Simpsons

Zuckerberg performs on 'The Simpsons'--a review

They say Mark Zuckerberg is a poor public performer. Even actors who play him show him to be somewhat awkward in public situations.

Perhaps, though, like so many who are seen on screen, he just needs the right director and the right script.

Please, then, imagine, that you, too, can do anything in life, as you watch this clip of "The Simpsons," which aired Sunday. For it happens to feature the cartoon version of Mark Zuckerberg, voiced by the real Mark Zuckerberg.

He is not given an easy role. He is at an entrepreneurial expo, where Lisa hopes … Read more

The 404 654: Where Jeff is elbow deep in Poutine (podcast)

Mark Licea fills in for Jeff, who's on vacation in Montreal reenacting "The Hangover," so get ready for a hate-free show. On today's episode of The 404, we're chatting about the new Netflix app for the Apple iPhone, Sumo wrestlers using iPads, "character amnesia" hitting China, and the first of many expired movie reviews from yours truly in a new segment we're calling Yu Ain't Seen That?! First film to scratch off the bucket list: "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

It's been a long time coming, but you … Read more

Mark Zuckerberg on 'The Simpsons?' No, really

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's interview on "ABC World News" on Wednesday night was pretty boring. But according to one hilarious rumor Thursday, the 26-year-old founder will soon be showing up on a very different kind of prime-time television.

Apparently he will be voicing a cartoon version of himself in a cameo appearance on "The Simpsons."

New York Magazine's pop-culture blog Vulture claims to have heard this much: "Lisa (Simpson) decides to help fund Nelson's new bike company. While attending an entrepreneurs convention, the two encounter Zuckerberg, who reminds the kids just how … Read more

Get 'The Simpsons Scene It?' game for $5

We're pretty big Simpsons fans here in the Cheapskate household. We own a Simpsons chess set, a Simpsons desk lamp, the complete Simpsons Halloween figurine set that Burger King put out, like, a decade ago, and--well, you get the idea.

So imagine my delight--and fast order-clicking fingers--when I discovered that Kohl's has The Simpsons Scene It? DVD Game for just $5.09 shipped (plus sales tax in some states). That's after applying two discount codes at checkout: Thanks1498 and FREEAPRIL.

(Note that this is not the Deluxe version shown in the promo video up top. If anyone … Read more

The 404 539: Where we're jaked on green beers (podcast)

Wilson's made a fully recovery and is back on today's show, just in time to help us celebrate St. Patrick's Day! We're celebrating the best way we know how without actually drinking alcohol on the show--anyone else notice that Jeff looks eerily Irish today?

As usual, the episode collects the most random tech-related stories from the Internets, starting with a glimpse into the future of monitoring workday productivity. KDDI R&D Laboratory in Japan is testing a technology that lets managers check up on their drones using the accelerometer in corporate cell phones. The hardware tracks day-to-day movement and interactions and, in conjunction with desktop software, matches subsequent acceleration patterns and notifies managers if workers deviate from their regular tasks. Employers will also receive a notification e-mail if works attempt to skirt the system by "forgetting" their phones at home. We highly doubt that this will take off in the U.S., but I'm buying our IT guy a beer tomorrow just in case.

You'll notice watching today's video that none of us are wearing green, and that's partly because we're not 10 years old, and also because being green makes you mean! A new study suggests that eco-friendly consumers are more likely to cheat and lie, based on the idea that people have a "limited stock of goodwill" and that "being virtuous in one part of life leads to meanness in another." We all know a few entitled greenhorns, but what do you think? Do you buy this idea of "compensatory ethics?" Let us know in the comments below!

New Jersey might be the home of Jeff's favorite hockey team (and thanks to Che for the sticka pitcha you see over there <---), but it's also the home of Donna Simpson, a 600-pound woman attempting to break the record for world's fattest mother! We should note that she already holds the title but plans to reach 1,000 pounds with the support of her 150-pound husband.

Currently, her $750-per-week grocery bill is paid for by her Web site, where people pay to watch her eat via Webcam. This story has us all seriously questioning whether NDC and I should actually go through with this hot sauce competition.

We also have plenty of 404 stickers left, so send us a SASE and don't forget to send us a picture of where you stick them; there's a good chance I'll use it on a blog post! Unique, high-quality pictures in landscape are ideal. Send to the404(at)cnet[dot]com.

Happy St. Patty's Day, everyone! Be safe tonight, and don't drink and drive, dummy.

EPISODE 539 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video

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Woo-hoo! Simpsons Arcade game coming to iPhone

Remember the Simpsons coin-op arcade game? It's about to get the iPhone treatment.

EA Mobile is soon to release The Simpsons Arcade, which it calls "a throwback to the actual arcade game from the early 90s." How soon? EA swore us to secrecy for some reason, but let's just say you won't have long to wait.

Update: The game is now available in the App Store for $4.99.

The game casts you as Homer (woo-hoo!), who must race and battle his way through Springfield in his quest for, natch, a donut. (Mmmm...donut.) Oh, … Read more

Why is baby crying? This app translates

In the classic Simpsons episode "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?", Homer's long-lost brother Herb invents a baby translator. The baby cries, the machine announces its meaning (in Danny DeVito's inimitable voice) in plain English.

Seventeen years later, there's an app for that. Cry Translator promises to identify the "five distinct cries" made by infants.

In other words, you no longer have to wonder if your ankle-biter is tired, hungry, mad, stressed, or just bored. It's like Stanza for crybabies.

My first reaction: That's cheating! My second reaction: Why wasn't … Read more

The 404 443: Where what's done is done, the future is now

Wilson and I both saw that new movie "Paranormal Activity" over the weekend, and although it's being touted as the new Exorcist, we both think it's more like an uncreative, boring version of The Blair Witch Project. Lots of build-up and suspense for a pretty vanilla ending, but I'm not sure what we expected out of a $10K movie. Maybe we've all just been completely spoiled by blockbusters like Roland Emmerch's upcoming disaster movie, 2012. Jeff's not a huge fan, per usual, but watch this insane clip and TRY NOT TO PANIC.

We've seen and played with our fair share of ridiculous iPhone apps before, but the new Puff! app is the latest Japanese game that might raise some flags...amongst other things. Dancing the line between SFW and not, the program allows you to literally blow up the skirts of women, a la Marilyn Monroe. The app uses the iPhone's microphone to sense the virtual gust of wind that "gives the onscreen character a brief moment of embarrassment."

Speaking of inappropriate things, Marge Simpson just scored the cover of Playboy Magazine. In what seems like the worst business plan ever, the November version of the popular men's magazine will feature a 3-page pictorial with "implied nudity..." we're not even sure what that means, but we can't imagine hordes of teenagers flocking to the nearest liquor store to pick up this issue. Besides, we would rather see Lois Griffin on the cover...no offense, Margie.

EPISODE 43 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video

Video coming soon, check back later today!… Read more

Foursquare adds London; Kevin Rose reveals investment

It's been an interesting week for Foursquare, the location-based social networking site.

On Sunday, Foursquare might have been referenced on an episode of "The Simpsons" that was filled with Twitter and Facebook references. On Monday, TechCrunch reported that Digg founder Kevin Rose outed himself as an investor in Foursquare while he was at the Future of Web Apps conference in London. And on Tuesday, Foursquare announced that London will be added to the growing list of cities where its service is available.

Through a tweet, Foursquare announced that it will be bringing the service to London this … Read more