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This fall, the Force can finally be with you - for a suggested retail price of $129.99. Put on a headset, focus on a small ball in a cylinder, and use your mind to make the sphere rise. It's cool, not to mention a little strange...
...Trainer wasn't the only levitational gadget at this year's American International Toy Fair, the four-day trade show that brings a gazillion manufacturers and retailers together every February in New York City. Also on display was Mattel's new Mindflex, which has players move a tiny foam ball through a mini-obstacle course with their thoughts. Or, more precisely, with their brain waves. (See the best toys from the 2008 American International Toy Fair...
...Each toy includes a wireless headset equipped with forehead and ear sensors that read two kinds of brain waves - alpha and beta, naturally - then relay signals to the bases of the toys, triggering fans that cause the balls to rise. Mindflex's headgear comes with earlobe clips, which significantly increase the I-look-like-a-fool factor. The game requires players to move the ball sideways as well as vertically. There's a knob on the base unit that players must turn (the old-fashioned way, with their hands) while focusing to get the ball, for example, through a tiny...
...Force Trainer - which is limited to moving a ball up and down in a tube - may not be as complicated as Mindflex. But it does have Star Wars branding, which possesses a magical retail power all its own. The toy features 15 levels of training: increasingly difficult challenges involving how high to raise the ball and how long to hold it steady before changing its height. Along the way, Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi offer words of encouragement as hopefuls try to attain Jedi Master status. May your limited discretionary-spending power be with...
...Administration thinks this new program could reach 3 million to 4 million homeowners. The plan also includes an endorsement of the idea that Congress might change the bankruptcy code to let judges write down mortgage debt - a not-too-subtle reminder that if the mortgage industry doesn't play ball with voluntary modifications, a more imposing solution could be around the corner. (See pictures of Americans in their homes...