fallout

Since Wilson can't be here today (or tomorrow), we invite Dan Ackerman into the studios to give us his expert opinion on the new Apple laptops and the latest video games. Unfortunately, he ignores all of our pressing questions in lieu of his own shameless promotions. Dan is a man of many talents, and his many creative projects give us a glimpse into his kooky world. Listen in for hilarious banter from Mr. Ackerman and even a brief look into the sad state of existence that is affectionately dubbed the Ackergoad household!

What more can be said about a man who literally has his hand in everyone else's cookie jar? Dan Ackerman, Senior Editor for Laptops at CNET, simply can't be pinned down or pigeonholed into one creative arena. No way! Mixed media is his art of choice, and on today's episode he invades the waves with several of his own personal projects including a unique take on the classic podcast and even his DIY amalgam music group! We play a clip on second half of the show after a bit of technical troubles (typical) and I have to admit that although Jeff and I were poised and ready to give Dan hell, the music is great and we actually find ourselves grooving uncontrollably to the penny licks and rolling bass lines. Buy a copy here and prepare yourself for a night of aural love making. And if you can't get enough of Dan's awesome radio voice, be sure to catch his new CNET podcast Digital City, available every Monday on CNET.com.

Just another Friday here at CNET, which apparently means we talk about drugs and porn. Justin recounts his tales of chivalrous battle with house mice (TIP: He used peanut butter not cheese). Also, Playboy pulls out of the DVD business, changing the face of the adult film industry forever and those anti-drug ads don't actually work. Stick around for a special guest caller in the show's second half.

Dan the Mantern here. One of today's stories is about preparations for Halloween safety in Annapolis, Maryland, which apparently has an inordinate number of child molesters. In order to protect Trick or Treaters, signs were mailed out to the homes of sex offenders that say: "No candy at this house." They will be required to post it on their front doors. I understand the message being sent out here, but look at the sign. It's a Jack-0-Lantern... Kind of sending a mixed message here. Kids see carved pumpkin and think Halloween, costumes, and candy corn, not "KEEP OUT." Epic fail, Annapolis Police Department, epic fail.

Tune in on Monday to catch Internet celeb Dan Ackerman talking about his new album and how many hours he's already spent with an advanced copy FALLOUT 3!

Every year, E3 has one game on display that's almost universally tagged as the critical favorite, despite not having the big-name pedigree of a Halo or Grand Theft Auto. Last year, it was the underwater adventure BioShock, which -- thanks to a steady drumbeat of positive press coverage--went on to sell a few million copies and become a true sleeper hit.

This year, it's Fallout 3, a post-apocalyptic RPG set in the ruins of Washington DC. The original Fallout games were PC titles from the early '90s, so the franchise can't rely on the faded memories of … Read more

The E3 conference opened Monday in Los Angeles with a press conference from Microsoft. Here are some highlights.

Microsoft showed off first-ever game play footage from the post-apocalyptic title Fallout 3 and announced that there will be downloadable content exclusive to Xbox Live. We saw real-time action from Resident Evil 5, shipping on March 13. We got a peek at the new co-op feature in the game, where players will be able to team up and make their way through together. Developer Square Enix also made announcements that included the release of four titles for Xbox 360 including Final Fantasy XIII.

As for console exclusives, we saw in-game action from Fable 2, shipping in October. Players will be able to seamlessly invite other friends who are also playing the game. Finally, we were blown away by the impressive game demo of Gears of War 2 shipping November 7. The game actually looks better than the original and will feature a five-player online co-op mode.

Microsoft will be releasing a new dashboard interface this fall that incorporates an avatar system--the Xbox answer to Nintendo Mii characters. The new feature allows you to join up with other friends to form a "party," a group of up to eight people where you can share multimedia items or start a game. A new mode called Primetime will actually incorporate real-life TV shows like 1 vs. 100 and allow Xbox Live members to play and watch these game shows and possibly even win real prizes.

Microsoft also announced… Read more

This week brings us the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo--the video game trade show better known as E3. This is E3's 14th year, and my 10th time attending the show. But despite booming game sales and a firm foothold in the mainstream pop culture marketplace, the future of this gaming event is in jeopardy.

After years of big-budget extravagance for an audience of 60,000-plus visitors at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the game companies that form the backbone of the show felt their budgets were spiraling out of control, and even the large amount of media attention they got … Read more

CNET's Dan Ackerman drops by The 404 to give us some E3 2008 predictions and previews. We talk about the big three companies and what we can expect to hear from their respective news conferences at the big show. We'll also chat about Justin and Jeff's experience at the iPhone 3G launch this morning--it wasn't pretty.