Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

#21

Post by scotty79 » Sun, Dec 08, 2013, 7:22 PM UTC

Pendrive with wallet.dat on it.

Re: Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

#22

Post by platz » Sun, Dec 08, 2013, 7:22 PM UTC

Stylish clothing which makes one look good in the neighborhood.

Re: Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

#23

Post by andrewcooke » Sun, Dec 08, 2013, 7:24 PM UTC

not sure how much you want to spend, but i recently built a tube (valve) amplifier from a kit from these people http://www.bottlehead.com/ - it was about as easy as making something can be (very good instructions) and very enjoyable.

[i guess i should add that the lowest price model - the crack otl headphone amplifier - is not suitable for most headphones. so be careful before buying that one.]

Re: Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

#24

Post by caublestone » Sun, Dec 08, 2013, 7:26 PM UTC

imwhimsical wrote: post #7

Why do we treat "hackers" as some sort of mythical beasts who belong to a whole different race altogether? Now, I'm not saying you're doing that, but this is something I've observed quite a lot. Especially with those "X for Hackers" etc.. Answering your question — it differs from person to person. I personally wouldn't be interested in receiving a new router, for example, but I do know people who would. I'd like a ty…

I'm ok with being a mythical beast.

Re: Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

#25

Post by gumballhead » Sun, Dec 08, 2013, 7:28 PM UTC

Raspberry Pi

Re: Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

#26

Post by jurassic » Sun, Dec 08, 2013, 7:29 PM UTC

Maybe I'm different than others here, but I would advise against software tools unless you know and understand what their actual needs/wants are. Tooling is highly personal, and they probably already have an editor they like that is fully tweaked and configured.

Hardware toys are cool (mechanical keyboards, arduino, raspberry pi, etc), as many others have said.

But you might consider meatspace items that are nice no matter who you are. I just bought a nice new smartwool hat and titanium spork (for pack lunches!) at REI for my favorite nerd.

Re: Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

#27

Post by natch » Sun, Dec 08, 2013, 7:30 PM UTC

Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, Tesla.. or lower budget, some toys from sparkfun or adafruit.

Re: Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

#28

Post by arh68 » Sun, Dec 08, 2013, 7:31 PM UTC

Hacker's Delight - http://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Delight-Edition-Henry-Warren/d...

EDIT: .. and a good coffeemaker. :)

Re: Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

#29

Post by riffraff » Sun, Dec 08, 2013, 7:32 PM UTC

I discovered this through reddit some days ago: 20 grams of gallium for a few bucks

http://www.amazon.com/Gallium-99-99%25-Pure-Grams-Even/dp/B0...

think as cool as mercury, but safer :)

Re: Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

#30

Post by vyrotek » Sun, Dec 08, 2013, 7:36 PM UTC

angrycoder wrote: post #6

Get them a nice mechanical keyboard. - http://elitekeyboards.com/ Xkcd volume 0 - http://www.amazon.com/xkcd-0-Randall-Munroe/dp/0615314465/ A subscription to Hacker Monthly - http://hackermonthly.com/store.html

Another vote for a mechanical keyboard here. I picked up a Das Keyboard[0] for work and love it. One for home is now on my Christmas list. :)

[0] http://www.amazon.com/Das-Keyboard-Professional-Mechanical-D...