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Google

The White House Joins Google+->

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "Following the steps of President Obama, The White House administration has now finally entered into the fastest growing social network Google+. The White administration on their newly made Google+ page are planning to host regular ‘Hangouts’ with general public – these ‘Hangouts’ will be conducted by different administration officials on different topics and issues."
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Space

NEOShield to assess Earth Defence->

Submitted by arisvega
arisvega writes "NEOShield is a new international project that will assess the threat posed by Near Earth Objects (NEO) and look at the best possible solutions for dealing with a big asteroid or comet on a collision path with our planet.

The effort is being led from the German space agency's (DLR) Institute of Planetary Research in Berlin, and had its kick-off meeting this week.

It will draw on expertise from across Europe, Russia and the US.

It's a major EU-funded initiative that will pull together all the latest science, initiate a fair few laboratory experiments and new modelling work, and then try to come to some definitive positions.

Industrial partners, which include the German, British and French divisions of the big Astrium space company, will consider the engineering architecture required to deflect one of these bodies out of our path."
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Businesses

How the US Lost Out on iPhone Work

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens writes
Hugh Pickens writes writes "Not long ago, Apple boasted that its products were made in America. Today, almost all of the 70 million iPhones, 30 million iPads and 59 million other products Apple sold last year manufactured overseas. "It isn’t just that workers are cheaper abroad," write Charles Duhig and Keith Bradsher. "Rather, Apple’s executives believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers have outpaced their American counterparts so much that “Made in the U.S.A.” is no longer a viable option for most Apple products." Apple executives say that going overseas, at this point, is their only option and recount the time Apple redesigned the iPhone’s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company’s dormitories, each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day. “The speed and flexibility is breathtaking,” says one Apple executive. “There’s no American plant that can match that.” Apple’s success has benefited the US economy by empowering entrepreneurs and creating jobs at companies like cellular providers and businesses shipping Apple products but ultimately, Apple executives say curing unemployment is not Apple's job. “We don’t have an obligation to solve America’s problems. Our only obligation is making the best product possible.”"
United States

Steve Jobs Told Obama Made-in-the-USA Days Over 9

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes "At his Last Supper with Steve Jobs, reports the NY Times, President Obama had a question for Jobs: What would it take to make iPhones in the United States? 'Those jobs aren't coming back,' Jobs replied. The president's question touched upon a central conviction at Apple: It isn't just that workers are cheaper abroad; Apple execs believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their American counterparts that Made in the U.S.A.' is no longer a viable option for most Apple products. 'The speed and flexibility is breathtaking,' a former Apple exec gushed, describing how 8,000 workers were once roused from company dormitories at midnight to address a last-minute Apple design change, given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. 'There's no American plant that can match that.' What's vexed Obama as well as economists and policy makers is that Apple — and many of its hi-tech peers — are not nearly as avid in creating American jobs as other famous companies were in their heydays. 'We don't have an obligation to solve America's problems,' a current Apple exec is quoted as saying. 'Our only obligation is making the best product possible.'"

US Supreme Court upholds removal of works from Pub-> 2

Submitted by langelgjm
langelgjm writes "While much of the web is focused on the SOPA and PIPA blackout, supporters of the public domain today quietly lost a protracted struggle that began back in 2001.The Supreme Court, in a 6-2 decision, rejected the argument that Congress did not have the power to convey copyright upon works that were already in the public domain. The suit was originally filed to challenge provisions that the U.S. adopted when signing the TRIPs agreement. Justices Breyer and Alito dissented, arguing that conveyed copyright on already existing works defied the logic of copyright law. Justice Kagan recused herself. The text of the opinions is available here (PDF)."
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Google

Microsoft can remotely delete Windows 8 apps-> 3

Submitted by tripleevenfall
tripleevenfall writes "Microsoft will be able to throw a "kill switch" to disable or even remove an app from users' Windows 8 devices, the company revealed in documentation released earlier this week for its upcoming Windows Store.

"In cases where your security is at risk, or where we're required to do so for legal reasons, you may not be able to run apps or access content that you previously acquired or purchased a license for," said Microsoft in the Windows Store terms."If the Windows Store, an app, or any content is changed or discontinued, your data could be deleted or you may not be able to retrieve data you have stored," Microsoft said.

Both Apple and Google can flip such a switch for apps distributed by the iOS App Store and Android Market, respectively."
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Senate Contact Forms Disabled As SOPA/PIPA Protest->

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "Trying to contact your senate representative regarding PIPA and SOPA? Well you won't be able to do it via the web. All Senate 'contact' links are redirecting to an error page. Does this represent a concerted effort by senators to ignore their constituents, or are so many of them using the forms that an inadvertent DDOS is going on?"
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The Internet

PIPA Co-Sponsor Drops Support for the Bill->

Submitted by Tiek00n
Tiek00n writes "Florida Senator Marco Rubio, one of the co-sponsors of PIPA, has dropped his support for the bill, and is encouraging co-sponsor Harry Reid to stop rushing the bill through congress. "As a senator from Florida, a state with a large presence of artists, creators and businesses connected to the creation of intellectual property, I have a strong interest in stopping online piracy that costs Florida jobs. However, we must do this while simultaneously promoting an open, dynamic Internet environment that is ripe for innovation and promotes new technologies." "Congress should listen and avoid rushing through a bill that could have many unintended consequences. Therefore, I have decided to withdraw my support for the Protect IP Act.""
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SOPA author Lamar Smith infringes copyright on his->

Submitted by Craefter
Craefter writes "On an earlier version of Lamar Smith's campaign website Lamar himself wasn't too clever by pulling a background image from Flickr without asking or mentioning the original photographer, DJ Schulte.
Vice magazine did a research into any copyright infringement Lamar could have made on his website and found one in violation of the Creative Commons."
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Be free and open and breezy! Enjoy! Things won't get any better so get used to it.