gi joe

The 404 1,258: Where we get a GIF from Peter Ha (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Nathan Fielder asks: What happens if you text your parents that you're a drug dealer?

- Some New York City subway stations just got free Wi-Fi and cell service.

- Crew team finds unexpected floating head in Hudson River.

- Michael Bay is why Transformers toys got so complicated over the years.

- Mars Rover penis graffiti goes viral.… Read more

The 404 567: Where we get caught playing with our toys (podcast)

Today's episode of The 404 Podcast resurrects our love for action figures and other toys from the late 1980s and early 1990s. Jeff's a little older than Wilson and me, but we can still bond over our mutual love for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures and our mutual hatred for picking up all those foam Nerd darts.

There's also a lot to learn about each other based on our toys. For example, Wilson's mom used to yell at him for unscrewing and tinkering with all his figures, which explains why he eventually grew up building his own computers.

Unfortunately, we're too old to play with children's toys now so we've all graduated to big-boy toys, and it's with great sadness that we have to announce the death of the floppy disk. After three decades of production, Sony announced Friday that it would end all floppy-disk sales before the end of March 2011.

Many are unaware that Sony actually pioneered the first 3.5-inch floppy disk in 1981, although the 1.44MB disks were quickly rendered obsolete by other types of removable media like Zip disks, USB flash drives, and of course rewriteable CDs and DVDs. Stay tuned as we deliver a heartfelt "eugoogly" to the floppy disk--a close friend that saved kilobytes of data and served as the basis for way too many nerdy pickup lines.

It's no surprise that Internet privacy is a thing of the past, but a few Blippy users are still finding that out the hard way. If you've never heard of the site before, Blippy is a new company that lets you share your online purchases with everyone on a social network. The service gleans financial data, including what you bought and where you got it, and lets you compare your purchases with others at a granular level, all with the hopes of saving you a few bucks on future purchases.

Unfortunately, five Blippy users found their credit card information published in Google's search engine cache over the weekend. A rep from the company claims that a breach in two banks' security systems caused the problem and they've asked Google to reindex the entire site to fix it, but none of us really understand the appeal of Blippy- feel free to chime in if you're a user and let us know if you've stopped using the service after hearing about this breach in security.

EPISODE 567 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

The 404 400: Where we wear short shorts

In Jeff's absence, Wilson takes the reigns as chief engineer for the show...and runs it in to the ground. Just kidding! Today we invite host of The Green Show and longtime 404 friend, Mark Licea, to join us in a few stories about a handy iPhone app, traveling water bottles, Facebook jealousy, Internet addiction, and a hilarious Calls From the Public!

Hot on the heels of Motherboard and Laserjet comes Earth's newest superdefender, G-FORCE! A big thanks goes out to our buddy Hayato Shimizu for Photoshopping Wilson into this robotic Megaman-looking superhero that fights crime with two cameras and still has time to highlight his hair. We've actually received a lot of really talented Photoshopped images of The 404 hosts recently, so click through the slideshow below for all the images.

Jeff's away on vacation and Wilson surprises us all by stepping up to the board, so bear with us through this episode. With some help from our good buddy The Intern Formerly Known as Mark, we navigate our way through a bunch of newsworthy stories from the Internet, including an iPhone app that tells you the best time to cut out of a movie to use the bathroom, the recent popularity of Internet addiction rehab camps, and how Facebook is trying to ruin your love life. All that, plus a new character on today's Calls From the Public!

EPISODE 400 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video

The 404 397: Where Justin's back, and so are the glasses

With Justin's return from his sojourn into the great outdoors, The 404 crew is complete again to bring you another awesome show, replete with "GI Joe" and "District 9" reviews, optical gaming, and a surprise appearance by Motherboard!

After getting mauled by a bear in Yosemite (where's the app for THAT?), I'm back, and much to Jeff, Wilson, and everyone else's dismay SO ARE THE GLASSES! That's right suckers, a little Krazy Glue goes a long way, but I'm not sure how long these things will last, so please continue to e-mail us submissions for the contest to choose my next frames. I'm not gonna lie, I've missed the show dearly and it's great to be back!

The first half of today's show has a lot of movie talk, starting with us talking all sorts of garbage on the new "G.I. Joe" movie. The movie won't be prescreened to critics, and we suspect it has something to do with the trailer receiving so much backlash from justifiably angry fans of the original television series. Jeff also gives us his take on the trailer for "District 9", the new science fiction movie based on the short film Alive in Joburg. Go check that out and let "G.I. Joe" go the way of the buffalo!

The second half just gets nuts, that's all I'll say. OK, well, without giving too much away, it all starts with the Get It Guy, a fake Australian accent, and a very steamy call from SadaCori in the chatroom (a must listen!), but then we get a surprise knock from Motherboard herself, who has something very special to show us...something that NOBODY HAS SEEN BEFORE, so be sure to check out the video for all the details. After that, we dredge up a claim about racism in Resident Evil 5 and it all devolves from there. Trust us, it's the last time you'll hear about it!

As always, feel free to leave us a voicemail at 1-866-404-CNET or get in touch with us on Twitter or at the404[at]cnet[dot]com!

EPISODE 397 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

G.I. Joe is enlisting all consoles: Should movie video games be DLC only?

Slated to release the same week as the movie is G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, the video game, for all major consoles.

This third-person shooter has an exclusive storyline that picks up where the film leaves off. With 20 levels of game play, three character classifications, (Commando: Does well at close range, Heavy: Possesses extraordinary shooting skills, but does it best from a distance, and Combat Soldier: Balanced between the two) and 16 playable characters to choose from. At certain stages in the game players can board drivable Cobra and G.I. Joe vehicles designed for two-player co-op mode. … Read more

The 404 384: Where we're not spastic, we're just passionate

We have an especially fun episode for y'all today, with a comparison between Transformers 2 and GI Joe, a brief rundown of old video game movies, the decade's biggest tech flops, and OF COURSE: The 404 Semi-Weekly Audio Draft Sponsored by Beck's Beer in conjunction with Last.FM, a subsidiary of CBS Interactive and CNET News and Reviews 5000!

Man, the preshow this morning got HEATED! In a joking way, of course. You really have to be there for Friday morning preshows in the live chatroom. The buzz this morning was about Jeff seeing "Bruno," and actually LIKING IT! This is, of course, in contrast to Wilson totally despising the flick, blaming the overuse of phallic objects used only to make the audience feel uncomfortable. If you saw that movie and have an opinion, leave a comment on here and help us settle this argument!

That conversation in the preshow leads us to talk about the latest from AintitCool News, who claim that "GI Joe" is a better movie than "Transformers 2"! This is actually pretty surprising to us because we saw the trailer for "GI Joe," and it seriously looked awful, although it'd be hard to make a worse movie than "Transformers 2." I guess it's a "lesser of two evils" sort of thing. Early reviews coming in claim that the "GI Joe" movie should be taken with a large grain of salt, since the tone is similar to that of the original "Street Fighter" movie.

After talking about video game movies for awhile, we finally get to our favorite segment, the OFFICIAL 404 Semi-Weekly Audio Draft Sponsored by Beck's Beer in conjunction with Last.FM, a subsidiary of CBS Interactive and CNET News and Reviews 5000! Today's pick is Mayer Hawthorne, a 29-year-old music junkie from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who makes retro-sounding soul music in the vein of such artists as Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hudson, and Barry White. His music tips its hat to the old Motown days between 1966 and 1974, when scratchy instruments and smooth falsettos dominated the waves. Hawthorne definitely draws inspiration from those artists, but also layers his own style into the mix with breakbeat production and a gallery of horn instruments that every generation can get into. He's currently on the popular hip-hop label Stones Throw and has a few singles out, but his new album, "A Strange Arrangement," is due out in the fall. For now, check out his page and today's track, "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out," and let us know what you think!

EPISODE 384 Download today's podcast Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

'G.I. Joe' promo fails at looking cool

A couple of weeks ago I got to attend a press screening of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" a week before the general American release. There was only one trailer before the film, and that was for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which launches August 6.

I have been to many press screenings, but I've never heard professional movie critics--my colleagues--heckle a trailer before. The movie looks amazingly bad in every way. That's why I'm not surprised Paramount is taking the viral route to try to gain public interest in what will no … Read more

The 404 362: Where the 404 goes CNET LIVE

We're proud to announce the debut of CNET LIVE, the new portal for all live shows, including The 404, on CNET. Don't worry, the transition won't be as difficult as DTV. We'll give you detailed instructions on how to tell all your friends about the show! Listen in for all the juicy details on our weekend staycation and why Wilson should never consume liquor again.

So now that the weekend is over, we can talk about our top secret trip...to Atlantic City! It's always good to get away for a little bit, even if it's just for a day, so we packed up our bags and took off to AC for a little gambling and good times. What was supposed to be a relaxing trip turned out to be 24 hours of "The Hangover"-esque partying. We all indulged in our own vices: Jeff hit the blackjack tables like a white bat out of hell, Justin explored the dark crevices of AC's back alleys, and Wilson Tang ate chicken. That's right, you read it correctly: Wilson Tang finally broke his "vegetarianism" and is now an official chicken chaser. Unfortunately, his bout with poultry at Friday's dinner left him with a mad stomach ache and he party pooped his way out of the trip. What a shrew!

Click here for a full set of pictures from The 404's trip to Atlantic City.

Lots of stories to talk about today, namely two big news items from over the weekend: the DTV official transition and the mad rush for Facebook Vanity URLs. Actually, the long-awaited DTV transition went off without a hitch, which makes sense, because it's been in the works forever now, although we're pretty sure someone in Florida tried to eat her converter box. Facebook Vanity also had little to no effect on real life, although there did seem to be a slight flux in traffic on Thursday night as people rushed to reserve their own Facebook URLs. In the spirit of American sportsmanship, some of the landgrabs were a little disingenuous; for example, check out the profile for our own Molly Wood. In fact, my own name got snaked by another Justin Yu, so feel free to add him and let him know how much you love The 404. In the meantime, check out the Facebook profiles for the Real Justin Yu, Wilson Tang, and Jeff Bakalar.