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Top 40 must-have Blu-ray discs

Another month, another set of new Blu-ray releases -- and another update to our long-running list of must-have Blu-ray movies. This month's entries: "The Sting," and "Chinatown."

Though my face is at the top of the column, the list was compiled with input from editors John Falcone, Matthew Moskovciak, and David Katzmaier, who look at a lot of video content in their day-to-day testing of products. We also keep an eye on AVS Forum's Blu-ray picture-quality and audio-quality threads and have always appreciated the site's tiered rating system.

This list is not set in stone, and we'll be adding and removing discs as new ones come out. As always, feel free to make comments and suggest your own personal favorites. They may get added to the list in the future. … Read more

Roomba 790 adds wireless remote, accessories aplenty

If you like your vacuum-cleaning robots on the fancy side, iRobot's latest addition to the Roomba lineup has a few features that make it easier to use.

The Roomba 790 is part of the 700 series but has a blue faceplate to distinguish it from other models.

The main selling point for the 790 is a radio-frequency remote control that lets you steer Roomba around from almost anywhere in your house (also perfect for when your cat pounces on it), clean specific spots, schedule vacuuming, and order the bot back to its charging station.

For $699.99, you also … Read more

1,000-pound robot wine rack ready to terrorize the tipsy

Decepticons and Autobots of the universe, check out this unique Transformers-style wine storage device fit for Megatron himself.

Clifford Wong, a 33-year-old lighting salesperson based in Arizona, put up an advertisement last week on Craigslist for a 6-foot-tall wine rack styled like a herculean man-slaying robot. The massive $7,000 device securely holds 32 bottles of wine, weighs 1,000 pounds, and features an array of mock armaments. … Read more

Action figures immortalized in artsy lamps

Take a look at this eccentric array of action figure lamps by U.K. firm Evil Robot Designs. They feature painted pint-size superstars from geeky films, video games, and comic books.

Each of the six lamps in the collection has an ear-catching name like Alien Nation and Forbidden Planet. It would take paragraphs to list all the characters integrated into the 2-foot fixtures, but some notables (not mentioned in the photo captions) include Mysterio; Green Goblin; evil xenomorphs from the "Alien" movie series; He-Man; Bunnygirl "Suzumiya Haruhi"; and many more. … Read more

WD joins networking with My Net router family

Once in a while there's a big change, and Western Digital is having one of its own.

The major storage vendor today unveiled not a new hard drive or NAS server, but its very first networking devices in the My Net family. There are five routers and one Gigabit Ethernet switch, enough to challenge other major home-networking vendors, such as Cisco, D-Link, Trendnet, and Netgear.

Unlike other networking vendors whose lineups tend to start with a budget single-band router, WD starts with the My Net N600, a true dual-band router that offers 300Mbps on both the 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands. The next step is the My Net N750, which also offers the 450Mbps speed on the 5GHz band, and finally there's the top-tier My Net N900, which offers the 450Mbps data rate on both bands. The My Net N900 also notably comes with seven Gigabit LAN ports (as opposed to the four ports found in most wireless routers). All of these routers work with any existing Wi-Fi clients.… Read more

Small screens have a big future in the home

As consumers move to the Web for convenient anytime/anywhere access to the content they want, connectivity will play a larger role in TV viewing. The marriage of the Internet to the TV screen seems perfectly timed in this respect, with services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Pandora almost standard on most connected sets.

With nearly two in three displays 50 inches and larger being Internet-connectable, according to The NPD Group's Retail Tracking Service, the feature is approaching ubiquity on large screens.

As a way to easily deliver more content, the Web seems like a natural fit for primary displays in the home that tend to have larger screens. But as the installed base of streaming video and other apps continues to grow and become a larger part of the everyday user's consumption routine, demand for access to them across the household is also likely to increase, giving rise to a new market for smaller connected-TV screens suited for secondary rooms in the home.

Bosch robot lawn mower gives you more hammock time

Why waste your summer cutting grass yourself? Get a machine to do it. Robot lawn mowers are nothing new, but Bosch is introducing one that's apparently more automated than competitors.

The Bosch Indego is an electric, autonomous mower that can cut up to 10,700 square feet of grass with little supervision, according to IEEE Spectrum.

All you need to do is install a guide wire on the edge of your lawn to keep the Indego in. It will automatically skirt all obstacles on your lawn including your pink flamingos, croquet mallets, and flower beds. … Read more

Safe House: Zombie-proof and stylish to boot

It was just over a year ago that the CDC told the public how to prepare for a zombie apocalypse, tongue firmly in cheek.

Today, it ain't so funny. Following the stunning case in Miami, Fla., of a drug-addled man eating another man's face, there have been reports of horrifying cannibalistic crimes in Texas and Maryland.

Naturally, there's a Google map of these and other incidents foretelling zombie doomsday.

Ridiculous? Yes. But even the CDC weighed in on it, with spokesman David Daigle reassuring everyone that there's really no such thing as zombies.

Oh but there are more things in heaven and earth, CDC, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. … Read more

Kids' playhouse made from recycled potato peels, veggie oil

More and more these days, we're picking up drink bottles and plastic utensils crafted from corn rather than regular plastic. So, how about products made from agricultural waste and food scraps? Glad you asked. The Biobased Kidshouse from Dutch consortium BE-Basic is made entirely from natural materials such as agri-waste, tree bark, and potato peels.

The panels are made from compressed straw. The roof is waterproofed with vegetable oils. The electric sockets are where the potato peel bioplastic comes in. … Read more

AT-AT bed the stuff 'Star Wars' dreams are made of

With Father's Day fast approaching, the kids in the Dutilly family have an extra big reason to show dad some love. Derek Dutilly built his young son an AT-AT bed.

The massive plywood and Masonite bed is decked out with PVC head cannons and entry/exit stairs with secret compartments for storing lightsabers, Jedi robes, and "Star Wars" Legos.

The bed is sized to allow the lucky kid to disappear to sleep inside the AT-AT body, but a window near the front lets the parents check in on their snoozing little Jedi. … Read more