Aug 31 2006 Miuro the Japanese iPod robot

The new Japanese music robot Miuro, designed to turn an iPod music player into a scuttling boombox-on-wheels, is shown during a press conference in Tokyo Thursday, Aug. 31, 2006. Equipped with speaker systems developed with Japanese audio-maker Kenwood Corp., the 35-centimeter (14-inch) long machine, which looks like a ball popping out of an egg, from Tokyo-based venture ZMP Inc. will roll and twist from room to room blaring music. Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod portable player locks into the top of the 108,800 yen (US$930; euro725) robot.

I don't understand why this qualifies as a robot because as far as I can tell it's just a speaker attached to some wheels. Will it serve me coffee? Will it call me human master? It's lacking all the basic functions of what makes a robot truly a robot.

Aug 31 2006 Analog cell phone

This crazy cat combined his cell phone with an analog hand set to create this sweet looking contraption. If you use it in public people will think you're insane because it looks like you're talking on an unconnected phone. Trust me, I'd know. I walk around yelling into a handset all the time. It's how I spend my afternoons.

Aug 30 2006 Biggest MMORPG scam ever executed

I'm not familiar with how Eve Online plays, but apparently a player in the game pulled off the biggest MMORPG scam in the history of gaming. Over the course of four months, a guy named "cally" ran a player-operated bank called "Eve Intergalactic Bank" where hundreds of players deposited money. The bank offered interest, loans and insurance like every other bank, except that one day cally decided to grab all the money that was deposited and fly off to space with an alleged total sum of 790 billion Isk. In real life that would translate to $170,000. Which is why I've decided to quit my job and scam online gamers for a living. Why flip burgers when you can just invent imaginary banks and run off with billions of dollars?

Aug 29 2006 Albert Einstein robot learns to dance

There's no explanation for this madness but I assure you, it is madness.

Aug 28 2006 Lexus LS460 parks itself

Gizmodo got to hang out with some Lexus dudes and try out the self parking Lexus LS460. Here's how they describe it:

1. You drive past a parking spot at 12mph or less. The four rear and six front sonar sensors detect the cars, and the gap between them.

2. Putting the car into reverse activates the wide-angle backup camera. There's a little button on the bottom of the screen that looks like a car parking. Hit it. If the spot is more than 6.5 feet longer than the car itself, the car enters Advanced Parking Guidance System mode. This is where the magic happens.

3. Crawl backwards, keeping your foot on the brake. If you touch the gas, or the wheel, the mode shuts itself off. Make sure to stay under 2.5mph, or it'll shut off, too. The wheel, as you can see from the video above, spins itself like its being ghost-driven. The sonar system is constantly measuring distance, beeping with more urgency as you get closer to obstacles.

4. When you're in the spot, the computer will announce that parking is complete.

Pretty amazing tool. Especially if you're like me and the only way you know how to park is to run into stuff until you come to a complete stop.