Making Money

As longtime MMM readers know, the products featured in this column have always gotten a thorough review. I’ve strived to ensure that these evaluations made you aware of the pluses and minuses of each item so that you’d be capable of making an informed decision whether or not the software or hardware will really be right for you.

Because I’d always used the above methodology, I generally covered about three products per “Producr Watch.” This approach works fine during the year, but it makes it very difficult to come up with a more encompassing buying guide for the rapidly approaching gift-giving season. Consequently, I’m scrapping my old way of doing things in this issue of Making Money Magazine. The products mentioned here are all worthy of your consideration, for they are solid gift choices for the beloved geeks on your shopping list. Yes, they all have their unique advantages and disadvantages…but as my two favorite adages go, “one should not look a gift horse in the mouth” for “it’s the thought that counts.”

Radio Shack (www.radioshack.com) offers a very practical Bilingual Talking Tire Gauge (catalog # 63-1205) for a little under three dollars. Not only is it accurate and capable of reading tire pressure from 5-99 PSI in half-pound increments in both Spanish and English, but it comes with the battery pre-installed. Tire-pressure can also be measured using a clear, easy-to-read LCD display.

Yes, I realize that that “talking” part might seem more like a gimmick; however, after using the thing regularly for several weeks, measuring my car’s tire-pressure in a dimly lit garage, that audible read-out has proven a boon and this gizmo makes for a great stocking-stuffer.

Digital Innovations (www.digitalinnovations.com) has also come out with a neat little device that can make co-existence with the ear-buds, headphones and headsets of your favorite MP3 player, cell phone, CD player, or vintage Sony Walkman much easier. The company’s $9.99 Zip Wraps (available in white and chrome) automatically and easily organize such earphone cables, eliminating those frustrating cord tangles when you’re not using them—and keeping those same cables from getting in your way when you’re out jogging, walking, biking, etc. And if you’ve ever inadvertently yanked earbuds out of your ears, you know how disconcerting and painful that can sometimes be.

The gizmo requires a little bit of “assembly” on your part; but, if you follow the directions and set it up properly, it works flawlessly and will be much appreciated by your beloved on-the-go audiophile.

Verbatim’s (www.verbatim.com) Store ‘n’ Go 2 GB U3 Smart Drive is a bit pricier than the items mentioned so far (MSRP $99), but it makes for a thoughtful present for the computer-dependent on your holiday gift-list. About the size of a pack of gum, Verbatim’s drive provides users with a mobile computing platform that allows them to carry smart software applications, PC settings, files and personal preferences wherever they go and to access them on any Windows XP or 2000 PC.

Simple to use, portable and capacious, Verbatim’s Store ‘n’ Go U3 Smart Drive plugs into a USB port on a PC so users can work on any computer as if it were their own. With the U3 platform, users can launch portable applications from the smart drive without requiring the applications to be installed on the computers. As a result, users can work in familiar environments and don’t have to worry about leaving any personal information or traces of their visit behind. Everything remains stored on the USB smart drive.

The unit also comes pre-loaded with 8 U3 applications: acdsee (a photo manager); PASS2GO (password management); PowerBackup (data archiving); Zinio (a digital magazine reader); Migo (for data synchronization); Mozilla Thunderbird (e-mail client); U Safe (for advanced security); and U3 Welcome.

Want to be a little more generous in terms of storage? Consider giving a Monstor Removable USB Drive (www.usmodular.com), a tiny disk drive that looks a bit too much like a Zippo lighter. With storage capacities of up to 8 GB, though, these diminutive high-speed USB drives cost less than $120, making them an affordable and practical archive for storing backup copies of critical data, photos, audio or video files. They work well and look cool.

For the mobile-dependent on-the-go business traveler and Skype aficionado, the ETYCOM (www.etymotic.com) Hands-Free Noise-Cancelling Headset plus VoIP Adapter combo makes for a most thoughtful gift. The ETYCOM unit combines advanced noise-isolating earphone and noise-rejecting microphone technologies in a lightweight headset that works with a wide variety of mobile phones and, now, VoIP.

The VoIP adapter ($3.00) has two standard 3.5 mm plugs with conventional color coding: pink for microphone and green for earphone jacks. The insert earphone optimizes sound quality and noise isolation, and the close-talking directional microphone allows the user to speak softly for greater privacy. Priced at $49.00, this headset package might seem a bit pricey, but it works solidly, isn’t at all uncomfortable, and it comes with a variety of eartips, etc., plus a nice case in which to store everything when not in use.

Computer users—especially those who own only laptops and notebooks—aren’t exactly role models when it comes to backing-up computer data. Yes, feel free to accuse me of over-generalizing, but it’s the truth, painful though it might be.

If you want to give the wayward geek (or yourself) the gift of data security, you’ll find the EDGE Tech Corp (www.edgetechcorp.com) DiskGO 2.5” Backup Ultra Portable Hard Drive a really great holiday present. With a transfer rate of 480 MBS, included data protection/archiving software, and backup protection at the push-of-a-button, these handy and attractive drive units will make a welcome addition to any PC user’s collection of peripherals. Priced from $95, they’re products that won’t break the bank, either.

And if your favorite geek already owns a capacious USB HD drive, Symantec’s Norton Save & Restore (www.symantec.com) could be the ideal software tool for conducting data archiving and backup and getting the most out of that USB drive unit. Based on the technology used by Symantec’s venerable Ghost, NS&R is an intuitive, automated backup and recovery solution for consumers. Sporting a straightforward interface, this software is not only easy-to-use but rock-solid reliable. As long as you have a working image saved on a backup drive/media, NS&R will get your PC back up-and-running no matter how big of a software catastrophe you experience. It stickers at $69.99, but it’ll surely be on sale some place for much less.

Norton SystemWorks 2006 is a nice product, too, that can help make life with a PC a bit easier. Although I’m not a big fan of it’s resource-hogging anti-virus software and I hate GoBack, the remaing tools available in this package can keep a Windows-based computer running smoothly and send endless software-related headaches. Versions without Ghost have a MSRP of $69.99, while the Premier version stickers at $99.99. Again, look for deals—they’ll be plenty out there.

Let’s face it, time is something we don’t always have a lot of…and some of us don’t even have the chance to keep up with the latest book titles because we’re busy from dawn until dusk with our work-, family- or home improvement-related projects.

If you want to give a busy-bee the present of a good book, but fear that that tome will remain unread and end up gathering dust on a bookshelf, consider making a present of a Playaway (www.playawaydigital.com) audio-book. The device is about the size of an iPod Mini, and comes complete with earbuds, a lanyard, and AAA battery. There’s nothing extra to buy or download. Titles start at around $35, and there’s a pretty nice selection of best-sellers and genres to choose from—For One More Day by Mitch Albom, John Grisham's An Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town, Stephen King's The Cell, and even Bill O’Reilly’s new bestseller, Culture Warrior.

But if you are a fan of the good old-fashioned book, please consider giving those you care for a copy of Yes, You Can Still Retire Comfortably! written by Ben Stein and Phil DeMuth, and Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover. Both books have the capacity of transforming financial lives for the better, both now and in the future. And if you want to provoke some deeper cogitation about the future world we might be living in, Peter Fingar’s Extreme Competition will certainly provide a great deal of food-for-thought.

ADSTech (www.adstech.com) has two nifty USB gadgets that might be great gifts for the dorm-dweller or business traveler on your list. First, is the company’s $80 MiniTV USB, a simple and easy-to-use USB device that not only allows you to watch television on your laptop/notebook via cable or a TV aerial, but which also transforms that PC into a personal video recorder, it also allows you to save your video content to a CD or DVD.

Next is the company’s Instant FM Music device. Just plug it into your USB port, tune in your favorite local FM or Web Radio station(s), and then watch as Instant FM Music and its included software not only record the station's entire playlist, but also separate and identify the songs for easy playback—all without a subscription fee. The time-shift functions of the included Snaptune One software also give you the freedom to listen to radio programming based on your schedule. You can pause, rewind and fast forward through live FM radio or web radio—simply program the radio shows you want to record and listen to only the music you want and skip past the rest. Audiophiles and talkshow addicts will love it—and you for giving them such a thoughtful, $49 gift.

Logitech’s (www.logitech.com) EasyCall Desktop has a $129 MSRP, but it can be the perfect gift for the young family member who has moved out-of-state and who hasn’t exactly been great at keeping in touch. This combo of wireless keyboard-and-mouse also includes a fine headset and USB-powered speakerphone that make Internet calling a pleasing experience that’s very different from that many of remember from a few years ago. It’s a nice package that offers a lot of freedom and flexibility not found among competing products.

Loc8tor (www.loc8tor.com), finally, is a product that’s ideal for keeping tabs on and/or tracking down your misplaced items—you know, those things like TV remotes, your cell phone, car keys, PDA, hand- or power tools, books, and what not. Utilizing a handheld device and tags that transmit and receive radio signals, Loc8tor, through clear audio/visual and vibrational cues, will either guide you to within one inch of the lost article or warn you if an item has gone astray. With a range of 600 feet, it will easily find tagged property that’s within range of your home, office or cubicle. The whole kit can run about $180, but if you’ve an expensive pet(s) or plenty of small-but-pricey electronic gizmos to keep track of, it can be well worth the money.

Writer Information

Written by Kamil Z. Skawinski, Science and Technology Editor
Kamil Z. Skawinski is a freelance writer specializing in technology issues who lives in Milwaukee.

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