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Gadget news

The 404 1287: Where we just need a green bed (podcast)

Polygon's Russ Frushtick joins me in the studio today to talk about the lighter side of our recent trip to Los Angeles. Best of all, he'll help answer the most-asked question of last week: "What was the best food you had at E3?"

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Enter CNET's "From Old School to Tech Cool" contest.

- What do you think of the new "Anchorman 2" trailer?

- Follow Russ on Twitter.

- Listen to Russ' podcast, The Besties.

- Watch Human Angle on Polygon.… Read more

The 404 1286: Where we're tired of zombies (podcast)

On today's show we're welcoming Dan Chiappini from GameSpot Australia along with 404 veteran Scott Stein. We'll briefly recap Scott's time down at WWDC but then get right into some more E3 talk where we make Scott feel jealous about missing what was probably the biggest E3 in something like seven years. Dan think he knows why Nintendo refuses to open its "vault" of games and we all wonder how the company can rebound from a bleak E3 showing.

We're also chatting about the mundane abundance of shooters at E3, the lack of innovation, and which games actually piqued our interest.

And be sure to enter CNET's awesome "From Old School to Tech Cool" contest that's currently underway on our Facebook page!

- Follow our new buddy Dan Chiappini on Twitter.

- Make sure to do the same for 404 veteran Scott Stein.

- Catch up on Scott's and the rest of CNET's WWDC coverage.

- Give CNET's E3 2013 page one last skim.… Read more

The 404 1285: Where E3 is no place for fanboys (podcast)

I don't get it. I'm gone an entire week and there's not one show. I get back, Justin's gone, but I still have to do one. What's up with that? Luckily it's a non-issue. Today we've got CNET HDTV editor Ty Pendlebury on the program to help me wrap up the chaos that was E3 2013 and filter out some of the new-found disgust I have for videogame fanboys. You know, the worst kind of fanboy.

- Check out Jeff's slideshow showing the most exciting games of E3.

- Play catch-up by looking back at the rest of CNET's E3 2013 coverage.

- Follow Ty on Twitter.

- ESPN drops 3D, four years after the rest of world has already given up on it. … Read more

Power Shorts: Shake your rear to charge your gear

Who wears short-shorts...with gadget-charging capabilities? Attendees to the U.K.'s Isle of Wight music fest, that's who.

At the outdoor festival in Glastonbury, England, this weekend, mobile carrier Vodafone will try on its new Power Shorts, which harvest movement to boost the battery life of mobile devices. Need more power out there in the open field? Start dancing!

The shorts -- created with help from scientists at the University of Southampton -- incorporate a Power Pocket that contains foam-like ferroelectret materials with pockets of permanently charged surfaces. When the material gets squashed or deformed through movement, kinetic energy gets produced. Vodafone says a full day's walking and dancing will charge a smartphone for more than four hours (not much, but way more than campers can expect from those hawthorn-tree outlets). … Read more

'Activation lock' to tighten iOS security

Apple may not be able to do anything to stop a mugger from stealing your iPhone, but changes in iOS 7 will prevent the thief from trying to sell the phone as new.

At its Worldwide Developers Conference here on Monday, Apple unveiled several security enhancements. Activation Lock is the most interesting. Though the company didn't go deep into detail on the new feature, Apple's head of Mac software engineering, Craig Federighi, said the feature prevents unauthorized resetting of an iPhone or iPad.

Basically, if the Find My Phone tracking utility has been deactivated, or if the phone … Read more

Safari for iOS to go full-screen

While Apple's updates to Safari for OS X Mavericks are more about keeping up with the Joneses, Safari for iOS 7 looks to forge new ground by making the browser look and feel more like the operating system.

Safari for iOS 7 features a nearly chrome-less interface ("chrome" refers to the visible interface portions of software), a new tab view, fewer restrictions on tabs, and iCloud Keychain integration, Apple announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday.

By default, the iOS 7 Safari is set to what looks like full-screen mode. With the browser's chrome mostly … Read more

Apple unveils new MacBook Air, gives Mac Pro sneak peek

Apple on Monday updated some models of its PC line with faster processors and improved battery life.

During a keynote address at the company's developers conference, Phil Schiller, Apple's head of marketing, unveiled a couple of new versions of the MacBook Air laptop and also gave developers a sneak peek of an updated Mac Pro desktop PC.

The new MacBook Air models are available Monday and start at $999. They include Intel's fourth-generation Core processor, dubbed Haswell, as well as a faster Wi-Fi known was 802.11ac.

Battery life is an area with significant improvement. The 11-inch … Read more

With Safari updates, Apple aims to keep pace

SAN FRANCISCO -- Once again, Apple's changes to its Safari browser on OS X represent keeping up with the competition instead of forging new ground.

At the company's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco on Monday, the company unveiled the next version of Safari, which Apple says will have significantly faster page rendering, better security, and will make it easier to read multiple articles on the same site.

The Safari 7 update introduces to the browser stronger connections to OS X's password-management tool called Keychain. Leveraging the iCloud browser syncing that debuted in last year's Safari, … Read more

Apple OS X Mavericks surfs into view

Apple unveiled the new Mac OS X Mavericks operating system at its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, showing off the ability to create tabs in the finder and tag items to aid in search.

Craig Federighi, chief of iOS and OS X, said the new system aims to extend battery life and improve responsiveness.

When saving a file, users can add tags that will show up in the finder's sidebar, which should help when searching for files, Federighi said. The tabs feature allows users to open multiple windows in different tabs and multiple displays. Users can even connect to … Read more

Amulet camera records your life, stores it in cloud

"The destruction of music through YouTube is enormous."

That's what pianist Krystian Zimerman told an audience in Germany when he stopped his performance to demand a fan stop recording it with a smartphone.

But if you think the ubiquity of phone cameras is more than a little annoying, get ready for one that goes around your neck and can record automatically. … Read more