The 404 Podcast

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October 29, 2009 10:19 AM PDT

The 404 456: Where we like to strike out

by Jeff Bakalar
  • 1 comment

(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

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September 18, 2009 8:15 AM PDT

The 404 Weekend Throwback: Episode 152, 07/30/08

by Justin Yu
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Now you can get your weekend 404 fix with throwback episodes coming at ya every Saturday! We're always open to suggestions on which episodes you guys want to hear, so hit us up at the404(at)cnet[dot]com and let us know your favorites.

Today's episode features our favorite guest, Ms. Natali Del Conte! She joins us today to talk about Dark Knight, Second Life, Heart Robots, and of course a new drink called DRANK! Check out the full episode description here.

Finally, don't forget that you definitely call and leave a voice mail for Monday's show, just call 1-866-404-CNET and tell us how your weekend is going and how much you looooove the show!


Episode 152


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September 4, 2009 11:46 AM PDT

The 404 419: Where Alison Rosen is shrinking

by Jeff Bakalar
  • 1 comment

(Credit: Alison Rosen)

Alison Rosen is back on the program today, and no, she's not really shrinking. That said, she is mystified by Craigslist missed connections, so we debate about what sort of scenario would lend itself to the use of the site's bizarre feature.

Next stop, Cougarville--better known as San Fransisco--where we investigate a disturbing new expo: The National Single Cougars Convention. Should cougars be given their own convention or should they be hunted in public, the natural way?

Finally, it seems we're just never going to get rid of Autotune. Especially now that the new T-Pain Autotune iPhone app makes robot voice manipulation so easy--as if it wasn't to begin with.

We've got all this and more on today's 404. Enjoy the weekend! (No show on Monday).

Check out Alison's blog or The Daily Alison.

EPISODE 419

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August 8, 2009 9:00 AM PDT

The 404 Weekend Throwback: May 29, 2008--episode 109

by Justin Yu
  • 1 comment

Justin, Jeff, and Wilson

(Credit: The 404/Flickr)

Now you can get your weekend 404 fix with throwback episodes coming at ya every Saturday! We're always open to suggestions on which episodes you guys want to hear, so hit us up at th404(at)cnet[dot]com and let us know your favorites.

This episode is dedicated to you and your far-reaching obsession with foodstuffs. Oh and speaking of ugly things, today we talk about Michelle Malkin and take an in-depth look at the miracle of personal deep frying, kooky Japanese space beer, the marketing morons at Blockbuster, and "Sex and the City" again! One of these days, we're finally going to admit that we're "SATC" fans.

Finally, don't forget that you definitely call and leave a voice mail for Monday's show, just call 1-866-404-CNET and tell us how your weekend is going and how much you looooove the show!


EPISODE 109


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August 4, 2009 10:03 AM PDT

The 404 396: Where zombies are timeless

by Jeff Bakalar
  • 1 comment

(Credit: Gamespot)

A heated discussion over which supernatural species is superior (zombies or vampires) leads us into a truly geeky episode of The 404. To help settle the controversy, we have on today's show CNET's own Scott Stein.

Also on today's show, we solve the mystery behind yesterday's Gawker DDoS attacks that flooded the blog network. It wasn't us, we swear. Next, we analyze a disturbing trend of Obama Joker posters popping up in California and whether or not they're making a statement or are just confusing.

We'll also find out if you can actually sue Amazon for losing your homework and whether or not a new Resident Evil movie is a good idea. All this, plus a special call from Jason Howell and some submissions for Justin Yu's new glasses!

...And to our Japanese astronaut friend, we're not sure deep space is the ideal venue to test out everlasting underwear.

EPISODE 396

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July 30, 2009 1:49 PM PDT

The 404 393: Where Natali's alter-ego is Motherboard

by Jeff Bakalar
  • 2 comments

(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

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July 28, 2009 10:39 AM PDT

The 404 391: Where the 404 is a postmodern piece of art

by Jeff Bakalar
  • 1 comment

Meet Koufax

(Credit: Last.fm/R0BB23)

Even with Justin gone for over a week, the show must go on. Caroline McCarthy once again takes the reigns, all while helping to diversify the show. First, we're treated to a mashup made in hell, Rick Astley vs. Nirvana in a little tune called "Never Gonna Give Your Teen Spirit Up". You've been warned. To make things worse, we hear William Shatner's beat-poetry version of Sarah Palin's resignation speech.

Today's Last.fm/Beck's Beer semi-weekly Audio Draft band is Koufax, a tight rock outfit with a love of horns. Its latest record, "Strugglers," is available now.

Also on today's show: new details regarding the AT&T/4chan controversy and we'll touch on Sprint's acquisition of Virgin Mobile.

EPISODE 391



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July 25, 2009 8:15 AM PDT

The 404 Weekend Throwback: Episode 273, 02/05/09

by Justin Yu
  • 5 comments

(Credit: Flickr/The 404)

Now you can get your weekend 404 fix with throwback episodes coming atcha every Saturday! We're always open to suggestions on which episodes you guys want to hear, so hit us up at th404(at)cnet[dot]com and let us know your favorites.

Today's pick was something of a milestone for The 404. We realized that people started disliking the format of the show- we were focusing far too much on tabloidy stories about exploding cell phones and forgot about our bread and butter: anecdotal stories! So this show is all about personal stories and news, including my statewide bagging championship, DTV delays, voluntary amputation, and the best place to spend spring break!

Finally, don't forget that you definitely call and leave a voicemail for Monday's show, just call 1-866-404-CNET and tell us how your weekend is going and how much you love (or hate) the show!


EPISODE 273


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June 17, 2009 10:17 AM PDT

The 404 364: Where we smash away the pain

by Justin Yu
  • 9 comments

The 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.

The shape of things to come

(Credit: Flickr/Caffeineguy)

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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June 16, 2009 10:39 AM PDT

The 404 363: Where we autotune Brian Tong to death

by Justin Yu
  • 5 comments

Brian Tong, host of CNET TV's The Apple Byte, finally makes the trip out to New York for the sole purpose of helping us host the show. Alright, we wish--in reality Brian is out here for a much nobler cause. Today's show is filled with everything you'd expect from Apple fanboys and video game nerds!

(Credit: Brian Tong)

It's always an insane show whenever Brian Tong of CNET TV's The Apple Byte rolls through the studio, and today is absolutely no different. Although we'd like to think that Brian is here just because he loves us so much, it turns out that his trip is for a much greater cause: The big Moon personally invited him out to speak on a panel in front of CBS interns about what it's like being a minority in the media, something that Wilson and I definitely could have spoken about, but clearly CBS wanted a positive influence on the kids. Unfortunately, Brian finally drops some bad news when he tells us that these 13-year-olds are already vying for all of our jobs.

In today's episode, Brian gives us a rundown of his sojourn to E3 and all the recent video game news coming out of the pipe, including Project Natal, Xbox 360 rumors, next-gen console forecasting, and everyone's favorite Nintendo Wii vitality sensor! I wish I could remember what else they were talking about, but I blacked out (on purpose) just as they started talking about E3. Much thanks to B-Teezy for getting up early to do the show!


EPISODE 362



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About The 404 Podcast

A pop-cult fix for a generation that grew up playing Nintendo and watching Saturday morning cartoons, the 404 podcast, with hosts Jeff Bakalar, Wilson Tang, and Justin Yu, gives you the latest news in gadgets, social media, video games, and movies with snarky commentary and the occasional tasteless joke.

Get in on the show by e-mailing us at the404@cnet.com, or leave us a message at 1-866-404-CNET (2638). Or join up with our Facebook group and get in on the action.

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The hosts of the 404
Wilson G. Tang 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 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 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.
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