Hardware Canucks Christmas Wishlist

Greg’s (Babrbarossa) List


At risk of giving away my age, I’ve never had someone buy me anything much more high-tech than a “ghetto blaster” for a Christmas gift. My Luddite parents’ idea of a techno-gadget is an el-cheapo keyboard vacuum cleaner they found at the checkout counter of a men’s clothing store. I still can’t convince my dear, dear wife that the term “hard drive” does not refer to the entire computer. But this is the reason that the people in our lives are reluctant to try to buy us nerds the things that we really want- they haven’t got a clue, and if we tried to tell them they would just blink at us. A friend on this forum once told me that his technique was to place NCIX links on his wife’s desktop around the holidays- very clever, but the problem with that is that they find out how much we’re actually spending on these things, and that won’t do, right? Well here are three things that I would love to have this Christmas and I think I could actually feel safe sneaking a link to the first one on my wife’s desktop. As for the others, well they might have to wait until F@H starts paying out a hundo per WU.


For Geeks on a Budget
Product: Sidewinder Cell Phone Charger
Price: $30.00
Details: IST : SideWinder Cell Phone Charger

Now I don’t know how broad the appeal of this little device would be, but to me it’s pure gold. As a field biologist, one of my daily annoyances is running out of cell phone juice. I’m often out in weak signal territory where the phone wear’s itself down constantly searching for a signal. Next thing I know I get back to the truck at the end of a long day and the tire’s flat, I forgot to inflate that spare like I’ve been meaning to, and I’m S.O.L. (stuck outside longtime!)

Well, the SideWinder is the smallest, lightest and most powerful portable cell phone charger made. Two minutes of cranking delivers 5-6 minutes of talk time, or up to 30 minutes standby. Includes carrying case, connectors and LED emergency light that provides over five minutes of light, with only 30 seconds of cranking. Includes adapter tips for most models of *****, LG, Samsung, Kyocera, Sony/Ericsson and Motorola Razr phones (see "Tech Specs" below for a full list of compatible phone models or click the "Zoom/Additional Views" button for images of the adapters).

It could save a life…well, it could! And the best thing of all? Only about $30 to land one of these puppies.


For the Hardware Geek
Product: Sling Media Slingbox SOLO HD
Price: Price Compare
Details: Sling Media - Slingbox PRO-HD

This item may not be the kind of item that jumps immediately to mind when you think computer hardware, but it IS something that might be straightforward enough to ask for for Christmas (just imagine trying to explain NVidia's or ATI's card naming scheme to your grandma). This is a product that I had never known to exist, and the idea of it is quite intriguing- The Slingbox™ SOLO allows you to watch and control your favorite TV source from anywhere in the world on your laptop or cell phone. You can watch your DVR, digital cable, satellite receiver, or DVD player wherever you choose. With the Slingbox SOLO, you can watch your favorite TV shows and sporting events from anywhere. You do, of course, need to have access to internet to “phone home” to this little guy. Apparently this thing sends HD content as well. These actually only cost about $175 so who knows- I might be able to get away with posting a link to this fella on my wife's desktop as well.

For the Geek Who Has it All
Product: Suissa Computers Enlighten
Price: $10,000+
Details: Suissa Computers - Enlighten

We all look at the custom builds from the fancy salons and drool for a little while, but after we think about it a bit we realize- wait a minute! That’s just a tricked out Lian Li with a nice cable sleeving job and already out-dated hardware! But we still appreciate the craftsmanship involved with making a computer beautiful. We like to see the things we’re passionate about elevated to an art form and sometimes we just like to have nice things in our homes. Well I’ve always thought that it would be nice to combine computers with another thing that I’m passionate about: wood (hey- no snickering). Suissa computers has taken custom build to a new level and truly make building a computer a craft and an art form (although I’ve read the comment “they look like trophies for being a rich white guy). Well maybe, but if you’ve accrued enough wealth to afford one of these you deserve a trophy (and the privilege of buying one of these for me).

These are all custom built so the price varies from very expensive to extremely expensive, but from what I could find from looking around the net, I was surprised how low the price was when you consider what it costs to have furniture custom made. They have models that vary from mATX to large units that look like home theatre centers made from any number of exotic and native hardwoods. They have a slightly art-deco flavor and look like a computer you should be playing bioshock on. The hardware, you ask? Well, when you’re in this spending bracket- who cares- swap out at will because you’re not paying for components when you buy one of these. Check out their website and see the designs they offer.