We'd love to tell you all of this is simply a bad dream, but unfortunately for us, it's not. For whatever reason, Staples has agreed to start stocking 24 to 26 different newer DVD releases at a time "in standalone displays at the front of its stores." We're not talking about your standard discs, however -- we're talking about those Flexplay units that vanished completely years ago (or so we thought). For those who need a refresher (that's just about everyone, right?), these time-limited discs only function for 48 hours after they've been removed from their sealed packages, creating coasters after two days. This go 'round, Flexplay is pushing the recycling aspect while Staples is hoping that business owners pick up a title or two next time they come in looking for pens and paper shredders. Even more absurd? The $4 to $6 price tag on each.

[Via PCWorld]

Sad news brewing in Round Rock this morning. After slashing "dozens" of call center employees in Ottawa yesterday (and scrapping plans for 1,200 more), it looks like Dell is taking its cost cutting initiatives retail. Unfortunately, we're not talking lower prices here. We have word from a number of sources that Dell's 150+ Dell Direct Stores are about to meet the business end of the corporate axe. Whether that be in full or a partial reduction we don't know. Nevertheless, with Dell now firmly entrenched in Wal-mart, Staples, and Best Buy, the mall kiosks sure seem redundant. Expect more on this later in the AM after Michael Dell's had a chance to address the troops.

Read -- Dell Ottawa closures

One brave, intelligent, and super-cool Boston man has taken the law into his own hands -- vis-à-vis a bunch of attorneys -- and is taking HP and Staples to task for an alleged antitrust scheme. According to Ranjit Bedi, the two companies have been in cahoots in an attempt to stop the sale of inexpensive, third-party printer ink at Staples stores. In the suit, it's suggested that HP paid Staples $100 million to refrain from sale of the cartridges. The story might be harder to believe if it weren't for the nature of the printer ink business, which seems to be rife with companies engaging in questionable business practices (like selling cartridges which give you an inaccurate read on ink remaining, barring the use of third-party cartridges, and wildly overcharging for branded ink). If you've ever owned an ink-jet printer, we're pretty sure you know exactly what we're talking about. People -- it's time to fight back.

We already know just how snazzy your office's bizhub will be in a decade or so, and we think we've even got your desk and kitchen nailed down too, but a recent brainstorming in Popular Science brushed a few less sensational, albeit quite intriguing, office mainstays for 2017. Although we've got a few years yet before we can definitively say whether or not these folks will pull a psychic-AT&T on us, but if Swingline has its way, the traditional red stapler that continually jams and collects more dust than it does anything else will be quite controversial. Sure to enrage pro-privacy employees who've already been unknowingly chipped with an RFID tag upon agreement to come on board, the staples of the future could actually contain micro-RFID tags; these chips could then be traced to find out just how long it really sits in one's "to do" stack, or if "inexplicably missing" really means "intentionally destroyed." As cruel as we know that sounds, at least you can pen all the curses you wish on even the most ink-resistant material in your manager's suite, as the future-generation Staedtler pen is being designed to "write on almost anything by optimizing molecular bonds with a surface" in order to produce the right mixtures needed to adhere to a given medium. Of course, the transparent monitors that will come with your 2015 upgrade kit will effectively kill your ability to surf Engadget while being guarded by the plastic backing of your current LCD, but the face recognizing desk locks should at least keep Gary from snagging your chocolate when you're out on break. Click on through for a few more mockups of tomorrow's office gizmos.

Further proving that nothing in life is truly easy, or at least venting some pent-up frustrations at that certain office supply store, Al Cohen has turned the once cute "Easy Button" to the dark side. Although it showcases a pessimistic demeanor at first glance, the evil button is blackest at heart; by replacing the innards with a recording circuit and a 1/8-inch line-in jack, you can channel your angst into the device and unleash your rage with a simple smack. If hard times catch up to you while away from your mic, you can record directly into the button for instant gratification. Al was kind enough to provide step-by-step instructions of how to create your own in hopes of dispelling the myth that business is easy, and if you can't decide if it's worthwhile, take a peek at his in action.

[Via Hack A Day]