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The 404 Podcast 506: Where the Apple tablet is the most important thing we will ever do

It smells like Apples in here. The day of reckoning is finally upon us and CNET has all your Apple coverage including a live blog to track the news as it comes through the pipe.

CNET's The 404 Podcast is also on the job, so check out today's episode for our predictions on what Steve Jobs has in store for the world. It better be good, especially if Jobs stayed awake all night inventing it. Jeff and I are able to approach it with a level head, but Wilson G. Tang is in full-blown Apple fanboy mode with the T-shirt and the Apple lip gloss all ready to go.

Before we get into our predictions, Jeff shows us a surprising study that demonstrates pirates are the music industry's most valuable customers. We're a little suspicious that the story comes from TorrentFreak.com, but they bring up a legitimate point that music "sharers" (aka pirates) are actually likely to buy more digital music as opposed to physical media in a store. In either case, the best way to support your favorite bands, signed or unsigned, is to buy a ticket to their live show and spend money on merchandise while you're there. That way, your cash support goes directly into the pockets of the band, instead of the digital music service taking a cut of the profit. Stick local!

Next up we've got a story about the worst Facebook revenge, like, ever. It happens like this: teenage girl finds six-pack of beer in younger brother's closet. Brother searches through sister's closet and finds disturbingly detailed "hookup list" and publishes image of said list on Facebook.

Wait, it gets way worse: the ultimate fatality is that he also tags every single guy on the list and starts an epic three-way flame war between brother, sister, and a group of guys that all have one thing in common.

We end today's show by going around the table and seriously (OK, not seriously at all) dishing out our Apple tablet predictions for the day.

Spoiler alert: Jeff is hopeful for a game-centric device, Justin hopes you can connect a printer to it, and Wilson can't even talk with all the saliva pouring out of his mouth.

EPISODE 506 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Focus on the task at hand

OmniFocus is a high-powered, flexible, feature-filled task-management app that's based on the widely used Getting Things Done (GTD) productivity method, but it's designed to accommodate a variety of work styles. OmniFocus uses a GTD-esque approach ("Capture, Organize, and Do") to handle actions, projects, and contexts. You work in a relatively clean, two-pane interface, with folders and projects in the sidebar and grouped actions in the main outline (where you add, edit, and check off actions).

Within this interface, it's easy to set up versatile contexts for your actions, distinguish between sequential and parallel actions within … Read more

Things to organize your life

Things is a powerful, easy-to-use task-management app that can help you enter, organize, and act on items in your to-do list. Based on the popular Getting Things Done productivity method, Things gives you an elegant, streamlined interface--a classic, Mac-style multipane setup that doesn't require a lot of additional windows for its work flow.

Its clean interface even dispenses with columns, and you can use the app's flexible tag system for priority, task duration, or any sort of categorization that works for you. You can quickly enter new tasks from anywhere, using a system-wide shortcut, and you can include … Read more

Easy file lister

File List Builder is a simple program that allows users to create lists of files stored in a specific location. Neither the program nor its results are anything fancy, but it works well enough if you need a list of file names and you don't care what it looks like.

The program's interface is a bit cluttered at first glance, with all of its features contained on a single screen. For the most part, however, it's fairly intuitive, with helpful tooltips to describe icons that don't mean much on their own. Users simply select the directory … Read more

The future will be...

As we’re nearing the end of a year and the end of a decade, it’s time to look back and ahead. With at least three formative events in this young 21st century (9/11, the Tsunami, and the Great Recession) providing some sort of apocalyptic arch and instilling a profound sense of anxiety, it is no wonder that former visionaries are gathering at conferences asking “Where did the future go?” But, at the end of the day, the end of all days didn’t occur, and as the New York Magazine points out in its comprehensive review of … Read more

Amazon touts top products of 2009

The Kindle e-reader, the Nintendo Wii, and an Asus Netbook were among the top tech items for Amazon customers in 2009.

The retail giant touted three "Best of 2009" lists on Wednesday, revealing the best selling, most wished for, and favorite gift items chosen by Amazon consumers for the year. The company also introduced its Bestsellers Archive, which can show historical popularity among several categories, including print books, Kindle books, music downloads, movies and TV shows, and video games.

Amazon has been relentlessly proclaiming the popularity of its Kindle device, though it just as steadfastly has declined to … Read more

The A list

Veedid Desktop To-Do List Free Edition is a simple program that allows users to create interactive, printable to-do lists. It's not perfect, but it's a viable option for users who need a basic to-do list with a few extra features.

The program's interface is plain, with a handful of intuitive buttons and menus that contain its major features. We found it quite easy to add items to the list, and we especially liked that users can add sub-items to each task; under "Do laundry," for example, we noted that we needed to pretreat a shirt. … Read more

Take Android to task

Astrid may look unassuming when you first encounter it, but the free, open source task and to-do list-maker has customization settings beneath its skin. Type to add a new task. You can leave the note to self where it is, or select the entry to edit elements like importance settings, tags, notes, deadlines, recurring reminders, and alerts. We like being able to add tasks to Android's calendar, and that there's an option to sync with online reminder service Remember the Milk.

What we craved this week

As is the tendency at year's end, this week Crave has seen several "best of" lists, including the 10 best cell phones of the year. Not to be single-minded, we also put out the 10 worst cell phones of the year. But it's not just phones, we listed the 20 most notable tech products of the year, period.

We also shared a collection of last-minute gifts you can print. If you have a printer, you now have stocking stuffers. Getting a new HDTV for Christmas? We're here to help.

Did you hear about the wicked … Read more