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YouTube has plans to acquire Next New Networks, a Web video production company known for producing video hits online, according to a report in The New York Times.

The Times says the deal is not finalized and the companies are still in talks. Next New Networks is the home of such Web video franchises as "Obama Girl" and the people who brought us the clip "The Bed Intruder Song."

The Times reported that Google is most interested in Next New Networks' video-production abilities. The two most popular YouTube videos the past year came from Next New … Read more

Does gaming, some wonder, turn teens into psychopaths? Or are all teens, perhaps, just a little bit, you know, someplace else?

During my regular reading of the journal Pediatrics, I happened to come across a study that sought to begin to answer some of these torrid questions.

Researchers at Yale decided that it was about time someone tried to establish concrete data around the notion that gaming affects (or doesn't) the growing mind in a stunting kind of way.

So they anonymously surveyed more than 4,000 teens and asked them about their gaming habits and other aspects of … Read more

Remember the adorable little Murata Girl, aka Seiko-chan? The unicycle-riding robot out of Japan has gotten an upgrade. Now, in addition to riding forward and backward at 2 inches per second and idling in place, she can ride a curved balance beam less than an inch wide--without falling off.

Robot circus, here she comes.

In all fairness, Seiko-chan was previously able to navigate a straight balance beam, but being able to ride an S-shaped beam clearly ups her value as a performer.

Seiko-chan stands about 19 inches tall, weighs about 13 pounds, and can be controlled via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. … Read more

If you haven't yet seen the video of a girl in a red hoodie throwing live puppies into a river, you haven't missed much. Just arrant cruelty delivered with a youthful smile and the question: "Can they swim?"

However, just as with the English lady who threw a cat into a bin for 15 hours, the Web has been like a detective show in constant motion, ruthlessly seeking out the perpetrator in preparation for a conviction.

On Tuesday, members of 4Chan and, it seemed, anyone else with a large conscience and a small amount to do … Read more

In a preliminary study a few years back, researchers found that an educational, online comic strip geared toward 8- to 10-year-old black girls helped them eat better and exercise more. But there were only 80 girls, and they all self-reported, and it's unclear whether the fact that they were paid skewed the results.

Now, the program's creators are set to really put the comic strips to the test when they launch a larger study, with 400 volunteers and their parents, to test the Web-based program. Called the "Food, Fun, and Fitness Internet Program for Girls," the … Read more

We've been accused (and mostly guilty) of saying a lot of heinous things on The 404, but we refuse to just rest on our laurels and accept these recent allegations of AGEISM. The accusation actually comes at a good time for the show, since the majority of the episodes this week have dealt with censorship, video game ratings, parental responsibility, and childhood development--why not throw ageism into the mix?

We intercepted a Call-From-The-Public from a 50-year-old man who jokingly accused us of being ageist, and we're not! The fact that Wilson appears to be 48 but is actually only 25 should be enough, right? I guess it doesn't help that the first story of the day is about Martin Cooper, the inventor of the cell phone, who thinks that modern handsets are just "too complicated."

Cooper is a former Motorola engineer who's credited with inventing the handheld cellphone back in 1973. He isn't too happy about the current state of mobile handsets and actually imagines a future with "a number of specialist devices that focus on one thing that will improve our lives." Um, Mr. Cooper--we understand that it's been awhile since you were in the mix, but certain things have come to light...maybe we should start here.

After giving a brief rundown of each of our cell phone histories, we segue into the latest iPhone app to hit the streets, and big surprise, it's based on the wildly popular Girls Gone Wild series.

The GGW iPhone game is basically just a photo library of the starlets you see on the GGW TV show, but the game is a "test of resistance." In other words, the app asks you random trivia questions while attempting to distract you with 80 pictures of beautiful women in "warm weather clothing." Since this is the iPhone App Store, don't download the game expecting to see nudity, although it has been given a 17+ rating for suggestive themes.

Plenty more stories to get to, including a very awkward voice mail in Calls From the Public, and more details about Tony Hawk's appearance Monday, November 16. Have a great Wednesday, everyone!

Did director David Fincher end up finding a pair of 6-foot-5-inch identical twins to play ConnectU founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss in "The Social Network," his upcoming movie about the contested origins of Facebook? It appears the answer is no.

According to blog The Playlist, which picked up on filmmaker Richard Kelly's Twitter account, a single actor has been cast: 23-year-old Armie Hammer, best known for the role of moneyed sleazebag Gabriel on teen drama "Gossip Girl." A thread on screenwriter Aaron Sorkin's Facebook page reveals that additional young actors cast include Max Minghella, … Read more

Get ready to have your faces melted, because Brutal Legend finally comes out today for XBox 360 and the PS3. To quote Jeff, the game is a "metal fan's absolute fantasy come true." It stars Jack Black as the voice of Eddie Riggs, a roadie for a metal band that must fight off metal-infused demons to save the world. Unfortunately, Jeff has some criticism about the game that might influence your buying decision.

Speaking of video games, though, it just so happens that Uncharted 2 also comes out today exclusive to Playstation 3, although it's already garnering excellent reviews from critics, including our own Dan Ackerman. The game is essentially the male-centric version of Tomb Raider, a take on the Indiana Jones adventure-style franchise. The antihero of the story, Nathan Drake, acts as a treasure hunter and art thief for hire, and it's up to you to navigate him across the world as he battles through firefights and explores virtually limitless environments that add to the overall realism of the game. Can't decide between Brutal Legend and Uncharted 2? Jeff's got your answer on today's show!

Big congratulations goes out to Natali Del Conte for making onto Manolith's list of the 12 hottest geeky girls in tech! NDC joins the ranks of other Internet hotties like Jade Raymond, Jessica Chobot, Morgan Webb, and more, so be sure to take a peek at the list and let us know who YOU think is missing! Don't even think about nominating Wilson...he's booked solid for the next decade.

Finally, it's my turn to choose the Beck's Beer Semi-Weekly Audio Draft Pick! Today's band is Raisinhill, a couple of talented chums hailing from Redding, Conn., who play a modernized version of up-tempo jazz/rock fusion. The trio are all classically trained and use their wide range of talents to create their dancey jams.

We understand that today's generation probably isn't running to record stores to pick up jazz CDs, so we're hoping you'll keep an open mind with Raisinhill and appreciate their instrumental talents. Besides, any band endorsed by Mr. Belding, Ron Jeremy, and Napoleon Dynamite HAS to be pretty good. The songs of the day are called "Nameless" and "The Ridge." You can listen to both songs on their MySpace page. If you like what you hear, you can buy their self-titled album as well. Enjoy!

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Update (June 26, 2009): Now that the dust has settled, Jim Dalrymple has a more complete picture of how and why this app was removed.

Update: We initially reported that Apple had blocked the app, but it now appears that the developer's servers were simply overwhelmed (Apple's servers distribute the app, but the images themselves are pulled from the developer's server). We'll have further updates as the story continues to evolve.

Back when Apple first launched its App Store, Steve Jobs showed a slide with six categories of apps that would be verboten: "Porn, privacy, … Read more