Sometimes the coolest gadgets in Sci-Fi are not gadgets at all. But robots. Here’s a look at some of the most memorable robots from sci-fi in no particular order. It’s not a complete list. Think of it more as a walk down memory lane. Because geeks love Sci-Fi and Sci-Fi has a long history of loving robots.

This should make a lot of people happy. After a bit of a wait, I present the first Netflix set-top-box. Previously, Instant Viewing was available only to Windows PC users through the IE browser. But now, thanks to Roku, users can finally tap into at least a chunk of the Netflix library without having to wait for those damn discs in your mailbox for just $99.99.

The Netflix Player can even use a wireless signal to stream, but performance may differ here and there. It’s got HDMI, component, composite, Ethernet, S-Video and a Toslink optical audio jack as far as ports go. No HD support, but things look quite positive so far.

Apple today announced the immediate ability to purchase movies through iTunes the same day that they are released to DVD. This takes away another hurdle that Apple needed to get over to increase the number of online movie rentals through iTunes, and comes only months after the initial launch of the ability to purchase movies at all through the online service.

Apple says they will be providing new releases for sale from 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Lionsgate, among a couple others. The new release purchases are priced at $14.99 each and can be viewed on a Mac, PC or any iPod with video and require iTunes version 7.6.2 which is available now as a free download.

PlayStation has partnered with Sky to create a new video-on-demand download service called Go!View. As in…Go and view. Very clever. Those guys who name stuff really earned their money on that one. It will allow users to create TV schedules for their PSPs, completely tailored to suit the users individual needs and tastes.

You’ll be able to choose from a wide range of stuff like comedy, entertainment, sports and movies. You download it from your PC and watch wherever and whenever you damn well like. Never miss anything ever again. It works on a subscription or pay-per-view basis.

In case you missed the announcement at our sister blog PopTherapy, we’ll tell you here: the entire Star Wars saga is set to be aired together, for the first time, on Spike TV in April. If you feel the need to gear up for it and perhaps cut down some evil Sith along the way, you can always visit this emergency glass lightsaber storage case.

You can, of course, build your own lightsaber. It is probably just easier though to break the glass, whip of a glowing light stick of death and take on your enemies on the sidewalk in the light of day.

Netflix has officially confirmed rumors that they are indeed looking into streaming video content through Microsoft’s Xbox 360 game console. Spokesman Steve Swasey did not confirm that Netflix and Microsoft have any partnership currently in the works, but Netflix has started surveying existing customers to gauge their interest in a new, additional offering through the game console.

Netflix’ business model has traditionally been to provide a subscription of physical DVDs that are shipped to customer’s homes, but has been working diligently to keep up with new technologies and customer demands for streaming video. The company created a partnership with LG earlier this year for a set top box to stream video content into its customers living rooms, and last year started offering online video through computers which recently increased to unlimited content for $17 per month subscribers.

Lionsgate said today it is working with Apple to make use of the latter’s Digital Copy for iTunes so select DVDs will also be available for digital viewing. The first Lionsgate film to get the iTunes treatment will be Rambo on May 27th.

Lionsgate said that by using Digital Copy for iTunes, those who purchase select DVDs or Blu-ray Discs will be able to insert the disc into a computer. The customer then enters a unique code into iTunes, and the movie is automatically copied to their iTunes library.

Irish startup PortoMedia will soon be offering movie rentals on flash drives instead of your typical media device. It’s a pretty simple concept. The company sells you a flash storage device along with a special $50 card reader that has a super fast proprietary USB connection of 95 megabits per second.

Just take the flash card to any location that has a company kiosk. The kiosks will contains hard drives that store hundreds or even thousands of movies. Enter your ATM pin code, choose your movie, and download it in less than a minute. After that, you just go home and watch it. It does have it’s advantages over DVD or Blu-Ray. They would never run out of movies, no return neccessary, no long lines and you could get movies anywhere, whether it be the mall, supermarket, even a gas station.

Paramount was the last of the big Hollywood studios to officially make the move to Blu-ray, announcing on Wednesday that they are pleased with the industry finally picking a single format with the consumer in mind. Paramount did not elaborate much on the announcement but by doing so removed all doubt that HD DVD has met its demise.

The announcement came a day after Toshiba’s Tuesday announcement of the end of HD DVD and the end of manufacturing by the end of March. All six studios working with a single format reduces consumer confusion and will likely bring more sales of media and players than retailers would see by trying to push two different formats.

Six American film studios have filed a lawsuit against the Chinese file-sharing firm Xunlei Networking Technology for copyright infringement. They were offering hundreds of movie downloads illegally. The firm is part owned by Google. The studios are seeking more than $1 million in damages and costs, according to the Motion Picture Association, though that seems a low number.

The MPA trade group said in a statement on Friday that in addition, the plaintiffs are seeking a public acknowledgement of the infringements and a pledge from Xunlei to stop them. The MPA said that Xunlei facilitated the unauthorised transmission of hundreds of Hollywood movies produced by its members, like “Spiderman 3,” “War of the Worlds” and “Miami Vice.”(Who the hell watches Miami Vice? Now that they have, I assume they have learned their lesson. Some movies aren’t worth the trouble.)

When geeks set out to make home theaters, the results are often astounding, with some very cool themes. Often based on Sci-Fi flicks, these amazing works of art are expensive labors of geek love. I proudly present some of the cooler home theaters that have recently caught our eye.

Polaroid’s DPJ-08580B is only one of a hundred gadgets that go with your iPod, but it manages to stand out admirably. The device is basically a portable DVD player with an embedded iPod dock, which will allow you to view videos stored on your iPod in a larger format. Not huge mind you, but larger. The screen is 8.5 inches.

It retails for just 28,000 yen, which is about $252, but if you absolutely have to buy an accessory for your iPod, you will probably get more enjoyment out of this one then most of the other gadgets out there.