Holiday tech toys

$49

Wouldn't it be cool to dump the knucklehead cable or phone company and have your own data network? Well, thanks to Mountain View, Calif.-based Meraki, you can: Simply stock up on Meraki's line of self-provisioning, two-way wireless nodes and stick `em up in your office, on your street, and down your block. And just like that, you're a network operator. Range is only a couple of dozen feet, coverage can be spotty, and you will still have to deal with an established service provider to peer into the wider Internet -- but at $50 a pop, it's no wonder that Meraki has self built networks in 25 countries and is growing fast.