Google and TomTom have joined forces to make their products compatible. Thanks to the "Send to GPS" button that Google has added to Google Maps, you can send routes from Google Maps direct to your navigation device via TomTom Home. See how it works in the video below.

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Reader Bill Pendry has discovered that you can easily get your PlayStation 3 Rock Band's drums to work perfectly with Garage Band, the music composition software that comes with every Mac. The "hack" just requires GamePad Companion, a $US15 shareware program that will map the input from the drums into keystrokes. Since Garage Band can use the keyboard to play MIDI instruments, it will work right away. We just wish Bill's friend tried to pull out some crazy Buddy Rich for his video:

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I know it wasn't the Oscars, but couldn't His Royal Steveness have made just a teensy bit more effort at California's Hall of Fame last night? Sporting a Ronald McDonald costume made entirely from tofuburgers black poloneck and jeans, the co-founder of Apple eschewed the red carpet and snuck in through a side door at Sacramento's California Museum for History, Women and the Arts.

Bounding on stage to the strains of Revolution by that popular beat combo The Beatles, Jobs managed to look bashful as Arnie and Maria hung a gold medallion round his neck. Although yesterday's ceremony was the Golden State's first ever HoF gathering, the Gubernator and his First Lady, Maria Shriver, managed to get all 75 inductees to show up—unless, of course, you count the dearly departed, such as John Wayne. There was, however, a last-minute no-show: Elizabeth Taylor. Perhaps she felt that Jobs' interpretation of the dress code was a little too casual. [Reuters]

LG launched its romantically named Rhapsody In Music mobile phone in Korea today. So far, so Richard Clayderman. Apart from a clickwheel—sorry, "Wheel Key"—that makes one nostalgic for Cupertino, what else has the LB3300, as it is also known, got?

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If it weren't for my obnobvious headline, you'd all be wondering what the hell this is. Just 15 of these Champagne tower chillers, with room for a dozen magnums in individual, lit drawers, have been designed for Veuve Cliquot by Porsche Design. Want to see what it looks like open?

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Japanese audio company Teac is letting you have it up against the wall next week, with the release of the MC-DX32i iPod dock, AM/FM tuner and CD/CD-R/RW player. Expected to cost around 30,000¥, ($307) the flat-panel system comes with all the gear you need to wall-mount it. Specs are below.

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Sometimes, it's hard to be a woman. Especially when you see things like the Barbie B2 touchscreen MP3 player, aimed at the female market in Korea. I don't think the player includes the pube-clad doll, but perhaps it would be better for mankind if it did. [Aving USA]

Starting next year, the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts will have something that's long overdue for an otaku-rich country: a two-year graduate degree in anime production—the first for a non-private institution in Japan. Courses will be taught by full-time professionals from the anime world including Koji Yamamura, and students will leave with two or three full-fledged works under their belt. We're jealous, but we think we might hold out for the Ph. D. in Gundam Suit fabrication studies. One day. [Yomiuri Shimbun]

Robovie-X is a new robot kit from Japanese DIY maker ATR. Not only can it use its fully-programmable 17 degrees of freedom and optical distance sensors to follow moving targets and fire at them with a surprisingly powerful plastic missile launcher, it can also, apparently, shed its armour and dress up as a jazz-hands-waving Foghorn Leghorn or a white-gloved Michael Jackson archer. You know, if you're into that kind of thing. Check out more pics and a video of the missiles in action after the jump.

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In the battalion of boxes that encases Rock Band's high quality gear there is but one guitar. Since you can't buy the instruments separately yet and Guitar Hero III's guitar won't work w/ RB on the PS3, your band is effectively bass player-less. Harmonix to the rescue: The upcoming patch for PS3's RB includes "a number of items related to guitar controller compatibility." Translated from PR-speak, it looks like they're adding support for GHIII's Les Paul geetars. Rock on. [Rock Band Forums via Kotaku]

This electronic Christmas tree fashioned in the likeness of a Pac-Man map, complete with Pac Man, power pellets and ghosts, shows the Spanish know what they're doing when it comes to the holidays. Currently in downtown Madrid, the tree not only features all the elements of the game, but Pac-Man and his nemeses are partially animated, shifting back and forth in place.

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Addressing one of the major reasons OLPC's XO Laptop is being shunned by some countries—the lack of a Windows operating system—Microsoft is developing a version of Windows XP and Office that's run directly off of a 2GB SD card. (They convinced OLPC to add an SD slot to the mobo for this very project.) It'll be conducting "limited field trials" with OLPC next month, with a possible launch sometime after June. The catch?

It won't be offered to anyone in the US or Canada, even quasi-philanthropists participating in the Get One, Give One program. But, we're guessing the anti-copying measures won't be particularly hardcore, meaning it'll probably make its way to the internets not long after launch. Bootable Windows on an SD card would be pretty nice on our side of the world too, actually. [CNET, CNET]

Liberté, égalité, fraternité and completely unlocked iPhones. That's what 20% of all iPhone buyers are shouting these days in France: 6,000 out of the 30,000 froggyPhones sold in the first five days in that country were unlocked models, all despite its outrageous $US1,110 price. Vive la Résistance! Orange must be so le tired now. [BBC]

At first glance an apple shaped remote may seem sort of ridiculous (and maybe it is) but there are certainly some interesting features to this concept device by Jason Roebuck. First off, the apple theme is more aesthetically pleasing than a standard remote —especially when arranged on its "bowl" recharging station. In fact, they actually add something to the decor.

The idea is that each member of the household would have their own personal remote, programmed to their tastes. The device could also respond to motion gestures like rotating it left to lower the volume, and rotating it right to raise it. When not in use, the apples can be returned to the bowl for recharging. I don't know if Sony would actually be into something like this, but I can see how future products could incorporate some of these ideas. [Yanko Design]

There's not much to add to this other than "ha ha, you got penis'ed", but we're somewhat curious as to how this thing went down. Was this a prank from a rival school? Was it self-inflicted? Is this their mascot? (Go Fighting Wangs!) Is it still there? We suppose it's pretty apropos that the school is located on Shaft Road. [Google Maps - Thanks Daniel!]

According to Nokia's Chief Technology Officer Tero Ojanpera, HD quality video recording on a mobile phone is "technically a couple of years away." Then, in almost the same breath he said that "it's still a few years away." So what is it man—2 or 3? Better yet, what resolution are we talking about here? If you are going to talk out your arse you might as well go all the way. [Reuters via Ubergizmo]

If you've been looking forward to a possible Volkswagen + Apple car, or iCar, you'll have to wait slightly longer as talks between the two companies have just been put on hold. The bad news is that the exploratory talks are at an end, but the good news is that there were exploratory talks to begin with. VW fans and Apple fans overlap pretty well (picture a Venn Diagram with Batman on one circle and Bruce Wayne on the other), and will be willing to purchase any type of iCar that will eventually be sloshed forth from the combined loins. [Presseportal via German Car Blog via Jalopnik]

Maybe those mean ol' market caps the FCC's throwing at Comcast won't matter anyway: Comcast is predicting they'll bleed customers next year, thanks to competition from fiber-based services from AT&T and Verizon, as well as satellite. Guess they better get... Read More »

Gemaga (Japanese for giant things that should not be giant) had a video up on this huge Xbox 360 that doubles as a cabinet. The video's not there, but you can still tell from the screencap that it's large enough to fit 10 regular sized Xbox 360s, 3 PlayStation 3s, and one Xbox 1. And since there's no video, we can't tell if it has a giant DVD tray or warms up the house 10x better than a real Xbox. [Gemaga via Gadgetcom]

Seemingly out of nowhere comes the Samsung Ace SPH-1325 smartphone complete with full QWERTY keyboard, WM 6 (could WM 6.1 be far off?), a 1.3 megapixel camera, and more than a passing resemblance to another well-known Samsung phone. BoyGenius also... Read More »

Unlike the rest of the Giz crew (especially Chen), I shower daily. But I'm also currently located at ground zero for god's wrath. Despite the governor's public missive for divine relief, Georgia's still got less moisture than scarecrow, which is really the only reason this four-minute shower timer in hourglass form interests me. It's only three bucks, and I'd probably mostly ignore its silent screaming, but I feel like I might shower just a little bit faster. Every drop counts right? [Envirosax via Green Deals Daily via Crave]

One of the big projects at the iPod touch mods blog is snappy homemade mic dongle for VoIP that neatly fits into the dock connector. They've been documenting the process over the last couple weeks, and now they're finally ready to take orders. It's small, black and looks anything but DIY. They don't have a price listed, but the most recent post implores that you don't "hesitate too much and ask for your Mic. Be one of the very firsts who will make the Touch-4-VoIP become a reality!" [Touch Mods]

Amazing things can happen when you combine passion with talent. This homemade Metroid arcade cabinet is definitely a case in point. Unfortunately his talents do not extend into the world of directing, so the video is not quite what it could be. Still, the cool artwork, lighting effects, and controller ports for the NES, SNES, N64 and USB are easily discernible. If you ask me, the best part is the illuminated Mother Brain displayed behind plexiglass. Very impressive indeed. [WiiFanboy via Joystiq]

Is the new 14th Street NYC Apple Store the biggest in the country? We knew it was opening soon, but this afternoon we discovered that the window blinds had come down, and we could get a full monty of the place. Here, courtesy of video jockey Nick McGlynn, is a short film and gallery of the store at its most virginal, before it gets soiled with runny-nosed holiday shoppers and hip, tight-pants-wearing Chelsea denizens on Friday. Here's what we know so far about this place, soon to be the East Coast Mecca of Apple-ness:

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Gizmodo AU is running its first ever reader survey and we need your help! Well, duh...since you're our readers and all.

It'll only take about 5 minutes and you'll be in with the chance to win a $250 gift voucher from Coles/Myer, David Jones, Harvey Norman or Bunnings. Perfect for acquiring some of those "from me to me" Christmas presents for the joyous time of giving that's scarily just around the corner.

So go on, tell us all about yourself and what you want from Gizmodo!

Gizmodo AU Survey

Google 2007 vs 2001: World Turns Attention to iPhone, Boobs and Videos, Forgets Osama (Verdict: Life as Usual)
Google search trends out: how the world has changed...

Your Writers Strike TV Guide
There's some strike on that's killing off all these TV shows.

Michael Bay Say HD DVD Is a Big Microsoft-Funded Conspiracy
That's right, you heard it here first.

New Old Enterprise Revealed While Star Fans Faint All Over the World
Rumour, since smashed, drool-worth pics nonetheless.

Celebrate Day of the Ninja With Ninja Gadgets
Because we all know ninjas > pirates and it's not like there would ever be a "talk like a ninja day".

The Gadget: The Cowon Q5W PMP that has a feature list as long as my leg, which (and this is abbreviated) supports a bunch of video formats such as DivX and XviD, along with various nerd-friendly audio formats like OGG and FLAC. It's also got an optional GPS mount as well, in addition to 60GB of storage and a 720x480 display.

The Price: $US599 for 60GB, $US549 for 40GB

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It used to be that if you wanted your own Flux Capacitor, you had to hit your head on a toilet. Fortunately, you can bypass that unpleasant experience and purchase one using your superfluous monies. Its functionality is limited to some cool flashing lights and "adjustable power settings," but nothing says you can't mount the thing inside your car and see what happens when you hit 88. Nothing except for the police and the mechanical limitations of that beater you call a vehicle that is. Available for $US220. [Product Page via Uncrate via Wired]

Are you on the list? Probably not! But lucky souls in Richmond, Virginia Beach, Tampa, Fort Wayne (IN) and Pittsburgh are—HD VOD is live for Verizon FiOS TV subscribers in those locales. The rest of you, fear not the rollout... Read More »

According to an email received by the folks at Gearlog, Samsung has promised to "at least talk" about what would be the world's first 1.3-inch hard drive at CES in January. They also noted that the drive will be targeted at "mobile consumer devices," a move that would seemingly be in conflict with their NAND flash memory biz. Could Samsung be more vague? The answer is no...not really. Hopefully we will be able to learn more in January. [Gearlog]

• Adobe's Flash Player 9 now supports the H.264 video codec. Expect more HD Flash video and greater iPhone compatibility as a result. [TUAW]
• Hulu began streaming in HD today, coinciding with Adobe's Flash update. Cold comfort if you ask me, since there are no TV shows left anyway. [Crave]
• R2-D2 Translator turns your typed words into the little droid's language. Be careful not to break the space-time continuum by asking it to translate "beep boop beep." [R2D2 Translator]
• Altec Lansing's M604 Zune dock is on Woot for a measly $US45, more than $160 off the retail price. Line-in and video-out make this compatible with other players too, so it sounds like a sweet deal. [Woot]

An Applestore opening isn't typically a big deal, but the new West 14th Street Meat packing district store is going to be the biggest Apple store in the whole world. There isn't much more official detail, but I just... Read More »

Nothing will make you look like more of an oaf than having horrible breath and being wasted. If you somehow aren't sure if either of those are the case after washing down a garlic-and-blue-cheese sandwich with a tall glass of straight bourbon, you should get the Etiquette Checker. Simply breathe into it to get a clear readout of just how horrible your breath/state of mind is on scales from 1 to 6. Hit the jump for a video of someone ambushing Japanese guys on the streets with this and showing the world how stank their breath is and how drunk they are at 11am.

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