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A label printer that's hip and square

Forget Dynamo. That handheld click-clacking label printer doesn't hold a ticker tape to this appealing cube version, which will add instant status to any cubicle drone's desk. It appears to be a simple block when closed, but press a little black button and up pops the seamless lid to expose a monochrome LCD screen and keyboard. The sticker even comes out from a tiny slit in the side. Too bad it's sold only in Japan since the King Jim Tepra Pro SR600 Label Writer (23,940 yen, $221) does English, too, with a choice of fonts and … Read more

McDonalds in bid to take over the web

This week sees the Cannes Advertising Festival. Where a lot of advertising people and clients drink themselves silly and whisper sweet everythings into each others' ears.

I love it myself. But, being on the creative side of the business, only when you have something in competition that has a chance of winning an award.

McDonalds has already achieved a victory this week, according to the eyeball counters at comScore.

Not in Cannes (yet), but on the web.

comScore announced this week that McDonalds enjoyed the unprecedented attention of almost 600 million eyeballs in March with their display ads. (that's … Read more

The 404 118: Where we wallow in the Swamp of Sadness

Cheryl Holloway fills in for a snoozing Wilson today and gives us her perspective on the Burger King 12-step program, killer Crocs, Wanted's sneaky viral video, the upcoming Smurfs movie, and the $50,000 Harry Potter prequel. We end the show by collectively begging Daniel Radcliffe to sheath his wooden wand. EPISODE 118 Download today's podcast

The world's ugliest DS Lite

The world's ugliest cell phone may have found the perfect mate in this customized DS Lite from Japan found by Akihabara News.

There's certainly no shortage of places willing to uglify the gaming handheld for a price, as even Paris Hilton has made clear. But like the aforementioned "Serendipity" phone, this one looks as if it could have been done as a pre-school art project with some plastic charms and Elmer's glue.

The name of the outfit offering its unfortunate services should have been a tipoff: "King Deco."

Still runnin': Michael McDonald live at NARM

Chances are, whether you're a fan or not, you've heard the blue-eyed soul vocals of Michael McDonald. He's best known for his formative years with the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan, however he's also had a remarkable career as a solo artist and a guest harmonizer on numerous pop hits such as Christopher Cross' "Ride Like The Wind" (he's the guy who echos "such a long way to goooo"). Basically, McDonald was the Timbaland of yesterday, as the go-to guy for hits in the '70s and '80s.

He recently released a Motown tribute album called Soul Speak, and even more recently--last night--he headlined the 50th anniversary gala at the NARM convention in San Francisco. He delivered a crowd-pleasing performance with originals such as "What A Fool Believes," "It Keeps You Runnin'," and covers such "Living For The City" and "Love T.K.O." And to top it off, BB King (who accepted an award earlier that night) came out and did the "The Thrill Is Gone" with McDonald and his band. Industry suits and biz-casual editors (like me) were all impressed.… Read more

Crossfade TV: Orgone, Foals, Gutter Twins

What's up this week on Crossfade TV? Find out what Mike, Anngie, and Kurt have to say about soul-funk group Orgone (a "no-brainer," says Mike, for fans of Sharon Jones and Amy Winehouse), Oxford dance-pop group Foals, and the dark, moody new Gutter Twins project, featuring former grunge gods Greg Dulli (of Afghan Whigs) and Mark Lanegan (of Screaming Trees).

Crossfade TV is a joint production of CNET TV and Download Music. Tune in each week for the lowdown on our favorite new bands.

When did Howard Stern jump the shark?

I first became a huge Howard Stern fan when he was on WNBC here in New York. This was back in the early 1980s when he radically advanced the state of the art of humor on the radio. Despite his huge ratings he had endless clashes with the NBC brass, which led to his firing. Clearly, the hostile environment wasn't a radio "bit," it was real. Stern was always keeping it real. It was all such compelling radio Stern based his biopic movie, "Private Parts," mostly on that time period.

After the NBC canning the … Read more

Record with your heroes

Correction: The original post implied that the Church is no longer active. In fact, the band has been touring and putting out albums continuously for almost 30 years, and Tim Powles is still their drummer. Apologies for the mistake.

Modern musical technology makes the world smaller.

Example: Seattle band Half Light are big fans of Australian art-rock band The Church. [Disclosure: I played bass with another incarnation of Half Light in 2004 and 2005 and am still friendly with the band.] Americans of a certain age probably remember The Church's 1987 hit "Under the Milky Way," but … Read more

Wii virtual console releases for this week

Two new virtual console games for download today representing both ends of time. A classic knight tale and a futuristic sports game make up this week's offering.

King's Knight (1986, NES, 500 Wii points): Battle your way through five stages of ruthless enemies as you try to free the princess from her capture. Powerball (1991, Sega Genesis, 800 Wii points): Control one of eight futuristic teams in Powerball. The game is more like a combination of rugby and football played on a normal 100-yard field.

Ron Paul supporters rebut charges of racism

I've written here about a couple of previous "money bombs" organized by independent Ron Paul supporters-- one commemorating Guy Fawkes Night (and, oddly, the movie V for Vendetta) and another celebrating the Boston Tea Party.

There's another one scheduled for today, but it has a purpose beyond mere money-raising. As Rep. Paul has been gaining ground in the polls and primaries, opponents have revived old charges of racism based on newsletters written in his name back in 1992. The statements in the newsletters were pretty bad, but Paul didn't write them and has apologized for … Read more