This appears to be a one-of-a-kind item, as I can't imagine Disney allowing an unauthorized Wall-E Transformer to be sold anywhere. [FC2.com via Toycutter via The Daily What]

After explaining to the carrier how outrageous that is, he was made an offer: They'd knock the bill down to what it cost them in bandwidth. Unfortunately for Alberto, they claimed their cost was still $17,000.

Alberto called in to one of those cable news network shows about money where the host wears headphones and yells at the viewer for half an hour and neglected to mention the carrier's name, but we can't see any way a 700MB file would cost $17,000 in bandwidth fees. There's a lesson in all this: If you're going abroad, buy a roaming plan. Or at least tell us the name of the carrier so we can complain more effectively. [CNN via Ars Technica]

The whole process has been thoroughly documented, and each piece of the mod was cut out with the utmost care. Check it out, this is amazing work. [English Russia]

"Future launches will have to be adjusted with regard to the fact that the debris [from the collision] has spread over an 800-km area and will gather at a common orbit in 5-6 years," said Alexander Stepanov, director of the Pulkovo Observatory in St. Petersburg.

According to NASA this massive cloud of human failure joins the 19,000 other objects that currently pollute the low and high orbit space around the planet. As we reported last week, the Hubble Space Telescope is already in danger.

On a related note, anyone who criticized the Pixar movie Wall-E for "liberal bias" or for "unfairly" depicting future humans as slovenly creatures that polluted Earth and space to the point where it was uninhabitable is a doofus. And so ends my personal rant for the day. [Space Fellowship]

This is a plexiglass custom case built to look like Wall-e. He features Intel's Atom 330 processor on a mini- ITX board. He has bluetooth, wireless-N, a 250GB hard drive, web cam in his left eye, 7 inch touch screen, logitech usb speakers as his arms, an itech laser keyboard, and a bluetooth microphone for use with speech recognition.

Thanks, Jonathan!

These little guys (SUGVs, or "sugvees") feature a Sony IX11 camera, GPS, two-way audio and a "wearable Xbox-style controller with a monocular heads-up display," whatever that means. Oh, and a handle, for picking it up out of the mud after it gets itself stuck. Stupid SUGVs. [Danger Room]

Start with the Wall-E bento, then move on to this second course of open face cheese sandwich. Polish it off with a shake of your choosing for dessert, then repeat as necessary. Given enough commitment and bone loss, you too can make yourself a piece of collectible Wall-E memorabilia. (Hey, there are worse ways to go.) [Flickr via Botropolis]

I love the quail egg Eva, and overall this is really, really incredible as an exercise in food ornamentation by bento maker extraordinaire AnnaTheRed. But if I were a kid and opened this up at lunchtime, I would be more worried about my mother's rapidly intensifying case of the crazies than about how I should approach Wall-e's omelet torso with my fork. There are many more masterworks at Anna's own site: [AnnaTheRed, Flickr via Kottke]

Keep in mind, though two of these list for $400, most cap at $250, and they're all toys. They don't have a heck of a lot of AI, though they do have an impressive array of user-triggered functionality and some goofy "spontaneous" behavior. You ain't getting C-3PO no matter where you turn, not even R2-D2, but there's something cool about each of these:

Mr. Personality - $245
This is one weird bot. Turn it on and it will act like one of the many "personalities" you have downloaded to it, telling jokes, reading fortunes and interacting with you along the way.
Pros: 3-legged, multi-directional wheels move in all directions easily; multiple personalities technically mean relief from boredom; depending on the personality, it'll call you "master"
Cons: The default personality is very annoying; not enough functions to stay entertaining; obstacle sensors are too sensitive
Worth the money? Doubtful. Depending on the power of the development community some fun personalities may emerge, but they are severely limited by the options on the remote.

Rovio - $240
Maybe the most technical bot of the bunch, the Rovio is a webcam-on-wheels controlled via an internet interface. With some smart maneuvering, you can snoop on your daughter's date in the living room from the privacy of your bedroom. Or, if you have your own domain server, you can control the Rovio from anywhere in the world. It has major limitations, like an awful camera and outside of Internet Explorer you can't hear any sound, but its API allows customization so there's true potential that has yet to be reached.
Pros: Good looking, highly interactive UI; like Roomba, can return to its base to charge itself when batteries run low
Cons: Seriously shitty webcam; setting it up on a Mac is torture; if you bought this thinking you can easily control it from anywhere in the world for free you're SOL
Worth the money? Not yet. The Rovio is a great concept, but you'll be much better off waiting for version 2.0... or maybe 3.0.

Femisapien - $50
She's the female companion to Robosapien, and she'll blow you kisses, dance to music or speak in her very own gibberish language with you. She doesn't do anything very fancy, but she's the only girl here, so she looks better doing it than most of these other bots.
Pros: Fairly interactive; relatively inexpensive; giant robot boobs
Cons: Command system very complicated; routines aren't all that exciting
Worth the money? Only if your name is Zoltan.

iDance WALL-E - $53
The cheapest WALL-E of the crop, and a less expensive alternative to the Rolly, iDance WALL-E dances—if you can call it that—to the beat of your MP3 player, or his own built in sound bank. A one-trick pony, but I'll be damned if it isn't an adorable trick.
Pros: Look at that little bot—how could you not love it? His dancing is fun and silly, and he couldn't be any easier to use
Cons: The speaker sucks; WALL-E's moves don't match the music closely like Rolly's do
Worth the money? When we first saw the iDance WALL-E, he was only supposed to cost $25 bucks. But now, at twice the price, it's definitely one bot we can live without.

Ultimate WALL-E - $400
The name says it all: The biggest WALL-E of the litter is ultimate in every way. It will follow you around, dance to your music, or perform a pre-programmed series of movements and noises. Best of all, it uses a really interesting controller that can move WALL-E using a touchpad.
Pros: Big enough to seem realistic; a ton of features so it won't bore quickly
Cons: Expensive; controller has too many buttons that don't do very much; did I mention "expensive"?
Worth the money? Who has that kind of money to spend on a robot? Especially one that isn't programmable, upgradable or all that intelligent. It should've stayed at its original $190 price.

U-Command WALL-E - $130
U-Command WALL-E is the Baby Bear of the WALL-E bunch, just right in almost every way. Its controls are comparable to the Ultimate WALL-E, it can move, dance and make noises on your command, all for a much more attractive price.
Pros: Essentially a "lite" version of the Ultimate WALL-E for less than half the price, versatile controls allow for repeated play without getting too stale
Cons: The only WALL-E without a line-in speaker for MP3s; not as technically impressive as other over-$100 contenders
Worth the money? Totally. Even at $130, it's one of the cheaper robots on the list, and the most fun right out of the box.

Sony Rolly - $400
At first glance, the Rolly doesn't fit the traditional robot mold. The egg-shaped MP3 speaker looks like it's just another smooth white gadget with an "i" in front of its name. But when you see it in action, it's one of the most exciting little toys around, dancing wildly and putting on a light show to the rhythm of the songs coming from its body.
Pros: Great speaker; customizes dance/light shows to your own songs; amusing even after repeated viewings
Cons: Can't customize songs on a Mac (but you can on a Vaio!); can't jump to a specific track on the device
Worth the money? Surprisingly, it might well be. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but I get a huge kick out of the Rolly. The fluidity and snazziness of the movement and lights explains the steep cost.

D-Rex - $150
The scariest bot of the lot, D-Rex growls, attacks and lets out the sounds of bodily functions from every orifice. Rubbery, lizard-like skin and huge, moving yellow eyes add to the effect.
Pros: Creepy; fun to play with (for a while); the coolest looking of all the robots
Cons: Doesn't do too enough; may scare little kids (or is that a "pro"?)
Worth the money? Tough call. D-Rex is probably the biggest robot here and isn't that expensive for being so big. But since it only performs a few functions, don't expect anything close to a Pleo.

Elmo Live - $60
What's left to say about the newest version of every kid's favorite fuzzy friend? It raps, dances and tells stories and jokes, all in the body of the most popular Muppet of a generation.
Pros: Buy this for your kids and they will love you forever.
Cons: Don't buy this for your kids and they will hate you forever; also, the song "Elmo's Gotta Get On Up" has been stuck in my head for damn near six months
Worth the money? Do you have a choice? At $60 it's a steal compared to most of these other bots... but good luck finding it.

And now...
The Winner: U-Command WALL-E. One of the few bots here that is fun to play with more than once, this WALL-E is cute, interactive and kids can enjoy him without driving parents crazy by playing the same thing over and over—*cough*Elmo Live*cough*.

Runner-Up: Rolly. I can't stop looking at this little dude. His syncopated dancing demands attention from anyone who sees him, and he is the bot that performs his most essential function—playing music through a speaker—the best.

Honorable Mention: iDance WALL-E and Ultimate WALL-E. I like you both a lot, but why did you get me all excited with your decent prices, and then double them when I wasn't looking? Not cool guys.

The Loser: Rovio. No offense here Rovio, we really like the though of a remote controlled, customizable webcam and we think you will get it right one day, but right now you cost too much and the most important feature you have—your webcam—is absolutely terrible.

The Price: $40 retail, though it's $25 at places like Amazon

The Verdict: Our own Adam Frucci already reviewed Wall-E, calling it "one of the best sci-fi movies in years, disguised as a cartoon." And if that's true for the film (which I believe it is), then I'd have to call the Blu-ray version of the film "one of the best art classes in years, disguised as a movie."


I especially enjoyed the featurette on animation sound design. It's about 20 minutes long, and if you have no experience in sound design, then it's an absolute must watch. You get to not only watch famed sound designer Ben Burtt work his magic (Star Wars, Indiana Jones), but see the top secret Disney gadgets dating back to 1937 used to make specific sounds for the film.

My favorite moment was when Burtt say discovers a new way to produce the sound of a storm, and then it cuts to him dragging a punching bag down what's surely a random carpeted hallway of Pixar.

It's one of the few artsy-technical extras that's neither dumbed down nor too insider for the audience to understand. Quite simply, you'll appreciate Wall-E and all sound design more because of it.

But that's such a small part of the extras. Over the course of the 40 minutes or so of well edited technical featurettes alone:

You'll learn that the humans of the film were originally aliens...with a violent streak...who were studied in real world 3D gelatin mode to understand their movement.

You get a glimpse of the manpower that goes in to building a scene, from the guy who animated a D-cup bra sitting on Wall-E's eyes, to the gal who stuck a singular lamp post in the background.

You get to see how the robots were designed, modularly, just like LEGO to increase variety with minimal effort.

If you think I've spoiled it for you, realize that these featurettes have a backdrop of worthwhile interviews and a slew of original concept animation. They're truly an unexpected pleasure to watch and you can also find those above on the DVD version of Wall-E.

And once you're done with the technical stuff, you'll still have a variety of commentaries, annotated deleted scenes, amazing 3D set fly-throughs (one of the great BD-exclusive features pictured here), a clever interactive storybook, a digital copy, the BURN-E short, various other extras and, of course, the film Wall-E itself. I'll honestly say that I've probably seen only half of the set's content and it's still seemed like an excellent media value.

Sure, Wall-E was probably my favorite film of 2008, so it's little surprise that the Blu-ray would be my favorite disc of the year. But it's rare that the public gets such a well edited, worthwhile set of extras to look through. Because, I mean, let's face it. The movie would have been enough.

Right, all we get here is a regular Roomba 530 with a movie decal slapped on. Cost? ¥84,500 ($850 USD)—about a $550 premium over what the standard 530 will set you back here in the states, sans decal emblazonment. Weeping. Weeping. [Impress Robot Watch (translated)]

It'll be available in a two- or three-disc set on Blu-Ray, and feature a new short film called BURN-E, as well as Presto, the short that ran alongside the film in theaters. The sets also have a documentary on the studio called The Pixar Story, a "retro suite of video games," and of course the standards like commentary and a behind-the-scenes look. The double and triple-disc sets will run for $36 and $41, respectively, and there will be single, double, and triple-disk DVD sets as well. [Official Site]

How much, Lasseter? How much!? [Toys R Evil]

Murata claims that Little Seiko is designed to look like a kindergarten-aged girl, but I can't help but see the likeness to EVE, WALL-E's incorrigibly charming onscreen lady interest. The odd, outstretched arms (which are likely vital for balancing) and Pith helmet make the robot a little less endearing than its Pixar counterpart, but the resemblance is undeniable. Little Seiko's big debut is slated for CEATEC 2008, when we'll actually get to see this thing in action. [CrunchGear]

The experimental tier-scalable reconnaissance process begins with an orbiting spacecraft deciding on its own where to send an airship armed with further probes. The airship itself, once deployed planetside, could also override the orbiter and decide on its own where to send its stable of landers, NASA said. The first real-world example of the process is set to blast off in 2009. Called the Sky Crane carrier, the probe will hover above the surface of Mars (it's so hot right now!) on retrorockets before lowering an "SUV-sized rover using a winch and tether" onto the ideal landing site.

Meanwhile, back here on Earth scientists at Caltech have started testing new pseudo self-aware algorithms with three small rovers and a camera that surveys a simulated indoor landscape. The camera identifies targets of opportunity and obstacles, and in turn commands the rovers to drive around obstacles to reach targets without an ounce of human intervention. Eventually, the camera will be replaced with the hivemind airship. The Cylon wars will follow soon afterward, we imagine. [MSNBC]