polls

Has everything audio that can be invented been invented?

"Everything that can be invented has been invented." --Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. patent office, 1899.

This infamous quote has been bandied about forever, but let's try to apply it to our times. Sure, the old commissioner was off by a bunch of decades, but what's left to be invented in audio and video now?

Yes, there will be higher than high-definition video, HDMI 1.4, and speakers that sound like real life, but those are refinements of already existing technologies.

Perhaps we've hit an impasse and we're not going to see any really new products for a few decades. What will a 2012 Blu-ray player do that a 2008 player cannot? Oh right, there may not be any Blu-ray players by 2012, there may a new format by then. But what will it do that a 2008 Blu-ray player cannot?

How about an iPod small enough to be injected into your bloodstream? You would just think about a song or movie, and it would play back in your head.

Who knows, maybe by 2012 there will be wireless speakers that don't have any wires. But it might take until 2022 before someone figures out how to make totally wireless speakers that actually sound good. … Read more

Friday Poll: Does 007 have a license to sell?

From tricked-out Aston Martins with passenger-ejector seats to ballpoint-pen grenades and fake nipples (no, really, go watch The Man With the Golden Gun), James Bond movies are known for their gadgetry.

And since Quantum of Solace opens Friday, we got to thinking: what would be the best product placement imaginable for a Bond film? We have a few ideas, but we might not have covered everything, so if you can think of the perfect tech promotion for a Bond flick, let us know in the Talkback section below.

Google, T-Mobile too mum over Android security?

When it comes to telling customers about security weaknesses, there's a fine line between alerting customers and inviting attacks. With T-Mobile G1, the first phone to run Google's Android operating system, I think the companies are erring on the side of inadequate disclosure.

I've been testing a review model of the G1, and an update arrived first on November 1 and then a second a week later. Only by dint of much pestering and more than a week of waiting did I find out from Google what was in those two Android patches.

And T-Mobile has been … Read more

Friday Poll: How will you replace your election obsession?

If you're like some of us here at Crave, you've spent the last few weeks (if not the last few months) frantically tracking every last nuance of the presidential race on television, the Internet, the radio, and Tarot cards.

Now that the big election has been decided, how will you fill all the free time that you'd habitually come to spend pondering the fate of the swing states? Vote in our poll, and if we missed anything, be sure to let us know in our Talkback section.

The 404 220: Where we finally endorse a candidate

Up until this point, The 404 has tried to remain nonpartisan (untrue), never officially endorsing a candidate, but that rule is chucked out the window on today's show. It's a big announcement that's literally no surprise to anyone, but we make it anyway. Lots of election talk today, mostly about free corporate-sponsored junk food you can get for voting. We also talk about GPS chastity belts, marital affair enablers, and the best position to take while docking your iPod Touch. Wilson, you dirty birdy, you.

I had every intention of forcing you to listen to today's show for our official political endorsement, but screw it, I'm going to do it right here and now. The pundits at The 404 have unanimously decided that Professor Charles Xavier is the best hope we have for our nation's successful future. His not-for-profit work with our world's gifted youngsters prove his social skills, his political prowess, and ultimately his potential to be an extraordinary leader in these desperate times. It's time for a change, and we completely believe that Charles Xavier's innate telepathic powers can grab us by the coattails and pull us our of our eight-year rut. Too long has Erik "Magneto" Lensherr been allowed to employ his Brotherhood of Mutants at the political expense of our fair country. We need a juggernaut in the oval office, and Professor X is our man.

The 404 is delighted to support Professor Xavier and also very pleased to see him choose Peter Nikolaievitch Rasputin as his Vice President. Peter, or "Colossus" as we've come to know him through the years, has proven his executive talent, toughness, and ability to knock through several layers of brick time and time again. The Prof X/Colossus team is an unstoppable one and we're excited to see what they can do in 2009. If you care about the welfare of this nation, please cast your vote for Charles Xavier and Colossus today.

Episode 220 Download today's podcast … Read more

Friday Poll: From Netflix to you, but how?

Watching Netflix offerings via DVDs delivered by mail is fast becoming very 2007.

This week brought word that the Xbox 360 will become the first device to allow Netflix streaming in HD when the new Xbox Live experience launches on November 19.

And TiVo's high-definition set-top boxes for digital video recording will by the end of the year be able to stream more than 12,000 movies and TV shows from the video rental site.

What's more, Netflix announced that it will use Microsoft's Silverlight software to deliver streaming movies not only to PCs, but to Intel-based … Read more

Friday Poll: How are you prepping for D(TV) Day?

D(TV) Day™ is fast approaching, and according to a new survey, 3 million Americans who rely on analog over-the-air reception will let their sets go "dark" after the transition on February 17, 2009. (Don't worry about them; they'll just sit alone in the dark not watching digital TV.)

But maybe you're not ready to let your 1986 rabbit-eared beauty hop off onto the junk pile. If you're among those still inhabiting analog broadcast TV land, how do you plan to handle the shift to the 21st century? Take our poll, and if none … Read more

Google Maps shows you where to vote

If you're unsure where you should be casting your ballet come November 4, Google's got you covered with a new maps layer that lets you search for local polling locations. Users simply plug in their home address and it figures out both what county they're in and where their poll location is.

I didn't have much luck getting this to work from a few business addresses in San Francisco, but it picked up two of my former residential addresses just fine. One of the things that makes the tool useful is the special set of instructions … Read more

Friday Poll: Shopping list, less one gadget

Not too long ago, we told you about a Consumer Electronics Association prediction that sales of some gadgets would actually go up despite the current economic woes.

The CEA said sales of flat-panel TVs and gaming hardware should do well during the upcoming holiday season even as consumers seek to rein in their dollars amid the ongoing financial uncertainty.

Whether or not that proves to be the case, it got us wondering. If you're among the many consumers watching your bank account more carefully than usual, which bit of gadget goodness, if any, will get axed from your holiday … Read more

Cell phones make life tough for pollsters

While I normally leave the politics writing to others, this Wall Street Journal story caught my eye.

Sure, I was sucked in by the main story about how some polls show the presidential race as much closer than others. But what really captured my attention was the technology issue that was behind some of that variance.

Historically, pollsters have dialed random house phones to get their selection of voters. The problem is that more and more people, particularly young adults, don't have a landline.

The difference can be significant, as pointed out by a Pew research study last month. … Read more