Well, here we are with all of our seasonal shopping done - right! If you are like me, perhaps not. So here are some last-minute PC gifts to consider:
A new mouse is always a good idea. Mouse technology has really improved in the last year or so. If your friend or relative is still using an old-style mouse with a ball, it's time to move them up. Technology went from balls to red-light (called "optical") sensors and now to invisible laser sensors. A good mouse is a cordless mouse - without a tail. My recommendation: Logitech MX-610, which can be gotten locally this week at $29.99 after rebates. A step up would be the MX-1000 which is rechargeable and is available locally at $39.99 after rebates.
An external hard drive is always a thoughtful gift, as few people seem to backup as well as they should these days - about $120. The smaller USB "thumb" drives come on capacities sufficient for personal backup and cost anywhere from $20 on up. And, speaking of security, a good paper shredder may not be a very romantic gift, but a very purposeful one.
The Garmin C330 GPS that I talked about last week is available for $699.99 locally, minus $100 instant savings. Not cheap, but a really great gift. There are other vendor's products you should also consider, such as TomTom or Magellan.
A gift of an MP3 player is always great, but you may have missed the boat. Everybody wants an iPod and every local store seemed to be out of them, but if you order directly from Apple you could still get one. My daughter decided she wanted one at the last minute, and any store (even online) we tried was out. But Apple had them (store.apple.com). Of course, there are lots of other brand MP3 players around, but the iPod has that certain "name" and there are many add-on products available for iPods.
More digital camera memory is always appreciated, but make sure you get the correct one; this has become very confusing recently due to the proliferation of new card types. A family member made this mistake recently.
About rebates: make sure you read the fine print! I got caught this week myself. I purchased a software title that had a sticker on the front advertising a $20 rebate. I bought the software, installed it, and only later when processing the rebate noticed that it had expired on 11/30. A quick email to the manufacturer returned, in effect, "Too bad!" Since the software was opened, the store would not let me return it. I made some comments to the store that they should change stock after rebates expire, or at least remove the sticker, and they thanked me for the input (right!). Oh well…
Wishing you all a great holiday season, and if I may be Politically Incorrect - a Merry Christmas! Next week: my yearly wrap-up column.
(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.)