Crave

Molly Wood joins us on today's show and we chat about various undesirables from around the Internet. First, it's the return of the Montauk Monster, everyone's favorite gnarled-up, indecipherable creature who occasionally washes up on the shores of eastern Long Island. Is this a real animal or some hoax that is running out of steam?

Ever want to cover up that unsightly foot fungus with something other than a sock? Well, we've got the product for you: foot makeup. We chat with Molly about this bizarre invention and whether or not any of us can tolerate staring at a foot for more than 10 seconds.

Also on today's 404, we talk about a movie theater that is faking IMAX showings and charging $5 extra for tickets. Is IMAX worth the extra cash, or is it nothing but a scoliosis-inducing activity?

All this, plus Calls From the Public and the defending of Wilson Tang on today's 404!

EPISODE 340

The 404 studio starts its transition from toxic-waste dump site into a full-on video production system with the help of Buzz Out Loud star Jason Howell. Seriously, there are about six cameras in here pointed at things I don't even want to mention.

(Credit: Print Screen/CNET/Tricaster)

Lots on today's show. First, the Interwebs have tracked down the location of the suspected Domino's Pizza where a few employees rolled dough down their backs and stuck cheese up their nose. Speaking of douche bags, there's a new book coming out highlighting the antics of "that guy." You know, the one that strikes up a conversation at the urinal or, like Justin, who sends you pictures that leave you having nightmares. Rounding out the first half of the show, a 6-year-old boy can't return a brand-new PSP to Wal-Mart after he discovers pr0n on it.

On the second half, we've got some great voice mails, including a call from a special someone in Hawaii who wants to have Justin's babies. Stephen Colbert gets a treadmill named after him aboard the International Space Station. If you're addicted to the Internet, there's an application on the Mac that will help. And finally, AT&T allows parents and jealous boyfriends and girlfriends to track the location of their loved ones. Call it a social network and it's not big brother; it's awesometown.

Again, please RSVP for tomorrow night's BOL and 404 meetup at the Delancey in New York City at 7:30 p.m. Right now, only age 21 and up can come. We're working on trying to get 18+ to get in, but no guarantees. It is a bar, after all. If you can't make it though, please call in at 1-866-404-CNET (2638) to leave a callback or message about something asinine one of us said.

Jason Howell, from Bore Out Loud, keeps us classy in this very special episode of The 404. We make our big videocasting announcement. That's right! The 404, podcast of the future, is going to become a video podcast, so you'll be able to watch as Wilson looks deeply/creeply into the camera every morning. Plus, we get into some studio shenanigans as we prepare to revamp this place. And CNET TV is nominated for a Webby!

(Credit: Wilson G. Tang/CNET)

On today's show, find out why you should never eat Domino's pizza, especially if you live in New York City. It's all about the Ray'z Pizza, man. Also, Amazon says it had a homophobic "glitch" that caused several LGBT books to be removed from its listings. We think Nazis did it.

On the second half of the show, it's Tuna Tuesday! (Please listen to the show to find out what that means.) Nintendo releases an add-on to the Wiimote that makes it even longer and more precise. TWSS. Also, a 79-year-old Japanese man has the greatest job in the world.

By the by, is Miramax sending the right message to a girl who couldn't find a copy of "Adventureland" on bittorrent by giving her free tickets to see the movie? Or is it all a ploy to get her arrested? Finally, be sure to check out your RSS and iTunes feeds for our little "404 presents."

Keep sending in your best survival stories and character voices to the show at 1-866-404-CNET (2638). Be sure to RSVP for The 404 and Buzz Out Loud Meetup here in New York City. Alison Rosen, Jason Howell, Natali Del Conte, Kenley Bradstreet, and so many more are going to be making their appearance. Maybe you can buy them a drink? (Be warned: Jason is ours though.)

Dennis Crowley, inventor of many things good, including Dodgeball (the social Web tool, not the terrible movie or the gym game Justin and Wilson can't play because of their thick glasses), joins The 404 today to talk about some interesting stories from the Web and his latest social Web tool, Four Square.

(Credit: Dennis Crowley)

Today, we go a bit back in Web 2.0 history with the first Twitter/Loopt social-networking tool, invented by Mr. Crowley, Dodgeball--from its inception, to its purchase by Google, to its eventual shutdown.

Not to be deterred, Dennis is back at it again with Four Square, another social-networking tool, where users can compete with one another and earn badges and points when they hang at certain places. It's available for both iPhone/iPod Touch, BlackBerry, and SMS. We encourage you to check it out and report back to us, whether it improves your social life or earns you a "Douchebag Badge."

Also on today's show, we get to some voice mails about Buzz Out Loud infringing a little too much on 404-territory. It's no surprise, given our general awesomeness. In actual stories, we've got Justin Yu's review of the new "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie that his "friend" let him watch through a telescope in another room.

We learn through the new Digg Bar that young, white males binge drink. You can thank the U.S. federal budget deficit for that wonderful, no-duh study.

Per usual, send us a voice mail, especially about your social life experiments with Four Square, at 1-866-404-CNET (2638). Or via e-mail, if you're international, at the404 [at] cnet [dot] com. More guests coming up, including an appearance by Dan the Mantern and Alison Rosen.

PHC's SCR-12

(Credit: Professional Home Cinema)

Designed by L. Paul Hales to produce concert-level sound in the home, speakers from Professional Home Cinema dare to go where no audiophile manufacturer would: PHC speakers play loud enough to duplicate live concert volume levels. For real, no kidding.

Take the SCR-12 ($4,000 each), it's a medium format "Screen Channel" loudspeaker capable of reproducing the awesome dynamics and unrestricted volume levels of a commercial cinema or concert PA system in your home theater. It uses digital signal processing (DSP), high-resolution frequency response shaping, and time-alignment to produce a maximum output exceeding 130 decibels. That's really, really loud! Even so, the SCR-12 measures a fairly compact 24x15x12 inches. I assume most buyers will place the speakers behind a perforated projection screen.

PHC speakers are meant to be partnered with PHC amplifiers. Complete 5.1 channel systems start around $30,000. PHC offers a range of high SPL capable speakers, subwoofers, and an amplifier.

Professional Home Cinema's Web site is about to be updated. Check the site in a few weeks to see the changes.

Thanks to Dolby Volume, too-loud commercials, inaudible dialog, overly loud special effects, and inconsistent volume will all be a thing of the past, says Dolby spokesman Craig Eggers.

Dolby Volume improves the listening experience "by leveling the volume across channels and programs while preserving the listening experience at any volume level." To hear Dolby Volume, you'll need to buy a new receiver, like Harman Kardon's AVR 7550HD or Arcam's FMJ AVR600. They're the first two A/V receivers that feature Dolby Volume, but we expect to see it appear in a wide range of TVs, home theater in a box systems, and more over the next few years.

Hardware manufacturers are free to implement Dolby Volume in slightly different ways, and some will offer low, medium, and high levels of the Dolby Volume "effect." So the degree of volume consistency may be user-selectable.

The sophisticated technology measures and controls perceived volume levels to provide a consistent volume listening experience. Eggers confirmed that Dolby Volume is fully compatible with all sources: Blu-ray, DVD, TV, CD, MP3, iPods, FM radio, analog and digital, including, yes, DTS-encoded DVDs and Blu-ray Discs!

But Dolby Volume isn't just about maintaining consistent volume, it also preserves the apparent tonal balance, so even during hushed late-night listening sessions you'll still hear the same bass and treble balance as you would with the level turned up loud.

I haven't heard Dolby Volume yet, but if it works as advertised it really will be amazing. No more mad dashes across the room to turn down the volume when changing sources or discs. I can't wait.

(Credit: Crave UK)

At Crave we're very fond of iPod-ready speakers and we're not averse to those that claim to be of a superior quality. How do you think we felt this morning to see a set that look like our studio monitor speakers and claim to be the most dynamic-sounding smart speaker system on the market? We felt good inside.

Sierra Sound has a history of producing high-end studio audio equipment, so theoretically it should know what it's doing designing the iN Studio 5.0 iPod speaker system. (We don't think the same can be said of its capitalization, but there you go.) Of course, there's the ever-useful iPod dock built right into the top, or you could wire them into your home-cinema system, your PC... even your mobile phone if you've got one of those handy little adaptors.

These are pretty loud monsters too, with 50W of screaming power encased in a glossy black, white or grotesquely red case.

So far these only ship in the U.S. and cost $399 (200 pounds), but if they ever make it on to British soil you know where to find a review*.

(*Here at CNET.co.uk, if that wasn't as obvious as it was intended to be.)

(Source: Crave UK)

(Credit: Pottery Barn)

If you've got teenagers in your house, you've got loud music. Lots of it. But be aware, it could be worse: They could have a bed that plays music too.

The "Tune-In Bed" from PBteen essentially turns an entire headboard into a sound system with two 4-inch stereo speakers and a control panel for connections to an iPod or MP3 player. (Maybe there's a way for parents to hack the volume levels.)

This "biggest iPod dock in the world," as Red Ferret calls it, doesn't come cheap--it's $700. But that's a lot less than a bed with a TV.

(Credit: Akihabara News)

We had vowed not to post any more items on alarm clocks, but this could be a Valentine's gag gift for a loved one obsessed with 24. As you rightly guessed, the alarm on Banpresto's "DangerBomb Clock" can be disarmed only if the wires are connected in the correct sequence, according to Akihabara News. It might not be quite so lame if they combined this with the "Sonic Bomb," blowing out the eardrums of the hapless victim who doesn't get to it in time. But that's just us.