The ultimate guide to the geek gift guides

December 11, 2:14 AMGadgets ExaminerDan Appleman

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Khet may be the ultimate geek game. Fun? Who
cares? It has laser beams!

Every gadgeteer has their own idea of the best holiday gifts for geeks. It seems only fitting to wrap up my own series of unusual gift guides with this guide to the geek gift guides (with commentary).

ExtremeTech’s Geek Gift guide 2008 starts their list with the Patriot 64GB USB drive at $170. It’s a bit pricey and wider than most. I wonder why they didn’t choose the Kingston 64GB at $129 or the SuperTalent Luxio Ultra-Fast Drive at $166 that claims up to 30MB/Sec transfer and a lifetime warranty.

The ZDNet Holiday Gift Guide also starts with a USB drive, this time the IronKey ultra-tough, waterproof USB drive with built-in hardware encryption. At $299 for an 8GB drive, you’re paying a steep premium for the security and reliability. Hint: The 4GB version is being more heavily discounted. They also have Khet: The laser game on their list. The only board game with two class II lasers, it’s probably the ultimate geek board game.

BBSpot’s Geek Gift Guide 2008 doesn’t start with a USB drive! He starts with his own book “The BBook of Geek: The Only Geek Humor Book You'll Ever Need”. Who can blame him? He also includes The Tube Clock – a bit retro for my taste, but check it out.

Juixe TechKnow’s Ultimate Geek Guide 2008 opens with the IPhone and Netbooks. The Flip Mino follows – ultra miniature HD camcorders that are definitely geeky and cool.

CIO’s 2008 Geek Gift Guide likes Acoustibuds earphone adapters that fit onto your existing earbuds and turn them into “in the ear” style earphones for improved audio fidelity and sound isolation. Their number two spot is the Infocus IN1102 projector. At 1680x1050 resolution and 2200 Lumens brightness this small projector is a great choice for any geek on who you want to spend $1000 or so.

InfoWorld’s 2008 geek gadget gift guide recommends the botanicals.com plant Twitter kit. It’s a moisture sensor that sends you messages on Twitter when the plant needs water (or has too much). Not only is it overkill, but you get to build it yourself – it’s surely the geekiest gift on the list. This list is definitely worth looking over.

ComputerWorld’s 2008 geek gadget gift guide has the same list as InfoWorld. I wonder if they’re related?

Our own Denver Technology Examiner, Kevin Rook, doesn't have a formal gift guide, but he should. Check out his recent postings in the gift category and you'll find find such curiousities as a "poking box", wrist bands with USB storage  and a power-nap machine that claims to give you three hours of sleep in 20 minutes (yes! more time for Warcraft!).

ars technical has multiple gift-guides for geeks, 25 pages worth. If you still haven’t found that perfect gift, this might be your last resort.

TechRepublic’s Geek Gift Guide 2008 requires a free registration to view. Sorry, that’s way too much trouble.

Geek gift guides are fun and can inspire ideas, but remember: contrary to popular opinion there are many kinds of geeks with many different interests. Be sure to spend some time thinking about the person you are shopping for, and not just reading gift guides.