Georgia Tech's Geek Gift List for 2012

What to buy for the self-proclaimed nerd on your holiday gift list?

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Credit Courtesy: Ga Tech College of Computing

For the second year, Georgia Tech’s College of Computing is out with its second-annual Holiday Gift Guide, which ranges from whimsical to altruistic.

They’re all Georgia Tech creations.   

One standout is BrailleTouch, which turns smartphones into a braille typewriter, perfect for texting and emailing.   

Mario Ramero, a post-doc fellow at Tech who helped develop the app, says don't think of this as the solution for texting while driving.

“There are cognitive centers in the brain that would be overloaded if you were doing the two tasks at once," he says. "That’s like trying to invent a pill for drinking and driving; it’s just not a good idea.”

BrailleTouch is free. 

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Credit Courtesy: Augmented Environments Lab at Ga Tech

So is a game called NerdHerder.

“Do you think you have what it takes to be a NerdHerder?  If so, jump onboard and the job is yours!” exclaims the app's promotional video.

NerdHerder allows you to control your own IT department, meaning you can play with them for a change (instead of your company’s IT division playing with you).

And remember the 80s drama featuring a guy who could use chewing gum and his Member’s Only jacket to fashion a way out of any predicament?

MacGuyver.  And he’s the namesake of MacGuyver Bot.

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Credit Courtesy: Ga Tech College of Computing

Brendan Streich of Tech’s College of Computing says MacGuyverBot is designed to help in disaster situations to "be able to work alongside humans to rescue civilians just using everyday objects that are lying around,” he says.

MacGuverBot is still in development, so you can’t buy it yet.   

Not all on the list is fun and games. 

If global health is your thing, C4G BLIS is worth a look.  It’s simple, free software that digitizes and tracks lab specimens, like blood work. Tech says that can be a game-changer in areas like Sub-Saharan Africa.