After debuting the final chapter in our 404 Superhero series (thanks Hayato!), we break into chats about the next-gen air-con, an Xbox autographed by Palin, cell phone crackdowns, and a Nintendo inflatable cushion that raises questions of hygiene...yikes!
THE FOUR-OH-FORCE!
(Credit: Hayato Shimizu)Thanks again to Hayato Shimizu for making the image you see above, which features all three of The 404 hosts as their respective superheroes in the Four-Oh-Force! You can always depend on us to save you from a bad day! Well...except for Sundays, you're on your own there.
Lots of stories to get into today, like this Nissan car with a built-in revolutionary air-conditioner that blocks "unpleasant smells" from entering your car. Having driven with Jeff and Wilson before, I can say without hyperbole that I'm more worried about the smells coming from inside the car, but I'm sure that invention is in development as well.
We also talk about San Francisco cracking down on cell phones in the car and a Sarah Palin autographed Xbox 360 fetching 1.1 MILLION DOLLARS on eBay, but the weirdest story of the day comes from Nintendo, who is developing an inflatable cushion for the Wii used to simulate riding on the back of an animal or being in the driver's seat of a vehicle. There are a million and one jokes to be made here, and we get to about 4,297 of them in the second half of the show, so be sure to check that out. Nintendo has officially lost its marbles.
A big apology goes out to everyone who couldn't leave a voice mail last night--we've since cleared it all out, so please call us back at 1-866-404-CNET and leave another message!
EPISODE 402
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Jeff's back and gives us a rundown of his minivacation to Atlantic City, N.J., and his love affair with pinball machines. A lot of other stories to talk about today, like the Zune HD, the new Chevy Volt, Spielberg taking over the Halo movie, and Hayato Shimizu's interpretation of Jeff as the superhero COMMODORE!
Jeff Bakalar as COMMODORE
(Credit: Hayato Shimizu)The team is back together now that Jeff is back from his trip to Atlantic City, where he reportedly spent the majority of his time playing blackjack and a series of analog video games like Batman: Dark Knight pinball, skeeball, and bubble hockey. In celebration of Jeff's return, we surprise him with the image you see above, the final superhost of The 404--COMMODORE! Defending the world from positive vibes with his giant hockey stick, Commodore also wields the might Power Glove, which, unfortunately, is incompatible with today's villains, but it still looks cool! Big thanks goes out to Hayato Shimizu for his great work with all three characters, maybe we'll even seen a picture featuring LaserJet, G-Force, and Commodore battling crime for the future of podcasting!
(Credit:
The 404)
As usual, we have a lot to talk about today, and kick it off with some rumor mongering about the latest Zune HD. CNET's own Donald Bell reports that Amazon is showing off retail pricing for the portable media player, listing the 16GB Zune HD at $219 and the 32GB at $289. The rumor mill continues to churn over Steven Spielberg taking over as producer for the Halo movie adaption, although the three of us are still skeptical about any long-form video game story adaptation, as we all remember what happened with CHUN-LI. We also look at the latest commercials for the Chevy Volt and its how viral advertising is affecting viewer participation.
Finally, Wilson G. Tang took it upon himself to create a 404 Dashboard Widget for Mac OS X users! You can download the video or the audio version and have the show play in the background while you finish "working." Best of all, this blog description populates nicely into the widget as well, making it super easy to auto-update and listen to your favorite episodes! Download them and let us know what you think!
EPISODE 401
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GM gives the Chevy Volt its first auto show exposure at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. With a game-changing power train, the Volt is as relevant in Europe as it is in the U.S. The Volt uses a series hybrid system, using an electric motor to drive the wheels with a gas engine to generate more electricity once the car's lithium ion battery pack is depleted.
Under electric power alone, the car has a 40-mile range and can be recharged at any AC outlet. For many people, that range will cover their daily commute, which will result in no actual gas usage during a typical work day.
Click here for photos of the 2011 Chevy Volt at the 2008 Paris Motor Show.
Although the car won't be available until 2010, GM introduced the production version of the game-changing Chevrolet Volt today. The Volt is an electric vehicle that recharges its lithium ion batteries from an AC outlet or an onboard gas engine. The production version looks very different from the concept car that was shown in 2007, with a design intended to be more aerodynamic while providing seating for four. GM also released pictures of the cabin, giving us a look at the cars futuristic controls and LCDs.
(Credit:
Mazda USA)
Chevrolet's Volt hasn't even been released yet and other automakers are already hard at work developing their Volt killers. Sources at Autocar say that Mazda engineers have developed a working Mazda5-based electric vehicle prototype. The prototype is said to use a rotary engine to charge a battery pack that powers an electric motor driving the wheels.
Essentially, the only thing that's keeping Mazda from putting the system into production is the high cost of batteries. Meanwhile, Mazda is said to be concentrating on more conventional green tech, such as engine start-stop technology.
The production version of the Chevy Volt will be less exotic than the original concept.
(Credit: GM)The batteries may not be ready yet, but Chevrolet is planning to show a production specification version of its electric-powered Volt at this year's Paris auto show. According to a report from the U.K.'s Channel 4 News, the Volt will be shown at the October show with an electric power train and auxiliary gasoline engine in similar configuration to that of the original concept, which debuted at Detroit last year. However, an official teaser shot of the production Volt released by GM suggests that the Paris-bound production version of the four-seater may lose some of the dashing curves of the original concept.
Meanwhile, Nissan has announced that it has partnered with NEC to start mass production of lithium-ion batteries at a plant in Japan. According to Automotive News, the initial capacity of the facility will be 13,000 batteries a year. The batteries will likely be used to power the electric car that Nissan plans to have on sale in the United States and Japan by 2010.
The 2007 Chevy Volt concept
(Credit: GM)General Motors has shed some light on the reality of its race against the clock to develop and test lithium-ion batteries for its Chevrolet Volt plug-in car, which is scheduled for production in 2010. The automaker announced yesterday that it had created a new computer algorithm to test the batteries, which will be required to propel the four-seater Volt up to 40 miles under electric power alone. According to the project's engineers, the T-shaped prototype battery for the Volt is around six feet long, weighs a hefty 375 pounds, and will be built into the structure of the car, running longitudinally in a central tunnel between the seats. In a tacit acknowledgment of the Volt's ambitious production timetable, the project's chief engineer said that the challenge was to predict 10 years of battery life in just two years of testing time; both GM's testing facilities in the U.S. and Germany are running around the clock to test the durability of the lithium-ion cells.
The Volt's prototype battery features a T-shaped design
(Credit: GM)In tandem with battery development, GM is working on a body design for the Volt that minimizes wind resistance, adding to improved range. Based on work with scale- and full-sized models in aerodynamics laboratories, the current Volt prototype has a drag coefficient 30 percent lower than the original concept. According to GM, the batteries will soon be put into road-going "mules"--probably modified Chevy Malibus--for real-world testing. Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking.
(Credit:
CNET Networks/Corrine Schulze)
The 2008 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid gave us a strong sense of déjà vu. We read the accolades accorded to the gas-only version, the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu, after its launch late last year, which reminded us of the good press received by the Saturn Aura the year before. And the Malibu Hybrid, with its belt alternator starter (BAS) hybrid system, reminded us of the mild hybrid system of the Saturn Aura Green Line. It seems that GM pioneered a good car launch story with the Aura, and chose to repeat it with the Malibu this year. We've started taking bets around the office whether GM will repeat the strategy with Buick or Pontiac later this year.
From a tech standpoint, the Malibu Hybrid doesn't stand out. The hybrid system doesn't improve the emissions rating and only delivers a small economy boost. The cabin electronics rely on OnStar for most of their functionality. We like the stereo interface, which is simple but functional. The Malibu Hybrid works primarily as a value proposition, giving you a lot of car for relatively little money.
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RetroBelt)
Whether it's an acknowledgement of mortality or a desire to relive a misspent youth, many of us have acquired a greater appreciation of classic cars, or at least parts of them. And a few are even lucky enough to celebrate their midlife crises by purchasing one. But that's where a problem often arises: What do you do about those ancient radios?
On one hand, it seems disrespectful to replace the original equipment with a new stereo that looks completely inappropriate; on the other, an AM radio just doesn't do justice to a long drive in the countryside. That's where RetroBelt's "Retro Sound" line comes in: It tries to blend the best of both worlds with a vintage look and modern technology, according to Dvice, including CD changers, mini-USB ports, and auxiliary inputs that can pipe in tunes from a digital media player.
Who knows? Maybe once people get tired of wiping the smudges off their touch screens, a backlash might bring back the knob.
Chevrolet launched a new crossover vehicle at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show, but from its specifications, it sounds more like an SUV. The Traverse has three rows of seating, plus cargo space, although the automaker insists that it drives like a much smaller car. We like that it uses a six-speed automatic. It also has some interesting tech options, such as Bluetooth, that shows GM isn't as bound to OnStar as it has been in the past.
