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Jay Leno kisses nerd in GoDaddy Super Bowl ad re-creation

There are those who would dearly love to kiss Jay Leno.

And there are those who would dearly love to smack him in the kisser.

I have no horse in this face.

But I would like to show you Leno kissing a man. This man is Jesse Heiman, who won a difficult lottery in order to be the one who kissed Bar Refaeli in an ad that ran during the Super Bowl.

In this deeply scripted scenario, Leno believes he is about to re-create the GoDaddy ad and kiss Refaeli.

She performs a switch and makes him kiss Heiman, whose (… Read more

Automakers spoof movies in Super Bowl ads, and employ many dogs

You won't have to wait until Sunday to enjoy the latest crop of Super Bowl commercials. And from the looks of it there will be a bumper crop of automaker ads.

Wedged between the notoriously racy GoDaddy ad and various commercials for beverages and yogurt, will be more vehicle ads than ever.

Last week, Audi took a stab at trendy creatures of the night. This week Jerry Seinfeld revives his old shtick--complete with Soup Nazi and other characters--for an ad for the new Acura NSX. Jay Leno and other familiar faces appear in the extended version of the ad.… Read more

The 404 618: Where push the eject button (podcast)

Both Natali Del Conte and Jill Schlesinger join the show today to talk all sorts of mischief, and what an apropos day because we have gifts! That's right, our good friend Joe from Hawaii sent in wooden plaques of our beloved 404 stickers, and they look fantastic.

As you can see, Natali is very pregnant and might pop any day. If you ask her, the New York City heat wave is not only crushing Con Ed; it's not helping her mood. Jill and all the women in the office are jealous, though, that she manages to keep her … Read more

The 404 572: Where it's time for a downgrade (podcast)

Jeff Bakalar is out sick today but luckily Natali Del Conte is back from her sojourn to San Francisco and fills in on today's episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast. I hope you had a better weekend than mine; I almost had a sleepover at the Apple Store after my iPhone inexplicably broke...again! The display on my 6-month-old phone stopped working, so I've decided to stick it out with a budget Samsung flip phone until the fourth-generation iPhone comes out.

Downgrading to a single-function handset from an iPhone requires some adjustment, but I'm quickly getting used to (and even enjoying) the simplicity of having separate dedicated devices for music and phone calls.

Boredom arrives much quicker without a smartphone, of course, but who really needs all those silly apps? I'm having a great time rediscovering the simple mundane pleasure of scrolling through "settings and options." What time increment should I set my auto-dimmer to today? The possibilities are endless!

Last night CBS' "60 Minutes" aired an interview with Conan O'Brien to get his personal take on the "Tonight Show" fiasco that left poor CoCo without a network to call a home.

Unfortunately, neither NDC nor I had a chance to check it out, but Wilson gives us the rundown on Conan's amicable responses and explains why Conan starts crying halfway through the segment. Check out CBS News for the full interview.

There are also plenty of hilarious Calls From the Public to play today including one listener who finally debuts an impression of Jeff that you won't want to miss. If you have something to tell us, leave us a message at 1-866-404-CNET or shoot us a line at the404(at)CNET(dot)com!

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The 404 Podcast 526: Where we form a flying V

The 404 is complete once again, forming flying Vs and throwing knuckle pucks that would make Gordon Bombay proud. The first story to mention is the return of The Red Kid (not that one, Jeff), but this time to Twitter! It's about time, Conan, but you know you're a little late to the Twitter game when you get beaten by His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself. It's good to have Conan back, and he might even be coming to a city near you!

The former king of late night recently finalized plans to perform a live show in select cities that will employ ex-"Tonight Show" employees and bring back classic characters from the talk show. It's good to have you back, Mr. O'Brien--we knew you couldn't stay away for too long!

Next, Jeff tells us a truly terrifying story about things that go bump in the night....keep your mind out of the gutter while you listen, but it's about his fiancee's troubled-sleep woes. The scary part is she's not the only one in the studio with serious slumbering issues! Wrap yourself in a Snuggie, climb into a Tauntaun, and prepare yourself for a collection of night terror stories that will have you reaching for the phone, and who you gonna call? THE SLEEP DOCTOR MICHAEL BREUS! Look for another appearance from The Sultan of Sleep on a future episode of The 404, 'cause this is getting out of hand.

If you're just tuning in, we should warn you that the next story should not be heard during a meal or while in a state of anger, because you might do something crazy like send your nemesis a pile of poop. Poopsenders.com lets you send your friend/enemy/frenemy a steaming pile of cow, elephant, or gorilla dung, and you can even choose the amount! Can you hear the excitement in my written voice right now? With an ace of spades prank like this up our sleeves, we dare BOL to call us out again! Just kidding guys...;)

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The 404 Podcast 502: Where we give Jill 'three and a half mice' and 'Two and a Half Men'

Jill Schlesinger joins the show today after a few months with her presence. A lot has changed since then, we got stickers, the U.S. Senate has 59 Democrats, and now ABC is doing promos for CNET.com. (The 404 Podcast and CNET are owned by CBS.)

Yep, you read that right. On the ABC show "Modern Family", Phil and Clair Dunphy argue about a new universal remote control, and in the course of talking about being a male cheerleader, Phil mentions that CNET gave the remote a smokin' hot "three and a half mice." Unfortunately, we switched from numbers to stars rather than mice. Jeff and Jill think it's the new "Arrested Development" on Fox plus "The Office" on NBC.

Speaking of NBC, Jill weighs in on the whole Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien debacle. She wishes she could get paid 40 million dollars not to work, but we're glad to see Conan sticking up for his staff.

Finally, Jill offers some good financial advice this year. It's tax season, and she recommends that you readjust your tax withholding because you're essentially giving the government an interest-free loan for a whole year. Otherwise, whip out a 1040EZ, a glass of scotch and just do your taxes. It ain't that hard.

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Conan using 'Tonight Show' site for eBay sales

This is the finest NBC sit com since "The Office."

The spittle being tossed by Conan O'Brien toward NBC executives who have removed his show from its time slot and Jay Leno, who is re-taking it over, is both tautly orchestrated and touchingly sincere.

Last week, O'Brien offered to sell the "Tonight Show" on Craigslist.

Now, in what appears will be his final week as host of the NBC show, he is using the "Tonight Show" Web site to link to show memorabilia he claims to want to sell on eBay.

O'… Read more

The 404 Podcast 499: Where we turn our heads and cough

In case you didn't catch the preshow, today's show title is in honor of Jeff and Wilson both visiting the doctor...here's hoping they're at the same time. Before we get to the show, be sure to head out for your free tacos from Taco Bell, then come back for another hilarious Friday episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast.

We've always been valiant supporters of Conan O'Brien, so it's very disappointing to see that NBC is supposedly giving Leno the 11:30 p.m. spot and pushing The Tonight Show back to 12:05 a.m. Jeff and Wilson definitely feel more vehemently about the decision than I do, but I'm starting to see Jay in a similarly desperate light--whatever happened to bowing out with respect? We're hoping this was actually posted by Conan, but someone put The Tonight Show on Craigslist. Listed as "barely-used" and up for sale to the highest bidder, the ad spells out a hilariously specific requirement: the buyer must honor the scheduled Barry Manilow booking for next Thursday.

With all the tablet rumors surrounding the next Apple Event on January 26, it's refreshing to hear that the next iPhone might feature a touch-sensitive back. According to Goldman Sachs analyst Robert Chen, the fourth-gen iPhone might come with a case similar to the Apple Magic Mouse that you can pinch, pull, and tap. A "touch-sensitive back," you say? The jokes almost write themselves....but you better believe we still go there.

We also spend some time in the second half of the show on the earthquake disaster in Haiti. Much thanks and support to the soldier who called in with a voice mail about the effort! We're urging everyone to do their part and text HAITI to 90999 to give $10 to the Red Cross. Also, please help us spread the word that American Airlines is taking volunteer doctors and nurses to Haiti for free, just call 212-697-9767 for more details. Red Cross also needs more Creole-speaking volunteers for their 24-hour phone bank, so get in touch with them if you can.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Conan to 'sell' the 'Tonight Show' on Craigslist

America has been gripped this week by the battle between two men, each with one portion of his head oversized: Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno.

The baiting and the bile have spilled over into the online world. The "I'm with Coco" Facebook group already has more than 157,000 fans and a lovely icon of O'Brien with which people are adorning their personal, but highly public, profiles.

Friday, I awoke to a Leno fightback. The Huffington Post reports that NBC executive Dick Ebersol described O'Brien as "an astounding failure." He also said … Read more

The 404 Podcast 497: Where we cash in our green card

New Jersey passed a bill last week legalizing medicinal marijuana, so we begin today's episode of The 404 Podcast with a quick discussion about the taxation, decriminalization, and dispersion of medicinal marijuana.

Entrepreneur John Lee hopes all the legal attention will give way to e-commerce in the form of B2B exchanges for "licensed providers of medicinal marijuana and their patients." Lee hopes that the system and his Web site, PlainView.com, will encourage distributors to keep their systems organized with pertinent information on records, invoices, sales reports, and tax paperwork.

We also spend good chunk of time dissecting all the drama surrounding Conan O'Brien and "The Tonight Show" being bumped back to 12:05 a.m. to accommodate Jay Leno's earlier time slot. Conan released a statement last night setting the record straight with an outright refusal to switch times, arguing that a 12:05 a.m. start time is ridiculous for "The Tonight Show."

Among other things, Conan emphasizes that nothing is more important to him than putting on the best nightly show possible, and we're in full support--as soldiers in Conan's army, The 404 is ready to stand tall and follow O'Brien to the ends of the Earth, although we're secretly hoping for a network switch to CBS.

Many more stories from around the Internet, including one about snowed-in Brits boosting Web traffic to a social network built for infidelity and the latest development for Punxsutawney Phil.

Stick around for the full episode, and don't forget to send your self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) to the N.Y. CNET office, addressed to The 404 - STICKERS), to get your hands on your free handful of 404 stickers and temporary tattoos!

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