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If you're not thrilled with the trend toward sandwich-board TV stands, you might want to consider something like this recent addition to Sony's Bravia line of LCD sets. The new Esprit TAV-L1 is built with a sliding decorative panel that hides a 32-inch TV behind it, in a variety of designs to suit your decor. Sony says the Esprit, which is available only in Europe at present, "fused cutting-edge European interior trends with the best of Sony's exclusive sound and vision technology." We like Chip Chick's description a lot better: "A force to … Read more

"I'm picking out a thermos for you...Not an ordinary thermos for you..."

If a thermos really does mean true love, then get The Jerk in your life one to keep coffee hotter longer, but not actually scald.

According to Jolex, its Brugo thermos has a chamber that adjusts your coffee to an ideal sipping temp before it reaches your lips. Double-walled insulation keeps the rest of the coffee hot, until your next sip.

The $20 Brugo coffee thermos, which comes in an array of colors, is also spill proof.

Book of Joe pointed out this handy … Read more

Anything with a name like "Screamer" deserves some attention. And that's easy to provide when a product looks good and actually seems to make sense from a practical standpoint--an unfortunately rare concurrence these days.

Siren's Screamer is a wireless audio streaming system that can transmit music from a PC to your speakers. The only computer attachment needed is a small USB dongle that can work up to 150 feet away from the base, according to Krunker.com. Making the listener even more mobile are a wireless remote and a matching set of wireless headphones sold separately.… Read more

Call it the war of the OCD bots. Only a day after an automated cleaning monster was feted in Japan, a competing robot has emerged from South Korea.

Akihabara News reports that "ROMI," which was developed by ETRI, responds to voice commands and can wirelessly transmit videos to your computer or phone, presumably so you can inspect their dusting techniques first-hand. No pricing has been announced, but we hope it's at least more affordable than its $170,000 counterpart. With that kind of money, we could assemble an entire army of Roombas.

If the "Roomba" and "Scooba" had a parent--a morbidly obese one--it might well be this cleaning monster from Japan. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry named it the "2006 Robot of the Year" for its vacuuming prowess, which spanned "3,000 square meters in four hours on a single charge," according to Plastic Bamboo.

You won't find one of these behind the counter at Walgreen's, though: Co-creators Sumitomo and Fuji Heavy Industries put its cost at $170,000, for replacing the work of two full-time humans--and without coffee breaks. … Read more

We admit to having a weakness for Italian design houses, and when they combine their talents with one of our many OCD tendencies we simply can't resist.

Con & Con's "E-Base Charging Station" provides a place to store your ever-growing collection of devices and--most important to us--conceals the unsightly wires connected to them. Gizmowatch says the $180 station comes in a more neutral black-and-gray combination if orange isn't your color.

It's resolution season, as we know all too well, and that means the dreaded twins Kitchen and Carbs have reared their larded heads once again. But those of us who are looking to shed that holiday padding too often find ourselves weak of will, if not appetite.

That's why we'll be giving some serious thought to the "Fridge Alert" spotted on Uber-Review. Although it's being marketed as an alarm that sounds when the door is left accidentally ajar, we suspect that its true use is to bust the perpetrator who lingers too long--and too … Read more

A variety of eclectic art will be up for auction online starting Wednesday, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the James Kim Memorial Fund.

Arts and crafts by dozens of artists will be available on the 5-day auction--among them, Jill Bliss, a featured artist at Doe, the Kims' boutique located in the Lower Haight district of San Francisco. Along with Bliss, 43 other artists have contributed their work in efforts to raise money for the Kims.

In addition to painted goods, there will be prints, pottery, soft toys, stationery, clothing, jewelry, home accessories and more. All of the … Read more

Soundmatters' last virtual surround effort, the $400 MainstageHD, did an excellent job of delivering a faux surround effect from a single box. Now that more established players such as Yamaha, Polk Audio, Niro, and Sharphave joined the single-speaker surround-sound fray, Soundmatters has upgraded its product portfolio to compete accordingly. As evidenced by the name, the Slimstage promises to deliver a surroundlike effect from a thin, flat-panel-friendly form factor. Despite measuring a mere 39 inches wide by 3.3 inches high by 3.4 inches deep, the single enclosure encompasses four main drivers plus nine "bass drivers," including three … Read more