Hottest Electronic Gadgets

The 404 Podcast 549: Where we finally explain "PC Load Letter"

March 31st, 2010

Thanks to Jonathan and his girlfriend for bringing 404 stickers to the Ultra Music Festival in Miami!

(Credit:
Jonathan Diaz/The 404)

Wilson is out today supposedly covering the New York Auto Show for CNETTV, but we suspect that he’s at home still trying to get the Cheeseburger Dorito flavor off his tongue from yesterday’s episode. We ain’t mad at him either, because Natali Del Conte steps into his shoes to sort out a few stories on today’s episode, starting with a short explanation behind that “PC Load Letter” message you’ve probably seen on your office printer. Immortalized in the classic scene from Office Space, Michael Bolton probably wouldn’t have been so pissed if CNET’s prestigious printer Editor Justin Yu was around to show him that “PC Load Letter” means you have to load letter-sized paper into the Paper Cassette. It’s that simple, now put the bat down.

The next story might not be so easy to explain. “Security experts” suspect that terrorists have plans to smuggle explosives onto planes using bombs in fake breast implants. Since you can apparently hide up to five ounces of Pentaerythritol Tetrabitrate (yes, from Die Hard 3), airline officials will likely start more
“in-depth” examinations of women that have undergone breast augmentation surgery. No, this is not a ploy by Wilson G. Tang to make some money on the side, but we’re still wondering if it’s possible to feel the difference between silicone and Pentaerythritol Tetrabitrate…”Oh my!”

Cheesburger Doritos taste test before and after

(Credit:
Sean Shin/The 404)

Some people just can’t have a conversation online without punctuating their thoughts with a silly emoticon. In fact, as Natali tells us, there’s even a new emoticon out now that conveys sarcasm! Theo Watson adds his own twist on the funny faces with a new Auto Smiley program that uses a web cam to automatically insert a smileycon into whatever program you’re using. You can download the app and source code here and enjoy your hands-free smiling!

Keep the e-mails and voicemails coming everyone! Call us up at 1-866-404-CNET or send a message to the404(at)cnetcom and let us know what’s on your mind. We’re starting to read listener e-mails on the air now, so make them good! As always, sticker pictures are appreciated as well, and don’t forget about Steve Guttenberg’s ongoing “Audiophillie” awards–we’ve already received submissions but you still have plenty of time to send yours in before the April 12th deadline, so get to work!