mother

Hey, kids, more moms want iPads for Mother's Day

I am sure that many people are already wondering how on earth to please their mothers on May 13.

For that is Mother's Day, the Sunday on which flower-sellers make huge amounts of money out of the guilt of youthful, self-absorbed offspring.

Perhaps, though, kids (and dads) just don't know their moms terribly well. Because words and numbers have reached me that suggest moms are getting a little tired of flowers and jewelry and would rather have an iPad or some cuddly little Android-powered piece.

A survey performed by Harris Interactive on behalf of Ebates.com, contained within … Read more

Apple's Cards app gets Mother's Day add-ons

After six months of letting its greeting cards app sit on the App Store without any new designs, Apple seems to have gotten hip to the idea of adding new ones for holidays where cards are the norm.

Today that comes in the form of a new update that adds 28 different cards for Mother's Day, which is May 13 in the United States, and at different times during the month in a number of other countries (Wikipedia's cheat sheet is here).

Alongside the Mother's Day cards, Apple's added 28 different "get well" cards, … Read more

The 404 856: Where we have liftoff (podcast)

We all watched NASA's final space shuttle launch this morning before heading into the studio, and by "we" I mean Wilson and me, because as usual, Jeff couldn't care less. Nevertheless, we're still excited about Atlantis and spend part of the first half of the show watching videos and talking about the official Atlantis fanfare written by Emmy-nominated composer Bear McCreary and produced by actor Seth Green!

We're also mourning the death of Sony MiniDiscs, checking out a new way networks are handling product placements, and singing a brand new Tang That Tune!

The 404 Digest for Episode 856

Atlantis launch a bittersweet end for space shuttle. Fanfare for final NASA shuttle mission. Sony to kill the MiniDisc Walkman in September. TV networks inserting ads and product placements in show reruns. Kidrobot launches Street Fighter toys. The missing person living in Savannah.

Episode 856 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Google goes all gooey for Mother's Day

These days, Google is working very hard to find its inner self. You know, that inner core that might be human.

First, the company creates warm, touching films for Chrome.

And now, to celebrate Mother's Day (that's today, in case you forgot, you insensitive, ungrateful child) Google has found a gooey inner core.

First, the company has produced a doodle in which the logo drifts into a lavendery lilac and the 'l' of Google becomes a lovely deep purple flower.

However, not content with spreading this love, Googlies have extended their arms and their hearts toward their own … Read more

Report: Spam down, but malware continues hold

Spam may be down but malware marches merrily on.

That's the message from the "November Threat Landscape Report" released yesterday by security vendor Fortinet.

Global spam levels ultimately fell 12 percent in November after Dutch authorities took down a large Bredolab network made up of 140 different servers. The Bredolab botnet was typically used by cybercriminals to send out spam selling fake drugs, according to Fortinet. Spam had actually fallen as much as 26 percent the week after the network was dismantled but was able to stage a bit of a recovery afterward.

The ever-present Koobface botnet, … Read more

Friday Poll: For your mom, a geeky gift?

You're reading Crave, so there's a pretty good chance you're something of a geek at heart. As such, there's a very good chance your Mother's Day gift this year will be of the tech variety, or at least have some kind of a geek slant. Because as a geek, you know that even non-geeks' lives can be better with tech.

I, for example, plan on getting my mother the boxed set of every episode of "Lost" so far, as well as a Netflix account. My friend Mike is upgrading his mother's computer … Read more

Mother's Day gifts you haven't thought of

Moms, as we all know, are hardly a monolith. It is thus challenging to assemble a definitive list of Mother's Day gift ideas for moms who've conquered their BlackBerrys, moms who can't send a text, moms who think video games embody the world's ills, and even moms who spend all their free time on World of Warcraft.

In an effort to make your last-minute Mom's Day shopping easier, Crave has come up with a few ideas for mothers of varying stripes. From the digicam-happy mom to Octomom to the uber-green mom, we've got yours … Read more

Gadgettes 182: The Your Mother Deserves Better Episode (podcast)

In honor of that mom in your life this Mother's Day, we beg of you: Don't get her THAT! Actually show her how awesome she is by getting her something she'll actually enjoy. But not THAT!

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 182

iPad: yay or nay?

Steve Jobs’ big New York Times letdown

iPad Clone Wars: China Unveils Android-based iPad knockoff

Oh god, not another digital picture frame for Mother’s Day

ATAT stroller… Read more

The 404 572: Where it's time for a downgrade (podcast)

Jeff Bakalar is out sick today but luckily Natali Del Conte is back from her sojourn to San Francisco and fills in on today's episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast. I hope you had a better weekend than mine; I almost had a sleepover at the Apple Store after my iPhone inexplicably broke...again! The display on my 6-month-old phone stopped working, so I've decided to stick it out with a budget Samsung flip phone until the fourth-generation iPhone comes out.

Downgrading to a single-function handset from an iPhone requires some adjustment, but I'm quickly getting used to (and even enjoying) the simplicity of having separate dedicated devices for music and phone calls.

Boredom arrives much quicker without a smartphone, of course, but who really needs all those silly apps? I'm having a great time rediscovering the simple mundane pleasure of scrolling through "settings and options." What time increment should I set my auto-dimmer to today? The possibilities are endless!

Last night CBS' "60 Minutes" aired an interview with Conan O'Brien to get his personal take on the "Tonight Show" fiasco that left poor CoCo without a network to call a home.

Unfortunately, neither NDC nor I had a chance to check it out, but Wilson gives us the rundown on Conan's amicable responses and explains why Conan starts crying halfway through the segment. Check out CBS News for the full interview.

There are also plenty of hilarious Calls From the Public to play today including one listener who finally debuts an impression of Jeff that you won't want to miss. If you have something to tell us, leave us a message at 1-866-404-CNET or shoot us a line at the404(at)CNET(dot)com!

Episode 572 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video

The 404 531: Where we meet Alison Rosen's mother (podcast)

Today's show title is a little deceptive, and we should be clear that Alison Rosen's mother does not make an appearance on this episode, but Alison's all we need anyway because she's the future of television! We're excited to have her back after a long hiatus, and she updates us on everything going on in her life, including ALISON ROSEN IS YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND, a new weekly interactive show on Ustream that features guests like Michael Showalter and Andrew W.K., in addition to an upcoming segment where Alison will explore the world of online dating. Be sure to add her on Twitter to stay updated.

We're also super excited to show you guys a clip of Natali Del Conte on last night's episode of "The Daily Show"! In a segment called "Tech-Talch," Jon reports on Chatroulette, aka our new favorite Web site, and shows a clip of Natali shielding her eyes as she gives a demo and inevitably stumbles upon a a dude having too much fun. Alison has the common sense to stay off the Web site, even for professional research, so we try to offer her some suggestions on how to make ChatRoulette more fun if you're a girl.

What would you do for five bucks? Twitter posts on a new site called Fiverr attempt to answer that question, and a lot of people are offering compelling services for five bones. If you can scrounge together some cash, you can turn into a dead jedi, get your fortune read, and even get a private wake-up call! Ooooh, invasive!

Many thanks to Alison for joining us this morning; we always have a lot of fun with her, and you should too! Head over to AlisonRosen.com, read her blog, write her a poem, download her iPhone app, and look for her again soon on The 404!

EPISODE 531 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more