December 15th, 2008 | 
Author: There’s only ten days left till xmas and if you haven’t finished your shopping yet, I’m here to help.
Its a short list of potential gifts, but ones that will be certain to impress and dazzle the recipient. Also, you can order them online and have them ready to dole out on xmas without having to leave the comfort of your home. That’s the best way to xmas shop!
Kodak Zi6 HD Videocamera
Amazon UK: £ 89.99
The Kodak Zi6 HD Videocamera is an impressive little piece of kit. While pocket sized, this little marvel shoots in gloriously rich and detailed 720p High-Def, while recording onto cheap and readily available SD cards.
The Zi6 also shoots in standard, YouTube friendly VGA, has a built in USB connector and works like a dream. On my Mac, it just appears as a hard drive on the desktop, you drag the files onto your desktop, then into iMovie, which can handle them in HD quality.
On a PC, the Zi6 includes built in editing software, that you can run from the camera. Sweet.
It also shoots stills, has a 2x optical zoom and works off standard or rechargable AA batteries. I am so impressed with this camera already.
I bought mine a few weeks ago and paid £119.99, which means at £89.99, its already a major bargain! If you’re looking for a simple to use pocket videocamera that won’t break the bank, this is the camera for you.
iPod Touch
Amazon UK: £149-£254 depending upon storage (8gb, 16gb or 32gb)
I know I go on and on about my iPhone, but what if you are already happy with your current mobile deal, but still want to play with the coolest hand held gadget ever? The iPod Touch is for you!
The iPod Touch is basically an iPhone without the phone. It does nearly everything an iPhone can do except make and receive telephone calls, send and receive SMS messages, take photos and have proper GPS. Other than that, it does everything else.
You can run most apps on an iPod Touch, you can surf the net, send and receive emails, it does have some location awareness based on wi-fi positioning. Oh and it plays music and videos and displays photos too.
I bought one for Mrs. Hippy last xmas and she absolutely loves it. She used it for music until the Apple App Store opened and that’s when she really got hooked. She now uses it for surfing, for gaming and its rarely not in her hands.
The 2nd generation iPod Touch is even slimmer than the first and its added a small speaker and the ability to input audio via an external microphone, making it even more flexible than the original model.
The only negative Mrs. H has come up with on it is it makes her wish she had an iPhone. The lack of connectivity when there is no wi-fi available is a real sticking point. Other than that, its nearly a perfect device, guaranteed to be used daily by whoever you might give it to.
Volcano Vaporiser
everyonedoesit.com – £279.75 for the standard model
I bought one of these a few months ago, but it is something I’ve coveted for ages. Near as I can tell, its the only vape that really works and consistently delivers good results.
The Volcano Vaporiser does one thing and does it very well, it takes your favourite herb (like weed) and turns the active bits into vapour, while leaving the nasty bits alone.
When you smoke weed, you burn everything, including the carbon-based bits which contain the known carcinogens and other nasties. You also burn a good chunk of the THC, before it reaches your lungs.
A vaporiser only burns the THC. leaving the other components alone. The weed doesn’t actually burn, but it does get a bit toasted and turns brown.
The Volcano works by filling a small chamber, which holds your weed between two screens. You place this chamber on top of the base unit, where it is heated to the proper temperature. You then engage a small fan, which blows air up through the chamber, filling an attached balloon with very sweet, pure vapour.
When you inhale it, you can definitely taste the weed, but your throat and lungs don’t feel anything at all. The vapour is at room temp, so its not hot and dry like smoke, and it is very light, though you can see it when you exhale.
The head on vapour is also different from smoking and is hard to describe. It is deceptively strong, clean, clear and every enjoyable.
By far the most impressive thing about using a Volcano is how little weed you actually need to get high. A week’s worth of what I would smoke, would probably last 5-6 weeks in the volcano. A spliff’s worth in the chamber is enough to get 4 people pleasantly stoned and then some.
And when you are done vaping the weed, don’t throw it away, there’s still some THC left in it, which you can extract by making cannabutter. You could even smoke it if you were desperate, though that would kind of defeat the purpose of vaping.
I know the Volcano is expensive (and I bought the even pricier digital version), but it will more than pay for itself with the money you will save on weed. Add the health benefits and you’ve got a really useful, beneficial device that will change your life.
I bought mine because I am planning on giving up cigarettes in the new year. When I do, I’m going to want to cut down on my spliffs as well and I think this will help loads.
That’s it for this year, just three hi-tech toys which will amaze anyone you might decide to give them to. And if you’re shopping for yourself, even better, you’d love them all too!
