By Monte Ferguson November's meeting featured a really fun topic: Great Gifts and Gadgets.
It's my favorite meeting of the year. The items discussed range from the
useful, say an iPhone case, to the oddball, like the R2D2 DVD player and
projector.
Most of my list of items were pulled from Ars Technica's gift guide.
Duane and Katie contributed their own suggestions as well.
Talk about your whacky gift ideas. How about getting someone a
Transformers USB drive. It has glowing red eyes and holds up to 2GB of
storage. It's called Ravage the Decepticon USB drive. (Price: $44.99)
This year's Star Wars related item was a R2-D2 USB Humidifier. It
features “wicking action” which vaporizes up to 8oz of water. I'm not
sure if it's wise to have something producing humidity that close to
your Mac.
Price: $20.90
Twelve South BookArc Stand for Notebooks
If you want to turn your
notebook into a stylish mini tower then look no farther. The BookArc is
just the laptop stand you need. Bear in mind you won't be able to use
the built in monitor while it's in the stand. It is a sleek and sexy
stand.
Price: $49.99
Movie Wedge
The Movie Wedge lets you set your iPhone or iPod down and
yet still watch a movie. It's great for the traveller. Or someone stuck
waiting around, say in a doctor's office. It's a small beanbag-like
stand. It's covered in micro suede. It holds the device in an upright
angle. Since it isn't rigid it is less likely to tip over.
Price: $9.99
(Shop.ars)
RunKeeper Pro for iPhone
This is an iPhone program dedicated to running
stats. The Pro version uses the built-in GPS capabilities of the iPhone
3G and 3GS to track your route on a map. You can then transfer it when
you sync to your Mac and even share your route with others online. You
can also track your speed (either at specific points on the run or over
the entire run), distance, time,and elevation. A “training” mode plays
audio cues at certain points of a run to let you know how fast and how
long to go. You can also take pictures within RunKeeper Pro (including
geotagging info) without quitting the app.
Price: $9.99
Arkon IPM127 bicycle mount for iPhone
My first thought when I saw this
was “Oh great, another accident waiting to happen”. The idea is you're
supposed to be using it so you can use the GPS features in the iPhone.
It attaches with a wingnut and an included bracket.
Price: $19.99
Spooklight Bike LED light with accelerometer
This is an LED light that
functions like the signal lights on a car. A wireless remote attaches to
the handle bars. It allows the rider to signal right and left turns. It
even lets you turn on hazard lights. An accelerometer in the main unit
senses braking and lights up accordingly. While cruising the LED
steadily blinks to alert drivers to your presence.
Price: $78.00
The Kymera Wand
Bring out your inner Harry Potter, or Gandalf, as you
aim your wand at the television and control it like magic. Flick up and
down to change channels; move the wand in a circle to change the volume
level; flick left or right to skip tracks.
And you thought your kids fought over the remote before.
Price: £49.99
Those are just some of the items we discussed. We had a great deal of
fun commenting on these products. We also had some suggestions from the
group regarding their own recommendations. Posted: Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 | 
