Have a mind-boggling Christmas: The tech gadgets you won't want to see under your tree

There's no denying our impulses to shop for others and ourselves during the holiday season, especially in 2010, the year of the gadget. But some of the new crop of tech products are simply best left out of our shopping carts altogether.

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The holidays are about a lot of things, but for many Christmas morning is a time to be with family, celebrate the season, and, yes, open presents.

It used to be that socks and mittens were among the gifts opened to indifference or disappointment, but it turns out we may have been getting off easy. These days, well-meaning Santas often stuff stockings with tech gadgets and gizmos, thinking they're pleasing the geek in the house with the latest and greatest. But it's too easy to end up gifting something no self-respecting nerd would ever list in their message board signature file.

Here then, a guide for well-meaning relatives and significant others: Six tech toys to think twice about before buying this Christmas. And in the same pages, a guide for geeks: If you see one of these products under your tree, well, maybe you can exchange it for a sock -- to put your iPod in, of course.



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Last updated December 22 2010: 8:24 AM ET
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