Every holiday session, millions of geeks suffer at the hands of poorly thought-out gifts: USB flash drives in Hello Kitty shapes. T-shirts that detect Wi-Fi signals. Your second, third, and fourth copies of Arkham City.
No more, friends. This year, buy the tech-savvy friends and family in your life something they actually want—or something they don't know they want until you, insightful person that you are, give it to them. Fortified with eggnog and holiday cheer, the Ars staff picked out a few of our favorite things to make your gift-giving (and gift-asking) easier.
COMPUTER GEEK
Mercury EXTREME™ Pro SSD 480GB SATA 3.0Gb/s solid-state drive
Price: $799 (Link)
The massive CPU speed and performance jumps of a decade ago are things of the past. These days, your desktop system can last you for years if you make the occasional upgrade. One way to get some more life out of an old system is by moving to a solid state drive. Boot-up and application launches will be quicker and, if you sit close enough to your case to hear the drive spinning whenever you're reading or writing data, you'll have a quieter computing experience.
The Mercury EXTREME offers solid performance at a reasonable price, and with a mounting kit, you can drop it in your desktop system. 480GB comes at a price, but it's more than enough for your OS, apps, documents, and decent-sized media library. (Those of us at the Orbiting HQ with SSD-equipped desktops keep our media files and backups on traditional HDDs.) If the 480GB drive is too rich for your taste, there's a 128GB model for $185.
Ergotron LX Dual Side-by-Side Arm
Price: $349 (Link)
Ergotron makes high-quality monitor mounts in a wide range of configurations. Their LX Dual Side-by-Side Arm is a single unit with two arms that allows you to mount a pair of monitors up to 24-inches each. It gives you a wide range of motion, including the ability to rotate the monitors 360 degrees.
Monitor mounts are great for freeing up surface space on your desk and giving you the flexibility to position your displays at an ergonomically optimal height and distance from your eyes. In addition to the LX Dual Side-by-Side Arm, Ergotron also offers a single monitor LX arm and an MX series for larger monitors.
Linode VPS
Price: $20/month (Link)
Linode has been providing well-priced and reliable Virtual Private Servers (VPS) for years. A VPS can be used for a variety of tasks, from running a personal Minecraft server to serving a website. Linode's streamlined admin panel makes setting up and maintaining a VPS simple. Add more RAM, storage, or IP addresses with the click of a button. Linode also has a history of giving out free upgrades to its customers.
O'Reilly Safari subscription
Price: $28/month (Link)
A Safari subscription gives access to a huge library of technical books and videos. This is invaluable to someone learning a new programming language or trying to write the next big iPhone game. Safari's monthly subscription cost is less than the price of a single printed programming book. I've had access to Safari at a few jobs, and the large selection of searchable books made jumping into a new project much less daunting.
USB 3.0 hub
Price: $52.99 (Link)
With more smartphones, tablets, flash drives, and backup disks vying for the USB ports on our computers, a USB hub is a better idea than ever. Rather than clinging to the 2.0 standard, you can bring someone into the 5Gbps-transfer-speed future with a USB 3.0 hub. You won't see these speeds without a 3.0-compliant device on the other end, but the time to prepare for those devices is now.
FOODIE GEEK
SodaStream Jet starter kit
Price: $79.99 (Link)
Years ago, editor-in-chief Ken Fisher told the world about his Keurig coffee machine addiction in an Ars Gift Guide. Soon thereafter, Ken learned that if one is to frequently acquaint one's lips with a philter of arabica, one should also balance that with the beautiful hydrating power of water. Problem: water is boring. The SodaStream is a simple tool for injecting sweet, sweet carbon dioxide into water, transforming it from a boring foundation of life into something more suitable for a bourgeois technocrat.
Look, you're either a sparkling water fan or you are not. If you are, stop blowing money on store-bought water. If you're not, stop blowing money on crappy carbonated beverages that are marked up 1,000 percent. The SodaStream will pay for itself in no time and, frankly, if you drink more water, you'll probably be happier for it (particularly if you are replacing sodas/pops/fizzies/"Coke" and those empty calories). If you're one of those people who has to have a little flavor with your carbonation, SodaStream sells plenty of sweeteners, drink mixes, and fruit "essences" which allow you to make everything from lemon flavored sparkling water (a classic 0-cal refreshment) to cola knockoffs and sparkling orange drinks.
The SodaStream is particularly popular with young kids. If you finesse it just right, you can convince your small children that making drinks for you is a fun and exciting game. And you can live like a well-hydrated king.
Good Eats: The Early, Middle, and Late Years
Price: $22-25 each or $70.31 for the set (Link 1, Link 2, Link 3)
The meticulous and witty style of Alton Brown's cooking show, Good Eats, have been translated to three separate books. Good Eats 3: The Later Years appeared this past September, so this is a good opportunity to help a foodie complete his set. Even for less rigorous chefs, Brown's process- and science-focused methods are a great hook to get nerds into cooking.
Belkin Chef Stand + Stylus
Price: $39.99 (Link)
An iPad makes an excellent accessory in the kitchen. With tons of recipe apps, e-cookbooks, volume conversion tools, and cooking demos on YouTube, it's handy to have around while cooking up holiday dinner for the whole family or just an intimate dinner for two. But let's face it, the kitchen gets messy, and no one wants their $500+ tablet covered in chicken grease and marinara. That's where the Belkin Chef Stand + Stylus comes in. The sturdy, non-slip stand works with or without a case in either vertical or horizontal orientation. The magnetic-tipped stylus is designed to be easily gripped, even with an oven mitt on your hand. Using it keeps grease, sauces, gravies, and cake batter from getting all over the iPad's touchscreen. If things get truly out of hand, both the stylus and stand can be hand washed in warm, soapy water. (WARNING: neither component, nor your iPad, are dishwasher safe!)
AeroPress
Price: $25.95 (Link)
Dumping and cleaning coffee grounds from a traditional French Press can be a time-consuming mess. Invented in 2005 by Alan Adler, the AeroPress will leave your kitchen clean and make a great cup of sediment-free coffee. The self-cleaning plunger pushes hot water through a paper microfilter, depositing the grounds as an easily disposed cake at the bottom. Over the years the AeroPress has collected a devoted group of fans who share tips and videos online. There are even third party replacement parts, like this re-usable stainless steel filter. The AeroPress is a great gift for the scientifically minded coffee-lover.
UtiliTEA kettle
Price: $59 (Link)
Not strictly for coffee, the UtiliTEA electric kettle is a fast and safe way to get water boiling in the morning. Achieving the right temperature is easy with the color-coded dial. Making green tea? Just turn the dial to green! This kettle has been in heavy use at my house for years without any sign of wear.
Burr grinder
Price: $90 (Link)
Getting the right grind can make or break a cup of coffee. Spending a little more on a grinder will get you an even grind to suit whatever brewing method you're using. Conical burr grinders are less likely to clog and are quicker to clean than traditional blade grinders. The built-in timer also makes it easy to experiment with different grind levels.
iGrill
Price: $99.99 (Link)
The iGrill is much like a regular meat thermometer, with a stabby end and a display for temperature. But it's also Bluetooth-capable and can integrate with a free app to let you monitor your meat temperatures on your iPhone. If you know someone who grills throughout the winter and you don't want to watch them shiver while shuffling outside next to the grill, an iGrill could be right up their alley.
Hand grinder
Price: $44 (Link)
If you can't handle the pricetag on the burr grinder, other options are available. This hand-powered ceramic coffee grinder is fairly small, but with a little bit of elbow-grease it can create enough grounds for a great cup of coffee. The grinder can also prepare other materials such as salt or pepper, but make sure you wash it out before you go back to grinding coffee.
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