Geek culture

Siri leaks your pet name to contacts, PootieBear

Siri is the hottest date in town right now. A guy on YouTube has already proposed to her in song (she turned him down).

When you're in love, you tend to confess a lot of personal details like what guilty-pleasure pop music you listen to and what your secret pet names are.

Siri won't shun you for downloading Justin Bieber's latest album. She'll even call you any nickname you want. Like "Bieber Lover," for example.

That's all fine and dandy until every person you share your contact information with also finds out that your nickname is "Bieber Lover."… Read more

Your baby's face: The final frontier

Any parent can use the old "here comes the airplane into the hangar" ruse to get a kid to eat, but why not go one better with "here comes the Enterprise into a wormhole"?

I don't have any kids this young anymore, but ThinkGeek is really making my ovaries tingle with the Star Trek Enterprise Light-Up Feeding System. The bib has motion-activated LEDs on what looks to be a scene from "The Trouble With Tribbles." It doesn't specifically say so, but that looks like Space Station K-7 to me. The spoon is a replica of the old-school Enterprise ("NCC 1701. No bloody A, B, C, or D.") complete with flashing LEDs on the warp nacelles.

The $24.99 bib and spoon set is aimed for ages 12 months and older (insert your own hacky "still living with parents" joke here), and comes with three dishwasher-safe spoon attachments. You supply your own dramatic music. … Read more

The 404 928: Where Jill feeds us an ice cream sandwich (podcast)

CBS MoneyWatch's Jill Schlesinger helps us understand why Wall Street is disappointed with Apple's fourth-quarter results despite year-over-year growth across its iPhone, iPad, and Mac properties.

We return the favor by telling Jill why she should care about Google's Android Ice Cream Sandwich updates, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and why babies under 2 years old shouldn't live in front of digital screens.

Also, stay tuned after the break for news about Sony PlayStation Vita launch delays, and Jeff chimes in with a surprising pitch for the future of portable gaming. Heads up, Sony and Nintendo!… Read more

The 404 927: Where a funny thing happened on the way to work today (podcast)

It's easy to get lost in all the new Android and Windows Phone handsets coming out soon, but CNET's Kent German, Bonnie Cha, and Nicole Lee have us covered. Today Verizon and Motorola announced their latest Droid Razr, a modern incarnation of the original Razr design with a non-bulletproof Kevlar backing and an ultraslim profile.

We also have a leaked shot of the Google Nexus Prime, a first take of the HTC Titan, and a Microsoft patent that encourages you to access touch screens through your pants. Too easy! This and more irreverent stories on today's episode of The 404 Podcast.… Read more

Sassy Siri even performs musical duets

Everyone's talking to the iPhone 4S' personal assistant Siri and posting their favorite exchanges. From witty banter to borderline insults, Siri has us fascinated.

Musician Jonathan Mann, for example, managed to sing a hilarious duet with Siri, which is posted below. Mann uses some of the most popular questions people have been asking Siri, like "will you marry me?" and "what is the meaning of life?"

You'll have to watch the video to see Siri's snarky answers. … Read more

Batman: Arkham City turns Hollywood into Gotham

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--To celebrate today's release of the eagerly awaited Batman: Arkham City, Rocksteady Studios and Warner Brothers Interactive last night transformed the GameStop store on the outer fringes of Hollywood into a mini Gotham City where bleary eyed fans could snag a late-night copy of the PS3 and Xbox 360 title.

About 200 fans of varying ages (some in event-appropriate costumed attire) waited patiently outside the store until the doors opened and the store welcomed them into a mock-up of the game's seedy urban world. Those in attendance had a chance to meet game writer Paul Dini, and they could win prizes (such as two life-size Batman statues on display). … Read more

Mask of you the creepiest Halloween costume yet

Forget shot-in-the-head Osama bin Laden or this really weird clown. The creepiest costume out there this Halloween hits closer to home--it's you.

Japan's Real-f can make you a mask of yourself that's so realistic it's more unsettling than a trip through the Uncanny Valley--it's like buying a condo there. They're called "The Realface" mask and Real-f creates them using a technology it calls Three-Dimension Photo Form, or 3DPF.

The basic concept behind 3DPF is to take a photo and physical impressions of the face and combine all that shape and coloring data into a detailed 3D model.… Read more

Super Mario theme levels up 8-bit wedding

Geek love manifests itself in many ways. You can have a computer conduct the ceremony or beam a bridesmaid in on an iPad. Or you can choose a romantic Super Mario Brothers theme for your special day.

Mario's dedicated quest to find his princess has emerged as a metaphor for real-life nerd love before. We know of at least one guy who proposed to his lady through Super Mario.

More recently, designer and artist Larry Quach was pressed into service for his friends' video game-inspired wedding. Bride Esther Tanouye specifically wanted to kick it old school with an 8-bit Super Mario theme. … Read more

Meet the new Tetris world champs

Make sure you watch where you point your bricks, because there are some new Tetris sheriffs in town.

The annual Tetris World Championships, held on the University of Southern California campus over the weekend, crowned several new kings of the classic puzzler. Hundreds of players competed on Sony's PlayStation 3 and the classic Nintendo NES console for an official Tetris trophy and more than $5,000 in cash and prizes.

The matches were decided by whoever faltered first by accumulating a game-ending tower of bricks; the tournament bracket had several interesting stipulations to make the epic brick battle more adventurous. … Read more

The 404 926: Where Siri ratted us out (podcast)

We didn't think it would take this long, but somebody finally exploited the iPhone 4S to catch a cheater using the new Find My Friend app on iOS 5.

The scary part of this story, though, is how easy it is to use GPS to lurk on your S.O. using Google Latitude or any one of these mobile spy apps.

In that same vein, today we're chatting about our favorite tech pranks along with the latest news headlines that include BlackBerry freebies, iPhone record breaking, cell phone bill shock, and a fishy story out of Sesame Street.