When it comes to gifts for geeks, you can't go wrong with the plug-and-go classic home videogame emulators. Relative obscurities two years ago, they seem to be wildly popular now. Many of the most influential home console videogame systems are now represented at Wal-Mart and Target:
“Many of us can trace our current careers all the way back to a childhood spent fascinated with these primitive home videogames” - I actually remember cracking c64 games and passing those on to be uploaded. After several years of that, one does not even want to look at another computer. Eventually, one is coerced back into programming due to lack of opportunities in other professions.
Wow-- that’s hardcore. I was in an Apple group, but I was only a recruiter. I knew enough programming to identify the guys who were REALLY hardcore. And they were quire rare…
you might be interested in gametap if you haven’t already checked it out. It offers a ton of old games from a variety of systems (they’re almost at 900 games total now).
Even though you aren’t actually buying the games, its still a great deal to be able to play them with support (and have them work reliably).