35% off Dell's Most Popular LaptopsThe 404 flirts with disaster almost every morning, but today we take it to new levels of destruction. That's right, folks, phone-smashing day is UPON US! Watch today's show to see Jeff's old phone rest in pieces. We also find out exactly how the Internet is ruining the nuclear American family and offer tips on teen tattoos.
You're going to have to wait until the second half of the show to see the smashing, but that's OK, because we have a bunch of excellent stories in the news to talk about. First up is Wilson's revelation: the Internet is singlehandedly destroying family as we know it.
All right, we admit that this isn't exactly news, but it offers a great jumping-off point to a conversation about when and how Jeff will have a baby. Just kidding, but Jeff brings up a great point, that Facebook is not only destroying the way we interact with our families, but how we interact with high school classmates. He offers that high school reunions are becoming a thing of the past thanks to Facebook; social networks as a whole make it all too easy to find out where your old chums are living, what they do for money, their marital status, etc...do we even have a reason to go to a reunion anymore? Would you have gone to a high school reunion anyway, or are you still friends with the people you actually care about? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
All right, enough random news talk--let's get to the smashing. Jeff's HTC Mogul has been on the fritz for a while now, giving him a huge headache with constant freezing, hardware malfunctions, lagging OS, etc...so when he finally bought a Palm Pre, we collectively decided to put the HTC out of its misery in what we think is the first-ever on-the-air phone smashing. If all goes well (you'll have to watch to see how it turns out), we might even start a "Smash Club," wherein we'd take obsolete and frustrating tech (read: printers) and essentially "Office Space" it to death. Today was a lot of fun, but Jeff and I are a little worried about Wilson...it looks like had a little too much of a good time with the hammer. Smash it up, psycho!
EPISODE 364
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It's back to the regular news stories on today's show, and we start off strong with talk about how the iPhone 3.0 may give sex toys a run for their money. See what happens when you give developers control over the vibration functionality?
This isn't going to end well.
(Credit: Amazon)Microsoft has announced it won't be making Money anymore--the software that is--but who actually used that program anyway?
Next, we discuss how the Internet is successfully turning the English language into nothing more than a bunch of incoherent misspellings of words with numbers in them. "n00b" is now a real word? We're starting to regret this whole Internet thing.
A Stretch Armstrong movie? Really? This isn't going to end well.
There won't be an episode tomorrow, but fear not, we're going to feed you with a classic 404 from the past that's sure to tickle you. See you Monday!
EPISODE 361
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Justin calls Wilson out for being happy with his life, so they decide to name the show after the popular '80s song Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves. Meanwhile, Justin hates his life because New York City ruined his evening. Stay tuned for that story on today's The 404.
Jeff talks about a dangerous e-mail chain letter about entering your PIN number in reverse to call the police during a robbery. Too bad, it ain't true. You might just get stabbed in the stomach if you try this one. Speaking of your health, you can help stop the spread of the flu this year with Twitter. We also suggest not licking the subway poles, but hey--to each his own.
Also, Apple quietly introduces data tethering to the iPhone OS 3.0. Apparently, it takes a little minor hacking, but you'll be able to tether your iPhone 3G to your computer over USB. Bluetooth support is a few more hacks away. Hopefully, you don't take down the entire AT&T network when you BitTorrent the latest "Battlestar Galactica" over your iPhone 3G connection.
Microsoft releases the latest version of Internet Explorer 8 for download. The tech community gives a collective yawn (except for IT managers), while we get creeped out by a Japanese robot model.
Finally, our tagline contest is coming to an end, and before we decide on an official winner, we'd like you to chime in by taking our poll. Click here or look up and to your left. Jonathan Coulton had to reschedule but will make his appearance in the coming weeks, so hold onto your horses. Be sure to support our very own Natali Del Conte's Smackdown for Charity!
EPISODE 302
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debbiefromtoronto from the chat room joins The 404 today all the way from Canada. Of course, she brings her special Canadian goodies, like ketchup potato chips and Smarties, on to the show. Justin falls in love with her when he finds out that she has a bachelor's degree in printing! And she reveals that she was the one who actually coined the phrase "ear douching."
Why doesn't Wilson ever smile?
(Credit: Wilson G. Tang/CNET)On today's show, we touch on the iPhone OS 3.0 news. Mostly, Jeff takes credit for the shake-to-shuffle feature. While Wilson flips out over the new dock input/output features. We also speculate on the new iPhone revision this summer. Also, a really bad Chinese iPhone joke: Ping Guo i-Dian Hua San-Ge. Ask your Chinese friends what that means.
In other phone news, we get a little excited over Google Voice. Wilson was previously a Grand Central user, but may pick it back up now that Google Voice forwards SMS messages as well. Justin thinks about signing up for an account to call Debbie when she goes home to Canada.
Finally, a man gets shot while wearing a Joker costume. He was holding a shotgun. He wasn't shot for his lack of creativity. And in other shooting-related news, Sega breaks the record for most f-bombs in a video game for House of the Dead: Overkill. Apparently there are a 189 f-bombs.
EPISODE 301
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Wilson Tang is an associate producer for CNET TV. He's a part-time artist and filmmaker and has written and directed several films. He likes long walks on the beach and girls.
Jeff Bakalar is an editor for CNET Reviews, getting all the dirt on the gaming industry. After spending a few years in the world of film production, he has settled down and currently lives in New Jersey. He's an avid writer, gamer, and full-time pessimist.
Justin Yu can be found tinkering with printers and other peripherals for CNET, when he's not adjusting his headphones, riding his bike, or eating hot dogs for breakfast.
