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Racer takes Volvo S60 for blindfolded test drive

Expertly piloting a car around a race track is a hair-raising experience requiring a good deal of skill on the part of the driver. However, even without the skill in place, most licensed drivers could at least make it around the track in a production car (however slowly) without making a total mess of things. But could you do it while blindfolded? New Zealander and racing driver Jonny Reid could and did in this latest promotional video for the 2011 Volvo S60.

Reid's lap around Hampton Downs Raceway in Auckland, New Zealand, was apparently done without the aid of … Read more

The 404 722: Where Wilson goes AWOL (podcast)

Today is Wilson's last day on the show before he ships out to China tomorrow. Don't worry, he'll be back with us at CES in January, but before he leaves we test his ability to predict the future of tech one last time. To nobody's surprise, all of his predictions are related to Apple. We also ask Wilson to check the validity of this growing Chinese trend, give predictions on tomorrow's Google Chrome OS event, run through the latest Facebook design, and more!

It started with small trinkets, then moved on to blinking LEDs, and now Chinese kids are attaching condoms to their cell phones. The movement is a countrywide effort for young people to show their support for contraceptives, although a condom danging from your phone must look pretty funny to everyone else.

Also, the phone charms are generic with no markings to indicate manufacturer, type, or even an expiration date. While he's there, hopefully Wilson can also promote our own adjunct method of birth control: The 404 Podcast!

Google is finally ready to unveil its big Chrome OS project with an event tomorrow, December 7, in San Francisco. The search engine giant provided no other details in the invite, but we're thinking the Chrome Web Store may finally materialize tomorrow, giving users an easy way to search and download Web applications.

Additionally, Google plans to incentivize developers to use the store by offering a 5 percent "processing fee," as opposed to the 30 percent cut that store operators typically receive from applications sales.

Last night Facebook received yet another face-lift for profile pages as previewed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an interview with Lesley Stahl on yesterday's episode of 60 Minutes.

Big changes include more prominent photos at the top of the page and a new "Featured Friends tool that highlights your most important friends. Popular features like your "Wall" and "Personal Information" get moved to a new column under the main profile photo, and infinite scrolling means you can browse profile photos faster than ever.

Users can take the new layout for a spin by going to http://www.facebook.com/about/profile/ and clicking the green "Take the tour" button.

If you'd like to leave a video voice mail for the show, record a YouTube video and send the link to the404(at)cnet(dot)com! You can also leave an audio-only voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET (2638), or just shoot us a note at the404(at)cnet.com. Have a safe flight to the motherland, Wilson!

Episode 722 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

A tense look at Facebook on '60 Minutes'

Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, part 1

Unease about Facebook's growing global power under the leadership of CEO Mark Zuckerberg dominated a "60 Minutes" segment about the young company tonight. Interviewed by Lesley Stahl, Zuckerberg remained relatively unfazed and confident through a barrage of questions about privacy, intellectual property theft, and whether he wants to take over the world.

The centerpiece of the interview was a redesign of Facebook member profiles that puts photos front-and-center, personal information packaged into a blurb at the top of the page, and custom friend groupings. It proffers a Facebook experience that's … Read more

The 404 703: Where we're Sheetzucacapoopoo about the Audiophiliac (podcast)

Our resident CNET audio expert Steve Guttenberg finally joined the rest of us and started his own Twitter page, so we invited him back on today's episode to see what else is going on with The Audiophiliac.

Steve always comes prepared with relevant (and not so relevant) talking points for us, and today's includes Joy Behar's mixed-breeding novel Sheetzucacapoopoo (Steve's a big fan of her work), the value of headphone amplifiers, and his concerns about the next generation of self-proclaimed audiophiliacs.

It's not a term that should be lightly used to describe anyone who loves music, and Steve considers a real audiophiliac to be someone who is truly concerned with an active music listening experience where extra attention is paid to audio fidelity in all its expensive glory.

The high-priced equipment might be the reason why audiophiliacs are a dying breed of enthusiast, but Steve makes it clear that quality audio gear is worth the price, especially when you consider that some equipment like headphones can last a lifetime.

We also learn that today's younger audiophiliacs are specifically interested in headphones and can be found on Head-Fi.org, a comprehensive audio site with in-depth headphone reviews, expert forums, and more.

Check it out if you're shopping for new cans or earbuds, along with CNET, of course!

Episode 703 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Will your headphones last 10 years?

Most of the high-end gear I talk about in this blog is designed to sound great and last a long time. Granted, it's more expensive than mass-market audio, but quality gear is more expensive to build, market, and sell. Mass-market audio is not so different than cell phones, computers, or digital cameras; they're all designed to be disposable. So would you consider paying $100 or more for headphones that could last 10 or more years? Or would you rather buy 10 cheap headphones in that time? For that kind of money you could have bought one really nice … Read more

Celebrating 60 years of 'Peanuts'

SANTA ROSA, Calif.--If you're a "Peanuts" fan, you have got to get yourself to this wine-country city about an hour north of San Francisco, the home of the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center. There may well be no better place on the planet to get your fill of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, and the rest of the gang.

And today could be one of the best days ever to visit: it's the 60th anniversary of the famous comic strip, and what better way could there be to celebrate such an event than … Read more

Baseball fan jerseys go high-def

Everybody's seen a T-shirt with a digital image printed on it, but Three60 Gear, a company based in St. Charles, Mo., is taking the whole photo-on-garment thing to a new level with its line of baseball player themed jerseys that it calls "high-definition shirts."

Three60 Gear is somewhat secretive about its printing process, but it says each product has been "created by hand using high-quality photo images infused onto fabric through a unique dye-sublimation process." The 100 percent polyester shirts are moisture wicking (quick dry), antimicrobial, and retain their imagery through washing, though it's … Read more