Here's a question I don't get asked every day. A friend of mine is an executive assistant for a guy who runs an investment firm.

She says, "Every year, my boss has me buy a Christmas present for each of his employees in this one investment group. Last year I got them all high end iPod Nanos which had just come out and were quite difficult to get. But there doesn't seem to be one standout techie type gift for this year. My husband says it's the Playstation 3s but I am on all kinds of wait lists. Do you have any other suggestions? We mostly prefer to give each of them the same thing. The employees are: Male, average age 25. Unmarried. Very ambitious, hard working. Travel a lot. Kind of cool, trendy guys who like gadgets. Price range is between $200 to $450; that range would be preferable though we're not too sensitive on this point and can go higher for a cool gift. Any suggestions?"

OK, did you get that? Not too sensitive on the price point! So I asked a few friends of mine if they had any recommendations to ease my assistant friend out of her dilemma. Their suggestions follow below.

And BTW, what would YOU like for your ultimate gift this year? Let's not be cheap. It just has to be COOL.

-- KK

Lego Mindstorms NXT Robotics System
(For big little boys)
$250
Available from Amazon

Nixie Tube Clock Kit
(Get the 6-tube version, so you can see the seconds flick along)
$150
Available from TubeClock

Titanium Brompton Folding Bike
(Throw it in your trunk, take it on the train, store it in your closet.)
$1,520
Available from NyceWheels

Buffalo Terastation
$610
(One whole omygod terabyte of fail-safe RAID storage for your digital EVERYTHING!)
Available from TechOnWeb

The Dragon Flyer V Ti with EyeCam and Thermal Stabilization
(It's the only RC chopper that any idiot can fly)
$850
Available from DraganFly Innovations

Butterfly Livingroom Flyer
(Tiniest, slow flying RC airplane for flying in your living room)
$240
Available from PlantracoHobbies

Sony Cybershot DSC-T50 Digital Camera
(It's got 3x optical zoom, 7 megapixels and fits in your shirt pocket)
$485
Available from Amazon