Opinion

Low Latency is a weekly comic on CNET's Crave blog written by CNET editor and podcast host Jeff Bakalar and illustrated by Blake Stevenson. Be sure to check Crave every Thursday at 8 a.m. PT for new panels! Want more? Here's every Low Latency comic so far.… Read more

The iPhone is a pricey device, a luxury item, a status symbol, and that's exactly how Apple wants it. But as long as the iPhone has existed, we the people have called upon Apple to make a less-expensive version. Rumors are in overdrive at the moment that Apple may be finally planning such a dramatic move. How will it cut costs, though?

We discuss on this week's show. We also check out an image of what may be -- but probably isn't -- the back piece for the fifth-generation iPad, and YouTube may be asking for your credit card number this year.

At the end of the show we make a sad announcement about a change that's coming. We won't give it away here, but let us just say: it's not the end of the world. Modern technology will bridge even the vastest distances! (Hint: Emily will finally find a reason to use Google+ Hangouts.)

Watch to the end, and then send us your comments.

Thanks for watching!

Heard a tech rumor you think we should cover? Leave a comment below; ; send us a tweet (@EmilyDreyfuss, @karynelevy, and @CNETRumorShow); or call and leave us a voice mail at 1-800-750-CNET. … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- This man will take your picture while macing you.

- Ticketmaster does one thing right, dumps captchas.

- PornHub's rejected SFW Super Bowl ad is brilliant marketing.

- Swedish police raid teenagers playing Call of Duty.… Read more

Jeff hasn't finished complaining about last year's Retina Display iPad yet and Apple went ahead and announced a new 128-gigabyte model for $799. But wait, haven't we been getting beaten in the head with Apple's cloudcentric messaging for the last two years? Why the push for local storage all of a sudden?

In pop culture news, we'll spend some of the first half talking about mistaken identities through the Internet and the "Catfish" show on MTV that just wrapped up its first season.

Some critics accused the episodes of being staged (like the film it was based on), but a casting application for Season 2 at least proves that the stories are staged at most, not entirely made up.… Read more

Microsoft assumes you probably haven't used an Internet Explorer browser since the mid-1990s, and the company's latest commercial for IE10 takes us all back to those awkward times with a montage of '90s nostalgia that includes slap bracelets, Oregon Trail, LA Gear Lights, and Tamogotchis. We're not sure how any of those items are supposed to lure us away from Firefox or Chrome, but check it out anyway.

We knew it was only a matter of time before a 6-second clip of hardcore porn made its way to the Twitter Vine, but we never expected it to come from Twitter itself--a nasty clip was featured for a short time on Vine's "Editor's Choice" pick list. Granted, it's not the first instance of adult content on the new social video service.

With Vine's TOS giving users creative freedom to access its service, an unfiltered stream of dirty hashtags is already building out on VineRoulette. Then again, who the hell wants to watch porn for only six seconds?… Read more

If you've been spending the last few days thinking up adjectives to use on Objectify a Male Tech Writer Day, you'll have to save "dreamy," "hunky," "handsome," and "hot" for another occasion. Leigh Alexander, the writer who first proposed the special day for February 1, has called an official halt to the festivities before they can begin.

Alexander's original idea was to make February 1 a day when people sharing articles written by male tech writers would add an extra comment about the writer's appearance. This was in response to ongoing issues she has encountered with people making comments about her appearance, something she feels few male tech writers have to deal with.

It was all supposed to be lighthearted and humorous, but Alexander received feedback that sparked concern about the day going in negative directions it wasn't intended to take.… Read more

Listeners of The 404 Show have plenty of financial questions, so we look to our resident expert Jill Schlesinger from "CBS MoneyWatch" to make sense of it all. From ETFs to IRAs and everything in between, Jill and Jeff navigate the choppy waters of personal finance. They'll also talk about Apple in great detail, and whether the company's sinking stock price is a sign of things to come.

Jill hits up The 404 Show every three weeks, so if you've got a question you want answered on the show, be sure to send a tweet or e-mail us! … Read more

It looks like today is the last day for smartphone-unlocking freedom in this country. A new federal mandate kicks in tomorrow saying that carrier-locked phones are not allowed to be unlocked without the carrier's permission.

The feds figure there are enough unlocked-phone purchasing options out there. If you want the sweet, sweet sugar of a fat carrier-sponsored discount, you'll be stuck with a locked phone. Unless you want to go outlaw.

I could see the United States descending into a new version of the Wild West. Roaming packs of smartphone-unlocking outlaws will defend their hideouts against raids from … Read more

Take a deep breath, perhaps even a Darth Vader-size breath. Reports indicate that Disney chose "Star Trek" director J.J. Abrams to direct the upcoming "Star Wars: Episode VII" sci-fi epic due in 2015. Have a laugh at a few of the amusing tweets about the rumored news, which caused a level of excitement perhaps equivalent to the noise inside Obi-Wan's head after the destruction of Alderaan.

One Twitter user quipped about how ol' J.J. seems to have his hand in everything star-related.

Might as well give J.J. Abrams Dancing with the Stars, … Read more