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The 404 788: Where we buy you a virtual girlfriend (podcast)

Scott Stein fills in for Wilson, who is spending a sick day at home trawling WebMD on his iPad. Or maybe he's at a job interview for Grand Theft Auto V. Today's show discusses a phenomenon known as "Netflix hoarding," how to buy an online girlfriend using a new service called Cloud Girlfriend, and we suggest a few April Fools' Day pranks for nerds.

Episode 788 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS VideoRead more

Cloud Girlfriends teach you how to fake it

When we at CNET first heard about Cloud Girlfriend--a yet-to-launch service that creates your dream girl and then puts her on display so all your social-networking connections can admire her witty status updates and wall posts--we turned a wary eye to the calendar. Less than a week to April Fools' Day. What are the odds that a start-up that creates fake Facebook girlfriends is itself a fake?

We found a couple of red flags:

1. The Web site is currently a polished but simple "launching soon" placeholder that looks to have taken about two minutes to put up using a new service called Launchrock.

2. The purported business model completely misses out on the substantial market for cloud boyfriends:

Step 1: Define your perfect girlfriend. Step 2: We bring her into existence. Step 3: Connect and interact with her publicly on your favorite social network. Step 4: Enjoy a public long-distance relationship with your perfect girl.

But then we found the brains behind the operation, a financial analyst for San Diego-based wireless company Remec named David Fuhriman who swears it's the real deal. We had a number of questions for Fuhriman, and he answered most of them, kind of... … Read more

Buzz Out Loud Ep. 1299: Apple iPod announcement shuffles the buttons (Podcast)

Steve Jobs revealed today three new iPods, including a Shuffle with buttons, a Nano that can double as a wristwatch (we think) and a razor-sharp iPod Touch. Also: Sony and Amazon have media news of their own, and Zuckerberg wants his privacy.

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The 404 656: Where we vote yes on virtual girlfriends (podcast)

It's not too late to enter the JetBlue All You Can Jet Giveaway! You only have until 12 p.m. PDT to tweet out this message:

Follow @the404 and RT this for a chance to win 1 of 2 #AllYouCanJet @JetBlue passes. Rules: http://bit.ly/dodRKs #AYCJ

Don't forget that you have to be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United States to enter. We'll tweet a congratulatory message at 3 p.m. EDT today to announce the winners. Good luck!

Apple's yearly iPod and iTunes event goes down tomorrow and we've got plenty of predictions (and dreams) for what Apple will show off. We'll likely see a "Retina display" and a forward-facing camera come to the iPod Touch devices, but Wilson's hoping for a revamped Apple TV that could bring iOS 4, an A4 chip, 1080p playback, 16GB of storage, and a $99 "impulse" price tag.

Check out our Crave poll, submit your own predictions, and don't forget to check back with us tomorrow for official news!

This summer, a hot-springs resort in Atami, Japan, became a vacation destination for men who just can't stand being single. For almost two months, the resort offered players of the dating sim Love Plus Plus a physical location to bring their virtual girlfriends.

Once there, the players visited romantic locations and took pictures next to black-and-white markers on the ground that acted as triggers for the corresponding augmented-reality smartphone app. In real life, it looks like the men posed by themselves, but the app inserted a picture of their virtual girlfriends to simulate companionship. As the only single dude on the show, it's apparently my job to investigate this matter in greater detail, so see you in Japan!

What's with everyone just throwing away animals? First there was the security camera clip of a British woman trashing a cat, and now LiveLinks just posted a video of a young girl chucking puppy after adorable puppy into a river! Luckily, we can rely on the vigilante justice of 4Chan's /b/ thread to come to the rescue in both cases.

The infamous message board is on the hunt to reveal the identity of said puppy-chucker, and they've already narrowed down the location of the river to a city in Croatia; they even found two potential Facebook profiles that match her description, although it could be anyone. She's around 5 feet 7 inches tall, blond, and Caucasian...nevertheless, we're confident that they'll bring the culprit to justice. Just don't hurt us!

Again, there's only one hour left to add us on Twitter (add Jeff, Wilson, and Justin while you're at it) and tweet out the bolded message up there for your chance to win one of two All You Can Jet prizes, courtesy of JetBlue! Good luck to everyone entering. We can't wait to see where you go!

Episode 656 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS VideoRead more

Girlfriend pillow: A sad place to lay your head

Tossing and turning at night because your one-armed, lumpy-felt-breasted girlfriend left town? Or just feeling extra creepy? Never fear, sad lonely person: The Deluxe Comfort Girlfriend Body Pillow is here. And it is just awful.

There's not much more to say, really, other than that if this is the deluxe version I'd hate to see what standard gets you. Available now at Sears (!) for just 10 bucks, plus all kinds of awkward explanations should a real human girl ever stop by.

This story originally appeared on Gizmodo.

The 404 167: Where we're going to Fhloston Paradise

Jeff's better half Stacie Blair and Dan the Mantern fill out Friday's show, where once again, things go awry with the technical difficulties. I'm starting to think The 404 is cursed. Stories for the day include fake iPhone lineups in Poland, facial recognition technology at Dunkin' Donuts, parenting tips from The 404, and our new segment "Girlfriend of a Gamer."

Today's show is suppa greeen! We're very excited to welcome Stacie Blair into the studio! She jumps into the chatroom from time to time, but this is the first time ever in the … Read more

Where we're biting off a little more than we can actually chew

Today Dave Karp from Tumblr.com tells us why we should all be tumblelogging. Plus we'll get a movie review from Justin and Dave about--brace yourself--Teeth. All this and the new Cleveland show, Indiana Jones 4, and Uwe Boll's craptastic Postal movie. EPISODE 102 Download today's podcast