Gift Ideas for Geeks

11 Best Spy Gadgets for the Modern Geek Spy

Dan — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:30:36 +0000

I think there’s some deep connection between being a geek and wanting to be a spy. Not in the dodgy spying-on-your-spouse kind of way, but in the James Bond, look at these cool tiny electronics kind of way. Sure, these gadgets could be used for evil, but they can also be used to record all kinds of interesting daily habits and other cool data.

(2-pack)New State-of-the-art Fashionable Wristwatch Walkie Talkie Spy Wrist Watch–Auto Channel Scan–LCD display–Auto Squelch

Wi-spy USB Spectrum Analyzer with External Antenna

Spy Gadget (stealth black) – Coolest item on Amazon!

Ninja Remote Stealth Television Gadget

Folding Grappling Hook Ninja Gear

Wild Planet Spy Gear® Spy Night Scope

1.2 Ghz Wireless Surveillance System

Pocket Pro II Camcorder, FREE 4GB Sandisk Memory Card with Adapter, 3.5 Hrs Battery Power, TIME & DATE (On or Off)

4gb spy mp3,mp4 sun glasses recorder video vidicon camera DV 640×480

Orbitor Electronic Listening Device

GSI Handsome Waterproof Watch, Hidden Pinhole Camera/Camcorder, High Resolution Audio, Video and DVR Recording, USB Interface, 4gb Built-In Memory – Great Surveillance Tool

Arduino and Electronics Kits for Hardware Hackers and Makers

Dan — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 23:06:36 +0000

How do you fancy hooking your kitten up to the internet? Or modifying that old stuffed toy with flashing LED eyes and position-sensitive farting sounds?

Sure, you can also use electronic hacking kits like Arduino to prototype sensible ideas for cool new products, but from the Arduino hackers that I know, about 90% of them seem to get more pleasure from converting old things into tiny fighting cyborgs.

Arduino Duemilanove Starter Kit

Getting Started with Arduino (Make: Projects)

Arduino Ethernet Shield

LCD Module, 20 x 4, White on Blue

Basic Parts Kit

Programming Interactivity: A Designer’s Guide to Processing, Arduino, and Openframeworks

5 Very Cool WiFi Detector Finder Things

Dan — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:33:05 +0000

WiFi is power. Well, WiFi actually drains power, but if you have WiFi, you also have the power. Darn it, you know what I mean. I’ve just confused myself now.

Anyhoo, sometimes you don’t know when you’re sitting in the most mega-powerful WiFi spot in the world, and you could be downloading all your torrents at three times the speed. These little beauties should help you out.

Wifi Finder Watch

Alpec 4 in 1 Red Laser WiFi Detector

TRENDnet 54Mbps Wireless G USB Adapter with HotSpot Detector TEW-429UB

Wi-fi Detector Cap

WiFi Signal & Hot Spot Finder

5 Awesome Construction / Build-Stuff Toys for Geeks

Dan — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:42:50 +0000

Building big things, like buildings and railroad tracks, are clearly not work for the meek geek. Having said that, we do like to put bits together to form bigger bits, and luckily there are plenty of toy manufacturers out there willing to fulfil our craving.

I really want to build a robotic jellyfish. Is that so wrong?

The NeoCube Omega

LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 (8547)

Duncan Tetra Top Deluxe Set – Tetrahedron/Cubeoctahedron

Ball of Whacks

Zometool Bucky Ball Kit

7 Awesome Gifts that Glow. Funky Town.

Dan — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 23:40:31 +0000

Glowing is good. Show me a man who doesn’t like things that glow, and I’ll show you a man with no taste. In an ideal world, everything would glow. Except at night, because that would be terribly annoying. But… glowing is only useful at night… Argh!

Anyway! Here are some lovely things that glow.

Parrot with Martini Neon Sign and Light

McCormick Food Colors & Egg Dye, Four Assorted Neon, 0.25-Ounce Vials (Pack of 6)

50 6″ Glow Sticks, Premium Quality

Glow In The Dark Body Paint Kit

Blacklight Sensitive Bubbles

Jar Of Glow-In-The-Dark Stars

Two Dozen (24) Mini Glow-in-the Dark Rubber Duckys

6 Kawaii Japanese Candies for the Sweet-Toothed Japanophile

Dan — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 02:13:07 +0000

Japan is the home of incredible food: Sushi, Kobe Beef, MOS Burger… There are also thousands of strange and cute candies/sweets/chocolates available, which although don’t always taste as good as they look, are forgiven for coming in such bright and cheerful packaging.

Marukawa – Seven Pack Bubble Gum Sampler

Eiwa Marshmallow Hello Kitty Strawberry, 3.1-Ounce Bags (Pack of 20)

Marukawa – Tattoo Fusen Strawberry Flavored Bubble Gums (60 Pieces) – 8.89 Oz

Nobel Chibi Soda Hard Candy – 3.1 oz (90g)

Peko Sweet Milky Candy

Orion Mini Cola Candy, 9g x 4Pks

6 Cool Musical Instruments for the Geek Musician

Dan — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 17:35:20 +0000

I’m convinced that there’s a strong connection between geeky-ness and music. Music and geeky subjects (science, programming) are all based on a set of rules, but then expect some creative use of those rules to produce amazing output. Plus, musicians and geeks are both pretty good at detecting and re-using patterns they find in others’ work.

Anyway, with that in mind, here are some pretty frickin’ cool musical instruments that the geek in me really wants to play with.

Electro-Faustus EF102 Photo Theremin

Moog Music Etherwave Theremin Kit

Korg nanoPAD USB Drum Controller, Black

Stylophone Beatbox

Saga TC-10 T Style Electric Guitar Kit

Akai EWI4000S Electronic Wind Controller

5 Cool Geek T-Shirts for the Fashionable Nerd

Dan — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 18:50:52 +0000

I’m a geek. I like t-shirts. Is that so wrong? I know, I know, I should wear shirts with sleeves and collars. I’m in my thirties, so t-shirts shouldn’t really make up the majority of my wardrobe. But I don’t care! With stunningly awful – but at the same time excellent – t-shirts like those below available, why would you NOT wear one?

T-Clock Black T-Shirt w/Flashing Clock & Stopwatch Sz L

10 Kittens T-Shirt by The Mountain 100% Cotton Short Sleeve fits Teens & Adults

Wi-Fi Detector Shirt by ThinkGeek

Multicolor Fusion Sound Equalizer Rave T-Shirt With Sound Sensor #13

ThinkGeek Electronic Drum kit T-Shirt

The 5 Best Geek Watches

Dan — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:11:14 +0000

I like watches. They feel like one of the few pieces of personal adornment that a man can get away with wearing. Unless you’re particularly weird, you can only wear one at a time, so you need to make sure it makes the right statement about you. In other words: no Rolex or nice watches; for us geeks, it has to be something useful, interesting, or unexpected. Preferably all three.

CASIO CA53W-1 Watch with Calculator

Nixon Newton Watch – Men’s

Tokyo Flash Women’s Mugen Digital Dial Black Stainless Steel Watch

Pokemon Watch – Part 2 – Pichu

Nooka Zub Zenh Glow in the Dark Watch 20mm

5 Retro Video Game Gifts That Are Still Pretty Awesome

Dan — Mon, 31 May 2010 18:35:09 +0000

In these modern times of outstanding 3D graphics and multiplayer online deathmatches, I feel I should justify why these older game consoles are still worth checking out.

Atari 2600: one of the originals, with thousands of games, and a stunning fake wood veneer. Look at the joystick! It’s a thing of beauty. Even if you never play it, just put it out on display.
Sega Dreamcast: without doubt, the best console ever made (I say that without a hint of sarcasm). Jet Set Radio? ChuChu Rocket? Samba de Amigo? Crazy Taxi? Power Stone? ‘Nuff said.
Nintendo SNES/NES twin video game system: do I need to justify this? Play games from both classic systems on one console? Brilliant.
Nintendo Virtual Boy. OK, I admit it, this one is actually pretty crappy. BUT, any video game connoisseur would love to own one. A classic. (A classic piece of crap, admittedly, but still a classic).
Sega Game Gear: if you’ve never played Sonic The Hedgehog on a Game Gear, you haven’t lived. Forget the DS and the PSP, all you need is a Game Gear and Sonic. Well, that and a backpack full of batteries.

Atari 2600 System – Video Game Console

Sega Dreamcast Console

SNES/NES FC Twin Video Game System – Silver

Nintendo Virtual Boy – Video Game Console

Sega Game Gear – Color Portable Video Game System