CDs and DVDs tend not to last long in my house... but since I just fling them in a pile in the cupboard, that's entirely my fault. The Sanwa CD-RE1AT might be just the ticket though: it works on 8cm or 12cm CDs, DVDs and BDs. With a push of a button it removes dust, fingerprints and "oily spots" from discs, and with the "repair" button it solves skipping problems and coats the discs with a protective layer, without grinding. Available now for $79. If only it found missing CD case inserts too it'd be perfect. [Akihabaranews]

Normally we'd skip over Australia-only news, but the official Xbox 360 price cuts there most likely means those rumors of a drop in the US are pretty much locked in for sure (even if the European price reduction a few months ago didn't cross over). Kotaku says all three models got slashed, "with the Arcade down $50 to AUD$349, the Pro down a whopping $180 to AUD$499 and the Elite down $80 to AUD$649." With the new sticker of $349, the Xbox 360 Arcade is actually cheaper than the Wii, which is $400. Toilet flushing and the seasons aren't the only things backwards down there now. [Xbox AU via Kotaku]

These officially licensed Star Wars Nintendo DS Styluses are just what we need to draw insane circles around Pokemon, help Phoenix Wright solve cases and cut open random people in that really ahrd doctor game. They come in two flavors: a three-pack of standard plastic ones for $7.99 or a two-pack of glowing ones for $16.99. Both are due July 31, which is exactly the day that we're going to pretending we're gigantic Jedi holding regular-sized lightsabers. [Light-up and Boring via View from Heaven via Oh Gizmo via Kotaku]

Wow. Stan Glasgow, at dinner tonight with a few journalists, told us that Sony plans to network 90% of all of their products, thousands of models, by 2010. It's a matter of getting content on and between devices. He said that the goal was to have it happen automatically or with a click of a button.

The VAIO was mentioned as a focal point of the strategy, and by that method, Windows. But Glasgow also mentioned that there would be additional software to help them achieve this goal and differentiate themselves from other computer makers, hopefully without the bloat you see in today's VAIOs. I have some concerns about their software expertise but they have been addressing that recently. I am more concerned about their expertise in hosting services, like Xbox Live versus the maturity of the Playstation store. Glaslow also went into slightly more detailed answers as to how their cross product connectivity is being shaped, continuing past what president Howard Stringer said about each group no longer being insulated from each other during development. He said that software development would start from the beginning of product cycles and that specific designers were in charge of setting up the UI similarities and setting up the common kernels. There were central groups that supposedly connect all the other groups. I should hope the networking efforts happen within the next generation of product because this gen's examples are not that strong; Hancock will be, this fall, the first title available on the Bravia internet link streaming system released ahead of disc releases. But given the $299 price tag and the bad reviews of the movie, they need to do a lot better. As far as content streaming goes, I don't think that Sony's internet video strategy will fly until they build this hardware into every Bravia TV. Speaking of connectivity, Glaslow also mentioned that a Sony Reader E-book with wireless connectivity was being developed. As a close, I'd asked Glaslow why there were so many Sony products and why were the names so confusing. He'd replied that he'd agreed it was an issue, but that there were many sides to the problem including tracking a specific model through design to manufacturing, when they had so many SKUs. And that it was possible to do different internal and external names, but the problem with iconic names is that submodels get lost in the shuffle. I thought to myself, I guess they should probably not release so many models because we find it pretty confusing when shopping Sony.

Go download that 2.40 firmware update now for your PS3! It's got trophies, in-game XMB s well as a Google Search Bar. The trophies (achievements from Xbox 360) will be great for hardcore gamers, and the in-game XMB, which allows you to access various settings and send messages to your friends while inside games, makes for a very convenient gaming experience. We've got a video walkthrough as well as photos here. Seriously, go get it now or else you're going to have to spend 15 minutes doing it later when you actually want to play something online.

The only real problem with today's portable electronics is battery life. The gear gets more powerful but sadly battery technology really hasn't kept up, that's why we write about things like solar power. But there are also nifty things called dynamos, devices you pump or crank to juice up your batteries. O2, a large mobile carrier in the UK, will be installing bicycle-powered dynamos around a festival it's sponsoring this coming weekend to charge up music fans' mobiles. Sure, they could have run power cables and created power stations, but where's the fun in that? And as anyone who's been to a large outdoor festival in the last few years knows, you're going to want to power up at least once a day or else you're cut off. And if you've got our luck, it'd be right before Winehouse takes the stage, so you'd have no bawdy SMS session to distract you. [Pocket Picks]

We were excited for the merger talks between Blockbuster Video and Circuit City, as that union could create a probable entertainment behemoth, and we don't mean like Paula Abdul. Sadly word is coming down that Blockbuster is pulling its offer for Circuit off the table. Apparently it was ultimately decided that the match wasn't a good fit for Blockbuster's shareholders, so the plans have been scrapped. What could have been and awesome two-front retailer now means Blockbuster has to find new ways to catch up with Netflix, and Circuit City has to keep its head above water without any help. Bets on what happens next? [Forbes]

The Gadget: Kangaroom's laptop stand and charging station, which offers a ventilated laptop stand as well as two phone/iPod holders so you can have a place to charge your gear without cluttering up your desk. It's even tilted, since many laptop users enjoy typing at an angle.

The Price: $45

The Verdict: We've been fans of Kangaroom's organizational kits for a while now, and this bamboo laptop stand continues their tradition of quality organizational products with a gadgety tint. In this case, this product design combines four good concepts into one useful device.

• Laptop stands = useful
• Things made out of bamboo = fun for eco-fetishists and pandas
• Gadget charger dock = good times for gadget-heads
• Ventilated middle = keeps your laptop cool

And all of those features in a sturdily constructed shape means we'd gladly pay the $45 for one of these. It even feels nice when you take it off a desk and put it on your lap, giving a nice bamboo barrier between a hot laptop and your fleshy (uncharred) thighs.

[Kangaroom]

The mini-notebook market is heating up, with today bringing stats and shots of the Asus's latest Eee PC with it's tiny screen and keys that might work with normal hands. Then later, we get news of a leak about Everex, Asus's competitor in this market, about its next Cloudbooks, including one with a 10.2-inch screen and 3G connectivity, and another with an 8.9-inch screen and WiMAX.

No definite word on if they'll be using Intel's Atom processors or competitors from Via, or if they'll be XP or Linux machines, but the makers of the reference design, FIC, would confirm a screen resolution on the 10.2-inch model at 1024x600. It will also feature a 1.3-Megapixel camera, 2GB RAM, card reader, dual USB 2.0, and an express card slot.

Less details are known of the 8.9-inch model, though the specs should be similar, including resolution. The devices might be subsidized by 3G carriers like AT&T or Sprint — if they ever hit the US shores, which there's no promise of.

We liked the Cloudbooks we've seen so far, and we can't wait to see if a slightly larger model will actually be usable for those of us with big, bear-like hands. [PC Advisor, via Slashgear]

There's apparently a new touchscreen handset from LG on the way, and early word is that it's slated to be the Korean phone maker's new flagship phone. So far known as the KC910, it appears to be more camera than phone, shooting at 8-megapixels with a real Xenon flash, face detection, image stabilization, and a 480p camcorder function, which is worth noting. It also supposedly has an 800x480 resolution screen, which means it can show 16:9 movies with no cropping, all in a form factor a little over half an inch thick. If they can throw in a few other high-end features like Wi-Fi and a good browser then this handset could out-media the iPhone and be a real challenger, but we're holding our judgment till we've seen it in action. [Electronista, via DC Sources, via Ubergizmo]