Did you cheap out on a TV stand? It probably just got recalled.

Let's be honest -- after sinking a few large on a new HDTV, a few hundies on some overpriced cables and even more on HD programming, you weren't about to cough up another month's paycheck for a decent TV stand. For the 48,600 customers out there who purchased one of four different King Pao Enterprise TV Stands (likely sold and distributed by Studio RTA), you now have a product known for tipping over and ruining lives. The E Series, Fierro, Madison DLP and Madison 3000 -- all of which were sold at Best Buy and other big box retailers from May 2004 to August 2008 -- have been deemed unstable and unfit for use in your living room, and it's suggested that you cautiously remove your set and wait for a "repair kit" before it does the removing for you. Godspeed.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: best buy, BestBuy, china, chinese, danger, furniture, hazard, King Pao Enterprise, KingPaoEnterprise, recall, safety, Studio RTA, StudioRta, TV Stand, TV Stands, TvStand, TvStands ]

MEdiaCOre sofaside Digital Lifestyle PC now on sale

When you think coffee table PCs, you probably think Savant. You probably also think: "I can't afford that." At least with the MEdiaCOre Digital Lifestyle PC, you can possibly pretend it's within reach, as creator Pearing Core Systems has it starting well below five figures. After digging a bit, we found that this HTPC / AV rack conglomerate starts at around $6,100, and obviously, you can take that figure about as far north as you please depending on configuration. A fairly novel concept, sure, but one we figure only a select few will realistically consider.
[Via: eHomeUpgrade ] [Tag: DLS, htpc, MECO, MEdiaCOre, MEdiaCOre DLS, MediacoreDls, Pearing Core Systems, PearingCoreSystems, table pc, TablePc ]

Faber's Imago+ multimedia hood redirects attention from stove to TV

We can't help but love when a plan comes together, and if you've been hesitant about replacing your kitchen hood while secretly longing to redirect those funds towards a new LCD, there's a compromise staring you right in the face. Faber's luxurious Imago+ multimedia hood boasts a stainless steel / glass finish, fits nicely above your range and includes a 19-inch LCD TV with a 1,440 x 900 resolution, 300 cd/m2 brightness and 850:1 contrast ratio. Unfortunately for you Americans, the internal tuner caters to DVB-T signals, though the decent lineup of ports will allow you to connect up other sources of content. Mum's the word on a price, but again, those having to ask will probably be forced to pass.

[Via: Appliancist ]
[Tag: cooking,faber,home,hood,imago,kitchen,kitchenware,multimedia,multimedia hood,MultimediaHood,range ]

FakeTV emulates human watching the tube, supposedly discourages thieves

What else can we say? The concept here is pure genius, and it totally makes those pricey security systems seem way pointless (okay, slightly less critical). The FakeTV is a strobe that sets up in an occupied room at night and flashes up beams of light. From the inside, we can imagine it looks fairly curious, but from the outside, it gives prospective burglars the idea that someone is actually awake and watching a television program. It promises to produce the effects of "scene changes, fades, swells, flicks, on-screen motion and color changes," just like they were generated by a bona fide set. We can't speak for how well (or not) this thing actually works, but at just $49, we'd say it's a solid buy if you're the paranoid type.

[Via: BoingBoing ]
[Tag: comedy, crime, faketv, funny, home, larceny, light, protection, safety, security, theft, thief, tv ]

LCARS-esque touchscreen controls home, excites Trekkies

za9000's LCARS-like touch panel isn't quite ready to hop aboard any spacecraft, but it sure seems to do a fine job of controlling his home. Truthfully, detailing this thing in words wouldn't do it justice, so we'll leave it to you to don your best Spock face and check out the three-minute clip waiting just past the break.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: home automation,HomeAutomation,LCARS,star trek,StarTrek,touch panel,TouchPanel,touchscreen,video ]

Power strip monitors your usage, makes you feel bad

Energy conservation and gadgetphilia are tough to combine, but this Power Cost Controller power strip might be just the ticket for those looking to monitor -- and potentially cut back on -- their power usage. The strip's display counts kilowatt-hour power usage and tracks by hour, week, month, and year. It also monitors line quality with voltage, line frequency, and power factor readings. We're just not sure if we really want to know how much power we're using, but if you're ready for the bad news, the strip is $99 and available now.
[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: conservation, power, Power Cost Controller, PowerCostController, powerstrip ]