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Yesterday's show with guest host Alli went so well that we ask her to help us out again! Today we show off some beautiful fan artwork, run through outdated tech terminology, dispel "Batman 3" rumors about Megan Fox, and more!

We want to give a huge shout-out and thanks to Joe from Honolulu for sending us these two amazing woodcarvings of The 404! We're still blown away by the level of detail in the paintings and the ridiculous amount of time it probably took to make. Best of all, we love that it's a collaborative effort between two 404 fans: Blake Stevenson helped design our logo and Joe just took it to the next level. Cheers to both of you!

We're all a little worried about Chris Nolan's next "Batman" movie. We've been hearing a lot of rumors about the follow-up to last year's "Dark Knight," and even though we think Megan Fox is next level hot, we just can't imagine her as Catwoman. First of all, there are one thousand other characters in the Batman universe, why resurrect the same ones over and over? Let's see a Killer Croc! In other Megan Fox news, gamers will be excited to hear that she will be on Xbox Live on Saturday, August 29 @ 3 p.m. PT to play Gold Members in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen the Game. Cross your fingers and let us know if you actually play her!

Many more crazy stories from the Web in addition to an "Ask The 404" segment on today's show. Thanks for listening, all!

So this isn't quite a sub-$300 laptop, but it's close and is a decent deal for back-to-school.

(Credit: Wal-Mart Stores)

Beginning Sunday, Wal-Mart Stores will offer a 17-inch Toshiba Satellite L355 for $348. The model is almost a year old, so the specs aren't fantastic--3GB of RAM, 250GB hard drive, Intel Celeron processor, and Windows Vista Basic--but for the price it's understandable. (Also, you'll have to wait. If you try to buy it now it will say "out of stock.")

Of course, not everyone is going to want a 17-inch laptop, but if you're looking for value it's a steal. At $348, it's a full-feature laptop that's less expensive than some Netbooks, with a normal-size keyboard, screen, and everything. As competition heightens for consumers among retailers there's sure to be more where this came from, with better deals on traditional notebooks. And then there's the new wave of CULV (consumer ultra-low voltage) laptops that are super sleek and light that will come with very attractive pricing too. The effect these lower-priced laptops will have on Netbooks still remains to be seen.

If you do happen to be in the market for a back-to-school laptop, don't miss our handy buying guide put together by resident PC experts Dan Ackerman and Rich Brown.

Looks the same as other HP laptops, but not nearly as powerful inside.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Editors' note: This review is part of our 2009 Retail Laptop and Desktop Back-to-School roundup, covering specific fixed configurations of popular systems that can be found in retail stores.

One thing we noticed when reviewing the lowest-priced entry-level laptops in our retail roundup was the presence of the Intel Celeron 900 processor. Showing up twice (in the Compaq CQ60-417DX and the Toshiba L305-S5955, discussed below), it's an outdated, poorly performing CPU.

The sneaky thing, however, is that this processor shows up in a chassis that also houses more highly powered machines. Perhaps this downgrading and price-cutting has been inspired by the success of Netbooks. Regardless, it can be confusing for consumers. $350 or $399 sounds like a great deal for a laptop, but is it still worth it with an processor that's not much better than a Netbook?

In our Back-to-School retail laptop roundup, we've taken a look at a few real bargain-basement machines. Along with the Toshiba Satellite L305-S5955, the Compaq Presario CQ60-417DX comes in at less than $400. Although it's 50 dollars more than the Satellite L305-S5955, it also has a larger, 15.6-inch, higher-resolution 16:9 screen, comes with a Windows 7-upgrade-eligible Windows Vista Home Premium OS, and has a keyboard and touch pad that were far more comfortable for us. But, you should be forewarned: both systems are nearly identical otherwise, and both come with a pretty bare-bones Celeron 900 processor.

However, for only $29 more, you can get a laptop with a significantly better dual-core processor in the Dell Inspiron 1545-012B, so the underpowered processor at the CQ60-417DX's core can't be overlooked. For your entry-level computing needs, we recommend looking elsewhere.

For the same price, would you rather have a larger screen and Vista, or a Netbook?

Read the rest of our review.

(Credit: University of Leeds)

Engineers in England have come up with a product to save a few bob for those who work in semi-dangerous occupations--cement body armor.

The vests combine "super strong" cement with recycled carbon fiber, making the vests tough enough to withstand most bullet calibers, according to researchers at the University of Leeds' School of Civil Engineering.

Currently, top-of-the-line bulletproof vests are made with alumina plates--the raw material used to make aluminum--through a costly process called sintering, which involves heating the material for up to two weeks at 1600 degrees Celsius to harden it.

The cement vest, on the other hand, would offer a cost-effective level of protection for people in semi-risky occupations short of full-on combat.

"By using cement instead of alumina we are confident we can deliver a cost-effective level of protection for many people at risk," said research team leader Philip Purnell. "It should be good enough for people like security guards, reporters, and aid workers who are worried about the odd pot shot being taken at them."

The attendance reporting app used by the Aoyama Gakuin university.

(Credit: SoftBank)

If American school children have to resort to some special mosquito ringtone to use cell phones at school, a university in Japan is doing the opposite: giving cell phones to students. And not just any cell phone--the iPhone 3G.

According to Asiajin, about 550 students and staff members in the School of Social Informatics at Tokyo-based university Aoyama Gakuin received the iPhone 3G for free earlier this month as part of their study materials.

This is the result of a deal that Aoyama Gakuin signed with SoftBank, the exclusive vendor of the iPhone in Japan. The number of students using the iPhone is expected to reach about 1,000. This is the first time a particular cell phone has been used on such a huge scale at a Japanese university.

The gadget will work as a study tool for students, but as it also comes with GPS, which the university plans to use to check student attendance. Truancy is a big problem in Japan, where regular attendance is an important factor in determining a student's grade. Students often fake attendance by getting classmates to answer roll calls.

Now, with the iPhone 3G, the school plans to keep better tabs on its students. Students are allowed to use the phone for attendance reporting (but only if they are actually in the classroom, a fact that will be verifiable based on the phone's GPS), lecture podcasting, and online examinations. A student can't answer the roll call using the phone from any location other than the classroom.

Students can, of course, still cheat the new system by leaving their phones with fellow classmates, but this is not very likely to happen, as people tend to keep a lot of private information on their phones that they don't want to share with others.

As for calling and data plans, the university covers the basic fee. The the hardware itself is free, but students will have to pay when they exceed downloading limits.

Our fantasy of a tiny set of plastic pocket-drums will have to wait till next year.

(Credit: Harmonix/MTV Games)

Rock Band has gone portable, kind of: MTV Games, Harmonix and EA have officially shipped Rock Band Unplugged to stores, meaning you'll finally have a new UMD game for your dust-gathering PSP. Although the game won't go on sale until June 9, we thought we'd give you an idea of what to look forward to just in case you find someplace putting this on the shelves a little early.

With 41 tracks on disc and a full World Tour mode, the band creation and unlockable wardrobe/swag are everything you remember from the console versions. But what, you may ask, has been done about all those plastic drums, guitars, and whatnot? Does it come with fancy mini-instruments that interface with the PSP?

How can Rock Band be portable?... Read more

Look, Chica is now all dressed up and ready to dance!

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

If you think getting your teenage or preteen kid an iPhone will spoil them, you are right. It sure will! But if you have a preschooler, there's now a good excuse to spoil yourself with one.

An excuse of possible better parenting, that is.

PBS Kids Sprout, the on-demand TV channel and online service for kids ages 2-5 and their parents, announced Thursday its two iPhone applications for preschoolers on the go, called Sprout Player and Dress Chica. These applications are the result of the collaboration between PBS Kids Sprout and New Wave Entertainment studio.

The Sprout Player is a video player application that streams 3- to 4-minute Sprout shows. The player offers simple audio instructions voiced by Kelly Vrooman, one of the hosts of Sprout's "Sunny Side Up Show" that airs every weekday morning.

The Player also includes an area where parents can view Sprout's programming schedule for upcoming events.

The Dress Chica application, on the other hand, is an extension of a popular online game currently featured on Sprout Online's Web site. The iPhone app allows you to touch and drag items of clothing onto Chica, the bird mascot of Sprout, to get her dressed.

What can we say? We're in the giving spirit this holiday. Whether you like 'em or not, they're yours now! Happy Holidays, everyone!

EPISODE 118

My gift to me!

Nespresso Essenza Automatic Espresso and Coffeemakers with Nespresso Aeroccino Milk Frother

Cool party favor or life-saving tool? You be the judge

Blast Knuckles: For the woman on the go who needs that extra sense of security

Mobigrip gives you a firm grasp on your handhelds

Radio-controlled key finder makes life easy for the scatterbrained

Digital Spoon Scale, for obsessively accurate cooks

R2 Fish Training School Kit

PRETTY
Sun and Moon Jars

(Credit: Paramount Digital Entertainment)

There is no Guitar Hero or Rock Band game for the iPhone and iPod Touch. There are other rhythm games like Tap Tap Revenge andDrummer available, but what do these games really teach you about music?

Well, I wouldn't know personally as I've not played Drummer orTap Tap Revenge. I do know this, though: you may be making straight As playing those games--if by "straight As" I mean enjoying playing them--but let's face it, you're only living in the dumb daze--if by "dumb daze" I mean "did you catch my clever reference?"

Paramount Digital Entertainment has announced the availability of School of Rock. Based on, inspired by using audio clips from the 2003 movie of the same name, School of Rock attempts to educate as well as entertain. Now, before you click the back button or continue to scroll down to the next story, read on before your ADD gets the best of you.

According to Paramount, the game incorporates an array of features that give players the opportunity to explore the history and diversity of music and instruments through a series of quizzes and challenges.

The key features include:

• Gameplay channels including School of Drums, School of Keys, School of Guitar, and School of Bass
• Challenges to identify brand-name guitars and keyboards using "axes" from some of the leading names in music
• Instruction in the areas of melody, harmony, rhythm, tempo, and beats
• Ability to record your own jam session to playback for review or fun

School of Rock is $6.99 at the App Store, and if you're into music, it may be worth checking out, but seriously, there need to be demos on the App Store for games that cost more than two bucks. IMO, $6.99 is just too much to take a chance that an iPhone app might actually be worth it. Reviews or not.