Macworld’s 2001 Holiday Gift Guide

There’s nothing worse than scrambling to find the perfect gift, only to be stuck with choosing between a bunch of lame tchotchkes and overpriced knickknacks. This holiday season, why not skip the iMac-shaped alarm clocks and talking Steve Jobs dolls and treat your favorite Mac users-or yourself-to a gift that makes their computer even more powerful? We combed through Macworld’ s reviews to find essential Mac accessories that deliver high performance at a price you can afford.

TWO-MEGAPIXEL CAMERA

What to look for: Once you’ve settled on megapixels, look for a comfortable-to-hold camera with a good optical zoom. What you’ll spend: $400 to $800 What we’d buy: PowerShot S110 Digital Elph (

), $599, Canon (800/652-2666, www.usa.canon.com) Why: It delivers sharp images and good contrast at a reasonable price. And it’s small enough to fit in a stocking.

COLOR INK-JET PRINTER

What to look for: Consider what it’ll be used for — photo prints may require a more expensive photo printer. Also, test the printer with the paper you’ll most likely use, to make sure you’ll get a high-quality image. What you’ll spend: $70 to $700 What we’d buy: DeskJet 935c (

), $199, Hewlett-Packard (800/752-0900, www.hp.com) Why: It produces good quality prints at a price that won’t bust your budget. The inexpensive ink is sure to appeal to the penny-pinching Scrooge in all of us.

MICE

What to look for: Size matters. So does the number of buttons — and where you’ll find them on the mouse. What you’ll spend: $10 to $150 What we’d buy: PocketMouse Mobile Optical Mouse (

), $30, Kensington (800/235-6708, www.kensignton.com) Why: It’s tiny and portable with a Rudolph-like optical light to guide it.

GAMES

What to look for: Just like music or movies, games are a matter of individual taste. It’s good to know whether your gamer favors first-person shooters, strategy games, puzzles — or all of the above. What you’ll spend: $20 to $70 What we’d buy: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 (

), $45, Aspyr Media (888/212-7797, www.aspyr.com); Tropico (

), $40, MacSoft (800/229-2714, www.wizardworks.com/macsoft) Why: Tony Hawk will get the pulses racing; Tropico will do the same thing for the mind.

EDUCATION SOFTWARE

What to look for: It’s all about the recipient; pick software that matches the interests and the age level of the person you’re buying for. What you’ll spend: $10 to $100 What we’d buy: Break It, Fix It, Ride It Mountain Bike Repair (

); $30; Break It, Fix It, Ride It (866/237-2453, www.bfr-it.com) Why: Because when the snow clears off those rugged mountaintops, you’re going to want to take to the hills — and this interactive CD-ROM makes it easy to get your bike in shape.

CD-RW DRIVES

What to look for: Speed and ports are key. Also, make sure the drive comes with Sanyo’s BURN-Proof technology to avoid buffer underruns. What you’ll spend: $200 to $400 What we’d buy: 16X10X40X U&I drive (

), $300, LaCie (503/844-4500, www.lacie.com) Why: It features USB and FireWire ports, as well as the all-important BURN-Proof technology.

PDAs

What to look for: Look at expandability — can you connect with add-on devices as well as memory and application cards? Also, you’ll need to decide between color displays and the typically less expensive grayscale models. What you’ll spend: $100 to $450 What we’d buy: Palm m505 (

), $449, Palm (800/881-7256, www.palm.com) Why: The m505 is light and thin, with a color screen bright enough to guide Santa’s sleigh.