Gadget news

The 404 1,279: Where we get Spherical bacterial (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Steve endorses the VPI Industries turntables built in Cliffwood, N.J., and the VTF-3 MK4 subwoofer from HSU Research.

- Sony MDR-R10: The world's best headphone?

- The top 10 reasons why music is compressed.

- Compare your favorite albums in the Dynamic Range Database.

- Catch Steve on a panel with Avery Lipman, COO of Republic Records, at the New Music Seminar 2013.

- Follow Steve "Sphere" Guttenberg on Twitter.… Read more

The 404 1,278: Where we take a ride to Margaritaville (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Everyone panic: a Web site that leaks and archives your "deleted" Snapchat photos.

- You'll never guess which song is the most lucrative ever recorded.

- The world's richest songs.

- Someone's trying to sell a stolen CitiBike on Craigslist.

- Hospitals install video cameras to ensure that employees wash their hands. In related news, DOCTORS AREN'T WASHING THEIR HANDS.… Read more

The 404 1,277: Where we keep on sinning (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Simpsons theme park "Springfield" will serve duff beer, Krusty Burgers.

- 12 obsolete technologies Americans are still using.

- The Weird Stuff Warehouse where old tech goes to retire.

- Amazon greenlights 5 new shows.

- Why Amish teens love using Facebook.… Read more

The 404 1,276: Where we follow Justin into the darkness (podcast)

We're taking a different approach to the show today with a story from Memorial Day that takes the entire episode, but trust us--it's worth it. It's a tale of survival, of tech failure and success, the power of nature, and a tightrope walk above surefire doom. What's the closest you've ever come to the end? This is mine.

After you're done with the story, this is the Fenix LED flashlight that got me through the night and this is the SLX Extreme Snow Lizard case that kept me safe.… Read more

Phone out of juice? Just twirl this tube charger

If you're far from the grid and your smartphone battery is running out, you'd better have a backup if there are no other phones around. This recharger gives you power with a flick of the wrist.

Voltmaker is an award-winning, patented design and Indiegogo campaign for a USB charger that can give you emergency power by spinning the dynamo. The 6-inch, 10-ounce device can also be recharged on a standard outlet.

If your phone is dead and you're hiking in the woods, spinning Voltmaker for two minutes will generate enough power for a phone call lasting several minutes, according to the campaign. … Read more

Beware the coming of the Google Glass photographer

As you head off to your Memorial Day weekend getaway with smartphone or digital camera in hand, keep in mind that by this time next year, there could be a whole new breed of technophile attending the holiday festivities: the dreaded Google Glass photographer.

In the chuckle-worthy video below, the folks at online app training company Grovo offer a glimpse into a horrifying future. An obnoxious, photo-obsessed Glass owner gets all up in everyone's grill to record everything with many, many blinks of the eye. … Read more

Crave Ep. 122: When the moon hits your 3D-printed pizza pie

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This week on Crave, NASA awards a $125,000 grant to 3D-print a pizza; UCLA Health live-tweets and Vines a man as he has brain surgery; and we wish the Ethernet a happy 40th birthday. … Read more

The 404 1,275: Where we give Tony Hale a hand (podcast)

We're very proud to have Tony Hale on the show today. You probably know him as Buster Bluth on "Arrested Development" and most recently as Gary Walsh on "Veep." We get him on Skype today to talk about this weekend's long-anticipated fourth season return of "Arrested" and the moment he learned that Netflix would release all 15 episodes at once.

We'll also go back to the beginning and get the story about the audition process, the steps that led up to creating the Buster character, and the suggestion that perhaps the … Read more

Lambda Labs readying Google Glass face-recognition API

Amid questions to Google from Congress about privacy concerns related to Google Glass, a San Francisco startup is preparing an API to recognize faces with the controversial gadget.

The Google Glass Face Recognition API (application programming interface) from Lambda Labs will be available to developers within a week, TechCrunch tells us, quoting co-founder Stephen Balaban. … Read more

The 404 1,274: Where Microsoft makes the same mistakes (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Amazon's Kindle Worlds will pay writers to write fan fiction.

- Hire your favorite musician to write you a song .

- And now a reading from the worst fan fiction I've ever read.

- Follow Russ Frushtick on Twitter.… Read more