mop while you flop Surely you already have a robotic lawnmower that trims your immaculate yard while you recline and watch the Tampa Bay Bucs or Miami Dolphins each Sunday. And maybe you have a robotic vacuum that moves around your house, bouncing off walls and furniture while sucking up dog hair and dust. But it's a good bet you don't have a robotic mop. This one is called Scooba, made by those iRobot folks who make the vacuum cleaner. Nifty name, eh? It contains two tanks of water, so dirty water is not reused. It moves around a floor needing mopping and-mops. It can clean 150 square feet before needing a water change. $399. http://www.irobot.com/consumer/scooba_sneak_preview.cfm

cover up For shelter from the storm, Wogg-Pavilion has you covered-literally. Swiss designers created this cover that reminds some of a hang glider or a Chinese lantern. It can be unfolded and placed anywhere cover is needed. It offers protection from sun or rain, privacy from neighbors, or even a showstopper gazebo at that next trade convention. It folds for easy storage, comes in two sizes and four colors, and is said to be much easier to set up than a tent. The small Wogg-Pavilion is $1,190; the larger model is $1,450. www.wogg-pavilion.com.

my orb is red. sell! That's right. The colorful Ambient Orb will graphically show whether your stock portfolio is doing well or if bad weather is approaching. The orb changes from green to yellow to red using signals from a nationwide wireless network. Your locale and desired information are kept inside it. If your stocks are tanking, the orb turns yellow, then red. If you're making a fortune because you bet manufactured housing was the future, the orb will glow green. Once set up, the orb doesn't need batteries, a computer or an Internet connection. Just plug it in to a wall outlet. $149.99. www.smarthome.com/1951.html.

tape this It seems as if every device we carry is becoming multifunctional. MP3 players double as telephones; wristwatches double as cameras. And now comes an affordable camcorder that plays MP3 music, takes photos and, of course, records video with audio. Creative Technology's DiVi CAM 428 is a bargain at $199. This one has four-megapixel quality, 4x digital zoom, five flash modes, a night mode, a macro mode and a two-inch LCD viewer that can rotate 270 degrees. Not bad, huh? Give one to your wannabe-a-movie-director teen. www.creative.com.