The 6 Best Christmas Card Gift Ideas

Despite my best intentions to give personalized gifts to everyone on my holiday list, at least one or two people always end up with a gift card. Deep down I can't shake the feeling that I'm calling it in. This year, I've resolved to consider gifting some great online services, a gift that keeps on giving, month after month.

The Best Gift Cards For Music Lovers: There are several great options to stream music either to a computer or to any number of wireless-enabled personal electronic devices. Streaming music has gotten really popular -- and really easy. Services such as Pandora and Spotify offer the ability to listen to a wide variety of music without having to purchase and/or download it. Unfortunately, the free versions also have annoying pop ups and commercials. Consider a subscription to Pandora One (www.pandora.com), where a year of ad-free music streaming can be had for $36. Spotify's library and service is constantly improving, and you can buy gift cards at major retailers, or its premium membership is 7.49$9.99 a month.

The Best Gift Cards For Book Lovers: If a Kindle is out of your price range, consider a membership to Audible. Members can instantly download any of the more than 100,000 audio books in its holdings. Membership typically permits one download a month, with additional books at a reduced price. You can give a membership by the month (three months is $45, six months is $90, etc) or give a specific book. Install the audible app on any number of personal electronic devices and stream books from a smartphone or a wide selection of MP3 players. With the gift of audio books, your avid reader can catch up on "The Hunger Games" -- Suzanne Collins' young-adult series -- while picking up the house or carpooling the kids to soccer practice. Win-win!

The Best Gift Cards For Movie and TV Lovers: There are options. If that special someone doesn't already have Netflix, you can purchase a gift membership for $7.99 a month. Netflix's gift memberships are limited to the streaming service, not movie delivery. Keep in mind that the certificate is nonrefundable and requires that the recipient enter a valid credit card number and authorize automatic re-bills after the gift membership expires.

Or give Blockbuster Total Access a try. Gift memberships start at $9.99 a month for one DVD out at a time and are available in various combinations of months and number of movies out. Movies can be returned or exchanged in store, and the monthly rate includes the ability to rent video games. Some users have complained about movie turnover -- the time from mailing a movie back to the receipt of the next movie -- being longer than Netflix, but Blockbuster claims that new releases are available up to 28 days before Netflix or Redbox. That may make up for waiting three or four days for replacement movies to arrive by mail.

Or consider gifting a membership to Hulu Plus, a TV streaming service that lets users watch their favorite shows and thousands of movies, on demand, on any number of wireless-enabled devices. Gift memberships start at $7.99 a month. If Uncle Jim is distraught when he misses an episode of "House," make him and his couch happy again.

I've compiled links to all the cool Nerdy gadgets, services and products I've reviewed this season at www.nerdsecret.com. Friends don't let friends give boring gifts.

(Andrea Eldridge is CEO of Nerds on Call, which offers on-site computer and home theater set-up and repair. Based in Redding, Calif., it has locations in five states. Contact Eldridge at www.callnerds.com/andrea.)

 

Things Nerds are Thankful For

Nerds Give Thanks like a Baws!

Everyone has a nerd or two in their life these days, whether it’s a computer guru, video gamer or mobile gadget aficionado. From texting to email to blogging, the typical nerd often favors electronic communication over “real world” conversations, and this can make it difficult to connect. In honor of Thanksgiving, here’s a bit of insight into the heart of the nerd you love with a few things that just about every nerd is thankful for this year.

Nerds are thankful for loved ones that accept our quirks. We are thankful you finally got cable. We are thankful for Dr. Who, Peter Jackson and the preponderance of free WiFi.

Nerds are thankful for websites that let us keep in touch without speaking.

Nerds love social media. It lets us stay in touch with friends and family that we might otherwise never see or hear from, what with our propensity to sequester ourselves indoors with our computer and home theater system. If you want to hear more about what’s going on in the life of your favorite nerd, join their preferred social media site, be it Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc and soon you’ll be sharing LOLs and know more about the dietary habits of their cat than you ever thought possible.

Nerds are thankful for the ability to do holiday shopping without having to get dressed.

We nerds are grateful for the annual holiday shopping day for the public-phobic, Cyber Monday. The Monday after Thanksgiving has grown to be one of the best online shopping days of the year. Major online retailers like Amazon, Walmart.com, Newegg and Dell slash prices on computers, televisions, handheld electronics, computer parts and much more, allowing those of us that shudder at the sea of people swarming Walmart on Black Friday to still get a crack at some of the lowest prices of the season. Plus we get to compete with our fellow nerds in the sport of snapping up limited quantity sale items, just like we would on Black Friday, just without any actual physical interaction.

Nerds are thankful for expanded access to high speed cellular data.

Smartphones have become the nerd’s go-to gadget to stay “plugged-in” on the go. Nothing drags down our sunny disposition like slow mobile data – waiting while that YouTube video buffers can really fray the nerves. Thank goodness 4G networks are expanding beyond major city centers. Now we can actually get some benefit from that next generation 4G compatible phone we sprung for 2 years ago in the hope that 4G would come to our area soon. It’s finally here!

Nerds are thankful for the promise of more Star Wars.

In October 2012 the unthinkable happened: Disney purchased Lucasfilm Ltd and simultaneously announced that production will soon begin on the next installment of our beloved Star Wars series. Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted to release in 2015. Regardless of whether the nerd in your life greets this news with glee or horror, they’re surely going to see the movie when it comes out. Will it be awesome? Many of those that were disappointed with George Lucas’ rendition of Episodes 1-3 argue that it can’t be worse. Or will Disney over-commercialize the file, stripping out the true spirit of Star Wars? Only one thing is certain: it will provide fodder for debate in the nerd community for years to come.

Nerds are thankful for algebra.

Nothing cramps a nerd’s style like slow internet. Luckily we have an international team of telecom technology researchers from MIT, Harvard, Caltech, the University of Porto in Portugal and the Technical University of Munich to thank for discovering what many believe is the future of broadband: algebra.

Typical broadband works by breaking up large amounts of data into packets and sending each packet separately to the user requesting the data. On average, 2-5% of packets are lost in transit, requiring that the data be re-sent. Researchers have discovered that sending data in the form of an algebraic equation instead of traditional packets allows the recipient computer to “fill in the blanks” of any missing packets, resulting in significantly faster internet transfer speeds and more stable mobile data connections.

And these Nerd Chicks are thankful for you, dear reader; we hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving.

Create Custom Gifts Online

Who has Time For Custom Gifts?

Nothing says you put time, thought and effort into a gift like personalization. I don’t mean just pasting Uncle Barry’s name on the coffee mug you bought at Target. I mean creating something unique for that special individual. Before you book a weeklong craft-a-thon at your neighborhood paint your own pottery shop, check out these great ideas for creating a totally custom gift online.

These days it’s easy to get your photos printed on any number of items, from shirts to mugs to jewelry to canvas. Costco, Snapfish and Shutterfly are just a few of the sites that offer a wide array of photo gift products.

If you’re looking to branch out beyond photos, however, Café Press (www.cafepress.com/make/personalized-gifts) maintains one of the most comprehensive collections of single-run, design-your-own products. Choose from an overwhelming list of clothing, drinkware, kitchen items, home and office décor, and accessories - from stuffed animals, bags and wallets, custom cases for mobile electronics and much more. Add full color graphics; enter your own text in a wide variety of fonts and colors; and adjust layout until you have your masterpiece.


While there are many other sites that offer a large selection of customizable products, what makes Café Press special is the ability to get a single item at a reasonable price. Most other sites require a sizable minimum order (in many cases it starts at 10 or more). Giving out the same hand designed t-shirt to everyone you know makes it a bit less personal, even when it’s undeniably awesome.

For the soda-lover on your list, Jones Soda Co. (http://www.jonessoda.com/) offers a fully custom label that you can have printed on any of their twelve most popular flavors. Upload a photo and enter your own text for the back of the bottle. A 12-pack will set you back $30, but it will be the most memorable blue berry lemonade soda they’ve ever enjoyed.

Little ones on your list are sure to love a book all about them. I See Me! (www.iseeme.com) offers a great selection of personalized books about their name, the holidays or their birthday, even “The Super, Incredible Big Sister” (or Brother). Simply provide the child’s name and a few additional specifics depending on the book (such as date of birth, gender or name of sibling) and they’ll send you a beautiful, personalized, hardcover book. My son has the “My Very Own Name” book where it tells the story of animals selecting each letter in his name. Each letter has a poem in which the animal of the same letter (Jaguar for J, etc) sings the praises of the letter. He got it when he turned one, still loves it now that he’s four, and has memorized it (despite the fact there’s more than 20 letters in his name).

Trailblazers and on-the-go snack-lovers alike will get a kick out of the custom nutrition bars you devise for them at You Bar (www.youbars.com/buildabar). Choose your base from a variety of nut butters, dates, soy or sunflower. Then select protein powders, nuts and seeds, fruits, sweeteners, seasonings, cereals and infusions. If there’s anything you want that’s not listed, you can write it in under a “special requests” option. As you add ingredients the nutrition facts automatically updates so you can see the effect on fat and calories if you add those chocolate chips.

The choices can be overwhelming so they’ve added tips and recommendations along the way as well as a “Taste Tester” to ensure your concoction is delicious, not disastrous. Name your creation and you’re ready to order a box of thirteen for about $3-5/bar (depending on size). Ingredients are all natural and their online support can help you build a bar to fit just about any nutritional requirements. Bars are “guaranteed delicious” – if you don’t like your bar they’ll help you replace it for free.

Even those of us that aren’t crafty enough to sew mom a custom tea cozy can achieve personalized present perfection with a few clicks of the mouse.

Top Tech Gifts You Don't Know About

Ditch That Gift Card for a Top Tech Gift

Now that so many of us rely on electronics to read, watch movies and listen to music, you may be thinking that giving gift cards is the only option to help fill out your loved ones media library this holiday season. Yet the generic ease of a gift card makes for a very impersonal gift. Luckily you can achieve gift nirvana with a variety of truly useful digital products and services that are sure to please even the most difficult to buy for loved ones on your list. Here are our Top Tech Gifts of 2012.

With the increasing popularity of eReaders, it may seem that giving the gift of a great digital book requires you resort to an Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card. Not so! If there’s a specific title you’d like to share, you can gift an eBook to your favorite Kindle or NOOK user. As long as you have the recipient’s email address, neither of you need wait for the title to arrive in the mail.

For Kindle owners, find the title in the Amazon Kindle store and choose the “Give as a Gift” option on the right side of the page, under the “Buy now” button. Share the love with the NOOK users in your life by finding the title you’d like to give at www.barnesandnoble.com, scrolling to the NOOK Book option and choosing “Buy as Gift.”


Give the Apple gadget lovers on your list a better excuse for wasting so much time on their phone by gifting them a few great apps, movies, TV shows or tunes. While you may consider just picking up an iTunes gift card, take the time to find a game, video, album or tool that you think they’d enjoy for a more personal touch.

To gift an app, start at the iTunes app store and find the app that you think your loved one will enjoy. To the right of the “Buy App” button, click the smaller grey button for an additional options menu. At the top of the menu select “Gift This App.” You can send the gift via email or print a certificate to wrap or deliver by hand. A similar procedure can be followed to gift a movie, TV show, song or album.

If you know someone that has a towering stack of magazines that they love to peruse for inspiration and leisure, a gift membership to Next Issue (http://www.nextissue.com/gift/, 3 months of premium membership for $44.97, longer periods are available) will give them all-you-can-read access to over 70 digital magazines delivered to their iPad or Android 7” tablet. While titles are limited on the Android application, the iPad’s list of titles is comprehensive, including just about every magazine I’ve heard of – Vogue, Cooking Light, Cosmopolitan, Fitness, GQ, Money, and many more. Upgrade to Premium to get Entertainment Weekly, People, Time, and Sports Illustrated.

For the person who has everything - particularly if a lot of it is stored on their computer – a gift membership to a cloud-based data backup service is a truly thoughtful and likely unexpected gift. What better way to show you care than helping to protect them from the sorrow of losing precious photos, family movies and possibly years of work due to hard drive failure. Crashplan+ is a great, easy to use data backup solution for the home user. Simply pick a plan from their list of pricing options (www.crashplan.com/consumer/store.vtl, starting at $1.50/month). Complete the payment form, entering your email address so that you get the receipt and license key. Clear the auto-renew check box if you want to just purchase a one-time gift. Now all your recipient need do is download CrashPlan and navigate to Settings – Account – License to activate it with the license key you gifted them.

We totally stole the picture from Crashplan, but we recommend their service all the time, so we hope they'll forgive us.

3 Easy Ways to Save on Gift Cards

Score a Deal on Gift Cards

Gift cards are a ubiquitous staple of the holiday season. Whether you’re looking to show some appreciation to someone you don’t know very well (like your newspaper delivery person or your gardener), or have someone on your list that’s hard to buy for, a gift card can be the perfect present for giver and receiver.

However, sometimes you get a gift card that you can’t or don’t use. What can you do with it? This dilemma has led to the creation of a gift card resale market where you can snap up gift cards at a discount. Saving money while giving more value – now that’s a gift.

My favorite gift card resale sites are Cardpool and eCard Exchange. They buy gift cards from people who want to cash out a card they don’t need. Once received, they verify the authenticity and balance on the card, and then resell them at a discount. While the savings isn’t as substantial as you may find on eBay, the balance is guaranteed to be valid at the merchant (Cardpool covers up to 100 days from the date of purchase, eCardExchange covers for up to 30 days). There’s a large selection of retailers and restaurants available, including Target, Walmart, Petsmart, Outback Steakhouse and Olive Garden, just to name a few. Shipping is free, so the price you see is what you pay.

Most merchants will allow you to use one gift card to purchase others. For example, you could buy one $90 TJ Maxx card for $80 and trade it in at the store for three $30 cards which you can give as gifts. Or use the card to pay for the gifts you’re buying and score yourself an instant discount on your purchases.

Discounts are proportional to the popularity of the retailer. As such, Target cards carry an average 3% discount while you can score 30% off PacSun gift cards.

Gift Card Granny is a gift card resale consolidation site. They collect lists of gift cards available across a multitude of other sites, including eBay, Coupon Trade, Cardpool, eCardExchange, ABC Gift Cards and more. Since each site’s stock is limited by what they’ve acquired from individual sellers or partner retailers, this site is a great way to find and compare available deals all with one search. It has, by far, the largest selection of gift cards available across the net. You aren’t buying direct from Gift Card Granny, however, so pay close attention to the terms and conditions of the site you’re re-directed to in order to ensure the site guarantees the balance on the card before you buy.

Speaking of guaranteed balances, many people choose to sell their unused gift cards through eBay in order to obtain the most money on the sale. Resale sites purchase cards at a greater discount than they sell them for. This means that the person who sold the $90 TJ Maxx gift card in the example above probably netted about $65 dollars for it. Those looking to try their luck at getting more for their card often turn to auction or direct to buyer sites. While cutting out the “middle man” consolidation site can score you a better deal, you lose the guarantee that the card you buy will have the promised value on it when you show up at the store.

Finally, if you maintain a membership at Costco or Sams Club, check out their gift card offerings. Unlike grocery stores that sell a variety of retailer cards at face value, wholesale outlets typically offer cards at a discount. Purchase $100 worth of gift cards for $80 and you’ve scored an instant 20% discount whether you use the cards yourself in lieu of cash of give them as gifts.

Photo used by permission y2bk

Move over Black Friday, Cyber Monday Tops Charts

Cyber Monday: Better than Black Friday

Many have heard the term “Cyber Monday” floating around. But what exactly is it? Is it just a marketing term designed to sell more products or it is actually an event worth taking note of? It’s mostly both – and definitely worth paying attention to if you’re looking to buy lots of gifts this Christmas season.

The National Retail Federation is an international group of retail companies, the largest in the world. One of their major divisions, and one that is growing quickly, is shop.org, a consortium of online retailers. In 2005, shop.org coined the term “Cyber Monday,” claiming that “77 percent of online retailers said that their sales increased substantially on the Monday after Thanksgiving, a trend that is driving serious online discounts and promotions on Cyber Monday this year.”

How this pseudo-holiday started was when online retailers wanted to take advantage of the holiday craze for gifts, but could not compete with brick-and-mortar stores for once. Too many people were spending all Friday in line at physical stores and not online with their computers. So to capitalize on the trend, many online retailers started offering significant discounts on the Monday following Thanksgiving. Contrary to popular belief, Cyber Monday doesn’t just apply to cyber gifts like computers, tablets or smartphones, but simply to those goods offered solely online.

Cyber Monday Factoid

Because of its timing on the first workday after the holiday, many people started doing their Christmas shopping while on their work computers. In 2005, 37% of those surveyed said that they would secretly shop online while at work. In 2010, that number nearly doubled!


Despite some employers’ lost productivity from employees shopping online, many online retailers are making lots of money. In 2010, Cyber Monday shopping exceeded the $1 billion mark for the first time at an increase of 16% over the previous year. 88% of online merchants now offer Cyber Monday discounts.

The most common markets for Cyber Monday purchases range from the expected to the surprising. Jewelry and luxury retailers actually see the biggest benefit from the event, while the predictable consumer electronics market experiences the second biggest bump. The demographics of people taking advantage of the sale range wildly too. 70 percent of 18-34 year-olds shop online, but 30 percent of 65+ year-olds do as well. From young to old, more and more people are transitioning into online retail. In 2010, online sales totaled more than 165 billion dollars, meaning that almost a half billion dollars are spent each day on products online.

Sadly for some, all this online activity is taking its toll on previously-established major corporations used to working with a physical business model. Many companies like Best Buy are adapting price-matching strategies to keep up with online sales. However, these guarantees apply only to a limited number of items, and specifically in Best Buy’s case, are suspending that offer during the major shopping week that contains Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Trendy Tech Gifts for 2012

Black Friday Goto Guide

In the sea of tech toys and gadgets that hit the shelves every holiday season, a few stand out as the year’s sure-to-sell-out favorites. With the first new console gaming system in six years and a mini-tablet war, this year is no exception. Here are the hottest trending tech goodies of the 2012 holiday season.

Video Game Consoles

Nintendo’s Wii U (http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu, $299.99 for an 8GB “basic”, $349.99 for a 32GB “deluxe”) is the first new console gaming system released since the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 first debuted in 2006. In addition to the standard game controls, the GamePad incorporates a 6.2-inch LCD touch screen (which they’ve dubbed a “Personal Second Screen”) with motion control. Additional game content is beamed to the controller screen so you can see maps, complete challenges with the stylus or your finger, or use it to move your character or vehicle on the big screen. It can be used for handheld gaming, even when the TV is unavailable.

It’s the must have item this season, and it’s sure to sell out fast. If you want one, don’t wait for a sale. The best you can hope for is a bundle deal where retailers may package in an extra game, but you’ll risk losing out to resellers that snatch them up in bulk to mark up $100 or more and sell to the desperate on EBay.

Tablet

Despite the much heralded release of Apple’s new iPad mini, my pick for the best 7” mini tablet is Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008GGCAVM/ref=kindle_dp_comp), starting at $199. An entry-level iPad mini will set you back $329, making the Fire’s price a big draw. Unless you are already married to Apple’s iTunes store, rest assured that the Kindle gives you access to just about all of the most popular apps, as well as the huge library of books, videos, TV shows and music housed in Amazon’s massive library. With an HD display, dual antenna for stronger WiFi reception and both a USB and Micro-HDMI port (for connecting it to your home theater), anyone on your list looking for an ultra-portable mini-tablet is sure to be pleased with the Kindle Fire HD.


If 7” seems just too small to accommodate your handheld web surfing, video watching and game playing needs, Amazon is releasing an 8.9” version of the Kindle Fire HD in time for the holidays starting at $299.99 (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008GFRE5A). Pre-order now – they expect to sell out.

Video Games

Call of Duty (http://www.callofduty.com/blackops2, $60 for XBox 360, Playstation 3, Nintento Wii U and PC) is going to be the hottest video game of the season. This first-person shooter game has developed a huge fan base since the series first launched in 2003, making it the biggest-selling title on Microsoft’s Xbox gaming system. Holiday sales of their annual game releases have outpaced all other games for the last four years and this season will be no exception.

Players battle it out online over a variety of “maps” and game styles. New “map packs” are released regularly to keep game play fresh. Just keep in mind that content is mature so it’s best saved for the older gamers on your holiday shopping list.

Trendy music lovers are clamoring for the pricey but oh-so-fashionable Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. The colorful can-style headphones are about style even more than sound, though many swear by the quality and durability. With many versions available, the entry level Beats Solo HD (www.beatsbydre.com/headphones/beats-solohd-black/900-00011-01,default,pd.html) will set you back about $200, though many retailers are offering them on sale for the holiday shopping season.

With eight colors to choose from, they sport an in-line control and microphone to easily switch from your tunes to an incoming call. Reviews are mixed with users seeming to love or hate them, but they’re unquestionably popular.