Category: Lifestyle

Linux Geek Shopping List Continued

Well, it’s less than a week to go and your Linux geek is still gift-less. Here are some more ideas to wrap up the year for your very special geek, with love.

1. A great place to look for some unusual but sure-to-please Linux related gifts is CafePress. How about a customized Christmas stocking. This clever item reads: “There are 10 kinds of people: Those who understand binary, and those who don’t.” Don’t think about that one too long. $12.

2. Is your FOSS friend a fan of Android? Then a real cute Android robot doll might be just the ticket. Get it from Etsy for $20.

3. I hope I am not giving away too much by saying that this gift is my personal favorite: “Computer Engineer Barbie.” Yes, she knows the code, punches it out despite her non-ergonomic arms and impossibly long legs that reach into the office next door. She even has a fashionable binary-coded t-shirt, a Bluetooth, smart phone, and a hot pink laptop. Only $13. Grab one before Barbie goes to law school.

Geek Giving Made Easy

GeekNeed a gift for a Linux geek? This special breed of people who are enamored of ‘free and open-source software’ (FOSS) can be a little bit harder to please. Here are some cool ideas for that ‘special’ computer maven still on your shopping list:

1. Have you ever visited the Linux store at linux.com? Begin your FOSS-filled shopping travels here, and pick up their elegant Tux Mug for only $9.
2. How about the Linux Cheat Shirt? This nifty bit of clothing, seen at ThinkGeek, is scrawled with an assortment of Linux commands, but upside down for more convenient viewing by the wearer of said shirt. We are talking serious geek here. Useful for job interviews where knowledge of the commands might be put to the test. Only $15.
3. Here’s one that will catch the eye of your geek’s co-workers. It’s a button which reads, “The box said ‘Requires Windows Vista or better.’ So I installed LINUX.” Only a true geek would express himself thus. Worth every penny of the $4 it will set you back.

Gift Ideas

Now is definitely the time of year when gift-giving is on everyone’s mind. Of course buying presents for the children in your life always take precedence. While kids of pre-school age and above can – and usually will – let you know exactly what they want, babies and toddlers cannot tell you what’s at the top of your wish list. Whether for holidays or birthdays or any other day that you want to buy the little boy or girl in your life a gift, here are a few tips:

Be Age Specific – there is a reason why toys come with an age range; they usually tell you important information about either the safety or interest-level of the item.

Be practical – don’t buy toys that require 6 batteries; don’t buy an all-white outfit for a baby just learning to crawl or walk.

Think out of the box – how about a donation to a kids’ charity instead of yet another toy? Or perhaps a gift certificate to an activity center that parent and toddler can enjoy together?

Gift-giving can be overwhelming, but if you put a bit of thought and creativity into the planning, then the actually purchasing might even be fun – and the giving definitely will be!

Kroger Co. Recalling Pet Food

The Kroger Co. is recalling certain packages of dog and cat foods, as the products may be dangerous for pets’ health. The recall involves bags of Pet Pride Cat Food, Pet Pride Kitten Formula Food, Old Yeller Chunk Dog Food, Kroger Value Chunk Dig Food and more. The food is suspected to contain aflatoxin, a carcinogen produced by fungus which can be found in some corn. This carcinogen can be harmful to both humans and animals. Consumption could cause liver diseases in pets, which cannot always be remedied.

The Kroger stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, Ohio, North and South Carolina and Texas are all recalling these pet food items.

Google Pulls the Plug on Launch of TV Sets

Google-TVGoogle is on the verge of introducing internet surfing directly from television sets, only not just yet. Google Inc. has requested that some manufacturers delay the planned launch of these TV sets which are based on their company’s software, until they do some tweaking on said software.

The Wall Street Journal reported the delay, quoting people who are knowledgeable about Google’s plans. According to the report, Google sent out word to a portion, but not all, of the hardware manufacturers not to announce the release of any new products yet, allowing them to make some necessary improvements in the software.

Despite this announcement Samsung Electronics Co Ltd will not be delaying release of their version of the Google TV at the Consumer Electronics Trade Show scheduled for early January in Las Vegas, Nevada.