jeff bakalar

The 404 1,075: Where we had a crush on you in high school (podcast)

Today we're cracking open the Apple Store Employee Guidelines book to reveal some of the tactics that the company uses to implant themselves in the minds of shoppers. A clear example of this psychological influence is the precision angle of every MacBook Pro notebook on display in the store. Take a look next time you're in an Apple store and you'll notice that they're all measured to a very specific incline degree.

At first glance, you might think that it's placed at the optimum viewing angle for passersby, but it's actually angled poorly to encourage customers to adjust the screen to their preferred position! The company hopes that the physical interaction with the device will show the generous viewing options and even encourage customers to explore further.… Read more

The 404 1,074: Where it's not you, it's us (podcast)

The new Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display announced earlier this week just got an Editors' Choice review on CNET, but some die-hard tinkerers are upset about the lack of upgradeable components inside. According to iFixit.org, the latest MacBook Pro is the least reparable Apple laptop to date.

For starters, users are locked into the amount of RAM they choose at the purchase date, as the memory is actually soldered to the logic board. The proprietary solid-state hard drive is staying put as well, and watch out for a couple of booby traps concealed underneath the lithium-polymer battery! The laptop certainly remains incomparable in terms of display, I/O ports, and chassis, but keep in mind that your upgrade options down the line are severely limited if you go with this model.… Read more

The 404 1,073: Where it could use some more bacon (podcast)

Piggybacking (waka waka) on Jeff's encounter with a candied bacon ice cream sandwich at the Sony E3 press conference last week, we can't help but indulge in Burger King's new bacon-topped sundae.

And even if Jeff's dietitian won't let him have it, we can still stare longingly at the press shots and tell you about our own favorite encounters with the swine.… Read more

The 404 1,072: Where we're broadcasting in Retina (podcast)

Apple hopefuls didn't get the Apple TV or desktop updates they were expecting, but yesterday's Worldwide Developers Conference certainly made things more exciting for iOS users and imaging professionals.

Apple announced a new Retina Display MacBook Pro with serious specs that won't mean a thing for the average consumer who doesn't need a quad-core processor, a solid-state drive, and discrete graphics to browse Reddit and send a few e-mails. Regardless, graphics editors will appreciate the updates even if Apple did inflate its statistics.

There are also a lot of updates to iOS 6 coming out this fall, and today we'll round up a few of our favorites.… Read more

The 404 1,071: Where we say goodbye to Hollywood (podcast)

We'll wait until tomorrow to go over all the Apple announcements from WWDC, so today's show is all about Jeff's return to the East Coast and his E3 wrap-up. Jeff and Scott Stein agree that the show lacked the hardware announcements everyone expected, with Nintendo playing serious catch-up with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Jeff and I then envision a potential future without E3 or maybe even a move to New York, where my co-host wouldn't be forced to play next-gen hockey games as the LA Kings.

Moving on, we'll talk about Microsoft registering … Read more

The 404 1,066: Where it's the CNET minority report (podcast)

Joseph Kaminski, Ariel Nunez, and Richard Peterson all chime in as guest hosts on today's episode while Jeff fends off Kings fans at E3 this week, so don't forget to check out all of CNET's show coverage this week.

We'll wait on Jeff's return to go over all the gaming news going on, but in the meantime we'll check out a couple stories from today's rundown. Joey joins us today to lend his parenting experience to the rumor that Facebook might starting allowing kids under 13 to sign up for an account.

Kids won't be able to just do whatever they want, however -- they'll have restricted access that links their profile to a parent's so they can decide who gets friended, and who doesn't.… Read more

The 404 1,064: Where just enough is more (podcast)

Today's show title is the design credo of Milton Glaser, the celebrated designer responsible for turning the "I <3 New York" graphic into a world-recognized symbol.

That ethos is also the inspiration for today's discussion topic about Apple's "faux-real" user interfaces that Tom Hobbs at Fast Company believes is stunted by skeuomorphs, or elements of design that retain parts of its inspiration.

We'll look at how Apple's desire to show off the look of its products may be hindering its principal innovations, why the Amazon Kindle uses its own basic layout to create a more immersive environment for its readers, and how apps harnessing nostalgia like Instagram and Hipstamatic are holding back the next evolution of technology.… Read more

The 404 1,063: Where we get Russ on the regular (podcast)

Russ Frushtick from The Verge's Polygon gaming Zord joins us today for a preview of what's to come at next week's Electronic Gaming Expo.

Jeff and Russ will both be there to cover the show, and while casual gamers may still lament the lack of hardware announcements this year, there are still plenty of highly anticipated games to get their hands on, including "The Last of Us," "The Last Guardian," and the new "Tomb Raider."… Read more

The 404 1,062: Where we actually like hotspacho (podcast)

Jeff's still gleeful after the results of this weekend's NHL Eastern Conference Finals, but there are other things going on in the world of The 404 too.

On today's show, Jeff gives a 50/50 review of "The Avengers," Justin gets an East Coast geography lesson, airports around New York announce holographic avatars designed to "help" lost passengers, Facebook reveals plans to develop yet another Facebook-exclusive phone, and Sony files a patent that could pause games to show players advertisements.… Read more

The 404 1,061: Where we're in too deep (podcast)

Stupid Andy helps us round out the week before the three-day holiday, and our favorite way to pay tribute to the soldiers is by getting choked up at YouTube videos of soldiers reuniting with their dogs. The ones with their families are pretty good, too.… Read more