I have to confess, with all the new toys and gadgets that have been released the last two weeks in anticipation of the Christmas shopping season, I am having a hard time keeping up with it all. (Much less do I know what to write about or analyze for our readers.) Here are just a few products that have reached shelves or online retailers this month in time for holiday shoppers to be giddy about technology: Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, Nikon D40 DSLR camera, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T50, Microsoft Zune MP3 player, and Windows Vista, if you count the fact that it is for volume licensing only at this point.

November is just a techy time of year. It makes me happy of course, and I’m sure all the other technophiles out there are probably so excited about playing PS3 or Wii that they are skipping my column this week! But why exactly is November the target launch date for so many products? By one manner of thinking: holiday shopping. Companies must get the product to the retailers before the Friday after Thanksgiving so moms can get their kids the latest, greatest stuff.

But do you think most companies think about college students this time of year? November is when most students wrap up the semester and begin preparing for exams. November is so far removed from the work days of summer that spending money is a forgotten memory. How on earth are we supposed to buy the fun stuff without planning ahead (since most students don’t do that), taking out a loan or selling a spare kidney? I want an answer, seriously!

I know it is too much to ask for the companies to bump up their release dates to the end of summer, but they might at least consider spreading them out to accommodate the starving college kid. If not, maybe they can work out a deal with campus bookstores: a free Playstation 3 for every 40 books or so. Sound good to you?