(Credit:
Nicholas/The404)
Welcome to Justin's penultimate episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast! Tomorrow will be our last show as a team, but there's plenty of special Yuletide episodes, contests, 404 merchandise, and CES shows to look forward to in 2010.
I know we swore this story wouldn't get discussed on our show, but we finally cave in and say a couple quick words about the recent Tiger Woods sex scandal. As the story unfolds, Wilson tells us Tiger is in even hotter water for sending a racy text message to his lady on the side.
We all make mistakes, so we're not hating on the guy, even though these accidents are most common among teenagers.
(Credit:
Sony)
Next, Jeff gives us an insider's look into the glitz and glamor of a professional video game reviewer with an overview of Sony's upcoming PS3 game lineup. One of the more unique titles is Heavy Rain, described by the director as "a very dark film-noir thriller with mature themes." Jeff describes the format as a graphic version of "Choose Your Own Adventure," where the decisions you make in the game help to route you through the levels and the storyline. Take a look at Jeff's PS3-exclusive gaming rundown for the full story and more previews.
Finally, virtual daps to Nicholas and Props Guy Jim for using their Photoshop skills to make a few special holiday images for the show. Be sure to subscribe to our iTunes or RSS feed to get the updated holiday album cover art! Also, we're saving Props Guy Jim's picture for the holiday blog, which will go live on Christmas Eve--thanks again, Nicholas and Jim!
EPISODE 484
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You old-timers once traversed the Internet using search engines like Alta Vista or Inktomi. Then came Google and it was point, set, match. But one constant in the history of this business is that that no front-runner has a guaranteed lock.
So it's been fun watching the emergence of a burgeoning class of start-ups including the likes of Spock, Wink and (coming next month), Powerset. On Wednesday, the final version of Sproose goes live.
This search engine adopts a slightly different tack, borrowing on the social-networking model to display its rankings. Call it a spin-off of the wisdom of the crowds approach. Users will be able to vote for video and text search results, thus voting upon the reliability (or popularity) of a given result on Sproose. The more votes, the higher the ranking. The fewer the votes, the lower the ranking.
I'm sure the system's inevitably going to run up against wisenheimers who try to game the results. But that shouldn't pose an obstacle if enough people participate. If it works as anticipated, community vetted rankings may prove quite useful. Something like Yelp but for Internet searching.
George Clooney may be the "sexiest man alive," but is he the most searched person on the Internet?
According to Yahoo's top 10 list of the most conducted searches in 2006, Britney Spears is back on top. The pop star had fallen from interest last year, but has hit No. 1 on the list five times in six years, according to Yahoo.
Yahoo has published the Top 10 Searches of 2006 lists, which include TV shows, movies, politicians and news stories. Among sports teams, the New York Yankees were No. 1, while the Boston Red Sox came in fourth. Spider-Man 3, due out in May 2007, was the most searched movie.
Britney is not the only "lady" to capture the interest of searchers. Shakira, Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, Beyonce Knowles, Pamela Anderson and Lindsay Lohan, were also among the top 10 most searchable terms.
WWE, the abbreviation for World Wresting Entertainment, was second. Hip-hop singer/dancer/O.C. star Chris Brown was eighth and the only man to make the overall top 10.
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