Holiday Gift Guide: for Her

Perfect holiday gifts for your Girlfriend:

So you want to get your girl something gadgety for the holidays, but don't quite know what. We've got you covered. (If you're looking for a totally trite list of pink gadgets you'll want to look elsewhere.) Of course, unlike buying gadgets for dude-friends, you shouldn't expect to pick something from this list and call it a day -- always be prepared to supplement with dinner, some time in the park with a bottle of wine, that shirt she's been dropping not-so-subtle hints about, etc., and you'll do just fine this season.

P.S. -Don't worry about mom though, we'll be covering gift suggestions for her soon enough.

Geeky jewelry - Nothing speaks love to that special nerdette in your life better than hacked up gadgetry in the form of jewelry. Ok, well, maybe diamonds, but we're working on a budget here. If she's the earth-loving type, there's plenty of recycled stuff at Acorn Studios; perhaps she's a Mac lover and would dig some PowerBook earrings; then there's always the versatile and purtiful Moi. Whatever your taste, we think there are enough options out there at this point to make it possible to indulge her inner geek's feminine side.
$5+ - Buy at Acorn Studios
$28 - Buy Moi
$60 - Buy from 925works

$0 - $100
Nike Plus + Incase Armband - If she's got an iPod nano and even a mild interest in exercise, you can't go far wrong with the Nike Plus. The device involves a tiny sensor she can use in certain compatible Nike Shoes (or strap on to any shoe with a $5 pouch) which lets her know how far and fast she's running. Team that up with the iPod for the ultimate motivational tool.
$29 + $29 - Buy from Apple

Wii Play - Does she have a Wii? Good, well, there's a reason this collection of Wii Sports-esque mini-games continually rocks the sales charts: there's a Wiimote included in the package. Most of the games are fun enough, but the bundle is much more exciting than just buying a plain old Wiimote.
$48 - Buy from Amazon

Palm Centro - The keyboard keys might be a little small, and the phone itself is slightly hobbled by an aging Palm operating system, but there's no denying its draw, and the price can't be beat. If she's looking to take a first stab at a smartphone, the Centro is an undeniable bargain.
$99 - Buy from Palm

$101 - $250
Western Digital 250GB Passport - Look, just because it comes in pink doesn't mean you have to buy it in pink. In fact, your ladyfriend might also be interested in 250GB of USB 2.0 portable storage in green, white, red or black -- options are good. However, snagging the pink version prompts an immediate donation from Western Digital to the National Breast Cancer Foundation at no additional cost to you. More giving for less, how can you go wrong?
$199 - WD Passport from Western Digital

LG Venus - Whether she's your girlfriend, mom, or just a pal, the goddess-of-love-phone should be an option. The LG Venus is an unusual cellphone of undeniable beauty, with one of the best looking UI's we've seen. It also supports up to 8GB of microSD storage for all her 2 megapixel snaps or audio / video files. Hell, if she doesn't get the message you can always keep the phone for yourself.
$199 - LG Venus with 2-year contract from Verizon

$251 - $500
Apple iPod touch - She's already got the world's tiniest cellphone, so just skip the iPhone this year and slip the iPod touch into her stocking instead. Pre-load it with up to 16GB of photos and videos of the friends 'n family and you'll never have to "drop your Blue Steel" just to win her favor ever again.
$299 (8GB) or $399 (16GB) - iPod touch from Apple

Panasonic Lumix FX33 - Look, she doesn't need one of those new 12 megapixel compact shooters -- very few actually do. But she does need an easy to use, full-featured point-and-shoot -- she shouldn't have to rely on that plastic lensed cameraphone to capture life's surprises. We were actually a little surprised to hear the Lumix has become the camera line du jour for sophisticated women-folk (especially since it's also the one we've been rocking for a while now), so why not wrap up a camera with an 8 megapixel sensor, optical image stabilization, and a quality DC Vario-Elmarit lens for the lady in your life this holiday season?
$249+ - Shop for FX33

Taser C2 - Just because the UN has defined use of Tasers as torture doesn't mean she shouldn't be packing some electrical heat for self defense. Besides, if she ever has to use the thing chances are whomever gets the buzz had it coming (unlike that U of F student, anyway), torture or not. Just hope she never turns this thing on you.
$350 - Shop for Taser C2

Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1 - Okay, it's not high def, but as our girlfriend tells us, "It's cute, easy to use, comes in lots of colors, and is waterproof. You know, just in case." In case of what, we have no idea, but she's definitely got a point. If you're looking to go high def and don't need water resistance, check out the HD700.
$450 - Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1

Dell SP2008WFP 20-inch monitor (with webcam) - It's not enough just to dole out some additional screen real-estate, take her monitor to the next level with at 20-incher that not only has a gamer-friendly 2ms response time, 2,000:1 contrast ratio, and USB hub, but also a webcam so you two can easily video conference whenever you're away.
Under $300 - Buy at Dell

$501 - $1000Colorware that gadget - Sure, you could get your her a regular, let's say iPhone, this holiday season with the confidence she'll be reasonably excited -- but wouldn't you rather turn up with something a little more unique? Enter Colorware's custom paint jobs -- for only a hair more than stock price, they'll do up an iPod, iPhone, game console, select laptops, and other gadgets in all sorts of color combinations colors. Word to the wise, get your order in before November 30th if you're aiming to have this thing under the tree this year. Second word to the wise, take a look in her wardrobe and find something that will go well with her most frequently worn colors. Unless she idolizes Paris Hilton you can (and probably should) avoid pink.
$549 - iPhone from Colorware

TiVo HD and lifetime subscription or 3-year plan - Truly a gift that keeps on giving... to both of you. If the woman in your life is trying to get caught up on her TV and loves quiet nights at home, this is might be just the thing. For a low entry fee, you get the brand-spanking-new TiVo HD -- and if she already has one (or a Series2), another few hundies nabs you a lifetime of uninterrupted viewing pleasure. For first-timer TiVoers, you'll be able to lock in 3-years of service for a slightly lower sum. Finally, you two can get up to speed on Dexter without having to rearrange your calendars.
$299.99, plus service plans - Shop for TiVo HD and subscriptions

Nikon D40X - If she's got an eye for photography, you probably can't miss with the Nikon D40X. Delivering ten-megapixel shots with an ISO up to 3200 ain't too shabby, plus you can get really friendly with a wide variety of lenses, a fact which we think she'll appreciate. Bonus: at the current MSRP, this won't exactly rip your wallet to shreds either.
$629.99+ - Shop for the Nikon D40X

Budget HDTV - File this one under gifts for her for yourself if you must, but if you just can't take another rerun of Sex and the City (you really don't know what you're missing, bro!), a second TV for the office or bedroom can be a life (or relationship) saver. If you're just not sure where to start, Vizio is a great jump-off point.
Shop for budget HDTVs

$1000+
Whirlpool centralpark Connect refrigerator - We know that a woman's place isn't in the kitchen, but we all spend some time there, and she wouldn't want just any fridge, would she? The stainless steel finish and ample storage space should be a lovely complement to the rest of your tricked out kitchen, and the price tag isn't exactly exorbitant, either. However, the "centralpark" interchangeable connectivity with DAPs, phones, CD / DVD players, and digital photo frames will definitely make food preparation slightly more exciting -- unless she really, really gets into peeling carrots.
$1,999 - Shop for the GD5VVAXTY centralpark connect refrigerator

Apple MacBook - If you're looking to prove your undying devotion and love for the girl in your world, the new crop of Santa Rosa-fied MacBooks wouldn't be a bad place to start. We needn't bore you with the details of how this 13-inch, dual-bootin', Leopard-running white or black laptop will make you look like the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (or at least some kind of prince), but we can assure you it will nab at least one serious smooch come gift-giving time.
$1,099+ - MacBook from Apple

Sony VAIO TZ ultraportable laptop - If she's more of a PC kind of gal, this is most assuredly the place to turn your attention. For the Windows-centric woman who must have it all, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more exciting option. With a petite form factor, an 11.1-inch display, a slew of colors, and a generous selection of robust configurations, there's sure to be something here she'll go bonkers for... and we can almost guarantee you won't mind having this around the apartment, either. Just don't blame us when you can't pull her away from WoW.
$2,099+ - Sony VAIO TZ

Vertu Ascent "Strawberry" and "Cream" - When you're ready to break the bank, go all out, and truly show your love for the woman in your life (or at least put your obsession on display), Vertu's Ascent "Cream" and "Strawberry" models will say it all for you. The high-high-end designer cell phones don't necessarily have more features than your typical model, but your typical model isn't made from brushed stainless steel, leather, and ceramic -- is it? Did we mention the included concierge service? Yeah, with a price-tag like this, she'll definitely know you care.
€8,000+ - Shop for the Vertu Ascent

Hands-on with Optimus Maximus (at last!)

The legendary Optimus Maximus is chilling out at the Wired Store in SoHo as of this week, so we dropped by to snap a few pictures. We've gotta say we're pretty impressed, the build seems as solid as a rock, the screens are crazy bright and all the glossy keys catch the light just right. We could even say that we're glad they took the time to get everything right, but it has been a painful decade, so we'll see. Everyone's tastes in keys are different, so we'll let you make up your own mind on the clickity clackity the next time you're in NY -- or at least once our crack keyboard review team gets some quality time with a unit of our very own -- but color us impressed so far.

Futurama and the Gadgets of Tomorrow We Love and Fear

In honor of Futurama's bombastic return to the world of tomorrow (Available for just $17.99!), we present to you the gadgets we love and fear from the entire Futurama history. Our list from the cryogenic stasis machine of the first episode to the cryogenic stasis machine featured in the movie (psst, it's the same one!). Yes, we have to admit that being superfans, we already watched the movie three times. Verdict: It's good! Now here are the gadgets we love and fear from the world of Futurama.

Cryogenic Tube (Want): Imaging freezing yourself until Metal Gear Solid 4 comes out, or sticking your dying dog Seymore into stasis until modern science becomes modern enough to fix whatever ails him? The only downside is that your friends and/or wife will get older while you stay the same age.

Suicide Booth (Do Not Want): We'd hate to be Superman with his pants down trying to change into his suit in one of these things.

What If Machine (Want): Imagine a machine that could tell you what would happen if you did something. Well you wouldn't have to imagine if you had a What If Machine.

Farnsworth Parabox (Do Not Want): A box that lets you travel to an exact opposite dimension as yourself could be fun, what with the perfectly symmetrical violence and all. But if you're not careful, you could be traveling to all kinds of weird parallel universes that have evil versions of you, people with boxes as heads, or even stoners.

Scooty Puff Junior (Do Not Want): Scooty Puff Junior Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...

Holophoner (Want): Besides being pretty much the hardest instrument ever, you can make a woman fall in love with you just by playing it really, really well (more so than any other instrument). Play it well and you'll make an action/adventure epic with just the air in your lungs and the fingers on your hand. Play it poorly and you'll scare the crap out of kids at your recital. Good day, ma'am.

Torgo's Executive Powder (Want): Made of the ground-up remains of Fox Network Executives, Torgo's Executive Powder is great for whatever ails you. We probably wouldn't use the powder—either on our crotches or elsewhere—but it's good to see the execs who cancelled Futurama get what's coming to them.

Bender (Undecided): Having a robot for a best friend may sound good on the surface, but one that tries to kill you, steals your money, calls you a robosexual, stabs you, punches you in the gut, makes fun of your wiener, and makes you sleep in the closet isn't quite what we're looking for. But hey, he's still Bender, who's the funniest robot we've ever seen, so he's got that going for him.

And for those of you who are wondering if the movie's any good? Yes! It's loaded with tons of in-jokes for fans that have seen every episode (like us). Go order your copy now. Don't make us get Hypnotoad.

The Evolution of the iPod

1st Generation iPod

Released 21st October 2001, the 1st gen iPod came in 5 and then later 10gb models, was only compatible with Macs and used Firewire to connect.

---

2nd Generation iPod

July 2002 saw the 2nd generation of the iPod released, with the touch-sensitive wheel and Windows compatibility. This model was available in 10gb and 20gb.

---

3rd Generation iPod

The 3rd generation iPod went completely 'touch' for the interface, had native support for Windows and was available in 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40gb models.

---

4th Generation iPod

The 4th gen iPod adopted the clickwheel from the iPod Mini and was released in 20gb and 40gb models in July 2004.

---

4th Generation iPod #2

Colour was finally added and the ability to browse your photos in October 2004. These iPods were available with 20gb, 30gb, 40gb and 60gb.

---

5th Generation iPod

The 5th gen, released in October 2005, introduced video at last, and made the final transition to USB.

---

6th Generation iPod - The "Classic"

The technologies created with/for the iPhone marked a shift in the product lines. The "old" style of iPods are now "Classic". The Classic also introduced a new interface.

---

1st Generation iPod Mini

The Mini is no longer in production, but for a short while it existed and it did it well. The first generation Mini came out in January 2004.

---

2nd Generation iPod Mini

The 2nd and last model of the iPod Mini. This was superceded by the Nano.

---

1st Generation iPod Nano

The Nano was small, fast, low capacity and used solid state drives so you could run and exercise without damaging it. The first generation was released in September 2005 in 1gb, 2gb and 4gb models.

---

2nd Generation iPod Nano

The second generation Nano introduced a range of colours, came in 2gb, 4gb and 8gb and used aluminium for the casing. It was released in September 2006.

---

3rd Generation iPod Nano

Released in September 2007, the 3rd and current generation Nano redefined the shape and capabilities. The first Nano to handle video, it is available in 4gb and 8gb models.

---

1st Generation iPod Shuffle

The Shuffle was released for people who want the iPod experience without shelling out a significant chunk of money. The Shuffle was first released in January 2005 in 512mb and 1gb models.

---

2nd Generation iPod Shuffle

The second gen Shuffle was released in September 2006 as a 1gb only model. It was smaller and sleeker than the original Shuffle, and designed to clip directly onto your clothing.

---

1st Generation iPod Touch

The Touch brought all the cool features the iPhone introduced and was a massive leap forward in capabilities on the "Classic" line of iPods. It introduced wifi, a web browser, touchscreen interface and is available in 8gb and 16gb models.

Microsoft opens beta of Popfly mashup builder

Microsoft started an open beta program for its consumer-oriented mashup builder Popfly on Thursday at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco.

Popfly is a hosted application that enables people to assemble mashups by dragging and dropping components, rather than writing code. It's built with Microsoft's Silverlight Web browser plug-in.

When Microsoft released the alpha in May, it had prebuilt "blocks," or connections, to popular Web sites Flickr and MySpace.

Now it integrates with Facebook and people can create gadgets (also called widgets) that run on Windows Vista or Windows Live.

There are a growing number of these do-it-yourself Web authoring tools, including Google Mashup Editor and Yahoo Pipes.

For business users, IBM has developed QEDWiki and Coghead, and other companies have created hosted application development services.

Lumenlab's 42 inch All-in-one

This all-in-one 'Q' from Lumenlab seems to be a 42" flat screen HDTV, featuring a full-fledged high-end computer within.
The Q42 packs a 1080p panel, compatibility with the Lumenlab's own Hotwire PnP powerline networking technology, a fanless design, 1TB of HDD storage, 2GB RAM and Intel Core Duo processor.

And the best part is, all of these in a 3 inch frame.

iPhone gets third-party apps

Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, announced in an open letter to the mobile community that Apple iPhone will finally get official third-part application support. The developer's SDK (Software Development Kit) will be ready in February though, as obviously the Apple team is working hard on creating a developer's platform that's open to new applications but at the same time secure in terms of personal data protection and virus-proof.

As expected, the developer's SDK would also be used for creating third-party applications for iPod Touch.

We are glad that Apple senior management has finally got its heads back on and will be opening the platform for developers worldwide. However, we feel that the security restrictions imposed due to the supposed virus/malware threats will be a ingenious way to put cuffs on the developers hands, if you get what we mean. That leaves us rather curious on how things would turn up in the end.

Nokia's N810 makes first appearance

We're still waiting for the press release, but that's Nokia N810 Internet Tablet in the fo' realz. Yeah, sexy is an understatement.

Projection Mobile Phones

It’s getting there, day by day, closer and closer. It’s only a matter of time before mobile projection technology makes its way into the mass market. This concept by Stefano Casanova is a Windows based mobile phone that can project your desktop to an flat surface. The micro light projector is actually integrated into the LCD so in order to activate it, you have to flip the screen down. Conceptual but interesting.

21 Facts About The Internet You Should Know!

You probably use it every day but how well do you
know your Internet?

Ever wonder how all this foolishness got started in the
first place and why? How big it really is? How many present
users there are? The average time spent on a website?
Here are 21 facts you might or might not want to know
about the Internet.


1. Who coined the phrase 'World Wide Web'?

Tim Berners-Lee in 1990.


2. How did the Internet Start and Why?

It all started with the time-sharing of IBM computers in the early
60's at universities such as Dartmouth and Berkeley in the States.
People would share the same computer for their computing tasks. The
Internet also got help from Sputnik! After this Russian Satellite
was launched in 1957; President Eisenhower formed ARPA to advance
computer networking and communication.


3. Who was J.C.R. Licklider?

Licklider is often referred to as the father of the Internet because
his ideas of interactive computing and a "Galactic Network" were
the seeds for the Internet. His ideas would be developed thru
DARPA,(Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) in 1962. Later he
would help form ARPANET and the Internet was on it's way.


4. What was ARPANET?

ARPANET stands for 'Advanced Research Projects Agency Network'
Came about in the arena of Sputnik and the cold war. The military
needed a method of communicating and sharing all the information on
computers for research and development. It would also be a handy
communication system if all traditional ways were wiped out in
a nuclear attack!


5. What was the First long distance Connection?

In 1965 using a low speed dial-up telephone line, MIT
researcher Lawrence G. Roberts working with Thomas Merrill,
connected the TX-2 computer in Massachusetts to the Q-32
in California. The phone lines weren't quite up to the task!


6. Who was Leonard Kleinrock?

Kleinrock came up with the theory of packet switching,
the basic form of Internet connections. With a group
of UCLA graduate students on Oct. 29, 1969, Kleinrock
connected with the Stanford Research Institute but as
they typed in the G in LOGIN -- the system crashed!


7.What is an Ethernet?

It's a protocol for by many local networks, (LAN Local-area Networks)
the origins of which came from Bob Metcalfe's Harvard's dissertation
on "Packet Networks".


8. When was the first mouse introduced?

The first computer mouse was introduced in 1968 by
Douglas Engelbart at the Fall Joint Computer Expo
in San Francisco.


9. Did Al Gore really invent the Internet? No, but give
credit where credit is due. He did the most of any elected
official to actively promote the Internet. However, he wasn't
even in Congress when ARPANET was formed in 1969 or even when
the term 'Internet' came into use in 1974. Gore was first
elected in 1976.


10. Who coined the phrase 'information super highway'?

Wikipedia says Nam June Paik coined the phrase "information superhighway"
in 1974.

Al Gore popularized the phrase in the early 1990's.


11. Which decade really saw the explosion of the net?

The 90's! The Internet exploded in or around 1993.


12. How fast is the Internet growing?

Very fast! It took 38 years for radio to reach 50 million users,
13 years for TV, and only 5 years for the Internet. Source:
CyberAtlas.com


13. Number of Internet Users and Breakdown.

The Internet is roughly 35% English, 65% Non-English with
the Chinese at 14%. Yet only 13% of world's population,
812 million are Internet users as of Dec. '04. North America
has the highest continental concentration with 70% of the people
using the Internet.


14. Country with the highest percentage of net users?

Sweden at 75%.


15. How big is the Internet's surfing world?

Google's index now stands at 8 billion pages.


16. What was the Net's first index called?

Archie, other than library catalogs, this was the first
index created in 1989 by Peter Deutsch at McGill in Montreal.
Although it spouted such others as Veronica and Jughead, Archie
was short for Archiver and had nothing to do with the
comic strip.

Backrub was the original name for Google! Larry Page and Sergey
Brin used this term for their search engine in 1996, Google as we
know it debuted in 1998. The name Google is a twist on the word Googol,
a number represented as 1 followed by 100 zeros.


17. Who coined the phrase 'The Web might be better than sex'?

Bob Metcalfe in 1995.


18. What does HTTP stand for?

HyperText Transfer Protocol -- it's the protocol for moving files
across the net; it requires two client programs. The HTTP client and the server.


19. What is an ISP?

Internet Service Provider -- This is the service or company you use to
access the Internet.


20. What is HTML?

Hypertext Markup Language -- it's the coded format language for
transmitting and creating hypertext
web pages.


21. What are your average surfing habits according to Nielsen
NetRatings?

Each month you usually visit 59 domains, view 1,050 pages allocating 45
seconds for each page and spend about 25 hours doing all this net activity!
Each surfing session lasts 51 minutes.


One last thought - Henry Edward Hardy in his Master's Thesis (1993) on
The History of the Net stated "The Net is Immortal". Ever wonder what
this baby will be like in a 100 years? a 1000 years? Just something
to think about as you keep your eye on that cursor.

Better Gmail gets even better

If you're tired of waiting for Google to make some much-needed improvements to Gmail, Better Gmail has been adding useful functionality to the e-mail client since earlier this year. An update earlier this month finally gave Gmail what users have been clamoring for: integration with Google Reader.

Written by Lifehacker editor Gina Trapani, the extension is basically a collection of her favorite Greasemonkey scripts. It does more than just slap your feeds onto the bottom of your in-box, though. It adds a Collapse/Expand Gmail link to the top-left nav, just under the Compose link. This hides your e-mail and pulls the Reader up to the top, and swtiches to Expand when the in-box is hidden. It also adds a control panel to central left nav for managing your feeds, a neat work-around so that you can collapse the Reader's built-in navigation. The Reader pane is collapsible, too, so you can hide the perpetual distraction of feeds from the perpetual distraction of e-mail.

The only drawback to the integration is that the Reader page gets imported in its entirety, so you'll see two sets of Google navigation: one at the top of Gmail, and one just above your feeds. But that's a small inconvenience to have the luxury of checking both e-mail and feeds in the same place. We've talked about Better Gmail before, so there's no need to reiterate how it has all kinds of neat functionality like colored labels, a hotkey for TinyURLing, forced secure browsing, an attachment reminder and more.