It’s that time of year, where most people have their holiday shopping done, and I haven’t even started. You can ask my wife, and she will tell you that I have no clue what to buy a woman for Christmas, but let me shop for a Geek, and I’m all over it. I’m lucky that my wife is a Geek Chick, and this list can also apply to her!

So, what do you buy that special Geek/Gadget freak for Christmas?

1. A Smartphone – This one is a really bad gift unless you know they really want the commitment. Sure, you’re paying the up-front costs, but you’re also sticking them with a monthly bill of $60 or more. may be a good idea to offer to pay for a few months of usage. There are tons of models out there, and it will all depend on the person you’re shopping for. The safe bet is an iPhone, as it has mass appeal, is simple to use, and is also an iPod, so you can skip my next gift idea. I would buy my wife an iPhone if I was to get her a phone as a gift. For the geek out there, I think an Android phone is the way to go! If the person is all about work, and has no idea what the internet is, then go with a Blackberry.

As a web developer who likes to study and focus on usability, readability, and overall user experience, it pains me to see what people insist on including on their websites. With web users now having the attention span of a goldfish, you have to be very careful, and very specific as to what you put up on your site.

Some people like the good old “let’s throw it all on the wall and see what sticks” approach, including their life stories, complete history, and in-depth essays on why you should choose them. That may have worked 10 years ago, but the times they are a changin’.

Here is my personal list of things that I don’t think belong on a website. Keep in mind that this is a general list, and there is sometimes a specific need for some of these things.

This fall, Microsoft made a pretty big move, and released its own Antivirus software called Microsoft Security Essentials. And believe it or not, it’s actually pretty good! I guess no one knows Windows vulnerabilities like Microsoft. The best part of this is that it’s completely free, and I’m sure the competitors, at $60 a pop, are a little taken aback by this.

Personally, I think the free part is great, but also a necessity for Microsoft. If you are going to make a product with holes in it, then you should work at plugging those holes. Not to mention the giant target on the Operating System’s back due to the amount of market share it has. Why make a virus that infects only a small percent of the population when so many people can be hit by a Windows virus. Although, for you Mac users, there are viruses out there, and as more people move to a Mac, it will only get worse. The scary part of this is that most Mac users have that “There is no such thing as a virus for US, so I don’t even need internet security!”.