dacs.doc electric

 

Geek Toys

By Michael Kaltschne

 

The problem I really had was the topic,“Geek Toys.” If you look the word “geek” up in the dictionary, it basically means someone that bites the head off of chickens in a carnival. Hmms.

I actually enjoyed giving the presentation,as I was able to share some of my favorite geek toys and places I like to shop for them. Here are some of the companies and products I spoke about:

Modifying your computer has become a similar pastime to hotrodding your car, and there are many places you can go to get accessories. The PC we showed was purchased at the local computer show (www.CoganFairs.com) and has neon lights, clear side panels, fan lights, and an aluminum case. The owner of the computer, Jon, is just getting started on this fun and visually interesting project.

You can also buy parts to enhance your computer at
www.TigerDirect.com,
www.CyberGuys.com,
www.ThinkGeek.com,
and www.ComputerGeeks.com.

Old standbys include:
www.CompUSA.com,
www.RadioShack.com,
(hey -- they still sell diodes!),

and even the:
www.Apple.com/store
(how many places sell Unix-based
computers?)

It’s not that exciting to watch, and takes time to get started, but I had a working fuel cell from www.FuelCellStore.com. This is the future of transportation, and you can play with them now. It won¹t
power your house or car, but it’s definitely a geek thing to do.

I demonstrated an interesting speaker, called a SoundBug, that attaches to glass or a similar hard structure. It turns the surface into a speaker, and while I think it’s not something that will turn your MP3 player into a boombox, it’s definitely an interesting geek toy.

I like my caffeine, and you can get a wide variety of caffeinated product at www.ThinkGeek.com. They include my favorite, 200mg per shower soap! They have a good assortment of beverages, mints (fresh breath and caffeine!), and a lot of Geek toys.

Since I haven’t won the lottery, I have a bunch of geek toys I’d love to have but haven’t been able to afford them yet (diapers are my priority right now). They include an electroluminescent keyboard, 18” LCD display (Sony or NEC), a Compaq iPaq, SiPix 2 digital camera, Cappucino PC and about 10,000 other toys. Yes, I’m a geek.

I would like to thank Ed Hicks from Orienteering Unlimited who not only brought some really cool toys, but also wound up speaking for about a half hour on wearable computers, GPS, and GeoCaching. Rather than do a disservice to Ed, I’m going to try to talk him into writing about these and other topics. Ed¹s part of the presentation was awesome.

I would also like to thank Jon Gatrell from Old Gate Consulting who brought in some of the toys I demonstrated, including his brand-new “hot-rod” computer, a working fuel cell, and several other toys we didn¹t have time to show.

A final thanks to www.ThinkGeek.com for donating the cool Universal Remote Control Watch that a lucky DACS member won.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share some of my toys with you.


Mike is a DACS member who likes to play with toys of all kinds. You can contact Mike online: mikek@demorgan.com.

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