dan

Georgens takes command at NetApp

NetApp's new CEO is Tom Georgens. Georgens steps in as Dan Warmenhoven, NetApp's CEO since 1994, moves on to the position of chairman of the board and a partnership development role under the direction of Georgens.

Warmenhoven's accomplishments were many, but he may be remembered most for turning the small niche-market opportunity that NAS once was as a dedicated file server attached to a LAN into the major networked storage platform NAS has become. Along the way, he built NetApp up to a 3.4 billion dollar company with 8,000-plus employees focused on storage.

NetApp co-founder … Read more

Amazon sidesteps battle over Dan Brown book

Amazon.com's Kindle may be the most-popular e-reader on the market, but that doesn't mean everyone is happy with it.

Amazon announced earlier this week that it will, in fact, sell a Kindle version of "Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown's latest novel, "The Lost Symbol." The book is slated for release on September 15.

The Kindle version of "The Lost Symbol" was in limbo since Amazon first placed the hardcover version on its site for preorder. Its publisher, Random House, was concerned with releasing a Kindle version on the same day as the hardcover version. The company reasoned that with such a low price ($9.99 on the Kindle) compared with the hardcover version, which Amazon is currently offering for $16.17, that Kindle sales would cannibalize hardcover sales.

Random House's issues set the stage for what could have been a major battle between Amazon and publishers. Dan Brown's book promises to be a bestseller the day it's released. Random House might have had some leverage.

But after entering into discussions with Amazon, Random House announced last week that it had approved a Kindle version.

"Now that all of our security and logistical issues surrounding the e-book of 'The Lost Symbol' have been resolved, the e-book will be released simultaneously with the hardcover on September 15," the publisher announced. It didn't elaborate on what those issues were.… Read more

Top 10 must-have CDs, part 1

What follows is a list of my favorite sounding CDs of late, in no particular order. My preference is for realistic-sounding recordings, recordings that allow the band to sound "live." And sure, I like lots of recordings that are heavily processed, but I wouldn't by any stretch use them to "test" the naturalness of a speaker.

Here's the first half of the top 10 CDs; the second half will appear in the next Audiophiliac.

Elvis Costello, "Secret, Profane & Sugarcane"

I love Costello, especially his first five albums, and this new one, produced by T-Bone Burnett, is a winner. Acoustic and country influences predominate, and Costello's voice is in great shape. The sound is free of digital grit and glare, so instruments and voices sound like themselves. The tunes are all good; there's not a weak one in the bunch.

Mark Olson & Gary Louris, "Ready For The Flood"

Mark Olson & Gary Louris of Jayhawks fame joined forces to make this gorgeous sounding album. The two voices' harmonies are something to hear, and maybe it's just me, but there's echoes of the Everly Brothers and maybe Simon & Garfunkel in there. "Doves And Stones" is the standout track, but the album's pretty good from start to finish.

Dan Auerbach, "Keep It Hid"

Have you heard Auerbach's band, The Black Keys? Anyway, his solo CD presents more varied music than the Keys' hard-core blues-based blasts. Check out the deep bass pounding through "Heartbroken, In Disrepair." Granted, Keep It Hid isn't exactly an audiophile disc, but it sounds great cranked to "11."… Read more

Google pushes for new law on orphan books

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--If those organizations attacking Google's book search settlement with publishers spent as much time lobbying Congress for better laws concerning those issues, perhaps the controversy would go away, Google's chief Book Search engineer suggested Thursday night.

Google's quest to convince the world it has nothing to fear by its settlement with publishers came to the Computer History Museum Thursday where Dan Clancy, engineering director for Google Book Search, defended the settlement before a few hundred attendees who submitted written questions to John Hollar, president and CEO of the museum. Last year, Google settled a lawsuit filed by publishers … Read more

Sprint CEO: We're glad we waited on Android

PASADENA, Calif.--Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has a lot to say about the mobile operating system he held off on--Android--and not so much about the phone he has backed, Palm's Pre.

At Fortune's Brainstorm: Tech conference here on Friday, he said that he's limited on what he can say about how the Pre is doing because Sprint reports earnings shortly.

Despite that, he told the audience that the primary constraint for selling the Pre has been the number of devices that Palm has made--not demand for the product, he said.

"There have been shortages of the … Read more

The 404 Extended Vacation Throwback: Episode 212, 10/23/08

Unfortunately, 2/3 hosts of The 404 aren't feeling well this morning, but you'll be psyched to hear this throwback episode, where we make Dan (the mantern) smell-lel-lel-lel what the 404 issss cookin. But don't stress out too much, we'll be back tomorrow for another live feed. Enjoy!

Are Justin and Wilson offended by the title of the new Guns 'N' Roses album? What kind of music does Wilson like? (HINT: It starts with "mmmm" and ends with "usical theater.") Can Chinese people really nap anywhere? How many poo-poo jokes can we … Read more

Ghostbusters: Best film-to-game yet, or just a bunch of hype?

Delayed for years, a high-profile game originally to be published by Sierra and now in the hands of Atari has finally become reality: a Ghostbusters video game for the Xbox 360 and PS3 that's actually billed as a sequel to the movies.

Written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis and voiced by nearly the entire cast of both films, it's not lacking in official Ghostbusters cred. The question is, how does it play? Reviews have been generally solid, but our intra-office discussions among the CNET editors' gaming roundtable have been just this side of heated. We're presenting our sometimes-conflicting views, and leaving it up to you to sort out who's right. Give us your opinion in the comments section below. Also, be sure to check out our exclusive trailer featuring many of the phantasms you'll encounter in the game!… Read more

This Week: A Salute to Women Drivers and Racing

You know, it seems that there's still a widely held notion that cars and racing are a purely man's domain even in these "enlightened" times. But nothing could be further from the truth in my opinion. Women have made great strides in not only the racing world, but have also taken on other car-related areas such as mechanics and customs that are usually dominated by us dudes, and I think that's a cause to celebrate. So ladies and gentlemen, start your engines for this week's video blog tribute to women drivers and women in … Read more

The 404 357: Where Wilson calls dibsies on Dan Hesse

Wilson breaks some Sprint and Palm Pre information, based on an interview he did with CNET News reporter Maggie Reardon and Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. This makes Jeff infinitely jealous, because Wilson got to hold a Palm Pre before Jeff did.

Dan Hesse denied that Verizon and AT&T would be getting the Palm Pre in six months time, saying that the reports had the facts wrong. Wilson thinks that Sprint probably has the option to extend its exclusivity in six months. Wilson also thinks that the Palm Pre is a little too small and a little too thick. Reminds us of something we'd rather not say or write.

In more phone news, Jitterbug has released a new version of its Jitterbug cell phone. Remember the one last week that couldn't even dial 911 in some cases? Well, Jitterbug has added text messaging to this new model. Yeah, we don't really think that grandma is going to be really into T9 text messaging.

Plus, we think Jitterbug is opening up itself to the worst deluge of tech support calls on the planet by having direct tech support access built-in to the cell phone. Our grandparents drive us crazy enough when they ask us to set up their VCRs. Imagine if that was your job!

Grandpa: Why doesn't my son call me any more?

In more puzzling economic recession news, we find it pretty interesting that the tattoo removal business is booming. Apparently, that face tattoo was a great idea when the economy was booming. Now, you'll be hard pressed to find a job doing much of anything that doesn't require a face mask if you've got one.

Finally, in the big news of the day, we let the world know that musician and inspirational speaker, Andrew W.K., will be coming to guest on The 404 on June 18. Be sure to get your iPods, Zunes, iTunes, and RSS readers all fired up to check out this interview. For those of you who don't know, check out any party scene in a movie released in the last decade for his hit "Party Hard." He'll be on to promote his new show on the Cartoon Network, and Justin will be dedicating his life to the man. We're serious. We think Andrew W.K. should bring bodyguards. Take care and have a great weekend everybody!

EPISODE 357 Download today's podcast Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more