Russ with Hova--no big deal.
(Credit: Russ Frushtick)Russ Frushtick from MTV's Multiplayer blog joins us on today's episode of The 404 Podcast to give us the rundown of this month's upcoming video game releases, but first we have to give a quick head nod to the Yankees for winning the World Series and, of course, Matsui for coming through with the MVP of the series.
Also, were you as annoyed with the lame tech commercials during the game as we were? Between James Cameron's upcoming flop "Avatar" that looks like a 2-hour video game cut scene, the new Droid phone ripping Apple apart, and the rather malicious new Mac ads practically lying about past versions of Windows, we could barely watch the game!
Next, we run down a list of near-extinct tech that just won't seem to go away. The list includes items like the landline telephone, Twitter, vinyl, fax machines, Windows XP, and Sonic the Hedgehog, and although we agree with most of them, how are people supposed to send sandwiches to loved ones without a fax machine?
By far, the highlight of today's episode comes toward the tail end of the show during our classic Calls From the Public segment, where Jeff is the reluctant receiver of a huge spoiler to his current read, Lois Lowry's "The Giver." If you're planning on reading the book for the first time, you might want to click the mute button for the remainder of the episode, or risk suffering a similar fate. On the other hand, the look on Jeff's face when things get spoiled is too hilarious to miss.
EPISODE 461
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After going off on a rant in the preshow, we settle down for a hilarious episode, inspired by the near-extinct Snow Leopard. Jeff opens it up with a complete horror story about his experience trying to buy the new Mac OS upgrade from a local big box retailer. We won't name names, but clearly this company is hiring all kind of unqualified employees, and Jeff's had about enough.
Everyone's favorite cell phone for the elderly, the Jitterbug, is now available on Verizon Wireless for senior citizens who want to switch over to nationwide coverage. Well, we certainly can't talk about such a story without busting out a few impressions, so this time around we try to combo them up...look out for Verbose Space Beer Old Vampire!
In other news, the God of War collection is coming to Blu-ray for PS3, but what seems like a great two-for-one deal is actually a slice of the larger PS3 ripoff: since the console doesn't support older games, owners of the new PS3 Slim are forced to pay for the new package if they want to play this series, instead of just popping in an old disc like you could with previous PlayStations. It's true that the HD upgrade adds a lot of value to this offering, but it still seems like a shady deal.
What do you think? Leave us a voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET and let us know your thoughts on the PS3 Slim or tell us about the worst job you've ever worked. We want to hear your horror stories!
EPISODE 417
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(Credit:
James Martin/CNET)
This week's E3 2009 coverage continues as The 404 examines the Nintendo and Sony press conferences!
Each company made plenty of exciting announcements as well as some not-so-exciting ones. Will anyone really ever use a Wii Vitality Sensor? Sony officially debuted the PSP Go, which will be released October 1 for $250. We think that may be a bit much for the redesign, but the 16GB of internal storage sure is tempting.
We were glad to see all the awesome game announcements, including titles even our own Justin Yu has heard of! Yes, Justin, they're still making Super Mario games. Having not even made his way through the first quarter of the original God of War, Justin is still pleased to hear about God of War III coming to the PS3 in March of 2010.
Finally, a big congrats is in order to Blake Stevenson, the winner of our 404 logo design contest.
(Credit:
Blake Stevenson)
EPISODE 355
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Wilson Tang thought it'd be a better idea to cover the new Google Android phone today, and we can't disagree. So that just leaves myself and a one Justin Yu to fend for ourselves on today's 404.
Today we'll talk about why it's a bad idea for record companies to release albums on thumbdrives, a U.K. family that lives in a pig sty, and how an Xbox Live Survey seems to be an accurate sampling of how the gaming demographic will vote this November.
Also, Justin updates us on his Justin PSYu Foundation campaign, enlightening us with the difficulty he's having in completing God of War--a game my 11-year-old female cousin has finished three times.
All this plus a HUGE calls-from-the-public session on a very personal and intimate 404.
EPISODE 190
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Our resident peeping Tom (don't ask, you don't want to know) joins us for today's videogame heavy show. Surprisingly, I actually participate a fair amount! I think it has something to do with the Playstation Yu Foundation...Jeff flaunts a very positive review of Hamlet 2, we "ooh" and "ahh" over a very cute marriage proposal (hint, hint Mr. Bakalar), and talk way too long about our fear of those horrid little eight legged freaks.
Although there's lots of talk about videogames today, we somehow find the time to introduce yet another cryptid in the wild: a giant 50 foot mechanical spider miraculously appeared on the side of an building under construction in Liverpool yesterday. The creature is the pride of joy of this year's La Machine street festival, set to debut tomorrow to the public. Luckily for us, a few pictures leaked onto Flickr and sufficiently make us squirm like frightened little girls. Seriously though, spiders freak me out, there's something about their small furry legs running around my house that makes me want to cut off my skin. And you know what I realized? My generation's unreasonable fear of spiders is solely based on the movie Arachnaphobia. So thanks, Director Frank Marshall, for ruining my childhood.
EPISODE 177
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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.
