twilight

The 404 1,284: Where we're judged by John Hodgman (podcast)

Comedian and self-appointed judge John Hodgman reveals the secrets to surviving the apocalypse and answers your questions about National Doughnut Day, the proper way to grow a mustache, and how to deal with Internet whiners.

If you like what you hear, subscribe to Netflix and check out John's stand-up special "Ragnarok" on June 20, push play, and walk away. John's also performing in Chicago on June 13 at the Just For Laughs comedy festival. Details on all his tours can be found here and on John's Twitter!… Read more

The 404 1,080: Where we paint the sixteenth chapel (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Ray Bradbury may soon be honored online with "451" error code for Internet censorship.

- Time Warner Cable grabs patent to prevent DVRs from skipping commercials.

- Twitter to grant Web sites extra characters with "expansive tweets."

- Select audiences at Disney-Pixar's "Brave" will be treated to Dolby's new Atmos sound system.… Read more

Enough Star Trek, Star Wars squabbling. Let's fight... vampires!

"Shut your big wormholes."

That's a heartfelt plea from George Takei, aka Lt. Sulu, aimed straight at the squabbling actors who played Captain James T. Kirk and Princess Leia.

You see, Takei has sensed a disturbance in the... wait. No, his long-range scanners have picked up signs of a struggle between William Shatner and Carrie Fisher, each of whom have declared their "Star" vehicle the most quintessential science fiction piece of them all.

What Takei wants is simply some way to bind the galaxy together--to establish a federation, if you will--that would let the warring … Read more

Rumor Has It, Ep. 11: Is Google the Internet's next pimp? (podcast)

Wow, today Rumor Has It goes crazy. Things get weird. (But weird in the best possible way.)

It's the first show of the month, which means it is Humiliation Day, and Karyne lost yet again! Emily celebrates by trying out a new accent, and it's not Russian! But then Karyne sort of wins by somehow roping Stephen and Emily into her embarrassing punishment. Everyone is mortified.

After the shenanigans, we discuss Windows 8, laugh at the reported name of RIM's new phone, scoff at the rumored price of the Apple television, and oh man, what doesn't … Read more

The 404 952: Where time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana (podcast)

Leaked from today's episode of The 404 Podcast:

HTC and Facebook pair up for the HTC Buffy phone, a Facebook-powered smartphone modified to use HTML5 as an app platform. The ESRB and CTIA will soon unwrap a cross-platform rating system for mobile applications. Science has spoken: sarcasm is for smarties, according to the neuropsychologists at USF. With Final Fantasy XIII-2 only a few months away, Square Enix proposes to release a new Final Fantasy game every year.… Read more

Should lying online be a crime?

Google lets you remove your Wi-Fi info from its location database, iTunes Match goes live, and the Department of Justice pushes Congress to make it a felony to use a fake name on a social network or lie on a dating-site profile.

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

The 404 847: Where Pottermore spells the end of bookstores (podcast)

J.K. Rowling is giving bookstores more reason to worry with her launch of Pottermore.com, which will soon offer the Harry Potter series in e-book format. On today's episode of The 404 Podcast, we're chatting about children's books, Barack Obama's new video diary on YouTube, Japanese "bagelheads," and a user-submitted "Dude...whoa" moment, not to mention another Tang that Tune!

The 404 Digest for Episode 847

Bagelheading is the latest fad in Japan. Obama has a video diary on YouTube. Harry Potter coming to e-books. The guy who voiced Tigger in Winnie the Pooh also invented the artificial heart? Whoa...dude.

Episode 847 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1447: Mirrored boats and 3DTV hate (Podcast)

Brian Cooley joins the show today to talk about the new privacy bill of rights--which apparently does nothing that browser Do Not Track buttons don't do, and exempts the federal government while doing it. "It" being "nothing." Also, T-Mobile tries to win new customers with new unlimited plans, Apple may get into the Netflix-killing game, and whether we should ban the "Twilight" books just to save ourselves from Facebook scams. --Molly

Do Americans want to ban 'Brave New World'?

I am not sure what sorts of people go to libraries these days.

I had always assumed that Google and Amazon had corralled the library system between them, leaving few with the need to go and sit next to the coughing, the chatting, and the lonely.

But it seems that people do still go to libraries and still object to some of the books they see there. It so happens that the American Libraries Association, conscious of its continuing role in monitoring the national mood and culture, issues a list of those books that have been challenged by individuals or … Read more

'Twilight' fans targeted in Facebook scam

Fans of the "Twilight" movies are falling prey to a scam that can end up hijacking their accounts and sending the scam on to unsuspecting friends.

Facebook updates are circulating that look like promotions of a game related to the upcoming teen vampire movie, "Twilight Breaking Dawn," according to this Sophos blog post.

The link leads to what looks like a Facebook page with a "play now" button that when clicked surreptitiously "likes" the link and spreads it on a visitor's Facebook account.

It doesn't stop there. A dialog box … Read more