deer

IndyCar technology under a hood near you: CNET On Cars Episode 2

This episode took us to the tortuous Sonoma Raceway for a sphincter-tightening run in the new IndyCar formula. The demo cars seat you tandem behind the driver in a sort of sadistic arrangement that has all the dynamics of full-bore racing without the visual cues that let you know if you're still right side up. Breathtaking.

We shot much of this episode at Canepa, a real gem of a place about 20 minutes up in the mountains from the heart of Silicon Valley. Bruce Canepa races vintages cars and restores everything interesting, both for himself and a long list … Read more

John Deere goes olive-drab at Robotics Rodeo

FORT HOOD, Texas--John Deere, a household name in the Lone Star state, is hoping the brand will carry over into the market for military unmanned runabouts.

At the Robotics Rodeo taking place this week here at this massive Army post, the company is demonstrating its R-Gator standalone, autonomous mule, which is based on its M-Gator model already in the field. Applications include reconnaissance, patrol, hauling supplies (up to 1,400 lbs.), casualty evacuation, and the "marsupial" capability--namely the ferrying and remote deployment of smaller, specialized robots. (PDF)

The unit uses John Deere's NavCom technology, GPS, and … Read more

Where we kill a deer every day to bring you this show

EPISODE 99

Eric Litman and Rana Sobhany stop by The 404 to wish Randall the best. We'll talk about HBO on iTunes, Google Street View face blurring, and how Speed Racer lied about how well it did at the box office!

Don't forget to leave your farewell messages for Randall! E-mail them to the404 [at] cnet [dot] com.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Motorola goes hunting for walkie-talkies

If Motorola does end up getting out of the mobile phone business, we hope it's not counting on walkie-talkies as the future. Moto has already launched its fashionable "TLKR" line, and now we hear that it's launching a new "Talkabout" two-way radio with a camo design and a choice of five hunting-call "buddy tones"--duck, goose, turkey, elk, and coyote, according to Slippery Brick.

Yes, it's not exactly the same as downloading the latest Beyonce ring tone (that could be suicide around people with firearms anyway), but it sure seems to … Read more

Where voyeuristic deer run rampant

EPISODE 23

Karina Longworth (of Spout Blog fame) joins us to talk about voyeuristic deer at Sundance, Second Life's crashing economy, the Screen Actors Guild awards and our brand spankin' new phone number: (866) 404-CNET. Tomorrow: Jonathan Coulton, composer of Portal! Listen now: Download today's podcast

16GB USB key: Hard drive on way out?

Today's pop quiz: What's the difference between a portable hard drive and a USB flash device? Not much, if Buffalo has anything to say about it.

The Japanese company is developing a USB key that stores a ridiculous 16GB of data, according to Akihabara News, using silicon hard-drive technology without the actual disk. But there's no information on availability even in Japan, so don't go skimping on that storage option in your next computer purchase just yet.

Now, for extra credit: Why is this company named Buffalo? (We have no idea.)