Darth Vader Wii for $15K

Engadget reported that Technabob reported that some guy is selling a Darth Vader Wii on eBay for $15000. :)

Dude claims:

Originally designed and built to promote the release of LucasArts "Unleash the Force" game, on the Wii in Spring 2008. Only 4 of these were produced. I have 2, and will be selling this one to one lucky buyer before Christmas.

... it even includes"2 Black Nunchuk".

Note that the guy doesn't show an actual picture of the unit. He says it was used in a The Force Unleashed promo deal. I'm surprised the guy didn't say the thing had actual George Lucas epithelium on it. The upcoming Force Unleashed game is girlie squeal-able but this guy is crazy. If someone actually bids on this, I will personally hunt them down and smack them.

Roboxotica: Rosie, Get Me a Drink

Ok. It's 7 a.m. I'm scanning Twitter to see what's going on with the people in my circle. I come across an article that says that a Roboxotica convention is going on. Cool! Sex and robots! No. Think again. This convention is about machines making humans alcoholic beverages. There's a whole convention dedicated to this? And Cory Doctorow is speaking at it? Needless to say, I got my morning chuckle from this one. I am SO amused.

Here are pictures from the convention:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seanbonner/sets/72157603271250067/

Kindle: I'm Not Thinking So

Look at the size of that thing! My hand is cramping from looking at it. The Kindle does not look cool. It looks like the clunky tech from Star Trek: TOS. This hardware is NOT sexy. It looks like a medical device.

You have to pay 99 cents to read a free blog like mine and I get no money from it!!! HELL NO!

There are monthly subscriptions for newspapers from US$9.99 to US$14.99, magazines at US$1.99 and US$2.99, blogs (yes free blogs) for US$0.99 each per month, and Word document and photo email attachment support for US$0.10 each.

NO back light but you can buy a light attachment. *gasp* Somebody was smoking crack on that one. It's $399 with NO touch screen.

The idea was to mimic the experience of reading an actual book as much as possible, Bezos said, though he acknowledged that Amazon "will never outbook the book." Suggested accessories on the Kindle purchase page actually include a clip-on reading lamp.

FAIL! I was excited about it. I wanted to like the Kindle but it's so huge. I don't want another gadget to pack around or I'll be wearing a gadget belt for real.

Plus, I get motion sickness if I read and travel. It's why I love audio books. I won't be spending money on this... evar!!!

I Want the 3 Skypephone NOW!

I'm in the market for a new mobile phone. I love the BlackBerry Curve but I'm not satisfied with any of the service plans available. What I'm really looking for is a bit of freedom. It seems like I won't be able to get that freedom because I'm in the US. I'm talking bout the new 3 Skypephone. It's not much to look at. It doesn't have a QWERTY keyboard; something I'm really craving right now. It *does* have Skype which is something that I'm really, REALLY interested in using. I like Skype as a communication service. I like the features such as being able to block callers. I can IM with my friends that use Skype via phone or computer. I'd buy it right this second if they sold it in the US. From the looks of it, there are no plans to sell it in the United States. I'm pretty pissed about this. Get it together Skype, get us those phones now!

I was seriously considering buying the phone and trying to mod it. I don't the first thing about that so I guess I'll have to wait until Skype gets off their cute bums and get this service in the US.

Links:
Skype's info on the phone
Official 3 Skypephone website
http://www.3mobilebuzz.com/

Time Magazine Says iPhone is Invention of the Year

Ok. Dammit. I'm SICK of the iPhone.

Invention of the year? Seriously? I'm sure there are other inventions that are more meaningful to human existence than the iPhone. It's a very good device but enough is enough.

I *am* interested in the Google phone but not if it's touch screen.

To the RIAA, I Say Uncle

RIAA wins first-ever file-sharing case to go to trial, awarded $222,000

Regardless of the incredibly asinine and consumer-hostile comments made by Sony BMG's head of litigation the other day, the jury found Jammie Thomas, a single mother from Minnesota, liable for willful copyright infringement and awarded the RIAA plaintiffs $222,000 -- that's $9,250 for each of the 24 songs she was alleged to have made available on Kazaa, for those of you keeping track at home, and probably something like, oh, say, $222,000 more than she should have had to pay, since the RIAA plaintiffs weren't required to show that Thomas had a file-sharing program installed on her machine or that she was even the person using the Kazaa account in question.

Unbelievable.

I'm sorry that Jammie Thomas has to be made an example of but this case had to happen. The fines are excessive. There is no way that the fine amount can be justified. On the other hand, the case has educated the masses. I learned more about copyright law and what is considered a violation than I knew before. Before this case, I did not truly understand the RIAA's point of view. I just didn't get it.

File sharing was quaint back in the Napster and Suprnova days but now, I must admit, there's no excuse for it. We have everything we want. We have music on demand for dirt cheap; iTunes, eMusic, AmazonMP3. We have portable music players to carry these songs on. We have pretty much every TV show and movie on demand for dirt cheap; iTunes, Netflix, Amazon Unbox. These services are more convenient than the alternative which is why I rely on them now.

No one can justify illegal file sharing from this point on. I think there should be a truce between the suits and the consumers. Everyone should get a shiny, red candy- like reset button from this date forward.