The Think Tank is a 4' high, $225 model brain in a bubbling jar. If you've ever had an existential moment and wondered if you were possiblya brain in a har being fed an elaborate simulation, this is the gizmo for you. It also illustrates the key problem in DRM: software depends on getting reliable info about its operating environment (as when Microsoft DRM requires audio to be piped through a "secure" channel), but there's no way for a DRM to distinguish between being run on actual hardware, or on emulated hardware — e.g. whether it is a "brain in a jar," being fed pretty lies by a simulation that is lulling it into giving up its secrets. I bet you could build one of these for a lot less than $225, though.
(via Red Ferret Journal)
Update: JWZ sez, "I've had one of those things for a few years — it's pretty neat, but the bubbles always get inside the brain and make it float up on its side. It's also very light and easy to knock over."
