For those of us who still like to give tangible presents at Christmas, why not the cute little green and white XO laptop? When you buy one for $399 (through www.Amazon.com/xo), under the Give 1, Get 1 (G1G1) program, another one will be sent to a child in a developing country. The XO could be considered a pretty good entry-point laptop for a young child: super sturdy, low energy consumption — and reportedly easier to learn to use if you haven't used a computer before. But it's also a present that sparks conversation: between a parent and child, say, about how when we bought you this, we automatically gave another one to another kid faraway who has never even seen a computer. The G1G1 program is currently slated to run until late December.
—Belinda Luscombe