Nazis

Google continues its growing tradition of celebrating scientific and cultural pioneers who might not be household names, but whose work is part of our daily lives. While today's citrus-filled doodle on the search engine front page first appears to indicate that Google has sold out to Tropicana, it's actually a tribute to Albert Szent-Györgyi's 118th birthday.

What, you weren't already taking the day off to celebrate? In case you're not in the know, Albert, whose full name is Albert von Szent-Györgyi de Nagyrápol, is the person credited with discovering Vitamin C and the citric acid cycle. That work earned him a Nobel Prize in 1937. He was also one of the first to look into connections between free radicals and cancer, and according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, "his discoveries about the biochemical nature of muscular contraction revolutionized the field of muscle research."… Read more

BLETCHLEY, England--The list of important sites is endless: Omaha Beach, Dunkirk, London, Paris, Toulon. But if you're a real World War II aficionado, you may think of Bletchley Park with special fondness.

This nondescript town about 45 minutes outside London is where famed mathematician Alan Turing led a group of master code breakers in a successful battle against Germany and its once-unbreakable cipher codes.

Over the course of several years, the British government assembled a team and sequestered it here, working on various devices intended to break the codes. In the days prior to the war, the Germans rarely … Read more

We're very proud and excited to welcome Beck's Beer back as our official show sponsor for the month of October, as you can see by the advertisement over yonder. You know what that means, right? All month long we'll be bringing back the Semi-Weekly Audio Draft Pick, sponsored by Beck's Beer in conjunction with Last.fm. That's a lot to say, so if you can think of a better title for the segment (maybe even a funny acronym involving beer), shoot us a line at the404(at)cnet[dot]com. Just like in July, we'll be introducing you to some of our favorite musicians and playing their music on the show every Tuesday and Friday for the next month, so be excited, and if you have any suggestions, well, tweet us.

OMGWTFBBQ! The Robsham Theater Arts Center from Boston College is putting on a musical comedy inspired by songs by our buddy Jonathan Coulton! If you didn't hear his live performance the last time he was on The 404, go check it out and get ready for some musical theater. Luke Jorgenson, the associate theater professor at BC, was "taken by Coulton's satire of office life and technology," which inspired him to produce the script. We're very psyched for Jonathan. Congrats, buddy!

Next up in the news, we've got a few iffy Sony PS3 ads to show you guys. The first one is a picture of a stereotypical gamer giving a blood transfusion to someone that looks a lot like Erwin Rommel, aka "The Desert Fox" and a German General in World War II. The other one features the same gamer, but this time he's giving his heart to Joan of Arc. Like, literally giving his heart in a celebratory transplant. Yikes, Sony--what message are you guys trying to convey here?

Next, we play a brief PSA video to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a subject that is very dear to our hearts. The video is played in jest, and of course we have to make a few jokes about the steamy subject matter, but Breast Cancer itself is very real, so all month we'll be supporting the cause.

Have an awesome Thursday, everyone!

Jason Howell, from Bore Out Loud, keeps us classy in this very special episode of The 404. We make our big videocasting announcement. That's right! The 404, podcast of the future, is going to become a video podcast, so you'll be able to watch as Wilson looks deeply/creeply into the camera every morning. Plus, we get into some studio shenanigans as we prepare to revamp this place. And CNET TV is nominated for a Webby!

On today's show, find out why you should never eat Domino's pizza, especially if you live in New York City. It's all about the Ray'z Pizza, man. Also, Amazon says it had a homophobic "glitch" that caused several LGBT books to be removed from its listings. We think Nazis did it.

On the second half of the show, it's Tuna Tuesday! (Please listen to the show to find out what that means.) Nintendo releases an add-on to the Wiimote that makes it even longer and more precise. TWSS. Also, a 79-year-old Japanese man has the greatest job in the world.

By the by, is Miramax sending the right message to a girl who couldn't find a copy of "Adventureland" on bittorrent by giving her free tickets to see the movie? Or is it all a ploy to get her arrested? Finally, be sure to check out your RSS and iTunes feeds for our little "404 presents."

Keep sending in your best survival stories and character voices to the show at 1-866-404-CNET (2638). Be sure to RSVP for The 404 and Buzz Out Loud Meetup here in New York City. Alison Rosen, Jason Howell, Natali Del Conte, Kenley Bradstreet, and so many more are going to be making their appearance. Maybe you can buy them a drink? (Be warned: Jason is ours though.)

Facebook pulled several Italian neo-Nazi pages from its Web site following a public outcry and complaints from European regulators that the pages promoted violence against gypsies.

Seven different group pages, all based in Italy, had been created on the site with titles that incited violence against gypsies, according to a Reuters report. The European Parliament filed a complaint with Facebook, and the pages were promptly removed. Facebook told Reuters that the pages violated its terms of use.

"Facebook supports the free flow of information, and groups provide a forum for discussing important issues. However, Facebook will remove any groups … Read more

Apple's App Store policies are really starting to frustrate application developers.

Over the weekend, a good old-fashioned Internet-style kerfuffle arose over Apple's decision to reject Podcaster--an iPhone application that lets people download podcasts directly to their devices without going through iTunes--from the App Store. The developer of the application said that Apple told him the application "duplicates the functionality of the Podcast section of iTunes," apparently making it unfit for the App Store.

This has been a persistent question hanging over Apple's decision to vet every single iPhone and iPod Touch application sold through the … Read more

Google has been caught up in a controversy over anti-Semitic videos that have been circulating on YouTube.

The Central Council of Jews in Germany has gone to court to force the video-sharing site to permanently purge the files, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz. The paper quotes Stephan Kramer, secretary general of the Central Council, saying he believes Google was culpable for "aiding and abetting racial hatred and discrimination."

This question is especially freighted with extra historical baggage in Germany, where the Holocaust occupies a front row in the nation's historical consciousness. And as much as it … Read more