It's not hard to guess the responses. Some of you thought of computers, others iPods. Still others have visions of giant-screen HDTV sets dancing in your heads. Maybe you mentioned the Xbox 360.

There's common ground with all those answers: High tech carries a high price tag. And that's sure true when you stick to the predictable items. But there's a way to find gifts for the techies on your list without taking out a loan.

That's a good thing considering how things are at my house. We've just spent most of the kids' inheritance on remodeling our kitchen. It sure looks nice. But it cost so much that we're financially challenged as we enter the holiday period. So my wife and I limited our personal gift budgets to $75 each. We'll get family and kids nice stuff but skimp on what we buy for each other.

That means I have direct and practical experience in creating a high-tech, but low-rent, gift list. Let me offer some suggestions at various price ranges: high, medium and low. I'll limit my most expensive category to $100 or less.

Big spenders --- $100 and less

> Microsoft Street & Trips 2006 with GPS Locator. I'm a perfect candidate for GPS. My sense of navigation is amazingly bad. I can get lost, and have, while driving to the neighborhood hardware store. So I think a GPS system is great. But I'm not able to spend $500 or so to own one. This system, priced from $120 to $100 depending on where you shop, has all the software you need plus a Global Positioning Satellite receiver. You load the software into a laptop and then plug the receiver into its USB port.

Medium spenders --- $50 and less

> Logitech QuickCam Communicate STX Webcam. This is a little silly, but I enjoy hooking a Webcam to my computer. Sure, there are useful things you could do, like buy one and use it to show your Christmas gifts to distant parents via the Internet. Or you can make and save small videos and e-mail them to friends. It's really no more than a toy. But that's what holiday gifts are all about. It's about $50 and easy to find at almost any computer store.

> Epson Perfection 3490 Photo Scanner. If you haven't already done so, now is a good time to convert some of your old photographs to digital images. That way the colors will never fade. And if an old print is damaged, you can create a new one. Since it comes with software that allows you to actually improve the image, some of my scanned photos look better than the originals. $49.99.

> "Guild Wars" CD-ROM: I've played video games since the days when we had to literally type in the computer code to create them. I've never enjoyed one as much as "Guild Wars." You play online in teams. Unlike most other online games, there are no subscription fees, so once you own the program there's no further expense --- other than staying up too late at night. It's $50 and can be purchased almost anyplace computer games are sold. I'd rather have this than an XBox 360. Honest.

> One-year subscription to a magazine called Make: Technology on Your Time. To me, this is the best technology magazine in the world and much more fun than Wired. However, since it is filled with do-it-yourself projects, it is aimed at hard-core techies. If there's someone on your gift list who fits that description, this is a terrific gift at $34.95. You order it on the Web at make.oreilly.com/offer.

Tech on the cheap --- $25 and less

> Digital Video Essentials: Optimize Your Home Entertainment System. Some of you will get a big-bucks HDTV system for a holiday gift. This $17 DVD offers test patterns and other programming designed to help you adjust your set for a perfect picture. The techie in your family will have hours of fun doing what he or she loves best, tinkering with controls. There's also a similar disc available called the Avia Guide to Home Theater. At $34, it is too pricey to fit into this category, but since these two discs offer the same sort of features, I wanted to mention it. Both can be purchased at video stores or at Amazon.com.

Next year, maybe I'll be shopping for gadgets in a higher price range. But until then I'll settle for these affordable high-tech gadgets along with a piece of blueberry pie from our fancy new oven.