Home Smart: Woodwork, stairs elevate house

This 1910 Mediterranean-style beige stucco house in West Roxbury has lots of original woodwork and a large, nicely landscaped yard on a corner lot.

The current owners of 251 West Roxbury Parkway have replaced the home's windows, its terra cotta tile roof and copper gutters, as well as rewired the house since buying it in 2003.

The home's entry foyer has a crystal chandelier, built-in wooden seats on either side, a decorative brick fireplace and a dark wood bridal staircase. A large, sunny living room to the left has nine windows, and a bright formal dining room to the right has six windows and a chandelier. Both rooms have restored hardwood floors, and dark-stained paneled wainscoting, crown molding, baseboards and window moldings.

The kitchen was rehabbed about 10 years ago with antique white cabinets, light granite counters and high-end Fisher Paykel and Sub-Zero appliances.

The showpiece bridal staircase, with a center stained-glass window and side-paneled wainscoting, leads up to three second-floor bedrooms with hardwood floors. At the top of the landing is a built-in linen closet and a stairway up to a large storage attic.

The master bedroom has a chandelier, two closets, and an en-suite bathroom redone in 2003 that features Carrara marble floors and a marble-lined walk-in shower.

There are two other bedrooms, one larger and one nursery-sized, and a full bathroom with tile floors and white subway tile that has not been renovated.

The home's basement — which adds an additional 800 square feet of living space — has just been refinished, and features a carpeted living room with two closets, a carpeted bedroom and a new full bathroom with a white tile floor and Fiberglas shower. There's also a laundry room with a Maytag washer and dryer, and the gas-fired boiler was replaced last year. There is no central air conditioning.

The 15,425-square-foot lot includes lots of large trees, grass and shrubs, as well as a perennial garden, a fountain, a flagstone patio with a trellis and an irrigation system. In one corner of the back yard is a storage shed and the other has a two-car garage.

• Address: 251 West Roxbury Parkway, West Roxbury
• Bedrooms: Four
• Bathrooms: Three full, one half
• List price: $929,000
• Square feet: 2,416 (plus 800-square-foot finished basement)
• Price per square foot: $385
• Annual taxes: $7,052
• Location: About a mile to retail, restaurants, services and supermarket on Centre Street, West Roxbury's main commercial district.
• Built In: 1910; major updates from 2003; new boiler 2013; basement refinished 2014
• Broker: Susan Michaelidis of Century 21 Carole White 
Associates at 617-212-2630

Pros:

• Lots of original woodwork including paneled wainscoting and bridal staircase
• Just refinished basement with family room, bedroom, full bathroom
• Large yard with trellis, patio, garden, fountain
• Chandeliers in foyer, dining room, master bedroom included

Cons:

• On busy corner of two parkways
• No central air conditioning

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Venerable Somerville Theatre celebrates its centennial with time-honored movies

You can't watch "Jurassic Park" on an iPad.

Oh, sure, technically you can. But if you reduce Steven Spielberg's terrible lizards down to something you can hold in your lap, you lose too much — nobody wants to see a jeep racing away from a T. rex the size of a butterfly.

Unless your plasma TV has a thousand-inch display, you need to see "Jurassic Park" on the big screen. Thankfully, you can see it tomorrow at the Somerville Theatre.

Curated by theater general manager Ian Judge and hosted by Judge and projectionist David Kornfeld, the movie house's centennial celebration is in full swing with loads of classics from the last century — still to come: screenings of "The Princess Bride," "The Last Waltz," "The Departed" and more.

"We wanted something that honored the anniversary and encapsulated it," Judge said. "We got some amazing movies, the best print of 'Sunset Boulevard' I've ever seen. I didn't really know what to expect with attendance. I knew it'd be good for 'Singing in the Rain' and 'Casablanca' but 90 percent of the films in the 100-day countdown to the May 11 anniversary have made us money."

One of the joys of the celebration is watching Judge and Kornfeld introduce the films. Witty and knowledgeable, the cinephiles put the films in context with history and humor. For Judge, who grew up coming to the theater and began in the business as an usher at the now-shuttered Harvard AMC, the series has put the glory of an old movie house in the spotlight.

"Other than the seats and the light bulbs, most of what you see in the theater is 100 years old," he said.

The final film in the program will be "The Wizard of Oz" on May 11 — the screening will also include three vaudeville acts, live music and classic short subjects. Judge loves a lot of the films in the series (he urges everybody to search out "A Thousand Clowns"). But he says nothing compares to "The Wizard of Oz."

"Going to see this movie in a theater like ours is such a magical experience," he said. "That magic is lost when you go to a multiplex. Sure, you can watch it on your phone or on DVD anytime. But that won't leave an imprint. I'm hoping there's some kid at our screening that grows up to take their kid to 'The Wizard of Oz' in 50 years."

For details and tickets to 
the Somerville Theatre's 
centennial programming, go to 
somervilletheatreonline.com.

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CarSmart: Jeep shines 
in all seasons

So the snow is gone for the season — we hope — but that doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy all the exceptional year-round on- and off-road features of the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Diesel.

Long popular with New England automotive writers as a top winter vehicle, the Grand Cherokee features the Quadra-Trac II 4-wheel-drive system with the Selec-terrain system linked to the Quadra-lift air suspension. That means you can use just about any combination of traction, height and engaged wheels to conquer any terrain you encounter, or you can leave it in auto mode.

Jeep has long been one of the leaders of off-roading and the Grand Cherokee is the king of the brand. Our dual-tone, leather-clad, 
contrast-stitched seats comfortably put me in a commanding driver's position with all controls at my fingertips. The Bluetooth integrated voice command system ran the Uconnect infotainment system well.

But the intriguing part of this vehicle was the impressive 3.0-liter V-6 ECO diesel powerplant. This engine, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission, easily powered this SUV through a classic dose of New England weather. What really stuck out was its good fuel mileage. Rated at 21 miles per gallon around town and a nifty 28 on the highway, I easily averaged 26 mpg — making running the more expensive diesel fuel worth it. The acceleration is smooth and powerful and the only time you hear the familiar diesel growl is when you pop the hood. And guess what? No plumes of blue smoke belching down the road.

The truck handles very well and is managed by electronic stability control. Body-roll for this full-sized vehicle is minimal, but as always, respect that it is a truck. The ride was quiet, solid and compliant with excellent sightlines. You really feel in command of the truck and have a good sense of its dimensions. Storage with the seats down is very good and the power liftgate is standard.

The Overland also tricks out with a full array of safety features, such as front and rear cameras, and with the Advanced Technology Package you bump up to adaptive cruise control, collision and lane-drift warning and blind-spot monitoring.

Absolutely add the Off-Road package to get the 18-inch tires, skid plates and the limited-slip rear differential to complete the powerful array of trail-driving features.

This rugged machine dresses up nicely. Attention to detail, fit and finish are much improved at this level. The plastics and leather blend nicely and the soft touch surfaces are well-placed. The combination of brushed aluminum and wood trim creates a modern look but holds some of Jeep's woodsy heritage. The large sunroof gave the car an airy feel and the tint managed the heat and glare well.

This big, handsome rig starts at $46,195, and fitted out with the upgrade packages runs $54,780. You'll find this a very competitive price in a powerful field of competitors such as the Mercedes ML350, Range Rover, Infiniti QX 80 and Lexus LX570.

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Coachella's young audience a marketers paradise

INDIO, Calif. — When it first started in 1999, Coachella was a couple of stages and a dance tent. Tickets were $65. A few dusty stands sold hot dogs and Cokes. It was the end of grunge and the start of a new millennium, and it was all about the music. All for one weekend.

Now, tickets start at $375. Gourmet menus and VIP packages abound. And dozens of companies have hopped on the Coachella bandwagon, turning the music festival — now two back-to-back weekends — into a marketing hotspot. Adidas, Details magazine, Harper's Bazaar and Lacoste are just some of the brands that host offsite festival events for stylish celebrity guests.

Rolling Stone executive editor Nathan Brackett said the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has become a destination for fans and brands because organizers consistently deliver compelling lineups of diverse and unconventional musical acts. A reunited OutKast headlines this year's festival, and other acts include Arcade Fire, Lorde, Haim, Lana Del Rey and Muse.

"They made great, cool choices and now they're enjoying the fruits of that," he said.

The Coachella crowd may be there to listen to music under the hot desert sun, but the retailers are there for the celebs and the crowd, which is young, hip and with money to spend.

"Music is a marketing platform for many lifestyle brands," said marketing expert Tom Julian, a director of merchandising and retail consulting firm The Doneger Group. "The festival circuit becomes as important as an ad campaign or social-media campaign. ... It just gets back to: This is where the millennial is, and this is a way to connect."

The idea is to transfer Coachella's cool factor to the brand itself, and translate that into sales: Festival fashion becomes synonymous with spring style for young consumers, right at the start of vacation season. Coachella's casual, summery look provides a sweet spot for fashion brands, said Megan Reynolds, senior shopping editor for Harper's Bazaar, which held its second annual event at this year's festival.

"It's so important not only because it's the only (event) of its kind — fashion is usually so focused on being dressed up all the time," she said. "It's kicking off this whole season."

For women, the look is super-short denim cutoffs, ankle boots, bikini top and/or sheer, macrame blouse, and floral headband. For guys, it's board shorts and an Abercrombie-and-Fitch body.

Celebrities embrace the dress code. De-facto Coachella mascot Vanessa Hudgens rocked the uniform perfectly in a shot on Instagram on Coachella's opening weekend. Katy Perry paired jean shorts with a mesh crop top at Bazaar's off-site pool party. Selena Gomez threw a crochet white dress over her bikini-and-shorts combo. Julianne Hough and Sarah Hyland also followed the rules.

Kellan Lutz and Joe Jonas sported buff biceps in drapey tank tops. Steven Tyler wore a sheer shirt at the Lacoste party, where Emma Roberts paired an alligator-logo top with the requisite denim shorts.

Brands set up shop at the posh Palm Springs hotels nearby where the beautiful people stay, then offer parties, merchandise and festival access to celebrities in exchange for publicity and the attention of a coveted Twitter audience. Social media gives the festival a reach far beyond music fans and readers of celebrity magazines.

"People have Instagram accounts just for Coachella fashion," Reynolds said.

The brands have followed the stars, Reynolds said.

"It really started as a place (stars) just wanted to go. It was like a more digestible version of Burning Man: You could be at a festival that wasn't totally marketed and had underground appeal," she said. "Now it's not like that, but people still really like it. ... It's evolved into just a fun place to be. We like the audience there, and a lot of the fashion industry is coming on board. It's taken on its own ambiance for the weekend."

Other festival sponsors, including Heineken and Fruttare, host "houses" on the concert grounds where all 100,000 attendees are invited to cool off, hear tunes and sample products (Representatives for festival promoter Goldenvoice declined to be interviewed for this story).

H&M, a festival sponsor for the last five years, also held its second annual Coachella after-party last weekend, drawing such stars as Jared Leto, Robert Pattinson, Kate Bosworth and Fergie. Company spokeswoman Marybeth Schmitt described the festival as "the ideal venue" to launch new H&M lines — it announced its collaboration with designer Alexander Wang last weekend.

"It is extremely exciting for us to be able to reach a significant number of our target consumers," she said in a statement. "The music culture has always been a source of inspiration for our collections — music is the perfect complement to fashion."

___

Online:

http://www.coachella.com

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at www.twitter.com/APSandy .

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Finish line to see tight security

The parties will go on this year along the Boston Marathon route, but attendees can expect tighter security at some of the more popular bashes in the wake of last year's bombings — especially those near the race's Boylston Street finish line.

Hosts have hired security contingents and are requiring RSVPs and names on lists for entry to parties that in year's past maintained more of a drop-in, open-house policy.

A "significant" show of security, including city and state police, will be at 
Forum on Boylston Street, outside of which the first bomb exploded last year in the middle of the Joe 
Andruzzi Foundation's marathon fundraising party.

The restaurant will host the foundation's party again this year.

"There's going to be a significant presence there as opposed to years past," 
Forum spokeswoman Nicole Russo said. "Forum will have their own security on hand, but they also have been working with city and state authorities, and they will have a presence as well."

Marlo Marketing/Communications, whose office overlooks Boylston Street, hired a security team for the first time for its seventh annual party that typically attracts up to 200 over the course of the day.

"We've never done security before, we've never even done a formal RSVP," owner Marlo Fogelman said. "This year we asked for an RSVP, and have security guards at the front door. I (will have) people down there who will be checking names as well. It's just going to give us some control and a sense of safety with who's in the office."

The two-level office of the firm — one of many Boylston Street businesses that were shut down for more than a week following the bombings — is right next to Forum, and shrapnel from the first bomb hit its windows.

"Nothing incredibly damaging ... pictures were off walls, and our sign fell off. Tons of dust and smoke and debris came in," said Fogelman, who never gave a thought to not hosting the party again this year.

"(The security) was just something I wanted to do for the safety of our guests and the safety of everybody."

Meanwhile, the Charlesmark Hotel, which will be holding its 14th annual marathon party on its Boylston Street patio, plans no extra security this year beyond its usual door people and management staff.

"Business as usual for us," said operating partner Mark Hagopian, who felt the blast of the first bomb last year and captured the immediate chaos on video. "We're open to the public, and we're calling it a marathon celebration party, same as we do every year."

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Dart adapter flashes power

Laptops keep getting smaller and lighter, but chargers never seem to change — until now.

A California-based company founded by a group of MIT graduate students has invented what it calls the world's smallest laptop-charger.

Measuring 2.5 cubic inches and weighing just over 2 ounces, FINsix's Dart is barely bigger than a lipstick case — making it four times smaller and six times lighter than the average laptop adapter — but it charges just as quickly.

"Everyone who has a laptop knows the big brick they have to carry around," said CEO Vanessa Green, who co-founded the company as an MBA student at MIT's Sloan School of Management. "We looked at the market and said, 'Hey, we can do something different here.'"

FINsix launched the Dart in January to rave reviews for its practicality at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Last Monday, the company began a monthlong Kickstarter campaign and met its goal of $200,000 on the crowdfunding site within 12 hours. By 7 p.m. Friday, the Dart had 3,104 backers who had pledged $336,706, with 25 days still to go in the campaign.

The money will be used to complete the development and production of the 65-watt charger, which sells on Kickstarter for $79, but which FINsix expects to retail in stores for about $119.

In addition to its small size and light weight, the Dart is designed for use anywhere in the world, and its laptop plus USB port allows people to charge multiple gadgets from a single outlet.

The Dart works well with all major PC brands, as well as with MacBooks 65 watts and under. To make chargers for the latter, though, FINsix has to buy off-the-shelf Apple adapters to get the connectors. So the Dart for MacBook costs $79 more than a standard Dart.

The charger is not compatible with 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros and the 15-inch MacBook Pro with retina display because they require more than 65 watts. It also is not compatible with the Microsoft Surface tablet and the Google Chromebook Pixel.

The good news for gadget buffs: The Dart is just the first of a full line of the smallest, lightest and highest-performing power electronics FINsix intends to make.

To accomplish that, the company has raised more than $6 million in venture capital and angel investments and assembled a team of 18 employees — five in Boston and the remainder in Menlo Park, Calif.

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Nucci: Walsh shows resolve on casino issue

Just in case anyone is still wondering what kind of a mayor Marty Walsh will be, he just sent the Massachusetts Gaming Commission and its Chairman Stephen Crosby a very clear answer. He'll be a mayor who won't back down, and Boston is not going to be a city to be trifled with or dismissed.

So now is the time to see a similarly strong stance from those who would be our next governor. Our current governor is taking the position that the process is playing out just fine, and he has shown zero interest in getting involved.

And while the gubernatorial candidates have made broad statements about gambling in general, they too have walked away from the all-important licensing process. It's easier to just say, "Not my job — call the Gaming Commission."

The process of awarding a casino license in Greater Boston has been amended and twisted into a mysterious patchwork mess created by a gaming panel that has apparently been making it up as they go along. Nobody even knows the rules anymore.

Walsh believes that Boston should be considered a host community to either casino, and he wants his position dealt with seriously. At Suffolk Downs it seems abundantly clear that the casino complex straddles both Boston and Revere. The Everett project may also be using Boston land. Both projects should then require an opportunity for Boston voters to have their say at the polls.

But the commission has seemed annoyed by, and somewhat dismissive of, Boston's stance. Big mistake. The city has now asked Crosby to step aside, charging him with setting up a process which "stack(s) the deck" against the city, and creating "a cloud over the proceedings."

Hello! Get the message? This will not be a "nice-to-see-you; see-you-later" exercise. Not if Marty Walsh can help it.

Yet from the gubernatorial candidates, there is the deafening sound of crickets on this issue. This is not a casino complex that will be in some out-of-the-way location deep in the woods. This is an urban mega-project. Boston is the capital city and economic engine of the commonwealth.

Do the candidates think the decision on an urban casino, with all its burdens and negative impacts, should rest only with Steve Crosby and the other four commission members?

Which casino makes more sense, the Wynn or the Suffolk Downs plan?

Should Boston get a say on these projects, both of which throw huge burdens on the city?

There should be no ducking behind "the process."

So who will it be? Which candidate wants to weigh in first? Mayor Walsh is stepping up. Who's ready to take a stand? We're all ears.

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Mayor ups ante on Crosby

It's nothing personal, just hardball politics — that's how several Boston city councilors viewed Mayor Martin J. Walsh's decision to call out state gaming czar Stephen Crosby this week, pressuring him to step down from deliberations over who gets the eastern Massachusetts casino license.

"I'm not aware of any bad blood between Walsh and Crosby, but having worked with (the city law department), they always felt the Gaming Commission has not been fair to the city of Boston," said Councilor Sal LaMattina of East Boston. "I've told the commissioner himself that I'm frustrated with how the commission has treated Boston, and not allowing us to be a host community."

City Councilor Michael Flaherty said he was not aware of any prior dust-ups between the mayor, a former state rep, and Crosby when both men served on Beacon Hill. Crosby was secretary of administration and finance under governors Paul Cellucci and Jane M. Swift.

"Marty, as the CEO of the city, has a responsibility to fight for the best deal for Boston, particularly for the impacted communities of East Boston or Charlestown, and the City Council supports his efforts," Flaherty said.

Boston is demanding host community status to proposed casinos on its borders in Revere and Everett, and has rebuffed offers from the commission to hold a hearing to decide the matter. Walsh has called for votes in East Boston and Charlestown on the Mohegan Sun-Suffolk Downs and Wynn Resorts projects because of the impacts Boston would face despite the gaming parlors not being within city limits.

In a letter to the commission Thursday calling on Crosby to remove himself from the greater Boston casino vote, a city lawyer accused the chairman of making "prejudicial" statements critical of the city for asserting its host status. It also cited a lawsuit against Crosby by Caesars Entertainment that claims he favored the Wynn casino proposal that would be built on property in Everett owned in part by Crosby's former business partner.

"I think emotions are running high, probably higher than is warranted. The chairman is a good man. The mayor is a good man. And we want a good solution," Gov. Deval Patrick said yesterday. "I wish there was, frankly, kind of a cooling-off period, and there are days when I wish that they would start over."

Elaine Driscoll, spokeswoman for the Gaming Commission, said Crosby has no plans of recusing himself. "At this point, the chairman will be continuing with his participation," she told the Herald, declining to discuss the matter further.

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4 French journalists abducted in Syria freed, safe

PARIS — Ten months after their capture in Syria, four French journalists crossed the border into neighboring Turkey and reached freedom Saturday, though dozens more remain held in the country's chaotic civil war.

Edouard Elias, Didier Francois, Nicolas Henin and Pierre Torres — all said to be in good health — were freed over the weekend in unclear circumstances in what has become the world's most dangerous, and deadliest, conflict for journalists.

"We are very happy to be free ... and it's very nice to see the sky, to be able to walk, to be able to ... speak freely," said Francois, a noted war correspondent for Europe 1 radio, in footage recorded by the private Turkish news agency DHA. Smiling broadly, he thanked Turkish authorities for their help.

French President Francois Hollande's office said in a statement that he felt "immense relief" over the release despite the "very trying conditions" of their captivity.

Elias, a freelance photographer, also was working for Europe 1 radio. Henin and Torres are freelance journalists.

A DHA report said soldiers on patrol found the four blindfolded and handcuffed in Turkey's southeast Sanliurfa province late Friday. Turkish television aired images of the four at a police station and a local hospital.

It wasn't clear whether a ransom had been paid for their release, nor which group in Syria's chaotic 3-year-old conflict held the men. In his statement, Hollande thanked "all those" who contributed to the journalists' release without elaborating. Longstanding French practice is to name a specific country that contributed to hostage releases. France denies it pays ransom to free its hostages.

Several of the journalists' families told French television stations that they were recently told a "target window" was opening that could mean a return by Easter Sunday.

The four are expected to touch down in France on Sunday morning.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in a statement that freedom for the hostages "was the result of long, difficult, precise, and necessarily discrete work."

Journalists around France rejoiced at the news of their colleagues' liberation.

"What's planned is that we will hold them in our arms," said an exuberant Europe 1 chief Fabien Namias on iTele TV news channel.

The four went missing in June 2013 in two incidents. Two were taken after being interrogated by extremist fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant in the eastern province of Raqqa, said a Syrian activist who said he accompanied the journalists as translator and guide.

Hussam al-Ahmad, 23, told The Associated Press that Henin and Torres aroused the fighters' suspicion after they entered a school and asked to take photographs of the fighters as they played football. Al-Ahmad said the fighters held them for about six hours.

During his interrogation, al-Ahmad said he was asked: "How do you let these infidels enter Syria after they killed our people in Mali?" France launched a military intervention in January 2013 in Mali that scattered Islamic extremists who had taken over the country's north.

"I said, 'These brothers are reporters. They have a humanitarian message,' and then he got angry because I referred to the Frenchmen as my brothers," al-Ahmad said.

Al-Ahmad said Henin and Torres were seized four days after the interrogation, likely by the Islamic State, an al-Qaida breakaway group.

Al-Ahmad, who fled to Turkey months ago after being threatened by jihadis, said he burst into tears when he heard of the journalists' release.

"It's a day of celebration for me," he said.

Syria is considered the world's most dangerous assignment for journalists. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said in April that 61 journalists were kidnapped in Syria in 2013, while more than 60 have been killed since the conflict began.

The widespread abductions of journalists is unprecedented, and has been largely unreported by news organizations in the hope that keeping the kidnappings out of public view may help to negotiate the captives' release. Jihadi groups are believed to be behind most recent kidnappings.

Christophe Deloire, director-general of Reporters Without Borders, told BFM TV the four French journalists were kept in the same place as recently freed Spanish journalists and others. He did not elaborate.

Meanwhile Saturday, the head of the mission charged with destroying Syria's chemical weapons said the government had removed or destroyed around 80 percent of the country's chemical weapons material. In a statement, Sigrid Kaag said at this rate, Syria could reach its deadline to eliminate its chemical weapons program within a United Nations-set deadline of June 30.

Syrian officials came under criticism for missing previous deadlines.

The civil war also bled into neighboring Lebanon. Security officials there said Saturday that soldiers detained six hard-line Syrian rebels in the northeast border town of Beit Lahia. The officials said the rebels planned to go to the nearby Syrian town of Beit Jinn, near the border with the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't allowed to speak to journalists.

___

Hadid reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, and Jamey Keaten and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.

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Robot gives telecommuters a presence in the workplace

Technology is already allow­­ing people to tele­commute across vast distances, giving companies the luxury of finding the talent they want, even if that talented individual doesn't live in the same city, state or country. And the ability to work remotely is a perk more companies are using­ to retain workers.

But email, tele­conferencing and phone calls still prevent a remote worker from establishing a presence in the workplace. Spontaneous interactions are impossible — there's no brainstorming in the hallway, or popping into a colleague's office to bounce around an idea.

The answer? ROBOT ME!

A number of robotics companies have begun marketing "telepresence robots," upright devices that can roam hallways carrying a screen displaying a live video ­image of a telecommuter. The remote worker can see and hear via a camera and microphone on the robot.

I spoke with Colin Angle, CEO of iRobot, the Mass­achusetts-based company that created, among many other things, the robotic Roomba vacuum cleaner that is currently striking fear into the hearts of your house pets.

"If you actually want people to have high-quality remote experiences, you need to solve this remote presence in a creative way," he said. "We're trying to create a true immersive remote presence — I'm trying to build you. So you can attend meetings not as the forgotten, dis­embodied black spider phone thing, or the strange floating head that's up there on a screen until we need to use Power­Point, but as the guy who shows up at the meeting, sits down and participates in a way completely analogous to you being there in person."

iRobot has created — and some companies have begun using — the Ava 500. It looks like a sleek, round-based pedestal with a rectangular high-definition screen mounted on its wide neck.

The screen slides up and down to simulate a standing or sitting position, keeping interactions on roughly the same eye-to-eye level with people. The remote user can pivot the screen 360 degrees and move the robot in any direction. (The robot has sensors so it doesn't run into people or walls.)

Angle said they intentionally steered clear of giving Ava 500 a human form.

"We had to create a stylized,­ attractive form for the robot that wasn't gender specific but had a gravitas and scale volume and fidelity that would make the remote user feel good about representing themselves," he said. "And the people on the other end would look at it in a friendly way where the robot wasn't distracting because of its failed attempt to look like a person."

Basically, if the robot looked too human it would be seriously creepy. So they stuck with a non-human design that makes Ava 500 substantial enough to give people the sense that there's a presence beyond just a face on a screen.

The robot memorizes the layout of an office building, allow­ing a remote user to simply press a point on a map to dispatch Ava 500 to a certain office or conference room. Once there, the worker "teleports" into the robot, appearing on the screen and en­gaging with whoever's around.

On a recent morning, the folks at iRobot allowed me to teleport into an Ava 500 at their facility. Within minutes, I was linked up with the Ava 500 using an app on my iPad and teleconferencing software on my desktop computer. I controlled the robot, the screen height and the camera direction via the iPad touch screen, zipping around with ease and making lots of ­cliche robot sounds.

It was amazing. I spoke with two iRobot employees and a photographer, followed them to different locations and checked out displays in the company's robot museum.

Before long, the inherent strangeness of the experience melted away and I under­stood why they call it an immersive experience. This was different than using Skype or making a conference call — I was able to react to facial cues, turn my attention to other people as they spoke and engage in a much more conversational manner.

"The difference in metaphor is that anything that you can do if you were in a meeting physically, we want to try to mimic and replicate using a robot," Angle said. "The feeling was that if we did a good enough job, meetings could take place identically to how they would take place if you were there in person."

The price for this technology is steep — one Ava 500 costs $69,500. But it can allow companies to bring people from far-off distances into a workplace without paying for flights or hotel rooms.

, and remote workers tend to reduce company costs by requiring less office space.

Devices like Ava 500 are going to become common in many workplaces. It's an inevitable step in sorting out how best to mix technology with our human need for some form of spontaneous interaction.

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