There's a blizzard of electronics out there this year. Read this for a guide through the storm.

As we approach the joyous season, we're faced with the fact that modern pressure means the season doesn't always retain its joy. In fact, when I sit down to figure out my gift list for the people I want to express my love, the dollars, time and energy necessary to gather and deliver it all is almost overwhelming. So allow the folks at MFA IT Services to help you find that perfect gift. It's a blessing (or curse) of the trade to keep up on such things.

First let's address the "how" portion of our shopping efforts. Many people enjoy the hustle-n-bustle of the packed stores during the holiday seasons, and I'm told it helps to put them "in the holiday mood." Maybe it does, but by about day two of the 12 days of Christmas at the local mall, most of the people I see don't really look festive; they look deadly.

Thus, we suggest that you consider shopping on-line this year for all or a portion of your holiday gifts. Online shopping has proven to be very effective, especially for people who live in rural areas or have to mail gifts. Many people fear online shopping for the risk of credit card fraud or identity theft; however, online shopping has proven to be as safe in both of these areas as face-to-face transactions at a local retailer.

You can protect yourself by making sure that you stick to well-known, reputable sites. Using your Internet browser, simply type in the name of your favorite retail store with a ".com" at the end of it. You can usually find it. Popular examples might be jcpenney.com, sears.com, walmart.com, etc. Most of these retailers allow you to shop in a secure environment that protects your financial information, and they take care of the packing and shipping.

Now let's see what kind of things we can come up with for that perfect technology gift. If you shop online, you have the ability to use shopping services such as "Froogle" located at Google.com, Yahoo Shopping, eBay, to help find the cheapest price.

But the question is always what to get. In electronics, the answer depends on the age of the person you're shopping for, but we will cover a wide range in this limited space.

Games

Many teenage or younger people are interested in electronic games for Xbox or Play Station 2, and with a few casual questions they will probably give you a hint as to the most current game they want.

Memory

If the person you're shopping for uses their computer on a regular basis, then one of the most useful accessories you can get for them is a flash drive. This is a device that can be quickly plugged into any USB port. Data can be uploaded and downloaded and then transported to another computer. This is also an outstanding means of keeping a quick backup of all that financial,  tax data and crop yield information in case of some emergency. Although memory capacity is variable, we recommend that you get at least 512 megabytes (less than $50) up to 2 gigabytes (under $175). Some of the more popular manufacturers are Scandisk, Corsair and Diskgo.

Music

Music has burst onto the digital scene and would make a great gift. MP3 players or the Apple iPod are very popular with all ages because you can take music or audio books  wherever you go. If you're shopping for someone who already has a digital music player, consider  accessories for it such as a nice carrying case or plug-in  speakers.

Cameras

With the price of digital cameras today starting at around $40, you can buy in a wide range of prices. However, if you're looking for the really nice gift, we suggest that you get a camera that, at minimum, has a removable memory card. This will make it easy for the recipient of the gift to take the memory card to a photo service to have prints made. Again, if someone already has a camera, consider getting them some accessories for the camera. Our final suggestion in digital images would be a webcam. This provides the opportunity to visually communicate with family and friends over existing Internet access. Webcams can be purchased for as little as $29 and in good quality for under $100.

Computers

On the upper end of the technology scale are full-sized personal computers or laptop (notebook) computers. These start in the $500 range and rapidly move upward depending on how many goodies you want included. We suggest that regardless of what you decide to purchase, make sure it has a DVD± R/W drive. This capability will allow the user to backup the computer, as well as save all kinds of data, photos, movies and music.

Hand Helds

One of the most exciting gifts we can suggest is a Pocket PC made by HP called an iPAQ. This is a computer that can run most popular Microsoft  programs such as Word, Excel, and Outlook for calendars, address books and daily tasks. However, there are thousands of additional free or low-cost programs that can be downloaded to view movies, listen to books or music and much more. The iPAQ is a fantastic tool for anyone who has access to a wireless (Wi-Fi) environment. For those who have Wi-Fi on the farm or ranch, the iPAQ can be used to record agricultural or livestock data as you carry it around the farmstead. Then all data on the iPAQ device can be automatically synchronized with your PC by merely setting it into the charger cradle. This gift will run approximately $500 brand new, but we were able to see them on eBay for less, and you can find them refurbished for as little as $160.

Our MFA family wishes all of your family a blessed holiday season.

Scot Mewbuorn is the IT Services Director for MFA and has over 30 years of experience in the field of computer technology.