Techlearning blog

I don't really consider myself cheap, rather I'm just very very choosy. I don't spend much money on software or subscriptions or gadgets unless I truly feel it's worth it. When I have a chunk of money to spend, I really take my time, do my research and try to make the most informed decision that I can.

So, with the holiday's quickly approaching (especially Black Friday), I thought I'd share some of the gizmos, gadgets and things that are giving me geekbumps this holiday season.

For my money, the eStarling Digital Picture Frame is the top of the digital frame mountain. There are cheaper digital picture frames. There are larger digital picture frames. But I have yet to find any other digital picture frame that has built in WiFi, supports pulling in photos via RSS feeds, can have photos emailed to it, and will display text messages. Yes, this is the picture frame that geeks dream of. You upload your photos to Flickr, they magically appear in the frame. Take a photo with your digital camera and via email you can make sure that the photo is in the frame by the time you get home. Once you set it up, no computer connection or SD cards or cables are ever necessary again. Oh yeah, and no subscription fees either. Available in black or white, 7" or 8" screens for $199 or $249 respectively. When it comes to features, there quite simply is no better digital picture frame on the market.

What exactly is a Chumby? Wonderful question. It's sorta like a beanbag, but you wouldn't want to toss it around. It has a touch screen, speakers, built in Wifi, two USB ports, a squeeze sensor and an accelerometer. It can pull in widgets via Wifi that will do all sorts of things, like show you eBay auctions you may be interested in, display your Flickr photos, tell you what time it is, show you ads off of Craigslist, display the latest blog posts from TechLearning, and all sorts of other things. Plug in your iPod and it'll play your music for you too. Oh yeah, and it's completely hackable. Open source software, open source firmware, open source hardware. You want to tweak it, they encourage you to. One person already figured out how to get CoverFlow on it! So what exactly is a Chumby.... Well, to be honest I dunno, but it's pretty cool. $179 in your choice of colors.

Don't ya hate breaking out your laptop, firing it up, waiting for it to boot... and then discovering that there's no wifi in range? Well, that will be a thing of the past with this Wifi detecting T-Shirt! Yes, you heard me right, this T-Shirt will display how strong a Wifi signal is in your vicinity. No signal? No bars! The electronics and battery pack are easily removable for washing (you do NOT want to forget to remove those). Trust me, everybody at the conference will know you're hardcore when you show up wearing this. And let's be honest, this could be really useful for tech directors! Great way to see where your wireless network has weak spots. A stocking stuffer at $30.

I just discovered this one recently, and it certainly deserves another mention. The EyeFi Wireless 2GB SD Card is an SD card with built in Wifi. Let me say that again. It's an SD card with built in Wifi. Just take pictures with the camera, and whenever it's within range of Wifi (you can check with the T-Shirt above) it'll send the photos to your location of choice, most likely a folder on your computer or to a photo sharing site like Flickr. No more messy card readers, no more filling up the card before you finally break down and transfer your photos. You just worry about taking pictures, the EyeFi card will get them where you want. Comes in orange and orange, for $99.

Want something for yourself but also want to do something charitable? You can't go wrong with the OLPC XO Give One Get One program. For $399, you get one of the first OLPC XO's, but you also donate one to a child in a developing nation. Need something to sweeten the deal? Everyone who participates will get one year of free T-Mobile HotSpot access. That means free Wifi at any Starbucks across the country (hear that Warlick?). It's one of the more interesting machines of our time, and an incredibly worthy cause. Doesn't get much better than that.

One of the most interesting gaming phenomenons of the last few years is the tossing away of the joystick in favor of getting your entire body into the game. Between Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero and the Nintendo Wii, gaming no longer needs to be a sedentary activity. However, the one that's get me out of my seat is the upcoming release of Rock Band. In the box you get a guitar/bass, a microphone and a drum kit. Add on another guitar and you've got yourself a full Rock Band, ready to kick it! Everyone plays together and you get points based on your accuracy. Don't have three friends to play with? That's ok, you can play online as well and hook up with people that way. The set list is incredible, and while you may not actually be playing those instruments, it certainly makes you feel like you are. Oh yeah, and during those long instrumentals during Don't Fear the Reaper, your microphone can be used as a cowbell! $169 for the game, microphone, guitar and drum kit.

And what do you get for the person who has everything? How about a Flickr Pro account! Or a year's subscription to Animoto! Or Premium access to Picnik! Or a few thousand Lindens for Second Life! There are so many great sites out there that may be free to try out, but have extra features or functionality available for a few bucks. Most of them are fairly reasonable, and you're geeky friend/family member will really enjoy having that extra access. Additionally, those subscriptions are what keeps those sorts of sites going. So if you like it, it's a great way to support it.

So there you go, my top 7 geek toys for the 2007 shopping season. Am I missing something? Another gadget out there giving you geekbumps? Share it with us!