Alienware is showing off their latest high-end server, designed for use in home theaters and media rooms. The system contains everything you need for controlling your digital media in one slick aluminum box.

The Alienware HD Media Server (HDMS) comes in a dramatic brushed aluminum, rack-mountable enclosure, and provides a powerful HTPC under the hood. Powered by a smokin’ fast Intel Core 2 Quad core processor, the HDMS provides plenty of storage using a hot-swappable RAID 5 array with up to 4-terabytes of disk. 

In addition to a standard slot-loading DVD/CD writer, there’s a dual-layer Blu-Ray/DVD±R/W/CD-RW burner available as an option. The HDMS comes with a complete set of tools for managing your media files and offers high-definition DVR capabilities for recording and playing back content at up to 1080p resolution. 

There are a plethora of audio and video outputs including Component video, VGA, DVI/HDMI, digital audio and 7.1 surround pre-amp connections. The beast has two built-in CableCard compatible tuners, and can support a set of external tuners for recording up to four simultaneous video streams. Network connectivity is achieved using a pair of Gigabit Ethernet LAN connections, or via an optional 802.11N high-speed wireless connection.

The system is available only from custom installers at this point, so be prepared to drop some serious dough if you want one.

[via SlashGear]

 quotationweb

This huge animatronic Gort robot comes to us courtesy of the classic 1951 science fiction flick, The Day the Earth Stood Still. Now, this imposing fella can be yours if you’re ready to pony up the dough.

Up for auction over on eBay (current bid is over $4000), the museum-quality replica is eight feet tall, and features some remote-controlled mechanical moves. It’s big enough that the seller is only allowing local pickups (I wouldn’t want to try and cram this thing into a mailbox either). The fiberglass reproduction was handcrafted by the robot builders at Fred Barton Productions, and has been on public display for the last few years.

I’d like one of these out on our front porch to scare those annoying door-to-door petitioners and religious zealots away.

Even yelling “Klaatu barada nikto!” won’t stop this one.

[Auction Page via Boing Boing]