Crave

OK. So we promised you on last week's episode that we would do a single-purpose gadgets episode this week. Turns out, promising that type of thing in advance isn't such a good idea as we actually had to work to find gadgets that fit the theme. So we made it, but admittedly by the skin of our collective teeth. It's all worth it for the segments, though. Patience, young grasshopper!

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Sony responds to Kindle onslaught with Reader Touch and Pocket

Pancake machine churns 200 flapjacks per hour (thanks, Peter Lee!)

Ramen robot!

Multiblade pizza slicer guarantees perfect-sized slices

Lava Lamp returns as Mathmos Fireflow

A Propos (of) Nothing
The Wall-E USB drive is too cute for even baby talk to describe

This week in hello kitty
Hello Kitty limited edition Casio Exilim EX-Z2

It’s About Time
Darth Vader clock radio has no patience for your sloth

PRETTY
Bugatti Diva espresso machine inspires poetry

Potty Time
Public urinal lets you pee into the wall

Kill Me
Sony’s new “Girlz Play Too” campaign

Pink Watch (Kill Me Edition)
ChicBuds “by women, for women”

(Credit: Sanus)

Nowadays, it's not just about skinny HDTVs, it's also about similarly thin accessories for these panels. Take the latest Sanus Super Slim wall-mounting brackets, which enable an HDTV to be installed less than an inch away from the wall. They come in two flavors: the ML11-B1 for 26 to 46 inches/110 pounds and the L11-B1 for 37 to 65 inches/165 pounds.

Besides horizontal and vertical adjustments, these Sanus brackets offer quick release and ClickStand functions. The former unlocks the TV from the bracket easily, while the latter lifts the panel to deliver 3.08 inches of clearance from the wall for extra work space. The ML11-B1 and LL11-B1 retail for $119 and $149, respectively.

(Source: Crave Asia via Engadget)

This week was FILLED with conceptual ideas that were sometimes pure genius, and sometimes pure WTH. Seriously, Pornisonic, we are talking to you! Natali Del Conte and Gknee join the party to make this extra-long episode 80 percent female, 20 percent male. Has this ever happened at CNET before?!

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EPISODE 142

Programmable doorbell blends soothing chimes with real wood craftsmanship

Panasonic’s limp remote concept is both cool and unsettling

Tennis star Maria Sharapova dons geeky light-up phone dress

B-Touch cell phone with Braille touch screen is an iPhone for the blind

Nested cellphones track techno-evolution

Power outlet wall solves your electrical needs

After yesterday's downer show, we're back and cheerier than ever. Even Jeff is in good spirits after the New Jersey Devils got stomped all over their home ice. We discover today that Wal-Mart really does rock, and not in a good way.

Who watches the Wal-Mart?

(Credit: Flickr/george@sfindie.com)

The lesson of today's show is DO NOT BUY ELECTRONICS FROM WAL-MART, unless you're a rock collector, in which case you'll be thrilled, because apparently the company is literally selling Nintendo DS boxes filled with sediment.

We need to get THE BONCH, aka Bonnie Cha back on our show to talk about the Palm Pre. Actually, Palm is offering preproduction review units to Average Joes (and Josephines) in hopes of receiving "true life" feedback on the smartphone. Wilson seems to think that most consumers will frown on the smaller screen size, but we all have high hopes for the brand since this is definitely a last ditch effort in the smartphone market.

In exciting movie news, Jeff is superstoked to hear about a "Drop Dead Fred" remake starring Russel Brand, that quirky English dude that played the hippy beauhunk in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." His brand of piratey humor should do well as a young girl's imaginary friend, right? Oh! We also reveal another popular movie sequel in the works, but you'll have to listen to the show to get the full scoop.

Finally, we touch on the bloated cost of higher education and how NYU students are getting questionable phone calls about their financial aid. Apparently NYU financial advisers are individually calling students receiving significant amounts of financial aid and questioning their decisions to accept the money and attend the university. If I were still in school and someone called me about this, I'd probably just tell them to put the check in the mail and stop telling me what to do all the time.

(Credit: Mr. Maximus, you get the first 404 baby shirt!)

Today's CFTP is rather heartfelt. Thanks to everyone who called in, and we'd like to personally welcome James Christopher Maximus to the world! You were born today, dude! Hopefully you're reading this in the year 2021, when you're old enough to fully grasp our jokes. We love your dad for breeding future listeners of The 404!

Per usual, don't forget to check out our live VIDEOcast (man it feels good to write that) every morning at 11 a.m. ET. We have a ton of fun in the preshow and you get the inside scoop on how we prepare for the show. And please please please call and leave us a voicemail at 1-866-404-CNET (2638)!

Extra! Extra! You don't have to pay extra to get Wall Street Journal content on your iPhone.

Good news for news junkies and anyone who can still stomach reading about the stock market: The Wall Street Journal just took the wraps off an eponymous iPhone app, offering news, video, and even podcasts. Better still, there's no charge for the app--or the content.

That may surprise Journal subscribers who pay a little more than $100 per year for unrestricted Web access. But it puts the app on an even footing with The New York Times and USA Today apps, among others, which also provide news at no charge.

The Journal app bears a striking resemblance to the Times app, with a five-icon toolbar that spans the bottom of the screen and a banner ad just above that. (Hey, somebody has to foot the bill.)

But this isn't just the Times repackaged. For one thing, the Journal app seems to load much faster than the notoriously pokey Times, and it sports prominent buttons for Video and WSJ Radio.

The latter consists of a two-minute podcast that starts streaming immediately when you tap through. But it lacks a time stamp, so there's no way to know without listening if it's any newer than the last podcast you played.

As for the videos: they flat-out refused to play, though we'll cut the app some slack on its first day; no doubt looky-loos have stampeded the Journal's servers.

Other amenities include a button to save articles for future reference and another to e-mail them to friends. Plus, you can customize the toolbar with any of 16 icons, giving you one-tap access to sections like Tech, Opinion, and Barron's.

Thus, despite a few early kinks, the WSJ app is sure to delight the business crowd--especially considering that they don't have to tap their slush funds to get it.

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

Wall Street analysts, still upbeat about the Pre's prospects, are beginning to fall in love with Palm.

Palm hasn't put a date on the Pre launch.

(Credit: Corrine Schulze/CNET)

These folks are betting that demand for the Pre--and the WebOS that rides shotgun--will be strong enough to make Palm a strong market player again. However, if you follow the money, it's clear that Palm doubters abound.

Simply put, Palm garners Wall Street kudos even as much stronger companies, such as Research In Motion, fall out of favor. According to Thomson Reuters data, there are eight analysts rating Palm shares a "buy." Three months ago, there were only two analysts in the buy camp. One analyst calls Palm a "strong buy." Thirteen analysts call Palm a "hold."

On Wednesday, Deutsche Bank upped Palm's price target to $12 and reiterated its "buy" rating. Why? The Pre phone is likely to be released on time and may emerge before June 30.

That take isn't surprising to anyone who listened to Palm's earnings conference call. Executives were confident that they could deliver the Pre and nail the launch. Traders, however, are anything but confident about Palm's prospects.

As a percentage of float--shares outstanding--Palm is the sixth most heavily shorted company, according to data released through Tuesday. In fact, 45.6 percent of Palm's float is short. Short sellers bet that a stock is going to fall.

Here's a look at Palm's standing via The Wall Street Journal's data:

As a percentage of float--shares outstanding--Palm is the sixth most heavily shorted company, according to data released through Tuesday.

(Credit: The Wall Street Journal)

If Palm does manage to save itself with its Pre launch, all of the shorts betting against it are going to get squeezed. But if Palm fumbles, it will be time to look out below.

It would be great to actually see one of these in action.

(Credit: Runco)

A few weeks back I was watching Larry King Live, and his guest was Bill Clinton. They were talking about the financial crisis and Bill said something to the effect of, "You and I, we're going to be fine. Guys like us don't have to worry."

I guess guys like them are about the only people who could actually afford Runco's $40,000 VideoWall VW-100HD 100-inch display.

Now, of course there are businesses that will be interested in purchasing a 100-inch screen, but I get the feeling Runco sells more than a few of these to individuals as well, since according to the company, it is the "leading brand in luxury video solutions."

OK, enough of my bitter "I don't make as much money as Bill Clinton and Larry King and never will" hate speak.

The screen supports full 1080p HD resolution, and according to Runco, its VideoWalls are not as susceptible to the washed-out effect ambient light can have on screens. Runco's "Constant Contrast" technology allows the screen to incorporate frame-by-frame contrast correction to keep black levels low, regardless of ambient light, and the VW-100HD can purportedly reach contrast ratios in excess of 5000:1 ANSI.

Memorex: Leading the cheap Blu-ray charge.

(Credit: Buy.com)

We've been keeping an eye on prices for Blu-ray players and it appears that a handful of budget brand models are starting to crack the $150 barrier. The other day Woot.com had the Memorex MVBD2510 player at $139.99 for a one-day sale and now TheNerds.net is selling it for $146.99 (shipping included) and Buy.com has it at $149.99. That's on top of both the Samsung BD-P1500 and the Sony BDP-S300 slipping in and out of sub-$200 territory at Amazon and other outlets.

While $150 isn't bad, I think we're going to see $99 fairly soon, with a couple of stops at $129.99. As we found out with HD-DVD players, $99 really is a magic price point, though it is worth pointing out that these budget Blu-ray players are only profile 1.1 while the $99 HD DVD players were fully up to spec and allowed for firmware upgrades via Ethernet (the cheap Blu-ray players can't be updated and sometimes simply can't play certain movies). Profile 1.1 players aren't BD-Live enabled, which means you won't be able to access certain interactive features--for better or worse.

Read the full column.