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Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray to Pac-Man my ghosts to eat. If I should level up before I wake, I pray to Donkey Kong my barrels to take. Sleep tight, little geeks, and pull your old-school arcade blankets up to your chins.

You can get your blanket from Etsy, of course. Seller iamduckydale makes classic game blankets and throws. The Donkey Kong blanket is especially impressive, with the iconic ape at the top and Mario leaping a barrel near the bottom. It's the most intricate of the collection and the most expensive at $260.… Read more

When the "Father of the iPod" Tony Fadell unveiled Nest, the "learning thermostat" last fall, it was likely the first time anyone had ever thought of a thermostat as sexy.

Now, less than a year after the first version of the product arrived, bringing Apple style design and user interfaces to what had traditionally been one of the most staid home appliances, Fadell's Palo Alto, Calif.-based company today announced Nest 2.0, a slimmer version of the thermostat that was built to work in more homes and brings new flexibility and features to the … Read more

You're waiting for your flight at the airport. A snuffling sound emanates from behind you. It's getting louder. You turn to look. An eldritch creature emerges from a gray pod! Oh wait, it's just a fellow traveler removing his Ostrich Pillow. No need to panic.

The Ostrich Pillow looks a bit like a giant garden squash gone soft. It has a hole for your face so you can breath and two side holes to stick your hands in.

The Kickstarter project page refers to it as "a micro environment in which to take a comfortable power nap in the office, traveling, or wherever you want." … Read more

You say the word "pop." A piece of popcorn comes flying directly at your mouth, as if by magic. You catch it and eat it. You are truly a god among men.

This isn't just a lazy football weekend snack fantasy. The Popinator is a project/publicity stunt from bagged popcorn maker Popcorn, Indiana. … Read more

Today, patients with chronic lung conditions such as cystic fibrosis or asthma can't easily monitor how their airways are doing. Instead, they have to go to the doctor's office and blow into a special device called a spirometer as hard and fast as they can.

So for the past two-plus years, grad students at the University of Washington in Seattle have been working to develop an app that can measure lung function just as accurately but without the need for additional hardware. (Existing apps either require hardware or are for entertainment purposes only.)

In other words, they've been trying to turn a smartphone into a spirometer.… Read more

Fan-made AT-AT walker dog costumes have been around for years. George Lucas' minions have taken notice of the inordinate demand for dressing mutts up like heavily armored Imperial Army land vehicles.

That brings us to the officially licensed "Star Wars" AT-AT pet costume. It comes in two parts with a bodysuit and a headpiece. Sizes range from small (for Sith Shih Tzus) to extra large (for Wookie Wolfhounds).… Read more

There's nothing my mother's dog likes more than chilling out on the couch, eating popcorn (yes, the human kind), and watching a movie. If he finds out about DogTV, a television channel designed for canine viewers, we'll never hear the end of it.

DogTV is a full-time channel available through the Roku platform or online streaming for $9.99 per month. It's full of programming with a pup purpose.

Some of it is geared for relaxation, so you'll get shots of dogs stretched out and napping in gorgeous natural settings. Some is designed for stimulation, so you get videos of dogs fetching balls, diving into pools, and tussling in the park with a jaunty soundtrack. … Read more

Is Roomba going square?

Besides celebrating the vac-bot's tenth birthday today, iRobot announced that it's buying Evolution Robotics, whose sleek, four-sided Mint droid cleans hard surfaces with disposable cloths.

The $74 million deal brings the compact, lightweight Mint into the iRobot fold, giving the vacubot maker another product to tackle floors that aren't carpeted.

The scrubber was a potential rival to iRobot's Scooba robot. Now iRobot will get Evolution's know-how in sensing, navigation, and artificial intelligence, built up over 10 years.

"It's more about growing our capabilities -- both product line and long-term … Read more

When MIT roboticists wanted to launch an automated domestic vacuum cleaner for the masses, some of their backers balked at calling it a "robot." People wouldn't accept a robot in their homes, they said.

Ten years and more than 6 million sales later, iRobot's Roomba has proved that robots are very welcome. In fact, we can't wait for them to do more than just suck up dirt.

Roomba marks a milestone today, a decade since first rolling off the production line in 2002. In branding the machine, iRobot, a military-robotics company, tried to convey a sense of movement and fun along with "room" to emphasize being at home. The "Roomba" is now in homes around the world. … Read more