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]

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

The first thing I saw was that, with a $215 price in Europe (which probably will be less when it reaches the United States next year,) it better had better psychedelic effects than LSD. However, while it may seem expensive at first sight, the LivingColors’s price is absolutely reasonable, given its design, wireless remote controls and it’s lifespan coupled with the very-low energy consumption: it has a 100,000-hour lifespan thanks to the use of LEDs and consumes a lot less than comparable incandescent lights, which obviously can’t produce the same kind of lighting (in addition, it’s not hot to the touch. It’s so cool that kids can touch it and probably lick it without risks.)

In other words, after all my playing with it, the LivingColors lamp is absolutely worth it if you are into lights (which obviously we are), with amazing controls, elegant design (the metal interior inside the clear bubble is fantastic) and awesome hues. If you are looking for an ambient light to your home or office, I highly recommend it. [Gizmodo Spain]

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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.

In addition, Mary and Joseph were equipped with GPS and the entire family was encased in plexiglass to avoid future theft by godless heathens. Now Ricky Bobby can rest easy knowing that little baby Jesus is safe in his manger watchin’ the Baby Einstein videos, learnin’ ’bout shapes and colors. [AP via Chicago Tribune]

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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]

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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]

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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 “quiet 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…

This would royally piss us off. We are not kidding, we know it would ultimately be implemented to protect people’s hearing, but we would rather make our own volume based decisions. If there is no option to turn the function off, we consider the new technology massively flawed. If there is an option to turn the function off, we consider the new technology massively flawed. In short, we really cannot see the utility of this function. (Perhaps it would be useful with a parental lock?)

This certainly is not the first time Apple has tried to instigate volume control, but it is the first attempt that seems to be completely automatic. We are guessing that will not be the case, a PMP you cannot control the volume on seems just a little limited to us. [The Telegraph]

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Christmas is about to roll, and the weekend team would like to take this opportunity to say thanks to all our regular readers. We hope you have a smashing Christmas, and to make sure you do, we’ve gone to a lot of effort. We went to the party shop and hired elf costumes, we practiced dance moves in between our rigorous posting schedule, we went to the gym, we didn’t eat carbs for a month and Mark tried to touch my bum, so I stood away from him. After our great ordeal, appearing from right to left, I present to you; Jesus, Mark, Eric and I, in the fantastic Merry Xmas Elf Dance 2007. Jump for the video.

If you fancy getting yourself in on the elftastic action, follow the link. (Yes, we know it’s old, but it still cracks us up). Merry Xmas, everybody. [Elf Yourself]

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The FBI is planning to spend $1 billion on the world’s largest biometric database. The database will be used to create a big brother state, in which you will ultimately have little autonomy assist the FBI’s efforts in catching the bad guys. Apparently, compilation of digital images, including mug shots, fingerprints and palm patterns have already begun.

The FBI is expected to step-up the initiative in January 2008, when it will award a 10-year contract to a company that will assist with the construction of the database, named the Next Generation Identification system. Further, employers will be able to request information regarding their employees is retained, which will mean the system will have a dual function for forensic and identification purposes. We are thinking it’s not such a hot idea; having everyone’s info all in one place, with a dual purpose, just seems like a bad idea to us. How do you guys feel bout it? [Reuters]

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Holy crap! We’ve just solved one of life’s great mysteries, and wanted to let you in on it. Keeping your feet warm when you cannot be bothered/are too much of a cheapskate to invest in a gadget based solution has always been a problem, but we’ve sussed it. Here’s how: get your feet up close and personal to your PSUs. That’s all there is to it. Nothing more, we promise you.

We’ve been doing it subconsciously for months, but now we have realized, we thought we’d let you in on the foot warming action. Unless you want your power supplies to smell like macaroni cheese, we suggest keeping your tootsies covered/clean. (Quick tip; socks usually do a good job of covering up feet. For proof of this assertion, check out my most excellent sock, complete with fluffy poodle head, in the pic above.) Added bonus; if you have ice cold feet that are about to drop off from frost bite, they’ll cool your power supplies—everyone’s a winner this Christmas!

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The new gadgets for KITT version 2.0 have been revealed, including every single technology a man who does not exist would ever need: laser weapons system, nanotech cloaking, laser-guided missile defense, 3D heads-up display, military-grade GPS, holographic projection and even a Mini-KITT reconnaissance drone (!?!) among 21 new gizmos. Surprisingly, all this technological terror leaves out three of the most amazing gadgets of the original KITT:

They left out the grappling hook (a classic), the oil jets (come on, this is standard equipment in fantacars since James Bond’s first Aston Martin!) and, get a load of this, the flame thrower. How the heck they can leave out the flame thrower, no matter how many DNA analysis equipment, mass spectrometers, holographic projectors, 360-degree video surveillance systems or heated seats the new KITT has? Are the producers crazy? All we can say is:

For sure, all the gadgets and mechanics included in this Hasselhoffized Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR beat the pants off the cheesy good old 1982 Pontiac Trans Am, but we think that leaving these three devices out is completely inexcusable.

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Ah well, at least they included a 1000-Watt Quadraphonic Stereo System, which hopefully won’t be used to play any of David Hasselhoff’s tapes. To check out the full gadget list and specs of the new KITT 2.0, hit the Popular Mechanics exclusive story. There is an image of its interior in Jalopnik. [Popular Mechanics]

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