All this fighting about HD formats makes me wonder if the lot of you have forgotten about DVDs. Bittorrent aside, there are a lot of official ways to get video these days, high def discs and downloads. Even so, it's worth reiterating that DVD is still my favorite way to go and will be for awhile. Here's why:

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The School Zone is one of those concepts that should become a reality pronto, if only to give you the illusion you are Pac-Man while crossing the street: loaded with LEDs (our favorite light sources,) School Zone can indicate how much time you have left to cross because they are networked with the traffic lights. The raised slabs, which act as speed bumps, are completely modular:

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Did you know that most Japanese people can type faster on a mobile phone keypad than on a standard keyboard? This is not just because QWERTY is hard to use, but because the original Japanese keyboard configuration was actually much more complex and impossible to master than anything we can imagine. But even the most computer illiterate businessman knows where the ENTER key is, and that's why it has quickly gone up the ranks as a national favourite. Favourited enough, in fact, to be worthy of becoming its very own phone strap.

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This HDMI 1.3a cable supports deep color and has a mini signal repeater to allow the cable to be run up to 82-feet behind walls. Useful, if it works (it's not powered). As we proved in our HDMI tests, like all DC current over straight wire, even digital video signals degrade over great distance. [Accell]

Nothing better in the run-up to Christmas to have a Jesus lookalike modelling a Pac-Man hoodie from Hot Topic. It's a steal at $US45, but why is it only 80% cotton? Nylon just makes me come out in hives, guys. [Oh!Gizmo]

A few months ago, I happily wrote a post about Fuji camera's continuing decision to build sensors with fewer megapixels in exchange for better light sensitivity. Apparently, that philosophy has not kept up. Proof: Old generation Fuji point and shoots like the F30/31 are going for more than double the original retail price on ebay ($450-$550!) as enthusiasts reject the newer F50 camera with double the MP and worse image quality in dim conditions. Is this true, or fan myth mania? [TheOnlinePhotographer]

Hard to believe the face of green cars, the Prius, is 10 year old this month. And it's still so slow. Here, mod yours with a switch to run in purely-EV Stealth mode. [Make and Gizmag]

While I try to quell thoughts of "Oh, the humanity," take a look at another fanciful attempt to bring back the glory days of the Zeppelin airships. This one is called the Manned Cloud, and can fly fast enough to take a round trip around the globe in three days. The 1640-square-foot craft, whose French designers say could take to the skies in a year or so, will have 60 rooms and travel at a breakneck speed of 173mph. Since this behemoth gets its lift from helium, there's not much danger of a fiery hydrogen explosion like that ill-fated Hindenburg, so we're thinking it might be fun to float around the world in a luxo-hotel. Of all the ideas like this, maybe this one will be the one to actually fly. [Born Rich]

Toshiba and Sharp have announced a new partnership that will involve Toshiba purchasing 40% large LCD panels from Sharp, whilst Sharp shall purchase 50% of required semiconductors from Toshiba. [Daily Tech]

Our information gathering series plugs right on through the holiday season, but we are mixing things up a little. We want you guys to tell us which phone you think Santa uses, and why. It is obvious the big guy in red needs a constant, speedy communication line to Lapland; GPS is probably also a must, as finding your way to everyone's house might be difficult; Bluetooth, a web browser and a full QWERTY may not be totally necessary, but who knows? We're hoping you do.

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Earlier this month, we brought you news of an impending Playstation 1 emulator for the iPhone and iPod touch, called psx4iphone. Well, guess what? The first public release is now up and ready to be downloaded. We have not tried it ourselves, but as soon as we get a minute, we shall have you filled in on how Lara looks (and feels) on our iPhone. Hit the link to get your iPhone/Playstation game on, and be sure to let us know what you make of it. [ZodTDD]

In Japan a suit capable of being washed in the shower without ironing afterwards, has just gone on sale. Shower Clean only needs to be turned inside out and sprayed down with hot water to be sanitised, costs less than $600 and is targeted at college grads going through their first rounds of job hunting. I'd consider it just as useful for the businessmen who fall asleep in train stations after working and drinking a little too much, who gotta clean the puke off their pants before clocking back in. Either way, note that we are getting SO CLOSE to star trek uniform technology. [IHT]

Gizmodo AU would like to wish all our readers a safe and happy holiday season. Due to premonitions of the Giz team suffering from extreme hangovers gadget overload, we will not be updating site content on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year's Day (25th-26th December and 1st January).

So let the festivities begin and have a smashing good one!

About.com has a good feature about what to look for when determining if those after-Xmas deals are worth buying. Overstock clearance deals and soon-to-be clearance price slashing are considered the best and safest for consumers because the product is expected to work properly. Open box deals and display products receive a red flag, because they could be missing parts, an expiring warranty or be older than you think. [About]

I went today to buy some lights for our Xmas tree and came back with a $US215 Philips LivingColours, a beautiful lamp with high-power LEDs which combine to produce any colour in the spectrum, controlled wirelessly with an Apple-style remote. Here's our 60-second video review.

In case you missed the announcement last week, Sony is trying to add some holiday cheer by giving away Playstation 3 consoles with their Bravia televisions. The offer is valid for anyone who purchases a full HD (the XBR, X and W series) Bravia LCD TV between Dec 21, 2007 and Jan 28, 2008. After your purchase, you'll be able to lodge your PS3 redemption via the www.sony.com.au/bonusPS3 URL.

Check out our original post for full details and press release.

The Christianity 2.0 movement continues in South Florida, where the town of Bal Harbour received a GPS-equipped Baby Jesus statue to replace a previously stolen Baby Jesus staute. A Cincinnati lawyer donated the statue after hearing about the theft in early December.

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Congratulations to Spencer Tennant of Carlton North, the winning participant of our inaugural Reader Survey who scored himself a $250 Coles Myer gift voucher.

Gizmodo AU would like to thank everyone who responded - your feedback is thoroughly appreciated!

Gizmodo Sues The Onion for Libel, Asks Drew Curtis for Legal Advice
A tasty dash of satire for the holiday season.

Apple Year-End Report Card: A
If you thought 2007 is all about the iPhone, iPod Touch and Leopard, then this epic Report Card's for you.

Microsoft Year-End Report Card: B-
Unsurprisingly, Vista brought the team down.

Blu Site Hacked, Format War Battlers Post Your Flames Here
The all new Blu-ray site: now redirecting visitors to HD DVD!

Wii Headtracking Creates 3D Window Display
So this is what the cool kids get up to in their dorm rooms.

Last month we featured the awesome steampunk themed MP3 player, called the Ambience Enhancer, which gathered quite some interest. If you missed it, check the image above to see what all the fuss was about. Thankfully, the chaps at Instructables have procured a complete how to, but if you have the patience of an ADHD prone lab rat, perhaps it's better you give this one a miss. Sufficed to say, it is certainly going to take you longer than setting up that new speaker set Santa dropped off for Christmas. I ruined the surprise—damn, I'm always doing that. Follow the link for the extensive tutorial, and if you undertake the project, send us pictures of the final product. [Instructables]

A student in New Zealand has been diagnosed with the first recorded occurrence of Text Messeager's Thumb in the country. The 20-year old student is thought to have sent up to 100-text messages/day, which resulted in inflammation of the tendons in her thumb, causing grave discomfort.

The condition, otherwise known as tenosynovitis, could have been easily avoided with the utilization of Blue Phone Elite 2, which I use to relieve my opposable thumbs of any undue strain. Better yet, why not just text less? We are sure discussing how cute Tom Cruise looks in a black polo sweater is really important gossip, but is it really worth the ensuing pollex paralysis? We think so—gosh, Tom does look hot in a black sweater. [Brisbane Times via Textually]

A recently uncovered Apple patent details the possibility for automatic volume control in iPods, which we assume Apple hopes will safeguard them from legal action, whilst protecting the hearing of frequent users. The safety measure will determine how long the music player has been in use, and at what volume; if it considers these facts to be detrimental to one's hearing, the volume will be turned down automatically. Further, the music player will be able to calculate the optimum amount of "quite time" from when the iPod is switched off, to when it is restarted. If enough time has elapsed, the volume will be able to be increased without automatic control. It is a great idea to protect the hearing of the youth, but...

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