rises

Ultrabooks no longer ultra-pricey

In today's show, Google takes us for a spin, ultrabooks are no longer ultra-pricey, and the iPad isn't just for humans anymore:

Hewlett-Packard announced several new thin and light laptops under the Envy brand. Some are officially called ultrabooks, equiped with Intel's latest Ivy Bridge processors, while less-expensive ones are called sleekbooks. But regardless of the different labels, it means high-quality thin and light laptops are moving into the $600 to $700 price range. (There's even a rumor that the MacBook Air -- the computer that kickstarted the ultrabook craze -- will drop its price to $… Read more

Kyocera Rise hands-on: Let those fingers fly

NEW ORLEANS--For those whose hearts go aflutter and fingers go a-flying for QWERTY keyboards, Kyocera's newest Android Ice Cream Sandwich handset (yes, you read that right -- it has ICS), the Kyocera Rise, may be up your alley.

The phone manufacturer announced the handset at CTIA 2012. Along with the slide-out keyboard, it also sports a 3.5-inch LCD touch-screen display and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor.

In the rear is a 3.2-megapixel camera with LED flash. The 3G handset is also equipped with the Swype virtual keyboard and Bluetooth 2.1.

"We did a lot of consumer … Read more

The 404 1,048: Where we can't believe how much it made (podcast)

$200 million. That's how much money "The Avengers" brought in this weekend. And who says the movie industry is in trouble? On today's show we welcome CNET editor Scott Stein to the show and discuss the disgusting amount of money Joss Whedon's Marvel mash-up accumulated. We'll compare it to the other top weekend grossing film of the past 30 years and then decide on whether or not "The Dark Knight Rises" will join the list.

Next we'll get into a discussion about the possibility of an $800 MacBook Air and whether or not Apple settled on the design of the iPad 3. Finally, it's an E3 2012 preview. Scott and I will be at the big show in Los Angeles next month and have some pretty bleak outlooks on what the world's biggest video game expo will bring.… Read more

The Dark Knight Rises goes Lego

Fans of the modern Batman series are eagerly awaiting the next installment of the Dark Knight franchise, due in theaters this summer. To help them pass the time until the movie's release, Lego aficionado ParanickFilmz created a reimagined trailer, along with help from a few associates who handled the mouth animation and CGI effects. … Read more

NASA mission calculates global ice melt and rising sea levels

From 2003 to 2010, NASA satellites systematically measured all of Earth's melting glacial ice--the results added up to 4.3 trillion tons of water and a global sea level rise of half an inch.

Put in perspective, that's enough ice to bury the entire U.S. 1.5-feet deep.

These calculations are detailed in a new study released today by a team of scientists at the University of Colorado. The scientists used satellite measurements from the NASA Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), which launched in 2002 and focused on how melting ice from glaciers and ice caps … Read more

Old tech bands together for 'House of the Rising Sun' cover

First, there was "The Imperial March" and now, there's "House of the Rising Sun."

The traditional folk song is just the latest tune to be covered by an unlikely group of musicians: old computer equipment. YouTube user bd594 assembled a handful of old tech to re-create the tune made famous by the English rock group The Animals in the mid-1960s.

In his video description, bd594 explains that he used an Atari 800XL with an EiCO Oscilloscope to play the part of the organ, while the combination of an HP Scanjet 3P, Adaptec SCSI card, and an Ubuntu v9.10-powered computer provided the "vocals." The guitar section was performed by a Texas Instrument Ti-99/4A computer with a Tektronix Oscilloscope, and a hard drive powered by a PiC16F84A microcontroller created the bass, drum, and cymbals section.

Each instrument was recorded separately and then mixed; bd594 insists no sampling and audio effects were used in the recording session. What results is a pretty impressive and fresh take on the song. … Read more

Rising Antivirus Free Edition doesn't quite make it

Never heard of Rising Antivirus? It's China's largest antivirus software company. By some estimates, it's used by half of all Chinese home computer users, who numbered more than 100 million and growing in the last count. Rising is offering a free antivirus package to compete with established freeware options in the global market. Rising Antivirus Free Edition also offers defense against Trojans, worms, and other malware; protection for USB drives; and e-mail, browser, and system monitoring and protection. It requires a Captcha to uninstall.

Rising Antivirus can be installed and set up quickly a reboot, and its … Read more

The 404 834: Where an iPad 2 can do more than a kidney (podcast)

Wilson's out sick today, but Mark Licea joins us to fill in with a review of "X-Men: First Class." The movie came out today, but Mark's a diehard fan of the comic series so he checked out the 12 a.m. showing. The spoiler-free review is positive, but as usual, the true believers might leave the theater disappointed by the lack of continuity with the original storyline.

Speaking of movies, we also take a moment to point out the most ridiculous trailer of 2011 for "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." From title to content to technology, we should remind you that it's not a joke--this is a serious movie, starring James Franco who falls in love with a primate.

The 404 Digest for Episode 834

Chinese student reportedly sells his kidney to buy an iPad 2. " Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is the WORST. White ninja crashes into Apple store.

Episode 834 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Pressing our luck in Dead Rising 2

It's been four long years since Xbox 360 owners fought the living dead in the original Dead Rising. Though it had its flaws, and an infamously frustrating save system, the game had a dedicated cult following.

The zombie apocalypse is upon us again, as we assume the role of new protagonist Chuck Greene, who must slash his way through the casino town of Fortune City, while finding enough Zombrex medication to ensure his daughter doesn't turn into a zombie.

Does Dead Rising 2 reinvent the series, or is just more of the same? Read on for our thoughts.

Jeff: Fans of the original Dead Rising have nothing to worry about. If more zombie-killing anarchy is what you crave, the sequel delivers tenfold. At its core, Dead Rising 2 is almost the same exact game we played four years ago, with a few new elements sprinkled on top. Unlike Dead Rising's photojournalist Frank West, Chuck Greene can create weapon combinations that make for some really clever results and brutal kills.

We love hacking and slashing zombies just as much as the next guy, but we're not sure Dead Rising 2 brings enough new gameplay to the table to attract gamers who may have been turned off by the original. Sure, saving is improved, but the occasionally clumsy controls, frustrating combat, long load times, and time-constricted missions are a lot swallow.

There's fun to be had in Dead Rising 2, but we wish more of an effort was made to evolve the game, rather than add a series of lateral additions that fail to distinguish the two from each other.

Scott: I'll vent this now: there are too many zombie games. Far, far too many. This counts as the first strike against Dead Rising 2: a rising sense of unoriginality. Besides being a sequel, the original Dead Rising felt like a clever take on the Resident Evil series, almost as if it was Capcom laughing at itself. The second time around, Dead Rising 2 is less impressive, less eye-catching. Is it a fun time? In a way, yes.… Read more