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Page 23 · column 1 of 4 · from the scan, no model involved
By JOHN BRETSCHNEIDER
Times Newspapers Staff Writer
There’s no limit to the number of gift possibilities for computer lovers — from small items, such as a simple box of floppy disks, to a full-blown hypercharged multimedia computer system.
Essentially computer gifts can be grouped into three categories: hardware, or the computer machinery itself; software, the programs that make the computer actually do something; and peripherals, those plug-in devices that make the hardware and software work together better.
It’s the latter group, the peripherals, that can give the most pleasure to the computer user and the most pain to the computer shopper.
The most basic of these devices is the mouse — that little tailed creature that forms the most personal and direct connection between each person and their computer.
Mice come in many species — from one-button minis to the multi-button fully programmable rodents. A great gift ideas for boys is a mouse shaped like a football or basketball. For girls, perhaps a personalized mouse pad available at many educational toy and computer stores is the right gift.
Beware of cute fury little mouse covers (usually shaped to look like real mice) that slip over the device. The fake fir can fall off and get inside the electronics of the mouse, or worse, inside the computer’s floppy drive when changing disks. It’s not worth risking a couple thousand dollars of equipment and data lor a three-dollar trinket.
The touch pad or linger pad is the latest
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