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Visit Cnn.com For Holiday Gift Ideas

Aired November 29, 2002 - 13:48   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


PHILLIPS: All right. It's not easy to shop for everyone. We know that. And if you're one of the many people struggling to come up with the gift ideas, we have the perfect Web site for you.
CNN's technology correspondent, Daniel Sieberg, is here to tell us all about it. This is great.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, it just happens to be our own Web site. We should say that right off the top.

PHILLIPS: OK.

SIEBERG: But, you know, cnn.com...

PHILLIPS: Full disclosure.

SIEBERG: Full disclosure. CNN.com has though, you know, people are struggling to get out, searching for ideas, running frantically to the mall. And they're saying, hey, hold on a second, we've got a page you can go to where there are some ideas, some suggestions and even some ways to look for that particular person in your life that you're just not sure what to buy for.

So the first thing you want to know is where to find this page. Well, it's CNN.com/HolidayShopping. And that's the section that you want to go do.

Once you do that, you pull up this page right here. And if we scroll down a little bit, you can see that there is a section here called "gift finder."

PHILLIPS: OK.

SIEBERG: Once you click on that, this little box will come up and you can choose your preferences, based on who you want to buy for. So you can give me some preferences here. We can choose by age. So you want to choose - you can tell me...

PHILLIPS: OK, not yet? I can give you an idea of somebody...

SIEBERG: OK.

PHILLIPS: ... because I seriously do need your help.

SIEBERG: Sure. You've got somebody in mind?

PHILLIPS: I do. I have someone in mind? SIEBERG: All right. OK. Let's do it.

PHILLIPS: All Right. So age first?

SIEBERG: Age first, yes.

PHILLIPS: OK, 32.

SIEBERG: OK. Let's say - actually they go by relationships. So tell me...

PHILLIPS: Brother.

SIEBERG: Brother, OK.

PHILLIPS: My brother.

SIEBERG: Let's do the brother. Let's say close relative.

PHILLIPS: OK.

SIEBERG: And then we're going to go price. We've got inexpensive, moderate, and expensive.

PHILLIPS: Ooh, I better not...

SIEBERG: Is he your favorite brother?

PHILLIPS: Yes, I only have one brother, so you better put expensive.

SIEBERG: One brother, oh, expensive. Wow! OK. We're going to go expensive. And then you've got style over here. You can do either modern or classic. So what is his style, do you think? Is he...

PHILLIPS: Oh, boy. Well, he's not trendy. That is for sure. He's very much an intellectual.

SIEBERG: Not trendy, maybe classic?

PHILLIPS: I would say classic.

SIEBERG: Classic. OK. So let's go classic. Once you put all your preferences on, you would just go, go. And then it's going to slide through all of these other gifts and eventually come up with the one that works best for the preferences that you've put in. And there's ones for all these different categories.

PHILLIPS: Are these all the ideas right now?

SIEBERG: These are -- not some of these ideas. Unfortunately, this computer is a little bit slow, and so it's scrolling through all of the ones you're not going to be selecting.

PHILLIPS: OK.

SIEBERG: And then it's going to eventually wind up on the one that it's going to suggest to you.

PHILLIPS: Yes, he's not going to be into a foot bath.

SIEBERG: Yes, the foot bath, no.

PHILLIPS: The Bloody Mary set.

SIEBERG: The Bloody Mary set with four glasses.

PHILLIPS: He might want that one.

SIEBERG: OK, well, we didn't stop on that one.

PHILLIPS: No, keep going.

SIEBERG: And so these ones will keep going through and, finally, it's going to wind up with the one it's going to suggest for you. It might be this one. Yes - no, it's going to keep going.

PHILLIPS: Actually, he could use a massage chair. He stresses out.

SIEBERG: Massage chair?

PHILLIPS: He bites his nail.

SIEBERG: Here we go. This is the Gateway 43 -- oh, talk about plasma TVs, that's high-end. I mean we're talking $3,000. So it depends how much you want to spend for your brother.

PHILLIPS: Well, I love him, but that's a little high. He's not a real TV watcher. Isn't that terrible?

SIEBERG: Really?

PHILLIPS: And here I am in television!

SIEBERG: Well, see, then you could encourage him. You could get him off on the right foot.

PHILLIPS: Yes, there you go. Forget reading those books; watch television.

SIEBERG: Yes, those books. So that's one thing we can look at on this site.

PHILLIPS: Can you get more specific, like can I type in his hobbies? Can I type in his interests?

SIEBERG: Not on this page.

PHILLIPS: OK, OK.

SIEBERG: But there are also some other things I'll show you here on the site.

PHILLIPS: All right. What else?

SIEBERG: Same page, if you want to look just at sort of the hot gifts...

PHILLIPS: Ooh, hot gifts, yes.

SIEBERG: ... that are out there, this is something that people might be after, just the trends. We've got a section here where you've got Barbie, if you're looking for maybe some -- a little girl.

There are some other ideas here. On the tech side, there is a TiVo, the HandSpring Trio.

PHILLIPS: What's a HandSpring Trio?

SIEBERG: There's even the Chicken Dance Elmo. The Handspring Trio, that's on of the organizers with a phone and everything in it.

PHILLIPS: Oh, wow! Back to the...

SIEBERG: The Chicken Dance Elmo, I think we saw that earlier today. So there's a lot of ideas here for a range of people. Trivial Pursuit is supposed to be a big one this year as well. So that the 30th Anniversary Edition...

PHILLIPS: Ooh, it's a new version?

SIEBERG: Yes, I think it's a new edition that's just come out.

PHILLIPS: Oh, wow!

SIEBERG: So that's something people want to look for. Now, on the quirky side, we're going to go to one last section here. This is the 10 wacky gifts. And this is definitely...

PHILLIPS: Perfect for my family.

SIEBERG: ... on the wacky side. Yes. We're going to start here with - you know, we checked this one out with CNN. This is the terrorism toilet paper. No kidding, this is one of the things that are out there.

PHILLIPS: Oh, no, wipe him out.

SIEBERG: Yes.

PHILLIPS: OK.

SIEBERG: The panic button for your computer, which you can put on there. Now this is definitely on the lower end, too. Bobbleheads, which people have heard of for quite a while, musical slippers, sort of you name it.

You know, we're going from the high end...

PHILLIPS: Oh, no, my mom's going to love that one. SIEBERG: ... to the slightly lower end, should we say. And so that's just a sampling. And, of course, there are all sorts of links here, as well, for people who are looking for gift ideas and that sort of thing.

PHILLIPS: All right. Now you're going to be back next hour talking gadgets, is that right?

SIEBERG: Gadgets that are affordable, though, I mean under $200. And I think people will be amazed at what you can get for under $200.

PHILLIPS: All right. Good. We'll see you next hour. Great ideas. I'll have to check out this Web site.

SIEBERG: All right. Yes, CNN.com/HolidayShopping.

SIEBERG: All right, nice. Daniel Sieberg, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 29, 2002 - 13:48   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PHILLIPS: All right. It's not easy to shop for everyone. We know that. And if you're one of the many people struggling to come up with the gift ideas, we have the perfect Web site for you.
CNN's technology correspondent, Daniel Sieberg, is here to tell us all about it. This is great.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, it just happens to be our own Web site. We should say that right off the top.

PHILLIPS: OK.

SIEBERG: But, you know, cnn.com...

PHILLIPS: Full disclosure.

SIEBERG: Full disclosure. CNN.com has though, you know, people are struggling to get out, searching for ideas, running frantically to the mall. And they're saying, hey, hold on a second, we've got a page you can go to where there are some ideas, some suggestions and even some ways to look for that particular person in your life that you're just not sure what to buy for.

So the first thing you want to know is where to find this page. Well, it's CNN.com/HolidayShopping. And that's the section that you want to go do.

Once you do that, you pull up this page right here. And if we scroll down a little bit, you can see that there is a section here called "gift finder."

PHILLIPS: OK.

SIEBERG: Once you click on that, this little box will come up and you can choose your preferences, based on who you want to buy for. So you can give me some preferences here. We can choose by age. So you want to choose - you can tell me...

PHILLIPS: OK, not yet? I can give you an idea of somebody...

SIEBERG: OK.

PHILLIPS: ... because I seriously do need your help.

SIEBERG: Sure. You've got somebody in mind?

PHILLIPS: I do. I have someone in mind? SIEBERG: All right. OK. Let's do it.

PHILLIPS: All Right. So age first?

SIEBERG: Age first, yes.

PHILLIPS: OK, 32.

SIEBERG: OK. Let's say - actually they go by relationships. So tell me...

PHILLIPS: Brother.

SIEBERG: Brother, OK.

PHILLIPS: My brother.

SIEBERG: Let's do the brother. Let's say close relative.

PHILLIPS: OK.

SIEBERG: And then we're going to go price. We've got inexpensive, moderate, and expensive.

PHILLIPS: Ooh, I better not...

SIEBERG: Is he your favorite brother?

PHILLIPS: Yes, I only have one brother, so you better put expensive.

SIEBERG: One brother, oh, expensive. Wow! OK. We're going to go expensive. And then you've got style over here. You can do either modern or classic. So what is his style, do you think? Is he...

PHILLIPS: Oh, boy. Well, he's not trendy. That is for sure. He's very much an intellectual.

SIEBERG: Not trendy, maybe classic?

PHILLIPS: I would say classic.

SIEBERG: Classic. OK. So let's go classic. Once you put all your preferences on, you would just go, go. And then it's going to slide through all of these other gifts and eventually come up with the one that works best for the preferences that you've put in. And there's ones for all these different categories.

PHILLIPS: Are these all the ideas right now?

SIEBERG: These are -- not some of these ideas. Unfortunately, this computer is a little bit slow, and so it's scrolling through all of the ones you're not going to be selecting.

PHILLIPS: OK.

SIEBERG: And then it's going to eventually wind up on the one that it's going to suggest to you.

PHILLIPS: Yes, he's not going to be into a foot bath.

SIEBERG: Yes, the foot bath, no.

PHILLIPS: The Bloody Mary set.

SIEBERG: The Bloody Mary set with four glasses.

PHILLIPS: He might want that one.

SIEBERG: OK, well, we didn't stop on that one.

PHILLIPS: No, keep going.

SIEBERG: And so these ones will keep going through and, finally, it's going to wind up with the one it's going to suggest for you. It might be this one. Yes - no, it's going to keep going.

PHILLIPS: Actually, he could use a massage chair. He stresses out.

SIEBERG: Massage chair?

PHILLIPS: He bites his nail.

SIEBERG: Here we go. This is the Gateway 43 -- oh, talk about plasma TVs, that's high-end. I mean we're talking $3,000. So it depends how much you want to spend for your brother.

PHILLIPS: Well, I love him, but that's a little high. He's not a real TV watcher. Isn't that terrible?

SIEBERG: Really?

PHILLIPS: And here I am in television!

SIEBERG: Well, see, then you could encourage him. You could get him off on the right foot.

PHILLIPS: Yes, there you go. Forget reading those books; watch television.

SIEBERG: Yes, those books. So that's one thing we can look at on this site.

PHILLIPS: Can you get more specific, like can I type in his hobbies? Can I type in his interests?

SIEBERG: Not on this page.

PHILLIPS: OK, OK.

SIEBERG: But there are also some other things I'll show you here on the site.

PHILLIPS: All right. What else?

SIEBERG: Same page, if you want to look just at sort of the hot gifts...

PHILLIPS: Ooh, hot gifts, yes.

SIEBERG: ... that are out there, this is something that people might be after, just the trends. We've got a section here where you've got Barbie, if you're looking for maybe some -- a little girl.

There are some other ideas here. On the tech side, there is a TiVo, the HandSpring Trio.

PHILLIPS: What's a HandSpring Trio?

SIEBERG: There's even the Chicken Dance Elmo. The Handspring Trio, that's on of the organizers with a phone and everything in it.

PHILLIPS: Oh, wow! Back to the...

SIEBERG: The Chicken Dance Elmo, I think we saw that earlier today. So there's a lot of ideas here for a range of people. Trivial Pursuit is supposed to be a big one this year as well. So that the 30th Anniversary Edition...

PHILLIPS: Ooh, it's a new version?

SIEBERG: Yes, I think it's a new edition that's just come out.

PHILLIPS: Oh, wow!

SIEBERG: So that's something people want to look for. Now, on the quirky side, we're going to go to one last section here. This is the 10 wacky gifts. And this is definitely...

PHILLIPS: Perfect for my family.

SIEBERG: ... on the wacky side. Yes. We're going to start here with - you know, we checked this one out with CNN. This is the terrorism toilet paper. No kidding, this is one of the things that are out there.

PHILLIPS: Oh, no, wipe him out.

SIEBERG: Yes.

PHILLIPS: OK.

SIEBERG: The panic button for your computer, which you can put on there. Now this is definitely on the lower end, too. Bobbleheads, which people have heard of for quite a while, musical slippers, sort of you name it.

You know, we're going from the high end...

PHILLIPS: Oh, no, my mom's going to love that one. SIEBERG: ... to the slightly lower end, should we say. And so that's just a sampling. And, of course, there are all sorts of links here, as well, for people who are looking for gift ideas and that sort of thing.

PHILLIPS: All right. Now you're going to be back next hour talking gadgets, is that right?

SIEBERG: Gadgets that are affordable, though, I mean under $200. And I think people will be amazed at what you can get for under $200.

PHILLIPS: All right. Good. We'll see you next hour. Great ideas. I'll have to check out this Web site.

SIEBERG: All right. Yes, CNN.com/HolidayShopping.

SIEBERG: All right, nice. Daniel Sieberg, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com