Holiday gifts and gadgets - Office Essentials

Home Office Computing, Dec, 1991 by Lisa Raquelle Thomas

Putting Together Your Christmas List? Every Christmas I buy some extra yearly planners and address books; because there are always people I've forgotten to buy gifts for. This year I'll stock up on Erase Address books and DuraPlanner organizers. These stocking stuffers contain polymer-coated, erasable and reusable pages so you won't have to buy paper refills. A permanent ink marker and special eraser are included. $29.95 eacn. Sold through catalogs and direct mail. From Dura-Label, 30100 Town Center Dr., Suite 0344, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677; (714) 240-6638.

Silicon Sentiments. The greeting cards that line your clients' front doors during the holidays always end up lining the inside of their trash cans after the festive season is over. Send your clients a holiday greeting they'll hold on to. PC Greetings is a disk-based greeting card that doubles as a screen saver for IBM-compatibles. Christmas scenes and polyphonic Christmas carols are the backdrop for a personalized scrolling message. After the message is played, the recipients can install an animated Christmas scene as the screen saver. (I always wanted my own fireplace!). Labels, a disk mailer, and envelope are included. $7.95. From Focal Point Greetings, 1270 Payne Dr., Los Altos, CA 94024; (415) 969-9609.

A FUNctional PC Pet. Children and the young at heart will get a kick out of computing with Kidz Mouse. This peripheral pal is IBM-compatible and designed to fit smaller hands (and it's housetrained). After you install the Mouseware for Kidz software, the easy-to-read Kidz Mouse User's Guide will help children get the ball (oops, mouse) rolling in no time. An education program, The Dinosaur Discovery Kit from First Byte, is also included. Kidz Mouse requires DOS 3.0, comes with a 9- to 25-pin adapter, and a lifetime warranty. $79. From Logitech, 6505 Kaiser Dr., Fremont, CA 94555; (415) 795-8500.

Add Some Fun to Your Holiday Festivities. Spread Christmas cheer this holiday season with Son of Stupid Mac Tricks, by Bob LeVitus. This book-and-software package contains 14 wild and crazy Mac programs that are sure to amaze your friends. You'll learn how to transform your cursor into a bouncing happy face, flash subliminal on-screen messages, and more. $19.95. Available wherever computer books are sold. Published by Addision-Wesley Publishing Co., Jacob Way, Reading, MA 01867; (617 944-3700.

The Get-It-Yourself Gift (after all, it's the thought that counts). Having trouble finding the perfect present for a computer enthusiast? Send a gift certificate from a reputable computer mail-order supplier. The PC Connection and MacConnection catalogs have a wide variety of high-quality, name-brand software, hardware, and peripherals for reasonable prices, and they offer exceptional unlimited toll-free technical support. There is no minimum charge. For PC Connection orders call (800) 243-8088. For MacConnection orders call (800) 800-2222.