Natali Del Conte fills Justin's diminutive shoes today, and boy it could not be more appropriate with today's stories. Big news of the day is daytime talk show goddess Oprah Winfrey's plans to end "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and we're hoping our very own Natali Del Conte will take over.

(Credit: Harpo Productions)

According to WholeFitness.com, staring at breasts for 10 minutes will prolong a man's life by 5 years. Yes, this could possibly be the greatest piece of health care news ever, and we're hoping they incorporate it into the current legislation.

After some really awesome voicemails, we finally get into some tech talk with high-definition primetime entertainment. The majority of shows have switched over to high-definition broadcasts, but we're particularly disappointed that "Family Guy" and "American Dad" aren't available in high definition yet. Jeff gets really disappointed to learn that almost all cartoons are animated in South Korea. Guess that makes "American Dad" even more ironic. Included in the same list is "America's Top Model." Wilson is particularly disappointed.

Jeff will be out next week, so hopefully it won't be Wilson alone curled up in a snuggie talking about Apple and washing machines. In the meantime, be sure to keep sending in those voicemails as we prep for Thanksgiving. If you're in the New York metropolitan area, be sure to check out Ms. Del Conte on WCBS as she hosts the local news for Black Friday.

(Credit: CNET)

It appears all the bacon sandwiches and soda have finally caught up with our very own Justin Yu as he is once again not with us for the show. Instead, we are graced by two special guests.

For the first half of the show our buddy Sean Cullinane stops by to help us understand why there are a lot more Phillies hats being worn in New York City today than Yankees hats and to pick apart our Motorola Droid review sample. What this phone lacks in style points it makes up in weight--it's the heaviest cell phone we've ever held!

For the second half of our program Natali Del Conte joins in for some calls from the public and a discussion about Netflix streaming coming to the Wii. Also, we announce our winner of the Ratch & Clank Favorite Weapon contest!

All this and much more on today's 404.

EPISODE 456

Spoken like a true coward.

(Credit: Flickr user: variable resistance)

Sometimes, but not often, The 404 Podcast wades into foreign territory and needs help getting out. Luckily, we have Natali Del Conte on hand to dish out some much needed advice about how to approach someone on public transit. Is it taboo to introduce yourself? Should you offer a business card? Is there some kind of unspoken agreement not to talk to anyone else on the New York Subway?

Natali answers all these questions and more in the first half of the show and even gives us homework to read, and although none of this really applies to Jeff "Palm Prenup" Bakalar, Wilson and I hope today's show helps you as much as it helped us.

Speaking of reading, Barnes & Noble yesterday released its own e-reader called the Nook. The $259 device has an e-ink display, built-in Wi-Fi, 3G over AT&T, and 2GB of internal storage. CNET Editor-at-Large David Carnoy was at yesterday's launch, so check out his take.

If you're not completely sold on the Nook (or even the name), check out the Entourage Edge, a gadget to come that combines a Netbook, notepad, and media player into one folding tablet-size machine. The Nook's e-ink screen and the ability to share books with friends for free whets Wilson's whistle, and he claims that this might be the one reader to rule them all, but let's face it: until Steve Jobs comes to the CNET NY office and hands him a piece of plastic with an Apple on it, Wilson probably won't be getting an e-reader.

Of course, Apple also made its own announcement yesterday, debuting a couple new iMacs, a new MacBook for fall, and a Magic Mouse with touch capability. Be sure to check out that video up there to the left for my initial impressions, but the short story is that its thin, nonsculpted design and touch features will require a long learning curve, especially if you're used to contoured, ergonomic mice like the Logitech Performance Mouse MX, my own daily workhorse and an Editors' Choice.

Finally, Natali tell us about a new Gucci iPhone app that offers new music, information on the latest fashion shows, and news about Gucci products. Although none of us actually own any Gucci (NDC's Fucci from Canal St. doesn't count), we can still appreciate this free app for its gaudiness and uselessness. Besides, our idea for an Ed Hardy app sounds much more appealing.

Big thanks to Natali (check her out on Loaded) for doling out solid advice and sticking around through the break. Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Video coming soon, check back later today!

All the 404 listeners out there will be very happy to see our own Natali Del Conte in the hot seat today. Our favorite guest just returned from a trip to the U.K. and, of course, Wilson is indulging himself in a bottle of Beck's Beer, so we foolishly decide to guess Ms. Del Conte's actual body weight. This sounds like a recipe for disaster, but I'm not one to let things spoil, so you'll have to watch the video below to witness me, Jeff, and Wilson making idiots of ourselves.

And of course, since Natali is here, we have to make things as uncomfortable for her as possible, so the first story of the day is about an LA sperm bank offering celebrity lookalike donors to their exclusive clientele. Each donor goes through an extensive scanning process to determine the celebrity they resemble the most, and the clients certainly love it: the service has been available for only a week and their Web traffic is already up 50 percent! We grill Natali for a second about which celebrity she would choose, but now that she's gone big time, she manages to weasel her way out of it.

After a few more stories that let Natali shake off her BOL-shackles, Jeff poses an interesting question to the group, by way of Reddit.com: When we get to be the age of our parents, will our generation be just as technologically inept, or will we retain our tech-savvy? This conversation actually stemmed from a rather painful iTunes tutorial that I overheard Jeff giving to Big Lou, and it's the perfect diving board for our show. All of us have varying opinions, but the general consensus is that because we've actually grown up with technology and computers (unlike our parents who were forced to adopt it later in life), we'll always have those building blocks to help us navigate through newer technologies, whatever they may be. Or we might just be bitter old luddites pecking away on our Jitterbugs, bemoaning a time when 140 characters ruled the world.

Oki Pokey

Jeff has the day off today, so you know what that means: TOTAL CHAOS AND DESTRUCTION! Well, not exactly...Wilson has a little trouble getting the show started, but eventually we get off the ground and welcome our guest on today's show, Mr. Tim Geisenheimer. However, we only get to chat with Tim 1-on-1 for a second before Natali Del Conte pops in to help us out too, making it an all-star lineup!

So after a quick Seinfeld moment about the woes of moving Ikea furniture, we break into a story about a real life "Gaydar" developed by two MIT students which uses social networking data to determine the sexuality of a user. Our major issue with this "study" is that the computer program takes statistical analysis way too seriously. It assumes that if you have a high volume of gay friends, then you must also be gay yourself...interesting jump there. Subscribing to a "birds of a feather, flock together" adage, the two students trained their "Gaydar" to be "very accurate" on men, but not so great on bisexuals or women.

Speaking of women, apparently a group of 3,000 female participants voted the SHOWER RADIO the worst gadget ever invented. It's unclear whether or not they forced the women to choose overtly female-target gadgets (which tend to be cheesy anyway), but Natali has a few things to say about the other gadgets on the "worst ever" list, which include electric fluff removers at #8, egg slicers at #10, and the electric can opener at #18. Although I think we're all starting to doubt Natali's sanity after she tells us all the infomercial junk she's bought over the years...can you say...SLAP CHOP?

Have you heard about CNET TV's newest show called CNET Conversations? To kick off the first episode, CNET's Molly Wood and Ina Fried will sit down with Steve Balmer at the Microsoft offices in Redmond, Washington, and they're bringing questions from viewers. If you have a question for Balmer, head over to the CNET Conversations blog and ask it in a comment!

(Credit: PacsWorld/Flickr)

Wilson is "out sick" today, but we're lucky to have Ms. Natali Del Conte nearby to replace him on the show. She was working out of the office last week, so we take this opportunity to update ourselves on all things NDC and you'll be surprised to hear of the changes coming to Loaded. We're so proud of her. Congrats, Natali!

We officially kick off this Monday episode by defining the Web's trendiest new buzzphrase, "augmented reality." We're not sure who came up with it, but it's all the rage in the world of iPhone apps. For example, Yelp built an Easter egg into its app that uses the smartphone's GPS to superimpose digital data onto the world through the camera, making it easy to view restaurants, taxis, bathrooms, and subway information around you. We think it's pretty cool, but Gawker has its own application ideas, like an app called ClubLech, which uses facial recognition and user-inputted data to identify all the singles in a room. Sounds creepy and, like a lot of technology, it takes the fun out of getting to know someone in person. Plus, who wants a digital sign superimposed over their head pointing out their depressingly single relationship status?

Are you having a hard time saying goodbye to "Reading Rainbow?" We are, too. The show has been on the air for 26 years and just recently celebrated its final episode on August 28. We're sad to see a relic of our childhood go the way of the dodo, but it makes perfect sense, since we're pretty sure kids are just illiterate now, so why have a show to promote books? But don't take our word for it; just ask a kid to define the word "Scholastic."

If you want to get your voice mail heard on the air, just give us a call at 1-855-404-CNET and tell us what's on your mind! Could be something about one of our shows, maybe one of the hosts, or just something random that popped into your head. We'll take them all!

Against all odds and defying logic, The 404 has miraculously reached our 404th episode. As shameless self-promoters, we're not afraid to pat ourselves on the back, and we invite a whole cast of friends to help us! A huge Calls From the Public today, plus the origin of The 404 and a Best-Moments Reel!

Thanks for the poster, Blake!

(Credit: Blake Stevenson)

Friends of The 404 celebrate 404 episodes...of The 404!

(Credit: The 404)

Nobody thought we would make it to our 404th episode, and yet here we are! Life just doesn't make sense sometimes, does it? For this milestone episode, we've invited a ton of our favorite guests and friends of the show to join in the celebration, including Clayton Morris, Caroline McCarthy, Natali Del Conte, Randall Bennett, Tim Geisenheimer, Maggie Reardon, MTI, and more!

We kick off the show by telling the story of the show's humble beginnings, when Randall Bennett was the host and it was called The Dudecast...is "The 404" an upgrade or a downgrade from that? Anyway, Wilson also whipped up a hilarious Best-Of reel featuring a handful of funny and memorable moments on The 404, including the first appearance by Space Beer and Subject to You, the Fry Daddy, grocery-bagging competitions, the new Mayor of Hoboken, and many more.

Finally, we end the show with a massive Calls From the Public. BIG, big thanks go out to everyone who left us a congratulatory voice mail. We appreciate them all! If you left one for us and didn't hear it in the show, be sure to download the audio version--we strung them all together at the end of the episode!

A photographic history of The 404

As we finish up our 404th episode, we want to thank all the people that make The 404 possible: Bonnie G,Jason Howell, Blake Stevenson, Gknee, DakLives, the Chatroom, Jamie Lewis, 404 Photoshoppers and historians, our patient managers, Natali Del Conte, Mark Licea, Rich Peterson, Cheryl Holloway, all the guests and their PR, Sarah the Intern, Dan the Mantern, and of course, any females that have ever listened to or even heard of The 404. This list is truncated, so we apologize if we left anyone out!

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!

Street Fighter style!

(Credit: Justin Yu/The 404)

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!

(Credit: Mark Brooks/Natali Del Conte)

Today we're graced by the presence of an actual superhero. Yes, Natali Del Conte has been transformed into the marginally intimidating geek hero "Motherboard." Neither a mother nor a board, Motherboard was sent to this planet to fight crime with her magic gadgets. Too bad she must recharge every night on her magnetic induction bed. Find out the etymology behind our new superfriend and her trusty sidekick Green Show Boy, aka Mark Licea, by listening in!

Also on the show, we discuss the fallout from the Horizon Realty escapade and why the Wii has stopped selling so well.

Finally, we talk about Peter Jackson's latest complaint: the fact that Hollywood has run out of original stories. OK Mr. Jackson, we'll give you District 9, but we're pretty sure both King Kong and The Lord of the Rings may have been other people's ideas.

EPISODE 393