I had thought, or hoped that the whole Apple/Microsoft war was deflating. Sadly it looks like Microsoft just fired the next salvo at Apple. It’s parking “I’m a PC” recording booths outside of Apple stores. The one pictured is in Birmingham, England. The booth is staffed with three Microsoft peeps who will no doubt preach at you about the awesomeness of all things Vista.

The whole deal has to be like wandering into a Jehovah’s Witness den. You know you should run, but you’re too stunned at the fact that you ran into THEM for once, instead of them coming to your house. (Or appearing on your TV) They’re swell guys and gals. They’ll preach the word and even invite you to make a short video explaining why you are a PC. The bottom line here is that we can now look forward to more ultra creepy videos of mankind proclaiming that they are PC’s, when really they’re just people we need to have a restraining order on.

JVC’s Sound Garden concept blends tree-hugging with design. It’s a full hi-fi speaker system with bass-reflex ports and little pot areas for your plants. (Which don’t have that much room.) And it’s all made of some wonder material called “eco-plastic”. If you want, you can connect a whole bunch together for massive sound and massive plant life. Just a concept right now, but rest assured they are working on more music/plant tech as I type this.

Online movie rentals are one of the most convenient ways for movie fans to get their favorite films without leaving the house. The catch is that many of the newest releases aren’t available for streaming rentals. Netflix offers a streaming on demand library of 12,000 movies and TV shows to its subscribers.

Several hardware devices will allow Netflix members to access the streaming content including the Xbox 360 and some DVD players. Netflix and TiVo announced today that TiVo DVR subscribers would be able to access the streaming content library over certain TiVo DVRs.

The small form factor computer system has many uses. A SFF rig can make a nice gaming machine for those who frequent LAN parties. Home theater fans looking for a tiny HTPC to fit into the entertainment center often go with a SFF machine.

One of the biggest purveyors of SFF systems is Shuttle with its line of small barebones machines. Shuttle announced its latest barebone machine today called the X27D. The X27D is the first system from Shuttle to use Intel’s dual-core Atom 330 CPU.

When electronic devices break and are no longer usable many people, don’t realize that you can’t simply toss them into the trash and send the devices to the landfill. Many electronic devices have varying amounts of hazardous substances inside them.

That leaves many consumers with no way to dispose of electronics in a safe and convenient method. Panasonic announced this week that it would be launching a nationwide electronics recycling program for Panasonic branded electronics items.

Most computer and gadget fans will remember the massive battery recalls that took place a few years ago. Most of the batteries that were recalled were due to fire hazard. Several batteries across the country actually overheated and burst into flames.

Sony and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have announced that another massive battery recall has been issued. In the U.S. alone about 35,000 Sony made laptop batteries have been recalled and an additional 65,000 laptop batteries have been recalled overseas. The reason for the recall is that the Lithium-ion batteries pose a potential burn hazard. According to Sony there have been 19 reports of the batteries in question overheating, 17 reports of flame/fire and 10 of the reports resulted in minor property damage.

Pick your favorite spooky OS X Mac-o-Lantern pillow. Choose from “Count Macula”, “Spooker”, Mac-o-Lantern and “Finderstein.” The perfect Halloween companion for you and your Mac. These are available from Throwboy on Etsy for $39.

In keeping with the spirit of the season, here’s something to help you get drunk that also doubles as a creepy prop. It’s a Skull Beer Funnel with spinal column attached. If you’re the Predator, just pass on this one and go rip your own from some human. Humans, it’s illegal to do what the Predator does, so don’t do it. Buy this instead.

It’s Halloween, which means that it’s perfectly acceptable to guzzle some brew from human remains for God’s sake. When you get too drunk on the way home, it doubles as a handy vomit-catcher. It’s all cool. It’s how Grim Reapers party.

Just how much torque can your finger generate anyway? If you order the Finger Grip Socket Set for $19.99 I guess you’ll find out. I don’t think you’ll be doing anything heavy duty like rebuilding an engine.

It’s a finger-mounted tool that nuts and bolts fit into. You’ll get 10 US sizes (3/16″ to 9/16″) and 10 metric sizes (6mm to 15mm). Even works with your gloves on in cold weather, though they probably should have mounted the tools straight on a glove in the first place. This thing takes working with your hands to a whole new level.

Here’s one for Bentley fans who have $20k to drop on a netbook. The Bentley Laptop by Ego Lifestyle goes all out for that luxurious look, with top quality leather and bold, shiny chrome exterior. I mean, you look at the thing and you want to drive it instead of boot it up. Inside it’s pretty average with an unnamed AMD 64 chipset, 2GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive with a 12.1″ display. For $20k it should also sport wheels and double as an RC car, have a gas tank and come with a hot blonde.

Kenwood is introducing its new and very compact audio system with an amplifier, called the Prodino. It’s compatible with SD or SDHC, miniSD, microSD or microSDHC card, up to 32GB and supports MP3 / WMA / AAC audio files with a maximum output power of 10Wx2. The Kenwood Promino should be available this November and will cost around 45,000 Yen or 360€. There’s also an external iPod docking station that’s compatible with the Promino, which is sold separately at 12,600 Yen or 100€. Pretty nice looking and compact setup.

This concept security bracelet for kids comes from a project led by Rodrigo Torres. The idea is that if you combine a security bracelet with LEGO, kids will be more apt to wear it and be tracked for safety reasons. It’s got several features that will get your kid to keep it with him/her.

First off, they can design it the way they like with LEGO bricks. Throw in some games, photos, speaker and the a Lego man in front, and your kid is suckered into being tracked while having a fun device of their own. Heck, I want one myself. I don’t care if it’s tracking me. Sadly, it remains but a concept at the moment.

This portable toy blaster can pack and launch softball-sized snowballs, making you the new undisputed king of the snowball fight. It will give you “rapid, long-range assaults during neighborhood snowball confrontations.” Just place the snow in the forming chamber, close the lid, and you’ve got three perfectly spherical snowballs.

To shoot, place one snowball in the muzzle, aim the launcher, and pull back the slingshot mechanism. It’s powered by elastomers (Fancy talk for slingshot rubber?) and made of durable, cold-resistant plastic. You even get targets for shooting practice. Boy are your friends gonna hurt! The 50′ Snowball Launcher is available for $29.95.

The blood puddle pillow is the ideal way to start your Halloween morning. I would suggest substituing this pillow for your regular pillow while your wife is sleeping. She’ll wake up to a surprise and start Halloween with a nice healthy scare. It’s not everyday she wakes up next to you laying in a puddle of blood.

These go well with the Roadkill carpet. These are made by artist Keetra Dean Dixon. And though it may be a bit late for this Halloween, there’s no reason you can’t be ready for next year.

Check out this patent for a PS3 Wiimote device which can be split into two to suit different gaming methods. The technology is similar to Nintendo’s Wiimote, featuring accelerometers, LED-based tracking etc. One of the unique functions of the controller is the ability to send out ultrasonic frequencies that can determine the absolute xyz position. Will we ever see this from Sony? You can bet on it, but likely in an updated form. Everybody is trying to keep up with the Wii while making motion based games uniquely their own.