It's payback time. Find out how Yoshi will pay for all the blown CPUs, damaged parts and other miscellaneous stuff broken by Patrick and the gang. Our own Yoshi will be shot with a Taser. Watch it happen by clicking on the video link to the right.

Don't try this at home
We're serious about this. The Taser is not a toy. It is a non-lethal weapon that should only be used by law enforcement and for self-defense against an attacker.

You should not attempt to perform this demonstration at home.

We performed our demo in a closely controlled environment where all safety precautions were put into place. The utmost priority was put on maintaining Yoshi's safety at all times.

The sacrificial lamb

At CES, Leo and I featured a product by Taser International, the Advanced Taser M-series weapon. The M-series features three models: the M18, M18L and the M26. While discussing the appearance of their CEO, Rick Smith, on our show, Taser's marketing people felt that having a live target during the demonstration would add so much more to the presentation.

Who to ask? I wanted Patrick to be the one, with me behind the trigger, but he nixed that idea before it finished leaving my mouth. Most of the Screen Savers would run at the mention of being tased on air, but not Yoshi. Yoshi, my faithful and dependable companion, is always up for a challenge. Yoshi volunteered to be the one we zapped, and right after I obtained permission from our lawyers, we started shooting the segment.

Payload specifics

As I stated before, there are three models of the Advanced Taser M-series. The M18 and M18L will be released in February for the consumer buyer, and the M26 is currently available only to law enforcement agencies.

The M18 and M18L are basically the same unit, except for the fact that the M18L has a laser built onto the unit for more precise targeting. They both have a power rating of 18 watts. Both kits come with the weapon, a target, an instructional video, and the case. The M18 comes with two cartridges and the M18L comes with four. Without the cartridges, the unit also acts as a stun weapon.

The M26 also has a laser, comes with everything included with M18 models, as well as a dataport, and has an optional yellow coloring kit for the weapon. It possesses a power rating of 26 watts and can only be used by law enforcement. The M-series weapons can deliver their strike from up to 21 feet away.

Now let's go over how a Taser works in action .