lion

The 404 692: Where NDC strikes back (podcast)

The 404 Podcast, and the CNET office in general, hasn't been the same without Natali Del Conte around, so we're all super psyched for the long-awaited return of NDC Thursdays...well, everyone except Wilson; he's at home waiting for the perfect time to interrupt today's show.

Although she describes the difficulty in leaving her newborn son at home, the self-proclaimed domestic diva is back in the office after her maternity leave to make her son proud!

Oh, she also tells us what she did on her lunch break yesterday, but that's no big deal...!!!! Don't miss the first half of today's episode, and be sure to send your congrats to the new Mrs. Morris!

At Apple's Mac OS X event yesterday, Steve Jobs unveiled both an update to Apple's MAC operating system, now called Mac OS X Lion (now with FaceTime,) as well as a refresh to the Macbook Air line of portable, and pricey, laptops. The new Airs are much smaller than the originals and now benefit from ultralong battery life and instant-on functionality thanks to the integrated solid-state drives.

Prices range from $999 up to $1,599 based on screen size (11.6-inch or 13.3-inch), processor type, and storage capacity. We're all still waiting for the next iPad to drop before we run to the nearest Apple Store, but keep an eye on CNET.com for benchmark scores in an upcoming review.

We're also rolling out our first batch of VIDEO VOICEMAILS today and since they're just YouTube links people send over, check them out for yourself!!

Jeremy has bad news about "Back to the Future."

Aaron has good news from Hawaii.

Ben has nice things to say about The 404!

Michael has a deadly gift for Natali and Justin!

If you have something you want to say about the show, record a YouTube video and send the link to the404(at)cnet(dot)com and we'll play it on the air! As usual, audio voicemails are also welcome, and the number to dial is 1-866-404-CNET (2638).

Tune in tomorrow when TONY HAWK will once again join us in the studio to chat about skateboard, video games, and more!

Episode 692 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Out of thin Air

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Apple announces a new lineup of MacBook Airs, updated iLife, and FaceTime for Macs.

The Boxee Box is set to launch on November 10.

Verizon is going to start selling the Samsung Galaxy Tab on November 11.

Google Docs now supports drag and drop into documents.

Facebook photos now support drag-and-drop ordering.

Facebook helps you stop stalking your ex by blocking you from their profile.

Netflix may offer a streaming-only subscription in the U.S.

Sex.com sells for $13 million.

Mac OS X Lion first take: Apple's next big cat

OS X 10.7 "Lion" is the eighth major release of OS X, and comes with a new philosophical approach to the Mac. Apple has been using OS X for the "Mac OS" as well as the underlying OS for the AppleTV as well as the iOS on iPhones and the iPad, and is now looking to bring some of the innovations in the iOS back to the Mac OS to enhance the Mac experience.

The first is multitouch gestures, a feature that has been progressively implemented into OS X with Apple's multitouch trackpad, Magic mouse, and Magic trackpad input devices. While many might imagine a touch-screen option for notebooks, Apple is not going to go in that direction, indicating user fatigue as the main problem with that approach, but also that it is just cumbersome for most users. Instead, Apple will be concentrating on the horizontal approach to gestures and inputs that we have seen in the multitouch trackpads, and is leaving the onscreen gestures to mobile devices.

The second feature is the implementation of the Mac App Store on OS X. This is available as a standalone application that you can put in your Dock, which will open and show a view into the store similar to the iTunes store. It will allow you to better discover new applications as well as offer easy one-click purchasing and installation of applications. When applications are purchased, they will immediately show in the Dock along with a progress bar indicating the download and installation progress for that application. When the progress bar is done, the application can be launched immediately.

While Apple is advertising the new App Store for Lion, the program will be available for Snow Leopard within 90 days, so stay tuned. Apple has a developer kit to hopefully get other applications into the store besides its iLife and iWork suites, and we expect that like the current App Store for the iOS, it will populate rather quickly.… Read more

Apple unveils new MacBook Airs, previews Lion

CUPERTINO, Calif.--With both an update to its operating system due next summer and new laptops available now, Apple is trying to infuse the Mac with some of the best qualities of the iPhone and iPad.

The new line of MacBook Airs are thinner and lighter than the prior model, while aiming to offer the kind of instant-on and ultra-long battery life found in the iPad. Available in both 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch models, the machines range from $999 to $1,599 depending on the combination of screen, processor, and storage. All use flash memory rather than a hard … Read more

Macs get more like iPads

A few months ago, we wondered how iOS could make its way into OS X. Apple was clearly thinking the same thing, because the summer 2011 release of OS X Lion looks like it's going to make Macs very iPad-like indeed.

First and foremost, an App Store will be hitting the Mac "within 90 days" according to today's Apple keynote, with software updates and much of the same look and feel as what exists on the iPad. It looks as if the Mac App Store will focus on Mac-specific apps, but it can't require too … Read more

Apple gets 'Back to the Mac' with iLife '11, Mac OS X Lion (live blog)

Editor's note: We used Cover It Live for this event, so if you missed the live blog, you can still replay it in the embedded component below. Replaying the event will give you all the live updates along with questions and commentary from our readers and CNET editors. For those of you who just want the updates, we've included them in regular text here. You can find a brief summary of what was announced in our followup article here.

CUPERTINO, Calif.--Fresh off of crowing about strong iPhone sales, and unloading on Google and Android, Apple is turning its attention to one of its smallest businesses: the Mac.

Join us live as we find out for sure what Apple has in store. Our coverage begins just before 10 a.m. PDT today. You can follow the blow-by-blow account in the Cover It Live module below.

Those of you on Apple devices can watch Apple's own live stream of the event here: http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/1010qwoeiuryfg/event/index.html. The stream requires Safari 4 or 5 on Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Safari on iOS 3 or later. It can also be watched on non-Apple products by using a media player called VLC (download here) and inserting the URL into the Open Network Stream option under the media tab.

9:52 a.m. PDT: Hi everyone, thanks for joining us! We're just getting settled inside Town Hall here on the Apple campus. The event should begin in about 10 minutes.

9:56 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): Hey, Josh here. I'm on photo duty this morning. Ina will be on in a second to corral your comments.

9:59 a.m.: Lights are lowering. Here we go. … Read more

Droid 2 on deck

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

Verizon and Motorola announce the pre-sale of the Droid 2, which will run Android 2.2 (Froyo) and Flash 10.1 and comes with a pull-out keyboard.

Netflix sign a deal with Paramount Pictures, Lions Gate and MGM to stream their films 3 months after they air on paid television and rentals.

BlockBuster adds game rentals to its service, which brings it into direct competition with GameFly.

Hong Kong jumps into the 3D world with pornography.

Apple in Japan will replace 1st generation iPod nanos that overheat.

Sea lions take a swim for Homeland Security training (photos)

During exercises focused on practicing elements of local and regional port security plans Tuesday, the United States Navy Marine Mammal Program took part in a joint training program with the San Francisco Police Department dive team designed to identify underwater threats including mines, improvised explosive devices, and enemy divers.

Using highly trained dolphins and sea lions selected for their quickness, intelligence, detection capability, and mobility, officials demonstrated the unique ability of these animals to identify and neutralize threats in cooperation with human teammates. See the full gallery here.

Time keeper

LionClock is an attractive, easy-to-use virtual time clock. Employees will find it simple and intuitive to use, while managers will enjoy its robust administrative features.

LionClock's interface is sleek and well designed, and the built-in Help file is thorough and well written. Virtually everything about the program can be mastered in minutes. It's easy to add and edit employee information, for instance, and it has some helpful extras, such as automatically calculating base pay, gross pay, and overtime for each employee. You can assign employees personal identification numbers, ensuring that they're clocking in and out securely and … Read more