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The 404 377: Where Wilson needs a haircut

Today's show covers Wilson's ever-growing locks of hair and Google ads catering to stupid people. We also take a look back at the original Sony Walkman and examine the best-selling video games of the '90s. Finally, stick around for our weekly Audio Draft Pick sponsored by Beck's Beer in conjunction with Last.fm!

The first segment of the show is dedicated to Wilson's beautiful head of hair. I think I met Wilson's hair long before I ever met the man, and while I've always loved its golden highlights and butter-soft touch, I can't help but think of the Herculean Kevin Sorbo every time I glance in its general direction. Maybe it should start introducing itself with us at the beginning of the show.

Lots of nostalgia on today's show! After a long examination of the way Google is marketing ads to stupid people, we run down the top 50 best-selling video games of the '90s. Most of the picks are no-brainers, but there are a few surprises in there, including Frogger for PS1 coming in at No. 46. Did people really pay money to buy FROGGER on a DISC?! Scary to think about now.

Next, we launch into a story about 13-year old Scott Campbell swapping his Apple iPod for the original Sony Walkman. Fresh on the heels of the gadget's 30-year anniversary, this leads us to reminisce about the influence of the Walkman on all subsequent mobile audio products. We all had them (at least those of us born prior to 1990) and absolutely loved making mixtapes and mixtape art for our friends and significant loved ones. Unfortunately, we get so nostalgic that both Jeff and I reveal humiliating stories that you won't want to miss.

Long live the Sony Walkman! You were there with us through good and bad times, my friend--we'll never forget you.

We're also very psyched today, not only because the date is 7/8/9, but also for the Weekly Audio Draft, brought to you by Beck's Beer and Last.fm! Also, big thanks to Dylan Swart for sending in a poster for the segment. It's my pleasure to introduce today's band, Matt Pond PA.

Like everyone, the transition from middle school to high school wasn't easy for me, but music like this, among others, helped me push through it and I'm proud of these guys for continuing to put out such heartfelt records after 12 years of lineup changes, relocation, and subtle changes to their sound.

The sample song on today's show is called Several Arrows Later from the album "Several Arrows Later." The music combines smooth, gentle vocals with beautiful instrumentation for a unique sound that refuses to be pigeonholed into today's genres. The word "emo," although thrown around a lot in describing Matt Pond PA, is a cringing understatement for this band. Granted, all of the band's music is emotional by nature, but what I like the best about Matt Pond PA is that each of its songs strikes a different chord--each one means something different to the listener. Check out Matt Pond PA and get hooked!

(Last.fm is a part of CBS Interactive, which also publishes CNET News and Reviews.)

EPISODE 377 Download today's podcast Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Former Red Hat execs aim to open-source health care

It was bound to happen. With the U.S. government promising truckloads of cash to overhaul the U.S. health care system, while simultaneously making positive noises around open source, it was just a matter of time before someone connected the dots.

That someone appears to be Joanne Rohde, former executive vice president of worldwide operations at Red Hat, who has launched the Axial Project, a stealth-mode start-up that aims to "combin[e] the principles of Open Standards and Open Source...to connect all the parties in the Health ecosystem safely and securely."

It's a big task, … Read more

The 404 371: Where we get viral with DJ & The Fro

From the creators of "Drawn Together" comes "DJ & The Fro," a new daily, animated show on MTV. The 404 speaks to the creators, Matt Silverstein and Dave Jeser, about the show and talk about how Michael Jackson's death almost ruined the shows' first few episodes.

The show creators call it a rip-off of "Beavis and Butthead" for the viral video generation. DJ and the Fro are two twenty-somethings, who spend most of their day watching viral videos and commenting on them. Sounds eerily similar to what The 404 guys do all day long. Anyway, the guys tell us about how the show came into being and let us know that a "Drawn Together" straight-to-DVD movie is coming out as well!

"DJ & The Fro" reminds us a bit of "Tosh.0" on Comedy Central, which premiered just a few weeks ago. The 404 guys think we should have jumped on to this bandwagon a long time. This is what we do already for the show every day!

Anyway, hope you all enjoy the abbreviated show along with our Michael Jackson commentary. He will be missed. Spend your weekend listening to your favorite MJ jam and reminisce about the fond memories you had while karaoking to "Billie Jean."

EPISODE 371 Download today's podcast Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Angelle Sampey joins the 6 Second Club...again

Y'know, I dig cars and car racing. But I also appreciate motorcycles and bike racing as well. And I think I'm long overdue to show a little love for motorcycle racing. And to keep with this week's salute to the women of motorsport racing, I have selected a hot vid of Pro Stock Motorcycle superstar Angelle Sampey.

Besides her status as a female in a male dominated sport, Angelle Sampey is a rare breed in the bike racing world. She owns a record of consecutive qualifying races starting with her debut in 1996, leaving her previous career … Read more

Tony Stewart Wins 2009 All Star Race

A couple weeks ago, I dedicated a week to looking at redneck cars and racing. Part of that series included a video of fabulous NASCAR crashes. As it turns out, NASCAR has been in the news a lot lately for numerous reasons, so I decided to dedicate my blog this week to NASCAR.

This first video comes fresh from this past weekend's 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup All Star Race. The race was a "who's who" of modern NASCAR royalty (including Dale Earnhardt, Jr.), but it came down to the final lap with Tony Stewart ultimately getting … Read more

Girl Scout banned from selling cookies on YouTube

I've always been a little suspicious of the Scout movement.

The uniforms. The slightly too correct and frightfully ancient hairstyles of some of the senior members. The Scout Promise that gets boys to promise: "To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight." And gets every girl to declare she will: "respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout."

Now these strangely clothed beings have gone a little too far. They have trampled upon Wild Freeborn.

Wild Freeborn is … Read more

VCs to Demo: Funding tough but not impossible

PALM DESERT, Calif.--On the day that the Dow sank below 7,000 for the first time since 1997, a panel of venture capitalists told attendees at Demo 2009 what most people already know. This is an extremely challenging environment for raising money.

But challenging doesn't mean impossible. There are still some opportunities for both entrepreneurs and investors.

The panel, which was moderated by Matt Marshall of VentureBeat consisted of Christine Herron of First Round Capital, David Hornik of August Capital, Bryce T. Roberts of O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, and Eric Tilenius of Tilenius Investments.

Tilenius said that "… Read more

Still care what constitutes an 'open-source vendor'?

I opened my RSS reader today and was swept back to 2007, when I and others fussed about what constitutes an open-source vendor.

Matt Aslett of The 451 Group and Savio Rodrigues of IBM have thoughts of their own, which mostly make sense. I'd go so far as to say they're right.

But do we care anymore?

No one wasted more digital ink on the topic than I did, but even I don't care anymore. Open source is bleeding into the way everyone does software, including Microsoft. It remains critically important, but I suspect that it won'… Read more

Economy takes down much-maligned JuicyCampus

I'm almost always saddened by news of businesses being forced to close because of the economy, but I'm glad to see the apparent demise of JuicyCampus.com. The site, according to a blog post from its founder Matt Ivester, is shutting down because "in these historically difficult economic times, online ad revenue has plummeted and venture capital funding has dissolved."

I'm not shedding any tears for Mr. Ivester. What he refers to as "lighthearted gossip of college life" was, in many situations, vicious innuendos, hateful messages, and downright lies. In covering the site … Read more

Proprietary buys of open-source firms to flourish?

The 451 Group's Matt Aslett believes that a perfect storm is brewing for serious mergers and acquisitions around open source in 2009. Having a (literally) vested interest in the matter, I'd like to see his prophecy come true.

Aslett provides a long list of reasons to suppose that 2009 is the year of the open-source buyout, among them:

Proprietary vendors see open source as a means of entering adjacent markets. Proprietary vendors see open source as a means of expanding reach and a potential source of upsell opportunities.

I've written on this second reason before, arguing that … Read more