cliff

But after finally clinching a (literally) last-minute deal to break a weeks-long deadlock over the so-called fiscal cliff, tech investors had a field day on the first day of trading for 2013.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index closed up more than 3 percent on the day, led by the usual roster of big names with Google finishing at $723.25, up 2.24 percent and Apple gaining almost 3 percent to close at $548.07. Facebook, which for much of the spring and summer had been a neglected stock, continued its recent climb, finishing up … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Jill gives us 2012 year-end tax tips: four benefit changes.

- "Fiscal cliff" primer: Breaking down the plans.

- Alan Simpson goes "Gangnam Style."

- The Fiscal Cliff Huxtable.… Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Apple's iPhone 5 could add half a percent to U.S. GDP.

- Apple launches iPhone trade in program with competitive prices.

- What is a fiscal cliff?

- Aunt Jill recommends "Bernie," a film starring Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine.

- Follow Jill Schlesinger on Twitter and check out her podcast, Jill on Money!… Read more

Sometimes the bare essentials are all it takes to make a great video game. In this collection, our hero is the stickman.

Everyone knows that in today's hottest games (for any platform), high-quality graphics are at a premium. Whether it's a first-person shooter, an MMORPG, or even a console golf game, realism and fancy graphics seem to be key to getting people to buy the product. But if you've played games for a while, you know that graphics aren't everything.

A whole slew of games in the iTunes App Store have enjoyed a ton of success by completely ignoring fancy graphics and instead focusing on the gameplay aspect. Some developers have even distilled graphic concepts down to the most basic level--stick figures--to prove that it's not about antialiasing and bloom, and more about having fun using clever game mechanics.… Read more

Get ready, Gearheads--it's on.

The Gears of War 3 beta, that is.

Starting today and for the next three weeks, fans of the mega-hit franchise who pre-ordered the forthcoming game will get their first chance to dive into its third iteration. At a press event for Microsoft's Xbox 360 in February, Gears of War publisher Epic Games said that the new beta "will give fans a chance to experience three new Versus Multiplayer modes on four new maps."

More specifically, from today through May 1, beta participants will experience the new Team Deathmatch and King of … Read more

Rep. Rick Boucher, a Democrat from rural Virginia, has been unsuccessfully pushing for Internet privacy legislation for a very long time. In 1999, he proposed a bill that would give regulators more power over commercial Web sites, and he cosponsored the Consumer Privacy Protection Act in 2005.

That history probably didn't prepare Boucher for the almost uniformly hostile reception his latest legislative effort, a still-unnamed discussion draft (PDF) regulating data collection efforts, received on Tuesday.

Liberal special interest groups announced they were "disappointed" that Boucher didn't slap even more regulations on Internet businesses. Free-market think tanks … Read more

The tracking and targeting of consumers online has reached "alarming levels," warned a coalition of consumer and privacy groups in a letter to Congress on Monday.

The collection of 11 groups, which includes Consumer Action, Consumers Union, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said that because the online industry has been unable to regulate itself in protecting the privacy of consumers, it's time for government to step in.

"This tracking is an invasion of privacy...Consumers now rely on the Internet and other digital services for a wide variety of transactions," the groups wrote in their … Read more

This week's Apple iPad announcement gives us the perfect opportunity to discuss the future of publishing with Cliff Chiang and Jerry Ma, two graphic illustrators in the comic book industry. They join us in the studio today to talk about their collaborative project, "Secret Identities," a graphic novel anthology of Asian American superhero stories.

Growing up as an Asian Americans in the world of comics isn't easy, especially when the only culturally identifiable characters you see are either stereostyped villains or hyper-sexualized women. As comic books quickly gain popularity here (although they are still not nearly as prevalent as in Japan), we're starting to see a shift in the cultural perception of comic books, away from the chiseled, American superhero archetype. The artists behind "Secret Identities" navigate this sea change with stories equally rooted in Asian American history and individual experience.

Throughout today's episode of The 404, Jerry and Cliff offer a unique perspective on the current state of the publishing industry and the move toward digital comic creation. As it turns out, neither of the guys are fans of the new iPad, but Jerry raises an interesting point about the practical application of the iPad in the hands of a parent. And although we didn't have a chance to talk to them about it on the show, both are still considering the Modbook, an aftermarket Apple MacBook modified to work as a tablet computer.

We also love when guests bring us gifts, so look out for another contest for a chance to win a copy of "Secret Identities" (also available for purchase on BlackLava) that features custom sketches from Jerry and Cliff!

LOS ANGELES--For those of you who have been waiting for some really big news to come out of the video game industry, Microsoft answered your call Monday with its innovative "Project Natal," a hands-free motion-sensitive controller system.

Announced during Microsoft's annual E3 press conference, Project Natal seems almost certainly to be the culmination of several years of work by an Israeli start-up called 3DV Systems, which Microsoft recently acquired.

The technology, as demonstrated (see video below), appears geared toward allowing users to control games, movies, and anything else on their Xbox system with their hands alone, and … Read more