Ricavision continues to rock the SideShow action today — in addition to the devices unveiled yesterday, it looks like they’re finally ready to ship that nifty SideShow-enabled Vista Media Center Edition we saw back at CES as the RICA100. There’s been a few changes since — Bluetooth range has been increased to 300 meters, the button layout has been substantially beefed-up and revised to meet Microsoft’s MCE guidelines, and the docking / charging cradle has been totally redesigned into a smaller, sleeker unit. All those changes don’t come cheap, though — the RICA100’s MSRP is now $299, up from $199. We can’t help but notice that this design is just a render too, though — let’s hope Ricavision shows off an actual physical product sometime soon.

[Via eHomeUpgrade]

In the universe of gadgets meant to monitor or conserve energy usage, this is the first we’ve seen that takes an anime approach. The Lifinity ECO is either a thermostat or a energy monitor (or both), using helpful cartoon penguins that keep tabs on your heating and AC settings, as well as the stuff plugged in around the house.

Currently only available in Japan, naturally, under Matsushita’s National brand, we hope Panasonic considers bringing it to the US, where energy awareness is getting super serial. My only problem with the Lifinity ECO is this: The penguins I know like the AC cranked to the max. How’s that gonna help shrink a guy’s carbon footprint?

Penguins at home [Akihabaranews]

Actiontec Electronics has just released their MegaPlug AV 200 Mbps Ethernet Adapter Kit, based on HomePlug AV technology that dispenses with Ethernet cable. The adapters can connect computers and audio/video devices over existing electrical wiring to create a high-speed transfer of HDTV or standard TV movies, images, or music, or computerized data. Included in the kit are two Ethernet adapters for building or extending an existing network, with one needed for each device. Contact Actiontec for price and availability in your area.

Gone are the days where you sat impatiently in another room flipping through endless tracks just waiting to hear the lead-in from Forever Young, as even DLO is joining the LCD-equipped remote game with the HomeDock Music Remote. Similar to the KeySpan, EWOO, and Popalive iterations, this RF remote dons a sleek OLED display (shown after the jump) that mimics the menus and text on your iPod’s screen so that you can flip through playlists, scroll through albums, and see what’s currently playing all without having your eyes glued to your Apple. The device also comes with a docking stand that can connect to your home stereo or TV, and doubles as a charging station when plugged into an AC outlet. Still, you’d have to be mighty lazy or incredibly burdened with disposable income to make this one worth it, as DLO’s charging a stiff $129.99 for the kit.