Every family has one -- the geek. This is the guy or gal of any age who loves gadgets and gizmos, the one you call to fix your computer, the one who has the latest phone with the coolest apps. If you're not a geek yourself, filling the geek's stocking with small or inexpensive gifts can require a team of savvy elves. Luckily, the elves have started a list of gift ideas that work equally well for stockings or Secret Santa exchanges. Here are five high-tech stocking stuffers that won't require too much hunting, use too many tools, or take too much out of Santa's wallet. These are fun and inexpensive enough to buy multiples for all the geeks in your life. There are also a million ways to lose this little guy. Just snap the latest generation iPod Nano into the translucent plastic clips. The architecture allows access to all the buttons and connectors on the Nano, and the quick-release pins allow the soft silicone band to be changed out on a whim.
The Q2 adds a bit more durability with aluminum clips to hold the Nano in place ($39.95). Many of the books are cheap or free, and it's far easier to carry around a digital copy of Dickens's collected works than one paper copy of A Tale of Two Cities. But e-readers need protection and a little personalization. For heavy readers of the e-book type, a jacket for their Kindle, Nook, or iPad with a classic cover combines the best of digital and dead-tree worlds. The Screen Keeper turns off the computer monitor when you walk away from your desk. A clip-on transmitter sends a signal to a receiver near the computer when you reach a preset distance away -- say, 10 feet (or about 3 meters). When you come back in range, the screen fires up again, no password re-entry required. The user sets the distance, so the screen could go dark as soon or as late as they like. Outlook, or all of the above. All they have to do is put the envelope-shaped alert on the desk and plug it into a USB port. As soon as a message arrives, the envelope will glow blue, red, or green, and play a sound. It's perfect for the office gossip who wanders away from her desk but never wants to miss a message. It's cute, it's small, and it'll remind the recipient of your thoughtfulness all year long. One half-inch-square plastic block holds the memory stick, while the other acts as a cap.
Internet by the game's publisher. DLC can range from cosmetic content, such as skins, gagetaylor.com to new in-game content such as characters, levels, www.uneditedmeat.com modes, and larger expansions that may contain a mix of such content as a continuation of the base game. In some games, multiple DLC (including future DLC not yet released) may be bundled as part of a "season pass"-typically at a discount in comparison to purchasing each DLC individually. While the Dreamcast was the first home console to support DLC (albeit in a limited form due to hardware and internet connection limitations), Microsoft's Xbox console and Xbox Live platform helped to popularize the concept. Since the seventh generation of video game consoles, DLC has been a prevalent feature of most major video game platforms with internet connectivity. Since the popularization of microtransactions in online distribution platforms such as Steam, the term DLC has become a synonymous for any form of paid content in video games, regardless of whether they constitute the download of new content.
Furthermore, this led to the creation of the oxymoronic term "on-disc DLC" for content included on the game's original files, but locked behind a paywall. The earliest form of downloadable content were offerings of full games, such as on the Atari 2600's GameLine service, which allowed users to download games using a telephone line. A similar service, Sega Channel, allowed for the downloading of games to the Sega Genesis over a cable line. While the GameLine and Sega Channel services allowed for the distribution of entire titles, they did not provide downloadable content for existing titles. Expansion packs were sold at retail for some PC games, which featured content such as additional levels, characters, or maps for a base game. They often required an installation of the original game in order to function, but some games (such as Half-Life) had "standalone" expansions, which were essentially spin-off games that reused engine code and assets from the original game. The Dreamcast was the first console to feature online support as a standard; DLC was available, though limited in size due to the narrowband connection and the size limitations of a memory card.
These online features were still considered a breakthrough in video games, but the competing PlayStation 2 did not ship with a built-in network adapter. With the advent of the Xbox, Microsoft was the second company to implement downloadable content. Many original Xbox Live titles, including Splinter Cell, Halo 2, and Ninja Gaiden, offered varying amounts of extra content, available for download through the Xbox Live service. Most of this content, with the notable exception of content for Microsoft-published titles, was available for free. The Xbox 360 (2005) included more robust support for digital distribution, including DLC downloads and purchases, via its Xbox Live Marketplace service. 20), as this would allow players to pick and chose what content they desired, providing revenue to the publishers. Microsoft also utilized a digital currency known as "Microsoft Points" for www.uneditedmeat.com transactions, which could also be purchased through physical gift cards to avoid the banking fees associated with the small price points. Sony adopted the same approach with their downloadable hub, the PlayStation Store. This h as been created by GSA Content Generator DEMO.