Great Computer Gifts
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Great Computer Gifts
Contents at a Glance
Mac Mini Computer
Apple's great little computer
Apple Mac mini MC238LL/A Desktop
Amazon Price: $440.00 (as of 02/15/2012)
List Price: $599.00
I own two Mac Minis and they are great computers. Apple recently upgraded the Mini while keeping the price low so it's now an even greater deal. The Mini is very small, yet now powerful enough to handle the computing needs of most users. The newest model has a 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo (Intel) processor and it comes with 2 GB of RAM that is upgradeable to 4 GB.
The one downside of a Mini, its slower hard drive, is easily rectified with an external hard drive. I use a USB 2.0 external drive as the boot drive on my Intel Mini and it is very fast, but the new Mini can be even faster if you use a Firewire 800 drive as the boot drive.
Read more about the Mac Mini on the lens I created just for this special Mac: Why You Should Buy a Mac Mini Computer.
iPod Touch
The iPod for those who don't need a phone
Apple iPod touch 32 GB (3rd Generation) OLD MODEL
Amazon Price: $245.00 (as of 02/15/2012)
When my local store lowered the price on the 8GB iPod Touch, I was their first customer for this newest iPod. I'm not a cellphone user, so the iPhone was of little interest to me. But the iTunes App Store did intrigue me, as did the reviews of the excellent video quality of the iPod Touch. Since I already owned a 30GB iPod Video, the 8GB Touch was perfect for me but for those of you who don't yet own an iPod, Apple recently improved and lowered the price on the 32GB model and they added a new 64GB model, so there is now a model that can meet the needs of any computer user.
The iPod Touch can do everything the iPhone can do, except, of course, make phone calls. The video quality of the Touch is superb and the screen size is large enough to watch for several hours. The battery life for videos amazed me - even though Apple says you get up to 6 hours on a fully-charged battery, I tested my Touch and I got over 7 hours of video life!
The iPod Touch syncs perfectly with iTunes and with the iTunes App Store. Since I'm a bit of a cheapskate, I didn't want to invest money in applications for my new iPod and I discovered that there are wonderful free applications available through the iTunes App Store. Many of the applications are "lite" versions of the full programs, but I found that many of the lite versions, especially of games, suited my needs perfectly.
In addition to playing music and videos and using applications on an iPod Touch, you can also use a wireless Internet connection to access your email, use a web browser or view YouTube videos on an iPod Touch. Owning an iPod Touch is like owning a small computer that you can carry with you anywhere. If you don't need a new cellphone, but you want all of the benefits of an iPhone, check out the iPod Touch today. You won't regret it.
New Hard Drive
Extra storage space is always a great gift
Iomega Prestige 500 GB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 34270
Amazon Price: $75.00 (as of 02/15/2012)
I'm compulsive about backups, so I can never own too many external hard drives. Last year, I purchased a 500GB Maxtor One Touch 4 Plus drive and I love it for its speed and quietness (see my review of that drive on my Mac Mini Lens). Several months ago, my local computer store had a great price on an Iomega drive and I needed another backup drive. I was a bit reluctant about buying a USB 2.0 drive that didn't also have a Firewire 400 connector, but I couldn't resist the price, the good looks of the drive, and Iomega's good reputation.
After hooking up the drive, I was delighted by its speed (almost as fast as the Maxtor was on FW-400) and how absolutely quiet it was. In fact, I liked the drive so much that I purchased another one about two months ago to use as the boot drive for my Intel Mac Mini. I'm now using it to power the Mini, sometimes on Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and sometimes with Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and the drive is amazing. I now recommend Iomega drives to all of my friends. If you're looking for a fast, quiet and low-priced hard drive, try an Iomega drive. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes, including desktop, portable and network drives.
Shiny New Speakers
Make music come alive
Logitech LS21 2.1 Stereo Speaker System
Amazon Price: $21.97 (as of 02/15/2012)
I often enjoy listening to music while working on my computer, but the small speakers on the Mini just weren't good enough. So I decided to buy a new set of low-priced, small speakers. I purchased the Logitech LS21 Speaker system and I'm very satisfied with the purchase. Although the volume on the speakers could be louder at times, the sound quality is good and the speaker set has some extra features I particularly like. The set includes two small speakers and a subwoofer with cords that are long enough for me to place the speakers on a nearby desk at ear-level while keeping the small subwoofer on the floor. I also like the wired remote that can be kept nearby for quickly and easily adjusting the volume. Although I'm very happy with the Logitech speakers, I wouldn't recommend them for use in a large room or for using while watching DVDs since they aren't very powerful. They probably would work well, however, in an office, a small room or with a laptop computer.
If you're looking for a great gift for a computer user, speakers are always a welcome addition. When purchasing speakers, however, keep in mind the surrounding environment and the person's needs.
Powerful USB Hub
Connection center for all that hardware
Kensington PocketHub 7-Ports Portable USB Hub (33366)
Amazon Price: $24.95 (as of 02/15/2012)
Several years ago, I purchased an expensive Belkin 7-port USB hub for my Intel Mini. Since then, I've used and discarded three cheap hubs that I purchased for my old PPC Mini. Two weeks ago, I broke down and finally bought the Kensington 7-port hub I've been eyeing for about a year. This proved to be one of my best purchases and I'm sorry I waited so long to buy it. Not only is the hub small and great-looking, it works even better than the Belkin.
After plugging in the hub and a 2GB USB flash drive, I was surprised at how fast I could transfer data to and from the drive. I also was pleased to find that I could use the hub to power a keyboard, a mouse, a USB flash drive, and an iPod at one time. This might not seem too amazing on a new computer, but all of these devices worked perfectly on an almost 5-year-old, moderately slow PPC Mini. With the cheaper hubs I owned, the Mini couldn't power a flash drive and an iPod at the same time, so, naturally, I'm delighted with the purchase of the Kensington hub.
In addition to the increased power and speed, the Kensington hub let me rearrange the cords on my devices so that now my desktop is much neater and clear of dangling cords. The hub has three rear ports that let you hang cords off the back of your desk while using the four front ports for cordless items like flash drives or a wireless keyboard or mouse connector.
If you know a computer user with a huge assortment of USB devices, the Kensington 7-port pocket hub would make a great gift for that person.
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by Clairejr
My name is Claire and I'm a recently retired writer of Mac OS X ebooks and an avid Mac user. I've been using Apple computers since the first Apple IIe... more »
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