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Non-Geeky Gifts for Tech Geeks
An anonymous reader writes "FiringSquad.com has just put out another holiday gift guide. They've gathered together, along with the usual video cards and whatnot, several non-techie toys with a techie slant. With the exception of an mp3 and a digital camera, everything else they recommend is stuff I haven't seen on any list before. They have things ranging from $10 to $7500. My favorite has to be the Blendtec blender. 2 horsepower motor. Turns hockey pucks into mulch."
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Gee, that helps!
While I have no problems with them recommending an iPod - they're okay machines and all - I do sort of wonder why they would make it on their gift list, which would presumably to suggest things one *hasn't* already considered. Can anyone honestly say the thought of giving an mp3 player to someone hasn't occurred to them?
I was also sort of wondering about the subs - nice recommendations, I must say, but doesn't it make something of an awkward gift? Maybe it's more of a "stuff we thought was neato" list. Certainly the cutlery discussion seemed to wend that way, though even non-chefs could appreciate the novelty of owning a knife that ridiculously fine.
I am the one true god. However, as an atheist, I don't believe in myself. I guess I have a self-esteem problem.
A bit pricey, no? $300 for a flashlight? A $3600 capaccino machine?
Maybe I'm just poor or cheap, but most of these are outrageous. Who is their target audience? Fortune 500 execs?
Some good gifts:
* GUI C++ Programming Guide
* Hex/socket set
* Leatherman
* Vernier caliper
* Dremel or Rotozip set
Non-geeky gifts for geeks? Why bother? They're geeks for a reason - they like geeky stuff! It's like getting a pair of socks for xmas... you don't want them, you don't need them, and you'd rather something that plugs into your PC. USB socks, there's a gift...
it's full of ads!
ACK NAK RST
Yet another website that destroys perfectly playable videos by wrapping them in crappy proprietary Flash.
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
Although a bit late for xmas now (or is it), I threw together a brief, 1-page, tech geeks gift list a while back which can be found here. Hopefully it is not modded away into oblivion as being too link-whoreish!
Warhammer forums
Ahh - My eye!
The doctor said I'm not supposed to get Slashdot in it!
Yeah, that's fine if you intend to get your daily fibre from nearby trees. If you'd prefer something with a bit more taste a Hinari Genie can grind, blend and juice.
Deleted
The subs and the Core 2 Duo are fairly geeky things to want, I would think.
That blender is off the hook. Did you see the video of it reducing the rake handle to dust? Crap, one of their blenders has a freakin' 20 amp motor. I just bought a hammer drill that can punch through three feet of concrete and it only has a 7.5 amp motor.
Admittedly, I haven't a clue what I would do with a 20-amp blender, but it looks impressive.
I'm not into flashlights, apart from the fact that I use them a lot. And maglite makes dependable flashlights that most likely still gives you the most bang for the buck.
Ok, maglite has a lot of models, but as far as I'm concerned, there are two models worth considering.
The Maglite charger is a classic. It gives a lot of light, adjustable from flooding to a narrow beam. True enough, in some positions the beam has lots of dark rings and/or spots, but it can be adjusted to sane positions without much trouble, and once you've found your favourite position, you don't need to adjust it again unless you have lent it to someone (takes about 1 second to get it back). On the upside, they are cheap, dependable, long-lasting, repairable, easy to charge, and has all the accesories you need, such as belt-holder, car-charger, etc... And you can get parts from just about any supplier.
The other model worth considering is the 2AA minimag LED. While not up there with the most expensive surefire/inova/whatever flashlights, it's still a practical, cost-efficient, dependable performer. Most importantly, it runs from AA rechargeables, which means you don't have to spend all your cash on expensive lithium batteries (which quickly adds up, when you need a new pair every night). OK, I would prefer it to be a bit shorter (the old minimag was better in that regard), but you can't get it all.
Now, go ahead and make fun of all the other mag flashlights in existence. The old minimag, solitaire, C and D-cell models are all outdated (and yes, this includes the C and D-cell leds). But the new minimag LED is a welcome update, and the old charger will probably never become obsolete. And the competition just can't match the price AND quality of maglite, it always becomes a choice between price OR quality (I had a Pelican M6 once, which seemed like a reasonable choice between price and quality, but it lasted less than 3 months and cost me a fortune in lithium batteries, whereas my old minimag has lasted for 3 years without problems (before I got the Pelican, and now minimag LED))
As for lawsuits, sure, I've heard people complain. I don't particularly care. Just like geeks have a hard time telling non-geeks to avoid microsoft for ethical reasons, you will have a hard time telling me to avoid mag for ethical reasons. I just like two of their models, and don't care about patent issues.
3)9 out of 10 officers prefer the 5 D-cell Maglight to conventional police batons.
...is what I'd like to see. Well, if not the glass jug then at least the base part with motor and electronics.
Yet another god-damned
One
Item
Per
Page
List
You know what? I don't think I can stand the internet anymore.
sic transit gloria mundi
No. I despise those things. When I'm typing, I don't want to have to turn my amps to 11 just to hear my music (well, when I do listen to music).
QUIET.
You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
THIS is a blender.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Every item on that list was geeky--most just didn't happen to be geeky in a computer-centric fashion.
A few points here:
1) Pod espresso machines are NEVER as good as you can make with really fresh, properly ground coffee, in a good machine, with some significant practice. At the same time, they're probably not as bad as most people are likely to get, since people are lazy. On the other hand, espresso geekery is absolutely first-rate.
2) Knife hardness != knife sharpness.
3) Subwoofers should be purchased with the speakers, and should be designed together.
4) Actually, I'm going to stop. This was just a crappy article all 'round.
"People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
Kitchen appliances/gadgets seem to go over well with geeks and non-geeks alike. They're certainly popular with the kitchen hackers in our house.
Also, Heston Blumenthal and other proponents of molecular gastronomy have taken cooking to a seriously geeky level. Heston Blumenthal has written several books that would make excellent gifts to get non-geeks to question how they think about cooking.
Amen! I'm always amused at "gift guides" that are composed of items that are hundreds of dollars. Just how the hell much money do these people think my family is worth at Christmas? A really expensive Christmas gift to me is around $50. If I were married, I'd probably spring for $100 or so for my wife.
Yet I see guides like this, hear radio ads telling me to by diamonds that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, or even to do something stupid like buy a new car for my hypothetical wife. A new car? Do these people honestly think I would make such a huge decision without the knowledge, full acceptance, and blessing of my wife?
Am I just the world's biggest cheapskate?
Wait, no, I think I know what's going on here. They want me to think I'm a cheapskate if I don't buy hundreds of dollars worth of crap for my family for Christmas.
Well, I'm sorry, the joke's on them. I think that along with the lesser-expensive gifts I give to my family, a really nice one is not begging them for money the rest of the year because I'd be in debt beyond my imagination for burning through money like that. And call me crazy, but I also think that a really nice gift for one's spouse instead of earrings or a new car that you don't need is—gasp!—a realistic plan for retiring some day so that we can spend wonderful decades together without having to work our asses off for useless junk like, well, a $300 flashlight or a $3600 cappuccino maker!
Honestly, $300 for a fucking flashlight? If someone game me one of those, I wouldn't be grateful, I'd be extremely condescending. "You spend $300 for a fucking flashlight? Did you win the lottery, or are you just too damned stupid to know that you can get a really good one at Target for less than $10?"
What scares this geek is that there are obviously people out there who actually buy this junk. What's doubly scary is that they're pitching it to my friends and family as if I actually would want any of this crap. God, I hope they're not that stupid.
link to single page print-ready version, so you don't have to click through page after page of minimal text and maximal ads.
e nt_section=Features&fs_article_id=2069
http://www.firingsquad.com/print_article.asp?curr
-Styopa
It doesn't matter that your $50k in debt--as long as you can make the minimum monthly payment!
What national debt problem?