Road Warrior
I’m pining for the iSight Camera with iChat. Instead of long, nonsense telephone calls with my editors at creativepro.com and Peachpit Press, I could have long, nonsense visual conversations with them. The positives are this would cut down on my long distance phone bills. The negatives are I’d have to be sitting at my desk and not lying on the couch.
I need to get my editors each a copy of Adobe InCopy CS for them to use with InDesign. This is the best way for people to do markup corrections as well as make notes on my chapters. What’s so special about the CS version? Well, this is the first time Adobe is selling the product directly to consumers. Up until now it was only available through special system’s integrators at very steep prices. But at $249 each (download; $259 on CD-ROM), this is a reasonable price for creatives who need to work with edtorial people.
USB stick drives are the floppy drives of the 21st century. I was at a conference recently and someone with a PC needed a file off my Mac. Rather than burn a CD or try to figure out how to connect our computers, I transferred the file using the USB drive that’s always attached to my key ring. I like a minimum of 256 MB, but I’ve seen some listed at 1 GB! Any brand is good, but I particularly like the design of the ones from JMTek at usbdrive.com. They have a sturdy hook for attaching onto a key ring.
Figure 5: This nifty “thumb” or “jump” drive from JMTek is small and sturdy.
There’s a whole world of wireless connections out there. Kensington’s WiFi Finder lights up when it sniffs one out. This is perfect for wandering around an airport trying to hook up to an internet connection. Or, since I live near New School University and NYU, I can walk around my neighborhood and tap into their free access. There’s even a restaurant I go to that doesn’t have any WiFi, but if I sit in their front tables, I can pick up the WiFi connection from the café across the street. At $23, this is a real geek’s stocking stuffer.
Figure 6: Beam me into a wireless network, Scotty!
The Kensington Universal AC/Car/Air adapter ($149.95) can be used for both the hotel as well as the airplane. Beats carrying two separate power cords, and it can even work for my Mac or PC.
I need to create a new multi-media center in my living room, and MacDraft Personal Edition from Microspot would be perfect for creating the schematic diagram. It’s got the best setup for scaled drawings. I downloaded the free demo, but since it doesn’t let me save or print, I need the real thing.
As all my friends advanced into maturity, they all need a boost when it comes to reading glasses. The Scojo Gel collection of reading glasses from Scojo Vision is just the thing to help them read those insanely small serial numbers for installing software.
Figure 7: Reading glasses don’t have to be ugly, as these Scojo frames show.
I want the original Sims, and then every single expansion pack: vacations, parties, animals, dating, etc. And I want a list of cheats so I
can set them up with enormous bank accounts and completely furnished homes.
Purposeful Design
I’ve been shying away from tech-related giving these days, and moving more and more toward things that demonstrate why we all do this in the first place, which is to create works of lasting beauty, or at least impart some sort of important knowledge, get a laugh, make a point or elicit a groan.
If you are the gift-certificate type, I can’t think of anything better than an eBay gift certificate, which can be purchased directly from eBay even if you don’t have an account. You can give these printed or electronic certificates in any amount, and you can give them to non-eBay folks as an incentive to get them started. And for your eBay friends (or nemesis) a few extra bucks to blow is always appreciated. You must have a Paypal account, which is easy and free — these days everyone should have one since Paypal is becoming one of the most popular online payment methods. Once hooked, of course, your victims are on their own to discover the joys and frustrations of auctions, whether their interests run toward vintage graphic design books, metal type cuts, old postcards, or something from the category “totally bizarre.” My own wish list includes a clean copy of the National Lampoon Sunday Newspaper Parody, the “Is God Dead” Time Magazine cover, and any Apocalypse Now memorabilia.
Figure 8: You can give the gift of addiction to your favorite or least-liked relative, and set them loose on eBay with money to burn. Gift certificates are available in both electronic and printed form.
Since I don’t work for the Seybold organization anymore and I no longer have to travel to Pennsylvania and endure the karaoke nights at the Media Inn Motel, I can enthusiastically say that the editors of the Seybold Report newsletter and the weekly Bulletin are the smartest people I know. Plus, they are deserving of your support as they toil away outside of Philadelphia covering the latest developments in publishing production and management tools.
A gift subscription to the Bulletin (and why not reward yourself for your hard work?) is $195, and a full subscription to both the Bulletin and the 24-times Seybold Report newsletter is normally $595. However, the folks at Seybold are offering creativepro.com readers a discounted price of $299 for the package — nearly half price. When you subscribe simply enter cpxmas in the special offer box. This offer expires December 25, 2003.
Figure 9: The Seybold Report newsletter is worth twice its weight in gold, and if you can’t afford that, the weekly Bulletin is a more affordable alternative.
If books on fine printing, typography, book design, and anything related to the history of printed words appeals to someone on your list, then surf on over to Oak Knoll Publishers and check out the hundreds of titles they sell, many of them rare and limited editions. Oak Knoll is the definitive source for letterpress and early printing material, and is respected throughout the world not just for their inventory, but for their dedication to the book arts as well. My own wish list at Oak Knoll includes the $550, signed box of hand-made paper by John Mason. But you can get a great gift at Oak Knoll for under $50, too.
Figures 10 and 11: This book on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales contains 10 scholarly essays that collectively trace pictorial renditions of the various illustrations done over the centuries for Chaucer’s most famous work. It has over 140 illustrations and is a great study on how different artistic minds interpret a masterpiece of the written word. A bargain at only $75.
Figure 12: If you happen to really, really like someone, consider this $750 copy of “The Art of Illumination as Practiced in Europe from the Earliest Times,” also from Oak Knoll.
One of my favorite gift sites is the Indian Hill Press, a small greeting card, poster and limited-edition book printer in Martha’s Vineyard. These guys not only know the craft of vintage printing, but they are clever writers and great illustrators as well. You can buy cards for as little as $3, or signed, linoleum cuts for $85. It’s hard to resist verse like this that accompanies an illustration for a card entitled “Snail Mail:”
E-mail rushes to and fro
Since paper letters seem too slow,
But we prefer the status quo;
This card was sent by escargot.
Or these words of wisdom on “Reasons to Avoid the Beach:
It’s hard to find a place to park.
The water’s colder than you think.
You might get eaten by a shark.
You might get stomach cramps and sink.
The site is fun to look at even if you don’t buy anything.
Figures 13 and 14: Fine letterpress printing combined with witty writing and terrific linoleum cuts make the Indian Hill Press a perfect place for beautiful, fun and affordable gifts.
This article was last modified on January 18, 2023
This article was first published on December 9, 2003
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