viral

The results of the first presidential debate are in, and despite a lackluster performance from the incumbent moderator -- the NewsHour's Jim Lehrer -- PBS was clearly the winner.

Now, the makers of an online privacy app are looking to further capitalize on the increasing interest in the political campaigns with a pair of viral videos mocking everyone from Obama and Romney to Mark Zuckerberg, all in the name of taking personal responsibility for safeguarding individual privacy on social networks.… Read more

Sarah Silverman, the comic actress whose 2008 video "The Great Schlep" helped focus attention on the young Jewish-American vote, is back with a new political project.

"Let My People Vote" is a website and social-media project that looks at voter ID laws. It showcases a video starring Silverman ranting -- in her trademark expletive-filled way -- about the laws that are part of this year's election story. An actress playing her grandmother and some guns make an appearance, too.

Paid for by the Jewish Council for Education and Research, this the latest project of Schlep Labs, … Read more

OK, stop what you're doing this instant! The pinnacle of robotic and viral video achievement (at least for the rest of today) has just been reached in the form of a four-armed, mohawked robot playing the drums in tribute to the Ramones' legendary song "Blitzkrieg Bop." You've really got to see this one to believe it. Seriously. … Read more

A number of child protection and privacy groups have asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to launch an inquiry into viral campaigns that are centered on children through online networks.

The main cause for complaint involves what is known as "tell a friend" or "refer a friend" campaigns. The Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) and 16 other advocacy groups named McDonald's, Viacom, Turner Broadcasting -- known for its Cartoon Network channel -- General Mills and Subway in five separate complaints with the FTC.

At the center is the contention that these major corporations have violated … Read more

You set the stage after months, if not years of hard work. It's time to inform your corporate friends and distinguished members of the media to come to Los Angeles at a moment's notice, and tell them only at the last minute exactly where to go.

Everything is shrouded in the utmost secrecy. Only a handful of people know internally what the company has up its sleeve.

Announced: the Surface tablet. Revealed on June 18, it would change the landscape of tablet computing for decades, and rival the market dominance of Apple's iPad.

Then this happens. (… Read more

Bitly, a tech company known for URL shortening, looks like it's heading toward greener pastures and making more user products. The New York-based company is said to have raised about $20 million in funding, according to tech news site The Verge, citing multiple sources. This is double the amount the company raised in its previous round of funding.

"The link shortening has always been a bit of a Trojan Horse," investor Joshua Stylman told The Verge. "Bitly is really an analytics tool for tracking content across the open, distributed web, and doing it at a massive, … Read more

Scientists are genetically engineering viruses in the pursuit of better battery life, perhaps leading to smartphones charged from the motion of walking.

The Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory yesterday described a microelectronic device that uses a benign virus to build up electric charge from movement.

Its first prototype was able to display the No. 1 on an LCD display when a person pressed a postage-stamp size button.

That amount of current isn't useful enough to charge common electronics, such as a music player or phone. But the researchers' novel approach to harvesting energy from motion shows … Read more

Pandemic for iOS is a faithful recreation of the popular Web-based game where the object is to play as a villain and infect our entire planet with an evolving disease. The game is obviously quite morbid, but it's also extremely addictive as you start with one infected person in a random location and try to spread a disease to every corner of the globe. You can choose from three skill levels at the beginning of the game, with the easiest setting for quick sessions allowing for more experimentation, and the hardest setting making it a real challenge to even … Read more

CNET laptop editor Scott Stein returns to The 404 guest seat, and the room is apparently full of onions today as we discuss this short film about a 9-year-old's homebrew cardboard arcade. If you look closely at Jeff's face during this segment, you may even catch a rare glimpse of his upturned frown.

We'll also introduce you to a highly funded Kickstarter campaign for an iPhone and Android-compatible smart watch that goes the opposite direction of traditional e-watches and uses a digital ink display (similar to the original Amazon Kindle) that lets users check messages, play music, and more without the threat of sun glare or unreadable reflections.… Read more