Maybe it’s just because we’re in managed IT, but it seems like each holiday season is more exciting than the last! This year’s top tech gifts range from educational to stress-relieving, and we’ve all got fingers crossed that we’re on the “Nice” list again!
If you’ve already finished your holiday shopping (seriously?), we still encourage you to read the last few paragraphs of this post so you’ll know the ins and outs of safe disposal of your old tech toys and hardware.
Varay’s top 5 tech gifts for 2019
In no particular order, here are some of the exciting finds we uncovered this year for the adults and kids on your list:
- The N.O.W. Tone Therapy System If you’re shopping for someone who craves some peace and quiet, this “sound-bath meditation” system is an enlightened choice. Designed for busy people, this system provides three minute refreshment sessions for a quick recharge. Bonus: It’s cordless and only needs to be charged via USB cord every 200 or so uses.
- Dash: The Coding Robot It’s never too early to introduce coding principles, but this tool makes them fun and accessible for kids ages 6 and up. Kids can use voice controls and several connected apps to start growing their programming knowledge.
- The Orbi WiFi System Consider this a holiday gift to yourself! If your wireless router leaves you with dead spots or limited range, this baby can eliminate that frustration. It uses mesh technology to extend your wifi range into those tough-to-reach spots, with minimal hardware.
- The Occulus Standalone Virtual Reality Headset We can’t talk about tech gifts for 2019 without mentioning a VR headset! After all, even Forbes has dubbed this the year of VR. The cool thing about the Occulus Standalone is that you don’t need to stick your phone in it, or connect it to anything for that matter! It’s a unique, immersive experience the techie on your list will love.
- The Archi-Tech Electronic Smarthouse We love that this budget-conscious teaching toy taps into so many levels of creativity. Kids will enjoy learning about circuits, simple machines, and problem solving, all while having fun and stretching their imaginations.
Don’t just throw out old tech gifts and hardware!
If you’ve given or received tech gifts in the past, there’s something you should know: When the time comes to part ways with your goodies, there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about it.
You can delve deeper here and here, but the rule of thumb when disposing of old electronics and hardware is to consider each item as “still useful.”
Here’s what we mean: Old tech toys, gadgets, and hardware are still useful as:
- Recycled goods
- Donated goods
- A data thief’s goldmine (this is a use we can help you avoid!)
Recycling electronics is as simple as taking them to Best Buy or using this handy tool to find a recycler near you.
Date thieves know the holiday season brings an influx of discarded hardware to the dump and donation sites, so be diligent and protect your data by either encrypting or destroying all data! Some donation sites, such as Goodwill, will wipe the data for you as a courtesy, but you can also reach out to Varay for data destruction you can trust.
Let Varay wipe the data off your old hardware
If you’re a business client with Varay, we’d be happy to help keep you secure with our data destruction services. When we wipe data from your hardware, we also provide a report so you’ll know the job was done right.
Contact Varay today to schedule your data destruction.
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