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

Flip Ultra HD: We tested basically every pocket camcorder in existence, and this was the best one we found. It shoots 720p HD and is easy enough for your grandma to use. If you're buying a gift for someone looking to experiment on a budget or simply shoot vacation videos, this is a great little cam. $150 [Flip]

Clapboard: No, I'm serious. Though this might just look like a cheesy prom prop (and that's what it is), little has changed about the most recognized icon of the film industry. And for filmmakers, it's still extremely handy in tracking good takes, and syncing sound, if needed. The novelty ones are cheap (and many are probably more for show); but splurge on a fancy dry erase version if you really love the recipient. $2 to $30 [Prom Wishes ; B&H]

Vintage Hollywood Photographs from Life Magazine: Vintage posters are neat, but I'd contend that these Life prints feel a tad more heart-felt. From Kubrick working on 2001 to Marilyn Monroe doing her thing, there are many gems to be found in Life's archives. About $100 [2001 Series; More Life Photos]

Iron Man Arc Reactor: Most people's latent super powers are still off in hiding, but you never know when a nemesis will rip out your power core, forcing you to crawl across your home for a spare. Don't look at the Iron Man Arc Reactor as a superfluous purchase; see it as an investment your loved one's health. $150 [Museum Replicas]

Sony UWP-V1 Wireless Lavalier Mic: During my tenure in broadcast and commercial production, I found a good, wireless lavalier mic to be the most versatile tool in my bag. It can be hidden anywhere on a body/prop, and the pickup frequencies are surprisingly decent for foleying. Sony's entry level mic, the UWP-V1, should serve any young filmmaker well. $485 [B&H]

Kodak Five-Day Cinematography Workshop: Few of us will ever have the chance to shoot on real, 35mm film. But Kodak's boot camp will teach you the basics of 35mm cinematography and give you a chance to burn some 35mm stock while experts hold your hand. The tuition is by no means a non-factor, but come on, it's pretty much the coolest fantasy camp without Michael Jordan or spaceships. $2,000 [Kodak]

DON'T BUY Back to the Future 2 Hat: I know, it's neat you can buy this hat. But it looked dumb on Marty McFly and it will look even worse on whoever you give it to. [Amazon]

4K Red One Camera: Yes, the body itself starts at nor far under $20,000—without lenses, mounts, CF modules or pretty much anything you'll need to use it. Yes, this camera is just as hard to shoot with as any full-fledged film camera (if not even harder). But it's also the cheapest 4K camera you can acquire, and for the price of one extended 35mm camera rental, you'll have a system that's "free to use" again and again. Just make sure to gift those cinematography classes first. $17,500 and Up [Red]

Don't forget to recommend your own favorite gift ideas for movie buffs in comments—include pic 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.

More recently, Sun Danyong's alleged iPhone suicide has outed the company's brutal practices.

Now, one employee appears to have written an account of what it's like to be recruited and work for Foxconn (in perpetual overtime, for a grand total of about $220 a month) that was published on China Labor Watch. Needless to say, the experience more closely echoes an internment camp than a dull production line:

I was placed in a dormitory that has ten three-level bunk beds, thus accommodating 30 people. While many people refused to stay there at that time, the management said that it is much better than the other dormitories on site that are shared by hundreds of workers...The training begins immediately on the second day upon our arrival. At first I thought we would be informed of some professional operative skills and knowledge, but instead, we were taught the factory's regulations, culture, and acknowledgment of Foxconn's business concept. By now, I think it is safe to say that the training is a part of Foxconn's brain washing process. A supervisor told us that working at Foxconn requires total obedience; you do not need to be intelligent or highly skilled. After a week of training, we concluded that at Foxconn, we shouldn't treat ourselves as human beings, we are just machines. During the week, we also had a health examination, a very simple blood test, a blood pressure test and a vision test. We did not receive any results afterwards.

To read more on a business culture that will go so far as to fine its employees for uneaten rice in the cafeteria, hit the link. [China Labor Watch via Silicon Alley Insider]

I wanted to get the cars to drive into the cameras at high speeds, so we built one of my favorite rigs. We built a rig that had a camera and was completely ringed with basketballs. So it was this big giant ball. We stick it in the middle of the road, and the cars would drive at it. There is a shot in the very first race, when the original Frankenstein drives, where the car slides around the corner, and it looks like it hits the camera, and it does. And then the continuation of that is really funny because the camera just rolls away, bounces away, and it hits the wall.

I don't know about you, but I just got a lot more interested in the movie. Read the full interview with Anderson over at io9. [io9][Image]

FISKER AUTOMOTIVE ANNOUNCES A LETTER OF INTENT FOR
ASSEMBLY CONTRACT WITH VALMET AUTOMOTIVE

Valmet to Serve as Global Manufacturing Facility, Fisker Automotive
Strategy Sees Manufacturing Facility in the US for Future Models

IRVINE, CA. July 14, 2008: Fisker Automotive, Inc., a green American premium
car company, today announced that Valmet Automotive will manufacture its first
production car, the Fisker Karma. Known for producing high quality specialty cars
like the Porsche Boxster and Cayman for Porsche AG, the Finland-based contract
manufacturer brings to the Fisker Karma 40 years of experience of working with
OEM customers and their wide ranging engineering and production needs.

When the Fisker Karma begins rolling off the Valmet assembly line in the fourth
quarter of 2009, it will mark the first ever plug-in hybrid 4 door sports sedan to hit
the market. With 50 miles of electric range and more than 350 miles of total range,
the Fisker Karma with its proprietary Q-DRIVE powertrain developed by Quantum
Technologies, will have the potential for a fuel economy of over 100 miles per gallon
(MPG) on extended drives. Boasting a top speed of 125mph and 0-60 acceleration
in less than 6 seconds, the Fisker Karma is poised to be the world’s first true luxury
plug-in hybrid sports car.

“After an exhaustive global search, we are thrilled to have found the ideal
manufacturing partner in Valmet Automotive,” said Fisker Automotive CEO, Henrik
Fisker. “Valmet offers us the quality and speed necessary to meet our production
goals and given that more than half of Fisker Automotive’s sales are expected to be
outside of North America, Valmet represents an ideal international foothold. We do
have a strategic plan to utilize an American manufacturing site for future models of
the Fisker Karma."

“It is forecasted that the market of environmentally-friendly electric vehicles will
grow very fast and we are proud to be in the pole position in this growth”, says Ilpo
Korhonen, President of Valmet Automotive. “Fisker Automotive leads the way by
adapting the most innovative technologies to new, environmentally-friendly premium
cars. The strategic partnership with Fisker Automotive will open a new window for
Valmet Automotive. Our production process can be easily adapted to the production
of electric and hybrid cars and new body designs. In line with our renewed strategy,
engineering will have a strong role in the cooperation.”

“Our mission at Fisker Automotive is to develop beautiful, environmentally friendly
cars that make environmental sense without compromise – be it quality-wise or cost-
wise,” Fisker continued. “Valmet Automotive has the track-record, high quality
technology and has the dedicated resources to take us there, and their high tech
production line with eco-friendly automated paints agrees with our ideology.”

Initial domestic deliveries of Fisker Automotive’s first car, the Karma, will
commence in the 4th quarter of 2009 in North America with planned delivery to
Europe in 2010. Fisker Automotive’s annual production is projected to reach 15,000
cars, with more than half of sales expected to be overseas.

Powered by a custom version of Linux named Transmission, a 500MHz processor, and 256MB of RAM the Trinity DAW comes loaded with a variety of soft synths, sequencers, and audio editing programs. The workstation has 802.11g Wi-Fi, a 40GB hard drive, and is controlled by a touchpad and two buttons. It also has an USB input for controlling the soft synths and a set of XLR (big, three-pronged connector) and TRS (big headphone connector) inputs and outputs for interfacing external gear.

Sure, you wont be running 15 pieces of equipment at once, but that's what all the software is for, right? No price or release date has been set.
[Create Digital Music]

Despite rumors that they were holding back consoles either to increase demand or for the end of the fiscal year, we're still optimistic and think that Nintendo totally screwed the pooch and hasn't made enough consoles due to manufacturing problems. – Jason Chen

Nintendo Ramping Up Production of the Wii [Consumerist]

Image courtesy i4u

The biggest story here is editing software Premiere Pro's return to the Mac, where it was practically pushed out of the market by Apple's wildly popular Final Cut Pro three years ago. Premiere Pro has since been beefed up considerably, and enjoys the huge advantage of smooth interoperability with other Adobe applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator and the powerful compositing tool, After Effects. Expect to see the new Windows and Mac versions by mid-year.

Take a look at these screen shots:

Premiere Pro is the best editing software on the planet, and this sets up a battle royale between Apple and Adobe, the two video content creation industry titans. This will be fun to watch. – Charlie White

Adobe Annouces Mac Production Studio (Big Screen Shots) [Digital Video Editing]
Adobe Production Studio To Be Available for Both Mac and Windows [Adobe]

Panasonic Begins 50GB Blu-ray Disc Production [Trusted Reviews]

Samsung Elec to start new LCD line output in April [Reuters

Microsoft's Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said there wouldn't be a big initial spike and promised that the software giant would be able to ship between 4.5 and 5.5 million Xbox 360 consoles by the end of the business year to June 2006.

New Xbox set for slow start [Reuters]