The second part of our final 2025 MacVoices Holiday Gift Guide delivers a mix of low-tech problem solvers and smart power picks. Kelly Guimont, Jim Rea, Chuck Joiner, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, and Kirk McElhearn select an interior windshield cleaner, a MagSafe ring mount for comfortable caseless use at home, and suction-based phone chargers/stands to keep devices charged and easy to find. The picks also include a USB-C rechargeable numeric pad, experience gifts like concert tickets, a rechargeable electric candle lighter, and a fun gaming recommendation. (Part 2) 

This edition of MacVoices is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. Get access to the MacVoices Slack and MacVoices After Dark by joining in at Patreon.com/macvoices.

Chapters:

[0:00] Part 2 kickoff and Patreon support message
[0:31] Inside-windshield cleaning tool: safer night driving
[4:22] Going caseless at home: MagSafe ring/repurposed laptop mount
[8:36] Phone “parking spots”: suction-mounted MagSafe charging stand
[12:17] Rechargeable Bluetooth numeric pad with arrow keys
[16:44] Experience gifts: concerts, venue cards, ticket gift cards
[23:10] USB-C electric candle lighter: no fuel, rechargeable convenience
[29:22] Game pick: Stray and why the cat movement sells it
[33:18] Multi-port 70W power adapter and the “charging station” problem
[36:32] USB-C reality check: device wattage, missing bricks, cable confusion
[41:17] Wrap-up and ways to support the show

Links:

Jim Rea:

Bluetooth Number Pad, Lekvey Aluminum Rechargeable Wireless Numeric Keypad Slim 34-Keys External Numpad Keyboardhttps://amzn.to/48CJzTX

Kelly Guimont:

TicketMaster Gift Cards
https://www.ticketmaster.com/giftcards

Kirk McElhearn:

Belkin iPhone MagSafe Camera Mount for MacBook, Continuity Camera Mount


Stray on Nintendo

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1332010/Stray/

Stray on Mac App Store
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stray/id6451498949?mt=12

Chuck Joiner:

Scosche MagicMount Charge Pro Qi2 Home/Office MagSafe Suction Mount
https://amzn.to/48S4fHq

Scosche USB-C PowerFlux 70
https://amzn.to/4ryogdH

Brian Flanigan-Arthurs:

Car Windshield Cleaning Tool, Windshield Cleaner with 4 Washable and Reusable Microfiber Pads and Extendable Handle
https://amzn.to/495J4lo

FUKKUDA Electric Candle Lighter with Safety Switch - USB Rechargeable Windproof & Flameless Plasma Arc Lighter
https://amzn.to/4oMLKsH

Chuck Joiner:

Anker MagGo 3 in 1 iPhone 17 Charging Station, MagSafe-Compatible Wireless Charger Stand, Qi2 Certified 15W Foldable Charger for iPhone 17/16/15/14/13/12, AirPods, Apple Watch Ultra(Adapter Included)
https://amzn.to/4oPXniM

Guests:

Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @[email protected].

Kelly Guimont is a podcaster and friend of the Rebel Alliance. You can also hear her on The Aftershow with Mike Rose, and she still has more to say which she saves for Twitter and Mastodon. 

Kirk McElhearn writes about Macs, iPods, iTunes, books, music and more. He is a regular contributor to TidBITS, as well as several other web sites and magazines. He is an avid podcaster who’s shows include The Next Track,. You can follow him on Twitter, and visit his personal web site, Kirkville.

Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He’s been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @[email protected] on Mastodon

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Connect:

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