At a time when the US$2 billion per year autograph business runs rampant with counterfeits, it's tough to ensure your memorabilia is authentic. Thanks to LiveAutographs.com, a website that shills personalised video "autographs" from B-listers like Carmen Electra, Stone Cold Steve Austin and the cast of Lost, that problem may soon be obsolete. Trekkie and TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington recently praised the service after paying US$150 for a message from William Shatner, which took three months to arrive. Joke's on you Mike—I got a video from Shatner in an hour, and it only cost me iMovie and elbow grease. But for the last time Bill, my name isn't "Jackass". [LiveAutographs via TechCrunch, Reuters]

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The only thing cooler than a review of the new Millennium Falcon toy? A review of the Millennium Falcon toy by geek storyteller Jesse Alexander, who has worked on Giz favourites like Heroes, Alias and Lost. P.S. I think that's an Emmy on his desk. More of Jesse's impressions, below:

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All you travellers coming home tomorrow from your wild and crazy Independence Day weekend vacations, don't be one of 12,000 people who lose their laptops at airports every week. That's right, that ain't no typo—12,000 dudes and dudettes somehow manage to misplace their portable computers every seven days. That's 600,000 machines a year, many containing sensitive information that companies need to account for.

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I could say that Mobile Satellite Ventures' touchscreen offering is nice for a satellite phone. But screw that, this thing just looks nice, period. The L-Series phone is .6 inches thick, slides up to reveal a 0-9 keypad, has Wi-Fi and also works on cellular bands. The strangely-familiar interface of the homescreen looks as nice as any smartphone, and has drawn comparisons to the the satellite phone used in LOST. Unfortunately, Desmond won't be tracking Penny down with this thing anytime soon, because MSV won't drop the phone until 2010, satellite service will only cover North America and it doesn't have a quick launch icon for the wonderful works of Mr. Charles Dickens. Seems like a waste to me, brotha. [Gearlog]

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It was like a real-life scene from Blade Runner, well, except for the pleasure-model skin jobs, the handguns that sound like laser blasters and the whole Harrison Ford thing. A NYC couple stumbles upon a digital camera left in a cab on New Year's Eve, and decide to turn all sleuthy.

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