Mamoru is a small elder-care robot created by the University of Tokyo that sort of resembles an old granny, complete with little plastic bun. It’s designed to help the elderly or disabled remember where they left their remote control or their slippers, and even offers polite reminders when it’s time to take their medicine. Mamoru recognizes objects by using a wide-angle camera to study the room. Image recognition software tells it what each object is, so it knows where everything is.

Why do we need creepy robots to look after our elderly? Do they not already fear one creature known as the Grim Reaper? Are we trying to creep them into the grave? No. No we are not. There are simply not enough caregivers compared to the number of those who need care. So, we must take our chances and hope that these robots do not torment them and start hiding the meds rather then helping to find them.

This version of the Falcon is squished, probably from your fat butt sliding down hills. The Falcon has seen better days that’s for sure. But sadly, this is as close as you are likely to get, to really being able to ride the Falcon. You’ll be riding on, not in.

The Millennium Falcon sled is basically a souped-up saucer sled that allows older geeks to have some winter fun outside and be pointed at by young kids who have cooler sleds that don’t look like a flattened cartoon spaceship. It’s pretty expensive for a saucer sled at $34.99, but hell, it’s shaped like the Millennium Falcon.

This is a fairly interesting lantern concept from designer Young Bok Kim. It puts a modern spin on the hourglass by draining the light from LEDs instead of using sand. While conspiracy theorists will no doubt say that the ancient Egyptians already had such technology, no they did not, get a grip and throw out your series of Paranormal Time-Life books.

If you adjust the dial in the center, you can control how fast the light “drains” from top to bottom. I’m not sure it would be all that practical as it looks like it would be hard to tell tell how full the bottom is getting.

We probably shouldn’t be basing predictions for important new Apple products on protective case mockups from China. Even so, things like this have revealed the truth in the past. iDealsChina is reporting that XSKN is working on a silicone skin for the upcoming “Nano iPhone” a shorter, chubbier version of the iPhone 3G.

According to iDealsChina sources, the phone will feature EDGE data, but otherwise is pretty identical in specs to its predecessors. Well, it has a smaller screen. According to them, Apple plans to sell tons of these for low prices in places like Walmart, and that the company will be unveiling the new handset in January during Macworld.

When it comes to a new HDTV, most of us want a big screen. We end up having to settle for the biggest screen that fits the room we want it in and the budget we have to spend. It can be hard to find a decent TV if what you need is a smaller screen.

Viewsonic has announces its first 24-inch full HDTV called the VT2430 that is perfect for smaller spaces like a bedroom, dorm, or office. The set offers 10,000:1 dynamic contrast and has integrated ATSC, NTSC, and QAM TV tuner along with multiple connectivity options. The set features HDMI 1.3 connectivity and a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080.

I am a big fan of racing games and driving games, especially those that let you race on the street and do things you can’t do in real life without risking life, limb, and jail time. One of the coolest games this holiday season to meet this need is Midnight Club: Los Angeles.

Rockstar has announced that free download content will be coming for owners of the game. The DLC is called the South Central Upgrade Map and will include a new area of the city that is about 1/3 the size of the entire original map. The pack includes Exposition Park, USC campus, Crenshaw Plaza, and more.

Sure, this looks like an innocent bust that shows off your love of the writer/poet/ladies man, but throw back his head and it reveals a secret switch. Do you remember this yet? It’s from the old Batman TV series from the ’60s. Bruce Wayne hid his secret switch inside and used it whenever it was time to get into the batcave. It sat next to the red Bat-Phone.

Shakespeare’s switch can control almost anything electronic: lights, window shades, music, even swiveling bookshelf batcave entrances. It isn’t cheap though. You’ll need to spend Bruce Wayne bucks to get it. The limited-edition statue is selling for $315.

These days it’s hard for Ninja’s. First there’s extra security everywhere. Second, there are so many weapon choices available. How do you decide? Do you go with Wolverine claws? Or bust someone’s face with an umbrella? There’s always Dark Knight throwing knives.

Here’s another more practical option for the modern ninja. It’s a blowgun that doubles as a 3.5-inch knife. You can get yours, along with a “go straight to jail” card, for just $20. It pays for itself after your first kill.

It looks like a Celeron-based Eee Box B203 has shown up on Asus’ website. Aside from the the Intel C220 processor, little has changed from the Atom-based Eee Box B202. It features Windows XP Home, ships with up to 2GB of RAM and 160GB storage, and measures just 222 x 178 x 26.9 mm (which is about 8.7 x 7 x 1 inches). As far as looks, it still leaves a lot to be desired, but on the plus side if it’s cheaper, faster, and fits behind your monitor, you probably don’t care about it’s looks.

A few weeks ago, we took a look at some pretty awesome geek cakes. Although we don’t necessarily promote tooth decay or stomachaches, here’s 25 more. All great confectionery nerd works of art, each and every one. Click through for a visual sugar rush.

The Soyo FreeStyler HS11 wireless headphones are dope pretty much any way you slice it. The first and most important bit is that I would describe the aesthetic as “presidential,” “fresh and clean,” or “straight G’d out.” They are wireless from 80-300(though we reported closer to 80-100) and work with the iPhone 3G. The HS11s are also compatible with Bluetooth capable cell phones and laptops.

The Soyo Freestyler HS11s come with 5-6 hours of battery life, a built in microphone, and are Skype friendly. It’s a relief to know that I can now avoid the annoyance of shoving my headphones in pockets and tangling the wires last minute or digging into my pocket to pause my music as a friend or coworker is trying to speak to me. I can just hit the pause button on the earpiece, respond accordingly, and press play again. Oh the psychological burdens of wires and pocket-digging.

I like netbooks, I happen to think that the tradeoff of screen size and some power for portability is well worth it for the way I use a notebook. That said I think going below an 8-inch or 9-inch screen size is too much of a compromise, but some folks want even more portability in their web access device.

The MID walks the line between a netbook and smartphones like the iPhone and Gigabyte has an interesting new MID called the M528. The M528 was seen back in June, but Gigabyte has updated the specs. Running on Linux the device has a 4.8-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 800×480 that is touch sensitive.

Netbooks are selling in huge numbers this holiday season. Leading the netbook pack in sales is the Acer Aspire One netbook. Most netbooks are created pretty much equal today, but the One provides a good mix of portability and price.

Earlier this week I reported on the leaked sales flyer that claimed RadioShack would be selling an AT&T 3G equipped version of the One for $99 with a 2-year agreement for mobile broadband service. RadioShack has officially announced the $99 deal and confirmed the story just as we ran it on the 9th.

There are times when I want to watch something on the Internet, but I don’t want to sit in front of my PC to do it. I have a nice 50-inch plasma in the living room, and that is where I want to watch programs, not on my computer.

SageTV has announced a new HD Theater product that allows for viewing Internet content on your HDTV in full 1080p. The gadget requires no computer for sites like YouTube and other popular online video services.

The Drone, a Class-1 Bluetooth adapter brought to us by the Bluetooth obsessed people over at Callpod, packs quite a bit of convenience in such a small package. We had heard talk of the Drone since back in March and the device launched just last month. We were lucky enough to get a sample to try out and see just how well it performed. The Drone boasts a 100 meter (328 foot) range when paired with other Class-1 Bluetooth devices, and will also increase the range at which Class-2 devices will communicate. CallPod states that the device is so simple you “plug-n-play, then walk away” which is pretty true…

One absolutely brilliant aspect of the drone is its ability to auto-magically pair with a headset or headphones (such as the Callpod Dragon), eliminating the need to type zeroes into a prompt making it incredibly easy to use, saves time and avoids inconveniencing you. And out of the box the drone is intended to be used in this fashion, converting your Bluetooth headset into a mic and speaker combo, making it ideal for gamers or people who find themselves regular Skype users. The drone performed wonderfully when paired with a Jawbone aiding in surviving the zombie horde in Left 4 Dead, and as advertised will swap over to Skype if you receive an incoming call. It also gives you a feeling of liberation when you can wander around while streaming music directly to your headset.