Gifts for new grads, 2009 edition

Junior's going to college? Well it's about time.

Still, don't just give him the boot and show him the door. Give the lad a little token of your appreciation and congratulation that he managed to finish highschool in one piece.

Here are a few high-tech gift ideas that the kid might actually enjoy this summer and beyond.

SanDisk Ultra Backup USB Flash Drive - You don't back up your computer, so why should you expect your child to? Tell him to do as you say, not as you do.... and back up the easy way: SanDisk's 64GB flash drive backs up data files onto a simple thumb drive with a single button press. No big hard drives to mess with, no online accounts to set up, no excuses. $278 (smaller capacities are cheaper)

CarMD - The last place you want your kid's student loan money going is toward repairs for his car. A CarMD unit attaches to a special port in the car and diagnoses problems -- without a trip to the shop. Basically it pays for itself if you avoid one visit to the mechanic. $99

Joby Gorillapod Focus - Every budding photographer needs a tripod. The Gorillapod Focus is a burly 'pod that fits in your graduate's backpack and is tough enough to hold up even professional-grade digital video cameras. The adjustable legs let the Focus snake around just about anything: Dangle it from a tree or wrap it around a car door to get those "how'd they do that?" shots. $100

WarBeast Guitar - Raise his Guitar Hero/Rock Band performance with this monster: The only full-size guitar game controller on the market. The neck removes for taking the axe on the road, and the design alone is enough to give any gamer serious street cred. PS3/PS2 only. $80

240GB iPod Upgrade - Even if your kid has the biggest iPod available, chances are it's practically full of music and movies by now. Don't get him a new one: Upgrade it. Rapid Repair boosts a standard iPod to up to 240GB of space. $295 (smaller capacity upgrades are less)

HP Officejet 6500 All-in-One Printer - Into every gift list a little practicality must fall. This fast inkjet prints, scans, copies, and faxes, and all in a pint-sized space. Just what any college kid needs for those late-night projects. $150

5.11 Tactical Flashlight - The last flashlight she'll ever need: The 5.11 uses ultracapacitors instead of batteries and recharges in 90 seconds flat -- and it can be re-juiced 50,000 times. (Alas, sold out until July.) $170

GameFly Subscription - No need to buy your grad a bunch of games this summer (don't kid yourself that he's actually going to work): Let him rent all he wants and pick his own titles. GameFly has titles for every console, all delivered via mail, a la Netflix. A three-month, two-games-at-a-time plan will get him through the summer at a price comparable to buying a single game at retail. $62 for three months