Gift ideas for grads, dads that they will love

Be sure that the gift comes with appropriate extras the college student will like.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
It used to be that a necktie for dad and some cash for a grad was all you needed to get through June.
But this is 2004, where dads are eyeing home theater systems and grads are dreaming of everything from an on-the-go MP3 player to a nice WiFi notebook for the dorm room in the fall.
If you're not sure what they might like, check out some of the gifts we think are great for the season.
By the time grade-school grads are thinking about junior high, they're likely asking for a cell phone -- if they don't have one already. That's a gift -- and monthly bill -- that's better left for mom and dad.
Instead, we like the idea of a flash MP3 player such as Creative's MuVo TX. It holds up to 512 megabytes of music, or about eight hours of MP3 files or 16 hours of WMA files. The USB 2.0 device doubles as a portable memory drive for storing homework assignments and other important files. The MuVo TX is priced at $149 for 256 MB or $229 for the 512 MB player. Lower-end MuVo units, with capacities of 64 and 128 MB and similar functions, start at $50.
Heading to high school means a busy schedule and plenty to remember: cell phone numbers, locker combinations and the date of that big history exam. It's surprising how much information can be stored in today's cell-phone calendars and address books.
Consider upgrades
Even if the grad has a cell phone by now, an upgrade to a new camera phone or even one of the new video phones makes a cool gift -- and doesn't have to break the bank.
We like Samsung's VGA1000 Camera Phone for $250 and Video Phone VM-A680 for $310. The phones are greatly reduced in price with service activation rebates. The color screens offer crisp images and the flip phones are small and lightweight. Be careful -- extra charges may apply for camera, video and text-messaging usage, as well as ringer and game downloads.
Today, a notebook computer is a must have for any student heading off to college. The choices are plentiful and the prices range from "not so bad" to "who are they kidding?" so we'll leave that up to you.
But here are a few tips on what to look for in a notebook for the college student. Be sure it has some sort of WiFi capability, whether it's a notebook with a built-in wireless chip or a WiFi card for the computer's PCI slot, for Web surfing in the student union or Starbucks.
Likewise, owners of Windows computers should be using the Windows XP Professional operating system for added security on college campus networks.
The gift that keeps on giving -- and may help keep the college student in your life out of credit-card debt -- is a virtual Visa card. Epassporte (www.epassporte.com) offers a pre-paid Visa for online transactions that can be refilled as needed. The company also markets an actual card for in-person transactions.
For the dad who is becoming quite the digital photo enthusiast -- or thinks he is -- we like Expo-Disc, a lighting filter that allows shooters to automatically set the white balance of the camera for better pictures in tough lighting situations. It's relatively inexpensive -- ranging from $80 to $160, depending on the camera model -- but takes some understanding of the camera's features. That means devoting more than five minutes to the user's manual, but the pictures will look much better, as if Dad were an old-photo pro. Visit www.expodisc.com for more information.
And finally, for the dad who wants a home theater system but can't convince mom that drilling holes and running wires across the room is the way you're supposed to install it, the Phillips LX3950W -- priced at $400 -- features wireless rear speakers that work through radio frequency transmissions.