gizmodo

Reporters' Roundtable: HTML 5 vs. Flash (podcast)

One of the biggest criticisms of Apple's new iPad, and of the iPhone, is that it does not support Adobe's Flash, a system that lets Web developers code streaming videos and interactivity into Web pages. Steve Jobs is reported to be a big booster for HTML 5, a new extension of the HTML standard that all Web pages are encoded in. HTML 5 will allow Flash-like features without relying on Flash, which is a proprietary system. Meantime, users are caught in the middle. Only a few browsers support HTML 5, and there are countless Web pages, videos, and games written in Flash already. Not to mention a legion of developers accustomed to creating media in Flash. At stake in this battle: the future of interactive content on the Web.

To discuss this topic on the Roundtable, our guests include CNET's Stephen Shankland. Shankland is author of the Deep Tech blog on CNET News, and covers technology now from London. He recently wrote about this very subject. See HTML vs. Flash: Can a turf war be avoided? And from the New York office of Gizmodo, John Herrman, who recently wrote a great story, Why HTML 5 Isn't going to save the Internet.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) Reporters' Roundtable #20: HTML 5 vs. Flash The battle for the future of the Web… Read more

The 404 430: Where we Microsoft Courier your enthusiasm

We couldn't record today's Podcast without spending a little time on Gizmodo's big unveiling of Microsoft's secret tablet PC. The blog is reporting that even though our first inclination is to call it a tablet, it's really more of a booklet, with two 7-inch(ish) screens with multitouch, a 3MP camera on the back, and a fancy stylus for clicking, writing, dragging, and drawing. In typical 404 fashion, we have to poke fun at the fact that while a long plastic pen is very innovative, we wish it had fully functioning voice recognition, but as we've seen from the Google iPhone app, that technology will likely never be perfected. In the meantime, it looks like the Microsoft booklet will materialize before the fabled Apple tablet.

Speaking of Apple, Wilson and I are very psyched for Google to finally release push e-mail support on Google Sync for the iPhone. This means there will always be a connection to Google's servers to keep your mailbox up to date. There's no additional application necessary, just head to m.google.com/sync from your computer and follow these instructions.

If you're a long-time 404 listener, you'll remember a few months back when my iPhone camera stopped working and the Apple Genius at the store told me that my phone had somehow been submerged in water, judging by the indication on the external water sensor. Well as it turns out, that liquid sensor is a filthy liar. There are actually two liquid sensors on the phone, an internal and an external, which more often than not, tell contradicting stories. If a Genius sees the external one is triggered, the official Apple protocol tells them to report that the warranty is now void and Apple is no longer responsible for fixing the damaged phone. More importantly, the protocol says not to open iPhones and check the internal sensor. If you've had a similar experience, we want to hear about it, but you should also head back to the Apple store and ask them to open up the phone and double-check it. Who knows, you might leave with a brand-new iPhone.

EPISODE 430 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video Image Credit: Gizmodo… Read more

The 404 401: Where we take everything out of context

Jeff's back and gives us a rundown of his minivacation to Atlantic City, N.J., and his love affair with pinball machines. A lot of other stories to talk about today, like the Zune HD, the new Chevy Volt, Spielberg taking over the Halo movie, and Hayato Shimizu's interpretation of Jeff as the superhero COMMODORE!

The team is back together now that Jeff is back from his trip to Atlantic City, where he reportedly spent the majority of his time playing blackjack and a series of analog video games like Batman: Dark Knight pinball, skeeball, and bubble hockey. In celebration of Jeff's return, we surprise him with the image you see above, the final superhost of The 404--COMMODORE! Defending the world from positive vibes with his giant hockey stick, Commodore also wields the might Power Glove, which, unfortunately, is incompatible with today's villains, but it still looks cool! Big thanks goes out to Hayato Shimizu for his great work with all three characters, maybe we'll even seen a picture featuring LaserJet, G-Force, and Commodore battling crime for the future of podcasting!

As usual, we have a lot to talk about today, and kick it off with some rumor mongering about the latest Zune HD. CNET's own Donald Bell reports that Amazon is showing off retail pricing for the portable media player, listing the 16GB Zune HD at $219 and the 32GB at $289. The rumor mill continues to churn over Steven Spielberg taking over as producer for the Halo movie adaption, although the three of us are still skeptical about any long-form video game story adaptation, as we all remember what happened with CHUN-LI. We also look at the latest commercials for the Chevy Volt and its how viral advertising is affecting viewer participation.

Finally, Wilson G. Tang took it upon himself to create a 404 Dashboard Widget for Mac OS X users! You can download the video or the audio version and have the show play in the background while you finish "working." Best of all, this blog description populates nicely into the widget as well, making it super easy to auto-update and listen to your favorite episodes! Download them and let us know what you think!

EPISODE 401 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

The 404 267: Where we'd like to make love more regularly

Don't get your longjohns in a knot; even though we'd love more love makin' (not to each other), that show title is actually an inside joke about one of the stories on today's show. We invite our resident love guru MTI back onto the show to get his expert opinion on making love to vegetables, how to use a headset in the boudoir, and more passionate stories from around the Internet. It's all love today on The 404!

Today's show is all about helping you out in the sack. Unfortunately, we can't be there … Read more

The 404 266: Where we accidentally make it on Engadget

We made it onto Engadget! Well, sort of. It was kind of an accident, but Engadget is Engadget right? On today's show, we discuss some video game news with our buddy Russ Frushtick, the games editor for UGO.com. We also talk about our accidental plug on Engadget.com, explore some of the unhealthiest foods on the planet, and we briefly consider raising our kids on our favorite movies from the sci-fi universe. The second half gets absurdly dirrrty, with red light talks on fleshlights, 3d porn, massage therapy, and a very disturbing reading from Wilson Tang.

Today's … Read more

EeePC 900 awesome touch-screen mod

Some gadget lust on a Wednesday. A modded Eee PC 900 with a touch screen.

JKK Mobile via Gizmodo

Who said TV-B-Gone users are 'snotty holier-than-thou types'?

I'm tired of Gizmodogate. I've made my position known on the use of TV-B-Gones to play pranks on CES exhibitors. Not everyone agrees with me. I'm OK with that, and I'm ready to move on. But the story keeps getting weirder. The latest update is a blog post from Gizmodo editor Brian Lam that says, "Our prank pays homage to the notion of independence and independent reporting."

It was independent, all right. Independent even from Gizmodo's own scathing review of the TV-B-Gone. In 2004, the site published a piece saying that the inventor … Read more

CEA's take on CES Gizmodo prank: Banned!

In reaction to "Gizmodogate," the gadget blog's prank of shutting down flat-screen displays on the show floor and during demos at CES (see Bloggers behaving badly), the conference's organizer, the Consumer Electronics Association, sent me this statement:

We have been informed of inappropriate behavior on the show floor by a credentialed media attendee from the Web site Gizmodo, owned by Gawker Media. Specifically, the Gizmodo staffer interfered with the exhibitor booth operations of numerous companies, including disrupting at least one press event. The Gizmodo staffer violated the terms of CES media credentials and caused harm to … Read more

Microsoft: Zune launching November 13

Microsoft is shooting to release its new Zunes on November 13.

When the company announced the launch of the second-generation Zunes on Tuesday, it said only that they would arrive in stores sometime in mid November. But gadget blog Gizmodo discovered that Amazon.com is taking preorders for the 4GB, 8GB and 80GB digital music players and listed November 13 as the release date.

This is what I found when I tried to preorder a new Zune: "Availability: This item will be released on November 13, 2007. Pre-order now! Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available." … Read more