It’s that time of year again. The weather’s turned colder, the days are getting shorter, and the holidays are just around the corner. The crack staff at Gestalt IT have put together a little gift guide for all you enterprise folks out there. Whether you’re dreading your office Secret Santa, or you’re sick of getting gift cards from family, just point them here for all of their holiday shopping needs. We’ve put together options to fit any budget, so browse around and buy something for the IT person in your life, or yourself if you really want!
S – Software Defined Radio Starter Kit
If you’re working in the enterprise, pretty much everything you’re doing is software defined. Why fight it? Let’s bring more things under software’s control. So here’s your intro into software defined radios. It’s supported by a bunch of cool Linux distros, has support for full band FM, DVBT, DAB and VHF, plus it’s tiny! If nothing else, maybe now you’ll finally be able to listen to that hard to find college station in town.
M – RePhone DIY Cell Phone Kit
All the design appeal of a Microsoft Kin
Don’t let the MAN tell you what phone to use! Sure, you could get a precision crafted piece of industrial art made of the high quality glass and aluminum. Go ahead, sheeple! The cool kids will be building our own open source modular phones. It can play with Arduino, Bluetooth, and IFTTT. It might not be a classic smartphone, but there’s still plenty of bespoke fun to be had.
L – WASD V2 87-key Custom Keyboard
Hand modeling by the Ghost of Christmas Past
A keyboard is a lot like a car. Sure that Toyota Corolla is perfectly functional, reliable and efficient. It gets you from place to place no problem and meets the dictionary definition of an automobile to near perfection. That’s the standard USB keyboard that came with your PC. It’s…fine. Sure the action on the keys aren’t crisp. Sure it has all the personality of a Soviet apartment bloc. But sometimes, you need a little excitement and personality in your life. WASD gives you a Mini Cooper level of options with their customizable keyboards. A variety of high end Cherry MX switches, fully customizable layout (for all you Dvorak peeps), and custom printed ABS keycaps. You can even get a little Amiga logo on the function key if you really want!
S – The Casio A168W-1 Stainless Steel Watch
Octagonal Timepieces: The New Hotness
If you’re going to go with a digital watch, Casio is pretty much the only game in town. They’ve got the legacy, and they nailed the look 3 decades ago. Why change now? Sure you could pay twenty times more for an Apple Watch. You could track your fitness and have your watch tell you when to stand up. Or you could take the money you’d save and just buy a gym membership to actually do all that fitness stuff. This watch has a retro appeal without the cloying sadness of hipsters rocking the calculator watch. The A168W-1 is casual for everyday wear, but that classy stainless steel is also perfect for a night out. Plus, you’ll never have to worry about forgetting to charge this studly little timepiece.
Maintains Uptime for your Pants
You probably have a sort of everyday leg covering, colloquially known as pants, in your closet. Occasionally, these pants are not made specifically for you, and as such may lack a certain snug fit around the waist, requisite for keeping them upon your body in a comfortable fashion. In these instances, a waist tightening apparatus, or belt, may be deployed to resolve this issue. These “belts” generally come with some form of fastening device, but for individuals of distraction, separate buckling accoutrements may not only be desired, but considered necessary for one’s sense of self. In this case, consider the Circuit Board Belt. It’s made from recycled computer board, comes in a variety of PCB colors, and will let people that chose to stare into your nether regions know you’re savvy in the way of the computer. This post refers to it as an accessory for the male gender, but I find it a suitable item for anyone with the need for pant security.
Jetpack not included
Captain Kirk in The Wrath of Kahn, babies eating, lettuce. All things accentuated by bibs. This leather jacket joins that esteemed list. Stand out in your next industry conference or work outing. It combines the classic look of a leather jacket with epaulettes and metal studs! Rock the latest in retro-40’s fashion from the 90’s today!
*Side effects of the jacket include: sticking pieces of licorice gum in random locations, spontaneous heroism, and wearing Alan Arkin designed headwear.
S – Dreaming in Code by Scott Rosenberg
Dreaming in Code finds Scott Rosenberg following the development of a Mitch Kapor project to redefine calendar apps, Chandler. It’s part Mythical Man Month, part psychological study, all wrapped in Rosenberg’s engaging narrative. It doesn’t get to far into the weeds of the actual software development, but anyone that’s worked on a troubled project will relate.
Imagine if instead of a dry Biology textbook, it was written out like the Monstrous Manual from Dungeons & Dragons. Well someone did, and created The Bacterionomicon. The book is divided between forty-six “Lords of Pestilence” and thirty“Apothecary Warriors”, basically bacteria and antibodies. The artwork is spot on for the genre, and as a bonus, it’s actually informative!
L – Penguin Galaxy Series Boxed Set
Typeface nirvana
If you just want the books in the set, you can probably save about $100 by getting them separately. But just look at the design on the jackets! The set is worth the premium for the Neuromancer cover alone. You get six classic works of sci-fi-fi and fantasy in the set, plus luscious design. You can’t judge a book by it’s cover, but when they look this good, you’ll want to. Plus each one has a forward by Neil Gaiman, which means it might actually be worth reading! The set is a luxury, but come on, you’ve earned it!
