turtles

CES: Turtle Beach aims to replace standard Xbox 360 headset

LAS VEGAS--While the Turtle Beach lineup of products at CES was highlighted by the announcement of the PX5, we were surprised to see the company go after Microsoft's standard Xbox 360 chat headset.

Surprisingly enough, the XC1 doesn't seem to offer anything that the current 360 set doesn't already do, though judging from the few photos we've seen of it, we'd imagine it will be more comfortable to wear during those long Black Ops multiplayer sessions. We'll have the final word on that when we get our hands on one this spring for $25. … Read more

CES: Turtle Beach brings wireless 7.1 surround to Xbox 360, PS3

Turtle Beach is at CES 2011 to show off the company's spotlight product, the PX5. A successor to the X41 headset, the PX5 improves on the original design in many ways, most notably being the first headset to bring wireless surround sound and chat to the PS3. Two on-board wireless radios (Bluetooth and 2.4Ghz) allow for the headset to play nicely with both Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles, and the Bluetooth capability can even be utilized as a cell phone headset or wireless speakers for AD2P music playback.

But perhaps the most impressive feature of the PX5 is … Read more

Amazon.com has the Macally Turtle Retractable USB Mouse for $18.33, after $20.31 savings.

Save $20.31 on the Macally Turtle Retractable USB Mouse from Amazon.com >> Regular price is $38.64 >> Sale price is $18.33 >> Savings $20.31 (52.56%) >> Click here for deal

The 404 567: Where we get caught playing with our toys (podcast)

Today's episode of The 404 Podcast resurrects our love for action figures and other toys from the late 1980s and early 1990s. Jeff's a little older than Wilson and me, but we can still bond over our mutual love for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures and our mutual hatred for picking up all those foam Nerd darts.

There's also a lot to learn about each other based on our toys. For example, Wilson's mom used to yell at him for unscrewing and tinkering with all his figures, which explains why he eventually grew up building his own computers.

Unfortunately, we're too old to play with children's toys now so we've all graduated to big-boy toys, and it's with great sadness that we have to announce the death of the floppy disk. After three decades of production, Sony announced Friday that it would end all floppy-disk sales before the end of March 2011.

Many are unaware that Sony actually pioneered the first 3.5-inch floppy disk in 1981, although the 1.44MB disks were quickly rendered obsolete by other types of removable media like Zip disks, USB flash drives, and of course rewriteable CDs and DVDs. Stay tuned as we deliver a heartfelt "eugoogly" to the floppy disk--a close friend that saved kilobytes of data and served as the basis for way too many nerdy pickup lines.

It's no surprise that Internet privacy is a thing of the past, but a few Blippy users are still finding that out the hard way. If you've never heard of the site before, Blippy is a new company that lets you share your online purchases with everyone on a social network. The service gleans financial data, including what you bought and where you got it, and lets you compare your purchases with others at a granular level, all with the hopes of saving you a few bucks on future purchases.

Unfortunately, five Blippy users found their credit card information published in Google's search engine cache over the weekend. A rep from the company claims that a breach in two banks' security systems caused the problem and they've asked Google to reindex the entire site to fix it, but none of us really understand the appeal of Blippy- feel free to chime in if you're a user and let us know if you've stopped using the service after hearing about this breach in security.

EPISODE 567 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Microsoft launches Kin phones (live blog)

During an event Monday morning, Microsoft announced that it has teamed with Verizon on a pair of feature phones for the youthful Facebook crowd. The Kin One and Kin Two are the first in the Windows Phone family to come with the Zune music service. The following is a record of our live coverage from the event:

SAN FRANCISCO--Microsoft and Verizon on Monday will be introducing two new feature phones, code-named Turtle and Pure, aimed at the always-connected messaging crowd.

The pair of slider phones, each with a touch screen and keyboard, can be thought of as successors to the Sidekick line that Microsoft got with its Danger acquisition. Part of a long-running internal project called "Pink," they will be heavy on social networking and also will be the first phones to be able to access the Zune music service.

How will they stack up against the iPhone? They're not really intended to compete with Apple's juggernaut, but they may well help Microsoft regain its footing in the phone business. Plus, adding scale to the Zune community could help make the Zune feature of Windows Phone more compelling.

We'll be at the event--the start time is 10 a.m. PDT--where the phones will be unveiled, bringing you the action right here as it unfolds. So bookmark this post and check back for all the details.

9:21 a.m. PDT: The press is huddled outside Mighty, the club where Microsoft is holding the event. They haven't let us in yet.

So far, I haven't gotten anyone to confirm rumors the devices will be dubbed "Kin."

9:57 a.m. PDT: We're all inside the club. Lounge music playing softly as Ritual Coffee Roasters brew is being served to warm us up. Nothing going on yet. Various video monitors are running a slideshow of images similar to those on the invitation. The main screen carries the Sharp, Windows phone, Verizon, and Vodaphone logos.

10:00 a.m. PDT: We just got the five-minute warning.

10:02 a.m. PDT: Confirmed: It's Kin One and Kin Two. Microsoft's Kin site is live here, with pictures and details. … Read more

Microsoft's mystery event revealed

Microsoft's mystery event is a mystery no more.

A source confirms I was on target with my prediction that the event will herald the introduction of Microsoft's long-awaited new phones for the always-connected crowd. The devices, code-named Pure and Turtle, are both slider phones, each with a touch screen and keyboard, a source told CNET. In the U.S., the devices will run on Verizon Wireless' network and go on sale within the month following the event.

Microsoft plans to unveil the devices at the April 12 event in San Francisco.

However, those wanting an iPhone should really … Read more

The 404 431: Where we can eat a peach for days

Like most social-networking sites, Twitter isn't immune to lurkers, fakes, and creeps. The 404 Twitter account received over 600 followers in the last 24 hours, which leads us to believe that we're either becoming wildly popular or more likely, the new adds are demonized accounts; in other words, people that had their accounts taken over by a spam bot. This has to stop, Biz--stop teasing our egos!

In other ridiculous news, the CBS video print ad we picked apart in Episode 411 is fetching up to $400 on eBay--what the what? If we'd known that prices would skyrocket on the black market, we would have ganked a few more copies from our parent company, CBS! This is a great example of how you can buy practically anything online, including an 800 thread count Egyptian Cotton duvet cover or a set of custom-made Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle drapes from your humble host's childhood...don't ask, just watch the show.

After the break, we get to a few Calls From the Public, including one from a caller all the way in the Caribbean! We also run down the 20 best cartoons from the 1990s, but they forgot about the X-Men cartoon! And where is "Teenage Mutant Ninja Frickin Turtles?!" Take a look at the list and let us know your favorites!

EPISODE 431 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Phone pictures Microsoft doesn't want seen yet

"Project Pink" is Microsoft's new phone for regular people. Rumors about the software go back months, but the hardware, and who's making it for Microsoft, has been a mystery. Here are the first pictures of Pink phones, Turtle and Pure.

These phones are going to be made by Sharp, which will get to share branding with Microsoft. Sharp produced the Sidekick hardware for Danger, which was bought by Microsoft two years ago. (Which is honestly the only reason we can think of why Microsoft stuck with Sharp for the new phones, versus someone like HTC.) Pink … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1003: Natali smuggles drugs in her undergarments

OK, not really. Although she did admit to it. But it had to do with Intel getting into Nokia phones somehow. Or did it have to do with the Clear Pass getting discontinued at airports? Or was it? And there were chickens. And turtles. You have to just listen.

Listen now: Download today's podcast Subscribe now: iTunes (audio) | iTunes (video) | RSS (audio) | RSS (video) EPISODE 1003

Like Bigfoot, we now report on ‘Steve Jobs’ sightings http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10270847-37.html

Clear, aka the “TSA Fast Pass,” shuts down http://www.boingboing.net/2009/06/22/clear-aka-the-tsa-fa.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10270837-16.html… Read more