U.S. and South Korean forces on Friday conducted what they called their largest live-fire military exercise since the end of the Korean War, according to reports from South Korea.
On Air Hangout How To Get Software Job
How To Get Software Job
Monday, 2 July 2012
Facebook pulls location-tracking feature
Following a period of freak-out on the Internet on Monday, Facebook appears to have pulled a controversial feature that let the social network's users get a digital list of other Facebookers nearby.
Olympics: Blake jolts Bolt again
Sprint superstar Usain Bolt is beaten by fellow
Jamaican Yohan Blake for the second time in
48 hours as he is pipped to first place in the
200m final at the Caribbean nation's Olympic
trials.
Jamaican Yohan Blake for the second time in
48 hours as he is pipped to first place in the
200m final at the Caribbean nation's Olympic
trials.
What did the Supreme Court decide on health care?
In its 5-4 decision to uphold the U.S. health care law, the Supreme Court answered several key questions:
-Question: Can the court decide the constitutionality of health care now, or does it have to wait a few years?
To answer, the court had to decide whether a penalty the law imposes on people who do not have health insurance amounts to a tax.
A previously obscure law mandated that the legality of a tax cannot be challenged until it is imposed, and the health care law doesn't call for penalties until 2014.
-The court's answer: The court upheld the entire law.
-Question: Is the requirement that people have health insurance -- the so-called individual mandate -- constitutional?
-The court's answer: Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the commerce clause did not apply, but the mandate stands under the taxing clause.
-Question: If the individual mandate is unconstitutional, can the rest of the law stand, or is the whole thing unconstitutional?
-The court's answer: The mandate is constitutional, rendering moot further questions on the rest of the law.
-Question: Can the federal government force states to expand their share of Medicaid costs and administration?
-The court's answer: Yes, but the justices ruled that the federal government cannot remove existing Medicaid funding if the states choose not to participate in the new program.
Are voters ready to move on?
With the Supreme Court's thunderbolt, a crucial battle is over on health care, but the war surely goes on. Or does it?
There has been a widespread view among conservatives that if the court were to uphold Obamacare that would do more to galvanize the tea party and other parts of their base than any other outcome. Anger and frustration can be powerful motivators in politics.
Millions still without power amid record heat wave
Residents in the central and eastern United States will sweat through another blistering day Monday as power outages from weekend storms continue to plague millions.
The intense early-summer weather has baked areas from Missouri to New York to Georgia with record-breaking heat and unleashed fierce storms that knocked out power over the weekend. At least 16 people were killed from the series of storms.
Extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the United States.
With Google Now, Android Puts Apple's Siri To Shame
After Apple bought Siri a few years ago, many assumed it was the company's first step in a battle against Google's search business. It was a good assumption.
But at All Things D's D8 conference in 2010, Steve Jobs tried to put that speculation to rest by saying Apple had slightly different plans for Siri.
"[It's] not a search company. They're an AI company. We have no plans to go into the search business. We don't care about it. Other people do it well," Jobs told Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg.
Jobs was mostly right. Siri launched on the iPhone 4S in October as more of an intelligent virtual assistant than a searching tool. Siri is designed to set reminders, send text messages, make appointments, etc. Search is kind of part of Siri, but it relies heavily on Wolfram Alpha, a "knowledge engine" that usually does a great job at answering oddball questions like "What's the GDP of Greece?" but not so great at pulling up queries normal humans need.
That's why I was so excited when Google announced Google Now, a search-centric, voice-powered digital assistant for the upcoming version of Android called Jelly Bean.
I've been using Jelly Bean on a Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 7 for the last few days. And I can say Google Now is a lot more impressive than Siri. Google Now fills in all the gaps left by Siri, and does pretty much everything else a whole lot better. This is how search should work on mobile devices.
If Henry Ford used Apple's mentality, he would have sued all other car makers for having a steering wheel.
Apple has paid $60 million (around £38 million) to a Chinese
Apple has paid $60 million (around £38 million) to a Chinese firm to end a legal dispute surrounding the iPad name.The launch and sales of the iPad
Develop great Metro style apps for Windows 8
Develop great Metro style
apps for Windows 8
Get the tools to build Metro style apps for Windows 8. Our free download includes Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2012 RC for Windows 8 and Blend for Visual Studio to help jumpstart your project.
Windows 8 Release Preview
It's Windows reimagined and reinvented from a solid core of Windows 7 speed and reliability. It's an all-new touch interface. It's a new Windows
for new devices. And it's easy to try now—whether you're installing it
for the first time, or moving from Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
Apple shuts down MobileMe, offers ‘limited time’ to access and download files
While Apple has officially shut down MobileMe, for a limited time users will be able to access their accounts, download their files, and upgrade to iCloud.Apple has finally shut down MobileMe. Its users were e-mailed a reminder one month ago to transfer their data from the MobileMe service to the new iCloud. The landing page for me.com has been replaced with a bright red “Closed” sign. Apple is allowing existing MobileMe customers to access and download their files for a “limited time” before upgrading to Apple’s iCloud.
US election: Fully funded
Courts have made it easier to make big donations and keep them secret, transforming the electoral landscape
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney took his fight against President Barack Obama's newly upheld healthcare law out on the campaign trail on Friday
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney took his fight against
President Barack Obama's newly upheld healthcare law out on the campaign
trail on Friday
Who will be the next president of United States?
Vote for
Who will be the next president of United States?
Who will be the next president of United States?
Mitt Romney vs Obama
Mitt Romney and his billionaire conservative backers on Friday mounted a new multi-million dollar fight back against Barack Obama's healthcare reform, after its approval by the US Supreme Court.
U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney
U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney
United States Presidential Election will be held on November 6, 2012
United States Presidential Election will be held on November 6, 2012, and it will be expected to feature the incumbent
The Presidential Election is on Tuesday, 6 November 2012.
The Presidential Election is on Tuesday, 6 November 2012.
How the President of the United States is Elected
Start with the Constitution. The basic process of selecting the President of the United States is spelled out in the U.S. Constitution, and it has been modified by the 12th, 22nd, and 23rd amendments. Many additional steps have been added over the years, by custom and by state law -- the process has changed quite a bit over time.
Who Can Run? The President and Vice-President are elected every four years. They must be at least 35 years of age, they must be native-born citizens of the United States, and they must have been residents of the U.S. for at least 14 years. (Also, a person cannot be elected to a third term as President.)
How Do the Political Parties Choose Their Candidates? That's up to the political parties. Most political parties hold conventions, which are large meetings attended by "delegates." Some delegates are selected by state "primary" elections, some are selected by state caucuses (very much like primaries, except with public voting instead of secret ballots), and some are chosen for their prominence in the party. A majority of delegate votes is needed to win the party's nomination. In most cases, the delegates let their chosen presidential candidate select a vice-presidential candidate.
Candidates for President and Vice-President Run Together. In the general election, each candidate for President runs together with a candidate for Vice-President on a "ticket." Voters select one ticket to vote for; they can't choose a presidential candidate from one ticket and a vice-presidential candidate from another ticket.
The Electoral College.
The national presidential election actually consists of a separate
election
in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia; in these 51
elections,
the voters are really voting for "electors" pledged
to one of the tickets. These electors make up the "Electoral College."
(In most cases, the names of the electors aren't written on the
ballot; instead the ballot lets voters choose among "Electors for" each
of the tickets, naming the presidential and vice-presidential candidates
each slate of electors is pledged to.)
Each state has the same number of electors as it has senators and representatives (there are two senators from each state, but the number of representatives depends on the state population in the most recent census). The District of Columbia, although it isn't a state, also participates in presidential elections -- it currently has three electors.
The People in Each State Vote for Electors in the Electoral College. In most of the states, and also in the District of Columbia, the election is winner-take-all; whichever ticket receives the most votes in that state (or in D.C.) gets all the electors. (The only exceptions are Maine and Nebraska. In these states, just two of the electors are chosen in a winner-take-all fashion from the entire state. The remaining electors are determined by the winner in each congressional district, with each district voting for one elector.)
The Electoral College Votes for the President. The Electoral College then votes for President and for Vice-President, with each elector casting one vote; these votes are called electoral votes. Each elector is pledged to vote for particular candidates for President and Vice-President. In most elections, all the electors vote in accordance with the pledge they made; it is not clear what would happen in the unlikely event that a large number of electors violated their pledge and voted differently.
Normally, one of the candidates for President receives a majority (more than half) of the electoral votes; that person is elected President. That candidate's vice-presidential running mate will then also receive a majority of electoral votes (for Vice-President), and that person is elected Vice-President.
If There's No Electoral College Winner, the House of Representatives Chooses the President. In the rare event that no presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes, then the President is chosen instead by the House of Representatives, from the top three presidential vote-getters in the Electoral College; each state delegation in Congress casts one vote. (The Vice-President would be chosen from the top two vice-presidential vote-getters by the Senate.)
This is bizarre! Does it really work this way? Yes. There are many arguments pro and con the Electoral College, but this system does guarantee that the person elected President has substantial support distributed throughout the U.S. The Electoral College has also been a major factor in the United States' long-term political stability.
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