Publication Date: November 30th 2005
ISSN 1445-1360
In this issue you will read:
Editorial: November 30th 2005
Quotable: Oscar Wilde said...
Gift Suggestion: Motorola Homesight
Gift Suggestion: MP3 Players
Gift Suggestion: Canoe Game
Gift Suggestion: PC Game
Gift Suggestion: Magazine Subscription
The Great Australian Joke: Australia gets drunk, wakes up in North Atlantic
G'Day Blokes and Sheilas!
The holidays and the holiday shopping season that goes with it have well and truly arrived. As I write this Holiday Gift List Edition, it is even snowing here in Olympia. It is a far cry from the weather Casey and I experienced on my birthday trip to Mexico. Thank you to the well wishers who sent me emails and cards!
Reflecting on last years gift suggestions for your tech and geek friends, I have been lucky enough to receive all of the gifts bar the game Canoe. Who knows maybe this year it will turn up under the tree!
No matter where you are I hope you have a safe and happy holiday season!
Nathan Allan
TOP
I adore simple pleasures. They are the last refuge of the complex.
TOP
This is a new product that looks like it is trying to simplify and mainstream the success of X10 products that can monitor and control your home.
Homesight is a wireless monitoring and home control system that links in and is controlled by your computer. It includes cameras, motion sensors, alarms and door monitors which allow you to monitor your home from your desktop, or remotely from any Internet enabled browser.
In my case, where I now have a big house and cannot always see who is at the front door or in the car park, it would be perfect to let me view and monitor what is going on.
The various reviews and customer feedback I have read on the Homesight brand, tells me that this is very good hardware but the software needs a little bit of work still. That said the software complaints are more about the flexibility of the products and more on the techie side than the average user would require.
Visit: Motorola Homesight
Available as a large starter kit at: Sams Club
Available as a smaller starter kit at: Amazon.com
TOP
If you have not already worked it out MP3 players and in particular iPods are all the rage. They make it so simple to have a lot of your music collection (if not all of it) in one spot. You can use them like a Walkman. There are accessories for your car and home. It is endless!
I will not even try to recommend a specific unit, but I will tell you a few things you need to look at before buying.
Yes this is exactly the same as last years list. I didn't get it and hopefully someone gets the clue! Actually Casey and I decided to add to her tradition of buying family games for Christmas and now we plan on buying each other a game for Christmas each year. It is a fun thing to give on Christmas Eve and play with relatives.
I came across a postcard advertising this hand-crafted game at Top Pot in Seattle. Invented and crafted by Bruce Alsip this game easily doubles as an work of art or ornament that can be proudly displayed.
I am definitely no expert on how the game is played, but the craftsmanship and story behind it are very interesting. You can also order accessories bags to carry around the game.
This game of strategy is sure to become a family heirloom if you purchase one for US$75.
Visit: Canoe Game
TOP
I am being specific here, when I say PC Game, as I know you all have computers. Games made for XBox, Playstation and the like are different and will not play on anything but the consoles they are designed for. Something to keep in mind is if the person you are purchasing the game for does have a games console they may prefer you buy the game on the appropriate console.
So having clarified that where do we go to now? There are literally thousands of games on the market at any one time. They all cater to specific niche markets. Not all games are going to appeal to all people! You are going to be the best judge of what a person might like, so you will need to make some decisions!
There are basically a couple of types of games out there, from a operation viewpoint. Firstly games were you are challenged purely by the computer opponents (or artificial intelligence) built in to the game. The second type which is more and more popular are games where you can play other real people, using the online Internet enabled portions of a game. If you choose the later it is probably going to help if the receiver of the game has a high speed Internet connection.
So let me make a couple of suggestions from my own experience. Then I will point you to a site that can make many more!
If you are looking for some blood and gore, it seems you cannot get past the latest versions of Quake and Doom from ID Software. In the same genre but based on World War Two is Call of Duty. I played a demo of this recently, and also liked the look of the Collectors edition, which includes some nice walk-through with the developers. The walk-through is sort of like a directors behind the scenes look at the game.
Of course next is a suggestion based on my own likes. It is one of the many Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMORG) available on the market, Dark Ages of Camelot. I play this one because I have other friends that do. If your not in to medieval times, then there are other games such as Star Wars Galaxies.
The choices are endless so make sure you do some research first! Find out what the person your buying for might like!
For Reviews and Suggestions visit: PC Gamer
TOP
Perhaps your techie or geeky friend needs to spend some time away from the computer? Perhaps you can persuade them to sit on the couch with you if they had some nice reading material?
There are many choices and everyone seems to have their favorite magazine. Don't pay newsstand prices! Get them a subscription. If you do the math on most magazine subscriptions they are literally 50 to 80 percent off the cover price. Sometimes the price of buying the magazine twice from the newsstand.
It really is a gift that keeps on giving all year long! Some of my favorites are Computer Power User, Consumer Reports, Sea Kayaker, and National Geographic.
Search for Magazines at: Amazon.com
TOP
This is some very serious breaking news! From what I see it will be cheaper for me to fly home now.
See the story at: Satire Wire
TOP
