muppets

The recent Muppets movie no doubt brought Jim Henson back into the minds of many, and a just-unearthed commercial film he did for The Bell System nearly 50 years ago gives a hilarious glimpse of his earlier days--and of the youthful years of computing.

Discovered in AT&T's archives and posted this week to the company's ATTTechChannel section on YouTube, the 1963 short, "Robot," addresses the anxiety felt by humans in regard to machines and computers.… Read more

Google wants you to feel it. The engineers, having created a new social network which they seemed to debut exclusively to, well, engineers, now want to seduce you--the ordinary, hungover, and unwashed.

Yes, Google wants you to be its new recruits down at the YMCA--the Young Men's Circles Association, the Yo' Momma's Circles Association.

The company now realizes that, in order to be truly happy, it needs real people to be on Google+. So it is tossing aside its once-proud disdain of advertising and throwing its considerable weight toward tickling the fancy of those who are amused by, … Read more

When you get a chance to interview Kermit the Frog, you don't pass it up.

Kermit has been the most famous frog in the world for decades. And with the success of his new film, "The Muppets," which has already earned $56 million domestically, he's been making the rounds, sharing his thoughts on everything from meeting presidents to why he never seems to age to what it's like to work alongside his girlfriend, Miss Piggy.

But this is CNET. We wanted Kermit to talk about iPhones. And Twitter. Technology, in other words. We couldn't get the frog who has sung so eloquently about rainbows to tell us how he feels about the most famous double rainbow in the world, or about how often Miss Piggy texts him, but he did dish about his preference for Apple's devices. … Read more

If you're going to make a Google doodle to celebrate what would have been Muppet master Jim Henson's 75th birthday, September 24, there's no point doing it by halves.

Henson didn't.

So Google worked with both the Jim Henson Company and the Creature Shop to allow everyone in the world to become a puppeteer for a day.

This delightful doodle lets you operate six new, engaging Henson characters digitally.

You are given a hand with which to operate each character. Click on that hand once, the puppet will follow your mouse pointer. Click twice and the … Read more

Maybe it's to offset the high price of chicken, but NASA and the U.S. Air Force could soon be fueling their aircraft on jet fuel derived from recycled chicken fat.

Seventeen organizations are participating in Alternative Aviation Fuel Experiment II, or AAFEX II, to see if hydrotreated renewable jet fuel is a viable, eco-friendly fuel for jets.

"It's made out of chicken fat, actually," said Langley's Bruce Anderson, AAFEX II project scientist. "The Air Force bought many thousands of gallons of this to burn in some of their jets and provided about 8,… Read more

Admit it: Ernie was always lovable enough, but Bert? That guy had it coming. In Puppet War:FPS, you're the janitor for a "Muppets"-style TV show. One day, for reasons unknown, the cute little critters run amok, apparently hell-bent on world domination. And because everyone else has apparently gone home for the day, it falls to you to stop them.

The game plays like a traditional first-person shooter, one that takes place in a colorful, kid-themed TV studio populated by endless hoards of hilarious-looking (but angry) puppets. You start with the janitor's weapon of choice: … Read more

Admit it: Ernie was always lovable enough, but Bert? That guy had it coming.

In Puppet War:FPS, you're the janitor for a "Muppets"-style TV show. One day, for reasons unknown, the cute little critters run amok, apparently hell-bent on world domination. And because everyone else has apparently gone home for the day, it falls to you to stop them.

The game plays like a traditional first-person shooter, one that takes place in a colorful, kid-themed TV studio populated by endless hoards of hilarious-looking (but angry) puppets.

You start with the janitor's weapon of choice: … Read more

Along with Beeker and Fozzie Bear, Animal ranks among my favorite Muppets characters. So it's great not only to see him starring in his own iPhone game, but to report that the game's a blast.

At first blush, The Muppets Animal Drummer from Disney looks like something out of Rock Band: you've got five drums that light up and change colors (and occasionally catch fire); combo bonuses and power-ups that appear as you progress; and Animal himself (itself?) banging away center-stage.

However, the gameplay's a bit different: Animal bangs out a series of beats using different … Read more

It might not be as technically challenging as modding a PC out of a humidor, but FAO Schwarz's make-your-own-Muppet tool is still a kick for cubicle dwellers with a few minutes to kill.

With the Muppet Whatnot designer, you get to pick from three bodies, choose eyes, a nose, hair, and an outfit, and you've got yourself a custom-made Muppet faster than you can say: Gersh gurndy morn-dee burn-dee.

But for 90 bucks a pop, you'd better be sure you really like that round red nose better than the pointy yellow.

A press representative says it takes four to six weeks to receive your creation--enough time for the holidays if you start now.

But beginning November 13, the Muppets will take Manhattan--again. Customers at the Fifth Avenue store will be able to design their Muppets in-store and walk out with their new toy about 20 minutes later. Also note that, though we don't have one to look at in person (stuffed animals don't quite cut it on the CNET expense account), we suspect these are actual puppets, not full-bodied stuffed animals.

If Muppets aren't your thing, the famed toy store has another do-it-yourself toy-making service. With the Make-My-Own-Monster Custom Design Kit, you can send in your own drawing of the creatures that haunt you in the night, and a few weeks and $250 later, they'll mail you back a stuffed animal fashioned after your design. … Read more