A Note From The Editor: With the holidays just around the corner, one's thoughts turn inevitably to... the annual slog of finding the right gift for everyone on your list. While that sort of attitude isn't likely to be in line with anyone's holiday beliefs, it's hard to disagree that holiday gift-giving can be a real chore. Is it any wonder that the holidays are generally considered some of the most stressful occasions of the year?

Fortunately, SysOpt.com is here with our annual holiday roundup of products perfect for gifting. For them, your lucky recipient walks away with a gift you can be proud of. For you, that pride can come without the expense of breaking the bank. Yes, as regular readers know, we're all about value here at SysOpt, and our 2006 Holiday Guide is all about sussing out the high-value gifts your friends, family, and colleagues will actually use -- while ensuring that you've got enough cash left over to do some celebrating of your own.

What's our secret? Two words: Portable storage.

With wide appeal and ever-lowering costs, portable storage makes a great deal of sense as a gifting strategy.

For one thing, with annual performance evaluations mere weeks away, what better way to impress your boss than with a useful, practical storage device (full, if the need arises, of last year's incriminating holiday office party photos?)

Of course, your colleagues and subordinates at the office need not be left out. Bosses can give these away for employees to take work home with them. (Oh, boy!) Coworkers can show they're thinking of each other while avoiding the pitfalls too often associated with gift-giving at the office: you know, presents that are ickily affectionate (e.g., homemade collages) or just plain icky (e.g., homemade fruitcake).

Friends and family will appreciate having additional hard drive space, and even the non-geeky among your gift recipients should be satisfied by the idea of being able to easily save their photos in a portable format for showing off at the office, local VFW, Elk Club, or what have you.

Without further ado, the 2006 SysOpt Holiday Guide selections!

(For the interested before we go on, a look at the system specifications with which we'll be testing our devices:)