New Robot Walks, Talks, and Learns

In the future, home entertainment robots will converse with us and behave as virtual pets, security sentries, food-and-drink servers and silicon-based companions.

Sony's AIBO robot dog, which was put to sleep early last year, was to date the most promising line of home robots ever sold. Though appealing, friendly and programmable, AIBO was also expensive -- more than US$1,500.

Now, a new home robot has popped up on the horizon. Called Zeno, the humanoid-talking robot being developed by Hanson Robotics is modeled loosely after the Japanese comic character, Astro Boy.

Zeno, which is 17 inches tall and weighs 6 pounds, can walk, talk, learn and use your face and name, express faux "emotions" and even make eye contact with humans and family pets.

That's right. When I walk in the room, Zeno will look me in the eye and say, "Hi, Mike."

Rather than cramming all the robot brains into the robot itself, Zeno's intelligence is your own PC connected via Wi-Fi. This is how Hanson maximizes compute power while minimizing price. Zeno should cost less than $300.

Early reports even suggest that Zeno connects to the Internet as part of how it learns about the world.

You'll be hearing a lot about Zeno starting next week. Hanson will unveil this creation at the NextFest conference in Los Angeles. We'll be watching this very interesting new product. It could become the first mainstream home robot.

Game store sells only to kids with good grades

Brandon Scott, a manager at a GameStop video game store in Dallas, won't sell PC games or video games to any minor unless an adult confirms that the youth is getting good grades in school. Scott also throws out any kids who use profanity in the store or wear their pants too low. And if any student can prove straight As, Scott will buy him a free video game.

USB gadget gives you instant security

A $179 USB gadget called the Yoggie Pico Personal provides instant security on any Windows PC you plug it into. The drive holds 12 security applications, including anti-malware and a Linux-based firewall. And here's a neat trick: When you plug it in, it hides your system's IP address and instead uses its own. All functionality is controlled with a user-friendly, Web-based interface. You can set it on low, medium or high security, or customize individual security settings.

My picks: New 3G Palm phone to run Windows Mobile; Sony launches Blu-ray offensive

The forthcoming Palm 500 will run on Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 operating system. It will operate on 3G mobile phone networks and will be sold by Vodafone Group. And Sony ups the ante in the fight with HD DVD with four new Blu-ray recorders.

-- Details emerge about new Palm smart phone

-- Sony unveils new Blu-ray recorders to fight HD DVD

Mike Elgan writes about technology and global tech culture. Contact Mike at mike.elgan@elgan.com or his blog, The Raw Feed.