Patrick's Sunday Seven

I don't usually do these list things, but I started to leave the answer to Patrick's Sunday Seven in a comment & realized I talk too much for a simple comment. Anyway, Patrick asks for seven gadgets you would not want to live without, that could be good gift ideas for others. and so I offer:

1) Mouse with a scroll wheel. Yes, I know confirmed Mac-addicts eschew the things, and when I first tried it I also thought it was a dumb thing. Now... I can't stand to not have my wheel! [I happen to have a logitech cordless optical mouse; see item #4 for an accessory that makes life much happier when you use one of those ins tead of a wired mouse.]

2) Belkin adapter for iPod Mini for the car. Plays your iPod over the car radio. I don't have a cassette player, so it was my only alternative to 'how many commercials can we make you hear before you realize we never play any music on commercial radio?' With four presets & a wide broadcast range on FM, you can find a station that works evenin a big city (I have used it in Phoenix & Houston). I had another brand/cheapo thing that didn't work worth beans in Phoenix. Spend the money & get the good one so you can take road trips wherever you want.

3) MagLight Rechargeable flashlight. I have only ever seen this item at Harbor Freight but I'm sure you can get it elsewhere. If you think you have a bright flashlight... I'm telling you, it rocks.

4) Any NiCd/NiMH AA/AAA charger & batteries. I happened to buy a Monster but cheaper ones work just as well. Everything these days uses AA and AAA batteries. The rechargeables don't last quite as long as new batteries per charge, but... you only buy them once & you always have spares without a trip to the store.

5) Webcam. Pick a brand. Not too cheap or you won't see anything. You won't use it every time you chat with a pal, but when you just want to show off your new haircut, new shirt, dog's Christmas outfit, whatever, why use the digital camera, upload still photos, and all that? This is another item I never ever thought I would want/need, but when the UMR got me & dad a pair last Christmas, we learned it's fun. Now that I'm using the Mac almost full-time, I guess I really am going to have to get an iSight. (sigh) It's always something.

6) Digital Camera. Does anybody really use film anymore? Oh instant gratification. That's for me. Think minimum 5 megapixels for really nice prints; you don't need that much if you're just going to look at pictures on the computer screen.

7) Cell phone. A couple of years ago, I wrote a journal entry about how I don't 'get' cell phones. Less than a year after getting one, I can't imagine why anyone would have a wired phone anymore. Mine is always on vibrate & always in my pocket. If I'm busy or don't feel like answering it, I can ignore it or turn it off.

I meant to write today about Mac things so I'll simply note that on Safari, I'm missing most of my 'create post' buttons from IE. If I want bold or a link or whatever, I have to manually enter HTML. It's an annoyance for me, but it could be a deal-breaker for others. I'll have to look into that. I may have some setting messed up on Safari.