Doug Berrett plans to release an update to Webguide 4.0 for Windows Vista. The program already lets you schedule recordings on your home theater PC from any web connected PC or Windows Mobile PDA. But why bother opening a web browser if you don't have to?

The latest update will show your guide, recorded programs and upcoming recordings in a Vista Sidebar Gadget. You can set it up to show the latest info for the PC its installed on, or you can configure the gadget to work with a remote machine, allowing you to keep track of your recordings while you're slacking off at the office.

[via Ian Dixon]

I'm serious. If you buy me this totally awesome R2-D2 with a DVD projector, iPod dock, MP3 player and a bunch of other awesome things, I will pay you back by doing chores around your home. I'll rake your carpet. I'll vacuum your lawn. I'll wash your kids and take your truck to the zoo. I'm not sure how much it costs, but can you really put a price on my happiness? Yes, you can: it's however much this R2-D2 thing costs. And it even comes with a Millennium Falcon remote.

"But, Adam," some of you might be saying, "I never agree with anything you write, why should I buy you this gadget?"

If that's the case, record yourself on a DVD complaining to me. Then send the DVD along with the R2-D2 DVD player thingy. I promise I will watch the DVD and respond to you*. Besides, when I watch the free DVDs studios occasionally send to me I need something better to watch them with than my regular old TV. Let's all work together to make this happen.

[via Boing Boing]

*"Watching the DVD" can mean looking at the disc without ever actually putting it in a DVD player.