dogs

No offense to canine lovers, but not all dogs are smart enough to lead humans out of danger, a la Lassie and the fire at the Old Mill. Truth be told, some have trouble just staying near their owners.

So if your four-legged best friend has a habit of wandering off without you, something like the "Pet Tag Flasher" might be worth considering. When worn around the neck (the dog's, not yours), it flashes four red LEDs to help identify the pet's whereabouts in a street crowd or even a packed watering hole because it's … Read more

Tomb Raider redefined the adventure genre when it was released in 1996, and with Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Naughty Dog hopes to do the same.

For more on Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, please check out our own Dan Ackerman's first impressions, as he was lucky enough to get some play time in with Lara Croft's long lost brother at E3.

We suppose it had to happen at some point--it was only a matter of time. Now you can have a virtual pet on your iPhone with Virtual Dog. Registering is a snap with the only requirements entering a username and password. Keeping your dog alive is the hard part, with several different training procedures you'll need to do to keep the little guy entertained. The graphics aren't great, but if a virtual pet is what you've been waiting for on your iPhone, Virtual Dog might suffice.

iPhone Link: http://www.dseffects.biz/iphone/virtualpets/VirtualDog/VirtualDog.php… Read more

On my list of "least favorite animals," Paris Hilton-style lapdogs rank up there with mosquitos and cockroaches--in fact, compared to overly groomed Chihuahuas, I think roaches are kinda cute. (They'll be even cuter once Pixar makes a musical movie about them, which will probably be in about three years, judging by recent trends in animated films.) And the more spoiled they are, the uglier they are. Hence my revulsion at this crystal-encrusted "doghouse," designed for a special department store event in (where else) Tokyo, which is really more like an ornate display case for small … Read more

We've gotten some interesting response to an anti-barking system cited recently (especially from cat owners), and apparently a few people are skeptical about the reliability of sound waves alone in keeping noisy mutts under control. So for those who still favor the traditional collar method, there's a new "Ultimate Dog Silencer" on the market. Among the improved features is a DuraProof coating that's "ideal for tough weather and active dogs." (You'd think they would have done this for the original version too, given that these are electronic devices.)

The collar operates like … Read more

Attendees of this past weekend's Coachella music festival in Southern California spotted a robot named Hotshot who apparently roamed the fairgrounds making colorful robotic commentary. Falling somewhere between Short Circuit and Triumph the insult-comic dog, Hotshot seems to be a remote-controlled bot with a head-mounted camera and an off-site operator who provides the robot with its witty banter.

Hotshot begs an interesting and possibly terrifying question. Is it possible to engineer a robot that has a better chance of getting lucky than you do? Not some kind of super-realistic sexbot like Cherry 2000, but a Johnny 5-style robot … Read more

Despite our reputation, we at Crave have a soft spot for animals (except cats, of course). So even though the ill-tempered dogs in our neighborhood won't be mistaken for Lassie anytime soon, we still support humane ways to keep them under control. The biggest test of our patience, however, typically comes in the middle of the night--when they make the transition from lap dogs to howling wolves from hell.

That's why we're pinning our sleep-deprived hopes on the "Deluxe Digital Bark Free Pro," a $120 top-of-the-line device that uses four speakers to emit ultrasonic soundwaves … Read more

We're confident that those of you who've had to hump ammo cans or a mortar plate over hill and dusty dale will draw great consolation in the knowledge that those following in your footsteps may have it easier should this contraption find its way into the grunt inventory.

While still in the prototype stage, the BigDog robotic mule is supposed to be able to clamber up a 35-degree slope and carry a 120-pound load through rough terrain at more than 5 miles per hour. Billed as "the most advanced quadruped robot on earth" it's the … Read more

This may come as shocking and disconcerting news to a certain other Craver, but Pirates of the Caribbean isn't the only movie merchandising franchise in the known universe. It's gotten some serious competition, for instance, from the Spider-Man marketing machine.

This week, the "Spi-Dog" followed the "Spider Spud," the "Spidersapien" and other arachnid memorabilia dedicated to the man from Marvel. The latest of the "i-Dog" toy bot series, it seems to have officially pushed aside the "i-Cy" penguin--making it a doubly sad day for Caroline McCarthy (also known … Read more