Karlin Lillington: five tech-orientated favourites for Christmas

Forget other people. Instead, think about yourself. For a tech-oriented gift, that is. If you’re making a list and checking it twice, it’s worth looking after yourself at Christmas too.

To that end, here’s a personal list of favourites that I consider the perfect combination of being both useful and fun to use. I’m really not much of a gadget user, nor a big consumer of personal technology. But I do really, really like these things and I bet you will, too.

The 11-inch MacBook Air

I’ve worked my way through a variety of Mac laptops over the years, and have a perfectly decent and serviceable MacBook as well as an iPad.

But any time I was near an Apple Store, I kept sneaking a covetous look at the smallest of the laptops on offer, the MacBook Air. Finally, I took the plunge and have been in love ever since.

The Air is a small, slender, lightweight thing of beauty that makes my old Mac seem like a millstone. It is easily transported in a backpack or handbag, has taken significant weight off my shoulders and for that alone, I adore it.

It also charges incredibly fast – about 30 minutes – and then runs for nine hours. Fantastic for travelling. Laptops do tend to be a case of horses for courses – some people need something larger and more powerful, or with a bigger screen. But for most uses, the bijou Air will do perfectly. Get it online from Apple, or electronics vendors.

Nuance’s dictation software

I regularly recommend Nuance’s voice software to people because it makes writing easier and

faster, especially if working from notes. It also gets you off the keyboard, which makes a major, even critical difference for anyone who has aches, numbness or stiffness from typing and using a mouse.

The programme takes about 10 minutes to set up (you train it in to your voice by reading some text) and then you are ready to go.

I use it primarily for document writing and emails, sticking to its more basic functions. But a vast array of commands lets a user do pretty much everything on their computer by voice, if desired. You can use the web, or even direct computer operations.

The latest release also transcribes sound files, be they short memos or a lecture. This is potentially a fantastic feature, and works well for clear recordings. However, I found it struggled with my varied-quality recordings of interviews with others. Darn!

Both Dragon Dictate for Macs and Naturally Speaking for Windows are discounted for Christmas at nuance.com.

An internet radio

If you don't own an internet radio, what are you waiting for? I've got a nice little Roberts radio, which has lovely sound quality, but there are many options out there at various price points. Why get one? Because you can get thousands upon thousands of stations, all over the world.

So, if you enjoy a genre of music that isn’t well catered for in local radio, there’s a plethora of choices on your net radio.

Or, if the voice of a particular presenter here grates, just switch over to jazz from Switzerland, hip hop from Alaska or Bach – nothing but Bach – from the back of beyond. World music fans? Tune in to the stations broadcasting your favourite subgenre from the country of origin.

When San Francisco lost its solitary classical station, I bought my mother an internet radio, now regularly tuned to RTÉ Lyric FM, London’s Classics FM, BBC Radio 3 and other stations. She still says it is one of the best gifts she has ever received.

Bose noise-cancelling headphones

Frequent flyer? Then you need these, especially if you are crammed back in economy. Place them over your ears and retreat from that maddening engine thrum. Unlike the airline-issue crap headset, these headphones enable you to actually hear all the dialogue of your inflight movie.

You don’t have to worry that neighbouring passengers are subjected to a tinny whine if you turn up the volume. You can also wear them to simply block outside noise. And best of all, gabby seatmates tend to give up when you have these secured over your head. Available online, at good electronics shops, or try

Arnotts

in Dublin.

A telescope

I know, you always wanted one when you were 10, but now you are all grown up and never have thought about buying one. Do! Trust me.

If you have kids in the household, they will think this the coolest thing ever, and if it’s just adults – well, they’ll think this is just the coolest thing ever, and so will you.

For about the outlay for a decent laptop, you can get a piece of kit that will automatically find planets, constellations, galaxies and other interstellar ports of call.

See the moon in stunning detail. Track the International Space Station. View Saturn’s rings and Jupiter’s moons. You will feel the wonder of being 10 all over again.

A good, helpful source for scopes is online and retail shop scopesandspace.ie or try ktectelescopes.ie.