Services
If you want to give a gift that keeps on giving, you might want to consider giving a service subscription. What better way to say "I care" than to buy them a 1 year subscription to McAfee's VirusScanOnline service? For $30 (actually $20 with rebate if you buy before 12/25) you can ensure that your loved one's computer is automatically kept safe from the heartache of virus-borne mischief. If Norton AntiVirus is your preferred protection, remember that virus data file updates last only a year, so a product upgrade (again around $30) might be a very happily received gift.
Although it's probably not the first thing that would pop into your mind for holiday gifting, a subscription to a Dynamic DNS service might be a very welcomed treat. If you've ever had to access a server on your LAN or even your router itself from a remote Internet location, you know that it's a real pain when your ISP-assigned IP address changes, leaving you without a way to access your LAN until you can get home and see what your address has changed to. With a Dynamic DNS service, you get a domain name that you use instead of an IP address, and the service keeps that name linked to your assigned IP address no matter how often it changes. Basically, if you run any kind of server on your LAN that needs to be reached from the Internet, a Dynamic DNS service makes life a lot easier.
Although there are free services out there, reliability is the name of the Dynamic DNS game, and TZO.com is just about the best service out there. In the interest of full disclosure, you should know that TZO has supplied both hosting and Dynamic DNS to SmallNetBuilder since we started, so I don't really have an unbiased opinion. On the other hand, I can personally say that I've never had a DNS-related problem, so you be the judge! TZO offers a range of plans starting at $25/year and most plans have a free 30 day trial period.
Contrary to what you may hear, there are still plenty of people that use a dial-up connection to reach the Internet. If you, or someone you love, is among the bandwidth-deprived, you may want to consider trying the Propel Accelerator service. Propel uses a combination of a local web proxy, network "edge" based caching, and file compression to improve the speed of your web-browsing experience. For just $5 a month (or $50/year) per computer, you can be surfing up to 5 times faster. They have a 30 hour / 10 day free trial, so what do you have to lose?
If you find yourself often wishing you were sitting at your other computer while on the road, at home, or at work, a subscription to GoToMyPC's remote access product is just what the doctor ordered. Although at $20/month or about $180 for an annual plan, this gift might be given only to someone very special in your life (like you, perhaps?). But GoToMyPC's ability to work via any web-browser and reach through your router's firewall without your needing to futz with port settings make it a very attractive choice for remote access and control of any PC.
Finally, although it's not really a network-related application, a subscription to Netflix may help you enjoy your off-line leisure hours. Saying the heck with the online on-demand video technology that's been promised for years, Netflix has taken a definite low-tech approach to making virtually any DVD available for rental for as long as you want, with no late fees. For just $20 a month, you can have three DVDs mailed to you, which you can keep as long as you want. When you return a DVD in a pre-paid mailer, the next selection on your web-based list is sent out pronto. I live in about an hour from the closest movie theatre and about 30 mins from the local Blockbuster. Since subscribing to Netflix since July, I doubt that I may ever set foot in either again!
Wrap Up
There you have it... our Networking Product picks for your holiday shopping pleasure. Although this guide is coming a little late in the holiday shopping game, the nice thing about most of these products is that you can find them on-line! And there's plenty of time for your FedEx, UPS, Airborne, or USPS delivery person to bring you... uh, I mean your loved ones just what they wanted to tweak up their home or SOHO network. Happy Shopping!
