Julie’s “Guide to Geek Gifts 2009″: DOTS Gloves
The following post is part of Julie’s “Guide to Geek Gifts 2009“, during which she highlights 20 gifts that she’s deemed geek-worthy. Check back to see what other gadgets and tech goodies will make her list. And be sure to contact Julie or leave a comment below if you have a suggestion of your own!
Why they’re geek-worthy: By now every geek – and beyond – has an iPhone or similar smartphone. And although many may have forgotten since we haven’t yet pulled out the gloves this season, it’s impossible to use a touch screen while gloved. DOTS Gloves have the perfect solution – the fingers of the gloves have little balls of threads (I think that’s how it works, at least) that enable you to reclaim use of your phone during winter months. AND they keep you warm, to boot. The D105 (picture below on the left) are already sold out, giving an indication just how geektastic of a gift this is, but you can can snag the D110 (pictured below on the right) for $20, and the even more solid D200 for $25.
If I have my history correct, DOTS Gloves were the first to create these types of gloves, making me like them even more, but since the D105 is sold out and the D110 is only available in Medium, I’d like to point you to a variety of other brands available on Amazon.
Julie’s Take on Google Wave
I’ve had Google Wave for about three weeks and have enjoyed being able to explore the service… In talking with those not in the tech sphere, I’ve run into three types of people:
1. People who have no idea what Google Wave is
2. People who have heard of Google Wave but don’t understand it (and are therefore apathetic)
3. People who have heard of Google Wave and know they should be excited about it but just don’t understand it
Let me take a stab at an explanation:
From using it, I think the easiest way to grasp what Google Wave is to imagine the intersection of a public bulletin board and an online document that people you invite can edit (think Google Docs). To me, the power of the service is the ability to collaborate with your social network (ie your Google Contacts) as well as connecting to others around the world who share a similar interest.
I found the video and Lifehacker article below really helpful when trying to wrap my head around the idea of Google Wave. I think they may help you as well:
Click the image to read the Lifehacker article
As you see below, I recently was awarded Google Wave invites to give away. If you’d like one, leave your e-mail address in the comments or send me an e-mail and I’ll be happy to send you one. 
My First Rule of GChat
HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT GCHAT? My “Answers to Common Questions About Gchat” post may be helpful to you.
Let me start by saying this. If you are still using Hotmail or Yahoo or any other type of web-based (or even worse: non-web based!) program that is not Gmail, finish reading this post and then go SIGN UP!
Google is one of those companies of which I am truly in awe. (Facebook, Twitter, Apple, AIM, are others that come to mind). Google’s products have COMPLETELY revolutionized our lives. Gmail, Google’s web-based mail application, simply BROKE THE MOLD and shifted the way we think about e-mail communications.
The first example of Gmail’s uniqueness I can think of at the moment is the threaded conversation feature, which has made it easier to follow the life of an e-mail. And the second is its chat feature within the mail client.
In fact, GChat is to this second era of the internet what American Online and American Instant Messenger were to the first. (And, as I wrote in October, it has helped bring about the convergence of our offline and online identities.) People you e-mail a certain number of times get added to the list of people you can chat with. And there are different ways to alert those people to your availability: you can be available to talk, idle if you’re away from the computer, ask people not to message you if you are busy and, lastly, you can “go invisible”. This last status allows you to view and message your contacts without allowing them to do the same.
In the past few weeks I’ve had several experiences which have led me to the creation of my first rule for GChat: I do not talk to those who have made themselves invisible. Why, you ask?
To begin, I consider myself to be a compassionate and loyal friend who stands by and supports the people she cares about. And, truly, I expect nothing less from the people that I allow to be a part of my life. Yes, those words were chosen carefully – being a part of my life and commanding my friendship are privileges.
When someone is “invisible” it means that they can contact me if they need me, but I can’t contact them to do the same. It ruins any chance at a reciprocal relationship which makes it inherently selfish. And that’s the sort of thing that I just can’t tolerate from those around me.
Listen, folks, I know it seems like such a trivial thing to get caught up in, but I think it’s a small thing that reflects a person’s general personality and that’s why it bothers me.
But, let me turn it over to you. How do you feel about “invisible” people on GChat? Do you yourself have rules for GChat?
HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT GCHAT? My “Answers to Common Questions About Gchat” post may be helpful to you.
