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christmas

Geek Christmas trees spread nerdy cheer

'Tis the season to be jolly, watch "Star Trek" reruns, craft Foursquare ornaments, and draft E.T. into service as a tree topper.

Tech geeks sure know how to celebrate with style. We asked readers and contributors to send along pics of their hopelessly nerdy Christmas trees.

The results range from a rescued traffic cone to a collection of "Star Trek" ornaments that would make Spock blush.

We filled out the slideshow with a couple of delightful additions from around the Web. Check out a wonderfully squicky Cthulhu tentacle tree and an impressive nerd tree that will have computer programmers dreaming of sugar plum fairies with 500W power supplies.… Read more

How to get your Android ready for Christmas

Look no further for suggestions on how to add the holiday magic to your Android device.

Games

A great way to pass the time while waiting for relatives to arrive or for those cookies to come out of the oven. Many games on the Android Market feature a Christmas or holiday theme for the season.

Angry Birds Seasons, by Rovio Mobile Ltd. No Android game list is complete without the mention of Angry Birds. Now your favorite slingshot bird action has a holiday feel.

Beyond Ynth Xmas Edition, by FDG Entertainment. Five free Christmas-themed levels to … Read more

Christmas 2011 online shopping return policies

Hey, it happens. You buy a tech gift for someone (or yourself) over the holidays and it doesn't work out.

Maybe that new tablet is just too complicated for your parents or the new digital camera you bought for yourself takes lousy photos. Product returns are as much a part of the holiday shopping experience as buying them, unfortunately.

Return policies can vary greatly from retailer to retailer. Over the holidays, most retailers have extended return periods. Some retailers with a brick and mortar presence, even allow online purchases to be returned at the physical stores. Check out the … Read more

Free audio goodies: Christmas music, Sherlock Holmes, and more!

Cloud, schmoud. I like my music the old-fashioned way: in MP3 format, stored on my hard drive and/or smartphone. Especially when it's free.

Today I've rounded up four great audio freebies, including some Christmas music, a best-of-2011 collection, and even a Sherlock Holmes collection. Take a look:

Audible, one of my favorite sources for spoken-word audio, is offering The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, unabridged, for free. (Okay, technically this isn't an MP3, but still.) This nine-hour collection includes 12 of Holmes' "most famous cases." You do need an Audible account to get this (and … Read more

Get free next-day shipping from the Apple store

Procrastinators of the world, rejoice! If you want to give someone the very best gift of all--an Apple product--it's not too late. Apple is offering free next-day shipping on select items.

Don't worry--"select" doesn't mean only lame stuff like cases and cables. You can nab free expedited shipping on iPhones, Apple TVs, non-engraved iPods and iPads, and non-customized Macs. Normally this runs at least $16--and sometimes a lot more. (Depends on the product, natch.)

To get the deal, make sure to choose "free Express Shipping" at checkout.

Lots of other stores offer … Read more

App makers rushing to beat Apple's holiday deadline

If you're an iOS app developer and you're hoping to get your new project in Apple's App Store in time for Christmas, you might want to stock up on Red Bull.

According to The New York Times, Apple's review team is quickly approaching its annual holiday shutdown. And that means that after Thursday, no one will be on hand to vet new iPhone or iPad apps until well after the holiday.

Christmas, writes Jenna Wortham in The Times,

is the biggest day of the year for app sales, which can mean big money for developers.

That … Read more

Christmas 2011 online shopping deadlines

Still haven't finished your Christmas shopping? Hey, we don't judge.

But you are down to the wire if you still hope to get some tech toys delivered before December 25. We've put together this list of shipping deadlines for popular places to pick up tech gifts to show you where and when to get your last-minute tech gifts delivered on time. Expect to pay a premium for procrastination, but these places will get the goods to your giftees just in the nick of time.

Keep in mind that the deadlines apply to the 48 contiguous U.S. … Read more

Software engineer decorates office cube like a boss

This software engineer really, really loves Christmas...and symphonic metal, as his cube decoration contest entry shows.

Redditor and software engineer Billiam5 posted this video on Reddit late last night demonstrating his achievement in action, replete with dancing Christmas lights synced to the song "Wizards in Winter," by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO).

According to the artist himself, Billiam5 used the Arduino prototyping platform and Flash-based animation programming to bring the LEDs to life:… Read more

Selling super fast for holidays: LeapPad Explorer

It looks like the LeapPad Explorer could be the hottest tech gift for kids this holiday season.

The tablet for tots is currently out of stock at Wal-Mart, Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Toys "R" Us, and other U.S. retailers, according to product-tracking Web site NowInStock.net.

Even the creator of the tablet, LeapFrog, is out of stock and can only simmer down the masses with this vague declaration on its Web site: "Check back often as shipments are arriving regularly." … Read more