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The 404 559: Where we rub Jill's nose for good luck (podcast)

It's April 14, the day before Tax Day, if you live in the U.S. Appropriately, we have Jill Schlesinger of CBS MoneyWatch.com on the show to dig through all your tax preparation software questions and the smart financial planning you should be doing now--not later--if you want to live a comfortable life.

For those of you who have never filed U.S. tax returns, tomorrow at the stroke of midnight is the last moment you have to send your returns in to the IRS. The United States is a bit strange in that we have to self-file our returns, but that means there is a lot of responsibility on our part to get it right. Conversely, there are a lot of chances for us to screw it up. Well, Aunt Jill says her No. 1 tax tip is to "not freak out."

Whether you should use a CPA or something like TurboTax online is entirely dependent on your situation. So if you're like Jeff who gets his cash flow from a single W-2 and has no assets to his name, self-filing is pretty straightforward.

However, if you're more like Justin, who owes a couple of loan sharks money from a couple of bad bets and has to work the late shift at the Hustler Club, you should probably see a CPA. And if you're like Wilson, who was a little too goody-two-shoes and filed his tax two months ago, you probably shouldn't be taking financial advice from The 404.

We do answer some questions about when you should start saving for your newborn's college fund and what the difference is between stocks, mutual funds, indices, and giant pools of money. If we didn't get to your question on today's show, please be sure to follow Jill on Twitter, where she will do her best to answer your life's toughest financial questions in 140 characters or less.

Finally, as a treat for our loyal listeners, we have a Web exclusive, where we talk to Jill for an extra 15 minutes about the economy, health care, and what you should do with your retirement funds and investments.

If you're new to the show, yes, it's very strange that we're offering actual sound, thoughtful advice, but hey we like throwing you for a loop every now and then. Check back later today for the video of the Web exclusive!

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The road to the Final Four and the digital future

The Final Four on CBS is an event I look forward to every year. The excitement, the traditions, the rivalries...the ratings! One of the many benefits of working here is getting to be a part of events like March Madness, meeting interesting people, talking about sports, and, of course, technology.

During our stay in the Hoosier state, a group of CBS executives accompanied me for an illuminating visit to the Ball State University Center for Media Design in Muncie, Indiana. It was our second time visiting the Center, and once again our friend Mike Bloxham, director of insight and … Read more

The 404 551: Where Natali and Justin have an Apple iPad battle (podcast)

The CNET New York office is typically a tame environment--unless it happens to be the eve of a big Apple product drop and turns into pure unapologetic madness! It's the day before the release of the much-anticipated Apple iPad and Natali picked one up this morning for a CBS News segment, but little does she know The 404 has our own version, and it's bigger, cheaper, and even comes with its own stylus! Unfortunately, we can't do a side-by-side comparison because the real iPad is currently submerged in a puddle of Wilson's saliva, but we'll try to get the thing in the studio for Monday's show, pending a serious wipedown.

Jeff and I are still disappointed by the lack of features on the iPad, but we can't shrug off the awesome-factor of the new Netflix for iPad app that dropped yesterday. Some disregarded it as a cruel April Fools' joke, but it is indeed available now on the App Store. The service is free to all Netflix customers, who will now have mobile access to more than 20,000 movies and television shows currently in the library. You can even continue watching movies from where you left off on your TV or computer at home.

We can already sense your irritation at all this iPad talk, so let's move on. Sending dirty text messages to your boo bear isn't just for professional golfers and tweens anymore. Studies show that more and more adults are using "sexting" to get nasty on the run, so we're running down a list of five tips for safe sexting. The list is cheeky, and while we agree that the No. 1 tip is to be discreet, the article neglects to address the wonderful world of multimedia messages that can add a visual aid to your naughty text.

Guess we know what you're doing this weekend! And after you do that, shoot us a line by leaving a voicemail at 1-866-404-CNET or send a message to the404(at)cnet(dot)com and let us know what's on your mind!

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Netflix on iPad, more to follow?

We're rash to say something as small as a single app could be a game changer, but the recent rumors of Apple having a Netflix app ready to launch on day one for the iPad are certainly getting our attention.

Links from what appear to be Apple's own servers show two images that certainly look like Netflix on the iPad. The app will let you manage your movie queue as well as stream Netflix on Demand movies. It also could be the first of many apps that could unleash the iPad from the shackles of iTunes Store content. … Read more

The 404 Podcast 525: Where we Shatner things my dad says

Natali Del Conte replaces Justin Yu on today's show, as he's out looking for pickles. The name of today's show refers to the news that William Shatner of "Star Trek" fame will star in CBS' new sitcom "S**t My Dad Says," based on the same expletive-filled Twitter phenomenon. We think Jerry Stiller would make a better cranky old man. (By the way, CBS, you own a equally funny podcast/show/Twitter called The 404, available on @the404.)

Jeff has a beef with the number of 3D movie theaters out there right now. Apparently, the success of "Avatar" has led a swarm of 3D films to be released, and many theaters aren't equipped to handle the 3D projections just yet.

Next, we get to Sony building a universal game controller (a la the Logitech Harmony One, but for videogame consoles). We're not exactly sure how they plan on doing this, or whether it's useful in any way. We do, however, reminisce a bit about our favorite game controllers. The original Sega Saturn controller is Wilson's favorite for 2D games. "It melts in your hands," he says.

Finally, we get to some voice mails, and the racist polar bear on Xbox Live has really taken off as a meme now. We're encouraging our fans to send in their renditions of this meme. The best ones we will showcase on the show. Maybe a few Photoshoped images? Maybe a few voice mails as the racist polar bear? Send them in to the404 [at] cnet [dot] com or call us at 1-866-404-CNET (2638).

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Winter driving tips, tricks from 'The Early Show'

I was on the phone with my parents who live in Ohio earlier today and they commented on how they've accumulated roughly two feet of snowfall in February alone--and the month isn't even over yet! Based on what I've heard, the snow is just going keep on coming, and all of my east coast buddies are ready for a break already. With the snow being a fact of life in the immediate future for many Americans, I thought it timely to present some video about how to deal with driving your car in snowy and icy conditions. … Read more

Buzz Out Loud Podcast 1131: The last Word from Microsoft?

Breaking news right at the top of the show as Microsoft loses its appeal and the court rules they have to stop selling infringing copies of Microsoft Word by January 11, 2009. We also welcome the new White House security czar and the Google Yelp drama plays on. We're on break now, but we do have special episodes in the feed. We'll be back on January 4! Have a a great holiday!

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Microsoft loses Word patent appeal http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BL3FV20091222… Read more

CBS Internet chief Quincy Smith to leave

Quincy Smith, the one-time banker and trusted adviser to new media poobahs, will leave his current post as chief executive of CBS Interactive in January to work once again as a consultant.

Smith plans to start his own advisory business and not surprisingly, the start-up's first customer is CBS, he said in an interview with CNET on Wednesday. Smith will focus on helping CBS with its Web video strategy.

Smith, whose most notable move while at CBS was helping to oversee the $1.8 billion acquisition of CNET, the parent company of this publication, said the reason he's … Read more

BOL 1085: Amazon, I need a refill

Amazon announced same-day delivery for certain areas today, although we're not sure if you can buy wines by the glass. We also cover the BlackBerry Storm and the Motorola Cliq announcements. Guess which one we like better? And the Danger Sidekick tale continues.

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Don’t change your Twitter passwords if you don’t want to lose your account http://www.infoworld.com/d/applications/twitter-warns-users-not-change-log-in-data-until-further-notice-815

Microsoft confirms data recovery for Sidekick users http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2009/oct09/10-15sidekick.mspx … Read more