room

How the Magic Trackpad could be more magical

Apple seems to be in the later phases of a touch revolution as of late--or, at least, it seems to be trying to complete the loop. In a movement started by the iPhone and continued in MacBook multitouch trackpads, the Apple Magic Trackpad extends multitouch to non-laptop Mac owners who might feel left out of the pinch-to-zoom/multi-finger swipe party.

Touch is hardly an Apple-only trend--in fact, many desktop Windows all-in-ones already incorporate touch-screen environments. Apple does, however, seem to be keen on possibly phasing out the mouse from its plans and working a common language of touch gestures across all Apple products. Could this portend iOS creeping its way into OSX? That's still unclear, but the Magic Trackpad does offer some possibilities all its own, whether or not iOS makes a Mac debut.

As a compact square slab, the Trackpad could ideally do things that a regular mouse just can't, including be a lap device for living-room use. While we found the Magic Trackpad to work well and do what it advertises, it really could go a lot more places in the future. Right now, the Magic Trackpad isn't really "magic." But it could be, in the future. Here's what we'd like next: … Read more

Gadgettes 184: The Operation Lindsey's Living Room Episode (podcast)

Lindsey returns to unveil the winner of Operation Lindsey's Living! To celebrate, we cover tech that might find a good home in that swank new space. Somehow, by the close of the show, we end up right back in the gutter again. Please help us.

And the winner of the Operation Lindsey’s Living Room contest is…. Scott Clay (Claymation)!!!! (see his submission email below)

Convertible Coffee Table Turns Into A Desk

Twilight ensures purified air with blooming and refreshed interiors

Siamun TV Stand aims to combine entertainment in your office setting

Will lindsey buy a Google TV?… Read more

Operation Lindsey's living room

Update: I've posted the below images and added some requested images to the below slideshow. Check the comments section for my answers to some of your questions.

Those of you who listened to last week's Gadgettes know the deal: Come up with an entertainment-system design for my living room that can accommodate a modern, flat-screen TV--one that Molly will deign to watch--and you could win the prize of the century: a custom Molly Nerd Voice ringtone.

Consider yourself a design geek? Look over the following drawings, photos, and guidelines. Whip up your suggestions, then send us your design … Read more

Xbox Game Room launches, but with issues

Microsoft launched its Game Room virtual arcade for Xbox 360 on Wednesday, but it seems like some of the machines still had quarters jammed in the coin slot.

Game Room, which was announced at January's Consumer Electronics Show, allows Xbox Live players to create their own virtual arcade of classic games. The service went live on Wednesday, though some of the games were not loading properly.

"Game Room is available for download, but there appears to be some problems with loading games," Microsoft's Larry Hryb (better known by his gamertag Major Nelson) said in a Twitter … Read more

Microsoft X10 conference wrap-up

After a four-year hiatus, Microsoft held its X10 conference this week in San Francisco primarily to announce a bunch of release dates for some notable 360-only games due out this year. The company also flexed its exclusivity muscles by showing off some content that'll only be available on Xbox 360.

We've got all the highlights from the event below, along with all of the show's debut trailers in the video playlist to the right.

Halo: Reach: No solid release date for the game, but Halo 3: ODST owners can get a taste of the title's multiplayer … Read more

Cheap and easy home theater soundproofing tips

I occasionally get e-mails asking about cheap and easy ways to soundproof a listening room. Readers want to minimize the amount of bass and sound leaking into neighboring apartments or rooms in a house from their home theater.

Bona-fide soundproofing is neither cheap or easy. Anything short of building a "floating" (isolated) recording studio type listening room won't totally soundproof a room. You see, a floating room's ceiling, walls, and floor are acoustically and structurally isolated from its surroundings. Prices vary, but plan on investing at least $10,000 for a professionally installed floating room. After the floating room construction techniques, you can attain more limited success with double sheetrock on the walls. That is, install new double sheetrock walls with an air gap between them and the original walls. Double sheetrock can make a big difference, but it's still far from a cheap or easy solution.

A friend put a layer of lead sheeting under his apartment's finished wood floors to reduce bass transmission to the floor below. It worked, but I'm not so sure about the health concerns from living around that much lead.

But I do have a few tips to reduce sound leakage from one room to another, or between floors of a house or apartment that won't break the bank.

Before we go any further, let's define our goals: sound isolation isn't the same thing as improving room acoustics (I'll cover that in another blog).

Sound is transmitted from one room to another either through structure borne vibrations (wall, ceiling, or floor movement), or through the air. Thick carpets or wall pads won't do much in the way of soundproofing, but they may improve sound quality in the room.… Read more

CES 2010: Gaming wrap-up

LAS VEGAS--A lot of the gaming news we anticipated last month came to fruition at this year's CES in Las Vegas. While we didn't get a definitive release date for Project Natal, Microsoft did announce the motion sensing technology would be available this holiday season. How much it will cost is still a mystery and there was no sign of Natal at Microsoft's CES booth.

However, we did get some information about Xbox Live Game Room, a new online application that will allow gamers to virtually experience all the goodness of a classic arcade. Free to try … Read more

Xbox Live Game Room brings back the classic 25-cent arcade

LAS VEGAS--While it was great to get some solid hands-on time playing PS3 in 3D, Microsoft debuted something for the Xbox 360 that we'll actually be able to play in late March; not to mention it's much more practical, too.

Xbox Live Game Room essentially allows you to create your own arcade, offering titles from many classic developers such as Atari, Intellivison, and Konami. When the service goes live in late March, 30 titles will be immediately available, with five to seven new games being released each week.

There's no dashboard update required for Game Room; you'… Read more

The 404 Podcast 494: Where you have to invert the image to see us nude

LAS VEGAS--Don't close the window yet; that show title is a joke. Don't worry, the video you're about to watch features three fully clothed nerds talking about the best of CES 2010 for The 404 Podcast's last show LIVE from the CNET stage here.

We've rounded up the funniest stories from this year's show for this wrap-up episode, starting with Jeff eating his hateful words about 3D PS3 and Xbox 360 Game Room. Turns out the gameplay in 3D actually impressed our former cynic, but we can all agree that those ridiculous 3D glasses are truly the only detractor from 3D games, and especially movies. After this story, we promise never to speak of 3D again...until 4D comes out.

Next, we have a lineup of stories that allow us to do what we do best: make fun of the more outrageous aspects of the show. For example, did anyone walk by the Samsung booth? Someone needs to notify these folks that we are, in fact, struggling to pull ourselves out of a recession--jeez is that booth consuming ridiculous amounts of energy. Other hilarious stories from CES 2010 include IoSafe's virtually indestructible hard-drive demolition, and a Taser demo that you have to see to believe.

We've also got a story about a controversial iPhone app that claims to see through clothing and we see if anyone can guess the most pirated e-book of 2009. Finally, be sure to check out our Best of CES 2010 nominees that represent the top products in nine categories as recommended by our techspert CNET editors.

If it's your first time listening to The 404, be sure to catch us our live show every morning at 11 a.m. EST on CNET Live. You can find all past episodes archived at The 404 Blog, and be sure to follow us on Twitter or add us on Facebook!

EPISODE 494 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Buzz Out Loud Podcast 1140: Live from CES 2010

Though the conference opens for the public today, this is our second live show from CES 2010. Leo Laporte joins us on stage to discuss the impressive penetration of 3D at this year's show, Skype on your television, and the soon-to-be growing catalog of Netflix streaming titles.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1140

HP: ‘Slate’ PC shown by Ballmer set for some time in 2010 http://www.betanews.com/article/HP-Slate-PC-shown-by-Ballmer-set-for-some-time-in-2010/1262879692 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8444672.stm

Microsoft promises Natal for 2010 … Read more