michael

If you're burning to spend this Valentine's Day, Pizza Hut has a $10,000 engagement party package that includes a personal fireworks display, a one-topping pizza, and bread sticks with icing to prep your stomach for a lifetime of loneliness. … Read more

The surge in mobile software and other apps has also led to a surge in jobs, almost half a million just in the U.S., estimates a study out today from CEO network TechNet.

Dubbed the "app economy," the million or so apps created just for iOS and Android devices represent jobs for programmers, designers, marketers, managers, support staff, and other professionals, according to TechNet's report "Where the Jobs Are: The App Economy."

But how just many jobs? Analysis conducted for TechNet by Michael Mandel, president of South Mountain Economics and former chief economist for … Read more

McDonald's posted impressive quarterly earnings two days ago, but a scoop from the UK Sun newspaper today exposes the astonishing truth behind McDonald's Chicken McNuggets: you shouldn't eat them everyday for 15 years straight.

The show title today is ripped from a quote from the mother of 17-year-old UK factory worker Stacey Irvine, who's eaten nothing but McDonald's Chicken McNuggets since she was 2 years old. Shockingly, doctors maintain that her diet may have been a factor in her sudden anemia and swollen tongue veins that caused her to collapse yesterday.

Speaking of things getting ripped off, we'll also talk about the Australian Transport Minister that just got caught copying Michael Douglas' speech from the movie "The American President," and the NFL installing computers on the sidelines of the Pro Bowl for players to tweet fans during the game!… Read more

It's Tuesday again, and this time we are prepared.

On today's show, code in iBooks 2 points to possible Retina Display iPad; Casio does something other than make keyboards; our favorite people on Earth, analysts, comment on the upcoming year for Netflix; and we have a couple guesses about who Anonymous will attack next.

Also next week, or maybe the week after, is Humiliation Day. You know what's different about this Humiliation Day? For once, Karyne isn't the big loser. If you have any Humiliation Day ideas for Emily, or if you have any ideas about … Read more

Launched on August 1, 1981, with the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star," MTV had a huge impact on 1980s pop culture.

Before MTV arrived, music programming was mostly limited to bands playing a song or two on the late-night talk shows or "Saturday Night Live." Amazingly enough, most big cities' cable providers weren't on board for the MTV launch; NYC and LA didn't offer the network until 1982. MTV's "I want my MTV!" ad campaigns helped rectify the situation, but MTV's initial rise was painfully slow. The network went … Read more

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

If that line, from "The Princess Bride," seems familiar, you're not alone. You may even have tweeted it at some point. After all, every day, as many as a dozen people do just that.

And every time someone does, somewhere on the Internet, a Web robot sees it and fires back its own line from the movie.

This is Emeraq, a movie-loving bot whose job consists of nothing more than looking out for and responding to tweets of choice movie quotes.

I … Read more

Michael Jones was most recently the CEO of failed social-network MySpace. But that's not what he's talking about now.

In fact, Jones covers that chapter of his life quickly, in one sentence, without taking a breath.

"One of the things I learned at MySpace," he says, starting to talk so fast that I cannot understand him. I'm about to ask him to repeat what he just said, but it's too late. He's already talking, at a natural pace, about this his just-launched company, Science. He calls it a "technology studio," a … Read more

Michael Abbott, the CEO of carrier-backed mobile payments joint venture Isis, has an interesting take on rival Google Wallet: "It's the best thing that could happen."

That's not the sort of thing you would expect to hear from the head of a venture that is planning to roll out its own mobile-payment system, designed to allow consumers to tap their phone on special terminals to pay for goods. Abbott, however, holds a longer-term view of the business, and believes that the entry by multiple parties is a good thing. It generates greater consumer awareness, stirs the … Read more

It's easy to get lost in all the new Android and Windows Phone handsets coming out soon, but CNET's Kent German, Bonnie Cha, and Nicole Lee have us covered. Today Verizon and Motorola announced their latest Droid Razr, a modern incarnation of the original Razr design with a non-bulletproof Kevlar backing and an ultraslim profile.

We also have a leaked shot of the Google Nexus Prime, a first take of the HTC Titan, and a Microsoft patent that encourages you to access touch screens through your pants. Too easy! This and more irreverent stories on today's episode of The 404 Podcast.… Read more