year

The 404 437: Where we vote ourselves Podcast of the Year

TGIF!TGIF!TGIF!TGIF!TGIF! Before you take off for the weekend, be sure to check out today's episode of The 404 Webcast, where we're reintroducing the Semi-weekly Beck's Beer Audio Draft! Today's featured artist is Family of the Year, an up-and-rocking folk(ish) band from Los Angeles. The sextet mix together Fleetwood Mac-style rock guitars with a tinge of country that make for a perfect end of summer soundtrack, and we're very psyched to help them promote their new EP release called "Where's the Sun."

The two tracks on today's show are titled "Let's Go Down" and "Psyche or Like Scope," both available as a streaming preview on their MySpace page.You can buy it on their Web site at a sliding scale, meaning you can throw down however much you want. Give $1, $5, whatever you can afford, but keep in mind that all the earnings will be put toward the expenses of their upcoming CMJ tour. You can also buy a signed postcard from the road with a personalized inscription from the members themselves! Give them a listen, buy the album, and check them out in a city near you. Who knows, they might even stop by The 404 studio the next time they're in town...*hint* *hint* *nudge* *nudge*

Plenty of stories to get to today as well, including a story about some fool trying to extort money from David Letterman for a little fling he had several years ago with his assistant. In our eyes, the king of late night can do no wrong. It's not like he's, oh I don't know, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES; can we all just let the guy live? Keep doing what you're doing, Dave, and if you want to come on The 404 for an exclusive interview, we'll be more than happy to oblige.

We also have a quick story about 3.4 million or so phallic pictures crashing AT&T's servers last week, but there are also a ton of movie-related news stories to get to, including a list of 8 movie franchises that must die, a "Kill Bill 3" in the works, a Spore adaptation, and ugh- a new "A-Team" movie. Can we run through all these stories in time and still not bust over the 45-minute mark? Check it out and find out!

Have a great weekend everyone!

EPISODE 437 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

2010 North American Car, Truck of the Year finalists leaked

And so again it comes down to 15 cars and 10 trucks, each vying for the title of 2010 North American Car/Truck of the Year. This year's lists have been leaked early, courtesy of a juror at The Car Connection. Check them out below:

2010 NA Car of the Year Finalists: • BMW 335d* • Buick LaCrosse • Cadillac CTS* • Chevrolet Camaro • Ford Fusion/Fusion Hybrid* • Ford Taurus* • Honda Insight* • Kia Soul • Mazda3/MazdaSpeed3 • Mercedes-Benz E-Class • Porsche Panamera • Subaru Legacy • Suzuki Kizashi • Toyota Prius* • Volkswagen Golf/GTI

2010 NA Truck of the Year Finalists: • Acura ZDX • Audi Q5 • Cadillac SRX • Chevrolet … Read more

Clip holder

ClipMate provides users with an opportunity to store and edit thousands of items from their clipboard. While the program is cluttered, its excellent performance makes this a great download.

The program's interface is initially confusing, thanks to the overwhelming number of small command icons spread throughout the screen. Fortunately, ClipMate provides tutorials and a Help file to teach users how to navigate through the various options. With a little trial and error, users of all skill levels will eventually be able to handle this program. We were pleased with how simple and accurately this program functioned. Whenever we chose … Read more

Precise timekeeper

Ever wonder how many seconds you've been alive? Or how many minutes until school starts next month? Date Time Counter is a simple program that calculates every conceivable time angle on an event, whether it is in the past or the future.

Despite its simplistic layout, this program's interface is a bit confusing at first because it lacks any user guidance. A blank grid sits under a row of command buttons. The icons include New, Save, Calculator, Modifier, and other commands. Users will want to start with the New button. A simple box pops up when a new … Read more

Put the squeeze on your New Year's resolution

Remember your New Year's Resolution? No? It's not surprising that you don't. It's not the type of thing you want to remember anyways. Well, today is your lucky day and I'm here to remind you what it was. It was to lose 10 pounds, right? Well, no wonder you let that one slip. Losing weight is no fun. Except if you do it right, there is no need to sacrifice flavor. Drinking juice is certainly a delicious and healthy way to help you to get back in shape in the coming months--if done in moderation.… Read more

Mitsubishi, Toyota, Honda compete for Green Car title

Mitsubishi, the car company that's more known for its tuner toys for boys than its low carbon footprint vehicles announced that its all-electric iMiev was selected as a finalist for the World Green Car competition, a category of the World Car of the Year awards. Other contenders include the Honda FCX Clarity and the Toyota IQ.

To be nominated for the title, the vehicle must use an advanced power plant technology that minimizes emissions, be in production or have at least 10 experimental prototypes close to production available for individual or media fleet testing, and be available in at … Read more

The 404 252: Where there's no place like home

Happy New Year! Today we sit with down with Caroline McCarthy and K-Flow from Heavy & Flow to talk about our winter break shenanigans. Justin Yu joins us over the phone from beautiful San Fransisco to remind us how clean the show was the week he wasn't around.

We want to thank all of our listeners for the tons of mail we received over the break, it really means a lot. Here's to making 2009 the year of The 404!

So sit back, relax, and enjoy our first episode back. There won't be a show tomorrow, but we'll be broadcasting live everyday from CES 2009 beginning this Wednesday at 8pm eastern.

EPISODE 252 Download today's podcast … Read more

The 404 New Year's Eve Show: Where we review a year's worth of bullsh*t

Our final mini-sode and the very last 404 before 2009! It's been a big year for The 404 even though it's been a really crappy year for everything else in the world. We talk about the origins of the show, the infamous BOL hijack, the addition of Justin Yu and of course, Dan the Mantern. We reminisce about all our fantastic guests and dry our eyes as we count down to the new year. Thanks to all our loyal fans! We couldn't do this without you! See you in 09...

The 404 New Year's Eve Show Download today's podcast … Read more

The Real Deal 141: Year in review

As the year wraps up, I decided to sit down at the mic and look over all the topics we covered in 2008. I'll review why they were important, and in a few cases update with new info. Listen now: Download today's podcast

Green tech year in preview

How bright is the future for green technologies in the coming year? On the whole, the picture appears positive but still susceptible to swings in energy prices and political sentiment.

With an incoming administration that intends to spearhead a comprehensive energy policy and reduce carbon emissions, many expect to have a favorable policy environment for clean-tech businesses.

Consumers and business, too, continue to gravitate to all things green even in the face of greenwashing.

Driven by these forces, many clean technologies are already starting to crack into the energy industry, which is dominated by huge corporations.

For example, solar technologies, … Read more