Crave

(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

NBA vet Kevin Willis visits the Digital City.

Episode 31 of the Digital City, where we discuss the Virgin Megastore liquidation sale (or lack thereof), Amazon's new big-screen Kindle, and how the video game DLC trend is jumping to handhelds. Later, NBA vet Kevin Willis drops by to talk about his love affair with the iPhone.

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Doesn't look very waterproof to me.

(Credit: Amazon)

Presidential commemorative merchandise is always a hot seller, but the First Face is usually reserved for porcelain dishes, stamps, or squeezy cheesy T-shirts. Being that our 44th president is a twittering BarackBerry user, it's fitting for Amazon to finally offer an Obama USB Flash Drive. I just wish it weren't so unbearably ugly.

The 2GB drives are manufactured by Active Media Products and sold on Amazon for $9, plus shipping. The design looks unfinished, though, bearing Obama's painted profile across the front of the drive. Also, isn't it a little sad and ironic that the most patriotic part of the drive is its packaging? They couldn't have put those red, white, and blue stripes on the drive itself? Also, the store claims the drive is waterproof, but that smells fishy to me without material specification. For all its faults, the drive does have one neat feature: it comes loaded with almost an hour full of Obama's speeches in MP3 format, including his famous inaugural address.

Buy the 2GB Obama Drive for $8.95 here.

More pics after the jump.

President Obama's BlackBerry 8830 is getting the super-secure treatment.

(Credit: Research In Motion)

After months of waiting, President Obama will soon get his super-secure BlackBerry.

The Washington Times newspaper reported Thursday that the presidential BlackBerry 8830 is "in the final stages of development by the National Security Agency." The agency is still testing the encryption software to ensure it's up to snuff. And the president could have his new device in a matter of months.

A Washington, D.C.-based company, Genesis Key, developed the software called SecureVoice that will be used to secure the high-security BlackBerry. Research In Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry, has also been involved in development, the Washington Times said.

Since the inauguration in January, President Obama, who vowed security officials would have to pry his BlackBerry out of his hands, has been using a cumbersome work-around to communicate with key members of his staff and close aides.

This weekend, Justin Yu made an appearance on Tom Merritt's and Roger Chang's podcast, East Meets West. Ostensibly, it sounds like a podcast about technology and Asian and Western cultures, right? Nope. Turns out it's half an hour where Tom and Roger ream Justin and The 404 for our use of "curse words."

(Credit: Mark Licea/CNET)

Also in the news this weekend, "Adventureland" came out. Contrary to its marketing campaign, it's not a film in the vein of "Superbad," but is actually kind of deep. As for way less deep films, "Fast and Furious" topped the charts with a cool 72.5 million bones. Michael McCarthy, ace reporter Caroline McCarthy's little brother, joins the show today to lend us his opinion on movies and provide a laugh track.

Twitter, for all the problems that it's caused in the world, may have actually saved the life of a suicidal woman. Apparently, if you @reply Demi Moore, you can get saved. There's some more bummer technology stories in there, too.

In happier news, Rick Moranis might make an appearance in "Ghostbusters III." We just hope that Seth Rogan, Michael Cera, Paul Rudd, and Jonah Hill aren't the new Ghostbusters. Also, Queen Elizabeth II gets an iPod from Barack Obama filled with show tunes. And finally, Domino's gives away 11,000 pizzas, accidentally.

Listen to this episode of East Meets West and let us know what you think. We're available via voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET (2638) or via e-mail at the404 [at] cnet [dot] com. Does bad language really bother you? Does it make us juvenile? Or are we just getting lectured by padre?

"Her majesty is far more down with technology than other ones might think."

(Credit: CC TF Duesing/Flickr)

Imagine the Queen of England hitching up her tartan skirt and twirling around one of the large, but I'm guessing cold, drawing rooms at Buckingham Palace with U2's "In the Name of Love" transmitted down her earholes via characteristic white earphones.

Yes, President Obama has just gifted the queen an iPod.

Now we can all delight in the mere thought that the Her Majesty, or Liz, as some in her native land call her, will be perched over a MacBook and downloading a little Celine Dion or some early Snoop.

Four years ago, when she was conferring an honorary knighthood upon the burdened shoulders of Bill Gates, the queen admitted she had never used a computer. But these days she is no tech-illiterate. She has her own BlackBerry, just like the president's.

And I have very bad news for the president. The queen already has an iPod. At least two, it seems.

Much has been made of President Barack Obama's desire to keep his beloved BlackBerry as a communications device. On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that, thanks to a "compromise," his boss will be able to keep a security-enhanced BlackBerry and use it for e-mail.

What's unclear is whether the device he will use is a BlackBerry made by Research In Motion, or a similar smartphone. The one that keeps getting pointed to as an option is the Sectera Edge, made by General Dynamics. It's the only such device in the category that the National Security Agency has deemed secure enough for use in the highest levels of our government. Check out the video above from CNN, which got a demonstration of the Sectera Edge from GD.

To celebrate the election of Barack Obama as the 44th president, British DJ Adam Freeland's remix of Daft Punk's adrenaline-baiting dance banger "Aerodynamic" into "Aer Obama" provides an undeniable musical power of anticipation and a tribute to history being made. Mixing vocal samples from a Speak & Spell speech emulator, complete with an imaginative mixed-media stop-motion video to go along with this celebratory moment in time, "Aer Obama" is the perfect song to commemorate the rebirth of America while on the dance floor. Now repeat after me, "O-B-A-M-A!"

Download free MP3 now!

(Credit: Steuben Glass)

Granted, Steuben Glass' stunningly beautiful Presidential Commemorative Plate 2009 will be cherished for generations, but is it really worth $7,500?

Thing is, it's offered in a numbered, limited edition of 44. The 16-inch commemorative plate was created by the Steuben Design Team to mark the inauguration of America's 44th President. But other than its symbolic importance, wouldn't that money be put to better use buying American-made hi-fis? Seven thousand five hundred dollars for a hunk of glass might seem like an outrageous extravagance, but I have no doubt all 44 plates will sell out before long.

Still, the plate will merely grace a shelf or cabinet; a first class hi-fi will deliver beautiful sound for many years to come. In the spirit of the times, I'm thinking about American-made gear: specifically, Rogue Audio electronics and its 99 Magnum ($2,495 MSRP) stereo preamplifier matched with Rogue's M-150 power amplifiers ($4,495). Rogue's vacuum-tube electronics start around $2,795 for the Tempest II stereo integrated amplifier. Expensive, but way less than the Steuben plate.

The M-150 amplifier is still cheaper than the Obama commemorative plate.

(Credit: Rogue Audio)

I'm just making a point here that people, even now, spend money on all sorts of things. But $7,500 for a piece of glass? Well sure, it's a lot of money all right, but there's a market for such things. Same could be said about high-end audio: it's for people who appreciate owning gear that's made with care, and lasts a long, long time. Digital-audio formats come and go, but you're always going to need amplifiers to play speakers. Why not get the good stuff if you can afford it?

I suppose it's a question of value, or how we value things. Maybe value involves evaluating the object's functionality or how often it's used. A hi-fi has the potential to be enjoyed on a daily basis, at least. The Obama plate? Not so much.