Remember the first time you watch Disney's Snow White? I just loved the way the magic mirror effects were done up, and all through traditional animation methods to boot. The Virtual Butler mirror brings back memories of yore, where it functions like a real mirror although can be connected to a variety of spots around your home including alarms, doors and cameras among others. The face is the stuff of nightmares, and I'm not too sure if I want someone like that to greet me and open my doors whenever I come home. If you're interested, the Virtual Butler is going for a cool $20,000.

Sony is still working very hard to turn a profit. To do so, the company is betting on (stereo) 3D, among other things, to charge a premium, in a bid to increase its margins. This was largely visible during our recent trip to CEATEC in Japan: stereo 3D was everywhere, in TVs, but also in the PS3 graphics driver itself. With it, Sony can turn the PS3 (an Uber10) user interface and most games into "3D Stereo" games. So what's in it for Sony? Sell more expensive TVs, for one.

It is not surprising to see Hollywood and TV makers are pushing (stereo) "3D". While customers have sometimes been willing to pay an extra to go from 60Hz to 120HZ, I doubt that the same is true for 240Hz. Thinness is also worth only so much: when it comes down to it, customers aren't willing to pay twice the price to get half the thickness. Instead most will patiently wait until the prices fall into the 1500-2000 range.

Olive Media Inc has released this 4HD high-end music server that aims to match the 24-bit/192Khz standard used in recording studios (for reference, CDs are encoded with 16-bit values at 44.1Khz). Assuming that you have the speaker setup that matches what the Olive 4HD can output, you would hear how "music sounds as it is recorded".

The Olive 4HD comes with 2TB of storage, which is equivalent to 20,000 HD songs, or 6000 CDs. Users can move data from a PC or copy tracks from a (low-res!) CD. It costs $2000, and my question is: where do I find the HD audio content?

Plan to host some intimate parties later this year? You might want to impress your guests with the Cal Flame G5000 Firepit, where it not only functions as a fireplace but also a cocktail table. The G5000 firepit-table will come with an industrial grade, round glass tabletop which is large enough to accommodate full-sized dinner plates, accompanied by a 360-degree stylish footrest and up-lighting to add a touch of class. Too bad class is often equated with money, and this is where the Cal Flame G5000 doesn't fail with its $6,900 price tag.

The VOT550 mini computer has been spotted online during the summer, but ViewSonic just launched it (as in: you might be able to buy it soon). Don't mistaken the VOT550 for a Nettop - despite its small size, it packs a lot of punch: 2.2Ghz Core Duo processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB hard disk and a Blu-Ray drive. ViewSonic has cleverly used a slim optical drive design, and has extracted the power supply from the main box (like laptops). The result is a very small box that is a fully featured PC. We have not cracked one open, but we expect to see a single fan, which will make it a relatively quiet computer. In the back, all the ports are there... except the HDMI output, which *might* be an issue with HDCP (the HD digital copy-protection scheme) at some point. At $949, it is relatively expensive, but there aren't many small Blu-ray home theater PCs like this one. If Blu-ray is not a priority for you, the Mac Mini could be a decent alternative, although you need to price in the cost of getting Windows. I doubt that it will be cheaper.

Want to return home to a nice spa after a gruelling day at work? That is now possible with the Koizumi Seiki Beat Spa which is exclusively available in Japan only. Made to clean and massage the scalp right in the comfort of your own home, this lightweight and highly portable Scalp Washer will be powered by a built in Li-ion battery that takes around 2 hours to hit a full charge, but the theory of diminishing returns applies here since that will yield all of 20 minutes of pleasure. With a 3 liter capacity, this is ideal to remove excess oil and rinse out shampoo left on the scalp after regular shampooing.

Want to go geek all the way? The CTRL+ALT+DEL Cups Set is there to reset your kitchen to its true purpose - entertain females with a nice cuppa so that your life will be complete. These cups were designed as upside down keyboard keys, and would make for a great housewarming gift at a mere $23.90 per set.

Rihanna's kitchen scale not only lets you know just how much ingredients to put in, it will even keep you entertained thanks to a built-in iPod docking station, making this a world's first. There is a 42.5mm x 20mm LCD display located below the iPod dock, where audio will come out from a 2-watt speaker that is placed under the safety glass surface of the weighing area, keeping your forays in the kitchen an entertaining one. Expect the Rihanna to be out in due time, retailing for approximately €70.

Samsung will be rolling out a new 3G Ubicell Personal CDMA Base Station sometime next year, where it will be offered via carriers for use in home or small office environments. This device is able to boost indoor cellular service as long as you plug it into an existing broadband connection, allowing carriers to offload increasing 3G traffic from the macro network while giving cellular quality within a boost, paving the way for new bundled service packages simultaneously. This could be the nail in the coffin for landlines, as this 1-pound box is capable of supportting up to eight simultaneous users.

The Stair Climber is a device specially designed to goods up-and-down stairs with but minimal physical effort. This allows even a frail person to tote around loads of up to 140kg without breaking a sweat, doing so in a safe manner upstairs and downstairs. Guess home moving companies would want to look into this...

The PowerZoa might be in the prototype stage at the moment, but it is already capable of helping you save money right out of the box. This device can transmit details of your power usage to a secure website, where from there you are able to turn specific devices connected to it on or off. We're just waiting for a cellphone app of the PowerZoa to take off, and then life will be complete. Well, maybe almost.

The living room seems to get more and more connected with the computer these days, thanks to built-in technology alongside peripherals such as this - the USB TV Card Player. Retailing for $53.99 each, it allows you to view your favorite digital photos and movies on the TV without having to tediously set up expensive and complicatged equipment, as you can always read your favorite movies off an SD, MMC or Memory Stick memory card. Alternatively, stick in a USB flash drive with the drama series you're so fond of, and you're good to go. Apart from video, it also handles a variety of popular audio formats with aplomb.

Better touch a freezing cold pot accidentally instead of a hot one, and the Thermochromatic Pot would definitely help you tell the difference (unless you can't tell that steam is coming out from the pot to signify the temperature of its contents). Whenever you see the Thermochromatic Pot turn red, make sure your brain follows through by sending signals to your fingers NOT to touch it. Why wasn't this released much earlier when I was younger? It could've saved me a bunch of burnt fingers...

Pets do get bored too, you know. Since you have your Sony PSP and Xbox 360 to keep you entertained, how about Garfield who yearns for some mental activity? The Bolt Interactive Pet Laser Toy might come in handy, dancing a laser beam dot all over for your cat to catch. No idea on how long will it take before your pet catches on, but this is much more cruel than slathering peanut butter inside a Kong toy for your pooch.