Top 10 Geek Gifts for the 2008 Holiday Season
Greetings Readers!
Its almost that time of year again, when geeks either get the cool gadgets that they have been wanting thanks to holiday sales or are given the gifts they have been wanting by people that love them. Whether you are looking for some great gadgets to get for yourself or that lovable geek in your life, I have compiled a list of some of the top geek gifts for the 2008 holiday season.
#10. 26-piece PC Repair Tool Kit
What true Geek doesn't need a good repair tool kit? Whether they are making some amazing case mods or just replacing a dead hard drive, a Geek needs his tools! ThinkGeek has a great 26-piece PC repair tool kit for just $21.99!
26-Piece PC Repair Tool Kit from ThinkGeek
#9: Circuit Board Necklace
Geeks often like to show off just how geeky they really are, and what better way to do that than with a circuit board necklace? You may not want to spend the money on a fancy necklace made of all kinds of precious metals and stones, but you can still look good and show everybody just how geeky you are at the same time with a circuit board necklace from ThinkGeek. For only $19.99, you can make a fashion statement and have a great conversation piece!
Circuit Board Necklace from ThinkGeek
#8. Shut up and Reboot T-Shirt
Every geek that has ever played the roll of tech support to anybody before is guaranteed to have said "Just shut up and reboot" at least a million times. Now you can just tell people to read your t-shirt! This shirt, also from ThinkGeek, will allow you or the geek in your life to wear some of the best tech support advice ever, all for between $14.99-16.99 (depending on the size of shirt).
Just Shut Up and Reboot T-Shirt from ThinkGeek
#7. 2GB Secret Pen-Shaped Pocket Spy Camera Digital Video Recorder
Geeks are often looking for new ways to capture information and store it without bringing attention to themselves (except when they like to boast about how many Terabytes their computers and servers store). This pen is great for doing just that. This 2GB pen-shaped digital video recorder can hold up to 5 hours of video and uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that lasts close to 100 min. Whether you are looking for a way to capture embarrassing moments for the company Christmas party or capture some blackmail material against that boss that refuses to give you a raise, for $67.66, you can own this 2GB spy camera pen that wields great power to those who know about its capabilities.
2GB Secret Pen-Shaped Pocket Spy Camera Digital Video Recorder from Blueplugged.com
#6. NeatDesk
While not all Geeks are messy (I will admit that I am very messy), it is always a good idea to keep all of your contacts and financial information organized. NeatDesk helps you accomplish this task. NeatDest can scan business cards, receipts and documents all in one batch. With NeatDesk, you no longer have to scan in all your items separately on a flatbed scanner. NeatDesk also comes with software that helps you identify, extract and organize scanned information. You can purchase this organizational wonder from Neat, makers of NeatDesk for $499.95.
NeatDesk
#5. T-Mobile G1 Android Phone
The iPhone might be the sexiest phone of all time, but it can't compare in openness to the new Android based G1 phone ("The Google Phone"). Any geek that appreciates an open platform will love the new G1. Open systems such as Android are a geeks dream. Not only can you make your own applications for the G1, but you can hack the operating system till your heat's content. It is also a cheap alternative to Apple's iPhone. You can purchase the phone from T-Mobile, but rumor has it that Walmart has the phone considerably cheaper although the price isn't listed on their website.
T-Mobile G1 Android Phone
#4. Acer Aspire One Netbook
Netbooks have become wildly popular this year and few match Acer's Aspire One in price or performance. Although there are several models of the Aspire One which have different hard drives, batteries, operating systems and various other differences, the best deal is the Aspire One with XP, 160GB hard drive, 1GB RAM and a six-cell battery. The screen comes in at a compact but nice 8.9" and it has a larger, more comfortable keyboard than some of the competing netbooks. Whether you or your beloved geek is looking to browse the Internet or do some coding on the go, the Aspire One is a great alternative to getting a full sized laptop, especially for road warriors. You can pick up this wonderful device for $399.00 plus free shipping from Amazon. It also comes in several colors!
Acer Aspire One at Amazon.com
#3. iRex iLiad
If you or the geek in your life has been looking into moving from traditional books to an e-reader, the iRex iLiad is a great alternative to Amazon's Kindle. Although it is a considerably more expensive alternative ($699), it has the added features to make up for it. One of the biggest features that this new e-reader boasts is the ability to write on it like you would normal paper. This feature allows you to make notes, annotate documents which you can transfer to other iLiad devices or a PC and even play games like crossword puzzles and Sudoku! The iLiad can hold dozens of books, documents and even digital subscriptions to international newspapers! If that isn't enough, you can quickly increase the storage with a Compact Flash card or even a USB stick. The one drawback that it has compared to the Kindle is that instead of having a cell connection that you can download new content anywhere, you are restricted to Wi-Fi or USB to transfer content. I don't see this as a big deal since most people will load up on books before they leave the house anyway.
The iRex iLiad e-book reader
#2: Logitech Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote
Are you tired of trying to track down the remote for each device in your house. If you are like me, you likely have a remote for each TV in your house, DVD player, Blu-ray player, HD-DVD player, gaming console, stereo and other devices, plus a few remotes that you don't remember what they are for. The Logitech Harmony One helps you cut down on all of the remote clutter by allowing you to have a single remove for everything. The Harmony One is able to replace the remotes of over 225,000 devices while still maintaining all the functionality of the original remote. The Harmony One even has a color touch screen! The Logitech Harmony runs $249.99. If you think that is too much to replace just a couple of remotes, you can get the lower-end Harmony 510 universal remote for $99.99.
Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote
#1. Vuzix iWear AV310 Widescreen
Having a screen that you could attach to your face so you can watch videos easily at any time has long been a dream of most geeks (although some just dream of looking like LaForge from Star Trek: The Next Generation). The Vuzix iWear AV310 widescreen wearable display will help you do just that! This unit's display appears like a 52" widescreen display viewed from 9 feet. The unit is compatible with any device with a composite out connection as well as most iPods, portable DVD players, game consoles, and much more! With independent focus adjustments and high quality stereo earphones, the iWear AV310 gives the user an engrossing entertainment experience. The unit runs off of a single AA battery which can last for up to 11 hours. Personally I find this as a drawback as I long ago gave up disposable batteries, but you can probably use the rechargeable AA batteries just fine. You can pick up this visual wonder from Vuzix for $249.95.
Vuzix iWear AV310 Widescreen
These gifts are sure to light up any geek's face this holiday season. If you have any suggestions for other items that geeks might like this holiday season, tell us about them in the comments!
-Jeremy "pcnerd37" Bray
Sony Announces Blu-spec CD, Another Format for a Dying Medium
Greetings Readers!
Yesterday, I wrote a post about how CD sales are down and Walmart is reducing the floor space it gives the CD. Clearly, the fools at Sony don't agree with my assessment of the CD and its impending death. Sony has now announced a new CD format, Blu-spec CD. This format is going to be dead before it even has a chance.
The new format is said to be backwards compatible with current CD players, so you will be able to play the blu-spec CDs in the CD players you already have, but what is the point? Are people really going to pay the higher cost of a new format when what they have works just fine and can play the same music, often at a better quality than the digital music that many people listen to now? Sony touts the new Blu-spec CD players will eliminate vibration and therefor make music quality better. When people are generally satisfied with compressed mp3 quality audio, do we really need something better than existing CD quality? I don't think so.
No prices have been announced for the music or the new players, although 60 titles will be available by Christmas. I certainly don't expect the prices to be cheap. Prices for new formats never are. The new technology will use the same Blue Laser Diode as Blu-ray, so from that alone, you can assume it will be quite expensive, especially when Blu-ray players are still running in the hundreds of dollars. With consumers moving in mass to digital downloads for their music, spending a large chunk of money on the new format of a dying medium makes no sense. Somebody needs to relay this message to Sony so that they stop wasting money trying to develop these formats, only to have them die right out of the gate.
While I will always love the CD and listen to it every time I am in my car, with sales down around 23% this quarter, it is not worth investing in a new format when the existing format is quickly dying out to something far more convenient. Sony would be better off to create their own store to compete with iTunes and others in the digital download space rather than to create a whole new format that is truly unnecessary.
The world is moving to digital downloads Sony, get on board and stop trying to keep the past alive!
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-Jeremy "pcnerd37" Bray
Walmart Signals the Death of CDs/DVDs, Looks to the Present and Future
Greetings Readers!
For the past month, maybe more, the local Wal-Marts have been undergoing a major shift. Nearly everything but groceries have changed their location. There are now more groceries, less pet supplies, and the electronics department has roughly doubled in size. Apparently this shift is taking place across the country. A post on Gizmodo today revealed a change in business at Wal-Mart when it comes to consumer electronics. It seems they are cutting back on CDs and DVDs to focus on other products such as Blu-ray.
With CD sales down, digital downloads through the roof, and Blu-ray hoping to replace DVD, such a move was destined to happen at some point, I was just starting to wonder when. With digital downloads exceeding many peoples expectations, it is a matter of time before the CD becomes just another dead physical format. With stores such as Walmart, Circuit City, Best Buy and others still promoting the latest music in CD format, I had honestly started to wonder just when digital downloads would kill the CD. I have known for some time that it was coming but haven't seen any sites of a death anytime soon, until today.
With CD sales down 23% just this quarter for Walmart, it is no surprise that they have now started to take away floor space from the CD and even the DVD to give more room for video games, various consumer electronics such as the iPod and Zune as well as Blu-ray. Such a move is a sign of the times and that death for the CD and DVD formats is nearing. I expect to see other major retailers follow suit in the near future. I will admit that with DVD sales still much higher than Blu-ray sales, I was kind of surprised to see this move at this time. I have long believed that this is necessary for the mass adoption of Blu-ray. When stores stop selling DVDs, people will start moving over to Blu-ray, just like they did for the transition from VHS to DVD. Blu-ray certainly has other issues that it needs to conquer before it can truly take the place of DVD, but this is the first step in the right direction.
While I agree with Walmart in their move to replace CD floor space with portable media players, that isn't really going to help them gain market share in the digital download space such much as it does iTunes and the Zune Marketplace. If they expect to see real success from this, they need to bundle a deal from their new digital download store with the devices. Walmart must give people an incentive to buy music from them before the customer becomes addicted to iTunes or other download service. If they did this, they would see huge growth in their new MP3 store while slowing the growth of their competition.
This is a clear sign that these formats are soon going to go the way of the formats that came before them. While the CD and DVD still have some life in them, if other stores follow suit and this falling sales trend continues, I can easily see the death of the CD within the next 2 years, and the death of the DVD within the next 5 (likely less).
Long live the extremely expensive Blu-ray!
-Jeremy "pcnerd37" Bray
Best Buy and Napster is a Match Made in Heaven!
Greetings Readers!
Before I continue talking about some of the TechCrunch50 companies, I figure I needed to address the Napster acquisition by Best Buy. There seems to be a lot of people in the blogosphere scratching their head about this move, so I figured I should explain why this is such a great move. This can actually be summed up in one name, Wal-Mart.
Like many of you, I woke up to the news this morning that Best Buy purchased Napster for $121 million in cash. I also noticed that the blogosphere seems to be at a complete loss as to the reason for this move. While I generally enjoy any opportunity to bash the company I refer to as "Worst Buy," I think they made a great business move with this purchase.
Wal-mart has been in the digital music distribution game for a while now, becoming the #2 company for selling downloadable music online behind only iTunes. Best Buy on the other hand is a bit late to the game when it comes to moving towards digital downloads. By Best Buy purchasing an established name with a large customer base (approx. 700,000 subscribers), they can quickly jump into the digital downloads game with minimal time and effort spent to develop their own solution to compete with the company that is essentially their largest competitor in many areas. Clearly realizing this is where the market is going, Best Buy needed to jump into digital downloads as soon as possible, and purchasing a company that has been synonymous with downloading music for over a decade is exactly what they needed to do before its too late and it becomes very difficult to gain any traction in the market. Creating their own service, working out distribution deals and many other things that come along with starting your own digital download service would have put Best Buy even further behind and would have likely lead to a number of logistical issues rather than allowing them to hit the ground running.
Not only is this the perfect business decision for Best Buy, who does not want to be left in the dust, it is also a big thing for Napster. Not only are they getting a nice sum of money, but the business they have can now be re-branded and taken to the next level. Napster has had a problem for years now in that it can't seem to shake off the bad image it received when it was taken down by the music industry. Many people are still unsure of the site because of its past, even though it has now become a legitimate place to get music. By having a huge company such as Best Buy purchase them, it basically validates what they are doing and gives them the image that now they are a legitimate music destination rather than a haven for pirates. It seems as though a major acquisition was the only way this image shift was going to occur. And being paid twice what the company is worth for that to happen, isn't a bad deal either.
This is essentially a win/win for everybody involved. Best Buy can jump into the market of music downloads with a large existing user base and can hit the ground running while Napster gets a big boost in their public image and paid twice what they company is worth. The only people that should be concerned about this union are other companies involved in the market such as Amazon and MySpace who is about to launch their own music service this month. Of course Wal-mart should be watching their back as well as this is a direct shot at them to send the signal that they aren't the only big company outside of Apple that can play the digital downloads game. It is only a matter of time until the two get into a heated battle in this space, which im sure will get ugly and allow Apple to run off with all the money while the two giants fight it out. This will be very exciting to watch no matter what and I look forward to seeing how the consumer benefits from this move.
That is all I have to say about this, but I do have more posts coming about several TechCrunch50 companies coming up over the next couple of days, so stay tuned for those! Don't forget to check out my daily podcast for more top technology stories such as this one at GeekNewsDaily.com!
-Jeremy "pcnerd37" Bray
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