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Geek Christmas Ideas
Its that time of year again kids, and shopping for geeks is, as any non-geek is happy to tell me, a royal pain in the arse. So Slashdot is here to help. Let's talk Geek Christmas ideas. Post your best gift ideas. Try to include links and prices. And try to moderate the good ones. That way we all send families the URL to this story instead of making a list.
...my true love ave to me... A CRAY!!! http://www.sgi.com/t90
Razer Boomslang and a cluster of Dreamcasts :-) I can't get razer's page to open up, but I think it's http://www.razer.com
They have a forcefeedback wheel out here in France for about 390 FF ($60).
Yes it has a Ferrari logo =:-]
realkiwi
I can't think of any real geek who wouldn't want one of these babies - except someone who has one already.
I buy lots of parts at Computer Surplus Outlet, just the place to keep my P90s and 486's happy.
George
What else should you get a geek? I'm stocking up on games... Civ: CTP, Myth II, and Quake when it comes out. You can get both Civ:CTP and Myth II from various places. The best price is about $44 from Handeye.com, one of the only places that sells only Linux games.Support the cause!
The various Lego Mindstorm kits are great fun for geeks of all ages.
IV
"These laws they're passing won't even compile anymore, let alone execute." - anon
Oh sure, it may not be exciting like that vibrating doll you've always wanted, but EVERYBODY wants books. For example:
:) Books can be cheap or expensive, visit a local used book shop for a great bargain, (for those of us who don't have much money to buy people gifts)
:)
W. Richard Steven's networking tomes! (Always classics - puts shakespeare to shame) The cryptonomicon, the "Alvin Maker" series by Orson Scott Card, The Art Of Computer Programming by Donald Knuth, The Camel Book, (well OK insert ALL O'Reilly titles here except those books on NT adminstration) The Dragonbone Chair series by Tad Williams and on and on and on.
Books are better than candy, (and sweeter) last longer than clothes or geek toys, never get obsoleted by books with faster processors, books get you chicks, (if they don't, then you were looking for the wrong kind of chick anyway
Do you know any geek that doesn't like to read? Does that person use linux? I don't have any idea how on earth somebody could be using linux without at least not *minding* reading. I shudder to think how many HOWTOs I've read.
So, let's review. Books are awesome, they can be quite cheap, they last a long time, they get you chicks, they convey righteous knowledge without the associated eye strain from reading too many Gutenberg e-texts, they make you look thin, and if you eat them, they're high in fiber. Geeks love getting them, and some can even be had cheaply! Even new, they're a bargain. Imagine paying a measly $80.00 to get one volume of Donald Knuth. You can bet your ass that the time he spent in getting that information for himself and recording it was worth a lot more than $80.00 by several factors of 10. But you get it for $80.00. What a steal.
I am geek, and I WANT BOOKS FOR CHRISTMAS DAMMIT. I'm also a geek, and I'll be giving quite a few books for christmas. Of course all of this assumes that your'e into that whole christian thing - I'm sure there are quite a few of us who aren't but just go along with the cultural charade. But if that charade gets me books, bring it on!
Feed your need to read. (Don't I sound like a library commercial now) That's what I want for Christmas, and that's what I'm going to give for christmas. The only crappy thing about books is that it's very hard to give them to people in a package where it's not totally obvious that they're getting a book.
-- Truth goes out the door when rumor comes innuendo. -- Groucho Marx
I'm the first to suggest it, so you all have to obey. Everyone reading this chips in a pound (or dollar, but more than a lira), and you can buy me one of these...
/. It's dog slow today for some reason.
1. Andover Shares. Lots of 'em.
2. Aibo. Actually, two so they can play football.
3. Twiddler
4. World peace
5. A trip to Mars (though I'll settle for Earth orbit)
6. A faster connection to
7. A job at nasa. Imagine; there are people out there with the titles of Space Commander and Planetary Protection Officer. I want to be Supreme Commander of the Solar System.
8. There's more, but no-one but my girlfriend will find out what.
Everyone already knows about Herman Miller's Aeron. Once you sit in this chair for a day, you can never go back. Only a scant $749 if you buy direct...
I never do know what to get people. It usually ends up being chocolate or something simply because that requires the least amount of though. If anyone has any way they get idea for presents pease let me know! I really dont think my dad wants a k7 . . .
---
Just because life sucks, it doesnt mean you have to care.
No more freakin' mousepads!
I think it would be cool (and cheaper than a CRAY) if I could get my hands on several older computers - 486s, classic pentiums, etc. That way, people won't have to spend a small fortune on a gift for me, and I can start building my own beowolf cluster!
This is slightly offtopic, but I'm sure very helpful for some of the geeks/geek's families out there.. these are some good coupon codes for different online stores.
office max.com has a $20 off a purchaseo f$20 deal, click Here and use the code YES1CFNH2H
Barnes and Nobel (bn.com) has these $10 off $10 codes: CZVRCH7, CBN2222, COSHARE, and CTREATS.
Amazon.com has these $10 off $25: FIRSTGIFT and AMZNPRESENT2
CDNow has these $10 off $14.99 codes: here and here
Last but not lease (see links below for more) Buy.com has $20 off for first time customers. Click Here to get it.
If you're looking for other coupon sites visit these places:
My Coupons.com Message board
Funtasia's Coupons
Another coupon message board
Actually, can anyone who has one of these give a (quick) review? I have a wheelmouse (M$ Intellipoint), and am considering dumping it for one of these. Is it worth the $$? Am I going to blow $55US, and end up hating it?
Oh, and I also want GEB - 20th Aniversery edition. Hardcover, of course.
Other than that, get a copy of the UserFriendly book.
Smegma.
A set of decent screwdrivers is always helpful - and can be picked up by any non-techy at almost any store.
Not all geeks like gaming, but for those of us who do:
Sega Dreamcast
Neo-Geo Pocket Color
Games & Peripherals for the above
Cool retro stuff -- I got a Genesis/Megadrive last Xmas, and I was delighted.
... and if games are too frivolous, get involved with the OpenBSD/SH4 project, and turn the Dreamcast into a BSD box...
--
Toys are nice, but what I really need is a new chair. Something nice and ergonomic. The piece of junk I'm currently using (complete with duct tape) just isn't holding out any more..
Feel the fear and do it anyway.
http://www.cobalt.com/products/qube/index.html A 8"x8"x8" blue 64-bit headless linux box!!
www.pricewatch.com..
Find yourself a nice matching set of Celery 366's and a Abit BP6.. then get Quake3, enable smp, and enjoy!
Stan "Myconid" Brinkerhoff
SB.
#include <beer.h>
Perfect geek gift.
I just looked at the NFB (National Film Board of Canada http://www.nfb.ca) website.
In their online shopping section they've got collections of some AMAZING award winning animation shorts. Most people that grew up here in the Great White North will remember ones like these:
How Dinosaurs Learned to Fly
The Cat Came Back
The Log Drivers Waltz
and the all time classic
The Sweater
They also have "Bob's Birthday", the short that launched the Bob and Margaret series.
Not especially geeky stuff, but very high quality.
------- Mark
What I really want is a 7-foot inflatable Tux to use instead of an Xmas tree.
Any of the following would also be nice:
A sixteen-way Symmetric Multi Penguin Alpha machine -- to play Space Invaders on a Speccy emulator, just for the hell of it
Linux 2.4/XFree86 4.0/KDE 2.0 (by Xmas, yeah - right)
World Peace
Bill Gates' head on a spike (ok, that's counted in the last one)
--
To make some good (italian) coffe I use a coffe machine from LaPavoni, which I bought at Best-of-Italy.com. Prices are really unbeatable!
There are coffee machines for every price range, and you're sure not to buy something the geek doesn't like (Ya know, we all have our preferences for hard/software and would best buy it ourselves - I don't want my girlfrind choose the tools for my work)
A coffe machine makes also an excellent wedding present...
I would like a Velo 1 or a Palm IIIx. I am putting a bare bones Celeron 466 to replace my 486/50 at home for christmas too. I am torn between the Palm and velo, I like the idea of a keyboard but are the Velos still supported? What do you geeks think?
Microsoft aggravates my tourettes syndrome.
#include <beer.h>
Only $25.95 for a set of four.
I'm dying to read this book: Faster by James Glieck. (~$20) I heard him on NPR discussing his reasoning behind writing it. He really made me think about how technology and our accelerated lifesytles affect our lives. If my family/friends are reading this, you know what to do...
I swear, m11 changed the link on me. Sigh. (preview didn't help!) here's the real link http://www.cobalt.com/products/qube/index.html
Well, if my family included someone as uber-wealthy as BillG, my first choice would be the mega-cool PowerMac G4 with the Apple Cinema Display loaded with all the goodies including 1.5gigs of memory.
I'd partition the 27 gig drive for Mac OS 9, OS X, and LinuxPPC (maybe a couple of others).
But since I'm a mere mortal and my family isn't as flush as Bill, I'd settle for an iMac DV SE with a half a gig of RAM.
After all... there's no reason to be greedy, right?
Edmund Scientifics is the ultimate geek toy store as far as my family is concerned... I can't even be specific about which items because they have SO MUCH cool stuff. Knock yourselves out.
I'm a sucker for the 'cuter' stuff...
...like stuff at http://www.thinkgeek.com.
Most of the things listed are very expensive.
To go on the cheaper side of things I say RAM RAM and more RAM!
I don't think I'm the only geek who was bizarrely excited by the idea of glow-in-the-dark Christmas trees and shrubs. Pretty geeky.. I'm way into it. However, due to their lack of availability, I'm planning on spending my Christmas doing non-geek things with friends.. primarily chasing down department store Santas and beating them until they vomit. Happy Holidays!
A safe bet for any toy-lovin' geek remains the Lego Mindstorms kit and accessories. The basic kit is a bit pricey ($219 US), but well worth it. And if your geek has the basic kit already, there are expansion packs ($49.99 US), an upgrade ($24.95 US), additional RCX ($129.99 US), remote controls ($19.99) and touch, light, temperature and rotation sensors ($9.99 - $19.99 US) as well as additional motors ($18.25 US).
All these elements are available at Lego World Shop.
If your geek is the kind of geek who has all the Lego Mindstorms stuff already, there's a book from O'Reilly on Mindstorms ($24.95 US), which will provide advanced tips for design and programming. It was reviewed on Slashdot.
"The wages of sin is death but so is the salary of virtue, and at least the evil get to go home early on Fridays."
http://www.solarbotics.com/
$25-195 for kits (Thats US dollars for US or Canadian for Canada)
Parts misc.
Duh.
Lots of good ideas so far.
1) I like the Books suggestion but it needs to be a gift certificate. The last thing I want is Aunt Alice getting me the Internet for Dummies guide because I'm "into computers". Besides, none of my gift givers know my technical library and it'll still change between now and Christmas.
2) Lego Mindstorms. Which part of "some assembly required" don't you understand?
3) Any hardware that comes with it's own cryogenic cooling. We can deduct the cost off the house heating bill.
4) any neat hardware toy that only has beta drivers available for it. Open source preferred.
5) Any hardware that requires opening the case several times for optimum installation. If we break something else in setting it up, we get a free upgrade! 8^)
What I *need* this Christmas is close to a dozen stuffed Tux for my children, nephews, friends' kids, etc. Does anyone know where to buy them?
A 19' Sony monitor!!!!
(Of course I could dream of Crays, Beowulf clusters, private jet airplanes..., but this is what I actually, realistically want).
(Incidentally: anybody had any experience with the Sony GS 200 monitors?)
Oh, go on, check out my job.
Take for instance what I asked for at my birthday, when my mom was bugging me--
Ties. (Star Wars, Cirque du Soleil, Wolverine, etc.)
However, I'm in the process of changing jobs, so I don't know if I'll be required to wear a tie at my next job, so this isn't on my list.
When in doubt, the best choice are 'gift cards', from somewhere you know the person shops--
Best Buy, Tower Records, etc.
Of course, one of the biggest problems with buying things over the internet is the problem with returns. I have no problem ordering stuff for myself over the internet, but if I have even the slightest thought that someone may possibly want to return something, chances are, I'll order through Border Books or Barnes and Noble over Amazon.
So, to restate the whole point -- there is no 'one perfect gift'. (even cash may not qualify, if there's someone who never leaves the house, and so, would need for you to handle direct deposit instead, so they could make use of it)
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
The Art of Programming: Fundamental Algorithms (Vol. 1). 700 pages of hard-core genius from Donald Knuth.
(All prices in USD)
Garmin GPS III Plus receiver (between 350 and 500, depending on where you buy).
Any DVD - no more than $25.
Toshiba TW65X81 or DW65X81 television to watch above dvd's - 4999 for TW, 5800 for DW.
Nokia 8860 - around 800-900
New Car - expensive
Another New Car - expensive
Luxury Car - more expensive
In lieu of computer, please send the TV. I have enough computers.
-m
Hmmm, if we're dreaming, I have a few ideas....
I'll stay away from the usual "HARDWARE, HARDWARE, MORE HARDWARE!!!" wish list. I'm sure that one's going to be quite busy. ;) These are more...experiential.
1) Zero-G Parabolic Flight.
Sure, you have to go to Star City, Russia to do 'em (along with floating around in an old Il-76), but that's a small price to pay to float around in a non-chemically-induced experience.
Price: $4980
2) All-expense paid holiday party at the Tech Museum of Innovation, San Jose CA. :)
Where else can you pilot an MMU toward a satellite with a beer in your hand? Play with robots! See how all this nifty computer stuff gets made in the factory! They also have good catering.
Cost? Don't ask....
3) Dogfights. Aerobatics. Nomex.
Try a visit to Air Combat USA -- normally I'd recommend another company, but I hear they had a mishap. Anyway, Air Combat can hook you up with a parachute, a helmet, and an opponent in another Real Airplane, for your shootin' pleasure. The bullets are simulated, but the adrenaline is real. Sweet.
Price: Starting at $795 per person...
4) Liberty Bell 7 Restoration Crew T-Shirt ;)
Yes, they're aerospace oriented. I'm a space geek.Don't go forgetting the Right Stuff during the holidays... Anyone can find a huge boat under a couple thousand feet of water. It takes real skill to find a space capsule in over ten thousand feet of water over an uncertain surface area.
Cost: $25
A human being is the best computer available...the only one that can be mass produced with unskilled labor. - Wernher v
I second the above, but I feel the need to open it out a bit.
The absolute best present anyone bought me for Christmas was my wife, last year, buying me a subscription to "New Scientist". The gift that keeps on giving, throughout the year(*)....
Now, I'm very much hoping Santa has seen how much enjoyment I've got from my weekly dose of science news, views and in-depth features, just how much I've learnt and how much MORE of an annoying knowitall geek I've become, and will have the appropriate surprise waiting in the stocking for me again.
Obviously NS isn't to everyone's taste, but I'm sure that most geeks can be prodded to find the one periodical - Linux Journal, PC Magazine (? Sick, dude), Goat lovers monthly, whatever - that they just *haven't* got time to read and so miss out on buying.... The one thing they *would* read if only they didn't have to go and buy it themselves. If, say, it was delivered to their door.
henley
(*) = And I only had to ask her once or twice. And point her at the subscriptions phone number. It was such a nice surprise...
--
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy
Dear Santa,
First of all, thanks for all of the wonderful presents that you gave me last year. They were all appreciated, but I had a few problems:
1 - Every geek likes more RAM, but you brought me a SIMM instead of a DIMM. It wasn't much use to me, so I traded it for a six-pack and a pizza. Please don't bring me any memory this year.
2 - The CD full of screen savers was nice, but I don't run Windows 95. Maybe you should skip software this year, also.
3 - The copy of Windows 98 was broken. When I installed it, it kept crashing. I called Microsoft and they said this was perfectly normal. Steer clear of this company if you don't mind.
4 - I love video games as much as the next geek, but I had difficulty installing 'Postman III: Stamp This!' under Linux. See #2.
5 - The 56k modem didn't work. It said 'Winmodem' on the box, but I still feel like I lost.
6 - Do you have any idea how many promotional mouse pads I already have? I've taken to stuffing them into the walls to sound-proof my house.
Maybe this year you should pretend I am a normal person, and bring me some socks, or a membership in the beer of the month club, or a book (not computer related!), or a shoe polisher, or just a George Forman grill.
Merry Christmas, and a Happy Y2K.
I nearly had a fit of joy when I found this company's website: http://www.bitsandpieces.com. My favorite products are the mechanical puzzles: http://www.bitsandpieces.com/dept_main.asp?dept_id =5
I kinda want a Velo because I like the small keyboard idea verse a pen. But I am not sure how far the Velo is going to go. (LinuxCE sounds fun)
Either that or a handspring (www.handspring.com)
Deluxe ICE color =)
Microsoft aggravates my tourettes syndrome.
www.copyleft.net is the place for geek gifts. my particular favorite is the simple shirt with just "geek." on the front.
And on the top of my list is the Simpson's Music CD, the new one is out now, check it out at amazon.com. This link may expire, so just do a search for "Simpsons" in the "Popular Music" sectoin. They've got 4 albums now, if you include the oldest (and really bad) The Simpsons Sing the Blues.
What else.....CDs full of MP3s are good.....or if you know that your geek has a CD Burner, blank CDs are always useful. You can get them for around a buck a piece at your local best buy.
Also, just check out linux.ora.com. If theres a book there that I don't have, I'd be happy to receive it.
Merry Christmas everyone.
.. from O'Reilly http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/lmstorms/ and posibly a pre-downloaded copy of the LegOS
Does anyone know if the MS ball-less mouse (I forget its real name...) is Linux-happy? I assume it is, but I just want to make sure...
That's what I want. And a real modem. And a supported video card.
DSL would be nice, or cable modem. Neither are really options right where I live...
A flat screen monitor would be wonderful.
More RAM.
Basically any buzzword-noun would be a great joy to recieve for Christmas.
Computers can only simulate determinism. ~Hermetic.
I just want 64 megs more !
Victorinox, makers of the original Swiss Army Knife, have vome out with two new models they are call the Cyber Tool. They come in a 27 and 34 blade model. I just got mine. (my birthday present to myself). I won't go into detail here, but you can see it and read the specs here. Corrado Cutlery also had it USD$5.00 cheaper than anyone else selling them over the web. Availability is tight, they are probably backordered (Mine was, for about two weeks). The other distinctive feature about the CT is that the covers are not opaque red plastic, but the IMac style transparent red. They look very cool!
We're through being cool! Eliminate the ninnies and the twits! -Devo
Figuring out what to buy for a moderately-wealthy gadget lover is challenging. I always have to promise my loved-ones that I will refrain from buying any new toys for the couple months approaching Xmas.
My list:
1. Nice clothes - I usually like the clothes I get as gifts much more than than those I buy for myself.
2. Sonic toothbrush - Supposedly gives you that nice dentist-scrubbed feeling.
3. Portable hard-drive based mp3 player
4. Car mp3 player
5. Flat panel monitor
6. Ball-less mouse - *if* they work well, I haven't heard yet.
7. Massage gift certificates
19' or 19" :)
Pokémon!
Then we can wait for the market values to fluctuate, and dump it off later to make more money.
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
We all need one of these...
http://www.realdoll.com
2+2=5 for extremely large values of 2
...hanging on my Linux box.
Buy a leatherman, they're an all around awesome tool. It has a buch of screwdrivers, a pliers, scissors, canopener, etc... About $70 for the Wave model, which is best. www.leatherman.com
No matter where I go, I can't escape Christmas. I hate this.
All of the stores are full of Christmas decoration already. Christmas parties are already being scheduled (the boring kind, with coworkers). I go in to Best Buy the other day, and the place is covered in decorations. At least I'm safe on the net, I figure. But then it shows up here. The last refuge of sanity, or so I thought.
The best Christmas present for me (not that any of you care - it's rhetorical) would be none at all. It's a terrible time of year, and the worst part is that I can't escape it. I would have to leave the country. You have some people running around pretending their best to be happy. You have others being sad because they think everyone is happy. Businesses trying to exploit a religious holiday for all it's worth. Religious people trying to get me to care about their savior. Everywhere you go there are Christmas decorations and advertisements. Then you have the gifts! There's nothing that I want. If I wanted it, I would have bought it. If I want it and don't have it it's either too expensive or I can't find it. If it's too expensive, nobody I know is going to buy me one. If I can't find it, I've already asked all the people liable to give me a gift if they know where I can find it. I prefer to pick out my own stuff, especially with clothes and music. So, people give me gifts despite my insistance that they shouldn't, and I have to pretend I like them. (as I write this, someone who sits on the other side of the building is hanging up some Christmas-related poster-sized piece of paper outside of my cubicle). Did I mention having to buy a gift for someone? Do I even have to elaborate as to why I hate that? (No, not money).
Forget what I said about the worst being that I can't escape it. The worst is that I have to pretned to like it, or everyone will think I'm a lunatic.
Do what I started doing last year...Work for them!
I figured I spent so much time at my local Borders last fall, I might as well work there. Filled out and app, and now for a measly 8 hours (two nights a week) of my life, I'm the computer book man. Weee.
The pay sucks, but I get 33% off all books/movies/CDs that I want. What a deal!
I have a suggestion for people buying for geeks... DONT BUY US TECHNOLOGY. I know, it sounds counter intuitive. The fact is, we know a lot more about it than most other people buying for us. Most times people have tried to buy me hardware, or tech, it was either the wrong thing, wrong size, or just didn't work. SO, if you want to buy tech, get an EXACT description of it first. However, if you decided to ignore my sage advice, Here are the things every geek wantes this year: * Portable MP3 players. We gotta have `em. * Better digital cameras * CD writers * Always need more hard disk space... Outsude of technology, there are some things even geeks enjoy: * Books. Obviously. * Gift certificates. Being such practical minded people, geeks take NO offense at being given a gift certificate. Its practical, safe, and thoughtful. Expecially to Best Buy, where we can get what we want. We're going to be spending there anyway. * Junk food. (really.) *Imported, Italian motorcycles.
There are two lines worth looking into. Thoroughbred Miniatures makes them in 1/600th scale and Old North State Figure Company makes them in 10mm scale (1/144th I think). I LOVE the ONSFC's Ironclads as they have crews and engine rooms and tons of details. Some geeks even use them in games, but I think most of us would just put them in a display case or on the mantle after we finished building and painting them.
ONSFC can be reached at ons10mm@monumental.com and Thoroughbred can be reached at:
http://www.warweb.com/miniatures/t horoughbred.html
Every geek needs a little bit of history. Intel 4004
Do what I started doing last year...Work for them!
I figured I spent so much time at my local Borders last fall, I might as well work there. Filled out and app, and now for a measly 8 hours (two nights a week) of my week, I'm the computer book man. Weee.
The pay sucks, but I get 33% off all books/movies/CDs that I want. What a deal!
I would like a Pioneer slot loading 10x dvd player for chirstmas. And a good player for linux.
A piece of advice though, I told my girlfriend that she should consult my best geek friend before buying me anything technical. That is vital if you want to get useful gifts.
The slashdot article: http://slashdot.org/articles/99 /10/07/1442218.shtml
Features:
See the Cybertool.
Corrado Cutlery on Yahoo has the Cybertool for $60.00 US + shipping:
http://store.yahoo.com/corra docutlery/cybertool34.html
slashdot broke my sig
... and a cute mp3 player, small stylish laptop, XFree86 4.0 would be nice (GAMES GAMES GAMES), Q3 + UT for Linux of course. A nice Athlon wouldn't go amiss either.
Dear Santa,
I've been a good boy. Please give me a Lamborghini Diablo.
If you set up elf-cam web site, you should be able to raise the $200K needed for a nice used one.
Spiny
The #1 item on my Christmas wish list is the Psion Series 7. I think the Series 7 is a great gift for any college student due to its full-size keyboard, instant-on, and great battery life. :-) BeOS is a great OS for any geek, and having a dual processor system to run it on would be awesome!!
I would also love a dual AMD K6-II 400 to run BeOS on
Next I'd get a copy of The WIZARD of SPEED and TIME for the best geek film ever.
You can't go wrong with StarTrek Ornaments.
After looking for an obscure item for weeks, it took me about 30 seconds after I went to this site. Thanks for the link, and I am still convinced that you can buy absolutely anything online.
Posted as AC because this is a wee bit OT.
Laser pointers used to be hip in the geek world (a paradox?). However, now everyone and their dog has one.
However, all those people just have a plain old 5 dollar red laser pointer. What youwant is a pointer.
They ain't cheap though. Usually around $270 and up.
I always tell my friends/family to only give me traditional stuff - clothes, stuff for my apartment, etc . . . This kills two birds with one stone: 1. I don't have to shop for that stuff myself (I hate shopping) and 2. I save my own money for all the geeky stuff I really want.
This also saves your non-geek family from having to try and figure out what you want and/or coming back from the store with something useless.
-JeremyH
If your geek in question is limping along on a slow modem connection to their ISP check out what forms of broadband internet options there are in your area.
These might include Cable, ADSL, or ISDN service. You would be surprised at how many tech heads out there don't have good access to the net; many of the younger geeks especially.
As far as gifts goes, the general no-brainer is chocolates (especially the liquor filled ones, Finlandia Cranberry Vodka is the one I get the most requests for). Some people get bummed out by Christmas; for them flowers are usually nice. For those of us who survive on coffee, the caffeine t-shirt from thinkgeek.com is great!
And for the couple of guys who #include <beer.h, you haven't done this properly.
#define BEER Big_Rock_Traditional
#include <beer.h
Here's hoping all of us make it through the holidays safely. No drinking and driving (or deriving).
Clothing's cool... Buying geek clothing from Copyleft donates money to various free software groups.
Besides, the FSCK! shirt is cool.
And right now they're running a contest to win a free trip to The Bazaar (the convention in December in NYC).
A Yamaha Receiver that is designed to be hooked up to your computer via USB. What more could you ask for? Dolby Digital (2 channel) Simulated 3D Surround, complete control from a PC interface. Decode digital audio etc. Check it out: http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/newprods/PChome theater/index.htm
Paul.
I would vote for a Sun E10K setup, http://www.sun.com/servers/highend/10000/. 64 hot swap procs, what's better than this? OK, a Cray would be cool too, but still rather impressive. On a more realistic note, anything from http://www.kryotech.com would be cool too.
I don't want geek merchandise for Christmas, because I could never wait to recieve what I want when it's already out. (it'd be obsolete)
However, a bottle of Syrah (Shiraz) wine and someone to share it with, now that's a far different story. Ah, a woman who can explain the finer points of UML diagram to XMI to stub code translation after a few glasses of wine is *the* geek gift for me.
"There's so much left to know/ and I'm on the road to find out." -Cat Stevens
I assume it's no different for the Intellimouse w/ Intellieye version. I doubt you'll get buttons 4 and 5 to work under Linux, though.
Gotta Have some skis!
"One Ring to rule them all,
One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all,
And in the darkness bind them."
Sterling silver: US$89
Gold: US$590
Mithril: Currently on back order.
http://www.badalijewelry.com/tolkien.htm
A blowup doll in the shape of Tux! (just kidding)
Has got to be an Intellimouse with the Intellieye. Unless you hate Microsoft so much that you can't stand any of their products, this is a GOT TO HAVE! I've used one of these babies, and they are sweet! It's got an adaptor to work with either USB or PS2, but here's the best part: THEY WORK IN LINUX! Since it operates as a PS2 mouse, there's no problem whatsoever. They move around cleaner than any other mouse, and you can just throw away your mouse pad, cause you don't need one for these!
:)
Now, if you're like me, you usually go out, buy a simple mouse for $5 (or one w/ a scrollwheel for $20), wait for it to bust in two to three years, and go and buy another one. You don't have to worry at all about these things breaking...they have a five year warranty, so even if Microsoft makes a shoddy product, they'll still back it up!
Here's where you can get more info from Microsoft's web site.
And for those of who you happen to be good friends of geeks (or for the lucky ones, mutual partners), you're probably saying to yourself, "But all these geek toys are all so Expensive! Well, don't worry about this one taking a crack out of your budget! You can get it right here at Software BuyOnline for only $41, and free shipping!
Trust me, your geek friends will be happy with this toy!
All I want for Christmas is a faster Slashdot. Don't send me that Palm Vx, send it to CmdrTaco, I'm sure it's faster than whatever the site is running on. Don't send me that 256MB of SDRAM I asked for last year, send it to Hemos. Send computers, RAM, HD's (preferably RAIDed) and anything else that might make this site move at an acceptable clip to them. They need it. I need it. I need them to need it so I won't have to waste all morning following the links at a minute and a half each.
That's what they say here: that we will be able to Operate on Linux by Christmas!
This quote from redhat.com:
Opera Beta by Christmas?
Opera Software promises a Linux version of its popular browser will appear in beta this December.
I want the Ultimate home theater an AUDIOPHILE level AV system, consisting of one KRELL AV standard PRE(AC3-dts-ISF CALIBRATED VIDEO SECTION) 5x krell monoblock amps, 4 Jm labs Grande Utopias($70,000 each), 1x JM electra(center) 1x Velodyne hgs18 Kimber hero cable... Dvd: I want the Upgradable Proceed PMDT, VIDEO: 1 Runco HDTV projector, fed through a faroudja line quadroupler, Toss in the madrigal take control, and I am all set.... I will take 4 O2 on mashek.com as well. bi0drain
The new MS mouse should be Linux-happy. All the circutry to handle the translation from optical signals to mouse movement is taken care of within the mouse itself - the only things going down the wire are standard mouse movement signals.
Now that the slashdot set are the most-likely-to-get-rich, I'm sure some of you could use a Pilatus Aircraft. They even come in sports-car red. Looks prety snazzy. (I went and signed up for an affiliate link before posting -- just in case -- let's see, what's 10% of 2.5 million... :-)
-
<SIG>
"I am not trying to prove that I am right... I am only trying to find out whether." -Bertolt Brecht
<sig>Guvf vf abg n frperg zrffntr
The Ergomax2000 has equally positive reviews and looks even freakier -- like something from a Klingon ship
-
<SIG>
"I am not trying to prove that I am right... I am only trying to find out whether." -Bertolt Brecht
<sig>Guvf vf abg n frperg zrffntr
how about anything and everything from copyleft? their "Geek" hat seems to fit in perfectly with the geek Christmas theme. go to http://copyleft.net/ for their stuff.
I'm also dying for a Garmin Moving map GPS
Any toys for my toy... although this year I am lobbying for the Titanium sliding hard case over at Palm Gear H.Q. Price is $99.95.
Dealcatcher.com has a large database of deals like this.
http://www.despair.com/demotivators/year20cal.h
$14.95, with volume discounts available.
I received this as an early Christmas present, and have since bought a dozen for other friends.
The 12 new "Demotivational poster" designs are really funny and beautiful (esp. "Burnout" and "Idiocy"), but even cooler are the 120+ historical dates of idiocy, despair and failure in this calendar. I can't tell you how hard I laughed at some of the weird-ass dates they included in this thing.
You be the judge. Here are my favorites:
Keep in mind that there are 10x as many dates in this thing as I've included above- and they are all hysterical or cool or interesting. I just picked my geekier favorites.
Everyone keeps trying to steal mine- so I know its a keeper. Check it out.
Smirkleton.
Like the ol' skool die-cast enourm0 one
e m&item=204340588
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt
(not mine, just a sample)
-Kris
...Heard Richard Thompson live last week.
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me... One do-main name!
dear Santa.
I don't know if you read slashdot, but here we go.
1. Clothes. You know the sizes, and I always need them.
2. If you really wanna get silly, a T3 for the house.
3. Books, gift certificates for Books are cool.
4. My Playstation _is_ dead, you know...
5. I have a Van. It needs work.
6. I have two kids. 'nuff said.
7. Um... A Cray w/DOS emulator.
8. Linux for Cray
9. And everything I need but can't recall right now.
Thanks
eToys.com
Book tokens - great idea.
I'd personally like a whole bunch of kitchen gadgets (things that have a very small, very specific singular use - eg, something that extracts the seeds from a particularly obscure south african variety of lemon or something), but then I'm a cookery geek as well.
But this year, I'm not getting any presents, anyway. I'm going away with my family to Egypt, and I'm looking forward to that (spending time with my family particularly) more than any present, because due to various circumstances this year I've barely seen my family for more than a week since Easter, and even then under fairly strained emotional circumstances.
Moral of this posting: don't just think of the material. Sometimes other people can be as good any present...
-- I reserve the right to be completely wrong --
It pains me to recommend a Microsoft product, but this one is really cool. It's an optical mouse that does not need an optical mouse pad! You can move it over any surface. It works amazingly well.
It's only about $50 and it comes as both a USB and PS/2 mouse (there's a USB-PS/2 adapter in the box), so it's compatible with everything but non-USB Mac's. And since it's relatively inexpensive and easy-to-find, your non-geek friends/family can buy it for you. Just make sure they check for the "Intelli Eye ".
This puppy is on my Christmas list. And since I have 5 computers, it's okay if I get more than one!
And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
Loose Women.
Scuttlemonkey is a troll
Something on a smaller scale (for the office gift swap, or the geek who's just an acquaintance?): a write-on mousepad
-
<SIG>
"I am not trying to prove that I am right... I am only trying to find out whether." -Bertolt Brecht
<sig>Guvf vf abg n frperg zrffntr
Any geek needs money to supply his habit, however checks, gift cirtificates and cash are BORING. Get the geek in your life a credit card with a cash ballance! You might have to jump through some hoops, but maybe, just maybe some bank would work with you on it. Since smart cards haven't cought on in a big way, maybe the next best thing is a 0 dollar credit limit credit card that you can transfer money to!
All I want for the holiday season is an outrageously large monitor - say 25" or so.
I thought /. would know this already...
"Christmas" + "Unix" == X-Mas
-red
Come on, everybosy go buy there little geek friend Godel, Escher, Bach : An Eternal Golden Braid, all 777 pages of it. It was an awesome book to read, even as a 13 year old. Most of the stuff was beyond me, but it did have lots of cool pictures, and was very mathy. For those of us who hate Calculus, it is probably a questionable purchase.
It may sound silly. I'd like a Slashdot gift exchange program; I feel more empathy and rapport for the community here than for my extended family. It could provide a time a rapprochement between the argumentative turfers and patronizing polemicists, between the bored, sardonic dilettantes and the lucid rants of exhausted 'developers'.
Yes, to AC--who wondered if I'd ever used Lotus Notes after I took a poke at v4.x--I'd like to buy you a copy of UNIX Network Programming, Volume 2: Interprocess Communications by W. Richard Stevens and Merry Solstice/Christmas/Hanukah to you!
A: That geeks are so sex-deficient that they'd need such a... gift.
or
B: Someone spent this much effort on building the perfect... gift.
Seek leetl munkee!
Well...may as well jump in with what I want first:
--I want my damn Visor delivered already!
--I have the usual stuff at Amazon...various books and CD's that are just too decadant for me to justify spending money on right now
--a decent laptop, one that can support dual-boot without barfing too much
--one of the NEW Motorola WAP phones
--one of those cool Swiss Army Knives as mentioned below
--Polartec! This is the greatest shit ever invented! Go to www.landsend.com for a groovy selection...warmer than wool; dries out overnight so you don't have to go to work filthy.
--A bottle or two of Absinthe, shipped quasi-legally from a wide variety of web sites
--Offbeat silver rings and earrings, of the sort found at Marche Noir (website is out there somewhere)
--(BIG TICKET ITEM) My tickets to the Helsinki Jazz Festival this coming summer; airline tix, hotel reservations, etc...
What I'm thinking about giving my geeky pals:
--Hardware, according to specific needs
--IOU for shopping spree at this one great "junker shop" in NYC's Chinatown, supplier of sub-$100 boxen for Linux installs for much of the community here
--Stuff from people's Amazon wish lists
--Gift certificates from museum shops (always great places for offbeat unusual stuff)
--Silly Underwear for my man (last year, JoeBoxer put out a swell pair of gear-covered boxer briefs with the words "Love Machine" on the waistband--perfect or what?)
--Expensive premium booze
--Homemade meals
--Ergo-items (back wedges, wrist rests, etc) that people never seem to remember to get for themselves
Hmmm...that does it for now...
You know, the one that goes from December 1999 to January 1900.
I want to get a K-6 II and replace that ageing PI @75 MHZ in my old box. A bigger HDD would also be nice. (Running 640 and 428 MEG)
Don't call my crazy, that's what they called me back in the home!
The gift of LIFE, which Bill Gates has given to millions of children: http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,32688, 00.html
A Transmeta Crusoe-based palmtop running Linux-2.4? :)
Or how about an Abacus World Expo T-shirt from the wonderful world of AfterY2K!?
1) A couple Sun workstations, anything will do. For some reason sun is down today so I cant pick some cool ones. 2) Wearable computer(s) 3) Worlds smallest webserver, for fun. 4) A couple Ferrari's 5) A couple Beamer's 6) First post on Christmas on /.
[w00t@freaky.bish]# rm
OK, this is what I need: Adaptec AHA-2940U2W SCSI Controller - Everyone needs some fast SCSI lovin' Plextor UltraPlex 40x Wide - How else can I put that dual celery 550 to use making MP3s? 2^999 Megabytes of ram for said computer - self explanitory Fujitsu 10K Enterprise HDD - ok, so I really meant 5 Fujitsu 10Ks A bunch of misc hardware like next cubes and sparcstations, so I don't get bored when that damn x86 computer is working perfectly Books are good - I havn't read snow crash yet and I wouldn't mind a copy of Linux Device Drivers
http://www.ruputer.com/ is the home page for a Seiko made watch that runs a flavor of DOS, and has a publicly available SDK based on gcc. The truly geeky will just decode the Japanese home page, but if you want it the easy way: http://www.ruputer.com/english/ is the english language version of the site, and their U.S. distributer is http://www.onhandpc.com/ The ruputer has a speaker, and an IrDA compatible infrared port.
Guys and girls,
You've posted a lot of great gift ideas, but not a lot of them applies to geek girls as well. So, what kind of gift do you recommend giving for a geek gal? It must be not just geeky, but "sexy" as well - hope you understand what I mean.
cheers,
Laszlo
Here's an idea! How about a geek gift registry. We sign up for the gifts we'd like then send the Slashdot gift registry url and our nicknames to our loved ones so they can look up ideas on /.
:)
I am a nerd which means I make/will make enough money to buy all the little nerdy toys I want. If you are looking to buy me something for christmas get me something I wouldn't normally get for myself. I know it seems trite, but top on the list is clothing. I don't buy clothing for myself unless I'm facing become a nudist as an alternative. When I do it's not nice clothes. Use your non-nerd tastes to take me shopping and buy me some cool clothes. Take a look at the nerd in your life and figure out where he's defficient. I'll bet he knows it and will be grateful when your gift fills that little void in his life (umm... maybe you should avoid getting him a whore though :-)
Mostly it's not about the gifts. Its about spending some quality time with the family because my life is too hectic to visit otherwise. When I go home to visit for christmas I am content to spend my christmas morning with a hot cup of coffee and watch everyone open their gifts. Who needs gifts when I have wonderful people to share the holidays with?!
<SIG>
I think I lost my work ethic while surfing the web. If you find it, please email it to crispy@crotch.caltech.edu.
</SIG>
My sig has a broken link in it.
In the words of the Rutles:(To the tune of "All You Need is Love" by the Beatles)All you need is cash.All you need is cash.All you need is cash.Cash is all you need.The only way to get a geek a good present is to let him buy it himself. Otherwise it's just going to be another year of, "Thanks, Grandma. I really needed another pair of thermal underwear. And look [holding it up for a size comparison], I can invite all my friends!"
Here is a simple list:
/. shirt and buying me crap from the GAP is appreciated but far from needed.
Please, Do not buy me:
1. clothing and undergarments. I wear one pair of pants and one
2. the newest Pop music CD the man said at the record store I'de love. I'm sure the Backstreet boys are fine singers, but that'll just be one more coaster in my bin of AOL cds.
3. any food or drink without either: caffeine or alcohol. Let's be realistic. It's either highly caffinated pop/cola or beer going down my throat.
But I would love:
I can get clothes on my own: Buy me toys. Suggestions:
1. Nakamichi's® SoundSpace 8. I like tunes. Anything from The Sharper Image will be most adored.
2. Legos. Any amount, kind or style will be enjoyed on many dull saturday mornings.
3. Now, if you simply can't resist the urge to buy me apparel, then shop at Copyleft or Chaser.
4. Buy me any computer from VA Linux and I'll be a happy man.
5. I need fuel. An espresso/capiccino machine would be really nice. There are some decently priced ones and if you a some money to spend, I would love a pretty nice one.
6. Finally, a nice 62" wide screen tv that fits in my pocket would be nice, and its only $899.
I'm afraid. I'm afraid, Dave. Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it. My mind is going.
One of these on Xmas morning should be enough to induce a 360 degree smile.
http://www.megacar.com/
strain
Help stamp out and eradicate superfluous redundancy
Copyleft has some really cool "geek pride" shirts. I already asked my brother to get me a hat that says "geek" on it! It looks like the prices range from $10-$20. They have an awesome site too! www.copyleft.net
Shaun
I built a site called wanderlist.com about a year ago as a way of learning Perl/CGI/MySQL. The site allows anyone to set up a list and for others who come along to interact with the list. Soon after I launched it my good friend Mike started using it to manage his christmas list. I soon followed suit.
I've found that as I've oriented my friends and family to going to the site to find my christmas list, I've stopped getting those "What do you want?" questions that I can never seem to answer quick enough and I've begun getting stuff I really like, because it was on my list.
There are a bunch of similar services out there as well.
this space intentionally left blank (oops)
Ok... here it is. The absolutely PERFECT gift for almost any geek is right here.
What I want this christmas is a Lincoln LS
Yeah, I wish. Anyways, cashews would be nice. Lots and lots of cashews.
I think the best gift for anyone (even though it may seem very impersonal) is money. That way they can go spend it on whatever they want to.
Dr. Eldarion
Thanks. But they both rounded his beak (though the thinkgeek version isn't as bad). It looks like it belongs on a duck :(
:)
Hmm, I wonder if I can get my 8 year old to sew some together
Ye Olde Linux Shoppe
Whether you're trying to lever out that old piece of big iron, or uncrate a new mainframe, or just get into something that you're not supposed to, you can't beat titanium crowbars! Available in 21" and 28" lengths, as well as a 15" prybar that fits every toolkit. They look black in the photos, but they're really that nice silvery-gray we all love. http://www.materials.com/Titanium_tools.HTML
All I wish would be to a get a girl friend.. Imagine, I even haven't been kissed by a girl.. Sniff.
Here are some I like:
Sterling silver Om mani padme hung pendant with all sale proceeds going towards the Tibet Fund
Another cool idea:
Sponsor a Tibetan child, monk or nun or adopt-a-yak or sheep for a Tibetan family
And, if you want to help out NewsTrolls and look cool you can get out our limited edition T-shirts, mugs, and mousepads...
diva Pasty Drone NewsTrolls, Inc.
Travel in style in the Moller Skycar. Of course, you're going to have to wait for all your options to vest before you'll be able to afford it.
Well, it happens there are things you can do about the obviousness of presents.
Put the book in a small shirt box with one of those 2$ plastic packets of legos you find in toy stores, then wrap. You can also use jingle bells, or small margarine tubs filled with rice, marbles, assorted bits of unwanted nuts & bolts, etc.
Jon
All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.
Also, an SLR camera can totally rule, if you're willing to learn how to use it. They're still a lot better than digital cameras. On the other hand, if you're going to scan everything in, you won't get the greatest resolution anyway, so a digital jobbie may be the way to go.
Vovida, OS VoIP
Beer recipe: free! #Source
Cold pints: $2 #Product
That's exactly what I want (Mindstorms RIS 1.5). The problem is, how does a 23 year old man tell his parents he wants Legos for Christmas? I mean, I haven't got Lego's for Christmas in 4 years (The big pirate ship and the Technic Cesna set were my last ones). They're going to look at me like I'm nuts! Any ideas on how to tell your parents you want to regress to your childhood?
.sig this pop I as Watch
"Mom, Dad, you know all those buckets of Legos in the closet? Well, I have something I can do with them....
+--
stack. the off
+-- (Score:-1, Moderator on Power Trip)
I'm holding out for an Erein in the original O2 box, and a dust puppy to keep him company.
The Sony Aibo also has programable 'personality', though it is not as admittedtly functional as mindstorms, it does more with less effort put into it.
I sure hope Santa knows about Copyleft because then he can fill my stocking with those delicious Caffeinated mints... as for under-the-tree presents? well...anything Copyleft would be just fine... ....and maybe a nerf rocket launcher.
They also review other small game companies offerings at their Contagious Dreams site.
It's where I'm doing more than half my Christmas shopping.
Enjoy!
--
Erskin
geek.
Go here and buy me a book. But, please don't buy it from Amazon since they want to own patents on ridiculous things like 'One-Click Shopping'.
Need a Python, C++, Unix, Linux develop
maybe i'm weird, but i can't think of anything in particular that i'd like someone to buy for me, right now. well, i could list a few books, but i already have a few waiting to read, so there's no big hurry for that, and they're not very expensive anyway. i also don't feel like upgrading any hardware (it's quite enough for what i do with it). so i guess i'll skip the whole xmas thing and just lay off work during the holidays, and catch up on other things.
I've not actually seen one, just the web site. Netscape has a long list of on-line watch dealers. The Beat series all seem to come in around the US$60 mark.
This has got to be an uber geek accessory. I claim no association with Swatch apart from owning one of the electric/automatics :-)
I do not know about other bookstores, but Amazon.com will allow you to create a wish list. It will even email that list to whoever you want. I did this for my birthday and it worked out pretty good. It makes it easy for people to see what you want and helps them avoid buying something that has already been purchased.
Not wanting to frighten my sweetie with a big expensive gift at this early stage in our relationship I have come up with something that I think is both sweet and non-threatening.
She is going to visit her parents out of state so I am breaking out the guitar and recording software and am going to record a slow version of "Blue Christmas" and burn it onto a cd. I may customize some of the lyrics, but I think that for the most part they will fit right out of the box.
I am going to mail the CD to her at her parent's house so that it gets there about the same time she does.
Good idea? Let me know what you think.
kp
Any good santa geek must decorate his or her desktop with Christmas cheer. I found some nice Christmas pictures for my desktop at: http://www.deskpicture.com/christmas.html
Now I know you live at the South Pole and you probably have penguins coming out your ears and need to get rid of them - I bet they make a cheap gift - but please, please not this year ...... mind you I hear that Bill Gates guy ... he really likes penguins, trust me .... and he's got a real big house right on the water ....
PS: we'd like another kitty
I like that. Maybe management will let me change the part in my job description where it says "staff engineer". ;)
Nasa is a pretty cool place to work for. It's sort of a weird hybrid between the US Postal Service and the US Air Force.
This is the ultimate geek hobby. The price-to-play is surpsisingly cheap (you can get simple controllers and applications modules from X10 for miniscule sums of money, but as you catch the bug, you can scale all the way up to Crestron's high-sex-factor touchscreens.
Home automation scales. Start with setting up a couple of controllers that call switch on or kill all your houselights from the bedroom; and you'll find yourself scaling up rapidly to astronomical clock-driven blinds-controllers that open and shut individual slats of your vertical blinds to cut off monitor glare while simultaneously flooding the room with lights. Many of the controllers are IP aware, so you can have your doorbell send email to your pager.
Whoa - this site looks like such a goldmine! Thank you thank you! (I hope the quality's not too bad... How bad can brass and aluminum be?)
Well coffee or tea is always good, the more the marrier! Geeky clothes, this is a must for those who only change clothes when they go to ALS, LW, etc. I like some of the shirts available from Computer Gear. The "Dilbert Network" shirt is nice. "Any Idiot," "Stupid Computer," "Never Far," are all nice. "Resistance is futile" and "Man Pad" are funny! I really like the "UNIX" shirt, might have to ask for that one..
brought to you by rbf, who is using his trusty Alpha running Debian GNU/Linux 2.2 with kernel 2.2.13.
LONG LIVE ALPHA!!!
a 74LS190.
Have a child, and say they're for your kid.
Seriously, what is happening to you is that you are coming out the Lego Dark Ages, and becoming an Adult Friend of Lego. Check out Lugnet, the discussion groups may have strategies for admitting your Lego dependence.
Good luck, enjoy your Lego, I just put the blimp (5956) together on my lunch hour, and it's kewl!
George
Hrm.. You think they would have come out with the "Internet Calendar" as well - might solve that pesky Y2038 problem before it ever happens ;)
(Of course, we need to get our favorite OSOS's (Open Source Operating Systems) to include "IST" (Internet Standard Time?) as a timezone in their configuration.
On a BAH! note, The "Internet Time Converter" is only available for MacOS or Win. Maybe when I'm more awake I'll write a version in bash if someone already hasnt..
I know I'm a big loser but....I want all 177 episodes of ST:TNG! Unfortunaley columbia house is the only place I've seen it offered. There are offering one tape a month that has 2 episodes a piece, priced at just $19.95 per! Which sucks cuz I want them all right now!
So in 6 years I'll own them all.........
PLEASE someone tell me they know somewhere else to get it.....
If not oh well. It is still well worth the 6 years and $2K!!!!!!!
"Most of my heros won't appear on no stamps..." Chuck D from Fight the Power
I intend to send this software from http://www.pppindia.com/intl/mailassistant to my girl friend. I think all slashdot readers young or old would love to try this software because it can help "hear" a large number of slashdot postings instead of reading them with their eyes.
i am suprised that nobody mentioned Victorinox'es Cybertool yet!! I want one of those! its about $75, but i have no idea where to get it.
books would be a good idea aswell, eventhough i'd like to stock up my cd collection a bit. so CDNOW.com is a place to go for sure. lenny kravitz and eric clapton especially!
i cant forget to mention some new hardware of course. i need a new 'puter!!! dual-pentium 3's, 1/2 gig of ram and lots of scsi!
i would be happy with just a scsi burner right now though.
cheers
tom
Thomas Schmid athschmid@gmail.com Skype: athschmid
Now that she's 18, I can say that without fear of being thrown in jail.
If they ever come out with one of these I would love to get it for christmas. Unfortunately it looks like it won't be available this christmas...
Blade steel for knife - 440C - 2 1/2" long Handles made of investment cast 17-4PH steel, heat treated and corrosion resistant
Opening cap. for crescent wrench is 9/16"
Tools included -
slip joint pliers
crescent wrench
diamond coated file
screwdriver bits
(#2 and #3 Phillips, #2 and #1 flathead)
double ended extension drive bit included.
Pocket clip and lanyard hole
Tool can be taken apart to use crescent wrench and screwdrivers as separate tools.
Too many geeks have already ordered this gadget - there are none left for Xmas! Maybe some local store has it - at least in Switzerland, where these goodies are invented and made, I still saw some. Didn't know they were that much sought after...
Others who are doing robotics can be found via searches, or by following the links on most robotics clubs pages. I'm directly involved with Twin Cities Robotics. There are a bunch of others around the country, Portland Area Robotics (PARTS), Seattle Robotics Society (SRS), Triangle Amateur Robotics, Dallas Personal Robotics Group, Central Illinois Robot Club, Home Brew Robotics, and San Francisco Robotics Society of America to name a few.
DVD player (one of them WITH the decoder)
Mindstorms
a magic-motion LED sign
soda vending machine
roll of alluminum foil
movies movies movies
Just reply and I'll give you all the delivery information you need
An AudioRequest would be cool, though a PC preconfigured to do the same thing would be even cooler.
The ArcadePC MAME Cabinet is pretty sweet. So is the Arcade2000 cabinet.
Everybody loves BRAINS. And MORE BRAINS!!
For the audiophile in your life, perhaps you should consider an $80 steel brick or a $20 green pen.
Oh, I would also like someone to find me a missile silo home, but it has to be within ten miles of San Francisco (the Presidio or the Marin Headlands would be acceptable locations.)
check out the razer boomslang:
http://www.razerzone.com/
high resolution, cool design.
Also, I'd be curious to hear a few gamers' opinions of the LogiTech Marble trackballs. I've thought of puchasing one, but my FPS addictions make the thought of giving up my mouse a little weird.
thanx.
--
I like to watch.
I have piqued the curiosity of many a New Jersey Transit train rider by laughing out loud at the articles found within The Annals of Improbable Research, given to me a year ago by my mother. (There also exists the free mailing list mini-AIR.)
So let's generalize: We like to read, and, especially if we commute via public transportation for any time, a gift of light reading could prompt us to think fondly of the giver on a monthly basis.
First, I want a 2.4 kernel, Second, NDS server for linux GPLed, Third, IP6 for every one, And last but not least - Microsoft == Bankrupt PS. A few cubes of Moutan Dew would be nice. DZ
Well like any real geek who has no social life because you might miss that all important /. post about that all important topic that you will later forget about and never remember in light of new posts... There is only 1 real NEEDED gift.
REALDOLL.COM has exactly what your looking for. Yea it's a bit pricy, but it does everything you need, and it never naggs you for attention when you up late coding your new interface for that new X-Windows APP.
Now if I could just get one with a GTK+ interface!
TIME: A measurement of how much time it takes for time to pass.
I have a Logitech Marble + (2-button), and I like the thing. Works great. just have to clean it off every once in a while (really easy to do, as we all know)...
;-)
I prefer it over regular mice that must be rolled, da dee da.. and I wish mine had 3 buttons (goshdarnnit!!)
So, go get 'em, Tiger.. and enjoy.. (and hmm.. another item for my wish list)
Insert mind here.
I know I run the risk of down moderation or flame, but I would just like to say this one thing. Why keep this topic limited to "Christmas" and not have it as "Holidays". I know some may thing I am being picky about this, or overly PC perhaps, but I happen to be raised jewish and am myself agnostic. If I were to practice religion I would be jewish. Either way, when I see things like this even though I try not to be too critical I am still somewhat bothered by something which is so christian based in a place where there is no need to be. I don't mean this to start a flame war over religion, just to say that you could be more ambigious in order to fit in people from other cultures.
_joshua_
As much as we all lust after Lego Mindstorms,
don't forget slinkies (real, metal ones), Rubik's
cubes, laser pointers, or even regular extensible
pointers (yeah, yeah, I'm worse than a cat.)
Anything that is fun to play with while waiting
for a compile.
One of my recommendations is the Neo Geo Pocket. The newest handheld game system from SNK. You can get information about it here: The cost of the unit is only about 70 bucks, and at www.kaybeekids.com they are selling the Handheld with a free game, AND a $10 dollar gift certificate if you use the code word 'FIRSTTIME'... WITH FREE SHIPPING. SO... to sum up.. a perfect color, 16bit handheld... with free Contra-like game... with free shipping and 10 dollars off. How much!? 59.95 flat. Out.
Check out the Kangaroot.Net shop for all kinda linux related stuff. It'll give you the possibility to get gadgets, tshirts, books, software,...
I think many geeks want such stuff or am I wrong here ?
Visit http://www.kangaroot.net/ for all linux related stuff like T-shirts, gadg
Try the Amazon.com "Wish List" feature; it lets you keep track of books you want to buy "later", a list Amazon keeps track of. Very cool. You can tell Amazon to make that list public or private to people who know your email address, or tell Amazon to email your wishlist to someone else.
- Better than a Gift Certificate, since you get the book Christmas morning, less hassle
- Better than getting someone else's book pick, at least on average
- Easier than keeping track of some easily-lost self-created book list
- Good for keeping track of books you want to buy for yourself, but don't want to binge on at the moment
I get a tad nervous about the lock-in this feature presents vis-a-vis Amazon, but it's too handy to turn down; I'd love to see it imitated elsewhere.
--LP, no relations to Amazon, just glad to see a feature I've wanted for the last year finally implemented
P.S. If you want to make it less obvious that you're giving a gift, try getting and wrapping up an old CD jewel case and putting a note in it telling the person where to find their *real* present. I've had fun with this and variants of this...
I always envisioned myself acting like the guy in the commercial for some shipping company with the handheld GPS receiver (sitting on his toilet "I am 43 feet above sea level... 45 feet..." and "At this rate, we'll reach our destination in 12 days, 4 hours...."). I'd love a GPS, only for the pure entertainment value that I'd get out of it, not because I keep getting lost. Well, on second thought ....
http://www.dvdchanger.com/ 200 CD/DVD-ROM jukebox, firewire, yum. Ohh, and maybe firewire and DVD movie support for linux.
And Bill's head, on a stick, shellaced.
"Even Prophets don't know everything"
One of my recommendations is the Neo Geo Pocket. The newest handheld game system from SNK. You can get information about it here: www.snkusa.com The cost of the unit is only about 70 bucks, and at www.kaybeekids.com they are selling the Handheld with a free game, AND a $10 dollar gift certificate if you use the code word 'FIRSTTIME'... WITH FREE SHIPPING. SO... to sum up.. a perfect color, 16bit handheld... with free Contra-like game... with free shipping and 10 dollars off. How much!? 59.95 flat. Out.
One of my recommendations is the Neo Geo Pocket. The newest handheld game system from SNK. You can get information about it here:
www.snkusa.com
The cost of the unit is only about 70 bucks, and at www.kaybeekids.com they are selling the Handheld with a free game, AND a $10 dollar gift certificate if you use the code word 'FIRSTTIME'... WITH FREE SHIPPING.
SO... to sum up.. a perfect color, 16bit handheld... with free Contra-like game... with free shipping and 10 dollars off. How much!?
59.95 flat.
Out.
One of my recommendations is the Neo Geo Pocket. The newest handheld game system from SNK. You can get information about it here: Its a 16 bit tiny color handheld that gets *40* hours on 2 AA batteries. Two can be linked via a cable or RF port. :)
www.snkusa.com
The cost of the unit is only about 70 bucks, and at www.kaybeekids.com they are selling the Handheld with a free game, AND a $10 dollar gift certificate if you use the code word 'FIRSTTIME'... WITH FREE SHIPPING.
SO... to sum up.. a perfect color, 16bit handheld... with free Contra-like game... with free shipping and 10 dollars off. How much!?
59.95 flat.
Out.
You left one out - tech-clueless gift-giver paying retail.
"Cool, a CD-RW!"
"Yep, got the last one at Sears!"
"Sears? You mean you paid $399.99 for this? You could have gotten it at Buy.com for... oh.. never mind. Thank you!"
:)
----
My hobby business s based off one of the MIT 6.270 Lego project boards that lead into the Mindstorm brick.
As anyone into Nanotech will tell you, if done right, you build a macro prototype of your nanoassembler and then you just need to keep feeding it more raw materials (batteries and additional Mindstorm sets). Somehow, with the memories of my kids growing up with legos (and the incidents involving bare feet), I'm not sure I want to walk through a house infested with the lego equivalent of the "gray goo" problem.
Hacker Hats ;-)
;-) These are the Rolls Royces of Propellor Caps, ...quality beanies for seriously fashion-conscious geeks!"
are pretty cool. I got one with a propellor and I love it. It lets me join that long geek tradition of wearing a beanie, but still appear menacing to my boss.
I'll let the ad speak for itself....
"Our caps aren't like those goofy joke ones you'll feel like a nerd wearing.
http://www.geekcheat.com/ They are only about $10, but they have a $35 minimum order.
Here's some ideas for the geeks in us:
1) A Happy Hacking Keyboard. A throwback to the Sun Type 3 keyboards, 60 keys, compatible with Macs and PCs.
2) Victorinox Cybertool. Already suggested by many of you, the ultimate pocket knife to have around for us techies.
3) Pretty much anything from thinkgeek.com. Great products, get the shooter glasses and play the unix drinking game :) Plus, they sell stuffed Tux penguins.
4) Shirts from copyleft. Great ones there.
Other nice gifts ideas from Sharper Image and Hotbox. Check out the infinity puzzle at the latter, seems very interesting.
Happy 19100!
www.realdoll.com
They don't understand me... and I like it that way.
I'm sure they meant well. So did the makers of Thalidomide.
I know Rob probably has two (based on the two series of Aibo ads I've seen on Slashdot), but I must confess that it seems awfully expensive for a gift.
Other than that, I think it would be ideal, actually, because it shows cleverness and thoughtfulness, both desirable traits. But as far as I can tell, the only way to get one now is to pay $5,000 plus through eBay, and that seems like a bit much.
Actually, Lego Mindstorms lets you express your creativity, albiet with more work. I'd probably have more fun with it in the end, and even a totally tricked out set with every possible accessory would cost thousands less than Aibo.
D
----
geeky t-shirts at www.gaftee.com
stay frosty and alert
Every geek wants one of these, you output it to your pc! http://www.etoys.com/exec/search.cgi?keyword=QX3+C omputer+Video+Microscope+&store=e&emp=et &header=
Some other cool ones for health freaks like me are:
vitiamins.com $25(free shipping) off first purchase.. I bought all kinds of herbs..
mothernature.com $20($3.75 shipping) off firt purchase.. bought soaps toothbrush etc...
Movie News - "Entertainment news, bitch!"
I'm partial to the Freudian slippers myself. http://www.philsophersguild.com
Thank you, now all I need to do is find a collection with: Black Fly, The Cat Came Back and The Log Drivers Waltz. Black fly, little black fly. I'll die with a black fly pickin' my bones In northern Ontari-ari-ohhh. (snipit from memory so not perfect)
CyberRebate.com stocks products with significant, or 100% rebates. For geeks they have multi-tool four-pack that has a regular Swiss Army knife, a mini-Swiss Army knife, a stainless steel multi-tool (a generic Leatherman tool), and a laser pointer.
They also have over 30 Star Wars related items (mugs, figurines, and keychains) all of which have a 100% rebate.
Here are the geekish items om my family's wish list this year:
Me:
A CDRW drive
A DVD drive now that there's decryption software for Linux
My son:
A computer built by yours truly
Portable MP3 player
My wife:
A palm pilot
Gotta love a family that wants tech stuff for Christmas!
two words
Bonsai Potato
www.bonsaipotato.com
they promise Zen without the wait. Inner peace for less than $15. Sign me up. The great thing is that they actually look kind of cool. (If you know me ignore this because I'm getting you one for Christmas)
I have a rather simple list this year, though it's a lot more than last year (where my list basically amounted to "whatever.")
1) Diamond Rio. My discman just doesn't cut it anymore. Too many CDs, too little space to carry them all with me...
2) A new CD-ROM drive. Ya know, this 12x was top of the line when I bought it. Two weeks later I saw a 24x for the same price. Now I find out it can't read CD-Rs.
3) Slashdot Shirts!
And now for the items that are a bit lower priority, and more of a stretch:
4) A Voodoo 3. Don't start a Voodoo vs. TNT war here, okay? Just agree that it's better than my ATI RagePro.
5) A CD-R drive. Yeah, R, not RW. For some reason I don't quite fully trust the RWs.
6) A new monitor. 640x480 works, but it sucks.
--
"I personal[ly] think Unix is "superior" because on LSD it tastes like Blue." -- jbarnett
Get the O'Reilly & Associates book "Regular Expressions". (Amazon.com has these $10 gift coupons: FIRSTGIFT and AMZNPRESENT2)
Another hardcopy gift is a subscription to the Onion.
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
(Go ahead, moderate this down. I'm totally self-interested and I don't care.)
I plan not to set foot in a mall this holiday season. e-gold makes a wonderful and increasingly-useful gift. 100% backed, convertible into snailed checks in various national currencies for the terminally unimaginative. It comes in four flavors (gold, silver, platinum and palladium) and offers a decent privacy policy (we don't sell or give away customer information).
Anyone on Slashdot wanting to see a small demonstration spend can e-mail me, removing the underlined lunchmeat, with an account number or a snail address for more information.
Shareware authors should be especially interested in the micropayment possibility e-gold offers.
There are also a number of charitable possibilities, in the spirit of the season.
Thanks.
JMR
Try e-gold - (contact me). I'm NOT e-
Cash.
Need I say more?
--Have a Johsonville brat.
KRYOTECH SUPERG(TM) 1GHz Systems Avaliable at http://www.kryotech.com/. What other bragging rights do you need?
How about a date ? I know that'd fulfill my Christmas wishes!
I'm surprised this hasn't been posted yet. How about an iBook/iMac?
I'm surprised this hasn't been posted yet. How about an iBook/iMac?
Well, I've got a 14-year-old Honda Magna (no, only the 700 cc model, so it only goes fast, instead of exceptionally fast).
I'm one of those weird people who actually like the "good ol'" UJMs from the early 80s. They were (for the most part) solid machines that weren't pretending to be anything. And you can fix them in your own backyard. And they're cheap to buy, which is important when all your hobbies are expensive.
This doesn't mean I haven't been eyeing the new shiny go-really-fast German and Japanese machines... maybe when there's a bit less of the mortgage left.
(Unless Santa brings one for Christmas, along with the competent Internet provider I've been asking for.)
Don't forget Matrix Orbital displays for LCDProc.
Instead of getting something you can't fit through the front door (and would require rewiring your house just so you can turn it on), I would ask for a SuperG!
There can be only one set that qualifies as the best set to get a geek - the Defence Department's Rainbow Books "Specifications for secure computing systems" books. Why? A: They're an informative read B: They look real fly on your shelf C: They're have "hacker cachet." D: They weigh about 50 pounds, so the geek will think that they're something more than they are and, most impotrantly, E: They're free from the Defence Department. Even in Canada. They even pay for the shipping!
A new kernel would please even the most avid of geeks. :) AI
I dunno, I think I'm of the opinion that giving someone technical books or RAM for xmas is along the lines of socks and underwear - sure, you need them, but they have the sentimentality of a rock. Not only that, but do you trust your non-technical family members to actually get you what you wanted without specifying model numbers? :) I'll let my family stick with my non-geek interests, they're better at it.
... :)
Me, I opt for toys. Desk toys, neat things that do things... I actually just bought myself an early xmas present, one of those "fiber trees" that has light at the bottom of a bundle of fiber optic strands.
Then again, I have a boyfriend who, for my birthday, gave me (much needed) instructions on what versions of perl modules I needed to get Cricket working (something I'd been pounding at for a few days), so you can see how much sentimentality goes into the gifts aronud *here*
Oh yeah, I forgot... my mom has already declared she's getting everyone in the family the mini-keychain-sized leatherman for xmas, as she saw the one my boyfriend has and thought it the most useful thing she'd ever seen. ;) My mom is a geek, just of a different colour...
Never refuse a breath mint.
oh yeah, and a linux version at that!
<---[singularity sig]
I believe that only one - or the last - moderation comment is displayed. It seems that someone might have moderated it down due to the blatant sexism of the post.
There is a spellbook here; eat it? [ynq]
http://www.thetingler.com/
:)
Check it out... it's the ULTIMATE massage thingy. It sounds weird, but it feels *literally* like someone is shooting bolts of electricity through your scalp... and it's almost orgasmic - you get that "nggghhhh! jusssstt.... onnnn.... theeee... edddddddddddddddge!!!!!!!!!!!" feeling when someone applies it to you
Si
Coming soon - pyrogyra
the ultimate geek toy?
the zorb
http://www.zorb.com
Please Santa could I have a UP2000 with dual 750's
and a 8MB L2 on each? I've been good, really !
;-)
Peter
www.alphalinux.org
There aren't but a couple of things I need:
New car stereo
A Car worthy of the system.
-- "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity." - R.A.H.
I got an aluminum attache case from Zero Halliburton for by birthday, and it is loads of fun. It's the slimline Z2 with silver satin finish. The important thing about aluminum attache cases is that they are too cool for the real world. I've never seen anyone else carry one, but they show up all the time in movies and books where people do dramatic stuff. However, they let me buy one despite not being a fictional character.
It's light and nigh indestructible. My model is too thin for a laptop, but the thinness is important to improve the coolness factor. They're available in all sizes.
Around $200. Do a web search on "zero halliburton".
More RAM! Sony Viao A decent toolkit Free Dirt Intelligent callers The AOL'er who tried to use his leet ping flood on me strung up by his eyebrows A trenchcoat, for those cold Vegas nights A girlfriend, for said nights (and days) GeForce 256 w/DDR ram Sony Music Clip Cessna 182 RG (w/onboard GPS) Private pilot's license to fly said aircraft 1 unopened can of Spam An Aibo. PSX2 (on pre-order of course) Flight of The Old Dog, by Dale Brown. T-3 line Barring that, a loop length small enough to get ADSL. A 3 story tall bottle of Diet Coke An Otaku Wars! thread by Lord Xarph that's understood. Sony Walkman MS 2 Shrodinger's Cats. A Palm III w/Don't Panic! emblazoned on the cover. And finally... A LIFE.
Call on God, but row AWAY from the rocks!
Okay, tell me, WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG HERE?!?
My post:
The PERFECT Christmas Gift for geeks... (Score:0, Flaimbait) by Pollux splien/at/gloria/.cord/.edu) on Tuesday November 23, @10:53AM EST (#112)
His post:
Microsoft IntelliMouse with IntelliEye (Score:2, Interesting) by LordNimon on Tuesday November 23, @11:22AM EST (#137)
I get FLAIMBAIT and HE gets INTERESTING?!? Is there something wrong with the moderating system here?!?
I introduce it first, even offer links on where you can buy it cheap, and HE gets all the credit?!? HELLO?!?
And finally... A LIFE.
Call on God, but row AWAY from the rocks!
Something that can be made to fly.
Something that is Y2K-compliant.
Something inexpensive, yet unforgettable.
Something to share with your friends and relatives.
Something to take along to movies, or just for an evening walk.
Something very portable, something to be proud of at every customs checkpoint.
Satisfaction guaranteed. (well, maybe)
It's true! There are even special something's designed specifically for ladies ($24.99 ONLY) or gentlemen($14.99 ONLY) !!!
Don't be the last one in your block or at your workplace to have one. Designed and manufactured by a flock of MSCE-certified engineers so they are practically guaranteed to suck! Every unit is tested thoroughly for defects(*) by the designers before shipment and therefore includes a preload in accordance with standard MSCE regulations.
(*) Fixkits cost extra
My wife to become interested in linux would be the perfect gift.
nuff sed, you ain't one of us.
I'm as much a technofetishist as the next geek, and I don't mean (in this rant) to complain about consumerism. I'm certainly willing to grant a "What things do geeks covet?" thread has merit as an investigation into putative geek culture.
However, I just had to say: Bah Humbug. I don't celebrate Christmas, not being a Christian. (Not that there's anything wrong with being a Christian, it's just I ain't one.) Frankly, I rather resent being expected to participate in some other religions' cultural expressions. There's an immense amount of cultural pressure to be a "good sport" and go along with it. To which the only response must be: Bah Humbug.
As if that weren't bad enough itself, I really loathe the whole xmas-gift-swapping nonsense for its own sake. It's blecherous. I don't like getting holiday gifts and I don't like giving them. If there's something I covet, I'd rather I just go get it for myself, and get it right.
I'd rather be exempt from this ritual which saps all sincerity from the gestures. "It's the thought that counts" - and as far as I can tell xmas drains all the thoughtfulness out of gift giving. Probably it's the level of obligation around gift-giving which corrupts it; you never can tell whether a gift is an authentic expression of someone's affection, or just them acceding to cultural expectations.
OK, I've gotten that off my chest, and I'm done ranting. Back to covetting loot.
----------------------------------------------
-*- Any technology indistinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced -*-
send the male unit to my girlfriend in Brazil
See message #287 and surprise yourself. Better luck next time.
Goodwill to men (and women)...
and a snowy morning in new york (empty, quiet beautiful, like right after a nuclear war without all the death and destruction)
and a minidisk, and a visor, and a cd-r, and a 27 giger, and a wicked sharp tactical knife, and a cashmere sweater. And the sincere hope that everyone is gonna try to be just a little bit nicer this year, as opposed to the last hundred thousand years.
various dieties and or the concious denial of the existance of said dieties bless you all my geeky geeky brethren.
(I loves me some christmas)
This holiday doesn't exist until the day the first day of December, at least. So don't talk about it until then. :)
Sure, it look cool, but it's not a geek toy! It's meant to be easy to install and use, but it's a pain in the ass if you want to do something else than serve a few simple web pages.
Does the O'Reilley book cover how to hook up mindstorms with your Linux/BSD box? Is there any third-party or OS stuff out there?
Thanks for the O'Reilley, though.
Remember that regardless of your religious views if you and your friends beleieve in the dogma of Physics, then you can celebrate Isaac Newton's birthday instead of that other guy born on Dec. 25th. And physics majors like physics gifts.
Milla Jovovich (not loose, but very, very tasty - just watched Fifth Element for the umteenth time last night :o)
I heard a local Staples (?) ad on the radio on sunday pushing "Microsoft Gifts for Geeks". The way that they were saying it, you could hear the capitals.
Just remember whether or not you enjoyed being single, before giving your geek Microsoft stuff (grin)
Asymptotic price of $25US / poster.
Check it out at www.peacock.com.
Lowering entropy, one day at a time.
We are awash this holiday season with a great assortment of geekish widgets, the key is finding the price range the suits you. Not with holding the tone generators, nor the radio shack bio feedback geek toys....here is my few suggestions for the most original widgets of this season. 1. A diamond rio mp3 player(www.diamondmm.com/) 2. The "weebots" (www.sharperimage.com) 3. The "qball" (www.sharperimage.com) 4. The "friend.link"(www.playmates.com) 5. The "beatmaniac"(www.sakamoto-bungu.co.jp) 6. Any pcs browser compatiable cell phone (www.nokia.com/main.html) 7. The cyberframe viewer (www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer/dimaging/ browse_the_products/cyberframe_viewer/cyberframe_m odels/index.html) 8. A digital Camera (www2.warehouse.com/dept_find.asp?dept%5Fid=2611&s el=Digit&cat=mac) There are a few more widgets available but those are the best of the best for the true geek, other that say webtv or a playstation.
For under $200, the Handspring seems to be an excellent design that even non-geek loved ones would appreciate. Or a Palm, since prices have dropped on them too.
Oh, yeah, it's not easy to pad these out to 120 characters.
A nerf wild fire. This suckers are awesome for battles.
Anything from Think geek
For the wealthy, a sony vaio
Creative's 3d blaster TNT 2 32mb
Any portable mp3 player
Mindstorms! Lots of them.
-
THIS IS PRE-ALPHA PRIVATE RELEASE CODE!!!
DO NOT USE IT UNLESS YOU ARE A DEVELOPER.
ALL IT DOES IS CRASH!
THIS IS PRE-ALPHA PRIVATE RELEASE CODE!!!
DO NOT USE IT UNLESS YOU ARE A DEVELOPER.
ALL IT DOES IS CRAS
geek wish list...email other additions.
What about 2600? and what about my all-time favourite, Popular Science (or any of those Popular _____ magazine for that matter)?
http://www.royalenfield.com/store/gallery.htm
Can anyone explain that sort of logic to me?
"Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy" by Kip S. Thorne
I personally found it very interesting and insightful. It covers everything I wanted to know when I picked up the book... Relativity, (especially a several chapters on WHY relativity is) as well as cool things like black holes and wormholes. Great reading. Check it out at: Chapters.ca --- there.
3 of my friends and I have sony monitors. as it turns out, ther are all 21"ers, but ther are all nice. REALLY. at least one is refurbished and we can't tell the difference, so it'll last 'ya a while.
- RANT ON - Oh my. Slashdot talking about christmas. What's so geeky about christmas? Shouldn't we be celebrating Ada Byron's birthday which was on December 10th? Of course not. We should follow the millions of droids who celebrate a holiday most of us don't even believe is sacred. -- anon
Pi: The Movie
A cool movie that i'm sure any geek will enjoy.
http://www.pithemovie.com
Available on VHS, DVD, and check out their cool soundtrack!
(i love the java on their site... check it out even if you're not interested.)
yeah i want one baby!
I know I posted late in the game. I know I have almost *no* chance of being moderated up. But I don't want a whole lot for Christmas. It's not my type of thing, y'know?
Anyway, my mother asked me the other day: "What do you want for Christmas? Something for your computer? What about books?"
Now, granted, a 128 meg DIMM would rock. And the Camel book would be cool. But they always make me feel so-- empty. I don't feel so much accomplishment in them.
Rather, I'd have old tech or something to create with. I would absolutely *adore* a blank book-- I can write anything in one of those; from debugging notes on my latest project to (horrid) poems that I occasionally set to paper.
If you must get me something math- or science-related, get me a slide rule-- I *adore* them. Or an adding machine, I've been wanting one of those. Or even an abacus. If you want to give me something *really* special, just buy me the beads that I can use to *make* a good abacus. Ye Gods, I would *love* the person who did that.
If you must get me something for my computer, don't get anything that requires some sort of installation. I have no PCI slots left, no ISA slots to begin with (!). All three of my memory slots (it's a cheap-ass motherboard, okay?) have 64 meg DIMMS-- I'm happy. I have a bigass hard drive, more than I'll ever need. Software has to be *for* *Linux*, but you'll likely *never* get that right. In other words, buy me a keyboard. PS/2 (yeah, yeah, quit yer griping, I told you it was a cheapass mobo). That's $15 for a decent one (no ergonomic stuff); not bad.
But please, don't get me anything. Call me instead. Come on over, we'll drink egg nog and work on something together (screenplays to pseudorandom number generators-- we can spend time together doing it). That's what a good friend is, and that's what I'd do for you.
I got the ultimate gift idea... One of those Transmeta Crusoe's to see if they really live up to all the hype...
CoyboyNeal is God
The blatant sexism of the post???
:)
I'm sorry if I offended anybody with the "chicks" bit, but it was intended as a joke, which I figured people would pick up on. Since when has anybody thought that having books could attract the opposite sex? It was meant to be absurd.
-- Truth goes out the door when rumor comes innuendo. -- Groucho Marx
Lots of junk computers, more than three platforms such as old HP, Sun, SGI workstations. Go to a university junk yard you'd get a truckful for a reasonable price.Or Box'o parts, 486's low end pentiums that he/she can have months of fun with.
Who can resist books? Not those stupid brick books, I'm talking books like Knuth's. so a gift certs would be nice.
by the way i'd mention the coupons too. fatbrain.com
$10 off $25 purchase. Code: fatbrainpromo exp.12-31
$15 off $25 purchase. Code: USEFATBRAIN
For a very cheap gift buyer, get bn.com $10 dollars off $10 dollars coupon, and buy him/her two of the little pocket references from Oreilly. Choices are, vi pocket reference, emacs pocket reference, perl pocket reference. Or, consolidate to one Oreilly book: programming with curses. you pay for a mere few dollars shipping. Great gift if he hasn't got one yet
If your geek boy/girl havn't got a big monitor, it's time for a 21".
Be careful choosing input devices. each true geek has a stiff preference for keyboards and pointing devices, he may get offended if you buy the wrong one. I would not take a MS natural keyboard but I'd love to get a Ortek MCK-142 or Northgate Omnikey Ultra or IBM M. And i'd kill anyone who buys me one of the "happy Hacking" keyboards. but some geeks want the reverse. However, a Logitech Marble three buttons is almost a gurantee good gift.
Safe bets: CDR blanks. Hard drives. RAMS. Books Gift certificates.
Millionair buyers: You can't go wrong with a THIN laptop, Sun Workstations/Servers, Alpha, SGIs, SONY W900 monitor, Dedicated T1 connection, or pizza cooking/cleanning maid.
Last but not least, if you want to send a Romantic gift, send a girl who can deal with the geek talk. Pack her nicely in a sexy The Matrix outfit.
Could anything be cooler than cheap wireless networking? Check out Apple's Airport, a $300 base unit which uses radio frequencies to extend an 11 megabit/sec datarate over a 300 foot diameter. The Airport has an ethernet (RJ-45) plug and a modem (RJ-11) plug. Check www.apple.com/airport for more info. The PCMCIA client-side cards are $99. No Linux drivers that I know of, but the hardware RFC is certainly open and the cards exist. That's what I'm getting for Christmas (even if I have to buy it for myself...)
-J
I got one of these about 2 or 3 months ago, and it is the ideal accessory for Webheads on the go. I wanted it because I do most of my work on client sites, and I need a means to get to my e-mail when I am enroute to a client or in-between two offices.
BellSouth Wireless Data provides service in the United States. Cantel provides service in Canada. Service is quite good in large cities and along major highways. YMMV, but it works in about 90% of the metropolitan areas in the USA.
You can get service for US$24.95 per month and up. The only thing I think most people will find upsetting is that service is metered unless you want to pay around $100 per month.
I use it for wireless e-mail, but it can also be used for some sort of wireless Internet access. I think the provider of that service is GoAmerica.
FWIW, I looked at the market and decided that the Blackberry pager was more practical than the Palm VII, and then I took the plunge. It would be a cool gift, but it is definitely for the CEO type or the geek who has everything.
--
Dave Aiello
-- Dave Aiello
http://www.linuxmall.com/shop/01522
These things rock! Check them out... good for all ages! They look like kids toys but are extremely fun!
All i want for christmas is a 17" monitor! To tell you all how pitifull i truly am, i have a 15" monitor that i am running at 1280x1024! Does anyone pitty me? Good. Send me a 17" monitor. Please?
It's probably not your connection; the load average on Slashdot has been obscene the last couple of mornings, like around 30.
Interested in XFMail? New XFMail home page.
yeah, and from what I here on the Anand Tech "Hot Deals" board, cyber rebate doesn't have that good of a track record. check it:? catid=40
http://anandforums.gisystech.com/categories.cfm
I can get you a 5 foot inflatable penguin. It only cost $30Aust, so that would be about $20US. They come from the Australian National Geographic shop. They are apparently very popular for some reason, I wonder why?
http://giftguide.maximumpc.com/index.html :)
The maximumPC guys compiled quite a list of hardware that is fairly easy to give as gifts.
I saw this on arstechnica.com so i knew it had to be good, and looking through it i think it is a pretty nice guide. Who wouldn't want a G400 Max or a snazzy new DVD kit especially now that linux support is happening. personally i'm hoping someone in my family will shell out to get me a disk or some ram
it seems a little early(not even thanksgiving yet) for christmas shopping, but what the hell, i think i'll do all of mine online this year.
You could get a wireless, solar-powered weather station for your roof. Then you could get some UNIX-based software and MRTG and put some graphs of your station online.
If you could just squeeze in the IBVA brain - computer interface (www.IBVA.com) into some of those activities it would be the cherry on top : )
Love to view and form brain control patterns while under zero g's.
YYYYYUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMM
I put my xmas list online so that my relativevs can look at it over the net, and I can update it whenever I think of a new idea. Plus, I've included links to places to buy it online. Everyone can feel free to look at it, though keep in mind, that it isn't all that impressive (I had to use some cheesy clip-art). Also, it might be a tad slow, it's running on a cobalt qube on a well used t1. And thanks for all the suggestions, I added a few today.
http://www.wssma.org/nik/
Remeber Wally, the blue safety dog? Those shorts are hilarious.
There's also Getting Started, which was always one of my favourites. It's about procrastination, the guy reminds me of myself. I'm sure many other Slashdotters have exhibited the behaviour displayed in the short as well.
Plus, The Big Snit never ceases to make me laugh out loud, no matter how many times I see it.
Any geek would also be proud to have a collection of Norman McLaren's stuff, such as Neighbors. McLaren was obsessed with animation technology and was a true hacker in the art form. For example, he used to actually draw the soundtracks directly on the film, experimenting with what shapes make what sound. There was also the one where the chair avoided being sat on, and the one with the guy and the garbage can (has to be seen).
There's also a lot of great stuff that wasn't commonly shown on television except on shows like CBC's Open Wide (I miss that show), and TeleToon's Splat! If you live in Canada, you can go to the local NFB (It's like a library) or some of the larger libraries and check out all of the cool stuff you haven't seen. A warning though, expect to waste a lot of time in there.
If you live in Montreal, or are planning to visit, Check out the NFB'sCineRoboteque. It's truly a geek experience.
One of the guys here at work left and started his company with a microwave transmitter, video camera (pan/updown) mounted underneath and a fuel powered Hirobo helicopter. He could undercut most airborne photography places, and was much quicker to set up and to do repeat passes. He has a great demo tape of flying thorough a house under construction, barrel rolls, etc. Ends up being about 4 1/2 feet long.
It's a unit that doesn't look like anything real, it's just got maximum performance (more powerful engine, larger fuel tank etc.). Most helicopter models are like this - the realistic ones are rarer, and the model builders normally occupy themselves with the fixed-wing models
The catch with helicopters is learning to fly them. You can spend ~$1000-1500 getting started, and then you land at the wrong angle, woops need a replacement set of blades, a tailshaft, new set of skids....
Then once you have the skills, you need to get a bigger, gruntier helicopter, the transmitter & camera setup, more complex radio to handle the extra functions.
So, if you are interested in Helicopters, head down to your local hobby store, get a list of clubs that fly them, head out there and talk to them before letting the clerk talk you into buying one.
Come on, people! We all want cheap, distributed, 10Mbps, wireless, non-line-of-sight WAN hardware. Think of the fun, 70-ping, Quake tourneys in your neighbourhood! (And you could share the cost of a few internet connections!)
--------
"I already have all the latest software."
fluffy key (keyboard) protectors, before you shrugg this off though consider this. 1. It will give you somewhere to clean your fingers when you eat greazy chicken. 2. It will cushion the impact your finger tips make when you're pissed and start hitting the keys really hard. 3. You can remove them, and wash them when your neighbors start complaining about the smell coming out of your house. 4. Finally velvet...ooooh velvet.
"If it ain't digital, then it's fuzzy"
Ok....here's mine: 1. Panasonic portable DVD player (w/the Matrix of course) 2. Free DSL..T1...T3...T5 etc. 3. Genuine Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster (dream on)....or in liu of this, a nice game of truth or dare with several supermodels juiced on sodium pentathol... 4. Sodium pentathol for myself
"Razer makes for penetrating, explosive gameplay."
Who says there's no sex in advertising? :^)
-DrPsycho - Coping with reality since 1975
Gotta have it! IVs work too.
Other than that . . . anything at http://www.thinkgeek.com/, RH stock, or that new O2
"And what the people but a herd confus'd,
A miscellaneous rabble, who extol
Never trust anyone over 90000.
How about one of these babies!
get me a visor http://www.handspring.com
Perhaps you could clue us in on how to acquire these specifications?
Well, that's about it.
I don't know about all the other geek's out there but I think the best thing I could get is a Brand New VA LiNUX Box :) (and No, I don't work for them, and I'm not getting paid to say this *grin*) any System would do, but here's a hint, the more you spend the beter the pc ;) www.valinux.com
See, that's just what I mean! That's not a toy, that's a commitment. Where do I go to buy one that's a foot or two long, has wireless video, and basically flies itself when I push they joystick in the direction I want it to go? Oh, and has at least half an hour flight time, half a mile range, and is damned near indestructible?
There's a market for such a toy, and I am it!
If you don't already have a dremel, get one :)
Dremel.com
--
Eric Windisch
www.eddiebauer.com
Can your IM do this?
Intel 8086
This is the real thing.....
that's all.
a little stuffed tux.
But I have no idea where they are sold.
Not as good as a Logitech, but its still pretty good.... ....too bad they don't make an OS to match....
You are not me, therefore you are not important
LNUX
or if it was pushed up to 5 (insightful or whatever), then pushed down to 4 as a troll, then upped once as "underrated."
The "underrated" and "overrated" moderations dont change the latest comment, just the score.
i dont display scores, and my threshhold is -1. post accordingly.
i dont display scores, and my threshhold is -1. post accordingly.
Discuss
One classic Canadian animated short you all missed: The Lump! You know, with the ugly guy that grows this lump on his head, that turns into another head, that's more beautiful than his current one. So he covers his regular face up, and people start treating him nicer, and vending machines give him money. I was completely unaware that you could actually go to your local NFB and check out the films there. That rules. I'm going to have to visit =]
Aside from the stuff I found at www.thinkgeek.com or the Palm/Visor, and a RAID of 18 GB U2W drives, all I really want is ...
THE PERFECTLY-TWEAKED FVWM2 CONFIG.
I know this may be asking a little much of Santa, but I think he can deliver on it.
--
keep acting shocked and move slowly towards the cake.
All geeks like anime, at least the Sci-Fi stuff. If you are a geek and don't like Sci-Fi there is something wrong with you.
Some great movies/videos are:
Battle Angel Alita
Ghost in a Shell
Bubblegum Crisis (Orig & 2040) (I recommend 2040)
Cowboy Bebop
Evangelion
Spriggen (not released in english yet)
Serial Experiments Lain (turns on all geeks, who can not like a chick who upgrades a computer until there is no room left in her room? bahwahahaha. This is a mind trip series.. all about existing on an alternate universe... the Wired (the Internet), cool eh?)
Some Mangas(comic books 17-18+) are: (please don't buy these for your young geek friends/family members)
Appleseed (very cool!)
Ghost in a Shell (cool also)
Alita (9 volumes!)
Anything by Shiro Masamune is highly recomended, not sure if girl geeks will like it, some are graphic.
Places to buy:
www.dvdexpress.com
www.reel.com
www.advfilms.com
www.animevillage.com
for more info on a series and anime go to Anipike
-Ben
-= Briareos =-
About US$7k for the Model S, US$8k for a Model C.
This will do, if you can't afford 1:1 scale...
The National Computer Security Center (NCSC) says they no longer distribute hardcopy. You can get a CDROM current as of 10/1999 though...
http://www.radium.ncsc.mil/tpe p/library/hard-dist.html
Or you can D/L them (Not as impressive though)
http://www.radium.ncsc.mil/tpep/libr ary/rainbow/
Well, I'd LIKE a nineteen foot monitor, and 700 more meg of RAM, and a supported sound card, and a nice Logitech mouse, but seriously. Friends and family rarely know how to shop for a geek.
;]
;]
However, I would like a nice set of screwdrivers. Nice ones. Non-magnetic, of course. Perhaps a set with one handle and several heads. It'd have to have a nice, big, chunky handle with good leverage and nice, slender, long heads...mmm. That would make taking apart other people's computers even more fun.
Those cans of compressed air are a bit expensive for a geek with limited income (like myself) but they are so dang fun...Sneak up on a friend and give 'em a good spray of freezing air. Watch the little patch of skin frost over, turn bright red as the ice melts out of the little hairs...Muahaha, the memories...Oh, yeah, and they're useful for cleaning out the eternal IBM Model M keyboard.
Also, a CD cleaner. I had one, but ran all outta juice for it and part of it broke. Dang handiest thing, given how I treat CD's. I gave up trying to install any more of my Windows applications because 1) I don't use Windows anymore and 2) all the CD's were so dang filthy--and whenever I try to clean them (windex and soft cloth) I end up doing more harm than good.
AA batteries, finally, are a precious commodity to those who like to fool with their Palm Pilot backlights whilst the rest of the class sits in the darkness of a dimmed classroom watching some boring documentary...
I think the best Christmas gift I got came early. It was from my aunt. She lives on the West coast, I in the Midwest, and she UPS'd a PowerPC 8100/80 with a monitor, external Jaz drive, printer, and three O'Reilly perl books. The monitor busted in transit, but she'd insured it, so I now have $400 to blow on MORE geeky toys. Lynn--if you're reading this--you're the best aunt a geek could ask for!
I just hope I don't get more socks. Dangit, I dont' need socks.
Angry IT woman in big clompy boots. And talking lint!.
The road rage factor itself would be great... Hey, he cut me off BOOM... scratch one luser...hehehe and you would be unlikely to get a speeding fine...
You are not me, therefore you are not important
Fuck all that factual book stuff.
:) too expensive and go out of date too quick. Even books on NT are better than Linux... NT ain't changing much (hey, the NT administrator has enough to do learning how to right click, let alone having the icon change position every 5 years)...
Especially about linux. If it can't be found on a howto it ain't worth knowing, if you have to look at the howtos you ain't a real hacker.
Books on computers is stupid
But what geek/nerd is complete without THE HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALEXY?! (trilogy of five books)
see subject.
Everyone wants a bulk case of EZ-Cheese for x-mas!
All the software on the CD is uncompressed and unencrypted, so you can easily copy their "firmware" even if you don't use the Windows software. There are several alternatives to "RCX code" available on the net (and they're needed!), the most popular of which is probably NQC, one of those that use the standard firmware. It includes the download abilities. There's also a free replacement OS, legOS, that you can use if you want to cross-compile directly for the Hitachi CPU using GCC. Again, communication tools are included.
Here's my real X-Mas list (no, it doesn't include the case of EZ-Cheese).
1. Two personal boxes to go in my room. One for linux and the other solely for games (Athlon 650 w/geForce 256).
2. That DSL line that I was supposed to get a few weeks ago.
3. A static IP and domain (http://www.weasel.org will do).
4. A bigger HD for all these MP3s and for a good linux installation.
5. Something better than my 4-port hub.
6. RAM! 64 megs of PC-100 just doesn't cut it.
7. one of those IntelliEye mice. Yeah, you know, the ones with the camera instead of the ball. Those things rock.
8. for a good friend of mine to become a girlfriend.
That's all for now. =)
Here's my real X-Mas list (no, it doesn't include the case of EZ-Cheese).
1. Two personal boxes to go in my room. One for linux and the other solely for games (Athlon 650 w/geForce 256).
2. That DSL line that I was supposed to get a few weeks ago.
3. A static IP and domain (http://www.weasel.org will do).
4. A bigger HD for all these MP3s and for a good linux installation.
5. Something better than my 4-port hub.
6. RAM! 64 megs of PC-100 just doesn't cut it.
7. one of those IntelliEye mice. Yeah, you know, the ones with the camera instead of the ball. Those things rock.
8. for a good friend of mine to become a girlfriend.
That's all for now. =)
You can easily read with them. You can find your way down a path in the woods, or find that keyhole to put your key into. They don't throw a focused beam for a long distance though. The most practical color for reading, etc is white, though the others are prettier for decorating yourself. It's easy to spot your friends in the dark if they hang one of these on their jacket.
At retail they're about $20 each. Serious geek givers can get them wholesale for close to half price, in quantity.
I gave one of these (with a www.freeswan.org logo) to each participant at the recent Hackers' Conference.
Get one for yourself too -- if you only get one, you'll hate to give it away!
That's simply the download format. You can unzip the PC .exe file. The extracted files include a Javascript based html page plus some graphics. Works for me. All the apparent PC- or MacOS- only downloads from the Swatch site appear to behave the same - assuming they contain platform independent stuff like HTML, Java or Javascript.
ah i recall doing just that yetsurday orderinging my geek present, sitting at the computer more and more requires more and more geek toys to keep ya in touch w/ the rest of the world. So i went with a nice spiffy Palm Pilot IIIe special edition, 3 colorful shades, and a body glove neoprene case :) not the 500 dollar model but hey, what the heck happens if somone swipes a 500 dolla puter eh? if ya get a 500 dolla box they aren't going to take it but ya well im done, there she is Click here for the palm
My early Christmas present, and I love it (my wife is even growing fond of it). Linux under the hood too...
What if the Hokey-Pokey really is what it's all about?
Me too, if they can drop the price a bit. Helicopters are cool.
For that matter, so are hovercrafts. I want to play with one but I've not seen any for sale, so my project this christmas? See if I can nick the RC gear from a cheap old car and build a hovercraft round it!
Having video cameras on this sort of thing has to be cool, too - wonder if you could modify a £50 webcam to do this?
Greg
Greg
(Inside a nuclear plant)
Aaaarrrggh! Run! The canary has mutated!
Well, I've solved my geek-gift problem quite simply: I buy the geekish stuff for me myself (books before christmas, hardware afterwards), and let the gifter only choose the wrapping. A wish-list just produces questions like "What's that? Where am I supposed to buy such a thing?" etc. If the gifter insists on a surprise present, let him/her choose something non-geeky, i.e. winter clothes, sweats, and such.
;-) (100% Y2K proof, because the chinese calendar has year 4696 now - cycle 78, year 16 to be precise).
All I saw on the discussion is perfectly on that list. A elvish ring that is supposed to be ordered via Internet? A special swiss army knife that is sold-out? Books that have "Computer" *and* "Programming" in the title, but neither "Dummy" nor "Windows", and therefore isn't available at the local book store? Come on, no non-geek can get such a present for you.
BTW: What about an original, 100% Y2K proof chinese abacus
"If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself"
here is a list from amazon's
w ards/hugo.html/103-4034132-4208659
w ards/nebula.html/103-4034132-4208659
Hugos:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/lists/a
Nebulas:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/lists/a
Or just give a subscription to asimov's sci fi and fantasy magazines
FYI, if anyone is interested, the only cell company I know that offers unmetered ($10/Month) internet access, VoiceStream, won't be selling or connecting these little beauties, because the VS technology requires those pesky little SmartCards. [Most] of the other digital providers use the required process called CDMA, which is supposed to lend well to full-blown internet, as opposed to those text pager features. I got a quote from a tech guy at Sprint who said that they were expecting to have full internet support by 3/99 and would finally start pushing the pdQ's. (There's an analog model, for all you folks in the boonies.) He implied that there would be an entirely new billing format to account for the web access. Hmmm.
TangoChaz
--------------------
Wise men talk because they have something to say, fools because the
The Gravity from Stokke.
I'll get mine just in time for Christmas...
I've loved the thought of having this ever since I first saw it. I like their old anim better. Are they out of business? http://www.rocknride.com/
Why didn't I think of this why I made my earlier reply? Oh well...
:), so why couldn't someone write the software to handle this and give you control as easy as Zeewolf on the Amiga? Then stick it on a laptop, plug in your joystick somehow and you've got your easier to fly 'copter. Even got a screen for the camera display if someone sorts that out, too.
Helicopters are tricky to fly. But modern jet fighters are basically impossible to fly on manual controls, so what do they do? They have them controlled by computers and servo motors, with the control stick being replaced by a joystick and some clever software automagically working out how to combine the pilot's iedas of what do do with the aircraft's. Now, there's a few programmers on this site I'm guessing
Greg
Greg
(Inside a nuclear plant)
Aaaarrrggh! Run! The canary has mutated!
Forget socks, shirts/blouses, or books. Please Father Christmas can I have a ride in a Spitfire.
Particularly this one:
http://www.alien.co.uk/duxford/grace _spitfire/
Pity there is no picture of it on the website, but I dont care.
BTW, its a two seater....
Beth
Dear Santa, I've been good. I'd like a Rooftop Internet Radio 2000. And one for each of my friends.
Dear Santa, I've been real nice this year, so please send me on a trip from http://www.geekcruises.com/main.html I'll also need to take some digital pics to put up on my web page, so I'd also like a Kodak DC265 Digita Camera (it's great for playing MAME too). Since I'm still single, I'd appreciate if you sent some geek girls on the cruise too, or at least get me something from http://www.realdoll.com/ If Mrs. Claus won't let you do that, I guess an AIBO or even a Lego Mindstorm Droid Developer Kit would be welcome. Now, for some serious hardware upgrades, I'll see if I can sneak these requests past the NSA and Echelon. First of all, I'd like Transfer Interrupted
ABSOLUTE WORLD DOMINATION!
It's not what's more convenient for me, it's what's more convenient for the recipient of the gift. Again, know your recipient...
If they're not going to have that type of store in their area to return to, then that's a bad choice to buy from.
In your example, however, you bought the item yourself, and had the original packaging, which when given as a gift, the recipient wouldn't have.
Also, especially in the case of kids, Christmas, now being the over commercialized 'Hallmark' type holiday (over-hyped so you send a card and they can sell stuff), it's more and more about the whole instant gradification thing. You don't want to have to wait for a package to be returned to exchange it.
(yeah, it's a sad look on life, but it's true...as people get older, it's not quite like that, but if you were expecting 'Age of Kings', and someone gave you 'Age of Empires' instead for Christmas, you're not going to want to wait the extra week it's going to take to get it straightened back out again)
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.