walmart

The 404 398: Where in space, no one can hear you tweet

Bad news folks, TWITTER IS DOWN! Today, we report on the subsequent worldwide meltdown in addition to stories about Wal-Mart BlackBerries, the fall of gaming magazines, and more submissions for the "Choose Justin's new glasses" competition!

All hell has broken loose in the tech world with this morning's Twitter crash. The popular microblogging Web site suffered a denial-of-service attack earlier this morning around 6 a.m. PT, but has yet to give out details or an in-depth status update. The last update said it is "defending" itself from an ongoing attack, so good luck to all the frontline GIs fighting the good fight in the trenches so that Ashton Kutcher can continue telling us facts about technology that we already know.

Earth will continue to rotate on its axis despite Twitter soiling the bed, so we bring you more stories from the Internet, including the awful news that Wal-Mart is now selling the new BlackBerry Curve for $48. So now, in addition to supporting an evil dictatorship conglomerate and taking food from the mouths of independent business owners for a 50-cent discount on a box of Tide, consumers can now pick up a cheap mobile phone so that the Walton children can put one more Benz in the garage. Cool! /rant

Be sure to tune into the second half of the show to hear more rants from The 404, but we also lament the death of classic gaming magazines like GamePro, PSM, EGM, etc. While many of them are still available for print subscription, we can't help but reminisce about the old days when you had to subscribe to them in order to get the latest tips and tricks.

So, all that, PLUS we discover the true identity of Motherboard's wily sidekick, LaserJet (thanks Hayato!) and reveal some serious (and some not-so-serious) submissions to the "Choose Justin's new glasses" competition!

EPISODE 398 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Wal-Mart beats Best Buy with $298 laptop

Is $299 too much for a laptop? Wal-Mart has answered Best Buy's $299 laptop challenge with a $298 offer.

"For the first time, a 3GB memory laptop from a well-known brand has ventured below $300," Wal-Mart said in a statement Thursday.

Starting July 26 (this coming Sunday), Wal-Mart will begin selling a $298 Compaq Presario notebook (CQ60-419WM) with the following specifications: a 15.6-inch display, 3GB of memory, a 160GB hard-disk drive, a CD-DVD drive, and Windows Vista pre-loaded. The laptop will use a 2.10 GHz AMD Sempron SI-42 processor and Nvidia GeForce 8200M graphics.

The $… Read more

Wal-Mart to label products with eco ratings

Wal-Mart wants its suppliers to help it get greener.

The retail giant plans to announce on Thursday that it will ask its suppliers to provide environmental information on all products carried in its stores. Wal-Mart Stores will use that information to label each item with an eco rating, designed to measure its environmental friendliness.

"We have to change how we make and sell products," Michael T. Duke, Wal-Mart's president and chief executive, plans to tell about 1,500 suppliers and employees on Thursday at a "sustainability meeting," according to a copy of his prepared remarks, … Read more

Get a Magnavox Blu-ray player for $98

Update: Just came from the Wal-Mart store in Commerce Township, Mich. Not only was the Magnavox priced at $168, but the sales guys had never seen a Blu-ray player for $98. Could be this is a regional thing, or it could just be bad reporting (on my part and others'). Were you able to find this deal? In any case, my apologies if you went to Wal-Mart and came up empty.

The good news: You can finally buy a new, non-refurbished Blu-ray player for under $100--no rebates required.

The bad news: You have to go to Wal-Mart to get … Read more

Wal-Mart serves up $98 Blu-ray player

We don't know how long it will last, but several blogs are reporting that Wal-Mart has rolled back the price on the $168 Magnavox NB530MGX to $98 (in-store only). Apparently, on Father's Day weekend, the same player was selling for $128.

Is the Magnavox NB530MGX any good? It's not a profile 2.0 player (so there's no BD-Live support) and it's about as entry-level as you get. But it is a Blu-ray player, so now all you people who said you'd only buy one when it cost less than $100 have to ante up. … Read more

Best Buy ad: Our people are better than Wal-Mart's

Now that Circuit City has enjoyed something of a last lap in physical retail, Best Buy seems to have decided to take on another large rifle in electronics retailing: Wal-Mart Stores.

Wal-Mart has been upgrading its electronics offering and Best Buy clearly sees the Arkansas retailer as a potential source of pain and anguish.

In Best Buy's new TV ad, we meet employee Rachel Muñoz from Best Buy store (No. 1,473, if you're interested) in McAllen, Texas.

Muñoz, who seems like a very nice woman, tells the story of how she took a … Read more

Wal-Mart Father's Day HDTV 'deals'

Following the demise of Circuit City, Wal-Mart's been making a big push into the electronics market, and one of its PR folks let us in on a couple of upcoming "deals" on certain LCD TVs. The sale runs from June 14-20, or while supplies last.

Vizio VO420E 1080p 42-inch LCD ($697) Sony Bravia KDL-52S5100 1080p 52-inch LCD ($1,788) Sanyo DP37649 720p 37-inch LCD ($398)

We've seen lower prices on the Sony, but the Vizio and Sanyo look pretty close to rock-bottom. (Note: Just checked and Walmart is selling the Vizio VO420M) online for $697. The &… Read more

Analyst: Wal-Mart looking to sell Macs

Is Wal-Mart flirting with Apple? That's what one analyst believes is behind the retailer's newly beefed-up electronics section that's being rolled out over the next few weeks.

The world's largest retailer by revenue is doing a splashy makeover of its tech section, but there are many reasons behind the move: By building up its high-definition TV and Blu-ray home theater offerings, Wal-Mart is looking to pick up where the now-defunct Circuit City stores left off. There are also a couple of new smart phones debuting soon, including the much-anticipated Palm Pre, which Palm said Tuesday would … Read more

The 404 345: Where our Palms are full of Pre

Longtime friend of the 404 Tim Geisenheimer takes Wilson's spot today on the show where we talk a whole lot about the Palm Pre. The Pre will hit stores Saturday June 6 for $200 after a $100 rebate. We weigh some of the pros and cons of the new Palm gadget and try to figure out why (or if) it's cooler than the iPhone.

Next it's on to the world of used video games and how Walmart is testing out a new kiosk in some of the company's stores. The blue box will pay you for old games that you slide into a slot. After the little man inside checks the game for scratches, he'll magically credit your charge card with the money for the game. Sounds too good to be true? Probably. We're just curious as to how competitive the prices are.

An ingenious combination of puppies and cameras takes shape at PuppyPullingPower. Which dog attracts the most female friends? Listen and find out.

Speaking of pets, find out why some ridiculous cat has over half a million followers on Twitter and why this is the end of the Internet as we know it.

EPISODE 345 Download today's podcast Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more