It's that time of year again and visions of what to get that special someone will no doubt be dancing through your head. To make your selections easier, here are some suggestions. My main criterion is that they must work in conjunction with your computer system. With one exception the items cost $150 or less. Next time, I'll feature some pricier ideas.
Logitech, a company that produces high quality peripherals, has come up with the first of a new generation of Web cams called the QuickCam Orbit. Looking something like a tennis ball mounted on a golf club, this $130 device is designed to rotate almost 180-degrees horizontally or 90 degrees up and down and follow your every movement. That way the person you're chatting with won't miss even the flutter of your eyelids.
Sony's new
Eye Toy priced at around $50 is one of the coolest new accessories for gamers to come around in a long time. The EyeToy is essentially a USB camera that plugs straight into your PlayStation2 console, and bingo, allows you to be on your TV, interacting in real time with the game. It is a great step toward interactivity because you can ditch the controls and run things by movement only. This is very much a look at the future, and I'm convinced will be a hit with the kids.
Nowadays many of us bring our laptops home for work. The problem is that working with a portable can tweak your back or strain your neck because of lousy ergonomics.
Griffin Technology comes to the rescue with iCurve, a $40 transparent plastic stand that raises your laptop's screen to eye level. It works with any laptop that has a screen larger than 12 inches.
MP3 players have been hot Christmas gifts over the past few years but the name brands, such as Apple's iPod, are around $400.
A less expensive option is the
Phillips Key Ring MP3 players. Prices start at $100 with these tiny units. The cool attraction for kids is that they have volume and player controls embedded in a neck strap.
Not satisfied with a simple audio player? How about a PVP (Personal Video Player)? The ZVUE!, priced under $100, is a palm sized device with a 2.5 full color screen and can play videos, music videos and MP3s. Content is available on a proprietary postage stamp-sized ZCARD! starting at $5.99. Go to
www.zvue.com for more information.
Don't let those old viruses get you down during the holidays. I'm not talking the common cold! The anti-virus industry standard is Norton Internet Security which can keep worms, viruses and bad guys from snooping around your files.
Symantec offers a $70 software suite for Windows users (Mac version is $100) that includes anti-virus, firewall and anti-spam features. Don't go online without it.
The Migo, manufactured by Forward Solutions, is one of the most innovative computer storage gadgets I've seen in ages. Known as a "keychain drive," it's embedded with memory chips that allow you to move computer files between PCs. What differentiates Migo from similar devices is that not only does it allow you to transfer data but enhances the procedure by allowing you to synchronize and replicate what appears on your PC including e-mail, bookmarks and the like. It's a neat idea for people who travel and costs only $150 for a 128 megabyte model or $200 for the 256 MB unit.
Speaking of innovative, the
CEIVA Digital Photo Receiver is a device that looks exactly like a picture frame. Instead of just portraying one photo, the Ceiva receives and displays a digital slide show allowing users to display up to 1000 photos in an online album. Each night, the CEIVA receiver downloads pictures that have been sent to it over the Net. It makes a nice gift for the technologically challenged - you don't need a computer to operate it. Price is $125 with rebate.
Worried about losing those graduation photos from last year or for that matter, your entire business records from the last decade? Starting at around $100
Maxtor has a series of 40 to 250 gig capacity portable hard drives that are perfect backup devices for your computer. They boast a one-touch system that allows you to back up your entire computer in one fell swoop or a pre-configured number of files that you can't afford to lose. It also fits on your desktop without taking up too much real estate and can easily be slipped into your briefcase. If you're tired of dealing with backup tapes or CDs, this is the way to go.
