Introduction
by: Chris Angelini
Welcome to the first installment of this year’s six-part Tom’s Hardware Holiday Buyer’s Guide, put together by editors from Tom’s Hardware, Tom’s Guide, and Tom’s Games. We’ve all worked together to compile the hottest list of PC components, gadgets, and gaming titles, which we’ll introduce one part at a time throughout the months of November and December.
Each guide is organized to center on a slightly different theme. This first one is aimed right at our hardware audience and includes gifts for enthusiasts who just want to plug and play—no time for building. But don’t think that we’re only including pre-built boxes here. We cover the gamut, from monitors, to security cameras, to power protection, storage, VoIP, and sound.
Here’s the breakdown for what you can expect to see as the series progresses. Each time we publish a new piece, we’ll update those that came before with links to the newest guides. By the time we ring in 2009, we hope you’ll be enjoying at least a couple of gifts from our six stories!
- Part 1: Tom’s Hardware—No Hassle Hardware Gifts, Good To Go
- Part 2: Tom’s Guide—Top Kid Tech Gifts For 2008
- Part 3: Tom’s Guide—Great Gifts For Tech Gurus
- Part 4: Tom’s Hardware—Hardware For The System Builder In Your Life
- Part 5: Tom’s Games—Keyboards, Mice, Headsets, And More Games
- Part 6: Tom’s Guide—Great Gifts For Tech Novices
Even as the subject matter of each installment changes, you’ll see the same two models popping up over and over to show off the gifts that we showcase.
Before we get into our favorite gear for this year’s holiday season, please allow me to introduce you to our models, who so graciously spent a full day in our Culver City, CA office posing with the massive collection of hardware we amassed for these six guides.
Danielle, the lovely blond with a penchant for Hello Kitty merchandise, is originally from Oklahoma City. She’s an enthusiast in the truest sense of the world—she builds her own PCs and has been reading Tom’s Hardware since high school. She moved out to California for college, where she earned her B.S. in computer science.
Alicia, the beautiful brunette Mrs. Claus, is my wife. She grew up in Bakersfield, CA and went to University of California, Irvine where she majored in dance. She’s a professional ballet dancer now and doesn’t spend much time around PC components, though her interest in technology does spike when boxes of hardware start spilling out of my office into places where they shouldn’t be, at which point they often come back flying at my head.
If you haven’t yet checked out our "behind the scenes" video footage of our photo shoot, you can check that out here.
If you’d like to check out the full photo album for Part 1, you can do that here. There will be others, of course, as this series progresses, so keep checking back!
Now, onto our first piece of hardware!
