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The 404 214: Where everybody hurts...sometimes

Justin feels blue before the show, but a group hug and a little well-placed bromance sets him right. It's a touching prelude to what is perhaps the 404's raunchiest show ever! In other news, NASA combats space depression with virtual therapy, the Army reads terrorist tweets, and a shocking number of sex addicts are women. Also, please don't trust your GPS navigator too much. Check out The 404's exclusive scoop on Mac's newest OS--it's tight and supports multitouch functionality!

Dan the Mantern here. On today's show we discuss a timeless question that doe-eyed youths have asked their parents for ages: "What happens when you fart in space?" Apparently, letting one loose in an infinite vacuum can have much more dire consequences than one might believe. Farting inside of a space suit can be dangerous, if you try to let the stank out while doing a space walk. Unfortunately, the likelihood of a well-time fart inside the space station becoming a source of DIY zero-gravity propulsion is low, according to one Canadian astronaut. Finally, check out this dramatic interpretation of a space fart from Disney's 1997 classic Rocket Man.

EPISODE 214 Download today's podcast … Read more

Will MacBook chip end Intel graphics franchise?

Will Apple's decision to use Nividia chips in its new MacBooks be a catalyst for change?

With all the hoopla surrounding Apple's choice of Nvidia graphics in its new MacBooks fading, it remains to be seen if Nvidia's GeForce 9400M has legs.

Intel has a successful integrated graphics franchise and is the leader in laptop graphics. Before I get slammed, let me be clear that I'm not talking about performance. I'm referring to market share. Many laptop suppliers--particularly in the low-cost and ultraportable segments--default to Intel graphics because it offers adequate performance, reasonable power efficiency, … Read more

Microsoft employee admits switching to a Mac

I was just browsing Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland's most popular daily newspaper (have to keep the native language up, you see), when I read that the new Apple ads were being featured on an official Microsoft blog.

Clicking on the link, I discovered that this was not the case. The blog was that of Joseph Tartakoff, a staff reporter at one of Seattle's newspapers, the delightfully-named Post-Intelligencer.

However, once I was there, I got sucked into the comments left on the post, which was, indeed, about the latest Apple ads that continue to insert humorous needles into the Microsoft … Read more

CNET News Daily Podcast: XP comes to the XO

It was initially announced almost a year ago, but the first version of the XO from the One Laptop Per Child program will soon begin shipping to governments that order it for their country's schoolchildren. CNET News' Ina Fried got to do a side-by-side comparison of the original Linux-flavored XO and the new Windows XP variety.

Also in today's podcast: exploring the real story on the Mac Mini, Yahoo cancels Messenger for Vista, and Oprah endorses the Kindle.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Today's stories:

The XO laptop gets a Windows makeover

Will Kindle sales spike because of 'Oprah effect'?… Read more

Choosy kills the idea of a 'default' browser for links

A system plug-in called Choosy is trying to change the way people are opening links on their computer. This small Mac OS X application gives you the option to choose which browser you'd like to open up any link with sans having to ever set a "default" browser.

In my case my default browser is Firefox, but it's not always the best solution. Sometimes I'm opening up a link for a site I know will work better in Safari or IE (like my work e-mail). With Choosy installed, clicking that link simply gives you a … Read more

Mac Mini: I'm not dead, yet

Apple's Mac Mini might be getting a reprieve after all.

A few days after Gizmodo reported that European retailers believed the Mac Mini was heading for the exits, AppleInsider says the smallest and cheapest Mac hasn't left the building. Apparently a number of casinos in Las Vegas use Mac Minis to help run the ever-present security cameras in that city, and those customers believe that an update is around the corner.

One Las Vegas-based source who runs a collocation service based on the Mac Mini told AppleInsider that there are about 10,000 Mac Minis in use in … Read more

'Rides' Genesis is an Apple fanboy's dream car

The Mac Mini is particularly valued by automobile customizers, because its small size makes it easy to hide/integrate into a cramped vehicle interior. Hyundai Motor America and Rides Magazine have taken this idea to the next level by tossing darn-near the entire Apple Computer product line into the cabin of the new Hyundai Genesis, for display at the 2008 SEMA Show.

The Rides Genesis is truly an Apple fanboy's dream car, featuring two Mac Mini computers, a MacBook Air, iPod Touch, iPhone 3G, high-speed Wi-Fi Internet connection, and movie theater-quality surround sound all integrated into the interior.

Within … Read more

Firefox 3 may get gesture support for MacBooks

There are a lot of Firefox users out there, and there are a lot of MacBook users as well, which means a lot of people use Firefox on a MacBook. And those users might be getting a special treat in future releases of the browser.

On his informative blog, Edward Lee, a Firefox developer, spills on steps he's taken to include gesture support for MacBooks in the next version of the browser.

For those unfamiliar with gesture support, Apple introduced the functionality to the MacBook line a couple of years ago. It allows you to interact with your computer … Read more

The Digital Home 38: Where are all the parents?

In his latest show, Don Reisinger discusses Apple and why parents aren't taking responsibility for their children. After that, he chats with Sonoro, an audio company offering high-end radios. Check it out! Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 38 … Read more

Solid-state drives: No rush to widespread success

Will 2009 be the year that solid-state drives take off? Maybe not. The speedy drives are catching on, but wider acceptance will take time--and the bad economy isn't helping.

Costs are still high for these drives, which typically outdo--and in some cases blow away--hard disks in performance. "2010-2011...that's when we think the price points for the SSD market get attractive enough to really drive stronger growth," Sanjay Mehrotra, president and chief operating officer of SanDisk, said this week during SanDisk's third-quarter earnings conference call.

Indeed, there is still a wide price gap between hard-disk … Read more