playboy

Fan-favorite guest Stoopid Andy returns to The 404 for a very special appearance. Contrary to his nickname, Stoopid Andy isn't nearly as dumb as you might think. In fact, we spend most of the episode in awe of his recent hacking of a DLP TV to display 3D content. Pretty impressive, huh? Not that we recommend attempting such a thing, but Andy points us to this thread at AVS Forum for guidance.

Of course this conversation leads us into a heated debate over 3D in general, examining the merits of whether it's a legitimate and practical form of entertainment. We're curious to hear what you think. Let us know by leaving a voice mail (866-404-CNET) or e-mail the404 [at] cnet [dot] com.

Tasteful pornographers everywhere rejoiced when news of a Playboy app for the iPad was announced, but to their disappointment, word has hit that it won't include any of the artsy photographs the publication is known for.

Finally, we'll talk about the technology behind smoking--namely the e-cigarette--an invention Stoopid Andy claims was his idea back in 1998.

On today's show, Brian Cooley kindly drops in to keep the streak alive -- with bourbon! Also, to discuss one analyst's counter-intuitive assessment that the Nintendo 3DS is priced too low. Well, I suppose it is, if you're a shareholder. But we're happy. In other news today, the iPad 2 will have a camera (duh), Google Voice might let you port your number for $20, and Angry Birds is probably coming to TV. Why didn't we think of Angry Birds, is what I want to know? --Molly

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Amazon acquires LoveFilm, the European equivalent of Netflix

Nintendo announces pricing, release date, and game lineup of the upcoming 3DS

Google Voice now allows you to port over your own phone number

Facebook announces an optimized version of the site for non-smartphones

Verizon offers a $200 gift card to customers who have recently purchased a new phone but want to switch to the upcoming Verizon iPhone

T-Mobile launches an app that will prevent you from texting while driving

Playboy plans to bare it all anew in March with a Web subscription service that offers the full catalog of the venerable men's magazine.

The news was revealed yesterday by none other than the magazine's famed founder and bon vivant, Hugh Hefner, though it turns out that Hef's tease was a bit astray off the mark. In his Twitter feed, Hefner declared that all issues of Playboy, past and present, would be coming to the iPad--and that they'd be uncensored to boot.

That last comment naturally triggered some questions. Apple is notoriously strict about what type … Read more

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

Facebook revises its update to prevent you from inadvertently sharing your phone number and address

Federal regulators approve the Comcast-NBC Universal deal

American Airlines is on the outs with online reservation sites

Sprint raises its monthly fee for smartphone users by $10

Starbucks expands its mobile phone payment system to all stores nationwide

Playboy claims to be bringing its entire archive of magazines uncensored to the iPad in March, mysteriously skirting Apple's no-nudity rule

You can thank today's guest Natali Del Morris for the clever show title that incorporates two of Jeff's favorite things: Angry Birds and Hanukkah! Actually, only one of those statements is true.

Topics for today include the arrival of Angry Birds Seasons, Mark Zuckerberg's upcoming interview on "60 Minutes," Michael Jackson's new song release, the top searches in Yahoo Search and Microsoft Bing, a Playboy external hard drive, and a 3D porn channel launching in France. The rundown is packed today, so enjoy the show!

If you're as obsessed with Angry Birds as Wilson, you'll be happy to hear that Rovio, maker of the top-selling smartphone game, plan to release a console version for PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii next year. For non-players like Natali and me, here's the gist: the video game tests your accuracy with a slingshot; it's one of the most popular smartphone games right now, with more than 36 million downloads as of November.

Even better, Rovio will also release Angry Birds 2, a follow-up to the original game that will feature more of the same characters but with even more pigs to shoot with a slingshot. No word on whether Angry Birds will support motion control on those consoles, but if you can't wait another year, the holiday expansion pack titled Angry Birds Seasons is now available for your addiction in the App Store.

It's going to be a lot harder to hide this from your partner/parents/roommates, but imagine holding 56 years of Playboy magazines loaded onto an external hard drive. That won't mean much to the kid with a hundred gigs of bootleg skinema buried in a system sub-folder, but surely some of our listeners remember analog porn and will appreciate the entire Playboy catalog in a 2.5-inch portable enclosure!

And while we're on the subject, you should also check out the FleshDrive, a similar peripheral for the more "selective" consumer, and France's new 3D on-demand porn channel.

Just after the break we wish a very happy birthday to Richard from Atlanta, who sent us this video voice mail!

If you'd like to leave a comment for the show, record a YouTube video and send the link to the404(at)cnet(dot)com! You can also leave an audio-only voicemail at 1-866-404-CNET (2638), or just shoot us a note at the404(at)cnet.com!

It's going to be a lot harder to hide this from your partner/parents/roommates, but imagine holding 56 years of Playboy magazines loaded onto an external hard drive.

That won't mean much to the kid with a hundred gigs of bootleg skinema buried in a system sub-folder, but surely someone remembers analog porn and will appreciate the entire Playboy catalog in a 2.5-inch portable enclosure.

The 250GB, USB 2.0-powered hard drive features an engraved Playboy logo on the side and contains every Playboy magazine starting from the December 1953, issue all the way up to … Read more

CNET's own laptop editor Scott Stein fills in for Jeff today in yet another completely random episode of The 404 Podcast! Today's topics tackle the ongoing Reddit vs. 4Chan vs. Digg hierarchy, the latest Google Instant music video trend, the next evolution of graphing calculators, and a very sultry (and minutely disturbing) reading from the sticky pages of Playboy Magazine courtesy of Houston's independent nonprofit organization Taping for the Blind.

We're excited to welcome Scott back into podcast studio, so much so that we force him to wear the infamous mullet wig for the entire episode. The wig is sort of appropriate for the first story of the day about a nonprofit radio station for the blind in Houston that records complete readings from Playboy Magazine and includes the articles, jokes, cartoons, letters, and--yes--accurate descriptions of the centerfolds.

To help us get a better idea of what that would sound like, Scott reads a few excerpts from the broadcast, and although it doesn't sound quite as sultry as when Suzi Hanks, the host of the show, does it, it certainly helps that he's wearing a wig...and sharing a mic with me...*disclaimer* CNET and The 404 are not responsible for any gag reflexes triggered from listening to this segment.

Google Instant, which arrived this week, can predict your search query and could possibly shave two or three seconds off your search time. Big deal, right? Well, if that doesn't impress you, maybe this music video will.

Google started the trend with a clever video advertisement for the service featuring Bob Dylan, and Whirled Creative jumped in next with an "Instant Elements" video remix, but our favorite is Urlesque's take on Billy Joel's hit, "We Didn't Start the Fire." Enjoy!

Stick around after the break as we spend way too much time gabbing about the latest calculator technologies, a few voicemails warn us about bashing the Zune, and we do a mini review of Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher's latest film, "The Social Network."

Thanks for listening, and have a great weekend everyone!