Gizmodo: giftguide

Top 10 Tags of 2006

Noah Robischon — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 11:30:58 EST

The top 10 Gizmodo tags of 2006, based on what you clicked on the most:

10. Robots

9. Deals

8. Smartphones

7. Digital Cameras

6. Home Entertainment

5. iPod

4. Laptops

3. Portable Media

2. Gadgets

1. Cellphones

–Noah Robischon

eStarling Digital Picture Frame Hands-On (Verdict: Almost Picture-Perfect So Far)

Charlie White — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 09:57:12 EST

The long-awaited eStarling digital picture frame is finally available, and now here's the first hands-on review we've seen. The reviewer gives it a big thumbs-up, lauding its Wi-Fi connectivity and easy setup. He also likes the way you can set up an e-mail address that can receive pictures from anyone, but doesn't much care for the fact that it must be either a gmail account or one that's at eStarling.com.

It looks like an overall positive experience, where the photos look great and the build is solid. But our hearts sank when we saw that the gigantic logo plastered across the top looks just as obnoxiously intrusive as the catalog photography. Maybe there's a way to remove it. We'll be receiving our eStarling in the next few days, and will give you an update. – Charlie White

eStarling [Gizgadg]

Popalive's LCD Remote Keeps Tabs on Your iPod

Louis Ramirez — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 09:45:11 EST

Despite its Fisher Price-sounding name, Alive-Style's new Popalive remote looks pretty cool. It's basically a wireless remote with an embedded 1.5-inch color screen that lets you view and navigate your iPod from afar. Dock your iPod with the Popalive Dock, connect it to your stereo or TV (the dock has audio and video outputs), and with the Popalive remote you can control what plays next. It uses bi-directional RF connectivity, which the company claims works through walls, etc. We'll have to try that out ourselves, but otherwise seems like a cool accessory. Pricing isn't out yet, but you can expect to see the Popalive by the end of the year. – Louis Ramirez

Press Release [Alive-Style Debuts Popalive LCD Remote for iPods via iPod Lounge]

Aliph Jawbone Headset: Gets Sexy Redesign, Super Noise-Cancelling, and Bluetooth

Brian Lam — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 03:00:39 EST

The original Aliph Jawbone headset was flawed. It was beautiful, but wired.

The redesigned Aliph Jawbone looks to be everything the original wishes it was. It's Bluetooth, and uses military noise canceling tech that can drown out the violent screams of traffic, lawnmowers, and anything else NOT your voice by using an array of microphones. Walt Mossberg had the first look: He found it worked great, except against wind noise. (Kind of a problem)

And in case you didn't notice, it happens to be the best looking headset ever made, IMHO. The set was designed by the ultra talented Yves Behar, the industrial designer known for many things, but maybe most recently his Leaf Lamp and the $100 Laptop. It comes in red, black, and silver from Cingular, for $120, starting today.

I've got two more pictures for you after the jump. And we'll give you our full take soon, as we were lucky enough to get a few sets of our own to check out.

–Brian Lam

Aliph Jawbone [Jawbone]

How To Find Wii Component Cables

Jason Chen — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 14:10:00 EST

We have to admit, we're six years late to the party on this one. We just purchased a set of PS2 component cables this past weekend and have to say that there's a pretty noticeable difference between composite and component, even on an old system like the PS2.

What's the point? Well, despite the fact that the Wii only ships with composite cables, we feel it's our civic duty to remind you that you need to play the Wii with component cables. Seriously. Just get it already. And since the official ones are most likely sold out everywhere, you're probably having a hard time getting some.

Here's how to find them.

Wii Component Cables [PlayAsia - $9]

Mad Catz Component Cables [Mad Catz - $19]

Official Component Cables [Amazon - $19]

Nintendo Wii Component Cables [Nintendo - $29]

EBGames Component Cables [EBGames - $49]

React Component Cables [Best Buy - $24]

Griffin Component Cables [Best Buy - $59!]

ASiD Component Cables [Frys - $39]

Blaze Component Cables - $10 (Out of stock) [Superufo]

Psyclone Component Cables [Circuit City - $59!]

– Jason Chen

MojoPlay Monitor Makes Your 360 Mobile

Louis Ramirez — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 13:45:43 EST

I don't normally make it a habit of lugging my Xbox 360 around to other people's houses, but should the desire ever arise (or if you have a car to do the lugging for you), MojoPlay's MP-920XB is at your service. It's a 9.2-inch traveling display that connects to your 360 and lets you play games when someone else is hogging up the TV. The screen has an 800x480 resolution along with built-in speakers and dual headphone jacks. It's out today for $170 with PS3 and Wii equivalents slated for next year, though personally I wouldn't wanna play any console games on a display smaller than 26-inches. – Louis Ramirez

Product Page [via Electronista]

Low Tech Wine Gadget Perfect For Your Drunkard Friends

Jason Chen — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 20:10:39 EST

Still pondering what to get your alcoholic friends for Christmas? How about the Vinturi, the wine aerator. A double blind taste test conducted by ~~the company~~ Vinquiry Wine Analytics concluded that "the same bottle of wine treated with Vinturi was higher in overall flavor intensity and mouthfeel."

The whole concept works by exposing more of the wine to air, allowing it to breathe and thus, to counteract the tannins in the wine. Of course, all we know about wine was learned in a 30 minute tour of a winery, so we might not be the kind of experts you're looking for. – Jason Chen

Product page [Vinturi - Thanks Ben!]

Books are Overrated—Electronic Scrabble Dictionary

Travis Hudson — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:41:22 EST

Who wants to get their fingers all paper-y flipping through a real dictionary when you can just type in atrociously wrong word to this little doodad. This officially licensed Scrabble electronic dictionary can ensure that there are no cheating bastards trying to take you in Scrabble. This device is also capable of building words, but using word building programs is pretty weaksauce, in my opinion. $40. – Travis Hudson

Scrabble Electronic Dictionary [uncrate]

Rise and Shine Bedside Lamp Wakes up Nicely

Travis Hudson — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 14:29:34 EST

You may prefer more extreme wake-up methods, but personally, I enjoy being eased out of my slumber. This ingenious Rise and Shine Bedside Lamp can do so. This lamp has an integrated alarm clock that will ease you awake with lights and environment noises. It can also do the alarm in reverse (aka a sleep mode). It is available in ivory and black and sells for a semi-hefty $150. – Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via Gearlog]

Signs of the Apocalypse: USB Shaver

Travis Hudson — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 11:28:15 EST

Are power outlets become so scarce that we are forced to power our shaving gadgets with USB ports? Guess so. This USB shaver sucks its juice from your laptop or PC USB ports and can keep you looking not-so-rugged at the anywhere your USB ports go. I guess it could be convenient for the laptop road warriors, but when I'm driving I prefer to bust out the old straight razor to shave. More chance of death = more XTREME! It is available for $30. – Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via newlaunches]

Dirty Gizmodo Supplemental: Snowman Candle

Mark Wilson — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 15:54:59 EST

In our unending quest to ruin the holiday spirit, we conceptualized a Scroogetastic prank product that could ironically epitomize anti-winter at the highest level, and then discovered that it actually existed...as an earnest decoration. The whole idea of a snowman that you set on fire to celebrate the season is so deeply disturbing that we are posting this despite its pitiful lack of a USB port.

Sure, the candle will seem nice when your friends bring it home after the gift exchange, festive even. "At least we didn't get that 16MB MP3 player," they'll think to themselves, "we can't even burn that for heat." But just wait for the stories of little Timmy needing years of therapy to offset the trauma of watching Frosty slowly, painfully melting to death. $7.50 – Mark Wilson

Product Page [tamarack]

Dirty Gizmodo: Jensen MP3 Player

Mark Wilson — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 15:16:42 EST

Anyone have to go to one of those Dirty Santa or White Elephant gift exchanges this year? Usually I feel bad at the last minute, rebury my dead pet and try to pick out something that is kind of fun instead. But next year the gloves are off and someone is getting this.

The "state-of-the-art" Jensen SMP-115 16MB MP3 Player would be fantastic for a mean gift exchange. Someone opens the gift, excited as they process the faux silver finish that usually equates to a semi-precious piece of technology. Maybe it's a Skype headset. Maybe it's the updated Flowbee. Oh, it's an MP3 player! At this size, it must store a lot of music. Then, bam, it hits them. 16MB.

I can't believe this stuff is still for sale...but at $69.99, the joke will be entirely on me. – Mark Wilson

Product Page [amazon marketplace]

First Overclocked GeForce 8800 Cards From XFX: X-Rated Speeds

Louis Ramirez — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 19:41:00 EST

As if Nvidia's GeForce 8800 cards weren't already fast enough, XFX is taking it upon themselves to be the first company to overclock them, sending them into hyperspeed territory. At the head of the pack is the 8800 GTX XXX Edition which is overclocked from 575MHz to 630MHz. Meanwhile the core clock on the 8800 GTS XXX Edition gets a kick up from 500 MHz to 550MHz. Pricing on the cards isn't out yet, but you can expect to pay a nice premium for them when they do come out. – Louis Ramirez

Product Page [First Confirmed Specs on the XFX XXX 8800 GTX and 8800 GTS via i4U]

Ality Pixxa LCD Frame: Pick a Day, Display a Pic

Charlie White — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 16:32:38 EST

LCD photo frames are flooding the market, and now their makers are all trying to differentiate their products from each other. The Ality Picca 8-inch LCD Photo Frame's unique feature is a calendar that lets you display specific photos or movies on certain days and times.

If its 512MB of internal memory isn't enough, you can insert an SD, MMC or MS memory card and be sure it's well-stocked with as many photos as you'd like. You can also use it as an alarm clock, and can play your tunes through its tiny speaker. Still, you'd think for $300 Sharper Image could offer WiFi or Internet connectivity with a product like this. – Charlie White

Product Page [Sharper Image, via Coolest Gadgets]

Dealzmodo: 20% Off the Entire Sirius Store

Travis Hudson — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 11:26:51 EST

Pardon my fanboyism, but the coolest of the cool, Sirius, is having a store-wide 20-percent off sale. Want to upgrade your receiver? Pick up another? Pick up a home kit? Maybe give one as a gift? Just use the coupon code HOLIDAY20 at checkout for the discount. The sale ends on December 31. (Avoid the Stiletto, though) – Travis Hudson

Sirius Store [Via Bargainist]

MusicJam With Your iPod, Be Famous or Not

Charlie White — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 10:52:32 EST

Slip that iPod into the MusicJam, plug in the included microphone and your guitar, and you have yourself a $229 recording studio. It even has XLR inputs, tipping its hat toward professionalism.

If you're not looking for even 15 minutes of fame, there's also karaoke software included. Too bad it's not waterproof—it would be a perfect shower karaoke machine for our aqua-crooning editor. – Charlie White

Product Page [Cerventis LLC, via Slash Gear]

PC Recording Studio Guitar: Go Ahead and Jump Into That PC

Charlie White — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 10:16:02 EST

If you don't feel like shelling out $4000 for that newly-released Gibson HD.6X-Pro $4000 digital guitar we tried out last October, check out the PC Recording Studio Guitar, a Stratocaster lookalike with a USB port that sends your guitar virtuosity into your PC.

Once your music finds its way into the digital realm, the included software lets you record yourself playing along with your favorite digital audio files, and it can even slow down their playback speed so you can keep up with that Eddie Van Halen solo you've been woodshedding. Your guitar, Unchained, for $199.95. – Charlie White

Product Page [Hammacher Schlemmer]

Not a Creature Was Stirring, Not Even a Snow Globe Mouse

Charlie White — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 09:40:17 EST

Hidden within this innocent snowman-inhabited snow globe is an 800dpi USB mouse, bringing that Christmas spirit to your holiday fragging. Distract yourself further with the color cycling LEDs inside, and top off the overall tackiness with a smiley happy holiday face on the business end of the thing.

Strangely enough, this Thanko eyesore is not the first snow globe mouse we've seen. But this one is more politically correct, taking every vestige of religiosity out of the equation with its snowman motif; that older model from a few years ago ventured forth with the risky image of Santa Claus. We're hoping the next one has a more seasonally-appropriate scene, involving precipitating dollar bills. – Charlie White

Snow Globe + Mouse= MouseGlobe [I4U News]

Emoticon Pillows Good for that Chatty Cathy

Travis Hudson — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 12:02:47 EST

Know somebody who is a non-stop chatter? Whether it is instant messaging or text messaging—they feel the need to constantly use smiley faces to correctly express their emotions? The karma will be mighty thick when you smother the chatty Cathy in their sleep with these emoticon pillows. Just kidding, we don't condone murder here at the Gizmodo—just love and friendship and rainbows and bunnies! These emoticon pillows will set you back $30 or so for the pack of six. – :) Travis Hudson :)

Product Page [Via newlaunches]

Laptop Reviews Sanyo's M1 Music Phone: Will NEVER Be Ready for its Glamour Shot

Brian Lam — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:44:48 EST

Sprint's new handset, the M1, looks hot enough from the front. With its almost-loud stereo speakers, 2MP cam, widescreen external LCD, and media controls, it has the feature-density of a smartphone in a clamshell form. But a passing glance from the side reveals it's a butch 0.9-inch thick clamshell; so it's more like a giant clam. Now we know why none of the press shots floating on the web are profile.

Mark Spoonauer, who seems to get a lot of Sprint gear first, gives it the meh score of 3 outta 5, for its inability to expand on its 1GB of internal flash mem, and formentioned form factor.

Seems like Sprint's M610 slim clamshell has a bit more to offer, for less money. –Brian Lam

Sanyo M1 [Laptop]

SpeedModo: ~1Mbit EVDO Downloads with Sony's Sexxed Up Vaio TX Subnotebook

Brian Lam — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 15:28:04 EST

We've had our mitts on Sony's TX — the first Cellular equipped laptop capable of DSL speeds — for a bit now. But this morning, Sprint upgraded their EVDO network to the faster, DSL speed Revision A standard. And this gorgeous little subnotebook sucked down cellular bits like I've never seen a WWAN chipset do. On average, it hit 500kbits DL, but at its best, it downloaded Firefox to the tune of 157 KBytes a second, or over 1Mbit/s.

Granted, I am on Twin Peaks, less than 1000 feet from the physical peak of San Francisco. But these speeds are unheard of for a built in data connection. I've put data test images from speedtest.net and broadbandreports.com after the jump, if you're interested.

And the hardware itself isn't bad either. The TX's carbon fiber chassis, 11-inch ultrabrite screen, dual layer dvd burner, finger print scanner, and smart keyboard had me at "HELLO." (Oh yes, I am so giddy about this notebook that just dropped Jerry F-ing Maguire quotes on you.) A gut check on speed and battery life: Batteries go on and on, with the TX's ability to shut down individual components, user spec'd. And Core Solo is about as good as it gets for lappie this small. The details: click on through for a visual tour of the bits and ports of the notebook.

Nike+ iPod Sport Kit AnyShoe Adapter

Charlie White — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 11:57:24 EST

Have a hankering for the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit, but don't feel like shelling out nearly 100 clams for those special Nike shoes? Now you can attach the SwitchEasy RunAway AnyShoe Adapter to the shoelaces of any ol' shoes and slip that little sensor inside, instead of placing it in that special recessed area underneath the insole of the Nike+ shoes. Pick out your favorite color AnyShoe Adapter for under 12 bucks.

Be warned: while all the other sheep are gushing about the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit, I have a gripe. I have the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit and the accompanying Nike Moire shoes, and I like those shoes better than the sensor, which can't seem to figure out how far or fast I'm walking. Maybe it's just for runners, but for walking the thing is wildly inaccurate, even to the point of being insulting. It's no fun to walk 5 miles and some worthless dumbass thingamajig says I only walked 2.6. Walkers: avoid. – Charlie White

Use the Nike + iPod Sports Kit with any shoes [Sci Fi Tech]

Squirrel-Proof Rollerfeeder: This Is a Birds-Only Club

Charlie White — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 11:22:54 EST

The Rollerfeeder keeps those squirrels out of the bird feed like a bouncer behind a velvet rope, using a clever design that keeps the seed container upright while the outer shell spins around on an axle. Lightweight birds won't affect it, but once a heavier squirrel steps aboard, it starts spinning, resulting in a flying rodent face-plant.

As the birds in the area chuckle to themselves, the weighted bottom rights the seed container, ready for the next bird banquet. Just might be 80 bucks' worth of fun to watch. But remind me, why do we hate squirrels so much anyway? – Charlie White

Product Page [Solutions, via OhGizmo]

iPod, Well-Hung with Hangman

Charlie White — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 09:25:33 EST

The unfortunately named Hangman attaches to your iPod's universal dock connector on one end and a belt loop or anything else (a nipple piercing?) on the other. Plus, it helps manage that pesky wire, too, letting you unravel just the right amount, and then you can completely wrap it up around it when you're done. Hangman is available in white or gray for $19.95.

This is not a bad idea for the latest scratch-resistant iPods, freeing them from those dog-ugly cases and tidying up that cable mess until someone invents an ultra-tiny Bluetooth earbud system that actually works. – Charlie White

Product Page [neat.products]

Pentax DSLR Acclaim: Both the K100D and K10D Receive Great Scores

Brian Lam — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 19:04:00 EST

Looks like Canon and Nikon have another worthy competitor in the DSLR range.

First, Mark McClusky and Sean Captain give the K100D the Editor's Choice in Wired's Test issue. He chooses the budget-ish DSLR over the top of the line Canon 30D and Nikon D200 because of built in image stabilization and low noise at high light sensitivity modes ISOs (1600 is its max.)

Then Pop Photo gives the higher end K10D a similar thumbs up for the same low noise characteristics. The camera also gets...

high marks for its fog, snow, and dust resistant shell. Pop Photo has a small but annotated gallery that shows off the camera's ability to shoot low light. –Brian Lam

Pentax k100d [Wired Test]
k10D [Pentax]

NES Skins Transform the Wii into 8-Bit Ancestors

Brian Lam — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 13:37:25 EST

This faux-NES skin for the Wii celebrates my childhood. Other kids played ball with the old man. But my dad was an engineer. We played NES.

So it's with great fondness that I fire up the Wii's virtual console, jack in the classic controller, and remember the days where pops and I would rock the 2P action until dinnertime. The skin is labeled with Revolution Entertainment System, mashing up the Wii's original name with the "ES" in NES. The labels are guaranteed to not peel, fade, or leave gunk on your Wii if you decide to transform back. And they cost $15 bucks.

The real-life photos of it look pretty good, too:

–Brian Lam

Wii Skin - Retro Revolution [via Uncrate]

Top 5 Reasons the iPod Shuffle Beats the Nano

Charlie White — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 12:12:58 EST

Apple's iPod shuffle sales have been brisk, and it's the sleeper hit of the holiday season. There are good reasons why this is happening, all of them having to do with features of the shuffle that can each be found elsewhere, but none all on one player.

Why all the commotion over the lowly, simple shuffle? Here are the top five reasons why you might choose it over the nano, or any other digital audio player, for that matter, especially if you're interested in active outdoor activities this winter:

1. It has a clip on it. This is better than a lanyard, because you can clip it wherever you want: on your shirt sleeve, on your lapel, on a pocket, on your earlobe, and even on the zipper flap of a jacket.

2. Its controls are not touch-sensitive like the nano. If you've been out on a walk in the cold weather, you'll know that the nano can't be controlled with a gloved hand. Not so with the shuffle, which can be easily manipulated with even the thickest gloves on. Great for cold weather outdoor activities.

3. It's tiny. It's hard to imagine just how small the shuffle is until you've held one in your hand. It's literally the size of a postage stamp. It's 1 5/8" wide and 1 1/16" tall and it's 3/8" thick including the clip. Sure, there's no screen, but if you have a playlist in a particular order, or a lineup of podcasts you want to hear on a long walk, who cares?

4. It's cheap. At $79, it lowers the barrier of entry to using the iPod complement of features, the best of which is the iTunes Music Store which has a tremendous selection of DRM music that's easily cracked, and the whole system works well with all of Apple's players.

5. It's not a Zune. If you're thinking of giving a digital audio player as a gift, few people ever get pissed off because they received an iPod. Its graceful unboxing experience alone is enough to warm the cockles of even the coldest Apple hater's heart. – Charlie White

Review: Apple iPod Shuffle (2nd Generation) [Consumer Electronics Net]

Morphis ESP Motion Simulator: $300K and You're There

Charlie White — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 11:27:10 EST

Now you and your seven closest friends can tuck yourselves into the Morphis motion simulator, giving you an aviation-quality sim experience that's sure to elicit a variety of responses from ecstasy to nausea. It's equpped with a high-rez 3D visual system and ass-kickin' audio to give you that thrill ride eperience in your own home.

This is the same company that's been making thrill rides and flight simulators since 1998, and now they're offering it for common folk such as you and me. We were all set to order one for our home office until, uh-oh, we saw the $300K price tag. – Charlie White

Product Page [FAO Schwartz, via Luxurylaunches]

First Look: Dell XPS M1710 with Blu-ray

Louis Ramirez — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 09:01:29 EST

Just when you thought they couldn't get any better, Dell has given its XPS M1710 a big shot of botox. As of this morning, the Media Center laptops have been fitted with Blu-ray drives giving the 17-inch gaming machines a high-def kick in the ass. Alongside their newfound HD capabilities (they pack a gorgeous 1,920x1,200 widescreen display), the notebooks also flaunt Intel's top of the line mobile processor and Nvidia's hypersonic GeForce Go 7950 GTX video card. We were lucky enough to score some play time with the new laptop....

Our $4,249 came with 2GB of RAM, a 100GB hard drive, and an overclockable T7600 CPU, making it the most powerful HD notebook out there. Pound for pound, the M1710 is one giant that won't be taken down easily. The laptop is identical to previous XPS M1710s. It has Dell's LightFX technology (ambient lights that glow from the side and front of your notebook), a full-size keyboard, and Dell's MediaDirect software, which mixes work with play by letting you access media files and office files (like calendars and PowerPoint slides) without booting up the OS.

A few major nitpicks. There's no HDMI out for connecting the laptop to your HDTV and there's still no TV tuner (that's optional). The inclusion of both would have made the notebook irresistible. With a $3,699 starting price (that includes a Blu-ray drive), this XPS delivers far more features for the price than you can find in any other HD notebook. – Louis Ramirez

$3,699 (starting price w/ Blu-ray drive)
$3,974 (with T7600 CPU)
$4,249 (with overclockable T7600 CPU)

Dell [Product Page]

Offensively Binary: Passive, Aggressive

Mark Wilson — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 13:35:20 EST

For the cynical guy who has everything, Offensive Binary makes t-shirts featuring dirty binary code. Sure, you can get your run-of-the-mill fuckwear, but where is the danger in that? Want a real rush? Try passing through airport security with a shirt reading,"I am a terrorist". There is like a 1 in 1,000,000,000 chance some resident TSA agent will be fluent in binary code and nail your ass. Yeah, you're bad.

For a complete list of Offensively's NSFW slogans (just curses, no boobies), hit the jump.

* Fuck
* I am a Terrorist
* Fuck Karl Rove
* Fuck You
* wtf
* Fuck the DMCA
* Fuck Christmas
* Bomb
* Fuck the TSA
* Fuck the RIAA
* I Fucking Fucked my Fucking Fuck Fuck Figgity Fuck
* Fuck DRM
* we will not be silent
* I am a Douchbag and my "Friends" are Fucking Jerks
* Eight Forbidden Words
* I can't fucking believe you decoded this
* Fuck Michael Arrington
* I Fuck Goats
* Off Cycle Designs

Those folks at Offensively Binary really take the f-bomb to the next level.

01001001 00100000 01100001 01101101 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 00100000 01001101 01100001 01110010 01101011 00100000 01010111 01101001 01101100 01110011 01101111 01101110 00100000 01100010 01110101 01110100 00100000 01100001 00100000 01110010 01101111 01100010 01101111 01110100 00100000 01100110 01110010 01101111 01101101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100110 01110101 01110100 01110101 01110010 01100101 00100000 01110011 01101100 01101111 01110111 01101100 01111001 00100000 01110111 01100001 01110010 01101101 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110101 01110000 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101001 01100100 01100101 01100001 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01101000 01110101 01101101 01100001 01101110 00100000 01100101 01101110 01110011 01101100 01100001 01110110 01100101 01101101 01100101 01101110 01110100 00100000 01110101 01101110 01100100 01100101 01110010 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110010 01110101 01101100 01100101 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01101001 01010000 01101111 01100100 01110011 00101110 00100000 01001101 01111001 00100000 01100001 01110000 01101111 01101100 01101111 01100111 01101001 01100101 01110011 00101110 00100000 – Mark Wilson

Product Page [via tcritic]

Miele-Nespresso Espresso Maker: Worth Every Penny

Mark Wilson — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 13:45:16 EST

The Miele-Nespresso CVA 2650 Espresso Maker simultaneously makes your espresso and steams your milk, funneling each into your cup with perfection where perfection is programmed based upon your individual preference.

But it costs $2,099, which is only the price of 525 lattes at $4 apiece. But let's face it, you'll pull this out like 5 times a year, relearning how to use it each time, thereby guaranteeing that you'll only pull it out 5 times a year. But we still want one. – Mark Wilson

Product Page [via MSN]

USB Christmas Stocking: Flashing Santa

Mark Wilson — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 09:40:51 EST

Anyone ever done the math figuring out how Santa visits everyone in the whole world Christmas night? It's daunting. Sure, he saves time by skipping the less important areas of the world like Africa, Mexico and the Axis of Evil, but there are still a bajillion other homes he needs to visit in one night. Simply put, it's time for Santa to go digital.

The VAFOR Tech CUF271 ranges in sizes from 128MB to 2GB and festively features Santa sliding down the chimney while tucking away the USB port. And an LED indicator flashes like Rudolph at a Christmas party while the drive transfers data. At last, a classy way to give Internet porn for Christmas. No word on pricing. – Mark Wilson

Product Page [via ohgizmo]

Real Christmas Tree...Poster

Brian Lam — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 19:13:20 EST

Think that Charlie Brown Christmas Tree is pathetic? That tree is the goddamn Rockefeller evergreen next to the Christmas Tree Poster. No more needles in my socks. No more sap on the caret. And no more dragging the damn thing through the house to toss it out on the street Jan. 1st. I'll just get this wall hanging, a pine air freshener, and string some lights up on it.

I bet it'll make a pretty good background for all those unboxing day photos, too.—Brian Lam

Christmas Tree Poster[Firebox]

Flashing Push Pins: Can You See Me Now?

Charlie White — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 15:35:36 EST

Too thick to notice there's a message for you tacked onto the bulletin board? These flashing pushpins won't let you ignore them, leaving you without any more excuses. Available in your choice of red, green or blue, they're $3.99 apiece or $11.99 for a set of three. – Charlie White

Product Page [The Container Store, via Crib Candy]

Satellite Radio Gift Guide

Travis Hudson — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 15:24:10 EST

Still searching for the perfect gift for the person impossible to buy for? Do what I did and give the fabulous gift of satellite radio. The hombres over at Orbitcast put together a nice little roundup of the latest and greatest receivers for Sirius and XM.

My recommendation: avoid the portable players and stick with a car receiver. I personally use the Sirius Sportster 4 and it is amazing. – Travis Hudson

2006 Satellite Radio Gift Guide [Orbitcast]

Dealzmodo: Buy a iRobot Scooba, Get Roomba for Free

Travis Hudson — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 14:21:07 EST

It's like a BOGO sale, but with intelligent, cleaning robots! All you have to do is purchase the Scooba for a blistering $400 and you can get the Roomba 401 for free, a $119 value. For those unaware, the Scooba is a robot that sloshes water on the floor and mop up your filthy messes and the Roomba is a vacuuming robot for hard floors or carpet. Both of which are pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. – Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via Bargainist]

P.S. If cleaning robots aren't your bag, the Woot-Off is still going on.

Gizmodo Video: Picco Z R/C Helicopter Crashes, Loves the Smell of Napalm in the Morning

Charlie White — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 12:00:00 EST

We've been feeding our R/C helicopter jones with this Picco Z copter, a micro-flyer made of styrofoam and capable of flailing around for a full 8 minutes on a 20-minute charge.

We're still working on our piloting technique, but even with the special aluminum weights attached to the nose, the little bugger just doesn't want to go forward. Hovering is its specialty, as you can plainly see. That, and crashing. A lot. The horror!

Still, it's tons-o-fun for your $39. Plus, the babes in the office liked it. A lot. In fact, one of 'em was at the helm of this mini-beast as we shot this footage. In fact, she's the best chopper pilot in the whole damn joint. – Charlie White

Product Page [Hobbytron]

Charlie Brown's Pathetic Christmas Tree

Charlie White — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 11:18:19 EST

Now here's a Christmas tree I can relate to: a 21" exact replica of Charlie Brown's pathetic tree before it was magically turned into something completely different by some energetic arm-waving.

It's yours for $24. Good grief. But I like it. And no, the psychiatrist is not in. – Charlie White

Product Page [Urban Outfitters, via OhGizmo]

PSP GPS Hardware Ships, Software to Follow?

Charlie White — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 08:54:43 EST

We mentioned a few months ago that a GPS receiver and its associated software for the Sony PSP was on its way in December, and now we see that the Sony hardware attachment has actually been released in Japan for shipment to the US for $59.90.

Okay, so now that we have the hardware problem solved, what about PSP navigation software?

We heard about a company called Edia that was the first to create GPS software for the PSP, but that was just for Japan so far. There's also been talk of MAPLUS navi software (pictured below) shipping this month, but as you can plainly see, that's a Japanese product as well.

GPS navigation software is just the beginning of the fun for the PSP, though. Its GPS attachment will also be used for games such as Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (see screen shot below) giving you location-specific maps that blend on-screen gameplay with the real world. That means you'll be able go to specific locations to meet up with your enemies. Could be dangerous, or at least risky to that pasty-white complexion.

There's also an upcoming golf title called Everybody's Golf Course (see screen shots below), and GPS comes into play as you're on a real-life golf course, giving you location feedback.

We'll keep rummaging around, looking for software release dates for this now-available PSP GPS hardware device. – Charlie White

GPS Receiver [Play Asia]

Relive the Roots with the Gama-Go Boom Box Pillow

Travis Hudson — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 16:34:36 EST

Before you kids had those crazy MP3 players, we rocked out with the shoulder-mounted boombox and hundreds of cassette tapes. This $40 plush pillow will allow that old-school audiophile in your life to relive the golden days of cassette tapes and AM/FM radio. – Travis Hudson

Product Page [Kid Robot]