conan o'brien

It was a fantasy trip on Buzz Out Loud today, wherein fairy dust and unicorns are the new power generators of the future (Bloom Box), Mothra wants to eat your children ("looming spectrum crisis"), and we've got to save the beer-foam-measurement blogs (Web archiving policies in the UK). We've got a way with dry news. --Molly

Top Stories

Secret Microsoft legal compliance doc leaked, site taken down offNet http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2010/02/secret-microsoft-doc-leaks-dmca-notice-fails-to-contain-it.ars http://www.geekosystem.com/cryptome-leaks-microsofts-online-surveillance-guide-ms-demands-takedown/ … Read more

The 404 is complete once again, forming flying Vs and throwing knuckle pucks that would make Gordon Bombay proud. The first story to mention is the return of The Red Kid (not that one, Jeff), but this time to Twitter! It's about time, Conan, but you know you're a little late to the Twitter game when you get beaten by His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself. It's good to have Conan back, and he might even be coming to a city near you!

The former king of late night recently finalized plans to perform a live show in select cities that will employ ex-"Tonight Show" employees and bring back classic characters from the talk show. It's good to have you back, Mr. O'Brien--we knew you couldn't stay away for too long!

Next, Jeff tells us a truly terrifying story about things that go bump in the night....keep your mind out of the gutter while you listen, but it's about his fiancee's troubled-sleep woes. The scary part is she's not the only one in the studio with serious slumbering issues! Wrap yourself in a Snuggie, climb into a Tauntaun, and prepare yourself for a collection of night terror stories that will have you reaching for the phone, and who you gonna call? THE SLEEP DOCTOR MICHAEL BREUS! Look for another appearance from The Sultan of Sleep on a future episode of The 404, 'cause this is getting out of hand.

If you're just tuning in, we should warn you that the next story should not be heard during a meal or while in a state of anger, because you might do something crazy like send your nemesis a pile of poop. Poopsenders.com lets you send your friend/enemy/frenemy a steaming pile of cow, elephant, or gorilla dung, and you can even choose the amount! Can you hear the excitement in my written voice right now? With an ace of spades prank like this up our sleeves, we dare BOL to call us out again! Just kidding guys...;)

In typical 404 fashion, this morning's show started later than usual, mostly because we couldn't shut up about all the things that made the 1990s one of the best decades ever.

Some of the conversation leaks into the beginning of the episode, including a chat about the evolution of video games since the '90s. It's hard to imagine a time before you needed a toy chest to hold all the plastic instruments you need play a simple game!

You can get your 404 fix every day of the week (thanks to Nick for the image above!), but the most random stories always end up on Friday. Today is no different, with Wilson's first story about mysterious cookies that offer "natural supplemental endowment." Called the F Cup Cookie, the treat is quickly gaining popularity in Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore, because of their promise to increase bust size in three weeks or less! Rest assured, we've already ordered three boxes to test the claims ourselves.

Should the film industry provide heart health warnings prior to showing movies with heavy 3D imagery? It might be worth the discussion, especially after a 42-year-old Taiwanese man died after watching "Avatar" in 3D.

The man started to feel uneasy during the screening of "Avatar" in 3D and was quickly taken to a hospital where a scan showed a brain hemorrhage. Sadly, the man died 11 days later. Doctors reported that "the over-excitement from watching the movie triggered his symptoms," a claim that opens up our conversation about possible preshow warnings.

We've spent all week stuffing your SASEs full of 404 stickers, and if you already got yours in the mail it's YOUR turn to do some work for US! Take a picture of where you stuck your 404 sticker(s) and tattoo(s) and send it to us at the404(at)cnet(dot)com. If you do, there's a good chance we'll show it on the air! Take a cue from Cheryl, the Official 404 Grandmother who sent us a picture of her grandson fully covered in them! Nice work, Cheryl!

Jill Schlesinger joins the show today after a few months with her presence. A lot has changed since then, we got stickers, the U.S. Senate has 59 Democrats, and now ABC is doing promos for CNET.com. (The 404 Podcast and CNET are owned by CBS.)

Yep, you read that right. On the ABC show "Modern Family", Phil and Clair Dunphy argue about a new universal remote control, and in the course of talking about being a male cheerleader, Phil mentions that CNET gave the remote a smokin' hot "three and a half mice." Unfortunately, we switched from numbers to stars rather than mice. Jeff and Jill think it's the new "Arrested Development" on Fox plus "The Office" on NBC.

Speaking of NBC, Jill weighs in on the whole Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien debacle. She wishes she could get paid 40 million dollars not to work, but we're glad to see Conan sticking up for his staff.

Finally, Jill offers some good financial advice this year. It's tax season, and she recommends that you readjust your tax withholding because you're essentially giving the government an interest-free loan for a whole year. Otherwise, whip out a 1040EZ, a glass of scotch and just do your taxes. It ain't that hard.

… Read more

This is the finest NBC sit com since "The Office."

The spittle being tossed by Conan O'Brien toward NBC executives who have removed his show from its time slot and Jay Leno, who is re-taking it over, is both tautly orchestrated and touchingly sincere.

Last week, O'Brien offered to sell the "Tonight Show" on Craigslist.

Now, in what appears will be his final week as host of the NBC show, he is using the "Tonight Show" Web site to link to show memorabilia he claims to want to sell on eBay.

O'… Read more

In case you didn't catch the preshow, today's show title is in honor of Jeff and Wilson both visiting the doctor...here's hoping they're at the same time. Before we get to the show, be sure to head out for your free tacos from Taco Bell, then come back for another hilarious Friday episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast.

We've always been valiant supporters of Conan O'Brien, so it's very disappointing to see that NBC is supposedly giving Leno the 11:30 p.m. spot and pushing The Tonight Show back to 12:05 a.m. Jeff and Wilson definitely feel more vehemently about the decision than I do, but I'm starting to see Jay in a similarly desperate light--whatever happened to bowing out with respect? We're hoping this was actually posted by Conan, but someone put The Tonight Show on Craigslist. Listed as "barely-used" and up for sale to the highest bidder, the ad spells out a hilariously specific requirement: the buyer must honor the scheduled Barry Manilow booking for next Thursday.

With all the tablet rumors surrounding the next Apple Event on January 26, it's refreshing to hear that the next iPhone might feature a touch-sensitive back. According to Goldman Sachs analyst Robert Chen, the fourth-gen iPhone might come with a case similar to the Apple Magic Mouse that you can pinch, pull, and tap. A "touch-sensitive back," you say? The jokes almost write themselves....but you better believe we still go there.

We also spend some time in the second half of the show on the earthquake disaster in Haiti. Much thanks and support to the soldier who called in with a voice mail about the effort! We're urging everyone to do their part and text HAITI to 90999 to give $10 to the Red Cross. Also, please help us spread the word that American Airlines is taking volunteer doctors and nurses to Haiti for free, just call 212-697-9767 for more details. Red Cross also needs more Creole-speaking volunteers for their 24-hour phone bank, so get in touch with them if you can.

Have a great weekend everyone!

America has been gripped this week by the battle between two men, each with one portion of his head oversized: Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno.

The baiting and the bile have spilled over into the online world. The "I'm with Coco" Facebook group already has more than 157,000 fans and a lovely icon of O'Brien with which people are adorning their personal, but highly public, profiles.

Friday, I awoke to a Leno fightback. The Huffington Post reports that NBC executive Dick Ebersol described O'Brien as "an astounding failure." He also said … Read more

New Jersey passed a bill last week legalizing medicinal marijuana, so we begin today's episode of The 404 Podcast with a quick discussion about the taxation, decriminalization, and dispersion of medicinal marijuana.

Entrepreneur John Lee hopes all the legal attention will give way to e-commerce in the form of B2B exchanges for "licensed providers of medicinal marijuana and their patients." Lee hopes that the system and his Web site, PlainView.com, will encourage distributors to keep their systems organized with pertinent information on records, invoices, sales reports, and tax paperwork.

We also spend good chunk of time dissecting all the drama surrounding Conan O'Brien and "The Tonight Show" being bumped back to 12:05 a.m. to accommodate Jay Leno's earlier time slot. Conan released a statement last night setting the record straight with an outright refusal to switch times, arguing that a 12:05 a.m. start time is ridiculous for "The Tonight Show."

Among other things, Conan emphasizes that nothing is more important to him than putting on the best nightly show possible, and we're in full support--as soldiers in Conan's army, The 404 is ready to stand tall and follow O'Brien to the ends of the Earth, although we're secretly hoping for a network switch to CBS.

Many more stories from around the Internet, including one about snowed-in Brits boosting Web traffic to a social network built for infidelity and the latest development for Punxsutawney Phil.

Stick around for the full episode, and don't forget to send your self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) to the N.Y. CNET office, addressed to The 404 - STICKERS), to get your hands on your free handful of 404 stickers and temporary tattoos!

"How do I calculate the size of meatballs?" That was the title of one of the seminal Intel science projects that late-night comedian Conan O'Brien covered in a segment last night on NBC's "The Tonight Show."

O'Brien was at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, billed as the world's largest pre-college science fair. Intel is one of the sponsors of the "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien," which launched recently with the retirement (from that show) of Jay Leno.

"Even though Intel is one of the world'… Read more