Just a couple of weeks after R2D2 and C3PO clicked and whirred their way back into public consciousness with the release of the latest "Star Wars" movie, Sony Corp. unveiled a rich person's toy that may be the best preview humanity has yet had of real-life "droids" to come. It was an instant hit, too. Within hours of going on sale on the Internet June 1, well-heeled customers in Japan and the United States had snapped up all 5,000 available units of Sony's simulated doggy, "Aibo" -- a clever nickname that combines the acronym for artificial intelligence with a shorthand reference to "robot" to form the Japanese word for "buddy."

Questions flew immediately.

First, why did Sony give Aibo a metal body? Don't they know that real dogs come with hair and adorably soft ears? This cold canine will not shed all over the tatami, and it is guaranteed hypoallergenic, but you wouldn't want it snuggling up next to you in bed.