[STD] A Perfect Pirate X-Mas Story

Define STD: STD for The Underground Blog is short for Savvy Tech Dude/Dudette. The STD story is my attempt to share some insight into some of my practices, as well as others as to how they are using technology to make their life better, saving money, or perhaps bettering the environment. (Hopefully, I can find a female contributor… 🙂 )

Frequency of Story: When it feels right.

Personal Comment: I really love the STD idea, and with topics so broad, I can go anywhere with this series. The question is, how far down the rabbit hole do you and I want to go? 😛

In the meantime, I encourage all forms of interaction. Please sound off in comments, I’d appreciate it. If you have an idea, or want me to consider something different, I will. If you want to spread the word, be my guest. As time goes along, I’m asking for people to contribute, or if you want to be interviewed (I’ll protect your identity), then we can dig deeper. Please consider my offer, thanks!

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How was your Christmas?  Is it what you wanted?  Or did it sort of suck?  Go back to the stores to return the gifts to get what you truly wanted?

Did you ever wonder what X-Mas would be for the STD or even the hardcore or casual “pirate” *gasp*?

After talking with all my buddies, and just knowing how the scene works, I can only imagine what it would be like.  Want to hear about this fantasy world that could very well be reality? Sit back, relax, and just marvel at how clever these STDs really are!

The Toys

For the STD, a perfect X-Mas would consist of any or all of the gifts below (per 2009) standards:

• X-box 360
• Nintendo DS
• Sony PSP (fat version preferred)
• Nintendo Wii
• Playstation 2
• 1 TB+ hard drive (internal is OK, but external preferred)
• Blank DVD media (this might be a 50 pack of DVD+R or DVD-R, or 25 pack of Dual Layered Verbatims)
• A high quality digital camera
• A 2.5″ external hard drive (such as the WD 500GB Passport editions)
• WD TV
• A snuggie

All right, so let’s analyze each one to explain why it is an awesome gift for the STD.

Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is the perfect solution for the home theater solution. You can use it as a wifi extender, as a media center, gaming machine, as well as a movie machine. It is a very versatile product. Not to mention that with some careful research, the STD can mod the console to play backed up games very easily.

If Xbox Live is a concern, the STD can also stealth the games so that he/she can play online undetected and reduce the chance of getting banned by tenfold.  For $300, you get an Xbox 360 with HDMI, wireless controllers, and a 20GB hard drive.  With the modding potential alone, this is already a sound investment for the STD.

Nintendo DS

For the younger gamers, the Nintendo DS is a great handheld system. There are lots of old school classics such as Zelda and Mario. What makes it an awesome gift for the STD is that he can go out and purchase a modchip cartridge. How these cartridges work is that it has the form factor for a regular NDS game, and it has a built in slot for a microSD card.  Give the STD a 2GB microSD card, and he can put easily 20+ NDS games in one Nintendo DS.  Now that is portability!

Sony PSP

The Sony PSP is a great device by itself. It can play UMD movies, or just movies from a flash stick. Not only can it play PSP games, but it can be modded to play games off a flash stick. There are lots of homebrew applications that can allow the user to play PSX games or roms off the PSP.  Did I mention that you can connect it to the PS3 for additional functionality, or that you can surf the Internet?  How about turning it into an alarm clock?  There are lots of great and sexy themes for the PSP that it makes it a worthy device for those who feel the Nintendo DS is too “childish”.

1 TB+ hard drive (internal is OK, but external preferred)

It is almost a given the STD is stock piling on digital media, whether that is HD movie rips, music, game ISOs, roms, photos, or just whatever.  With a 1TB external hard drive found for as low as $80, it would be ridiculous to buy a new hard drive that is less than 1 TB.  With rates this low, let the STD love you even more if you get him/her two of these!

Nintendo Wii

Ah yes, the system that sold out month after month during its launch. This system is a neat “toy” and it definitely has innovation written over it with the Wiimote and nunchucks. Did you know that the Wii can also be hacked too?  The STD knows about this already, and nothing is sexier than modding it to play NES roms, homebrew applications, or just connecting a 1TB hard drive through the USB to play ISOs off the external device, thus saving the laser!

Playstation 2

Why a PS2 you ask?  Do you realize that the PS2 is still going strong despite 9 years of production?  Now with the slim at a mere $99, you would be foolish to not get one for the hardcore STD.  There are thousands of games to be had, and with the easy way it can get modded (exploited memory card, swap magic), the STD can turn the PS2 into an emulation machine, a DIVX machine, a linux machine, PS1 machine, and regular PS2 backup playing machine.  There is someone very cool about just realizing that your PS2 slim can play PSX backups at literally very low cost to the STD.  Coupled with the Internet and thousands of game ISOs to be had, it is a no brainer why many STDs love their PS2s, even yours truly. 🙂

Blank DVDs

If the STD you love is a huge PS2 player, then its possible he/she is backing up their PS2 games.  A 50 pack of blank DVD-Rs should definitely help their cause.  Or better yet, maybe they moved onto backing up the Xbox 360.  The Verbatim dual layer is definitely a warm welcome, as these come expensive (~$25) a pack.

High Quality Digital Camera

Of course, this will depend if the STD in question enjoys making videos. If they do, then this is a great gift if they like to do hacking videos, or Youtube tutorials or whatever. 🙂

A 2.5″ external hard drive (such as the WD 500GB Passport editions)

A small portable hard drive is perfect for the STD on the go! Imagine going to the public library, or the local university, downloading tons of stuff at T3 speeds, putting it on the external, and then putting it into your pocket and going home to celebrate the goods.

The fact that there is no external power supply to bring along is a good reason enough to get a portable 2.5″ external hard drive.

WD TV (or equivalent device)

The WD TV is a black box device that accepts USB devices to be connected to the TV so the user can play their music, photos, or movie files.  There is no fan, so it is literally quiet. It comes with a remote as well.

Imagine having a 1TB hard drive connected to the WD TV, which then is connected to your HD TV. You sit on your couch, and just navigate your ridiculously large movie library. I have one, and I love it.  There is something sexy about downloading that new movie, put it on a flash drive, walk over to your TV, and then having it ready to play in seconds. 🙂

A snuggie

Why a snuggie? Well, if you are gaming or watching a movie, you need to stay warm. Why not stay warm in style?

Did I miss something here?  What else would be a great gift for the STD? Sound off in the comments!