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Conan bares the naked truth about the iPad

Conan O'Brien wants to be the most technologically savvy of all talk-show hosts.

He doesn't miss any opportunity to connect with the connected audience -- whether it's to mock Google Glass or to review something he can barely bear, like a video game.

His latest object of connection with you, the cool people, is the iPad.

Last night, he insisted that he'd got hold of a more honest -- and allegedly recently released -- spot in Apple's latest ad campaign.

You know the one, with vaguely jazzy music, subliminal words, and Apple cultists chanting.

Conan … Read more

Apple gives iTunes-in-the-cloud features to more of Europe

Nearly a dozen European countries now have access to a key iTunes feature that lets users re-download purchased video content.

iTunes users in 11 countries, including France, Sweden, and Belgium, can now view and re-download movies they bought from Apple. Previously, users in those countries would have needed to back up that file in the event that the device it was on was damaged or stolen.

The full list of countries in this latest batch (per The Next Web) includes Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. France was reportedly the only one to … Read more

Buy your ticket for the new Titanic (no iPads, thanks)

Tempting fate is a very human pastime. We know it will all end badly sooner or later, so why not see whether we can skirt the edge of disaster and experience how it feels?

Such an impulse will surely drive many to book an early ticket on Titanic II.

No, this is not another Donald Trump project. It is, instead, the idea of Clive Palmer, an Australian mining tycoon known for his dreamy qualities.… Read more

Get a Ceton InfiniTV 4 tuner for $169.99 shipped

This is an update of a deal I posted about a year ago.

Much as I love my TiVo, I despise the monthly subscription fees that go along with it. It can literally cost you a couple hundred bucks per year. As Dr. Smith would say, "Oh, the pain!" (Don't get the reference? Ask your parents. If they watched cheesy 60s sci-fi, that is.)

A much cheaper option over the long haul: Ceton's InfiniTV 4 products, which can turn a Windows PC into a pretty sweet DVR.

For a limited time, Newegg has Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB for $169.99 shipped. … Read more

Conan reviews Tomb Raider, suffers

One thing that Conan O'Brien does very well is express his utter bemusement with video games.

He reviews them with a sense of incomprehension that is to be both respected and admired. (Unlike my colleague Jeff Bakalar, who comprehends everything.)

So faced with the new "Tomb Raider" game, he found the existential questions came at him a little too quickly.

For example, why is she called Lara Croft and not Laura Croft? Somehow, "Laura" flows from the tongue more readily.

And does she clutch her stomach because she's trying to look thinner or because … Read more

Samsung HomeSync lets Android take over your TV

BARCELONA, Spain--Announced on Saturday at Mobile World Congress, the Samsung HomeSync is a home theater media hub that aims to inject a little Android OS into your TV via your Galaxy handset. Slated for April, the device can stream videos, games, and other media from your Galaxy phone to your big-screen TV through Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Think of it as an Apple TV for the Samsung faithful.

Design The Samsung HomeSync is packaged in a minimalistic glossy black box, and it's about the size of three DVD cases stacked on top of one another. When placed on a flat … Read more

Countdown begins for Galaxy S4 reveal

Monday's CNET Update does it with stylus:

The mother of all mobile trade shows, Mobile World Congress, kicked off in Barcelona. Today's video roundup highlights the buzz over Samsung, WebOS and a new way to talk to your phone:

- Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S4 on March 14

- Visa's mobile payment program will be built into the Galaxy S4

- More on MasterCard's mobile payment plan, MasterPass

- First impressions of the Galaxy Note 8 tablet

- Samsung HomeSync to rival Apple TV

- WebOS lives in future LG smart TVs

- HP tries tablets again with the Slate 7 … Read more

Get a Westinghouse 24-inch HDTV for $139.99

Looking for a TV for the den or bedroom? For many folks, a 24-inch LCD would seem to be the ideal size.

Today only, and while supplies last, Best Buy has the Westinghouse EW24T8FW 24-inch LCD HDTV for $139.99 shipped (plus sales tax). It's pretty rare to find a 24-inch monitor at that price, so this is definitely worth a look.

The reasonably slim EW24T8FW measures just 1.9 inches deep. It features a 23.6-inch, 60Hz LCD with a native resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels (aka 1080p) -- unnecessary at that size, but nice if you'… Read more

YouTube video of him burying cars gets snow plow driver fired

Over the last few years, we've all been told that work must be fun.

We should skip along office corridors on our skateboards. We should have a cheer after every meeting.

Indeed, when Mark Hussey -- aka Dogg -- had some fun at work, he was so overcome he actually wanted to tell people about it.

This got him fired.

What could possibly be wrong with showing your enthusiasm for your metier? Well, Dogg drove a snow plow in the city of Lowell, Mass.

As CBS Boston reports, he said this was the best job he ever had. It'… Read more

Samsung TV Discovery service launches this quarter

Samsung today revealed more details about its TV discovery service -- except for the finalized name for the U.S. version -- as the Korean electronics giant gears up for the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona.

Samsung first unveiled the service last month during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. At that time, it said users would be able to use one app to navigate all of their different video services on their smart TVs and tablets, and use their mobile devices as remotes to control their TVs.

Today, it noted that the service will give consumers a … Read more