Wow, this is clever, geeky, and entertaining all at the same time. Themeaddicts, a company started by theme park engineers, is showing the latest, and by far coolest, home automation and security add-on.

It's a "magic mirror" in which a talking Genii-head appears and announces home events. For example, it might appear and say that the mail has just been delivered, or that a car is approaching via the front driveway. When the Genii is not present, all you see is a regular mirror. The animation and voice acting are quite well done, as you can see in the demo video at the website. (Also available, but alas not demonstrated, is an animatronic pirate skull.) Too late for Christmas this year, but there's always hope for next year! Santa, are you listening?