Editor's note: From now through the end of December, various Crave experts will be sharing their top five (mostly) tech-related wishes for the holiday season. See what we crave, and maybe you'll get some ideas!

Who knew gonorrhea could be so darn cute?

(Credit: Giant Microbes)

1. Guitar Hero World Tour/Rock Band 2 (full band set). This is fairly self-explanatory. Sometimes sitting around playing a video game is just too sedentary. These games will have me rocking out with my stocking out not just on the fake guitar, but on fake drums, too.

The pretty extensive track list will keep me going for a while, and then there's all the downloadable content after I've finished. While I doubt they'll ever offer certain songs in my personal music collection ("The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" as performed by Leonard Nimoy), there are enough songs I like to make it worthwhile. Plus, everyone looks cool playing it, right?

2. Plush gonorrhea. Enough people get The Clapper for Christmas; why not get The Clap instead? The plush version. There are actually a menagerie of plush microbes you can get, but how often can you tell people you were happy to get gonorrhea for Christmas? Sober, anyway.

3. Digital Diamond game by Tomy. My uncle had this handheld electronic game back in the day, and I played it as often as I could sneak it away from him. It's primitive, loud, and kinda cheesy, but I've already written about my weakness for old-school electronic toys.

It's only electric in that it lights up; the main gameplay is mechanical, hence the noise. I was, believe it or not, not a great sportsman as a kid, but I had a lot of fun playing baseball with this toy.

Editor's note: From now through the end of December, various Crave contributors will be sharing their top five (mostly) tech-related wishes for the holiday season.

A remarkable computer-generated simulation of what I'd look like if I had any holiday spirit--which I do not.

1. Either a BlackBerry Storm, Samsung Omnia, or Apple iPhone: After getting laughed at one time too many when whipping out my chunky Treo 700P, it's finally time to give in and get a new smartphone. Initially, as a long-time Verizon customer, I was torn between the BlackBerry Storm and the Samsung Omnia. After playing around with both, I wasn't convinced--the Storm's click screen seems like it would get annoying real quick, and the Omnia, despite the rave reviews, just felt sluggish to use, and the low screen resolution made it hard to read text in the Web browser.

Now, I'm also considering making the switch to AT&T and joining the iPhone masses, just on the strength of the interface and general ease-of-use. I use my phone primarily for Web surfing and AIM, not so much for calls, but even so, Verizon's good reputation for service in NYC (and AT&T's less-than-stellar rep) gives me pause. I'm still undecided, so let me know what you think...

2. Flip Video MinoHD: As a one-time film student, I still have the folding chair and tilted beret of a big-screen director in the back of my mind. To help kick off my alternate career as a documentarian in the mold of the Maysles Brothers or Werner Herzog, I'll start with this handheld HD mini-cam.

3. M-Audio Keystation 88: If you're a part-time musician like myself, figuring out how to squeeze the most music-making power out of your gear is always an important topic. There are as many combos of hardware and software, digital and analog equipment out there as there are music styles, but my personal preference is a PC-based ProTools setup. I currently use a Digidesign Mbox and ProTools LE 7.4, with Propellerhead's Reason software ReWired into it for keyboards and sequencing.

If that's all Greek to you, the point is, I've used a variety of different 49-, 61-, and 32-key USB controllers (essentially dummy devices that look like piano keyboards but have no onboard sounds and are used to control music software) over the years, but have never had a full-size 88-key controller. Since they're basically just plastic keys wired to a USB port, they're usually moderately priced, such as this $249 model from M-Audio.

The current generation of compunerds is totally screwed. We (yes, I'm one of you) spend at least eight hours surfing the Internet on a daily basis, weekends included! Those YouTube videos aren't going to watch themselves, right?

That's why ergonomics is so important. We need specific keyboards ...

The Wii - catch it if you can.

(Credit: Walmart.com)

Discount retailer Wal-Mart on Monday announced that it has started to sell "tens of thousands" of Nintendo's Wii gaming console online. The 2-year-old gadget, consistently sold out and difficult to obtain, emerged as one of Black Friday's big hits ...

Originally posted at News - Gaming and Culture

(Credit: WowWee)

When I was a kid, I was almost grounded for life by my parents for nearly breaking a large hanging lamp...while playing with a remote-controlled helicopter. Finally, a flying toy safe to play with in the house. WowWee's latest addition to its Flytech line of remote-controlled ...

Everyone's had the experience of toiling away on a project, only to have the hard work go unrecognized. For those times when co-workers or family members fail to acknowledge your genius, there's the Applause Machine from Laikingland.

Designed by U.K. artist Martin Smith, the Applause Machine is ...

If you're any kind of Internet viral video junkie--you know who you are--then last week you smirked at the Bike Hero video. In case you somehow missed it, Bike Hero is a video of a guy on a bike playing Guitar Hero with markers left on the pavement. Sadly, ...

Lone travelers, vain photographers, or anyone too shy to ask someone to take their picture finally have a convenient way to include themselves in their photographs, thanks to Charles & Marie's bottle cap tripod.

The $10 "gadget," and I use the term loosely, fits (not screws) onto almost any bottle top and a universal tripod adapter on the opposite end holds your digicam in place while you sneak into the shot.

Captain Obvious says: depending on the size of your camera, be sure that the bottle you use is at least half full (or empty), or you'll find yourself waving goodbye to both gadgets at the same time.

More images after the jump.

(Credit: Fred Flare)

Inside all of us, there lives an inner creep just itching to get out and secretly take photos of unsuspecting members of the opposite sex. The secret book camera, offered here by Keith Carollo and Chris Bick of Fred Flare, definitely confirms that theory. The camera uses inexpensive 110 film and is the perfect size to stick in your backpack or Miley Cyrus-approved clutch purse.

You know what this camera reminds me of? That one scene in Troop Beverly Hills where shevillain Velda Plendor hides a camera inside the Girl Scouts book so Herman can spy on the tragically affluent Girl Scouts of Beverly Hills. Wait, what? You're not as self-deprecating as I am? OK, well I loved TBH and now I can finally live out my cinematic fantasies. Never mind that it's seafoam green and made to look like an antique toy for children--I just so happen to have $55 burning a hole in my apron. Patches?! We don't need no stinkin' patches!

Check out more pictures of the camera after the jump.

(Credit: Mobigrips)

Technology might be the only medium where smaller is always better, but it's starting to get ridiculous. I'm worried that my next cell phone is going to be the size of a sunflower seed. There's got to be a point where we finally decide that ...