IM GOING TO NEED TO SEE YOUR DRIVERS LICENSE, PROOF OF INSURANCE, AND THAT COOL LOOKING GADGET THING-A-MABOB!

Well the X-Mas Season is quickly approaching and there are several gadgets and gizmos that are pulling my wallet in several directions this year. Some I have already, some I am getting soon and some I just want. Lets look at all the cools toys that are coming soon to a store near you.

1. X-BOX 360: The Holy Grail of console machines (at least until the new PS comes out) It officially launched last night in a special midnight extravaganza all across the country. Best buy and Walmart stores had huge lines with some folks saying they had camped for 3 days to get one. Now Im a techo geek with the best of them but I guess I have outgrown the need to "camp out" for technology. I can wait until its widely availible before I start shopping for one. Now I will say I played a demo machine and the graphics were jaw dropping. But Im still content with my PC and this console is aimed more for Kent, my son, than for me.

2. IPOD Video Edition: I bought my first IPOD overseas and its been one of the coolest MP3 players I have ever had. I resisted the temptation to upgrade when it went all color screen on me, then they added the ability to store pics on it, then they shrunk it, then they shrunk it again. All the while I was happy with my monocolor IPOD original. Now they went and upped the ante on me. Adding video playback features. In fact if you are too lazy to burn your own shows to the new IPOD you can buy one preloaded with every imaginable TV show or movie out there. I like the idea of being able to carry around the entire Band of Brothers on my IPOD. This one has the biggest pull on me I think.


3. TIVO: I realize some of you have already broken down and are Living La Loca but I have never had a Sat system before and so the wonders of this new service were beyond me. I had even went so far as to research MythTV a cool Tivo like program that runs off of Linux. But starting tommmorow, I will be a Tivo user as they install the new Sat system in the house. I will give my thoughts on this later on. but IM sure I will love it.


4. XM and Sirius Satellite Radio: As a subscriber to Sirius I can honestly say that it changed the way i listen to the radio. I never listen to commercial radio anymore. I dont even listen to my CDs as much anymore. There is always something on that intrests me. I would have been the first person in line to tell you that i would not pay for radio. That I am happy listening to free radio. But my new truck came with a years subscription and its so much a part of my day to day commute I wont be getting rid of it anytime soon. Never had XM but It is surely an upgrade from commercial radio.


5. Dual Core Processors: Definitly in the want category, since I can't justify buying a system like this when my current AMD 64 system is doing so well for me. The inner geek in me wants to get this just for the raw power, and who knows when you might have to hack into an alien computer system to save the world. Over all it falls in the would be nice to have but wont be getting one anytime soon.