Crave

(Credit: Skype)

Today's episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast starts off on a personal note, with Jeff detailing last night's tour of Justin's tiny Manhattan apartment. I'll concede that the space is indeed very small relative to the cripplingly expensive rent, but like any self-respecting human, I'll pay almost anything stay out of New Jersey.

Although, if I ever get tired of New York, I can always make like Rob Cavazos, aka the Wilderness Man, and embark on a 10-day camping trip to the most remote phone box in the world. It's a 10-day experiment put on by Skype and The Viral Factory to raise awareness of Skype's cheaper international calls to landlines and mobile phones. Cavazos speaks English, Spanish, and French, and is inviting everyone to call the payphone using Skype for a quick chat. Check out the Phone Box Experiment Web site for more details.

Back in January, we made a spelling error trying to use the idiom, "Good juju, bad juju." As it turns out, the expired CrunchPad is now resurrected as the "JooJoo," but CNET's Rafe Needleman doesn't think consumers are willing to pay $499 for a device that does less than a Netbook. Check out Rafe's hands-on with the JooJoo and let us know YOUR opinion in the comments below.

Thanks Austin!

Big thanks to Austin for the Nook motivation poster you see up there. And, as promised, we've got more 404 theme song remixes today, including more 8-bit awesomeness and two piano covers of Jonathan Coulton's "Mother Effers" track! Very cool stuff here, and please keep them coming! This has been the most. successful. unofficial. contest...ever!

Wait, this is what WoW looks like? Maybe I should start playing...

(Credit: PrintWarcraft.com)

It feels good to let the poison out every once in a while, so today's episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast is all about human vices, starting with a story about a controversial secret love scene in Dragon Age: Origins between two gay elves. While conservatives are up in arms about the cut scene, Wilson and Jeff stand by the Mature rating and hold parents responsible for making the final buying decision, but I have to play devil's advocate and ask why it's necessary to have sex scenes in video games in the first place; are there really gamers out there actually getting a kick out of seeing it, or is it just creating more trouble than it's worth?

While we're on the subject of nerds, World of Warcraft players are rejoicing at Blizzard's "ever-expanding line of merchandise" that now includes customized posters featuring your in-game WoW character. It's called Print Warcraft, and it's already so popular that the Web site is apologizing for its overloaded servers. We have a few problems with the idea of the service, so be sure to listen to the whole episode for our breakdown.

The last vice of the day might change the way you party on the weekends: a researcher in Russia has found a way to solidify your favorite liquors into pill form. Evgeny Moskalev of the Saint Petersburg Technological University has figured out how to turn alcohol into powder and pack the concentration into a "dry pill." We seriously doubt party animals in Russia will be able to measure out the exact vodka dosage needed to get blotto, but we'll raise our pill box to it anyway.

(Credit: Otterbox)

We've also got two new user submitted theme songs thanks to PA Stubbs and David, and DON'T FORGET! It's not to late to enter for a chance to win one of ten Otterbox cases for your iPhone 3G or 3GS. All you have to do is leave a comment on yesterday's episode and wait to see if you win! The contest runs until noon tomorrow, December 4, so don't forget!

For this week's installment of the weekly Crave giveaway, we're going green with not just one, but three Ecogear bags made with "planet-friendly organic cotton, PVC-free materials, recycled plastics, and toxic-free dyes and components." That's great, but we also like the design of the bags, which are tech-friendly as well. (We particularly like the roomy Black Rhino, which also features a removable laptop sleeve that comes in handy when you're dealing with airport security).

Normally, this collection of Ecogear products would cost you about $125, but you have the chance to get it gratis.

So, how do you try to win the Ecogear bags? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully; there will be a test.

• Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join CNET" link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, no need to register again.
• Leave a comment below. You can leave whatever comment you want. If it's funny or insightful it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated.
• Leave only one comment. You may enter this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified.
• The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive (1) set of Ecogear Tiger, Black Rhino, and Mohave Tui bags. Approximate retail value is $125.
• If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
• Entries can be submitted until Monday, October 5, at noon EDT.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR D.C., 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sweepstakes ends at 12 PM ET on October 5, 2009. See official rules for details.

Good luck.

After a very relaxing three-day weekend, we're back for a fresh start and a hilarious show. Today, we recap our appearance on Fox News and our weekend exploits, debut a few excellent logo submissions, and reveal Wilson's secret shame.

Sick camera face, Wilson

(Credit: Justin Yu/The 404)

Welcome back, everyone! Hopefully your weekend was as relaxing as ours was, although sometimes a three-day weekend can be more tiring than a whole week of work! Let's just say that seeing the sunrise as you go to bed can be beautiful and tragic at the same time. We kicked off our Memorial Day weekend with an appearance on Fox News' "Strategy Room" with our buddy Clayton Morris. Most of you have already seen it, but check it out if you haven't and let us know what you think. Were we too serious for our own good? More bathroom humor, perhaps? I'll try harder next time.

In related 404 news, Wilson discovers that Dave Matthews Band is using the REMIXED version of our theme song in a promotion on its Pandora channel. What the crap is that all about, DMB? We're calling you guys out on stealing the song from our buddy Jamie Lewis, and we're extra protective since we consider him the unofficial voice of the show, so expect that subpoena in the mail immediately. And Jamie, if you're reading this...we'll be looking for our commission check soon, too.

Aside from us tearing apart some d-bag that broke the Rock Band 2 world record, we also have a hilarious call from the public and show off more submissions for our "Design The 404 Logo" competition. Watch the video for today's show to check them out, or see the slideshow below for high-res shots. Send your high-res submissions to the404[at]CNET[dot]com and we'll show them on the air for the chance to win a gigantic prize package that includes a copy of "The Back Book," Anna David's "Bought," and more!

The 404 Logo Submissions

With the arrival of Wii MotionPlus, Nintendo promises even more accurate motion control for Wii games that are developed with the hardware in mind. Unfortunately, this means that all games developed up until now cannot benefit from MotionPlus in any way, shape, or form.

But is all this too little, too late for Nintendo? There's no denying that the Wii is popular; it's the best selling console by far this generation with supply only just recently catching up with demand. But as far as the idea of motion control is concerned, is it as satisfying as we all had hoped?

We're not saying motion control doesn't work. It has done wonders for balance games like Super Monkey Ball and has really shined in the first-person-shooter department with titles like House of the Dead Overkill and the yet to be released The Conduit.

But for other genre titles, it seems the Wii's motion control arsenal really doesn't exist beyond a shake or a smack. There are plenty of times while playing a game like Zelda: Twilight Princess where a slice of the sword could occur much quicker with a push of a button rather than a shaking of a Wii remote. In fact, the game had been originally designed for the Nintendo GameCube, but got held off to launch along with the Wii.

We're not knocking the Wii, there's impressive technology there. There's a lot of very satisfying experiences to be had playing Metroid Prime 3, Super Mario Galaxy, and No More Heroes. That said, we can't say the same for the majority of third-party games where motion control is clearly an afterthought.

(Credit: Nintendo)

Surely anyone who's played a variety of Wii games can spot tacked-on motion controls, so why is it that it takes two and a half years after the console's release to get "true," accurate control? And doesn't the consumer have a right to be a tad upset with the fact that these improvements should have been included in the original hardware all along?

The Wii might be the cheapest home console on the market (except for the bare-bones Xbox 360 Arcade), but after you've bought enough Wii remotes, nunchuks, Wii wheels, zappers, and now MotionPluses for up to four players, you're a lot more heavily invested than you might think.

Wii MotionPlus is set to release on June 8 for $20. While there won't be any first-party titles to try it out with, EA has bumped up the release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 and EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis--two games designed with MotionPlus in mind.

The jury may still be out on MotionPlus, but rest assured we'll have a full review soon after its release. Will it revolutionize gaming on the Wii? Or will it come off as just another tacked-on gimmick? Vote in the poll (above), and share your thoughts in detail in the comments section.

(Credit: Kotaku)

Last week Nintendo announced a June 8 release date for MotionPlus, an attachment device that promises more accurate and precise motion control. While you can't use the technology with preexisting Wii games, you'll certainly be able to take advantage of it with the 2010 EA Sports lineup of titles.

In fact, EA has just revealed that MotionPlus will be bundled with select games from the publisher. In the U.K., you'll be able to purchase Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 and Grand Slam Tennis with the accessory, but only with the Tiger Woods game here in the U.S.

We'd imagine the bundled games will go for a bit of a premium and, of course, you'll be able to purchase the game separately without MotionPlus. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 ships on June 15 and looks like it will be the first game available to make use of MotionPlus.

(Via Kotaku)

(Credit: Trendnet)

If your Mac laptop doesn't come with a built-in airport card, or if you want to add Wireless-N to your desktop, you now have more options.

Trendnet, maker of the cheap yet reliable Wireless-N access point, announced Thursday that it will implement Mac support for two of its Wireless-N USB adapters--the Trendnet TEW-624UB (version B1.1R) and the Trendnet TEW-644UB.

Mac support for these adapters comes in the form of a software utility and a driver that allow the devices to work with Mac OS X v10.4 (Tiger) and 10.5 (Leopard). Though the retail packages of these adapters will take a few months to include the software, you can download it now at Trendnet's Web site using the links above.

According to Trendnet's CEO and president, Pei Huang, the company will continue to expand its support for Mac OS in the future.

TechForward helps you secure the future upgrade of purchased electronics.

Packrats need not apply; for others I might have some good news.

TigerDirect and TechForward announced on Thursday their partnership to offer Guaranteed Buyback plans at TigerDirect and CompUSA retail stores for electronic products.

The plans lock in trade-in values for electronics at the point of sale for an additional fee, for up to two years. The fee is calculated based on specific model and configuration. In layman's terms, you pay a relatively small amount of money to ensure that you can sell back the purchased product within two years from the day you buy it, for a set price that varies depending how long you've had it. The longer you keep the product, the less credit you will get from it to use toward purchasing a more up-to-date device.

While trade-in services are not new, the Guaranteed Buyback service differs in one key point: TechForward guarantees the trade-in price of a product at the time you buy it, instead of simply giving you just the portion of whatever market value is left in your device at the moment you want to upgrade. This difference provides more certainty around resale values for those who upgrade their devices every year or two.

Considering the life cycles and how fast things get out of date in the world of high-tech gadgets such as MP3 players, digital cameras, and even laptop computers, two years actually gives you a rather large window of time to possibly get a good deal for the upgrade.

The Guaranteed Buyback plans also help make sure that used electronics are collected and disposed of properly. The plans will go into effect starting September 8 at TigerDirect and CompUSA stores, as well as online.