Wishlist

Searching for a gift can be an interesting exercise at times, even though on most occasions you may end up with the same old boring thing that you usually get when you run out of ideas. On the other hand, the whole process can provide you with a list of things that you'd want for yourself.

Only a few days back, I went on a gift hunt for my dad. From past experience, I knew perfumes and aftershaves wouldn't really excite him. My previous gift, an Ipod, was a great success and from that I took the lead on getting some electronic gizmo. I started searching the internet and came up with some great things... things that I plan on getting for myself someday!

1. Radio Controlled Airwolf
Ok, to be honest I've had this idea for quite a while now. However, I did try to look for a smaller and less expensive substitute that I thought my dad could enjoy indoors.

Well this thing has everything you can think of. From retractable wheels to a wireless color camera... all you need is the Airwolf theme song playing in the background (which you can also take care of by using the mp3 player that is built in the wireless camera monitor).

http://www.rc-expert.com/product-package.php?pid=633

Damn... now that I've checked my saved link, they've scrapped the wireless camera from the package. However, its still mega cool.

2. Air guitar
I've been trying to learn the real thing for such a long time that now I think this baby could be used as a nifty alternative without causing much sweat. Pretty cool idea, especially if you frequently air guitar yourself.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/993b/

3. The Office Memorabilia
I love the series and absolutely adore the memorabilia available on the NBC website. The bobbleheads and a crazy award would be a good addition to my rather dull workspace.

http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com/index.php?v=nbunbcnowoff

4. Sky car
Ok, I may be getting a bit carried away here, but who wouldn't want to own this fine flying car, that can seat 4 people and can make you look like one of those eccentric billionaires.

http://www.firebox.com/?dir=firebox&action=product&pid=415

5. Lego city
No, lego is not for kids. It says "Ages 6+" on most of its products, which means I can play with 'em too. And not only will I play with them, I'll build myself a city one day that will include a lego airport, a police station, an Eiffel Tower, a hospital and many, many other cool things.

http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=amb_link_3837802_13?ie=UTF8&node=291251011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_r=0GN7AHQRQBDWKN6TQEVQ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=293202901&pf_rd_i=236510011

Of course, this isn't an exhausted list. But I thought if anybody out there is looking to get me a 'thoughtful' present, you should now have a fair idea on what to get. (BTW, my birthday's on the 22nd of November, but gifts are welcome throughout the year!)

P.S. I thought I'd add this one last thing before I go... just discovered it while browsing online

http://disneyshopping.go.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/DSIProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10601&catalogId=10007&productId=1211900&categoryId=21044

Why not to buy an iPOD

I just got an iPOD recently and that too for my father. I heard so much about the iPOD and its ease of use that I thought it would be perfect for my dad, since he finds modern day gadgets to be rather tricky to operate. As you may have guessed, the iPOD didn’t turn out to be the ideal mp3 player for various reasons that I shall elaborate shortly. Anyway, some of these negative elements may seem trivial to some people, but they still are good enough to be listed.

1. They don’t even ship in a CD with the box. Considering that you need iTunes to put songs in the thing, you’ll need the internet to download 30 something megabytes worth of iTunes to get started.


2. There isn’t even an AC power adapter included. Which means that you need to charge your iPod with your computer (via the usb connecter). And if you, by chance, are traveling and do not have access to a computer, then either dish out some money for a charger, or get yourself a laptop (which would make the iPod redundant anyway!)
   
3. You need iTunes to add and manage your songs. This means that you cannot just add songs from any other pc
   
4. If there’s a song that does not have an album or the id3 tag is not filled, the song will not show in an “unknown album” or under “unknown artist” (like it does in my sony ericsson walkman phone), instead you will have to go through all the songs to find the particular one you’re looking for
   
5. Creating playlists are very tedious without using a computer
   
6. The iPOD uses an internal battery which will have to be replaced by Apple itself in the event that its life has come to an end. This will cost you at least $55. Other cheaper alternatives are available, but it still doesn’t change the fact that it requires more effort on part of the user

There are many, many more but I’m too sick and tired to bother listing them all down. In conclusion, Apple is overcharging people for something that isn’t worth the money at all.