As the holiday season approaches, I always get a lot of requests for advice for gift ideas for the computer user(s) in the family. So here comes my annual column on technology orientated gifts for people on your Christmas list.
Normally it takes quite a bit of work to compile the list. This year I lucked out. I had just received and set up a refurbished LaserWriter 16/600 from a company called MacResQ when their weekly email of specials arrived. Several times in the past their weekly email arrived about the time I needed some item and it would be listed somewhere in the email. This time, the email announced their first annual MacResQ Holiday Gift Guide. What perfect timing! You can see it at:
www.macresq.com/store/giftguide.las
The Gift Guide eases your shopping woes by giving you a number of options when searching for Mac related gift goodies. There are 10 categories to pick from: AirPort/Wireless, Audio, CD-RW Drives, FireWire, Hard Drives, Ink Cartridges, Keyboards/Mice, Memory, Software and Video Cards. You can also look by price in five categories: Under $10, Under $25, Under $50, Under $100 and Over $100.
Besides the products already on the list, they will be continually adding new items. Here’s a quick sample of the types of products you’ll find in the Gift Guide:
MacAlly Optical USB 5 Button Trackball with Scroll Wheel
MacAlly iBall USB Trackball
Apple Pro Speakers
Apple AirPort Base Station (Graphite) w/ Cisco Aironet 340 Wireless Networking PCMCIA Card with Extended Range Antenna – AirPort Compatible
Mac OS 10.1 & Mac OS 9.2.1 Update Bundle
I have bought a number of items from them and have been pleased with their service.
Besides specials they offer PowerBook repair, Data Recovery services and a variety of other services. You can visit them at
www.macresq.com
And to subscribe to their weekly email of specials, visit
www.macresq.com/store/list.las
Apple Computer has also come out with their Holiday Gift Guide that you can see at:
www.apple.com/giftguide
Likewise, it is broken up into categories by Gift ideas by Price, Digital Lifestyle and People You Know. With the recent drop in price, you might even consider a new computer. The G4 I have been drooling over went down almost $300 in price. It looks like I will be able to afford it sooner than I thought.
For music lovers, about the best mp3 player on the market is the iPad by Apple. It is so popular that Dell Computers, one of the leading Window computer manufactures now sells the Windows versions of the iPad. According to Apple Sales, 1 out of every 3 iPods sold are for Window based computers.
If you are a K-12 teacher, you need to be aware of the X for Teachers program that Apple has running until the end of December. You can order their free “X for Teachers Kit,” which provides everything a teacher needs to learn and become comfortable with Mac OS X including:
Getting Started with Mac OS X Training CD. Filled with practice exercises, tips, and over 80 QuickTime movies
Mac OS X v10.2 (Jaguar) Install CD Set
Telephone support for 90 days
Manual and License Agreement
To qualify for the “X for Teachers” program you must be a K-12 teacher at a recognized school (Public, Private, Catholic, Bureau of Indian Affairs) and you must agree to have software delivered to your school address.
To order your “X for Teachers Kit” visit:
www.apple.com/education/macosxforteachers
Until next time, I wish you successful shopping and happy computing!
Dr. Michael A. Coffey is the Technology Coordinator at Nerinx Hall High School and a part-time
consultant. He may be contacted at
macoffey@aol.com