Crave

We all know that invading space aliens have one primary objective, and that is to impregnate human kind. That and possibly to collect today's assortment of handy gadgets for use on their own planet. Meanwhile, there we'll be, doing their alien chores and cooking their alien dinners for them with no ability to break from their alien spell. Aren't we just a sad bunch of humanoid life forms?

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This week brings us a bizarre sci-fi pinball game, a home-remodeling simulator, and an original space-themed shoot-em-up.

WiiWare

• Alien Crush Returns (Hudson Entertainment, 800 Wii points): Alien Crush Returns is an updated version of the classic Turbografx 16 game. It's a pinball simulator unlike anything you've played because it looks like you're playing inside someones digestive system. Your Nintendo Wi-Fi connection extends the fun, bringing your gameplay online with up to four friends.
  
• Home Sweet Home (Big Blue Bubble Inc., 1,000 Wii points): Calling all aspiring interior decorators: Home Sweet Home lets you design your dream room with its easy to use interface and controls.
  

Virtual Console

• Space Harrier (1986, Sega Master System, 500 Wii points): Originating in the arcades of the 1980s, Space Harrier lets you play through 18 levels of intense space shoot-em-up combat. Defeat the bosses at the end of each level and restore peace to your homeland.
  

What games do you think are missing from the Wii Virtual Console? Sound off here!

(Credit: Yanko Design)

(Credit: Heatwave)

It's been a long while since our last warning about the evil egg empire, thinking that the threat of a pending invasion had subsided. Clearly we were wrong, as this ovum speaker system has Alien written all over it.

Once this "Egg" unit is cracked open, two satellite speakers can be removed while the base doubles as a subwoofer and an iPod dock. Luckily, it's only a concept so far--because it would be the perfect place for a facehugger to lurk at the bottom.

(Credit: Parts Express)

The invasion is upon us. It started innocuously enough, with a sighting or two, but then they got bigger and even began to float above us. And now, just like the nest scene in Aliens, they have multiplied and are ready to conquer the universe.

The "Sphericles" speakers pictured here are only the latest and most prolific example of the alien eyeball speaker invasion we've been warning about for months. This surround system is part of a DIY project by designer Darren Kuzma, which includes a Tang Band 3-inch bamboo cone driver and 1-inch Titanium dome tweeter.

Most surprising of all, aside from this system's intimidating presence, is the cost of putting one together. BornRich says the items needed to construct it can be had for only $250. ("The bases of the speakers are created from $2 discount store frying pans with the handles removed," it says.) Still, we think it's just a ruse to get more of them stationed in households around the world before the apocalypse.

Remember a few years ago how Wal-Mart and other companies slapped mandates on their suppliers and told them that they'd have to begin to put standardized RFID (radio frequency identification) tags on stuff coming into the warehouse or else?

Still life with Alien RFID tag and finger.

(Credit: Michael Kanellos/CNET Networks)

The idea was that the tags would let retailers and distributors track all of the products coming from various suppliers through a single, large database. Warehouse managers loved the idea because it simplified their jobs, but privacy advocates warned of Minority Report scenarios where corporations tracked your spending habits. Tagging would start with pallets, they noted, but move to individual products. (How come privacy advocates never make analogies to other Spielberg movies like The Color Purple or Hook? That's a story for another time.)

Well, the plans for an RFID planet are taking longer than expected, according to Scot Stelter, director of product marketing at Alien Technology, one of the old-guard companies in RFID. Instead, companies are mostly installing self-contained "closed loop" RFID deployments.

Some pharmaceutical companies, for instance, are putting tags into their products to guard against counterfeiting. Hospitals use tags to make it easier for orderlies and nurses to find equipment. Retail stores that mostly specialize in selling their own brands (Banana Republic) like it for checking inventory.

The mandates aren't completely dead. Wal-Mart is going to start charging fees to companies that ship non-tagged pallets of products to its Sam's Club stores, but it hasn't really cracked down on those not complying at the company's main Wal-Mart chain.

Why the switch? It's easier. Both the tagger and the ultimate party that needs to read information off of the tag are the same person. In turn, this makes the investment in RFID easier to justify. Procter & Gamble, after all, wouldn't have benefitted from the Wal-Mart mandates as much as Wal-Mart. Open systems also create technical complexity.

"The mandates accelerated the investment phase and tag development, but some of the early assumptions were off," Stelter said. "The mandates were more of a U.S. issue. Europe was looking at more closed-loop applications."

RFID tags, he added, tend to work best, from an operation standpoint, when you have high-value products, a lot of different models, and a high inventory turnover rate. Jeans are ideal. They can cost a lot. There are lots of different sizes and models, and inventory moves quick. If they are out of 32 x 32 in boot cut, a sales clerk with an RFID reader can find it in the stockroom.

What if Target is out of Crest Natural Mint with Tartar control? The customer just buys Colgate with a whiff of lemon.

(Credit: Akihabara News)

This is either a special product made for a very special person (with four ears) or a decidedly old-school way of getting around file-sharing laws. Either way, we wouldn't count on a huge market for this double headset.

Akihabara News says SKPAD's latest invention can be used with any device that has a standard headphone jack, though we're not sure about quality. And because it seems to work like a splitter or an adapter for multiple earphones, we're also not sure about the $37 price.

Something like this might be useful on a plane or in the backseat of the car if your kids are fighting over an older DVD player that has only one jack. But if that's the case, you probably have problems a lot bigger to deal with.

Sometimes we wish computers were more like cars. Drive one around for a while, and then when it starts to show its age, trade it in for a newer model. Unfortunately, computers age worse than pretty much any other consumer product, losing value from the very second they roll off the assembly line.

That's why Alienware's AlienExchange Trade-in Program caught our eye. In fact, the company will do more than simply give you a few bucks for an old PC. Like a bizarre online pawn shop, they'll take old gaming consoles, MP3 players, and mobile phones, and give you credit toward an Alienware purchase.

It's all a bit gimmicky, to be honest. We popped open the AlienExchange Web site and went through an online tool that let us select products we wanted to trade in by category and model, then got an "instant quote." We were offered $178 for an Xbox 360 Premium system in excellent condition, and $100 for a 60GB iPod in good condition, but without the original box. That's pretty good, even considering a decent Alienware rig can run upwards of $5,000.

If you want to accept the quote, you print out a shipping label, mail your stuff in, and about a week later, you'll get an Alienware gift card (subject to the company's verification of the condition of whatever you sent in). If you've got an old Alienware computer, they'll automatically tack on an extra $200 to the trade-in value.

Alienware's press release pitches it like so: "Customers will enjoy further advantages with the AlienExchange Program that includes: gaining additional funds, getting rid of unwanted electronic devices and paving the way for more affordable Alienware purchases," said Carlos Puentes, vice president of operations of Alienware. "Anyone who participates in this invaluable new program can turn the items they no longer need into a more powerful new Alienware PC they have been dreaming about."

Of course, we haven't heard from anyone who's successfully used the system yet, and your mileage may vary, but it seems like a decent way to get a few bucks off of a new PC and keep old tech junk out of the local landfill.

(Credit: Cabasse)

We should have known this was coming. It's been months since we last heard from Cabasse, the French loudspeaker specialist--or, at least, that's what they claim to be. In reality, we suspect it's a front for a growing population of aliens that have taken the form of eyeballs.

The latest pair of ostensible speakers, the 5.1 "Eole" system, features five "spherical satellites" (translation: UFOs) with a 250-watt amplifier and 8-inch woofer. It's based on the design of Cabasse's $150,000 "La Sphere," including its orb-like shape, Gizmag says.

In trying to win over the masses, the Eole is being offered "at a fraction of the cost" of its predecessor--a price that still comes to $3,000. Which shows that invaders from outer space haven't quite grasped the concept of human affordability.