The battery will also include a system that will allow users to monitor their electricity usage through their televisions. Seems like a viable alternative to solar batteries and fuel cells, but I'm curious to know how a week of powering a Japanese home equates to powering a typical American home. Either way, the technology won't be available until sometime in 2011. [Physorg]

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.

The bot set is available for $33, won't be confused with bedroom gadgets, and is almost cute when at work:

Now, I'm certain these bots are somehow evil and will take over the world, but frankly I don't care if they spare me from any more singed tablecloths or hair. [Suck UK via Nerd Approved via Foolish Gadgets via Geeky Gadgets]

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

Husqvarna Automower: Come Springtime, the recipient of an Automower from Husqvarna is going to be calling you up every weekend to say thanks because he no longer needs to mow his lawn. The Automower works much like a Roomba does, mapping out the lawn (up to a 1/2 acre) and cutting it frequently in random pattens—so you don't need to worry about bagging. Plus, the top-of-the-line version is a solar electric hybrid, meaning that it's inexpensive to operate in the long term. Most versions even return to the charging base autonomously so the process is literally set it and forget it. $1300-$3000 [Husqvarna via Link]
Savant's TrueImage Home Automation System: If money wasn't an object, I'm pretty sure you would hit a home run with anyone this holiday if you gave them a Savant TrueImage home automation system. It allows the user to control devices in their home by interacting with an image of a room as opposed to 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.

Pricing Varies [Savant and Link]
Chefstack Automatic Pancake Maker: Would you be crazy to buy a $3500 pancake maker as a gift? Well, how much do your friends like pancakes? And I do mean all of your friends because this thing cranks out 200 perfectly-formed low fat pancakes (in three-sizes) per hour. Essentially, it's one big gift for all of your pancake-loving friends, and an even bigger gift for yourself when you visit. $3500 [Chefstack via Link]
Iomega's Ix2-200 NAS: If you know someone looking for a network storage solution, they will surely be thrilled with the Iomega Ix2-200. It does a lot of things for the price, and our hands-on review revealed that it does those things pretty well:

Features:

• Automated backup and restore: Full Time Machine support for Macs as well as Retrospect, a different backup scheme, for PCs and Macs.
• Automated copy jobs, which can automatically and incrementally copy (either with Windows file sharing or rsync) files off of network shares and dump it onto its own storage, or the other way around. Perfect for backing up other network shares for double data security
• RAID1
• DLNA, iTunes Servers
• Quiet running
• SMB features like email notifications, event logs, iSCSI, automated video surveillance (provided you have a compatible camera) and USB printer support
• A load of networking support, like Apple File Sharing, Bluetooth, FTP, NFS, Rsync, SNMP and standard Windows File Sharing (CIFS)
• Torrent downloading
• Remote access

$700 [Iomega Review and Iomega]
Schlage Link Doorlocks: If you know someone who travels frequently or has kids that get home before they do, a product from the Schlage Link line would a make nice, practical gift. The devices allow you to monitor and control access to your home remotely via a cellphone or other web-enabled device. Schlage Link thermostats and security cameras can also be added on to the system if you are interested in more security and control. Prices Vary Depending on Configuration [Amazon and Schlage via Link]
Vue Wireless Home Monitoring System: With the Vue, a loved one could monitor their home, their kids, and a suspicious babysitter or housekeeper remotely. The system consists of one central gateway and two tiny battery-powered wall-mountable wireless cameras for a relatively affordable price. $300 [Vue Review and Vuezone]
DON'T BUY the Book: Anyone Can Build a Tub-Style Mechanical Chicken Plucker: Just take a look at this video. I love chicken just as much as the next guy, but come on. This is why we have KFC. $20 [Amazon]
SmartLink Insteon: Serious home automation systems can be ridiculously expensive, but the SmartLinc Insteon can give users some of the same functionality at a fraction of the cost. The Insteon controllers is installed between the device and the wall outlet, allowing you to turn it on and off via your cellphone (optimized for iPhone and iPod Touch) or other web-enabled device. $130 [Smarthome Thanks Doug!]

Don't forget to recommend your own favorite home automation gadget in the 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.

Check out the Instructables guide for details on how to hollow out light bulbs and build the necessary stands without cutting up your hands. There are even some bonus light bulb projects on there.

Now, how about a few "How many ___ does it take to change a light bulb" jokes before you run off to DIY? [Instructables]

Brando calls it the USB Whirl Wind Warmer Cup and it's all too lovely. It keeps your beverage at a comfortable 40°C and stirs everything up at the push of a button. You can recharge the cup's batteries using either an AC outlet or a USB port, so there's no reason to be left without stirring power.

It's $37, and it may be my coffee cravings talking, but somehow that doesn't seem too bad considering how much all my lost spoons add up to. [Brando via Red Ferret]

Designed by Ross McBride and named "Dolly," this concept is a combination salt-and-pepper shaker with separate chambers for each of the two flavorings. It's actually pretty clever, since you'd never have to worry about misplacing half the set. But is that comfort worth awkward glances at the dinner table? [Dezeen]

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

Dyson Air Multiplier: Normal fans are fine for normal people who are home a few hours a day, but a full-time house-dweller needs a full-time fan. This is how you can justify $300 on a fan that's a gift. Because it's not just a fan, it's a statement: A statement that says your loved one may be too cheap to use air conditioning, but not too cheap to afford a Dyson. [Review; Dyson]

Sonos ZonePlayer S5: Anyone who values his time at home knows he needs music in every room. Every room. And The Sonos S5 is the first really self-contained unit that the music-streaming company has put out. It's easy enough to rig together your own setup of laptops, wireless streamers and speakers, but if you want to do it cleanly and do it elegantly, and if the recipient doesn't know anything about technology, Sonos is the way to go. Just be prepared to spend $400. [Hands on; Sonos]

Aquapeudics Shower: Total fantasy, but fantasy in the way that you can actually save up $4300 and purchase one for your own home. Yeah, it's a gift for yourself. Bathing is still important for people that don't go outdoors, and the Aquapeudics combines a multi-headed shower with a hot tub with an acupuncture massage with a foot massage with an alien probing station. [Shower; Aquapeudics]

Honeywell Touchscreen Thermostat: Just because someone's adverse to going outside doesn't mean they like walking up and down stairs in order to adjust the temperature. Get one of these, including the touchscreen remote, so they can carry the controls with them at all times. It even helps make sure the temperature is correct where they are instead of where the thermostat is. Is this person this adverse to moving around that you can justify $400 on this? Yes, yes they are. [Review]

Roomba 400 Professional Series: There are no janitors for your home to clean up after your mess. A Roomba is the next best thing. If you can find it on sale you can get it for all of $100 (or less!), but it is the ugly red model. Who cares, you're not the one looking at it. [iRobot]

Nikon Action 7x35 Binoculars: Just because your gift recipient is inside doesn't mean he doesn't want to see what's happening outside. In fact, he's probably very interested in keeping track of what his neighbors are up to. The Nikon Action 7x35 was named best budget binoculars by Consumer Search, and it's only $60. [Amazon]

Toto Washlet: There's an obvious upside to being able to use a personal bathroom all day. But the downsides are that your friend goes through toilet paper incredibly fast, and gets stuck with whatever comfort level they have on their best toilet. The Toto Washlet solves both problems. Depending on the model, it'll run you somewhere between $500 and $1000.

But everyone in Japan uses a Toto for a reason, because washing the ass before wiping cuts down on toilet paper usage by 80% (ballpark figure). And constantly heated seats is something nobody can turn down. [Toto]

Anything On This List: You know what agoraphobe means, right? They don't like going outside, so don't make them leave their house with any of the outdoors gifts on that list. [This list]

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.

I wouldn't let the Useful Towel replace the fluffy bathrobes I tend to favor, but I think I may spend the $22 and toss one into my kitchen. It should help me fake understanding Imperial measurements. [Bailey Doesn't Bark via Swiss Miss via OhGizmo!]

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons is in an uproar about the things people are doing in their bathrooms. It's not that those surgeons are just worried about losing money on procedures, they're bound to gain clients from all the DIY messups anyway, but they appear genuinely concerned about regulations and safety. And I agree, because somehow former Gizmodo intern Benny Goldman letting the Jezebel team cajole him into a bikini wax doesn't seem so insane when you read about people ordering Botox from websites called Discount MedSpa and putting videos of their DIY injections onto YouTube (Warning: the clip may make you cringe).

We all like to look pretty, but there are safer ways to get rid of hair, folks! And somehow it's better to have wrinkles than order Botox from a website that looks like it was made in Microsoft Word. [Wired]

The 2% figure is extrapolated from NPD's less direct assessment:

[A]pproximately 12 percent of all U.S. computer owning households own an Apple computer, up from 9 percent in 2008. While Apple ownership is growing, those households are decidedly in favor of mixed system environments. Of those 12 percent, nearly 85 percent also own a Windows-based PC.

At first glance, these stats almost seem wrong, but when you start think about it, they make sense: The survey polled "households," which, on account of grandma's Compaq or your roommate's gaming PC, clobbers the exclusivity figure. (I live in what any reasonable person would call a "Mac household"—three people who use Macs almost exclusively—but that little Acer netbook sitting on the table means we're not.)

Plus, PCs are cheap and they linger, and Macs, being pricier, tend to find their way into richer households, where more than one computer is almost a given. That, combined the fact that most Macs sold are laptops, and therefore a little more likely to be a supplemental computer, makes the 2% figure look a little less crazy, but still, 2%? Fanboys, you're slacking. [NPD via Macrumors]

It's not a novel idea to crush cans to 40% of their volume in order to recycle them, nor is it news that there's a gadget for it. What is of interest about this can crushing gadget is that it's automated and oriented toward households. Check out the video for a peek at the (rather durable looking) inner workings and you won't be surprised that it's great on battery life, too. Unlike my iPhone since a certain update. [Yanko Design]

The Piet features a ceramic shell, brass reflector plates on the interior and a layer of rock wool fire insulation in between. It also burns ethanol instead of wood, so there is no smoke or soot—meaning that the open flame can be "safely" lit in the home. Of course, it doesn't look like it would take much for your drunken ass to knock over when you have a belly full of egg nog and s'mores over the holidays. [cavalliusdesign via MoCoLoco and Coroflot]

"Normal milk jugs trap air inside them, which causes the milk to spoil rapidly," but with its innovative spring frame design, Fresh will eliminate those air pockets and leave you more time to enjoy that tasty white stuff. Fresh is easy to use as it stays on the table and you pour simply by pressing down on the container. (So, no more milk-drenched pants either!) Oh, and it's reusable, too. [Fresh via treehugger]

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Looks like cock rings make excellent cable organizers, and we bet those girls on Sex and the City weren't nearly open-minded enough to think to use The Rabbit vibrator as an immersion blender. My personal favorite, for sheer vulgarity, has to be the use of penis extenders (I had no idea such things even existed) as replacement bicycle hand grips. That one'll scare hell out of the neighbourhood committee. [Homemade Sex Toys]

[Images via Flickr and BlueQ]

It's a fun idea, but at prices that hover around $3500, you had better start feeding those kids caffeine and cigarettes to increase the longevity of your investment. [Slam Doors via Minor Details via Likecool]

That's right, Italian designer Antonio Lupi has brought the iPod dock to the mirror—any mirror with a steel frame to be more precise. It even features an LED-illuminated power switch underneath the mirror to make it easy to find in the candlelight when you and the missus are making sweet, sweet love to the glass-shattering sounds of Michael Bolton. [Antonio Lupi via Newlaunches via DVICE]

Indeed, the sink is basically a bucket with a drain and can be removed from its housing for tasks like watering plants, washing your car and bathing pets. Naturally, that means you are conserving and reusing excess water—so it is eco friendly as well. Sounds like a smart product to me—and the $25 price tag isn't bad either. [Hughie via Trendir]