week in review

Too busy imagining the wildest thing Apple could announce at its March 7 event to keep up with Crave this week? Well, push those iHolodeck images out of your mind for a moment and catch up on what you missed.

• As you can see from the sad-eyed picture to the right, Scott Stein greatly regrets selling his DVDs.

• Windows 8 on the next Xbox? It might not be as crazy as you think.

• Canon's 5D Mark III has finally arrived. So, would you drop $3,500 for it?

• What kind of pranks could you pull with a Samsung Galaxy Beam? Here's one, for starters.

• Battle of the ultrabooks!

• A Playboy club in space? To quote George Takei, "Oh my!" … Read more

week in review Making the biggest splash at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, this week was Microsoft, which took the wraps off the next iteration of its operating system.

Microsoft is trying to sew up the seams that separate mobile phones, laptops, desktops, and tablets and offer consumers a "consistent" experience, regardless of what type of device they are using, Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky said as he unveiled the beta for the Windows 8 operating system. The company is doing so by focusing simultaneously on the operating system, apps, and hardware.

As a result, using Windows … Read more

Tuesday was Zelda Day, so we understand if you spent most of the week celebrating the 26th anniversary of this storied franchise. Rising out of the fog of a Zelda hangover can be tough, but we're here to ease the pain with a dose of this week's top stories from Crave.

• Want to travel to space? Japan wants to take you there...in an elevator.

• Maybe Mattel should call up this guy to figure out how to make its "Back to the Future" hoverboard actually, you know, hover.

• First, fear-inducing robo-dogs, and now, robot soldiers. To quote Crave commenter Instigator-Jones, "DARPA - you so crazy!"

• Buzz kill: It would take 800,000 years and $8,100,000,000,000,000 to build a real-life Death Star.

• On a happier note, here's a video of a Lego Millennium Falcon coming to life. … Read more

week in review With an eye on protecting consumers' privacy while online, the White House and the Federal Trade Communications unveiled the "Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights," which will serve as a policy outline for future legislation and public policy.

The administration also worked with online advertising associations, such as the Digital Advertising Alliance and others, to revive "Do Not Track" technology and best practices. This technology will allow consumers to change settings in their browsers to notify advertisers that they do not wish to be tracked as they move from Web site to Web site … Read more

Now that you can try on outfits from Barbie and Ken's closet, it might be that you didn't have enough time to keep up with Crave this week. No need to get your feather boas and ascots up in a bunch though, because we've rounded up the top stories for you right here. … Read more

You'd think by now that tech companies would have figured out how to do right by you when it comes to privacy. But no, not so much, not when your personal data is just soooo tempting.

Matters came to a head this week when Apple announced a change to its developer guidelines--it said iOS applications that collect user contact data break its rules and that a software fix, coming at an unspecified date, will prohibit this behavior. That followed the controversy that erupted earlier in the month, when Path--a popular iOS and Android app--was found to be collecting … Read more

It could be because you lined up early to catch the opening of "Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace" in 3D (ha ha, we didn't either) that you missed some of Crave's top stories this week. Fear not, young Jedi, for we have rounded up some of our favorite posts here, along with some geeky gift ideas for Valentine's Day.

• Impress your No. 1 geek or geekette with a lightsaber-lit dinner and USB flowers this Valentine's Day. Ohhhh, yeah.

• Is there anything more romantic than sucking on some delicious, chocolatey braaaaaains?

• Bummed that you won't be with your loved one on February 14? You can still have a remote makeout session, thanks to Kissinger.

• Ready to have your mind blown? Then check out how Corning envisions the future.

• Finally! An answer to the age-old Star Wars vs. Star Trek debate. … Read more

Microsoft has tablet computers in mind for the next generation of its operating system.

The software giant plans to release a flavor of Windows 8 on ARM chips at the same time it releases one for the so-called x86 chips that power traditional PCs. That was an open question ever since Microsoft previewed Windows 8 in September. And it's important because the ARM version of the new operating system will be the one that powers many of the tablets that Microsoft hopes will compete with Apple's industry-leading iPads.

In a blog post, Windows President Steven Sinofsky said "… Read more

Behind on Crave because you've been busy building a bunker to prepare for the oncoming swarm of flying robots? Well, don't worry, the self-guided bullets will get them, so get comfy on your couch and catch up on the week's top stories here.

• Watch SpaceX test-fire its new engine! Umm...on the ground in Texas.

• Valentine's Day is coming up, and this female Android needs some love.

• We wants it, we needs it! Must have the precious "Lord of the Rings" Lego collection.

• Don't throw away your old tech. Turn it into geeky furniture instead.

• By the way, you're not reading this on your smartphone in the bathroom, are you? … Read more