The future of beer is in a box thanks to some inside-of-the-box thinking. The $20, 1.5-gallon boxes of beer are designed for beer drinkers who prefer their beer from the tap but also don’t mind if that tap is a box. Currently they are testing boxes of Miller Lite and Coors Lite in select cities and they plan to expand it nationwide this football season.

In case you were wondering, 1.5 gallons equals 16 bottles. So you’ll be paying $1.25 per bottle, which is more expensive than buying a 12-pack of bottles. Hey, you have to pay for innovation.

Verismo Networks recently added Roxio CinemaNow streaming media purchases for the VuNow IPTV box, further enhancing the usefulness of the device. The video-on-demand box can already show streaming content from local network storage or YouTube, but now adds access to Sonic Solutions’ 250 content providers.

The VuNow system is a set-top box that comes in both standard and HD versions along with a USB Wi-Fi dongle to stream content straight onto the VuNow. That’s not all though. Apart from CinemaNow content and YouTube, this setup will be able to connect to popular websites, internet TV and will play content stored on USB drives.

We’re used to seeing free DVD or Blu-ray players with an HDTV purchase, but Mitsubishi is trying a new approach. Beginning July 16th, authorized retailers will give you a free Vudu box and $50 service credit with every Mitsubishi TV.

The box is only a $150 value, but then again Vudu is the only player out there offering 1080p HDX video rentals right now, plus it supports Pandora, Flickr, YouTube and local streaming, so bundling the TV with the box is an easy way for Mitsubishi to jump into the connected TV market without having to work very hard.

The elusive black Wii has shown itself off a few times recently and with the August 1st launch date in Japan approaching, its back in the spotlight. Now it’s showing off it’s sexy packaging.

Sure, it’s the same old box, just done up in black, but it makes the console all the more alluring, with a hint of mystery and danger. Like that time good girl Sandy from Grease suddenly transforms and rocks John Travolta’s world all dressed in black like a bad girl. Sadly we still have no word on a release date here, but we hope it happens soon.

The PlayerVenice-V38HD Dvix Box stands out from the crowd since it comes with a built-in DVD player, allowing you to rip content from both DVDs and CDs. Of course, you would only make legal backups of things that you actually own.

Some other features of the PlayerVenice-V38HD Dvix Box include an HDMI output, support for all the popular video formats, basic NAS, UPNP and FTP server capabilities courtesy of an Ethernet port. Nothing about price or availability just yet.

Jodi Wykle just wanted to get her son a new Nintendo DS for his birthday. Sadly, what he got was a box of rocks. The story goes that the kid opened up his gift only to find bunch of stones and some rolled up Chinese newspaper in place of the popular handheld.

Doesn’t that just suck. Maybe the kid had it coming and it’s the work of Santa, who is sadly a few months behind…Or ahead of schedule. Whatever the case, the mom contacted the local Wal-Mart where she bought the box, but reportedly workers told her it wasn’t their problem and that she should contact Nintendo. Big surprise, Nintendo told her the same thing.

It makes sense to switch from the classic piggy bank to a robot, where guarding your money is concerned. Piggy banks can fall easily to any hammer and spill out their nickel and penny stuffed guts. A robot on the other hand won’t give up the dough so easy, but one downside is that it’s smart enough that it may even spend your dough on stuff it wants.

This cute looking but money-hungry robot money box can even talk to you, tell you the time and let you know how much money he is guarding inside his body. One cool feature is that you can set a target amount you want to save and he will tell you how close you are to your goal as if taunting you.

Fans of BitTorrent downloads have something to get excited about. Word is that Myka will begin to ship the long awaited BitTorrent downloading TV box within 4 to 6 weeks, after a half year delay. The delay was due to the company failing to raise financing to begin production, but it’s all been resolved and the factories in China are now “humming”.

Those who placed a pre-order will be able to get them soon hands on one pretty soon. The device is available in 80GB, 160GB and 500GB sizes. The Myka Torrent Box will hook up to the Internet and TV directly and features a built-in BitTorrent protocol that downloads flagged videos while transferring them to your computing device.

The Japanese love gadgets. They love Karaoke even more. It’s almost as if Karaoke keeps Godzilla from attacking. Probably because his ears can’t take it. If that’s the case, they have another salvo in their Godzilla war. The Hi-Kara portable karaoke machine from Tomy. You get a 2.4″ LCD display that dsplays the song’s lyrics, while a headset can be used by a pair of singers at the same time.

All of the songs will need to be downloaded onto a proprietary cartridge from the Hi-Kara website though, so that limit the number of duets that you can actually perform. The Hi-Kara portable karaoke device will retail for about $180. Available in white or pink colors.

Now you can enjoy 3D imaging right on your desk with this interesting holographic display ‘Holocube 3D Projection Box’. It sports an integrated HDD that stores video and uses it to create 3D Holograms at a resolution of 1080i. It won’t produce a Princess in trouble, telling you that you are her only hope. Nor will it let you talk to your Sith lord or Sith apprentice in real time.

But it is pretty awesome. It’s available in 10-inch, 15-inch, or 17-inch models, with a 40GB hard drive. The Holocube can store up to 18-hours of compressed video at 4Mb/s on its 40GB hard drive, which can then be converted into a 3D hologram. You also get an optional floor stand for easy transportation.

Judging by the images, I feel fairly confident that if I buy the SofaBox, good looking women will gladly carry it anywhere, then open it up and sit while I watch. Seems like a pretty strange life being a SofaBox owner. But I might just take the plunge. My $2700 isn’t doing much good in my pocket anyway.

Regular sofas are so stuck-up, just sitting there all smug and arrogant, with their backs always up like you are expected to sit in them at all times. Well, I ain’t having that. I’m gonna sit where I want and when I want. And I’m gonna put it away in a box when I’m done. I’ve done it their way long enough. Also, sofas don’t get dirty in a box, but these gals carrying it just might.

When you have a nasty cold and are sneezing, the last thing you need is some joker mocking you. That’s exactly what this talking tissue box does. Instead of being neutral and silent while you cough and retch and sneeze, this little jackass mocks you by either coughing or sneezing each time you reach out for a tissue.

Cute? No F-in way. You’ll want to punch it in it’s face and wonder why you bought it for $19.99 in the first place. It takes 2 AA batteries to perform it’s feats of annoying.

No, not the candy bar… If you’re one of those people who like to have totally unique and cool objects decorating your home, then why not display the Milky Way galaxy for all to see and be impressed with? This device is also great for those bent on Galaxy wide domination. Imagine being able to hold the galaxy in the palm of your hand while you laugh maniacally at your enemy’s staship movements.

Living World’s Milky Way galaxy 3D model was created using real space data from Eiichiro Kokubo, Assistant Professor at Japan’s National Astronomical Observatory and Osaka University’s Kato Tsunehiko. Holding the galaxy in your hand isn’t cheap though, it will cost you about $770.

Still have that iPhone box laying around? Have some spare time? I have just the project for you. Create a box camera. Scot Hampton did just that and thus the iHole was born, a pinhole camera created using his roommate’s iPhone box. In a scene that must have made MacGuyver proud, he used nothing more than the iPhone’s packaging, some tape, tinfoil (for the lens), a piece of foam, and a leftover screw and tightener from an old Ikea desk.

Congratulations Scot, you have created a low tech camera from the world’s most high tech device. He also used the cardboard lining from the inside of the original box to construct the film holders you see on the back. It should also be mentioned that Scot is very considerate. He left the serial numbers intact, so that if his roommate ever needed to return it he could.