pink

Pink Floyd to Pandora: Shut up, you crazy cubic zirconium

The wrangling between those who'd like to be paid for creating music and those who would like to pay them a shoelace and a Mars bar may never end.

In the latest edition of "Oh, No You Don't," Roger Waters, David Gilmour, and Nick Mason of Pink Floyd have buried the hatchet, then together picked it up and embedded it into Pandora's (Voice) Box.

They are royally miffed at what they see is Pandora's attempt to hoodwink artists into supporting a reduction on their royalties of 85 percent.

So in a USA Today editorial aimed squarely at Pandora, … Read more

Take a Leap in May with motion control

This is the CNET Update you're looking for:

Get ready to control your computer like a Jedi: Leap Motion's controllers are arriving mid-May for $80. Watch the video above to see how users can navigate programs with the wave of a hand or the wiggle of a finger. Developers like Corel and Disney Interactive are releasing apps that work with Leap.

But that's not the only company taking the "touch" out of touch screen. At Mobile World Congress, STMicroelectronics shows how to control a tablet without making contact.

Also in Wednesday's tech news roundup: … Read more

Angry Birds Seasons expands its flock with a new fowl

Angry Birds Seasons will introduce a new character -- a pink bird that blows dangerous bubbles at evil green pigs.

Known simply but appropriately as Pink Bird, the latest angry bird seems cuter than her existing teammates, batting blue eyes and sporting long lashes. But as displayed in the video below, she seems quite deserving of the term "angry" as she blows her deadly bubbles at her piggy opponents.

Gamer maker Rovio has been promoting Pink Bird as the latest icon on its Angry Birds Seasons Twitter feed. But so far the company's been mum as to … Read more

Porn stars are at CES, after all

You will be interested in the fact that, last night, Lexi Belle was walking around with an iPad on her chest encouraging people to press it and guess which was her real chest on the screen.

I was interested in the fact that Allison Vivas, CEO of Pink Visual, told me this: "This generation of girls aged 18 to 22 is the first that doesn't think porn is something dirty that their boyfriends do behind their backs."

You will be interested to learn that Alexis Texas and Kirsten Price were there. (The "you" I am … Read more

Should phones be gender-neutral?

I don't hate girly things. Shiny, pink objects actually excite me, but sometimes the marketing of gadgets to women takes the meat out of a product.

I've been oohing and aahing over the HTC Rhyme because it's so hot and sexy, but geez. I was so distracted by the gorgeous purple color that I didn't even notice what operating system was installed or why its processor is not as powerful as the HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio--another recently released HTC Android phone.

The Rhyme has a 1GHz processor, while the Sensation XE has 1.5GHz, dual core. Say what?! Women like dual-core processors, too. Ahem!

And don't even get me started about video recording--780p versus 1080p.

One look at the Sensation XE and it's clear that it's a man's phone. (OK, and goth girls too--don't hate me.)

All this made me think: Should gadgets be gender-neutral? And for argument's sake, if gadgets are going to have to be gender-specific (like pants and shoes), how different should the hardware be? Heck, the only reason pants and shoes are designed with gender in mind is because our bodies are made differently. That's a fact. But when it comes to technology and our use of mobile devices, are women that much different than men? … Read more

The 404 905: Where we go twice as high with Bridget Carey (podcast)

Bridget Carey makes her first appearance on CNET TV today. She's the host of an upcoming daily tech news show on CNET called Checked In, so be sure to follow her on Twitter so you don't miss the first episode.

She'll help us out with our story rundown today and gives her take on LeVar Burton bringing back "Reading Rainbow" as an iPad app, an LA film studio constructing an underground "post-apocalyptic" fortress, and the resurgence of AOL e-mail addresses as a pre-Internet status symbol.

The 404 Digest for Episode 905

"Reading Rainbow" to be rebooted for iPad. LA porn studio begins construction on "post-apocalyptic" underground bunker. AOL e-mail as status symbol? Follow Bridget Carey on Twitter. The 404's daily bathroom break: Justin and Jeff's "Reading Rainbow"/Husky Dance Mash-up.

Episode 905 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS VideoRead more

Pink Panther auto and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang replica headed for online auction Sept. 4

The original Pink Panther car and a replica of the "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" car will be featured in an online auction from from a U.K. auction house beginning at noon on Sept. 4, and running through 1 p.m Oct. 14.

The Panthermobile was created for "The Pink Panther Show," which ran from 1969 to 1976 on NBC.

According to auction house, Robson Kay, the car was the brainchild of Hollywood designer Jay Ohrberg, who is best known for creating memorable small- and big-screen vehicles such as K.I.T.T. from "Knight … Read more

Behind the scenes at Abbey Road Studios

LONDON--After spending a day on a behind-the-scenes tour of Abbey Road Studios, it's hard to know which great anecdote to start a story with.

It could be hearing about how, just a few days ago, a studio rehearsal session was interrupted by the sound from another studio of someone pounding out The Beatles' "Lady Madonna" on the very piano used in the original song and that person turning out to be Paul McCartney. Or perhaps it was walking through a random hallway and having my host point out how a four-track recorder placed unceremoniously against a wall … Read more

Bling bike: Harley gets 10,000 Swarovski crystals

"The Wild One" would have been a very different movie if Marlon Brando had ridden into town on Jodi Johnson's customized 2004 Harley-Davidson motorcycle. It's hard to fear a biker sporting a ride with pink flames and 10,000 Swarovski crystals. It's just as hard to be brooding and moody when you're looking at one.

Johnson is the cover rider for the April issue of the Thunder Roads Michigan motorcycle magazine. "Every girl needs a little sparkle in her life," Johnson writes in the magazine. I can attest to the truth in that. Most gals don't take it as literally as hand-applying thousands of crystals to a machine that's more closely associated with leather and bar brawls than Beyonce's Swarovski-encrusted microphone.

Johnson describes her style as "J-Bling." She started with motorcycle helmets, but every hobbyist yearns for bigger and better things. She celebrated the recent achievement of earning her motorcycle license by going all Liberace on her ride.

As we know, it's hard to stop the spread of Swarovski crystals once it has started. Everything from the front windscreen down along the tail pipes to the license plate holder has been emblazoned with little gems of happiness. I can hear Jon Bon Jovi singing in my head, "I'm a cowboy. On a steel unicorn I ride. And I'm wanted... dead or alive."

Unlike actual unicorns, you can see Johnson's sparkly creation in person at the Giant Motorcycle Swap Meet in Michigan on April 17. In summary: wheels, a pink paint job, and crystals. I would do this to my Prius in a heartbeat, if I didn't think it would negatively affect my gas mileage.

(Via Luxury Launches) … Read more

Porn studio's antipiracy plan rejects mass lawsuits

"I'm not of the mind that someone who pirates one piece of content is never going to purchase another piece of content."

That statement was made a couple of months ago by Quentin Boyer, a spokesman for adult-film company Pink Visual. Los Angeles-based Pink Visual has eschewed filing copyright suits against alleged film pirates in the hope that it can strike some kind of balance in a world where unauthorized digital photos, books, movies, and music are so easily passed around the Internet.

This year, a growing number of porn studios, including such top triple-x filmmakers as … Read more