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5 tech products you can do without in a recession

You know it's going to be really bad when the man who first revealed that the world is flat, Thomas Friedman of The New York Times, says it's going to be really bad.

Here's how bad it is: Russians are drinking less vodka.

So, as you gird your loans and tighten your money belts, perhaps it's time to live a simpler life. One that revolves far less around luxurious and complex technologies.

Here are five tech products that you will surely be able to live without in this recession/depression/secession from Alaska.

1. Twitter. … Read more

The 404 233: Where all dogs go to jail

On today's show, dogs, dogs and more dogs! Why? We have no idea. We talk about Bentley the driving dog, an animal abuser who gets served with poetic justice and, of course, the release of cutesy dog movie BOLT. A cell phone saves one man's life, Second Lifers get physical and Canada's biggest losers win in court. Also, angsty teen vampire flick Twilight drops this weekend, get out your Clearisil...

Dan the Mantern here. My favorite story of today is about how Second Life users are getting it on. This article from the BBC describes in vivid detail how to set yourself up for some 3-D lovin. Kudos to the creative programmers who busted out the code that allows for some pretty graphic depictions of virtual anatomy, but, come on people, is this really the way we want future generations to remember how we harnessed technology? Well, at least you don't have to worry about birth control...

EPISODE 223 Download today's podcast … Read more

Google attempts to save marriages around the world

Sometimes even the best product creators have to accept that their inventions may have negative effects far beyond their entertainment value.

So, perhaps, deeply evangelical and conservative supporters everywhere will be raising hallelujahs aloft at the news that Google is closing down Lively, its virtual world experience.

Naturally the company has offered the usual public speaking about concentrating on other businesses and accepting that not every bet will work out.

However, there may be a deeper and more moral core to this decision.

Surely no one has been left unmoved by the Second Life divorce scandal.

Here we had a … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 857: Dumber than a robot donkey

In today's show, we find out that the demise of humanity is imminent (or that all of our robot mythology is fundamentally rooted in self-hatred), the RIM BlackBerry Storm takes the world by drizzle, and Microsoft hopes that actually giving you songs will convince you to buy a Zune. Oh, and we don't care about Yahoo Glue. In case you were wondering.

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 857

RIM BlackBerry Storm arrives http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/rim-blackberry-storm-verizon/4505-6452_7-33311850.html

Meet the first multitouch consumer laptop: HP’s TouchSmart tx2 http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10102285-1.html… Read more

Google shutting down virtual world 'Lively'

Once thought to be its answer to virtual worlds like Second Life, Google's Lively launched this summer to much fanfare.

Lively was Web-based and allowed anyone to set up virtual spaces, such as rooms, that could be embedded onto blogs or Facebook pages.

But the project never picked up much steam.

Now, Google has decided to shut the project down.

"Despite all the virtual high fives and creative rooms everyone has enjoyed in the last four and a half months, we've decided to shut Lively down at the end of the year," Google said on its … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 854: Death to the Moon

We thought about calling this podcast graves in space, or delicious Yak, or Jason makes the earth move. But soup_n_salad in the chat room nailed it. A new company wants to send 5,000 capsules full of cremated remains to the moon for burial. Natali and Jason think this is littering, essentially. I think they gotta go somewhere and the Moon has space. We also talk about the new Asus phone, Flash on Windows mobile, and more. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 854

Obama can’t use his BlackBerry http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/us/politics/16blackberry.html… Read more

Linden Lab CEO: No credit crunch in 'Second Life'

q&a Mark Kingdon became Linden Lab CEO in May, when founder Philip Rosedale stepped aside to take a more active role in developing Second Life.

The hype surrounding virtual worlds a year ago appears to have died down in recent months, but when Silicon.com caught up with him, Kingdon was keen to point out that there's still life in Second Life.

Q: What's happened to the hype? Kingdon: It would be a huge mistake to assume hype and success are interchangeable. Hype is born from anticipation, intrigue, and excitement, and as such, it naturally settles … Read more

Metaplace secures funding for its virtual world

Metaplace, a company that plans on letting users build a virtual world and use social networking conventions to allow groups to enjoy them, announced today that it raised $6.7 million of funding in a round that was led by Charles River Ventures and Crescendo Ventures, as well as independent investors, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.

Somewhat similar to Second Life, Metaplace creates an online virtual world for people across the globe to interact with. But unlike Second Life and There.com, Metaplace uses an open platform to allow users to create, build, and live in their own unique virtual … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 832: Kauai: one big digital converter box

In today's episode, Patrick Norton joins the gang for a rant-a-thon, IMDB turns 18, we're surprisingly not mad about the Android killswitch, Radiohead proves it made a winner with its digital album giveaway, and YouTube gives the Queen the giggles. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 832

IMDB turns 18 http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10067397-52.html

Android Market has a killswitch, but Google will refund your money if they use it http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/10/16/android-market-has-a.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10067543-16.html

HTC Dream T-Mobile G1 (black) http://reviews.cnet.com/htc-dream-t-mobile-g1/

FCC … Read more

Multiverse touts extensible virtual-world effort

The Multiverse Network, a developer of virtual world platform software, announced Wednesday that it was unveiling what it calls Places, two related social elements that tie Multiverse users together.

Essentially connective tissue for users of the Multiverse platform, Places has two separate components.

The first is a social networks application that automatically connects people using Multiverse virtual worlds together with others who are also friends in social networks like Facebook.

The second part of Places is a new virtual world centered around a digital representation of Manhattan's Times Square. Now anyone who installs Multiverse's World Browser--the basic Multiverse … Read more