topping this week's list of what karl marx calls "artificial needs" -- or what i call "crap you don't need but are gonna buy anyway" is the availabot.  this little plastic dude performs one single function: to indicate whether a buddy is logged on to his IM account (bot stands up), or is logged off (bot collapses in disturbing paroxysm of spinelessness).

the usb-enabled bots can be attached in multiples, one for each IM buddy, if you have an excess of available USB ports (or a sad dearth of buddies). 

i've saved the best part for last: in the future, the manufacturers  of the availabot will allow custom orders, using rapid-form prototyping to create IM bots that look just like the buddies they represent.