Wal-Mart

The original rundown for today's episode of The 404 Podcast started with a bunch of stories about tech-related violence, but we decided to scrap all that for a more positive show. And we're also putting Wilson on a temporary story time-out for the next few days so this doesn't happen again.

Jeff is particularly excited about this first story, because it involves two of his close loves: video games and Playboy bunnies. This fall, Take Two Interactive is partnering with Playboy on Mafia II, a mature video game that lets you play as a gangster in the 1940s and '50s. The game is replete with vintage Playboy magazines and, of course, the centerfolds. Before you start writing your local government reps, keep in mind that the images are tastefully integrated into the game's nostalgia, which also includes vintage cars and firearms to invoke the 1940s zeitgeist. Additionally, the scenes in question are fairly tame compared with another Take Two game series, "Grand Theft Auto." Remember the Hot Coffee mod in GTA: San Andreas?

The 404 prides itself on keeping up to date on pop culture trends, but the newest fad among teenage girls is churning our stomachs. Across the country, the newest thing is to get intoxicated by an alternative form of ingestion. We'll spare you the details in this blog, because my physical demonstration in the video makes it so much easier to digest. This is why we're absolutely terrified of having kids.

Now that spring has finally decided to visit New York, it's time for backyard BBQs, rooftop parties, and bikes rides! New York certainly isn't the easiest city to navigate on a bicycle, but Google Maps is now offering a cycling navigation feature to guide you along your way.

The directions route you through to your destination by cross-referencing the least busiest streets with the ones that have clearly defined bike lanes, getting you there faster and, most importantly, in one piece. Once you get to your destination, however, be sure to do everything you can to minimize the chance of theft.

In perhaps its first practical application, local New York bike messenger Austin Horse successfully recovered his stolen bike using Twitter. After someone snatched his bike, Horse immediately notified his followers to keep a lookout (not too difficult a task, as the frame is bright orange) and posted the same to a local message board. In less than 24 hours, someone recovered his vehicle in the Lower East Side and it's now back with its rightful owner--great news!

Keep sending us voice mails to 1-866-404-CNET because you know we love to hear how you're doing, and don't forget to send in your 404 sticker pictures to the404(at)cnet[dot]com. High quality shots have a good chance of making it to a blog post, like the one you see up there from our buddy Derrick Chen. Natali Del Conte on the show tomorrow, so be sure to catch us live at 11 a.m. EST/8 a.m. PST on CNET TV.

Netflix is cruising. The cable guys are catching on. Wal-Mart just rumbled in.

The Web's video-on-demand sector is filling up fast with some serious heavyweights. If Apple wants to make a mark in digital video that even vaguely resembles the one it made in music, perhaps the company should start treating Apple TV as more than just a "hobby." That's Apple's attitude toward the streaming-media device, said Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook, who spoke at a conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.

This doesn't seem to be a good time to toy with online … Read more

The Vudu video service is soon to be a Wal-Mart brand, as news broke late Monday that a deal had been struck between the two companies. We also talk fuel cell growth, Apple purging the App Store of "overtly sexual" iPhone apps, and how Amazon has just been listed as the most-trusted brand in the U.S. by Millward Brown's latest consumer survey. Tune in to get the full stories.

Today's stories:

Wal-Mart to buy Vudu video service

Intel alliance to invest $3.5 billion in U.S. tech

Fuel cell vehicles to number 2.8 million by 2020… Read more

Streaming-video service Vudu will soon be a service of the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart confirmed late Monday.

Wal-Mart has agreed to buy Vudu for an undisclosed sum, and the deal is expected to close within the next few weeks. The New York Times first reported the story Monday morning when the two companies began to tell their TV manufacturing and film studio partners that the deal was set to go.

Vudu has a catalog of 16,000 video titles that can be downloaded to several different brands of TVs and Blu-ray players, either as a rental or purchase. Wal-Mart … Read more

Today's episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast features a pink Ouija Board, the newest Facebook meme, search engine profiling, and Google's latest mapping feature that waves good-bye to your shopping privacy.

The infamous Ouija Board is still just as popular as it was when Hasbro first unleashed it in 1967. In fact, it even got extra publicity with a flaming cameo in last year's horror flick Paranormal Activity, but angry Christians aren't happy about Hasbro's latest idea for a Pink Ouija Board. Who knew that a pink square of cardboard and a magnifying glass could get so much controversy?

First there was Doppelganger Week, then Urban Dictionary Week, and now we finally have a Facebook meme that The 404 Podcast can get behind: Can this pickle get more fans than Nickleback? In less than a week since its genesis, the Facebook group already has more than 100,000 members, but it still needs your help to get beat out Nickelback's 1,392,481 (and growing) fans.

This next story might make you think twice before ducking into the back room at your local video store. Google's latest "Store View" is as yet unconfirmed (but not outright denied), but the service will ideally let users check out the inside of any participating retailer through Google Maps. Imagine browsing the Web for a supermarket and then virtually inspecting the interior for the best way to route yourself through a grocery store and you can see why we don't quite understand the point of Store View.

Those stories and more on today's 404, plus a meaty Calls From the Public and more of your sticker picture submissions! Keep sending them to the404(at)cnet[dot]com and we might just feature it on the show! Much thanks to Derrick for sending us a pic of the cubicle dressing you see up top.

We kick off today's episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast with a fun story about the Nestle Crunch Hotline number. The company's latest viral campaign offers a series of hidden menus within the prerecorded call center that lets callers choose between English, Spanish, and Pig Latin language options. You can also choose to hear prerecorded knock-knock jokes, "funner game options," and the weirdest feature of all, which lets you listen to the sound of bubble wrap. We attempt to call the number during the show, but the line is so popular that we keep getting busy signals, so call 1-800-295-0051 if you have time to waste after listening to our show.

Jeff also brings us an amazing deal from Dell for the new Alienware M11x. It won our Best of CES 2010 award and, judging by its size, it's comparable to a gaming Netbook. You get an 11.6-inch display and a 1.3GHz Pentium SU4100 processor inside as well as a battery with 2 hours of gaming play and 6.5 hours of standby time. Best of all, the gaming rig comes in at a base price of $799. No, we're not working on the Alienware payroll, but with portable gaming systems dropping in price, the appeal of PC gaming is bigger than ever and we thought our listeners would appreciate this deal. Check it out!

Lots more stories in the rundown today, including a $7,000 talking sex robot, a T-shirt that all predators will enjoy, the new Sonic the Hedgehog 4 trailer, and more!

Due to some Gmail attacks, Google has said it will remove its filters and possibly pull out of China altogether. There's definitely a lot more going on behind the scenes of this than we know, but we try to get to the heart of the matter as the nation of China negotiates with the nation of Google. We also discuss Facebook's requirement that you scan your hard drive to reactivate a hacked account, and we look forward to Martians coming this year. Yay for Martians!

Last Sunday, Palm and Sprint released their second WebOS device together, the Palm Pixi, for $99.99 with a two-year contract.

In the grand scheme of things, $100 for a smartphone is a pretty darn good deal, but when you consider the fact that there are other products out there with more power and more features (for example, Wi-Fi) for the same price or lower, it makes the Pixi look foolish. Fortunately, thanks to third-party retailers, you can now get the entry-level smartphone for much less.

Both Amazon and Wal-Mart have lowered the price of the Palm Pixi by 75 … Read more

Not content to wait until Black Friday, Wal-Mart announced Wednesday that it will deliver some great deals on assorted tech products this weekend.

Customers shopping in-store on Saturday will find several deals. The company said it will sell the 46-inch Panasonic TC-P46U1 1080p plasma HDTV for $788 that day. It also plans to sell the 42-inch Sharp LC-42SB45U 1080p LCD for just $498.

Besides that, Wal-Mart plans to sell a 15.6-inch HP notebook for $298, a Sony Blu-ray player for $148, and a Magnavox upconverting DVD player for $29.

But it might be the offer on the Xbox 360 Arcade … Read more