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1366

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20
+20  Q: 

The perfect *programmable* Christmas Gift!

Now that the Christmas holidays are near, I'd like to get all your opinions on "What would the perfect computer gift be?"

Some grounds rules though, it needs to be computer related and have something to do with programming. Meaning it could be a digital programmable photo frame for all I care. But, surprise me! ;)

Suggestions: An ARM device with a nice Programmers book of choice?

And Merry Christmas to you all!

+1  A: 

Joel suggests a pink HDMI cable!

I prefer a new MacBook!

Mehrdad Afshari  2008-12-19 08:28:44
Oh a MacBook is a nice one! Maybe i should put that on my "last minute chirstmas"-whishlist :)
Filip Ekberg  2008-12-19 08:32:10
+4  A: 

A good radio keyboard + laser mouse. Probably wireless.

Or maybe a pair of good, sound-insulating headphones.

Vilx-  2008-12-19 08:46:02
What's with the downvote? O_o
Vilx-  2008-12-19 10:23:18
I guess not programmer-y enough. I think this is solid, though, but you have to go high end to make it worthwhile.
Jeff Atwood  2008-12-19 10:46:27
What could be more programming related than a keyboard and mouse? Without them we'd still be feeding punch cards or flipping switches.
Valerion  2008-12-19 10:47:24
True true! You should all read Jeff's article about We all being typists :)
Filip Ekberg  2008-12-19 10:48:39
http://www.daskeyboard.com/ I think the ultimate version of this might be enough?
SapphireSun  2009-12-25 19:50:06
Depends on the person. And if you don't have one of them luxurious separate offices with doors that close, you coworkers might start getting nervous. ;)
Vilx-  2009-12-28 10:08:47
+8  A: 
Learning  2008-12-19 09:00:37
It's not programmable though :)
Filip Ekberg  2008-12-19 10:12:17
Lame. A real binary clock should show the time in seconds since the epoch.
Simon Howard  2008-12-19 10:12:18
Hmpf, a real Binary Clock comes wiht just a electornic board, a solder, some diods, resistors and cables and with an IC so you can program and set the time interfaces youself!
Filip Ekberg  2008-12-19 10:14:38
Ok ... seems like this is not geeky enough for many folks ... but the downvotes are harsh :(
Learning  2008-12-19 10:17:54
+2  A: 

check out thinkgeek.

yapiskan  2008-12-19 09:15:20
Didn't understand the vote down... the link is cool.
Ricardo Acras  2008-12-19 10:24:51
I think downvote was every geek in the planet alread knew about thinkgeek :)
dr. evil  2008-12-19 11:11:03
A: 

PS3

http://www.cag.csail.mit.edu/ps3/

or Xbox360 :)

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/xna/default.aspx

melaos  2008-12-19 09:27:28
You could actually learn some Cell-programming with a PS3 and XNA Programming with Xbox! ;)
Filip Ekberg  2008-12-19 10:12:47
+1  A: 

A Parralax Javelin stamp module or a BASIC stamp module.

The Javelin is a PIC that you can program using Java. You can get a bluetooth module for it and all sorts of other stuff for it. I used it to prototype a remote control for my PC and then made a custom Gina DLL so I could use it as a login smart card for my PC.

Loads of fun :) Best thing is that they are affordable.

DoctaJonez  2008-12-19 10:03:14
Ohhh thats awesome! Do you know if there are any for .NET ?
Filip Ekberg  2008-12-19 10:10:50
There aren't any .Net ones by Parralax, but I did find this one http://devicesolutions.net/Products/Meridian.aspx. Programming for embedded devices can be loads of fun, especially when you can knock up cool prototypes with them. :)
DoctaJonez  2008-12-19 11:24:53
Ah Jeff... anything to avoid C programming :)
Ben Combee  2009-01-05 15:53:01
+16  A: 

I'd really like a Lego Mindstorm.

ROBOTZ!

And a mini Santa hat for him. Obviously.

Edit: Still wanting.

jammus  2008-12-19 10:18:47
Yeah those are awesome! Kind of expensive though, there are some other alternatives which are much more reliable, but they're not from lego and they're even more expensive :)
Filip Ekberg  2008-12-19 10:21:50
+10  A: 
Filip Ekberg  2008-12-19 10:20:52
So post christmas and such, i just want to say that i've had a lot of fun with this! :D
Filip Ekberg  2009-01-28 18:45:44
+4  A: 
Bedwyr Humphreys  2008-12-19 10:40:48
Ohhh thanks for this!! :D
Filip Ekberg  2008-12-19 10:45:55
Just ordered the book too, thanks for the tip.!
Filip Ekberg  2008-12-19 11:06:04
I've got it. It's a great book.
Jim Blizard  2008-12-22 17:45:38
Yeah it got great examples and such!
Filip Ekberg  2009-01-28 18:46:18
+2  A: 

All Python libs could be updated to comply with Python 3000, so I could easily move all my project to P3K and forget about eternal str <-> unicode conversion problem and all other nuisances I have being stuck on Python 2.4

That's for programming related.

As for computer related - someone could invent better Human <-> PC interface than old mice&keyboard set, so I won't stress my wrists anymore (yeah, RSI got me).

As for perfect gift - well, I'd say a paid month of free time would be perfect gift for me.

Abgan  2008-12-19 10:44:07
+3  A: 
splattne  2008-12-19 11:01:55
Actually, it would be pretty cool to mod this so it lights up when a question of yours gets an answer!
Simucal  2008-12-19 11:11:43
Shouldnt be too hard, sounds like a project! "The StackOverflow-Question Answered Light Bulb Now awailable at BestBuy!"
Filip Ekberg  2008-12-19 11:37:46
+10  A: 
Nils Pipenbrinck  2008-12-19 11:05:40
+10  A: 
epatel  2008-12-19 11:08:17
After having seen this on Slashdot, I couldn't resist buying it! +1 for prank value :-)
scraimer  2009-05-05 08:08:20
A: 

A couple of nice large (enough) LCD monitors would be nice along with a video card to drive those two monitors. I really want to be able to work without having to switch between the documentation and IDE on a single monitor set-up.

While we're at it, a nice dual or quad core machine with plenty of RAM and a couple of fast hard drives wouldn't hurt either! (Now I'm just getting too greedy!)

coobird  2008-12-19 11:08:51
A: 
amazedsaint  2008-12-19 11:10:09
I ove snowmen ... but this is not something I run into in a dark street ;-)))
ldigas  2009-12-25 20:40:50
reminds me of Daleks ... or somethin' ...
ldigas  2009-12-25 20:41:46
A: 

I want resharper but I've been naughty this year so I'll have to code in notepad.

John Nolan  2008-12-19 11:26:08
Try "Visual Assist X" for VS from http://www.wholetomato.com/
Jenko  2008-12-25 16:00:32
+2  A: 
Ben Combee  2009-01-05 15:55:41
Cool, but can it do something else than just showing numbers? :)
Filip Ekberg  2009-01-05 19:46:08
Well it could say BOOBS, or aren't you old enough to remember pocket calculators and all that run? :)
blowdart  2009-12-17 15:48:13
+4  A: 
David Grant  2009-01-10 17:38:42
+1  A: 

Not programmable, but I love the one my wife bought me. CSS is Awesome!

Jim  2009-12-25 19:21:45
A: 

How about any project using Aurduino.

Robert  2009-12-25 19:43:53

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