toy

Yes, Monday was a work holiday for most people. But the Toy Fair is in town at the Javitz Center in New York, and like every other online gadget publication, we wanted to give you a little taste of what's there.

Granted, with somewhere around 1,500 manufacturers, distributors, importers, and sales agents from 30 countries making the rounds at the convention center, we're only highlighting a small fraction of all the products that are on display. But hopefully there's a little something for everyone in this lengthy photo montage (see slide show below).

Enjoy--and as always, … Read more

Our pals over at Crave UK indulged their inner children with a trip to London Toy Fair trade show last week.

Luckily, they brought cameras along so they could share all the geeky goodness, including game action figures, Watchmen merchandise, and a couple of toys that scared the "living bejeebus" out of them.

Click on the gallery below for an excerpt of their very cheeky tour of the toy extravaganza. You'll understand why we've been trying so hard to get CNET to send us on vacation (or should we say holiday?) to the U.K. office. … Read more

Some will call it cute, others will surely call it creepy. We'll reserve final judgment until we see how it feels when Sega Toys' new "Yume-Neko Venus," or "Dream Cat Venus," sheds on our couch and rubs up against our leg.

The robo-cat is equipped with touch sensors that let it engage in such real-life feline behavior as purring, moving its legs when you rub its belly, and sleeping a lot. It will not, as far as we know, scratch your face or drag mice in.

The furry faux cat (OK, maybe if you're … Read more

This is really cool, and really dumb at the same time: Mattel's new Mindflex game lets you control the height of a floating ball with your mind as you navigate it through hoops, cages, and hurdles on a circular racetrack. The goal is to move the little orb around the customizable course as quickly as you can (you control the speed of rotation with a hand-operated knob). The device keeps score for several people.

Control is by brainwave. A headset measures the level of your concentration, and the more you concentrate, the faster a little fan spins that's … Read more

Inside all of us, there lives an inner creep just itching to get out and secretly take photos of unsuspecting members of the opposite sex. The secret book camera, offered here by Keith Carollo and Chris Bick of Fred Flare, definitely confirms that theory. The camera uses inexpensive 110 film and is the perfect size to stick in your backpack or Miley Cyrus-approved clutch purse.

You know what this camera reminds me of? That one scene in Troop Beverly Hills where shevillain Velda Plendor hides a camera inside the Girl Scouts book so Herman can spy on the tragically affluent Girl Scouts of Beverly Hills. Wait, what? You're not as self-deprecating as I am? OK, well I loved TBH and now I can finally live out my cinematic fantasies. Never mind that it's seafoam green and made to look like an antique toy for children--I just so happen to have $55 burning a hole in my apron. Patches?! We don't need no stinkin' patches!

Check out more pictures of the camera after the jump.… Read more

It might not be as technically challenging as modding a PC out of a humidor, but FAO Schwarz's make-your-own-Muppet tool is still a kick for cubicle dwellers with a few minutes to kill.

With the Muppet Whatnot designer, you get to pick from three bodies, choose eyes, a nose, hair, and an outfit, and you've got yourself a custom-made Muppet faster than you can say: Gersh gurndy morn-dee burn-dee.

But for 90 bucks a pop, you'd better be sure you really like that round red nose better than the pointy yellow.

A press representative says it takes four to six weeks to receive your creation--enough time for the holidays if you start now.

But beginning November 13, the Muppets will take Manhattan--again. Customers at the Fifth Avenue store will be able to design their Muppets in-store and walk out with their new toy about 20 minutes later. Also note that, though we don't have one to look at in person (stuffed animals don't quite cut it on the CNET expense account), we suspect these are actual puppets, not full-bodied stuffed animals.

If Muppets aren't your thing, the famed toy store has another do-it-yourself toy-making service. With the Make-My-Own-Monster Custom Design Kit, you can send in your own drawing of the creatures that haunt you in the night, and a few weeks and $250 later, they'll mail you back a stuffed animal fashioned after your design. … Read more

If you're looking to keep folders synchronized across different computers, Microsoft's FolderShare is a top-notch tool. But what about synchronizing local folders?

Microsoft's local sync tool, SyncToy, isn't bad. As part of the Windows XP PowerToys add-ons, it's convenient, uncomplicated, and stable. The five different types of synchronization might sound limiting, but they cover the gamut of sync combinations. Users can sync in one direction or bidirectionally. The other three sync types specify how the sync manages new, deleted, and updated files: updating only files in common that have changed, not deleting files from the … Read more

If you're looking for a convenient, uncomplicated, and stable synchronization tool, you could do much, much worse than Microsoft's SyncToy. Part of the Windows XP PowerToys add-ons, this tool makes it easy to keep folder contents identical on one machine or across a network.

The first time you run it, SyncToy will guide you through creating a pair of linked folders. Labeled as Left and Right, it will then ask you to choose from one of five synchronization methods. Echo works like a standard one-way sync, copying all files from Left to Right. Synchronize is bidirectional; Contribute works … Read more

As the father of two, I see a lot of toys. And as I'm accused of being slightly immature (I like to think of it as boyish charm), I take great interest in really cool toys.

So when I get the chance to see a new toy concept, I'm all over it. While perusing various Web sites--purely for work, I assure you--I came across Karten Design's bizarre concept for a toy it calls Epidermits (presumably because OMGWTFBBQ?!?! was already taken).

And you thought the Furby was creepy-looking.

I showed it to a handful of co-workers, and the … Read more