We love high-def video. We love it so much, we hate when it's compressed all to hell. We also hate getting overcharged for it, like when NetFlix decides to charge more for Blu-ray discs. Fed up with getting short-changed, one of us disconnected his cable service, eschewed satellite, and stopped his NetFlix subscription, becoming a Video Rebel to see how much content he could get for free. The first of his weekly updates, about HD available on the Web, posted Tuesday. Stay tuned during the coming weeks for more dispatches!

Beyond sticking it to the high-def man, we gave the final word on plasma-TV burn-in, and its close cousin, image retention. Vanessa found out that wearing a solar backpack is a good pickup tool (for picking up tools, anyway), and for anyone looking to buy a last-minute Mother's Day gift, here are some items not to consider. The rest of the week's top stories:

Pleo robot dino further humiliated, destroyed in the ring by Vicious Verdict, the killer ComBot
Yet another victim of robot-on-robot violence.

Tivoli gives Internet radio another shot with NetWorks 2.0
Will this one be worth tuning into?

Canadian government wants army of Iron Men
Really, what government wouldn't?

HTC takes on the 3G iPhone with the Touch Diamond
Rivals to the new iPhone begin to emerge — well before the product is even officially announced.

Navy launches U.S.S. Independence, first of new class of weapons-bristling speedster trimarans
A speedy new warship puts to sea.

Transparent Post-Its let you see what you're editing
About time these were invented.