Cable Freedom Is a Click Away

Evan Sung for The New York Times

Danielle Bilton, the writer's wife, using a wireless mouse called the Loop to operate the couple's television set.
Welcome to our living room. Take a seat, make yourself comfortable. Would you like to watch a movie, or the new “Family Guy” episode?

Oh, that, over there. You want to know why there’s a pile of gadgets and wires on the floor? My wife and I usually don’t talk about that clutter. We actually refer to it as the Gadget Graveyard. Mostly, we pretend it doesn’t even exist. But since you asked, I’ll explain.

This digital necropolis isn’t your typical sanctuary for retired devices. Instead, here you’ll find technologies that tried to provide the best viewing experience and program options with a television, but ultimately fell short. Everything is relatively new, and comparatively unusable — to me at least.

Among this pile you can find my old remote controls and wires from my cable box. Then there’s the dreaded Apple TV, now a $250 paperweight. There’s also the $80 Roku box, a device that allows you to stream video from Netflix, Amazon.com and other sites directly to your television. But wait, there’s more! A Vudu player, a Slingbox and a handful of other single-serving contraptions.

Those devices are all behind me now. I disconnected everything, threw it to the side and canceled the cable months ago. Instead, now I have a Mac Mini, wireless mouse and a Microsoft Xbox hooked up to my television.

This quest for cable freedom has been a couple of years in the works. Before I called the cable company to bid my farewell I imagined that I would need a vast array of devices to fill the entertainment void: a device for games, something for television shows, a contraption for streaming movies through Netflix and, finally, something to control all of the above. But it turns out a computer can do all those tasks with some software upgrades and a wireless keyboard and mouse.

I have to be honest, this isn’t as easy as just plugging a computer into a monitor, sitting back and watching a movie. There’s definitely a slight learning curve. One difficult part of this equation was getting used to the wireless mouse. We use a mouse called the Loop, made by Hillcrest Labs, that costs $99. The Loop looks more like a chocolate-frosted doughnut with buttons than something that navigates a television set. To navigate the screen you hold it out and wave your hand from side to side as if you are conducting an orchestra.

As for the computer, you don’t specifically need a Mac Mini. This set up can work with most inexpensive PCs; just make sure the video card can handle the streaming video requirements. Our refurbished Mac Mini cost $380 online.

Although the initial investment was costly, totaling $550, it took only a few months to recoup the money. Back in the olden days of cable we were forced to shell out a relatively standard $140 a month, for television service alone. This cost gave us access to a digital video recorder and hundreds of unwatched TV channels.

Contrast this with today, where our only expense is $9 a month to stream Netflix videos from the Web and the $30 a month that we always spent on an Internet connection. O.K., maybe that’s not completely accurate. When the wireless keyboard died a few weeks ago I was forced to spend another $4 for two new AA batteries. We’ve not yet recovered from that financial loss.

We still come home from work and watch any number of shows, just like the people who continue to pay for cable. We just do it a little differently, starting the computer and then using services like Hulu, Boxee, iTunes and Joost. Another interesting twist to this experience is that we’re no longer limited to consuming traditional programming. With these applications we can spend an entire evening flicking through videos from YouTube, CollegeHumor or Web-only programs.

Here are a few of the applications on our home setup:

Boxee is probably the most clicked icon on our television. You can download this free open-source application from Boxee.tv. It’s important to note that it’s still in test phase and a little rough around the pixels, but over all it allows you to access almost any type of video content online. You can easily stream CNN, Current TV, PBS and more. Most important for us, Boxee easily allows access to the Netflix streaming service, which offers up thousands of movies and television shows (just not always the most popular options).

Next there is Hulu Desktop, the joint venture among Fox, NBC, ABC and many other mainstream programming outlets. This service allows you to watch more than 1,700 television shows, including traditional favorites like “30 Rock,” “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” and “The Office.” Hulu’s downloadable desktop application, as opposed to hulu.com, works extremely well with large screens. Apple’s iTunes application replicates all the features of Apple TV, allowing you to buy or rent movies and listen to your music collection.

Be warned though that iTunes can get expensive. If you watch premium-cable television shows, you can pay more than $40 for the season of a single show. But even that is less than one month of cable. Since there are so many other entertainment options online, we just skip “Dexter” and “Weeds.” Trust me, there is a lot of great free or ad-supported content out there.

Finally there’s Joost.com. Although it’s not a downloadable application and only accessible through a Web browser, Joost offers free streaming movies and a strange variety of cartoons.

While Microsoft’s Xbox 360 (starting at $200), is not absolutely necessary for this setup, it delivers an array of lively entertainment options. I can, of course, play video games, but I can also rent movies (through the Xbox marketplace or through Netflix’s online viewing service), and browse Twitter and Facebook, with a new feature that lets you watch a streaming interface of your social networks flow across the screen.

I understand this kind of living room experience isn’t for everyone. It’s a lot less work to just click a button up or down on a standard remote control. And it can be difficult to explain how to use this unfamiliar toolbox of buttons, programs and devices.

Over Thanksgiving a friend graciously house-sat at our apartment. It took my wife more than an hour to write a detailed description explaining how to use our new TV setup. After explaining how to use the mouse and keyboard, we had to describe how to switch among applications. The instructions read:

“If you want to watch “Ugly Betty,” or “Saturday Night Live,” you will need to load up Hulu. If you’d like to watch some of the movies we’ve downloaded, you will have to quit Hulu, open up Boxee and navigate to the movies folder. To use Netflix, you’ll need to switch to the Xbox and. ... ” But after a few hours of randomly clicking into cyberspace, our friend figured it out.

There is one other showstopper. I know the sports and technology enthusiasts don’t often mix, but if you’re one of the few people who live in both of those worlds you might have to look for other options. To watch baseball you can buy a little dongle that plugs into the back of your computer and streams free over-the-air high-definition channels. I bought this for the Yankees games and it worked perfectly. If you’re an ESPN fan you have two options. Stick with cable, or go to a bar to watch the basketball games.

Over all, I couldn’t be happier with our computer television setup. Now, I just have to figure out what gadgets I’m going to buy with the $1,600 a year I no longer send to the cable company.

Hamstrung by Delays, Fitbit Explains and Tries to Deliver

Nicholas Cole was determined to shed a few pounds after the holiday season. So when he heard about a nifty new fitness device called the Fitbit Tracker, a wearable sensor that tracks movement, distance traveled and calories burned, he decided to take the plunge and order one.

That was 13 months ago. Mr. Cole is still waiting for the $99 gadget to arrive, as are legions of other eager customers.

“I haven’t heard anything yet, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to get it in a month or two,” said Mr. Cole, a 20-year-old student living in New Brighton, Pa.

Others, unwilling to wait any longer, have forked over as much as $350 to buy a Fitbit on eBay from other consumers.

That was 13 months ago. Mr. Cole is still waiting for the $99 gadget to arrive, as are legions of other eager customers.

“I haven’t heard anything yet, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to get it in a month or two,” said Mr. Cole, a 20-year-old student living in New Brighton, Pa.

Others, unwilling to wait any longer, have forked over as much as $350 to buy a Fitbit on eBay from other consumers.

Fitbit’s tale of expectation and delay is a classic start-up story: a couple of entrepreneurs with a hot idea generate excitement, then run into a range of real-world problems in actually trying to make their product and get it to customers. With bigger companies like Nike and Philips Electronics making similar fitness devices, Fitbit runs the risk of getting stomped by competitors before it can really get going.

But the company’s unusual frankness about its problems may also help it survive its growing pains.

“They’ve been really open and transparent about where they are in the process, and that’s made it easier to tolerate the wait,” Mr. Cole said.

A prototype of the Fitbit Tracker was introduced in September 2008 by the co-founders, James Park and Eric Friedman, at TechCrunch 50, an annual showcase of innovative products and Web services.

The thumb-size device uses an accelerometer to sense a user’s movement, then translates that into calories burned. In addition, users can wear the device at night to track the quality of their sleep and can manually input their food consumption to get a better grasp of their overall health and well being. A home base station collects information each time the user passes by and uploads it to Fitbit.com.

The concept appealed to fitness enthusiasts, and Fitbit began taking preorders right away, expecting to be able to ship them within a few months.

Instead, the company, which is based in San Francisco, found that it took eight months to refine its prototype into something that was ready to manufacture, Mr. Park said in a recent interview.

Mr. Park and Mr. Friedman are experienced entrepreneurs, having started two previous tech companies together.

But this was their first foray into hardware. The Fitbit has more than 100 electronic components and 22 plastic and metal parts. Its complexity resulted in unexpected problems in making everything work together.

For example, “we would discover the product used more power than we’d originally thought and have to decide if we wanted to include a larger battery,” Mr. Park said, “which meant going back to the drawing board to figure out how that impacted the size and form factor.”

The company also encountered setbacks during the testing phase, including equipment that at one point got stuck in customs in Indonesia.

Even now, once the products arrive in California from the manufacturer in Singapore, Fitbit employees must spend several minutes updating the software on each device before sending it out to fulfill orders.

To assuage the growing restlessness of its customers, Fitbit has been e-mailing them and posting updates on the company blog about the progress of the Fitbit Tracker, including photos and videos showing production and testing of the devices.

“It’s definitely a way to help people stay interested,” Mr. Park said. “Most products on back order are in a black hole of information.”

Some customers who have received their Fitbit, like Andrew Chen, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, say it is worth the wait. “I love how simple and convenient it is,” he said. “I just put it on and don’t think about it.”

However, Mr. Chen managed to get his device only after complaining on Twitter about his mounting impatience over his back order. One of the investors in the company then shipped him a unit directly.

Now, Fitbit says it is planning to ship the remainder of its back orders by the end of January, when the stand-alone devices will also be available in retail stores.

Jon Callaghan, founder and managing partner of True Ventures, which led a $2 million round of seed financing to Fitbit, acknowledged that it would have been better not to miss the holiday shopping season.

But it was more important to get the product right. “I would not like a warehouse full of products customers didn’t like,” he said. “That would be disastrous and short-term thinking. We’re going to be around for next Christmas.”

Bernie Tenenbaum, an expert on small businesses who has no connection to Fitbit, said the delay was not likely to do permanent damage to the company’s reputation.

“Yes, they’ve missed some sales and some revenue opportunity” and created some excitement prematurely, “but that’s not fatal” compared to shipping a flawed product, said Mr. Tenenbaum, managing partner of the investment firm China Cat Capital.

Still, Fitbit may have lost valuable momentum, he said. “It’s not as if there aren’t enough other shiny new tech things floating around at this time of year. That’s not to say the passionate aficionados won’t be there with bated breath, but for everyone else, there are too many other choices in the world.”

While the Fitbit struggles to fill old orders, the competition has moved in.

Many Web sites allow users to track various aspects of their health, similar to what users can do on Fitbit.com.

And other companies are getting into the gadget side of the business. Philips, a consumer electronics heavyweight, has introduced a fitness tracking device called DirectLife. And other rivals have come out with the BodyBugg, a calorie-tracking monitor worn on the arm, and WakeMate, which monitors sleep cycles and selects the ideal time to rouse its wearer within a given time slot.

So far, none of this appears to have diminished demand for the Fitbit — which does not surprise Jim Silver, an industry analyst and editor in chief of TimetoPlayMag.com.

In the age of Twitter and Facebook, word of mouth operates on hyperdrive, whether it is for the Fitbit or this holiday season’s hot toy, the battery-powered hamsters called Zhu Zhu Pets.

“Even people who aren’t parents or associated with toys know what they are, which opens the door to more sales, just because it’s a hot item,” he said.

How to Connect Computer to TV

There are several ways to connect a computer to your television: S-Video, VGA, and DVI are a few of the older cables you can use. For the sake of this blog I will cover the newest and easiest - connecting via an HDMI cable.

But before I dive into this easy process, let’s discuss some of the benefits of transforming your TV into a monitor. The most obvious: you can save $$$ by dropping your cable provider and viewing all of your entertainment programming via the Internet. I personally will save $50-75 a month. There are free online sites that offer quality interactive entertainment, like the now famous hulu.com. Gaming is also a powerful excuse! My personal motivation is being a grad student taking online courses I wanted to have a great multimedia experience since I will spend several hours a week watching web lectures.

Ok now for the How To…

I started with my relatively new Dell Inspiron 1525 and my relatively new RCA 40″ Full HD 1080p LCD HDTV. My HDTV has 3 different HDMI ports whereas my laptop has one. Make sure you check your laptop has this port! An HDMI port resembles a USB one - except it’s slightly wider and flatter. If your computer only has a DVI port you may be in luck because lots of HDTVs have HDMI/DVI combined ports. The process of hooking this up is pretty much the same, except you use an HDMI/DVI cable instead (I’m a GENIUS!).

I purchased a 6′ Sony HDMI cable for $39 and a Logitech USB cable keyboard and mouse for $40 (includes speakers too). So I have my cable and my wireless keyboard and mouse for only 80 bucks. If you’re a smart shopper you will find these items online and probably save 50% of what I spent, but I’m impatient and wanted to do this tonight. Of course these components are not required if you have a laptop and a long enough cable chord. But to me that defeats the purpose - I want to get away from my computer and pretend like I’m just interacting with my TV while a lightweight ‘remote’ rests on my lap (keyboard) and a pointer on my couch arm (mouse). The ultimate Captain Chair :).

Select output on your TV remote control and select which HDMI port you plan to use (1,2, or 3). Connect cable to TV and computer. Within a few minutes computer should automatically detect the cable and give you screen options. I chose the Mirror option because sometimes the wireless mouse gets stuck and so I have to walk over to my computer and use the touchpad instead. This way I have the mirror image on both screens if I want to use one over the other.

Then, if the computer doesn’t automatically output to your TV screen select FN+F8 or FN+F11. FN+F8 worked for me.

Next you may need to experiment with your TV screen format. I had to use the “No Overscan” format view because it’s the only setting that displays the complete screen; others truncate the top and bottom. You may also need to experiment with the screen resolution on your computer.

Finally if you do decide to use a wireless keyboard, you’ll want to encrypt your key strokes. You can do this by installing the software that came with your hardware. After installation, the settings should provide a security option that takes you through a series of steps to make sure no one else can record or monitor your strokes. Once you complete this wizard you should be good to go.

The only performance issue I found was with the cheap keyboard and mouse. Sometimes the computer doesn’t detect their signals. I have to be within 6-8 feet of my computer for these devices to work correctly. Umm… with a 40″ screen you really don’t want to be that close! I even had to scoot my couch up a foot to prevent keystroke delays and stubborn mousing. It’s pretty frustrating actually, so I will most likely invest in more complimentary components and I would advise others to do the same.

How To Add The Blogger “Read More” Expandable Posts Link

This is a pretty popular Blogger hack that lots of people have asked me about. Instead of answering to each email individually, I thought it would make more sense to write an article about it.

With this hack, you can choose to display a select amount of text from the beginning of each post as a teaser instead of showing the entire post on the front page of your blog. Then when people want to read the rest of the post, they can click a “read more” link to see the full post. This is very handy if you have lots of long articles all on one page. (Note that you’ll need to have post pages enabled in order to make this feature work.)

Step #1 – Update Your Template Code

First you need to edit your existing code so I recommend copying and pasting it into notepad or any text editor. Also, it’s smart at this point to create a backup of your template just in case something goes wrong. Now do a search (CTRL + F) within the text editor for the following code post-header-line-1. This is the default code that Blogger includes but some custom templates remove or change this code so you might have trouble finding it. If you can’t locate this text then try searching for instead. Your template will for sure have this since it’s the tag that actually prints the body of your post.

Now depending on which code you were able to find will determine how easy the next steps will be. You might need to do some detective work first in order to get this working properly in your custom template. The idea is to get this new code into your template before the tag. Keep reading and hopefully the explanation will illustrate the concept clear enough so you are able to adapt this hack to your custom template.

Add the following code below the

and

tags if you’ve got both.





The result should look something like this:

If you don’t have the default

tag then your result should look something like this instead. This is how it would be done in the MushBlue Blogger custom template:

Notice in both examples that the code in yellow and the tags are the same — it’s just tag above it that will differ based on the template you’re using.

Now let’s add one more bit of code which will actually create the “read more” link in your post. This code will go below the tag so copy the following and paste it in. Feel free to change the “Read more…” text to whatever you want the link to look like. Be careful not to delete any other code during this process.



Read more...



Yes, there are supposed to be two tags in the above code so don’t think it’ s a mistake. The result should look like this:

This code will be the same no matter what template you are using. Just make sure it goes below the as shown in the image above.

Now let’s look at what the final result should be. Here’s the updated code block you just worked on all put together:

Ok, you’re all done editing the template code. Paste it back into your Blogger html window and save it. If you get an error, you made a mistake. The most common mistake is to accidentally delete a > or <>

Step #2 – Add a Class Tag in Your Default Post Template

For this step, you need to navigate in your Blogger account to “Settings” => “Formatting” and scroll all the way down to the bottom. It’s the last option called “Post Template”. You’re going to paste in the following code:

You’ll want to keep the spaces in there which will make sense later. After you save this, it will look like this:

Step #3 – Create a New Post

Ok, we’ve got everything all setup so it’s time to go and test it out. Hopefully you’ve got a new post in mind for your blog. If not, then we’ll just create a test post which you can later delete. When you click on the “Posting” tab, you’ll notice that the post text area is now pre-populated with the and tags. If not, then you didn’t save it properly so go back and re-read step #2.

So when writing your new post, anything you put above the tag will be the teaser text. The main body of your post needs to go in between the and tags in order for the “read more…” link to work properly. See the screenshot below. Sometimes pictures illustrate better than words.

Now publish or preview your post to see the “read more” hack working on your blog. If it doesn’t show up for some reason, go back and run through the steps again. Most likely you pasted the code blocks in the wrong places. It’s difficult to troubleshoot these issues since each template can be unique so please make sure to double-check your template before asking for help in the comments section below.

Here’s the live post with the “read more…” link properly working based on the text I used above in the post text area.

Additional Info

If you want to go back and update your old posts with this new “read more…” feature you can. Just go back and edit each post manually. Essentially you’ll need to paste in the and tags breaking apart the post into two parts.

For some posts, you might not want to use this feature at all. If that’s the case, just delete the and tags from within your new post text area. Then your new post will show up entirely just like it used to before you implemented this hack. Enjoy!

Ready to super charge your blog? Check out our professional premium blogger templates or make money by joining our blog affiliate program!

If you like this post then please consider subscribing to our eBlog Templates RSS feed. You can also subscribe by email and have new templates and articles sent directly to your inbox.

China's Anniversary Web Crackdown

Internet cafes vow to 'self regulate' in advance of a politically sensitive anniversary.

People use computers at an Internet cafe in Beijing, June 3, 2009.

HONG KONG—Controls over Chinese Internet users look set to intensify ahead of a sensitive political anniversary in October, with an announcement by Internet café owners that they will fully cooperate with government security measures.

Internet Café Associations in 30 major Chinese cities and provinces issued a statement titled “Self-regulating declaration on cleaning up the Internet café industry” Wednesday, vowing to abide by China’s laws and regulations concerning the Internet, official media reported.

The statement said Internet café owners would “cooperate with government efforts to close down illegal Internet cafes, to improve the quality of service in Internet cafes and voluntarily 'clean up' the industry.”

It also said the industry would work toward “putting an end to hidden security concerns.”

“Industry associations in China are semi-official organizations approved by the government, although they may have arisen from the private sector,” said He Qinglian, former editor of the Shenzhen Legal Daily newspaper.

“This communiqué has been issued under the aegis of the government.

Information control

Its aim is to control the flow of political information, especially now, on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. They want to eradicate any voices of opposition and create an atmosphere of unified praise for the Communist Party,” she said.

According to Chen Jianying of the association “China Internet Cafes Online”, the industry is taking steps to self-regulate.

“There will be more concrete measures coming in the future,” Chen said.

“Through such an organization and such an announcement, everyone is able to share information, including some aspects of Internet café management,” he said.

Meanwhile, online reports in central China said authorities at the prestigious Hunan University are developing and testing new online public opinion surveillance software.

Officials at the university were unable to confirm the reports, but they said such a project seemed likely.

“A lot of departments in Hunan University would be likely to be working on such a project,” said an employee who answered the phone at the Hunan University Information Technology department. “I don’t know which department it is, though.”

'Negative reports'

One piece of public opinion monitoring software, made by Beijing-based Goonie, said in its promotional material that it could monitor news posted on Web sites, blogs, and forums, as well as currents of public opinion on the entire Internet.

“[Goonie] is able to distinguish intelligently between illegal information on the Internet and to help you crack down on pornography, fake and erroneous information,” the company said in a promotional statement on its Web site.

“It automatically detects negative reports, ‘hot’ news events, and forum discussions.”

Zhu Ruifeng, editor-in-chief of the anti-corruption Web site Supervision by the People, said his Web site is frequently targeted for closure or by hackers, because of negative reports about government officials.

“A lot of citizens and ordinary people are going to the forums and posting reports, and expressing opinions of great dissatisfaction with the government and complaints right now,” Zhu said.

“Our Web site deals with anti-corruption, and it is blocked [by the authorities] every day. When they can’t block it, they get hackers to attack it. When the hackers can’t bring it down, we get an immediate notice that it will be closed from the supervisory office,” he added.

Authorities in the Chinese capital are on high alert ahead of lavish official celebrations of the Chinese Communist Party's 60th anniversary in power on Oct. 1, and police have rounded up migrant workers and petitioners and put pressure on writers and intellectuals not to publish anything critical of the government during the holiday period.

Toy Robots

Kids love to play. Girls or boys have its appropriate toys to play with. Girls played with dolls while boys played with toy car, toy guns and toy robots. But the most popular toy that kids want to play with is a robot toys.

Toy robot are a toys that played by kids. It’s a toy that looks like a robot, act like a robot and programmed like a robot. And this kind of toy has been very popular for how many years already, for the reason that children love to adore and admire their favorite robot characters they have seen in the television. But, nowadays, toy robots are not only for kids anymore. Lots of adult people are now playing a toy robot as one of their past times because for them it is fun and enjoyable to play.

There are many different types of robot toys, for young kids and for big boys. And the most expensive one are those robot toys who are fully functional that was made with mechanical attached with wires and other circuits. These mechanical toys are played by many big boys all around the globe. And the other robot toys that suit for kids are those programmable robot toys only. It does not cost too much that is why it is really suit for kids.

Star Wars Toys

Star wars is a popular science fiction movie that launch in the theatre. It has been views by many people all around the globe because of its very nice effects. And know what? Even children’s appreciate and like this movie because of its fighting scene with some flashing swords effect.

Since the movie became popular, lots of star wars toys are being manufactured. Delivered and displayed in many malls. And guess what, star wars really hit the highest market. Really admit that because of its popularity, all people love to collect the star wars stuff. Even children and old ones are now collecting star wars toys. Even the price is too high from the other toys; people are still keeping on buying them. And even until now that star wars movie already past away for a years. Star wars toys have been very important to them.

There are different kinds of star wars toys that all people love to have. Just like the most popular one is the sword that looks like with the star wars warrior, their mask and mostly those little cute figurines that looks like them. Little bet weird but mostly star wars fan are the one who collects them and display them in their room.

So, if you one of t star wars fans, why not start to collect now. You might get nothing at the end that you decided to star collecting. Remember its better to get late than never had anything in your hand.

Hiroshima engineers develop robotic carp

Ryomei Engineering (a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries), in cooperation with two other Hiroshima-area engineering companies, has developed a robot resembling a koi carp. The robot was demonstrated at a pond on the grounds of Hiroshima Machinery Works.

The robot is modeled after a Nishiki koi carp as a form of tribute to Hiroshima Castle (whose nickname Ri-jo means Koi Castle). The 80-cm (31-inch), 12-kg (26-pound) fish has a white body with bright red spots. Though the tail movement is very smooth and lifelike, the remote-controlled koi is capable of moves that a genuine koi is unable to perform, such as swimming in reverse and rotating in place.

The robot is Ryomei Engineering’s fifth in a line of fish robots that includes a sea bream, a prehistoric coelacanth, and a golden carp. New features added to the robotic koi include a CCD camera built into the head and sensors for analyzing water quality.

Sega's Sexy New Female Robot Sings, Dances, Kisses

Sexy is as sexy does... Sega's kissing robot!
If good things come in small packages, then Sega's E.M.A. (which stands for Eternal, Maiden, Actualization and is pronounced "Emma") must be very good indeed. Standing just over 15 inches / 38cm tall, the robot is undeniably female in appearance, actions and even attitude!

Sega designed E.M.A. to be feminine from the start. Unlike other, earlier attempts at designing female robots, E.M.A.'s "glamorous body" (so sez Sega) is curved and creased in all the right places, and by precisely articulating her moveable elbows, shoulders, knees and waist she can (again, Sega's words): "walk like a lady".

Of course, I saved the best for last - E.M.A. has a love mode that turns on once infrared sensors detect an undoubtedly blushing face nearby. The robot will then daintily tilt her head upwards and make a "kiss" sound - "chyu" in Japanese but cute nonetheless. E.M.A. is also programmed to hand out business cards... but you & I both know the love mode is going to get much more use.

E.M.A.'s onboard sensors are powered by batteries and, for those thinking about robocopping a feel, her body is crafted of tough, impact-resistant ABS plastic.

According to the Sega press release, E.M.A. is scheduled to be released in Japan this coming September 26 and will be priced at 18,900 yen (about $175) each. The target audience - adult, according to Sega (and mainly male, I'm guessing) - is expected to buy up to 10,000 fembots in the first year of sales availability. (via CrunchGear)

The Nissan Qashqai Dualis Robot Will Rule All Japan!

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I swear to god, with my robot obsession, you'd swear I was Japanese. They're the only culture crazed over bots enough to hold me, much less contain me. I'd fit right in — if I weren't 6'3" and teeming with 'merican nationalist spirit. But still, the Japanese deserve the credit for merging automotive culture with the ultra-futuristic robotic stuff. And no company seems to be doing more of that right now than Nissan (or it's hetero life-mate Renault). Enter the Qashqai for the JDM. They're calling it the Dualis and they're marketing it as a "powered suit." Thus, the big honkin' robot that'll be on display at the Nissan Gallery from May 23 to June 13 in Tokyo. After that it'll be at the Sony Building from June 25 to July 1st. So if you live in Tokyo or plan on visiting, feel free to snap some pics so we aren't just stuck with the viral vid we've got below the jump. – Ray Wert