There's something so exquisite about a slowed-down, moody cover of an upbeat song you know by heart (see: Antony and the Johnsons covering Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love"). But it can be particularly transporting when a band gives the MTV Unplugged treatment to one of their own songs, as in a-ha's acoustic version of their 1980s synth-pop classic "Take on Me".

The holiday season can be a saccharine overload - consider the case of heiress Sunny von Bulow, who fell into a comatose state from which she'd never wake following a 1982 Christmas celebration. Authorities accused her husband Claus of attempting to murder her by injecting her with insulin. Claus maintained that Sunny had, like so many of us during the holiday festivities, merely overindulged - in her case with an eggnog/barbiturate cocktail.

One jury found Claus guilty. Another found him innocent. Sunny died, still in a coma, in 2008. A very good movie, Reversal of Fortune, was made about the whole thing. It's a much better movie than Love Actually, Miracle on 34th Street, or any other Christmas movie I can think of except maybe Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.

I've recently acquired a pair of track pants. They are soft. They are warm. They are comfortable. I haven't worn or even thought of wearing track pants since childhood, instead opting for jeans from dawn til dusk, but I've since rediscovered a world of comfort known only to those who don soft pants. I suggest you do the same.

I am not an audiophile, but I do love convenience. And comfort. And it is quite inconvenient when you just want to use your headphones to drown out the subway and find yourself tangled in a cord like an invasive weed, or when the sound is dominated by the rustling stethoscopic vibrations of said cord. It is more convenient to have no wires at all. If you are also a fan of convenience, perhaps you should try some wireless Bluetooth headphones.

I recently encountered a smart little product called RediTape, which is basically a super thin, pocket-sized roll of man's most versatile tool: Duct tape. Here's how to make a homemade version that's cheaper and more customisable to fit your preferences.

I wanted dimmable lights in my apartment, but like most people, my lease won't let me mess with the electricals. I thought I was stuck until I found the the Philips Hue Dimmer Switch. It's cheap, gives you instant dimmable lights with little setup, and leaves the door open to cooler smart home gear in the future.

Not every cool gift idea fits into a neat little category. In fact, some of the best stuff doesn't. That's why we have a special guide just for the awesome gadgets we fancied throughout the year. Here is some of the most awesome stuff we like.

One of the confounding problems with a number of "gaming" headsets is that so many of them look like gaming headsets. Which is fine if you're at home in front of the computer, but if you want to buy a headset that can also be the headphones you listen to out and about, The Arctis 5 from SteelSeries is a great option.

Osprey's Farpoint 55 backpack is really two bags in one. You get a large compartment to keep clothes and shoes in, plus a removable daypack that lightens your load once you set up base somewhere. Plus, the whole thing is small enough to count as a single carry-on bag.

In order for me to sleep while sitting upright, I tilt my neck to one side and just let it kind of hang there. Then I wonder why I'd wake up with neck pain. That's all in the past, thanks to the Trtl Pillow, the best travel pillow I never knew I needed.

The Raspberry Pi has long been packed into starter kits from third-party companies, but its looking like an official option is now on the way, jam packed with everything you need to get started.

A good mechanical keyboard can be fun for work or play, but finding one that delivers everywhere you need it to can be a bit of a challenge. Das Keyboard's newly launched Prime 13 is a well-built stunner, and ticks off a lot of the personal boxes I look for in a mechanical that can pull double duty.

Keeping my glasses from slipping down my face is a constant battle. It's a classic nerd trope that holds true, for me, and I've been losing the fight against gravity. But I've found some help in the form of Nerdwax.

Reading Marion Nestle's Food Politics will make you feel like a speck in a universe of giants. Corporations alternately battle and collude with the United States government in chapter after chapter, spending billions of dollars to influence what the consumer chooses to put in their mouth.

We're all surrounded by screens, but few of us know how they really work. If you're looking to teach your kids how displays work (or learn for yourself!) and you need a display for a Raspberry Pi, the Kano Screen Kit is a reasonably priced, portable, dedicated display that you build yourself.

If you know someone who is gearing up to travel, looking to tidy up their home, or wrangle their chaotic cables, we've got you covered. These gifts can help the most disorderly of people in your life achieve organisational nirvana.

Not everyone wants to carry around a smartphone, a case to protect it, and a wallet for everything else. If you fall into that category, then Bellroy's Elements Phone Pocket might answer the call.

Laptop stands are a great way to elevate your laptop to make typing more comfortable, but they're not exactly portable. BaseLift sticks to the bottom of your MacBook and raises it just a little to make it easier to type.

The Raspberry Pi is easily one of our favourite DIY devices, and today a brand new model is available. The Raspberry Pi 2 features a quad core ARMv7 running at 900mHZ (that's about a 6x speed increase) and 1GB RAM (double the Model B+'s).