We couldn't record today's Podcast without spending a little time on Gizmodo's big unveiling of Microsoft's secret tablet PC. The blog is reporting that even though our first inclination is to call it a tablet, it's really more of a booklet, with two 7-inch(ish) screens with multitouch, a 3MP camera on the back, and a fancy stylus for clicking, writing, dragging, and drawing. In typical 404 fashion, we have to poke fun at the fact that while a long plastic pen is very innovative, we wish it had fully functioning voice recognition, but as we've seen from the Google iPhone app, that technology will likely never be perfected. In the meantime, it looks like the Microsoft booklet will materialize before the fabled Apple tablet.
Speaking of Apple, Wilson and I are very psyched for Google to finally release push e-mail support on Google Sync for the iPhone. This means there will always be a connection to Google's servers to keep your mailbox up to date. There's no additional application necessary, just head to m.google.com/sync from your computer and follow these instructions.
If you're a long-time 404 listener, you'll remember a few months back when my iPhone camera stopped working and the Apple Genius at the store told me that my phone had somehow been submerged in water, judging by the indication on the external water sensor. Well as it turns out, that liquid sensor is a filthy liar. There are actually two liquid sensors on the phone, an internal and an external, which more often than not, tell contradicting stories. If a Genius sees the external one is triggered, the official Apple protocol tells them to report that the warranty is now void and Apple is no longer responsible for fixing the damaged phone. More importantly, the protocol says not to open iPhones and check the internal sensor. If you've had a similar experience, we want to hear about it, but you should also head back to the Apple store and ask them to open up the phone and double-check it. Who knows, you might leave with a brand-new iPhone.
EPISODE 430
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Image Credit: Gizmodo ... Read more
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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... Read more
JKK Mobile via Gizmodo
In reaction to "Gizmodogate," the gadget blog's prank of shutting down flat-screen displays on the show floor and during demos at CES (see Bloggers behaving badly), the conference's organizer, the Consumer Electronics Association, sent me this statement:
We have been informed of inappropriate behavior on the show floor by a credentialed media attendee from the Web site Gizmodo, owned by Gawker Media. Specifically, the Gizmodo staffer interfered with the exhibitor booth operations of numerous companies, including disrupting at least one press event. The Gizmodo staffer violated the terms of CES media credentials and caused harm to CES exhibitors. This Gizmodo staffer has been identified and will be barred from attending any future CES events. Additional sanctions against Gizmodo and Gawker Media are under discussion.
See also: Gizmodo editor Brian Lam's argument against my position on Valleywag (comment No. 7).
View complete CES 2008 coverage from CNET.
Microsoft is shooting to release its new Zunes on November 13.
When the company announced the launch of the second-generation Zunes on Tuesday, it said only that they would arrive in stores sometime in mid November. But gadget blog Gizmodo discovered that Amazon.com is taking preorders for the 4GB, 8GB and 80GB digital music players and listed November 13 as the release date.
This is what I found when I tried to preorder a new Zune: "Availability: This item will be released on November 13, 2007. Pre-order now! Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available."
An Amazon customer service rep told me delays are common when dealing with new product launches and that he couldn't guarantee Amazon would have Zunes on that date. But he added that the November 13 date was given to the retailer by Microsoft.
A Microsoft spokeswoman confirmed this afternoon that the company will indeed launch on that day.
Not a huge deal, but it illustrates how hard is to keep something secret from the geek crowd.
(Credit:
Gizmodo)
So, maybe a few of you are ticked off at Gizmodo for that whole iPhone prank. But in my esteemed opinion, they've righted themselves, because they gave CNET senior editor and fellow Craver John Falcone a cool hat and a totally butt-kicking nickname. He's not just John Falcone anymore, he's John "Wayne" Falcone, the "Sheriff-Geek" of CNET! He can brandish five universal remotes at a time and look darned good doing it. Trust me, you don't want to be running into this guy in a dark alley late at night.
(Credit:
Plastic Bamboo)
Forget solar-powered fan hats from Japan. They're for sissies. The headwear to be sporting among tech gurus these days is a white cowboy hat. And, by the way, I'm really pumped that I work down the hall from Falcone. Because the next time I see him, I'm going to be greeting him with a cheerful "What up, Sheriff?"
P.S.: Gizmodo, if you ever run into a situation where you feel like assigning action-movie identities to Cravers again, I have a tip for you. Mike Yamamoto has always wanted to be a pirate.
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