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The 404 Podcast 478: Where The 404 hoverboard works on water (Prize Giveaway!)

There's so much to do on today's episode of The 404 Podcast that I'm surprised we were able to fit it all into half an hour--we've got 404 listener Leopold's take on our theme song, Back to the Future/The 404 mash up fan art, and a prize giveaway courtesy of Otterbox!

Before we get into all of that, we have to make fun of the new Karate Kid movie coming out next year starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. Slashfilm just released four official photos from the next film in the franchise, and already we're seeing glaringly obvious cultural mix-ups. For instance, one of the training scenes features the young Karate Kid practicing on the Great Wall of China. Karate = Japanese, Great Wall = Chinese. Come on!

And speaking of mistakes, the third installment of "Jackass: The Movie" will premiere in 3-D. Don't get us wrong- The 404 is no stranger to the Jackass movies, but a 3-D view of Chris Pontius' Speedo we do not need!

A big thanks goes out to 404 listener and music student Leopold, who sent in an amazing new theme song for The 404--we'll definitely put it into the song rotation, great work, Leopold! Jim, another talented 404 listener, also deserves our appreciation for the Back To The Future hoverboard mash-up you see up there! Judging by the DeLorean in the background, Jim is obviously a big BTTF fan and so are we, so check out the slideshow for more pictures of The 404 hoverboard, and don't worry--it's got POWER.

Finally, the good folks at OtterBox hooked it up with 10 of their Defender and Commuter cases, so if you have an iPhone and need a case, leave a comment on this blog and tell us why you deserve to win!

Here's what you need to do:

Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join CNET" link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, there's no need to register again. Leave a comment below. You can leave whatever comment you want. If it's funny or insightful it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated. Leave only one comment. You may enter this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified. The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive (1) Otter Box case for the iPhone 3G/S. Retail value is ~$50. If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Entries can be submitted until Friday, December 4, at 12 p.m. EST. Full rules after the jump. EPISODE 478 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Groom updates Twitter, Facebook at the altar

You know that apocalypse thing we're always being told might be just around the corner? Well, do you feel the chilling breeze? Do you feel the troubled twittering in the trees?

For here is a tale that I know you will discuss with your loved ones, perhaps with other people's loved ones, even with your psychological professional, the minute you hear it.

It appears a man called Dana Hanna is standing at the altar on November 21. He utters those most solemn vows about how he will love and obey or whatever it is that married people claim … Read more

Yahoo brings Facebook Connect into its sites

Yahoo is bringing Facebook into just about all of its Web sites, allowing users to update their Facebook status and share news items with friends right from the Yahoo page.

The company announced the integration of Facebook Connect across several key Yahoo Web sites including Mail, News, Sports, and Finance. The idea is to drive even more readers to Yahoo's network of sites--the second largest in the U.S.--by making it easier for them to share things they like with their Facebook friends, some of whom may not have seen the Yahoo item otherwise.

Yahoo already offers … Read more

Mark Zuckerberg's grand missive: The translation

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg put out an "open letter" to the site's massive membership on Tuesday, explaining the site's revised privacy controls that are finally going into effect after being announced this summer, and additionally announcing the milestone that the site has reached 350 million active users around the world.

But CEOs are notoriously deft with spin, and Zuckerberg is a clever fellow. So, luckily, CNET has translated his entire letter for you! In italics are Zuckerberg's words. Below are the ones we found to be an appropriate substitution after extensive research, experimentation, and a … Read more

At last, Google has some parasites

Some, perhaps including Rupert Murdoch, might find this story uplifting.

While there has been much recent bellowing, whining, and general cat-on-heat griping about Google making money from the fine work of others, now I can report that some are finding ways to make money piggybacking on the broad spine of Google's engineering.

Two enterprising entities, different in their form but united in their purpose, have attempted to use Google's Street View as a medium for their own commercial messages.

First, there was car rental company AutoShare, the Canadian equivalent Zipcar in the U.S. You know, the folks … Read more

Twitter needs a pretty face to beat Facebook

Twitter and Facebook are duking it out to own the future of the social Web, though users won't have noticed. Indeed, for those who use both, this may come as a surprise, since the two, while both social media platforms, seem to serve very different purposes.

Tell that to Twitter and Facebook, which increasingly have painted big bull's-eyes on each other.

They probably should spend more time painting their home pages. While the two Silicon Valley companies have opted to skirmish in the hinterlands of APIs and data feeds, the war will almost certainly be won somewhere else: … Read more

IKEA's brilliant Facebook campaign

The Swedish town of Malmo is a wonderful place.

Some feel it is wonderful because it is the spiritual home of a band that was once cool, the Cardigans.

But now all committed social networkers will think Malmo is wonderful because of its IKEA. You see, the Swedish purveyor of fast-food furniture decided to open a new store in Malmo and didn't really have a lot of money to let people know about it.

So it engaged a rather outre advertising agency called Forsman and Bodenfors to create a rather special launch campaign.

The agency created a Facebook profile … Read more

Facebook changes stock structure: IPO on the way?

Facebook is changing the structure of its company stock to a dual-class system, a move that hints the company may be looking toward an initial public offering--even though it says it has no plans to do so yet.

Here's how it works. Existing Facebook shareholders currently have Class A stock. That'll be converted to Class B stock, which has 10 times the voting power of Class A. Should those shareholders sell their stock when Facebook goes public, they'll be converted back into Class A stock--otherwise, they'll stay the way they are.

The story was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, … Read more

Start-up Asana promises workplace nirvana

After contributing to the destruction of productivity at work by helping Facebook through its early days, Dustin Moskovitz and Justin Rosenstein are launching a new service aimed to make people and businesses productive once again. The company, Asana, announced details today on its funding. However, details on the service itself are still vague.

Here's what we know: The company just raised a $9 million venture round lead by Benchmark Capital with additional funding from Andreessen Horowitz. Marc Andreessen is an advisor and will not be on the board. Benchmark's Matt Cohler, formerly at Facebook himself, will be.

The … Read more