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Apple in 'crunch mode' preparing apps to demo iPad 3

In the wake of iPad 3 launch rumors, Apple is reportedly scrambling to prepare for the tablet's expected debut event next month.

The company is in "crunch mode" to drum up apps to demonstrate the tablet both onstage and in TV advertising, according to The Next Web tech site, which cited unidentified sources with knowledge of the matter.

The report notes that Apple usually spends weeks handpicking apps to showcase the tablet's capabilities during its introduction. Apple's selection process, which is moving along at an "increased rate," is placing special emphasis on graphics-oriented … Read more

The 404 985: Where it's snowing in space (podcast)

Due to technical difficulties beyond our control, we're cutting the live stream to free up bandwidth. Our tenderest apologies to the daily live listeners, but be sure to follow @the404 on Twitter for an extremely truncated, livebloggish version of the episode.

If you're now wondering what to do from 12-1 p.m. every day, we recommend rewatching old episodes and pretending they're live. On today's show: sunbathing groundhogs, instant Facebook millionaire David Choe, a CBS pilot show about Groupon, and "Reading Rainbow" host LeVar Burton strikes back.… Read more

Audi debuts Super Bowl ad on Facebook

Audi of America's new advertising campaign is sinking its teeth into the popularity of vampires with a new 60-second TV spot that will air in the first break after kickoff in Super Bowl XLVI.

The commercial, featuring the new 2013 Audi S7, was part of a contest called Race the Light. Audi fans on Facebook guessed which trend would be "killed off" by Audi's LED headlight technology.

The stylish ad, created by San Francisco-based Venables Bell & Partners, features the song "The Killing Moon" by Echo and The Bunnymen. It can be viewed now … Read more

The 404 966: Where it's all the same in the end (podcast)

CNET's newest TV editor, Ty Pendlebury, joins us on today's episode for a short lesson in Australian holidays and colloquialisms!

Today we're talking about another billionaire bitten by the space travel bug, even though Jeff seems reluctant to travel in outer space.

We'll also bug Ty to tell us why the FCC doesn't care about eardrums, and he'll join us throughout the second half where we'll premiere a new geek speed-dating show on TLC.

Also, be sure to tune in tomorrow to hear us announce the winners of Target's video voice mail competition. Two winners will get their choice of an Xbox 360/Kinect Bundle or an iPad 2!… Read more

Google+ wants to usher in the masses. Can it?

Television doesn't exactly have a fabulous track record as a vehicle for promoting Web sites.

In fact, when I think about TV ads for Web properties, what springs to mind are all those pricey Super Bowl spots for Web 1.0 sites that flopped, such as Pets.com, LifeMinders.com, and OurBeginning.com.

So I'm intrigued by Google's decision to run a commercial for its Google+ social network during yesterday's Lions-Packers game. My colleague Chris Matyszczyk has already shared his thoughts on the spot, which you can watch in its entirety over at his post.

Google'… Read more

Amusingly honest AT&T ad is viral hit

You might be one of those fortunate people who spend their days in a corporate environment.

The office is the sort of place where you are reasonably aware that you are supposed to behave a certain way, so you spend at least half of your time trying to hide your true behavior.

In a remarkable fit of understanding, AT&T has decided to stand by your side and tell it like it truly is. In this ad for the BlackBerry Torch 4G, AT&T decides that it's pointless to fight those normal tendencies.

So here we have … Read more

The 404 916: Where just cause we can doesn't mean we should (podcast)

The 404 welcomes back infamous guest Stoopid Andy to the show, to explain that one can never have enough RAM installed on a desktop machine--even if that supercomputer you're running is only used for occasionally checking e-mail.

As the calm before the iPhone 5 announcement storm hits, we'll discuss some of the headlines that are guaranteed to be forgotten 24 hours from now. They include a gaping security flaw that affects HTC Android devices, the Xbox 360's new leaked dashboard interface, and how Google Chrome is taking a sizable bite out of the browser market.

Finally, we ask "do you still use the United States Postal Service?" A couple of USPS commercials hit the Web today and we're having a tough refraining from picking them apart. They suggest doing business through snail mail is not only hackproof, but safer. We, along with dumpster divers across the world, politely disagree as you'll see in today's episode.

The 404 Digest for Episode 916

HTC security flaw New 360 dashboard looks all mobile-phoney Chrome could overtake Firefox browser share in 2012 Arrested Development return sounds very likely! USPS thinks human hands are safer than 256-bit encryption

Episode 916 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Virtual building audit spots energy savings

Now there's an app to tell you how to make commercial buildings more energy efficient.

Startup FirstFuel announced today it has raised $2.4 million from venture capital companies Nth Power and Battery Ventures to commercialize a software system to remotely evaluate and measure commercial building efficiency.

What's unusual about the application is that it doesn't require a person to be dispatched to perform an energy audit or install meters to gather data. Instead, the company collects utility data on hourly energy consumption and combines it with weather information to create a profile of a specific building. … Read more

New Apple iPad 2 ad wants to help you 'learn'

Apple has a new television ad out that highlights some of the ways in which people can educate themselves with the iPad 2.

Dubbed "Learn," the ad, which premiered yesterday, features the same, simple theme as its predecessors. Throughout the commercial, people are holding the iPad and using touch gestures to manipulate applications and ostensibly learn more about topics that the voice-over is discussing.

The timing of the ad is by no means a coincidence. Children are currently heading back to school, or in some cases, already attending class, and Apple seems to acknowledge that at the end of its commercial by showing two kids using the iPad to learn math.

Apple has a long history of tapping into the things folks are thinking about with its commercials. Back in July, for example, the company released a FaceTime ad for the iPhone 4. The commercial came out just a week after Facebook announced that it had signed a deal with Skype bringing video calling to the social network. Prior to that announcement, Google launched its social service, Google+, which prominently features video chatting.… Read more

Apple already shooting TV ads for iPhone 5 (report)

In the run up to the next iPhone, rumor has it that Apple's already getting the unannounced device ready for its small-screen debut.

According to sources reporting to AppleInsider, Apple has begun production on TV advertisements to promote the iPhone 5 that will not be ready until the first week of October.

Combating rumors of the iPhone 5 release date have placed its debut at the end of September or beginning of October, with October 7 being the most popular line of thinking. According to an AT&T executive, the phone company will be ramping up its operations … Read more