Since 2015, The New Stack has noticed our personal annual custom of providing a present information for that technical somebody in your life.
We’ve described it up to now as “a enjoyable have a look at how we’re enjoying with our instruments” and a approach to store “for curious minds and novelty-craving hearts.”
This 12 months’s particular focus will probably be presents for laptop programmers. So for all of you who dare to courageous the hunt for that good technical reward — these strategies simply would possibly earn you a real smile…
The Every part Retailer
This 12 months Amazon added a particular part devoted to Items for Pc Programmers. There are over 3,000 outcomes, with geek-friendly subcategories like “Glassware & Drinkware” and “Novelty Clothes“…
For the coder in your life, Amazon affords the whole lot from mind–teasing programming puzzles to laptop–themed jigsaw puzzles.
After all, there’s additionally a big selection of compulsory humorous t–shirts…
However this 12 months there’s additionally tech-themed ties and motherboard-patterned socks.
Socks
Tie
Amazon isn’t the one place promoting programmer-themed novelty presents. Etsy has its personal devoted web page for Programmer Reward concepts, with over 5,000 coder-themed espresso mugs, shirts, tree ornaments, and different artful stocking stuffers.
There’s even a notepad with stationery emblazoned with multicolored Python code, so your handwritten to-do record varieties the feedback in a bigger Python program.
Programmable Python Pets
Some programmers, although, would possibly choose a present that’s each enjoyable and instructional. And what’s extra entertaining than utilizing your Python abilities to program a toy robotic canine?
It doesn’t simply reply to spoken instructions like “Shake” and “Down”. Your loyal new pet “Pyxel” is provided with a wide range of sensors — for sound, proximity, and contact — all of which may be programmed via Pyxel’s personal customized IDE.
It helps coding in Python or with the visible code editor Blockly — and completed applications may be executed immediately from a PC (or Mac or a pill), or beamed right into a six-function distant. With programmable lights — together with its colourful eyes — Pyxel may be programmed to “do methods, change coloration, make and react to sounds, and specific feelings,” in accordance with the corporate’s official catalog.
However if you happen to’re searching for somebody who’s extra of a cat individual, Petoi sells a package for constructing a programmable (and open supply) cat robotic named “Nybble”.
Improve your college students’ #STEMEducation journey with the Nybble #robotcat! Unlock the door to hands-on studying and innovation.https://t.co/lRbNjjGMMi#Deception #OpenCat #RaspberryPi #Arduino #quadruped #RobotCat #robot #OpenSource #engineering #RobotKit #robotics #BuildRobot pic.twitter.com/hx7TNioSHb
— Petoi (@PetoiCamp) November 17, 2023
The delicate Arduino-powered feline may be programmed with Python and C++ (in addition to block-based coding).
Nybble can be appropriate with Arduino add-on modules for speech recognition, IoT sensors, and a sensible digicam.
Give your favourite programmer an opportunity to discover the brand new group that’s constructing round “OpenCat”, the corporate’s personal quadruped robotic pet framework (open sourced on GitHub).
Petoi’s web site describes it as “the feature-rich programmable robotic cat everybody desires to personal.”
Eyes Assembly E Ink
We’ve craved it for years — a piece laptop that by some means supplied the comfy studying expertise of a Kindle. Lenovo’s lastly put the E Ink display entrance and middle — a coloration, laptop-sized display utilizing the identical tech as Amazon’s e-readers.
Apart from utilizing much less vitality, it’s even touch-enabled, delivery with a stylus that in accordance with Lenovo “offers a pure pencil-and-paper-like feeling while you sketch or take notes.”
But the laptop computer additionally ships with an OLED display, that you may swap in simply by twisting the display 180 levels. And since there’s a display on both aspect, closing the laptop computer simply turns it right into a pill (together with your alternative of both an e-ink or OLED display).
However November additionally noticed Dasung launch the world’s first curved desktop displays utilizing E Ink know-how. One mannequin even comes with a built-in mild within the entrance — a sort of studying lamp to your PC’s display.
And in the meantime, Bigme has introduced an All-in-1 PC — a 25.3-inch E Ink show with built-in PC performance — promising it’s not solely energy-efficient but in addition “light in your eyes.” The 3K high-definition monitor is even voice-controlled, and its web page on Kickstarter guarantees it’ll begin delivery in December…
Creation with AI
It might’ve been the right programmer reward — however in September Copilot’s group supervisor confirmed that there’s no approach to reward a subscription to GitHub Copilot.
However perhaps there’s one thing higher — courtesy of the blockchain funds gateway CoinGate.
ChatGPT brand
Sure, CoinGate is promoting ChatGPT reward playing cards, redeemable for a coveted $20-a-month subscription to ChatGPT Plus. The official web page for the provide claims that along with the whole lot else, ChatGPT “focuses on offering handy and safe methods for patrons to buy reward playing cards utilizing their most well-liked cryptocurrency.”
In concept, it will replace the fortunate recipient to GPT-4 — in addition to precedence entry for brand new improvements. “OpenAI retains unveiling new options and rolling them out to its Plus plan subscribers,” ZDNet reported final month — together with the power to create your personalized chatbots. A ChatGPT Plus subscription even grants entry to DALL-E 3’s picture era.
Sadly, simply two days earlier than Sam Altman was fired as OpenAI’s CEO — shortly earlier than his eventual re-hiring — he’d introduced that ChatGPT was pausing new subscriptions.
we’re pausing new ChatGPT Plus sign-ups for a bit 🙁
the surge in utilization submit devday has exceeded our capability and we need to be certain everybody has an excellent expertise.
you’ll be able to nonetheless sign-up to be notified throughout the app when subs reopen.
— Sam Altman (@sama) November 15, 2023
However perhaps this 12 months they’ll get a server improve from Santa Claus…
And this brings us to what’s probably essentially the most 2023 reward thought of all.
ChatGPT Says: Work from Dwelling
One useful feed on Twitter — now renamed “X” — has really been utilizing ChatGPT to generate reward concepts.
I need to imagine it ingested the whole thing of Amazon.com, then returned to Twitter to report again that you may buy “Complete homes for lower than $20,000.”
“Free delivery.”
#GiftIdeas, #Gift,
Complete homes for lower than $20,000
– free delivery
https://t.co/E6l2XN9q1F— ChatGPT Reward Concepts (@Gifts_Ideas_) November 20, 2023
I name this essentially the most 2023 reward thought of all as a result of, apart from purportedly being generated by ChatGPT — and posted to “X” — it encapsulates what’s maybe this 12 months’s greatest skilled theme: returning to the workplace. What many programmers actually need for Christmas is to proceed working from residence.
So maybe the final word reward thought is a “yard workplace.”
Autonomous affords a do-it-yourself package for assembling your personal yard workplace inside simply “a couple of hours”. They’re promising that it’s a “prefab pod” — that’s, “pre-wired and prepped with air con, shops, and heat lighting” for a yard workplace that’s each waterproof and soundproof. One mannequin even comes outfitted with a convertible couch mattress.
Yard places of work generally is a little expensive, however there are methods to finesse the funding… YARDADU’s prefabricated “Zen Workplace” may be financed for as little as $298 a month — and presumably when submitting your taxes, it counts as a enterprise expense. (One enterprising Amazon consumer even gloats that they “acquired an appraiser and was instructed that this may be added to my present home sq. footage, so we have been capable of enhance the worth of the house by $65K!”)
However wherever 2023 finds you working — with no matter monitor, and no matter AI assistant you’ll be able to really rise up and working…
Whether or not you’re working with a robotic canine at your ft, otherwise you’re toasty heat together with your motherboard-patterned socks…
We hope you might have a really glad vacation season.
