Best Tech Gifts Under $100

via The Washington Post
via The Washington Post
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Best Tech Gifts Under $100

via The Washington Post
via The Washington Post

Technology gifts don't have to be flashy or expensive. While a brand new smartphone or a new laptop can be the centerpiece of your holiday gift list, they aren't always the most thoughtful presents. In fact, the best “tech” gifts can often be the stocking stuffers or smaller items that solve an everyday problem. Here are some suggestions for smaller tech gifts that can still make a big impact:

Wyze cameras: Setting up a camera system for your house doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive. The WyzeCam, which connects to your home’s Internet, goes for $20 a pop and is small and versatile enough to fit your basic surveillance needs. This little camera fits in the palm of your hand and has a magnetic base, so it can stick to your fridge or a metal door with ease. It also comes with an adhesive-backed metal ring, so you can easily mount it just about anywhere. See what the camera sees by connecting to a smartphone app, also called Wyze. The cameras can film in standard definition or high definition. They also can act as a two-way intercom, though you may deal with a bit of lag. One thing to note is that these cameras are only for indoor use, so don’t expect them to stand up to rain showers.

Price: $19.99

Vava Voom 20 Bluetooth Speaker: A portable speaker means you can bring the party with you. With the Voom, by Vava, you can tote around high-quality sound that lasts for hours. This speaker is compact but mighty and is water-resistant so you don’t have to worry about rain or splashes from the pool. Its design is simple — and you’ll have to like the color black since that's the only hue in which it comes. It will also connect to two devices, so you don’t have to choose who’s playing DJ. It’s a bass-heavy speaker by design, so it’s best if you’re trying to get people moving — though it’s still perfectly good if you’re not so interested in a driving beat. Plus, not only does it have good sound, it can also be used as a power bank for your phone if you want. So if your phone gets a little low on battery, the party doesn’t have to stop quite so soon. You can squeeze some extra juice from the speaker.

Price: $69.99

MagicFiber Cleaning Cloth: Cleanliness is next to godliness, or so the saying goes. But our favorite gadgets can often get a little grubby. It can be a bit embarrassing when you’re trying to share a video with someone, and there’s a big smudge across the screen. Ditto if you’re trying to snap a picture and there’s a fingerprint on your lens. Our many screens are important to us, and it’s important to keep them nice and clean. The MagicFiber Cloth is one of the best cleaning cloths out there — in fact, you’ll see it in the hands of many tech retail workers looking to give their goods a shine. They pick up dirt, makeup, and other grime easily and help you keep your stuff looking their best. This is not a glamorous gift, though it is a genuinely useful one — just be sure your recipient doesn’t think you’re dropping them a hint.

Belkin Mixit ColorMatch Charge Kit: You know what's a really good gift? Stress relief. When it comes to tech, that often means a good battery pack or charging cord. These can be ideal stocking stuffers, particularly if you can find a cord that suits a particular need — a very sturdy one, an extra long one, etc. For people who carry around a lot of tech, a whole kit may be in order. Try the Belkin Mixit Metallic ColorMatch Charge Kit, which comes with a sturdy iPhone/iPad cord, wall charger, car charger and battery pack. The battery pack has two USB slots, so you can simultaneously charge up your iPhone or iPad and also use it to juice up another smartphone, or maybe a set of wireless headphones. The battery pack and chargers can also be used for non-Apple products, though you'll have to supply your own cord for that.

Price: $99.99

The Washington Post



Trial Opens against Meta CEO Zuckerberg and Other Leaders over Facebook Privacy Violations

A general view of the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center where Mark Zuckerberg and other top officials from Meta Platforms will take the stand to defend against allegations by investors that they should be held liable for billions of dollars in fines for privacy violations by Facebook, in Wilmington, Delaware, US, July 16, 2025. (Reuters)
A general view of the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center where Mark Zuckerberg and other top officials from Meta Platforms will take the stand to defend against allegations by investors that they should be held liable for billions of dollars in fines for privacy violations by Facebook, in Wilmington, Delaware, US, July 16, 2025. (Reuters)
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Trial Opens against Meta CEO Zuckerberg and Other Leaders over Facebook Privacy Violations

A general view of the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center where Mark Zuckerberg and other top officials from Meta Platforms will take the stand to defend against allegations by investors that they should be held liable for billions of dollars in fines for privacy violations by Facebook, in Wilmington, Delaware, US, July 16, 2025. (Reuters)
A general view of the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center where Mark Zuckerberg and other top officials from Meta Platforms will take the stand to defend against allegations by investors that they should be held liable for billions of dollars in fines for privacy violations by Facebook, in Wilmington, Delaware, US, July 16, 2025. (Reuters)

An $8 billion class action investors’ lawsuit against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and company leaders — current and former — began Wednesday, with claims stemming from the 2018 privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm.

Investors allege in their lawsuit that Meta did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users’ personal information would be misused by Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump’s successful Republican presidential campaign in 2016.

Shareholders say Facebook officials repeatedly and continually violated a 2012 consent order with the Federal Trade Commission under which Facebook agreed to stop collecting and sharing personal data on platform users and friends without their consent.

Facebook later sold user data to commercial partners in direct violation of the consent order and removed disclosures from privacy settings that were required under consent order, the lawsuit alleges.

The fallout led to Facebook agreeing to pay a $5.1 billion penalty to settle FTC charges. The social media giant also faced significant fines in Europe and reached a $725 million privacy settlement with users.

Now shareholders want Zuckerberg and others to reimburse Meta for the FTC fine and other legal costs, which the plaintiffs estimate total more than $8 billion.

The first trial witness, privacy expert Neil Richards, testified Monday morning for the shareholders.

“Facebook’s privacy disclosures were misleading,” said Richards, a professor at Washington University Law School.

In later testimony, Jeffrey Zients, who served on Facebook’s board from 2018 to 2020, testified that consumer privacy and user data were priorities for both management and the board.

Nonetheless, he supported settling with the FTC as it investigated potential violations of the 2012 consent order, so the company could move forward.

“It was difficult because this was a lot of money, but I think it was better than the alternative,” Zients said.

Asked if the board considered making its founder a party to the settlement, he said Zuckerberg was “essential” to running the company.

And, Zients, who served in both the Obama and Biden administrations, said, “there was no indication that he had done anything wrong.”

The case is expected to run through late next week and include testimony from both Zuckerberg and former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg. Other witnesses expected in Delaware Chancery Court, where Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. is incorporated, include board member Marc Andreessen and former board member Peter Thiel.

The judge is not expected to rule for several months.

Meta had hoped the Supreme Court would dismiss the case. Justices heard arguments in November before deciding they should not have taken it up. The high court dismissed the company’s appeal, leaving in place an appellate ruling allowing the case to go forward.