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Never underestimate the purchasing power of a "Star Trek" fan.

Beverly Hills, Calif., auction house Julien's has sold -- for a whopping $231,000 -- a one-of-a-kind "Star Trek" phaser rifle wielded by William Shatner in the second pilot episode (and some publicity stills) for the iconic late-'60s sci-fi TV series. Aside from obtaining the weapon and its original case, the winner of the auction also received an original schematic and associated letters signed by Gene Roddenberry and other "Star Trek" producers.

If you're wondering what's so special about this mock rifle, well, in 1965, "Star Trek" series creator Roddenberry had to impress NBC after network executives told him the first pilot needed more of an action-packed adventure vibe. What would any enterprising creative genius do in that situation? Outfit your Captain with a bigger gun, of course! … Read more

Stephanie Kaloi's 4-year-old son recently went through surgery and came home with his knees immobilized and a walker to help him get around. That's a big damper on the normally active life of any young kid. After sending out an Instagram of the walker, a friend suggested that it looked a bit like an AT-AT. Soon, a pint-sized "Star Wars" AT-AT Walker walker was born.

Comic artist Ben Dewey volunteered his skills to translate the movie machine into a form that would fit on the walker. The walker now has AT-AT legs and a head and a control panel featuring the leader of the Imperial forces, Darth Vader himself. I guess this makes the tyke a Sith Lord-in-training.… Read more

For you, perhaps the geekiest diversion you can imagine is playing Pong on the side of this huge building. Or maybe it's this Harry Potter-themed marriage proposal, complete with Quidditch set. How about a beep-blooping R2-D2 bra? Yes, please.

All top contenders for the ultimate nerdgasm, but for my money, it doesn't get more deliciously dweebish than this epic YouTube video that jams all six "Star Wars" movies into one screen. Now when Jar Jar Binks comes on the screen, you don't have to fast-forward or leave the room -- just direct your attention to a different corner.… Read more

Disney has shut down LucasArts, the video game arm of the Lucas entertainment empire, laying off its staff and ceasing its development of two forthcoming "Star Wars" games.

"After evaluating our position in the games market, we've decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company's risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games," LucasFilm said in a statement. "As a result of this change, we've had layoffs across the organization. We are incredibly appreciative and proud of the talented teams who have … Read more

Who says the Angry Birds phenomenon is slowing down?

Gamers may be tiring out from the many iterations of the flying birds, but they continue to rake in the big bucks for Rovio.

The Finnish company said today that for calendar year 2012 it posted sales of 152 million euros ($194.8 million), or a little more than double its revenue from the preceding year. Its earnings before interest and taxes were 76.8 million euros ($98.4 million), up 64 percent from 2011.

The company was helped by the launch of four titles in the year: Angry Birds Space, … Read more

R2-D2's iconic droid look has inspired quite a few products, ranging from speakers to a rolling suitcase. Instructables user seamster took a look at R2-D2 and zoomed in on the "Star Wars" robot's head. What did it remind him of? Why, a bra, of course.

Most people would giggle about the idea and then move on, but seamster set about making not one, but two R2-D2 bras. He also posted painstakingly detailed instructions for making your own from scratch on Instructables.… Read more

It's hard not to get freakishly excited when science fiction becomes scientific fact -- especially when the origins of that science are rooted in Star Wars.

Think back, young Jedis, to the scene where a fresh-off-Tatooine Luke Skywalker is honing his light saber skills under the tutelage of Obi-Wan Kenobi. A round, floating robot called a remote helps Luke practice his Force-finding mojo. Now, NASA is running experiments with miniature satellites, or nanosatellites, that were inspired by that fictional robot.

Roughly the size of a soccer ball, these robots that fly freely in space are called Spheres (which is … Read more

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On this week's Crave, we take a first look a gadget that truly blows, an optical game controller that looks like a kazoo. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield gives us some more cooking tips from space. And Hotello is a hotel room in a box. Sounds uncomfortable, no? All that and more on this week's episode. … Read more

If you're on the fence about seeing an elder Luke, Han, and Leia return to the next installment of "Star Wars," it's possible artist Adam Schickling's illustration of a mock "Episode VII" poster could get you in the mood to see some geriatric Jedis on the silver screen.

Schickling, a 37-year-old professional illustrator based in New York, drew and painted the 30x40-inch "Star Wars" art by hand over the course of four weeks. The mock poster features most of the beloved characters from the original trilogy -- including Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, Lando, R2-D2, and C-3PO -- with some extra gray hair and wrinkles. Well, except the droids, who don't really age.… Read more