Vice

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City hits iOS, Android

Anyone who has played Grand Theft Auto: Vice City -- set in a fictional representation of Miami -- is familiar with its eclectic mix of '80s music and style. Personally, when I played it eight years ago, I loved getting on a motorcycle and cruising the mean streets, either looking for a killer jump or just someone to mow down.

On the heels of the game's 10th anniversary, developer Rockstar Games announced the upcoming release of GTA: Vice City for "select" iOS and Android smartphones and tablets "featuring native high-resolution graphics and several enhancements." … Read more

New 'Jack Kennedy' line in VP debate tops reaction on Twitter

For the second time, JFK may have been the star of a vice presidential debate, and Twitter was all over it.

During tonight's debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the two got into a brief skirmish over former President Kennedy, leading Biden to say, disbelievingly to Ryan, "Now you're Jack Kennedy?" The line brought to mind then Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Lloyd Bentsen's famous moment in his 1988 debate against Republican vice presidential nominee Dan Quayle, who had compared his level of experience to that of JFK prior to Kennedy becoming … Read more

Motorola announces Android 4.0 smartphones for Canada

Motorola Mobility today announced a pair of new Android-powered smartphones set to arrive in Canada in the coming weeks.

Both the Atrix HD LTE and Razr V are expected to run Android 4.0, feature Kevlar fiber protection, and offer similar form factors. While they might look similar on the surface, there are a number of differences tucked under their hoods.

First up is the Motorola Razr V, the latest in the remarkably thin Droid Razr series, and the most powerful thus far. Details include a 4.3-inch qHD display, 1.2Ghz dual-core processor, 8-megapixel camera (1080p HD video recording), … Read more

HTC One V secures a summer release date

NEW ORLEANS--In addition to the Droid Incredible 4G LTE that HTC just announced at CTIA, the phone maker will also show off its HTC One V, an Android smartphone first introduced at Mobile World Congress.

Although the One V is the most entry-level of the HTC One phones, it fits into the family uniformities like Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as the operating system, the HTC Sense 4.0 interface, and HTC's ImageSense camera software, which works with HTC's image-processing chip to take photos one after the other in the blink of an eye.… Read more

Digital artists show their stuff in San Francisco

If you're a local fan of digital art, there's a good chance you spent at least part of your weekend at the Creators Project, a celebration of the art form that drew thousands to see a diverse collection of interactive installations here in San Francisco.

From 40-foot-tall latticework cubes filled with LEDs (see video below) to huge triptychs that converted people's body images into flights of fancy, the project showcased some of the best--and worst--digital art around. It also gave visitors access to a collection of films on the topic, and the chance to listen to a number of musicians, including the hit group, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. … Read more

The 404 Podcast 479: Where we pick our poison

It feels good to let the poison out every once in a while, so today's episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast is all about human vices, starting with a story about a controversial secret love scene in Dragon Age: Origins between two gay elves. While conservatives are up in arms about the cut scene, Wilson and Jeff stand by the Mature rating and hold parents responsible for making the final buying decision, but I have to play devil's advocate and ask why it's necessary to have sex scenes in video games in the first place; are there really gamers out there actually getting a kick out of seeing it, or is it just creating more trouble than it's worth?

While we're on the subject of nerds, World of Warcraft players are rejoicing at Blizzard's "ever-expanding line of merchandise" that now includes customized posters featuring your in-game WoW character. It's called Print Warcraft, and it's already so popular that the Web site is apologizing for its overloaded servers. We have a few problems with the idea of the service, so be sure to listen to the whole episode for our breakdown.

The last vice of the day might change the way you party on the weekends: a researcher in Russia has found a way to solidify your favorite liquors into pill form. Evgeny Moskalev of the Saint Petersburg Technological University has figured out how to turn alcohol into powder and pack the concentration into a "dry pill." We seriously doubt party animals in Russia will be able to measure out the exact vodka dosage needed to get blotto, but we'll raise our pill box to it anyway.

We've also got two new user submitted theme songs thanks to PA Stubbs and David, and DON'T FORGET! It's not to late to enter for a chance to win one of ten Otterbox cases for your iPhone 3G or 3GS. All you have to do is leave a comment on yesterday's episode and wait to see if you win! The contest runs until noon tomorrow, December 4, so don't forget!

EPISODE 479 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

The 404 389: Where we elect Jeff Bakalar the new mayor of Hoboken

Today's show welcomes Eric Franklin, host of the Inside CNET Labs Podcast, who comes on to talk about the new Watchmen Blu-ray/DVD. We also talk about Xbox Portable, Hoboken's newest mayor, Comic-Con, and, of course, Beck's Beer/Last.FM Audio Draft!

The first half of today's show features Eric Franklin, the better half of the Inside CNET Labs Podcast, AKA The 404 West Coast Continent. Like me, Eric is a huge "Watchmen" fanboy, so he joins us to talk about the 3-hour long "Watchmen Director's Cut" Blu-Ray and DVD, which features deleted scenes from the original theatrical release. If you're obsessed with the graphic novel, we recommend waiting for the "Ultimate Cut" edition to be released this holiday season; that one is 3 hours and 25 minutes and intercuts back and forth between the movie and the comic within the graphic novel, "Tales of the Black Freighter." We also talk about the movie's reception, critical acclaim, and what you should know before checking it out. Read Eric's fanboy review on Crave.

We also talk with Eric about the "Alice in Wonderland" trailer that debuted at Comic-Con this year, along with a few more disappointing sequels that prove the well of original stories is long dry.

Today is Friday, which means it's time for yet another 404 semiweekly audio draft sponsored by Beck's Beer in conjunction with Last.FM, a subsidiary of CBS Interactive and CNET News and Reviews 5000! My pick for today is Why?, an established group on SF's own avant label Anticon Records. The group dug its roots in what some people call "post hip-hop," but its first album "Oaklandazulasylum," can be more accurately described as spoken-word-style poetry with more poignant lyrics and instrumentation. Out of the three full-lengths released to date, today's highlight "Alopecia" stands proudly as Yoni Wolf, Josiah Wolf, and Doug McDiarmid's most harmonically "indie rock" record, but in my opinion, Why's best trait is the relationship between the three essential instruments: vocals, melody, and percussion. Yoni's vocals and lyrics explores rhythms with diction and imagery that might sound delineated, but, in fact, it layers seamlessly with the music behind it. "Fatalist Palmistry" is today's draft pick, so give it a listen and let us know what you think!

EPISODE 389 Download today's podcast Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

The 404 176: Where we play with Duck Hunt all day long

Our surprise guest today is Bristol Palin, daughter of would-be VP Sarah Palin! We regrettably rescind our drooling over yesterday's picture of the Governess--it's fake! Today's show is chock full of Google goodness, atom smashing, motherfrakkers, and a tried and true geekout on the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie! Special bonus: Senor Space Beer returns to The 404!

And now for a subject near and dear to my heart. After releasing a positively craptastic CGI effort, the folks over at Playmate Toys unofficially announced that the sequel will be a back-to-basics live-action movie! To me, this … Read more

The 404 175: Where we're wearing white after Labor Day

Welcome to the working week! We're back after a very relaxing Labor Day Weekend. We welcome Natali back to the office and catch up on some political news. Don't fret, we mostly just make fun of Palin's daughter's redneck boyfriend. Other stories from today include MySpace suckage, CraigsList prostitution busts, an Amy Winehouse mental health update, and a Justin PSYu Foundation report!

After an extended weekend, it's usually difficult to drag yourself back into the office, but it's easy when there's so much to talk about! First things first: how come nobody told … Read more