Sponsor's Message

I guess if I were unethical enough, I'd just install some P2P software and download a few popular albums, burn then to CDR, print out a quite good quality set of cover-notes and try to write very neatly on the disk in the hope the recipient would think it was kosher.

Gosh, I reckon that if I looked hard enough I could probably find a copy of the latest LOTR movie somewhere and burn that to a DVD.

Of course I'm not about to do that. Not only would it be more than slightly illegal, it would put the recipient in a somewhat awkward position -- "gosh, thanks, just what I always wanted... a pirated copy of LOTR complete with the audience's heads".

However, the cheapskates out there can still find some stuff to give.

There are still a million and one e-Card sites that will, at your request, deliver a range of trite little animated GIFs or Flash animations bearing a Christmas message to whatever email address you provide.

Readers Say Got something to say about today's column, or want to see what others think?  Visit The Forums Have Your Say

However, as I've mentioned before -- anyone who sends me one of these irritating bits of spam will earn an ear-bashing.

Few people will really appreciate you giving their email addresses to a website of unknown pedigree which, despite the assurances in their privacy statement, might just be onselling that address to a bunch of spammers.

So what can you do?

Unfortunately your options for legitimately downloading music from the authorised copyright holder are still very limited here in NZ.

Of course you could simply buy something from an online store and have it shipped directly to the intended recipient but that's hardly much fun.

No, I'm afraid that if you want to enjoy the fun of giving, especially when you're on a budget, you'll just have to get out there and beat the streets.

As for me, I'll be giving a lot of IOUs this year.

What's the best-value online gift you've spotted this year?

If any Aardvark readers want to share an opinion on today's column or add something, you're invited to chip in and have your say in The Aardvark Forums or, if you prefer, you can contact me directly.

Contacting Aardvark
I'm always happy to hear from readers, whether they're delivering brickbats, bouquets or news tip-offs. If you'd like to contact me directly, please this form. If you're happy for me to republish your comments then please be sure and select For Publication.

Other media organisations seeking more information or republication rights are also invited to contact me.

Just add a couple of lines of JavaScript to your pages and you can get a free summary of Aardvark's daily commentary -- automatically updated each and every week-day.

Aardvark also makes a summary of this daily column available via XML using the RSS format. More details can be found here.

Contact me if you decide to use either of these feeds and have any problems.

Linking Policy
Want to link to this site? Check out Aardvark's Linking Policy.

Did you tell someone else about Aardvark today? If not then do it now!