The top 10 tech stories of 2011

By Rosa Golijan

AP file / Khaled Desouki/AFP - Getty Images / Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Whew! Good ol' 2011 is almost over and that means that we're gonna take a little break from tech news and relax until the spring.

Just kidding! What the end of the year really means is that we're getting a bit sentimental and reviewing the top tech stories of the last 365 days. Here are the 10 which stood out to us, in no particular order.

Apple

The landing page of the official Apple website, as it was for weeks after the death of Steve Jobs.

The death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs
When Apple co-founder Steve Jobs?died on Oct. 5, at age 56, the loss resonated?throughout the tech world?in?unprecedented ways.?He was described as?our generation's Thomas Edison?and his legacy was celebrated accordingly.

The Internet mourned the passing of the man with over?2.5 million tweets?in the twelve hours following his death. People around the world sent?over one million emails?filled with wishes, memories and words of sympathy to an address set up by Apple.

Samsung and Google, some of the company's competitors, delayed the release of new products out of respect for the loss of the man who launched Apple.

As his eponymous biography by Walter Isaacson hit the shelves, we?dissected everything about Jobs from minutia ??such as his?final words, eating habits, reading list, workaholic nature?and?old pranks???to grand concepts such as?his life's work. (It is worth noting that the Jobs biography became Amazon's best-selling book of 2011?and?Sony Pictures is said to be working on a movie version.)?

Lulzsec (R) and Anonymous (L)

Pictured are the logos used by hacking groups Lulzsec (R) and Anonymous (L).

The trouble stirred up by Anonymous and Lulzsec
What's any year without a couple of big security scares? In 2011, hacking groups Anonymous and Lulzsec were two entities that struck fear in a lot of network administrators' hearts.

Between the two groups?? who even teamed up at one point???there was a great deal of trouble stirred up.

Lulzsec, a mysterious and loosely knit organization, took out (or at least claimed credit for affecting)?multiple gaming websites,?an?FBI website,?a porn site,?a?Senate website, a CIA website, Rupert Murdoch's Sun newspaper website?and more. The fun was over once the group's key member and spokesperson?? a fellow who goes by the name "Topiary"?? was nabbed by authorities in the U.K.

Anonymous on the other hand didn't suffer any similarly large casualties or stumbling points while taking credit for?sharing thousands of military email addresses, taking down a tourist-oriented website in Orlando, Florida, hacking an FBI partner site, snatching files from servers belonging to large U.S.-based companies, conducting a DDoS attack on MasterCard, as well as some miscellaneous mischievous deeds.

Now?this all may sound?somewhat funny, but you should probably keep in mind that the individuals responsible for these events are heralding a world of heightened security and constant threats.

?

Jesus Diaz/Gizmodo

The many headaches suffered by RIM
This year made me want to hug Research in Motion's troubled executives. The folks over there just couldn't catch a break as one of the company's shiny new gadgets?? the BlackBerry Playbook?? got slammed in reviews, its share of the U.S. smartphone market shrunk?and its freshly launched music-sharing service was ridiculed.

And as if that's not enough, the company's sites were hacked after it offered to cooperate with U.K. authorities in order to research what?? if any?? role the BlackBerry Messenger service might've played in inciting riots in early August.

But hey, at least the company managed to squeak by with a decent quarter?(if you ignore millions of dollars worth of unsold BlackBerry Playbook tablets, that is).

Khaled Desouki/AFP - Getty Images

An Egyptian man, holding up a sign praising the social network Facebook, joins others in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Feb. 1.

How the Internet helped bring down a dictator
As much trouble as the Internet ??or rather, social media ??can cause, it can also do quite a bit of good at times. In 2011, we saw a great example of this phenomenon as?the Internet and social media played a pivotal role in a revolution.

What happened? Well, on Jan. 27, right before the Egyptian government pulled the plug on the country's Internetin order to quiet protestor activity, there was a great deal of traffic coming to social networks, Facebook in particular. What better place to get organized?than Mark Zuckerberg's playground, after all?

You'd think that the whole business of shutting down the Internet would've eliminated social media and the like from the big fight against the 30-year government of Hosni Mubarak, but Egyptians kept in touch with the outside world using a series of workarounds.

Anyway, long story short: When the Internet switch was flipped back on, Egyptian's were celebrating the end of Mubarak's rule and social media was praised for aiding a revolution.

Netflix

Netflix and its wacky business moves
A recent consumer study revealed that the satisfaction levels of Netflix customers have dropped?significantly and?? unless you've been sleeping under a rock with no Wi-Fi connection?? you shouldn't be surprised by that.

After all, the company alienated and angered a lot of folks when it announced that it would?no longer be offering a combined DVD and streaming plan and?would instead separate the services, for a minimum cost of about $16 a month if you still want both.

And as if people weren't riled up enough over that?? and boy, were they riled up!?? Netflix announced that it would split itself into two separate businesses, video-streaming company Netflix and DVD rental company Qwikster. No one truly understood?where that particular idea came from or why the heck Netflix didn't secure the @Qwikster Twitter username before announcing its plans.

None of that matters anymore though, because Netflix made our heads spin all the way around again by canceling the whole plan to split into two.

Apple

The release of the iPhone 5, er, 4S
Every year since 2007 has brought us a shiny new smartphone from Apple and 2011 was no different. The year marked the introduction of the iPhone 4S?? yes, it really wasn't called the iPhone 5?? and its built-in voice-activated personal assistant Siri.

After months of wildly inaccurate speculation?and a keynote sans Mr. Jobs, we stood in lines, whined about little technical hiccups, and found silly things to giggle over as soon as the device was released.

It's worth noting that the hardware?? the actual iPhone 4S itself?? wasn't really the big star this year. Instead iOS 5, the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system, made us swoon with all its new features.?

Google

The launch of Google+
There's no such thing as too many social networking services, right?

Well, at least Google didn't think so when it launched something called Google+.

The service?? which is finally open to everyone after a long period of being invitation-only?? is now unavoidable. It's?integrated into our Gmail accounts, has the obligatory mobile apps, keeps us busy with privacy issues that we can debate?and has some confusing labels that we still haven't entirely figured out. (What do you call adding a friend on Google+? I still maintain that "plussing" someone sounds slightly dirty.)

It's worth noting that despite the fact that Google+ is so darn difficult to avoid, interest in the social network appears to be waning?after initially rocketing when the service opened its doors to the general public.?

Google

Android's dominance
Even as the token Apple?? and iOS?? fangirl around here, I couldn't turn a blind eye to how Android's been doing this year. It seemed that not a day could pass before there was yet another study, survey, or other data set that listed Google's mobile platform as being the No. 1 something-or-other or the top thingamajig-of-some-sort.

Don't believe it? Alright, let's run down a couple of highlights.

Android is the No. 1 smartphone platform in the U.S. (based on market share), comes out on top of worldwide sales statistics, rules?about 50 percent of the global smartphone market, dominates the southern part of the U.S., has the biggest chunk of the mobile app download market, has more daily Facebook users than iPhone, it's the most popular mobile platform for malware, and may have nicer users than iOS.??

Oh, and in case you wanted more statistics: Nowadays over 700,000 new Android devices are supposedly activated each day. We don't really know if that earns Android another No. 1 trophy as Apple hasn't released any official numbers for comparison.

Getty Images

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (L) jokes with comedian Andy Samberg during a keynote address at the Facebook f8 conference on Sept. 22, 2011 in San Francisco, Calif.

Facebook Timeline re-design (and Mark Zuckerberg's silly antics)
No end-of-the-year story round up would be complete without a mention of Facebook or its founder's antics. So let's hit on the big topics of the year?? aside from the usual privacy drama that always surrounds the social network.

In 2011 we were introduced to Timeline, a new Facebook profile design which naturally got us riled up. (Because we don't like change, darn it!) We didn't mind most of the new apps that were announced along with the redesign?though ? until we realized that the way they're integrated could lead to a lot of embarrassment?(and reveal our love of Justin Bieber songs).

Upset with Facebook's features and designs or not, we still aren't really managing to stay away from the social network. At least that's what a study suggested when it showed that we're all only about four degrees of separation apart on Facebook (rather than the six degrees assumed by the popular Kevin Bacon-themed game).

Facebook itself aside, many of us?? yours truly included?? were once again far more fascinated by the social network's founder than anything else. How could we not be when the man revealed that he is currently only eating animals which he kills and keeps?slipping us private photos thanks to technical glitches?

Apple

The release of the iPad 2
What? You think that one major Apple product release a year should be enough? Sorry, buddy?? but 2011 brought us the iPad 2 on top of the iPhone 4S.

The second generation tablet?? which was upgraded to iOS 5, the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system, months after its release?? is everything a shiny new toy should be: It's thinner, lighter, and more powerful than its predecessor.

Live Poll

Which do you think was the top tech story of 2011?

• 171884

  The death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs

  60%

• 171885

  The trouble stirred up by Anonymous and Lulzsec

  5%

• 171886

  The many headaches suffered by RIM

  1%

• 171887

  How the Internet helped bring down a dictator

  19%

• 171888

  Netflix and its wacky business moves

  2%

• 171889

  The release of the iPhone 5, er, 4S

  2%

• 171890

  The launch of Google+

  1%

• 171891

  Android's dominance

  8%

• 171892

  Facebook Timeline re-design (and Mark Zuckerberg's silly antics)

  0%

• 171893

  The release of the iPad 2

  3%

VoteTotal Votes: 660

We naturally waited in line for it, collected every detail we could while preparing for its release date, and hugged it tightly as soon as we picked it up. (Ok, maybe only I did that last part.)

All in all, we treated the release of the iPad 2 like any other major product release: With glee. But neither that behavior nor the actual iPad 2 itself were the big story this year. The gadget was such a darn big deal because it showed that the public finally grasped the notion of tablets, of life in a post-PC world.

The device topped holiday wish lists, was among the most searched terms on Google, earned the Consumer Reports seal of approval, sold out insanely quickly (and mostly to first-time iPad buyers), and kept selling despite constantly delayed shipping times. And if you prefer that in terms of hard statistics: Apple sold a whoppin' 11.12 million iPads during the fourth quarter of its fiscal year. (Yes, that's a lot??? an all-time record for iPad sales.) ?

Related stories:

Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts, or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/29/9781095-the-top-10-tech-stories-of-2011

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After many ups and downs, stocks end flat for 2011 (AP)

NEW YORK ? The stock market ended a tumultuous year right where it started.

In the final tally, despite big climbs and falls, unexpected blows and surprising triumphs, all the hullabaloo proved for naught. On Friday, the Standard & Poor's 500 index closed at 1,257.60. That's exactly 0.04 point below where it started the year.

"If you fell asleep January 1 and woke up today, you'd think nothing had happened," says Jack Ablin, chief investment officer of Harris Private Bank. "But it's been up and down all year. It's been crazy."

It was a year when U.S. companies were supposed to run out of ways to make big profits. But they didn't, and in fact generated more than ever. It was a year when the U.S. lost its prized triple-A credit rating, which should have spooked buyers of its bonds. Instead investors bought more of them and made Treasurys one of the best bets of 2011. It was a year when stocks caught fire, then collapsed to near bear-market lows.

Among stocks, there were some surprising winners. Scaredy-cat investors who bought the most conservative and dullest of stocks ? utilities ? gained 15 percent this year, the biggest price rise of the ten industry sectors in the S&P 500. Other winning groups were consumer staples, up 11 percent, and health care companies, 10 percent.

Other market curiosities:

? Bad year, great quarter. Despite disappointing returns in 2011, the last three months of the year were impressive, which could bode well for the new year. The S&P 500 rose 11 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average, comprising 30 big stocks, climbed 1,344 points, or 12 percent. That was the largest quarterly point gain in its history. The Dow closed up 5.5 percent for the year.

? Best of the bad. U.S. stocks delivered little this year, but other markets did even worse, including ones in fast-growing economies. Brazil's Bovespa index fell 18 percent in 2011. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 20 percent. In Europe, many of the biggest markets ended down in 2011. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 5.6 percent, Germany's DAX 14.7 percent.

? Buy American is back. A broad index of the Treasury market gained 9.6 percent, despite the fact that the U.S. government is now slightly less likely to repay its debt, at least according to Standard & Poor's. In August, the rating agency stripped the U.S. of its triple-A rating, citing mounting U.S. debt and political squabbling over what to do about it.

For stock investors, 2011 wasn't supposed to end this way.

At the start of the year, the Great Recession was officially 1 1/2 years behind us and the recovery was finally gaining momentum. The economy added an average of more than 200,000 jobs a month in February, March and April. And U.S. companies kept reporting big jumps in profits, defying naysayers.

The stock market roared in approval. On April 29, the S&P closed at 1,363, double its recessionary low of March 2009.

Then manufacturing slowed, companies stopped hiring and consumer confidence plummeted, taking with it those hopes of big stock gains for the year. Adding to the misery, Japan was rocked by an earthquake and tsunami. That shut down factories run by crucial parts suppliers to U.S. firms, in particular auto makers.

Gridlock in Washington didn't help. After much squabbling, politicians eventually decided to raise the cap on how much the federal government can borrow in early August. But the heated debate took its toll. The Dow Jones industrial average swung more than 400 points four days in a row ? down and up and down and up.

Overhanging it all was fear that the debt crisis in Greece had spread to Italy and Spain, countries too large for other European nations to bail out.

Talk of another blockbuster year for stocks turned to dark musings about the possibility of another U.S. recession. And so stocks kept falling. On Oct. 3, stocks had dropped 19 percent from their April high. That was just one point short of an official bear market.

Since then, U.S. housing starts have increased, factories are producing more, unemployment claims fell and U.S. economic growth rose. And companies are still generating impressive profits. Those in the S&P 500 have increased profits by double-digits percentages for nine quarters in a row.

The good news pushed stocks up in the closing months of the year.

The biggest winner in the Dow was McDonald's Corp, up 31 percent for the year. Bank of America Corp. was the worst performing stock, down 58 percent.

Including dividends, the S&P 500 returned 2.11 percent for 2011. That means investors lost money after inflation, which was running at 3.4 percent in the 12 months ending in November. At least they're getting more than investors in the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which currently pays a yield of just 1.88 percent.

The outlook for stocks in the new year is either great or grim, depending on your focus.

Italy has to repay holders of $172 billion worth of it national bonds in the first three months of 2012. It will do so by selling new bonds. The question is how much interest they will demand to be paid to compensate for the risk they're taking on. If they demand too much, fear could spread that the country will default. That could sink stocks.

After Italy was forced to pay unexpectedly high rates in a bond auction earlier this month, stocks fell hard around the world.

There are also questions about whether China's economy is slowing too much and whether the U.S. politicians will agree to raise the debt ceiling again in 2012 or extend Bush-era tax cuts.

On the bright side, stocks seem to be well-priced.

The S&P 500 is trading at 12 times its expected earnings per share for 2012 versus a more typical 15 times. In other words, they appear cheaper now. Partly based on that many strategists, stock analysts and economists expect the index to end next year at 1,400 or more, up 10 percent or so.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 5.42 points, or 0.4 percent on Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 69.48 points, or 0.6 percent, to 12,217.60. The Nasdaq composite index fell 8.59 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,605.15 The Nasdaq is down 1.8 percent for the year.

Trading has been quiet this week with many investors away on vacation. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange has been about half of its daily average. Markets will be closed Monday in observance of New Year's Day.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111230/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street

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Apple made collection of inspirational songs in 80s?

By Rosa Golijan

RedLightRunner

"This is probably the most ridiculous message I'm gonna leave in quite a while, but ... ," I chuckled awkwardly before explaining that I'm wondering if anyone from Apple can confirm that the company put out a collection of inspirational songs labeled as the "Apple Boogie" in the 80s.

Considering that it's the very end of the year and that even Apple's press relations team is supposedly getting a little break, I doubt that the voicemail will get a response anytime soon.

Here's what I do know though.

The folks at the Next Web?were recently scouring the Internet for something called "Blue Busters," a Ghostbusters parody video?created for Apple's 1984 International Sales Meeting. During their search for this silly clip, they came across something else ? a collection of eight MP3 files.

The MP3 collection was posted to an Apple-focused South African website called Apple2.ORG.ZA and it came with scans of a cassette tape cover which suggested that the songs belong to something called the "Apple Boogie." The scans also showed the lyrics?for the collection's tunes (which include?"Power to Be Your Best," "We're So Excited," Apple II forever," Building the Future with You," the song from the "Blue Busters" video and more).

Some clever searches revealed further references to the "Apple Boogie" collection.

An archive of the comp.sys.apple2 Usenet group showed?a mention of the cassette tape in 2005:

Mac GUI Vault

The poster of that message would later offer to upload the songs in MP3 format (which appears to be how they wound up on Apple2.ORG.ZA). Another member of the Usenet group would chime in and suggest that the cassette tape was handed out during a sales conference in the 80s.

The exchange would wither out shortly after that and one of the only other mentions of the "Apple Boogie" would be on RedLightRunner, a website which stocks and sells Apple memorabilia. (I'll save you a click: The tape's already sold out.) There we'd learn that the collection was supposedly produced by Geoff Levin and Chris Many.

That's all we know about this delightful collection of songs for now, folks. We'll update if we hear back from Apple, but in the meantime we'll just quietly hum along to a couple of upbeat tunes.

Related stories:

Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts, or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://digitallife.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/30/9825392-apple-made-collection-of-inspirational-songs-in-80s

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Sprint Still Worth $4.25 Despite iPhone Deal, Debt Concerns

Sprint?s (NYSE:S) stock has been under a lot of pressure recently after the company announced plans to sell the hugely-subsidized iPhone as well as continuing to spend on building out new 4G LTE infrastructure. The substantial costs associated with these moves forced the company to pile onto its already high debt load with a $4 billion notes offering, the interest rates on which were higher than usual. Sprint also owns over 50% of its 4G network provider, Clearwire, which has been facing a severe cash crunch. Sprint had to use some of its cash on hand to participate in Clearwire?s stock offering in order to provide the struggling carrier with a temporary respite from its liquidity issues. Sprint is hardly in a position to be providing bailouts given its own financial straits and its distant third-place market position behind behind Verizon (NYSE:VZ) and AT&T (NYSE:T).

With the company?s recent troubles attracting heavy attention, the stock has taken a beating. However, we believe the sell-off has been overdone and the company?s strategy holds long-term promise.?We have a?$4.25 price estimate for Sprint?s stock, which is almost 80% higher than the market price.

See our full analysis of Sprint?s stock here

The iPhone Deal

Sprint has been steadily?losing postpaid customers, who are on long-term contracts with higher average monthly bills and are therefore more valuable than prepaid subscribers. Last quarter, the company lost almost 44,000 postpaid subscribers. Sprint struck a deal with Apple to sell the iPhone mainly in a bid to reduce this churn and also drive higher ARPU levels in the long term, as iPhone users are generally known to be heavy data users.

However, owing to its popularity, the iPhone comes with huge subsidies that carriers offer their subscribers in return for long-term contracts. Sprint will therefore have to suffer a?near-term hit to its margins, as it loses money on each iPhone sold. We believe that the market is hugely discounting this near-term margin hit while not taking into account the long-term positive impact on ARPU levels.

Although Sprint?s iPhone sales are not out yet, the overwhelmingly positive response that the iPhone 4S has garnered since its debut as well as the historical data usage of iPhone users leads us to believe the company?s?faith in the iPhone will serve it well in the long run.

Phasing Out Unsuccessful Networks

Sprint?s current postpaid subscriber losses can also be attributed to its failed bet on the push-to-talk iDEN network that it acquired when it bought Nextel, as well as its expensive bet on Clearwire?s 4G WiMAX network. Verizon and AT&T?s 4G LTE networks offer higher speeds to customers than Clearwire?s WiMAX, while Sprint?s 3G coverage has also been the subject of user complaints. These factors have been contributing to the defection of Sprint?s customers to rival networks. As part of its Network Vision project, Sprint is trying to phase out iDen gradually and consolidate its network holdings into one 2G/3G network using a combination of CDMA and EV-DO. This would not only reduce operating expenses substantially, but also allow for better 3G coverage and reduce roaming costs as the spectrum previously used for iDEN would now be available for the CDMA network. The company also plans to roll out 4G LTE, which would likely eventually replace WiMAX, in order to compete with rivals? 4G networks. We expect this long-term strategy will help stem postpaid market share losses and also improve margins.

Near-Term Capex Spike Should Help Margins

Sprint?s network costs will increase rapidly as it rolls out its own 4G LTE network by mid-2012 and funds Clearwire?s LTE plans.?The company will also be spending significant capital on the Network Vision project. These rising costs led the company to issue capital expenditure guidance of approximately $3 billion for 2011, a jump of more than 30% over last year. The company also increased its capex estimates related to the LTE rollout and Network Vision to about $10 billion in 2012 and 2013.?((Sprint Nextel Reports Third Quarter 2011 Results, Sprint Press Release, Oct 2011))

After 2013, we estimate a sharp decline in capital expenditures as the company completes its LTE build-out and gradually phases out the iDen network. Sprint?s stock is, however, highly sensitive to its capital expenditures. You can see how the stock price plummets when you tweak the trend-line to increase capital expenditures over the forecast period in the chart below. We think the current market price reflects this sensitivity, as the market likely doesn?t have confidence in management?s guidance.

High Debt Could Derail the Stock

Sprint already had a highly leveraged balance sheet prior to the notes offering, and piling on additional debt makes the balance sheet even less attractive and reduces the company?s operational flexibility. The elevated interest expense will certainly cut into the company?s cash flows, but we expect that the long-term margin improvement will justify management?s decision.

While we believe the market?s response has been somewhat exaggerated, it?s not entirely unwarranted. Liquidity concerns arising from excessive debt on its balance sheet will continue to be a major deterrent to its business, and should this strategy not pay off, Sprint could be in dire straits. (see?Sprint Plunges on LTE Expansion Costs, May Tap Capital Markets) On the other hand, if the company is able to grow its postpaid user base by selling the iPhone and execute its Network Vision plan successfully, its long-term prospects look very promising.

Understand How a Company?s Products Impact its Stock Price at Trefis

Source: http://www.trefis.com/stock/s/articles/94502/sprint-still-worth-4-25-despite-iphone-deal-debt-concerns/2011-12-28

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Krispy Kreme for Android: The only app you'll ever need (Mmmmmmm ... Doughnuts)

There are two kinds of people in this world -- those who love Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and those who are wrong. For those in the former group, there's now a "Hot Light" app for Android. Using sophisticated doughnut technology, it triangulates your position relative to nearby Krispy Kreme eateries and then notifies you whether the "Hot Now" sign is on -- and it'll alert when you the switch is thrown.

It is simultaneously the most happy (for when that sweet, sweet notification comes in) and sad (light no blinky) Android app we've ever used.

We've got download links after the break.

Via @JayMassey

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/QkBgzw_UjL0/story01.htm

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GOP Lawmakers Want To Change Storm Response

BOSTON ? Republican state lawmakers are calling for big changes in how utility companies respond to storms.

Rep. Elizabeth Poirer says National Grid was bad at communicating with affected residents after both Tropical Storm Irene and a late October noreaster this year.

?In one case one of the communities that I represent was sent a liaison, and when the liaison arrived she had absolutely no knowledge about anything that was going on,? Poirer said.

A National Grid spokeswoman says the company?s latest storm response plans include many of the lawmakers? suggestions ? including additional community liaisons.

Source: http://www.wbur.org/2011/12/28/storm-response

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j5 Create JUC100 Wormhole KM Switch

If you're looking for a simple solution that will allow you to directly transfer files and work on two Windows systems simultaneously, the j5 Create JUC100 Wormhole KM Switch ($29 list) is your best bet. Of course there are free wireless solutions, like Mouse Without Borders, but it's not quite ideal for those of us who are less tech-savvy. The j5 Create JUC100 is a simple plug-and-play solution that connects one computer securely to another?no worries about a break up in connection or pairing issues. But if you're looking to use this device across different platforms (i.e. Windows and Mac OS) then you'll have to opt for j5 Create's slightly more expensive JUC400 ($39.99 list) that supports Windows and Mac operating systems.

Design and Features
The j5 Create JUC100 Wormhole KM Switch is a white cable with a male USB 2.0 interface on either end, of which you'll insert into the computers' local USB ports to connect your two systems. The syncing process is fairly simple: An install window will pop up on both computers after you've connected them, and the software will install in a matter of seconds. The j5 Create JUC100's default transition point is set to moving your mouse to the right edge of the screen to switch to the other computer's screen. You can change these settings by going into the "Show Hidden Icons" on the bottom right corner of your desktop screen. Here you'll find the Wormhole application. Opening it will allow you to set new preferences, like turning the clipboard share options on or off, how you transition into the other computer (via mouse moving to the edge of the screen, specified hot area, or using a hot key, like clicking the mouse middle button), and other settings.

Using the edge of a screen as a transition to the other system was quite smooth. I only ran into trouble when the cursor was hovering close to the edge, when clicking an icon for instance, sometimes it would jump to the middle of the other screen. But this issue is minor; you'll just have to be aware when you're trying to open an application near the edge of the screen.

Performance
According to j5 Create, the JUC100 Wormhole KM Switch can transfer files in 480 Mbps (60 MBps). However, in a drag and drop test, it took the JUC100 Wormhole 24 seconds to transfer a 55.9MB file, which translates to 18.63 Mbps (2.32 MBps)?not quite as fast as advertised. You won't be able to take open browser windows or open applications from one system and drag them over to another like you would in a dual-monitor setup, but this limitation is true for all sharing utilities. You can use one mouse and keyboard connected to one of the systems to navigate, type, and cut/copy/paste text from one computer to the other without issue. There wasn't any lag between keystrokes or mouse movements on the secondary computer, or any missed keystrokes.

If you're thinking of using this utility to play game on one system and work on your thesis paper in another, think again. For some reason? and this issue is the same for all computer syncing utilities?the mouse sensitivity gets rammed up when playing a game. I loaded up Portal 2, for instance, on my Alienware M14x R3 and I was either looking at the ceiling, the floor, or seeing a blur of everything in between for the entire opening sequence.

The j5 Create JUC100 Wormhole KM Switch is the easiest way to directly connect and sync two PCs. It's a great way to transfer data and multitask without having to switch from using one computer to another. However, if you're more tech savvy, there are wireless free solutions out there, like Mouse Without Borders, which is just as good as the j5 Create JUC100.

More Accessory Reviews:
??? j5 Create JUC100 Wormhole KM Switch
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/worRKxxnm20/0,2817,2398123,00.asp

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Health: 7 things we were warned to avoid in 2011 (The Week)

New York ? From multivitamins to commuting, the year's health studies showed that just about anything can be bad for you

1. Multivitamins do more harm than good. A 20-year study found that women who took multivitamins were 2.4 percent more likely to die of any cause in that period than those who didn't. Folic acid, magnesium, and zinc seemed to shorten subjects' lives, and the more iron women took, the more lethal its effects. Study author Jaakko Mursu says nature built us to get nutrients from whole foods, so the solution is simple: Eat "as many vegetables and as much fruit as you can" and you'll get all the vitamins you need.

2. Liposuction won't make you skinnier, and it's hazardous to your health. Researchers used full-body scans to track the fat distribution in women who had the procedure on their lower abdomens and thighs. Those regions stayed slimmer afterward, but the same amount of fat quickly appeared in their upper abdomens, shoulders, and triceps. "The brain senses a loss of fat and restores it," says study author Robert Eckel. Because liposuction destroys the structures that house fat cells beneath the skin, the fat often reappears deeper in the body, where it can cause heart disease.

3. Household appliances may cause asthma. Pregnant women with the highest exposure to low-frequency electromagnetic fields, or EMFs ? which are generated by microwave ovens, vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, and other common electrical devices ? were three times as likely to give birth to a child who later developed asthma as those with the lowest exposure, a Kaiser Permanente study found. "The problem with EMF is that you can't see, smell it, you can't touch it," says study author De-Kun Li. But you should strive to "avoid those sources that we know about," especially if you're expecting.

4. Staring at a screen before bed ruins your sleep. A National Sleep Foundation study found that 95 percent of Americans gaze at some kind of light-emitting electronic device ? be it a smartphone, tablet, computer, or TV ? less than an hour before bed, which keeps the brain from releasing the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. Young people, the heaviest gadget users, are the drowsiest, and their habit "may have serious consequences" for their health, says study author Lauren Hale. Sleep deprivation causes 100,000 car wrecks and 1,550 traffic deaths per year.

5. Cheering for a losing team could cost you your life. When the Los Angeles Rams lost the Super Bowl in 1980, a new analysis shows, cardiac deaths in L.A. County spiked 15 percent for men and 27 percent for women over the following two weeks. The Rams' victory in the big game four years later had no impact on local health. Many fans see their team as "a family member," says study author Robert Kloner, and become emotionally stressed when it's in trouble. A high-stakes game can increase a passionate fan's pulse rate, raise blood pressure, and potentially "trigger a cardiac event."

6. Commuting can wreck your marriage. A Swedish study found that couples are 40 percent more likely to split up if one partner has a daily commute longer than 45 minutes each way. Millions of Americans endure the known perils of rush hour ? like back pain, stress, and obesity ? to enjoy life in the suburbs. But that choice "can also be a strain on your relationship," says study author Erika Sandow. A common source of discord is male commuters leaving their wives with a disproportionate share of housekeeping duties.

7. City living, though, can drive you crazy. German researchers scanned the brains of people who live in an urban setting and found that they had more trouble processing everyday stressors than rural folk did. The bigger the urban area a person lived in, the harder his or her amygdala ? the region that handles anxiety ? had to work to deal with criticism from the researchers. The stress of urban life "might cause these abnormalities," says psychiatrist Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg. "If everyone were born in the country, there would be 30 percent fewer people with schizophrenia."

SEE MORE: The 4 biggest scientific breakthroughs of 2011

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Top-ranked Syracuse beats Seton Hall 75-49 (AP)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. ? A year ago as a raw freshman with little stamina, Fab Melo watched most of Seton Hall's stunning triumph over then-No. 9 Syracuse from the bench.

On Wednesday night, that was a distant memory.

Melo had a career-high 12 points and school-record 10 blocks and top-ranked Syracuse stifled Seton Hall at every turn in a 75-49 victory in the Big East opener for both teams.

"I wasn't surprised," said the 7-foot Brazilian, who is 30 pounds lighter than when he arrived on campus and in the best shape of his life. "I've put a lot of work in. I'm still working hard to get better and I'm sure you'll see better things from me. You're going to be more surprised."

Melo, who had his first career double-double, pulled in seven rebounds. A year ago against the Pirates, he had two points, two rebounds and no blocks in 4 minutes of a 90-68 loss.

Syracuse (14-0, 1-0) gained control in this one with a staunch defensive performance in the opening half, limiting Seton Hall to 5-of-27 shooting (18.5 percent) in building a 34-15 lead.

The Orange finished with 17 steals and 15 blocks, forced 23 turnovers, and limited the Pirates to only one steal ? by Fuquan Edwin, the national leader entering the game with 3.3 per game.

"I thought our defense was as good as it's been all year," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "It was an incredible defensive effort."

Dion Waiters had 15 points and Brandon Triche added 11 for Syracuse, which won easily despite a subpar performance from leading scorer Kris Joseph, who missed all six of his shots and did not score.

"That's a great team right there, man," said Joseph, who had four steals and four assists. "If I can go scoreless and we still win by these many points, it's a great sign."

The victory was the 870th of Boeheim's career, putting him within six of fourth-place Adolph Rupp of Kentucky and nine of third-place North Carolina's Dean Smith on the Division I list.

Jordan Theodore had 14 points but only two assists for Seton Hall (11-2, 0-1), which had an eight-game winning streak snapped. Herb Pope, fourth in the nation in scoring at 20.3 points per game, had just four points and nine rebounds, and Edwin finished with three points ? all on free throws ? on 0-of-11 shooting.

Last January, Jeremy Hazell led a long-range Seton Hall barrage with 28 points as the Pirates hit seven 3s in building a 13-point halftime lead.

The tables were turned this time.

With Hazell gone, Pope is the focus of the Pirates' attack. He has eight double-doubles, tops in the nation, and had only failed to reach double figures in scoring once, in the Pirates' win at Longwood on Friday night when he finished with eight in 29 minutes.

The Syracuse defense clamped down on the big guy, who was 2 of 9 from the field and committed six turnovers.

"I contributed too many turnovers," Pope said. "I didn't execute the game plan as far as getting the big kid (Melo) off his feet, going into him. I helped him have a stellar game."

Etan Thomas held Syracuse's block record with nine. He did it three times, the last in 2000.

Syracuse leads the nation with 11.2 steals per game and a turnover margin of 8.6, and the Orange's penchant for creating mistakes was on full display in the first half. Seton Hall committed 15 turnovers and Pope led the way with five, scoring just two points on a driving dunk and missing the other five shots he attempted.

"We haven't had a home game in a while," Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said with a pained smile. "Maybe we thought we were wearing white jerseys. We kept throwing it to them."

Melo, who played 25 minutes, closed the first half with a stunning block of Pope under the basket at the buzzer. It was his eighth block of the half and he did it to Pope again early in the second after scoring two straight baskets. Melo converted a miss by Triche and scored off a nice feed underneath from Joseph to boost the lead to 42-20 with 16:19 left.

"The staff deserves an unbelievable amount of credit and I think Fab deserves an unbelievable amount of credit for transforming his body," Willard said. "That kid is a pleasure to watch."

A 3-pointer by Scoop Jardine boosted the lead to 50-26 at 13:35.

The Pirates missed their first six shots and Syracuse gained a 6-1 lead when Triche followed his own miss and fed Melo for a dunk.

Consecutive baskets by Waiters, the second a steal and dunk, boosted the lead to 12-3 as the Orange began to steadily pull away. When Theodore hit a 3 from the left wing at 8:05, he had 10 of Seton Hall's 12 points.

Syracuse finished just five blocks shy of the school record set Jan. 11, 1992, against Miami, and Willard was more than happy to get out of the Carrier Dome.

"It's tough. You can't really prepare for this type of game, especially when they're at home," Willard said. "You can't sit there and say, `What could we have done if we had made passes?' We could have made a lot of passes. We're still going to get our butt kicked tonight."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111229/ap_on_sp_co_ga_su/bkc_t25_seton_hall_syracuse

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Let?s Start Paying College Athletes

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Source: internal.du.nytimes.com --- Friday, December 30, 2011
How to end the corrupt, contrived sentimentality of big-time College sports. ...

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/lets-start-paying-college-athletes.html

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Before sounding an alarm, chimps consider information available to their audience

ScienceDaily (Dec. 29, 2011) ? Wild chimpanzees monitor the information available to other chimpanzees and inform their ignorant group members of danger.

Many animals produce alarm calls to predators, and do this more often when kin or mates are present than other audience members. So far, however, there has been no evidence that they take the other group members' knowledge state into account. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, and the University of St. Andrews, Great Britain, set up a study with wild chimpanzees in Uganda and found that chimpanzees were more likely to alarm call to a snake in the presence of unaware than in the presence of aware group members, suggesting that they recognize knowledge and ignorance in others. Furthermore, to share new information with others by means of communication represents a crucial stage in the evolution of language. This study thus suggests that this stage was already present when our common ancestor split off from chimps 6 million years ago.

The ability to recognize another individuals' knowledge and beliefs may be unique to humankind. Tests of a "theory of mind" in animals have been mainly conducted in captivity and have yielded conflicting results: Some non-human primates can read others' intentions and know what others see, but they may not understand that, in others, perception can lead to knowledge. When there are negative results, however, the question remains whether chimpanzees really cannot do the task or whether they simply do not understand it. "The advantage of addressing these questions in wild chimpanzees is that they are simply doing what they always do in an ecologically relevant setting," says Catherine Crockford, a researcher at the University of St. Andrews.

Catherine Crockford, Roman Wittig and colleagues set up a study with wild chimpanzees in Budongo Forest, Uganda. They presented them with models of dangerous venomous snakes, two gaboon vipers and one rhinoceros viper. "As these highly camouflaged snakes sit in one place for weeks, it pays for the chimp who discovers it to inform other community members about the danger," says Crockford.

The researchers have monitored the behavior of 33 different chimpanzees, who saw one of three snake models and found that alarm calls were produced more when the caller was with group members who had either not seen the snake or had not been present when alarm calls were emitted. "Chimpanzees really seem to take another's knowledge state into account and voluntarily produce a warning call to inform the others of a danger that they [the others] do not know about," says Roman Wittig of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the University of St. Andrews. "In contrast, chimpanzees were less likely to inform audience members who already know about the danger."

This study shows that these are not only intentionally produced alert calls, but that they are produced more when the audience is ignorant of the danger. "It is as if the chimpanzees really understand that they know something the audience does not AND they understand that by producing a specific vocalization they can provide the audience with that information," concludes Wittig. Some scientists suggest that providing group members with missing information by means of communication is a crucial stage in the evolution of language: why inform audience members if you do not realize they need the information? Until now it was not clear at what point in hominoid or hominid evolution this stage evolved. It has been assumed that it was more likely to be during hominid evolution. This study suggests, however, that it was already present when our common ancestor split off from chimps 6 million years ago.

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Journal Reference:

1. Catherine Crockford, Roman M. Wittig, Roger Mundry, and Klaus Zuberb?hler. Wild Chimpanzees Inform Ignorant Group Members of Danger. Current Biology, December 29, 2011 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2011.11.053

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/EZfZHqmr4bc/111229131234.htm

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Putin ejects Kremlin "puppet master" after protests (Reuters)

MOSCOW (Reuters) ? The architect of Vladimir Putin's tightly controlled political system became one of its most senior victims on Tuesday when he was shunted out of the Kremlin in the wake of the biggest opposition protests of Putin's 12-year rule.

The sacrifice of Vladislav Surkov, branded the Kremlin's 'puppet master' by enemies and friends alike, is also a rare admission of failure for Russia's 'alpha dog' leader: Surkov's system was Putin's system.

With irony worthy of Surkov's cynical novels, the Kremlin's 47-year-old political mastermind was shown grinning on state television when told by President Dmitry Medvedev that he would oversee modernization as a deputy prime minister.

When asked why he was leaving the Kremlin, Surkov deliberately misquoted a slogan from the French Revolution, saying: "Stabilization is eating up its children."

Almost in passing, Surkov told Interfax news agency he would not be running domestic politics after nearly 13 years doing exactly that from the corridors of the Kremlin.

Why? "I am too notorious for the brave new world."

His post will be taken by Putin's chief of staff and Surkov's arch enemy, Vyacheslav Volodin, a wealthy former lawyer who hails from Putin's ruling United Russia party. Anton Vaino, a 39-year-old former diplomat, becomes Putin's chief of staff.

By ejecting Surkov from the Kremlin just two months before the presidential election, Putin is betting that he can neutralize some of the anger against his rule by projecting the impression of a brave new world of political reform.

"What happened today is nothing more than shuffling people from one office into another," Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia's third richest man who demanded Surkov be sacked in September, said through a spokesman. "Little will change from these shifts."

Though Surkov's exit may not usher in a vast political change, it is the end of an era for one of Putin's most powerful aides. And at Putin's court, personalities count for everything.

PUTIN'S ARTIST

Described as Russia's answer to France's Cardinal Richelieu or a modern-day Machiavelli, Surkov was one of the creators of the system Putin crafted since he rose to power in 1999.

To admirers, "Slava" Surkov is the most flamboyant mind in Putin's court: a writer of fiction who recited poets such as Allen Ginsberg but also strong enough to hold his own against the KGB spies and oligarchs in the infighting of the Kremlin.

To enemies, Surkov is a dangerous artist who used his brains to expand Putin's power and whose intellectual snobbery made Russian citizens beads in a grand political experiment called "Vladimir Putin."

Fond of black ties and sometimes unshaven, Surkov survived many turf wars but he could not survive the biggest protests of Putin's rule or Putin's need to find someone to blame for them.

As the manager of United Russia, the Kremlin's point man on elections and ultimately the day-to-day manager of Putin's political system, Surkov bore direct responsibility for the protests which have pitted Russia's urban youth against Putin.

He did not answer requests for comment.

Brought into the Kremlin under Boris Yeltsin in 1999 to serve as an aide to then chief of staff Alexander Voloshin, Surkov helped ease the handover of power to Putin.

He then worked with Putin and then President Medvedev to consolidate power, repeatedly using the specter of the chaotic 1990s to warn against swift change.

PUTIN'S SYSTEM

In practice, Surkov's rule meant centralizing power in Putin's hands: Surkov moved regional decision-making to the Kremlin, struck down any attempt at autonomy and directed party politics.

Such was his power that Russia's top party officials, journalists and cultural leaders would visit him in the Kremlin for 'direction' on how to present events to the public.

"He is considered one of the architects of the system," Putin's former finance minister, Alexei Kudrin, told Kommersant FM radio.

"Now this system is being revised. New organizers are needed with different views on the political system," said Kudrin, who has offered to lead dialogue between the opposition and the authorities.

Signs of trouble for Surkov appeared in May when Volodin -the man who eventually took his job - helped Putin create a new movement, or popular front, that would compete with the United Russia party for Putin's patronage.

Volodin, a dollar millionaire fond of ducking reporters questions with irony or personal needling, presented thereporters' popular front to Putin as a way to revive the ruling party.

Volodin's stock rose after securing 65 percent of the vote for Putin's party in Saratov, a region where he was born.

Then in September, the main scriptwriter of Russian politics became the focus of an intriguing unscripted conflict with Prokhorov - the whizz kid of Russian finance - over the fate of a minor opposition party which was crippled by the Kremlin.

"There is a puppet master in this country who long ago privatized the political system and has for a long time misinformed the leadership of the country," Prokhorov, whose fortune Forbes put at $18 billion, said at the time.

"His name is Vladislav Yuryevich Surkov," said Prokhorov, who demanded Putin sack Surkov. Putin had to personally calm down the two sides in the row, two sources said.

But after mass protests in major Russian cities against the parliamentary election and against Putin himself, Surkov's analysis differed to that of his boss.

Putin has dismissed the protesters as chattering monkeys or a motley crew of leaderless opponents bent on sowing chaos, but Surkov gave a more refined view: he said they were among the best people in Russian society.

"You cannot simply swipe away their opinions in an arrogant way," said Surkov, who will now have to move his portrait of Argentine-born revolutionary Che Guevara from his Kremlin office.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111227/ts_nm/us_russia_surkov

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Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music Album 'Almost Done'

Big Sean tells MTV News that 2012 will also bring his F.F.O.E. (Finally Famous Over Everything) mixtape and sophomore album.
By Rob Markman, with reporting by Vanessa Whitewolf

Kanye West
Photo: Getty Images

The ball hasn't even dropped yet, but 2012 is already looking to be a pretty good year for hip-hop thanks to planned releases from Kanye West and his G.O.O.D. Music clan.

"We're gonna do the G.O.O.D. Music album first; we been working on that," Big Sean told MTV News a few weeks ago on the set of Wale's "Slight Work" video in California. "So, me, Kanye, Cudi, CyHi, John Legend, Common, Pusha T, everybody on G.O.O.D., Mr Hudson: We're all working on a new project; it's almost done. We're going to London to finish it up and do the last part of it and working on my album at the same time with 'Ye and everybody."

Last week just before Christmas, Kanye gave fans across the pond a sneak preview of his label compilation when he DJed at holiday party at LeBaron London. Not only did Yeezy spin G.O.O.D. Music tracks, he also played beats from his upcoming sixth solo album, according to a report on Rap-Up. Maybe New Year's party-goers will get a taste too, since Kanye tweeted that he'd like to bring in 2012 on the 1s and 2s as well. "I kinda wanna DJ somewhere this New Years," he wrote Tuesday night.

Big Sean estimates that the G.O.O.D. Music album will drop in the spring, and after that, in the summer of 2012, he will be ready to deliver his sophomore album. Before that though, the Detroit MC promises to release a mixtape. Despite his major-label success in 2011, Sean recognizes that it was his mixtape grind that finally made him famous. "I'm sticking to that," he said. "I got the new F.F.O.E. mixtape, Finally Famous Over Everything, coming, new G.O.O.D. Music album, the next Finally Famous album, so we going hard."

Which project are you most looking forward to: the G.O.O.D. Music album, Big Sean's F.F.O.E. mixtape or Sean's sophomore LP? Tell us in the comments!

Related Artists

• Kanye West
• Big Sean

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676544/kanye-west-big-sean-good-music-album.jhtml

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Zeo Mobile Is A Delight to Sleep With [Fitmodo]

I'm tired. I'm old and I'm groggy and mentally slow. I don't get enough exercise, or family time, and I'm sick too often. I don't perform my best at work, or anywhere else, and I'm grumpy when I don't mean to be and it's all largely because I'm so damn tired. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/QRqvdBtTIpE/zeo-mobile-is-a-delight-to-sleep-with

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Try out The Sun's iPad app for FREE

Our Page 360 feature - which appears in the app every Monday and online at Page3.com - has interactive animations which bring to life the nation's favourite models before your eyes.

Touch the screen and our girls - like gorgeous Rosie, right - will pirouette through 360-degrees.

It's been a huge hit since we updated our app - and for a limited period we've made the app FREE for 30 days.

Page 360 is one of several great improvements to The Sun for iPad.

There's an interactive News Ticker to keep you up to date with breaking headlines during the day - simply touch on a ticker item to call up a story.

The app also features better connectivity and enhanced page-turning.

You can download the app from Apple's App Store for a free 30-day trial.

You'll get the full "printed" edition of The Sun in PDF-style format each day of publication, plus there's an iEdition for extra images.

When your 30 days expires you can choose to renew your access within the app for ?4.99 for another 30 days - which works out at roughly ?1.25 a week.

For that you get the full contents of the paper, including every columnist, many of whom are currently not published online.

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Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4021993/Try-out-The-Suns-iPad-app-for-FREE.html

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Paul's surge prompting a new look from GOP voters (AP)

SAN ANTONIO ? Ron Paul wants to legalize pot and shut down the Federal Reserve. He thinks the federal government has no authority to outlaw abortion, no business bombing Iran to keep it from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and no justification to print money unless it's backed up by gold bars.

And he might win the Iowa caucuses.

The closer the first votes of the 2012 presidential campaign get, the more competitive the Texas congressman has become. It's a moment his famously fervent supporters have longed for. Plenty of others are asking: What's Ron Paul about, again?

As in his two prior quixotic campaigns for president, Paul has toiled for months as a fringe candidate best known for staking out libertarian positions. As every other Republican candidate lined up to attack President Barack Obama's health care law and to promise tax cuts, Paul again demanded audits of the Federal Reserve and a return to the gold standard.

Leading in some state polls, Paul is getting a look from mainstream voters in Iowa, where the 76-year-old obstetrician has emerged as a serious contender in the Jan. 3 caucuses ? and in other early voting states, should he pull off a victory.

The sudden rush of attention to Paul's resume hasn't been kind. He's spent the past week disowning racist and homophobic screeds in newsletters he published decades ago, including one following the 1992 riots in Los Angeles that read, "Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to collect their welfare checks three days after rioting began."

"Everybody knows I didn't write them and they're not my sentiments, so it's sort of politics as usual," Paul said during a recent Iowa campaign stop.

Looking to cut into Paul's support, rivals laid into him on Tuesday.

In an interview on CNN, Newt Gingrich said Paul holds "views totally outside the mainstream of virtually every decent American." And Rick Santorum chided, "The things most Iowans like about Ron Paul are the things he's least likely to accomplish and the things most Iowans are worried about about Ron Paul are the things he can accomplish."

Paul returns to Iowa on Wednesday, giving his impressive grass-roots organization in the state a last chance to present, and perhaps defend, positions he's staked out over a long political career and reiterated during the 13 Republican debates held this year.

Paul has served a dozen terms in Congress as a Republican, but he espouses views that have made him the face of libertarianism in the U.S. He blames both Republicans and Democrats for running up the federal debt and opposes any U.S. military involvement overseas. He wants to bring home all troops from all U.S. bases abroad.

He vows to do away with five Cabinet-level departments ? Commerce, Education, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, and Interior ? and repeal the amendment to the Constitution that created the federal income tax. He opposes federal flood insurance and farm subsidies and wants to remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances while allowing states to decide how to regulate it.

He says he'll cut $1 trillion out of the first budget he offers as president. He doesn't believe in a border fence but says illegal immigrants shouldn't get a free education in public schools.

He's reliably described by political pundits as non-establishment, quirky, unorthodox. During a Republican debate in Sioux City, Iowa, earlier this month, Paul defended his views and rejected the idea that they make him unelectable.

"The important thing is, the philosophy I'm talking about is the Constitution and freedom, and that brings people together," Paul said. "It brings independents in the fold and it brings Democrats over on some of these issues."

Paul doesn't always side with the most extreme conservative proposals. When it comes to Gingrich's suggestion that judges could be hauled before Congress to explain their rulings, Paul joined other Republicans in dismissing the idea.

Paul's recent surge in Iowa isn't the first time the GOP establishment has been forced to pay attention to him. A fundraising blitz that netted $5 million in one day in 2008 led Republican operatives to weigh whether he was a bigger threat to siphon votes than previously thought.

Now he may be in his best position yet to do more than just steal votes.

"I see this philosophy as being very electable, because it's an American philosophy, it's the rule of law," Paul said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111228/ap_on_el_pr/us_paul_s_positions

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'; isRolloverShown = true; setHideTimer(MIN_DISPLAY_TIME); resetRollover(); WALMART.$("#ROLLOVER_PICKUP_HOUR").show(); WALMART.$("#ROLLOVER_PICKUP_HOUR").html( pickupHourInfo); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('position',{top:(y-114),left:x}); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('update',WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').html()); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('show'); } else { pickupHourInfo = '

Please call for store hours.

'; isRolloverShown = true; setHideTimer(MIN_DISPLAY_TIME); resetRollover(); WALMART.$("#ROLLOVER_PICKUP_HOUR").show(); WALMART.$("#ROLLOVER_PICKUP_HOUR").html(pickupHourInfo); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('position',{top:(y-38),left:x}); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('update',WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').html()); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('show'); } } function generateBusinessHourText(businessHour) { if (businessHour) { openTime = businessHour.openTime; closeTime = businessHour.closeTime; if ((openTime == '-1:-1 am' || openTime == '00:00 am') && closeTime == '00:00 am') { return 'Closed'; } else if (openTime == '00:00 am' && (closeTime == '11:59 pm' || closeTime == '-1:-1 am')) { return 'Open 24 hours'; } else { return openTime + ' ? ' + closeTime; } } } /* * This method added for VIBS project which used to show online price tooltip. */ function showOnlinePriceOverlayRollover(e) { var onliePriceTipContent = 'In-store prices vary from online prices - please visit your store for exact pricing. Online prices are not honored in our stores.' isRolloverShown = true; setHideTimer(MIN_DISPLAY_TIME); resetRollover(); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER_OTHER_TEXT').show(); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER_OTHER_TEXT').html(onliePriceTipContent); e = (e) ? e : ((event) ? event : "") WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('position',{top:getY(e) - 25,left:getX(e)}); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('update',WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').html()); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('show'); } var isRolloverShown = false; var rolloverIndex = 0; function showPreferredStoreRollover(e, ind) { var slapStoresData = WALMART.bot.stores; var spulStoresData = WALMART.spul.stores; var storesData = (typeof slapStoresData !== 'undefined' && slapStoresData && slapStoresData != '' && slapStoresData.stores != '') ? slapStoresData : spulStoresData; if (storesData != null && storesData.stores != null && storesData.stores != '' && (!isRolloverShown || rolloverIndex != ind)) { rolloverIndex = ind; isRolloverShown = true; setHideTimer(MIN_DISPLAY_TIME); e = (e) ? e : ((window.event) ? window.event : "") var el = e.target; var storeIndex = ind - 1; resetRollover(); if(storesData.stores[storeIndex]!= undefined && storesData.stores[storeIndex].address != undefined ){ WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER_CITY').show(); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER_ADDR1').show(); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER_ADDR2').show(); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER_CITY').html( storesData.stores[storeIndex].address.city); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER_ADDR1').html(storesData.stores[storeIndex].address.fullStreet); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER_ADDR2').html(storesData.stores[storeIndex].address.city + ", " + storesData.stores[storeIndex].address.stateCode + " " + storesData.stores[storeIndex].address.zipCode); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('position',{top:findPosY(el) - 66,left:findPosX(el)}); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('update',WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').html()); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('show'); } } } function showSelectedStoreRollover(e, city, fullstreet, zip, state) { // if (store!=null ){ //rolloverIndex=ind; isRolloverShown = true; setHideTimer(MIN_DISPLAY_TIME); e = (e) ? e : ((window.event) ? window.event : "") resetRollover(); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER_CITY').show(); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER_ADDR1').show(); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER_ADDR2').show(); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER_CITY').html(city);//store.address.city; WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER_ADDR1').html(fullstreet);//store.address.fullStreet; WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER_ADDR2').html(city + ", " + state + " " + zip); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('position', {top: getY(e),left: getX(e)}); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('update', WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').html()); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('show'); } function showSOIRollover(e, desc) { showRollover(e, desc); } function hideRollover(e) { WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('hide'); isRolloverShown = false; clearTimeout(hideTimer); } function resetRollover() { WALMART.$("#ROLLOVER_CITY").hide(); WALMART.$("#ROLLOVER_ADDR1").hide(); WALMART.$("#ROLLOVER_ADDR2").hide(); WALMART.$("#ROLLOVER_OTHER_TEXT").hide(); WALMART.$("#ROLLOVER_CLOSE").hide(); WALMART.$("#ROLLOVER_PICKUP_HOUR").hide(); } var hideTimer; function setHideTimer(elapseVal) { clearTimeout(hideTimer); hideTimer = setTimeout("hideRollover()", elapseVal); } var isOpera = (navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Opera') != -1); var isIE = (!isOpera && navigator.userAgent.indexOf('MSIE') != -1) function getX(e) { var posx; if (e.pageX) { posx = e.pageX; } else if (e.clientX) { posx = e.clientX; if (isIE) { posx += top.document.documentElement.scrollLeft + top.document.body.scrollLeft; } } return posx; } function getY(e, offset) { var defaultOffset = 66; var posy; if (e.pageY) { posy = e.pageY; } else if (e.clientY) { posy = e.clientY; if (isIE) { posy += top.document.documentElement.scrollTop + top.document.body.scrollTop; } } if (offset == undefined) { posy -= defaultOffset; } else { posy -= offset } return posy; } /*START S2S small format Changes */ function showExpressContentRollover(x, y) { expressStoreInfo = '

Our newest addition,

' +'

Walmart Express, delivers

' +'

Every Day Low Prices in a

' +'

small store that is easy to shop.

'; isRolloverShown = true; setHideTimer(MIN_DISPLAY_TIME); resetRollover(); WALMART.$("#ROLLOVER_OTHER_TEXT").show(); WALMART.$("#ROLLOVER_OTHER_TEXT").html(expressStoreInfo); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('position', {top:(y-85),left:x}); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('update', WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').html()); WALMART.$('#ROLLOVER').wmBubble('show'); }/*END S2S small format Changes */

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  ', isDisplayable: true, isComingSoon: false ,isPreOrder: false, isPreOrderOOS: false, isRunout: false } ], attributeData: [ ], storeItemData: [ { upc: '', city: '', stockStatus: '', isSlapOutOfStock: '', isReplenishable: '', isNotAvailable: '', availabilityCode: '', price: '', isStoreS2SEligible: '', hasFedExStoresInTheArea: '', storeId: '', canAddToCart: '' } ] } addMethodsToDefaultItem(DefaultItem); VariantWidgetSelectorManager.setDefaultItem('C1I16564962', DefaultItem);

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With a glossy 14.0" display, the Dell Inspiron laptop PC brings convenience and ease back into your technological world. Featuring an 8-in-1 card reader and USB connectivity, this Dell notebook computer has the multimedia connectivity to keep your social media presence current and up to date. Dell 14.0" Inspiron Laptop PC:

Key Features and Benefits:

• Intel Pentium B940 processor
  2.00GHz, 2MB L2 Cache
• 4GB DDR3 SDRAM system memory (expandable to 6GB)
  Gives you the comfort for multimedia videos and images, video conferencing, basic gaming and all the other simple duties
• 320GB SATA hard drive
  Store 213,000 photos, 91,000 songs or 168 hours of HD video and more on your Dell notebook computer
• 8x CD/DVD burner
  Watch movies, and read and write CDs and DVDs in multiple formats
• 10/100 Network Connector and 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN
  Connect to a wired network or Wirelessly connect to a Wi-Fi signal or hotspot with the 802.11b/g/n connection built into your Dell 14" laptop PC
• 14.0" LED widescreen display
  Intel HD Graphics 3000

Additional Inspiron Laptop PC Features:

• 1.0MP webcam
• 8-in-1 memory card reader
• 3 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x headphone jack, 1 x HDMI
• 6-cell Li-ion battery

Software:

• Genuine Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition. To learn more about the features of Windows 7 Click here
• Microsoft Office Home & Student 2010 Full Version Pre-installed (To learn more about the features of Office 2010, click here)
• McAfee SecurityCenter with anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, 30-Days complimentary service
• Backup and Restore options built into Windows allows you to create safety copies of your most important personal files, so you're always prepared for the worst

Support and Warranty:

• 1-year limited warranty and mail-in service
• Restore discs are no longer included with PCs. We recommend you use the installed software to create your own restore and backup DVD the first week you use the Dell notebook computer.

What's In The Box:

• Power cord
• 6-cell Li-ion battery
• Official documentation
• Quick Start Guide

To see the manufacturer's specifications for this Dell notebook computer, click here.

To see a list of our PC Accessories, click here.

Trade in your used computer and electronics for more cash to spend at Walmart. Good for your wallet and the environment - click here.

Battery Type:	6-Cell Lithium Ion
Primary Color:	Black
Multi Pack Indicator:	No
Model No.:	I14RN41101090DB
Shipping Weight (in pounds):	6.56
Product in Inches (L x W x H):	13.5?x?1.26?x?9.68
Walmart No.:	007221182

Dell Black 14" Inspirion 14r-1090DBK 14" Laptop PC with Intel Processor, Windows 7, Microsoft Office Home & Student Full edition Pre-loaded and Pop.Click.Switch Lid. 4.4 5 18 23

Great value as an economy laptop computer. I bought this computer as an upgrade to an old netbook I've been dragging around since May of 2009. I do most of my work on my desktop computer, but I've been very impressed with this computer in the three weeks I've had it.For having the lower-end Intel chip, it is very fast at performing the things I like to do with it (having 12+ tabs open in several Chrome windows, iTunes, work in Word, Excel, and OneNote). I'm often doing these at the same time and it doesn't miss I beat. I know this isn't exactly power computing, but it's about all I ever need to do on my laptop.I did notice that it would sometimes freeze and require a hard restart upon resuming from sleep. I wonder if that is the cursor issue the other reviewer was experiencing; that is what I thought I was encountering at first. Instead, I did a little reading online and discovered that the default Dell settings for powering down the harddrive before sleep could cause the freeze on resume from sleep. I changed the power settings to not turn the harddrive off until sleep and I haven't had an issue.Considering the relatively small battery, I was also impressed with the battery life. I've been able to get 3 to 4 hours of use per charge with the display settings held to a low level of brightness.Overall for under $500 with Office included, I thought this was a fantastic buy. 07/26/2011

great computer for college student, includes office programs, smaller size fits in backpack with books, love it 07/25/2011

Good computer for the price After my Mac got water damaged after 5 years of ownership I wasn't really in the market for an expensive replacement computer... all I really needed was Microsoft Word and Excel to get through my last year of college. I found this computer at my local store and thought for having Office pre-loaded it was a very good value. I have had this computer for about a month now and I am very happy with it. I have had the cursor jump while using Word..but I use a wireless mouse and I don't seem to have the issue. I feel like I got a good computer for the price paid. I also enjoy being able to change the lid. 07/31/2011

Excellent laptop for the price! Great industry-standard laptop! Solid build, good equipment, Dell didn't fill it with useless software and utilities. Has some awesome quick-keys to access utility functions (like turning wireless on and off).Only problem I've had is it tends to take a while to boot. Haven't identified why yet, doesn't seem to be anything in particular bogging it down, but 60% of boots take double the time it should... I'll amend the post if I find the reason.Other than that, GREAT. Love it so-far, it's sleek and fun, and every cost-effective. 08/08/2011

1-4 of 19 total reviews

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A limited product warranty is included free for most items. With an optional Walmart Care Plan you can extend coverage up to 3 additional years. Walmart Care Plan Extended Warranties cover 100% of the cost for repair or replacement, including shipping charges for the exchange. See Details

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Source: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Dell-14-320GB-I14RN41101090DB/16564962?sourceid=1500000000000003229380

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