Losing Weight: Sorry, but your diet is blown sky high when you carry around a briefcase full of sausage—as is your resolution about not having heart attacks in 2010. [Link]
Get More Enjoyment Out of Life: Unfortunately, if you purchase any one of the gadgets on our list of the 50 (+10) worst gadgets of the decade, the chances of leading a more joyful life are significantly reduced.
Get On a Budget and Save Money: If you want to save more money in the upcoming year, you should probably steer clear of impulse Back to the Future Delorean replica purchases on eBay—no matter how insanely detailed they might be. [Jalopnik]
Get a Promotion: Forget a promotion, you will be completely unemployable if you decide to bust out the office babe score cards. [Smutty Gifts]
Stop Drinking So Much: After New Year's Eve, I'm going to cut down on the alcohol—and this time, I mean it. Unfortunately, that goal is going to be a lot harder to achieve with a booze-loading shotgun lying around. [Giftlab]

And if you plan on going out tonight and getting completely hammered, make sure to check out our PSA on the dangers of mixing alcohol and gadgets. You've been warned.

Meet a Nice Woman: If you go around wearing a shredder hoodie everywhere, 2010 probably isn't going to be the year you get lucky in love. ['80s Tees via Link]
Stop Smoking So Much: Cigarette smoking is one thing, but using the Volcano Vaporizer for the purpose in which it was intended is quite another. Instead of smoke, you inhale vapor, which eliminates many of the toxins but retains all of the flavors and mind numbing effects. Sounds great, but this little guy simultaneously puts four new year's resolutions in jeopardy: get organized, learn something new, get promoted or find a new job, and establish a budget (it costs $500). [Volcano Vaporizer via Link]

In 2000, I was just another kid out of college in Boston escaping to the Golden State's climate and opportunity. The perfect job didn't present itself for six long months; four months later, it burst with the bubble.

It's not important what the job was. I was fired not just because the company was eating shit but also because I spent extraordinary amounts of company time online, obsessively reading about games and gadgets. That was fate, it seems.

My toys were nothing fancy; a leftover Dell Inspiron laptop with a 266 MHz processor, maybe 256MB of RAM, and no 3D graphics; a Motorola Startac variant on T-Mobile (300 minutes, no data plan—can you imagine!—or even text messages).

I don't think I even had a portable media player, playing Napster MP3s only at home on Winamp. For video games I had a first generation PlayStation, games rented from Kosmo and copied with a CD burner, played on an Aiwa 24-inch TV that was built around a Sony Trinitron CRT tube. At the time, these were important brands.

Since then the companies that made the gadgets I loved started looking old-fashioned, following that simple-minded formula of chasing more MHz, more pixels.

Then: iPod.

And I ignored it. It was pretty but I couldn't afford one. It almost seemed stupid, since lots of other MP3 players advertised more features for less cash. I didn't own a Mac, nor did I plan to. It was white—and who wanted a white gadget? Silver was my kind of cool. Fake plastic silver, even. Anything with a metallic flake in its finish. I didn't get it, conceptually or literally.

Remember Creative? They made better stuff than Apple for less money, and I wanted one of their players. Today, I don't know if Creative even makes MP3 players. I use iTunes and Amazon.com for music buying. I bet you do, too. It took more than a few failed experiments, but a lot of us are actually buying music again.

Digital changed cameras, too.

My first digital camera was a Kodak, because Kodak was the brand for imaging even through the late '90s, before the Canon and Nikon train barreled past Rochester, leaving Kodak a ghost town. Kodak was invested in the past.

This was the decade I got into PC gaming hardware—then got out. I wasn't even that into the games, but loved slapping cheap components into tall steel Taiwanese cases, looping wires through sharp-edged bays for fans, lights, optical and hard drives.

A year into this habit, I realized I was in an pointless upgrade loop. I'd get a few more frames per second out of a new video card, but the games weren't more fun at higher frames-rates or resolutions, especially when everyone got stuck playing Counterstrike for two years straight. (I was still playing consoles, but my fervor was waning; I waited in line for a PS2 and only to collapse onto my bed with the box, too tired to open it.)

One sweltering day my PC suffered a fatal crash and lost a lot of data. That was that. I gave in to Mactardedness—and not because I loved Apple, but because I hated inconvenience. Maybe using a Mac would provoke less cursing. I even got an iPod. Slowly, my brain released its desire to tinker, and I used my rebuilt PC less and less.

I noticed Friendster. Joined. It got slow.

Joined MySpace. It got filled with junk.

Joined that Facebook thing because Nick Denton made me. Man is it ugly. I didn't log back in for a few years.

Signed up for Twitter. No one I know in real life uses this thing. Didn't sign in for a few years. I didn't get the social web, at first. Google—not other people—was my door to the internet.

Got a PS3. Turned it on for Metal Gear. Squinted at menus. It asked me to log in for its store, but there was nothing in there. Beat Metal Gear twice, turned it off. Dust looks like a matte finish on a PS3.

Got an Xbox 360. Added my friends. Liked knowing where my friends were and what they were doing. Liked killing my friends on Xbox, even though PS3 has faster, quieter, nicer hardware. I guess I am not as anti-social as I thought—as long as being social involves assassination. (Twitter would be better if you could use it to murder your friends.)

Bought HD-DVD. Blu-ray won the battle the last physical media format ever. Now I just subscribe to 15 different movie services. (Wait, is that better?)

Ten years ago, Dell was shaking things up because it sold through the internet for cheap. Now they're shrinking. You can't tell the difference between an Inspiron or Latitude or XPS with a 15-inch screen. People who shop for computers now often look to Apple simply because it's easier to pick a size—small, medium, or large—and then pick the expensive or the cheaper version. (Do you want fries with that?) Dell's branding and model line up is an American heartland clusterfuck.

Sony stopped cooking up so many proprietary—often imaginary—formats, but only because they'd lost. The company that made the Walkman now makes iPod docks. Sony's hardware continues to be fantastic, but does it matter? They're the only gadget company with a music label and movie studio. Can anyone name the Sony iTunes alternative? Does anyone talk to their friends about their love for the TX-1234xZR? Or its cousin without Bluetooth, the TX-1234xZRnbt? Or the TX-1234xZRnbt2xz with an extra 2X zoom? Sony's branding and model line up is a Japanese megacorp clusterfuck.

For an all-too-brief moment, T-mobile was hip because they were cheap, had a phone called the Hiptop, and Catherine Zeta Jones was hotter than Ma Bell. You could get your problems taken care of in one call. Also: pink logo. Then we all got phones capable of doing real things that needed real pipes. AT&T was convinced by Apple to do some cheap flat rate thing on that iPhone. Sorry TMO.

Apple came back. It was Steve, a man who lost the first round 20 years ago and came back to fight the mobile war with all the old lessons from the PC war in pocket. Design, manufacturing, sourcing of components, marketing and maybe most importantly, software. He had almost everything under control. They went Intel, declaring that hardware wasn't the thing that defined a better computer.

And, this little thing called iPhone. We had an email debate at Gizmodo about calling this decade the "iDecade". Naming a decade after a gadget, no matter how great it is, makes me want to vomit. So does calling the iPhone the gadget of the year. It just seems too easy, too cliche.

But it was the one. It has been the culmination of decades of development across countless industries, all coming together into a single little slab of near-perfection. After a decade filled with so many aborted, ill-conceived clones and ideas tuned more for profit than progress, the iPhone was a rare gem. Just because it's obvious doesn't make it less true.

For years, the received wisdom was that specialized devices would always continue to progress at a rate that made all-in-one devices poor solutions.

Here are the things replaced by my iPhone: Mapping and GPS; point-and-shoot camera; Flip camcorder; Game Boy; calculator (okay, I didn't carry this around ever); calendar; organizer; any book-of-the-moment; phone; Playboy; newspaper; notebook; voice recorder; iPod; video player (can you believe this was a whole gadget category just three years ago?); weatherman; TV; wrist watch; radio; alarm clock; compass; pedometer; musical instrument; Bible, medical journals, dictionary, any reference book. Sometimes, even my laptop. Put together enough "good enough" solutions, it turns out, and they begin to outweigh even the specialized devices.

Thank goodness it's looking like it's not going to just be the iPhone. (Although credit where it's due; Apple pushed the whole industry forward by five years, easily, if judged by the rate the rest of the industry was moving.) Whether Android, Palm, maybe even Windows Mobile if Microsoft really buckles down, little portable internet computers with an ever-expanding array of senses we have (save taste/smell, but just wait) and little applications that make them more and more useful, are finally pushing gadgetry forward in ways we never fully expected.

None of this happened randomly. Those who ended up on top had luck and timing and resources. But why they came out ahead was predicated by several things, naturally highlighted in hindsight.

The four rings of gadgetdom in the 2000s were design, the social internet, powerful but inexpensive hardware, and a real software ecosystem.

Only five companies have a shot at nailing the home, mobile and work hat trick, from software and hardware to internet: Apple, Microsoft, Google, Sony and Samsung. They're all failing in some way. Apple's cloud services are a joke. Sony can still make great hardware but have no idea how people want to use it. Samsung can't write code. With Android, Google can't figure out if they want to be Microsoft or Apple. Counterintuitive as it may seem, I think Microsoft has a real shot at winning the next decade, if they listen to their entertainment group who have figured out how to do a platform right.

Little companies don't really have a shot at this level of unified, do-all gadget greatness. The age of the garage hardware start-up belongs to the web generation, not the next generation of gadget makers. Smartphones have become analogous to PCs of the '90s. There's little room for a new PC platform to come online, but a vast potential space for start-ups to use the big platforms as a springboard with new accessories and software.

Gizmodo has undergone fundamental changes in the last few years. It's really hard to get excited about copy cat hardware made from the same underlying chips and parts, often in the same factory. Any blog that covers press release after press release indiscriminately is doing readers a serious disservice instead of focusing on what makes a real difference to gadgetry: content, social context and applications. What gets us excited are evolving operating systems that pump the hardware full of new life and devices that continuously inhale new movies, music, and messages from friends through the internet.

Right now, I'm in Japan. It's already 2010. When I look ahead at this year, it's easy to see why the anticipation for tablets is boiling over, even though the idea of tablets, like smartphones five years ago, is perhaps old hat. Now that we've seen what happens when companies really nail a unified smartphone, we're projecting our hopes on the generation of tablets to come.

The best tech, as it approaches a zenith of purpose and polish, becomes invisible. It gets out of the way of the user, becomes just a portal to...stuff. One does not give much thought to a faucet as long as it provides water. Finally, at the end of this decade, we've had a taste of what it's like when network capability, slick software, sensors and—most importantly—content and communication come together in such tiny, shrinking hardware.

It's not shiny things that captivate me anymore; it's what they shine.

Though #imagecache has only been around since March, we've collected some incredible images in these last nine months. Click through to the original posts for hi-resolution images and more information.

None of these are dangerous on their own as long as the drivers and passengers use common sense if, you know, you believe in common sense.

Technology: Cameras
Example: Range Rover Sport
Why it's getting dangerous: It started with a backup camera piped into the navigation screen, then cars started getting wide angle cameras on the nose to help peek around corners, but the Range Rover Sport boasts five cameras littered around the perimeter of the vehicle to supposedly help in off-roading. The likelihood of any Range Rover Sport so much as dirtying a tire is next to nil, so drivers will probably just use them to perv it up and check out sexy pedestrians on the sly.

Technology: Customizable/animated gauge clusters
Example: Ford Fusion Hybrid
Why it's getting dangerous: Anyone who's driven a Ford Fusion Hybrid will tell you the first 20 minutes in the car are rather dangerous because you can't help but fixate on the cool LCD gauges. They grow leaves when you're driving economically, give you all kinds of information about the way the car's operating and generally completely distract you from the task of driving.

Technology: In-car wireless
Example: Chrysler UConnect system
Why it's getting dangerous: There are few things as distracting as the internet and putting it into a car is just begging for trouble. Let's assume drivers aren't dumb enough to go surfing while they're driving, that doesn't mean passengers aren't constantly showing off the latest disgustingly brilliant creation on thisiswhyyourefat.com.

Technology: Massaging/Active Seats
Example: Mercedes-Benz SL550
Why it's getting dangerous: The idea of massaging seats aren't particularly new, but combined with the now normalized seat heater it's a recipe for nap time, napping of course being the most passive version of distraction.

Technology: OnStar Route Guidance
Example: Anything from GM
Why it's getting dangerous: On the face of it, OnStar route guidance seems like the antithesis of distraction, but after you've called OnStar and had them beam directions into your car's computer a disconcertingly sexy voice dictates the turn-by-turn directions. Men have been distracted by much less.

Technology: Mercedes Splitview
Example: Mercedes S-Class
Why it's getting dangerous: Here's an idea, arrange two video sources on the navigation screen so the driver can see only car stuff and the passenger can watch TV or a DVD. All's fine and dandy until the passenger starts watching porn. You know it'll happen.

Technology: Sync iTunes tagging
Example: 2010 Ford products
Why it's getting dangerous: Zipping along listening to music is a time-honored part of motoring, but in 2010 Ford's going to let you tag the songs you like to remind you to buy them on iTunes later. It's probably innocuous if it's just the driver, but when the brood in the back launches into the front seat to insure the latest teeny-bopper manufactured garbage tune is tagged it'll get a little distracting.

Technology: iPhone Turn-by-Turn Nav
Example: Any car
Why it's getting dangerous: The iPhone turn-by-turn app actually works fairly well for providing directions, what it doesn't do is prevent drivers from fiddling with their fancy widget while it's stuck to the windshield, or taking phone calls, or fiddling with other applications, or texting...

Technology: Refrigerators
Example: Ford Flex
Why it's getting dangerous: The fridge in the Flex is situated between two captains chairs in the middle row and the door flips forward, things specifically designed to keep drivers from using it. Drivers will use it, and because it's in the back they'll have to do some pretty severe acrobatics to get into it, and we're not even going to get into what might go in there.

Technology: Histograms
Example: Lexus RX450h
Why it's getting dangerous: That hybrids put drivers to sleep through crushing boringness should be enough, but they all pretty much include some form of fuel economy graphing system. Hybrid drivers are naturally inclined to want to eke out the most fuel economy possible and fixating on bar graphs detailing fuel consumption is a great way to get higher readings, it's also hugely distracting.

He asked the kids what they wanted for Christmas but seemed surprised by their expensive and high-tech tastes, including iPods, cell phones and video games.

"Whatever happened to, like, asking for a bike?" POTUS asked. "Everbody has a bike," one informed him and others agreed.

From the mouths of babes: Gadgetry beats lo-fi, analog "bi-cycles" any day. [Gawker, image source]

World's Greatest iPhone: The image of the iPhone above is obviously a shop, but YouTube, Weather and Safari still have me laughing months later. [igmur via Link]
Beta Version of BigDog Quadrupled Robot: Needless to say, the beta version of Boston Dynamics' BigDog was rather primitive. You have Peter Furia, David Fine and Beau Lewis of Seedwell Marketing to thank for this hilarious spoof. [Link]

Road Sign Hacking: It's illegal to hack a road sign, but the control boxes are rarely protected. Unfortunately, that makes pranking easy, which will lead people to ignore warnings when there is an actual zombie outbreak. [Link]

What Happens When You Bring a 22-Year Old Mac to a Genius Bar? Our own Adam Frucci finds out.

Squirrel Photo Crasher: Surely you recall seeing this image when it hit big a few months back. Many thought it was a fake, but it turns out that all the couple needed to score their 15-minutes was a Gorillapod, a camera and some luck. [Link]

HSN Wiimote Mishap: There have been plenty of videos of Wiimote-related incidents over the years, but it's even funnier when it happens on live television. [Kotaku]

Fart Machine Grinds Government to a Halt: A kid brings down city council meeting with mechanical farts. Amusing, but I bet this could be a serious weapon in a fillibuster. [Link]

Gold Medal BSOD: The dreaded Blue Screen of Death can strike anywhere—even at the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. [Link]

Office Camouflage: I'm not sure what the hell they are saying, but the funny still gets across. [Link]

Forklift Catastrophe: It's only funny now because no one got hurt, but damn. Destroying $250,000 worth of vodka with a little fender bender is a sign that you need to update the shelving system in the warehouse. [Link]

The heyday is now for hand models. In the wild, wacky, [and] wonderful world of hand models, there's definitely been an uptick.

Danielle is the founder of the Parts Models agency, where companies have been going to hire body parts since 1986. She says that there has been a sharp increase in demand for hand models due to the increase in the number of handheld gadgets. Ashly Covington, a hand model herself, agrees:

More tech, more tech! The more new phones, computers, and videogames they come up with, the more work for us hand models.

[Newsweek]

The equipment seems to cover an amazing array of technologies, many of which seem to be redundant. For instance, just how many handheld 144 MHz radios do you need? It seems like the owner of the Ham Car is capable of listening to every police/fire/ems/military channel in the world. Simultaneously. There's a laptop and we assume there's some form of cellular or satellite communication setup for that, too.

Keeping all of this equipment running is almost certainly some form of secondary power source, dozens of antennae and extreme paranoia. There's no reason given for the sale, but we assume he or she realized there's no point in being able to communicate with the world if you have no one to talk to.

So there's a lot of stuff here we can identify, but there's a lot here we can't. Anyone out there a communications junkie who wants to help us out?

Update: Turns out the guy has a CarDomain page with some more amazing pictures. It's got hydraulics!

(Hat tip to Cliff!) [BexTim]

First Place — JPS

Second Place — Jeff Forde

Third Place — Harm Veenstra

The StickStrap, of course. The mobile device holder that is "portable and practical." The holder with suction cups that is "innovative and inspiring." The strap that "securely grasps your iPhone and can serve as a sexual toy at the same time." Maybe I made up the last one, but come on, this thing has so many uses that is hard to justify not spending $10 on it. If only to ask people to pull the red handle from your jeans. [Aprodukt]

The guide includes pocket camcorders, webcams, zoom lenses, DVRs and Blu-ray players, all positioned as somehow related to capturing and enjoying artful nudity. A lot of the Mr. Skin guide overlaps with our own, and we actually disagree with some of his picks (like choosing the oft-impressive but unreliable Kodak Zi8 as the pocket camcorder of choice), but all in all it's a pretty solid guide for...well, you know who you are. [Mr. Skin—Not Safe for Work!]

BTW, if you hate the gallery format as much as the Grinch hated Christmas, click here.

Maybe it's the whole campfire theme, or maybe it's because this heater looks like something Superman would have in his fortress of solitude—the bottom line is that I love the Nobo radiator. In addition to a touch-controlled heating element, Nobo projects a video of flickering flames off the glass logs for ambiance. $2800 [CL Designs via Link]
If you know someone with perpetually cold hands the Eneloop Kairo from Sony would make a great gift (especially if this person happens to be your significant other. You know...when they embrace you it's like getting touched by the Grim Reaper). It comes in two models: the KIR-SL2S and the KIR-SE1S which deliver 1-3 hours and 4 hours of warmth respectively. $35-$45 [Sanyo via Link]
Brian's right—lugging heavy, battery powered boots in the snow while trying to hike is a bad idea. But if you plan on just doing some casual walking, you could probably get away with closing your eyes, walking down the slushy sidewalk with these on and pretending you're wearing thongs on a Rio beach.$250 [Columbia via Link]
Staying warm on the inside is just as important as staying warm on the outside. Coffee lovers will surely be thrilled to receive a mug that can automatically keep your drink warm and stir it up with the push of a button. $37 [Brando via Link]
As our own Brian Lam pointed out, the Blazewear heated vest does a great job of keeping you warm whether you are outside in the cold, or falling asleep on the couch. There are five temperature control settings that range from approx. 110 to 150 degrees. The lowest setting will keep you warm for up to 5 hours. $139 [Blazewear]
It's not just the cold that makes people miss the summer, it's also the sunny skies, green leaves, chirping birds and gentle breezes. If you have the means, installing one of these SkyV skylights in a home or office would be one hell of a gift. They use high definition LCD screens to mimic the ambiance of the great outdoors. Hit the following link to see it in action. Prices vary [SkyV via Link]
I could go on about crazy USB heating gadgets and Snuggies, but we all know that these products should be avoided. My choice for a "don't buy" gadget this holiday has got to be the Poseidon patio heater. Don't get me wrong, I like the way it looks, but it costs more than twice as much as comparable models in Chillchasers lineup. Why? Because it has a miniscule (and therefore useless) media player slapped on top. $1376 [Chillchaser via Link]
In the summer, nothing beats kicking back outdoors with some burgers cooking on the grill. Remind yourself of those awesome times with this USB-powered, heated burger massager. As bizarre as this product is, it's more socially acceptable than pleasuring yourself with an actual burger. $12 [Brando via Link]

All Giz Wants is our annual round-up of favorite gift ideas, including amazing attainable objects and a few far-out fantasies. We'll be popping guides catered to different interests several times per day for the next week, so keep checking back.

We had a hard time getting it work in Firefox, though it worked okay in Safari. [Gizmine]

Granted, several of these are no brainers, like checking voicemail and cellphone addresses—but you may not have thought about E-ZPass and frequent flier accounts. Personally, I think if you feel compelled to go this far, the lack of trust in the relationship is a good sign that it is doomed anyway. Oh, and if you check browsing histories, chances are you are going to uncover some sheeeeit. It might not have anything to do with cheating, but its going to result in a big argument anyway. It's probably best not to go down that road. [Techlicious]

Last year Whitehall, NY resident Leslie J. "Bomber" Marr was arrested and charged with felony DWI and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle for driving a Cruzin' Cooler while intoxicated. Who could have seen that coming? [Link]
18-year-old James N. P. Miller, of Cincinnati passed into ironic infamy this past Halloween when he was busted for DWI while wearing a breathalyzer costume. [Link]
Big Brother is always watching, and if you happen to be ridiculously drunk while you stumble into a convenience store, chances are the video of the incident is going to spread across the internet like wildfire.
Take note: your ability to evade the police in your car diminishes greatly when you are intoxicated. Case in point, the 18-year old girl in Jackson, Michigan that was chased down and busted by a cop on a Segway. [Link]
Like I said earlier, Big Brother is always watching. And there isn't a better candidate for the role of Big Brother than Google. If you happen to be an Australian man passed out drunk on your lawn, the StreetView car will be waiting, ready to pounce. [Link]
Excessive drinking impairs judgement and can result in mood swings. Take 22-year old David Robinson for example. Last month he was charged in Perth, Scotland with breaching the peace after he threatened passersby and challenged a lamp post to a fight. [STV]
Be careful where you pass out. Crawling into an industrial garbage bin is not recommended, as Brighton UK resident Scott Williams found out one fateful July morning when the contents of the bin were crushed by a garbage truck. [Link]
Be careful of who you pass out around. Not only did 19-year old Huang Chen wake up with a hangover and a severe case of butt remote, he also learned that his friends are dicks. [Link]

Electronic paper (e-paper) looks like conventional paper and the bright wash of color it generates uses the ambient light for rendition, just like conventional paint, so no backlight is needed. Which means that the vividness of the color is maintained, even in bright outdoor conditions. Philips' technology allows different colors of ink to be built into one layer with each color controlled separately. This means the layer can be transparent, the same color as any one of the inks or even a mixture of multiple colors. Moreover, the saturation of each individual color can be controlled accurately – so any shade can be produced. Recently, Philips successfully realized a simplified, yet advanced version of its e-paper technology: e-skin. Since it is less complicated and less expensive to realize, it enables new applications. And because e-skin makes use of the ambient light, it is an inherently energy-efficient system, making it particularly suitable for application in portable devices as well.

While portable devices might be the focus in the short-term, this sort of technology could also be used for larger equipment and even wallpaper in your home. In other words, it might not be long before we can change the color and the entire ambiance of a room with the push of a button. [Philips via Pocket-Lint]

It's pretty simple: Just flip the cube so the length of time you want counted down is the number on top. If you outfit your kitchen with items from the MoMA catalog, this'll fit right in. Just hope that every recipe you make calls for either 3, 10, 30 or 60 minute increments, or wait until the Dungeons and Dragons 20-sided timer comes out. It's available in three colors for $34 each. [OhGizmo]

BTW, if you hate the gallery format as much as the you hate Japan-only gadgets, click here.

Without a doubt, 826 National's line of quirky stores and products offer the biggest and nerdiest bang for your charity buck. For example—at the Brooklyn Superhero Supply company you can purchase a set of vacuum suction cups for scaling the exterior of buildings. If the whole Spider-Man thing isn't for you, how about the power of invisibility? An "invisible" suit is available for the low price of $20,800. Of course, these products are meant as novelties only, but the proceeds benefit 826 National—a nonprofit tutoring, writing, and publishing organization for kids. The Suction Cups are priced at $19. [826 National Stores]
The Smithsonian museums are some of the best in the world—the storehouse of our nation's treasures. The products the Smithsonian Institution offers through their stores directly support the museums, and are patterned after artifacts in their archives. Designed to look like a classic car dashboard, this weather station includes dials for a clock, thermometer and hygrometer. $45 [SmithsonianStore]
If you have a love for modern art and design, you have probably paid a visit to the MoMa gallery in New York. In addition to their collections, MoMa also has a top notch retail store with thousands of unique gifts. The Icon Watch pictured here would be great for fans of classic gaming. All proceeds from purchases benefit the museum. $75 [MoMa]
It seems like the vast majority of products tied in with Susan G. Komen for the Cure are offering half-assed donations at best. At least KitchenAid is taking it seriously by donating $50 for each pink stand mixer sold (and there is no "charity premium" tacked on to the price). A bit tacky, but this is probably the best countertop mixer you can buy, making it a great gift for anyone that loves too cook. And I'm sure they can look past the pink when you tell them that the proceeds benefit breast cancer research. $300 [KitchenAid]
The (Product) Red movement has endured its fair share of criticism, but if you prefer to have part of your gadget gift purchase go to an organization raising awareness about AIDS in Africa instead of Apple or Dell, the option is there. Just make sure that the manufacturer isn't charging a premium for RED products. The RED iPod nano starts at $149. [Apple]
If you are going to get an indoor cycling bike for you or a chubby loved one, it only makes sense to buy the one endorsed by the greatest cyclist of all-time. Plus, proceeds from the sale go to the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research. $1000 [Dick's Sporting Goods]
If you are a fan of NPR, you can show your support by purchasing their exclusive internet radio from Livo. You can listen to NPR member stations from around the country, to the 16,000+ radio stations streaming on the internet, or to the music on your MP3 player. Plus, built-in NPR menus allow classical music fans to easily find, search and bookmark NPR stations, podcasts, and content, by topic or by program. $200 [NPR]
Zambi the baby elephant "responds to your voice and touch with trunk curls, ear wiggles and baby elephant trumpeting and chewing sounds." It also giggles and blows kisses. Surely, your kids will love it, and a portion of the proceeds go to benefit children in Africa that have been orphaned by AIDS. $34 with free shipping [Amazon]

Don't forget to recommend your own favorite charitable gift ideas in the comments—include pic and pricing if possible.

All Giz Wants is our annual round-up of favorite gift ideas, including amazing attainable objects and a few far-out fantasies. We'll be popping guides catered to different interests several times per day for the next week, so keep checking back.

Tempest's "Magic Projection" system utilizes a laptop, a small projector, a PS3 Eye Toy, LED tracking markers and, of course, his bad ass proprietary software. As you will see in the video, the effect is pretty spectacular. In fact, his whole gadgety, virtual approach to magic is impressive. Check out his webpage for more tricks. [Marco Tempest]

The main screen for the iPhone version of the app (the Blackberry version is boring) looks just like a Mercedes key fob and, essentially, works the same way. Unlock/lock the car or even locate it.

The locate feature use's the car's GPS and the phone's GPS to provide instructions for how to get back to your car. And in case you're worried the wife is going to find you riding dirty, the system overrides if you're more than a mile away from the car. Philander in peace, Tiger.

Don't want the kids getting their grubby hands on your M-Class? Lock the ungrateful rats out.

The "mbrace" system isn't OnStar, Mercedes will tell you, but it's OnStar. Access all those features without having to crash your car from your phone.

Screw up your CLK because you were too busy playing on your iPhone and left the parking brake on? The system will locate the nearest dealer to help fix your car and take a million dollars off your hands.

Forget the Mercedes dealership with a staff you actually like? You can find your selling, local or preferred dealer.

You must be moderately wealthy to live by all these Mercedes dealerships.

Developed by Hughes Telematics, this is rolling out on all new models and requires a monthly subscription.

According to Ron van der Ende:

I collect old doors and stuff. Old painted wood that I find in the street. I take it apart and skin it to obtain a 3mm thick veneer with the old paint layers still intact. I construct bas-reliefs that I cover with these veneers much like a constructed mosaic. I do not paint them!

I want some of these so badly. [Ron van der Ende via Motherboard via Obsolete]

According to the witches and wizards at NEC Electronics and Onryoku Hatsuden, their new remote generates electricity when the users clicks on any button. They are planning to see the first production remotes in 2011. [Aiajin via Crunchgear]

The manufacturer says that, by projecting a light moving in circles on your bedroom ceiling, this magic egg will make you fall asleep. The Great Zamboni agrees. I have serious doubts. [Techdigest]

Let's just get this first one out of the way: Not only does the Head Spa Massager look like someone in the 1970s designed it in a future-Sparta fashion, but it's a massage helmet. You look ridiculous, and it can't even secretly double as a sexual aid.

This handsome silver fox has it going on. I mean, he's talking to a sexy lady, and a power call could easily come through his Bluetooth earpiece at any moment, right? Nope, he fooled you! He's hard of hearing, and that's just his Stealth Secret Sound Amplifier. (I laughed when I first saw this, but now it just makes me sad.)

Every cyborg I know of has a head-mounted camera, and since this 5-megapixel Digital Camera Swim Mask is only good for 15' depth (that is, snorkeling or swimming pools), you might as well make the most of it and wear it on dry land too! Even has a cyborg-friendly LED that shines inside the mask, to let your friends know who's part robot tell you when you're shooting.

If sci-fi tells us anything, it's that the bionic man (or woman) has great posture. Thankfully, the Posturetek Biofeedback System—it's a shirt, but they call it a system—"senses incorrect posture and gently encourages posture correction." My assumption is that it doesn't use sharp spikes or electric shocks, but it's still a tad sinister.

Snore correction makes up approximately 94% of SkyMall revenue, but only one, the SnorePro Snore Relief Device, attaches to your wrist and sends a "biofeedback digital pulse" when the log sawing kicks in. (Can you imagine having a business card with the word SnorePro emblazoned on it? Would that be awful or awesome?)

When you embark on the man-machine merger, it makes sense to complement some of that silicon with silicone, if you catch my drift. Hell, you got so much going on, nobody's going to notice that you've shoved some Body Figure Enhancing Pads down your pants. Well, they'll notice, but not in a bad way.

What good is the cyborg life if it doesn't permit you to jump higher, run faster, have more energy, appear 2" taller and "look like a million dollars"? The Gravity Defyers (spelling lessons sold separately) have been tempting travelers for ages with those very promises. Besides, its patented spring-loaded sole is found on no other shoe in the world pretty much ever, for some reason.

Locutus of Borg wasn't much of a jumper—his footwear of choice skewed toward the comfort-illumination lines. That's why he swore by the Brightfeet Lighted Slippers. They're just the thing to slip on when you're making the midnight trek from the regeneration chamber to the cube pissoir.

This week, Gizmodo is exploring the enhanced human future in a segment we call This Cyborg Life. It's about what happens when we treat our body less as a sacred object and more as what it is: Nature's ultimate machine.

Here is a list of the tech deals—doorbusters are marked with an asterisk.

Cell Phones

TracFone LG Bluetooth Camera Flip Phone – $19.99

Wireless Bluetooth Headset – $7.99

Computers

Delstar 7 Inch Wireless Netbook 05 Windows CE – $119.99 *

Digital Cameras

Kodak CD80 Digital Camera Bundle – $79.99

Samsung SL40 Digitial Camera – $79.99 *

Sony W180 Digital Camera – $99.99

DVD Players

Magnavox DVD Player w/VCR – $49.99

Memorex 1080P HDMI Upconvert DVD Player – $29.99

Sylvania 7 Inch Portable DVD Player – $49.99 *

Electronics

Cobra Radar Detector – $29.99 *

Cobra Two Way Radio Pair – $19.99 *

Coby 7 Inch Digital Picture Frame – $29.99 *

Emerson 3-Handset DECT Phone Bundle – $39.99

GPX 2.1 Channel DVD Home Theater System – $39.99

iHome Dock – $9.99

iHome PC Accessories – $9.99

Jazz T20 Camcorder – $19.99

Phillips 4-Device Remote Control – $9.99

SmartPants 8.5″ Digital Photo Frame – $49.99

Sony Earbuds – $4.99

Games & Hobbies

48″ Air Powered Hockey Table With Electronic Scoring – $39.99 *

Bowlercade With Electronic Ball Return And Scoring – $59.99 *

GPS Navigation Systems

Magellan Roadmate 1220 GPS Navigation System – $84.99 *

TomTom ONE 130 GPS – $79.99

TomTom XL325S GPS Navigation System – $99.99

MP3 Players

Element 2GB Stick MP3 Player – $9.99 *

Sylvania 4GB MP3 Player – $19.99

Televisions

Element 26″ LCD HDTV – $249.99

Panasonic 42″ 720 Plasma TV – $549.99

Sony Bravia L Series 32″ Class 720p LCD HDTV (Model KDL32L504) – $379.99 *

Video Games

$25 Nintendo Gaming Coupon w/Any DS System Purchase – $0.00

Brutal Legend For PS3 – $39.99

Brutal Legend For XBox 360 – $39.99

Dirt 2 (PS3) – $39.99

Dirt 2 (Xbox 360) – $39.99

Dragon Age For PS3 – $39.99

Dragon Age For XBox 360 – $39.99

for PS3 – $199.99

Halo 3 OSDT – $39.99

High School Musical 3 Dance Bundle – $9.99

Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360) – $39.99

Nintendo DSi Bundle w/5 Pre-Installed Games – $169.99 *

Nintendo Wii – $199.99 [Uh, isn't this the everyday price?]

Rock Band 2 Special Edition (XBox 360) – $99.99

Sandisk 4GB SD Card – $8.99

Select Wii Games – $9.99

Select Wii Games – $29.99

Value Video Games – $14.99

WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2010 PS3 – $39.99

XBox 360 Elite Bundle w/Halo 3 OSDT – $299.99

[BlackFriday.info via Crunchgear]

Create your visions of what powers our day-to-day devices, and send your best entries to me at contests@gizmodo.com with Inside Gadgets in the subject line. Save your files as JPGs or GIFs, and use a FirstnameLastname.jpg naming convention using whatever name you want to be credited with. Send your work to me by next Tuesday morning, and I'll pick three top winners and show off the rest of the best in our Gallery of Champions. Get to it!

They're an early precursor of the IUD, called a stem pessary. And yes, they were as dangerous as they look. Condoms seem, like, cuddly by comparison. See more of the horrible evolution of anti-pregnancy technology at Newsweek, just be warned you might instinctively clutch your own private parts in fear: [Newsweek]

I just saw a selection of 30 dumb inventions in Life, and I couldn't resist picking my favorite ten. These things are so damn stupid they became obsolete before even becoming real products. It was hard to choose. After all, how could I leave out scientology nutcase L. Ron Hubbard and his Hubbard Electrometer, which in 1968 made him reach the conclusion that tomatoes "scream when sliced"?

See? Really hard.

Then I thought that these all looked weirdly familiar. I searched in Gizmodo, and instantly found their modern counterparts. Some of them make sense now, with current technology. Others, as you will see in the gallery, seem equally goofy. All of them, however, we can live without. Enjoy:

Clearly, humans are the only animals that trip twice over the same stone.

If you are serious about staying off your feet on the weekends, you are going to need a serious home automation system. And they don't get much more serious than TrueImage Control from Savant. Unlike traditional systems, TrueImage simplifies your interface by allowing you to interact with actual photos of individual rooms instead of confusing menus:

Savant's TrueImage technology gives you fingertip control via a simple tap on a wide angle image of each room in your home. Each touch allows you to dim and turn on/off lights, lower or raise shades, even turn on/off your audio and video components. Instead of interacting with confusing icons, TrueImage allows you to simply touch the actual light or shade in that room. Not only does the light in the room turn on or dim (if you press and hold the represented light), but it also illuminates on the touch panel confirming your command.

[Savant via Link]

Wheelchairs are one thing, but nothing blends man, machine, lazy and nerdy like The Hubo FX-1 chairbot. Hit the link to see it in action. [Link]

Maybe you are too lazy to get up, maybe you are too drunk, either way those beers aren't going to get themselves. Fortunately for you, it only takes a little effort with the control pad on the RC Cooler to transport ice cold beverages wherever they are needed. [Firebox via Link]
Dogs are great, but instead of playing with them, maybe you want to spend the weekend sitting on your ass drinking beer out of a remote controlled cooler. This Automatic tennis ball fetch machine would allow you to do both. [Hammacher Schlemmer]
It's Sunday, the game is on, and you are far too comfortable to get up and go all the way to the bathroom. If you are not quite ready for an adult diaper, there are several handheld toilet designs on the market that would eliminate at least half of your problem. [Biorelief]
You're sitting down and seconds are all the way over there. A fork with a telescopic handle will help you get more food without getting up. [Prank Place]
Your cellphone is ringing, but it's just out of reach. Neodymium magnets, some of the most powerful made today, could help you bridge the gap. Of course, your kitchen sink might come along with it. Oh, and it can also chop your fingers off (NSFW).

This weekend, I scored big time. First, I found a red Gone-with-the-Wind-ish petticoat in a vintage shop. Then, I arrived home to find the Sqweel – a brand new, pre-release, revolutionary, wow-factor sex toy – waiting for me in a stack of mail. The good news? The Sqweel is orgasmic-ly awesome. Even better? As of 12:01am today, it is officially available to the rest of you.

How Does It Work

As the name suggests, the Sqweel merges the wheel (one of humankind's greatest inventions) with sex (one of humankind's greatest pleasures). Except instead of typical wheel spokes, it turns a series of tongues – 10 tongues, actually – using 3 speeds. Let me repeat: there are TEN TONGUES. It's like group oral sex with everyone somehow fitting in between your legs. Or oral sex with an extremely talented and eager lover.

The Sqweel is a remarkable sex toy designed by an Irishman (and animator) named Trevor Murphy who won LoveHoney's Design a Sex Toy competition a few years back. This fact gives me tremendous hope that other animators, engineers and people who sit with their computers or graphics tablets all day will soon turn their talents to advance sex toy design and innovation. If not for me, then for the love of sex. Please?

Though not a vibrator, the folks at LoveHoney suggest (and I agree) that while vibrators can certainly contribute to highly pleasurable sex play, there's something to be said for non-vibrating play that promotes slow yummy build-up, much as oral sex does, and that perhaps leads to an orgasm that leaves one feeling that curious mix of satisfaction and craving more.

The Rundown

These are the key points about the Sqweel, aside from the 10-tongue 3-speed yum:

• Materials: The tongues are made of silicone (easy to clean, non-toxic awesomeness) while the black compartment is made of soft plastic.

• Hygiene: The tongue component can be removed from its holder for easy cleaning of both parts.

• Power: What does it run on, you ask? (Aside from the Grace of the Sex Gods). Three AAA batteries. I would have preferred AA batteries rather than the AAA batteries that few people keep lying around the house (whereas, if needed in a pinch, AA batteries may be scrounged from TV remotes or Flipcams).

• Cost: At £34.99 UK pounds (and yes, they ship to the US in only a few waiting-with-bated-breath days), I find the price fair even after the conversion to USD. Especially if you want to switch out your vibrator from time to time, gift your partner with a tongue that doesn't stop or give yourself a break from lockjaw.

• Endurance: No more lock jaw! Or at least you get a break. The Sqweel is not intended to replace oral sex, nor should it (after all, oral sex can be lovely, intimate and passionate). But it may offer an occasional alternative, or complement, to oral play, which is especially useful for partners whose tongues, jaws, necks or lower backs get sore from extended oral play.

• Single or doubles? Both. The Sqweel can easily be used privately or with a partner. It's comfortable to hold in one's own hand during self-pleasure of one's outside parts (please do NOT try to insert all the way in the anus, lest I recount one man's salad tongs incident). When pleasuring your partner, it's not so bulky (only 4.5 in X 4 in X 1 inch at its thickest) as to block your view.

• Education: Similar to the Sasi, which also mimics oral sex, women who would like to learn to orgasm from oral sex may find it helpful to practice with the Sqweel.

• Lube: Due to the Sqweel's silicone components, silicone lube is a no-no. Instead, try a water based lube applied directly to your or your partner's body as: (1) there are too many tongues to put lube on every single one and (2) I could easily see the globs of lube go flying as the tongue spokes go round and round and no one needs lube on their ceiling.

• Convenience: Now you can provide your partner with oral pleasure via the Sqweel while simultaneously kissing each other, sitting back and watching, talking dirty, or breathing warm air on your partner's genitals.

• Conversation: If your partner is using the Sqweel on you and you ask him or her a question, your partner can actually answer you rather than making that awkward "mwawahwah" sound that people make when they try to speak while performing oral sex.

The Experience

I found that holding the Sqweel steady and straight (aimed perpendicular at one's body) was the best strategy – leaning it to one side or the other, as one might do with a typical vibrator, sometimes caused uncomfortable feelings due to the toy's edges pressing against fairly sensitive parts. Try exploring the low, medium and high settings – for example, using the low setting to build arousal and the medium or high settings to up the intensity or as one approaches orgasm (if that's your thing). You might even try turning the tongues upside down for a modified version of Sqweel play stimulation.

In regard to positions, one can lay back and enjoy self-directed or partnered stimulation OR you can prop it like some do with the Fleshlight (e.g., between sofa cushions, between the mattress and box springs or in a sneaker). The Sqweel can be used to stimulate men's or women's genitals though I don't recommend it for internal anal stimulation lest it possibly get "lost" (and not lost in translation, which I just watched again late last night).

Please be careful how you hold it! In some hand positions, one's fingers can get caught in the compartment and stop the movement of the tongues. This happened to me once or twice. It didn't hurt, but just wanted to throw that out there in case you are used to moving your hands along with your toy of choice. Or if you have particularly long labia or hair down there that may possibly be an issue too.

The future

The folks at LoveHoney have said that they are planning to roll out different "attachments" in time – so if you decide to try to Sqweel, there should be even more to come. Personally, I would like to see a Sqweel iPhone app. It doesn't have to vibrate like the fancy MyPleasure MyVibe app, it just has to have a great visual of rotating tongues in which the user can control the speed of vibration.

As it is, however, I love it. It's yummy. The Sqweel is a very innovative sex toy. If you try it, please let me know what you think – I always enjoy hearing and learning about others' perspectives and experiences with sex and, in particular, with sex toys.

10 tongues. TEN. The only thing better would be 11. Or 10 plus chocolate.

Silicone material

Comes apart for easy cleaning

Unlikely to produce Fleshlight-furniture-ish shame spiral during use, storage or cleaning

Comfortable to hold

Easy to store in a nightstand or sock drawer

Requires three AAA batteries (a con in my household given that I mostly keep AAs on hand, but may be fine in yours)

Looks like a tape measure

Only 3 speeds. Given how women and men vary, I'd have gone with 5 or 7.

Dr. Debby Herbenick, author of Because It Feels Good: A Woman's Guide to Sexual Pleasure and Satisfaction, is the Associate Director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at Indiana University (IU) where she is a Research Scientist. She is also a sexual health educator at The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction where she writes (and hosts audio podcasts of) the Kinsey Confidential column and coordinates educational programming. She has a PhD in Health Behavior from IU, a Master's degree in Public Health Education (also from IU) and a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park. In addition, she is certified as a Sexuality Educator from the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists.

Debby writes regular sex columns for Men's Health magazine, Time Out Chicago magazine, Velocity, Cheeky Chicago, Psychology Today and she has also written for Glamour magazine.

I may have an original 1984 Macintosh on my work desk, but I will never ever get a tattoo of it. EVER. A ZX Spectrum, on the other side, is a very likely possibility. It just depends on the amount of Zacapa rum and Margaritas this weekend.

Note to the VHS tattoo dude: If you are going to drill a video tape into your skin for the rest of your life, at least pick a Sony Beta. [Obsolete]

Truth be told, seeing an image of the Sinclair Sovereign on Boing Boing Gadgets this morning sparked a wave of nostalgia among those of us here who are old enough to remember the nutty little company. For those of you who are unfamiliar, allow me get you up to speed.

Clive Sinclair is one of those obsessive tinkerers that has his hand in various and seemingly unrelated kinds of gadgetry. Kind of like a predecessor of the James Dyson types we hear a lot about today. As mentioned earlier, Sinclair developed the first pocket calculators starting with the Executive model in 1972, but he also single-handedly launched the personal computer industry in England with his ZX Spectrum ten years later. The Spectrum ran on a 3.5 MHz Zilog Z80A CPU, with 16K-49KB of RAM and eye popping 256×192 resolution. Not powerful by any stretch of the imagination, but it was affordable and easy to operate which made it attractive to a mass audience. Eventually, it earned Sinclair a fortune and a knighthood from the Queen for his service to British industry.

Sinclair's obsession with making gadgets smaller extended to several other product categories including mini TVs like the MTV-1, radios and, most recently, electric vehicles like the underwater SeaScooter for divers and the ill-fated cross between a Segway and a scooter that was the C5.

Perhaps the only thing more interesting than his inventions is Clive Sinclair the man. Not surprisingly, he is a brilliant mathematician who has spent part of his later years using this skill to become a champion poker player. Sinclair is also a member of the British chapter of Mensa, serving as chairman of directors for the organization from 1980 to 1997. His Wikipedia article even claims that he doesn't use the internet despite being a major figure in the history of computing. I suppose that means he probably wont read this, but I still want to acknowledge him and his [ongoing] work.

The 8 bit Spectrum was released in 1982 and was the British equivalent of the C64. It spawned hardware and software, like the Commodore, but looks a hell of a lot better.
This pocketable TV didn't actually fit in pockets, but was an insane attempt to do what was impractical at the time with the day's modern tech. Took 10 years to develop and the screen was 2 inches big. A child of the 70s. [Giz]
Sinclair's first calculator—and one of the world's first pocket sized models—is almost as gorgeous as the famous Dieter Ram's designed Braun now mimed in the iPhone UI. The model had a fatal flaw which caused it to fuse in the on position. Oops. [Sinclair Planet]
The C5, much like the Segway, was meant to revolutionize the way we transport ourselves in meatspace. It bombed, being little more than an electric tricycle. [Planet Sinclair]
The last product released by Sinclair is a bicycle that folds up more compactly than even other folding bikes. Weighs under 15 pounds and folds up in seconds. [a-bike]

Chuffzilla: Whubble was genius.
LastVigilante: All the normals, XKCD, Toothpastefordinner, etc. But for web design nerds, definitely The Brads.
cheese1756: XKCD of course.
berbar: I like this one.
sbarstow: This one is pretty fantastic as well..
Copernik
Eli Cochran
ripfire: Penny Arcade
infestacool: [www.questionablecontent.net]
SjN: Dresden Codak. You guys really need to have a look at this webcomic, its one of the most awesome things I have read in a long time.

The strip boasts of a love for detail and a fascination for robots w/ future.