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Leila Brillson

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Best of the Week: Evil Baguettes, Mickey Mouse, and Baby Monitors

Like pet-of-the-week Pinky the Cat, even the most adorable and innocent of critters can turn into vicious terrors when hiding behind the anonymous wall of technology. Once peaceful, people can suddenly turn violent when sheltered by the Net, a cell phone, or even a large, exo-suit cargo loader. Imagine, if you will, happy-go-lucky Mickey Mouse suddenly taking a turn for the rogue thanks to a new video game. Fancy a mild-mannered, 14-year-old boy leading a Facebook revolution, or a regular ol' baby monitor suddenly going all Big Brother on its users. The seemingly harmless are transformed into corrupt, avian balls of fury, hurling baked goods into multi-million-dollar, potentially world-disrupting equipment. The danger is clear. A sheep in tech-infested, super-soluble, implanted silicone clothing is just as terrifying as the wolf, itself. Some other things to be wary of:

'Baby and Me' Uses Wiimote to Create a Burping, Crying Baby


The Wii's motion-based gameplay is wonderful, having opened the door to imaginative uses never before possible in video games. While the Wiimote is rugged, that doesn't mean it can handle the sheer abuse of being tossed around, pitched at pets, and rolled haphazardly. Maybe, then, it's fitting that the controller is now being turned into a baby.

The special edition of 'Baby and Me' comes with a doll attachment, meaning that the Wiimote will churn out baby noises while little girls and boys (we hope they're little... ) interact with the toy tot's onscreen counterpart. The fun includes feeding the baby, rocking the baby to sleep, and compatibility with the balance board, which allows, well, rocking the baby to sleep.

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Gift Guide: Samsung GO Netbook

Samsung Go N310 Netbook (Style-o-phile, Under $500)

A secret about good design: Beveled edges are always a win. But weighing under three pounds, coming in four rubberized colors, and boasting a battery life of about nine hours helps as well. We took this little guy to NY's Fashion Week, and the fast start-up time, large pebble keyboard, and crisp, LED background display made onlookers a little jealous. With 160-gigabytes (GB) of storage and three USB ports, Samsung's Go N310 netbook ($480) acts like more of a mini-laptop than a 'portable-only' device. It's perfect for anyone who travels, but needs to check in with the office using more than just Web mail. Designed by Naoto Fukasawa, the Go is legitimately stylish, and slides easily into a shopper or hobo bag with nary a fuss.

Gift Guide: Freehands Texting Gloves



Freehands Texting Gloves (Earth Lover, Under $50)

Smoking gloves are so passé, not to mention, environmentally-unfriendly. Texting gloves, on the other hand (pun intended), are like the 2009 version of the foldback-mittens (the simple, removable finger piece, above, means you can keep on texting regardless of the weather). Keeping digits toasty while shooting off a text is actually pretty crucial, especially when hiking, cross-country skiing, or just driving in an unheated (presumably hybrid) car. Available in fleece, tech liner and real leather (for both men and women), Freehands gloves ($18-$24) keep outdoorsy texting addicts flexible and warm all winter long. That is, as long as their (presumably eco-friendly) cells gets reception on Mount Anywhere....

Ropid, the Dancing Humanoid Robot: Creepy or Cute?

Yesterday, our pals over at Engadget reported on Ropid, the humanoid robot that proudly parades around, runs in place, and hops a quarter of its own height (video above). Today, more videos emerged of the little guy, and some of the Switched staff was torn. Some of us were horrified, especially after seeing earlier in the week the Army-produced, disembodied pair of legs that can run in place and clearly points to a robot (r)evolution. Others saw the big eyes and rotating torso (which help with balance), and became charmed by the pint-sized, enthusiastically accommodating bot. We took an office poll, but be sure to chime in with your own comments. Ropid: Adorable droid or creepy computerized terror?
  • Thomas H: "Creepy. Imagine waking up with that standing next to you, dancing a horrible jig."
  • Terrence: "Creepy. It's subservience makes me uncomfortable. I know it's only a robot, but when someone asks you to jump you don't just nod and do it."
  • Leila: "Adorable. Look at those big eyes. It's like Pinocchio, but without the lying."
  • Lee: "Good Lord. Consider this my notice. If you need me, I'll be in my heavily fortified lean-to, deep in the woods." Guess that's creepy, right, Lee?
  • Warren: "Adorable for a few seconds... until it starts goose stepping."
  • Matt Z.: "Creepy. Behind those saucer-sized eyes is a droid waiting to jump adorably on your corpse."
  • Josh F. (Executive Producer): "Totally cute."

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Best of the Rest: Swedes Re-Enact Memes, Horrifying Wedding iCakes

There's a load of great tech news happening out there every day, and, unfortunately, we just can't cover it all. Here are a few of the other noteworthy things we saw today on our never-ending journey through the wild, wild Web. Nothing is more international than memes without borders, so Swedish ISP celebrates its ten-year anniversary by having a quirky middle-aged lady with a beehive 'do ...

David Hasselhoff iPhone App Gives Bad Advice

For the promotion of his new British-only TV show 'Meet the Hasselhoffs' (Maybe VH1 is all reality-showed out.), ex-'Baywatch' and -'Knight Rider' hunk (or, maybe 'Baywatch' and 'Knight Rider' ex-hunk) David Hasselhoff has put out his own iPhone app. "Ask the Hoff" is a bit like a Magic Eight-ball, but instead of mystically revealed, one-word answers in blue goo, Hoff's mug stares back at you to ...

Best of the Rest: Geeky Pet Costumes, 'Don't Cry For Me, Cupertino!'

There's a load of great tech news happening out there every day, and, unfortunately, we just can't cover it all. Here are a few of the other noteworthy things we saw today on our never-ending journey through the wild, wild Web. Part the-cutest-thing-ever and part terrifying, check out these nerdy Halloween costumes for Fido, including the USS Enterprise dog from earlier this summer. [Dvice] ...

Best of the Week: Windows 7, Mac, Nook Debuts, Horrible Wii Mishaps

Ah, yes. The Internet. Giving the keyboard playing super cat within us a moment to shine, allowing every innocent-seeming, TV-shattering faux pas circulate the Net worldwide because one little camera caught your moronic Wiimote slip up.Or having your good, Dolce and Gabbana name smeared all over the Web tabloids simply because you decided to check your exes voicemail a couple (hundred) times. Not ...

Types of YouTube Videos That Shouldn't Exist

So apparently Cracked.com has hopped on the blog-as-TV train and is turning its amazing lists into quick, montage-laden rundowns meant for our viewing pleasure. Watch (video after the break) as your glib host Michael Swain counts down the types of YouTube videos that take up far too much server space. The turtle romancing a boot has turned into a popular video, but now, thanks to Swain, viewers ...

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