Crave

BFI = Brendan the Future Intern

(Credit: The 404/CNET)

One surprise guest on The 404 always makes for a great show, especially when it's Bonnie Cha, who's in town apartment hunting for her big move out to New York at the end of the year! We're so excited at the idea of hanging out with her full-time, and even more stoked to welcome our second surprise guest: 404 superfan Brendan!

Our new underage friend took it upon himself to arrive at the CNET offices in the middle of his N.Y. vacation, bright and early at 3 a.m. in anticipation of sitting in on the show. We're more than happy to oblige, because that's some serious dedication. 404 fans rule; thanks for stopping by, Brendan!

In honor of our two guests, we've got a hilarious show today, literally packed full of awfully random stories from the Internet. It's the first day we're all back together as a family, so Jeff takes a second to tell us about his Halloween adventures and his trip to see Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" in 3D. It sounds like he might be changing his opinion on 3D, although we're all a little wary about Jim Carrey's upcoming 3D adaptation of "A Christmas Carol."

Wilson's next three months.

(Credit: Toys.IE)

Next, Wilson offers two completely off-kilter stories that he dug from the colon of the Web about a creepy new Wii game that forces you to "cram a Wiimote inside a baby," according to Wilson's description, and another story about a bizarre space hotel that will charge guests $4.4 million for a three-night stay that includes majestic views of the rising sun...15 times a day. No, it's not Fhloston Paradise, it's real life, which is much scarier.

Speaking of movies, check out the official trailer for "Prince of Persia" and this photo of a shirtless Jake Gyllenhaal and tell us you won't be first in line when it comes out on May 28, '10.

Also, Wilson tells us Joss Whedon has issued an open letter to the Terminator owners asking to make a $10,000 bid to continue the popular franchise. The guy definitely means business, and we might be onboard were it not for the fact that he keeps referring to himself as a "legendary mastermind." He does, however, offer a throat lozenge for Christian Bale's John Connor if accepted and even puts in $10k for the Batman series while he's at it, so it's clear that Joss Whedon has lost his marbles. Maybe we should just keep it to blood-suckers and wooden stakes, how about it Joss?

Much thanks once again to everyone who sent in photos for our Halloween costume virtual catwalk you see below. If you'd like to be included, send us a photo of this year's get up to the404{at}cnet[dot]com.

Hope you guys enjoy today's show as much as we enjoyed recording it!

404 listener Halloween costume parade, Pt. 2!

If you're a fan of comic books, you should also be a fan of the iPhone. Apple's smartphone is home to several neat comic-book apps designed specifically for those who want to enjoy harrowing stories of their favorite heroes in the Digital Age.

I've sifted through the many apps related to comic books and found a handful that you'll want to try out. Whether you're a DC Comics fan or you're partial to Marvel, I think you'll like what you find in these apps.

Get your comic on

Clickwheel Comic Reader if you plan to read comic books on your iPhone, the Clickwheel Comic Reader will be able to satisfy that desire.

When you start using Clickwheel Comic Reader, you'll be able to sift through comic books and find one you want to read. The app doesn't have many of the classics like those you would find from an app like Comics or iVerse Comics (see below), but it does have some comic books you might care about. Either way, the app displays all your favorite content in full color on your iPhone. And since it's free, it's probably worth trying out if you don't mind reading a relatively small collection of books.

If you want to read some comic books, Clickwheel might be your choice.

(Credit: Clickwheel)

Comic Envi If you're more into comic strips than comic books, we have you covered too.

With the help of Comic Envi, you can check out some of your favorite comic strips. You can check out old, well-known comic strips, Web-only offerings, and more. You have the option of viewing them in a slideshow or by moving them with your fingers. You can also check out the daily updated strips or some of the titles in the archive. It's a neat utility, but beware that you will need to pay 99 cents to get it.

Check out Comic Strips with the help of Comic Envi.

(Credit: Comic Envi)

Despite year-over-year sales declines putting a recession-fueled wet blanket over the entire industry, video games are still a big business, and a hit-driven one at that. Hence, much of the attention falls on a handful of commercial superstars each year, from Halo 3 to The Beatles: Rock Band, leaving plenty of worthy games languishing in obscurity.

That's why it's pleasing to see critics and gamers alike praise Warner's Batman: Arkham Asylum, a new action/adventure game about the famed caped crusader. Earlier this year, during the annual E3 video game industry trade show, we said:

Perhaps because it started life as a lower-profile project, this game was able to develop without a movie release deadline to hit or a hard holiday season shipping date. What we've ended up with is one of the best games we've played this year, with appeal that goes far beyond comic book fans.

Now that we've played the final retail version of the game, releasing on August 25, our initial impressions have been confirmed, and we're willing to say this may be the best overall gaming experience of 2009. CNET's sister site Metacritic.com says the early reviews average out to a score of 91 out of 100, which the site labels as "universal acclaim."

With decent (for a video game) scripting and voice acting, and a grim, detailed setting on Gotham's spooky Arkham Island, we concur with several reviewers who have compared the game to 2007's BioShock, another critically hailed title that mixed talky character development with brutal action in a vaguely dystopian setting. The plot is a typically McGuffin-filled story about the Joker taking over the secure mental hospital that houses both him and a rogues gallery of other super-villains - naturally requiring Batman to set things right.

The real secret to Arkham Asylum's appeal is something too many games ignore -- variety. Instead of setting up a basic gameplay mechanic and repeating it until your thumbs fall off, this game jumps from hand-to-hand combat to stealth to detective work (using some kind of highly advanced Bat-goggles that can track DNA and fingerprints, as well as see through walls). The net result is that you never spend too long doing one thing, which helps fend off boredom.

To be fair, the game's deceivingly open environments mask that it is a largely linear experience, funneling Batman from one challenge to the next through the use of conveniently locked doors and new Bat-gadgets that are doled out as the game progresses. Also, some of the dialog can be hokey, and if like us, you lack a deep knowledge of Bat-lore, many of the references and cameos will go over your head. Still, it's a tribute to the game's strengths that you don't need to much beyond a passing familiarity Batman's movie or TV incarnations or appreciate this game's excellent pacing and production values.

Batman: Arkham Asylum screenshots

(Credit: Mark Brooks/Natali Del Conte)

Today we're graced by the presence of an actual superhero. Yes, Natali Del Conte has been transformed into the marginally intimidating geek hero "Motherboard." Neither a mother nor a board, Motherboard was sent to this planet to fight crime with her magic gadgets. Too bad she must recharge every night on her magnetic induction bed. Find out the etymology behind our new superfriend and her trusty sidekick Green Show Boy, aka Mark Licea, by listening in!

Also on the show, we discuss the fallout from the Horizon Realty escapade and why the Wii has stopped selling so well.

Finally, we talk about Peter Jackson's latest complaint: the fact that Hollywood has run out of original stories. OK Mr. Jackson, we'll give you District 9, but we're pretty sure both King Kong and The Lord of the Rings may have been other people's ideas.

EPISODE 393

On today's show, CNET reporter and 404 BFF Caroline McCarthy directs us in a live read-through of the actual script for the upcoming Facebook movie and also joins us in talking about 4Chan, Comic-Con, and this weekend's insane hailstorm.

CarMac!

(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET)

We love it when Caroline McCarthy drops into The 404 studio because she always brings the juiciest news from the Internet. Last week she revealed to us the details of "The Social Network," a movie about Facebook's seedy origins...and today we read through a scene from the screenplay live on the air! The scene involves Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, twin co-founders of former Facebook rival ConnectU, arguing with their third partner about how to end Mark Zuckerberg's life for stealing their genius idea. After reading a few pages, we quickly realize that none of us even have the slightest chance of having a career in the movie industry. Awful.

Caroline stays with us for the second half of the show for a knee-slappin' Calls From the Public, including one from our buddy Ryan that equates Wikipedia to...well...I'll just give you this hint. Thanks, Ryan!

More stories of the day include the idiots over at AT&T picking a fight with 4Chan, the most notorious group of pranksters on the Internet. Moot, the founder of the controversial forum site, reported on Sunday that AT&T had blocked broadband access to some of the more controversial message boards (including the most infamous /b/), claiming that a denial-of-service attack had "stemmed from IP addresses connected to img.4chan.org." Finally, after a fake overdose story involving AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson surfaced on CNN, AT&T deemed 4Chan "safe" for its customers to visit and cleared the block. Talk about getting close to the fire!

I'll try not to get too sniffly here, but this will be my last blog post for a week, since I'll be heading back to California for a week-long vacation. I'll be back next Wednesday, but Jeff and Wilson will have some truly awesome guests coming in to fill my very small feet! I'll never forget you guys. Goodbye!

Aww, isn't it cute?

(Credit: Entertainment Earth)

Update: Entertainment Earth mentioned to me that despite what it says on the box, the bobblehead doesn't talk. But you're free to pretend all you want.

Well, wouldn't you know it, San Diego Comic-Con International (affectionately known as Nerd Prom) is only a few days away, and guess who's mad he's not going?

I tried to console myself by thinking, "Aw, it's probably gonna suck anyway. You won't see anything interesting."

Even when I saw the guest list, I kept up the sentiment, though there were giant cracks in the facade (Ray Bradbury? I'm missing Ray Bradbury?).

But when I saw some of the SDCC-exclusive toys and realized they wouldn't adorn my desk because--and I'm not sure I've mentioned this enough times--I'm not going, I got full-on P.O.ed.

Just as an example, here's a nifty Spock bobblehead. Yawn, you're saying. You've seen Spock bobbleheads. Ah, but this one, an Entertainment Earth exclusive for the convention, has a clear body which, when you push his head, looks like it's being beamed away, complete with light-up effect.

Why, Entertainment Earth? Why do you taunt me with such things?

And while you can preorder them from the site, they'll be shipping while supplies last after the convention, so if all 1,500 sell out at the con (they're only $13.99 each, so there's a good chance they will), you're out of luck.

We invite Natali Del Conte onto today's show to have some fun with us, but you should've been there in the preshow--she went berzerko! We calm her down a little bit and she talks to us about her Palin/Twitter fallout and her upcoming appearance at Comic-Con 2009. She also dispels rumors about drugs in her undergarments, and we get to a few more exciting stories on the show!

NDC as Lara Croft

(Credit: Natali Del Conte)

If you're wondering why there's a photo of Lara Croft to the left of this paragraph, look again: it's actually Natali Del Conte, host of Loaded on CNETTV. She'll be at this year's Comic-Con 2009 in San Diego, so be sure to look for that soon! We love it when Natali comes on because we always seem to bring out the dirty side of her, or so we think.

Today's show starts off a little rough because Natali just can't seem to get the Wi-Fi in the studio to connect to her computer, so we're warning you to brace yourselves for a classic NDC scream in the beginning of today's show. After that, everything runs smoothly (as smooth as it can get on The 404).

We get to talking about Sarah Palin resigning and the ridiculous speech that sort of made sense, but didn't say anything. I think NDC put it best when she said that the former Governor of Alaska is very good at the art of "saying without saying." We all watched the speech, too, and after several 17-minute viewings, I still have no idea what the heckbeans is going on. I guess she's not so much of a Maverick after all.

Daniel enjoys the weekend with Becks and The 404

(Credit: CNET/The 404)

The next story in today's show rundown is about the city of Boston launching a complaint-filing iPhone application. Sounds like a disaster waiting to strike, right? I'd have to agree with you. Now that all citizens of Boston have an open forum to complain, I imagine a flood of the most mundane little squawks about graffiti, potholes, smells, street lights, etc...stuff that you normally wouldn't give a **** about.

After we report on the story, we go around the table and list off a few complaints that we have with the city of New York, and if you think Boston is bad, just wait, there are a few good ones in there. Are you listening, New York?

Finally, we want to send our thanks to our pal Daniel for sending us a very kind e-mail with a picture of what he did this weekend. He writes, "Hey Guys, Wanted to let you know that I spent sometime with the 404 and a Becks this weekend. Feel free to post this to the blog or whatever. Really love your show, keep up the work and congrats on the sponsor." Now if that isn't the most ideal way to sponsor a show, I don't know WHAT is! We jest, but we seriously appreciate pictures like these, they make our day. By the way, our new iTunes album art looks GREAT in Cover Flow!

Calibre is a cross-platform, open-source library for your e-books that can also sync them to your e-book reader. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, it offers a massive range of individual book customizations, as well as format conversion and newspaper-style RSS feed grabbing, but lacks a slick interface that would go a long way toward convincing skeptics that it's a powerful tool.

Calibre's lackluster interface is nevertheless replete with features.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

The number of things that Calibre can do for your digital book collection is stunning. You can view books in a basic spreadsheet layout or with an adaptation of Apple's Cover Flow. Cover Flow here lacks a default image, and the sudden white rectangle where the book cover should be is jarring. It can be toggled with the big, white arrow icon in the bottom-right corner of the main window--an equally awkward placement.

The first security comic strip.

(Credit: CoSoSys)

E-mails from security firms such as Symantec saying your computer is unprotected and you need to spend money right away to buy that company's software can be quite worrisome. And many times, I have frowned while at the airport, wondering what the Homeland Security Advisory System's Elevated threat level really means.

I know security is a serious issue, but how about some laughs for a change?