LXer: Best Gifts for Linux Users

Table of Content

• KaOS Linux 2022.12 Has Plenty to be Excited About
• Silver Linux is User Friendly 20 Oz Polar Camel Travel Mug
• American Flag Linux Unisex T-Shirt
• Penguin keychain cotton crocheted with logo Linux; Debian, Linux Mint, Fedora, Ubuntu, Gentoo, Elementary OS, Archlinux
• The 5 best solar gifts for the holidays (including a piece of art)
• Regex Cheatsheet Desk Mat for Sys Admin, Developer, Programmer, IT Admin

Want to give your Linux-loving friend a great gift? Here are some of my favorites for the Tux-lover in your life. Unfortunately, we cannot offer any exchanges or refunds once your gifts have been ordered. The developers of Alpine Linux have officially announced the release of the latest version of the security-focused Linux distribution. It’s hard to go wrong at ThinkGeek, where there’s a virtual treasure trove of ideas for geeks of every variety. The Linux.com store is a great place to start your FOSS-filled shopping travels, not least because of its elegant Tux Mug, around $9.

Kingston V series solid-state disks are not designed specifically for Linux, but they make a great gift anyway. One of the most affordable SSDs on the market, the Kingston V series SSD is an excellent replacement for a traditional hard disk. This particular model is available as a notebook kit bundle which includes an external enclosure that turns the replaced hard disk into an external hard drive. Speaking of notebooks, a spare notebook battery is a welcome addition to any notebook-toting Linux geek. If your budget allows it, purchase an original battery from a reputable dealer.

KaOS Linux 2022.12 Has Plenty to be Excited About

Aaron has been elbow-deep in technology as a business analyst and project manager for going on fifteen years, and has been a loyal Ubuntu user for almost as long . His interests include open source, small business applications, integration of Linux and Android, and computing in plain text mode. If you've got the money to spend, you can also consider Linux laptops. All three of the companies above offer laptop models ranging from big, chunky developer machines (like ZaReason's Verix 7220, shown below at right) to svelte ultrabooks.

It's common to find stickers of the various Linux flavors on the lids of laptops. It may not be an appropriate choice for every Linux lover on your shopping list, but the new Computer Engineer Barbie is too good not to mention. She’s even wearing “a funky tee with binary code design.” Pricing is $13.

Silver Linux is User Friendly 20 Oz Polar Camel Travel Mug

Both companies offer really nice systems pre-configured with Linux. You can be sure that all hardware is Linux-compatible, and your money is going to an OEM that supports Linux. LinuxQuestions.org is a friendly and active Linux Community with forums, reviews, a hardware compatibility list, a wiki, tutorials, a download site, a podcast and more. Shop a large selection of custom t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs and more.

You can spread holiday cheer of the low-tech variety as well. Check out Etsy and do a Linux search on Etsy, you’ll find plenty of Linux-inspired craft goods. Everything from Tux earrings, cufflinks, baby blankets, to a Steampunk Squid-shaped USB 4GB Flash Disk. Hey, there’s almost no chance that they’ll already have one. ThinkGeek has a decent list of Linux items, not to mention tons of items that aren’t Linux-specific but will appeal to almost anybody. By the way, we’ve reviewed ZaReason systems before, and I’ve also had hands-on time with some systems from System76.

American Flag Linux Unisex T-Shirt

But at a price tag of just under $100, it's an option for a mobile companion device that runs honest-to-goodness Linux. After they open it, consider directing your giftee to our Unofficial Tutorial on the RPi as a starting point for their hardware hacking. While Steam is the proverbial 800-pound gorilla in game distribution, Linux users revel on choice. Another game store catering to the Linux crowd is GoG.com, which boasts titles that are free of digital rights management . Like Steam, it also supports Windows games, and the selection of Linux games is smaller and trends towards smaller publishers. But GoG does carry popular titles, most notably Witcher 2, Baldur's Gate , and Shovel Knight.

But I've been using this family of high-end Linux laptops for years and they never disappoint. The entry-level version comes with 8GBs of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and an Intel UHD chipset. There are numerous great Linux laptops out there. One of my particular favorites is 2018'sDell XPS 13 Developer Edition.

Penguin keychain cotton crocheted with logo Linux; Debian, Linux Mint, Fedora, Ubuntu, Gentoo, Elementary OS, Archlinux

You can check the list of games here that play natively on Linux . Now, the selection is tilted a bit towards indie and small publisher games when compared to Windows. But there are top titles available, such as Rocket League, the latest installment of Civilization, and entries in the Borderlands series. Once you have the game in your sights, getting it to your giftee is as easy as purchasing a Steam gift card.

Typically, orders of $35 USD or more qualify for free standard shipping from participating Etsy sellers. Get exclusive offers by signing up to our mailing list. If you’ve got a shopping budget that’s a bit bigger, then why not consider the iGala Linux-based, Wi-Fi-enabled photo frame?

With the holidays coming up, you may be a little nervous deciding what to get for the Linux lover in your life. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention the Linux.com Store, which has a lot of clothing and accessories that you might like. I’m partial to the Kernel Crew Hoodies, because winter in St. Louis demands a good hoodie. The Stuffed Tux is a must for any hard-core Linux fan. If you don’t have at least one plush Tux in the house, it’s time to remedy that. If your budget doesn’t cover a brand new machine, there’s plenty of fun stuff for Linux users that you might consider instead.

Nothing makes a geek happier than hardware which is designed to run Linux. This year, you might consider TonidoPlug -- a tiny and inexpensive Linux server that runs a slimmed-down version of Ubuntu and the Tonido application suite. The Tonido apps are top-notch, and the fact that you can access and tweak TonidoPlug via SSH is guaranteed to make your Linux partner ecstatic.