misses

Meet Kermit the Frog, gadget geek

When you get a chance to interview Kermit the Frog, you don't pass it up.

Kermit has been the most famous frog in the world for decades. And with the success of his new film, "The Muppets," which has already earned $56 million domestically, he's been making the rounds, sharing his thoughts on everything from meeting presidents to why he never seems to age to what it's like to work alongside his girlfriend, Miss Piggy.

But this is CNET. We wanted Kermit to talk about iPhones. And Twitter. Technology, in other words. We couldn't get the frog who has sung so eloquently about rainbows to tell us how he feels about the most famous double rainbow in the world, or about how often Miss Piggy texts him, but he did dish about his preference for Apple's devices. … Read more

How to forward SMS and missed calls on Android to your Gmail

Does not having access to your phone leave you feeling cut off from your social world?

Whether you work somewhere that does not allow you to carry your cellular phone, or you forgot it at home, the lack of your constant connection can add to your stress level. Stop worrying about missing important calls or texts by following these steps.

Step 1: Download and install SMS2Gmail from the Android marketplace.

Step 2: Press the option labeled Gmail address and enter your Gmail username. Repeat this process for your Gmail password.

Step 3: Set up an activation code by pressing the … Read more

The 5 biggest disappointments of the iPhone 4S

If you were among those who bet your office mates that Apple wouldn't come out with an iPhone 5 today, congratulations, give yourself a high five, you win. But if you were on the losing side of that bet and were sure Apple would unveil a truly new iPhone with a new chassis and a number 5 in the name somewhere, you're probably shaking your head a little.

That's it? The iPhone 4S? We waited these extra months for that?

There is some good news. If you own an iPhone 4, you may be less tempted to upgrade and more willing to hold out for the true iPhone 5.

We know that for some Apple fans anything new is hard to resist, and a lot of you will probably want the iPhone 4S anyway. But maybe this quick roundup of what we missed will change your mind.… Read more

Conan mocks Apple over 'lost iPhone 5'

Back on August 31, CNET broke the story that an unreleased iPhone went missing in a bar and that Apple was doing its darnedest to track it down, with a little help from the San Francisco police. While the prototype has yet to turn up, Conan O'Brien, who's poked a little fun at Apple in the past, has a put together a mock Apple ad called "Apple wants its lost iPhone 5" in which Apple's heavy-handed, take-no-prisoners style is satirized with lines like, "We will find this person and redefine the world of genital torture."

Verizon workers go on strike

Comcast offers a $9.95 Internet Essentials service to low-income families, the FBI releases an iPhone app that helps parents with a missing child, and Verizon workers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic go on strike after negotiations fail to produce a contract.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Verizon workers go on strike HP TouchPad 4G and $50 in the App Catalog Education iMac? AntiSec hackers post police data Comcast $10 Internet Essentials plan FBI Child IDapp in App Store Subscribe: iTunes (MP3) | iTunes (320x180) | iTunes (HD) | RSS (MP3) | RSS (320x180) | RSS HD

FBI releases child ID iPhone app

The FBI has released the FBI Child ID app, the first mobile app created by the bureau. The app is designed to help parents notify authorities in the unlikely event that their child goes missing.

It is currently available only for the iPhone but also works on the iPad and iPod Touch. (A device with a camera is required to use the app to take a photo of the child.)

Parents can use the app to record information about each of their kids and take a photo of each kid from directly within the app. There are also fields for … Read more

How to add LED-style alerts to your Android

A lot of Android smartphones don't have an LED that can display color-coded alerts like the G1 or Nexus One. It's pretty handy to simply glance at your phone and already know if the alert you were out of earshot for is actually something important to check. NoLED is a useful little app that allows you to see a small colored dot or icon on your screen which will identify your different alerts received.

Note: It's recommended that you only use NoLED on AMOLED screens because it is not as battery-friendly on SLCD screens; however, it can … Read more

Facebook adds Amber alerts to find missing kids (podcast)

In many communities throughout the country, when a child goes missing you may hear about it on the radio or see a notice on an illuminated highway sign. You might also get a text message if you're signed up to receive one. AOL, Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft also disseminate Amber alerts. Now you can receive them on Facebook.

The Amber alert program, which was established 15 years ago after the abduction and murder of its namesake, 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, has so far resulted in the recovery of 525 kids according to Ernie Allen, CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (… Read more

How to restore missing applications in OS X

A number of applications and utilities are included with OS X to help new users get started with a variety of tasks in using their systems, including taking photographs with Photo Booth, chatting with iChat, using calendars, editing text documents, and referencing items in the Dictionary.

These tools and utilities are useful options in OS X; however, there are instances where one may inadvertently be deleted or otherwise end up missing from the Applicaitons or Utilities folders. In cases where these applications are rarely used, this might go unnoticed for a while, but can cause some confusion and delays when … Read more

The 404 664: Where you pick it, we stick it (podcast)

We're glad to have Jeff back from his brief hiatus last week, although we soon find out that he spent a lot of the time playing NHL 2K11 for the Wii! To celebrate the release of the game, 2K Sports made Jeff's dream a reality and invited a few journalists to play *actual* ice hockey with NHL Pros Travis Zajac and Ryan Kesler.

And in other Jeff-related news, today's show title is in reference to a tattoo he has in the works courtesy of Miss D'Jo of Lark Tattoo, a friend and listener of The 404! We're excited to see what she has in store for Jeff...we're hoping it's a 404 tattoo on his face.

While everyone else spent Saturday, September 11, in mourning and quiet reverence, Microsoft staged a mock funeral parade the day before to celebrate the passing of the BlackBerry and iPhone.

The low blow even featured mock pallbearers, a large iPhone casket, a hearse, and--for some reason--an impromptu group Thriller dance. We hate to even give Microsoft publicity for this poorly timed stunt, but it's worth it to show how far a company will go to get exposure and shut down competitors.

And as if Microsoft weren't already in trouble, Xbox Live's stringent censorship rules are under fire again, this time with regard to a person getting banned for listing "Fort Gay, WV" as his location in the player profile section. Microsoft's automated censorship bots believed the name of the city to be an individual trying to degrade the sexuality of other players, but it turns out that Fort Gay is indeed a location in West Virginia. After some complaints, the player contacted the chief of Xbox Live police, and the ban was lifted.

After the break, we're proposing some new transit rules of our own after we hear about the New Jersey Transit express trains testing a plan to silence talking altogether on the first and last trains. Granted, the plan doesn't appoint a hall monitor to seek out rule-breakers, but this doesn't seem like a half-bad idea. Tune in to hear our idea of a public transportation utopia!

We're in desperate need of good call-backs, so leave a voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET and give us a piece of your mind! Also, big thanks to Alen for the BTTF Photoshop job you see up there; great work!

Episode 664 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more