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The 404 424: Where we interrupt Natali Del Conte's acceptance speech

Fresh from San Francisco where she was covering last week's Apple announcements, Natali Del Conte joins us on the today's pop-culture-y episode.

Of course, the big Twitter and Facebook news of the day is Kanye West's unwelcome outburst at last night's MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) show. The producer slash performer just can't seem to keep his head above water. In case you haven't heard, Kanye rudely interrupted Taylor Swift's award acceptance speech to announce that Beyonce should have won for her "Single Ladies" video. Whether that's true or not (some of us think it is), the millions of Tweets and status updates indicate that the public isn't on his side, despite his half-hearted apology that someone should probably post on this Web site.

Speaking of celebrity freak-outs, Serena Williams has her own apologizing to do, but this time it's to a line woman who became the object of her public outburst after a call was made in Serena's error. The charitable Williams, albeit unsatisfied with the result of the match, managed to keep her composure and must have thought the woman looked a little hungry, because she offered to feed her a tennis ball down the esophagus. She politely declined the meal. Watch the disaster unfold.

Finally, we do actually have some good news to report today: Captain EO is making its triumphant return to Disneyland! Even though the classic 80s movie has already made its way to YouTube, watching it on a computer doesn't even compare to wearing those cheesy pink 3D glasses and watching it in a giant theater with all the physical effects. We're not sure what changes are in store for the film, but rest assured that you'll be the first to know once we get more info.

Unfortunately, no Calls from the Public segment today because, well, we didn't get any! None that were good, anyway. So give us a call and tell us how much you like/love/hate/despise the show. You know how it works- call 1-866-404-CNET and you might get played on the air. We also accept e-mail submissions (preferably of you holding a 404 sign or something) like the one we received from our buddies Ammi and Samri in Sweden over the weekend. Send 'em our way at the404(at)CNET[dot]com.

EPISODE 424 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Attractive image viewer

FastPictureViewer (32-bit) is an attractive image viewer that lets users quickly scan through images, view histograms and image metadata, and label photos. Although the program doesn't have a lot of features, it makes up for it to some extent with a very nice appearance.

The program's interface is quite sleek, with its functions organized in four buttons at the lower left corner. In kiosk mode, the program removes the title bar at the top and the taskbar, allowing users to maximize the viewing area. Overall, the program's appearance is very professional and modern, making it a pleasure … Read more

Microsoft pushes for single global patent system

A senior lawyer at Microsoft is calling for the creation of a global patent system to make it easier and faster for corporations to enforce their intellectual property rights around the world.

In a blog posting on Tuesday, Microsoft's Deputy General Counsel Horacio Gutierrez said that a backlog of patent applications internationally was needed to tackle the 3.5 million pending patent applications around the world--including around 750,000 in the US.

"In today's world of universal connectivity, global business and collaborative innovation, it is time for a world patent that is derived from a single patent … Read more

Basic password organizer

LogonAssist is a basic password organization tool. Although it's not as sophisticated as others we've seen, it's not bad for users needing a simple way to keep their log-in information organized.

The program's interface is basic and fairly intuitive, although there are a few things that could be clearer. For each account, users enter the Web address, their log-in information, and any other relevant details. Users must then both save the individual record and, when they're done adding records, save the entire file. This tripped us up at first and made us wonder where our … Read more

Getting shallow in the attention economy

Did we like music more back when we had to pay for it in bulk?

That's essentially the question writer Nick Carr asks in yet another provocative post on his Rough Type blog. "Slanted and Enchanted" revels in the one-hit wonder but also asks if we are losing something by dumping albums for tracks.

I've suggested that artists may find new ways to more deeply engage their fans by focusing on singles rather than albums, but there's something to Carr's logic:

Today, we're quick to dismiss those ancient days of "scarcity" … Read more

The 404 394: Where The 404 gets a 404

On today's show, it's the last day of the Becks Beer sponsorship, so we end on a high note. Joining us in the studio again is Caroline McCarthy, bringing her wit and charm, and we also have Timothy Geisenheimer, who always has something clever to say. So apparently, CNET broke during today's live stream, which is why some people are getting 404 error pages when they visit our Web site. Today's Audio Draft is sponsored by Becks Beer in Conjunction with Last.fm, a subsidiary of CBS Corporation, 5000 XP GTS, is a rising European pop-rock star, Paolo Nutini.

After featuring mostly Indie bands, we're going to bring in some pop from across the pond. Paolo Nutini has a surprisingly sultry yet mature voice for a boy of only 22 years old! Trust us, you'll get knocked off your feet when you hear a dulcet voice come out of what seems to be a skinny Scottish kid. On today's show, we feature two songs from his album Sunnyside Up. The first is "Coming Up Easy", which is a nice tune about waking up in the morning to your significant other. Rounding out the show, we finish with "Candy," a slow-going song about getting some "sweets" from your lover before they leave. Yes, Paolo Nutini is "geting-down" music.

The Semi-Weekly Audio Draft has become so popular that we're going to list our previous picks so you can find the great, new musicians we're featuring here on The 404:

Paolo Nutini Koufax Why Priscilla Ahn Mayer Hawthorne The Hold Steady Grizzly Bear Matt Pond PA The Twilight and the Sound

On top of some great music, we have some great stories on today's show. At the top of the show, we discover the coolest invention ever: the dissolvable bikini! We wonder why it took so long to create this! All this is courtesy of Tim Geisenheimer's German descendants. It might be something you should give your date if you live in New York City! According to Forbes.com, NYC is the best place to live for singles. Caroline really disagrees, but that probably has to do with the fact that women in their 20s outnumber guys by a heavy margin. Wilson loves this, but bemoans the fact that a lot of these ladies are always trying to find the next best one.

In more technology-related news, AT&T and Barnes & Nobles have announced free Wi-Fi in their coffee shops. Sounds like a great idea at first because we've all hated paying $12.95 for an hour of Internet access, but imagine all the start-ups and college students crowding what used to be a nice place for conversation. Also, Twitter and Facebook are coming to Xbox 360, while we don't really have any interest in Twittering while we're playing Resident Evil 5, we kind of hope we can hook up with other gamers through Facebook Connect. Finally, there is a movement that we can all jump on! David Pogue's campaign to bring back the "BEEP", rather than the freakin' 15-second long voice mail message that we all love to hate. If we can call you from our phone, we know how to leave you a message!

EPISODE 394 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video

When stereo's one speaker too many, think mono

Mono was the one and only way to listen to music and movies for decades.

But it's not ancient history. Mono's on something of a comeback, and the upcoming remastered Beatles catalog will be offered in an all-mono box in September. You can listen to mono over just one speaker, or with two or more speakers. But mono at its purest is a single-speaker deal.

A fringe segment of the audiophile community still buys mono phono cartridges to get the best sound out of mono LPs. Over at BuyMeGetMe they're listening to an all out single speaker … Read more

Samsung HT-WS1: Budget sound bar speaker

Considering its full plate of goodies--built-in Blu-ray player, iPod dock, and the capability to stream Netflix movies and Pandora's online music service--the $800 price tag on Samsung's HT-BD8200 sound bar is quite reasonable. But that's not to say it won't be a tough sell in these economically anxious times. And that's where the new HT-WS1 comes in. The smaller sound bar is strictly audio-only--no Blu-ray, no DVD, no video connectivity whatsoever. It's more of a glorified TV speaker, accepting either an analog stereo or digital-optical input (it can decode standard Dolby Digital and DTS … Read more

Vann's has the Samsung BD-P2500 Single disc blu-ray player for $299.88, after $100.11 savings, plus free shipping.

Save $100.11 on the Samsung BD-P2500 Single Disc Blu-ray Player from Vann's >> Regular price is $399.99 >> Sale price is $299.88 >> Savings $100.11 (25.03%) >> Click here for deal

Single-speaker home theater solution, now with bass!

I'm asked this question all the time: "Are there any great-sounding TV speakers?"

People want "something good," but they don't want hassles, and they sure as hell don't want to decipher techno-babble setup instructions. Nowadays there are plenty of single speaker systems to choose from, but most of them don't sound all that good, and setup--while way better than a bona fide multichannel system--is still more complicated than it ought to be.

Enter the Zvox Z-Base 550 Low-Profile Single Cabinet Surround Sound System ($500). From the front, it looks like just another … Read more