CNET News Daily Podcast

Angel investor Ron Conway is warning his start-ups to start saving up cash and reducing costs quickly. He's not the only one who says the current economic crisis is similar and perhaps worse than the dot-com bust of 2000-2001. CNET's Rafe Needleman, editor of Webware, stops by to talk about how or if Web 2.0 companies will be able to survive in the months ahead, and which kinds of companies are in the most danger.

Also in Thursday's podcast: IBM affirms a positive outlook for the year and predicts a good quarter ahead, and Digg founder Kevin Rose sits down with CNET to talk economics and what needs to change at Digg. Plus, Apple sends an invitation to a notebook event next week, and Microsoft unveils its overhaul to Xbox Live.

Today's stories:

The tech downturn: How long and how bad?

It's official: Apple to talk laptops on Oct. 14

Amid gloom, IBM sees sunny forecast

Getting global with Digg's Kevin Rose

Introducing the new Xbox Live 'experience'

Solid-state shift in Seagate's future

RealNetworks failed to convince a judge Tuesday to lift a restraining order prohibiting it from selling RealDVD. That means RealDVD is unlikely to reappear in the marketplace for at least another month. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Patel indicated she wouldn't be available for another hearing until after November 17.

Yahoo is planning to start a beta test of a major overhaul of its online calendar Wednesday. The new site has a more polished Web 2.0 interface--with drag-and-drop abilities, color-coded entries, Flickr image backdrops, and a slick "zoom" feature that expands a single day's schedule to a usefully large size when browsing in the monthly view.

And the first-ever touch-screen BlackBerry was officially unveiled Tuesday night. CNET mobile reviewer Bonnie Cha joins Kara Tsuboi to talk about what she saw during a hands-on with the BlackBerry Storm.

Today's stories:

Judge keeps RealDVD restraining order in place

Yahoo has high hopes for calendar makeover

Alleged Palin hacker indicted

Verizon officially debuts RIM BlackBerry Storm

Google launches AdSense for Games

Govt. biometrics use still raises privacy concerns

Feds propose consolidation of personal info in databases

Update October 8 at 9:47 a.m. PDT: Due to technical problems, only part of this podcast was available when it published. It's working now. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Public-transit riders around the world may have new concerns when boarding trains. A new joint report from European universities indicates that a certain kind of subway card used the world over is extremely susceptible to being hacked. CNET News senior writer Elinor Mills explains the process and what you can do to keep your personal information safe.

Too often feel that wave of regret the next morning after a night of sending sloppy e-mails? (Perhaps, you were drunk?) Google's newest product, Gmail Goggles, has come to the rescue.

And for only the third time ever, the public can see new pictures of planet Mercury. NASA spacecraft Messenger completed its latest flyby on October 7 and sent photos of the smallest planet in our solar system. Find out from a planetary scientist why this research is important and what people hope to find on the innermost planet to the sun.

Today's stories:

A 'fabless' alternative for Advanced Micro

D-Day for RFID-based transit card systems

EU directive could change iPhone battery design

Analysts cut Google and SAP price targets and earnings estimates

Google launches Mail Goggles to save you from yourself

MIT prof sees no free ride to cleaner cars

Video: Mercury exposed

CBS live Webcast: Presidential debate, round two

In the aftermath of another vicious sell-off on Wall Street, CNET's Kara Tsuboi sits down with reporter Ina Fried to discuss what the tech sector is up against.

Republican party operatives in Missouri report the theft of a laptop containing privileged information. The laptop contained "information you'd expect the coordinator for a GOP national campaign to have," such as information on areas to target for support, said Tina Hervey, communications director for the Missouri Republican party.

Also in this podcast, Delta allows for in-cabin Web surfing. But some passengers have been browsing to sites where, um, the subject matter's a bit more racy than Delta expected.

Today's stories:

30 percent of iPhone 3G buyers dump existing carriers

Delta to filter porn on planes

Suit against magazine-sharing site settled

SAP shares free-fall on third quarter warning

Google Spreadsheets gets software-inspired face lift

Taking on Twitter with open-source software

Another brutal day on Wall Street

In addition to a legacy of adventure and entrepreneurship, Steve Fossett leaves behind a top secret project he'd been working on. He had bought a highly advanced underwater submersible he hoped would take him to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, lower than any point on Earth humans have gone. Reporter Daniel Terdiman joins today's podcast to talk about the project and where it goes from here.

Apple is strongly denying a rumor posted on CNN's iReport page that Steve Jobs suffered a heart attack this morning. iReport is a citizen journalism section of CNN, where people can submit their own news stories. CNN has removed the post in question, but the report caused a sharp drop in Apple's stock price before company representatives were able to deny the charge.

Also in this podcast, Windows XP gets another lifeline, a date has been set for the Large Hadron Collider to be turned on again, and we look at which gadgets at Ceatec might actually make it into the real world.

Today's stories:

Steve Fossett's unfinished legacy: Deepest ocean exploration

Jobs heart attack rumor not true, Apple stock swings

Windows XP gets another lifeline

Skype: We didn't know about security issues

Date set for restart of Large Hadron Collider

Gadgets go greener, thinner, and wireless at Ceatec

Sony's 'David Blaine' starts 30 days of living in display window

Hands on with Sony's new PRS-700 digital reader

Report: New HP smartphone aimed at consumers

What's the big deal about WiMax?

Maybe it's something in the air but a myriad of security concerns surfaced, seemingly all at once, on Thursday. CNET News' Elinor Mills sits down with Kara Tsuboi to talk about one aspect... Apple and other music retailers won't have to pay higher royalty rates...On a day when the stock market again wilted, there's still optimism among some tech start-ups.

Today's stories:

To encrypt or not to encrypt

Ceatec companies feel the credit crunch

Analyst sees desperation in Microsoft SearchPerks

Obama releases iPhone recruiting, campaign tool

Nintendo says more Wiis available for holiday season

500,000 G1 phones expected to sell in quarter

TCP flaws puts Web sites at risk

Microsoft has introduced SearchPerks, a sort of "frequent flier" program that lets people cash in for every search they do. What's it worth for consumers? And what does Microsoft hope to gain from it? CNET News reporter Ina Fried explains.

Plus, Electronics Arts has scrapped an upcoming title a year into development. And Netflix subscribers get more movie titles when using the "Watch Now" feature.
Listen now: Download today's podcast

Today's stories:

Apple drops NDA for iPhone developers

Report: Norway says 'nei' to iTunes DRM, again

EA kills 'Tiberium,' says misses quality standards

Netflix adds 2,500 streaming movies from Starz

Microsoft still paying people to search

Qwest union workers reject deal

Oracle buys maker of 3D retail software

HP to buy LeftHand Networks

Photos: Deconstructing the cell phone

Tech start-ups are at high risk during this financial crisis since they can't get credit and venture capital money is drying up. Webware editor Rafe Needleman offers some words of encouragement and advice for staying afloat during these rough times.

Apple is rumored to soon be releasing its 2.2 software update for the iPhone. According to Apple sources, expect this one to include a refit of Safari to read better on the handheld and an update to the App Store. Searching for applications by category is rumored to get easier, and Apple will supposedly only let people who have actually purchased them to write reviews.

Next time you're booking a hotel stay, keep this next little bit of news in mind. Several hotels in the Marriott chain will now be offering in-room Nintendo Wiis with a selection of 20 games.

In celebration of the Iron Man release on DVD, I paid a visit to Industrial Light and Magic's San Francisco offices to try out the motion capture technology firsthand. Learn how visual effects teams create those great movie moments, and catch this reporter in spandex, impersonating Iron Man. Or in this case, Iron Woman.

Today's stories:

More App Store tweaks expected with iPhone 2.2

Nintendo strikes Wii hotel deal

Morphing into Iron Woman

How start-ups can survive

FAQ: What to expect from a new IP cabinet position

Dress up your Facebook profile with PageRage

Playing Iron Man for a day

CNET News' Greg Sandoval is following the last-minute goings-on in Washington which enabled Web music providers extra time to reach an accord on royalty payments.

With the stock market in free fall today, what might be the likely impact on the technology sector? ZDNet's Editor in Chief Larry Dignan weighs in.

Hard to believe but Henry Ford's Model T, one of the most significant breakthrough products of all time, celebrates its centenary.

Today's stories:

Photos: The Model T turns 100

Gadget hounds get ready for CEATEC

Nero Liquid TV:TiVo for your PC

Visual Studio 2010 to come with `black box'

Facebook hires D.C. lawyer as general counsel

The world's largest record label wants to develop its own version of Hulu, NBC Universal's free online-video portal. It would be a place for professionally produced music videos, original programming, and a more polished platform for the label's top artists, according to sources close to the company.

Also in today's podcast: Microsoft thinks it knows what it needs to do to catch Google in search, TellMe develops an application for the iPhone, Nokia is set to launch its own touch-screen phone, and CNET explores just how exposed we are to cancer when we use our cell phones.

Today's stories:

Source: Universal Music Group plans 'Hulu-like' site

Ballmer on search: 'I don't like not being No. 1'

TellMe for iPhone due by June

Nokia to unveil touch-screen phone

Will Americans ever call on mobile banking?

House subcommittee debates cell phone radiation

iPhone battery lawsuit dismissed