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The 404 883: Where the PATH to success is paved with delays (podcast)

Why are schools no longer teaching typing? Typing class used to be a sanctuary for nerds, but now that everyone has a smartphone and a Facebook profile, some school districts are making a case against teaching standardized touch-typing lessons.

But before we dive into the technology lessons we think should be taught in all grade schools, we start today's episode of The 404 Podcast with a recap of the past week's metaprotesting in San Francisco and the flames that ignited Anonymous to shut down public transit.

The 404 Digest for Episode 883

SF subway closes stations during Anonymous protest. Why are schools no longer teaching typing? A video voice mail from Andrew in Ontario!

Episode 883 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

The 404 882: Where everyone did it in the '90s (podcast)

If you willingly choose to pay to see a movie like "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," you give up your right to complain about your fellow theater-goers. This is the lesson Wilson and I impart to our third co-host, who got suckered by the trolls on Rotten Tomatoes into seeing the pre-prequel to "Planet of the Apes."

The big news, of course, is Google's proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, so we'll discuss what that means for existing patent trolls, Android handset competitors, and the Android platform in general.

Stick around until the end of the show, when we'll announce which two lucky listeners won our V-Moda Faders earplugs giveaway contest!

The 404 Digest for Episode 882

Google to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5B. Air Swimmers let you fly your own fish. Rise of the Planet of the Apes: An animal-rights manifesto disguised as a prison-break movie. Weekend breaches: BART page by Anonymous.

Episode 882 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Amazon Student app for iPhone

Mac OS X Lion finally shows up on a USB stick, the FCC reviews San Francisco BART's decision to shut down cell phone service, and Amazon launches an iPhone app that enables students to scan barcodes and includes six months of free two-day shipping.

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Amazon Student App for iPhone T-Mobile sells pre-paid at Family Dollar Mac OS X Lion shows up on USB sticks FCC reviews BART cell service shutdown Starbucks serves up free apps Follow Pres. Barack Obama on FourSquare Subscribe: iTunes (MP3) | iTunes (320x180) | iTunes (HD) | … Read more

Google to acquire Motorola Mobility

Adobe releases a new tools for designers to create websites with very little code called Muse, the San Francisco BART train service shuts down cellular phone service over fears of protestors, and Google shakes up the smartphone industry by acquiring Motorola Mobility.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Google to acquire Motorola Mobility Chrome 14 Beta gets Native Client San Francisco BART shuts down cell service Sprint drops BlackBerry Playbook Adobe debuts "Muse" for designers Subscribe: iTunes (MP3) | iTunes (320x180) | iTunes (HD) | RSS (MP3) | RSS (320x180) | RSS HD

Gizmodo not charged in iPhone 4 theft

Hewlett-Packard permanently cuts the price of the TouchPad to just $399, Google is reportedly rushing to finish the Ice Cream Sandwich update to its Android operating system, and the San Mateo, Calif., district attorney has filed charges in the theft of an iPhone 4 prototype but not against Gizmodo.

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

iPhone 4 charged filed against two men but not Gizmodo HTC buys Beats by Dr. Dre HP cuts price of TouchPad to $399 Google rushing to finish Ice Cream Sandwich Verizon and AT&T block jailbroken tetherers Nintendo 3DS gets "Flame Red" … Read more

SanDisk 240GB SSD hits $450

Solid-state drive prices continue to fall, and SanDisk is doing its part with a new 240GB laptop drive for $450. But don't expect to pay that kind of price when getting an SSD directly from Apple or Hewlett-Packard.

Flash memory-based SSDs are the storage of choice in cutting-edge, weight-sensitive designs. They're standard in all the new 2011 MacBook Airs and will populate the new wave of Ultrabooks due later this year. Drives of 256GB capacity from first-tier suppliers such as Micron Technology were more than $500 earlier this year, so a new drive from SanDisk with comparable capacity … Read more

Cut the Rope goes to comics

About 19 percent of respondents to a recent study say they have dropped their phones in the toilet, the Facebook for iPad app is hidden inside of the iPhone app version 3.4.4, and the popular iOS and Android game Cut the Rope makes its way to comic books.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Cut the Rope goes to comics Netflix and Dreamsworks deal in the works 19% of people drop phone into toilet Facebook iPad app in iPhone app Dolby rolls out consumer 7.1 Subscribe: iTunes (MP3) | iTunes (320x180) | iTunes (HD) | … Read more

Ask Maggie: Buh-bye BlackBerry; iPhone has iMessage

If you've been waiting to dump your BlackBerry for an iPhone because you don't want to give up the free BlackBerry Messaging service that allows you to bypass carrier text messaging, then the wait is over.

Earlier this week, Apple announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco that its new iMessage feature that will be baked into the latest version of iOS software due later this year, will offer a similar messaging service that Research In Motion's BBM service offers.

In addition to seeing when and if messages have been received, just like BBM, iMessage … Read more

Diskeeper ExpressCache halves Windows boot time

If you hate waiting for what seems like an eternity for your PC to boot Windows, Diskeeper's ExpressCache might get it going a little faster than molasses.

Recently shown off at Computex Taipei, ExpressCache has been demoed with an 8GB SanDisk SSD to cut program launch times as well.

In the demo below, the Windows desktop appears 15.5 seconds after the OS starts, compared with 33.4 seconds on an identical machine that isn't souped up (BIOS time isn't included). The times it takes for the toolbar to appear are 1.9 and 23.8 seconds, respectively.

In simultaneous launches of Adobe Photoshop, the times are 5.9 and 11.8 seconds.

The SSD acts as a cache for the HDD, and either component can be of any capacity and still work with ExpressCache. … Read more

SF utilities agency warns of potential breach

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is warning its customers that their personal data may have been exposed in a recent breach, an SFPUC spokesman told CNET today.

SFPUC noticed a few weeks ago that an unsecured server that was storing customer data also had some viruses on it, according to spokesman Tyrone Jue. It's unclear how the server got infected with the viruses, he said, adding that "it looked like someone had found an open port on the server and dumped a bunch of viruses on it."

A file on the server contained customer names, account … Read more

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