Page 82 - AVN December 2013

| By Stewart Tongue
t th he e i in n y yo ou ur r g gi if ft ts s High t to o on t ti ic ck kl le e Tech 1 10 0 w we eb bm ma as st te er rs s l li if fe e
Every year when the holiday season comes around and webmasters start searching for gifts to give their coworkers, employees, family and friends, it gets
more difficult to stay ahead of the curve. A career where you work to get a competitive advantage every day through innovation and design tends to attract
early adopters who are already keenly aware of most of the consumer electronics and gadgets available. This year AVN has put together a list of ten worthy
tech gifts that may be missing from your collection, or may bring the biggest smile out of someone sharing the warmth of this holiday season with you.
1. Sonos Sound: The Total Home or Office Sound System
Providing superior sound and simple search no longer requires different players, wires
and music formats in each room. With Sonos you can get a starter kit for under $200
and gradually add more speakers whenever you wish to bring a central sound system to
another room of your home or office.
Sonos.com/shop
than ever before. Keep in mind that recent legal changes in Washington state and
Colorado may make this an especially attractive gift for some webmasters!
Bitponics.com
2. Slingbox: Your Own HD TV Server
Many cable companies and television providers claim to let you watch shows on your
tablet or smartphone. The fact is they all have restrictions on which shows you can
watch, or when and where you can watch them. The Slingbox costs less than $200, plugs
into your cable box and allows you to port the signal directly to any computer, tablet,
laptop or smartphone. You literally watch and control your home television from a proxy
device and it works beautifully.
Slingbox.com
7. Kindle Paperwhite: Making Paper Books Obsolete
Reading on a tablet has some drawbacks due to battery life, screen glare and the weight
of the device in your hands. That’s why some Luddites still prefer to sit down with an
old-fashioned paperback. Now those excuses are all gone, thanks to the Kindle
Paperwhite from Amazon, the world’s biggest book seller. A battery that lasts for days not
hours, pristine viewing clarity even in bright sunlight, and a design that is about a third
lighter than any tablet. Amazon even gives you discounts on e-books for using their e-
reader.
Amazon.com/gp/product/B00AWH595M/ref=fs_clw
8. Beats By Dre: Wireless Headphones That Cut the Cord and Keep the Sound
3. Roku 3: The World’s Best Streaming Set Top Box
Watching Netflix, HBOGO, Hulu, or dozens of adult sites that offer compatible content
just got a whole lot easier. Stream 1,000-plus channels of movies, television, sports and
more to any HDTV with a simple plug-and-play device that costs under $100.
Roku.com/products/roku-3
4. Makerbot Replicator 2: Revolutionary 3D Printer
Forget 3D movies—the real revolution going on right now is 3D printing!
Makerbot is the industry leader in consumer-targeted 3D printing devices
capable of generating store-quality plastic items for whatever use you
have in mind. Now, with the launch of the Makerbot Digitizer 3D
Scanner (sold separately), hobbyists can scan and print just about any
solid object that fits in the 410-cubic-inch device. Some may see it as
being too pricy with a sale tag of $2,200—but those are probably the
same people who told you computers were an overpriced fad ten years ago.
Makerbot.com
Once famous as a legendary rap music performer and producer, Dr. Dre seems to have
s
FEATURE
5. Fitbit Force: Fitness Tracking Bracelet
Stay motivated and keep moving with true real-time stats
right on your wrist. The Fitbit Force is a stylish wrist-
band that tracks steps taken, distance traveled, calories
burned, stairs climbed and active minutes throughout
the day. At night, you can even track your sleep habits or
use it to wake up silently with a vibrating alarm. Priced
at $129.95, it’s an easy and affordable way to use your
progress today as your motivation for tomorrow.
Fitbit.com/force
6. Bitponics: Hydroponic Gardening Hub
Does your herb garden need more water or is it getting
too much? Can you tell if the soil you are using has all the proper nutri-
ents for the particular plants you are trying to grow? Forget
trying to rely on luck or a green thumb. Go with sci-
ence and get yourself a Bitponics Hydroponic
Gardening Hub for around $500. Once the device
is plugged into the soil it tells you exactly what
your plans want and enables them to grow better
82 | AVN.com | 12.13
gone a step higher up the musical food chain with a line of listening devices that include
these kickass wireless headphones. Beats By Dre connect to any device via bluetooth and
pump out sound that will satisfy all but the most discerning audiophiles, anywhere you
go and without an annoying cord to contend with. The web is already migrating to
mobile—so should your music!
Beatsbydre.com/headphones/wireless/beats-wireless.html
9. Neat Desk Scanner: Scan Business Cards, Receipts And More
If you work late with a television on in the background you have undoubtedly
already seen their infomercials, but the webmasters we spoke with all said it works as
well as advertised. Pile up business cards from trade shows, expense receipts
and whatever other odd-shaped information you want to associate with your
contacts. Press one button and watch it all get digitally sorted, sifted and saved
to your computer hard drive or an optional cloud-based service.
Neat.com/products/neatdesk
10. Samsung Galaxy Note 3 + Galaxy Gear Smart Watch
The reviews of the Samsung Galaxy Gear Smart Watch have been less than
stellar. It doesn’t handle email or a lot of other
things future versions will undoubtedly manage
to accommodate. Even worse, Samsung inexplica-
bly designed it to only be compatible with the
Galaxy Note 3 smartphone (so if you have an
iPhone, HTC or Galaxy4 you won’t be able to use
it). All that being said, it is the first watch that ever
allowed a person to make video calls like the old Dick
Tracy comics portrayed, and for the gadget lover who
absolutely has to be the first of his friends to own one ... sometimes that mat-
ters more than anything else.
Samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxynote3-gear
Readers may have noticed that of the ten items listed, not one is made by Apple or
Microsoft. That was not intentional and is not the result of any editorial bias. It is,
however, very telling that when asked to name items on their wish list,
webmasters skipped over anything the folks at the headquarters in
Cupertino and Redmond have been working on recently. Good luck
finding the very best gifts this year and have a wonderful holiday season!