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Okay, so Christmas is less than a week away, and you have yet to get your Mac using/loving family member/friend a gift? First of all, don't panic. Only a week left before Christmas these days is like only two minutes left before the end of a game to Tony Romo...only Christmas doesn't get distracted by its rotating female pop vocalist girlfriends and fumbled snaps.

Man, I could watch that all day long. Every day is Christmas when you've got plays like that. But relax, Cowboys fans. This season makes up for last season's playoff game.

Anyway, Christmas gifts. With the convenience of the Internet and the wealth of speedy shipping options, you can order gifts Saturday before Christmas and still get them in time to wrap and put under the tree. And so, the only concern at this point is what to get. Your options are many, and these are only a few pretty cool products of which you may not be aware. After all, the sun doesn't rise and set on the corner Apple Store.

Music

Yes, yes, yes. iTunes Gift Card. Blah, blah, blah. That's a safe choice for many Mac users, but let's get a little more personal. Let's get a gift that doesn't just say, "I understand you like music, but I don't know what you already own," let's get one that says, "I know you really love music, and want you to listen to what you already own but can't because it's on vinyl and you can't afford to upgrade all of those LPs to MP3, not to mention the fact that many of the albums are out of print." To that end, take a look at the ION TTUSB10 turntable ($199.00). Now, $200 is expensive, yeah, but when you've got Apple suggesting $350.00 iPods as stocking stuffers, $200 suddenly doesn't seem like such a big deal. Note to Apple, by the way, stocking stuffers are more about price than about actually fitting in a stocking. Something to consider next year.

The TTUSB10 is a feature rich turntable that allows for direct USB connection to your Macintosh. It can handle 45 and 33-1/3 RPM straight from the turntable, but can also play 78s via software settings. It also comes with the EZ Audio Converter software you'll need to record the music to your computer, although I recommend going with the CD Spin Doctor application that's part of Roxio's Toast 8 Titanium, instead. Other nice features inlcude the 1/8" stereo line input so you can digitize music from other sources (such as a Walkman) through the turntable, a switchable phono/line-level RCA output (with built-in pre-amp) so you can also plug the turntable into your component stereo system, and the S-shaped, counter balanced, anti-skate tone arm. If you're not sure what all of this means, don't worry. Chances are, if you're buying this gift for a music lover who insists upon keeping up his vinyl LP collection in tact because he likes "holding the covers" and prefers the "warm sound of vinyl," he'll know what it's all about.

Now, if you're looking for something less expensive (like I usually am) but that's just as useful, consider a pair of headphones. These can run you anywhere from ten to hundreds of dollars, and the varity of styles and functions is crazy. So, let's look at something in the middle; mid-priced, with good enough sound to be used in a controlled environment but portable enough for iPod use. To that end, I suggest the Koss PortaPro Stereophones ($49.99). I reviewed these headphones a while back, and was stunned by the quality of sound they get for such a meager price. Clear, precise and full, I'll never go back to Apple's earbuds again. Even better, they're suitable for every single audio use with your Macintosh: music, movies and games. It sounds like something that should be obvious, but it's not. Often, headphones marketed as being suitable for games have far too much low end power, making your music muddy. On the other hand, many sets of headphones marketed for iPod use don't have the low end capabilities to handle the thunderous sound effects of games and movies. The Koss PortaPro Stereophones take on everything.

Equally important, they roll up and latch to comfortably fit inside a purse or coat pocket. Yes, they're not as portable as earbuds (you certainly wouldn't want to go for a jog with these on), but that's the sacrifice you make for better sound and usefulness beyond your iPod or iPhone. Get these for Mac users who actually spend time in front of their, you know, Mac.

The trouble with both the TTUSB10 and PortaPro Stereophones, however, is that they both require shipping. If you need something faster that that, I hope your Mac user likes...

Games

Again, there's no shortage of options here. But game users can be picky. What style does she like? What does she already own? What can her system handle? The answer to all three of these questions is, "Who cares?" Just buy her a collection of games that's sure to cover everything. Such a package was just released by Pangea Software with The X Pack ($79.95), available only until December 31st of this year. The X Pack includes ten games and utilities from Pangea's history: arcade/action, third-person shooters, racing sims and more.

System specs vary from title to title (although most are now Universal apps that run on both Intel and PowerPC processors), but all of them will work with basic graphics cards. As Pangea states, "Most Macs made since 2003 meet these requirements, but you should still check." More importantly, however, is the fact that although all of the games are safe for the whole family, they're still challenging and contain enough action to satisfy all but the hardest of hard core gamers. Well, provided their masculinity isn't insulted to controlling robots and grasshoppers. And hey! A few titles are even in 3D!

The complete list of games and their system specs can be found at Pangea's website. When you purchase the X Pack, you'll get a list of serial numbers that the gift's recipient can use when individually downloading each game.

Another creative choice is GameTap. This subscription based, online gaming service offers hundreds of games that can be played online via the GameTap player, which was recently made available for the Macintosh (requires Mac OS X v10.4 and an Intel processor). Once that's set up, the user simply visits the GameTap website, finds the game he wants to play, and clickes the Play button. GameTap takes care of the rest.

GameTap can be played for free, offering about 50 games that rotate in and out weekly. However, because not all of the games are Mac compatible, this number can drop considerably. This is why it's important to actually pay for a subscription. Although it won't give you access to the full library of 900 games, it'll at least allow you to chose from the Mac compatible games within that 900, making GameTap much more useful. There are two plans from which to choose: $9.95/month billed monthly (the first month is only 99 cents), or $59.95/year billed yearly.

Whether this will be worth it depends upon the type of games the recipient of your gift liks to play. Although many recent console titles are available at GameTap (Hitman, Tomb Raider Annivesary, etc.), few of these are Mac compatible. Even games that were relseased on the Mac, such as Baldur's Gate and Deus Ex, can't be played on the Mac through GameTap. However, if your Mac gamer is old school and loves the classic arcade games, there's no shortage of possibilities there.

Yes, GameTap is the type of gift that eventually asks the recipient to start paying for it himself, but if he doesn't, a year's worth of entertainment is certainly worth $60.00. And hey, if he does enjoy it, you've got next year's gift already taken care of.

Other Ideas

I realize that not everyone is as into music and games as I am. I don't understand that, but I do realize it. To help out the rest of you, I'll throw together another article before this weekend. In the meantime, just head on over to our MyMacStore for an incredible array or iPod/iPhone/cell phone accessories, Macintosh software, console games, and pretty much anything your Mac user could want...including gift certificates. They can still ship products to you in time for Christmas, and they're running a Cyber Monday(s) special through December 31st for those exchanging gifts after Christmas or who aren't worried about being a little late.

Me? I'll just go back to watching all the YouTube videos of Tony Romo fumbling that snap against my beloved Seahawks last season. That's just good Christmas.