Piano Dust Buster, Trippy, and More [Ipad Apps Of The Week]

The latest round of the week's best iPad apps will have you brushing up on your piano skills, getting ready for your next vacation, organizing your schedule, and a lot more. More »

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Jimmy Wales, On New Editing Platform: ?This Is Epically Important?

"This is epically important," tweeted Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales, about a new simplified editing platform aimed at massively expanding the number of people who contribute to the online encyclopedia. A deceivingly tiny percentage of users actually contribute to Wikipedia, despite the foundation's ernest attempts at making it an inclusive, democratic creation of mankind (estimates put the active contributer base at around 0.7%, who make up 50% of the entries). Wikipedia blames the difficulty in learning its confusing text editor for the reason the active community of editors sits around a paltry 500 contributors. "We identified the difficulty in learning wikitext as a key inhibitor to growing our editor community in the Wikimedia movement?s strategic plan," the company writes in the announcement of the new simplified editor. "We want the process of learning how to edit to be trivial, so our volunteers, both new and experienced, can devote themselves to what they edit. That?s why we?re building the visual editor, so that contributing to a wiki is as easy and natural as other modern editing systems, and new editors are not dissuaded from making their changes."

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Facebook stock has highest close since May

Facebook stock has highest close since May

NEW YORK -- Facebook closes at one of its highest prices since its initial public offering.

The stock rose $1.21, or 3.8 percent, to finish Friday at $33.05. It hasn't closed above that price since May 21, the second day of trading.

Facebook is still 14 percent below its IPO price of $38 a share.

Facebook's IPO has had a rocky ride. Its debut was delayed by trading glitches on the Nasdaq.

Investors have been concerned about its ability to increase revenue and make money from its growing mobile audience, though many analysts hold positive long-term opinions.

Facebook, along with investment banks that led the IPO, is the subject of dozens of shareholder lawsuits.

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Alan Turing: Google Doodle Marks Cryptanalyst's 100th Birth Anniversary [VIDEO]

Google honours "father of computing" Alan Turing's 100th birth anniversary. Photo Credit: Google

Search engine giant Google paid tributes to computer pioneer Alan Turing on his 100th birth anniversary on June 23 with a new doodle.

Google has come out with a functioning interactive Turing machine which allows users to break five digit binary codes six times. For each rightly performed task, the letters in Google's logo, which has been greyed out, will be added with their symbolic colours of blue, green and red.

British mathematician Alan Turing, popularly known as the father of computing and artificial intelligence, was born in London on June 23, 1912. He invented the Turing machine, which is the simplest form of a computer. He helped in forming algorithms and concepts which had a main role in the creation of the modern computer.

During the World War II, Alan Turing was heading a team responsible for German naval cryptanalysis. He cracked the German Enigma secret ciphers using a number of techniques. He used a method called bombe that helped in decoding the German Enigma. His methods allowed him to crack codes that helped the allies, during the war, to find and destroy Germany's military and naval units.

In January 1952, Turing was convicted for being a homosexual. Homosexuality was illegal in the UK during that period. In 1954, just two weeks before his 42 birthday, Turing committed suicide. He was found dead by his cleaner at his home and post-mortem reports suggested that Turing had poisoned himself with cyanide.

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In 2009, the then British prime minister Gordon Brown apologised formally for the treatment meted out to Turing for his homosexuality.

Turing's memory is immortalised in the form of the Turing Award, which is touted as 'the Nobel Prize of computing'. The award was first given in 1966 and is given annually by the New York-based Association of Computing Machinery. The award consists of a cash prize of $250,000, which is sponsored by Intel and Google.

The video below shows how to solve Alan Turing Google Doodle.

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Wow! Venus and Hubble Telescope Cross Sun Together in Spectacular Picture

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The battleship USS Iowa, a storied vessel that served during World War Two and the Cold War, made a brief final voyage on Saturday to its permanent berth at the Port of Los Angeles, where it will open as a naval museum next month. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and U.S. Navy veterans who??

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Potential Romney mates stress conservative cred

CHICAGO (AP) ? Stands up to unions? Check. Not afraid to chop government budgets? You bet. Cut taxes? Done that.

With Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker a GOP hero after his recall election triumph ? a mere mention of his name drew cheers Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Chicago ? prominent Republicans seen as possible vice presidential picks took pains to remind conservatives they're working from a similar playbook.

New Jersey's Chris Christie, Louisiana's Bobby Jindal and Virginia's Bob McDonnell all paid visits to the conference in President Barack Obama's back yard, where they eagerly boasted of their own accomplishments.

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney is expected to give those three and others a look before choosing his running mate this summer.

NEW JERSEY GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE

Before there was Walker, Christie was the right's darling. The famously in-your-face East Coast governor made clear he was a pioneer, particularly by taking on union pensions.

He heralded billions of dollars in future savings by making public workers shoulder more of their benefits and by curbing growth in retirement payouts.

Christie offered a portrait of a quintessential leader ? someone willing to "bang enough heads together" and "cajole enough" ? that showed him in the mirror.

"That's what we did in New Jersey and that's the model for America," Christie said.

LOUISIANA GOV. BOBBY JINDAL

More than the rest, Jindal worked to associate himself with Walker.

The Louisiana leader spent eight minutes recapping the Wisconsin recall fight, careful to note that he went there to stump for Walker before Tuesday's election.

Jindal said he's also showing off a stiff spine with public sector unions back home. He hit on education initiatives such as tying pay more closely to achievement and expanding school choice, efforts that have spawned a lawsuit from teachers unions.

"Just like in Wisconsin the unions aren't giving up," Jindal said before building to a crescendo. "I've got a message to those teacher unions: We're not giving up either."

VIRGINIA GOV. BOB MCDONNELL

Virginia's chief executive promoted his state's move from red budget ink to surplus and an unemployment rate that has fallen to its lowest level in three years.

McDonnell also touted his efforts to restrain spending and tamp down pension liability.

"Those fiscal conservative principles actually work," McDonnell said. "People are back to work and participating in the American dream in Virginia."

McDonnell, who strolled the stage rather than speak from a rostrum, also plugged a role in sparing Walker. He's the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, which pumped $9.5 million into the recall fight.

"We wanted to make sure we had everything on the table for Scott to win," he said.

FORMER SEN. RICK SANTORUM

The only non-governor of the bunch, Santorum basked in adoration from a conservative movement that pushed him deep in the GOP presidential primaries.

Santorum used CPAC to launch a new venture: a political outreach group he's calling Patriot Voices.

The former Pennsylvania senator said his goal was to recruit 1 million members and mobilize them on Election Day to support candidates committed to faith and family causes. He said he'll be personally campaigning for candidates, including Romney, in months to come.

Santorum told reporters he has yet to release convention delegates bound to him during the primaries.

"I want to make sure that the folks who represent the values that I did during this campaign are also able to come to that convention and have their voices heard," he said.

Associated Press

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French Open Women's Final: Live Report

MARIA SHARAPOVA IS THE FRENCH OPEN CHAMPION FOR THE FIRST TIME.

The Russian second seed overpowered Italy's Sara Errani 6-3, 6-2 in Paris to become just the tenth woman to win all four Grand Slams.

The 25-year-old was already assured of regaining a world number ranking she last held in 2008 but Errani had little answer to the Russian's powerful groundstrokes.

I'm now now wrapping up this live text commentary -- read on to find out how all the action unfolded on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Goodbye and thanks for following - please join me at the same place tomorrow for what promises to be an epic men's final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

1505 GMT: Some clever (off-court) play from Sharapova this time as she thanks the crowd in French -- and to say the smile on her face is radiant would be an understatement as she cradles the Suzanne Lenglen trophy.

1458 GMT: Whoops - bit of a blooper from the stadium announcer!

"The runner-up ...Miss Maria Sharapova"

Errani thanks the crowd, all those who have organised the tournament and her mother and father who are seated in the crowd.

1453 GMT: The presentation party arrives - and we've got the dulcet tones of the Russian national anthem filling the air on Court Philippe Chatrier.

1442 GMT: GAME, SET AND MATCH SHARAPOVA - SHARAPOVA IS THE FRENCH OPEN CHAMPION!

Sharapova 6-3, 6-2 Errani

Both players raised the level with some scintillating tennis in that final game. Errani hit a couple of powerful forehands but the Russian responded by unleashing a sizzling pass down the line.

Errani had a break point but couldn't convert it and a powerful serve saw Sharapova to championship point - but Errani pulled off an audacious drop shot to save it.

Another ace from the Russian though and, after a long rally, she forced the error from Eranni who hit her backhand into the net.

Maria Sharapova has become the 10th women ever to complete a career Grand Slam - well done Maria!

1432 GMT: *Sharapova 6-3 5-2 Errani - Maybe I spoke too soon - some crunching returns from Sharapova earns here two break points and she takes the second with a pinpoint backhand.

*Denotes upcoming server

1429 GMT: Sharapova 6-3 4-2 *Errani - Errani pulls a break back! The Italian follows up a scorching forehand return winner with a backhand sizzler down the line to take the game. She's hanging on in there.

*Denotes upcoming server

1424 GMT: Sharapova* 6-3 4-1 Errani - Sharapova breaks again after several deuces. Some solid serving from Errani, touching 145km an hour, but Sharapova's powerful groundstrokes are superior. The Russian hits the advancing Errani at the net to seal her second break in this set.

Interesting that both players are products of Nick Bollitieri's famous tennis academy in Florida -- but this is the first time they've played each other at a tournament.

*Denotes upcoming server

1416 GMT: Sharapova 6-3 3-1 Errani* - Three unforced errors from Sharapova earns Errani a break point but some great depth on a topspin forehand forces Errani's lob to go long. A great get from the Russian after a cute dropshot from the Italian followed by more booming baseliners and the Sharapova holds.

*Denotes upcoming server

1406 GMT: Sharapova* 6-3 2-1 Errani - Errani gets on the board in this second set by holding serve. Some great defence from the Italian in that game, with Sharapova stretching her on both flanks..

*Denotes upcoming server

1401 GMT: Sharapova 6-3 2-0 Errani* - Sharapova holds to stretch her lead.

More from AFP's Dave James in Paris - he tells me the courtside corporate boxes on Philippe Chatrier are full unlike yesterday when Rafael Nadal played large parts of his semi-final win over David Ferrer in front of empty seats.

"That was a 1pm (local time) start unlike today where the women came on for 3pm. 'Timing probably wasn't the best. 1pm is probably not the best timing,' said Nadal. Even the great Spaniard can't separate a Frenchman from his lunch..."

*Denotes upcoming server

1354 GMT: *Sharapova 6-3 1-0 Errani - Oh dear. The Russian breaks again to get her nose ahead straight away in the second set. Dark clouds looming over Court Philippe Chatrier and possibly over Errani's chances.

*Denotes upcoming server

1350 GMT: GAME AND FIRST SET SHARAPOVA

Sharapova 6 *Errani 3 - Some great gets from the Italian in that game but Sharapova fires a pair of clinical forehand winners to take the first set in 36 minutes.

*Denotes upcoming server

1345 GMT: *Sharapova 5 Errani 3 - Errani saves two set points, the first after Sharapova dumps a forehand in the net, the second with a fine winner after dragging the Russian out wide. She holds after Sharapova sends another wide after a long rally. Some dogged baseline consistency from the Italian.

*Denotes upcoming server

1341 GMT: Sharapova 5 *Errani 2 - Sharapova holds to love after some solid serving. The 25-year-old Russian followed a forehand winner with an ominously clean backhand down the line to go to 40-0.

*Denotes upcoming server

1336 GMT: *Sharapova 4 Errani 2 - Errani holds serve for the first time after a couple of lengthy rallies.The Italian is finally finding some rhythm with her groundstrokes.

Stat update: Sharapova has hit six winners to Errani's one so far.

*Denotes upcoming server

1331 GMT: Sharapova 4 *Errani 1 - That's more like it - the world number 24 is on finally on the board. Some sloppiness from Sharapova with a double-fault there and signs here Italian oppnent is finding her range with a sizzling forehand winner.

*Denotes upcoming server

1328 GMT: *Sharapova 4 Errani 0 - Sharapova breaks again with a scorching forehand -- she'll have this set wrapped up in a jiffy at this rate. Some signs of feistiness from the Italian in that game with some yelps but the Russian is in imposing form.

*Denotes upcoming server

1325 GMT: More from Dave James in Paris: "In the VIP box at Roland Garros, former champions Martina Navratilova and Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario.

"Navratilova was asked what she thought of Errani: 'It takes a lot of 'hootspa', so to speak, to think you can compete with players that are a foot taller than you are, but she's doing it,'" the Czech said.

1322 GMT: Sharapova 3 *Errani 0 - ...and the Russian second seed holds to stretch her lead to 3-0 after just eight minutes. The Italian is showing signs of early tension with some unforced errors on her groundstrokes.

*Denotes upcoming server

1318 GMT: *Sharapova 2 Errani 0 - Firrst blood to Sharapova who breaks Errani's serve to 30. She earned to break points, taking the second after Errani hits a nervous backhand long..

*Denotes upcoming server

1315 GMT: Sharapova 1 *Errani 0 - Sharapova serves first and holds to 15, wrapping up a routine game with an ace.

*Denotes upcoming server

1313 GMT: There is a 15,000 capacity crowd on court to see who can claim the Suzanne Lenglen trophy....

1309 GMT: Sharapova towers over Errani as the two line up in the sunshine for a photo by the net -- Sharapova is 6ft 2 to the Italian's 5ft 5 which has to give her a huge natural advantage on serve.

1302 GMT: The two player's walk out onto the red clay of Court Philippe Chatrier, Errani first in bright pink followed by Sharapova dressed all in black.

1245 GMT: Maria Sharapova is playing her first final at Roland Garros and the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open champion will reclaim the world number one spot on Monday even is she loses today.

Errani is competing in her first ever Grand Slam single's final, though the 25-year-old from Bolgna already has three claycourt tournaments to her name this year.

She beat 10th seed Angelique Kerber in her quarter-final in Paris before upsetting US Open champion Sam Stosur in her semi-final.

A win would make the 21st seed just the second Italian woman to win the French Open title after Francesca Schiavone two years ago.

1230 GMT: My colleague Dave James who is at Roland Garros for AFP tells me there is sunshine and a stiff breeze for this afternoon's final.

"Walking to Roland Garros from Porte d'Auteuil metro, you are greeted by usual small army of ticket touts, fliers for Cirque du Soleil and an offer to get 10 euros off my next piece of tennis gear..."

WELCOME TO AFP'S LIVE REPORT on the women's final of the French Open in Paris which sees second-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova face 21st seed Sara Errani of Italy. The match is due to start on Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros at 1300GMT -- stay with us for all the action as it unfolds.

The stakes could hardly be higher for Sharapova as she attempts to become only the tenth woman to complete a career Grand Slam.

Sharapova sealed her place in the final with a 6-3, 6-3 win over fourth seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, while world no. 24 Errani shocked Australian sixth seed Samantha Stosur 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 to claim her first ever Grand Slam final spot.

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Kate's Scrapbook: Babies and NICUs

I could be working on a class paper about debt...but first I'm going to write about one of my many, many cousins.
If you've checked the sidebar of links on this blog, you may have seen one for?Frank's Place, subtitled "Diary of Stay at Home Dad." That would be my cousin, Fran (I have a lot of cousins so for clarity's sake, he's a first cousin on my mother's side). Fran's youngest, Anne Marie, is currently in a NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) in Tennessee, having been born about three months early. Her twin sister, Linda, passed away only five hours after birth that day. Fran's family, along with other families, were recently featured in a video about the NICU, produced by the University of Tennessee Medical Center's fundraising office.?Here's a direct link?to the video (Fran's wife, Tracey, shows up at around the 2:40 mark). Fran has some behind-the-scenes info?here?on his blog.
It's been a long, hard road for Fran and his family. I've been praying that Anne Marie will continue to grow and thrive so she can go home as soon as possible (anecdotally, it seems that "two steps forward, three steps back" is a common theme for NICU and preemie babies). If you so desire, a donation to the University of Tennessee's medical center and NICU can be made?here?(from there, you can also specify if the gift is in memory or honor of a specific person).
Thus concludes a rare serious entry on Kate's Scrapbook.

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Dismal jobs report sends Dow into 275-point dive

Trader Gregory Rowe works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, June 1, 2012. Stocks fell sharply Friday after the release of a dismal report on job creation in the United States. Stocks fell sharply Friday after the release of a dismal report on job creation in the United States. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped more than 200 points, erasing what was left of its gain for the year. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Gregory Rowe works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, June 1, 2012. Stocks fell sharply Friday after the release of a dismal report on job creation in the United States. Stocks fell sharply Friday after the release of a dismal report on job creation in the United States. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped more than 200 points, erasing what was left of its gain for the year. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Michael Gagliano, left, work with traders at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, June 1, 2012. Stocks fell sharply Friday after the release of a dismal report on job creation in the United States. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, June 1, 2012. Stocks fell sharply Friday after the release of a dismal report on job creation in the United States. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped more than 200 points, erasing what was left of its gain for the year. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Donald Civitanova works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, June 1, 2012. Stocks fell sharply Friday after the release of a dismal report on job creation in the United States. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped more than 200 points, erasing what was left of its gain for the year. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Alarmed by an ominously weak U.S. jobs report, investors ran for safety Friday from new worries about a global slowdown, sending the Dow Jones industrial average to its biggest loss since November.

The nearly 275-point dive wiped out the last of the index's gains for the year.

Across Wall Street, fearful investors snapped up safer investments such as bonds, dragging the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note to a record low. Gold spiked $50 an ounce, and oil fell to its lowest since October.

"The big worry now is that this economic slowdown is widening and accelerating," said Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ, a market research firm.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index and Nasdaq composite index both fell more than 2 percent. The Nasdaq has dropped more than 10 percent since its peak ? what traders call a market correction. And the S&P 500 is just a point above correction territory.

American employers added just 69,000 jobs in May, the fewest in a year, and the unemployment rate increased to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent. Economists had forecast a gain of 158,000 jobs.

The report, considered the most important economic indicator each month, also said that hiring in March and April was considerably weaker than originally thought.

Earlier data showed weak economic conditions in Europe and Asia, too. Unemployment in the 17 countries that use the euro currency stayed at a record-high 11 percent in April, and unemployment spiked to almost 25 percent in Spain.

There were signs that growth in China, which helped sustain the global economy through the recession, is slowing significantly. China's manufacturing sector weakened in May, according to surveys released Friday.

The Dow closed down 274.88 points, or 2.2 percent, at 12,118.57. The Dow is off 0.8 percent for the year; two months ago, it was up more than 8 percent for the year.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 32.29 points, or 2.5 percent, to 1,278.04. The Nasdaq dropped 79.86, or 2.8 percent, to 2,747.48. Both indexes are still up for the year ? 1.6 percent for the S&P 500 and 5.5 percent for the Nasdaq.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note briefly fell to 1.44 percent, the lowest on record. It ended the day at 1.46 percent. Gold for August delivery climbed $57.90, nearly 4 percent, to $1,622.10 per ounce.

"Everybody's looking for a safe haven," said Adam Patti, CEO of IndexIQ, an asset management firm. He's skeptical of that strategy, believing the swing was driven by short-term traders "looking to flip in and out of things," rather than long-term investors willing to ride out a few bumps in the market.

May was the worst month for the stock market in two years by some measures. Investors' worries about Europe's debt crisis intensified as the month wore on. Greece's political future is uncertain, and it appears increasingly likely to stop using the euro currency. That could rattle financial markets and make Greece's economy ? already hobbled ? even weaker.

Friday's jobs report drew traders' attention back to the weakening U.S. economy, said Todd Salamone, director of research for Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati.

"The weaker jobs report translates into anticipation of slower growth ahead and weaker corporate earnings, and that ratchets stock prices lower," Salamone said.

The record-low yield on the 10-year Treasury note reflected rapid buying by traders with the biggest portfolios, including central banks, endowments and pension funds, said Ira Jersey, U.S. interest rate strategist at Credit Suisse. He said money managers were selling investments priced in euros and stashing their money in U.S. securities.

Several analysts raised the possibility that the weakening economy will prompt more action by governments and central banks seeking to juice global economic activity. Anticipation of some policy response prevented even deeper losses, Stovall said.

The Federal Reserve undertook programs in 2009 and 2010 to buy U.S. government bonds. Its goal was to lower interest rates and encourage people to buy riskier investments like stocks. At least in public, the central bank so far has resisted a third round of purchases, known as quantitative easing.

Anticipation of bond-buying by the Fed "might put in a little bit of a floor to the market, but the overall economic picture is still bad," said Bob Gelfond, CEO of MQS Asset Management, a New York hedge fund.

The dollar fell and gold rose partly because traders expect more intervention by the Federal Reserve, Gelfond said.

The euro rose half a penny against the dollar to above $1.24. A day earlier, fears about Europe's finances had pushed the euro to a nearly two-year low against the dollar.

Only 17 of the 500 companies in the S&P index were higher for the day.

Homebuilder stocks fell the most, despite a report that construction spending rose for a second month in April. PulteGroup fell 11.8 percent, D.R. Horton 8.4 percent and Lennar 8.3 percent.

Boeing, the biggest U.S. exporter, fell 3.4 percent, one of the steepest declines among the 30 companies that make up the Dow. Traders fear that the economic slowdown will hurt global demand for its airplanes and defense technologies.

A slower global economy would reduce demand for energy. The price of a barrel of oil fell $3.49 to $83.04, extending a monthlong slide. The price of oil is at a 16-month low.

Stocks closed way down in Europe. Greece's benchmark stock index fell 4.4 percent, Germany's 3.4 percent and France's 2.2 percent.

___

AP business writers Matthew Craft, Joseph Pisani and Christina Rexrode in New York contributed to this report.

___

Daniel Wagner can be reached at www.twitter.com/wagnerreports.

Associated Press

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