Crave Podcast 46: StreetWars causes a splash 
Agent Fumblebum* is playing StreetWars -- a real-life game in which you are required to assassinate human targets with a water-pistol, and be at constant risk of assassination yourself. For three weeks he's living in disguise, varying his route to work and stalking his victims. We catch up with the assassin in this week's Crave Podcast and ask him a few questions about his practices, including the role of Facebook in his mission. Prepare to be scared.
In fact, there's plenty to be scared about in this week's podcast, including the fact that one in ten MMO players have had a "physical relationship" with others in their online worlds. And a crazy platform where videogames are played by couples touching each other. Not to mention the fact that Nokia is offering to replace 46 million phone batteries. Continue reading...
Crave Podcast 45: Adam Hart-Davis on Romans and ringtones
Adam Hart-Davis, best known in our circles for co-presenting the iconic science programme Tomorrow's World, helped to shape our wacky ideas of crazy futuristic gadgets. We catch up with him in this week's Crave Podcast to test his knowledge of today's technology and ask him what the Romans would have thought of the iPod.
We've got a packed show for you this week. We talk about the launch of the new Apple iMacs, the arrival of Dell's Linux PCs in the UK and the Xbox 360s with HDMI that are now rolling out in the US. We also discuss how printers could be poisoning you with toxic particles, and get news on some rather cool shadow lamps, straight from those forward-thinking folk in Japan.
We've been craving some rather spectacular gadgets this week, not least the Lenovo ThinkPad T61, which features Wireless USB. And we couldn't let the launch of the new footie season pass us by -- we give our work-experience boy Sam a break from making tea and ask him for the lowdown on the best online fantasy football games. Continue reading...
Crave Podcast 44: Facebook apps get a pasting
Facebook profiles used to be lovely, clean, white pages that were easy to navigate. Now they're splattered with blood from vampire bites, remnants of yesterday's food fight and obscenities scrawled on graffiti walls. Just where will this madness end? Rory makes his feelings clear about the rise and rise of third-party Facebook apps in this week's Crave Podcast.
Also stirring up the podwaves this week is the news that Sony's PSP is to get Sky's video on-demand, the threat of Facebook cybercrime and the death of BT's mobile TV service. For those who prefer hiding out in Second Life we bring you news of Jesuits who are taking their mission to the virtual world, and if you're following the Blu-ray vs HD DVD format war, you may be interested to find out the effect the Japanese porn industry is having on the battle. Continue reading...
Crave Podcast 43: Do camera phones deliver?
Camera phones have come a long way since the 2000 launch of the Sharp J-SH04 -- the first mobile to feature a built-in camera, complete with 0.11-megapixel CMOS sensor. We're now seeing handsets boasting 5-megapixel cameras, xenon flashes and Carl Zeiss lenses. But is it time to rid ourselves of the cumbersome compact and consider a phone for photography? Find out what our experts think as we put camera phones on trial in this week's Crave Podcast.
Also hitting the podwaves this week is news on Facebook's court case, Microsoft's announcement about its next version of Windows, codenamed 7, and details on a carbon neutral PC from PC World. We quack about a new service which lets you book a doctors appointment via your digital TV and discuss the dismissal of 29,000 sex offenders from MySpace. Continue reading...
Crave Podcast 42: Is Firefox the best browser?
This week's episode of the Crave Podcast is brought to you by the letter 'd' -- namely drunk and disorderly.
How on Earth the prosecution and defence passed the breathalyser test and were allowed to put the open-source browser Firefox on trial, no-one knows -- the judge must have been off his head. Oh, wait a minute, he was. Find out whether he was sober enough to call a fair verdict on "the world's favourite piece of software".
You can almost hear the beer fumes swilling around the room as the excitable team members focus their attention for long enough to talk about new Wireless USB technology, the necessity of Facebook's privacy settings and free Wi-Fi in London town. Asus's new 199 Linux laptop gets an enthusiastic thumbs-up, as does Spyke, a Wi-Fi robot spy system. Plus the team eagerly awaits the new Transformers movie, and fawns over the "awesome" Transformers t-shirts that are up for grabs in our latest competition. Continue reading...
Crave Podcast 41: How reliable is Wikipedia?
Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia that anyone can edit, is a wealth of information on almost every topic imaginable, but is it "a good thing, celebrating the world's knowledge and making it available to everyone at no cost, or a seething pit of falseness that will strike our hearts and make us blind?" We put Wikipedia on trial and our experts duke it out in this week's Crave Podcast.
In this episode we also discuss the latest gaming news from E3, including the announcement of a PS3 price drop in the US, the upgrade to Sony's PSP and some crazy new controllers for Nintendo's Wii, including a Zapper and a Balance Board, which is specifically designed to help you get fit. In other news we tip our hats to Last.fm, which has now struck a deal with Sony to host its entire catalogue of music, and we ponder just how the Web is responsible for a huge rise in teen pregnancies in China. Continue reading...
Crave Podcast 40: Are gadgets killing the environment?
We've been reading alarming reports this week that consumer tech is contributing to climate change. The Energy Saving Trust has published a report, hilariously entitled The Ampere Strikes Back, which projects that by 2020, gadgets will be responsible for some 45 per cent of the electricity used in UK households. Flat-screen TVs and digital radios are pointed to as particular offenders. Is consumer electronics really the cause of global warming? We put it on trial in this week's podcast.
While we're at it, we also bring you the, er, sad news of the closure of AllOfMP3.com and the happy news that the Wii is outselling the PS3 by six to one in Japan. We salute Zelda: Ocarina of Time as it's crowned the greatest game ever by Edge magazine, thrash some chords on some high-tech air guitars and talk about sex -- specifically the Euro-pumpy in a promotional EU video on YouTube. Continue reading...
Crave Podcast 39: Video game censorship on trial
Should violent videogames be banned? Is it right that we should be told by committees which games are suitable for our sensitive little eyes? Or should we be allowed to make up our own minds about the levels of extreme violence we subject ourselves to? We wheel in our games expert Nick Hide and put videogame censorship on trial in this week's podcast.
Carrying on the gaming theme we also discuss the banning of ads for Burnout Dominator, whether there's such a thing as videogame addiction and Nintendo's Wii, which has been opened up to amateur game creators.
In other news we take stock of the imminent cut-price mobile roaming charges, Rory gloats about his foresight of an evident class divide on social networks and we marvel at the intense speculation surrounding the arrival of the iPhone. Continue reading...
Crave Podcast 38: Does the iPhone suck?
We are born naked, wet and hungry. Then things get worse: CNET.co.uk records another episode of the Crave Podcast. This week the half-psychotic minds of Andrew Lim, Rory Reid, Rupert Goodwins and Chris Stevens dissect the so-near-we-can-smell-it Apple iPhone in a heated trial. Some of us hate it, some of us love it -- but what's our official podcast verdict?
We also discuss the hottest news stories of the week, including the potential PS3 price drop, the banning of Manhunt 2, and we even take time out to psychoanalyse a mother-murdering, father-maiming Internet addict named Wang. Is he really to blame? Or is it actually our fault for helping to make the Web such a wonderful place?
As promised, we reveal the winner of our jingle competition and give you yet another classic entry in the WTF section: a Friends Reunited-style Web site for the dead. Huh?!
Stop reading this nonsense -- get the show started. Sure, it may be half an hour of your life you'll never get back, but you're dealing with some of the smartest people in the industry here, with minds like steel traps: rusty and illegal in 37 states. Happy podding, fools. Click here to listen. -Rory Reid Continue reading...
Crave Podcast 37: Has the Internet killed TV?
We prepared to clean up our act this week and welcome a very special guest in the studio -- the legendary Jon Bentley from five's The Gadget Show. But little did he know we had a surprise in store for him as we asked him to determine the fate of a subject very close to his heart: we put broadcast TV on trial. Can he call order in the court and deliver an unbiased verdict? Find out in the latest Crave Podcast.
Also up for debate is Apple's new Safari browser for Windows, a new era of gaming on Macs and the church's disgust with a PS3 shooter set in Manchester cathedral. We also don our green hats for just a minute and discuss a new effort to get more PC juice from power supplies, as well as investigate whether there's any spark in the wireless energy claim.
In the Crave section we pick out some muppet-proof gadgets for Glastonbury, let you know what happens when you punch a punch-proof monitor and drool audibly over Sennheiser's rather special PXC 450 headphones. Continue reading...
Crave Podcast 36: Are expensive headphones a con?
Hands up who can justify shelling out over 100 for a pair of headphones. While we'll freely admit that we often go gaga over earphones that cost triple figures, trying to get our tight-fisted team to actually part with a tonne of real money for some glorified ear-plugs met with some serious opposition. So we put them on trial this week and they were cross-examined by our ruthless prosecution. Was the passionate defence strong enough to save them? Find out their fate in the latest podcast.
Also dissected in this week's show was the forthcoming US launch of Apple's er-hyped iPhone, Ask's assault on the kingdom of Google, free songs to the tune of Lala.com and Toshiba's push for its HD DVD format -- coming soon to a laptop near you. Continue reading...
Crave Podcast 35: Should the humble mouse scroll no more?
After 40 years of faithful service, isn't it about time the humble mouse was laid to rest? In this week's Crave Podcast we put the "wretched rodent of a computer interface peripheral" on trial -- listen now to find out whether we think it should be strung up by its own lead or set free to inhabit desktops for many mouse-years to come.
Also subjected to gruelling interrogation this week is Google's new Street View feature on Google Maps, Microsoft's Milan tabletop PC (aka the Surface) and the British Lonelygirl15 copycat which is about to hit Bebo -- this time it's all about the fashion brands, darling. We also eagerly anticipate another marketing twist -- the live Nintendo Wii ads about to hit cinemas. Anyone for tennis? Continue reading...
Crave Podcast 34: Is Wi-Fi a killer?
Welcome podophiles, open up your aural vents and bung them with this brand-new episode of the Crave Podcast. This week we're asking if Wi-Fi is more dangerous than a razor-blade lucky dip, and putting CCTV on trial.
We're also calmly pondering the wireless broadband features Sony will soon introduce to the PSP. And there's some great news about reductions in European mobile roaming charges -- they're going to stop ripping you off... quite so much.
If that's not enough to tighten your bandana, then witness us launch our new jingle competition, and pick out the five best games controllers of all time. Happy listening, geekpies. Click here to listen. -Chris Stevens
Crave Podcast Episode 33: Fed up with Facebook?
Is Facebook driving us all to become mute, social recluses, or is it the best way to keep in contact with friends and organise parties? We decide in this week's trial.
Other treats in this week's podcast include news that students have created sensual phones that 'tingle' when friends are near. We also ponder why the US military has blocked its troops from YouTube.
We dissect Google's revamping of its search engine, play with a new Santa Rosa laptop and reflect on a few holes in Apple's ad campaigns. Plus we have a smashing sing-along, to tunes that were sent in by our dear listeners.
If you'd like to comment on the podcast, be sure to leave your thoughts below. We'd love to hear from you -- you might even get ripped apart in next week's show. Happy podding, geekos. Click here to listen. -Chris Stevens Continue reading...
Crave Podcast Collector's Edition: The Trial
This week we have an extra special treat for you: a collector's edition podcast. There's a staggeringly limited number of these, so download them quick. In a couple of years, this podcast will be worth more than a Kenner Bobba Fett on his original 1979 cardback.
We won't spoil the surprise by letting you know which trials we've picked, but believe us when we say they're three of the finest debates humanity has engaged in since the fall of the Roman Empire.
Rory and the team will be back in full-force next week, but until then, lather your brain stem in the warm bubblebath of this Crave Podcast retrospective. And to anyone who says this is a cheap trick designed to get around the fact Rory is on holiday this week: take your horrible cynicism and shove it up your USB slot. Click here to listen. Continue reading...
Crave Podcast 32: How green is your PC?
Is your computer a little metal hippie, or a horrible, belching mass of arsenic and lead? Only we in the Crave Podcast can decide, as self-appointed bastions of all that is environmentally good and true.
Other treats include the news that digg has had its stoner-hacker users up in arms because it censored stories that linked to HD DVD encryption codes.
If that's not enough to tickle your turnip, we also take a look at Apple's new green image, pick apart the BBC iPlayer announcement and try our luck at staying upright on the gymnastically challenging BT Balance. If you're very good, we'll tell you about the new and improved Xbox 360 chips, due to be released in the autumn.
If you're still eager for more after that, there's videogames, Santa Rosa, the iRiver Clix, Sony Ericsson W610i, T-Mobile Ameo, and a reflection on this week's battle between Mac OS X and Vista. Click here to listen.
Group hug! -Chris Stevens
Continue reading...
Crave Podcast 31: Should robots have rights?
We've all seen what happens when we give robots an inch -- Terminator 2: Judgement Day -- but perhaps we should consider passing laws to make robot murder, if not a crime, at least something we socially frown on. The delicate issue is put on trial in this week's Crave Podcast. If that subject doesn't slice your pie, then what about city-wide free Wi-Fi networks? Or does the iAxe 393 USB Guitar appeal to your rockstar daydreams? We review it in this episode.
Other treats include the Crave team's reaction to news that Bob Geldof plans to launch a 'Dictionary Of Man' online -- an idea he apparently came up with before the Internet existed. What a visionary.
We also take a look at motion-sensing phones and controversially compare the image quality on the Nokia 6300, Nokia N95, Sony Ericsson K810i, Canon IXUS 70 and the Canon 400D. We review the Toshiba Regza 37X3030D and OLED TVs also get a mention. Continue reading...
Crave Podcast 30: This time it's pearl
Greetings Podypusses, it's episode 30 and golly gosh do we have some plush content for you this week! Resident mobile phone limpet Andrew Lim lays serious cusses on the Motorola Motofone and Rory Reid tries hard to convince us all that operating systems are redundant -- such as Windows and Linux -- in the face of Web-accessible software.
Meanwhile Chris Stevens probes the latest outlandish Apple rumours and Kate Macefield keeps the motley crew under control with Tasers and her rusty medieval torture equipment.
Tune in and bong out to the 30th edition of the world's finest audio experience. It's all free! Click here to listen.
Crave Podcast 29: This time it's televisual
Come on in out of the spring sun geeks! Your ghostly World of Warcraft skin won't offer protection against the deadly bright weather outside. Come back in to the dark safety of your parent's basement and listen to another episode of the uniformly delicious Crave Podcast.
This week we're putting Apple TV on trial -- does the shiny white beast pump us up? And what about Apple TV, is that any good?
We'll also reveal to you the finest gadgets on offer in the last seven days. Thrill as Rory 'Buster' Reid takes you on a journey you'll never forget, aided by his malformed henchmen, Ian and Rupert. The only sane individual among them is producer Kate Macefield, but she's no longer allowed field artillery in the podcast room. Is there any chance of keeping them under control? Click here to find out...
Crave Podcast 28: Mobile TV on trial
Hey geeks! Feast your audio receptors on this! It's the apocalyptic showdown between mobile TV and rational thinking -- who will win? The mad, or the good? The latest Crave Podcast also tackles the practicalities of real-life jet-packs, as well as the latest developments in consumer tech.
Our discussion orbits the news that an Everest mobile call effort is underway -- apparently a British climber has begun an attempt to make the world's highest mobile phone call. We analyse the Apple/EMI deal, get hands on with the iRiver X20, give you a chance to win a bucket-load of SanDisk booty and bring you the latest in the HD DVD vs Blu-ray saga. Happy listening podonauts... to the stars!
Click here to listen...
Android App 
RSS Feeds 
iPhone App 
Newsletters 