404

The 404 945: Where wow, you guys are a lot taller than I thought you were (podcast)

Big thanks to everyone who came through last night's 404 Meet-up at the CNET Gotham holiday gift guide. Friendships were made, business ideas launched, and plenty of stickers were given; it was one of our most productive meet-ups to date!

We'll wrap up last night's event and show a quick interview segment on today's show, then launch into the headlining news of the day: Logitech has announced that it made a huge mistake with its Revue Google TV set-top box, and the company has no plans to upgrade or reinvent the existing hardware. Tune in to find out your other options for streaming Web content to your TV.

We'll also chat about near-field communication (NFC) chips making their way to luxury goods like Louis Vuitton wallets, Prada bags, and Nike sneakers to battle bootlegers, a six-year project to tweet the events of the second World War, and Jeff gives us his quick-take of "Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword."

We've been talking about games like Battlefield 3, Batman: Arkham City, and Uncharted 3 a lot on the show, and Blockbuster just gave us two copies of each game to give away in conjunction with Blockbuster's promo running through Nov. 22 where if you buy a copy of the game in-store you receive a free month of unlimited game and movie rentals!

We have PS3 and Xbox 360 copies for Battlefield 3 and Batman: Arkham City and two copies of Uncharted 3 for PS3 to give away. Here's how to enter:

Follow The 404, Justin, Wilson, and Jeff on Twitter. Tweet out a message that includes #GimmeFreeGames and @The404.

And that's it! Just remember that you need to be a U.S. resident to be eligible and the contest ends November 22. We'll select the winners at random, so good luck!

Stream or download today's show after the break!… Read more

The 404 944: Where Skyrim? We hardly know him! (podcast)

We predicted that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 release would cause some trouble, but there's three stories in particular we report today that put a dent in Jeff's argument that video games don't cause violence in real life.

If you're looking for a way to distract your kids while you play said games, though, Toys 'R Us is offering an Android tablet made just for kids that can browse the Web, read e-books aloud, among other time-wasters. It can even play 1080p HD video using a dual-core processor and a build-in Wi-Fi antenna.

Other stories leaked from today's podcast episode include Ashton Kutcher finally taking a step back from Twitter, the strange celebrity photos from the SKYRIM launch party, and the start of super-inflated hard drive prices as a result of the floods in Thailand.… Read more

The 404 943: Where can you turn off the Flash real quick? (podcast)

Steve Jobs gets vindicated this morning, as Adobe announced it's killing off Flash support for mobile devices.

We're also talking about the next evolution of New York taxi cabs replete with USB-charging stations, the entire city of Detroit protesting Nickelback, and an Irish airline offering an on-demand television app that will also feature adult channels. Gross or cool? We'll weigh both sides of the divisive argument.

Stream or download today's podcast after the break!… Read more

The 404 942: Where we're ready to believe you (podcast)

Happy Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Day! Actually, that probably means none of you are listening to our show today. You're likely at your local Costco, Sam's Club, or other restaurant supply depot stocking up on Twizzlers and Four Loko for the next two weeks of gaming hibernation.

But if you're ready for a break, today we'll tell you how to case business interiors for your next B&E using Google+ and GMaps, access the hidden panorama mode in the iOS5 camera app, pay $19 for a truly unlimited everything cell phone plan, and why you probably shouldn't let a cowboy doctor in the UK shine a laser in your beautiful brown eyes.

Stream or download today's podcast after the break!… Read more

The 404 941: Where we did it all for the Nook (podcast)

Barnes & Noble just announced three new tablets that could extinguish the Amazon Kindle Fire--tune in to hear why you should care, and how to shop for the best device this holiday season. Also, happy birthday, Wilson!… Read more

The 404 940: Where we go down on Siri (podcast)

Don't forget to update your Facebook status update for the last time before Anonymous nukes the whole site tomorrow. Remember, remember the fifth of November. Leaked from today's 404 Podcast episode: Siri goes down, Google does a barrel roll, Kevin Rose goes Oink, and who are the 35 million people still using AOL dial-up?… Read more

The 404 937: Where we shoot the Courier (podcast)

Today's show begins with a history lesson on the fate of the Microsoft Courier tablet and its possible reincarnation with a modified version of the Windows 8 operating system.… Read more

The 404 936: Where we leave our bodies at the door (podcast)

We can't remember the last time it snowed on Halloween weekend, but the cold weather kept all but one of us from dressing up today. Tune in to see who conjured up the spirits of Halloween!… Read more

The 404 935: Where vampire power sucks (podcast)

Still don't have a Halloween costume? Check out Superpunch's list of downloadable masks--just print and cut them out, add a string or a Popsicle stick if you're extra lazy, and off you go. Happy Halloween!

Vampire power, also known as standby power, is a reference to some electronics sucking up juice even when they're turned off, but it also works for our ongoing Halloween show title theme! Check out this article on the Learning Thermostat to see what Nest Labs is doing to kill vampire power.

The iPhone Dev-Team is already close to finishing a preliminary jailbreak on the iPhone 4S that will eventually work with the iPad 2 as well, but what happened to good old analog piracy? As it happens, Activision Blizzard is knee-deep in pirates already circulating bootleg copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.… Read more

The 404 934: Where portable gaming is undead (podcast)

Nothing lasts forever in the tech industry, and Nintendo's upcoming Wii U, the Sony PlayStation Vita, and all other one-trick portable gaming consoles are next in line to get the axe! At least that's what Jeff hypothesizes, although the trolls in his CNET editorial have opposing opinions.

After we sort through all the hate mail, we turn to a story about Internet domain squatters taking advantage of the #OccupyWallStreet trend to make money off the protesters.

And in the same way that Bacolicio.us set the veganism movement back several years, a new site called OccupyTheURL is turning the 99 percent into an online gimmick. Type in any Web site--the 404 homepage works--and your page will soon be flooded with graphic pop-ups of protesters blocking your access. We'd rather have bacon.… Read more