It's that time of year again. The Christmas shopping season is upon us and many of us are making lists and checking them twice. And we're sure that more than a few people have at least one gadget lover on their Christmas lists. But with all the choices available, what do you get your gadget-loving geek? Here are a few suggestions. The gadgets highlighted in this TechTip are a bit higher end and a little pricey, but they're definitely worth it.

TonidoPlug

Everyone seems to be talking aboutcloud computing. For many, the biggest drawback is that you're putting data in the hands of others. When you can't get to that data – either because a site is down or the company goes out of business – then you're in trouble. But what if you could create your own computing cloud?

That's what TonidoPlug promises. It's a small, low-power home server that you plug into your home wired router or wireless router. Just connect some USB flash storage to the device, do some simple configuration, and you're ready to go. TonidoPlug is more than just a place to dump your files. It's a real server that comes with several applications like a file share, a blog, a personal information manager, a jukebox, and a personal torrent server. And it's all accessible using a Web browser over a secure connection.

A TonidoPlug costs $99. But many people pay that much to use several Web-based services. And since it's your server, you're taking back control of your data.

Note: An upcoming TechTip will cover the TonidoPlug in more detail.

WikiReader

A recent TechTip looked at theWikiReader, which is a portable touchscreen device that lets you carry the entire contents of Wikipedia in your pocket.

The WikiReader is a great gift for the gadget lover who is looking for something a little different. It's not only a useful tool for research and reference, it's an addictive little device. When you're bored or just need to kill a few minutes, you'll find yourself flipping through the entries on the WikiReader and actually learning something.

Some will balk at the WikiReader's $99 price tag, but that hasn't stopped its maker from selling quite a few units.

RedFly Mobile Companion

Back in the day when PDAs were a hot commodity, people were using them as more than personal information managers. The devices actually became portable workstations. Of course, typing a memo or working in a spreadsheet was tough to do with a stylus. So, a few enterprising companies marketed portablekeyboards just for that purpose.

Since the advent of the smartphone, though, the PDA has gone out of vogue. But guess what? People are using smartphones in the same way that they used PDAs. While you can get Bluetoothkeyboards, the screen for the average smartphone is quite small. If you use a Blackberry or Windows Mobile device, the Redfly Mobile Companion not only gives you a keyboard but also a larger screen for your smartphone.

The RedFly Mobile Companion looks like a discount netbook. You get a small but comfortable keyboard and a seven or eight inch screen (depending on the model). But, as the product's Web site points out, it's not a computer. It's more or less a dumb terminalthat you hook a smartphone into – either with a USB cable or via Bluetooth. The RedFly Mobile Companion is more of a convenience and productivity tool than anything else – it gives you easier access to the applications on your smartphone.

Of course, that convenience comes at a price. The seven inch model costs $199, and the eight-inch model will set you back $249.

Flip Cam

We discussed flip cams in detail a few TechTips ago. A digital camcorderthat records very good quality video and that fits in your pocket makes a great gift for your gadget-loving geek.

The good thing about these devices is that you're not just limited to theoriginal anymore, although there's nothing wrong with it. More and more companies are putting out these devices, including Memorex,Creative, Kodak, and others.

Most of the newer flip cams have the same specs, more or less, and most of them can record high-definition video. What you'll be paying for is the name or for some frills.

The great thing about flip cams is that you're getting useful and flexible device for under $200. If you do a little hunting, you can find a good one for under $100.

Myka Ion

Something that's become popular, thanks to sites like Hulu andYouTube, is video and actual TV shows streamed from the Internet to a PC. But who wants to watch their favorite shows on their desktop computer or laptop computer? We sure don't. Why not watch the shows from those sites on your full-sized television instead?

It used to be that you needed a bunch of cables, the right kind ofvideo card, and a bit of luck to connect your computer to your television. The Myka ION does away with all that. It's a little box that streams video from the Internet on to your TV. Not just the fuzzy, sometimes jerky video you see on YouTube, either.

The Myka ION is a small computer. A wireless connection downloads video to the Ion's hard drive, and the on-board software plays it back. Not only does the Ion have support for Hulu, it also can get videos from Netflix and a service calledEzTakes. If you own a flip cam, you can hook it into the Ion and play back your videos too.

The Ion is pricey, though: about $379. If you want to add more features, like a bigger hard drive or more memory, expect to pay a little more.

HP DreamScreen 100

Anyone remember Internet appliances? Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, these devices were supposed to revolutionize the way in which we used the Web. That didn't happen. But some of the ideas that were incorporated into Internet appliances have been taken a few steps further with a nifty device called the HP DreamScreen 100.

The $249 DreamScreen is something of a cross between an Internet tablet, adigital picture frame, an Internet radio receiver, and a video player. All in a package that measures 10 inches across and can be put practically anywhere.

The device can stream music, photos, and video from a PC or off a flash drive or a memory card. You can also get streaming music from the popular site Pandora. On top of that, the DreamScreen also enables you to access your FaceBook account. The interface is controlled either with a simple remote control or the device's touchscreen. Everything is easy to use and is quite user friendly. You can also get weather forecasts and can use the DreamScreen as a world clock or an alarm clock that lets you choose the music you want to wake up to.

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While a good chunk of the tech world was watching the release of Windows 7 recently, there was another release of an operating system that rivaled that of Windows 7; if not for sheer volume then for sheer expectations and excitement. And that was the unveiling ofUbuntu 9.10.

Code named Karmic Koala in Ubuntu's famously alliterative style, this release of the popular Linux distribution focuses heavily on usability. Also beefed up is its hardware support, especially support for wifi cards, network cards, and Intel graphics cards.

But Karmic Koala also packs some very interesting, and very useful enhancements at the user level.

Here Are 5 of the Best...

Ubuntu Software Center

While it's fairly easy to install software in Ubuntu using a tool called Synaptic Package Manager, you need to do a lot of hunting to try to find what you want to install. The Ubuntu Software Center makes doing that a lot easier, especially for newcomers to the world of Ubuntu.

To open the Software Center, click Applications > Ubuntu Software Center. You can find close to 2,200 different pieces of software to install in 12 categories: Accessories, Education, Games, Graphics, Internet, Office, Science, Sound & Video, System Tools, Universal Access, Programming, and Other.

All you need to do is double click one of the categories and then double click an application in the list. You get a brief description of the application and a button labeled Install. When you click Install, you're asked for the root password (required to install software in Linux), and then the Software Center installs the package and any other software on which the application depends.

Ubuntu One Client

A previous TechTip briefly looked at Ubuntu One, the online storage service from Canonical (the folks behind Ubuntu). Version 9.10 of the distribution comes with tighter integration with Ubuntu One.

The desktop client is now a standard piece of software on the Ubuntu desktop. You can start it by selecting Applications > Internet > Ubuntu One. All you need to use it is an account with the Web-based Ubuntu One service. It works the same way as older versions of the client, although seems to run more smoothly now. On top of that, if you're using Tomboy (a note taking application) or Evolution (a mail client) then you can sync your notes and contacts.

Updated software

At the heart of Ubuntu 9.10 runs version 2.6.31 of the Linux kernel. This is the latest version of the kernel, and offers more security, better startup and shutdown (more on that in a moment), better performance from graphics cards, and improved security. While most of these changes are behind the scenes, they do make for a smoother experience.

The main Ubuntu distribution uses the GNOME desktop as its graphical user interface. Ubuntu 9.10 includes version 2.28 of the desktop. There have been a few cosmetic changes to the desktop, as well as changes under the hood. The interface is cleaner and many of the system icons are a lot more compact – in fact, they're almost Mac like.

All of the default software that comes with the GNOME desktop has been updated as well. Again, there are some new features (like full-screen editing in the default text editor) and some minor tweaks to the look and feel of the applications. Speaking of look and feel, the desktop notifications are smaller and more compact; they don't get in the way in the same way they did in Ubuntu 9.04. Overall, the GNOME desktop is more stable. There's even enhanced support for Bluetooth keyboards, headsets, and and mice.

Faster booting and shutdown

Most Linux distributions start slower than Windows or Mac OS. That's mainly because Linux loads a bunch of drivers and libraries at startup; Windows and Mac OS load them as needed or after startup.

Ubuntu's developers have done quite a bit of work to pare down the amount of time it takes for your system to start up. And it shows. On my laptop computer, about 15 seconds has been shaved off the boot time. Your mileage may vary.

But it's not only the amount of time required to start up that's been decreased. I, and other Ubuntu users I know, have noticed that our lap and desktop computers shut down much faster. I can't give you an exact number (mainly because I usually walk away from my computer when I shut it down), but I've noticed that it does power down within 10 seconds.

Encrypted home directory

Your home directory (for example, /home/scott) is your own personal space in the Linux file system. That's where you store your files and whatnot. If you're installing Ubuntu 9.10 and not just upgrading, you can encrypt your home directory (and the home directories of any users you add during installation). This is done by slapping something called eCryptfs (a secure file system) on top of the home directory.

This feature was available with a couple of previous versions of Ubuntu. However, to use it you needed to do the deed after an installation was complete. And from the command line, too. You can now apply eCryptfs with a graphical interface during installation.

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It's been more than two years since Google launched Gears in an effort to bring offline capabilities to web-based applications. But after the initial excitement over the browser extension and subsequent inclusion in Chrome, it looks like the search giant isscaling back support for the tool.

Now that a beta of Google's Chrome browser is becoming available for Mac sans Gears support, and Apple's Snow Leopard doesn't play nicely with the functionality even months after release, a company spokesman has come forward to shed some light into the matter. While there was no formal abandonment of the project, it's clear that in Google's view HTML 5 is the future.

The next version of the web programming language isn't even finished yet, but it should support many of the same features in Gears, allowing users to take online data offline. According to Google, Gears will continue to be supported for sites that already use it, but they expect developers to use HTML 5 for adding offline capabilities moving forward as it's a standards-based approach that will be available across all browsers and operating systems.

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