Gift Ideas

Nintendo 3DS – Aqua Blue

The company that changed the world of video games with touch-screen gaming in 2004 and motion-controlled gaming in 2006 now pioneers the next dimensional shift. With the announcement of the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo introduces portable entertainment in 3D without the need for special glasses.

Nintendo 3DS includes two screens. The bottom touch screen makes use of a telescoping stylus that is stored in the unit itself. The top screen displays 3D visuals to the naked eye. The system also has a 3D Depth Slider that lets players select the level of 3D they enjoy the most.

The 3D effect can be ratcheted up to the highest level, scaled back to a more moderate setting or even turned off completely. In addition to the familiar + Control Pad and button controls found on previous Nintendo hand-helds, Nintendo 3DS now also includes a Circle Pad, which provides a full 360 degrees of direction, giving it the freedom and precision needed to play games in 3D worlds. A built-in motion sensor and gyro sensor can react to the motion and tilt of the system, so whether players are twisting their systems side to side or moving them up and down, their motion-compatible Nintendo 3DS games respond instantly.

Each Nintendo 3DS system comes pre-loaded with a variety of fun games, applications and features, such as Nintendo 3DS Camera. One camera points at the user, while two additional cameras point outward. These two outer cameras take photos in 3D. The fun, built-in game “Face Raiders” asks users to shoot at funny depictions of their own faces.

Nintendo 3DS, when put into Sleep Mode, can act as a pedometer, while letting users earn Play Coins for the steps they take that can then be traded in for additional content in compatible games and applications. By accessing the Activity Log, users can check their steps as well as their play time. With Nintendo 3DS Sound, users can enjoy sound-manipulation tools or rock out while listening to their MP3 or AAC music files.

The Social Network [Blu-ray]

They all laughed at college nerd Mark Zuckerberg, whose idea for a social-networking site made him a billionaire. And they all laughed at the idea of a Facebook movie–except writer Aaron Sorkin and director David Fincher, merely two of the more extravagantly talented filmmakers around.

Sorkin and Fincher’s breathless picture, The Social Network, is a fast and witty creation myth about how Facebook grew from Zuckerberg’s insecure geek-at-Harvard days into a phenomenon with 500 million users. Sorkin frames the movie around two lawsuits aimed at the lofty but brilliant Zuckerberg (deftly played by Adventureland‘s Jesse Eisenberg): a claim that he stole the idea from Ivy League classmates, and a suit by his original, now slighted, business partner (Andrew Garfield).

The movie follows a familiar rise-and-fall pattern, with temptation in the form of a sunny California Beelzebub (an expert Justin Timberlake as former Napster founder Sean Parker) and an increasingly tangled legal mess. Emphasizing the legal morass gives Sorkin and Fincher a chance to explore how unsocial this social-networking business can be, although the irony seems a little facile.

More damagingly, the film steers away from the prickly figure of Zuckerberg in the latter stages–and yet Zuckerberg presents the most intriguing personality in the movie, even if the movie takes pains to make us understand his shortcomings. Fincher’s command of pacing and his eye for the clean spaces of Aughts-era America are bracing, and he can’t resist the technical trickery involved in turning actor Armie Hammer into privileged Harvard twins (Hammer is letter-perfect). Even with its flaws, The Social Network is a galloping piece of entertainment, a smart ride with smart people… who sometimes do dumb things.

Oh yeah, and did we mention that Jesse Eisenberg ROCKS?!

Internet Fraud Casebook – The World Wide Web of Deceit

Internet Fraud Casebook: The World Wide Web of Deceit is a one-of-a-kind collection of actual cases written by the fraud examiners who investigated them. These stories were hand-selected from hundreds of submissions and together form a comprehensive, enlightening and entertaining picture of the many types of Internet fraud in varied industries throughout the world.

• Each case outlines how the fraud was engineered, how it was investigated, and how perpetrators were brought to justice
• Topics included are phishing, on-line auction fraud, security breaches, counterfeiting, and others

Click here for more info

Super Mario Microraschel Throw

Mario and Luigi race to save the game surrounded by icons and characters from your favorite video game. Cuddle up in this warm throw for a long day of video game fun.

A cool gift for kids, geeks and gamers!