Information Madness

Few years back, compact discs burned with custom playlists were ultimate last minute gifts. They represented thoughtfulness and they were unique. Usually they got a response that surprised and stunned the recipient. Those days are over now. But if you have a USB drive lying around, you can give a gift that might even be better than a burned disc. You can now give a customized USB drive. You can not only pack it with a variety of goodies like photos and hand-picked music but the user can also use any space remaining over and over again with whatever he or she may like to add.

If you do not have a USB drive lying around with you, you can buy a camera and lens USB thumb drive for less than $20. Camera Kit, Star Wars and Robots are few of the thumb drives out there in the market. You can give a name to your gift. In Windows, you can right click the drive and select `Properties’. At the top, rename the drive to something like `For [Recipient Name]’. On a Mac, right click the drive and select `Get Info’. Rename it and save your changes.

You can also get creative with custom files and Apps. Open a Notepad in Windows and write a letter to the gift recipient. You can then save it to the drive and name it, `Dear (Name), Read Me First’. This note can be like a greeting card with a small message about the gift. You can configure the drive and tape it to the inside of a holiday card that says, `Plug Me In’.