Top 10 Tech Toys That Flopped

(NEWSER) - Wired has been keeping track of the most ridiculous acronyms the military-industrial complex comes up with. Here’s the latest list of the "Most Awesomely Bad Military Acronyms" (MAMAs, of course):

• Affordable Accurate Robot Guidance (AARG)
• Integrated Precision Ordnance Delivery System (IPODS)
• Multi-Sensor Aerospace-Ground Joint ISR Interoperability Coalition (MAJIIC)

Concentration 'magically' lifts ball in tube

(NEWSER) - Two companies are set to release toys this fall that kids can operate using only their minds—and that’s just the beginning of a telekinetic revolution, experts say. To use one toy, intrigued individuals wear a headset and concentrate on anything. The toy senses the brain’s electrical activity and uses it to run a fan, shooting the ball upward, the Washington Post reports. More»

List includes advancements from iPhone, Amazon and Netflix

(NEWSER) - David Pogue runs down the best tech ideas of 2008 in the New York Times, “the flashes of genius that somehow made it through committee, past the lawyers, and into the marketplace.” Highlights include:

• Headache-free packaging: Amazon’s plastic-free alternative is good for the environment and does not require the jaws of life to open.
• Freehands gloves: Type away on your PDA—effectively—without exposing your paws to frostbite.

(NEWSER) - Toy companies keep reinventing our favorite childhood playthings, but the new versions almost never stack up. Babble lists 20 classic toys that didn't need facelifts:

• Monopoly: Give us our thimble back! The game that taught us to handle money has become an ad for SpongeBob, American Idol and the like.

• Etch-A-Sketch: Forget boxy black drawings. Now kids sketch in color or "call up the Dora fun screen for a little relief from the stultifying world of creativity."

Innovative solutions for wilderness living

(NEWSER) - Wired sees a distinct lack of cool high-tech outdoor gear, and gives its favorite examples of steps in the right direction:

1. The Cocoon, a hanging teardrop-shaped tent/sleeping bag.
2. The Adamant, an earthquake-proof bed.
3. The Bedu Emergency Rapid Response Kit, a keg full of enough essentials to keep a family alive for up to 5 years.
4. The Urban Skiff, a portable sailboat.
5. The Firun Inflatable Sled, a snowsled that folds down into a backpack.