Drafting

Lots of smart people are concerned about how quickly technology is changing virtually everything it touches in the world, but count Google's Eric Schmidt among the optimists.

Schmidt would agree that technological change has happened so fast over the past few decades that it's almost impossible to appreciate the long-term effects of that change, he told attendees at The Atlantic's First Draft of History Conference Friday in Washington, D.C. But he said he feels that while it's true that such change can be used against the world, it's important to remember that the combination … Read more

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!

Following the finalization of the Wireless-N (802.11n) standard, the Wi-Fi Alliance, a nonprofit group that tests and certifies wireless products to ensure they interoperate, launched on Tuesday its new test program that supports the final specs of the standard.

This certification is still necessary because, according to Kelly Davis-Felner, marketing director of the Wi-Fi Alliance, the final specs include a lot of options and items that vendors could interpret differently, which could lead to products that don't work with each other. "Our certification program ensures that the product conforms with the final standard and interoperates with others.&… Read more

If your wireless router doesn't have the muscle to reach all corners of the house, or you need a faster connection for copying files and streaming videos, it might be time to consider an upgrade.

Newegg has refurbished Netgear WNR2000 802.11n Draft 2.0 routers for $19.99 (shipping will run you a mere $1.99).

In case you're unfamiliar with it, the "new" Wi-Fi protocol (which seems forever destined to be known as Draft-N) delivers better range and faster throughput speeds than 802.11g.

The WNR2000 is backward compatible with older Wi-Fi hardware and … Read more

It's Wilson's turn again to choose The 404 semi-weekly audio draft sponsored by Beck's Beer in conjunction with Last.FM, a subsidiary of CBS Interactive and CNET News and Reviews 5000, so naturally we're a little skeptical (but not nearly as skeptical as we are about the moon landing), but Mr. Tang comes through again with the beautiful music of Priscilla Ahn, a young singer-songwriter with a light, ethereal voice that drifts through the layered atmosphere of her acoustic folk melodies.

Like many of the artists featured on our Draft Pick, Ms. Ahn also brings several instrumental talents to her songs, incorporating her harmonica and even a kazoo on top of the gentle plucks of an acoustic guitar.

Today's featured song, "Dream," was recently featured in an episode of "Grey's Anatomy," and with good reason: the layered harmonies make the perfect soundtrack to quiet, rolling landscapes...also, I think it's pretty cool that's she's on Blue Note Records, the jazz label responsible for putting out albums by John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and Miles Davis.

She put out her first record last year called "A Good Day," and is currently touring Japan and Korea before heading back to Los Angeles on August 1 to play at the Troubadour. Give her a listen and let us know if you're in love with her as much as I am!

As usual, this episode is also jam-packed with current newz, including MCA's YouTube announcement (get better soon!), Facebook self-love (not like that, dummy), and another Facebook story about the most EPIC PARTY EVER!

One final note: does anyone have the original text/code for our Wikipedia page? I know it's been awhile, but somebody must have it, right? Our intentions are secret for now, but we definitely have a stew a-brewin', so hit us up at the404(at)cnet(dot)com if you have a copy of it!

We have an especially fun episode for y'all today, with a comparison between Transformers 2 and GI Joe, a brief rundown of old video game movies, the decade's biggest tech flops, and OF COURSE: The 404 Semi-Weekly Audio Draft Sponsored by Beck's Beer in conjunction with Last.FM, a subsidiary of CBS Interactive and CNET News and Reviews 5000!

Man, the preshow this morning got HEATED! In a joking way, of course. You really have to be there for Friday morning preshows in the live chatroom. The buzz this morning was about Jeff seeing "Bruno," and actually LIKING IT! This is, of course, in contrast to Wilson totally despising the flick, blaming the overuse of phallic objects used only to make the audience feel uncomfortable. If you saw that movie and have an opinion, leave a comment on here and help us settle this argument!

That conversation in the preshow leads us to talk about the latest from AintitCool News, who claim that "GI Joe" is a better movie than "Transformers 2"! This is actually pretty surprising to us because we saw the trailer for "GI Joe," and it seriously looked awful, although it'd be hard to make a worse movie than "Transformers 2." I guess it's a "lesser of two evils" sort of thing. Early reviews coming in claim that the "GI Joe" movie should be taken with a large grain of salt, since the tone is similar to that of the original "Street Fighter" movie.

After talking about video game movies for awhile, we finally get to our favorite segment, the OFFICIAL 404 Semi-Weekly Audio Draft Sponsored by Beck's Beer in conjunction with Last.FM, a subsidiary of CBS Interactive and CNET News and Reviews 5000! Today's pick is Mayer Hawthorne, a 29-year-old music junkie from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who makes retro-sounding soul music in the vein of such artists as Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hudson, and Barry White. His music tips its hat to the old Motown days between 1966 and 1974, when scratchy instruments and smooth falsettos dominated the waves. Hawthorne definitely draws inspiration from those artists, but also layers his own style into the mix with breakbeat production and a gallery of horn instruments that every generation can get into. He's currently on the popular hip-hop label Stones Throw and has a few singles out, but his new album, "A Strange Arrangement," is due out in the fall. For now, check out his page and today's track, "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out," and let us know what you think!

Note: If this post sounds familiar, that's because it's a "rerun"--but with a lower price than when it first appeared a couple months ago.

I have an 802.11n router in my house, but not all my PCs and laptops have 802.11n adapters. Most of them run 802.11g, which drags down the overall performance of the network (it's a lowest-common-denominator kind of thing).

Cheap fix: Newegg has the Netgear RangeMax Wireless-N USB 2.0 Adapter WN111 for $9.99 shipped. It's a refurb, but, hey, something like this either works or … Read more

We always try our best to keep a positive mental attitude on The 404, so it makes sense that we've chosen The Hold Steady's latest album, "Stay Positive," as today's Audio Draft Pick. We also run through the accidental video game archive, shame the Guinness World Records, and warn our listeners about open manholes, literally.

Today's "Best Web site you've never seen" award goes to Derek Yu's Accidental Video Game Porn Archive that showcases sexual innuendos found in your favorite video games. It's an easy way to waste a few hours at work. They're all hilarious, but this Menage a Kong has got to be one of my favorites, with this Star Fox violation in a close second. I also like that Derek and I share the same last name--this Web site is totally something a Yu would do. Nice job, cuz!

We don't wag our fingers as much, but we have to scold the Guinness World Records for this record-breaking fail. One of the entries on its Web site awards the "Most Individuals Killed in a Terrorist Act" to the terrorists behind the attack on the World Trade Center towers and even invites viewers to "break this record."

Instead of immediately taking down the award, Guinness World Records compounded the fail by threatening legal action on the ICanHaz network for posting a screengrab that features the Guinness World Record logo without proper authorization. If that isn't a case of corporate cowardly B.S., I don't know what is. Daps to Fail Blog for their hilarious response complete with a Rick Roll at the end!

Jeff's pick for today's "Audio Draft," sponsored by Beck's Beer in conjunction with Last.FM, is Brooklyn local band The Hold Steady. In our own words, these guys sound like the aural lovechild of Bruce Springsteen, Social Distortion, Joe Strummer, and Billy Joel. The music combines various instruments (banjos, organ, piano, theremin) to produce a jamming rock theme, and then adds gruff vocals with epic storytelling lyrics to complete the circle.

The band's latest album, "Stay Positive," keeps the party going with a steady balance of hilarious stories from the road ("Sequestered in Memphis") and heartbreaking admissions of love lost, but not forgotten ("Lord, I'm Discouraged"). Check out the entire discography and let us know what you think in the comments!

(Last.fm is a part of CBS Interactive, which also publishes CNET News and Reviews.)

CNET official Audiophiliac Steve Guttenberg guest hosts today's ball-busting show. Steve brings his usual brand of random topics to the table today that include the most bizarre festival you'll never want to visit and the world's largest ketchup bottle. We also introduce another awesome band in our Becks/Last.FM semiweekly audio draft!

Today's show is very important, for three reasons. First, we're stoked to welcome Audiophiliac Steve Guttenberg who brings his expertise to answer all your high-end audio questions on the second half of the show, but not before introducing us to the most horrid festival that you'll never, ever want to visit. Let's just say that the subject matter of this food fair leaves room for plenty of punny jokes to be made, and we take that opportunity every chance we get (see:show title)--too funny!

Second, it's also a very important day because it's the first time we actually get a few bottles of Beck's Beer into the studio to sip on during the show! Don't worry though, we take things in moderation here at The 404 (yeah...), but no amount of self-control can prevent Wilson and me from getting the classic Asian glow.

Finally, all of us are caught offguard when Wilson Tang, infamous for literally feeling indifferent about any music made after 1791, makes an executive decision and chooses Grizzly Bear for today's Semi-Weekly Audio Draft Pick, sponsored by Beck's Beer in conjunction with Last.FM.

Grizzly Bear is a four-piece band out of Brooklyn here in New York that has been slowly gaining popularity for its dusty mix of folk piano and a mix of other instruments including whistles and an intermittent banjo. After releasing several albums in the past few years, Grizzly Bear just released a new one called "Veckatimest," which includes today's song, "Two Weeks." The album retains Grizzly Bear's unique low-fi sound--mixing airy vocals with refreshingly creative arrangements that are rare to find in today's soundstage. We hope you'll enjoy Grizzly Bear as much as we do!

(Last.fm is a part of CBS Interactive, which also publishes CNET News and Reviews.)

One more thing: We'd like to congratulate newlyweds Elizabeth and Ian for getting hitched recently. They're both avid 404 listeners and while we doubt that Elizabeth walked down the aisle to our theme music, we're swooning with you and wish you guys the best of love.