Geek Gift Ideas 2001

Once again its time for Slashdot readers to chime in on what they think would make good gift geek christmas presents. Please put approximate prices in the Subject so Santa can more easily decide your gift ;) I'm still stuck for ideas for a few people yet. Of course I'll have to post my ideas anonymously so people don't know what they're getting ;)

Comments

iPod!

[BoarderPhreak]

I think the Apple iPod will totally kick ass this holiday season...

Re:iPod!

[viking099]

MediaFour is working on an app to allow the iPod to work with Windows. Hopefully Apple won't nuke them with the DMCA.

Re:iPod!

[jspectre]

Considering the "protection" is making the folder "invisible" I don't think this is going to be a hard thing to do. The harder part will be writing drivers for the PC to mount FireWire drives (not common on that platform from what I understand) and read/write HFS+ formatted volumes (no idea if software to do this exists at all).

Check out iPod Hacks for a lot more info.

Re:iPod!

[call -151]

Actually, the sad thing is, it is not really Apple's decision, as I understand it. The criminal provisions of the DMCA make it the prosecutor's decision, which Apple could oppose, but a strict reading of the DMCA would be that Apple's postion is irrelevant. It is true that prosecution would be unlikely to proceed without support from Apple, but the fact of the matter is that the (extremely-poorly-written) law is being broken. I suppose Apple could license (for free, maybe) the "encryption" to avoid prosecution from happening if they desired, but this law is riduculous and puts the burdens in the wrong places, among other problems.

Re:iPod!

[4mn0t1337]

Nope. No inputs other than Firewire (which is also the power/charging).

Now if you can figure out how to run a mic off of firewire, you might have something, but I don't the board can handle encoding.

Check out the ipodhack site metioned above and see if someone comes up with a solution...

(Oh, and, Yes, you *can* boot off of it.)

Re:iPod!

[Archfeld]

I store files on my nomad all the time, just play the extension game. It is a SLOW load though I will tell ya. The interface DOES suck, but the device is great, 200 hours of music at 249.00 vs the VERY expensive IPOD(400.00 ?). I get 4 hours per a set of batteries, I've got 3 and it has excellent sound and dual audio outputs, plus and input. I use it alot in my car plugged into the auxilary of my stereo. The ipod is slick looking, apple is nothing if not Stylish. But it's hard to load some new music in your Ipod 40 miles from anywhere on the river fishing :)

Re:iPod!

[ncc74656]

The harder part will be writing drivers for the PC to mount FireWire drives (not common on that platform from what I understand)

My converted-from-IDE FireWire HD hot-plugs with Win2K with no problems at all...no additional drivers needed.

and read/write HFS+ formatted volumes (no idea if software to do this exists at all).

I don't know about HFS+ (what's the diff between it and HFS?), but Linux supports HFS and there's a Windows app called TransMac that copies between HFS and whatever you're using (FAT/NTFS/network share).

Re:iPod!

[phillymjs]

The iPod is little more than a physically tiny portable hard drive with a user interface. Its method of connecting to other hardware is an IEEE standard. The data on the hard drive is not encrypted in any way. The music that iTunes loads onto the iPod is just stashed in an invisible folder. All the Windows iPod software would have to do is speak HFS+, Apple's file system, and be able to manipulate items within that invisible folder (and to a lesser degree, work flawlessly with as many different makes of FireWire PCI cards as possible). There are other utilities out there that let PCs read and write Mac disks, and AFAIK I don't think the companies that made those had to get a license to use HFS+. To that end, I doubt that Apple will take any legal action to stop someone from making Windows iPod software.

Of course, this situation is different from that situation-- It was in Apple's interest to let companies make stuff so Macs and PCs can better interoperate, but one of the reasons for the iPod's existence is to help sell Macs. Apple may not like that some company is coming in and, to a degree, negating that selling point. Of course, Apple can ensure the iPod will always work best with Macs by refusing to provide support to people syncing their iPod to a non-Mac computer, and by releasing iPod firmware updates (if any) so that they can only be applied to the iPod with a Mac.* We'll just have to wait and see, I guess.

* - Before anyone starts ripping Apple over tactics like that, let me remind you of the countless times I, as a Mac user, have heard, "Well you'll just have to get a PC if you want to do that!" Let me also remind you of products like certain cable/DSL routers whose firmware is a pain in the ass to upgrade if you don't have a PC handy. I for one think it's high time PC users got a little taste of what Mac users have had to put up with for years.

~Philly

Re:iPod!

[stripes]

I get 4 hours per a set of batteries

Apple claims 10 hours for the iPod, but my second charge lasted me 12 hours (I didn't let the first charge run down, I needed some more tunes).

But it's hard to load some new music in your Ipod 40 miles from anywhere on the river fishing :)

Really? I plug it into my laptop, load new stuff, and then unplug it. I haven't done it at the lake, but I have done it other places where my laptop was the only computer I had (like in the parking lot of tower records).

It's a good size to go walking with, I think I did 8 miles last week, and 2 so far this week (I'm carrying my camera this week which slows me a bit, partly because of the weight, partly because I stop and take pictures). My friend has a Nomad (or maybe the PJB), it looks too big to fit in any of my pockets except on my field jacket (or photo vest), and I don't wear those all the time!

I'm not saying the Nomad is bad, just that there are places where the iPod is definitely the better device. I'm sure there are times the Nomad would be better.

BTW, the headphones on the iPod are about 10 times better then I was expecting. Still not as good as the etanomics ones though...of corse they cost about as much as the iPod :-)

paintball supplies

[bluelip]

Tippmann 98 custom $135
CO2 tank - $25
Case O' Balls - $50
Face Mask - $20

Great fun and great exercise. Stay away from speedball and keep it in the woods.

the iPod

[mosch]

1000 mp3s on your belt, in a tiny, light package that doubles as a firewire hard drive. What more could you want?

Re:the iPod

[Sloppy]

Real Geeks do Ogg, not MP3. MP3 is so 1999.

Re:the iPod

[babbage]

Audio in.

The iPod is a pretty cool little device, but it would be even cooler if it could record sounds on the go. That way, it could be a replacement for those microcasette voice recorders that a lot of people use, or you could just (assuming an input jack, rather than a little built in microphone) plug it into the headphone jack of a soundboard or walkman or whatever. You get the idea.

Don't just think music here: consider that, if paired with moderately decent voice recognition software back on the desktop computer, you could have close to instant transcription of speeches, lectures, meetings, etc. This is really what the PDA was invented to do, but you have to teach yourself how to get data in & out of the device, and even with experience it's a slow process.

Something like the iPod could solve the same problem in a completely novel way. It has more than enough storage capacity to record a lot of audio data, and might [???] have the processing power to do so easily. [If it doesn't have the horsepower, then maybe iPod2 can bulk up on cpu & ram, along with that built-in mic.] No futzing around with graffiti -- just leave it on your desk, recording passively. Later on, it can be rapidly synced with the much more powerful Mac/PC/whatever, where you can do the interesting heavy duty processing on your data -- transcribe it, upload it, burn to cd, whatever. Brilliant.

Having audio out -- where you can record stuff (songs, etc) on your computer & carry it with you on the go -- is cool. Having audio in -- where you can bring sounds from out in the world back to the computer for processing -- would be even better. I want to see someone build such a device.

Re:the iPod

[MinusOne]

> Audio in.

Get an Archos jukebox recorder. It has a 6GB hard drive, will record to MP3 from line in, and can easily be taken apart and upgraded to a 40GB drive. No, it doesn't have the sexy FireWire connection, it has USB, but I find that USB is fast enough for my uses. I wish Archos would come out with a firewire version of the jukebox and recorder - I'd get one immediately.

Gamecube + Rogue Leader

[Raster Burn]

A new game console, plus a Star Wars related game... what else could a geek possibly want?

Early

[Anonymous Coward]

CmdrTaco obviously got his gift early this year. It was a spelling and grammer checker.

Re:Early

[KingJawa]

Did you give it to him? You could have used it on that penultimate word.

here is a popular one..

[geekoid]

A job

Re:here is a popular one..

[toupsie]

For all the fear of the "soft current economy", unemployment is at the same rate as the "great economy" of the summer of 1996. Instead of living from paycheck to paycheck working for the man, give yourself the great gift of your own business!

Re:here is a popular one..

[geekoid]

please tell me how I can do that and support my family?

Re:here is a popular one..

[toupsie]

Who says you can't do both? Many successful small companies evolved from the kitchen table. There are needs out there that are not being met. Find them! America gives you that opportunity and the Government will even fund you. Check out that freak Matthew Lesko and see if you can get grant, loan or subsidy.

Re:here is a popular one..

[geekoid]

been there, apparently i'm too educated, and make too much money for these programs.

Re:here is a popular one..

[toupsie]

been there, apparently i'm too educated, and make too much money for these programs.

Then you should have no trouble getting a job.

Simple!

[boaworm]

A girlfriend of course, all geeks want those !

Re:Simple!

[tbone1]

A girlfriend of course, all geeks want those !

#include "nancy_boy.h"

Speak for yourself, duckie.

Geek Gerber...

[JediLuke]

www.gerberblades.com

better than a swiss army knife and a leatherman. you can even build your own.

How about....

[NTSwerver]

....a nice pair of wooly socks? They're always handy !

Despair Calendar

[Anonymous Coward]

They kick but http://www.despair.com

Art from Recycled Computer Parts

[AnarchySoftware]

I was over at FREE GEEK for their open house a couple weeks ago, and they were selling wind chimes made of old hard drive platters and other computer innards. Looked kinda cool for a low budget gift. Maybe they'll mail order. (And it's for a good cause.)

Re:Art from Recycled Computer Parts

[friscolr]

I've been cutting up circuit boards and making gifts out of them for a while. I just finished a vase for my friend's birthday present.

Handmade presents are the best, and handmade presents with a geek theme are great for geeks.

Why not give your s.o./parents a portrait of yourself made out of your code, like using the Text-Image plug-in for the GIMP, or my own image to text. Get a nice hi-res image of yourself and your best perl script/r00t sploit, combine the two and print it out on some photo quality paper, mat and frame it.

use the case of an old monitor as the pot for a large plant.

make a custom keyboard which only has the letters of your s.o.'s name.

get out the dremel, epoxy, spare parts, creativity and go at it.

DSL with fixed IP Address

[wiredog]

And without port 80 blocked.

Re:DSL with fixed IP Address

[Coward, Anonymous]

Speakeasy's Terms Of Service state that customers are allowed "to run servers (web, mail, etc.) over their Internet connections." They also give out static IP addresses.

Re:DSL with fixed IP Address

[psychosis]

toad.net - these guys are extremely professional (techs who can answer your question on the phone -- in person! -- within 5 minutes both times I've had to call in the past 6 or so months). The fact that I've only had to call twice in over 6 months should say something too! (Both times were due to outside factors - fire in a t-3 warehouse-type place, and verizon cutting wires another.)
Seriously, check them out!

Re:DSL with fixed IP Address

[Nater]

I hate to say "me too" but here it goes:

Speakeasy rocks

• Install Time: 20 days
• Max Line Speed: 1.5M/128K
• Actual Measured Speed: 1.3M/108K
• Address: 2 static IPs
• Blocked ports: NONE
• BONUS!: I get to set my own reverse DNS RRs

It's a bit pricier than other providers, but hey, look what happened to all those dumb fuckers who charged $25/mo. for broadband. Oh, there aren't any left? I wonder why? That, and they rock.

Dockers Mobile Pant

[jason99si]

$52 from http://www.Dockers.com.

Just like they say.. "Stowaway seam pockets on each side designed for your Compaq iPaq Pocket PC or Motorola phone" - jeez :)

Would be useful nonetheless.

Roll Back the Clock

[spikeham]

I want my shiny New Economy back!

Re:Roll Back the Clock

[oGMo]

Would that be the New New Economy or the Old New Economy?

*runs*

$6000: Doll

[banuaba]

The RealDoll. Never have to talk to a real girl again!

And, for you geekchicks out there, they now make a male realdoll!

Re:$6000: Doll

[yatest5]

The RealDoll. Never have to talk to a real girl again!

Again?

Re:$6000: Doll

[MrResistor]

That's just wrong.

I'll have to check out the movie sometime when I'm not at work, of course...

Re:$6000: Doll

[moonboy]

Well, of course he'd have to have talked to at least one to know he wouldn't want to again.

Re:$6000: Doll

[CtrlPhreak]

And, for you geekchicks out there, they now make a male realdoll!

Why would they want that when they can have me instead? E-mail me and save $6000, that's already a point in my favor!

Re:$6000: Doll

[psychosis]

HAH!!!! The guy that makes those is my college roommate's brother! He started making dummies for hollywood stunt scenes, and realized that perv's will pay big bux for these things. Now he's raking in cash.
That's just too funny to see that on /.!

Re:$6000: Doll

[wishus]

Is this, by any chance, you?

Re:$6000: Doll

[LinuxHam]

Why would they want that when they can have me instead? E-mail me [mailto] and save $6000, that's already a point in my favor!

I think its hysterical that this guy's handle is "control freak"!!

Monty Python's Flying Circus DVD Set

[uradu]

$159 at Amazon

-

Re:Monty Python's Flying Circus DVD Set

[Bigbambo]

109 at cotco.. check www.costco.com

Re:Monty Python's Flying Circus DVD Set

[Jburkholder]

I got mine for $100 at costco

I was somewhat dissapointed, though. It is difficult to locate a specific bit (the episode index is incomplete and there is no 'scene index' available to browse) and there is virtually no supplementary material.

Still, it will make for a great geek NYE party python marathon!

Re:Monty Python's Flying Circus DVD Set

[uradu]

Sounds a bit like the Fawlty Towers set I just got. The packaging could definitely improve: there's no apparent way of telling which episode is on what disc. Well, there are four episodes per disc, and on the back liner there's an (apparently) ordered list of episodes, so you do a mod 4 on that list and can figure it out, but come on. Plus, there's an inteview with everyone and the dead pigeon in the water tank--except for Connie Booth. Considering she was one of the two writers, that's a bit of a no-no. Still, the quality is great, so I guess who cares.

Hey, thanks for the price tip. That's half the reason I quoted the Amazon price, to elicit better suggestions.

-

Re:Monty Python's Flying Circus DVD Set

[Jburkholder]

Actually, I tried to include a less-than sign in my post but since I didn't remember to do < to force it to appear as '<', slashdot discarded it. I think I got mine for something like $89 as well.

I got my set at costco for < $100

There, how is that? :-)

Hehe

[Ghoser777]

The first time I read your post I thought you said: "all geeks want hoes." Which makes sense; when's the last time you saw a nerdy pimp? ;)

F-bacher

Re:Hehe

[iomud]

when's the last time you saw a nerdy pimp? ;)

I think this counts.

How about an XBox?

[Wakko Warner]

slashdot
seems
to
think
they're
pretty
cool,
maybe
they're
what I
want!

Re:How about an XBox?

[SilentChris]

"How about a gift for the planet?"

How does this help the planet? Slowing the economy down even more helps the planet?

Re:How about an XBox?

[SteveM]

The planet is finite.

However, it is not clear that the universe is.

This was discussed back in the 60's and or 70's when the Club of Rome published Limits to Growth. This was a book that dealt with the finiteness of the earth's resources.

But when the view was expanded to include the rest of the solar system the limits effective disappeared. Now it is still non-trivial to gain access to these resources but it is within our technological capabilities.

That said it is vitally important that we protect and preserve the environment. These goals are not at odds with each other and I believe both can be achieved.

Steve M

Re:How about an XBox?

[SilentChris]

But that's my point. The original post suggested that by not purchasing items, we can somehow "help the planet". I don't see the connection.

Home made cards and company

[Laplace]

Since my employers owe me over $5000 in back pay, I'm giving the gift of love this year. My family gets to see me over the holiday, and my friends get cards (prints that I'll be making in my darkroom). Oddly enough, this is the first Christmas where I feel good about my presents. I'm not expecting anything but the same in return. The economy being in the shitter has impacted everyone in my family, and in some cliched sense we are returning to the true spirit of Christmas.

However, my sister's kids are getting a Dreamcast with Samba de Amigo that I picked up several months ago. Really, it is more of a family gift (my mom loves that game), but I like to play the rich uncle who shamelessly spoils his niece and nephew (since their mother doesn't).

Re:Home made cards and company

[the_2nd_coming]

but I like to play the rich uncle who shamelessly spoils his niece and nephew (since their mother doesn't).

while at the same time pisses the mother off because she does not want her kids to have such trinkets :-).......

I loved my Uncle !! :-)

Re:Home made cards and company

[cjsnell]

Nothing funny about photos. They're among the best presents you can give. I gave framed prints of a b&w photo that I took in high school to my family. To this day, it still hangs on their walls.

The previous two years, I gave my father $150 Amazon certificates. Last time I was home, I opened up the kitchen drawer and found the unused (and expired) certificates under a pile of junk. Perhaps I should go back to making prints this year. :)

The twelve days..

[GiMP]

12. 36 gig SCSI drives
11. Mosix Nodes
10. Thousand dollars
9. Monitors
8. Cases of DVD-Rs
7. OC-3's
6. Cases of beer or caffinated beverage.
5. Golden fingers
4. Dual-Head Matrox g550s
3. Months of rent
2. Mylex raid controllers
1. Copy of Manos!

Re:The twelve days..

[GiMP]

She is from poland, and no she isn't mail-order.. and she is^H^H was a virgin.

A Beowulf cluster of iPods...

[m0nkyman]

oh yeah, and world peace, and for Debian woody to go stable

Re:A Beowulf cluster of iPods...

[LinuxHam]

and for Debian woody to go stable

hell, I just want the damn Debian ISO building script to actually *work*!! I can never get that #@#@! script to work with the mirror sites. The sites never seem to have the doc directory and the script pukes. My employer publishes RPMs but I was willing to check out Debian until I actually gave it a shot.

What I like..

[sirgoran]

I've always enjoyed brewing my own beer.

For under $100 you can get all the stuff you need to brew and bottle your own beer.

If they are the handy person type, gift cards for your local Home Depot, Loews, Menards, etc. are good.

Bookworms always like gift cards to Barnes-Noble, B. Dalton, Waldenbooks, etc.

Or Lego Mindstorms whan all else fails

Strange ideas...

[Krapangor]

..most ideas I've read here are rather strange.
The ultimate geek gift is a computer.
Always.
Ever.
All the time.
If a geek has 1 computer he can always use another one.
If a geek has n computers he can always use n+1 computers.

In fact, the necessary (but no sufficient) condition for being a geek is to have always use for another computer. If someone hasn't he isn't a geek.

A/V R/C Helicopter w/ long range capabilities

[orgnine]

I personally would really enjoy a high-powered high-tech remote control helicopter myself.

Arm it with a video camera to not only spy on friends or surprise them when they are backing out of the driveway... But also to travel over long distances and see where you are going at the same time :) Maybe even a sensitive omni-directional mic?

Hook up the A/V and R/C to a high-power transmitter and sit in your equipment van in the park with the dish spinning.

I think it'd be a blast.

orgnine

Re:A/V R/C Helicopter w/ long range capabilities

[cjsnell]

I've heard of many people spending thousands of dollars and many hundreds of hours building a RC helicopter. When they fly it for the first time, they get it a few feet off the ground, lose control, and smash the whole thing into tiny bits on the pavement. Sounds fun to me! :)

Re:A/V R/C Helicopter w/ long range capabilities

[_ganja_]

That's odd, I was going to post an R/C Heli also. I have two personally and I love em, check out http://www.rc-cam.com for information on doing the wireless video thing. There was a Video that I saw once of some guy flying his raptor Heli around his neighborhood from his TV using just video but I can't find the link anymore, sorry.

Re:A/V R/C Helicopter w/ long range capabilities

[CaseyB]

For those geeks too clumsy or impatient to fly expensive, fragile helicopters, you could always try a nice, slow blimp instead.

Re:A/V R/C Helicopter w/ long range capabilities

[fobbman]

There are folks out there who use your combination to do aerial photography for profit. Think about it.

Re:A/V R/C Helicopter w/ long range capabilities

[geekoid]

they make cages that go around the blades for training.

Re:A/V R/C Helicopter w/ long range capabilities

[LinuxHam]

I've often wondered if a PIC controller could be hacked up to maintain controlled flight of a helo. GPS will provide position, altitude, and direction. Then, using APRS and amateur radio you (could) fly over the horizon by sending "fly to these coordinates" commands. The tough part would be getting the video back over the horizon, unless you run a 1.2GHz transmitter into an ATV repeater.

Sega Dreamcast

[Lxy]

With all the hype of Xbox, Gamecube, and even remaining hype of PS2, people seem to forget that lonely Sega Dreamcast sitting on the bottom shelf for $80. It runs linux! It has an ethernet port! It's the ultimate geek hacking toy for Christmas. Info here.

Re:Sega Dreamcast

[Xerithane]

Check around more, I got my dreamcast a little under a year ago (Jan 3rd, IIRC) and got it with 3 games (Starwars Demolition, THPS2, and Craxy Taxi) and an extra controller plus memory card for $150. From Sears, new in the box. The DC Unit was $79.00 on sale. They were surprised they didn't sell out, one of the few stores in the area that didn't - they had 4 or 5 left in stock.

CowboyNeal Calandar!

[ShortedOut]

Get every Geek what he really wants: A CowboyNeal Picture of the day calandar! That way, they could look forward to each and every day of the year knowing that there is always someone with a more pathetic existance than they have!!! :)

A possible list

[Improv]

Hard drives (more room is always welcome)
RAM (as is RAM)
Gamecube with smash bros and super monkey ball
A digital camera (Canon powershot G2?)
Gigabit router + gigabit ethernet cards (to make NFS faster)
Nice new set of computer speakers
A 24" monitor, or perhaps just another 21"
A nice old clickety IBM keyboard, cleaned (for people who don't want to spend much but can track things down)
One of those CD-MP3 players
plenty of blank CD-Rs
A new computer bag

Re:A possible list

[yatest5]

>>or perhaps just another 21"

I could go for a few more inches, but 21 might be a bit extravagant.

shrinky dinks.

[rnb]

Inexpensive and wise.

Oh, yes.

For the knowledge whore

[lordbyron]

30 discs of the Complete National Geographic from 1888 to 2000.

Every article, Every picture, and of course every Cool ass map

Lordbyron
www.wylywade.com

Re:For the knowledge whore

[Joe Decker]

30 discs of the Complete National Geographic from 1888 to 2000.

Ack! I thought you were kidding that such a thing existed for a moment, but a quick check of Google and it's clear that you aren't.

Cool. Now I know what I want for Xmas! Thanks!

Re:For the knowledge whore

[lostchicken]

The complete MAD Magazine archive. No kidding. Very cool.

Re:For the knowledge whore

[GregWebb]

$90? Woah, that's tempting. I wouldn't have been surprised to see 5 times that price.

Greg, who collects computer encyclopedias :-)

(seriously...)

Re:For the knowledge whore

[Scutter]

The DVD version has been and gone. It came out at the same time, but failed to sell, so they stopped producing it. I have the non-DVD version, and frankly it sucks. The articles are all but impossible to read (they're just scanned pages, rather than scanned and OCR'ed) and the presentation interface needs a major overhaul.

FP

Re:For the knowledge whore

[MrResistor]

My dad actually has every issue going back to 1918, with a few miscellaneous ones from before then. The pre-50's ones are pretty hokey, basically travel magazines with a lot of pictures of people looking down big holes in the ground (no pictures of what it is they're looking at, of course). During the 50's and 60's they got a lot better, and they reached their current quality by the 70's.

Re:For the knowledge whore

[loraksus]

Don't.
It looks like shit. You can't copy / paste, the UI is enormous and unless you are running at 1280x1024 or higher. Fuckit, you want mine? $40 or offer - Damn near mint quality, retail box, mine only goes to 1996 (they offered 1 year updates for $40, which is 2x the cost of the paper edition)
And it doesn't have every map (or any), thats a seperate product and costs about $75 and is about 20 CDs.
Be aware that NGS isn't making it, it is another shitty company (mindscape).
There is also a 4 DVD version which takes up a lot less room.

For a geek with everything- maybe the Aibo

[l0ki]

Sony Aibo - $1500

For the newer ERS-220
75 spoken commands -
wireless navigation
read email and websites (needs $150 addon SW)

If you can put up with the high price, fact that it WONT lick your face, WILL run out of battery power in a couple hours, and sony's practices of shutting down cool attempts at SW for making it better due to supposed copyright infringments... Its pretty cool.

Sluggy Freelance!

[FortKnox]

All the Sluggy Freelance Books!!!

Is it not nifty??

Games for Geeks

[robbway]

Best Stuff for geek who has, or wants, these systems:

Playstation 2: Metal Gear Solid 2
XBox: Dead or Alive 3 (High Kicks)
GameCube: Star Wars Rogue Leader
Dreamcast: European Shenmue 2 and an all-country disk (plus, you should probably get him another game system)

PC games are a toughie. I think the geekiest PC gift is a pre-purchased voucher for Neverwinter Nights.

Re:A girlfriend -- priceless

[ryepup]

Your freedom is worth far more than a woman.

Enjoy it.

Video Card or several other ideas.

[Chanc_Gorkon]

I want a ATI AIW Radeon for Christmas! I know, probably not the greatest card, but I don't play games. Who gives a rats ass beyond 60 FPS anyway? (I sure as heck CAN'T see the difference.....). Besides Quake is boring. Also, the AIW features will be like getting a Tivo on your computer! :)

Other ideas:

Diamond Rio CD/MP3 Player

Kodak Digital Camera (Probably windows only for now, but it will eventually get Linux support and they are CHEAP! 1.3 Megapixel=199!)

That's what I would like anyway besides the obvious game things like Xbox, PS/2 and Gamecube.

Geek gift list

[Alomex]

• Buy your favourite geek an OC-3 line to home
  
• Wrist watch camera
  
• I-Pod
  
• 21" LCD Pivot Flat Panel Display
  
• IPaq
  
• The entire O'Reilly library
  
• A date with a real woman, (in person not IRC)
  
• Failing that, a date with Linus
  

Re:Geek gift list

[Alomex]

I have a feeling that some geeks might rank a date with Linus above a date with a woman. Particularly if those geeks are women.

Touche. My apologies to all geekettes.

All under $30

[TheFlyingGoat]

I have three must-haves on my list this year:
1. Boondock Saints DVD- One of the best movies of all time. Not available from most online DVD stores for some reason, but it is available.

2. Mr. Potato Head- I got a Rubik's cube 2 years ago, a Slinky last year, and this year I want a Mr. Potato Head. Christmas just isn't fun without something that takes you back to your childhood.

3. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Ringworld, and Narnia (Lion-With-Wardrobe, etc) book sets- I'm trying to read more non-technical books. :)

One thing over $30 that I want... a T1. I don't think Santa will be that nice, though. :/

Gift ideas that are good...

[AtariDatacenter]

Think Geek has RF Dealbolts. Basically, deadbolts for your home that have a remote control.

Digital picture frames are cool. The ones that plug into your computer via USB don't require a subscription. Kensington makes a good one (640x480) around $200. People ooh and ahh over it. (For the rich geek, get him 20 and let him make a collage over a wall. Sorry. That's more Martha Stewart than Slashdot.)

TiVo! If you haven't already joined the revolution, join it. You'll thank yourself. It will *completely* change the way in which you use your television. Oh, and for the better, too.

An 80's Arcade Game. One of those real-life 6' stand-up arcade games. Any self-respecting geek wouldn't snub his nose at one... well, unless it was a really bad title. "Oh, wow! Pit Fighter! I've always wanted one of THOSE."

Along with the idea of the RF deadbolts, various places sell mechanisms which are used for opening and closing outside gates ($800?). Would be awfully handy for the geek to fit that on a door. Bringing in the groceries or heavy electronics, having the door swing open on command (wireless or touch-pad) would be really handy. [Insert standard disclaimers about potential for misuse.]

X10 remote control stuff. 'Nuff said.

Satellite radio for car. If you've got a musical geek.

Roller Shoes. If they haven't gone out of style already. Like normal shoes, but at the flip of the button, wheels pop out from below and turn into roller skates. Yes, they make these.

Re:Gift ideas that are good...

[FatRatBastard]

An 80's Arcade Game. One of those real-life 6' stand-up arcade games. Any self-respecting geek wouldn't snub his nose at one... well, unless it was a really bad title. "Oh, wow! Pit Fighter! I've always wanted one of THOSE."

Or a pinball machine. The best god-damn disposable income purchase I ever made. Lots of fun to play, and lots of geeky TLC needed to keep it in tip top condition.

Re:Gift ideas that are good...

[DeadSea]

The roller shoes are pretty much crap. They aren't meant to last long or support much weight. Given that they don't make them in anything above about a size 6.

The adult alternative is roller blades with detachable wheels. I bought some over two years ago and I still love them. When you get where you are going, you just snap the wheels off (2 seconds) and unlace the boots down to the ankles.

Re:Gift ideas that are good...

[zhensel]

Hehe, my family went for the pinball purchase (and Star Wars pinball to boot, the old one - not the shoddy new pinball2000 variety). Luckily I racked up my lofty goal of 1 billion points before it decided to lose its edge. You see, with me off to college my family has lost a majority of its geeky TLC as you put it.

Re:Gift ideas that are good...

[CaseyB]

"Oh, wow! Pit Fighter! I've always wanted one of THOSE."

Hey, a nice big 3 player cabinet with a large monitor and a standard JAMMA harness for all your other favourite games? Please send me any of those undesirable units you inadvertantly receive...

musing

[Anonymous Coward]

I kept expecting you to say something like "Shooting some shmuck in the crotch... priceless."

Re:A girlfriend -- priceless

[OmegaDan]

hehe ... freedom from a bad woman, priceless ... endearment to a good one, also priceless.

$50,000

[cperciva]

A new violin would be a great gift... hmm, I suppose playing a musical instrument exposes me as a non-geek.

Re:$50,000

[cperciva]

A $50k violin?!? Are you insane?

No.

Re:$50,000

[geekoid]

well, that makes you a dork, not a geek. You always get demoted to the lowest order. do you NOT remember high school?

non-complaining girlfriend

[jonestor]

How about a girlfriend that doesn't complain when I get on the computer?

Re:non-complaining girlfriend

[yatest5]

Yeah, so long as you get her an interesting boyfriend in return...

Junk!

[Prof_Dagoski]

Give your geek what he/she/it really wants: Junk! Go around to reuse and recying centers and scoop up old 486 PCs, dot matrix printers, and mono-chrome monitors. The geek'll love it. This stuff's better than lego for hours of geek enjoyment. If you have an industrial liquidator outfit in your area, poke around and buy a few bags worth of unidentifiable electronic odds and ends. This will entertain both you and the geek as you watch to see what he/she/it will build next. The kind of junk I'm talking about here is things like transformers off of old TVs, insides of microwaves, starter coils, big ass capacitors and so on. The real mad scientist stuff.

Can't go wrong with Tolkien

[SnowDog_2112]

Tolkien Calendar
Fellowship Movie Calendar (wall)
Fellowship Movie Calendar (desk)
Fellowship Movie Action Figures
Fellowship Movie Coffee Mugs
Fellowship Movie Companion Book

Gift membership to Fan Club, getting their names listed in the credits of the movie on DVD (60 bucks, I think?)

Unconventional gifts.

[Christopher Thomas]

I'm sure we'll have hundreds of suggestions for nice hardware in short order, so I'm going to post a few gift suggestions that can't run Linux but still have geek appeal:

• A good soldering iron, a stack of vector board cards, and a bucket of BJTs, resistors, caps, and LEDs.
  
  Every once in a while I pull out a soldering iron and rediscover the fun of building widgetry from the ground up. Project books giving an introduction to electronics and a set of simple but neat building block circuits are still kicking around, and would be a useful addition to the pile as well.
  
  
• A very large pile of Meccano or Construx.
  
  I'll dig out my own pile of each someday. Geek appeal comes from trying to build things that most people would never think of (a working mechanical clock out of Construx was my biggest accomplishment with that medium).
  
  
• Decent origami paper and a couple of books on the subject.
  
  This falls under the "intricate hobbies" category, and so has a good chance of being welcome. I know I'm not the only geek with folded paper critters gracing his cube (a dragon, a Pierson's Puppeteer, and a Federation starship - yes, it can be done!).
  
  
• Gift certificates for the nearest bookstore that has a decent computer reference section.
  
  At $50-$100 Cdn apiece, one reference book costs as much as a large stack of sci-fi books. Help with getting new ones is always welcome, and I'm sure I'm not the only geek who likes documentation on the nifty tools I'm thinking about using (or am already using, for that matter).
  

There's no need to stick with hardware that will be obsolete in six months :).

Caveat with most of these - make sure your recipient is interested in them first. Yes, it ruins the surprise, but it's better than getting a bucketful of transistors when the sight of copper and lead make you cringe.

Re:Unconventional gifts.

[kzinti]

Decent origami paper and a couple of books on the subject.

Paper critters are indeed cool, but the well-rounded geek also needs to know how make unit origami:

http://www.pro.or.jp/~fuji/origami/unit.star-eng.h tml

http://www.cs.utk.edu/~plank/plank/pics/origami/or igami.html

And BTW, I'd love to know how to fold your Pierson's Puppeteer!

--Jim

Your very own battlefield

[Unfallen]

...gotta be one of these!

IBM 9.2 mega-pel monitor

[peter303]

Saw it at the Denver Supercomputer Conference last week. You an either run six standard hi-res screens simulataneously, or anti-alias to 200 dpi resolution. Print quality images on the screen. Fabulous! About $18K.

The Geek Inventory

[KFury]

This is my geek inventory:

iPod: $399
Canon s110 Digital Elph: $399
32 Meg USB Thumbdrive: $40
Nokia 8290 (or 8260): $99 (with activation)
eTrex GPS: $99

Of course, if you wait until January, ditch the Nokia for a Treo.

Get a Mac and an iPod

[toupsie]

I thought I was an idiot for spending $399 for an iPod but I had to get it. Wow! Was I surprised how really inexpensive it is. I already own an Archos Jukebox 6000 which I bought a few months ago for $225. The iPod blows the doors off of it. I can access my 750 songs on the iPod (I encode 192+ VBR) with a flick of my thumb in seconds (user interface is brilliant -- of course its Apple). I can 'pogo' to the B-52's "Rock Lobster" without a skip -- the Archos Jukebox 6000 would die after a couple of hops. Charging the unit off the Firewire port is genius, I never have to fool around with a clunky wall wart like the Archos and as a bonus, while its charging I can play its MP3 on my Mac and access files on it. Try doing that over USB on the Archos and you will pull your hair out. It takes 6 hours to fill up the Archos 6 gig drive with MP3s, the iPod only 12 minutes! The iTunes integration is perfect -- so easy my fiancé can use it without bothering me. I can set each song to specialized EQ setting for iPod, the Archos will only let me set Bass and Treble manually. Plus the iPod has an "easter egg" that lets you play Breakout on its nice little LCD screen.

There is a company making software for iPod for Windows but you really need a Mac to experience the real power of this amazing MP3 player. So the best gift I think you can give this holiday season is an iBook w/ and iPod. Apple Flavored UNIX and Firewire Music, what a great gift!

P.S. Steve Jobs wants me to say, "Don't Steal Music!".

Re:Get a Mac and an iPod

[toupsie]

Call it customer satisfaction. Apple doesn't need astroturfing with this great product.

My wish list

[digitalhermit]

Here'e the stuff I want. If you'd like to send me any of these things, please contact me ASAP!

Vintage D&D set (Player's Handbook, DM Guide), plus a set of crystal dice and lead figurines.
Anywhere from $1 to $200.

Wireless ethernet setup (base - $200, card $100)

Books ( old calculus texts from 1920's-1950's, science fiction pulp novels from 1950's, reproduction of daVinci's notebooks)
Anywhere from $1 to $1000.

Firearms (Remington 700VS Sendera in .223 or 22-250).About $450 (used) to $1500.

Tickets to a movie (LOTR, Potter, no SW).$20.

Micro-fine pens, 10 pack. Zebra ballpoints. Micro-fine pencil set.
$5-$35.

Dremel kit ($45)

Radio Shack science kit ($25-$200)

Back Massage ($50-$100)

Telescope ($300)

Grin on my face on Christmas morning? Priceless.

B5 and Farscape DVDs

[CheshireCatCO]

Like crack, but digital. But so gooooood.

You do realize that they released these precisely to eat up my disposable income, right?

Broadband that lasts a month

[peter303]

I'm on my third broadband provider this year,
because the other two have gone bankrupt.
Will there ever be stability?

Almost forgot a special "chick" function

[toupsie]

The back of the iPod is mirror like which allows the fiancé to check her lipstick and makeup.

DVDs for Geeks

[robbway]

Two highly geeky DVDs (amongst many) are:

The Matrix/Matrix Revisited Box Set
The Star Trek Box Set (Treks one thru nine)

And not quite as geeky, but with heavy Internet overtones:

Serial Experiments: Lain Box Set

Re:DVDs for Geeks

[robbway]

Postscript: Also get him (assuming him) the book The Art of The Matrix for the complete Matrix Geek set.

Re:DVDs for Geeks

[garyrich]

>Serial Experiments: Lain Box Set

This sold out long ago. For the enterprising type there is probably one gathering dust in a Suncoast somewhere, but it may take checking a few of them.

And mine isn't for sale.

Less geeky, but the Cowboy Bebop box set is, I think, supposed to be out by then.

Re:DVDs for Geeks

[Eil]

Woohoo! I bought that awhile back, it's definitely worth the money. There are a LOT of pages and a LOT of art, it takes a long time to get through if you take a fairly long look at each page and read all the passages.

Robot cockroaches?

[peter303]

I pased through the mall yesterday and saw many toy store pushing "robo-bugs". The gift for little boys, or shelf-filler on Dec 26?

I already know what I'm getting....

[austad]

SPAM!

Re:who the fuck uses SCSI anymore?

[YuppieScum]

Anyone who wants to use 12 drives on one (dual channel) controller card, and still get decent throughput.

80 IDE drives means 80 channels of IDE - or 40 channels of IDE and only 40 drives working at a time...

TDK Mojo MP3 Player - $128

[Krelnik]

Sure, the iPod is slick, but is it worth $400 just to play music? The TDK Mojo (which I've posted about before) uses CD-R's and CD-RW's as media, can play regular CD's as well, uses normal AA batteries, has 8-minute shock protection, and is far cheaper.

Best of all, (and unlike the Rio Volt SP250), it has a quite usable UI that lets you search your disks for MP3's by Artist, Title, Genre and so on. (On the other hand, the Rio has an FM tuner, and plays WMA files too). The UI is what sold me on this unit, it really is the make-or-break.

$128 at buy.com

Re:TDK Mojo MP3 Player - $128

[loraksus]

Have you ever seen the SP250 in retail stores anywhere? It seems that _everywhere_ the SP250 is out of stock / backordered / not available (C4S.com is out of stock)
Damn I want one.
BTW, does the LCD have smaller letters / finer resolution than the SP100?

For the guy who has everything!

[Spackler]

Osama bin Laden's nuts on a stick planted at ground zero!

~price = $25,000,000

A poster of Natalie Portman: Starfighter

[peter303]

Star Wars Clones proviews have the Princess in a white military getup, resembling her daughter Leah. I guess she must kick-butt in this episode.

A nice Chess Set

[SCHecklerX]

Hand carved stone, stone board, etc.

That'd be cool...

[Greyfox]

Except all my music is currently encoded in .ogg. Has someone got it working with Linux yet?

Re:That'd be cool...

[Greyfox]

Yeah, except if I were REALLY an idealogically correct geek I'd build a wearable that not only played my tunes but would also have a borg like HUD display that would go out of its way to make me look like a complete dork.

Re:A 21-inch monitor...

[MrResistor]

Teamexcess has some excellent deals on monitors in their clearance section. I've bought 5 monitors from them (3 21" and 2 20", all Hitachi) and haven't had any problems. I was a little nervous about the "B Grade" rating, but so far all I've seen is some slight yellowing of the plastic casing and a few barely perceptable scratches. Functionally they've all been perfect, all the damage has been purely cosmetic.

They don't have any 21" in right now, but the Hitachi 20" are sweet monitors, especially at $139 (and yes, they will do 1600x1200 at 75+Hz). If you absolutely must have 21" though, check back regularly, they are generally $149. Add about $30 for shipping

What does a Geek want to get?

[JimPooley]

A LIFE!

And what do you get a wookie for Christmas when he already has a comb?

10 bucks: Calendar.

[banuaba]

Far Side Off the Wall 2002. Always a good staple gift. And it gives a person some places to write notes that will be subsequently lost.

Re:10 bucks: Calendar.

[Eil]

My mom and I have a tradition of getting a Far Side calendar for each other every christmas. I was looking at it and 2002 is supposed to be the last year for the calendar. (For real, this time.)

Slashdot Book of Trolls

[toupsie]

I think a fun gift would be a book of all the posts from the Slashdot Trolls. I hate to say it but sometimes, I only read Slashdot for the Trolls. Some of their posts are just so freaking funny!!!

Geek in NY

[sporty]

Honestly, I want things to get back to normal.
I mean real normal.

I'd like to not pass by "Ground Zero" and feel an instant of depression, I want cnn to stop showing only things about this war. I'm tired of wondering where anthrax will strike next..

I want to be employed again and be able to buy my brother (+ sis in law) that DVD player I promised. Not like he twisted my arm about it, I offered since I know he'd like it. I'd like to buy myself a beer after playing v-ball like I used to all the time.

I'd like for the economy to be in a good state. Is it being inflated right now? Maybe it is. I'd like the economy to be in the state it was last year, without all the hype and silly IPO's.

I want peace for the World... and Peace of mind.

Re:And for when they have all the Monty Python...

[Coward, Anonymous]

You can find most DVD's cheaper at dvdpricesearch.com. The Black Adder box set, for example, can be found for significantly less than what amazon offers it for.

Easy: BASIC STAMPS ($150+ for starter kits)

[erat]

What could be more cool than a simple microcontroller that uses a variation of BASIC as a programming language? Get a starter kit (one with a "Board of Education" if at all possible to avoid all the soldering/de-soldering), then watch hours fly by as you make goofy contraptions, robots, electric-eye-security systems, etc. You don't need to be a professional microcontroller programmer to use these things, either.

The one big issue is that the programming environment is set up to run under DOS/Windows. I'm guessing Wine may be able to run it, but I've never tried. If you can get over your distaste for DOS/Windows (let's face it: most of us have at least one dual boot machine anyway), I can not recommend BASIC Stamps highly enough. They're true geek toys without being childish.

Come on, you know you wanna get some...

Cliched, but important!

[BoarderPhreak]

This may sound a little cliche but I think the best thing we could hope for this holiday season is the safe return of our servicemen and women.

Let's hope for a speedy conclusion in Afghanistan too, and a little more "world peace" wouldn't hurt, either.

realistic electric fireplace, $500-1000

[mr.ska]

Have you seen these fireplaces and stoves? They're pretty damned funky. All electric, no real flame, but man, are they realistic!! The perfect accessory to a Sleaze Meal(TM)...

Me: C'mon baby, who loves ya?
Her: I dunno... I'm not in the mood...
[click - fire comes on]
Her: Ooooohhhh....

The most versatile gift ever

[carambola5]

It functions as:

• An "appliance I can't do without"
• An algorithm loved by all
• Goes great with steak
• A favorite display device of many

What is this wonderous gift of all gifts?!? Why CowbowNeal, of course! Get 'em while they're hot!

What I Got Last Year

[coaxial]

Last year I asked for, and received, the coolest gift I ever got in my 25 years.

1000 blank white index cards

a date with Linus

[wiredog]

Dude, if you even tried anything on that date Mrs Torvalds would kick your ass. So be careful! No footsie, no handholding, no gazing into his eyes.

VCD Recorder

[NumberSyx]

A Terapin Video CD Recorder, $499 is a bit steep, but less than $1499 for the Video DvD Recorder. Works just like a VCR, except you use a CDR disc instead of a tape. It burns the disc as a standard VCD so it is also playable on most DvD players and Computers.

Pan and Tilt camera

[eaddict]

Get one on the cheap at www.trackerpod.com!

Make a DVD or VideoCD home video for mom&dad

[nobodyman]

My parents got a DVD player last year, so I think it would be a cool idea to take the dozens of tapes of raw home video and burn them a slick VideoCD with sappy music and titles. 75mins for VideoCD is plenty of time for home video stuff, and most DVD players can play videoCD.

Pretty sure it would make me a hero... on the cheap!

Business Class DSL

[oneiros27]

If you really want to run servers, and you need a static IP address, you may want to look into seeing what ISPs in your area charge for business class, if they offer it at all.

Yes, I'm only getting 192 SDSL, for the same price that other folks are getting higher download speeds, but they'll handle my DNS, give me up to a /27 (2^5 = 32 addresses), and have no port restrictions.

My roommates would probably prefer faster download speeds, but the static IP address means that I can open up my box at work to our firewall, so that I can do work from home.

Obviously, if you throw enough money at a problem, it'll go away, but well, sometimes dropping the max speed for a little convenience, while still saving cash is worth it.

All I want

[smartin]

Is peace on earth and good will to men.

Oh and Osama Bin Ladens head on a pike.

Origami a Day Calendar

[Embedded Geek]

My cubemate got me a 2002 Easy Origami Daily Boxed Calendar. It's printed on origami paper and every day gives you a different origami to fold (you're supposed to use yesteray's paper to fold today's project, but I might just buy a separate supply of paper - not sure yet). It gives you exactly what you want from a daily calendar - a minute of fun to kick start your morning without derailing the rest of the day.

Only problem I had was that I folded the thank you note in the "baby in a cradle" pattern to commemerate my "new time wasting project" (the origami). She mistook it and thought my wife and I were expecting...

Buy Us Some Congressmen For Christmas!

[Spud Zeppelin]

(y'all already know the tune -- think "7th inning")

It's time to buy some Congressmen,
Not just a few but a crowd:
Spare us the iPods and Gamecubes and crap,
We need to know how to stop a bum rap;
Cause it's vote, vote vote down the bad laws,
They'll vote with whoever will pay --
Only one, two, three bribes will do,
In the Congressional game!

Non-Computer Games ($40)

[Erskin]

If you haven't found them the last two years I've made this post, you're missing out. Several small time game companies make cheap games often with a delightfully geeky bent:

• Fluxx ($10) from LooneyLabs
  A self-modifying card game where the rules of the game are the cards played.
  
  
• Icehouse ($35) also from LooneyLabs
  No, not the beer. A Unquestionably cool set of plastic pyramids suitable for playing a variety of games, and designing of your own games.
  
  
• Falling ($10) from Cheapass Games
  Imagine real-time (as opposed to turn based) blackjack on speed.
  
  

All of these games are perfect for sitting in restraunts waiting for food, or other such awkward time slots that normally get wasted.

Some things I'd like...

[Merk]

X-10 based home automation stuff, of course not from x-10.com, their ads are far too annoying (not that I've seen one since I installed junkbuster, but I still remember). Maybe from another source.

An iPod would be nice, but too expensive, and while my MP3 player only holds 64 MB, that's enough for now.

I'm considering a Playstation 2, if the price drops. Why not an X-box?

• Tekken 3, Tag Tournament, and 4
• Soul Calibur 2
• Gran Turismo 3
• Metal Gear Solid 2
• Final Fantasy X
• ...

Another idea -- maybe I'll buy myself an Apple iBook. I'll be able to choose either OS X or Linux. Not too overpriced, and cool looking...

Of course there's always Lego Mindstorms, or just plain Lego. Some of that advanced "Technics" stuff is pretty cool.

I also want a DVD player, though if I get a PS/2 that might do for a while. I've also thought about getting a surround sound system...

Disposable income is nice.

The Space Child' s Mother Goose- $16

[chrisvr]

Basically, nursery rhymes for geeks. With math and science and all that.

It's on my husband's list and he's an ubergeek so it must be good.

Cash please

[PanBanger]

Nothing worse than when non-geeks buy geeks presents.

"Gee thanks! A new mouse! ummmm yeah it's great...it's got a ball on the bottom. How quaint."

The Ultimate Dive - $20 (video)

[rjamestaylor]

The Ultimate Dive, a 22 minute how-to-video by Suzanne Girot; ©1996 starring John Hoffman, and several other various peoples- available for $20 from: Suzanne Girot, PO Box 269, Felton, CA 95018, USA

Available here, it's the perfect adjunct to The Art and Science of Dumpster Diving. Considering the economic climate, esp. for tech workers, this video could be the key to a Christmas dinner with presents for all the family this year.

(it's funny. laugh.)

A pet Monkey

[burts_here]

preferabley purple and on a stick
--

Klein bottle ($25 - $45)

[YourMessageHere]

For the geek who has everything, a bottle of ... nothing. Zero volume, to be precise. Get yours at Acme Klein Bottle. Geek klein trivia: this company is owned and run by author Clifford Stoll.

Beer.

[supabeast!]

I just want an entire keg of Guiness, and a keg-er-ator that can hold it!

Cultural Value

[CaptainZapp]

That's easy. An investment into the etoy.CORPORATION is the ultimate in chick and cool this holiday season.

Not only do you reap cultural value for your investment, but etoy also pays tangible dividends. Like the etoy.AGENT-PACKAGE (30 shares). But for the truely paranoied geek, the etoy.PROTECTION-PACKAGE (100 shares), which includes a personal data locker on Sealand , comes in mighty handy.

Remember, nobody invests to lose money...

A Touring Kayak--$1300 to $3100

[JThaddeus]

Lots of models to choose from but I've liked the Wilderness Systems ones that I've paddled. How about a Cape Horn 17 Pro in Kevlar, only $3095! But if my wife is reading this, I'll settle for on in rotomolded plastic...

For those of you who went to Comdex...

[doorbot.com]

...and saw the Samsung booth:

I think you can agree, the 241MP and 211MP displays (24" and 21" respectively) would be excellent gifts for the geek who has everything.

Granted, either will set you back over $4000 (the 24" more so, of course).

But they've got some great features:
HDTV ready, optional TV tuner, remote control, Picture in Picture, and more.

They're beautiful displays, and the only drawback is that they only seem to come with Analog (VGA) in and not DVI like some of the other (240T/210T) displays.

Here's the smaller 17" version, it doesn't look like Samsung has the larger versions on their website yet:

171MP @ SamsungMonitor.com

Or, you could spend even more and get a nice 40" (or even 63") LCD HDTV...

A Holiday Wish

[Dr. Bent]

I think steve martin said it best, when he said this

Re:Wil Wheaton, actor, dead at 28

[Chundra]

It may very well be a sick joke, but I heard it on KWMU this morning on my way to work. That's the local NPR station in St. Louis, MO. NPR doesn't typically propagate bullshit like this. I honestly don't care so I'm not going to go hunting for urls, but just wanted to say I heard this as well. I'm sure you could contact them to find out more.

BASIC? no...LOGO....

[oneiros27]

I'd be much more impressed if someone gave me one of those little robots that you hooked up to your computer, and controlled via. LOGO.

[okay...I played with LOGO for much too long... I harrassed my instructor until he told me how to pass variables between functions]

Logo Robotics

Give a geek the greatest gift...

[hyacinthus]

...the gift of the English language. Take time out from your day and teach a poor, semiliterate computer nerd how to spell. Make space in your day to instruct him on the difference between "loose" and "lose". Get him a Concise Oxford English Dictionary.

The editorial staff of Slashdot certainly could use this gift, from what I've seen.

hyacinthus.

Re:Give a geek the greatest gift...

[Merk]

You forgot the three homonyms for "there":

• There: "over there", physical location
• Their: "their house", possessive plural
• They're: "they're coming", contraction of "they are"

And of course there are other ones, like "there inlies the problem", try "therein lies". Or "mute point" instead of "moot point".

And don't forget the three versions of the homonym "site"

• Site: "web site", a location
• Sight: "eyesight", one of the 5 (or 6) senses
• Cite: "cite the author", what you do when (and if) you write essays.

A page with a lot of these errors is: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html

Re:ThinkGeek ...

[Chanc_Gorkon]

Yeah but my wife wouldn't like it. She won't buy it unless she know's what it is about! She is so so non geek. I still might get that Digital Camera! ;)

apple should do windows version + add quicktime

[johnjones]

it makes sense that apple do a cut down version for windows so it would prevent things like this going on

plus when you install it the quicktime plugin would be installed and set itself up to default for everything just like the way windows media player installs on mac and makes itself the default for every format !

plus you could proberly charge for an iTunes for windows while give the mac version away for free

makes sense to me

regards

john jones

Re:For my web site to get Slashdotted.

[Tofu]

Yes!! me too! :) No one understands that the gift of tofu is the greatest gift of all!!!

A "Buy Nothing Day" gift exemption voucher

[vaxer]

Skip the commercial crap altogether -- exchange gift exemption vouchers and do something relaxing on Buy Nothing Day.

Re:Wil Wheaton, actor, dead at 28

[Magumbo]

I live outside Groveland CA and heard the same report on KXSR. That's also an NPR station.

Maybe the national NPR got a bad newsfeed. Looks like they might be in for a lawsuit if it isn't true.

Re:Flat Screen Monitor ($500-1000)

[zeno_2]

Panasonic 50" Plasma Display - $7999 at Best Buy (hey only 192 bucks a month!!)

Re:Real Geek Gift Ideas

[AtaruMoroboshi]

Um, you've offered no proof at all.

I would ask that you seek reason out, learn how to think clearly, and watch as you realize that you sound pretty silly.

Re:Real Geek Gift Ideas

[Neurowiz]

On Topic Part ->

Pre-ordered seats for LotR ($8)
21" Flat LCD Screen ($2569)

Off Topic Part ->

I seriously have to question any religion that advocates or has advocated the elimination of another religion or belief (Crusades, current Moral Minority are good examples).

I seriously have to question the concept that a signle thing 'died' for us so that we 'believe' this person died for us. The focus should not be on that - it should be on that we believe in doing good and not adding to entropy.

I seriously have questions about a single religion when you have 5 dominant religions in the world, each suited for their civilation and ecology/economy of origin, and they all purport to be the One True Way, all you have to do is believe!

I seriously have questions about a religion which is more set up for the benefit of a governance than for a belief in a higher purpose and being.

Maybe the real gift would be inner peace, inner enlightment and inner acceptance that all have a different Path.

James Bond Collection on DVD

[BabylonMink]

How could anybody want anything other than The Complete James Bond Collection on DVD??

PRICE: £254.99

Old Calc books

[digitalhermit]

I just checked out your site hoping that you'd have a few pictures of the covers, maybe some scans from interesting pages. No such luck :(. I'm very interested in how the notation has changed from Newton/Leibniz onwards.

Quality Books -- $50-500

[rho]

A great gift for youngsters and oldsters alike.

The Harvard Classics. You can find them on eBay every now and then.

Next year, you can give them the Shelf of Fiction (scroll to the bottom).

The huge variation in price depends on how you acquire the lot. You can buy book-by-book in flea markets (making a charming shelf of odd-sized and colored books), or all in a lot, if you by a collection (making an impressive shelf, appropriate for a lawyer's TV commercial).

This is also a good gift for those who don't get much out of school: if you read through the entire shelf, you've basically acquired a liberal-arts education.

Origami a Day Calendar

[Embedded Geek]

(Caveat: This is a repost of something buried in a deper thread. If reposts offend you, please skip this...)

My cubemate got me a 2002 Easy Origami Daily Boxed Calendar. It's printed on origami paper and every day gives you a different origami to fold (you're supposed to use yesteray's paper to fold today's project, but I might just buy a separate supply of paper - not sure yet). It gives you exactly what you want from a daily calendar - a minute of fun to kick start your morning without derailing the rest of the day.

Only problem I had was that I folded the thank you note in the "baby in a cradle" pattern to commemerate my "new time wasting project" (the origami). She mistook it and thought my wife and I were expecting...

FS: Galaga cabaret machine

[gosand]

I have a Galaga cabaret machine for sale, if anyone is interested. One of the most collected games ever. Restored condition.

Follow the arcade link from my home page.

$4000, Remote Controlled WWII Tiger Tank!!

[nortcele]

Beer Can Crushing Monster. 1/6 scale, 112 lbs of German Tiger Tank. $3250, but with add-ons that you would obviously want... $4000. Pant...Pant... Add on a .50 Cal single-shot and a wireless camera on this baby, and you can have good fun that is funny without the Cat in the Hat (or the doll from realdolls.com) 1/6 Scale Remote Controlled Tiger Tank
Yep, that's what I want....

Re:how about..

[4mn0t1337]

i have a book of CDs i carry around, it has 98 cds in it..

Yeah, and how big is that? iPod hold just as much (if not more depending on compression) and is about the size of a deck of cards.

I do see you point, but at the same time you have to realize that the iPod puts all of that collection at your fingertips. If you want to listen to something else in the car, you have to fiddle around with the disc case, put one disc back, find another (in a *big* collection/case), remove and insert it, and then repeat if you want to listen to something else.
iPod has everything at your finger tips.

You can make playlists with the iPod. Somethign you would have to burn a new disc for in your current solution.

And the iPod is *damn* fast at loading music. With you high speed connection, you can grab files, but nowhere near as fast.

Oh, and there are a few of us (very few -- just like there are very few that would have a Mac in addtion to our other computer(s)) that go places other than work or home or the car between. I find myself out in the big blue room from time to time and having tunes is a good thing.
And there are probably even fewer of us that go out and do things like exercise (I've heard people talk of this "exercise") but those people would groove on the portability.

THe device has its place.

Re:Real Geek Gift Ideas

[kilgore_47]

Sorry, but I don't buy all that "god" stuff. I also don't believe in Santa Claus, or the Easter Bunny.

But whatever floats your boat, I say; and if praying to the diety of your choosing makes you feel good inside when bad things are happening outside, go right ahead and pray.

But I'd bet all my slashdot karma that the vast majority of the people reading this site would rather go without hearing your crazy prayer talk here on this board.

Maybe taco should have a religion poll, and we could see for sure?

My point is, this site is about news for nerds, and not about news for delusional people who need religion to help them deal with life. OK?

Shameless self promotion

[Tim Macinta]

How about a t-shirt with a picture of an all-powerful attack-penguin on it? Come on, you know you want one.

Re:Shameless self promotion

[victim]

Got one already! Not only cool, but its the only shirt in my closet that my girls won't steal. Its "too scary".

What's the best Palm Phone?

[frankie]

My wife has become quite the geekess. Last month she decided the ethernet cable in her laptop bag was the wrong size, so she got out our spool of Cat5e and crimped a new one. Damn, I love her.

Anyways, she's tired of carrying her phone and her Palm and her pager. So we found the Treo, SmartPhone, and I300. Anyone have hands-on tales about them?

Do any of them really work as well as the separate components do? I've heard some of them are like a complete Palm with a crappy phone strapped on, while others are a decent phone with a weak PDA wedged inside. And do any of them have good synergy across the features?

Re:What's the best Palm Phone?

[harakh]

Seriously consider the Nokia Communicator. Its IMO the best of two worlds if you really want a good PDA and a good Phone in the same packages.. Personally I like to be able to just carry my phone so i chose a small phone and a Visor - but that's just me.

But.. For all-in-one - Nokia should be IT.

Sony Clie PEG-T600C - 40,000 Yen

[MikeyNg]

Yes, it's a PDA, but it a PDA with that wonderful extended range in the IR department so you can go over to your friend's house and goof around with his AV setup and say, "What's wrong with your system, man?"

It's also in COLOR. It's also available only in Japan right now. 16-bit color at 320x320 running PalmOS 4.1. 40,000 Yen ~= $325, so it's not even that crazy of a gift. Read more about it here.

Re:What else would you need?

[droopus]

"At this time, in order to use an iPod, you need a very overpriced underpowered Mac computer:"

Um, like a $1000 iBook which will kick the ass of most equivalent Win laptops? Real overpriced.

"you know, from the company that thinks you should pay hundreds of extra dollars for the lack of removable external storage"

I have a DVD RAM in one of my G4s, a DVD-R in another and paid not a farthing extra for them. Imagine that!

"mouse button, etc."

I use a three button mouse. What, you need seven? Try them funny 'F' keys dude.

" Too bad you can't use the hundreds of dollars to buy paper clips to eject disks because Apple was too cheap to put eject buttons on its drivers."

You have buttons on your drivers? Cool! Mine only let my PC access pieces of hardware. How the hell did you code a button?

"Apple: you pay the price to get less power."

Only buffoons use one OS for everything. Feel free to run Photoshop or Maya on your little Celeron, and I'll wave as I head out the door six hours ahead with a creative director doing the funky chicken as he looks at my work.

Re:Switch a couple there

[Altus]

thats funny.

Id rather have
12. months of rent
11. thousand dollars

maby thats because I live in boston....

here is one

[geekoid]

Some way to keep Zeus from screwing our women!
oh wait, thats Greek gifts.

Speakeasy good -- but not flexible.

[Dr. Zowie]

I used Speakeasy for a while, but eventually ducked out. They have recently taken steps to segment their market: when we joined, they had a large number of ADSL options, but when we went to upgrade our speed (from 608/128 to 608/384 or even 1.0/608), we found that they no longer offer any uplink speed other than 128k, with ADSL. Switching to SDSL means premium pricing and purchase of a new modem.

We ended up going with Peak To Peak DSL -- their service and prices are good (in the Colorado Front Range area). In the Bay Area, I'd recommend CLIQ internet service -- they offer high powered "geek-friendly" DSL.

Don't get me wrong, Speakeasy are good -- but I think they shot themselves in the foot by getting rid of their intermediate-level uplink speeds.

Low Cost iPod Due from Apple - "iPod LC" or "iPoo"

[BoarderPhreak]

Be sure to check out the low cost alternative to the recently announced iPod, known as the "iPod LC." :-D

Re:Lifetime supply of bawls

[geekoid]

Just drop your keys in San Francisco...

It Meets My Needs

[SteveM]

I currently commute between NJ and CA. I had been carrying a CD player and ~ 20 CDs.

I now carry an iPod.

The differences are quite noticable. Size does matter. And I love the larger selection. I admit it, I'm lazy and didn't swap out the CDs often enough and found myself listening to the same things over and over.

And as other posters have noted, it is perfect for walking, running, biking, and the like.

It is also perfect for waiting rooms in doctors offices, train stations, airports, etc.

It is a comparable change from my first to second cellphones. My first cellphone was a Motorola Digital Personal Communicator my current is a StarTac. While both are hand helds and both can fit into a pocket only the StarTac leaves room in the pocket for other stuff. I used to leave my cellphone in my car or in my briefcase. Now I carry the cellphone everywhere (some might argue that this is not an improvement :-).

Both the CD player and iPod are portable. But the size of the iPod makes carrying music much more convient. And as with the phone, I find myself carrying my iPod with me most of the time.

Steve M

Re:It Meets My Needs

[SteveM]

I was thinking in a similar vein last night. There is a program on NPR called Echoes that plays ambient music. It is on in my area 11 PM to 1 AM. I don't get to listen as often as I'd like.

The shows are available on the web but in RealAudio format. I would welcome a mechanism to download them to my iPod and listen during the day. A ReplayTV for radio.

Steve M

Email

[Nater]

The family has decided on ornaments. Basically, each of us buys a Christmas tree ornament and they all go into a pool. Then we each take one. The money we'd otherwise spend is going to charity.

Well, I guess that's cool and all, but it's really not very exciting. So this morning I set my brother up with infinite email addresses. anything@the.virtual.domain.i.created.for.him gets forwarded to his regular address. Merry Christmas, bro!

I had one.... Now its gone

[acomj]

I had DSL from verizon with a fixed IP at the regular price (I signed up early). Port 80 was unblocked...
Then my linux server was attacked, by code-red. The server survived but port 80 hasn't come back yet....

Re:I had one.... Now its gone

[jhoffoss]

That's because most DSL/Cable providers didn't shut port 80 until CodeRed reared it's ugly ass.

Done that...

[krugdm]

Added a Firewire card to my work PC. One 6-pin to 6-pin cable and a copy of MacDrive 2000 later, and the drive mounts right up with no additional effort on my part. It even charges, too! Go into View options and show all hidden files and you can see where the MP3's are stored. The annoying thing is that your collection gets spread over dozens of folder with no rhyme or reason for the organization, but they're all there.

An exhaust system

[scumdamn]

A pair of shorty headers and a pair of 3" stainless steel exhaust pipes.

For my birthday I got a disc brake upgrade. Maybe for my next birthday it'll be an engine rebuild kit with a tricked out cam and time to put the Vortec heads on my car. In fact, I have the next few years booked with requests and none of it is computer stuff.

Of course, that's because I test stuff for work at home and it's usually much better than I could afford anyway.

That's not even funny

[Uttles]

But I really do hope you were trying to make a joke.

Listings

[GregWebb]

I had an idea a while ago for a permanent website of this type.

You log on, create a list of things you like, things you don't like, things you already have, things you like but you're so picky about that anyone buying for you is a bad idea :-) The site provides links to shopping sites, allows you to search by category, price etc. You then give people your site ID and your friends and family have access to a list of what you _actually_ want, making present giving potentially simpler. Wouldn't be that hard to set up, organise a small commision payment from the sites you send customers to and this could make money. Pity I don't have the time or energy to actually do it :-)

Anyway, what _I'd_ actually want:

* Sorry if this makes me sound like I'm trying too hard, but I'd be delighted if someone gave money to a charity I support (or one I didn't yet but whose aims I agreed with) as my present. Let's be honest, I make good enough money and there's only me to support, so I don't need generosity particularly and could get pretty much anything below myself if I put my mind to it (and in some cases, not for very long, either). Others need it more than I do.

* Pretty much impossible to give, but I wouldn't say no to a larger circle of friends. If I came out of the Christmas season with nothing listed below (or similar) but having met just one or two people whose company I genuinely enjoyed, I'd consider it a good Christmas. On the same line, I'm single, ladies, fuzzy photo at the out-of-date URL above... ;-) <duck>

More traditionally:

* Books. Good fiction or several different non-fiction areas.

* Films. Has to be Widescreen, beyond that I'll try most films _once_ :-)

* Music. Play it safe and get me rock or metal, play it slightly more adventurous and get me orchestral music, try pushing the boat out by getting me some jazz or blues. Pretty good chance I'll like any, though, in some places :-)

* Chocolate. Pretty difficult to go wrong with a big box full of chocolate :-)

* Model cars. Don't care what size (though bigger is preferrable :-) but any reasonable, boxed model car will be appreciated. Honestly, little £5-10 cars make me very happy...

* Camera equipment. I'd feel guilty if someone spent a fortune, but if you happen to see some M42 lenses, filters, tripods or gadget bags going cheap... ;-) Or, if you happen to be determined to throw money at this one, an SLR body using a more modern lens mount than M42 please :-)

Less practically...

* Those desktop RC tanks with the laser tag are _too_ cool. 3 of them shipped to the UK and we could have some cool deathmatches at the office...

* My Psion 5 seems to have packed up :-( and I _prefer_ keyboarded PDAs. I want another.

* Hovercraft are cool. Either give me a working R/C model hovercraft, or a good set of plans and components. Or, let me know what will make a good liftfan because I can't find one so far when I'm trying to build my own :-(

* No DVD here yet, so, please, a region-switchable DVD with 5.1 out and ideally a Macrovision defeater so it'll work with a video projector. Oh, how about getting me that projector, I've already got a large empty white wall that would make a lovely screen...

* One of these days I'll get round to building a _serious_ video jukebox (thinking 100+ hours of storage here...) to replace large piles of VHS cassettes and just make it all more practical. If anyone sees them ready-made and upgradeable, that'd be cool.

* Left Europe for the first time this October, visiting my sister in Ontario, Canada. Loved it. All offers of trips to interesting parts of the world gratefully recieved, as long as they come at least half board and flights paid :-)

* Over in a recent poll thread (http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=23631&cid=256 0144) I was discussing what I'd enter into Robot Wars / Battlebots if I was up to it, had the time & ability and so on. I'd love to see a robot of that rough type built and entered, just to see how good an idea it would really be.

* I need to replace my car at some point... ;-)

Re:Listings

[Lord Omlette]

I could be wrong but I think Amazon.com provides the wishlist service you're thinking of.

Re:Listings

[Kanasta]

Hrm.... you mean... something like.... this?

http://www.wishlist.com.au/

since no one that would buy me anything is reading

[RestiffBard]

my big ol' list

bandwidth (I'd like dsl but verizon isn't moving fast enough and cox isn't either so all i can get it sat which I'm not interested in

tivo so i never miss an episode of buffy

pda (handspring deluxe would be fine)

moped (my driving record is rather shady so i figure i jsut better get a vehicle i don't need a lic. for, plus how geek is that?)

Sony's newest AIBO

[X86Daddy]

The latest AIBO is directly aimed at nerds. It no longer looks like a dog, but more like an evil little droid.

$1500 for a basic unit, and then you need to buy all the extra crap for wireless networking so it can read you your e-mail and wander your home under your control from a PC, but if you want an expensive toy, this one is feature rich

Re:Robot cockroaches? - $30

[richardbowers]

Here's one, if you'll forgive the Amazon link, that actually works, and is designed for hacking. Stiquitos are really cheap robots that can be used for all sorts of useful scientific applications -- like freaking out your significant other or allowing you to do a remake of a movie that no one but true geeks remember.

iPod

[ellem]

iPod
iPod
iPod
oh and maybe one of those sexy new G4 PowerMacs... I so love OSX...

Re:Legos

[hoggoth]

Sadly, a toy store owner I spoke to recently told me he sells 40 Lego "kits" like the astronauts, pirates, or Star Wars battle droids for every 1 (ONE) bucket-o-basic blocks.
Because of this, he isn't going to carry the basic blocks anymore. It's not cost-effective for him.

What's wrong with parents? Don't they remember what Legos are for?

linux ppc can read hfs

[acomj]

I know linux ppc can read apple hfs partitions. I've used this feature to move files from the mac side of my ppc to the linux side. The unix permissions thing gets a little strange... but it works.

However It can't read hfs+... that I know of.

I don't know what the ipod it though hfs or hfs+.. hfs+ is sort of the window equivalent of fat32..

Re:I don't think so...

[toupsie]

Just close your eyes and hand over your credit card. :) My initial response to the iPod was extremely negative when Steve Jobs announced it. Thought it was just a fancier looking Archos Jukebox 6000. Way beyond that. I walked into my local NYC RCS store (The Big Apple does not have an Apple Store, yet), held it in my hand for 2 minutes, lifted jaw off the floor and bought it. Its beyond an MP3 player. That firewire port has a ton of uses besides syncing MP3s.

On a side note, the headphones are perfect! I have never bought a walkman style tape/cd/mp3 player that came with decent headphones. Plus they look cool matching the player.

Encyclop�dia Britannica for Me

[Sara Chan]

I'm not sure how geeky this is, but I've asked Santa for the Encyclopædia Britannica . For me, there's nothing else (that you can buy).

"I wish that I understood how people could be happy yet lack curiosity,
because I would no longer find them so alien, so frightening, so unlikely to
care about anything beyond their own comfort." --Jonathan W. King (adapted)

Don't forget Robo-Rally

[Pinball Wizard]

The concept seemed weird to me at first - OK, so we're going to play a card game where you program your robot with the cards you are dealt. And this isn't a multi-player computer game, why?!

However, its a blast, and you get to spend time with your friends to boot.

http://www.wizards.com/RoboRally/Welcome.asp

Re:Don't forget Robo-Rally

[Belgand]

Actually it is now: www.eyeplaygames.com and it's free.

A Grant with easy terms

[demo9orgon]

To put it simply, there are many of us here who would rather be working on our own personal projects. And we're often conflicted and frustrated by our inability to fire-jump complex problems during the day and then try to do great stuff for ourselves that night...or we have legal binders, a company that's benevolent until we create something that they want, or just want to slap us down because we're doing things that could create a conflict of interest.

Whatever the reason, I think a Grant would rock. For some of us, it would enable us to walk away from some job that we've been laboring at for years; for others it would solve financial problems, and for some it would just be a bonus.

I suggest this because I know that for years I have dreamed of writing programs and doing things that I've never had the time or money to do...and it's frustrating to have even minor talents, but no leisure or legal standing to accomplish something. And the terms of the grant could be non-specific to the point where writing a working open-source program would suffice. Hey, maybe I'd finally have a reason to beat my head against CVS and finally learn it (I've been in denial and avoidance for too long).

If nothing else, it would be nice for those folks who have talent but have been layed off, to have some room to recoup their edge while hunting for a job. And nothing sucks like being unemployed through the winter holiday season.

With all the extensive tech-layoffs this year, I think we're going to see many proud people taking the easy way out this year. I hope I'm wrong.

Re:Forget the concise OED: get the full deal for $

[geekoid]

Now if only the powells staff would get there heads out of there butts, I might go back.
Used oracle book 29.95.
New oracle book 29.95.
Gosh, I wonder why they had so many used ones.. hhmmmm...

Re:A telescope

[geekoid]

make'em do it by hand for a couple of years, then they'll learn where everything is, instaed of just punching numbers.

Re:Havard Classics considered obselete-by Harvard

[DavidOster]

Check out this article in the current issue of Harvard Magazine: The "Five-foot Shelf" Reconsidered
Revising a monument from a more humane and confident time by Adam Kirsch

The gist of the article is that much has changed in the world since the Harvard Classics were chosen, and that we shouldn't be bound by the errors of the past. Oh, and on the Harvard Magazine home page, they are collecting suggestions for what a revised, modern, list of Harvard Classics should look like.

There is a certain amount of knee-jerk political correctness in the article, but it is definately worth a read.

Re:A girlfriend -- priceless

[aidoneus]

I almost agree, except in my case it would be getting my almost fiancee back. She broke things off right before my birthday, and since that time we've been trying for a friendship, but there's too much hurt for things to be working right. So what am I doing? What any self respecting geek would do. I stopped pouring my money into her and instead am redirecting it to hardware. Sad, but hey I've got some neat new toys to play with so I can try and forget what happened.

Hint for anyone in a serious relationship: if you and the one you love start taking it for granted that you have each other, you'll lose each other. We stopped treating each other as the most precious things in each others lives (instead we just would talk about work, not how we really were) and that was the beginning of the end. Guys, when you're in a place like that listen to your girlfriend and let her know how much you care and respect her. Respect is vital.

Ok, too much off-topic rambling.

Rio Car (was Empeg)

[svferris]

Definitely the Rio Car. It's by far the best car MP3 player you can get. And since it was recently discontinued, they dropped the price dramatically on the player. You can now get a 10GB version for only $699. Compare that to the $1499 for a 6GB when it first came out. What's great about the product is that even though it's discontinued, the software is open source, so people are continuing to update and hack the software.

I'll take "B" for $500, Alex...

[GTRacer]

What does God knowing have to do with me doing? God, in addition to being omniscient is eternal. He knows what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen.

I however, am neither omniscient nor eternal (as a human). I do not know what I will do *EXACTLY* tomorrow or what will happen to me.

Just because God DOES know doesn't mean I didn't have free will to do it. And unlike a later poster, I believe He knows in a precise fashion, not through brute-force iteratons. I suspect that, due to His eternal nature, the entirety of this universe is just a DVD to Him - We're stuck in Chapter 18 and He's checking out the Special Features.

MiataMX5 has done a good job answering these questions, but I'm going to give one of my own: People have asked me the "Why does God let good things happen? etc, etc."

My answer is this: This universe is God's version of SimCity. For whatever reason He felt compelled, He built a cosmological system with fairly stable rules and populated it. He gave us intelligence and we took free will (but He knew that was coming ;) ). He alters things here and there, but He isn't the only one in the game - Satan gets some play.

He also gave us the rulebook. He may have thrown some misinformation into the mix (carbon-dating, aliens, etc), or others may have. He set up a somewhat confusing, and to many, bizarre win condition - Believe in Him and His Son. That's it. Believe and win. Get your wings and live in paradise, so to speak.

Maybe it's BECAUSE I'm a science-fiction-fueled geek that the concepts of a triune God, infinity, and SimUniverse don't bother me. If I had that kind of power, I'm sure I could concoct some odd experiments of my own.

GTRacer
- Does sacrificing Karma for Him count for anything?

Mountains and mountains of...

[richardbowers]

Legos, and a really secure place to live.

That, and plenty of cat-5, should make my dream home a reality.
Total cost - $3 mill or so.

Something to relax

[loosenut]

Assuming you know a geek or are a geek that is still employed, chances are, you could use something to relieve stress. Here are a few gift ideas in that vein:

1. A one-hour professional massage. Or a whole day at a spa.

2. Some nice fresh loose-leaf herbal tea. Tea teaches you patience, and forces you to sit down and relax for a while.

3. Some yoga or martial arts lessons.

4. An eighth of an ounce of weed and a blow job.

Merry xmas!

What I want!

[kruczkowski]

Hmmm let's see,

A copy of Windows XP!

Serius, remeber when Win95 came out and that was what your granparents gave you.

ReplayTV 4000 - $699 to $1999

[Krelnik]

The Replay 4000 is the first Personal Video Recorder (PVR) that comes with broadband support from the factory. Also has the highest capacity of any on the market. They may not have the TV advertising budget that Tivo does, but they have some great technology and have won an Emmy for it!

I've had a ReplayTV for two years now, and have been very happy with the hardware and the company. I'm looking forward to upgrading.

Re:How about an XBox? - I think I got that covered

[yesthatguy]

That's exactly the point. You don't need an X-box. It doesn't help you at all by itself. For that matter, you never needed any game console systems, since they were all just readily available hardware.

Oh wait, you want to play a game? Sorry, this game's only available for X-Box/PS2/GameCube. You may have 3x the power in your computer, but still won't run. Nobody is going to buy an X-box for the hardware; they buy it for the games.

Model Hovercraft

[cr0sh]

Hovercraft are cool. Either give me a working R/C model hovercraft, or a good set of plans and components. Or, let me know what will make a good liftfan because I can't find one so far when I'm trying to build my own :-(

Merry Xmas!

BTW - the fan this guy is using looks like a PC case fan, though a bit bigger - I could be wrong, though.

Re:Model Hovercraft

[GregWebb]

So near yet so far...

Thank you very much for the link, but I've tried that basic idea before. The best casefan I could get my hands on was an 80mm Coolermaster thing (anyone wish to comment on them?) but, even running on 12v (installed it'd be on 9) it couldn't come close to building up enough pressure in the skirt to inflate it, let alone lifting it off. And this was a smaller model (chassis based on a 4 litre ice cream tub). Whether it was shifting enough air I don't know, but it certainly couldn't sustain the pressure required.

Anyway, it looks like there's a bit more information than the last time I tried, so maybe I'll have another play over Christmas :-)

If he was dead FARK would have the story

[Archfeld]

in fact in checking I find He's posted today so i doubt that this is true...

Of course the leader

[Archfeld]

of the red cross just stepped down over a scandal involving the misappropriation, or perhaps misallocation of funds intended for the 9/11 NY effort, so think twice about who you give your money to.

nomad is a bit large

[Archfeld]

but the carrying case hooks to my belt nicely. If you go jogging it will skip a bit every 3 or 4 mins as it loads into the dimm but then it is rock solid. I'd love a nomad the size of an IPOD but I value the extra space more than the small size.
Bottom line though the Ipod looks cool :)

Re:nomad is a bit large

[stripes]

If you go jogging it will skip a bit every 3 or 4 mins as it loads into the dimm but then it is rock solid.

Really? That seems like a bad design choice, I mean if it has enough buffer to keep 3~4 min of song, can't it spin up a minute early to avoid the skipping?

I'm not sure if the iPod does, but I've yet to hear it skip. Of corse I'm not much of a jogger (more of a walker, about 30min for a mile).

I'd love a nomad the size of an IPOD but I value the extra space more than the small size.

I hear you, but... My laptop had less then 5G of music on it. Plus the last MP3 player I had (Rio) didn't get used so much because it was a pain to change the music so I wanted to be sure about the new one :-)

I don't mind that other people want more space, even if it isn't as portable. I even admit it is likely a better choice for some people...

A shame they can't do 80G in that form factor though...oh, and it is a shame Canon won't sell me a EOS-1D for, oh, say, $1000 either :-)

Bottom line though the Ipod looks cool :)

Yeah, about that... the "mirror" surfface gets grubby real easy. So it does require a bit of upkeep. The white part doesn't show daily dirt though.

Re:Christmas Invention?

[LinuxHam]

I've been watching 2 Drew Carey episodes a day (3 on Wednesdays!) for about a year until recently my local WB affiliate switched to just one old rerun a day. Bastards! Anyway, the gang runs a caffeinated beer brewery out of his garage -- Buzz Beer. I should remember the slogan..

something about staying up long enough to get drunk all over again. Awesome show.

It's not geeky...

[Darth Turbogeek]

But the fact is I have a top line laptop, I have ADSL and I have a server system that screams.... so what could a geek want?

How about a car. I think something smallish (say mid sized), blood red. 4 wheel drive, with computer controlled front, rear and centre differentials, stripped out for maximum weight saving, nice hefty rear wing, racing tyres, turbocharged 2l rally homogated motor, six speed sequential gearbox, roll caged, built and delivered, ready to roll.

And what is it?

The Mitsubitsi Lancer Evolution 7!! You can keep your iPODs and other toys, I WANT THIS CAR!

http://www.mitsubishi-motors.co.jp/motorsports/0 1w rc_e/wrc_spec.html

Re:For the knowledge whore.....or IP thief

[SteveM]

Keep in mind that many of the people who produced the content for this aren't getting paid a cent for their work on the CD.

These people were never paid?

Or these people got paid for their work, and National Geographic, who paid for the work, contiues to use what they paid for.

I have never understood the argument that if I put something in a different format is all the sudden something new.

Steve M

Something I did as a kid...

[cr0sh]

I used a model airplane prop (about a 4 inch, two bladed prop), and attached it to a small "hobby" motor (ie, one of those 3V mabuchi cheapo motors that are in toys everywhere). I then mounted it to a styrofoam plate, using cardboard braces extending from the edges of the air intake hole.

I then hooked the motor up to a 9V battery, and was able to get more than enough "lift" - without a skirt. Strangely enough, I didn't take the experiment further - it was just one of those "one off" deals.

Model airplane propellers can be picked up at most good hobby shops - or online at Tower Hobbies...

Buy them a cruise!

[merlyn]

Geeks on the High Seas!. I've been on 7, and they're a lot of fun, and a lot of learning too, having access to experts at all hours during the week.

Model Hovercraft...

[cr0sh]

OK, here is what I have:

This site used to have some pretty slick plans, but is now gone - however, it still exists in Googles cache here - at least a portion of it.

If you follow the last link (off the cache) entitled "Back to Eric's main hovercraft page", it will take you to this page, which seems to hint at a future "new" site - here is hoping it is true!

Bzzzt - Wrong

[SteveM]

The head of the Red Cross stepped down because of a disagreement over how the Liberty Fund was created and run. It seems there was a question about the need for a separate fund.

This was compounded by the media hysteria of the Red Cross having the audacity to realize that they had received more money then immediately needed and the good sense to but the excess away for future needs.

When the board of directors didn't support her she resigned.

I thought the whole thing was absurd. I gave money to the Red Cross because they have the know how and the ability to deal with these kinds of crises. I had no problem with how it was handled.

Steve M

Re:Real Geek Gift Ideas

[SteveM]

... but I have in no way determined this for them.

You have misunderstood the problem.

If determinism is true, nothing you can do will effect the outcome. Nothing anyone can do will change the outcome. That's what it means to be determined.

Steve M

Re:Disk-on-Key

[LinuxHam]

Bought mine on the employee purchase website at IBM. 8MB module for $21 just to play with it. Comes with a 98 driver disk. Didn't work under Win2k or Linux but I didn't build a new kernel to support it yet. Bought one for my friend, too, and it worked out of the box on his XP laptop. I think they go up to 128MB now, with 256MB and 512MB modules coming next year. Half a gig on your keychain.

I plan to keep mission critical documentation for my assignments and my GnuPG secret key on it. It is definitely cool. And the IBM logo on it goes so well with my Pentium keychain.

Non-tech books and 1U cases

[LinuxHam]

I get tech books from work, so now my family has tried some non-tech books on me.

I can really use some 1U rackmount cases. Not full servers, just cases. I have a RaQ-4 and love their case. With integrated audio, one of those with the built-in LCD panel and navigator would be great for an MP3 player to add to a component stereo system.

Re:Real Geek Gift Ideas

[SteveM]

God does not have a hand in evil acts. He allows evil to occur so that we can make our own choices between right and wrong. The Bible states this clearly.

Perhaps you are familiar with the story of Noah? You know the guy with the ark?

Now I consider mass murder an evil act. I suspect you do as well.

So here is a question for you, what happened to all people that weren't on the ark?

They were murdered. Drowned each and every one of them.

Or consider the story of Passover. Where first born sons born into the wrong religion were murdered while they slept.

Or how about Sodom and Gomorrah (spell?). Bang everybody's dead.

If this god is so great, why couldn't he figure out a more humane way to achieve his ends?

Steve M

Re:universal remote

[SteveM]

Philips Pronto. A programable touch screen remote.

Steve M

Re:Home made calendars when they run out of wall

[acomj]

I made homemade calendars with my epson wide printer. I gave b/w prints for a number of years and it worked great, but how many can you give...

Now armed with a negative scanner and a printer capable of 11 x 17 my girlfriend and I cranked out a bunch calendars to give to parents and friends. We put a photo on top and the calendar part on the bottom and the "hinge" at the top. We used a photoshop/ illustrator, but almost any program wilil do. the "cal" unix program provided the month layouts..

You could also do it with a middle hinged 8x10 too.

The prints are amazing looking, and since they're calendars they can't be expected to last forever. (ie not archival...). Good paper is expensive though, but not much more than photo paper..

Re:who the fuck uses SCSI anymore?

[Snowfox]

Who the fuck uses SCSI anymore? Let me take a swing at that:

Anyone who likes 15,000 RPM drives, and a bus capable of 160 megabytes/second with 320 on the way.

Anyone who wants up to 15 devices operating simultaneously on the same bus instead of 2 operating one-at-a-time.

Anyone who wants hot-swapping that works.

Anyone who doesn't want to be limited to 24 to 36 inches of cable, preferring several meters instead.

So, basically, anyone who wants versatile and fast I/O uses SCSI.

Re:Real Geek Gift Ideas

[Derkec]

Re: giving to charity in someone's name
A noble and good idea. Those of you calling this guy names and scoring him a Troll should be ashamed.

A tree, and an oven.

[Squeeze Truck]

The two things I can't get in Japan.

Christmas requires the smell of pine trees and baked goods.

I made seven gallons of mince in preparation for the holidays, but I can't bake it into anything.
I guess I'll just squat on the tatami mats, eat it all with a really big spoon and sing carols softly to myself. Merry Christmas!

Awesome documentaries

[Technodummy]

The Planets - BBC

Walking with Dinosaurs - BBC

Intimate Universe - The Human Body

Re:Caffinated Egg Nog!

[T1girl]

Try this. (1 or 2 shots of espresso, 12 oz. heated eggnog, dash each of nutmeg & cinnamon.
Combine the espresso, nutmeg, and cinnamon in the bottom of a mug. Add the heated egg nog.) Maybe for you, more coffee, less eggnog. Use pasteurized eggnog that comes in a carton. Making it from scratch is a nasty process involving raw egg yolks that you don't want to know about.

Myself, I would skip the coffee, add one shot each of bourbon and rum to cold eggnog, let it sit in the fridge for awhile, and drink it with 1 ice cube.

Re:Jew Boy

[Legion303]

Oy gevalt. Get an electronic dreidel game:

http://www.hebrewsoft.com/freeware/games/dreidel.h tml

-Legion

What I want

[Legion303]

In this time of massive corporate layoffs and 4 (going on 5) months of personal unemployment, I'd like some food. Maybe rent money. Definitely a job. Why is the IT market so lousy in Colorado?

(Qualifier: I don't program and I don't have an engineering degree. No one's looking for sysadmins or tier II-III support right now.)

-Legion

Re:Real Geek Gift Ideas

[kilgore_47]

In response to your apparent glee over the the greatness of the bible, I direct you to this speech (with a slightly different viewpoint).

Re:Real Geek Gift Ideas

[SteveM]

There is a difference between certain and expected behavior. You expect that your kids will choose ice cream and you will most likely be correct.

Yet you do not know that they will. For example, using the standard cardboard box, stick, and string trap your kids may be attempting to catch a rabbit. Then they may choose the lettuce.

So what it comes down to is that you do not have prior knowledge of the outcome, you have an expectation of the outcome.

If you did have prior knowledge of the outcome then that outcome is already decided. That is, it is predetermined. That is what predetermined means.

So your claim, "that prior knowledge of the outcome, doesn't mean that the outcome is determined in a way that can't be changed" is erroneous.

You can have free will or you can have prior knowledge. You cannot have both.

Steve M

Re: etanomic headphones?

[stripes]

I did a google search on 'etanomic' -- nothing found. What kind of headphones are you talking about that are nearly as expensive as the iPod?

I guess it would help if I had spelled it right, they are the Etymotic ER4P, or the ER4S ($269 for either), I'm not sure how the ER6 sounds ($139) since it is new. I also remember the price as higher since I bought the Headroom Little headphone amp at the same time (another $200 or so -- prices were diffrent on the last model).

They are extreamly nice, and they do a pretty good job of preventing outside noise from bugging me. Good when the noise is fans and people on the phone, bad if it is my boss sneaking up on me.

...continuing off-topic religious thread...

[kilgore_47]

I don't give a damn about the demographic statistics of your childhood friends. I said likely because many people inherit their belief system from their parents and/or childhood surroundings so it seemed likely this was the case with you too.

It comes down to this: you've got one book that you are 100% sure is the word of GOD, and your childhood best buddy (or, if he's been "saved", any one of the other millions of people dedicated to a non-christian faith) has another book that he/she is also 100% sure is the word of GOD. A debate about religion between you and your muslim best friend would quickly result in the two of you reading off translations of translations of books written by people who died thousands of years ago.

Why not think for yourself, live in the present, and stop living your life by what a bunch of people on the other side of the world wrote down a few thousand years ago? Seriously! Get a grip, man! Can you honestly relate to the stories in the bible? They were written for a different people, in a different time! If the men who wrote the bible were brought here today (by time machine or something, stay with me for a quick hypothetical situation) they would be utterly confused by our society. They certainly wouldn't be able to solve our problems! Yet you live your life by what they wrote, after they "talked to god", two thousand years ago (actually, it was probably a little less than that since by accepted records the oldest parts of the new testament wern't written until almost 100 years after christ's death).

If you can't deal with reality and need to pray to the "one and only" god when times get rough, thats your right. But keep that stuff off the "news for nerds" discussion board, because I'm pretty sure most people here aren't interested in being "saved".

Re:Real Geek Gift Ideas

[kilgore_47]

The problem with the God vs. Parents predicting events comparison is that parents can predict their kids most of the time. Being able to predict with relative accuracy what someone is going to do is not uncommon, but children also still surprise their parents on a regular basis.

To hear it from a christian, god knows everything before during and after it happens. THAT kind of foreknowledge logically requires fate, and hence no human free will, even though parental predictions of a child's behavior (ie lettuce vs ice cream) doesn't.

Got, gi-tux? If not, have a bowl of ice cream and think it over.

Re:Real Geek Gift Ideas

[Derkec]

"clearly, Derkec missed the seinfeld in which it is revealed that donations to fake charities in other people's names make extremly affordable gifts, and can land you with a real check for $20,000 to the "Human Fund"."

No, I've seen it more times than I would like. If she was saying give to a fake charity, then I admit to being a really poor reader and apologize. I thought the comment was saying give to a real charity, which is a good thing to do.

While I agree the Red Cross

[Archfeld]

does much good, I have reservations about them allocating monies donated to a disaster relief fund for political issues. I am not implying the red cross did anything illegal, I just don't think thay have any business lobbying.