Smart Tech Buy

On the 6th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

6 digital cameras!

Canon Powershot SD850 IS
Nikon D80
Sony Cybershot DSC-T200
Casio Exilim EX-Z77
Olympus Stylus 790
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT

5 video game systems,

4 Apple iPods,

3 Garmin GPS,

2 Dell computers,

And a 65 inch Sharp Aquos LCD!

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth… nah, not really. Growing up and, thankfully, have all of my teeth still in tact, I definitely want more than just my two front teeth. Here is a Top 10 wish list — which will probably remain wishes for quite some time I might add.

#1 Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch
Perfect for travel, image editing, game playing, and other processor intensive activities, the Apple Powerbook is the first on my wish list. Having a fast CPU means spending less time waiting for things to render and more time relishing in the application of horrendous amounts of filters and effects. Not to mention more time off of the computer taking your photos, doing research, or just plain chatting with your co-workers or IMing your friends during work (if the SysAdmins haven’t already blocked all the IM programs out there). Heck, if you order online, it even comes with a backlit keyboard so you can work even when the lights go out — pretty sweet huh? And let’s not forget about the 8xSuperDrive that burns DVD ± R DL/DVD ± RW/CD-RW which will allow you to backup all your data quickly. Also, now that Apple uses Intel processors, you can now install windows and have a dual boot system so you can have your cake and eat it too.

#2 Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate
For all its short-comings, I still pick this as my number 2. With features galore and the ability to download premium add-ons as well as special updates, those like me who want choice will like this OS. Let’s not forget that, for us gamers, DirectX 10 in only available through Vista as well, so if you want to play the hottest new games in all their glory, Vista is practically mandatory. Parents will also find useful tools for protecting their children while they use the system, namely in the parental control feature. This feature not only gives parents better control over their children’s usage by giving them the ability to filter web sites, setting time limits, and controlling which games are played by their rating. It also gives parents the ability to receive a detailed report of their child’s logon times, application use, e-mail, instant messaging and other information that parents will find useful.

#3 Dell XPS M1730
For the Gamer in… well — me. The laptop I have just doesn’t “cut it” so I need a new laptop to be able to play my games and view the new Blu-Ray formatted movies. While having windows installed on the Mac, I would prefer to have a system dedicated to game play on the PC so that I can keep it lean and mean with only gaming applications and little else. To this end, the Dell XPS M1730 fits the bill. Available in multiple highlight colors, the blazing fast Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme X7900 2.8GHz, AGEIA PhysX™ 100M processor, 4GB of DDR2 SDRAM, and Blu-Ray Disc Combo. This system is the very definition of cool. Not to mention that you have the option to get 128GB of space on a solid state drive (no moving parts) so that you can play on the go without worry of damaging your HDD.

#4 Apple iPod 160GB Classic (Black)
Because I need an iPod with a large HDD for no other reason than it gives me a massive amount of HDD space, I have put this as number 4. My mouth waters at the amount of music I can store on this baby, not to mention that I can rip them off of my CDs at maximum quality and still be able to store them all. And let’s not forget that I can also watch videos on this. It’s true, it may not have the “cool” factor that the iPod Touch has, but I would rather go with more space for more music than be on the cutting edge of “that’s kewl, but I can’t store all my songs on it” shtick.

#5 Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium (Mac)
I like my software, and image editing utilities are no exception. With more tools, abilities, and whatnot, Adobe CS3 is a power package with all the frills and laces I would ever need and then some — at least until the next generation comes out. Now even more complete with the addition of Dreamweaver CS3 and Flash CS3 professional to the mix, not to mention all the neat extras with Photoshop CS3 extended. This software contains all you need for print with the ability to do web editing as well.

#6 Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
For the photographer in all of us, Lightroom offers a way to manage, adjust, and present a large volume of photographs. It allows for organization of all your photographs, keywording, and is designed to be easy to use and easily navigated. With all of the photos that I have, this would make a welcome addition to my collection of useful programs.

#7 Corel Painter X for PC & Mac
Hands-down the best application for natural media rendering, Corel Painter X is made for the artist is all of us. Painter X is amazing for it gives you the ability to create images that replicate the use of natural media such as pencils, inks, paint, charcoal, chalk, and more. If you like to explore media in your art but hate the mess of the real thing, this is the way to go. Combined with Adobe CS3 there is no illustration that you cannot do as far as I’m concerned.

#8 Wacom Cintiq 21UX
A Wacom tablet with an LCD screen so you can literally work on your screen as you would a piece of paper. The coolness factor of this is just amazing and the fact that you do not need to have good hand-eye coordination since you are seeing your pen interact with the screen makes this perfect. With a 21.3’ high-resolution display and a dynamically adjustable stand that allows for quick removal for in-lap use, I just cannot begin to express how much I want this.

#9 Nikon D300 with 18-135mm Lens
12.3 Megapixels, 3” LCD Screen, CompactFlash Memory Card Slot, and Video HDMI and USB Outputs — what’s not to like about this little baby? With 12.3 Megapixels you will not have to worry if your images are good enough for print (unless you happen to be making art for billboards I suppose). Besides, SLRs are just plain cool… if a little bulky.

#10 Bose QuietComfort 2 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones
Awesome noise reduction, great audio performance and comfort. That’s definitely how one would describe the QuiteComfort 2 headphones from Bose. The first thing you will be amaze by when wearing these headphones is that the world almost completely disappears and you are left with the amazing sound fidelity of the headphones. Great for trying to ignore your irritating co-workers and family members alike.

Many consider the Nikon D80 to be the standard in SLR cameras for those that wish to get a professional quality shot.  The manual focus allows for great pictures at many noise and light levels and the 80 ms shutter response time means that there is no lag from when you push the button to when the D80 takes the picture.  Although much more expensive than the average point and shoot camera, in a world where a picture is worth a thousand words, the Nikon D80 is worth every penny.

Specs

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