Topic: Computer Technology

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Seven retirement questions you need to answer

Retirement planning isn't easy. Nearly half of Americans don't feel financially prepared to live to age 75, according to a survey from Northwestern Mutual. But the process is a lot less burdensome if you break the task down into simpler parts. Here are seven questions to ask as you plan for your long-term financial security in retirement.
Mother's Day gifts: 4 great e-readers for Mom

Stumped for a Mother's Day gift this year? Your mom would probably love one of these four e-readers.
Gideon Sunback zipper Google doodle: 10 great books about zippers

From picture books to history tomes, here are 10 books about zippers – an invention we couldn't get along without.
20 essential Android tips and tricks

Several weeks ago, we highlighted 20 useful iPhone tricks everyone should know. We got such good feedback from that feature that we wanted to share the love with Android users – who, after all, make up the largest proportion of the smart phone community.
Tax tips: Top 5 reasons to hire a tax pro

Tax tips can take you only so far if you're filling out your own returns. Sometimes, you need a tax pro. Most taxpayers, to the tune of 60 percent, opt to go with a tax professional. That share has climbed steadily: Just 41 percent used a professional preparer 30 years ago. Although a growing swath of the population – about 20 percent – is using tax-preparation software to complete returns, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), it seems that software isn't displacing accountants as much as it's simply becoming the mode of choice for do-it-yourself filers. As the Tuesday, April 17, tax filing deadline nears, here are five cases in which it might be wise to consider bringing a pro aboard:

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Horizons
Android 4.0 tablet for under $400? Say hello to the IdeaTab.

The Android-powered IdeaTab S2109 was introduced by Lenovo this week. The IdeaTab, which is powered by the Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, will reportedly retail for $349. 
NASA's NuSTAR telescope will hunt black holes

The space agency's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array is slated to launch June 13 from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
Horizons
Google Chrome OS lives on with big update, new hardware

The latest version of Google's cloud-centric Chrome OS resembles a "regular" desktop operating system in a lot of ways. The revamp, and new Chromebook and Chromebox hardware from Samsung, show how much Chrome OS has matured in the three years since its inception.
BlackBerry-maker RIM warns of layoffs, operating loss

RIM also hires advisers to look at strategies to reverse its downturn. RIM has seen its share of US smartphone market fall from 44 percent to 10 percent in two years.
Beyond Stuxnet: massively complex Flame malware ups ante for cyberwar

Flame is something new in cyberwar, experts say. It can take screenshots and record audio on infected computers. The malware was almost certainly made by a nation-state.
Android clears court review of patent claims

Android did not infringe Oracle patents, court rules, in a major blow to Oracle. Android ruling means Oracle won't collect billions of dollars in royalties from Google.
Gadget guide: Which electronics are 'in season' and which to avoid

Thinking about some major gadget purchases this summer? It may be the right time to pick up a new TV. An iPhone? It's probably best to wait a bit.
Global News Blog
Russian security firm spots cyber supervirus that tops Stuxnet

Russian Internet security firm Kaspersky Labs says the complexity and targets of the virus – which is infecting computers in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East – imply its creator is a government.
Horizons
$75 million? Apple CEO Tim Cook says, 'No thanks'

Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, has said he won't take the quarterly $75 million payments he would earn under a new Apple employee policy. 
Horizons
Facebook Camera for iPhone takes best of Instagram

Facebook has released a photo-sharing app called Facebook Camera. So how does it stack up with Instagram? 
Horizons
With Axis, Yahoo wades into the browser wars

Axis, from Yahoo, is available as a plug-in for most browsers and as an app on Apple iOS devices. 
Is State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite, but propaganda war is fierce.

Despite early reports, a State Department program to shoot down Al Qaeda propaganda online is not a hack. But the efforts are having an impact, Secretary Clinton says.
Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook status updated to 'married' (+video)

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg married long-time girlfriend Priscilla Chan Saturday in a small, surprise wedding. Less than 100 guests arrived at Zuckerberg's home for what they would be a party to celebrate Chan's graduation from medical school. Zuckerberg did not wear a hoodie.
The New Economy
Facebook IPO? Flat. Facebook future? Bright.

Facebook IPO generated no big stock gains on its first day of trading. But Facebook has many of the traits that made Apple, Microsoft, and Google great in the long run.  
SpaceX mission to space station scrubbed for now

SpaceX's first attempt to send its Dragon cargo capsule to the International Space Station ended abruptly Saturday morning when computers aboard the company's Falcon 9 rocket shut off the craft's engines just after ignition.
China is a lead cyberattacker of US military computers, Pentagon reports

China is especially interested in gleaning how best to defend its own computer networks from cyberattack, says a Pentagon report on cyberwar threats. But China is also improving its offensive abilities.
Top Picks: Historian Niall Ferguson on PBS, Carole King's demos, and more

National Geographic's digital edition shines on the iPad, an old newsreel shows window washers in 1938, and more top picks.
Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks

Cybersecurity needs are not hypothetical, as the recent DHS warning of a cyberattack on the US natural gas industry shows. Why then was a post-9/11 initiative to secure US utilities dropped?
Horizons
Facebook IPO: No, Facebook is not just a fad

Despite the coming Facebook IPO (or maybe because of the coming Facebook IPO), half of all Americans think the popular social network is a fad. They're wrong. 
Rebekah Brooks charged in News Corp phone-hacking scandal (+video)

Rebekah Brooks, who held various leadership positions in Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, was charged with interfering with a police investigation into the British phone-hacking scandal.
Yahoo CEO’s exit: debacle for company, and a warning for resume padders

Scott Thompson was hired as Yahoo CEO – the embattled company's fourth in five years – for his record as an executive, not the degrees on his resume. But the fabrication was costly.
Smartphones: Postal service bans foreign shipments

Smartphones with lithium batteries will no longer be accepted for international shipment beginning Wednesday because of fire risks. Shipments of smartphones to US troops abroad will have to go via UPS or FedEx.
Horizons
3D maps coming to iPhone 5, iOS 6: report

According to a new report, Apple will soon ditch the Google Maps app for an in-house product, which could feature a 3D mode. 
Seven retirement questions you need to answer

Retirement planning isn't easy. Nearly half of Americans don't feel financially prepared to live to age 75, according to a survey from Northwestern Mutual. But the process is a lot less burdensome if you break the task down into simpler parts. Here are seven questions to ask as you plan for your long-term financial security in retirement.
Exclusive: Cyberattacks on US natural-gas pipeline companies, evidence points to China

Those analyzing the cyberspies who are trying to infiltrate natural-gas pipeline companies have found similarities with an attack on a cybersecurity firm a year ago. At least one US government official has blamed China for that earlier attack.