What should I do with an old 450 MHz Sawtooth G4 Mac running OS X 10.2? Assume that it runs well as-is and that I have $100 to spend on accessories. Bonus points to answers involving robots (for which I don't have materials for) and/or digital cameras (for which I do).
posted by infinitewindow on Jul 27, 2009 - 3 answers

Searching for two half-remembered movies (or rather their trailers). One is about killer robots, another about an assassin(?) in a noir SciFi environment... [more inside]
posted by PontifexPrimus on Jul 13, 2009 - 9 answers

Can anyone identify these cartoons? One about two poor kids who dream of a world made of food, then wake up to a feast in their kitchen. Another about a young couple at a future world/technology expo where they see instant houses, get groomed by robots, and ballroom dance? [more inside]
posted by thebellafonte on Apr 28, 2009 - 6 answers

Any cool examples of robots (real or fictional) with LED, or LCD faces or mouths? Or any interesting robot faces or mouths that light up?
posted by SouthCNorthNY on Apr 6, 2009 - 17 answers

How can I determine my robot's location reliably and cheaply? [more inside]
posted by godawful on Jan 21, 2009 - 4 answers

What are some classic, old sci-fi movies? [more inside]
posted by god particle on Oct 29, 2008 - 40 answers

Does anyone have experience with RoboMower or other robotic mowers on the market? Is my dream a reality or do these things not really work as advertised? [more inside]
posted by geoff. on Oct 3, 2008 - 6 answers

About 9 years ago, my brother and I saw a short animated film on the Independent Film Channel (he says). It was about floating robot-things residing in a place similar to that of the one Homer went to the time he slipped into the third dimension. Our heads are exploding, because we cannot figure out what this freaking short was named, or anything else about it. [more inside]
posted by Coatlicue on Aug 18, 2008 - 4 answers

What are some good sci fi novels/short stories that focus on robots? Difficulty: no Asimov. [more inside]
posted by olinerd on Jul 19, 2008 - 23 answers

Keeping my name private on my website - can robots.txt help? [more inside]
posted by giddygirlie on Jun 19, 2008 - 6 answers

Website help: I'm asking for some input on (1) straightening out a problem with Google and its "description" for each page of my blog; (2) constructing a robots.txt exclusion for certain types of archive pages; and (3) the reason why something is looking for page URLs that have "function.fsockopen" at the end of them. [more inside]
posted by WCityMike on May 30, 2008 - 10 answers

What happened to that giant Michael Jackson Robot that was being built to shoot lasers at planes in the desert near Las Vegas. I haven't heard about that recently and I really want that to happen- any new info, o mighty hivemindius?
posted by Large Marge on May 2, 2008 - 2 answers

Who first came up with the concept of lots of small (though not necessarily nanoscale) robots performing useful tasks collectively? [more inside]
posted by Krrrlson on Apr 23, 2008 - 10 answers

A novel about a computer that attempts to create art? Help me identify this sci-fi book. [more inside]
posted by bradth27 on Apr 22, 2008 - 5 answers

I'm trying to build a robot and I need some help creating the support that all the motors and what not are going to rest on. Also, any other tips on mechanical engineering for this electronics guy would be very helpful. [more inside]
posted by markovich on Apr 9, 2008 - 4 answers

Robotics question: simple and high-payoff project, don't have the time/leet skillz/rationale to jump in the deep end of the pool (i.e. academic smartypantses building attack vehicles), don't want to spend the money on/deal with the physical bulk of the shallow end (Mindstorms et al). What is in the middle? [more inside]
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks on Feb 21, 2008 - 10 answers

Is there a specific name for the plastic toy robots that look like this? Bonus points for telling me where I can find them in Atlanta, GA.
posted by studentbaker on Feb 15, 2008 - 11 answers

I have a dream! A dream of a robot laboratory. What steps can I take towards one day achieving my dream? [more inside]
posted by markovich on Jan 15, 2008 - 11 answers

What to ask David Levy, author of Love & Sex With Robots? [more inside]
posted by chinese_fashion on Dec 9, 2007 - 12 answers

What is the piece of music used at 12:29 in the Neill Blomkamp short "Tempbot," at around 12:29? (link to the short movie within) [more inside]
posted by lonemantis on Jul 19, 2007 - 4 answers

A few years ago I stumbled on a website that proposed (very likely fake) upgradeable human parts for sale : added memory, bionic eyes, legs, etc. I can't recall this website and can't find it on Google, does that ring a bell to anybody?
posted by V-Turn on Jun 27, 2007 - 3 answers

What was this fascinating shareware video game? It involved writing LOGO or BASIC-like code to guide a ladybug on a tree branch past obstacles to a goal. [more inside]
posted by ostranenie on Jun 3, 2007 - 11 answers

Where can I find music with a positive perspective on robots, cyborgs, and the like? [more inside]
posted by spaceman_spiff on May 1, 2007 - 33 answers

Can robots use chopsticks? [more inside]
posted by qbxk on Apr 26, 2007 - 4 answers

I'm thinking about taking some time off between jobs to travel around the U.S., and I'd like to see some robots. [more inside]
posted by logicpunk on Mar 13, 2007 - 9 answers

At a younger age I vaugely remember watching an animated movie which greatly disturbed me for years as I didn´t understand it, and could not understand what was being portrayed other than the film appeared to be EVIL. (Note: I don´t remember very much of the film visually but I do remember alot emotionally, as such I am really groping trying to piece together what I saw as opposed to what might have been imagined.) [more inside]
posted by zona_sul on Nov 30, 2006 - 15 answers

I need a web scraper script/proggie to download and thumbnailize images for a long list of search terms. [more inside]
posted by Moistener on May 16, 2006 - 6 answers

Flying Robot Planes? The analysts seem to think there is no good way to stop these things. Why isn't the government interested in using the wisdom of crowds to prevent terrorist attacks? [more inside]
posted by tweak on May 10, 2006 - 14 answers

Who is the most exalted personage in Japanese (fictional) robotdom? [more inside]
posted by Slothrop on Feb 6, 2006 - 9 answers

Anthro-Mytho-Socio-Filter: Help me connect body transformation examples such as Cuchulainn, Mazinga Z, and Michael Jackson... [more inside]
posted by Slothrop on Aug 11, 2005 - 11 answers

I'm going to be in San Francisco for a conference from 3/14-->3/18, but sadly not the emerging technology conference. Anyway, I was wondering if there is anything like Japan's Akihabara--some sort of dense flea market with strange gadgets and such, that I might visit. Any sort of robot-themed "performance" involving flammable materials would be cool too, but I've heard that Survival Research Labs isn't allowed to play in the city any longer. In short, what would be some cool geeky/techy things to do while there that might not be available elsewhere and won't land me in jail? [more inside]
posted by mecran01 on Mar 10, 2005 - 9 answers

I'm looking for robot kits that are a bit more interesting than the basic line trackers. The ideal kit would combine soldering with some building. Any suggestions?
posted by drezdn on Dec 27, 2004 - 8 answers

What is the name of the curve or theory illustrating humans' comfort level with robots that look like people? Example: the more a robot looks like a person, the more uncomfortable people are in its presence, but the moment an artificial being is absolutely indistinguishable from the real thing, the comfort level goes back to normal. My Googling leads me nowhere, but I seem to recall reading about this somewhere on MeFi...
posted by Robot Johnny on Oct 4, 2004 - 6 answers

Is there a blacklist of misbehaving web robots? [MI] [more inside]
posted by gimonca on Oct 2, 2004 - 4 answers

Roomba! How smart is your Roomba? (MI) [more inside]
posted by rschroed on Sep 24, 2004 - 15 answers