SHAKEN AND STIRRED
Krups offers drinks for two – 2000, that is. The appliance maker is showing its optimism about the dawn of the new millennium with a champagne flute-shaped motorized cocktail maker designed to make an effervescent splash at Y2K parties.
The Midnight Cocktail Maker includes a recipe booklet and a tray that makes bubbly little ice cubes, all for about $15. The festive-looking gadget only holds 16 oz., but makes the most of it with a stirrer shaped like a bartender holding the number 2000. Find out more at Krups' Web site.
KEEPING UP WITH THE JETSONS
Cye, the multitasking personal robot, is your electronic friend. The robot is about 16 inches high and weighs in at less than 10 pounds but still manages to pull a wagon, bring you the mail or carry a snack. Cye is programmed by software you load onto your home PC, where you can map its environment and teach it where to drag its own handy vacuum cleaner attachment.
Probotics makes Cye in black, yellow or orange. It costs about $700 without the wagon and vacuum accessories, which run about $90 each. Real friends might be cheaper, but they probably aren’t half as good at scaring dust bunnies and family pets. Visit Probotics' Web site for more information.
THE OFFSPRING
When Tiger Electronics introduced the Furby, retailers were ecstatic. It was another Tickle Me Elmo, another Cabbage Patch Kid (if you remember that far back) that would make housewives in trench coats tear each other apart in the toy aisle at Wal-Mart. With Gremlinish good looks that caused legal rumblings, furry charm and an extensive vocabulary in the Furbish language, Furbies were bound to be the perfect progenitors to a new craze: The Furby Baby. This spawn of softness has a smaller body, a bigger vocabulary and more tricks up its fuzzy sleeve than the old version. And it comes in six different colors, with variations in fur and eyes. Expect to shell out the same cash, though. Furby Baby sells for the grown-up price of about $30.
