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Update at 2:10 p.m. PDT: This story has been modified to reflect both Jon Landau and James Cameron's membership on the advisory board of virtual world platform developer Multiverse.

Since the release of his massive hit "Avatar," director James Cameron has gotten plenty of deserved attention for his filmmaking innovations, having invented a camera system that captured live footage of his actors and integrated it immediately into fleshed-out scenes from his fictional world of Pandora.

But movies may not be the only medium Cameron's innovation is pushing toward the future. In fact, the technology … Read more

If there's one lingering sensation after this year's CES, it's that already big and high-resolution TVs are trying very hard to get even more realistic and compelling to consumers. As proven by movies like "Avatar," 3D can be about more than things flying out of the screen at you like that old Joe Flaherty sketch from SCTV. 3D can be about immersion, and one of the true hoped-for killer apps in 3D TV is sports programming. I'll be the first to admit that I'd be excited about a 3D broadcast of a Jets game; in fact, 3D could help gain perspective on camera angles, and help with sports like baseball in helping keep track of field distances and fly balls. Plus, of course, it would look cool.

Would 3D or any other future form of TV ever replace the experience of being at the game itself, though?

I ask because I am a New York Jets season-ticket holder. My father, Michael Stein--otherwise known as "Jetmike"--has had season tickets for 44 years. He's been at Shea and Giants Stadium and even the Polo Grounds since the Jets were the Titans, and has only missed games to go to medical school in Italy (where, sadly, he missed the 1969 Jets Super Bowl). He also is a huge home theater buff; he owns a Pioneer Kuro TV and has 7.1 surround in his living room media center. I asked him whether there was anything that could lure him to give up being at the game and stay home instead.

He had no hesitation in his answer. "I go for the camaraderie," he said. "At the game, 80,000 people become one."

I can attest to that, as we both braved 19-degree weather for the final Jets game at Giants Stadium on January 3 for a remarkable night football experience. But our viewing angle, despite having good mezzanine seats, is far from ideal. A TV broadcast can zoom in and show slow-motion replays. Being at the game can show the whole field, but TV already has an advantage in quality.… Read more

In typical 404 fashion, this morning's show started later than usual, mostly because we couldn't shut up about all the things that made the 1990s one of the best decades ever.

Some of the conversation leaks into the beginning of the episode, including a chat about the evolution of video games since the '90s. It's hard to imagine a time before you needed a toy chest to hold all the plastic instruments you need play a simple game!

You can get your 404 fix every day of the week (thanks to Nick for the image above!), but the most random stories always end up on Friday. Today is no different, with Wilson's first story about mysterious cookies that offer "natural supplemental endowment." Called the F Cup Cookie, the treat is quickly gaining popularity in Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore, because of their promise to increase bust size in three weeks or less! Rest assured, we've already ordered three boxes to test the claims ourselves.

Should the film industry provide heart health warnings prior to showing movies with heavy 3D imagery? It might be worth the discussion, especially after a 42-year-old Taiwanese man died after watching "Avatar" in 3D.

The man started to feel uneasy during the screening of "Avatar" in 3D and was quickly taken to a hospital where a scan showed a brain hemorrhage. Sadly, the man died 11 days later. Doctors reported that "the over-excitement from watching the movie triggered his symptoms," a claim that opens up our conversation about possible preshow warnings.

We've spent all week stuffing your SASEs full of 404 stickers, and if you already got yours in the mail it's YOUR turn to do some work for US! Take a picture of where you stuck your 404 sticker(s) and tattoo(s) and send it to us at the404(at)cnet(dot)com. If you do, there's a good chance we'll show it on the air! Take a cue from Cheryl, the Official 404 Grandmother who sent us a picture of her grandson fully covered in them! Nice work, Cheryl!

Thanks to a new technology that allowed people to drive a rover across the world of Pandora from the smash hit film "Avatar," we might soon see a wide range of games or other projects that use the exact same 3D models as the films they're based on.

In December, McDonald's launched a game called PandoraRovr, in which anyone could explore James Cameron's fantastical moon. While an otherwise normal Flash-based promotion put together on behalf of one of the film's corporate partners, what made the game unusual is that the imagery in it was … Read more

The 404 Podcast Tip of the Day: it's an unspoken rule that every nerd has to include a multitool of some kind in his or her EDC arsenal. My most recent addition is the Leatherman Skeletool CX, a 7-in-1 with carbon inserts to lower the weight. I also own the comprehensive Leatherman Wave for heavier jobs, and Wilson's choice is the blade-less version because he likes to travel with it on his person. It doesn't matter which one you choose, but it's always good to be prepared!

The first story of the day is one that Jeff holds very close to his heart: ESPN might finally come to Xbox 360. According to the latest rumor in The New York Times, ESPN could partner with high-speed ISPs to offer streaming sporting events right on the gaming console. You can already stream Netflix movies and purchase videos within the interface, but sports content might make the perfect complement to their 3D sports channel supposedly happening within the next year.

After a very short run in theaters, China has stopped screening "Avatar" due to concerns over its financial success and fear that the underlying themes of revolution might plant inappropriate thoughts in the minds of its citizens. Having already scored $73.2 million in China, Fox has already confirmed its cancellation-- the movie is already replaced with a Chinese movie about the life of Confucius.

Quick side note: we initially threw this story in the rundown hoping Wilson could provide valuable insight based on his six-month sojourn in China, but his post-dentistry medication keeps him from really opening up on the subject. Unfortunate timing or blessing in disguise? We'll let you decide.

In addition to a big Calls From the Public and a few hilarious reader e-mails, we check out the new "MacGruber" movie trailer and also discuss the the most successful "SNL" movies, like "Superstar" and "The Blues Brothers." Of course, no 404 episode would be complete without us ripping on something, so we also talk about the biggest "SNL"-adapted movie flops.

Just can't get enough of The 404? Have you heard all the back episodes? If not, be sure to check out The 404 Wikia for an extremely detailed episode guide with links to every show we've ever recorded, guest breakdowns, top content, editable entries, etc...enjoy and thanks to everyone who maintains our page!

I'd like to give a tiny Golden Globe to all the fine people who put together these incredibly detailed Avatar Lego dioramas. That's my kind of 3D.

Many of these are repurposed from older Lego sets, such as Halo and (gasp!) "Toy Story," which in a way is an apt metaphor for Avatar itself, no? Either way, another win for the hobbyists! (More photos after the jump.)

… Read more

We're surprised that Wilson is still standing after going under the knife yesterday to get his wisdom teeth pulled. Luckily, Wilson explains that his disturbingly small mouth, combined with the supreme skills of his dentist, led to a speedy recovery--less than 24 hours after the surgery, we've got our Wilson back! And besides, all of his wisdom is localized to his hair.

Speaking of folks left half-standing from the three-day weekend, my sincerest apologies for my raspy voice on today's episode; we celebrated my birthday on Sunday by laying waste to the hits of Madonna, Weezer, Third Eye Blind, Four Non Blondes, and many more songs (sans Lady Gaga - BOO) at Maru Karaoke Bar in NYC. After a weekend of partying it up for 26 years ill-spent, it sounds like I'm in worse condition than my post-op co-host.

Wilson's happy pills come in handy when he tells Jeff and I about how the U.S. stacks up against the rest of the world in average broadband speed trends over the past few years. We're down in 18th place compared with the rest of the world; we're behind Japan, Hong Kong, Romania, and Sweden, with many countries reporting 50Mbps! What's our excuse? Listen in for the full story.

We also have news on ATM skimmers, like the one in "Terminator 2," making a serious comeback in the new millennium and an absurd story from CNN about folks reporting "Avatar" withdrawal. It sounds like a story you'd find on the Onion News Network, but the phenomenon is very real, and very pathetic. We can make a convincing argument that these individuals reporting depression after seeing "Avatar" were actually disturbed prior to watching the film, but we'll withhold our clinical diagnoses and just say that these people are straight up crazy.

I haven't been to see "Avatar" because I have feared it would make me depressed. I have feared I would be depressed that so much money had been spent on a movie which, like "Titanic," made me manicure the fingernails of my right hand using the fingernails of my left.

It appears, however, that I am not alone in experiencing "Avatar"-related dysthymia. According to the erudite CNN discussion I have embedded, thousands of people have been flooding "Avatar" chat sites and saying that the movie did, indeed, depress them. But their reasons are somewhat different than mine.

They seem to feel miserable that the idyllic world of Pandora is nothing more than a box of 3D tricks. They want it to exist. They are sad that it doesn't.

CNN quoted one depressed post-"Avatar" poster who wrote: "It was like my whole life, everything I've done and worked for, lost its meaning." On the Facebook Avatar-Forums group, a wall poster called Paul Neumann wrote: "ALL I SAID WAS " I DON'T WANT TO BE ON EARTH AND HUMAN ANYMORE, I JUST WANT TO BE ON PANDORA WITH THE NA'VI!"!"

Jo Piazza, a CNN entertainment writer declared: "I think the depression is widespread enough that it is an actual phenomenon."… Read more

For an entertainment property to hit $1 billion in sales is a very rare feat. For two separate properties to pass the 10-figure mark at the same time may well be a first.

On Wednesday, Activision Blizzard announced that its mega-hit video game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, had crossed the billion-dollar mark, after just two months on store shelves--and the entertainment industry's single-day sales record. That milestone came shortly after it was announced that James Cameron's uber-blockbuster movie, "Avatar," had also reached that financial promised land.

To be sure, these are just round numbers, and don't have any formal meaning, but there's no arguing with the fact that it sure sounds good for the entertainment business to be sporting two separate billion-dollar titles at the same time, especially since they come from such different corners of the world.

In the history of video games, a billion-dollar hit is an extreme rarity. It's hard to tell precisely how many there have been, but it's possible that number is as small as two.… Read more