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'MythBusters' Kari Byron getting kids hooked on science

SAN FRANCISCO--Think about how fragile an egg is. It seems as if you barely touch one, it cracks open. Now imagine putting something weighing 75 pounds on top of some eggshells. You can just see the fragments flying everywhere, right?

Not in Kari Byron's world.

For Byron, a longtime co-host of the mega-hit Discovery Channel show "MythBusters," demonstrating the amazing strength of eggshells is just one favorite moment of "Head Rush," the new show she's hosting that's aimed at getting middle school kids hooked on science.

Premiering on Monday, the commercial-free "Head … Read more

DTVPal DVR is dead, but the identical Channel Master CM-7000PAL lives on

One of the perennial questions we get at CNET is this: "I get my TV via an over-the-air antenna. Is there a noncable, nonsatellite DVR I can buy that doesn't require a service fee?" The answers were few and far between. TiVo works great with over-the-air TV, but that unit does require a monthly/yearly/lifetime fee. You can set up a Windows Media Center PC (with a DTV tuner attachment), but that's a rather elaborate solution for most folks. DVD recorders are one possibility, but they generally don't have onscreen program guides, and they … Read more

The 'MythBusters' discuss their top 25 moments

On June 17, 1985, a media entrepreneur named John Hendricks took a chance on his dream, and launched what has become the largest nonfiction media company in the world, the Discovery Channel.

Amazingly, that means that the channel will turn 25 years old on Thursday, and several of the network's shows are celebrating the anniversary by running special episodes.

For "MythBusters," one of the network's top-rated shows, that meant the chance to put together an episode touting its five hosts' top 25 favorite moments. Since its debut, there have been 191 "MythBusters" episodes featuring … Read more

Tale of two versions of 'Life' on Blu-ray

In case you missed it, the new four-disc Blu-ray of the BBC's "Life" series hit stores on June 1. Home theater aficionados have been fans of BBC's earlier nature documentary, "Planet Earth," and the "Life" series quickly climbed the charts at Amazon. The only problem is that there are two versions of the Blu-ray edition out there--one narrated by British naturalist David Attenborough, the other by Oprah Winfrey--and a lot of people don't think that's cool.

The Attenborough version is the original as it first appeared on the BBC, while the Winfrey version aired on the Discovery Channel. For some reason--and we're not sure why--the resolution of the Winfrey Blu-ray is 1080i, while the Attenborough version is 1080p.

While the Winfrey version has a few extras that the Attenborough version doesn't have, video sticklers are naturally going to gravitate toward the 1080p version, and "Life" purists clearly prefer the original narration by Attenborough, which costs two bucks more.

In fact, Oprah's getting a rather rough ride in the Amazon user reviews section, where the vast majority of reviewers have doled out one-star ratings. (The 1080i vs. 1080p issue isn't mentioned much.)

"This version is a COMPLETE waste of time and an utter ripoff," writes REAL Alaskan. "What will Discovery think of next? Hiring 'Shoot Em From Choppers! Drill Baby Drill!' Sarah Palin to do a documentary about the natural wonders of Alaska? UNBELIEVABLY POOR MARKETING!"

Another commenter notes: "Do not buy this version. That's it plain and simple. Go get the original David Attenborough-narrated version. Oprah makes this 'Americanized' version totally unwatchable."

… Read more

10 things Nintendo must fix before battling Apple

Two interesting things happened to Nintendo over the last few days. First, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, never afraid of bold statements, reportedly told his executives to consider the battle with Sony and Microsoft already won and has targeted Apple as the "enemy of the future."

The second? Nintendo released its Black Wii.

I find the first interesting because Nintendo and Apple, the reigning forces in family-targeted entertainment, seem to finally be eyeing each other. The second is interesting because I fielded a question to Nintendo about what Wii users should do with already downloaded games should they choose … Read more

An equal-opportunity player

Providing one-stop shopping for all your video needs, open-source and cross-platform Miro deserves much of the praise that's been heaped upon it. The latest major point to version 3.0 offers more speed and stability improvements, along with a few feature tweaks.

The concept is brilliant, yet simple: create a jukebox video and audio player that can subscribe to and download podcasts while managing your locally saved media. On the face of it, this might sound like iTunes, but the sharing component is an essential aspect of the program. Miro has always been geared toward video, and it shows … Read more

An equal-opportunity player

Providing one-stop shopping for all your video needs, open-source and cross-platform Miro deserves much of the praise that's been heaped upon it. The latest major point to version 3.0 offers more speed and stability improvements, along with a few feature tweaks.

The concept is brilliant, yet simple: create a jukebox video and audio player that can subscribe to and download podcasts while managing your locally saved media. On the face of it, this might sound like iTunes, but the sharing component is an essential aspect of the program. Miro has always been geared toward video, and it shows … Read more