2009 Gift Guide

Despite the fact the economy is still hurting, we still spared no expense in compiling the StationStops 2009 Gift Guide. Two of the items on the list however, can pay for themselves and then some – read on to find out which!

Apple iMac Core i5 27-Inch Desktop

Once in a while, like with the first MacBooks, Apple will put out a computer that is not only of great quality, but is actually a value.
For what you get, the new 27″ Core i5 iMac is a value.

Let’s start with that display – its not just massive, but has a resolution of 2560×1440, is LED-lit, and looks just gorgeous. It’s easily worth over $1000 on its own, but its also attached to a Core i5 – powered iMac which rivals a low-end Mac Pro. The Core i5 iMacs also come with a more powerful video card worthy of the display.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Every 1-3 years, there is a new game which takes over the mantle as the standard-bearer of first person shooters. This year that game is Modern Warfare 2.

This is the first video game I know of that *everyone* I know who plays videogames has and loves. Although I have been playing it since the day it was released, I still haven’t been able to tear myself away from the multiplayer long enough to finish the excellent but short single-player campaign.

Ooma Free Phone System

The less I use my landline, the less I want to pay for the annoyance of having to have one. For the past year, I have used Vonage, and loved the service, but not the $40/mo bill. Welcome Ooma. With Ooma, I just bought and installed the hardware – and the service is free forever. Porting your number over from your old service is a one-time fee of about $60, or free if you get their still-bargain $99/yr premium service (which includes a second number and voicemail-to-email).

Just like Vonage, you plug in your internet to one end of the box and any regular telephone you want on the other. Easy.

Nespresso Le Cube

Put this one under the title ‘crowd-pleaser’. If anyone has stopped by my house in the past 3 months, they probably had a double vanilla latte from my Nespresso Le Cube and loved it. Think Kuerig – but Starbucks-style.

Put water in it.
Put a capsule in it.
Push the button.

About a minute later you have a fresh shot of espresso. The capsule sold on the Nespresso website are varied and outstanding. Every once in a while you pull the little tray out and dump the empty capsules. That’s all there is to cleanup. There is no comparison to Starbucks – the coffee is much better and much cheaper.

Synology DS109

Drop any internal hard drive into this puppy and you have one of the best Network-Attached Storage devices on the market. It’s network storage, its a webserver, its an iTunes server, its a backup server – Time Machine, FTP, SSH, HTTP, DLNA, Mail – it can do pretty much anything you need a NAS to do, and it can do it faster than most. It also has an outstanding level of community support behind it, so its not going anywhere soon.

A lot of people will argue for the 2-bay RAID model, but I would lean towards plugging in an USB 2.0 External Hard Drive for (automated!) backups if you want security just on a value basis. At just 10-29 watts (prolly about $26/yr with CT energy costs), its also more energy-conscious then leaving a PC or Mac on 24/7, and a lot easier to manage thanks to its dedicated browser-based interface for all features.