The Source For Goodies

by Bob Seidel

Buying for your tech-minded hubby or wife or friend or relative can be a bit daunting. The local electronics stores have a lot of "stuff", but it's so hard to pick. My source for assorted goodies is Cyberguys (www.cyberguys.com). They have a good online website, but also ship catalogs to you once you place your first order - it seems that very few companies ship catalogs any more.

Cyberguys is not the low price leader on PC parts, but they have a lot of stuff that you just won't find elsewhere, and certainly not locally. So, let's open the catalog and see if we can find a few gifts or stocking stuffers.

USB hubs? They have a ton of them, in every size. Ditto for keyboards and mice and camera memory card readers. But that is common stuff. Cyberguys has unique stuff, like a USB hub that is also a miniature virtual mini-aquarium, so you can watch fake fish while you compute.

You can get a "Squid" which is kind of like a power strip and surge protector, but instead of being rigid it has the outlets on tentacles, making it much easier to plug in those wide power bricks. They even have a "Calamari" version. $55 to $85. Cyberguys sells a number of "Power Strip Liberators" that do the same thing for existing strips. You can also get a USB hub in the squid format.

You can buy a device to charge your iPod from AA batteries - $29. A blister pack opener tool, for opening those impossible blister packs, will run you $13. You can get a thingie to turn a rolling suitcase into a laptop stand (no kidding!) - $20. How about a plant water monitor that croaks like a frog when the plant needs water - $5.

If you are into flashlights, they have a large inventory of LED flashlights. If you have never tried a flashlight with an LED bulb, they are really bright and better on batteries. One of my favorites is a keychain light that you just squeeze to turn on; they are so cheap at $2.49 (quantity 10) that I usually buy them by the dozen. They have a big selection of larger flashlights, including one that you just shake to power it - no batteries required.

One device that I bought recently was an external USB adapter for any internal hard drive. It supports normal desktop drives (3.5") in both parallel (PATA) and serial (SATA) versions, and notebook drives. Using one of these you can attach any drive to a PC via USB so that you can backup or copy data. These are really cool when copying data from an old PC to a new one.

Cyberguys also has a large selection of mobile and desktop goodies to make your life easier, drawing on USB power to do so. You can get a USB goose neck lamp ($9) or a USB fan ($12). Every kid needs a USB microscope ($300+). They used to have a USB powered coffee cup heater, but no longer. I suspect the device either drew too much power or didn't work well because it didn't draw enough power to heat. In either case, it's gone.

Some of the products are more serious and elaborate. If you have one of the cell phone Internet services using a PC Card for a notebook, you can create an Internet wireless hub at home by slipping the PC card into the "Phoebus Wi-Fi Router" - $290.

If you go to trade shows, you can get a scrolling LED name badge ($15 to $20). Hmmm - maybe I should get one of these for town council meetings!

And, finally, you can get Cyberguys tee shirts. I can see buying a tee shirt at a nightclub or concert, but why advertise that you are a nerd? Ha-ha.

P.S. - I take "large".

(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport - Oak Island area. You can visit his Website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail questions or column ideas to him at bsc@bobseidel.com. For specific inquiries, please call Bob Seidel Consulting, LLC at 278-1007.)