Toys for Developers

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The holidays are coming sooner than we realized, so we gotta get our wish lists together. After all, no one wants to sit around the Festivus Pole without their favorite dev toys. This week we discuss some of the toys we love, as well as the ones we drool over, and even the ones we’re not so crazy about.

Coding Blocks T-Shirts

They’re coming! Eventually. But until then, if you want to be the first on your block with one of these two one-of-a-kind beauties, be sure to listen in on how to participate in the contest!

Of course, the show notes wouldn’t be complete without a survey.

 

Mice

Or is it Mices? Mouses? Mee-ces?

Well, regardless, this year’s the theme is ergonomics. And while Allen and Joe rave about the the vertical designs, Michael settles on the trackball. Of course, last year’s favorite R.A.T. still look amazing.

2015’s Picks

2014’s Most Drooled Over

2015’s Well That’s One Way to Do It

Michael was (is) such a fan of the original Apple Magic Mouse, you’d think the Magic Mouse 2 would be a shoe in. But with the built-in battery that requires charging from the bottom, the original design is still king.

 

Honey, I shrunk the mouse! Just when you thought mouse designs couldn’t get more strange than the vertical designs or those crazy looking R.A.T. designs, along comes Swiftpoint with a mouse the size of your thumb. Well, part of it. Looks like an ideal choice for the road-warriors among you.

Keyboards

The ergonomic theme continues as we make our way into the keyboards. And if you thought the mouse designs were unusual, check out these keyboards.

2015’s Need to Open Our Arms

2014’s Most Remembered

2015’s Honorable Mention

Apple’s new improved scissor mechanism should make you feel right at home for those that are fans of the new MacBook. At least with the keyboard, you can charge it while you use it, unlike the Magic Mouse 2. Although compared to the other designs, this one is much more plain.

Wrist Guards

Wait, what? Wrist guards? OK, so fine. Maybe if you’re not using the ergonomic devices above, you’ll soon need one of these.

 

Monitors

What can we say? We like ’em big, square, and boxy. If there was a rapper named Sir Pixel Lot, he’d use one of these.

Office Furniture

OK, so if we have to spend most of our time at a desk, we might as well make it enjoyable and look good. Right?

Chair Wars

Ways to Hold Your Laptop

And your tacos.

Storage

Never wait on file I/O again. Ever. For any reason. Marty McFly has already visited our past and gone back home. This is the future. Well, at least that Samsung 950 PRO-Series is.

Microphones & Headphones

Hear no evil. Speak no evil. But look evil doing it with the V-MODA M-100’s!

PC or Tablet

Or a PC that is a tablet.

GAMES!

So many games to choose from. Time to bask in the warmth of your display. Might as well set one monitor to display a fireplace animation because tis the season to game.

Tips & Tricks

• Baoding Balls – Exercise your hands for better blood circulation and relax the muscles and joints. Maybe then you won’t need one of the above wrist guards.
• Up For Grabs – Get involved with Open Source Software. This is an easy way to see a list of projects that have tasks specifically intended for new contributors.
• Bluebird  – We spoke about JavaScript Promises in episode 31, but didn’t mention this cool library. Want to work with Promises but your current library doesn’t have it? No worries, check out the promisify API call. But who has time to do that for each method? Even better, check out the promisifyAll API call.

Spread the Word

If you’ve already taken the time to share the show with a friend: You. Rock. And if you haven’t, hey, it’s not too late to tell a friend! For that matter, tell four friends.

And while you’re at it, head over to www.codingblocks.net/review to tell the world your awesome opinion of us. Consider it a holiday gift from you to us. I know we will.