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A few months ago I had the pleasure of reviewing GoldenEar Technology's least expensive home theater system. The SuperCinema 3 ($1,750) comes with five small satellite speakers and a smallish subwoofer, but the sound was big and beautiful. More than that, the sound was distinctly high-end in its flavor. It was easy to tell it was designed primarily for home theater, but for those buyers who also have a hankering for audiophile-quality sound.

Home Theater magazine's Darryl Wilkinson recently reviewed a large GoldenEar system, the TritonCinema Two, which retails for $3,495. The five-piece system consists of … Read more

We're wrapping up this week of 404 episodes with special guest Jason Fischell, Vice President of Product for CNET.com. We're taking questions from the chatroom about Jason's history with CNET, his opinions on the current state of consumer technology, and the possibility The 404 replacing Charlie Sheen on Two and a Half Men.

Usually, when someone says "this is the coolest thing I've ever seen," you know that no matter what they're looking at, they're resorting to a little hyperbole.

But today, when I saw two videos taken from the window seat of a Virgin America flight that show Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo flying alongside in tandem (give the video about 35 seconds before the spaceship appears), my reaction was, well, "this is the coolest thing I've ever seen."

And that was before hearing the audio of the person shooting the video saying … Read more

The Smart ForTwo seems like an excellent platform for an electric car. Small and lightweight are all virtues for current battery technology, but the Smart just might be too small. Smart fitted the 2011 Electric Drive Passion Coupe with an electric motor and lithium ion battery pack to test the proposition.

The resulting 63 mile-range in EPA testing and about 60 mph top speed falls short of larger competitors such as the Nissan Leaf. Even compared with a gasoline-powered Smart ForTwo, which can hit comfortable freeway speeds and achieve high fuel economy, the Smart Electric Drive has a hard time justifying itself.

Smart is currently leasing its Electric Drive coupes in a test program, but plans on selling these green electric cars starting in early 2012. The company loaned one to CNET for evaluation. … Read more

Following an online petition and a wave of complaints, Apple has removed a so-called "gay cure" app from its App Store.

Launched last month by Exodus International, a ministry that encourages gay people to seek "cures" for their homosexuality, the app triggered a huge outcry from Two Wins Out, a nonprofit group with the stated goal of fighting anti-gay religious extremism.

Pointing out that any therapy or cures to change one's sexual orientation have been soundly rejected by all the major medical associations. TWO launched an online petition at Change.org calling on Apple to … Read more

In the last few days, a YouTube video of 2-year-old Bridger Wilson working rather fluidly with an iPad has started making the rounds in the blogosphere. The video is a little disconcerting because it sort of reminds you of those E-Trade baby commercials, which are amusing because they're so obviously fake. Well, this isn't.

Little Bridger seems quite in command of his father's iPad as he swipes his way over to a drawing app when his dad suggests he draw a picture. He then navigates through the app to pick drawing tools and dinosaur stickers. Later in the video, he's shown using other apps. Next year, he'll be checking stock quotes and making trades.… Read more

Timed almost perfectly to avoid the swarms of tourists that will descend upon the city for the weeklong SXSW, Daimler's car-sharing program Car2Go will expand its service area and add more cars to its fleet in downtown Austin.

Car2Go is a lot like ZipCar with the difference that its rental fleet consists entirely of Smart ForTwos that you can rent by the minute. Another differentiating perk is that you don't have to return vehicles to the same location where you picked them up--you can drop off a rental in any valid and publicly accessible parking space. But starting … Read more

What can one say about Charlie Sheen that hasn't been said already? By Charlie Sheen.

It seems that there is still more. For Sheen himself today, perhaps not content with having the "Today Show," ABC, Howard Stern, and countless other radio shows as outlets, joined Twitter.

Yes, Twitter.com/CharlieSheen contains the verified words of one man who some accuse of being two and a half.

It seemed as if the star of a show currently suspended by CBS and Warner Bros. because of his somewhat eccentric behavior was first going to gauge just how popular he … Read more

The Smart ForTwo is a goofy-looking car, and even sillier in cabriolet form. But it is designed with a surprising amount of practicality. In cities, you can park where no car has parked before. And any city dweller knows the value of that. The cabin does not feel cramped, as long as you only try to put two people in it, and the cargo area is actually useful.

We won't say the ForTwo is a high-tech roller. In stock form the two-speaker stereo doesn't even come with a CD player. But it can be optioned up, a cure … Read more