Crave Podcast 92: No more free mobile handsets?

Guess what -- it's Friday, so it's time for another Crave Podcast. We're not quite sure what episode it is, though. Technically it's the 92nd show, but due to unforeseen circumstances (stupidity on Rory's part -- fair enough, we should have seen that coming) we've mistakenly called it episode 93 throughout the show. Doh!

Anyhoo, Nick Hide, head honcho of the Crave blog, joins us for this episode, along with MP3 guru Nate Lanxon, and nerd legend Rupert Goodwins. We kick things off with the news that mobile companies could stop giving out free handsets subsidised by long contracts. Apparently they're losing money hand over fist, and the only way to stop it is to charge for handsets. Boo!

Next up, a US judge has ruled that YouTube must give Viacom a record of every video watched by every YouTube user -- including the users' names and IP addresses. Viacom, in case you hadn't heard, is suing Google/YouTube and wants to prove that YouTube serves more copyrighted video than it does non-copyrighted video.

In other news, Virgin Media is sending 'warning' letters to users that visit illegal file-sharing Web sites, flying cars are on the way, and UK police are monitoring Facebook to stop illegal parties.

Since this is 'episode 93' (or something), we're continuing our Year in Tech feature with 1993. Back then, Intel launched the first Pentium chips, the word 'spam' was coined in relation to email, the Atari Jaguar hit the streets, and so much more.

It's all here in audio form. Right-click this link to download the MP3, subscribe in iTunes, then go talk with the other podcast fans in the Crave Podcast Lounge. We'll be back next week with episode 92. Or something. Sorry. -Rory Reid