FakeTV - Trick burglars into thinking you're home...

From a design perspective, there are three ways to deal with a burglar: (1) keep him out by force, which involves locks, deadbolts, and sometimes even bars on the windows; (2) keep yourself informed if he does break in, meaning installation of motion sensors, window-break sensors, and alarms going off if any of those are tripped, or (3) somehow make the home less desirable to the burglar in the first place. That last one is less obvious, though; what makes a home a less desirable target to a burglar? Well, since most don't actually want to encounter people during the break-in, the burglar would most likely move on from a seemingly-occupied home. That's where this product, the FakeTV, comes in - it simulates the light cast by a television, which is then intended to be seen by the burglar indirectly via the windows. It's a pretty smart alternative to leaving your real TV on, too - it simulates the fades, colors, and scene changes of a real TV accurately, but uses a tiny fraction of the electricity and is smart enough to turn on and off when appropriate. It may be a bit of an eyesore - but hey, so are bars on your windows! The only problem is if this product sells so well that it becomes a victim of its own success - burglars could wise up to it, and homeowners would have to move to the next step in the arms race...
[via Electronic House, Gearfuse, and Gizmodo]