THE CUTTING EDGE: CONSUMER’S COMPUTER GUIDE : Little Holiday Gifts for the Computer Lover

If you’re playing Santa to a computer-lover this Christmas but don’t want to spend a pile of money, take heart. There are lots of low-cost stocking stuffers available from mail-order companies, on-line vendors, computer specialty stores and even your neighborhood office supply store.

Let’s start with softwear--the kind you wear on your body. The Houston-based mail-order house Bytes ‘n Grins ([800] 594-1369) offers computer neckties depicting a mouse, a floppy disk or a personal computer for $12.95. I bought one at a recent trade show, and they’re surprisingly good-looking. The company also offers T-shirts, coffee mugs, earrings, beanies, clocks, candy and a variety of other merchandise, all with a computer-related theme.

If there’s a Dilbert fan in your life, check out the Signals Holiday catalogue ([800] 669-9696), which carries cartoon-laden T-shirts and sweat shirts with legends such as “To Err Is Human, to Really Screw Up You Need a Computer.” You’ll also find a line of Dilbert cups and mouse pads in addition to mouse pads featuring the artwork of Georgia O’Keeffe, Van Gogh and Monet.

Elswear ([800] 425-6303) offers a line of shirts and hats with “emoticons,” those characters you can use in e-mail to express emotion. You can order a smile shirt (:-) or one that says “What You See Is What You Get” or “Let’s Interface.” These have clear meanings to us computer geeks but may have different implications when worn.

Cybercalifragilistic ([800] 713-7701) specializes in “computer gifts for a wired world.” Liven up your holiday party with a computer-shaped pinata ($45 empty or $75 stuffed) that “will take enough whacks to satisfy 15 to 20 people.” It may be just the thing for computer-induced frustration. And then there’s the T-shirt line for high-tech kids, with slogans such as “Watch Out, I Byte,” or “Lap Top Child: Boot Up Before I Spit Up.” My favorite is “User-Friendly Kid: For Tech Support Call My Mom or Dad.”

You can also order the Flintstones multimedia disk holder for $12.99. Yabba Dabba Doo. If you’re looking for a more enduring gift, consider the “Hand Crafted Fantastical Pewter Wizard with a PC” ($55) or the Pewter Dragon and Computer ($45). Tacky, yes. But definitely a conversation piece.

Screen savers make a good gift and there are many to choose from. These programs were originally designed to prevent damage to your monitor by changing images every few minutes, but they’re no longer really necessary for that purpose. They can, however, be fun ways to personalize a computer screen. Berkeley Systems ([800] 713-7146) is the leading screen-saver company, with programs for Mac and Windows. In addition to the company’s classic “After Dark” series, there are now screen-saver collections from “Star Trek,” Looney Tunes, “The Simpsons” and Disney.

If you really want to personalize someone’s screen, you can order the Personalized Photo Screen Saver ($25) from the Wireless catalog ([800] 669-9999). Wireless also carries Ouija ($14.95) and “Star Trek” ($16.95) mouse pads.

Disk holders, printer stands, anti-glare shields and similar accessories may be boring, but they’re relatively cheap and often greatly appreciated. Try any office supply store or electronics store, or call one of the accessory mail-order companies such as Allsop ([800] 426-4303) or Kensington Microware ([800] 535-4242).

If you know someone who has more computer equipment than electrical outlets, consider the heavy-duty power center from Computer Accessories. It has a built-in surge suppressor, illuminated rocker switches, a circuit breaker and comes with a five-year warranty. It costs $21.99 at CompUSA ([800] 266-7872). Office supply and warehouse stores have similar units.

CompUSA’s World Wide Web site, by the way, lets you search its complete catalogue, which is a great way to get gift ideas or learn about products. You can search without obligation just to learn about products--and, of course, you can order on-line. Other on-line computer vendors include Computer Express (https://cexpress.com/) and MicroWarehouse (https://www.warehouse.com/). Most of these companies also carry wrist wrests that you place in front of the keyboard to help prevent repetitive stress injuries.

If you know someone who’s carrying a naked notebook computer, consider splurging for a leather case or at least a well-made nylon one. Make sure it has plenty of pockets and is large enough for the PC, power supply and necessary accessories and supplies. Prices range from $39 for nylon to more than $100 for leather.

If someone in your life has lots of CD-ROMs or even audio CDs, you can give him or her the gift of space by buying small plastic sleeves to replace those bulky plastic jewel boxes that CDs come in. Each ProSleeve plastic sleeve from Case Logic ([800] 447-4848) has a pouch in front for the CD and another in back for the manual. They take up a lot less space than those jewel boxes and cost $5.95 for a package of 15 or $49.99 for a three-drawer case. Look for them at what used to be called record stores.

I like buying magazine subscriptions for friends and family. I start by getting a single copy from the newsstand and fill out the enclosed card for a year’s subscription. For family users, I recommend HomePC and FamilyPC. For a good introduction to the Internet and on-line services, get NetGuide. For experienced users at the office, consider PC Magazine, PC Computing, Windows or PC World. Computer Life is great reading for computer enthusiasts. (Full disclosure: I serve as an editor-at-large for CMP Publications, which owns NetGuide, HomePC and Windows.)

Multimedia PCs are great unless you happen to be working or living near someone whose computer is emitting loud music or other sounds. SoundJack ($25) from Enhance Cable Technology ([800] 717-8757) is an audio cable with two headphone jacks, a speaker connection plus a volume control. The device makes it easier to control the speaker volume or to turn them off so you can listen via headphones that come with the product. A special children’s version comes with purple headphones and a Mac and Windows CD-ROM.

Lawrence J. Magid writes the Computer File, which appears on alternate Wednesdays in The Cutting Edge. Send e-mail to magid@latimes.com or visit his World Wide Web home page at https://www.omix.com/magid/. Most of the companies mentioned in this article have World Wide Web pages, which you can access from this home page.

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Buying Gifts

Computer hardware or software can make a great gift, but it’s important to keep a few things in mind:

* If you plan to give someone software, make sure he or she has a system that can play it. Is the person’s computer a Mac or IBM-compatible? Does it have a CD-ROM drive and sound system? Some programs also require a certain amount of random access memory or disk storage.

* If you plan to give someone an accessory such as an ergonomic keyboard, trackball or designer mouse, again make sure it’s for the right type of computer with the right plug.

* Be careful about buying a PC as a surprise gift unless you’re pretty sure exactly what the person wants. Some people love Macs whereas others only want a machine that runs Windows, and still others might want a notebook PC.

* When buying a desktop PC, beware of used bargain-basement machines that don’t have at least a 486 chip or, in the case of a Mac, at least a 68040 CPU.

* If you’re in the market for a modem, don’t even consider anything less than 14,400 bits per second. 28.8 kbps is a much better choice--and make sure you get the right cables.