About TCP | Previous Issue | Next Issue | Subscribe/Unsubscribe | Issue Archive

Yup, it’s already time to start procrastinating on your holiday shopping. Personally, I think Christmas (and similar holidays) should come every other year, with your birthday celebrated on the opposite, just to make life a little easier, but I don’t think I could make it happen. With Yankee Swaps and Secret Santas just around the corner, what we can do is point you to some gifts I think would be appreciated by product development people, from the gadget-loving techno-geek to the office desktop toy collector, with something for just about every budget. Please be assured TCP receives absolutely no remuneration for these recommendations, they are not commercial endorsements, merely suggestions…just doing our part to jumpstart this economy…

TCP’S TOP GIFT PICK: REPLAY-TV

ReplayTV Digital Video Recorder (DVR) – price range: $50-$600

Never heard of ReplayTV? This is the Pepsi to Tivo’s Coke, and, while less popular, it’s the better device for tech-minded individuals. I’ve been a ReplayTV user for about 6 years now, and can honestly say, even if you don’t like or approve of television, you need one of these, it could even make haters like TV. I won’t get into the features, there are too many, and that kind of talk usually just goes way over the heads of people who aren’t familiar with DVRs.

Suffice it to say, it is surprisingly liberating to have an intelligent automated recording agent that is not limited by videotape’s tiny capacity, to be able to watch something you’ve recorded before it’s finished recording (unlike a VCR), to be able to instantly skip over unwanted content (fantastic for sports fans), and to pause live TV when the phone rings or you just want to go to the bathroom without waiting for a commercial break. That is just surface scratching, however, and I won’t even mention being able to manage recordings over the web when you travel. This is one of the few pieces of technology that I can say actually lives up to the hype, and I don’t say that lightly.  Prices have plummeted lately (as much as 75%), so these things are a great value today.

• If you are serious about picking up a DVR, I do suggest you lurk for awhile at the AVS online forum, where you can pick up honest product info directly from RTV users.

---

ScotteVest Tech-Clothing – jacket prices starting at $129.00

Perfect for the gadget freak with the overloaded utility belt. The ScotteVest jacket got a lot of press when it was first introduced a few years ago, and gives off a very “James Bond-ish” vibe (or perhaps “Secret Squirrel-ish” is more analogous). The signature jacket (now up to version 3.0) boasts up to 42 hidden pockets, a “personal area network” for wiring devices and headphones through the material, and many other unique features. Even better, it looks like a normal jacket, so you can be subtle about your geeky tech-addictions, but I’m unsure about how well it hides unsightly PDA bulges. The company now also makes pants, a baseball cap and a new jacket with solar panels for recharging devices with USB ports. As the Charlie Chan impersonator on “Get Smart” used to say, “Amazing…”.

---

USB Memory Watch - $79.99 - $189.99

The portable memory market is still going strong--the little flash keys were instant marvels when they first hit the scene and are considered must-haves for most computer users today. Product evolution and “gadgetification” seemed natural for this technology, and since the beginning of time people have loved to make watches do all kinds of stuff besides their main function. In the future, expect to see more funky flash memory products, I think I’ve seen Simpson’s licensed USB keys somewhere, and you know the Japanese slapped Hello Kitty on one of these in a New York Yankees minute.

---

iPOD – Protective Case System - $29.95

To be honest, I don’t know why the iPOD is so popular other than the fact that Apple is marketing the holy heck out of it so you can’t ignore the thing. I have to admit, though, that the U2 branded unit is a brilliant idea even if it turns out to be a flop. Around MRT, we considered an MRT iPOD with all of our product development audioconferences pre-loaded. We considered it for about 10 seconds. Anyways, my brother loves his iPOD, so I’m considering getting him one of these protective case systems, which I like because it seems very versatile and functional, with a very user-centered design. The price seems a little high, so I may use one of the websites listed below to find a better deal. 

---

Roll-Up Keyboard - $29.99

Many years ago, in Penton’s Machine Design magazine, I saw a picture of a prototype of a keyboard much like this one (not sure if it’s the same company). The one in the magazine was a concept piece, circa 1995, trying to show the future of portable computing, and was meant for applications in the field, like archeology or military ops. Ten years later, here’s one you can buy, it’s a bit more 3-D than the flatter one I remember from the magazine, but it still looks like a fair solution for mobile people with fingers too fat for laptops and PDA thumb typing. Maybe the ScotteVest v4.0 will have a keyboard integrated into the pockets.

---

Rhinoskin hard cases for PDAs and other devices – prices variable

I still don’t own a cell phone or a PDA, one of the many reasons being that I’m sure I’d lose or break them. If you know some clumsy folks like me, you might want to get them one of these rigid device cases from Rhinoskin. They’ve got a model to fit pretty much all the major brands and models of PDAs, and they also make some soft cases too, but it’s the sturdy rigid ones that they’re known for. There are also Rhinoskins for the iPOD and GBAsp. I’d like to see David Letterman have an elephant step on one of these (does he still do stuff like that?).

---

Stocking Stuffers

If you’re just looking for some smaller, less expensive, but still really cool, gifts, we’ve put together a short section of sites that offer a good assortment of knick-knacks and desk tchotchkes perfect for the Yankee Swap, Secret Santa, Russian Giftbag Roulette or other office holiday tradition you’ll be celebrating this winter:

Cube Goodies
We like the “Rollerscape” and the “Fog Blasters”.

Stress Balls
Maybe these are better for after the holidays…

Magnetic Sculptures
Big selection of ”attractive” items, har har. I know, I know, puns are lame.

---

Bargain Finding Websites for Cheapskates

If you buy, shop or just browse for products on the Internet, you quickly realize that prices can vary greatly. When I see something I want to purchase, I almost always do a little price research first. Below are some of the websites I’ve found to be very helpful for making sure you don’t overpay:

• Half.com

• TechBargains

• Froogle One of those perpetual-beta Google spinoffs (kicks MySimon’s arse)

• Fatwallet

• Pricegrabber

• VGtalk – PC and console videogame deals

Any reaction to this article? Send your feedback to gregg@roundtable.com

---

---

Link #1: http://www.engadget.com

Link #2: http://www.gizmodo.com

I’m a little confused. Both of the websites listed here call themselves “blogs” – weblog pages on the subject of technology gadgets. Previously, I understood blogs to be an online journal of an individual’s thoughts on a particular subject or life in general. These websites, although they may fit the blog definition, are more like part real-time magazine, part cutting-edge technology catalog, and part blog. However, the only real “bloggy” thing I can say about them is that they’re updated frequently and the editorial can be daringly off-color (and often quite funny if you appreciate geek humor). I think I will call these things “blog-zines” (hmmm, kinda also describes this issue of TCP).

Even stranger, if you click on the first link and then click on the second link, don’t worry, you aren’t seeing things, these two pages look virtually identical. I’m pretty sure these are separately developed enterprises, so it’s pretty odd that they share more than a few page layout and design similarities. I could handle that, except that their content is eerily the same as well, with similar editorial styles on just about the exact same gadgets every day using the exact same product promo pictures. Weird.

If you can get over these two strange things, the websites are both really cool ways to stay on top of the latest gadget technologies and consumer trends. I find myself quite amazed at the various things people are inventing using technologies that I thought were centuries away from being real. In many cases, the gadgets shown are garage hacks or prototypes, but the majority is real, available products, mostly electronic devices.