insanity

Time Warner Cable's new iPad app (originally detailed here) requires users to jump through several hoops of varying difficulty just to log in for the first time. In this case, at least, that persistence can pay off, as the end result is a streaming-video product that may be a new killer app for the iPad and eventually other tablets.

The difficult setup process stems from this: We're entering an era of stratification, or even fragmentation, of multimedia IPTV services and apps. It may have started with Web sites (such as BBC.co.uk) restricting what online video streams viewers could see depending on what country their IP addresses came from; now it's moved on to a series of tablet apps that play high-end content, but only if you're connecting through the right ISP.

Like ESPN on the Xbox 360 or the brand-new WatchESPN app for iOS, or the similar Optimum cable TV app, the TWCable TV app lets you tune in to a premium selection of cable TV content, as long as you're connecting through an approved ISP and, in the case of Time Warner, through an approved cable modem (the one connected with your user account).

As a Time Warner customer for at least a decade (although I was unsuccessfully hoping for some new options, such as Fios, when I moved recently), I didn't expect to have too much trouble getting the app to work. Unfortunately, signing in requires more than connecting through the Internet access point of an eligible subscriber (although, if you think about it, that hardware lockout is really all that's needed). I was asked to log in to the app with my Time Warner Cable username and password.

If you're a TWCNYC (as my local Time Warner Cable subsidiary is called) customer and you pay your bill online, you might think you already have a username and password. You would, in the Kafkaesque world of cable companies, be incorrect. You actually have a separate username and password for a payment system called PayXpress that stands apart from any other user account.

And, as a TWCNYC Internet access subscriber, you also have (but have probably never used) your included e-mail account, which is usually something@rr.com (for back when the service was called Road Runner). It's not a big deal that you've never heard of, or used, that account, because that's not the one you need, either. … Read more

Update: We've added a new audio slideshow, which you can see in the video player above. Below in the "Scenes" gallery is an entirely different set of photos, so be sure to check out both to get the most complete Comic Con experience.

The New York Comic Con has always paled in comparison to the much larger, but unrelated San Diego Comic-Con, as we can attest to from attending last year's small-ish show. But the Twitter buzz started building early for this year's event, and we got reports of lines hundreds of people deep just to pick up passes and tickets on Friday and Saturday.

The key to the show's newfound success is in its very liberal definition of a comic gathering. If anything, most of the floorspace was devoted to video games, television, movies, and other pop culture ephemera, although there were certainly plenty of aisles full of vintage comics and an entire room devoted to artist meet-and-greets (plus the usual gang of autograph-hawking celebs, from Lou Ferrigno to wrestler Jerry Lawler).

The biggest attraction for most gawkers is definitely the cavalcade of costumed characters. While New Yorkers are used to seeing crazy attire on the street, this collection of superheroes, game characters, and weird mash-ups is eye-opening, even for a town with Times Square's iconic Naked Cowboy. The most notable trend in this area was definitely the large number of costumed babies and toddlers--at least a few of whom didn't look especially thrilled by their creative outfits.

Click through the photo tour above to enjoy the insanity of the New York Comic Con from the relative safe and normal confines of your laptop screen.… Read more

Wow, it's been a busy month for major news events! I hope you didn't miss all CNET's great coverage of the 2010 trade show for electronic consumer goods and devices, held back in January.

And on Sunday, our publisher, CBS, will air a fabulous contest between two teams engaged in a (hopefully) thrilling game of gridiron football. And the opening festivities of the quadrennial snow season international athletic competition will have you glued to your seat on February 12!

Don't know what I'm talking about? That's the point. Welcome, friends, to the way the … Read more

Any geek worth his (or her) weight in salt will tell you that one of the most necessary tools for ad hoc repairs is duct tape. In fact, the one thing geeks don't use it for is to tape ducts. I've known people who have used duct tape to mount a hard drive, weather-proof a camera, build a cantenna, make ice skates, and affix a flash defuser for a camera.

But nothing my super-nerd friends have done compares with the story that comes to us via forums of ArmyParatrooper.org, where user lz_NorthPole shares this tale from the Alaskan wilderness.

A fisherman chartered a small plane to fly into the Alaskan backcountry for some fishing. The fisherman unwisely left fresh bait in the plane, which attracted a bear--this being bear country and all--and the animal then tore the airplane apart. The image you see above is the trashed plane.

But the charter pilot supposedly was a bad-ass. And like a bad-ass he wouldn't just let a bear get away with tearing up his airplane. No, this bad-ass--who must be a geek--called another pilot to ferry in new tires, sheet plastic, and three cases of duct tape.

lz_NorthPole claims the pilot applied the materials, flew the thing home, and arrived safely. I fervently hope he is not playing an early April Fools' joke, because this is the best use of duct tape I've seen in a long time.

What you see above is the before. The "after" shot is after the jump. Take a look and tell us: do you think this story (and plane) flies? … Read more

This has to be the weirdest and saddest crime-of-virtual-passion story I've come across.

Kimberly Jernigan--a 33-year-old woman from North Carolina--was apparently distraught after her online relationship with a 52-year-old man from Claymont, Del., came to an end.

The pair apparently met through the online community Second Life and began a virtual relationship. The two finally met in reality several months ago, and the alleged victim ended the relationship, sending Jernigan into a downward spiral.

In early August, Jernigan allegedly drove to the victim's Pennsylvania workplace and attempted to kidnap him at gunpoint, according to local news station CBS3.com. When she was unsuccessful, according to the report, she returned two weeks later to track down the victim's Delaware address, and posed as a postal worker to do so. After four days of searching, authorities said she found residence in the Whitney Presidential Towers on the 7100 block of Society Drive in Claymont.

On August 21, police said, Jernigan broke into the unnamed victim's apartment with a Taser, a pair of handcuffs, a BB gun, her dog, and a roll of duct tape. He wasn't there, so she waited. When the virtual ex arrived home he saw what looked like a laser beam projecting on his chest. He immediately fled the apartment and contacted the Newcastle County Police. … Read more

After posting a recent item about a $150,000 gear shift knob, we didn't think we'd see an automotive accoutrement so egregious for awhile. Only a week later, however, BornRich has given us just that: A set of wheels totaling $2 million.

Like the aforementioned diamond Bentley knob, the Asanti wheels aren't items traditionally featured on a gadget blog but are simply too outrageous to pass up. This 34-inch set--which boasts 26,000 diamonds and 1,200 rubies--is touted as "the world's most expensive custom diamond wheels." We'll take their word for it.… Read more