Giving the Gift of Geek: A Guide for 2008

Each and every holiday season, there never seems to be a shortage of geek-friendly gifts on the market. The major drawback, particularly if you haven’t received a bail-out check from the feds this year, is that geek gifts tend to be a bit pricey. Items like iPhones, digital SLR cameras and plasma televisions don’t come cheap, and who wants to risk life and limb at Walmart in search of a deal on an Xbox360?

That’s not to say that you can’t make the geek in your life happy this year without breaking the bank. You might even surprise him or her with something geek-approved, something he or she might not have even known existed, without ever leaving the comforts of home and without breaking the bank.

Without further adieu, I present to you 10 technotorious gift ideas for your favorite geek (in no particular order, and all under 50 bucks):

• Microcontroller Cufflinks ($45): For the fashionable geek, you can’t go wrong with these rectangular cufflinks. Made from two real black microcontrollers, these could disappear quickly. Items on sale at indie shop ShanaLogic are not mass-produced and often sell out in the blink of an eye. To recap, $45 gets you get a pair of limited edition cufflinks certain to jazz up any cocktail party with a touch of tech panache.

• 8-Bit Dynamic Life Shirt ($24.99 + $11.99 for transmitter pack): Though likely to be wildly popular with the Zelda geek in the neighborhood, gamers the world over will appreciate this one. The T-shirt features six red hearts, and two-and-a-half of them glow steadily throughout the day. But, if your geek is fortunate enough to have a significant other with the same shirt, all six hearts glow whenever they’re near one another. (Awwwww.) Is your geek still living the single life? No prob, Bob. The optional $11.99 transmitter pack can be placed on an Xbox, a Han Solo action figure, or whatever gives your geek his kicks … and when he is near the object of his affection, his HP will automatically increase.

• Mark Feldstein VL8C Gadget-Charging Valet ($34.95): I’ll admit I’m not familiar with the Feldstein brand, but this is probably the most stylish charging valet I’ve seen for the price. The cherry wood finish is the icing on the cake, as this affordable valet will keep your geek fully charged and organized. And we all know there are few things more disturbing to witness than a low-battery panic attack.

• The Batarang™ Folding Money Clip ($39): For the geek who still carries cash and has somehow managed to work the phrase “Why so serious?” into every conversation since mid-July.

• The ThinkGeek 8-bit Tie ($14.99): Must be seen to be believed, currently on sale and good enough to earn ThinkGeek a second appearance on the technotorious list. Sure, it’s a clip-on, but that only adds to the insanely realistic 8-bit look.

• GelaSkins (various prices): We’ve all seen those cool custom skins made for everything from cell phones and laptops to gaming consoles, and GelaSkins offers some of the best options out there for the customization-crazed among us. One of my personal faves is the Boombox Skin for the Apple iPhone 3G, which comes in at a budget-friendly $14.95.

• Boba Fett USB Flash Drive ($39.95): Did you really think I was going to get through an entire list without referencing the Star Wars universe? For shame. In addition to the famed Mandalorian bounty hunter, these USB flash drives also come in C3PO, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Luke Sywalker and other designs from a galaxy far, far away.

• LED Light Belt Buckle – Punk Skull Design ($32.75): The punk-rock geek is a rare breed, but if you have one on your shopping list you can’t go wrong with this one.

• Mighty Muggs (generally $9.99 – $14.99): I’ll admit to owning several of these (see the Santa vs. Hulk photo), with Han Solo, Spidey and The Hulk ranking among my favorites. They make for great office knick-knacks, and they’re (IMHO) a cool twist on the action figure. I’m particularly fond of the fact that they’re made from “100% recycled awesome.”

• The Best of MAKE ($22.75): This one is perfect for the DIY buff. Aside from having an awesome blog, MAKE Magazine is also one of the best resources available for DIY projects ranging from pinhole cameras to the infamous $5 Cracker Box Amplifier. Currently on sale, this book lists the 75 coolest and most popular DIY projects from the magazine’s first 10 volumes.

There are tons more affordable geek-friendly options out there, but these 10 really caught my eye. Should you happen to have a kitchen-geek on your list (almost as rare as the punk-rock geek), check out my friend Brett’s take on “Personal Trainer Cooking” for the Nintendo DS over at the alienlogic blog. It sounds sure to please the tech-savvy chef.

Oh, and if you’re the “economy-schmonomy type” or count Bill Gates as an uncle, you might want to consider these dream geek gifts.

Breaking News: Grown-Ups Play Video Games

Before shutting down the computer for the night and flexing some serious fret-melting muscle on Guitar Hero: World Tour, I couldn’t resist commenting on a video recently posted by CBS News called “Video Games Not Just For Kids.”

I first read about the CBS report over at The Feed where, as one might expect, the report has drawn the ire of many a gamer.

In the report, CBS suggests a stigma still surrounds adults who spend leisure time rescuing princesses and obliterating aliens bent on ruling the universe. As The Feed’s Raymond Padilla puts it, the piece “was clearly written and produced by people that are completely out of touch.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Sure, my grandmother might find some comfort in learning that her grandson isn’t as weird as she may have thought, that his penchant for Mario and Luigi isn’t some sign of a deep-seated affliction. But, let’s be honest — my grandmother isn’t browsing the CBS website for news clips, either.

In fact, I’d imagine most of the people who will actually see this clip will respond with one of three phrases:

(a) “Duh.”

(b) “Why is this news?” or

(c) some off-color comment involving Sherlock.

There is no such stigma, or at least there shouldn’t be. From the time I was five years old, there was some sort of gaming console in my house. It started with the Atari 2600 (curse you, Moon Patrol), ran the gamut of Nintendo consoles, briefly entered the realm of PlayStation and has since returned to Nintendo’s Wii. I’m certain I’m not alone in that respect. To suggest that a stigma exists after so many have been brought up on video games is the equivalent of suggesting my great-grandfather was immature for playing checkers into adulthood.

Indie Gaming Festival Sees Record Entries

With all of the pre-Thanksgiving preparations this year, I almost missed out on the news about next year’s Independent Games Festival (IGF). In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll admit this is only my second year to follow the competition. A once “hardcore” gamer who gradually joined the ranks of “casual gamers” due to more pressing demands, I find the variety of the entries to be fairly broad and appealing — and the games themselves sometimes push the boundaries of “gaming” as we know it. (Feel free to re-read that one using the double-finger quote gesture, if you like).

Take Crayon Physics Deluxe, the winner of the IGF’s $20,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize for 2008:

While it’s no threat to the Marios and Master Chiefs of the industry (and isn’t intended to be), this is a brilliant puzzle-game that pushes the limits of the genre with an unbelievable level of interactivity and some big, bad physics muscle. The fact that it also requires a little creativity only boosts its appeal, and it will be interesting to follow the game now that it has garnered IGF acclaim.

This year, Festival organizers report a 15-percent increase in entries, with 226 separate Main Competition entries and an impressive 145 IGF Student Showcase entries. I’ve yet to take any of this year’s entrants for a spin but, still shell-shocked from my first-ever Black Friday shopping experience, it’s a good bet I’ll spend some of the extended weekend gaming safely within the walls of my abode.

If you’re interested in checking out more of last year’s winners (or any of the winners dating back to 1999), they’re available on the IGF website.