' for any Linux taker, but they charge money if you want to use it on a Win32 system. Without flaming anyone in particular, to me this smacks of the same elitist crap that Linux bigots accuse Wintel-bound developers of.
If there was no MySQL for Win32, I wouldn't gripe. There is, but only at a premium. Apache and gcc and other quality OSS are offered on both platforms at the same price.
Before someone goes and marks me -1, Retard or offers the ever-so-helpful advice of "just set up a Linux box on the side or dual-boot," the point is, I don't have budget to have another machine around, and it's kinda hard to run a webservice from one boot partition while getting my employer's work done on another boot partition.
So, back on topic: fair platform-agnostic pricing for MySQL. Think of it as a stocking-stuffer.
[
Under $300:
Games, of course - Grandia II, Final Fantasy IX, Majora's Mask -
But you're probably looking at gadgits. So I'll say a GameBoy Advanced (yes, I know the US version is a year away, but I can dream), or a Wonderswan (same deal - but I want to play Final Fantasy I-III (the real I - III, not "we'll call IV FFII and VI FFIII! Bwahahaha!").
The other item would be a Playstation One (small footprint) with the LCD panel and a car adapter so I could take it on trips.
$300 - $1500:
One of two things:
A Voodoo 6000 (128 MB RAM, 4 processors, needs its own external power source - can you say Unreal Tournament at 1024x768 4x AA at 100 frames a second? Oh, yes. Check it at http://www.3dfx.com/prod/vood oo/ v5-6000-overv.html
Creative Labs Jukebox http://www.nomadworld.com/products/j uke box/ - 6 gigs of MP3 storage from a name I trust.
$1500+
It took me a little bit, but I'd want one of those Honda gas-electric cars http://arstechnica.com/ rev iews/3q00/honda/insight-1.html - save gas $, save the planet, and stick it to OPEC all at the same time. (Now, if only they'd make an ethenol version so I could help out Kansas farms at the same time...)
John "Dark Paladin" Hummel
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
They're out now, they're $50. Yay. :^)
Beyond that, the same thing I ask for every year from those folks who don't know what to get me: money.
Stating on Slashdot that I like cheese since 1997.
The prices are listed under the How To Order page.
Education is the silver bullet.
I like the idea of a submarine; Here's a link to an entire series; from the spiffy two-man Triton to the Phoenix (5000 sqft, 65 meters, dockable minisub).
For the sub $300 category, a Klein bottle is never wrong. This year, say it with a one-sided surface!
Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
Call 1-877-9NM-GIFT to order this underwater fantasy. It's a 118-foot luxury submarine that sleeps 11, displacing 380 tons, with an operating depth of 1,000 feet, submerged range of 160 nautical miles, and speed of 15 knots. Cruising range: 3,000+ nautical miles (sufficient for transatlantic crossings).
Got Rhinos?
Solo-Trek Personal Aircraft
AND.. The M2 Personal Viewer
AND.. A flight in a KC-135 Reduced Gravity Aircraft
But thats ALL I want!
The electric yellow has got me by the brain banana
ever made, and a subscription to continue getting them until they die on DVD. oh, and and IN GAME SAVE for Diablo 2
This
The Adaptec 29160 controller card is pretty sweet and should retail for less the $300 US. Any takers?
Seems like anyone who learned BASIC in Jr. High School (or Pascal, or Java, etc.) has forgotten that there's two different words here.
IF situation, THEN consequences.
argument LESS THAN argument [or GREATER THAN, or SLOWER THAN, etc.]
Is that a suitable geek-format HOWTO? :)
[
The first wish that comes to mind is fiber to my door. God knows what it costs, but it's definitely in the unlimited category.
Second Son
Noble effort, but have you considered that the rest of the year is pretty much what you ask? And if likeminded people felt no obligation, at least once a year, to get together with family and friends and exchange goodies, eat fruitcake, listen to holiday music and ...ahem... have Natalie Portman corner me under the mistletoe, that would make for a better world? Seems kinda cold, dark and lonely.
Parting shot: You don't have to shop at any mall, buy any thing online, or chop down any trees to give. Why not buy a blanket and a sandwich for a someone less fortunate.
--
Chief Frog Inspector
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
A Gauntlet coin-op arcade machine to be precise.
Until the DVD-CCA stops trying to control who can and cannot play DVDs they have purchased, I suggest not purchasing a DVD player.
Instead, go to the CopyLeft store and purchase a DeCSS t-shirt ($15). $4.00 per T-shirt is donated to the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
--
--
He lives in a world where those who do not run the client software of the omnipresent meme are unacceptable.
Apple's Cinema Display
Unlimited Category, great display. Would be nice if the computer it came with were faster.
Ok, I've been reading slashdot for some time, and Taco's repeated inability to use the word "than" just blows me away. "Then" and "than" are not the same words. If however, Taco turns out to be a non-native engish speaker then don't worry about it.
You keep your computer on your _desk_?
Cheap: A few sets of Legos
Medium: 1 year of @Home Cable access - $400
Expensive: 2001 BMW M5 w/ all options
Priceless: See my kids for more than an hour each day.
This post brought to you by your friendly neighborhood MBA.
The answer is obvious: a CDC-MP3 player from Aiwa. You really can't beat the price at just under $300 but you should be able to get it for about $250. It's the perfect addition to your geek-mobile or geek-mobile to be, and it costs a hell of a lot less that some other alternatives.
uh, I believe the Homerism is: "Nuclear. It's pronounced 'Nuke-u-lar' Lisa."
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-------
"Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief."
The Lunar Embassy is selling off plots of land on the Moon , Mars, Venus and Io.
Surely these would make a great geek gift in the sub playstation2 category. And who knows, maybe your descendents will even be able to make use of the gift :-)
--
www.vurt.co.uk
Cash is overrated. But a 'techie' gift from RadioShack, is, uh, kinda ... where'd you put the receipt?
Better: Fifteen minute spree in Fry's with a shopping cart: Best: Fry's
--
Chief Frog Inspector
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
HAHAHAHAH! funny, funny stuff.
*NOTE! Don't click the above link if you are at work!
I recently got a Samsung Digimax 800, it's a point-and-shoot digital camera with passable image quality (1024x768) and low cost (around £100 in the UK, should be less than $150 in the US with lower sales taxes).
Downside: No LCD, it uses Smart Media, only has one compression level and it's not TTL (through the lens).
Upside: Very small, very light and cheap. Relatively easy on batteries if you avoid using the flash, and it only takes 2xAA. You can carry this everywhere and take insane numbers of pictures for nothing if you use rechargable batteries.
Look for the Jenoptik JD12, it's the same camera but tends to be even less expensive.
Please see the discussion here. It's under $300. Thank you Santa.
-- ERICmurphy -- www.jabber.org for open-source, XML-based IM
About 5-6k in PC hardware and a nice, fast connect.
example: Dual P3-800, 72gig RAID, 1GB ram, Linux compatible audio/video hardware (duh), and a nice 1.54mbit business class DSL line for a year or so.
Yeah, this might be my christmas present, but I'll be paying for it myself. . . Why don't the women ever apply for IT jobs.. argh.
Cheaper than $300: Kernel 2.4.0, 'nuff said More expensive than $300: Be, Inc., the company. I hear their stock was in negative value recently; they should go for about $500. Priceless: Bill Gates chained to a dungeon wall.
McFarlane(sp?) toys just came out with an Ash Action Figure. For those of you who don't know, Ash is a character in the Evil Dead/Army of Darkness series. He's the guy with a chainsaw for a hand and a shotgun. Also, many of the quotes from Duke Nukem were taken from Army of Darkness or Evil Dead 2(I forget which now). Either way, its a toy i've been wanting for years! -Aaron
One thing I'd like to see for Christmas is Sonic Adventure 2. The previews of that game looked amazing. I'd also like a NIC for my DC.
Beware, Nugget is watching... See?
Most O'Reilly books are overrated. Their current releases have been hit or miss, and most of the misses are bombs.
My preference for computer books is anything by Addison Wesley. *All* their books are top-notch and most are classics: Design Patterns by the Gang of Four, Networking series by Stevens, Computer Graphics by Foley et.al., C++ books by Lippman and Sudstroup(sp?).
O'Reilly does have the edge in terms of timing, especially books on Java API like Servlets, but you can see that they are too quick. O'Reilly made it big with the Perl series, but most of their reputation comes from those old books.
--weenie NT4 user: bite me!
--weenie NT4 user: bite me!
"Computers are nothing but a perfect illusion of order" -- Iggy Pop
minds.
I read an essay once that really changed my paradigm to paleontology. An Anthropologist at the beginning of the school year asked his students to write an essay on "The day in the life of a Cave Man". Interestingly enough, these students that had no education or schooling whatsoever were able to adeptly describe the overly simple lives of beings who were keenly aware of their surroundings but accidentaly discovering the world around them.
This sounds more like one of those essays. I don't know of any creature in nature that is suprised or scared at the change in the length of days during winter, why whould cave men be that way?
I mean if all of a sudden the sun set at noon, we would be worried. But don't you think that someone who is having kids, and lived through 15 or more of these gradualy occuring events would get a clue and say "hey, this happens regularly. Zog need no gift from Moog. Gods must not exist.." After all the existance of perculiarities in the construction of Stone henge and other stone age structures suggest they knew they could predict when this happened.
Although they did move Christmas from Kings Day (1st week in april) to a pagan solstice celebration, whomever told you that story on how the pagan celebration came about was pulling your leg, or a high school teacher who didn't know any better.
Under 300$
/index.html)
.com/english/911/models/gt3/default.htm)
Of course a PlayStation 2! =)
Over 300$ but still decent price
The Ultimate Geek "Tool" (heemm..), a Palm Vx (http://www.palm.com/products/pal mvx
In the YEAH-BABY-YEAH! category:
A 2000 Porsche 911 GT3 (http://www.us.pors che
If they don't make O'Reilly gift certificates, they should, because I have about a baker's dozen worth of O'Reilly books on my current wish list. As the premier high-status geek-book publisher, one would think O'Reilly would have 'em by now... are ya listenin', Tim?
Free music from Jack Merlot.
I'm thinking maybe the guy doesn't realize that Porsche's manual trannies are 6-speed.
You're right, I didn't know they had a 6 spd manual. I've been looking over older 911's which have 5 speeds.
I'd rather have a lobotomy than drive an automatic.
--
Chief Frog Inspector
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
You can give them away to anyone anywhere and not have to spend a nickle! Then you can D/L software that will make them usefull for something and anger Digital Convergence!
Make sure that you:
1. Tell the recipient that the should provide
made up info when they fill out the form.
2. Modify the scanner so the S/N will be invalid.
Here is the perfect solution for the digital camera fan in your circle, the digital wallet. This is basically a portable harddrive with a pcmcia card slot that will allow you to save the snaps on your camera media (e.g., compact flash) to less expensive media. Great for lightweight travelling, when you are intentionally leaving your notebook computer far, far behind. http://www.mindsatwork.net
Can't you see that EAX is not the answer?
Ahem. And the question is?..
If it was implemented better, A3D could have taken Creative by storm.
Do you know how many ideas would take the world by storm if "implemented better"?
Anything software that Creative releases is utter and total crap.
So? They are a hardware company. Just junk their installation CDs and download the latest drivers from the net. I agree that if allowed they tend to install piles of all-singing all-dancing crap to your machine that has to be cleaned off later. Just don't do it.
IMHO, the only reliable Creative product is an Annihilator running the NVidia reference drivers.?
I've had no problems at all with their SoundBlasters, either plain-vanilla or Live variety.
Send a message to their tech support and try to get a reply within 6 aeons.
I am yet to see a manufacturer with good tech support. Most of my tech support comes from two places. One is called Google, and the other -- Deja.
Still, after all is said, I see no use for products like Nomad. A CD player that can read/play MP3 files off a CD-R is much cheaper, has no bullshit limitations on what you can copy where, and plays your regular CDs as well.
Kaa
Kaa
Kaa's Law: In any sufficiently large group of people most are idiots.
"one treats others with courtesy not because they are gentlemen or gentlewomen, but because you are" --G. Henrichs
You realize, of course, that these star naming outfits are basically a scam, right? The only place your "star name" can be found is in the book published by a given star-name registry. There are at least 3 of these registry companies, and none of them are recognized by any legitimate scientific organization.
Thanks! I'll be adding this to my holiday wish list!
--
Wooden armaments to battle your imaginary foes!
For less than the price of an eBay PS2, we have the Sony WEGA TV. One of the 27 inch models would be very nice. They're not big, but the picture quality is impeccable.
And slash appears to be eating those URL's. That's
- http://www.thinkgeek.com/brain/bazaar/mart/cart
. cgi?action=view&ty pe=item&itemid=2 8d1
- http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer/ss5/home/t
e levision/trinitronrtmfdtrinitron wegatm tv27inch/kv-27fv16.shtml
Ignore spaces inserted by stupid web browser and/or slashcodehttp://cgi. ebay.co m/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=449122943
description:
I have won over $10,000 in cash and prizes with this GIANT Bong costume!!! Hand made of construction materials, this lifelike Bong costume has a bowlpiece that lights and glows, and "smoke" that pours out of the top! Bright pink in color, garanteed to get attention! Be the life of the costume party! Almost garanteed to win! I will deliver in New England, others pay truck freight. Personal checks accepted, shipment when cleared. Good luck!
For Christmas, I would love an http://www.eco-sphere.com/. It's one of those self-contained glass globes with shrimp, algae and bacteria inside. All you have to do is add light and they should last for a few years. Very cool. Price ranges from $79 to $489, depending on the size (from 3.25" diameter sphere to 9" diameter sphere).
Education is the silver bullet.
Doing my best Russle Baker...
The phrase in the article...
should be
OK, I realize that this is kind of petty, but it has been one of those mornings. The !@#$% build is 4 hours late and people aren't checking their work before checking in code.
</rant>
Canon D30 - Approx. 3.11 million pixels (2160 x 1440)
r oducts&subprodtype=&product=478 - lin k
.oO0Oo.
http://www.canon.co.uk/cgi-bin/parser.pl?page=p
£1995.00 inc VAT
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
The VisorPhone would be a great gift for any Visor owner. The downside is that it costs $299 with activation. Another great gift for the Visor owner would be the SoundsGood audio player module. It also is a little steep at $269 though.
With every new answer unfolded, science has consistently discovered at least three new questions.--
Cheap: Galileo thermometer
Midrange: Handspring Visor Deluxe with the digital camera, 64 MB MP3 player, universal IR remote, and GPS receiver Springboard modules
Expensive: Top o' the line, pimped out Athlon system, with a flat panel display. Or a Porsche. Whichever.
--
Okay, I got Linux installed. So where's the free beer everyone keeps talking about??
Here is something in that $300-$1000 category.
Cheaper Then a Playstation 2:
USB CD-RW drive
Palm IIIxe
Cheaper Then a Playstation 2's rumored eBay sale value:
FireWire CD-RW drive
iBook
Unlimited:
Porsche Carrera GT
Refrag
I have a website. It's about Macs.
The other day my dad found out he has cancer. Things don't look good at all. We are talking mega-bad.
Yeah, it is fun to think about all the cool geek toys you want. Hell, I know I do it all the time. But sometimes something happens in your life that just puts things into perspective and you suddenly realize that all these toys are for naught.
How about for Christmas this year we all say "Fuck the toys!" and do some real honest to goodness positive things for a change. I know I am.
Those things can only support MP3 up to 192 Kbps. All of my MP3s are almost twice that. Is there anything which can support 384 Kbps?
--
And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
...an IN GAME SAVE for Diablo 2...
This
For the 'inexpensive' price range:
1) A Palm/Handspring/whatever.
2) A nice leather rolling chair for the home arca...erm, office.
3) Portable MP3 player. As long as it's got 64 mes of memory and an FM tuner, it doesn't matter which one.
4) 8x CD burners are into the $200 range lately...
For the 'expensive' price range:
1) Flat-screen LCD monitor with TV Tuner.
2) A CD collection... no, wait, you can get those things free online.
3) A DVD player and sound system.
4) A year's suppl of Jolt Cola(tm) (figured at the cost of $1 a bottle, three bottles a day, 365 days a year)
For the 'unlimited' category:
1) Eschelon
2) A politician... wait, you can't buy those, right?
3) Your very own radio telescope so you can finally break away from SETI@Home and start your own search.
4) Your very own server with a fully-paid T3 connection and all the hard drive space you could possibly need.
and yo betta get yoself a spell chekka
.oO0Oo.
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
1 Sony Glasstron: Geeky as hell, but still really cool looking. For the ladies: give your man these and he will let you use the TV! .co m/vaio_direct/76/33/942.default.html
http://www.sonystyle
2 Action Figures! www.spawn.com
3 For the hard-core 64-Bit geek in all of us, anything running on a Sun Ultrasparc-III!www.sun.com/store
4 Beer! (No link needed!)Knights of the Dinner Table
Back to the Future, Indiana Jones, and yes...Star Wars (4-6). I think this gift might fit best into the unlimited category since the studios aren't moving too rapidly.
ich muß mehr Kuhglocke haben
I'm getting my self cable modem service for Christmas. I just got put on the waiting list today, so hopefully they should be coming to install it before the holidays.
All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.
In the cheap class: Sifl n Olly box set from ebay. First and only show on MTV starring sock puppets.
In the medium class: an aeron chair from Herman Miller. If you don't know, try one. Best $1000 chair in the country.
In the unlimited, my own record label to screw with the RIAA.
And in my own category, priceless, I want Stephen King to finish the Dark Tower series.
Planning to be moderated ± 1: Bad Pun.
Hopefully this will turn out not to be vaporware:
Agenda vr3
http://www.agendacomputing.com/
And If I had more disposible income, one of those corny Kerbango devices, now produced by RCA.
http://www.kerbango.com/
They have the 'Destination Mir' site up now - they don't have much there yet, but you can sign up for the mailing list so you can find out when to send in the application.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
1. Uh, a Playstation 2...?
2. A Playstation 2 and a few games?
3. A Playstation 2 and tons of games?
Fsck cluebie moderators. I'll say what I want, offtopic or not. And fsck having to qualify every bloody statement just
I've got a visor deluxe and I love it, I just got a cheapo $4 AAA battery recharger from radio shack yesterday (I was about to go poor on overclocking it to play gameboy games).
Why don't "santa's little helpers" make a springboard module that allows for simple radio communication between visors/palms. Just a 300-400 foot range is all I ask, so I can tell if my friends are near.
Similar to the Cybiko setup, just not geared toward 14/F's..
www.cybiko.com
I want French Attack Monkeys!
-Dorsey
-Dorsey
If you can't beat them, exploit them. *Then* beat them... -Milk & Cheese
a Meade LX200 16" is a great gift to give, and receive!
--
"Science will win because it works." - Stephen Hawking
Here are my entires: $300 or less - Nothing like another 128MB more RAM. $301 to $1500 - Mommy, can I have a Pentium 4 or a Geforce Ultra? Unlimited - Anyone want to buy me a supercomputer???
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
As a personal policy, I don't accept gifts for the holidays. I have enough stuff. Here are a few suggestions for people who wanna give me something. If you're interested, email me for a bunch of other worthy organizations!
Donation to ORT (http://www.ort.org/ort/wou/wou.htm). ORT is a Jewish organization that builds vocational schools around the world. Instead of giving people food or money, ORT teaches people high-tech skills like writing code, repairing computers, and other jobs that'll allow them to bring themselves out of poverty.
Donation to MDRC (http://www.mdrc.org). The MDRC is an organization that researches the best ways of improving the lives of low-income people, ranging from literacy programs to vocational training. (More US-centric than ORT).
Donation to EFF (http://www.eff.org). The Electronic Frontier Foundation is one of the few political organizations that understands high-tech issues, and lobbies for, litigates for, and generally supports electronic freedom (via U.S. legal system).
Donation to Amnesty International (http://www.amnesty.org). In some places, organizations like the EFF are not sufficient; you say the wrong thing, you're thrown in jail. Amnesty tries to pressure governments to follow the Geneva Convention and respect human rights.
Donation to PeaceFire (http://www.peacefire.org). An organization that fights censorship of the web, and points out the incompetence and hypocrisy of the would-be censors.
-
bukra fil mish mish
-
Monitor the Web, or Track your site!
Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani?
www.fogbound.net
Yeah, sure, like you don't openly drool at the thought of a Beowulf Cluster of Christmas trees.
Then again, maybe you're not really tech! Let's see some ID. Say something tech, proove you're not just posting during a commercial break in Oprah!
--
Chief Frog Inspector
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
you know, my selection is rather simple.
.... doubt if it falls in range of a $1500 value though).
........ because you are antisocial too!
cheap gift - handspring
mid ranged - Mac Cube (never owned a mac, this looks sweet
real gift - personal helicopter
well, thats all.
Automatics aren't always worse. I saw an episode of Car and Driver which put the "special projects" teams of GM vs. Ford. They built whatever badass racecar they could squeeze into a camaro and mustang body, and then raced them. The mustang had an automatic transmission. They decided to gun for the 0-60 points and less on the handling round-the-track points. Engaging that clutch manually kills you every time. Even F1 doesn't use standard transmission anymore, just the paddles. Driver retains full control, but he lets the machine do what it does best. Kinda like linux, no?
I've got the wool.... Seriously, somewhere to post all of that 'disputed' code would be fantastic. David
I know the perfect gift... an Iridium Satellite. Useless but still cool as a tech relic! andrew at stern dot as
Does it? Does it do have it's own program guide information and scheduling software? I'm not familiar with the product.
An Intel product that doesn't have bugs on the market by christmas. Nevermind if I can afford it or not.. I'd just like to see it.
I'm figuring everyone else is posting unrealistic stuff, so I should too.
--
Yeah, but the consumer-binge aspect *was* invented by corporations. For example, that big fat Santa in a red suit that we all associate with Christmas...who invented that? Oh, yeah, the Coca-Cola corporation!
Ours is a corporate fabricated culture...just witness such phenomena as BackStreet Boys and Pokemon.
It's 10 PM. Do you know if you're un-American?
Obviously Lego Mindstorms would be high on the list of any geek (even if you have them, you need more to do the really cool stuff you've been planning to do...)
/* Of course I'm real, but can you prove it? */
$159
--
http://gammatron.weblogger.com
Medium: LCD panel for my computer--Something nice and big.
Expensive: Enough money to my name to have an influence in the US gov't. That only takes about $100 million, right?
Those who don't know me, probably shouldn't trust me. Those that do know me, DEFINITELY shouldn't trust me.
Here's my present list:
Mobile phone: Ideally the 9110 or 9110i. If that's not availiable, I'll take a Matrix-esque 7110.
I wouldn't mind a Creative DAP Jukebox. Storage for 100 hours of MP3s (But only enough power to play them for about 5 hours).
I'll also take a Kawasaki Ultra 150 Jet Ski (Only £7,245!).
I wouldn't mind a BURN-proof 12x10x32 CD-RW drive.
Every slashdotter I know yould use one of These.
Leatherman Wave Multi-tools are nice, if I didn't already have one.
Want a rack for all your CDs? I'll have a Rolodisc rack. Cool!
If we're allowed whole new systems, I'll take an SGI 550 workstation, with the dual 866 MHz Pentium III Xeon processors and 2 gigs or ram, please.
I'll also have an Ergoview Task chair with headrest.
Since CmdrTaco's paying, I'll have a Panasonic Portable DVD player (Massive 7" widescreen LCD screen!).
If you have any spage change after that, $13,999.95 will get you (Well, me actually. We do GET this stuff, don't we?) a 16:9 Wide, 42" Diagonal Flat-Panel Plasma SDTV-Compatible Monitor. Cool!
A Radio Deadbolt would be cool (US only though
Head-mount Night-vision goggles would be nice.
This summer, I will mainly be avoiding traffic jams in my Armoured Hummer. I'll take the Scorpion III as well - it's cool.
$3,199 is enough for a nice Sony Digital video camera.
An SP9004 spud gun is on my list too, and a cair of Glasstron goggles. Nice!
Well, I'm going out now. If any karma whores would like to check out my links and use thier 1337 copy and paste skills in case there are errors, you can go right ahead.
Michael
...another comment from Michael Tandy.
"Goodness me, how unlike the FBI to abuse the trust of the American public." -- The Onion
I was blue and lonely, I couldn't sleep a wink
And I could only get unconscious if I'd had to much to drink
There was somehow, something wrong somewhere
And each day seemed grey and dead
The seeds of desperation were growing in my head
I needed inspiration, a brand new start in life
Somewhere to place affection, but I didn't want a wife
And then by lucky chance I saw in a special magazine
An ad that was unusual, the like I'd never seen
"Experience something different with our new imported toy
She's loving, warm, inflatible and a guarantee of joy."
She came all wrapped in cardboard, all pink and shrivelled down
A breath of air was all she needed to make her lose that frown
I took her to the bedroom and pumped her with some life
And later in a moment that girl became my wife
And so I sit her in the corner and sometimes stroke her hair
And when I'm feeling naughty I blow her up with air
She's cuddly and she's bouncy, she's like a rubber ball
I bounce her in the kitchen and I bounce her in the hall
And now my life is different since Sally came my way
I wake up in the morning and have her on a tray
She's everything they say she was and I wear a permanent grin
And I only have to worry in case my girl wears thin
from "Be My Girl - Sally", written by Sting & Andy Summers (The Police: Outlandos d'Amour).
Regards, Ralph.
How about some stuff that costs, oh, say a couple bucks? Sure, I wouldn't mind an empeg unit or a souped up Visor... but that's not going to happen this yea. (ahh, the stuff next year will be better anyway!).
Religions of the World
Chicks Hate Me
I Am A Dork
Total Nerd
Vegetaria ns Taste Better!
Let's get naked.
Which one's Scully?
Fat People are Harder to Kidnap
The site name-a-star.net lets you name a star anything you wish for a mere $50. It's a nice novelty, at least.
Of course, there's always the possibility of scientists finding life on the named star. Perhaps you can include a SETI@Home client disk with the certificate?
(One tin per week, $3 per tin: $156)
I can see the fnords!
Oh. Yeah. You Americans have Thanksgiving really late, when us Canadians are already knee deep in snow, building up our igloos, hunkering down with our really good beer to watch Hockey Night in Canada.
:)
I'm having Turkey - what are *you* doing this weekend?
Is this post not nifty? Sluggy Freelance. Worshi
so that would be...
the Cube and
Darwin
So I can wash my private parts with Bills face :)
Rasputiin
You want an Asus V7700 - nVidia GeForce2 GTS 64M. Either that, or by the time Xmas rolls around, the nVidia GeForce2 Ultra should be out and about.
--
the list includes:
I imagine that one big feature that I'd like is that I'd like it to exist in time for the holidays. Other than that, I just want something that takes ethernet in one side, sits in my kitchen, bathroom, study, garage, or wherever, and dumps music out.
I believe that most of these will fall in the "under $300" category, unless I have to use my iMac for this purpose.
Wireless and/or noise-reducing headphones (Bose just made their NR's commercially available)
WEGA
TT Roadster
Better Stereo cables
in the middle category, we'd have to include an Expresso maker. http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=1 18313
We both knew a biotech type fellow who we would watch in fascination each morning as he would carefully adjust the controls for flow and temperature until it was perfect. I think he was actually trying to crystalize the pure caffeine on the lip of the cup. A techie toy that's also recursive... the more you play with it, the more caffeine you have, inspiring you to play with it even more!
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
100 GIG 15,000 RPM RAID-5 Array, 1.1 GHz Tbird, uh, lots and lots of DDRAM, cruise missile aimed at Rambux, DVD, uh.. new propeller beanie.., games for the pc that don't suck, uh, first^H^H^H^H^Hmeaningful post on /., new porsche 5speed turbo, uh... oh, heck
just gimme lots money and I'll figure it out later =)
--
Chief Frog Inspector
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
http://www.canon.co.uk/cgi-bin/parser.pl?page=prod ucts&product=34&prodtype=3&s ubprodtype=1 0 - link
.oO0Oo.
couldn't find a price for this but it's predecessor the XL1 is about $4000
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
is that no one makes what I really want, a wireless X display terminal in the $300 dollar range.
Otherwise, will this list be comprised of anything other than the latest electronic gee-gaw from the mega-corps?
Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
But then you need the car to go with it. My choice:
Ferrari Le Mans
$1,000,000 US
Hand built absolutly kick ass car.
Then a place to park it:
Since I live in Seattle, I'd take bill's place.
approx. $53 million US
Of course these are in the unlimited price range. Nothing else is quite as fun.
Cheap-- A new PDA, Palm IIIxe.
Medium-- An Apple iBook, set up to dual boot Mac OS X and Linux.
Unlimited-- My own railroad car, because I hate flying and driving.
How about an IV drip, for constant caffine supply. Who needs to drink a double expresso when that oh-so-vital drug can go right into your veins?
I'm very surprised by what I read here. With 70% of the threads on Slashdot being related to the creeping loss of our freedoms, everyone is still swept up by Greed Season. Do those of you who have visions of Playstations dancing in your heads know that Sony is a huge player in both the RIAA and the MPAA?
Christmas presents may be gifts, but everything has a cost. We all need to think about the consequences of our actions, direct or indirect. Don't just accept commercial gift giving because it's the status quo. How about spending time with the people you care about, and enjoying the time off, instead of working at being a diligent consumer? Or, better yet, as CmdrTaco hinted at, why not ask for a donation to be made in your name to a worthwhile charity, such as the EFF or the Leauge for Programming Freedom?
Personally, I don't expect to recieve any gifts for Christmas, or my December birthday, save for a plane ticket to visit my parents in Alberta.
-
--cyphergirl
--Insert catchy
<=$300Handspring Visor Deluxe
$301-$1500Olympus C-2500L Digital Camera
>=$1501A house in San Francisco (hah, fat chance of that!)
--
Duane H
Steps to the perfect gift. 1) Buy a TiVo ( http://www.tivo.com ) 2) Upgrade it with the instructios at http://www.tivofaq.com/hack/faq.html; 3) Buy the parts for the upgrade at http://www.9thtee.com/TiVoUpgrades.htm
Alex Bischoff
---
Alex Bischoff
HTML/CSS coder for hire
My list...
Easy...a house on the lake with a fishing pier, a boat, and an ice-chest filled with beer.
or I'd settle for a week away from phones, computers, televisions, work, the Texas heat, and hangovers.
For the kids..of course..
I've seen him post with this mistake frequently which leads me to believe we have a grammar problem on our hands and not just a typo. Maybe someone wasn't paying attention to their 7th grade English teacher? See this article for another example of Taco's trouble with "than." Same day, even...
--------
-------
"Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief."
-----------------
< $300: Palm m100 or IIIxe. I thought I was indulging myself when I bought my IIIx. It didn't take me long to realize that it was the most truly useful thing I've ever owned. Besides, I can laugh at people who struggle with the upkeep of FiloFaxes that look like George Costanza's wallet.
:-) If you need more motivation, there's now a $100 rebate coupon on their web site.
$300 - $1500: TiVo. If only the shows were as intelligent....
> $1500: Nissan Skyline GT-R. Grey-marketed in the US by MotoRex. 1999 R34 models start at $85,500, but it is most certainly not what everyone else is driving.
Every day we're standing in a wind tunnel/Facing down the future coming fast - Rush
This sig intentionally left blank.
n/m
http://www.vrealities.com/cmpsr.html
.oO0Oo.
3D car racing
$5000
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
This and recent discussions on moderation make me think /. could use a new moderation factor:
-1, Bad Spelling
-2, "Then" != "Than"
+5, Correct usage of "they're" and "their"
Or maybe just Open Source Spelling (tm) -- users could change one character of any post in each article. The community could then correct spelling errors: "then" => "than", etc.
:)
-----
D. Fischer
ShoutingMan.com
I have a visor also, and I've been craving the eyemodule-- It's a digital camera that goes into the expansion slot of the visor. It can take black/white or color images, and only increases the length of the visor by 15mm. The images are also quite small when stored on the visor, the Deluxe can hold 125-500 images, depending on the resolution and color. It uses the visor screen as a viewfinder, so you can see what you're taking... The quality is not so great, but then it's only about $150 USD.
-j
-sigs of the world unite
So all I really need now is somebody to port Linux to our new architecture. Any takers?
-=God Hates Me=-
Cheaper than a PlayStation: All tech heads love stacks of geeky books.
--
Rob Carlson
all i want for christmas is my two front teeth, two front teeth....errr...an Apple IIgs. Very inexpensive and loaded with hours of fun...
-Psyiode
The only present for a mid-winter festival is a bottle / case of single malt Scotch whisky. Presonal preference would be be Laphroaig. Guaranteed to warm the cockles of your heart and (if enough is drunk) to remove all ill will to those who bought you nasty non-geek presents.
This would be really cool if I could use the sender/receiver thingy to send a multi-channel signal, rather than plain old video. That way I could share a cable connection and be able to watch something different than what is on the TV hooked up to the real cable connection. The link isn't clear about whether it can do this.
-Splat
---------///----------
All generalizations are false.
--
I like to watch.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
http://brighton.ncsa.uiuc.edu/~prajlich/caveQuake/
I'm not sure how much the whole system would cost, but you can read the specs on the site.
I know someone at the University of Michigan that let a group of us play around with it. Very cool stuff. It's really strange becoming a character in Quake.
I've read rumors that someone is working on a Half-Life port for this system. Imagine actually becoming Gordon Freeman.
"Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know."
-- Ernest Hemingway
This is the age of information age and the new economy. How is a gear head supposed to know now what toys he or she desires in three months time?
The only solution is to go for the tried and true classics.
The best of which are Penguin brand caffeinated peppermints and Jolt cola.
have a day,
-l
have a day,
-l
This is a biggie as presents go but it would be ideal for those who like to muck with new toys.
I would like a 3d printer with scematics of all lego pieces ever created. Think of it, never run out of that one special piece again.
If you want to build that life sized lego Space shuttle just get enough "3D Printer Goo" (tm) and start snapping pieces together.
Is this the end yet?...How 'bout now...how 'bout now...how 'bout now?
that would do nicely
"Let him go, Ralph. He knows what he's doing." --Otto Mann (simpsons)
a BP6 and two Celery 533s runs a little over $300, while the new VP6 and two P3s can run up to $1500.
http://www.abit-usa.com
i'm telling you, go smp on your desktop, and you'll never go back (just for the record, i went the bp6 and dual celery route - way cheap, and performance is great) to a single cpu again.
I want a jacket with logo's of many open source projects.
...
...
GNU on the back, Tux and Daemon on the front (left and right), Apache feather and Samba-Bamba on the sleeves.
Lots of other smaller (nice looking) logos spread around: XFree86, Gimp, Gnome, KDE (I'm not partisan), PostgreSQL,
... ummm
GNAT,
... ummm
more anyone?
I looked, You can't get this stuff anywhere, even as just patches to do it yourself. Somebody's gotta fix that.
There is nothing so silly as other peoples traditions, and nothing so sacred as our own.
it was a joke. man, some people...
JediLuke
JediLuke
-Do or Do Not, There is no Try
Cheap Option: An Nvidia MX Card. Speedy, but cheap. Then I could play UT at a reasonable speed.
Medium option: A Tivo - theoretically launched in the UK, damned if I can get my hands on one.
Expensive option: Terabit optical connection to my house. then I could play UT online at a reasonable speed. And download porn at the same time!
_____
My Journal
Commuting would be so much nicer in one of these. It's not a matter of want. It's need.
I think it is more the case of a corporation taking a popular mythological figure, who can't object, being mythological, and having him hawk their cheesy wares.
Sort of like what some companies have been doing with God lately...
All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
VMware under win2k doesn't run X (3.3.6), at least without using the X-server they provide, which won't necessarily work very well when I actually boot to linux. It does boot to the text login just fine, and works excellently there, however.
VMware under linux (RH7, pretty stock config) doesn't run win2k (it complains that it doesn't support certain power management features, and therefore can't boot...?!?). If you've already got the stability of linux, why would you want to run anything *other* than win2k when you need a bit of evil?
High-speed Road Trip (18.000KPH)
Hmmm...Let's see what I want:
:Cue:Cat by DC
1) Microsoft Windows 2000
2)
3) CD's from my favorite music authors (including Metallica & Dr. Dre)
4) Internet Filtering software (ie. Net Nanny)
5) A DVD Player approved by the MPAA
=-)
Doh!
Actually, if you look at the history of Christmas (and the 'giving' season) you will notice that it is not invented-by-and-for-retailers
The history of christmas isn't even a religious one, way back in the days of cavemen (well, post then but I just like to think of cavemen giving each other rocks.. it's funny.) when the days got shorter and shorter the tribes thought it was because of the sun god getting angry at them for their short comings. So long about December 25th (Keep in mind, the solstice changes - now it is 21st but waaaaay back then it was the 24th I believe) they would celebrate the return of the sun god. They believed it was because of their giving and their charity - not only amongst themselves but through sacrifices to the sun god.
This is how the tradition of christmas got started.. the spirit of being nice to each other to appease the gods to bring longer days..
The religious aspect got started when early christians celebrated the birth of Jesus got whacked by romans or whatever - they had to hide their celebration -- and what better celebration to mask their own tribute to their Lord then the season of giving.
Neat little story. You may go now.
Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
I think that on the second day of x-mas, slashdot gave to you an infinite loop.
___
__
Do ya feel happy-go-lucky, punk?
I want a Beowulf Cluster of whatever the most expensive gift is...even if its a Beowulf Cluster of something... including this.
...so I'd like to get my hands on a couple of expansion sleeves...
Also, in the priceless category, I'd like to see TeamFortress2 and Tribes2 both hit before end of year (yeah right).
For ~$15k, I'd take a mid tier SunBlade 1000. Mmmmmmm, FC-AL disks in the box.
It also seems no one has mentioned the new Zelda game, so let me cast my vote for that. An iMode phone would be cool. Hmmmm, guess I could use a Voodoo5 6500 as well. A boxed set of all the Terry Gilliam DVD's would be the perfect stocking stuffer (yeah, it doesn't exist, but wouldn't it be keen if it did?).
And how about LiVid? I'd like to view some DVD's PC-side.
Oh, and an expansion pack for Crimson Skies (yeah, it's made by M$, but it's so stinkin' addicting!).
-------------
I wish I had a kryptonite cross, because then you could keep Dracula and Superman away.
Check out www.thinkgeek.com. (Advertised on this page.) Look under posters and check out the demotivational posters. They are the black-bordered pretty pictures with nice little sayings underneath, except that they are meant to demotivate rather than motivate. We laughed till we nearly wet our pants. Good, cheap humor to decorate your office or cubicle. "Idiocy" and "Apathy" are two favorites.
Everyone needs a Por table MP3 CD-R player... and, at less than $100 a pop, you can afford to get one for all of your geek friends. :)
Imagine the looks you'd get as you descend from the sky to the local cafe for a quick cappuccino, strapped into your personal VTOL (Vertical TakeOff and Landing), fuel efficient, high-reliability personal flyer.
Who needs a car!
All I want for Xmas is a SoloTrek XFV.
(Said to cost around the price of a high-end sports car)
Check it out on Millenium Jet Inc.'s site www.solotrek.com.
/..sig file not found - permission denied.
They'll love it!
Baldur's Gate 2, that is pretty much a given.
Rio 500 MP3 player, which you can pick up for cheap at Audible.com, last time I checked.
A subscription to Wired.
VMWare for the geek in all of us.
A new video card, though I don't know specifics.
Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.
I love my Handspring Visor. Everyone college student should have one, or at least sort of PDA for keeping track of your schedule and assignments.
Handspring
_______________________________________________
All circuits busy.
pronoblem
"// this is the most hacked, evil, bastardized thing I've ever seen. kjb"
You know you want it ^_^
--
Peace,
Lord Omlette
ICQ# 77863057
[o]_O
...in each category.
Low: Everybody needs more memory. Or you can help save a species.
Mid: Put this in your hand, or this under your desk. Either would please.
If you have to ask: One of these would be nice, particularly for Quake, but I NEED one of these. Really. It could solve a fair number of problems.
-- "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity." - R.A.H.
Under 300
4 pk Penguin Mints (Think Geek)
1 case of caffiene (anywhere or on Think Geek)
1-2 lbs espresso
Tux Polo (Think Geek again)
O'rielly Books (ANY!)
1 bottle Sky Rocket Syrup (To make MONSTER cappucino's).
Creative Labs Live Platinum Soundcard
New Printer
Over 300
SMP Pentium III 900 box
6 gig MP3 Player from Think Geek
WAYYY OVER 300 (dream)
Massedi Quad 18" LCD panel display, with 2 Matrox G450 Max Video Cards
MAXED OUT Pentium III 900 SMP Box (biggest and Fastest HD, DVD, CD-RW (SCSI FASTEST AVAILABLE), 3-4 gig memory and possible RAID array.
Gorkman
Santa - I'm trying real hard to be good this year so this list doesn't seem too unreasonable. What I'd like to have is 1) a Night Vision Monocular, a Pinball Machine and a house in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Oh, and maybe a Swiss bank account with maybe 5 million in it for upkeep of the house would be a good 'stocking stuffer'. Ok?
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
Under $300:
A Netgear RT314 cable/dsl router
Another 128Mb of High Performance RAM
Hexapod Walker Kit from www.robotstore.com
$300-$500
An IBM 75Gb drive (I know it's slightly more than $500 but that'll change soon enough)
A Voodoo5 6000 video card
Over $500:
A direct connection to the main internet backbone. My own Robosaurus with built in rocket launchers and laser guidance system. My own Air Force 1 and a private island to land it on. Access to top secret computer and military equipment (ie an Apache longbow chopper with heads-up display and GPS navigation system). $100 billion in a bank account, and the deed to the Moon so I can build a moon base to house my giant laser... oh wait.. that was an Austin Powers movie... but the rest would be nice.
Round out your geek's collection of O'Reilly books with perhaps the most influential scientific book of all time: Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica! Price varies widely with condition and provenance, but $175,00 - $200,000 wouldn't be surprising. If you're not feeling quite so flush, you might try a first edition of Darwin's Origin of Species instead, $40,000 at B and L Rootenberg Rare Books. They also carry a copy of the Principia, by the way. For more sellers, try a search at abebooks.com
How about giving your friends memberships in organizations that promote worthy ideals? Some good examples are the ACLU and EFF (as mentioned above). The money that you spend on a gift like this benefits everyone, by helping in the fight to hold onto the precious little freedom we have left. This is great for every budget, most organizations have memberships in the $20 - $30 range, putting them squarely in the "Less than playstation2" category, but I am sure any organization would gladly accept a $1,000,000+ donation (from the "unlimited" range).
Plus there is some geek prestige to be had by pulling an EFF membership card out of your wallet.
eShades by Inviso provide a virtual 19" display in a pair of sunglass like frames. Not available yet but these will retail at around $600. Inviso Inc.
Saint Nicholas was indeed the patron saint of little children, which was brought to the US by the Dutch (they got it from Turkey which to this day still takes pride in its children and actually has a Children's Day holiday).
But he didn't assume the form we know today until the 1930s when Coca Cola used him to pimp their sugar water (which I still vehemently prefer over Pepsi, whose annoying little schizophrenic girl is ten times as worse)
It's 10 PM. Do you know if you're un-American?
How about something from Edmund Scientifics?
They have robot kits, Magic Rocks and other crystal-growing kits, night-vision goggles, lasers, and all sorts of great tools and toys.
-rozzin.
a wearable computer like this one, maybe? it would be so nice. :-)
This player would be a great system for people travelling a lot: DVD Player. I know I would love to have one.
The NEC Simplem - Dynamism.com has reconfigured the keyboard and OS of this made-for-Japan slimtop for use in the US. At $3599, it unfortunately falls into the Unlimited price category for the gift season, but with a flat screen monitor, cordless keyboard, cordless mouse, Web remote control, and wonderful design ethic (physical skins!) it definitely tops my Please-Please-PLEASE wishlist.
http://www.dynamism.com/simplem/inde x.s html
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A relatively inexpensive but very useful tool -- something that combines a wallet, a cell phone carrier, a Pilot holder, and a notepad and pen holder. It comes with a long strap I've never used - Lodis customer service sent me a hand strap for $10 (also makes it less "pursey"). Much less hassle than carrying this junk seperately, with the side benefit of getting the wallet off your butt. $70 at ebags: Lodis all-in-one wallet
Just a few cents...or maybe more
~KONala
Man, forget bookpool. Try http://www.addall.com. It's a price search engine that includes shipping. It freaking rocks.
---
DO NOT DISTURB THE SE
- New coders for Valve so they can hurry up and release Team Fortress 2.
-
An OC3 so I can get first post before anybody else has a chance to reload the index. (note - I don't first post)
-
Requisite fast gaming machine... (>=2 athlons, gf2 , 2g ram, and several hard drives)
-
Copyleft t-shirts
-
Missile submarine
-
FA-18 jet
-
TFC - in real life!!!!!
That is my list - deliveries may be made to:BonzoESC.
Tell me what makes you so afraid
Of all those people you say you hate
It's definetly on the high end...but worth it.
Not too geeky:
:-)
One of those Scalextric slot car sets for after hours coding breaks. Nothing like trying to beat your cube mate at the Cube500.
This post brought to you by your friendly neighborhood MBA.
The new offering is the "Beach World". These are salt water and have little red shrimp in them. The shrimp are bigger than the critters in the original sphere and the red color is truly striking - when they aren't being hassled! To avoid predators - and dickheads shaking the sphere - they turn clear when disturbed. It takes about an hour for the red color to come back, and you can bug them to death if this happens too often.
The other issue is temperature change. Both spheres can live in a about a 20 degree (F) range between 60 and 80. You need to keep the temp as constant as possible to keep them happy. Sudden or frequent changes can mean death. You can't leave these things in a window where they can get direct sunlight for even 10 minutes. The volume of water is very small - and in direct sunlight - it's only a few short minutes to micro boiled shrimp.
Sooooo......what this means is: I love these things and I have a couple. They are great pets for semi-responsible people and outstanding converstation starters.
BUT..... We quit selling them in the store because too many people were killing them. No matter what we said - they seemed to treat these things like paperweights instead of living animals. If you are going to give one of these as a gift, make sure the person you are giving it to is capable of keeping a dog or a plant alive. Also, keep these things in mind:
You MUST make sure they get enough light - you can't walk off and turn the lights off for a week - they will die.
You can't let it sit in your car while you finish your holiday shopping. 20 minutes in your 40 degree car is death - and not the manufacturer's fault.
It's better to give them a gift certificate for this and wait until April to actually send the sphere if they live in a cold climate. These things have to be shipped overnight Fed-Ex to live through the ordeal. Shipping gravely stresses them and they must recover - that means they must be removed immeditately on arrival. If grandma waits 3 weeks to open this at Christmas, she will get a nice ball of dead green slime to stare at while she cuts you out of the will.
You CAN NOT treat these things like a "snow sphere". Shake it and watch it snow dead shrimp on the minature beach.
Enjoy your Bio Sphere!
"Reality is independent from perception." - RDH
($301-$1500) - 22in Flat-Screen monitor
Unlimited - A trip on Mir (need I say more?)
---- El diablo esta en mis pantalones! Mire, mire!
Got Rhinos?
If you're in the mood to get me a gift, how about this? Sure beats this monster, as reliable as it's been for the last year and a half.
Don't hesitate to get in touch with me or peruse my other lists. A lot of shiny tech stuff catches my eye on a regular basis, so I'm a self-proclaimed expert. Heh.
--
Rob Carlson
Probably the most dramatic form of geek fashion - Matrix replica trenchcoats.
Neo or Morpheus style, Trinity PVC top for the females, and for the more conservative geeks, there's the Deckard Bladerunner trenchcoast as well. All the trenches in the 300-1500 range (varies on fabrics) and the PVC is 120.
I want THIS. And I want it now. If it's not out by Christmas, there will be many wedgies unleashed upon the world.
--
It's rare that you're presented with a knob whose only two positions are Make History and Flee Your Glorious Destiny.
1)The Lego Mindstorm Robotics Invention Kit
2)The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Aniversary Edition.
3)The Art of Computer Programming, by Donald Knuth; all of them!
4)A Palm (doesn't matter which one) and the O'Reilly programming books for it.
5)The Complete Set of O'Reilly X Windows books (sentimental reasons)
The universe is bad enough without people poking it. -Mustrum Ridcully
I sit at my computer most of my waking hours. I stare endlessly at a flickering screen whether I am actually working or just geeking out.
Since this is the way it goes... I may as well do it in style with the Aura, kindly supplied by Poetic Technologies.
At the impressive price of $7,769.00 USD (or for the economically challenged (me) $11,340.00 CDN Funds (Don't forget the GST)) this puppy will obviously fall under the Unlimited catagory.
A nice comfortable catheder and a bowel bag and I won't have to function as a human again.
- Xabbu
- Jimbob
I have both a Bio-Sphere and a Beach World. The URL for the manufacturer is Paragon Space Development Corporation.
I have had an 8" bio-sphere since December, 1999, and a 5" Beach World since May of this year. I have taken pains to make sure both have had the right sort of environment, and so have had a good experience with them. The Bio-Sphere lives at home with it's timer and lamp. The Beach World lives on my desk at work where even during the weekends it gets some natural light. I love looking at the shrimp swimming around while I write software!
I really like my "little worlds"!
Dog is my co-pilot.
Time and again, for anyone over the age of about 12, I love to give the Victorinox Swiss Army Knife. Every geek needs one, but then, so does everyone else. I have given Swiss Army Knives as gifts many times, and I always hear back from the person, saying that they find it extremely useful and that it was a great gift.
The knife is possibly mankinds oldest and most valuable tool. I use my knife every day, for cleaning my fingernails, cutting tape on a package, prying open the jammed CD-ROM, and so forth. I feel every human being ought to know how to handle a knife properly, and the best way to learn is to do it, constantly, from as young an age as possible. I have sliced open my hand with my own knife doing something stupid, and believe me, this is the best way to learn how not to do something stupid with a knife.
Plus they start at only ten bucks, but go all the way up to over a hundred, providing a good range of prices for rich and poor alike.
[Please remember that a knife is safer when it is extremely sharp. A blunt knife requires more force to cut, and therefore is more likely to slip.]
(I do not work for Victorinox, nor do I sell knives; I'm just a fan.)
I am allowed to criticize you: you are not allowed to criticize me. Sorry, that's just how things are.
... A Handspring Visor with the new 3G wireless services runing over CDMA: http://www.handspring.com/company/pr27.jhtml
How long are we gonna have to wait for *that* puppy?
For christmas I would really love to see all the major websites stream 'It's a wonderful Life'. Then us geeks can really enjoy the true meaning of christmas without having to leave our computers.
A huge moniter. A new house. $1,000,000 gift cerfitacte to fry's a cray.
I remember when I was a young child back in 1970 and Santa Stallman slipped a single floppy with the emacs editor into my stocking. Even with the extreme compression capabilites of bz2, I don't think that's possible now :-). So, in lieu of that fact, I would definitely ask mom for a copy of the Vim editor. It may not fit on a single floppy, but it sure feel like it should...
A musician without the RIAA, is like a fish without a bicycle.
for the high range... how about a beowolf cluster of me getting laid. Or me leaving the office
long enough to have a theoretical chance at the above
http://www.sugarwalls.com - link
.oO0Oo.
1 month for $19.95
http://www.suzerandall.net - link
$29.95 For 30 Days Access
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
I guess what people are saying is right, the Internet really isn't that different from Real Life, after all. ;-)
and saves me of feeling guilty to have read his post...
The eTrex or eTrex summit work great.. I'm going to buy the summit model soon, as it has the eletronic compass, can be bought for $210 online, manufactured by garmin (www.garmin.com)
If you have anything beyond a trivial A/V setup. this is for you!
But if it has to be under $300, you could use a plastic platter. It's not the same, but I'm willing to accept that.
Tongue-tied and twisted, just an earth-bound misfit, I
Learning to fly, Pink Floyd.
try dsl... My friend had it at his home, we were getting 800k/s one evening, downloading linux stuff from metalab
Eat a Rock!
...the personal submarine from the Neiman-Marcus Christmas catalog. 120 feet long, crew of seven, accomodates ten passengers. Only $20,000,000. Unfortunately, no link.
Art imitates life. TV imitates art.
Let's see. Apple Cube w/ Mac OS X :) w/ theatrical display >:)
:wq! DOH!
A CPU-less fileserver that's quiet and runs on a gigabit ethernet (throw in some gigabit equipment too while you're at it, I only got a 100Base). I could sure use some 100 Gigs for mp3s and another 50 for cd-images of games I like to play and of course another 20 for other file storage. >:)
A really spiff colour laser printer cause I'm tired of all the noise this inkjet makes (yeah, I know...at least it's not a dot matrix)
A digital camera that also takes a film snap at the same time (does this exist? It'd be really spiff. A digital preview for now and some film hardcopy for a quality production. All ya need is to jam a 1/2 silvered mirror in there.)
And last but certianly not least, one of those wearable computer monitors that overlay one eye so I can hook it up to an e-book reader. Hey, if I'm gonna read a book electronicly, I'm gonna get the benefit of not holding something to do it.
Roy Miller
--Roy
Check this bad boy out at http://www.megacar.com/ :-)
A 150kbit/sec `net connection in your car? It doesn't get any geekier than that
Oh, and I'm pretty sure this falls in the 'unlimited' price category. =)
Whoohhh there boy... The Americans will misconstrue that one.
For info take a look at the wonder that is Viz comic's mighty Profanisaurus
Cheaper than a PlayStation2 on Ebay: A maid, or at least a helper to come once a week and help me get my house in order,
One of the best things I ever did was get a cleaning lady to come in every two weeks and do the basic cleaning. I'm generally an orderly person but that doesn't stop the dust from building up, grease from sticking to the oven and the toilet from getting the way toilets get.
I don't know where you're living but a housekeeper in Orlando, FL costs $40 to $50 a visit for a two bed/two bath apartment. That's well below a PS/2 on eBay. I get visited every two weeks for $80 a month.
A clean living space can help geeks to get chicks, too! A clean house really impresses the grrls. Nothing can ruin The Mood quicker than a hottie heading to the bathroom to 'freashen up' only to find skid marks that have been there since the Bush administration.
By the way, my ultimate geek Christmas gift would be a 10 node, fully-functioning PDP11-based Atex publishing system. Call now! Supplies are limited.
InitZero
Personally, I think a Handspring Visor Deluxe would be a pretty killer present. But I'm sure everyone else has they're own preference on PDAs. Maybe one of the 65k color models that are supposed to be out for the holidays. But I have a feeling the battery life on those things is gonna be less than great.
www.handspring.com
I'm not a Fry's shopper, but I would recommend making your own converter: two inline sockets, a short piece of two-ply wire, a piece of heat-shrink rubber insulator... $A3 and a quick spot of soldering later (and a hair dryer for the shrinky insulation) and problem solved. That's what I did (although I also put in a regulator).
now if NASDAQ would go up a few hundred points, I'd be one happy camper for Xmas.
These things are pretty awesome, and if you can buy it in Switzerland even cheaper. I picked mine up for ~ $43 in Interlaken this summer.
For me ... a Lucent wireless lan.
Louis Wu
"Where do you want to go ...
You can hear NOTHING outside when you are using them. They block outside noise by 23dB (that's more than two orders of magnitude). Because they block out so much sound, you don't have to turn them up so much to hear it, so they actually protect your hearing.
Absolutely nothing can touch them for listening to tunes in a noisy office, on a plane, or a train. You can also walk down the street with them and nobody knows you are wearing a $300 pair of headphones. Sonic bliss anywhere. Despite their small size they have amazing bass response due to the seal they produce in your ear canal.
Very highly recommended. You won't be able to listen to the Sony headphones anymore after getting used to these (the Sony's will sound like shit by comparison).
Dr. Burris T. Ewell
Cheaper Then a Playstation 2's rumored eBay sale value ($301-$1500) : The usual big-ass flatscreen monitor.
Unlimited (Mommy, can I have a stealth bomber for Christmas?) : A viable space program.
Tempted by the stealth bomber and a full load of nukes? Sure, who wouldn't be? But as cool as a stealth would be, it wouldn't be as useful as, say, a few gazillion on a faster, better space program.
You asked me what I want for Christmas? A Congress that'll let NASA skip the cheaper part in order to get back to "faster and better", and a private space industry able to give NASA a run for their money.
$10B to the first company - or NASA - able to put a team of six people on Mars for two years and return them safely to the earth. $2B for the first organization able to launch a Europa Orbiter. Another $2B for a Europa Lander, with a bonus $1B if you can find the ocean and take samples of what it's made of. $500M for the first 100-meter resolution pictures of the surfaces of Pluto and Charon.
Or $10B to the first group who can cut down the cost of lifting stuff to orbit to $1000/lb, and another $10B to every group for every 50% improvement thereafter. That'd be ~$50B to get the cost down to $100/lb. Over 50 years, it means spaceflight becomes affordable to the general populace, and at $2B/y, that works out to goddamn cheap. With lift costs at $1000/lb (let alone $100/lb!), you get the space probes and offworld colonies for free.
1. I'm a Jewish atheist.
2. I have all the stuff I need.
3. I don't need to guilt trip other people into thinking that their love for me is measured by what they buy me.
4. But if you must, I really like fruit cake.
If your rich (like me,) then you can pay $2000 a plate to meet Clinton. (I did.) Here is a photo of me and the pres: Me and Clinton This would make a nice gift for those that have everything. It is also a great way to support the democratic party. Soft money baby!!
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Chuck Hoberman's firm develops and builds "Unfolding Structures". These domes, spheres and other shapes can expand to something like 30 times their original volume.
Now they have toys too! These make great desk toys for work! I have the mini sphere that glows in the dark. Quite nifty!
Hoberman SphereHoberman Mini-Sphere an expanding trapezoidal icositetrahedron-the intersection of a cube and an octahedron
Expandagon Construction System
Flight Ring (glows in the dark too!)
This will run in Wired, which then means that stores will sell out of it quickly.
Remind me again why I would want to submit anything that -I- was hoping to get? It makes more sense to just leech off of other people's ideas and hope that your new techie-nerd gear DOESN'T catch on (we all like being the guy with the cool stuff that no one else has)...
------
Let me give you the lowdown
I think you're close, but quite right. My understanding is that:
- Pagans (Romans) celebrated the festival of Saturnalia around the Winter Solstice Dec. 21(?).
- Other groups, like the Druids, had seasonal/religious celebrations around the same time as well.
- To make the transition easier from their pagan religion to chrisitianity, the Catholic church placed the celebration of Christ's birth at the same time as these other "new life" festivals.
- As time went on, other non-christian elements were brought into the growing christian holiday: fir trees were a symbol of life for the druids. The Christmas Tree started with a certain King of Germany (rather, he was given one, kept it, and the concept began moving from the high society down to the plebs). Similar histories exists for many other elements, like yule logs, etc.
- Gift-giving was initially just from parents to children; and charity from rich to poor
- With the mass immigration into the US in the 1800s, especially with dense, multi-cultural cities like NY City, Christmas became a way for these people to have a common custom & tradition, while still incorporating aspects of their heritage.
- The gift-giving became more common, and over time broadened to the semi-universal giving that we have now.
- The commericalism began entering strongly into it with the development of the consumer society in the US.
That's what I can remember from memory. I'm sure some details are off, but I think that's largely accurate.
As for the original poster said - I truly enjoy giving and receiving gifts (and I don't just give gifts at Christmas, like many other people). But I've become ever more tired of the disposable (landfill) gifts. The presents that are fun for a day, but aren't used after that. I now try and ask for gifts, and give gifts, that have some more lasting value; be it a quality kitchen appliance, a good book worth keeping, or something with sentimental value that will bring back good memories over the years.
-----
D. Fischer
ShoutingMan.com
what about one of these? http://www.sun.com/desktop/sunblade1000/
You can check out some suggestions for what I'd like this solstice on the web -- I thought everyone did that?
In the "the sky's the limit" category, add guitar lessons from B.B. King, Eric Clapton, and Mark Knoppfler, a Delorean, and a Buick Reatta. Oh heck, throw in a 1975 Land Rover 101 FC "Vampire" FFR.
And I would be remiss in not mentioning an Apricot Portable, Ampere WS-1, Canon FlatCat, STM Systems Baby! 1, Xerox NoteTaker, Sol-20, and a host of other really cool computers I'm looking for.
Stupid people will be persecuted to the fullest extent allowed by law.
First of all, The IBM Netvista X-40 is awesome. Just got mine, and I have to say, this is where PC computing is going. I have so much more desk space, I can actually fit a real book on it now.
I know this is redundant, but Palm still makes out with the best gifts. I personally own an m100, and am getting a V-series this December (found that out during a secret spy mission into the gift closet).
Of course, anything from ThinkGeek will show your loved ones that you care.
Over US$300, under US$1500: Gigabit ethernet system for my house, plus some hardware upgrades (video, sound) and some software (Unreal Tournament, Quake XXVI, whatever). Can you say "LAN party at Mr. Ska's"?
Unlimited: MIR, outfitted with the latest data servers. I'd have to rename it to "Data Heaven", however...
Mr. Ska
It has a range of 1,475 nautical miles, so from slashdot HQ in Michigan you can pretty much cover the majority of North American in one hop.
It has a usable payload of 3,895 lbs. when fully fueled. Think about the bandwith of a CJ1 with a almost 4,000 pounds of backup tapes in the back.
Check it out for yourself.
CitationJet 1 Homepage
Appx US$20,000,000. Here's one reference: http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/business/d ennis_tito_mir_000616.html
1: on the first day of x-mas slashdot gave to me...a partition on a kernel tree.
2: on the second day of x-mas slashdot gave to me...two hard drives, and a...GOTO 1
3: on the third day of x-mas slashdot gave to me...a three channel raid card, GOTO 2
4: on the fourth day of x-mas slashdot gave to me...a quad pentium iii server, GOTO 3
5: on the fifth day of x-mas slashdot gave to me 5 gigs of ram, GOTO 4
6: on the sixth day of x-mas slashdot gave to me 6 anime movies, GOTO 5
7: on the seventh day of x-mas slashdot gave to me 7 Hemos' mispelling, GOTO 6
8: on the eighth day of x-mas slashdot gave to me 8 trolls a trolling, GOTO 7
9: on the ninth day of x-mas slashdot gave to me 9 sites a slashdotted, GOTO 8
10: on the tenth day of x-mas slashdot gave to me 10 CmdrTaco's a milking, GOTO 9
11: on the eleventh day of x-mas slashdot gave to me 11 JonKatz posts (argh!), GOTO 10
12: on the twelveth day of x-mas slashdot gave to me, 12 natalie portman's petrified with hot grits, GOTO 11
please that took a while...don't hold spelling against me! i know its non-sense...thats why its fun!
JediLuke
JediLuke
-Do or Do Not, There is no Try
A submarine for all those around-the-world trips you've been meaning to do.. Also comes with its own "blow up the neighbor" button (very handy).
> Why pay 80 bucks for sea monkies?
Sea monkeys are fun, but they are a pain to keep alive, you are always adding distilled water, and you always seem to have overfed them, no matter how little you give them.
These are closed ecologies. No input except light, and no output except heat. Keep the temperature and light levels correct, and these will recycle their contents for a very long time.
The Eco-spheres and Beach Worlds have a limited lifespan, at least, the shrimp they come with do. The environment provided is such that the shrimp seldom reproduce. They can live on after the shrimp have passed, as an ecology of sorts will still be possible with the micro-organisms. My Beach World has a number of just-visible Coepods in it, so even when the shrimp go, there will be a reproducing colony of arthropods in it. The ultimate limitation of the lifespan of any closed ecology is the sequestration of scarce trace minerals in molecules which nothing in the habitat has the energy to degrade.
The Bio-sphere, in contast is a reproducing system by design. Animals die in there all the time, but there always seem to be lots of small ones to grow into the vacancy.
Dog is my co-pilot.
I'd like a new holiday called 'Rampant Commercialism day' that doesn't have that half-assed celebration of Christ's birth attatched. Possible alternative names for the holiday include 'Shiny Plastic Crap Day' and 'CONSUME!'.
Leatherman replaced pocketknives when Cyberculture replaced Industrialism. SOG strikes gold with Leatherman afficianados... Here: http://www.uws.com/blades4less_SOG_TiNiPPP.html SOG are the guys who the USgov't commissioned a new Green Beret fighting knife for Vietnam. Every Green Beret carried a SOG boyou knife. From that heritage SOG designed their Leatherman with gears, TiNi (titanium nitrite) corrosion resistance and accessory knives second to none. In the hand, the SOG balances like a fine piece. This is a go anywhere, anytime, do anything pocket plier that lives up to its heritage. Anyone would be proud to score this Xmas gift. Having personally owned this product. I can attest to its pocketability. Unlike Leatherman, SOG will stay in your pocket (ie. not fall out) and doesn't telegraph through your pant as some embarrassing part of one's excited anatomy. It comes with a leather sheath for that true Geek on your list. Hint: order early
Comment removed based on user account deletion
In leu of last weeks 3d printer article, how about some desktop fabrication appliences? I'm sure a 3dprinter is way to expensive... but I was looking up desktop CNC mills after reading that article, and you can get some for about 1200-1600 that will work on plastics and light metals. Make your own coffe cup with it, maybe your very own star-wars models (from the real movies, not this episode one crap). What would be a better gift for the creative geek?
You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely.
I have never been able to to avoid drooling over spy type stuff. Check outt ml
h tml
r s.html
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/spyking/detection.h
for neat bug detectors.
They also have a lot of other toys that would be neat to get for the holidays.
Lockpicks anyone? http://shop.store.yahoo.com/spyking/locksmithing.
Voice Changers perhaps?
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/spyking/voicechange
Anyway, anything in these catagories are neat and come in a price range for everyone.
Jeremy S. Anderson: "There are two major products that come out of Berkeley: LSD and UNIX. We don't believe this to be a coincidence."
James Tiberius Kirk: "Spock, the women on your planet are logical. No other planet in the galaxy can make that claim."
Okay, I know everyone in their dog has replied to this, but here is my chance
Gameboy Color and Pokemon Silver and Gold
MPTrip. THis is a portable CD / MP3 player highbrid.
APEX DVD Player
ATI Radeon or GeForce 256
75 gig IBM drive
Slashdot cruiser
Volkswagon Beetle
HDTV
THX sound system
Belgium
Stick of Rambus
Corel
CRAY
There's a great bunch of gifts for the person that already owns one:
Universal remote springboard $60 /. in style. $430 /. before, an mp3 player springboard module (64Mb of ram. A littel overpriced at $270
Greffiti can be a little slow. I've been told a foldable keyboard is really nifty to own. Not cheap for a keyboard though, at $100.Digital Camera springboard, takes colour images. Perhaps not a fully-fledged digital camera, but very cool. $150
Vibrating springboard module to remind you of appointments without disturbing everyone in the room. (really). The price isnt' all too bad either: $50
Springboard modem. If you don't have a laptop while travelling. $120
WIreless modem for those with really deep pockets. This is how to keep up with
And of course, as mentioned on
--
[Science] is one of the very few things that raises human life a little above farce and gives it the grace of tragedy.
For Christmas, I want a bio-mechanical body, something similar to the one discussed in Black Sabbath's "Iron Man." Included in said body are a multitude of lasers, just because. Also, sound and video will be wired directly to my brain so that I don't have to rely on displays or speakers to have access to content. That's what I want.
The t-shirts, mugs, etc are always appealing, but they're the kind of thing it's hard to justify spending one's OWN money on. That's what makes them great gifts. Geeks need new T-shirts to wear (it's true, how many pizzas can you go through while owning a limited number of T-shirts??) and I've throughly enjoyed my Slashdot coffee mug. And they're cheap, AND more funds for worthy causes. What could be the better show of holiday spirit? (And, to anyone who is buying ME things this holiday season, ignore this. I want money. Please, send money.)
The REAL sam_at_caveman_dot_org is user ID 13833.
I want a DirecTiVo! $399
Just shipped the first units to stores a few days ago, it's a TiVo with a DirecTV reciever built in and integrated.
It has dual satellite tuners, all sorts of fun stuff!
For a more expensive item, give it to me with more harddisk space, drop in a 80GB drive to raise the storage from 34 hours to 120 hours.
DirecTiVo FAQ
(1) Go to the RAM desk, pick out two 512MB RAM chips @ $ 550 each = $ 1,100
:-).
:-(.
(2) Pick out one of the Mac G4/500 multiprocessor systems ($3,500)
(3) While I'm in the systems area, pick up a nice new 21" flat screen Sony Trinitron monitor ($1,099)
(3) Grab an Adobe Dynamic Media Collection ($1,500).
(4) Swing over to the games area and pick up a fog generator (100), a Lego Mindstorms Robotics kit (200), and that bizarre looking twig game set thing ($130)
I've just blown $ 7,629 in 15 minutes. I THINK a Fry's Shopping Spree would just be too dangerous a gift idea. The only saving grace is that I don't think they stock the Apple Cinema Display
D
PS Question for Fry's shoppers: What would you do if you need a 7.5vdc power supply but you need it to have a jack (so I can plug my Canon XL1 into) instead of a plug (to plug something into)? Drove me nuts yesterday - couldn't find anything, even at Fry's
----
In the higher end:
See, I don't want much.
The next Cmdr Taco duplicate will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and see it early!
A PJB100 by HanGo Electronics...
Thinkgeek
$695
A 20GIG HD to replace the 6GIG one that comes with it...
PCProgress
(TOSHIBA 20.0 GB 2.5" 9.5MM - TOMK2016GAP)
$250
A Monster CD Jukebox to speed the encoding of all my CD's...
Qstar
(MC1660E 6CDRom 600 slots)
Enough programming lessons to use the Compaq SDK to design my own customized mass uploader...
Priceless!
On the first day of Christmas
Jack Valenti gave to me
The Matrix on DVD
On the second day of Christmas
Jack Valenti gave to me
No way to cite
The Matrix on DVD
On the third day of Christmas
Jack Valenti gave to me
Macrovision scrambling
on my completely unciteable
Matrix on DVD
On the fourth day of Christmas
2600 gave to me
the source code for playing
the Macrovision scrambled
previously unciteable
Matrix on DVD
On the fifth day of Christmas
Jack Valenti gave to me
A Cease and Desist Letter!
For having the source code for playing
the Macrovision scrambled
totally unciteable
Matrix on DVD.
I want my first amendments right back, Jack.
I want your head on a stick.
--
What happens when you outlaw guns
I'll be handing out some of these Christmas Gift Exemption Vouchers during the weeks leading up to Buy Nothing Day.
... I want a Buran Space Shuttle in my backyard. Crappy link (anyone has a better one handy?)
I strongly believe that trying to be clever is detrimental to your health. -- Linus Torvalds
I want an infinite-volume beer mug, and a Punpkin Gun (Current world record is over 4000 feet).
Oh, and for outdoor types, the Bumper Dumper will be appreciated.
For more scholarly people, these books are a must.
Share and enjoy.
> Cheaper Then a Playstation 2 ($300 or less) Love, Happiness and Goodwill. A Palm V Really Strong Liquer A Playstation 2 controller Windows 2000 (£5 from my mate dan ;) )
>Cheaper Then a Playstation 2's rumored eBay sale >value ($301-$1500)
A Playstation 2
>Unlimited (Mommy, can I have a stealth bomber >for Christmas?)
Dolly the Sheep
The Human Genome
NASA
The Mitsubishi T250 cell phone plus AT&T's Digital PocketNet Service. Unlimited Web Access! Send emails, bid on eBay, check your stocks, manage your calendar. This phone rocks!
These days, honestly, I want for hardly anything. The only thing I would think to be harder than coming up with a gift for myself would be a gift for most of my friends. But, gifts aren't really about what we need, are they? That being said, I like old computers. I have a Lisa, among other collectibles. What would make my collection more complete?
An original NeXT cube system.
Gimme gimme!!
note: to those of you humor impaired, this is a joke from Seinfeld in which George gets sick of people making these charitable donations instead of giving him something and sets up his own "fund".
a) A tiny weasel b) Felt-tip butt-plug D) machine that goes "pi-i-ing". VI) pink furry mouse cover i) something heavy and shiny with a round button on it 3) some life away from all this..
<^>_<(ô ô)>_<^>
The Bris Pocket Sextant would be a cool gift in the sub-Playstation range, and involves more geek-factor than the GPS. http://www.yrvind.com/bris/bris-sextant.html
Well let me see, something techie of course. But also something a little retro, something with a little class if you will. Nothing better than a device that plays video through your old record player and TV. http://www.vinylvideo.com/ $2000. But of course you will need the records to go with them, this don't play none of those silver CD things. Limited eddition set. $12,000. Bargin
[Please type your sig here.]
Well let's see I actually have almost everything I want. However there area few things I could use. Also this is for Hannukah, not Christmas. First I want a red ferrari 360 spyder straight from Italy. Second I want a Geforce 2, I don't got one yet. Also Maybe a real motherboard chipset, I mean come on people. The BX is still number one, but it doesn't have any of the new features for the new chips. Also I would like a way to give everyone else on the internet an OC3 connection. When you have one you realize how slow all the other people are with their cable modems and things. I also want a mouse that is exactly like the logitech wingman gaming mouse only it has a scroll wheel thingy and is optical not ball. Last but not least I want a motherboard, it has to have the new chipset I wished for and the following, 1 AGP, 6 PCI, 8 USB, 2 Ultra DMA 100 controllers supporting 4 devices each, kick ass bios that lets me overclock to any number I feel like typing in, and all the basics, but no legacy stuff like ISA and PS2. as for stuff that is available and not just a wish, I'll just take the ferrari and the geForce.
The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
All I want is DVD for linux, legally.
While all of these things on here look quite fun, and I've even seen an old Russian submarine someone posted, nothing can quite beet one of U.S. Submarines luxury models.
They've been making manned submersibles for exploration and tourist subs for several years now. But as people have been getting wealthier, and megayachts just aren't cutting it anymore, luxury submarines are coming into popularity. US Submarines makes a 118' luxury submarine (http://www.ussubs.com/Luxur y_f older/lux.seattle.html) capable of trans-Atlantic crossings, can stay submerged (without moving) for up to 20 days and can dive to 1000 feet. The interior is nothing less of what you would expect aboard any luxury yacht. It has three staterooms, a dining area, forward lounge, a pilot's station, sauna, more staterooms, galley, and a crew mess.
Now, for those of us (myself included) who just don't think that's enough, they also make a 216' model with more than 5,000 square feet of living space. Capable of everything listed above, this supersub travels at 16 knots on the surface (it looks like any ordinary yacht up top) and when the waves become a bit unsuitable for your tastes, just dive! (http://www.ussubs.com/Luxur y_f older/lux.phoenix.html).
How much for this dream machine? Only a cool $78 million.
Paul Allen reportedly ordered a smaller 30' sub from the company to be carried aboard his megayacht.
MP3 players are all the rage, but everyone seems to be overlooking one major flaw: flash memory is really expensive. 64 MB of songs just isn't enough, even for a bus ride to work. What you need is a format that is cheaper than flash, but just as portable and durable.
Independent-minded techies will want to take a good, long look at getting their hands on MiniDisc hardware. Tiny, durable, long battery life, and $2.50 for 74 min. of nearly indestructible, rewritable, random-access storage is hard to beat. The sound quality on recent units is really CD-quality, considerably better than 128Kbps MP3. 12 hour battery life is nothing to sneeze at, either.
Portable recorder units like the Sony MZ-R90 can be had for around $320, while a player like the E60 or E75 is around $200. Pick up a home deck to go with a player-only model, and you're set. Minidisco and Planet MiniDisc are good sources of equipment and discs.
If you're in the Playstation-2-on-eBay price range, then the Ghibli ga Ippai, or Full of Ghibli, laserdisc boxed set is what you need. All of Studio Ghibli's wonderful films (except Princess Mononoke, which it predates) are collected in one box, with high-quality laserdisc transfers. No subtitles, though; you'll have to print out translated scripts unless your Japanese is really good. A new set would have cost Y98000, or about $1000. Unfortunately, it is now out of print, so you will have to either a) check eBay daily or b) get friends in Japan to scour the dusty back shelves of anime shops. Good luck. (Selling one?)
How about a Concorde jet? I have a feeling by Christmas, they'll be under $300.
BigCat79
"The dead have risen and are voting Republican!" --Bart Simpson
Under $300? Probably a DVD drive.
$300-$1000? A new Athlon chip.
For my stealth-bomber present, though, I want one of those massive parallel alpha machines like this one.
æeee!
1. Halo
2. Nikon Coolpix 990
3. Po rsc he Carrera GT - Screw that wimpy 911 Turbo that came out, THIS is the real deal.
Personally, I love my IIIc ($399 retail) for showing color photos on the run, but for a beginning user, the M100 ($149 retail) would be great. Also, some of the Visor models are quite nice too, and they are upgradable with lots of gadgets. This gift works for everyone, as most people have the need to store addresses, calendars, shopping lists, etc, etc, etc. (Just make sure to get extra batteries (or an extra cradle charger)!)
-mark
-mark
If your computer says LINUX, run...computers can't talk! [unless you have text-speech software]
For under 300.00 any of the promised "vapor ware" modules for the Handspring, especially the networking (both wired and wireless. Over 300 is a push anything SGI's new 6'2" Quake Machine
Dear Santa,
This year for Christmas I would like a fist full of 1U 320GB modules and a rack to store them in. Of course I will also need a nice server to go along, say something with dual or even quad 1GHz chips (a dual 1GHz Athlon would be nice if somebody would make a board and chipset for one, could you check with the elves on this).
Oh... and if it's not too much trouble, a fiber outlet to my house please.
Rob
P.S. My wife keep complaining about the bandwidth, so could you get her a GigaBit Ethernet kit for the house.
---
This is not the sig line you are looking for... -- Old Jedi Sig Line Trick
X-mas is always a good time to get/give gadgets. Here are my faves,in the >$300 catagory:
Leatherman Pulse http://www.leatherman.com/ourproducts/pulse.htm
Gerber Legend http://www.gerberblades.com/800.html
Photon Microlights(one of each color,please) http://photonlight.com/index2.html
==== Warning:this poster contains subject matter that may be offensive. Flaming discretion is advised.
Even better, it has both sVideo and RCA connectors, and built in circuitry to convert between sVideo and normal video signals, so that you can run your system on sVHS and still connect in the peripherals like the Playstation that lack sVideo outputs.
Yes! I've been looking for a switcher like this ever since I got spoiled working with professional gear!
I'm buying it for myself for Christmas!
Jon
All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.
How about the ultimate 3D printing box? I don't mean something that is out right now, I mean you just think up something new for it and it appears. 1 Terrahertz not fast enough? Think of a 10 Terrahertz chip and see it appear out of a magic 3D printer box that is attached to your head. Screaming machine. Then again if this 3D printing box could do this then it would mean never having to buy a computer part again and never have to buy software. Think up a new bug-free ultimage 3D shooter and watch the software disks pop out to install :)
cheaper than retail playstation @ $199 U.S. plus $19.95 (US) Allow 1-4 weeks delivery (Add $15.00 UPS 3 day shipping). Orders outside the US, shipping is $99US; but that entitles you to the fastest method of delivery possible (as in 1.5 days to Ottawa Canada, where I live)
I own one of these puppies. (I got my companie to spring for one too) Comes with 11 actual Capcom classic arcade games (emulated, not reproduced. you gotta "put in quarters") and its fully compatable with Mame, which lets you play any of the 2000+ Roms available to lawbiding citizens (Do you really own "Super BurgerTime (Japan)"? - type OK to continue)
The Victorinox (of Swiss Army Knife fame) CyberTool looks pretty cool. It's in the "less than a Playstation 2" category at $70 to $100, depending on how much the store gouges you.
Of course, you'd need to get your hands on actual Playstation 2 to play it, but I really like the looks of Starfighter from Lucas Arts.
For the Quicktime deficient, there are some mpg videos at gamespot .
Comment removed based on user account deletion
For those people in UK, Germany, France, Australia and anyone else who has access to digital radio transmissions, the Psion WaveFinder looks quite cool.
It plugs into your PC. Not only does it let you listen to DAB transmissions, you can interact with the broadcasters, get feedback about what's currently playing and get schedule listings.
Link is here for more details
Costs around £299, so I guess thats in the second category ($450ish)
More RAM (maybe just 64MB or something)
CD-R drive
Media (Buy me CD-R's, Zip Disks, SuperDisks, or whatever sort of backup tape I use)
Ink cartridges
Nice computer toolkit
Gift certificate for books
Nice office chair
In this case, they are sealed in your ear canal, relatively close to your eardrum, and in this environment they sound flat. They actually have extraordinarily detailed and but not harsh high end. I also have a pair of Sennheiser HD-600's (top of the line dynamic headphones that kick ass) and they are only slightly better than the Etymotics and that is only in a quiet room.
I can assure you that they are designed for very accurate reproduction and do not have exaggerated bass to please indescriminate consumers, nor is the high end compromised in any way. I only emphasised the how good the bass is because most people cannot believe something so small can produce accurate bass the way these can.
Their only drawback is they are an earplug and require a good seal (sometimes requiring you to moisten the tips, yuck!) and many people can't deal with that. Custom molds are much better, unless you happen to have strangely shaped ear canals that are impossible to fit, but add about $100 to the cost.
Burris (serious audio snob)
I'm an historian, currently doing research on the Black Death (yeah, I know, there's no accounting for taste). I came across this while doing a bit of online searching, and it struck me as being completely beyond the pale of tasteful behaviour:
Infectious -aw areables (catchy name, huh?) have managed to come up with a terminally revolting idea - neckties decorated with images of deadly diseases.
So far, these entrepreneurs (who, predictably, promise to donate a portion of the proceeds to medical research) have produced neckties and boxer shorts and other goodies, decorated with images of Ebola virus; Yersinia pestis (the plague bacillus); TB; Influenza, and many others. Hey, for the really sick puppies, there's even a necktie with breast cancer cells....yuck.
Anyway, I just wanted to mention that I think this is just about the sickest thing I've ever seen, and this garbage is at the top of my list of things I don't want for Christmas....
- Ravn
- Peter Ravn Rasmussen
www.qbenet.com PII enclosed in a legal pad.
"The complicated futility of ignorance" - Kurt Vonnegut
For the Unlimited budget:
:o)
How about a Max Turbine Y2K superbike?
This is essentially a Rolls Royce Helicopter engine attached to two wheels.. 300HP, top speed is unknown (they've been unable to find a radar gun that goes up that high)
At $350,000 a pop, they aren't cheap, but for those of us who like bikes, this would make the perfect gift
That thing is terribly handy, especially for losers like me who can't seem to figure out how to correctly use a pen or pencil. I take notes using the keyboard in my English and History classes.
Nokia 8260 or 8290. Very cool, check out www.geek.com for a review (not sure if there's a competitive geek thing about geek.com) also www.nokiausa.com and click on the model number.
1. Something to keep the sun below the horizon; so that I can finnish this piece of code in time.
2. Neural link so that I can implement this great idea in C++ before the sun comes up.
3. Fail-safe hibernation, so that I can live in a world with a nerd majority.
4. An AI to worship!
5. A world without 08 - 22 shops, I hate to wake up just to go shopping!
--typo
No, really, as close as can really exist in a 3D universe:
http://www.kleinbottle.com/
Stupid job ads, weird spam, occasional insight at
Admittedly, I'm a little biased (as my mom makes the hats, and I'm in the process of setting up the website.) But I bet a few of you would like Mobius Ear Bands and/or Klein Bottle Caps. They're made out of polar fleece, and are quite warm.
MathHatter.com
The site isn't fully up yet, but it'll give you an idea of what these hats are.
Mobius Ear Bands are $12, Klein Bottle Caps $22.
You can listen to it through the included stethescope headphones, but what you really need is this slick little amp from Danelectro (I have one, and it sounds pretty amazing for it's size), about $30.
Now if you wanna play, but have no patience, here is a cool thing I saw in the store the other day, called the Strumstick. It is essentially a 3 string dulcimer, designed to be so easy to play that anyone can pick it up and start playing. I tried one out, and it was pretty magical how you could get decent tunes out of it with no practice or lessons. Goes for around $100, a little more if you want fancy inlays around the soundhole.
So your friends are even less talented, you can always buy them pre-played music. But in light of the way the big labels are holding the money while the artists fight for every penny, why not check out the little guys? Rather than buy commercial CDs for your friends, how about checking out some of the fine talent on mp3.com or other online places. You can buy CDs for between $5 and $10 that have both CD audio and mp3 versions of the songs. Makes for good gifts, and is a good way to promote little known, but talented musicians (the artists get 50% of the purchase price, a pretty good deal).
Disclaimer: Sarge doesn't work for any of the companies pointed to in this post, they were just convenient URLs. Also, extraneous semicolons and spaces are slashdot errors, I don't know why it keeps inserting those things at random in my html
-- Don't call me "Sir," I increase entropy for a living!
Really, the stuff I need is the stuff I already have. I don't need things, I want information - music, literature, art, ideas.
What I want is for the DCMA to be stirred and shaken. Information, the only item which makes the Internet massively useful, is under a horrible moritorium if the DCMA is strictly enforced. My love and I are giving each other presents to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. We want to earmark our money toward education of legislators about the implications of the DCMA.
- Lend your mom and e-book? Not legal.
- View a DVD on a LINUX box? Not legal.
- Review a product with benchmarks? Not legal.
- Give negative information about a patented product? Not legal
The things that make life enjoyable will be harder to come by this year and next year unless we work on them.Don't just give your darlin' a game, or program, or a music CD, or a DVD, or an e-book; give them the right to use it, lend it, borrow it, quote from it, and review it.
Blackberry PDA
This is the device to get the geek on your list. I'll take the keyboard+wheel combo over a stylus any day, and the 9600kbps radio modem inside these things rocks! Wireless email that WORKS (unfortunately it requires windows at this time) and web browsing (seperate services offered through GoAmerica.) Kinda steep ($500 for the big-screen version), but it's the ultimate wireless PDA right now, IMO.
paulb
p.s. Plus it looks like the Guide with all those buttons on it. ;-)
Paul Bettner
Game Developer et al
But if you buy a DTV now, youll end up having to buy a decoder box anyway, at the very least. I know the MPAA isnt dumb enough to piss off the (few) people who actually have them already. As for me, I want one of the Princeton Graphics HD monitors, esp. the 36" model.
Shit adds up at the bottom...
That and a few more device drivers built into XFree...
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Cheaper than Playstation (under $300)s +%26+Displays&subcat=Presentation&am p;am p;model= PFM510A2WU
Playstation 2, no brainer
Klipsch Promedia Speakers
Cheaper than Playstation on Ebay ($301-$1000)
A good digital Cameria, I like my Olympus D-490 Zoom
Voodoo 5 6000 or Geforce2 Ultra video card
"THE SKY IS THE LIMIT AND THE LIMIT IS THE SKY"-Chris Rock
Sony PFM510A2WU 42-inch flat-screen TV
http://bpgprod.sel.sony.com/model.bpg?cat=Monitor
2001 Porsche 911 Turbo
I can see it now:
A crowded train. 6 pm rush-hour crowd. I reach down and say "Excuse me while I whip this out"... ladies scream people turn away. I pull out my sleek WebPAD flip up the antenna and dial in. Soon I'm reading Slashdot, telnetting into the server, checking email and loving every minute of it.
Hey while I'm dreaming... I'd like a Rotary Rocket and a couple of Origin servers in my home office too... :)
"Seems like anyone ... has forgotton that there are two different words here."
A great gift, the iRobot, it runs off of Linux 2.2, with a K6-2 450 Mhz CPU, 6GB IDE harddrive,runs Apache,has a wireless internet connection, built in webcam,can climb stairs in 10 secs, allows for remote access through the internet, has a SDK coming out soon, an over all great geek gift, all for the low, low price of $4,995, but still its a great gift.
get a tree, the lights are pretty, spends some time together, cook dinner, eat some good food. maybe get a few gifts, or better yet, make gifts for each other.
we made each other gifts in my family when i was a kid, and we each bought each other a few things.
a typical christmas morning for me was giving my brother a wind up car (the cool kind you put on tracks, and do insane loops and stuff), a pillow, and a couple of cupons for me to make him breakfast a couple times. similar stuff for parents. we freqently made blueberry pancakes, or somthing else yummy for breakfast.
i often got legos, some new clothes (new to me anyhow, goodwill rules), maple candy (yuuuummmmm), my comforter that i sleep under was made by my mom, as well as my pillow cases, and i got some candles from my dad. to me, that sounds much more enjoyable, and definitly healthier than everyone spending tons of money on just stuff. but, thats just my opinion.
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"don't smoke, don't drink, don't fuck
at least i can fucking think"
Minor Threat
Let's see...With no price limit...
Playstation 2 would be nice...It *is* backwards-compatible, ne?
Portable MP3 player and plenty of space for music. And batteries. Oodles of batteries.
My own CD-RW
One of those Cryo-cooled computers, 30-some gig drive, Athlon chip...Dual-booting WinNT and BeOS...And a copy of The Sims, Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and Corel Painter.
Anime!
The damn computer books I can never afford.
A domain name and hosting.
I'd be a happy girlie with any *one* of these, though.
-You're wearing...A bag? I have misplaced my pants.