Get Ready for #CyberMonday and Holiday Shopping!

Do you have your holiday gift picked out for your favorite techie-lawyer?

Previous podcast guest David Sparks and his Mac Power Users Podcast cohost Steve Hackett and Brett Burney, and Jeff Richardson of In the News Podcast have come out with their respective holiday gift ideas episode from their respective podcasts: MPU #666 - The 2022 MPU Gift Guide and ItN #77 - 2022 iGift Guide (Special Edition!) are fun episodes and a great source to find gift ideas (not all “Apple” specific) for your favorite techie and techie lawyer. Below, I have highlighted several that I would strongly recommend.

1Password (Apple/Windows):

I had just blogged humorously about the necessity for password minders. I have been using 1Password Family Plan for a while to help maintain my work & personal passwords and other personal information. Plus, I share the account with my wife and a couple of parental units who need help maintaining this kind of information. As I am the tech-savvy family member, it’s helpful to have various family members’ login criteria, e.g., routers, websites, banking information, inter alia, when I am helping them with their tech issues.

Power Tip: On Brett and Jeff’s holiday episode, Brett suggests getting 1Password gift cards at a discount. You can then either gift them to others, or you can use them yourself to get a discount on your own account. Thanks for the tip, Brett!

Apple Watch Ultra! (Apple):

I just got mine a couple of weeks ago. If you have a recent Apple Watch 7 or 6, you may be a little hard-pressed to justify the purchase. But if you are looking for a new watch, want to upgrade your older apple watch (say due to battery life or missing certain health features, or because you’re just in the holiday spending spirit for your favorite lawyer, Apple Watch Ultra is Great!

Admittedly, I was hesitant to get it. I had the Apple Watch 4.0 series (before that, I had the Apple Watch 0.0 series). It did everything I needed – keeping an eye on my health, monitoring e-mails and instant messages, and gym tracking for Weight Watchers. The battery life had a health of 75% at the time. This worked most of the day for me – Mind you, I typically charge my devices when I enter the bathroom for one reason or another, so battery life was not an issue for me. But I was intrigued by the 2x brighter screen, the larger screen, and my friend’s offering to use his store discount for my purchase. It may have been an easier bridge for me to cross if the features were in the 8.0 series. But the price difference between the two were small. So, I was intrigued enough to go to the store and check it out.

I did go to the store, and I loved it! There is barely any difference in the feel, given the size and the ever-so-slight gain in weight. The display is gorgeous! The size and the brightness increases are clearly noticeable as it’s easier on the eyes.

I bought the Ocean Yellow Band as the yellow matches the blog and podcast theme. Typically, I get the cheaper band. I say "typically," even though this is only my third Apple Watch. The first watch I purchased was the stainless-steel model with a stainless-steel link band. I had read an article by an attorney who was contemplating the aluminum case versus the stainless-steel case (and its matching more expensive band). His mother asked which model do you want to appear before a jury? So, I bought the stainless-steel model & band. I purchased the 4.0 with the sports band and just used my “old” stainless steel band – it worked. And it looks great on the titanium model too!

Apple Air Tags (Apple):

I tried the Tile Tags. Connection and setup wasn’t as smooth as I’d like it to be. Now that I have Apple Air Tags, things are easier! It helps when a product is nicely baked into the OS I use. Connection to my iPhone is a breeze.

Keeping track of my keys and wallet is simpler now. 😊 You can usually find a deal for four Air Tags on Amazon for less than $100. There are also plenty of generic Air Tag Accessories on Amazon and elsewhere, so don’t get hung up on pricey Apple Accessories.

As you are traveling more this year, it's nice to be able to monitor your own luggage as it makes its way to your destination or if an errant bag, laptop case, or purse walks away from your location. 🙄

Backblaze (Apple/Windows):

Give the gift of backing up! Nothing is worse when your computer dies and you don’t have a backup. Except maybe when family members have a crash, and they need you to triage the problem from another town, state, or country. Backblaze is easy to set up, you can determine what part of your hard drive to back up (including the whole disc or just certain portions), and you can have it continuously work in the background or just set specific times for it to work. Give the gift to prevent something no one wants to get, data loss!

CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub (Apple/Windows):

It seems like we never have enough ports for our computers. Be it a laptop or desktop, we can always use a few extra ports. The CalDigit is a powered Hub that adds four (4) Thunderbolt/USB4 ports at 40 Gbps data speeds and USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports with data speeds at 10 Gbps. It is certainly not the cheapest out there, but it's solid. I have had one for over a year, and it's great!

Eero Pro 6E. (Apple/Windows):

Working from home, schooling from home, and being home require everyone to access the internet. This requires a strong signal, i.e., a strong connection between the router and the computer. More and more people are going wireless! It allows more mobility in your home, less intrusive in adding wires to walls where they don’t exist, or trailing wires around the house for people to trip. You can expand your wireless router's signal reach by creating a larger mesh throughout the house. This is where the Eero comes in handy.

The Eero is easy to set up, use, and monitor. Get as many as two extenders to help expand coverage and reach areas like your basement , a room oddly located in your home or office, or even your outside deck. A three-pack will allow you to cover 6000 square feet and allow 100 device connections. You can also create different logins for work, family, and guests. This will make it easier to protect your work internet from having to share with family and guests and the password leaking out. It will also allow you to limit when the kids can be on the internet.

Power Tip: Try to have the hubs in line of sight with at least one hub in sight of the main Eero router. This will help you maintain the internet signal strength throughout the house.

The Tech-Savvy Lawyer.Page Mug:

Lastly, I am going to make a pitch for The Tech-Savvy Lawyer.Page Mug! It’s a great coffee mug, I have several for myself, and profits are currently donated to help those displaced in Ukraine. I hope you consider one for yourself and perhaps others!

Happy Holidays!!!

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Shoutout! MPU and ItN Holiday Wish Lists!

The Tech Savvy Lawyer