giftly

Magic Geek Ball: 404 error, fortune not found

Buying gifts for geeks can be expensive. They are likely to have things like iPads, Microsoft Surface tables, and working replicas of the TARDIS on their wish lists.

You don't have to drop a bundle to show you care about your geek's nerdy pursuits. For $7.99, you can cross that egghead off your holiday shopping list with a Magic Geek Ball from ThinkGeek.

The Magic Geek Ball is the techie, meme-loving cousin of the Magic 8 Ball. Ask it a yes or no question and it will spit back a response like "404 error," "Fail," or "Can Has."… Read more

CD box sets: It's that time of year again

Downloads and streaming music can't touch physical media for sound quality, or the pleasures associated with truly deluxe packaging.

For a prime example of the state of the art of the box set, check out the extra-thick album sleeves and gorgeous slipcase on Pearl Jam's "vs. & Vitalogy Deluxe Edition" three-disc set. The third disc is a live show from Boston's Orpheum Theatre in 1994. The band is peaking, and it's great to hear this fierce, passionate music sounding this good. To get the full effect, you'll want to play it loud. The … Read more

Holiday Help Desk on CNET Live

It's that time of year again, time for CNET's Holiday Help Desk.

Hosts Molly Wood and Brian Tong will take live viewer calls, talk to the chat room, and answer e-mails. And dish out the best tech gift-buying advice on the planet. Special guests will include CNET resident cheapskate Rick Broida, a parade of CNET editors, and guests from the retail world pitching their deals directly to you, such as representatives from Amazon, Woot, eBay, and Best Buy.

We'll keep you posted with the best deals, and also help you find the perfect gadget that's right … Read more

How to create a photo gift CD with Picasa

Ever wish you could share albums of photos with less-than-tech-savvy friends and family?

Google Picasa offers a great way to show off a collection of photos with its slideshow option. This will be especially handy for those holiday moments coming up when picture-taking is at a yearlong high.

To begin, you need to have Picasa installed, as well as at least one album or collection of photos you'd like to make into a gift CD/DVD. If you plan on including a slideshow option on the disc, you should also make sure the pictures are … Read more

Use Instagram, Facebook photos to create a calendar with Keepsy

Keepsy has been offering Instagram users the ability to create a true photo album using their favorite Instagram photos for some time now.

Recently, Keepsy rolled out the ability for users to create a photo album using their friends' Instagram feed, instead of their own. Right on the heels of that, Keepsy also rolled out a new product; a calendar.… Read more

Fab.com gets in the holiday spirit with two new gift shops

Consider your holiday shopping and decorating done. Fab.com, an online design marketplace, is launching two online holiday gift shops: One with 100 gifts under $100 and the other with modern holiday decor. These new shops go live tomorrow, November 1.

Fab's holiday gift shops join the original membership-based Fab site, which launched in June. Think of Fab as daily deals structured around small designers with unique vintage collections or newly designed products. Products range from furniture to wall decor to kids' toys to jewelry to unique kitchen appliances. Rarely will you find something you need, but you will … Read more

This is getting too easy: Giftly makes better gift cards

Nothing quite says "you're special to me" like a happy birthday note on your Facebook wall, does it? The person sending the note doesn't have to remember your birthday--Facebook does that for them--and the effort to post the note is so low it can be done between sips of coffee.

Yet these gestures matter, computer-moderated or not. We are social creatures. We get a little pleasure zap in our brain when someone recognizes us, gives us something, or tells us something personal, no matter what the impetus to do so was.

So if it's the … Read more

This Day in Tech: Microsoft loses patent case, Hulk Hogan at E3

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Thursday, June 9.

Daily cost of a 'promoted trend' on Twitter: $120,000 Cost of buying space in Twittersphere zeitgeist is up more than 400 percent. More

Hulk Hogan at E3 2011 (Video featuring Brian Tong) Hulkamania runs wild at E3 2011. Brian Tong flexes with the wrestling legend to talk pythons, pistols, and toothpicks. More

Microsoft loses patent case at Supreme Court Software giant loses legal battle with a small Canadian company in a decision today that will cost … Read more

Defunct Sharper Image looks to redeem gift cards

Dust off that Sharper Image gift card because in a few months, you just might be able to get some cash for it.

Sharper Image, which is now known as TSIC Inc., has petitioned the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware to allow it to pay back gift cardholders nearly three years after it shuttered its operation, The Wall Street Journal reported today. If its request is approved on its May 17 hearing date, TSIC plans to give cash back to any cardholder who has up to $2,245 in gift card value. It also plans to spend $60,000 … Read more

Great Valentine's Day gadget gifts for guys

If you're still in a bind trying to figure out what to get the man in your life for Hallmark Day Valentine's Day, you might consider going the gizmo route. Click through the gallery below for some ideas--from the latest, like HD-video goggles, wireless headphones, and telepresence devices, to nostalgic throwbacks like sno-cone makers (for the little guy in your life, of course). If you have other suggestions, be sure to share them in the comments section below.

This story originally appeared on CBSNews.com.