Jules is an impressive animatronic puppet created by American robotics designer David Hanson, first presented at the Wired NextFest last year. He's the next version in a long line of 13 robots by Hanson so far. This one has camera eyes that can track human faces, can recognize speech, and is loaded with "conversational persona" software that gives him an uncanny realism. But this is just the beginning. Jules describes himself as "a baby," and said to Hanson's son, Zeno:

"By the time you're grown up, I'll be as smart as a real person, and we will be like brothers. I do not know if you'll remember me then, but I will never forget you. Someday I'll come and find you, and we'll be friends."

He's going to come and find us? Let's hope we'll be friends. But is this a robot or a sophisticated puppet? What's the diff? Either way, this is spooky stuff. – Charlie White

Hanson Robotics Site

Does anyone out there really have enough devices to warrant an 8-port HDMI switcher? I mean, you could have a PS3, an Xbox 360 Elite, a HD DVD player and a Blu-ray player, and despite the redundancies and pointlessness in having all of those things you'd still have four empty ports.

But then, I guess this thing isn't really for regular consumer use, seeing it's meant to be mounted in a rack and not sit on top of a receiver. And $900 isn't a very consumer-friendly price for a boring old switcher. But hey, if you're one of the half dozen or so people out there who really need to be able to switch between eight HDMI devices, go nuts. –Adam Frucci

Product Page [Akihabara News]

If beanbags had a version 2.0, the Slouchpad would be it. A gamer's dream, it has two built-in 5-watt RMS speakers and a 10-watt RMS subwoofer for those outta-the-chair moments when you're playing Gears Of War. And it's not just gamer-friendly, as you can plug just about anything into it, from MP3 players to TVs, DVDs and your laptop.

The Slouchpad comes in six colors, including classic black, cream and red, and the more nausea-inducing lilac, pink and white. The price is $600 (ouch) and it's available in the UK and Europe at the moment, but if you ask nicely, I'm sure they'll ship it to you. – Ad Dugdale

Product Page [Slouchpod via Red Ferret]

Intel has jumped onto the flexible display bandwagon, promising us a future with bendable cellphones, GPS navigators and PDAs. According to the company's patent, the displays will be made up of two flexible sheets and magnetically controlled pixels. No word on when these displays will become a reality, but between Intel, LG Philips, and everyone else we're hoping it'll be sooner rather than later. – Louis Ramirez

Intel is Working on Flexible Screen for Mobile Devices [Unwired View]

Mother's Day is coming up, and you know what that means: Time to break out the kitsch. Here are two perfect candidates, these fluffy alarm clocks by Luft, and hey, one of them even looks like an old-fashioned iMac.

Sure, we showed you that Glo Pillow techno-pillow clock yesterday, but that one isn't even real yet and will probably cost you a ton o' money. Here's the real thing, waking you up and embarrassing you if anyone else sees it in your house. And that joy, that comfort of knowing you have the tackiest taste on the whole cellblock—now that's certainly priceless. – Charlie White

Interesting Desk Clock (Chinese) [163.com, via Spluch]

Teachers, eh? First they came to praise the iPod, then they came to bury it. A spate of incidents involving iPods in class and exam rooms has led to a ban on digital media players in some schools. A high school in Idaho has been one of the first establishments to ban MP3 players after teachers overheard some of the kids talking about downloading formulae and other crib material onto the players. "It doesn't take long to get out of the loop with teenagers," said Aaron Maybon, principal of Mountain View High School. "They come up with new and creative ways to cheat pretty fast."

Unlike the students of Duke University of North Carolina, it seems. Three years ago it handed out iPods to its undergrads in an attempt to enhance the learning process. And have they seen an increase in cheating? No, according to Tim Dodd, exec director of The Center for Academic Integrity at Duke, who claims it is beneath his students to stoop to that level, and that such incidents have dropped over the past decade. So what's the moral of the story? You can trust an undergrad, but not a high schooler, it seems. – Ad Dugdale

Some schools ban iPods to stop cheating [Fox News]

The Drag Racer Alarm Clock strikes me as the perfect present for that special someone who you really don't like. A person on whom you wish a jarring, migraine-popping, nightmareish start to the day—or failing that, a petrolhead. First of all, the amber lights on the Christmas tree start to flash, but it is not until they flip to green that the sound of 80-horsepower hell is unleashed in the bedroom.

The manufacturers could have gone further, I suppose, and piped in the fried food 'n' petrol smells of the racetrack to rouse you from your dreams about that trackside babe oiled up to here and her boilersuit unzipped down to there. It has a snooze mode, as well as temperature and humidity gauges (just what you need in the steamy wilds of your bedroom, eh?) and it will set you back $29.95. – Ad Dugdale

Product Page [SkyMall via Shiny Shiny]
It costs $29.99.

I think this is self-explanatory. I'm more of a dog person, myself, so I'd have no qualms about having this on my desk. Apparently the cat goes "Meow" when you stick your pencil up its butt, which is not very realistic. Far better that it leap up and down and bite you, then do a poo on the desk. Anyway, the Cat's Arse Pencil Sharpener costs $14. – Ad Dugdale

Product Page [I Want One Of Those via UberGizmo]

Yes, without any competition, our first week wins the title of best ever. Here we've gathered some links back to the first week of Australian content, in case you missed them in the face of overwhelming US entries.

We had some Sony videos: Creative Side and Kiss.
That last one is still giving me nightmares.

Virgin loosens up with $10/month for 1GB data.
If you aren't doing 3 X-Series, this is some kick ass data pricing.

Sexy laser etched Bluetooth headsets.
You can't buy them (yet), but they sure make good eye candy.

Samsung showed us their new TVs and the auto wall mount.
15,000:1 in an LCD TV is a sight to behold.

AVCHD edits in da house!
If you dig on a Sony 'ecosystem', then Vegas has got your AVCHD editing needs covered.

Battery cell-size adapters and other crazy ideas.
I learned some valuable lessons in battery recharging... did you?

When the Elite showed up earlier today, I decided to cut to the chase and test the only thing that matters on it: the HDMI output. It's not a new console. Almost everything about the Xbox 360 in white stands true for the Elite: It theoretically doesn't run cooler, or quieter, or faster, and you've already seen the beauty shots, videos, guttings, and more weeks ago. Don't let the black paint job distract you; the only thing you need to ask is if it improves the video quality? After 7 hours of testing, with standard definition DVDs, HD DVDs, benchmark discs, WMV movies from Marketplace, games, and even photos, I have my verdict:

The XBox Elite's HDMI output is the best around for all the formats I mentioned above.

Should you buy it?

Gamers who have an Xbox 360? No!

Videophiles looking for an HD DVD player? No!

Videophiles looking to get into the Xbox Live video marketplace? Yes, but know that this bitch is still loud.

Guys like me who are gamers and video geeks? Ya, this is for you. The fact that all that video and audio is being piped through a single HDMI cable is a bonus. And this is confirmed by only one other Xbox Elite owner, but I swear its touch cooler and quieter, but those differences could come from the old unit's worn fan bearings, and dust on heatsinks causing undue heat retention. It's a wash.

It's kind of technical, but if you really want to know why the HDMI is better, read on.

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Ty Roberts, CTO of Gracenote—the company that runs CDDB, among other endeavors—said at a conference on DRM this week that record labels are "about to cave in the next six months" when it comes to DRM and downloads, giving credence to Jobs' claim that half of iTunes tracks will be available DRM-free by the end of the year. At the same time, he's not sure that it "would be a good thing for the digital content industry in the long term."

Paul Jessop, CTO of the RIAA, told Ars after the talk that the labels could "all fold tomorrow, [or] they could all hold out." We're glad that that's sorted out. Nonetheless, the pressure's on—from consumers, from Apple, and recently, from EMI, so holding out's looking less and less feasible if the labels want to get their product out there and into our ears. – Matt Buchanan

Exec: Music labels "about to cave in the next six months" on DRM [Ars Technica]
Image via Flickr

Despite Big Four agitation for an iTunes subscription service, Steve-o told Reuters on Wednesday that not only has that model "failed so far," iTunes customers "don't seem to be interested in it."

He reasons that they'd prefer to own, rather than rent, music. So why not just give us the choice? Just because someone signs up for a subscription doesn't mean they can't purchase tracks anymore. If subscription rates really are low, then just stop offering the service—there doesn't seem to be a downside to the proposition.

On a more positive note, in the same interview he said that "by the end of this year, over half of the songs we offer on iTunes we believe will be in DRM-free versions." Now if they'd only drop the 30-percent markup. – Matt Buchanan

Jobs says Apple customers not into renting music [Reuters]
Image via Flickr

Getting more and more keys to put on your keychain when you were a kid may have been cool, but now all that massive clump of metal does is give your pants that unwanted bulge look (as opposed to the wanted bulge look). With the keyport, you're free to shove six of your favorite keys into what looks to be a lighter-sized gadget, easily extending and retracting them when needed. Plus, there's RFID and a built-in LED light, as well as keyless entry for your car.

The thing's still in its design phase now, but you can sign up on their site to get notified when they ship. Personally, we're pretty stoked at being able to ditch the unwieldy keyring for something more compact. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Key-port via Crunchgear]

Spring is in season, which only means one thing: more annoying wind chimes on my neighbor's front porch. Okay, I'm being a bit harsh—wind chimes are kind of nice sounding, but not at 6 a.m. This wind chime alarm clock can fulfill your fix of wind chimey-ness without the need for the pesky wind. The pipes are attached to a programmable LCD display and is powered by a few AA batteries. Batteries replacing wind? I'm sure that isn't making the energy-nuts happy. $20. –Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via SCI FI]

Tired of flipping between four remote controls to operate all your A/V gear? Designed by Chen Hung Ming, the Book-style remote has three "pages" you can flip through to control either your TV, DVD or stereo. Each page has a small tab/bookmark that explains what each page controls. The concept itself isn't new (there are tons of universal remotes out there), but the design is pretty refreshing compared with all the copycat remotes you'll find in stores. – Louis Ramirez

Book-style Remote Control [Yanko Design]

NTT-Neomeit's upcoming service for remote home control from the cellphone is something we want very badly. For just $4 a month, your cellphone can access a Web page that will control power switches, TVs, A/V equipment, lamps, A/C or just about anything. Why would we want this?

Just the scenario of turning off your radiator, heater, TV or A/C if you forgot to when you left the house should be enough. But how about turning on a rice maker when you're about to leave work to go home? Or turning up the heat in preparation for your arrival? You're sure to come up with even cooler applications yourselves. – Jason Chen

NTT's cellphone-operated remote control home system [Pinktentacle]

If having buff action figures on your desk reminds you of your own flaccid muscular structure, then this GeekMan figure will make you feel like Dolph Lundgren. Complete with a BlackBerry, a Windows (Acer? Lenovo?) PC, an analog watch, coffee mug and gigantic spectacles, the GeekMan really does remind us to get out, exercise and play with some real-life people once in a while.

Maybe if you put him in a drawer with that slut Malibu Stacy, you'll have some Geek kids soon as well. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Gifts for Engineers via Chip Chick]

Some of you might remember the Suitcase Bike concept that we showed you last year. Where the bike folds up into itself to resemble a suitcase with wheels. While this may look similar, it has one major difference. It's in production.

That's right, in just a few short months for $400 you'll be able to ride around on one of the oddest designed bikes in years. What's too bad is that it actually is quite impressive, as far as the mechanics and everything. But the design, it just screams "Give me an atomic wedgie."

You should definitely check out the video of the bike magically assembling itself and riding off after the jump.

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Here's the best of the best from overnight. So you can get back to work faster... yeah, because that's exactly what you're going to do, right?

Anti-static keychain.
Of all the gadgety keychains, this is the one I'd actually use. But I'm a static wuss.

This time 8800 GTX takes the crown.
The graphics card war is never black and white. Here NVIDIA stays in front of ATI's latest.

Sony dropping SonicStage and adding drag-and-drop.
Finally! I like the Sony Walkman styles, but SonicStage is the pits.

An arcade cabinet for your desk.
No longer a giant piece of furniture you need to convince the SO to let you have room for. Just steal some table space and you're set.

LG planning a clamshell dual touchscreen.
Because touching one's screen is the way of the future.

Eyetoy update now just Eye.
Well aren't we all grown up now! Actually, this is looking pretty cool, in a brickish kind of way.

Not content on making Xbox laptops that nobody but him can actually build, Ben Heck is teaming up with eDimensional (see our review of their PS2 SIXAXIS-ish gamepad) to release some kind of mystery product.

So far the page doesn't say what the product will be, but hopefully Ben will make enough money to buy some shirts that aren't schwag from trade shows and maybe get a non-combover haircut. You know, standard fare for electrical engineers. We should know—we're one too. – Jason Chen

Product Page [eDimensional]

The folks at iSymphony like jam-packing their boomboxes and the V1BLUe is no exception. It's a slim stereo unit with built-in A2DP Bluetooth so you can play tunes wirelessly from your cellphone or your iPod (if your iPod is docked in the included wireless dock). The stereo also plays CDs, AM/FM radio, and comes with an SD card slot. The deal-breaker is that it's pricey. It'll come in at around $500 when it debuts in June. – Louis Ramirez

iSymphony V1BLUe Bluetooth-enabled Sound System [Tech Digest]

You know the worst feeling in the world? When you know you are going to be shocked by the car door or light switch or whatever and there is nothing to do but accept it. Sometimes you try to touch the light switch quickly or fiercely, but it doesn't matter because the shock always hurts. This tiny device uses some kind of witchcraft to actually discharge the static demons and send them back to the hell they came from. $14. –Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via OhGizmo!]

Sick of the cable clutter surrounding your gadget charging area? This is a fairly simple way to eliminate the cord clutter. Just pick up a couple of wooden blocks like seen above or any other apparatus that can be attached to the wall and have cords wrapped around. Wrap the cords creating a shelf and plug'er in. As long as you aren't trying to charge and hold a brick, the weaved cords should hold the device easily. –Travis Hudson

Battery Shelf [MAKE]

If you're hardcore enough to review 105 power supplies, you'd better have some kind of spectacular testing regimen in place. The guys at matbe do, and they've come out the other side with a handful of recommendations on which one you should buy.

For the nonmodular units, they recommend Akasa Power80, Antec Trio 650, Seasonic S12 (three of them) and Silverstone ST40EF/ST50EF. For the modular units, they prefer Antec Neo HE, Corsair HX-620, Enermax Infinity, Nexus NX-8040, and Seasonic M12. For the fanless ones, since they only tested two, they'd recommend the better one—the Fortron Zen.

Head on over to their site if you're interested in reading all 105 reviews, or if you want to make a decision between the best. – Jason Chen

Reviews [Matbe]

Nothing tickles me pink more than a small, cute and efficient device. Save space, and USB ports on your desk with this miniature USB hub and card reader. Each USB port can swivel outwards up to 90 degrees. The entire sha-bang is even small enough to throw in a laptop or accessory bag. $18. –Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via Chip Chick]

If you're interested in doing programming for the PS3, there's no better way to learn the ins and outs of the system than by taking a course dedicated to the cell processor that's offered at MIT.

The course is funded by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM, which means every student gets a PS3. Yeah, that's right. That's a lot better than the used copy of Beloved you got with your last English class, eh? Anyhow, the course focused on programming for a parallel processor, and they ended up making a 3D pong game over the course of the four-week class.

No, seriously, they got free PS3s. Stupid, lucky nerds. –Adam Frucci

GamePro [via The Raw Feed]

We'll leave the political debate for our concerned citizen cousins over at Wonkette, but here's a Backwards Bush keychain that counts down the days he has left in office. So if you're the kind of person who really needs to know exactly how much time is left until we need a new president, here ya go. Personally, we'd enjoy a lunchtime countdown keychain much more. Mmmmm, lunch. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Topplebush via Nerd Approved]

Everyone who's had to enter in their name, email, and address when signing up for a PS3 account knows how baby-drowningly-awful their on-screen keyboard is. Now with this $29.99 wireless thumbpad, you can at least get some kind of stopgap measure that doesn't require you to have a full-sized wireless keyboard in your living room at all times.

Plus, now with PlayStation Home coming soon, you're going to be doing even more text messaging on your PS3. Better stock up now if you want to be typing at more than three words per minute. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Madcatz]

Yesterday we saw ATI's Radeon 2900 XT duke it out against the GeForce 8800 GTS (verdict: ATI stomped Nvidia). Today, however, the tables have turned as the GeForce 8800 GTX spanks the Radeon HD 2900 XTX (ATI's mac-daddy of video cards) back into submission. The gang at DailyTech put the two powerhouse cards up against each other, and surprisingly ATI lost by a decent margin on each test.

The 2900 XTX has the same core as the 2900 XT. The difference is in the memory: The XTX comes with GDDR4 memory. To be fair, the test results aren't a true indication of the XTX's final performance (considering it was a sample card), so hopefully the boys in red won't disappoint when the real deal comes through. – Louis Ramirez

ATI Radeon HD 2900 XTX, Doomed from the Start [DailyTech]

You may or may not have read reports last week about a Swedish fighter jet crashing in the Arctic Circle. So far, so what, you're probably saying—after all, there were no fatalities. And so began the questions. What caused the accident&madash;was it pilot error? The wrong kind of snow? Maybe a flock of seagulls flew into the engines. Well, with those haircuts, it was a miracle the pilot survived...

A week on, we have our answer. Swedish Airforce investigators have concluded that the incident was all down to a problem with the pilot's hi-tech pants. Find out what led to the pilot saying "Sayonara cockpit" and "Hello parachute canopy" after the jump.

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Good news for Blu-ray fans. Sony's just announced that they're ramping up blue laser diode production yet again, which will lower the price to just around $8 each by June. What will this mean to you? Well, seeing as the diodes were the reason for the PS3 shortages this fall (and contributed to both the PlayStation's and Blu-ray players' high prices), this huge windfall of diodes could mean lowered prices for all Blu-ray related items.

Some analyst from Wedbush Morgan Securities agrees, saying "Sony is definitely in a position to cut price," and that prices will be lowered once costs hit around $499. So those of you who are on the fence about dumping $599 may want to wait it out just a little longer.

Also, since HD DVD also uses blue laser diodes (a different type, and they just don't call theirs blue), this news could also mean they will ramp up production of theirs as well. – Jason Chen

Blue Laser Costs Coming Down; Could PS3 Price Cut Be Far Behind? [GameDaily]

Noah's got a long piece on Sniper Hunting tech over at Danger Room. He highlights the systems that'll pinpoint direction from the audio delay between its buglike seven-microphone array. But my favorite system is the Mirage 1200 handheld scope by Torrey Pines Logic that can pick up and magnify the glint from a sniper's scope with eye-safe lasers. The need for an eye-safe laser, unfortunately, is a requirement of some 1996 treaty. But I ask you this—if you can spot 'em with lasers, can't you neutralize em with lasers, too? – Brian Lam

Lasers Stop Snipers Before They Fire [Danger Room]

Nothing says "the 1980s" like cassettes. The now dead format holds a dear place in the heart of any child of the '80s who fondly recalls meticulously recording mixtapes, trading for concert recordings by mail on XLII's, and putting Scotch tape over the little hole on the top of that Boyz II Men tape your aunt gave you so you could record songs from the radio over it.

That's what I love these recycled cassette wallets so much. More a wallet for your purse rather than a wallet for your back pocket, the cassette wallets are handmade little pouches that can hold things like money, credit cards and memories. They're $43 a pop, which is a lot for a cassette, but just consider it the last money you'll ever spend on this dead format. –Adam Frucci

Product Page [via TreeHugger]

They may be late to the game, but Sony is finally ditching SonicStage, its annoying (and required) software for transferring music. According to ATRAC Life, the new B100 will be Sony's first drag-and-drop MP3 player supporting MP3s, non-DRM'd WMAs, and even AAC (the latter hasn't been confirmed yet). And if that didn't shock you enough, Sony's also thinking of dropping its ATRAC format for this player. Nice to see these changes, but personally I think this is one of those "too little, too late" deals. – Louis Ramirez

Sony to Release B100 Series Drag and Drop Walkman [ATRAC Life via Electronista]

The DreamAuthentics Katana is a half-sized arcade machine, allowing you to bring your childhood obsession into your home and keep it on a desk, rather than taking up a large, dorky chunk of your living room. It comes loaded with over 200 games, both from the arcade and from the Atari 2600.

My good buddy Peter Pachal over at SciFi Tech got a chance to play with it, and he gives it mostly positive reviews.

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Although this bullshit button is quite similar to Staple's Easy Button, and both are actually available for purchase, the bullshit button actually does something useful. See, whenever your buddies make some outlandish claim, just slam on this button and it'll pop out one of five "clever" sayings.

• "(Beep) That was bullshit"
• "(Siren) Bullshit detected, take precautions"
• "Bullshit level defcon 5"
• "Oh, come on now, that ain't even bullshit, that's horseshit"
• "Warning, warning, bullshit alert"

Plus, it's useful whenever you're actually playing the card game. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Find me a gift via i4u - Thanks Ray!]

Other World Computing (OWC) continues to roll out these attractive antiperspirant container-like enclosures with 2.5-inch drives shoehorned inside, taking its three-way drive we mentioned a couple of weeks ago to the next level with external SATA (eSATA) connectivity. Available in capacities from 80GB to 200GB, we'd recommend that 160-gig model ($260) that spins at 7200RPM.

The downside?

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By Brendan I. Koerner

I'm by no means an audiophile, but I've never quite gotten the appeal of low-end iPod speakers. I mean, it's definitely a sign of mankind's genius that $8.99 can now buy you the means to pump audible music—cavemen would've no doubt killed for that sort of powersorcery. But the sound quality is invariably pretty abysmal, either annoyingly tinny or obscured under a soupy dither. Your typical cheapo iPod speaker system is really just one-and-a-half steps above the ChipCorder.

But I'm obviously in the minority here, because few low-end product categories have flourished like iPod speakers. I noted this $4.99 unit in last week's column, about the panoply of gadgets on display at Bed Bath & Beyond. But those speakers were only the iceberg's tip—the sector's current taxonomy is a wonder to behold, and a testament the creativity of low-end designers. If you thought the Lords of Guangdong Electronics were only good at knockoffs, you've got to reboot those brains of yours.

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Now that the Prada phone is out, rumor has it that LG is planning another touchscreen cellphone. This time around the phone will be a clamshell with dual touchscreens (like this NTT DoCoMo phone). The touchscreens will function as one giant display, or they can act independently of one another, with the bottom screen acting as the control screen (kinda like the Nintendo DS).

Another cool feature is that the phone will have dynamic icons, meaning that the icons will move around when you tap on them, so you don't have to hit them dead-on all the time. No word on when we'll see the phone, but this one's looking even more intriguing than the Prada phone. – Louis Ramirez

LG KE850 Prada Was Just the Beginning [Unwired View]

Unfortunately for a few commenters, Belkin hasn't introduced new finishes. Like the Model T, the $130 hub still just comes in any color you want, as long as it's black. But after every blog posted the same low-light diagonal shot last week, we thought you might like some new views. You can refer back to our story for initial specs, or jump for a shot of the rear. (I don't think that came out right.)

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If you're a geek who wants to masquerade as a sensitive, artsy poet, then all you need to do is cram an external hard drive into a Moleskine notebook. The ladies will think you carry it around with you to write down your soliloquies on the modern world and your place in it, but in reality you use it to carry around SNES ROMs and pirated copies of Adult Swim shows. Everybody wins! –Adam Frucci

Product Page [via BoingBoing]

Our jaws are agape after experiencing the artistry of Andrew Huang, a fine arts major and animation minor at USC, whose Doll Face video gives us a postmodern look at the futility of vanity.

This guy's a student? Looks like he should be the teacher. Somebody hire him, quick! His animation is perfectly convincing, the sound effects are first-rate, the editing and compositing are smoother than a baby's butt, and the social commentary is ironic bordering on profound. Outstanding work. – Charlie White

Doll Face [Andy Huang]

What's this? The fogies at HP have decided to get off their asses and update their act, traipsing all around the world with an HP Mobile Innovation Tour to show off some of those wild ideas emanating from the skunkworks in the back room. In the tour's latest stop in Mumbai, India, HP looks ahead to 2012, where all devices will be able to communicate with each other, and yes, we will each have our own personal helicopters and all known diseases will be forever cured.

But really, there is some seriously way-cool stuff here, including a flexible display, a smart shelf, a media hub in the form factor of a watch, a digital wallet and a ghostly looking notebook. Take a look ahead five years in this gallery, with a plethora of pics and descriptions of each coolness. Five years? Some of this tech is so advanced, a decade might be a more realistic arrival date. – Charlie White

HP 'Always Connected' Concepts [Tech Ticker]

The PlayStation EyeToy has grown up: today, it has officially been rechristened, simply, PlayStation Eye. It will be out this summer, at an as-yet-unannounced price.

Judging from its appearance, function outweighs form. The original EyeToy had an industrial yet streamlined look, like one of those battleships at the beginning of The Fifth Element. The all-new Eye, on the other hand, looks like it could be one of the loser droids at the back of the sand crawler's holding pen.

But like I said, this is a feature play.

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