Jill Schlesinger of CBS' MoneyWatch joins the show to talk about the economy. So it turns out that things aren't going to collapse, and we're not going to have to sell our bodies in a barter system. That doesn't mean, however, that we're out of the woods, and Jill is here to show us the way out. Throw in a little bit of health care, a little bit of Social Security, and a garlic smell? Only on The 404!
(Credit:
Jill Schlesinger/CBS)
For the last couple of months, stocks have been soaring more than 50 percent since their March low. Jill says all that means is that the market doesn't think we're headed for Great Depression 2.0, but that doesn't mean we're out of trouble. In the dark, we imagine what V-, U-, and W- recoveries would look like. Strange... Justin, is that your hand on my leg?
Further down the line, we jump into the health care debate. Jill tells us her generation is screwing our generation and not in a good way. Essentially, they took all the good health care, and we (the 20-somethings) will just not be able to afford the premium "best health care" in the world, when we really need it. And somehow, Wilson reveals some of his Republican leanings? Say what?
Finally, we get into personal savings for the future, and we pick up the ashes of our 401(k)s. So while your parents may have lost a bundle on their retirement funds, we 20-somethings still have another 40 years before we really have to worry about our returns. Meanwhile, Social Security is a toss-up. Jill wants to advise President "Barry" Obama that the easy solution to fixing the "Third Rail" of American politics is just tying benefits to an age index. People are just living too long...death panels, any one?
Wow! So we hope you finally learned something on The 404. We sure did! Send in your feedback to the usual at the404 [at] cnet [dot] com. Follow Jill on Twitter. Or leave us a voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET, and you can debate us on the finer points of the liquidity of the money supply and U6 unemployment figures.
Episode 416
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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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(Credit:
Joystiq)
Just when you thought Nintendo Wii accessories couldn't get any more bizarre, along comes a patent filing that has left us speechless. According to the actual online patent page, the proposed inflatable air cushion will have room for a Wii remote and can be used to simulate riding on the back of an animal or being in the driver's seat of a vehicle.
Judging by the rest of the images in the set, the user would be able to plug in a Nunchuk attachment as well. The sample figure drawings also suggest the cushion itself wouldn't be flat but round, allowing the rider to lean in any direction and control onscreen action.
Since this is only news about the filing of a patent, it's tough to speculate when or even if we'll ever see this kind of device used with the Wii. That said, it certainly sparks the debate about whether these accessories are getting out of hand.
What do you think? Would you ever spin around on something like this?
(Source: Joystiq)
We usually hate acting as an echo chamber for the viciously self-inflating Internet rumor mill, but this one is so gloriously out there that we can't help but weigh in.
Usually respectable financial outlet Barron's (owned by Dow Jones & Company, after all), caught our eye with the following report:
Citigroup's Richard Gardner asserted in a research note this morning that..."field checks" have confirmed that shipments of new MacBooks have begun; he says the most distinctive features of the new MacBooks are "very thin aluminum casing, an LED-backlit display and an aggressive entry-level price point."
This was picked up by several other tech-watching Web sites, most of which take an appropriately skeptical tone. After all, we've already heard rumblings of a MacBook-related Apple event coming up in October.
It all seems improbable, but then again, in the unlikely case that new MacBooks start turning up next week, at least we've been warned.
(Credit:
Newlaunches)
If you're a parent with small children, you likely know that birthdays are a much bigger deal than they were when you were growing up. No more simple cake and pinata affairs; now it's inflatable jumpies, jugglers, puppet shows, goodie bags, and maybe even a pony or two. So the idea of a giant inflatable boombox may not be so crazy as it sounds (or looks).
Think about it: You and you neighbors can chip in for an "iBig Box" with its built-in MP3 player, speakers, dock, and fabric controls. Instant backyard party atmosphere, and you can pass it around from family to family as needed.
And if it gets damaged by screaming 8-year-olds, it won't be the biggest loss at $60. Then again, it may not survive the first party.
(Credit:
Yanko Design)
Now why didn't we think of this? While the lonely at heart have their inflatable dolls, here's a blow-up mouse for the dateless geek. You can not only snuggle up to it, but you can actually put it to use. Not that kind of use.
Designers Bongkun Shin, Heungkyo Seo, Jiwoong Hwang & Wooteik Lim did intend for this to be a working mouse and packed electronic circuity on a small flexible board within the Jelly Click. So all you need to do to use this is blow it up, attach the USB cable, and click. It's only a concept now, though, so until there's a commercial unit it's all just hot air.
(Source: Crave Asia)
(Credit:
AxPertz)
We'll leave those motorized "Bumper Boats" to the kids. As far as we're concerned, Astone's "Sit N Joy" is the only way to enjoy the water.
This is no ordinary inflatable float, mind you. It's a buoyant multimedia massage chair with integrated speakers that can be connected to a media player stowed safely inside a watertight compartment in one of the armrests. (The chair's remote controls are built into the other arm.)
In fact, Astone says it's comfortable enough to be used outside the pool as well. We're wondering if it'll fit in the driver's seat of our car.
(Credit:
Walmart.com)
The words "inflatable" and "robot" rarely appear next to one another in a sentence, but there's a first time for everything.
The sub-$40 Mega Mech Airmagination radio-controlled robot may be full of air, but as the photo that accompanies this story shows, it's also full of enough awesomeness to cause amazed facial expressions from mulleted youngsters.
The robot has a built-in voice chip that spits out pre-loaded phrases, as well as wheels in its feet that let you drive it around RC-style.
Like most cutting-edge robots, the Mega Mech Airmagination is available at Walmart.
At more than 48 inches tall, Airmagination is touted on the Walmart site as the "largest toy robot on the market!" That may be true, but it's only because the $300,000 Land Walker robot hasn't hit Target's shelves yet.
Cliff (left) and Pat show off their Battle Blast Hammerheads.
(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET Networks)Why are these two pasty shirtless dudes showing off inflatable sharks? Well, I'll tell you...you'll just have to read on.
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(Credit:
SkyMall)
I sometimes have a penchant for posting about odd little vehicles on Crave, like motorized bathtubs and pirate ship pool toys. Some of the time, they tragically aren't big enough to fit grown-ups (no matter how youthful our attitudes may be). This $99.99 Bumper Boat is no exception. It's basically an inflatable pool chair that happens to have a motor and steering equipment attached so that you can chase people around and smack into your friends--but it's kid-sized. Most of us would probably sink it, unfortunately.
It's also not very functional, aside from the motor. It's lacking some essential features for any kind of "bumper" vehicle, namely obnoxious flashing lights, a cup holder (last time I checked, you couldn't get DUIs in the pool!), and a highly effective water cannon. It could use some musical infrastructure, too. Shame, shame.
Nevertheless, I hope this trend of motorized pool toys catches on. That way, us lazy pool-partygoers won't have to paddle from the deep end to the tiki bar to get refills on our mai tais.
