inflatable

One inflatable sleeping coat to rule them all

This one ups the ante on all other sleeping bags with the ability to inflate. That's right, you get to float your coat, and it even rhymes. The Inflatable Sleeping Coat by designer Lin Tsui-Wei is one hardworking, multipurpose piece of survival gear--it's a raincoat, sleeping coat, sleeping bag, and even mattress rolled into one--that would have even Bear Grylls of "Man vs. Wild" heartily approving.

Quite amazingly, this looks lightweight and comfy enough to don all day as it stops just short of the knees, compared with the bulky Selky. Lin appears to have resolved … Read more

The 404 416: Where our stocks are on fire and Jill hoses us down

Jill Schlesinger of CBS' MoneyWatch joins the show to talk about the economy. So it turns out that things aren't going to collapse, and we're not going to have to sell our bodies in a barter system. That doesn't mean, however, that we're out of the woods, and Jill is here to show us the way out. Throw in a little bit of health care, a little bit of Social Security, and a garlic smell? Only on The 404!

For the last couple of months, stocks have been soaring more than 50 percent since their March low. Jill says all that means is that the market doesn't think we're headed for Great Depression 2.0, but that doesn't mean we're out of trouble. In the dark, we imagine what V-, U-, and W- recoveries would look like. Strange... Justin, is that your hand on my leg?

Further down the line, we jump into the health care debate. Jill tells us her generation is screwing our generation and not in a good way. Essentially, they took all the good health care, and we (the 20-somethings) will just not be able to afford the premium "best health care" in the world, when we really need it. And somehow, Wilson reveals some of his Republican leanings? Say what?

Finally, we get into personal savings for the future, and we pick up the ashes of our 401(k)s. So while your parents may have lost a bundle on their retirement funds, we 20-somethings still have another 40 years before we really have to worry about our returns. Meanwhile, Social Security is a toss-up. Jill wants to advise President "Barry" Obama that the easy solution to fixing the "Third Rail" of American politics is just tying benefits to an age index. People are just living too long...death panels, any one?

Wow! So we hope you finally learned something on The 404. We sure did! Send in your feedback to the usual at the404 [at] cnet [dot] com. Follow Jill on Twitter. Or leave us a voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET, and you can debate us on the finer points of the liquidity of the money supply and U6 unemployment figures.

Episode 416 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Subscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

The 404 402: Where you mess with the best you die like the rest

After debuting the final chapter in our 404 Superhero series (thanks Hayato!), we break into chats about the next-gen air-con, an Xbox autographed by Palin, cell phone crackdowns, and a Nintendo inflatable cushion that raises questions of hygiene...yikes!

Thanks again to Hayato Shimizu for making the image you see above, which features all three of The 404 hosts as their respective superheroes in the Four-Oh-Force! You can always depend on us to save you from a bad day! Well...except for Sundays, you're on your own there.

Lots of stories to get into today, like this Nissan car with a built-in revolutionary air-conditioner that blocks "unpleasant smells" from entering your car. Having driven with Jeff and Wilson before, I can say without hyperbole that I'm more worried about the smells coming from inside the car, but I'm sure that invention is in development as well.

We also talk about San Francisco cracking down on cell phones in the car and a Sarah Palin autographed Xbox 360 fetching 1.1 MILLION DOLLARS on eBay, but the weirdest story of the day comes from Nintendo, who is developing an inflatable cushion for the Wii used to simulate riding on the back of an animal or being in the driver's seat of a vehicle. There are a million and one jokes to be made here, and we get to about 4,297 of them in the second half of the show, so be sure to check that out. Nintendo has officially lost its marbles.

A big apology goes out to everyone who couldn't leave a voice mail last night--we've since cleared it all out, so please call us back at 1-866-404-CNET and leave another message!

EPISODE 402 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Are they just messing with us now? The strangest Wii accessory yet

Just when you thought Nintendo Wii accessories couldn't get any more bizarre, along comes a patent filing that has left us speechless. According to the actual online patent page, the proposed inflatable air cushion will have room for a Wii remote and can be used to simulate riding on the back of an animal or being in the driver's seat of a vehicle.

Judging by the rest of the images in the set, the user would be able to plug in a Nunchuk attachment as well. The sample figure drawings also suggest the cushion itself wouldn't be … Read more

Crazy Apple rumor of the day: New MacBooks already shipping

We usually hate acting as an echo chamber for the viciously self-inflating Internet rumor mill, but this one is so gloriously out there that we can't help but weigh in.

Usually respectable financial outlet Barron's (owned by Dow Jones & Company, after all), caught our eye with the following report:

Citigroup's Richard Gardner asserted in a research note this morning that..."field checks" have confirmed that shipments of new MacBooks have begun; he says the most distinctive features of the new MacBooks are "very thin aluminum casing, an LED-backlit display and an aggressive entry-level … Read more

70: Nightmare week for trucks and SUV's

The truck & SUV era just ended ... Chevy gets a hot new small car - where were they hiding it? ... A ride in the Green Car of the Year - brace yourself. Listen now: Download today's podcast

When a giant inflatable boombox comes in handy

If you're a parent with small children, you likely know that birthdays are a much bigger deal than they were when you were growing up. No more simple cake and pinata affairs; now it's inflatable jumpies, jugglers, puppet shows, goodie bags, and maybe even a pony or two. So the idea of a giant inflatable boombox may not be so crazy as it sounds (or looks).

Think about it: You and you neighbors can chip in for an "iBig Box" with its built-in MP3 player, speakers, dock, and fabric controls. Instant backyard party atmosphere, and you … Read more

A blow-up mouse for the lonely nerd

Now why didn't we think of this? While the lonely at heart have their inflatable dolls, here's a blow-up mouse for the dateless geek. You can not only snuggle up to it, but you can actually put it to use. Not that kind of use.

Designers Bongkun Shin, Heungkyo Seo, Jiwoong Hwang & Wooteik Lim did intend for this to be a working mouse and packed electronic circuity on a small flexible board within the Jelly Click. So all you need to do to use this is blow it up, attach the USB cable, and click. It's … Read more

Massage chairs for the pool

We'll leave those motorized "Bumper Boats" to the kids. As far as we're concerned, Astone's "Sit N Joy" is the only way to enjoy the water.

This is no ordinary inflatable float, mind you. It's a buoyant multimedia massage chair with integrated speakers that can be connected to a media player stowed safely inside a watertight compartment in one of the armrests. (The chair's remote controls are built into the other arm.)

In fact, Astone says it's comfortable enough to be used outside the pool as well. We're wondering … Read more