I was going through the Internet Archive (proof the web never forgets) and looking at old designs I’ve had for my websites over the years. I stopped on an article I published 5 years ago.
Let’s see how much the tech and prices have really changed.
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CYBERBUZZ GIFT GUIDE
Friday December 1, 2006
Garmin Forerunner 305 – $409.99
It may be the dredges of a rainy Vancouver winter, but soon enough the weather will turn and it will be time to run again. This GPS watch works with the web to map routes, track your time, monitor workouts and your heartrate. This new edition has better satellite tracking so it will work on your forest runs too.
Lulu / Blurb 15 – 50 cents a page
These two web sites do basically the same thing they take your blog or photos and turn them into a book. If you’ve been tracking a global trip in an online diary, sharing your favourite recipes or just uploading baby pics for the whole family to see, visiting one of these sites will help you take your web content and turn it into a professionally bound book. Some amateur authors are even using these sites to publish, and sell, their novel.
Creative Zen $100 – $400
If a multimedia player is on your wishlist, you have to look at the catalog of Creative players. The Creative Zen Vision W is perfect for the business traveler, the Zen V Plus or Zen Vision M for the college student, the Zen Muvo for the runner, the Zen Micro for the music lover. Slip in the Creative Aurvana inner ear headphones and all is beautiful. Creative consistently creates award winning technologies with more features and better quality and value than any other series on the market.
HP Cameras – $299.99
3 of the top 10 point and shoot digital cameras picked by PC World Magazine this year come from HP including their number 1 pick, the HP R727. The prices are dropping the megapixels and features are increasing. From in camera editing to printing without a PC, HP has a camera for tweens (HP E327 $99) to shutterbugs (HP R967 $499). HP does a great job of bundling their cameras with printers in perfect all-in-one holiday packages.
LG Chocolate – $129.99 on 3yr contract
It wouldn’t be Christmas without some Chocolate and the phone of that name from LG has gadgetphiles going gaga. Recently released in Canada on the Telus network, the LG 8500 Chocolate looks like an iPod and a phone all in one. Throw in a camera phone, Bluetooth and a sexy black shape and you won’t have to wait to see if the rumours about Apple releasing their own iPod phone in the new year will come true.
Fly Pen – $124.99
The Fly is the world’s first pentop computer. Not a laptop, not a desktop, this is a computer in a pen. The Fly’s power comes from an optical scanner that sees everything you scan and write on special Fly paper. It’s got a brain (a built-in computer processor) and it’s got a voice. It’s even got its own language. If you’ve got a math problem Fly can solve it. Plus, you can load your Fly with Flyware cartridges to add new games and adventures.
Etsy
Etsy is a great website featuring thousands of handmade gifts. From jewelry to clothes to wooden bowls, artisans from all around the world get to hang a shingle on the site and sell their stuff. It works much like eBay. The artisan determines a price and a shipping cost and you can search for whatever you want.
Lego Ice Cube Tray – $9.99
Not everything has to be high tech. Those of us who love our electronics now loved legos back in the day. So why not shake or stir a martini with the building blocks of imagination, lego shaped ice cubes.
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Of all the gifts, the only ones that have staying power 5 years later are the Lego Ice Cube Tray and etsy.
Analog > digital.
Dad. Broadcaster. Writer.
Three time Guinness World Record Holder.
I run the world for Team Diabetes.