dealsites writes "CNN reports that George Lucas is releasing the Star Wars DVD box set early on September 21, 2004 due to piracy concerns. Lucas had intended to release the box set of the original 3 movies after Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was released. However, he mentions that due to piracy concerns the profits are being eaten up and there might not be a market for the films at that time. The box set contains the changes that Lucas has made from the original releases. CNN also reports on the top 5 major changes. Lucas is quoted as saying that he never intends to re-release the original 3 movies in the first CNN link."

Reducer2001 writes "USA Today has an article up that has a couple more details about the upcoming Star Wars DVD release. The cantina shootout between Han Solo and the green-snouted bounty hunter Greedo is virtually identical, but now it seems their guns fire almost simultaneously." Reader Jutebox150 writes "Time magazine has an early preview of the Star Wars DVDs and gives some justification for Lucas issuing the updated versions of the trilogy and talking about his many mental and physical battles to finish filming. The article also describes a 2.5 hour documentary by Kevin Burns that traces the origins of the saga. 'The first cut of Star Wars,' Burns' narrator says, 'was an unmitigated disaster.'" Reader spoco2 writes "The Star Wars Original Trilogy is due for worldwide release on the 21st on DVD, but the first reviews are appearing already in Australia (obviously of the PAL version). Yes, they are the SEs with even more differences (Now Gredo and Han shoot at the SAME time!). I'm afraid I'll be waiting for the day when George reconsiders and releases the untouched originals."

An anonymous reader writes "With today's image release, Cassini's tour of Saturn's remarkable system of 31 moons has taken the probe past one of the ringed planet's natural wonders: Mimas. The 250 mile wide satellite suffered a catastrophic impact that opened a wound one third of its diameter and nearly split the moon in half. Today, Mimas bears a striking resemblance to the original Star Wars' Death Star, which wreaked havoc on planets using its laser-focusing dish. In place of the laser dish, Mimas carries a crater peak the size of Mount Everest."

HaloZero writes "The title was publicly revealed today in a special presentation to a packed audience of Star Wars fans at Comic-Con International in San Diego, California. The title wasn't the only surprise for those in attendance at the presentation. Click here for news about even more Star Wars DVDs in 2004 and 2005, surprise celebrity guests, new planets in Episode III, and more."

dev_alac writes "The BBC is reporting that C-3PO has been inducted into Carnegie Mellon's Robot Hall of Fame, along with Asimo, Shakeyboy -- "the first mobile robot to reason about its actions," Astroboy, and of course, Robby the Robot of Forbidden Planet fame. There, he joins such other legendary mechanical beings as Hal 9000, R2-D2, and Sojourner." Update: 06/20 08:27 GMT by T : Yep, it's a near-dupe of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story linked the other day.

colonist writes "Wired News reports on the Personal Satellite Assistant (PSA), a spherical robot about the size of a softball that uses air jets to move in the microgravity environment of space vehicles and habitats. Described as a cross between Star Trek's tricorder and Star Wars' lightsaber training droid, the PSA has 'sensors for measuring gases, temperature, and air pressure' and performs 'video conferencing and can communicate with electronic support devices such as computer servers, avionics systems, and wireless LAN bridges'." We mentioned these a few years ago - looks like they've come a long way since then.

lemmen writes "According the Brtish tabloid The Sun, Star Wars III will carry the name 'Birth Of The Empire'. This will be announced soon according the article. Also it describes one of the highlights of the movie: 'A thrilling lightsabre clash between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker while surfing on lava.' Can't wait till May 15th 2005!" Thanks to reader ExoticMandibles, another quality news source: Teen Hollywood. Update: 05/20 05:47 GMT by T : Gokey writes with a correction: "StarWars.com indicates that the movie is released May 19th, 2005 (exactly one year from now) not May 15th, 2005."

tashanna writes "I got an e-mail from my brother with a link to this. Someone has built an Imperial Star Destroyer model from the original Star Wars movie that's appropriately-sized for the 4" action figures. The guy made it with an armory, bridge, cell bay, computer room, engineering (split over 2 levels), Darth Vader's chamber, conference room, troop rest room, medical bay and it measures 2 meters, by 1.5 meters, by 1 meter and is for sale on Ebay. There are interior photos on the eBay site. Ummm... WOW!"

Jethro73 writes "Whether you love or hate the Special Edition only release, you should be excited to see the new Darth Vader costume on the upcoming Trilogy DVD set. Here are some more details on the upcoming DVD set."

snitty writes "Lucas Films has announced the release date for the last movie in the trilogy of prequels. The date is set for May 19, 2005. The title of the movie has yet to be released. I think I'll give it another year or so before I get on line for tickets."

An anonymous reader submits "Want to know who gets killed in the first ten minutes of the movie? How come Yoda runs off to Dagobah? Who will Darth Vader kill? Will the Clonetroopers become Stormtroopers? Will Chewbacca or Grand Moff Tarkin have a role in Star Wars:Episode III, and if so what is it? AgonyEngine of the Phatooine Network dares to answers these questions with a definitive timeline synopsis and character analysis, carefully compiled from the many spoilers and spy reports from the insiders and interviews."

securitas writes "The Cartoon Network is about to premiere a new series of animated shorts based on the Star Wars prequels. The series comes from Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack, Dexter's Lab) and debuts Friday Nov. 7 at 8PM Eastern Time. One correction: The USA Today article is incorrect in saying that 'Clone Wars marks the first animated series to involve any of the saga's leading characters.' That distinction goes to Nelvana's Droids, which followed the adventures of R2D2 and C3PO."

Thanks to several readers for pointing out that, according to a post on the official Star Wars Galaxies messageboards, the NDA has been lifted, so Beta testers are free to talk about their experiences playing this PC MMORPG, which ships on June 26th. Naturally, the official messageboards are filling up with many and varied viewpoints, and sites such as SWG Warcry, SWG Vault, and many other fan sites are posting a multitude of screenshots and opinions of this much anticipated title.

securitas writes "Soon Star Wars behind-the-scenes webcam goes live when shooting for Episode III begins in Australia. 'The webcam will be moved every day, shooting live for 12 hours and then replaying in a loop while the cast is sleeping.' Of course it's only free until next week when you will have to join StarWars.com's newly relaunched site to view the cam as part of a package of services that includes online chats, outtakes and deleted scenes." I'm not sure if it's worth $20, but it's worth something....

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Gamespot news story indicating that the console (PS2 and Xbox) versions of Star Wars Galaxies are now on hold. Although they were announced at E3 in 2002, and may appear eventually, a Lucasarts spokesman said of the MMORPG: "We are currently focusing all of our efforts on the successful launch of the PC version of Star Wars Galaxies." Meanwhile, the Star Wars Galaxies official site at its publisher, Sony, has links to some new mini-previews and E3-released gameplay movies from this title, which also has a thorough fanpage at RPGPlanet.

lyonsden writes "Ever want to be in a Star Wars movie? Live in Australia? Check out this page at the Maura Fay Group Casting web site. Especially the Star Wars part towards the bottom. Any takers?"

BrunoC writes "It's official! Peter Mayhew is going to play everyone's favorite wookie once again: Chewbacca is returning in Episode III, currently in pre-production phase. Peter says (quoted from StarWars.com) "I'm delighted to return as Chewbacca, I think his re-appearance in this film is a fitting way to tie the whole saga together, especially for Wookiee fans." Woa! Just for the records: Artoo and C-3PO will be there too! You can read the official annoucement here, at StarWars.com."

Several Slashdot staff people are major Larry Niven fans, so we feel he needs no introduction. You asked. He answered. Enough said. Read and enjoy.

snilloc writes "Starwars.com announces that Cartoon Network will carry "Star Wars: Clone Wars" cartoon shorts in order to bridge the gap between Episodes 2 and 3. I guess this means we won't be seeing the Clone Wars in Ep3, as many of us had hoped. On the bright side, we get our SW fix in twenty 2-3 minute shorts. We can only hope against hope that they won't suck."

frotty writes "The developers of Star Wars Galaxies recently announced that the game would only allow a single character per purchased account on any server. This has outraged some, and relieved others." Click on the link to see the reasoning behind this move.