Brando's USB mailbox lights up, thrills your heart when email arrives
![](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/wpL4RJO8dKPn6_4gcymPyw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYyNw--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/1NXQBRhzHtzuUwN0OmSo6Q--~B/aD0zOTI7dz02MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2010/07/mailbox-light-usb.jpg)
Is the plastic heap you're peering at above anywhere near as cute as the notifying papercraft Wall-E we spotted late last year? Not even close, but it's equally captivating. Crafted by the geniuses at Brando, the USB Mail Box Friends Alert works with Windows-based machines that happen to have an open USB port. Simply plug it in, install the software and link your Facebook, Twitter or email account; when a new message arrives, the mailbox lights up, a sound can be emitted and the flag can even raise to alert you. Never mind the fact that the flag should only raise when you've got something in the outbox -- you know you're dropping $18 on this, anyway.