barack

The 404 started a bit late today, in honor of our new president's inauguration. It's just Justin and I today, as Wilson took the day off to fantasize about Barack Obama. Don't worry kiddies, Wilson will return tomorrow (or so he says). Plenty to discuss on this historic day, so we'll give you our take on the inauguration and what we thought of Obama's speech.

Justin and I then dive into today's stories, which include iPods held for ransom, Keanu Reeves and the Cowboy Bebop movie, Google Drive, and Taco Bell weddings. Don't … Read more

Updated at 6:41 a.m. PST on Wednesday to update statistics from CNN and Akamai.

From what early numbers are indicating, the historic swearing-in of President Barack Obama was not the biggest traffic day for the Internet. But for many social networks and digital-media sites, Inauguration Day shattered traffic and usage records regardless.

Here are the ones we've heard from so far. We'll be updating this list as we hear more:

Akamai. The content delivery network has some numbers out that indicate traffic on the Web peaked right before noon Eastern time, with about 5.4 million … Read more

Granted, Steuben Glass' stunningly beautiful Presidential Commemorative Plate 2009 will be cherished for generations, but is it really worth $7,500?

Thing is, it's offered in a numbered, limited edition of 44. The 16-inch commemorative plate was created by the Steuben Design Team to mark the inauguration of America's 44th President. But other than its symbolic importance, wouldn't that money be put to better use buying American-made hi-fis? Seven thousand five hundred dollars for a hunk of glass might seem like an outrageous extravagance, but I have no doubt all 44 plates will sell out before long.… Read more

President-elect Barack Obama is sure to face his share of hurdles over the course of his presidency. But when it comes to one of them--the possibility that he might have to give up his beloved BlackBerry--he is waxing optimistic that he will overcome.

In an interview with CNN on Friday, Obama expressed confidence that he would be able to keep his smartphone, despite well-publicized concerns over the possibility of eavesdropping by hackers and other digital snoops. While Research In Motion offers encryption, the U.S. government has stricter requirements for communications security.

As my colleague Declan McCullagh reported, some handheld devices, such as General Dynamics' Sectera Edge, have been officially blessed as secure enough to handle even classified documents, e-mail, and Web browsing.

But Obama seems determined to hang on to his device of choice. … Read more

Just as President-elect Barack Obama has been busy assembling his Cabinet, the Presidential Inaugural Committee has been busy selecting providers of tech services for this week's inaugural festivities.

The PIC has already made arrangements with YouTube, Twitter, and Flickr. The latest appointee? Microsoft's Silverlight Media Player, which has been tapped to enable live and on-demand video streaming of Tuesday's ceremony on the PIC Web site.

The PIC will also stream video of a Baltimore event on the Whistle Stop Tour that will take the President-elect and Vice President-elect Joe Biden to Washington, D.C., from Philadelphia.

This … Read more

Major props to Capt. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 for ditching the plane in the Hudson River after a double-engine failure and flying over the George Washington Bridge. Jeff Bakalar remains frightened for his life by flying.

In addition, the Watchmen movie debacle is settled between Warner Bros. and Fox, giving Justin Yu an early birthday present. Speaking of which, Wilson Tang will be joining the soon-to-be 25-year-old Mr. Yu for an Asian karaoke lovefest. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Rickrolls the Interwebs about a year and a half way too late, but … Read more

After Barack Obama is sworn in next week, he'll be able to enjoy one of the lesser-known benefits of the presidency: phone calls that always go through.

That means no more "all circuits are busy" messages. And no waiting for calls to be completed as millions of people crowd into Washington during the inauguration and jam overburdened cell phone towers, despite what have been practically heroic efforts on the part of carriers to add capacity.

It may sound a bit like a storyline from the West Wing, but there actually is a branch of the government called … Read more

Barack Obama's campaign proved itself quite worthy of the Digital Era, what with launching Facebook Connect integration, dominating Twitter, and buying an ad in an Xbox 360 racing game, among other tech-savvy milestones.

So it seems fitting that the president-elect should be the first U.S. commander in chief to have his official presidential portrait snapped with a digital camera, according to the transition Web site change.gov. (It seems a little hard to believe this hasn't happened sooner, but we're sure the new administration wouldn't risk credibility over camera models.) The shot was taken by … Read more

The 404 is happy to welcome the host of the On The DL Podcast, Dan Levy, to today's show. We spend the first half complaining about our deadbeat friends and the strains of running a wildly successful show, then move onto a few stories about Hitler youth, Spider-Man's special guest, the First Family's privacy, and the FCC's overreaction to Darren Aronofsky at this year's Golden Globes.

It's not every day that we welcome a fellow podcaster to guest-host the show, but we're more than happy to share the mic with Dan Levy, the … Read more