"Oh man, I was hanging out with this girl and we walk into her bedroom and she has this BEAT UP old Compaq computer connected to a freakin' CRT monitor there! So I just made up a lie about not feeling well and just left." That's a deal breaker, ladies!
On today's episode of The 404 Podcast, we talk about some of the tech-related dating faux pas that would be ultimate deal breakers in a potential relationship. Wilson, of course, would never date a girl that wasn't fully committed to Apple and all its family of products, Jeff could never hang out with a non-gamer, and I'm pretty much open to anything that comes my way. Just kidding, I could never be in a relationship with someone completely obsessed with social networking. Who's trying to go on a dinner date with someone that keeps taking TwitPics of their food?
All of this leads into a conversation about the most commonly used Hotmail password, which just happens to be "123456." I suppose it makes perfect sense that someone who's still riding the Hotmail train would use such an obvious password (why not make it "God," or "money," or "power?"), but that's exactly what 64 out of the 10,000 people surveyed actually use. What do you guys use to keep track of all your passwords? OpenID? Keychain? Moleskin? We want to hear about it!
Next, we get into a conversation about why the Japanese haven't embraced the iPhone as much as we have, and the answer is pretty clear: the iPhone simply can't keep up with modern technology in Japan, where they already have 4G phones that can stream live television, pick kids up from school, and dice potatoes into shoestring fries.
A big thank you goes out to our pal Zen in Flagstaff, Ariz., for sending us this poster in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It's based on the book, "The Men Who Stare at Goats"; Jeff and I have both read this hilarious novel, and we suggest you read it, too, before the movie comes out.
Enjoy the show and have a great Wednesday!
EPISODE 440
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All the 404 listeners out there will be very happy to see our own Natali Del Conte in the hot seat today. Our favorite guest just returned from a trip to the U.K. and, of course, Wilson is indulging himself in a bottle of Beck's Beer, so we foolishly decide to guess Ms. Del Conte's actual body weight. This sounds like a recipe for disaster, but I'm not one to let things spoil, so you'll have to watch the video below to witness me, Jeff, and Wilson making idiots of ourselves.
And of course, since Natali is here, we have to make things as uncomfortable for her as possible, so the first story of the day is about an LA sperm bank offering celebrity lookalike donors to their exclusive clientele. Each donor goes through an extensive scanning process to determine the celebrity they resemble the most, and the clients certainly love it: the service has been available for only a week and their Web traffic is already up 50 percent! We grill Natali for a second about which celebrity she would choose, but now that she's gone big time, she manages to weasel her way out of it.
After a few more stories that let Natali shake off her BOL-shackles, Jeff poses an interesting question to the group, by way of Reddit.com: When we get to be the age of our parents, will our generation be just as technologically inept, or will we retain our tech-savvy? This conversation actually stemmed from a rather painful iTunes tutorial that I overheard Jeff giving to Big Lou, and it's the perfect diving board for our show. All of us have varying opinions, but the general consensus is that because we've actually grown up with technology and computers (unlike our parents who were forced to adopt it later in life), we'll always have those building blocks to help us navigate through newer technologies, whatever they may be. Or we might just be bitter old luddites pecking away on our Jitterbugs, bemoaning a time when 140 characters ruled the world.
EPISODE 438
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(Credit:
CopyRanter)
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!
EPISODE 436
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Starting Thursday, 'Albatross 18' characters will be able to don pink-ribbon face paint for breast cancer awareness.
(Credit: OGPlanet)
Pink face paint isn't exactly par adornment for the golf course, but it's about to show up on at least one green--that of fantasy golf game Albatross 18.
Starting Thursday, players of OGPlanet's golf sim will be able to add pink-ribbon face paint to their characters' getups. The in-game item will cost $2.50, with $2 of each purchase going to support Boarding for Breast Cancer, a nonprofit dedicated to raising health awareness and supporting cancer research.
Albatross 18 mixes classic golf play with the role-playing genre for a game that lands far from the teeing ground of the local country club. The little pink ribbon will be available in the Albatross 18 in-game store through April 30. To further mark breast cancer awareness, the store will discount other pink products not oft seen on the course, like high heels and flip-flops, and a funky little floral head scarf that would really make one's avatar stand out from the Izod crowd.
(Credit:
Susan G. Komen for the Cure)
Sometimes, we're pleased to say, corporate one-upsmanship can result in more than just putting down the competition. Case in point: Manufacturers of all types have issued special pink products to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, typically donating some of the proceeds to charity. But Ford and Microsoft have raised the stakes by partnering to donate the entire $250 purchase price of 30GB limited-edition Zunes to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Engadget does note that, for the record, these are first-generation Zunes. But it's all for a good cause.
The expanded color spectrum
(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET Networks)
A special pink edition has been added to the spectrum of Shuffles announced by Apple earlier this month, though this time it's not just for fashion and marketing. Target is packaging the pastel music players with an iTunes gif card for no additional charge as part of a campaign to combat breast cancer.
AppleInsider says the retail chain will donate up to $25,000 of the proceeds to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Photos of the special bundle, which is available only at Target's brick-and-mortar stores, can be seen here.
(Credit:
Casio)
Usually I'm not a big fan of pink cameras, but in this case I'm willing to make an exception. Casio just announced that it will be releasing a special edition of the Exilim EX-Z75 to help fight breast cancer. Casio is working with the National Breast Cancer Foundation to help promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October.
The special-edition pink EX-Z75 will be available throughout October in a bundle with a pink-ribbon-embossed camera case and a pink ribbon lanyard. The bundle will retail for $180 and will help sponsor the National Breast Cancer Foundation. You can already find the EX-Z75 in pink, but it won't come with the case or lanyard, and proceeds won't go to the NBCF. If you're really jonesing for a pink Z75, wait a couple more months for a good cause.
Aperio's terapixel image shows extraordinary detail of breast cancer tissue.
(Credit: Aperio)Medical imaging specialists Aperio have broken the 4GB file size limit on the TIFF image format by creating their own format called BigTIFF and offering the format into the public domain (an amazing fact in its own right). To showcase the power of BigTIFF image resolution, Aperio has released the first terapixel image. The image shows 225 pathology slides of breast tissue and can be viewed and explored online (it looks surprisingly like a pink version of Google Earth once you start zooming in).
The image's actual file size as a compressed BigTIFF is 143GB, so don't expect to be shooting terapixel photos on your digital camera anytime soon. To make this kind of resolution useful, Aperio had to use a high-power oil immersion ScanScope slide-scanning system to get the necessary detail.
(via Medgadget)
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