Are you ready for Brutal Legend?

(Credit: Brutal Gamer)

Get ready to have your faces melted, because Brutal Legend finally comes out today for XBox 360 and the PS3. To quote Jeff, the game is a "metal fan's absolute fantasy come true." It stars Jack Black as the voice of Eddie Riggs, a roadie for a metal band that must fight off metal-infused demons to save the world. Unfortunately, Jeff has some criticism about the game that might influence your buying decision.

Speaking of video games, though, it just so happens that Uncharted 2 also comes out today exclusive to Playstation 3, although it's already garnering excellent reviews from critics, including our own Dan Ackerman. The game is essentially the male-centric version of Tomb Raider, a take on the Indiana Jones adventure-style franchise. The antihero of the story, Nathan Drake, acts as a treasure hunter and art thief for hire, and it's up to you to navigate him across the world as he battles through firefights and explores virtually limitless environments that add to the overall realism of the game. Can't decide between Brutal Legend and Uncharted 2? Jeff's got your answer on today's show!

Jon Heder likes Raisinhill...isn't it time you did too?

(Credit: MySpace/Raisinhill)

Big congratulations goes out to Natali Del Conte for making onto Manolith's list of the 12 hottest geeky girls in tech! NDC joins the ranks of other Internet hotties like Jade Raymond, Jessica Chobot, Morgan Webb, and more, so be sure to take a peek at the list and let us know who YOU think is missing! Don't even think about nominating Wilson...he's booked solid for the next decade.

Finally, it's my turn to choose the Beck's Beer Semi-Weekly Audio Draft Pick! Today's band is Raisinhill, a couple of talented chums hailing from Redding, Conn., who play a modernized version of up-tempo jazz/rock fusion. The trio are all classically trained and use their wide range of talents to create their dancey jams.

We understand that today's generation probably isn't running to record stores to pick up jazz CDs, so we're hoping you'll keep an open mind with Raisinhill and appreciate their instrumental talents. Besides, any band endorsed by Mr. Belding, Ron Jeremy, and Napoleon Dynamite HAS to be pretty good. The songs of the day are called "Nameless" and "The Ridge." You can listen to both songs on their MySpace page. If you like what you hear, you can buy their self-titled album as well. Enjoy!

Updated 7.28am PST Saturday, following requests from readers, with details of the dead man and the full picture of the computer.

I wonder how many of you already know where you would like your ashes to live in perpetuity.

In a Cupertino parking lot, perhaps? Or strewn on the steps of a certain academy of sciences?

I only ask because it seems that a geeky man called Alan seems not to have wondered about this. With the result that his eternally powdered life is now being spent inside a SPARCstation computer.

One assumes this is what they call a SPARC of respect.

A Flickr member called Sam 3.14, who appears to be Alan's brother, explained on the site that it was he who decided to place Alan's ashes inside one of the most precious creations under the Sun.

(Credit: Sam 3:14)

Sam described it thusly on his Flickr page: "I kept the floppy drive cover but for space reasons removed the floppy drive, hard drive, and most of the power supply. I left behind the motherboard and power switch and plugs to keep all openings covered."

Which seems like a wise and brotherly gesture.

Sam continued: "The case worked quite well at his memorial party. His friends and family were able to leave their final good-byes on post-it notes. Anyone who wanted to keep their words private could just slip their note into the case through the floppy slot."

(Credit: Blake Stevenson)

Now that I've moved into a new mouseless apartment, I can finally settle down and live the dream of digital cable television. First things first, though: I need a new TV. Since it's been eights years since I've even considered buying a new box, needless to say I need all the help I can get. Luckily I've got Jeff, Wilson, and CNET's HDTV World to help me decide on a size, resolution, and brand! Feel free to send me your shopping advice or hot deals at the404(at)cnet(dot)com or @the404 on Twitter.

Everyone's talking about the latest gossip: Attack of the Show stole our show motto! In light of this controversy, our buddy Blake Stevenson drafted the amazing fight announcement poster you see to the left.

With so many awesome fans like Blake on our side, we're sure to win this Battle for the Brow. And if you think that Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn can even occupy the same air as our low brow-itude, you're on the wrong side of the ring. D-Topping, pearl necklaces, bean bag chairs, buzz-outlouding!? We DARE Attack of the Show to step to us and find out what happens when you mess with the Nerdy Dirty (please don't steal that one).

Click thumbnail for larger image.

(Credit: Brian from Pittsburgh)

Jeff brings a great first story to the table about Best Buy's Geek Squad charging $130 to set up a PlayStation 3! This story is so ridiculous that it actually prompts Jeff to bring back the classic "ARE YOU KIDDIN' ME!?" and sadly...they aren't. Neither Best Buy nor Geek Squad have the best customer service reputation, but this might as well be a crime. We understand that there are some fairly techno-inept folks out there, but setting up a PS3 literally requires one plug. Save your $130 and buy some games.

Finally, much thanks to Brian from Pittsburgh--the first winner of our "Take-a-photo-of-yourself-in-a-hockey-rink-with-a-404-sign" competition! Click on the thumbnail over yonder to see him in all his hockey-garb glory. A copy of NHL 10 is on its way to your doorstep, Brian! There's still time left to submit YOUR photo to the404(at)cnet(dot)com, so don't sleep on your chance to win!

(Credit: Sinapsis)

I know many of you think we bloggers are pimple-faced, bloated nerds who live in our mother's basement and survive on Fritos and Mountain Dew. While that is certainly true for some of us (Hi, Devin!), it's not the case for all of us. In fact, many tech bloggers, myself included, are socially well-behaved people. Who drink beer. A lot of beer.

And sometimes we have occasion to swap our T-shirts for button-downs and ties. But as geeks, we prefer that everything, including clothing, has a utilitarian angle. Thus, the After Office Tie by Argentinian design house Sinapsis.

It's a regular black tie for wearing to conventions, meetings, interviews, parole hearings, and other things bloggers need to attend. But unbutton your jacket and you see the magic: a bottle opener integrated into the tip of the tie. Imagine, no more church keys taking up precious room on your key ring where an eighth USB drive could be clipped!

Sadly, the After Office Tie--an entrant to a Designboom competition whose winner will be announced October 4--is just a concept at this point. Until then, we can wear the ThinkGeek Power Tie. Also, more photos of this handsome be-mulleted man after the jump.

(Credit: ThinkGeek)

Twitter is great, but there usually comes a time when phenomena like it jump the proverbial shark. The fact that these T-shirts from ThinkGeek exist could mean Twitter is approaching that point, but I do kind of want one anyway.

The brown and blue shirt essentially turns you into the Twitter "anonymous" icon, or the default Twitter profile image for people who haven't uploaded their own pic (I use my CNET headshot, natch!).

The icon's pictured to the left, but for those who don't know it, it's o_O. Just like that. It's an emoticon, really, that resembles a surprised gerbil.

The shirt sells from $15.99 to $17.99, depending on size, which I feel is blatant discrimination. I'll check ThinkGeek's Twitter feed for an apology.

As if Chris Pirillo of Lockergnome fame wasn't all over the Web enough, he now wants to be in your kettle. Pirillo has partnered with Might Leaf Tea Company to invent Geekalicious, a signature tea that bears his likeness. It's a genmaicha-like tea, and like most genmaicha, it has rice puffs that combine with the other natural tea flavors to give it a refreshing character.

"I went to college for this."

(Credit: Mighty Leaf Tea Company)

How do I know so much about tea? How does Pirillo? Some are saying tea is the new coffee. I used to work in a coffee shop that was popular among the tea-elite. I can't speak for Pirillo, but with the Revision3 guys getting their own brews, it's like this geek tea thing is becoming a trend.

Geekalicious makes me wonder what other kids of things Pirillo will start licensing. If the tea is successful, will we see a breakfast cereal called Pirillo Puffs? Rice Chris Ps?

Where can I get some Cinnamon TechCrunch?*

We haven't tried the tea yet. But if you're into tea, you can try Geekalicious at Mighty Leaf for $9.95. So far there are no reviews, but maybe one of our readers can be the first.

* Editor's note: the editorial staff takes no responsibility for Matt's puns. They are his own, though we're glad he shares.

Going to a retail store for consumer electronics purchases can be both exciting and frustrating. After working at Best Buy for two years, I have a few opinions to share that you might want to consider before your next shopping trip.

1. We have no formal training in the field of consumer electronics.
Upon transferring to the computer department from home theater, I expressed concern to the manager: "Will there be time for someone to train me on laptops/desktops? What do these specifications mean?" His reply was simple: "Just do your best. A good salesperson can just read the labels and compare specs." Ouch.

Salespeople are not necessarily experts in the products sold in their departments, even if they are expert salespeople. Though many express a strong interest in the products they sell, your time spent at a retail store fishing for information about a future TV purchase could be better spent online researching the products yourself (I heard CNET has pretty great reviews).

"You need those HDMI cables, you know you do."

(Credit: Amazon)

2. We make little off the big-ticket items, so we smother you with accessories.
Remember the story "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"? Well, if you tell a salesman you're going to buy a TV, he's going to want to sell you a DVD player to go with it. Once he sells you the DVD player, he's going to want to get you to buy an HDMI cable, too.

Managers at Best Buy (and possibly all retailers) tell employees that the store profits surprisingly little from video game consoles and computers. Cables, accessories, mice, and other components, however, have a huge profit margin-- stores can make about $120 from a $150 Monster HDMI cable. Angry yet? The point is, we're going to work really hard to convince you to purchase that big item, but once you've said "OK" you've opened Pandora's Box.

Here's my advice: Grab the big item, and run. Purchase all accessories online, including memory cards, cables, traveling cases, and so on. Amazon, Monoprice, and Newegg are all reputable discount Web sites. You'll find what you need at a much lower price.

"Heartbeat is all wrong...his body temperature is--Jim, this man is a Klingon!"

(Credit: Entertainment Earth)

Oh, man. They're just trying to kill me. Which, I suppose, is a bit ironic, as this is a replica of a medical device.

Seriously, though, check it out. For a measly $39.99, you can be the proud owner of a Star Trek Original Series Medical Tricorder. Exclusive to Entertainment Earth (the "they" who is trying to kill me with all this geeky stuff), this deluxe tricorder not only looks sweet, but even has sound clips of DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy, including my personal favorite, "I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer!" It also lights up and makes the beeps and whistles you'd expect.

Now I've had tricorders before--I used the sounds from a toy Next Generation model during a call to convince my friend there was something wrong with his phone--but this one is old-school Trek. It even has a portable medical scanner. How can you not want to buy that? Or, even better, how can you not want to buy that for your Trek-loving husband? (This is directed mostly at my wife, but if it works for you, good luck.)