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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.)

BerkerXSwarovski light switch

(Credit: Berker)

It seems like everything under the sun is getting the Swarovski crystal treatment. Back in February, we introduced you to the top five Swarovski disasters, which included phones, radios, and even a whole piano covered in the stuff. Now you can add light switches to the list of useless abominations sprinkled with Swarovskis.

This time around, Berker Switches and Systems has teamed with Swarovski to present the "Crystal Collection." Why would you settle for a boring old plastic switch when you can get a large, multi-faceted Swarovski-cut crystal instead?

OK, the technology behind the light switch is actually kind of cool. There's a sensor behind each crystal that senses infrared light disruption (i.e. from a hand), similar to rain sensors in automobiles. They call this type of optical recognition "HALIOS," or High Ambient Light Independent Optical System.

The crystals themselves are embedded in matte-finished stainless steel, shining chrome, or gold, and are available in four colors: crystal, black diamond, topaz, and siam. No word on the Berker site about price; I assume that depends on the crystal combination you choose for your switch. What ever happened to just being born with a silver spoon in your mouth?

Check out the slideshow below for more images.

Light switches brace themselves for Swarovski crusade

(Credit: Kazuhiro Taniguchi)

Think it's rude to make faces at people? Well, you better start rethinking that stereotype if you intend to use the Mimi Switch.

Forget fingers. Created by Osaka University researcher Kazuhiro Taniguchi, the Mimi Switch (aka Ear Switch) is a set of unassuming earphones containing infrared sensors. This lets the earpiece sense tiny movements inside the ear caused by facial expressions and transmit the readings to an attached micro-computer that then translates them into commands for a music device.

In fact, this gadget isn't limited to just audio pleasure as it can be programmed to control other electronic devices. Hence, sticking out your tongue, winking, or almost any facial expression can be mapped to any particular function.

The first devices are expected to appear in two to three years. But you better start reconsidering that insurance coverage if you plan to use the Mimi Switch in a seedy neighborhood. Unless, of course, you look as cute as the model in the picture.

(Source: Crave Asia via Physorg)

Iogear's USB Laptop KVM Switch can do more than just switching mouse, video, and keyboard.

(Credit: Iogear)

Iogear introduced on Monday the first KVM Switch that enables control of a second computer using your laptop--the USB Laptop KVM Switch.

For those who are not familiar with this type of device, KVM stands for keyboard, video, and mouse. A KVM switch is a device that allows for working directly with more than one computer via only one set of KVM and therefore keeping the work space free from clutter, and saving energy as well as money. This is only applicable to situations where you don't need to directly interact with all of the involved computers at the same time.

Unlike most existing KVM switches, the new USB Laptop KVM Switch also works as a data connection. This means, apart from controlling a second computer with your laptop's KVM, you can, too, transfer files between the two computers. All you need to do is simply connect two computers via USB 2.0 ports.

In addition, the USB Laptop KVM Switch has an integrated USB 2.0 port to connect another USB device, such as a printer, an external hard drive, a Webcam, and so on. You then have direct access to this device from the controlling laptop. The USB Laptop KVM Switch also features desktop scaling that modifies the second computer's resolution to be compatible with a laptop screen.

The new Iogear USB Laptop KVM Switch works with Windows 2000, XP, and Vista operating systems and is estimated to cost $130. I couldn't find it at any online stores at the time of writing this blog, but it's supposed to be available for purchase immediately.

Ixia kicked off its "Switch to Ixia campain" by offering trade-in equipment and competitive financing solutions.

(Credit: Ixia)

Ixia, a leading company in IP performance testing, announced a competitive upgrade program today as part of its "Switch to Ixia" campaign.

The program will last through the end of September 2008. During this time, new and existing customers from all over the world can trade equipment from Ixia's competitors, including Spirent, Agilent, and Shenick, in for Ixia's latest test equipment and applications. Or they can earn up to a 50 percent credit toward a new purchase.

Ixia also offers IxFinancing Leasing, a special financing solution that allows you to pay for Ixia products, software, and services over time with no down-payment. You'll make small monthly payments, and a $1 end-of-lease buy-out.

Ixia has been known for many IP-based network testing solutions, from Aptixia IxLoad, which can generate layer 4-7 traffic for content-aware device assessment, to ixChariot, which CNET uses to test wireless routers.

Most new TVs have three or four HDMI sockets these days. But what if yours has fewer than you need? That's not as uncommon as you might think, especially if you have an older TV or even something like the Hitachi ultra-thin screen we reviewed recently. With Blu-ray players, games consoles, satellite, and media streamers, it's not a stretch to believe some people might desperately need more HDMI inputs.

(Credit: Crave UK)

Happily, there are solutions for you, including this Lindy HDMI switch, with four HDMI inputs and one output. As it features what Lindy proclaims is a "high-quality Sony chipset," you shouldn't have any problems with compatibility or signal corruption. Happy days, as you'd be rather narked if you bought something like this only to discoverer it made a mess of everything you sent through it.

The switch is also HDMI 1.3 certified, which means you get support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD, as well as deep color. It pretty much goes without saying that HDCP is supported too, so you can hook up devices with evil copy-protection systems and they will still work.

So who needs one of these? If you've got an older TV with just one or two HDMI inputs, you'll no doubt find it useful. It can also be a huge bonus if you have a wall-mounted TV and have hidden the cables behind a wall. If you only put one HDMI cable back there, this will no doubt save you some considerable effort. We also rather liked that you didn't have to change input on the TV any more--many TV remotes make you cycle through sources. Here, you just use the Lindy remote to hop around all your devices.

(Source: Crave UK)

(Credit: Brookstone)

As long as some people simply can't stand leaving their USB ports unoccupied for any length of time, here's at least one way that they can be used without making a fool of oneself while saving some desk space at the same time. The "Photo Frame Speakers" will blast away in stereo from behind the frames on either side of the computer, though the pictures aren't digital--not exactly seemless technological convergence, as Everything USB notes, but it'll do in a pinch. Especially if you use them at the office while your Metal Gear Solid 4 headset is recharging.

(Credit: USB Fever)

Even after seeing all the crazy functions that have been incorporated into the once-lowly mouse, we never anticipated that privacy would be one of them. Yet that was the stated goal of a combo Skype phone-mouse we saw recently, and now it's been cited for another one as well.

There are many different types of privacy, however, and the purpose of the "USB Smart Privacy Mouse" isn't to protect confidential conversations and such--instead, it's intended to keep prying eyes from snooping on your computer monitor. That makes it quite similar to the "Phantom Mouse" that debuted in Japan last month: Both can instantly "conceal any and all programs in windows" with the touch of a button, as described by GeekAlerts.

And as we noted with its predecessor, it can be a lot quicker than searching around under the desk for a "StealthSwitch."

(Credit: Crave UK)

As you may know, here at Crave we're big fans of the off switch. But as we've previously noted, it's an endangered species. Happily, Toshiba is keen to stop David Cameron from mounting a full-on campaign against LCD TVs by allowing its customers to turn them off properly.

You probably know what modern TVs are like. You're pretty lucky if you can find one with a proper off switch--sometimes you get a second standby button on the TV, but the good clunking motion we remember from CRTs of the '80s have long gone. This is, as you can imagine, rather a disaster for the environment, because even on standby a TV will munch its way through a fair bit of electricity.

There are claims by some companies that you need to keep your TV on in order to receive updates to the program guide and the TV's operating system. The truth is, most TVs are turned on enough to keep them up to date without them needing all night to search the airwaves for a random download.

We're certainly thrilled to see the off switch making a comeback. We watched the Toshiba representitive demonstrate it, and we're very pleased to report it worked as expected. Pressing it once turns the screen off, pressing it again turns it on again. Of course that assumes it was turned on in the first place, but we're confident most people will understand the process works just as well if you assume the set was turned off to start with.

All hail the off switch, for it has returned to bless us all with lower power bills.

(Source: Crave UK)