• Add lyrics to iTunes with Get Lyrical
• Rescue deleted photos from your camera with Exif Untrasher
• Lifehacker's favorite Gizmodo posts of the week (See what they like about us)

• Install Windows 7 from a thumb drive
• Get a better deal from your ISP
• The key to success is doing things

• Run Google Wave on Thunderbird 3
• The Wire Loom Workspace (Hide your wires)
• Thunderbird 3 is officially done

Now I'll just be happy that my frozen screen only required a restart and not a defrosting. [Thanks, Josh!]

Man in a Chicken suit plays "What is Love" on Pianica from Ring Mod on Vimeo.

Man in a Chicken Suit Plays "What Is Love" on Melodica

If that headline isn't enough to make you watch this video, I'm really not sure if the internet is your cup of tea. Because this is exactly what the internet should be used for. [Boing Boing]

A Very Muppet Christmas YouTube Video

I am so, so glad that a lot of the first 1080p YouTube clips are Muppet-related. I am a Muppet freak. I can't count how many times I've seen The Muppet Movie and (my personal favorite) The Great Muppet Caper, and I've even seen Jim Henson's MuppetVision 3D, which is a real thing, believe it or not. So as my menorah's candles slowly burn down, marking the first night of Chanukah, I am watching this Christmas-themed YouTube video and giggling, over and over again. Enjoy. [YouTube]

A Very Guitar Hero on the Side of a House Christmas YouTube Video

So I'm pretty sure this Guitar Hero Christmas light extravaganza is just a preset pattern, and not actually playable, but it's still cool and wheedlywheedlywheedly. [Crunchgear]

Nao Robot Performs Star Wars Impersonations

Nao, a pint-sized robot from Aldebaran Robotics, does a pretty good impersonation of various Star Wars characters—Darth Vader, R2D2, and more. It's pretty adorable and physically it's actually one of the more nimble robots I've seen, although nobody can seem to think of anything to do with it other than make 50-second YouTube clips like this one. Still: Cute. [Engadget]

Evil Empire Google Wants Your Email

Okay, so maybe it's not so evil—Google just wants users of its Google Voice service to allow access to both original voicemails and the transcriptions Voice supplies. Right now, there's a rating system to measure how accurate the transcriptions are, but that doesn't help Google improve the system that much. With a healthy supply of voicemails, Google could figure out how to work around tricky roadblocks like external noise and accents. So, not as evil as it sounds. [Neowin]

iTunes App Pages Redesigned

Not that much to say, really—iTunes redesigned the app pages in the Store, and, well, they look better. Bigger pictures, shorter descriptions, slicker layout. Looks nice! [Twitter]

Severed Pancake Hand Grasps Waffle With Last Delicious Ounce of Strength

You guys, HELP. There is a man made of pancakes running around without a hand, bleeding jam, and he's probably hungry since he left his waffle with the hand. Why did this amazing work of art end up in Remainders? Because despite what noted breakfast-eater Rosa Golijan thinks, Gizmodo is not typically a pancake-themed site. Disappointing, I know, but true. [Serious Eats]

This poor guy was a Verizon customer for seven years, dutifully paying his bills on time, until he decided it was time to upgrade to a faster plan than the one he had. His neighbor had that faster plan, and when he checked his address online, Verizon's site told him the upgrade was available. But when he tried to make that upgrade...well, it didn't go quite as planned.

The summary? Seven phone calls, 1 hour and 42 minutes between 11:50am and 12:42pm. What did that earn me? Absolutely nothing but utter frustration and torture.

Each of the seven reps told him something totally different, from "that's not available at your address" to "that's not available for an upgrade" to "that's only available online"—and four more. But the best one has to be the last.

I directly asked "why is it I can open a new account with 7MB but I cannot order it as an existing customer?". Her response: "your home cannot handle the 7MB speed. If I put in the order for 7MB, it will burn your house down".

The upgrade will burn your house down. That has to take the cake as one of the craziest things ever said by an ISP rep. Needless to say, Michael is no longer a Verizon customer. [Consumerist]

Basically, we want to hear your holiday-themed tales of gadget horror and technology disasters. As incentive to open up and share, we've got some free pizza for the very best (or worst, depending on how you look at it) story. What we'll do is post that story along with some of our favorite runner-ups so you'll become Internet-famous and a part of Gizmodo history.

Sounds good, no? I know it might be scary to share a traumatizing tale, but you're safe here and we won't laugh too much. So, email me your stories with the subject line "Holiday Horror" and make me want to give you pizza and a post on Gizmodo.

The H20 Audio Capture Case is specifically designed for the current-gen iPod Nano, allowing full use of the video camera up to 12 feet underwater. Seems pretty cool—you can listen to the latest NPR Planet Money podcast while you catch some waves (that's what surfers like, right?) and then when you fall, you can take a video of the pretty fish while you grope your way to the surface. They'll be available next week for $80, which is fairly reasonable, but they don't include waterproof headphones—you'll have to buy those separately.

Oh, and that guy up there? That's Laird Hamilton, friend of Gizmodo and expert surfblogger. [H20]

It sounds like the couple sought support from their parents before handing their child to a stranger for 2,500 yuan (roughly $366), but it's unclear if that was what pushed their decision. No matter why they did what they did, in the end the pair regretted their decision, and are now attempting to get the child back.

Apparently they may actually even stand a chance of getting the child back because the fellow who purchased him raised some sort of authorities' suspicions and the toddler ended up safe and sound in the care of a welfare center. Other than a truly happy ending, all that's left missing now is word on whether the lovers are returning the cellphone they bought with the proceeds from the child-sale. [Global Times]

Note: The picture above was taken by Micah Sittig, and the cutie in it is not the child from the story.

Dead Space 2: Multiplayer, Bigger World, Space-Floating
This could be both fun and nauseating!

Ever Wonder How Much Money Has Been Sunk Into America's Army?
You don't want to know.

Five Steps to Total Pwnage of a Gamer Girl's Heart
In case you didn't have the attention span to take all 10 prerequisite steps.

Xbox 360 Game Helps You Talk To Girls
No it doesn't.

Pokemon Teaches Your Children To Worship Satan
No no, Pokemon IS Satan.

Blizzard Patches Diablo II, Beta Test It Now
My old discs are about 5 feet away...

PlayStation Home Director Wants "Mini-MMOs" On The Service
Interesting idea.

Frankenreview: The Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Spoiler: the reviews deem it excellent.

EA CEO: "I Think Of Pirates As A Marketplace"
A marketplace that's just been robbed.

#whitenoise is your place to talk about tech, news, gossip, cow fistulas or even things completely unrelated and off-topic. So, how do you get started? Direct yourself to the #whitenoise page here. At the top of this page there's something we call the "submit box."

Click where it says "Got a tip for us?" The box will expand, letting you type whatever you'd like. To make it public, click on the button that says "share."

This will post whatever you just said into our #whitenoise page.

Also note that you can start your own threads by creating your own hashtag. Want to start up discussion on your favorite gadget? Try #favgadget. If you want your comments to appear in multiple places, use multiple hashtags. Need a starting off point? Try any of our most popular tags featured above.

Once you start participating, you'll begin to see how addictive the conversation can be. To help you keep track of your conversations, be sure to make use of the new notifications feature. Clicking on "replied" will take you to the exact comment, while clicking the link at the end takes you to the original post. It's a great way to keep track of the conversations you're having while not interrupting your regular use of the site.

So what will Apple buy next? One reader just sent us a message that Apple is in talks to acquire VoIP company iCall in a $50 million to $60 million deal.

Is this true? iCall co-founder and CEO Arlo Gilbert, reached by phone, would not confirm or deny any talks, but that's the response he's supposed to give us. We have not yet heard back from Apple. (Anyway, everyone talks to everyone, so it's worth discussing.)

So, should Apple buy a VoiP company — the way Google, increasingly a rival — has acquired two? (GrandCentral, now Google Voice; and recently Gizmo5.)

For its long-term strategy, it makes sense for Apple to at least have a VoIP product available — even if only for defensive purposes, even if it never launches.

In the short term, it would probably piss off Apple's carrier partners, which sell the majority of Apple's iPhones, and currently make the vast majority of their revenue by selling voice phone service. But for Apple's longer term strategy, it is a good idea.

Why? It's obvious to everyone but wireless carriers that wireless carriers are increasingly becoming dumb pipes. People are sick of carriers' ridiculous fees and policies, and just want a good device that can connect to the Internet and make calls.

As data networks evolve, it will be possible to make calls as well over the Internet as by using a voice network, and cheaper. (It's already getting there.) And that's when Apple may seek to increase its control over iPhone owners — and recurring revenue from them — by becoming a VoIP service provider. Moreover, as that becomes a bigger industry, Apple should not give that business to Skype, Google, or anyone else.

So for that long-term interest, Apple may already be hiring (or acq-hiring) today.

iCall has more than 100,000 iPhone users, its CEO tells us, so it already knows the business pretty well. It also owns the trademark to "iCall," which Apple may or may not want to own. And perhaps it has executives and/or technology that Apple could want.

So whether true or not, it would not be too surprising.

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

Prank Gift Boxes: It doesn't matter what you stuff in these hilarious boxes, because the reaction of your recipient is the real gift. Be it the Beer Beard or the Griddle Alarm, you'll be sure to make someone very, very confused 3 for $20 [Link; PrankPack]

128MB Thumb Drives: They'll be able to fill them up with almost enough data to make them useful, but not quite. That's what makes this gift extra sadistic. It's full of potential, but still just not quite useful. $10 [Amazon]

Xbox 360 HD-DVD Drive: You should be able to find these for around $20 on eBay. And hell, maybe even cheaper if it doesn't work. Whether or not it works doesn't matter, as there's no way anyone would actually use one of these embarrassing mistakes of a product.

USB Hedgehog Hand Warmer and Massager: It's a USB device! It's a hand warmer! It's a personal massager! It's a hedgehog! It's...awkward! $13 [Brando]

Burrito Glasses: I have no idea either. $15 [Etsy via Fashionably Geek]

Penis Ice Cube Tray: The "dicks in your drink" jokes just write themselves, don't they? For added Christmas Spirit, throw their old ice cube trays away so they have no choice but to use this. $9 [Amazon]

Hooper DVD: Hooper stars Burt Reynolds as "The World's Greatest Stuntman." No need to worry about this coming out on Blu-ray, as it's fucking horrible. $10 [Amazon]

Reindeer Toilet Cover: Nothing says Holiday Spirit like pooping in Blitzen's mouth. $15 [Link via Nerd Approved]

Don't forget to recommend your own favorite White Elephant in comments-include pics 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.

CoolerBot uses a tail-dragger design with 14" wheels in front and a 10" castering wheel in the rear. The caster wheel is mounted using PVC pipe. The robot is capable of moving in either direction. CoolerBot uses two NPC-41250 motors powered by a 10 amp hour 12 volt SLA battery. The logic is powered by a separate 10 amp hour 12 volt SLA battery and both batteries are recharged by the two onboard solar panels. The motors are driven by two Parallax HB-25s are which are controlled by a Propeller. Currently the robot is remote controlled through a 912 MHz Transceiver.

As far as an "arsenal" is concerned, CoolerBot is equipped with an infrared video camera and a Nikon DSLR. Check out the terror in the eyes of the bunny in the shot above. It's just waiting for a missile launcher to pop out of the cooler and reduce him to a smoking crater. At any rate, it seems like overkill unless your objective is to capture lions with their cubs or dangerously unstable celebrities. Now that is a good use for this thing...a paparazzi-bot that goes in on the really dangerous missions. [Norris Labs via Make]

Create Your Own Sun Jar: Lifehacker Edition

Inspired by a tutorial we posted last year, we decided to make our own DIY sun jars. The trendy summer time lighting accessory retails for $30+ but we were able to make ours for around $10 each. The sun jars proved to be our most popular non-computer DIY of the entire year and readers shared their own creations with us.

The First-Timer's Guide to Building a Computer from Scratch

Building your own computer is a great way to get exactly what you want, the way you want it, without being constrained by the limits and high-prices of mass produced computers. We showed you how to build a computer from start to finish and have fun doing it.

Turn a Sharpie into a Liquid Fueled Rocket

What's standing between you and some office mayhem? Certainly not a lack of Sharpie markers and keyboard dusting spray. Combine the two with this fun DIY project and you've got one of the most awesome pieces of office-machinery we've ever featured.

Properly Erase Your Physical Media

You need to be properly erasing your physical media: all the time, every time. Our guide will show you how to get the job done and done right whether you use software to scrub your disks or you send them to the great data mine in the sky with a 21-gun salute.

Turn an Old Laptop into a Wall-Mounted Computer

Why settle for a digital picture frame when, in the same wall space, you could mount an entirely functional computer/slideshow player/TV tuner? One Lifehacker reader turned an old laptop into a super-charged digital frame.

$8 DIY Aluminum Laptop Stand

We've always been keen on DIY laptop stands, but reader Aaron Kravitz—inspired by an attractive $50 stand—went above and beyond, creating one of the most attractive DIY laptop stands we've featured to date.

Build an IKEA NAS On the Cheap

If the Hive Five on best home server software got you excited about setting up a home server but you're not keen on another unsightly PC in your home, check out this DIY IKEA NAS.

Build a DIY Portable Air Conditioner

We've shown you how to make an air conditioner (even for as low as $30), but what if you wanted something you can put in your car and take with you? While it's no substitute for a fully-charged and factory-fresh AC system, it'll keep you cool.

Turn a Bookshelf into a Secret Passage

Who hasn't dreamed of having a mystery-story-style secret passageway? While a trick bookshelf is pretty awesome in itself, this secret passage hides a home office with clever style. One industrious Lifehacker reader and his girlfriend had grown tired of seeing their office from their living space, so they hid it behind a wall of books.

Wire Your House with Ethernet Cable

You've ripped a movie on your laptop, and now want it on that fancy new home theater PC next to your TV. If you've got the time, wiring your house with Cat-5e cable could make transfer times a distant memory.

Rain Gutters as Cable Management Tools

We're all about creative cable management here at Lifehacker, so we were instantly drawn to reader Seandavid010's rain-gutter cable management setup. He was awesome enough to send detailed photos and step by step instructions to help other readers recreate his setup.

Build Your Own DTV Antenna

The lights went out on analog television this year and we were there with a guide to help you build a great DIY antenna for boosting your reception and getting that crisp digital picture you crave.

DIY Laptop Rack Hack Turns Your Monitor into an iMac

Lifehacker reader Matt Lumpkin saw our monitor stand from door stoppers post and thought we might like his laptop rack hack as another space-saving desktop solution for laptop-lovers. He was right.

Build Your Own Pizza Oven

Suppose you were inspired by the cheap DIY home pizza oven—but weren't so sure your home insurance would cover oven modifications. It's time to build a safer, more eye-pleasing oven, and we've got a thorough guide.

Crack a Master Combination Padlock Redux

Two years ago we highlighted how to crack a Master combination padlock for those of you who may have lost the combination to your bulletproof lock; now designer Mark Campos has turned the tried-and-true instructions into an easier-to-follow visual guide.

DIY Invisible Floating Bookshelves

We've covered the invisible floating bookshelf once or twice before, but if you liked the idea but weren't keen on ruining a book in the process, weblog May December Home's got you covered.

DIY Inverted Bookshelf

Instead of storing your books upright on top of the shelf, the inverted bookshelf holds all of your books in place using elastic webbing so you can hang them below the shelf—all the while allowing you to still take them out and put them back on as needed.

Build an Under-the-Cabinet Kitchen PC from an Old Laptop

Inspired by our guide to giving an old laptop new life with cheap or free projects, Lifehacker reader Brian turned his aging Dell laptop into an incredible under-the-cabinet kitchen PC.

Turn Storage Containers into Self Watering Tomato Planters

If you'd like to have delicious home-grown tomatoes but lack a garden to grow them in, you'll definitely want to check out this ingenious and inexpensive self-watering system.

Deter Thieves by Uglifying Your Camera

A few years ago, blogger Jimmie Rodgers's camera was stolen while volunteering in an impoverished Brazilian community, so he did what any sane person would do: He bought a new camera and made it ugly. With his uglified camera, Rodgers was able to snap pictures freely during the rest of his trip without worrying too much that his ostensibly crappy camera would end up stolen.

DIY TV or Monitor Stand from Door Stoppers

Nothing adds space to a desk or home theater setup like a simple monitor or TV stand, and weblog IKEA Hacker details how to build your own stand on-the-cheap with a few inexpensive items from IKEA.

Repurpose Your Analog Television

You don't need to run out and buy a new TV because of the DTV switchover. If you did anyways, Make Magazine has put together quite a guide to giving old TVs new life.

Use Ping-Pong Balls to Create Diffused Party Lights

If you need some cheap and novel ambient lighting for your next party, you're only a box of ping-pong balls and a string of lights away from solving your lighting worries.

Build a Custom-Made BoxeeBox

DeviceGuru blogger Rick Lehrbaum, inspired by the cheaper set-top boxes, made his own higher-powered "BoxeeBox" for the free, open-source media center. He posted all the parts, the how-to details, and lots of pictures.

Build a Sturdy Cardboard Laptop Stand

You already shelled out your hard earned cash for a swanky laptop, why drop more cash on an overpriced laptop stand? Cardboard alone can do the trick, as detailed in this step-by-step tutorial.

Install Snow Leopard on Your Hackintosh PC, No Hacking Required

Earlier this year we put together a wildly popular guide to building a Hackintosh with Snow Leopard, start to finish, and then followed it up with an even easier guide to install Snow Leopard on your Hackintosh PC, no hacking required. Computers + DIY is all sorts of geeky fun waiting to happen.

Have a favorite DIY from 2009 that wasn't highlighted here? Sound off in the comments with a link to your favorite project. Want to see more popular DIY guides courtesy of the ghost of Lifehacker past? Check out our huge DIY guide roundup from 2008.

Update: Our source at AT&T tells us that GSM and EDGE are both running fine, and that the outage was caused by a hardware issue that is rapidly being fixed:

AT&T has fixed the hardware issue and data services are quickly returning to normal. Speeds should be back to normal within about a half hour.

Of course you don't go for an Atom for muscle, and the Pineview processors do beat the Ion in power consumption and cost (the new guys are both under $100). But we expect performance to go up as well, and the Ion mopped the floor with the D410 and D510 in most real-world applications. The Pineview procs did win in raw processing power, however. These are early tests, so take them with a grain of salt, but we'd really have preferred to see some numbers that at least beat existing configurations like Ion. [CarTFT (German PDF) and SemiAccurate via Engadget

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]

1. "Battlestar Galactica" (59.4)
2. "Mad Men" (57.7)
3. "Damages" (56.3)
4. "Rescue Me" (53.2)
5.(tie) "True Blood" (46.9)
5.(tie) "Stargate Universe" (46.9)
7.(tie) "Sanctuary" (45.9)
7.(tie) "Heroes" (45.9)
9. "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (45.5)
10.(tie) "10 Things I Hate About You" (44.9)
10.(tie) "Dollhouse" (44.9)
10.(tie) "Melrose Place" (44.9)

Other than a couple of tween-driven clunkers at the bottom of the list—and the people who forgot to take "Heroes" off their DVR in 2007—this is a comprehensive list of some of the best, least watched TV of the year. Which makes sense, given the way the ratings are structured. A million people DVRing "Mad Men" is going to make a much bigger difference to that show's time-shifted rating than a million people DVRing "American Idol." So what you're left with is essentially ten shows with passionate, technologically savvy fan bases. Though it looks like in a couple of these cases, not quite passionate enough to save the show from extinction. Sorry, "Dollhouse." I should've done more to spread the word. [NY Times]

At first glance, I thought this was an actual mouse, and that you were supposed to drag a numerical keypad and a couple USB cables around the desk during use, but it's just a trackball mouse that's meant to stay put. Looks like it's got a standard 17-button keypad and two USB ports, and it connects via USB. If you're one of those Golden-Tee-loving types who's into trackballs, it's available for a kinda expensive 5,290Yen ($60). [RedFerret via OhGizmo]

Disguised as a bookcase holding the owner's Star Wars collectibles and knick-knacks, the shelving can be pushed to reveal a hidden home cinema. On the other side of that door lays the best part—Han Solo himself. Whatever this guy does for a living should be given up pronto, as I'd be willing to fling him a few dollars to build me a secret room. [Instructables via TechEblog]

The Artform No. 1 figurine was built by Mark Ho out of over 500 parts and the 17-inch, 16-pound fellow is fully articulated, which means that he can be posed in any of the shapes the human form can take and then some:

Only 25 of these sculptures have been made and, while their prices aren't listed, I can't help but want one to lounge on my desk, giving me those sultry bedroom eyes as I write silly posts. [Zoho Artforms via Automata/Autamaton via Make]

If you want to check it out yourself, you'll have to have a copy of the movie on Blu-ray and a Blu-ray player that supports BD-Live. If not, just check out Giz tomorrow when I give you the highlights live.

And for those who are curious as to how these director's commentary live screenings have been going, here's our Terminator Salvation liveblog in which I almost stabbed myself with a beer bottle.

Update: Here's the link you can use to sign up for the screening. [Warner Bros BD Live]

If that description doesn't make sense, here's what the structure looks like. The catch is that if you wanna use this new hard drive format, it requires you performing a clean install of your OS. Other drive manufacturers are looking at this up, so everybody might get to benefit from Advanced Formatting and the extra space. Hoo-ray. [WD, WD (PDF) via PC Perspective via Electronista, Image via Wikipedia]

Check out the video above. It's choc full of whimsy. Of course, I will be dammed if I'm paying $65 for something that only does 320 x 240 resolution at 8fps with no audio. [Exemode via Engadget]

These pieces by Miguel Rivera, a systems administrator, require weekends of man hours and a massive amounts of old gear to complete (each layer of each wheel you see requires cracking the case on another hard drive, and the sculptures lack plastic or any "gluing [of] things together"). [Wired]

It's not cheap, at $60, but if you're serious photographer in the field it might be well worth it. I can't wait to check it out, myself. Update: Yes, it is similar in some respects to Black Rapid's R-Strap. [LumaLoop]

Notice the language. Not next month, not even first quarter 2010, but first half. Meaning it could take as long as June. Really guys? [Twitter]

That figure is the average spending per user, post-Black friday. The main winners were Best Buy—with a 18.3% year-over-year growth—and Fry's—with a 12.2%. No only that but, spending in the high end retail has also increased, reverting a negative trend.

Great. Now all those people without a single penny in the bank will be able to be rejoice. [Mint]

And now that you voted, click here for the big reveal!.