talks

Cheeky talking urinal cakes join drunk-driving battle

Michigan State Police have deputized a new sort of law enforcement officer in the fight against drunk driving. Talking urinal cakes are now in residence in bars and restaurants around the state.

The cakes have a motion-activated audio track where a lady tells the restroom user, "Hey! Listen up. That's right. I'm talking to you. Had a few drinks? Maybe a few too many. Then do yourself and everyone else a favor. Call a sober friend or a cab. Oh, and don't forget. Wash your hands."

"Not only do we want to turn some heads and get people talking, we hope everyone takes the message to heart," said Michael L. Prince, director of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, in a statement about the project.… Read more

Privately converse with your Instagram friends with InstaTalks

It's no secret that Instagram is a fantastic photo-sharing app. One thing it doesn't do, however, is let you converse privately with user Instagram users. If you have friends on Instagram you'd like trade comments with that won't be seen by the rest of the Instagram community, give iPhone app InstaTalks a whirl.

Best apps for streaming video on Android

When the smartphone craze first started, the thought of being able to stream a movie or TV show while commuting into work or waiting at the airport was simply a dream. Screens were small, coverage was spotty, and it was hard to find shows you actually wanted to see. Fast forward to today, and streaming content on the go is genuinely good.

We rounded up seven apps that provide a great streaming experience on your Android device, whether you're sitting on the couch with solid Wi-Fi or out and about with a 3G or 4G connection. Here they are. … Read more

Another U.K. ISP shuts out Pirate Bay

TalkTalk closed off access to file-sharing Web site The Pirate Bay yesterday, after being told to do so by a High Court in April.

"TalkTalk can confirm that it is blocking access to The Pirate Bay (TPB) following a court order to do so," the company said in a statement today.

The move makes TalkTalk the penultimate company from April's court order to block the file-sharing Web site. BT will be the last company to put the block in place, expected imminently. Sky, Everything Everywhere, O2, Be Broadband and Virgin Media have already put blocks in place … Read more

National Geographic Talk Abroad Lite review: At least it's cheap

I don't mean to be a hater, but if the National Geographic Talk Abroad Lite weren't attached to the Talk Abroad international cell phone SIM card, I'd have to wind caution tape all around my review.

So why wouldn't you run from this handset, given my less-than-glowing recommendation? Its two saving graces are the travel plan that gives you a U.S. and U.K. number, so friends and family can always reach you while abroad, and the fact that for an unlocked phone, its $59.99 price tag is extremely affordable.

Let's face it, … Read more

Girl engrossed in cell phone falls into sinkhole

The lady who fell into Lake Michigan while texting pales into deep insignificance in comparison to this.

Mr. Bean is but a mere construct of fiction when compared to this.

For here we have a Chinese girl, deeply committed to her cell phone conversation, when suddenly she disappears without even, it appears, a scream.

Yes, push didn't even need to come to shove here. One minute she was chatting away merrily. The next, she was headed toward Atlantis.

Of course, we wouldn't be smiling at her expense if she had been seriously hurt. The Telegraph reports that, after … Read more

Add push-to-talk to your Android with Voxer

Phone calls can turn into long, drawn-out conversations once you land on a tangent or 10. This is why a lot of people use texting as their primary way of communicating when they just want to share a quick thought or piece of info. Unfortunately, a lot of emotion can get lost on a text message. The person on the other end might take something seriously that was supposed to be a joke.

Voxer is a great app for people who prefer sending a quick voice message over a text. The app is available for Android and iPhone, and can … Read more

This realistic Digital Talking Parrot will say whatever you tell it to

AVSOFT's Digital Talking Parrot is strictly for fun. This free screensaver simulates a talking parrot, but like the real thing, Digital Talking Parrot can learn, remember, and repeat what you teach it. You can edit its vocabulary or record words using your system microphone. The program can run as a screensaver or standalone app.

Digital Talking Parrot installs conventionally, though the installer did offer several extras, including one tool we had to deliberately decline to keep from being installed. Unlike some screensavers, Digital Talking Parrot also has its own Start Menu folder, complete with dedicated uninstaller. The program's … Read more

The 404 1,022: Where we get all of our news on the toilet (podcast)

It's always fun to have a first timer on the show with us, and today we welcome Chenda Ngak, CBSNews.com technology and lifestyle blogger. She's a big videogamer and proud geek, so she's the perfect guest to help us talk about the recent backlash against "fake" geek girls.

Speaking of girls, we don't have them on the show very often so it's great to finally get a female perspective on the Reply Girls phenomenon.

If you haven't heard about them before, Reply Girls are a group of a dozen women dressed in low cut tops that post video replies to trending YouTube videos, exploiting their sexuality to earn money via YouTube's revenue-sharing program. While certainly a symbiotic relationship between Reply Girl and the weirdos clicking on them, we'll discuss the real victims in the scam and how YouTube is putting an end to it.… Read more

U.K. ISPs lose appeal, must pay legal fees of file-sharing suspects

Under the United Kingdom's new Digital Economy Act, Internet service providers must pitch in on the legal costs incurred by people suspected of illegally sharing files on their network, an appeals court has ruled.

According to the Guardian, a U.K. court today ruled against an appeal brought by ISPs TalkTalk and BT. The companies, as well as their competitors, now must pay 25 percent of all "qualifying" costs related to establishing and operating an appeals body for alleged file sharers. Ofcom, a U.K.-based communications regulator, will pay the remaining 75 percent of the costs.… Read more