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The 404 748: Where you don't know what you've been given (podcast)

There's plenty of serious tech news going on in the world today, like the Intel Sandy Bridge chipset recall and two Web giants helping Egyptians communicate without the Internet, so be sure to check out the CNET home page for the latest.

As usual, we're covering the cultural aspects of tech news that interest us today, stories like Facebook offering free access on flights in Feb-roo-air-ie, Chinese immigrants finding love on the Internet a la JDate, a Chatroulette model for medical diagnoses, and a Stanford psychology study that links Facebook "one-upsmanship" to the worldwide depression epidemic.

We finish with surprising news about your favorite adult Web sites and a plea for user-submitted voice mails! We're running low, so call 1-866-404-CNET and tell us what's on your mind! Don't worry about messing up, we'll make you articulate using the magic of editing, so pick up the phone or record a video voice mail and e-mail us the YouTube/Vimeo link at the404(at)cnet(dot)com.

Episode 748 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS VideoRead more

'Star Wars' on Blu-ray coming September 27

The excitement over the launch of "Star Wars: The Complete Saga" on Blu-ray is palpable. And now, we finally have a release date for the box set.

According to the listing on Amazon, the 9-disc Blu-ray set, which includes all six "Star Wars" films and three discs with more than 30 hours of special features, will launch September 27.

The official date follows statements made last summer by Lucasfilm and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, saying the set would be available in fall 2011, and a more recent blog post on the Star Wars site saying … Read more

The 404 730: Where like, whatever, you know what I mean? (podcast)

Natali is back from her burrito-tour of San Francisco and hops back into the studio for the last Natali Thursday of 2010! Today's headlines include a video game controlled by your urine, a porn company making your Microsoft Kinect 3D sex simulation dreams come true, the most successful pickup lines according to geographic location, and we reveal the most irritating word of the year!

Sega finally unveils a video game that non-gamers like myself can enjoy, because the objective is to pee all over the game. Sega Toys is testing a new minigame in Japan called Toirrettsu that comes with a sensor that can measure the speed of urination and score games accordingly.

Japan hopes that the game will encourage people to take better aim in the bathroom, but Jeff tells us that America already has its own version of the pissing match.

You've been waiting for it since the day Microsoft unveiled the Kinect motion control accessory, and we've finally arrived: after two months, adult software vendor ThriXXX released a statement today describing forthcoming Kinect-powered software that will use gestures, spoken commands, and objects in a sexual gaming environment. This segment of the show is worth watching the video for Natali's gestures alone!

According to a survey from online dating site Badoo, the secret of international dating is to spout localized pick-up lines.

The site's "Compliment Success Index" analyzed over 200,000 online conversations in 11 languages to determine the best opening line for women from different countries. So the next time you're in a United Nations Security Council caucus, be sure to compliment that Portuguese woman on her perfect ears!

Episode 730 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS VideoRead more

Dating site for 'uglies' heralds first engagement

Have you lost hope?

Are you sick of slogging away on sites such as Match.com and eHarmony.com to find the partner of your dreams? Or at least the partner who will put up with your dead lizard collection, your back hair, and your difficult morning breath?

Then perhaps it is time to be honest with yourself. Perhaps it is time to look in the mirror and decide that you should be at the Ugly Bug Ball. Or, more accurately, on it.

The Ugly Bug Ball is a dating site for those who are aesthetically challenged. That is the … Read more

The 404 678: Where we bite into a Koala Bear (podcast)

Jeff's back to complete a week of episodes, and although we don't normally condone eating on the air (because it's gross), we'll make an exception for Wilson's favorite treat--Lotte Koala chocolate cookies! Anyone else see the resemblance? On today's episode of The 404 Podcast, we're delving into the bizarre world of Kindlerotica, aka e-reader pR0n; Groupon is offering $60,000 scholarships to any baby parented by a couple that used a Groupon on their first date; Google's new URL shortener Goo.gl; and a blacklist of words that Google considers too nasty to include in its Instant search feature.

Online coupon distributor Groupon just debuted the most ridiculous PR campaign we've seen in awhile--it's offering $60,000 college scholarships to Groupon babies, and here's how it works. To participate, two people must meet through Groupon's dating Web site Grouspawn, agree to go on a date at a restaurant that accepts Groupon coupons, and see what happens from there.

A Groupon baby is only eligible for the $60,000 scholarship prize if it was conceived on the first date, and proof must be obtained in the form of photographic evidence, credit card receipts, or waiter testimonials. Make sense? There are already 166 members on the Grouspawn Date Assistant, so get on it!

As of Wednesday of this week, the most downloaded novel on the Amazon Kindle Webstore was "Compromising Positions" by Jenna Bayley Burke. As you might not have guessed from the subtle wit in its name, "Compromising Positions" is an adult-rated novel that represents the latest trend in Kindlerotica, or e-porn.

Whereas classic romance novels are traditionally targeted at women, this latest genre is definitely written for men and most of the titles read like text out of Penhouse Forum letters. It's disturbing to think that people are actually reading these stories in public, but the problem may be that Amazon is distributing these stories for free, which explains why they keep popping up on the best-seller list.

None of us really get the appeal, and Jeff puts it best when he describes his visual affinity toward the subject matter. In either case, if you want to check it out, another novel called "Office Slave" seems to be a good place to start....but do everyone a favor and stay out of the subway when you read it, OK?

Speaking of dirty birdies, the 2600 just published the Google Blacklist--Words that Google Instant Doesn't Like, and there are a ton of submissions. Google Instant is a new search feature that shows results in real time as you type. It also relies on predictive results that could potentially save you two to five seconds per search, but that opens up the floodgates on certain words that Google deems universally offensive.

So alongside the standard four-letter cusswords and NSFW terms, there's also a heap of ambiguously dirty words like "golden," "lemon," "teen," and an entire section dedicated to variations on the word "dog." Use your imagination, or just check out the entire list, at your own discretion--this is your official NSFW warning!

Oh, Google also unveiled its own URL shortener called Goo.gl. FYI, we spend less time talking about that than it took for you to read the previous sentence.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Episode 678 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS VideoRead more

The 404 662: Where dude, where's my remote fart app? (podcast)

Since Jeff is obligated to stay away from technology today, we're inviting fan favorites Molly Wood and Caroline McCarthy to fill in, which means today's show is exceptionally positive and hate-free! But first, a segment on actual tech news, which I believe is a first for our show.

In a statement issued Thursday morning, Apple says they've taken developer feedback to heart and relaxed restrictions placed on applications allowed in their App Store. The new review guidelines address user privacy, duplicated applications, offensive content, and the growing number of fart apps--seriously, they explicitly say "no more fart apps."

The guidelines even go so far as to quote a Supreme Court Justice in response to what constitutes crossing the line--Apple says "you'll know it when you see it." Clearly Steve Jobs doesn't listen to The 404 Podcast.

Until now, Apple has been nebulous about what is acceptable and what is not. According to Apple, about 90 percent of rejected apps are due to technical issues and bugs and 10 percent are turned away due to privacy breaches and inappropriate content--hence the statement re: fart apps.

Alternatively, if you don't want Apple vetting what apps you run on your phone, we recommending checking out Google Android smartphones that let you run all the fart apps your heart desires.

Hey, dudes, if you ever doubted the science behind good dance moves, researchers and psychologists at Northumbria University in the U.K. just issued a study using 3D motion capture to map the rhythmic dancing of 19 sorry volunteers.

The results of the study were shown to 35 women to determine the sexual attraction associated to eight specific body movements including the neck, trunk, left shoulder, left wrist, and the speed of movement in the right knee. They also generated two videos to illustrate good dancing and bad dancing.

According to their findings, the good doctor believes that the majority of good dance qualities were influenced the most by various movements in the neck and trunk section of the male body. In other words: don't be a stiff dancer; fluid movements and confidence seem to be the No. 1 attraction according to Molly and Caroline, and as it turns out, Wilson and I obviously have a lot to learn!

Finally, we turn our attention to the real stuff white people like, at least according to data aggregated from profile information on the popular online dating site OKCupid.com. We should note that this information is based on 526,000 randomly selected OkCupid users and absolutely does not reflect our personal opinions.

That said, the study presents compelling information about both sexes and their respective ethnicities. For example, white women tend to lean toward escapist hobbies like bonfires, boating, horseback riding, and thunderstorms, despite living in largely metropolitan cities. In contrast, Asian men typically choose "simple" as an accurate self-description and specifically state their exact country of origin, as opposed to just writing "Asian." Not surprisingly, Asian men also list "software developer," "mechanical engineer," and "surfing the Net" as common hobbies. Guilty as charged, I suppose.

Tune in to hear the rest of OkCupid's observations, with some of our own thrown in for good measure. And our apologies to everyone that got a "voice mail full" message yesterday--the line is cleared, so feel free to leave us a voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET (2638) for a chance to make it on our show!

Episode 662 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS VideoRead more

Duke Nukem Forever to see light of day after all

After well over a decade of "development," 2K Games announced today that Duke Nukem Forever will actually see the light of day. The publisher went on to say that Gearbox Software has taken the reigns on the project, rescuing it from development limbo after the game's original studio 3D Realms went under. Gearbox Software is responsible for titles such as the recently successful Borderlands.

The game will be on display at this weekend's PAX 2010 convention in Seattle, where press and gamers in attendance can have a go at the title 14 years in the making. … Read more

Romancing the Craigslist--Jasmine's Tech Dos & Don'ts

Last week, I turned the tables and asked you for advice on what the next Dos & Don'ts topic should be. Well, the masses have spoken, and though there was a fair amount of interest in every option presented, with five out of the six topics ranging around 15 percent in the poll, the clear winner is Craigslist personals with about 24 percent of the votes. Far be it from me to let you down.

Of the multitude of online dating sites available today, Craigslist is perhaps the most casual. And I'm not referring to the casual encounters … Read more

The 404 642: Where Justin jumps down the emergency slide with a Shirley Temple (podcast)

Fresh off her appearance on MSNBC, Caroline McCarthy replaces Justin today to talk Net neutrality, iPhone users getting laid more than Android owners, Fallout New Vegas, and a Web-surfing contest.

There have been a lot of misconceptions and misstatements about Net neutrality. Usually on The 404, we strive never to talk about real issues, but the Net neutrality debate has really stirred up the emotions with Jeff, Wilson and Justin. Caroline helps explains some of the issue from her appearance on Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" on MSNBC, and if it means a lot to you, be sure to check out Wilson's rant yesterday about the issue.

But ultimately, there are several competing interests involved, and we just want make sure that the next Google or Facebook that comes down the road won't have to pay to get priority access. The stakes are high here, people! Everything will be delivered over the Internet in the coming years, from books, to newspapers, magazines, blogs, social networks, video channels, radio, music, etc.

Rant over. Moving on.… Read more

The 404 641: Where we use 12 cores to run MS Paint (podcast)

Single virgins looking for love now have their own niche dating Web site called YouAndMeArePure.

Awkward URL aside, the Web site hopes to be an accessible way for virgins to meet and date other virgins. Like all dating Web sites, there's obviously no way to prove that subscribers ($30 per year) are who they say, although the site does sell bona fide male and female "V-Cards" meant to be given away as a sign of commitment to another holder. Also, there's no rule that states you have to be a virgin by choice, so Wilson might … Read more