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Machine
Marvels
A life of comfort can be just a click away
By
Tim McNellie
 Clocky,
the Whining Alarm Clock
The perfectly annoying gift for that heavy sleeper on
your list, Clocky is an alarm clock that runs away and
hides when you don’t wake up. You put this two-wheeled
clock on your nightstand, and it gives you one chance to
wake up. If you decide to snooze, it jumps off the
nightstand and wheels around the room chirping and
whining until you physically get up and chase it
down.
Price: $49.99 / www.Nandahome.com
USB Drink
Chiller and Warmer
If you’re up for combining drinkable liquids with a
$1,000 computer, this device is right up your alley. It’s
a hot/cold plate that plugs into your computer’s USB
port – the same slot where you might plug in your
digital camera – allowing you to while away the hours
in front of your screen without worrying about your soda
turning warm or your coffee going cold.
Price: $24.99 / www.ThinkGeek.com
Slingbox
Great for sports fans or any other kind of TV addict,
the Slingbox allows you to watch your home television
pretty much anywhere you can connect to the internet –
at work, at hotels,
even on your mobile phone. You can even watch DVDs or
recorded programs from your DVR or Tivo.
Price: $129.99 / www.Slingbox.com
Canon
PowerShot SD850 IS
Digital cameras are a great gift for just about anyone,
and for a topnotch image at a reasonable price, it’s
hard to top Canon’s SD line. It has enough features to
satisfy those who crave a perfect image, but is also
simple enough for those who don’t want to fiddle with
too many knobs and dials.
Price: $270 / www.NewEgg.com
Bionaire
Febreze Scentstories Player
If you’re tired of Glade Plug-Ins, this electric air
freshener plays perfumed discs that change scent every
half-hour or so. Each disc tells a “scent story”
with themes like “Exploring a Mountain,” “A Walk
on a Beach,” and “Shades of Vanilla.” The reusable
discs are available at Yankee Candle.
Price: $40 / www.scentstories.com
Alpine
iDA-X001
For the music enthusiast on your list comes the ultimate
car stereo iPod player. The iDA-X001 recreates your iPod’s
display in your car stereo’s dashboard, complete with
album art, and allows you to skip through your music
library with a jog wheel, eliminating the tiresome
process of repeatedly pressing a button to find the
songs you want. The downside: it’s iPod only – there’s
no CD player.
Price: $400 / www.crutchfield.com
iPhone 8GB
Now that the hype has mostly died down, consumers can
evaluate the iPhone with a sober eye. The verdict? While
not quite the miracle worker some made it out to be, it
really is a fantastic device. Combining a cell phone, an
iPod, an internet browser, an appointment calendar and
more, the iPhone can be invaluable for people constantly
on the go. And while many other phones can do the same
things, few do it quite so elegantly.
Price: $399 / www.apple.com
Seagate
FreeAgent Desktop Hard Drive
Computer getting full? You can easily multiply your
storage capacity with one of these external hard drives.
Simply plug in to your computer’s USB port and start
transferring or backing up files. Perhaps best of all,
that extra space comes at a bargain price – from $100
for 250 GB to $180 for 500 GB.
Price: Starts at $100 / www.newegg.com
Kodak
Easyshare Digital Picture Frame
With traditional film cameras increasingly a thing of
the past, help your loved one embrace the 21st century
with a picture frame that displays digital photos. This
model from Kodak is one of the better ones, featuring
128 MB of built-in memory, along with slots for memory
cards. This frame can display one photo, a digital
slideshow, or allow friends browse through an entire
photo album.
Price: $200 / www.kodak.com
 Roomba
Vacuum-Cleaning Robot
Perfect for people who hate to clean, this line of home
vacuum cleaners is derived from the same technology that
powers military minesweeping robots. Simply tell the
Roomba which areas to clean and at which times, and let
it go. Recent improvements allow the Roomba to pick up
and hold more debris than older models.
Price: $119.99 and up / www.irobot.com
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'Tis
the Season
