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Here are Gizmodo’s Greatest Hits 2007, the most popular stories, the best of the best in a single bubblelicious list full of gadgets, juicy industry happenings, in-deep reviews, shocking tech news, weird war planes, Star Wars, boobs and sex. With dogs. Sometimes, all combined into one. What are the most popular Giz stories of 2007? See the top 20 and the monthly top 5, re-read the stories and pick your favorite 2007 article after the jump:

Top 10 Giz Stories for 2007

1. Hotdoll: The Sex Doll for Dogs - 721,911 views

2. Rocket-Powered 21-Foot-Long X-Wing Model Actually Flies, Has Built-in R2-D2 - 468,346 views

3. Verizon’s LG VX10000 Voyager Revealed and Groped (with Gallery) - 444,887 views

4. Sidekick 4 and Sidekick Slide? - 437,106 views

5. Storm Trooper Stripper (OK, Prostitute) 410,361 views
newVideoPlayer(”stormtrooper_stripper_gawker.flv”, 475, 376);

6. X-Wing Rocket Launches, Disintegrates Mid-Air - 398,872 views
newVideoPlayer(”xwing_launch_gawker.flv”, 475, 376);

7. The World’s Most Effective Speed Bump - 376,581 views
newVideoPlayer(”speedbump.flv”, 475, 376);
-
8. The iPhone: Price - $499 4GB, $599 8GB in June - 356,735 views

9. Video of Bill Gates Showing off his Expensive Table - 301,060 views
newVideoPlayer(”gates_table_gawker.flv”, 475, 376);

10. Breaking: Digg Riot in Full Effect Over Pulled HD-DVD Key Story - 268,268 views

11. How To: Install Apps on Your iPhone Easily, No Hacking Skills Required - 259,005 views

12. Terminator Sex Positions - 252,253 views

13. iPhone Firmware 1.1.1 Out and Tested: Breaks 3rd-party Apps, Relocks iPhones and Sends Them to Semi-Brick Activation Limbo (Updated with video) - 246,681 views

14. Exclusive: iPhone Free Software Unlock Confirmed (Death Star Explodes) - 243,591 views

15. Gang Kidnaps Gamer to Get Password Using Fake Orkut Date - 242,272 views

16. iPhone Review - 232,079 views

17. Squirrel Catapult is Awful, Yet We Can’t Look Away - 226,650 views
newVideoPlayer(”squirrel_trap_gawker.flv”, 475, 376);

18. Biggest BSOD of All Time? - 225,035 views

19. iPhone Software Unlock Confirmed on Video - 222,088 views
newVideoPlayer(”iphoneunlock_gawker.flv”, 475, 266);

20. The Gizmodo Ultimate Black Friday Deal Guide - 209,135

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Monthly Top 5 Stories for 2007
The numbers of the monthly top 5 stories for 2007 are different from the top 20 above. The reason is simple: the following are the readers of a new story in that given month. The list on the top, however, shows the cumulative 2007 readership.

January
1. Leaked: Screenshots of OS X Leopard Terminal, Parental Controls, More
Jan 24 2007 153,475

2. iPhone Ringtone Sounds Like Holy Angels Tinkling: Download it Here
Jan 18 2007 141,867

3. Leaked Pt 2: OS X Leopard Spotlight, QuickView
Jan 25 2007 80,704

4. Zune: How We’ve Lived With It For Three Months
Jan 25 2007 75,430

5. Microsoft Ultimate Wireless 7000 Keyboard Hands-On
Jan 19 2007 68,750

February
1. The Original 1983 Microsoft Mouse
Feb 2 2007 102,235

2. Coolest… Lamps… Ever…
Feb 8 2007 92,891

3. Super Bowl Ad Watch: Top Spots
Feb 5 2007 82,479

4. The Most Ridiculous Windows Video Ever
Feb 7 2007 77,769

5. Horseshoes and Hand Grenades: Joel Johnson Returns…to Spank Us All for Supporting Crap
Feb 13 2007 75,338

March
1. AppleTV First Unboxing
Mar 21 2007 124,935

2. Best Booth Babe Ever: Samsung’s Leopard Lady
Mar 12 2007 117,883

3. DirectX 9 vs DirectX 10: Worth Upgrading to Vista For?
Mar 9 2007 97,587

4. Real Picture of the Optimus Keyboard?
Mar 6 2007 76,200

5. DIY: Apple TV Hard Drive Upgraded to 120GB
Mar 23 2007 74,235

April
1. Hotdoll: The Sex Doll for Dogs
Apr 18 2007 466,081

2. This is Why You Shouldn’t Clean Your HDTV with Windex
Apr 11 2007 145,288

3. Booster Blades: Honorable Suicide
Apr 22 2007 127,038

4. Exclusive Pics of the Vudu - Video Store In A Box
Apr 28 2007 73,004

5. Shocking: An Innovative iPod Case from DLO
Apr 18 2007 71,634

May
1. Breaking: Digg Riot in Full Effect Over Pulled HD-DVD Key Story
May 2 2007 264,776

2. F-35 Helmet Display System To Scare the Bejeezus Out of Enemies
May 15 2007 180,525

3. Video of Bill Gates Showing off his Expensive Table
May 30 2007 176,985

4. Intel Unveils Metro, World’s Thinnest Laptop, Almost Skinny as a RAZR
May 24 2007 130,423

5. World’s Highest Swing Looks Terrifying
May 11 2007 111,855

June
1. Squirrel Catapult is Awful, Yet We Can’t Look Away
Jun 19 2007 173,917

2. The iPhone: Price - $499 4GB, $599 8GB in June
Jan 9 2007 159,483

3. Amazing SawStop Cuts Anything But Your Fingers
Jun 4 2007 144,130

4. Angel Sword Guitar Plays Iron Maiden Songs, Slays Teen Pop Stars
Jun 21 2007 139,922

5. Megan Fox Gets Ready for Transformers Debut By Lounging Around in Her Underwear
Jun 27 2007 106,588

July
1.
“>Gang Kidnaps Gamer to Get Password Using Fake Orkut Date
Jul 20 2007 225,306

2. Typhoon Strike Fighter Closing Dangerously On Hercules C130’s Cargo Bay
Jul 29 2007 179,998

3. iPhone Review
Jul 9 2007 159,698

4. Google Streetview Camera Car Fleet Set to Invade America
Jul 17 2007 159,505

5. Why You Shouldn’t Smash a Can of WD-40
Jul 19 2007 156,794

August
1. Storm Trooper Stripper (OK, Prostitute)
Aug 5 2007 389,709

2.
“>The iPod nano Mock-Up (UPDATED again: Yes, It Is Real)
Aug 22 2007 177,832

3.
“>Oops, iPhone Display Needs to Reboot, Runs Windows XP
Aug 2 2007 171,650

4. Best. Phishing email. Ever.
Aug 17 2007 164,397

5. F Cup Cookies Promise That Their Fat Will Go Straight to Your Boobs
Aug 6 2007 151,274

September
1.
“>iPhone Free Software Unlock Confirmed (Death Star Explodes)[
Sep 11 2007 188,569

2. iPhone Firmware 1.1.1 Out and Tested: Breaks 3rd-party Apps, Relocks iPhones and Sends Them to Semi-Brick Activation Limbo (Updated with video)
Sep 27 2007 179,010

3. iPhone Software Unlock Confirmed on Video
Sep 7 2007 144,263

4. New 8-mm-Thick iPod Touch Makes Us Drool, Itch with Desire Sep 5 2007 128528

5. 35 Years of Tokyo Progress in 10 Seconds
Sep 8 2007 122,991

October
1. Rocket-Powered 21-Foot-Long X-Wing Model Actually Flies (Updated: Built-in R2-D2)
Oct 2 2007 459,513

2. X-Wing Rocket Launches, Disintegrates Mid-Air
Oct 8 2007 393,467

3. Verizon’s LG VX10000 Voyager Revealed and Groped (with Gallery)
Oct 3 2007 234,147

4. Family Guy Explains The Death Star Flaw
Oct 13 2007 151,608

5. James Randi Offers $1 Million If Audiophiles Can Prove $7250 Speaker Cables Are Better
Oct 1 2007 145,641

November
1. The World’s Most Effective Speed Bump
Nov 26 2007 309,788

2. Biggest BSOD of All Time?
Nov 9 2007 221,151

3. The Gizmodo Ultimate Black Friday Deal Guide
Nov 20 2007 209,135

4. Soldier Uses Wii to Catch Wife Doing Up, Down, Left, Right, A-B-A-B With Another Man
Nov 20 2007 203,717

5. Desktop Evolution: Windows and Mac OS Visual Comparison Through the Years
Nov 26 2007 176,796

December
1. Very NSFW Video: Beautiful Topless Girls Playing Wii
Dec 4 2007 198,743

2. Best Windows Error Ever May Rip Time-Space Continuum, Destroy Reality
Dec 6 2007 196,517

3. Imperial Stormtroopers Arrest Santa, Emperor to Take Over Xmas
Dec 16 2007 145,247

4.
“>The New Dark Knight Trailer
Dec 16 2007 144,614

5. Google Maps Catches Sophisticated High School Football Field Prank
Dec 5 2007 142,398

Do you have any other suggestion as the best post of 2007? Tell us your favorite in the comments.

Have great fun tonight and a Happy New Year from everyone in Gizmodo!

Original post by Jesus Diaz

“A federal judge in California ruled on Monday that wireless chip maker Qualcomm can keep selling chips whose designs infringe patents held by rival Broadcom Corp through January 2009. [Reuters]

Original post by Brian Lam

“A federal judge in California ruled on Monday that wireless chip maker Qualcomm can keep selling chips whose designs infringe patents held by rival Broadcom Corp through January 2009. [Reuters]

Original post by Brian Lam

Our official Gizmodo Reader of the Year for 2007 is David Bacio, also known as Deputy Sheriff David Bacio. He was one of the runners-up in the Inappropriate Gizmodo Browsing contest, submitting a picture of himself in front of a computer reading Gizmodo while at the station. So why is he the reader of the year? Because some douchebag called up his Sheriff, made a complaint, which ended up in a punishment for him just for being a loyal Giz reader.

In the end, David was determined (by the Sheriff’s department) to have violated county internet policy and the code of conduct. He was also removed from his position, docked pay, and has a written reprimand that will stay in his file for three years. And for what? Taking an innocent picture of himself in front of a computer while on the job—an act that takes less time than going to the bathroom or taking a quick coffee break. We salute you, David, for being a loyal Gizmodo reader even despite the crap we got you into with the contest.

And here’s to our worst Gizmodo reader of the year, the asshole who called up David’s boss to complain. Please escort yourself out. Seriously. We don’t want you here.

Original post by Jason Chen

Gizmodo would be a sad lonely place without you, the readers. Sure, we would keep drinking cocktails and having wild beach parties in the South Pacific, but it just wouldn’t be the same. No, really. So here they are, without further ado, the Top 20 Most Commented Articles and the Top 5 Commenters of 2007. Check them out and vote for your favorite after the jump:

Top 20 Most commented articles of 2007

1. Halo: Halo 3 Swag Rebagging (Plus Apology) - 415
newVideoPlayer(”halo3fanboyseatshit_gawker.flv”, 475, 286);

2. iPhone Revisited (Verdict: Don’t Buy) - 344

3. Contest: Win a Free iPhone Software Unlock - 336

4. How to Comment: Win a Free iPhone Software Unlock - 286

5. Apple: 8GB iPhone Price Cut by $200, 4GB iPhone Gone - 279

6. Homophobia: Shareholder Takeover Planned to Stop Microsoft’s ‘Homosexual Agenda’ - 273
newVideoPlayer(”gaymsft_gawker.flv”, 475, 376);

7. Gizmodo iPhone Hands-On: I Called My Mommy - 237

8. Vote Giz: Vote for Giz! - 225

9. Apple: Apple’s Beat Keynote Liveblog Here - 221

10. Exclusive: iPhone Free Software Unlock Confirmed (Death Star Explodes) - 215

11. Unicorn Chaser: We’re Not Backing Out of Halo - 213

12. Top: Apple WWDC 2007 Liveblog - Steve Jobs Keynote - 211

13. Question Of The Day: Zune or iPod? - 209

14. iPhone Firmware 1.1.1 Out and Tested: Breaks 3rd-party Apps, Relocks iPhones and Sends Them to Semi-Brick Activation Limbo (Updated with video - 208

15. Whiners: Bitching About Too Much iPhone Coverage? Listen Up - 197

16. High Schooler Gets Detention for Using Firefox? UPDATE: Nope - 187

17. Announcements: Which Gizmodo Commenters Suck? - 184

18. Advertising: Intel Ad Might be Racist, but Boy Does It Make Me Want a Core 2 Duo 183

19. Oh, Food! I’ll Just - Wahhhhhh!!: Squirrel Catapult is Awful, Yet We Can’t Look Away 180

20. How to Comment: How Much Storage Do You Have? - 170

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Top 5 Commenters of 2007
1. strider_mt2k’s Activity - 4,151
2. Kaiser-Machead’s Activity - 1,986
3. nutbastard’s Activity - 1,356
4. ANoel’s Activity 1,327
5. omg-ponies’s Activity - 1,245

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If you have another favorite comments or commenters, tell us in the comments and then other people can comment to your comments until a time-space warp is generated and gets all of us sucked into the next year or a new dimension.

Original post by Jesus Diaz

Most of us know the Times Square Ball as the
symbol of the new year, fresh starts and the last moment of
celebration before you puke up cheap champagne. But it’s also an
interesting gadget, so to speak,
changing with the times alongside consumer trends. So for its
100th birthday, we’ve made a mega timeline (click for mega pic) to
show the ball through its various tech fashions. And it’s pretty
neat. Yes, we just said neat.

The idea of a timeball was actually born in 1832 when Robert Wauchope, a Royal Navy Officer, devised a way for those at sea to sync their marine chronometers (watches) with the shore. A giant ball would drop at a pre-arranged time that could be seen for miles around. Sailors, of course, probably didn’t throw confetti or kiss another in glee (though they were quite possibly drunk). Here’s the rest of our timeball timline in written form.

1904 - Times Square coined.

1907 - The First Ball drops. It’s made of iron, wood, 100 25-watt bulbs…and it’s 700lbs.

1917 - First billboard with moving lights goes up (in Times Square).

1920 - Ball goes 100% iron, nearly 50% lighter at 400lbs.

1927 - Oleg Vladimirovich Losev discovers LED to little fanfare.

1939 - WWII begins.

1942 - Losev dies of hunger.

1942-43 - Ball out for WWII “dimout,” people partied but offered a moment of silence at new year

1951 - Xenon lamps first went on sale in Germany.

1955 - Ball drops to 150lbs. Suck it, Oprah.

1962 - American scientists discover LED.

1976 - Times Square is declared most dangerous area of New York City.

1979 - Disco dies.

1981-88 - Ball becomes an apple for “I Love New York” campaign. Red lights, green stem…subsequent puke color not specified.

1989 - New Yorkers realize apple ball is stupid, go back to normal design with white lights.

1993 - BMW is the first to use Xenon lights in cars.

2002 - Gizmodo is born.

1993-2003 - Times Square violent crime drops 85%.

1995 - Ball is computerized, aluminumized, covered in rhinestones, and strobe lights.

2000-07 - Ball is made of Waterford crystal, now weighing 1070lbs (which is the heaviest to date, nearly 10 times its weight in the ’50s). Lighting includes one 10,000W Xenon lamp and 432 multi-colored (5 colors) bulbs. Plus, it features 144 strobe lights and 92 rotating pyramid mirrors—disco anyone?

2008 - Today we have the same base crystal ball, but it’s been fitted with 9,576 Luxeon LEDs from Philips with 16.7 million programmable colors. Needless to say, that’s a lot more visual variety than the 5 available colors of just a few years back.

Happy New Year everyone!

For more information, check out New York’s own guide and timeline on Times Square and this helpful wiki. And a special thanks to our own resident Jesus Diaz, who stayed in for part of his New Year’s celebrations to make us this badass graphic.

Original post by Mark Wilson

NBC is insisting that the Golden Globes will go on as scheduled on January 13th, but Hollywood insiders say differently. The Writers Guild (WGA) has not given the show a waiver, so any star that appears on the red carpet or at the event will have to cross the picket lines and be considered a strikebuster. Most A-list actors have stated that they won’t be attending the event, which would make it a ratings disaster for NBC.

Speaking to the New York Times over the weekend, WGA strike coordinator Jeff Hermanson said the guild would position strikers along the sidewalks around the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
“If the Globes is telecast and it is produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is a struck company, we will picket the show,” Hermanson said.



Such actions, of course, would likely prevent A-listers from attending, concerned that an appearance might garner them negative publicity as strikebusters. Publicists for many stars say their clients have already signaled they wouldn’t turn out for any struck productions.
Further complicating matters is the Screen Actors Guild’s own potential work action against networks and studios. SAG’s current deal expires in June, and actors have threatened to follow the WGA and strike if their demands for a larger share of payments related to new-media growth are not met.



The Times quoted several unnamed insiders saying the Foreign Press Association has begun exploring ways to ensure nominees such as Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Keira Knightley, Denzel Washington, Katherine Heigl and George Clooney make the scene without incurring any sort of public backlash or embarrassment.
Among the ideas bandied about: nixing the dinner and trophy fest in favor of a Webcast or a private affair, the organization’s first since 1979.

The People’s Choice Awards has bowed to the inevitable and has scrapped the normal format. Instead the show will have pre-taped interviews with stars, which should be a big yawn. We don’t see any way the Golden Globes can go forward unless NBC Universal goes back to the negotiating table immediately. The Screen Actors Guild’s contract expires in June, and if a deal with the writers isn’t inked by then (which would most likely be duplicated with SAG) the actors will probably also go on strike.



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Original post by ShoppingBlog.com

Today’s most popular headlines are

• 
  UPGRADES
  

  (13,067 views)

• 
  DO NOT WANT
  

  (9,403 views)

• 
  TIMEBALL HISTORY
  

  (6,376 views)

Today’s most discussed stories are

Hello Kitty Contact Lenses Shake Me to the Core (47 comments), Official Nintendo Fix for Malfunctioning Wiimotes: Smack It (35) and Gizmodo Reader of the Year: David Bacio (31).

Original post by Mark Wilson

It looks like the next version of the Eee PC will feature WiMax goodness, per this listing for a CES event on Asus’s site:

WiMAX Today. WiMAX Tomorrow: An Official ASUS/ Intel/ Sprint Joint Launch
Join ASUS, Intel and Sprint to learn about the state of WiMAX technology, preview next-generation mobile solutions (including the next generation EeePC) and immerse yourself in tomorrow’s wireless protocol.

That’s on Jan. 7, and we’ll definitely be there. Now about the bigger screen.

According to Taiwanese paper Commercial Times (reliability factor of Taiwanese papers is about a 5.5 out of 10, generally speaking) run through the cold Google translation machine, “Currently Eee PC seven inches mainly by the Friends of the supply, and with the new Asus eight.9-inch Eee PC forthcoming.” Also: “It is understood that in January next year, Asustek also Eee PC, the new specifications will be listed in addition to the screen some of the current seven inches, will join the eight.9-inch screen.”

After we press blend on the rumor mixer, we come up with a new Eee PC launching at CES with an 8.9-inch screen and WiMax, which sounds like hot stuff, though the price point is likely to be a bit higher than machine-moving $399. We’re pretty psyched to see it, either way. [Asus, Commercial Times (trans.) via Electronista]

Original post by Matt Buchanan

Everyone knows that when all else fails, smacking a malfunctioning device might just solve the problem. It works with TVs, it works with computers and it works with just about anything. Well, sometimes. But would you expect that to be an official solution to malfunctioning gadgets? Because it’s exactly what Nintendo support is telling people to do to wonky Wiimotes.

According to Wired blogger GeekDad, this is an exchange he had with Nintendo support:

Friendly Nintendo Help Desk Lady: “Okay - I want you to take the remote, button side down and smack it into the palm of your hand two or three times.”

Russ: “You’ve got to be kidding”

Friendly Nintendo Help Desk Lady: “No sir, do it hard enough that I can hear it across the phone line but not hard enough to damage the remote”

Russ: “You’re sure?”

Friendly Nintendo Help Desk Lady: “Yes, sir.”

And, of course, it worked. Gotta love it. [GeekDad via Kotaku]

Original post by adam frucci