It’s probably best to playact with this Star Trek Tricorder in the privacy of your own home. Please do yourself a favor and if you must spend $49.99 on this, keep it on a shelf somewhere and only play with the working sound effects and lights when no one is around. Sound good?

Trekkies are an odd bunch and SNL did a great job poking fun at them back in 1986 with help from Shatner. Last weekend SNL continued the tradition with the help from the new actors and Leonard Neomy. Watch the new and old videos after the jump.

Didja catch Star Trek last weekend? Some people did ’cause the movie brought in an estimated $72.5 million. Anyway, one of Joel Johnson’s friends just so happens to be an IMAX engineer and offers up an explanation on why the new Star Trek isn’t a real IMAX film dispite being shown on IMAX screens. She goes into a bit more detail than “it isn’t IMAX ’cause it’s not film on IMAX.”

Sure this is old as all get out and Star Wars is better than Star Trek, but if you want your Garmin StreetPilot or Nuvi to sound like Scotty on the toilet you can download and install these Star Trek sounds at your leisure.

These little minute-long episodes, cut from actual (or slightly modified) Star Trek: The Next Generation footage, are simultaneously bizarre, ingenious, and unbelievably hilarious. Some are NSFW, but you shouldn’t watch them at work anyway because you’ll be firing coffee out of your nose and into the next cube. I couldn’t pick a favorite if I tried — though 12 is pretty off the chain.

Note: This is a repost from February, but very fitting seeing as today’s the Star Trek movie premier. Make sure you watch these if you missed them the first time around. They are hilarious.

The new Star Trek movie is awesome. Serious. See it. Anyway, here are David Letterman’s Top ten lines never before said in a Star Trek movie presented by Spock himself. Video after the break.

Once and for all: Star Wars or Star Trek?

Captain Kirk: Bold, suave, and hotheaded.

Captain Picard: Careful, wise, but tough.

Who would win? A GoAnimate video attempts to answer the debate.

It looks like we have an answer in the endless Star Wars vs Star Trek debate. If the USS Enterprise showed up in Imperial controlled San Francisco, the Death Star could easily blast the starship out of the sky. It’s that simple. Star Wars wins. Or so says the must-see video after the break.

Time for everyone to cash in on the new Star Trek movie. Brando is no exception with the “Star Trek USB Communicator internet phone,” a $43 VOIP device that resembles an original Star Trek communicator.

In one word: Amazing. J.J. Abrams did a phenomenal job that appeals to both new and old fans of the sci-fi series. You will not be disappointed. I have a man crush on James Tiberius Kirk.

While some phones stay true to a single flick (take Sony Ericsson handsets and any Bond movie ever, for example), some leap around Hollywood like a heiress on a booze binge. One example of the not so loyal? The Nokia 5800. After making its ultra-early debut in The Dark Knight, it’s jumping over to the Star Trek camp.

Way, way, way, way, way back in January of this year we took a look at a clock adorned with Star Wars vehicles that was being sold on Etsy.com. If you saw the clock and hoped against hope for a Star Trek version, your (space) ship has finally come in.

Some people use eBay for what it was originally intended for. Case in point, a limited edition set of 8 Star Trek pez dispensers. If you want one (and you know you do) you can pick it up for about $17 plus shipping until the end of the month.

Love you some cartoons? Well, an upcoming episode of Seth McFarland’s Family Guy will have a Star Trek feel. Apparently the Griffen family is off to a Trekie convention, which judging by the pic, produces hilarious results between the old cast members and Stewie. I can’t wait.

Okay, so we’re not the ones giving away the trip. But we are giving away a sweet Star Trek bag that you can pack your stuff into, when you do win the trip those big corporations are offering.

We have some good news, Trekkies. We’ve got the inside scoop that the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia will be hosting one of two traveling conventions in May. If you recall, the Franklin Institute was home to the kick ass Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit we covered last year. Hit the jump for details on Stark Trek: The Exhibition, nerd.