get him something electronic that he doesn't have. pretty easy. you don't have to be tech savvy to get a gift.

A "USB Flash / Pen Drive" or Memory stick always goes down well. Useful for extra storage and transferring data from your main computer. Not expensive even with 8GB of memory and easily bought on line from specialist stores. Just do a google search. You can also load a photo of yourself or a love letter on the drive.

an electronic picture frame/key chain, with pictures of you 2 already loaded, before you give it to him

If he's a computer geek the best gift you could get him is a "DATE"!!!!

A new laptop if you can afford it? An iPhone? Some computer games that he shows interest in? If all else fails, socks. xD

Goto thinkgeek you'll be spoiled for choice

My wife runs into the same problem. Her trick is to shoulder-surf. She knew I wanted a better MP3 player and that I was eyeballing the Sansa e-series, so she went and hunted for a good deal on a Sansa e280 (8GB, comparable to (but better than) the iPod Nano). Note that that was not exactly a computer-related item? Many of us g33x have other hobbies too. Going for a PC-related item *will* lead to problems. He may respect the thought behind the gift, but he may not appreciate the gift itself. My wife tapped into one of my side interests and bought me something that I carry with me (and like even though there are newer models out there) almost daily two years later. Many PC g33ks are also gamers. Check out his library and see if there is something there that he lacks. I have received a few GURPS and Shadowrun books around my birthday that way. Or maybe he is into a certain genre of PC game, or maybe he does console gaming on the side. I didn't buy TOCA 3 for my PS2 (now on my Top 3 list of best games I ever played) since my wife knows I like racing games. Come to think of it, I didn't buy the PS2 either, since my MIL knew I liked my PS1.

how much do you want to spend, you could get him a Netbook computer for 250 something, there pretty neat little things, you cant play any of todays intensive games on them, but they are fun to dink around with, and highly portible.

A BlackBerry