Need a techy gift. What was the best tech you got for Christmas?
December 29, 2015 4:35 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for a $0 - $100 or so techy gift for a friend. Amazon links are fabulous. Something you would give to someone that would make them say "Ooooh!" If there is something you got for Christmas that you give rave reviews, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks!
A little bit of a redirect, but here's the Wirecutter guide complete with amazon links.
posted by ftm at 5:00 PM on December 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ftm at 5:00 PM on December 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
Virtual reality? The View-Master Virtual Reality Starter Pack (you slip your own phone into it) is quite inexpensive and has given us several good sessions of OOOOHs and WOWs and LET ME SEE!s since Christmas. It's been a big hit with my husband (the actual recipient), visiting five- and nine-year-olds, and a wide assortment of holiday houseguests. It's not an amazingly useful or beautiful object or anything, but definitely tech-adjacent and entertaining.
posted by teditrix at 5:17 PM on December 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by teditrix at 5:17 PM on December 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
If unlikely even that they're in to coffee and haven't already discovered the Aeropress, one of those plus an analog thermometer (to get the water temp just right).
If they're hands-on techie, maybe a lock picking practice set. (But check the laws for the state they're in first. Most states are fine with it; some aren't.)
posted by dws at 5:18 PM on December 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
If they're hands-on techie, maybe a lock picking practice set. (But check the laws for the state they're in first. Most states are fine with it; some aren't.)
posted by dws at 5:18 PM on December 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
I really think the best techy gift right now is a Raspberry Pi. It doesn't do anything on its own, but it really makes you go "ooooooohhh" with the possibilities.
posted by 256 at 5:24 PM on December 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by 256 at 5:24 PM on December 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
Stuff from Adafruit and the author of Zen Photon Garden: Dithering USB-Controlled Driver for NeoPixels and 8x8 - 64 RGB LED Pixel Matrix
posted by a lungful of dragon at 5:24 PM on December 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by a lungful of dragon at 5:24 PM on December 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
Seconding 256. I just got a Pi for Christmas and can't wait to get it up and running. You can buy it on Amazon a la carte for $35, or you can get a complete starter kit for $69.
posted by good lorneing at 7:36 PM on December 29, 2015
posted by good lorneing at 7:36 PM on December 29, 2015
Amazon Echo. It. Will. Change. Your. Life.
posted by jennstra at 7:55 PM on December 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by jennstra at 7:55 PM on December 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
Fast-charger adapter and portable power packs. Utilitarian, simple, and OMG SO APPRECIATED.
posted by erst at 9:04 PM on December 29, 2015
posted by erst at 9:04 PM on December 29, 2015
Now that the Pi comes with a decent amount of CPU and RAM, it's pretty sweet. The Flirc case is lovely. OSMC makes it into a hugely capable media centre with very easy setup.
It doesn't come with a power supply or cables so you'll need to get those separately: eBay is your friend here. The Pi itself needs 5V at a bit over 1A via micro USB; if you use a 5V 3A supply you can also power and run a 2.5" USB hard drive via one of the Pi's USB ports. Doing that with the current version of OSMC requires adding the following line
The new Pi still has analog audio and composite video outputs, but they're now incorporated into a single 3.5mm tip/ring/ring/sleeve (TRRS) socket. Tip is audio left, ring next to tip is audio right, ring next to sleeve is ground, sleeve is composite video. If you plug a standard 3.5mm stereo audio plug into that socket, the Pi will detect the short between video-out and ground and disable the composite video output.
This TRRS arrangement is the same one used by some iPods, and almost the same one used by some camcorders. The main thing is ensuring that the TRRS cable you buy has ground connected to the second ring. Many have it connected to the sleeve instead, and that won't work. The most easily sourced compatible cables I could find were Sony-compatible camcorder types, and these work fine on the Pi provided you swap the yellow (composite video) and red (right audio) RCA plugs.
posted by flabdablet at 9:09 PM on December 29, 2015 [4 favorites]
It doesn't come with a power supply or cables so you'll need to get those separately: eBay is your friend here. The Pi itself needs 5V at a bit over 1A via micro USB; if you use a 5V 3A supply you can also power and run a 2.5" USB hard drive via one of the Pi's USB ports. Doing that with the current version of OSMC requires adding the following line
max_usb_current=1to the Pi's /boot/config.txt file. Trying the same thing with the 2.5A supply included in the starter kit good lorneing linked above might be running a little close to the wind.
The new Pi still has analog audio and composite video outputs, but they're now incorporated into a single 3.5mm tip/ring/ring/sleeve (TRRS) socket. Tip is audio left, ring next to tip is audio right, ring next to sleeve is ground, sleeve is composite video. If you plug a standard 3.5mm stereo audio plug into that socket, the Pi will detect the short between video-out and ground and disable the composite video output.
This TRRS arrangement is the same one used by some iPods, and almost the same one used by some camcorders. The main thing is ensuring that the TRRS cable you buy has ground connected to the second ring. Many have it connected to the sleeve instead, and that won't work. The most easily sourced compatible cables I could find were Sony-compatible camcorder types, and these work fine on the Pi provided you swap the yellow (composite video) and red (right audio) RCA plugs.
posted by flabdablet at 9:09 PM on December 29, 2015 [4 favorites]
I received a Google Cardboard- lots of ooh! Also a starter Wemo Lighting kit which makes me feel like I'm living in the future.
posted by teststrip at 10:30 PM on December 29, 2015
posted by teststrip at 10:30 PM on December 29, 2015
san disk wireless usb stick. Phone, tablet, computer - they can connect and play music or movies on it or access any other files.
and this little digital projector is already on my list of ideas for my kid for christmas next year :D
posted by lemniskate at 6:05 AM on December 30, 2015
and this little digital projector is already on my list of ideas for my kid for christmas next year :D
posted by lemniskate at 6:05 AM on December 30, 2015
My boring and practical contribution - one of those segmented surge protector boards that can curve. Techy types tend to have a lot to plug in and these boards have made life much easier, especially since you can curve them to use every outlet instead of having one or two wasted due to bulky plugs. It's amazing, honestly.
posted by E. Whitehall at 4:27 PM on December 30, 2015
posted by E. Whitehall at 4:27 PM on December 30, 2015
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posted by cantthinkofagoodname at 4:50 PM on December 29, 2015 [7 favorites]