ie8 fix

convertibles

The 404 362: Where the 404 goes CNET LIVE

We're proud to announce the debut of CNET LIVE, the new portal for all live shows, including The 404, on CNET. Don't worry, the transition won't be as difficult as DTV. We'll give you detailed instructions on how to tell all your friends about the show! Listen in for all the juicy details on our weekend staycation and why Wilson should never consume liquor again.

So now that the weekend is over, we can talk about our top secret trip...to Atlantic City! It's always good to get away for a little bit, even if it's just for a day, so we packed up our bags and took off to AC for a little gambling and good times. What was supposed to be a relaxing trip turned out to be 24 hours of "The Hangover"-esque partying. We all indulged in our own vices: Jeff hit the blackjack tables like a white bat out of hell, Justin explored the dark crevices of AC's back alleys, and Wilson Tang ate chicken. That's right, you read it correctly: Wilson Tang finally broke his "vegetarianism" and is now an official chicken chaser. Unfortunately, his bout with poultry at Friday's dinner left him with a mad stomach ache and he party pooped his way out of the trip. What a shrew!

Click here for a full set of pictures from The 404's trip to Atlantic City.

Lots of stories to talk about today, namely two big news items from over the weekend: the DTV official transition and the mad rush for Facebook Vanity URLs. Actually, the long-awaited DTV transition went off without a hitch, which makes sense, because it's been in the works forever now, although we're pretty sure someone in Florida tried to eat her converter box. Facebook Vanity also had little to no effect on real life, although there did seem to be a slight flux in traffic on Thursday night as people rushed to reserve their own Facebook URLs. In the spirit of American sportsmanship, some of the landgrabs were a little disingenuous; for example, check out the profile for our own Molly Wood. In fact, my own name got snaked by another Justin Yu, so feel free to add him and let him know how much you love The 404. In the meantime, check out the Facebook profiles for the Real Justin Yu, Wilson Tang, and Jeff Bakalar.

EPISODE 362 Download today's podcast Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS VideoRead more

Photo organizer

Arclab Thumb Studio provides users with an advanced program for sorting, resizing, and viewing their computer's digital photo collection. With smooth direction and well-planned design this will help a lot of people get organized.

This program's professional interface was a big plus for us. Users are shown a wizard-like tool featuring screens containing various project options, all in a smooth, easy-to-use flow. The screens are so simple to navigate that most users will not need to look at the User's Manual PDF that comes with the program. Actually designing a photo album, slideshow, or batch processing job … Read more

Simple commands

ImageBadger Image Converter provides users a way to change large groups of pictures with a few simple mouse clicks. With a simple interface and fast results, we were highly impressed by this program.

The program has an interface that looks very much like a child's game. With bright colors and a cartoon badger guiding users through the process, this program is also as simple to learn as a child's game. With a generous box for thumbnails of photos you have chosen and another large area for all the filters being applied, users should have no trouble understanding the … Read more

Problematic PDF converter

Converting PDFs to Word documents is a crucial part of many businesses. Anyone who needs this process done quickly, efficiently and accurately should avoid Quick PDF to Word, as this program has crippling faults.

This program presents itself well. We were impressed with its interface and felt it was laid out perfectly for the job. The program provides a simple box for selecting the PDF that users wish to have converted. There is another box that allows users to direct where that new Word doc will be stored. In addition, there is an Options menu that allows for a minimum … Read more

Defective PDF converter

Converting Word documents to PDFs was once a daunting task that has recently become easy thanks to conversion software. However, Quick Word to PDF is not one of those programs, thanks to its defective operation.

The program's interface looks promising, with a simple screen, professional layout with well-drawn green command icons at the top, and a simple white action screen with large blue buttons to browse files for conversion. The program's trial is supposed to allow up to 15 conversions, but we were not able to select a single file to convert. We were given an error message … Read more

120: A ride in Lexus' HS 250h 'economy luxury' car

A ride in Lexus first "luxury economy car," GPS maps that don't look like maps, you won't believe what Audi has in mind for the R8, and GM gets bundled up for a swift reorganization to the tune of $30 billion!

Listen now: Download today's podcast SHOW NOTES

Lexus HS 250h first impressions

TeleAtlas starts offering photorealistic GPS nav imagery

VW dealers will sell Garmin GPS nav devices

Audi R8 convertible, EV on the way?

Tesla does a recall, makes housecalls

Very little clean-up

Though they required minor editing, this file converter quickly and easily converted our PDFs to Word, Excel, and other file formats. We were, however, disappointed by its double-whammy of a trial limitation.

Able2Extract PDF Converter has a sleek and professional-looking user interface. Intuitive commands and navigational buttons reside at the top of the window. Novice users will especially appreciate the tips and the step-by-step guide it employs to walk you through the conversion process. The process was extremely easy and fast. Once we located our PDF, it was simply a matter of selecting the text we wanted to convert, and … Read more

Tight trial, imperfect conversion

We appreciated this program's wizard-like approach to converting PDFs to Word and Excel files. Though it ultimately converted several PDFs to Word, Excel, Image, and PostScript files, we did hit a few bumps along the way.

Docsmartz PDF Converter Pro has a very easy-to-use interface. Simply browse for the PDF (or multiple PDFs), select the destination folder, and click on the file format command button. The program comes with several conversion modes that allow you to convert the PDF as is, text only, and images only. Similar programs give you the ability to select specific text, but unfortunately, Docsmartz … Read more

Rumor: Audi to debut electric, convertible R8s

Audi loves its R8 variants. So far, we've seen V-8 and V-10 gasoline engines and V-12 TDI concept. Now, if rumors are to be believed, Audi is poised to introduce two more variants of the R8 supercar at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt: a convertible and a zero-emissions electric version.

The convertible has been spied testing by German publication Auto Motor und Sport, so it is all but guaranteed to be unveiled sometime in the near future. However, the electric version is something of a dark horse, subject to speculation. No one knows if it will be full … Read more

Lots of cleanup

This program will convert PDFs to a wide variety of file formats, but we found it lacking some conveniences found in similar programs. We also had to spend a considerable amount of time reformatting and editing the converted text.

ABC Amber PDF Converter has a crowded user interface. The process of converting the PDF was a little confusing because the commands seemed to be out of order. But once we found our bearings, we were able to open our PDF. Unlike similar PDF conversion programs, ABC does not include the ability to select specific text. Instead, you can only select … Read more