Is the Christmas card dead?

Author Nina Burleigh says the holiday photo is dead — and the internet killed itEvery year around the holidays, countless Americans sit down at their dining room tables to thoughtfully scribble pen-and-paper updates about how they are and what they've been doing with their lives to a select number of friends. These messages are usually written on the back of a recent family photograph (sometimes with...

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Massive PC, Console Game Discounts Ring in Holiday Season

Black Friday, the day right after Thanksgiving, is normally the day associated with electronics sales. And while the proponents of "Cyber Monday" and "Small Business Saturday" have tried to get in on the action, it's still common knowledge that Thanksgiving weekend is the best time to upgrade your PC or console game arsenal. Right?Not according to online game retailers. Discounts of up to 80 percent...

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Red Hat shares up on acquisition and 3Q results

Red Hat Inc.'s shares jumped Friday on the software company's solid third-quarter results and plans to acquire cloud-based software company ManageIQ.THE SPARK: Red Hat said late Thursday that it would buy privately held ManageIQ for $104 million in cash.The Raleigh, N.C., company also reported that it earned 29 cents per share for its fiscal third quarter on an adjusted basis, up a penny from the...

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Dozens of Android Games, Apps Discounted for Google Holiday Sale

The Google Play store -- that's the name of the Android "app store," or the "Android Market" for those of you new to the change -- is featuring dozens of game and app sales for Android smartphones and tablets. Well, actually, it's not; you can see some of the discounted apps on the front page, but there's no special section of the website or on-device market that says where the ones on sale are, or...

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El MIDI, la tecnología que le abrió la puerta a la música digital, cumple 30 años

Un pequeño teclado y un ordenador portátil: hasta que apareció la tecnología MIDI, hace 30 años, nadie imaginaba que sólo con ese equipo se podría dar un concierto. Dicen los entendidos que para apreciar realmente el tema Shine on you crazy diamond , de Pink Floyd, es mejor escucharlo en vinilo.Las emisiones de los sintetizadores estallan a través del crepitar de la púa sobre el disco, mientras la...

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Constitution Check: Is the Supreme Court partly to blame for Newtown?

Lyle Denniston looks at how the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Second Amendment leaves legislators entirely free to write new regulations against gun possession in sensitive public places.The statements at issue:“The gun lobby, timid politicians and the Supreme Court continue to aid and abet rampant gun violence that is nothing less than domestic terrorism, carried out with weapons of mass...

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Report: GOP to try own tax hike as cliff talks stall again

Just hours after there was a reported breakthrough in fiscal cliff negotiations, there were signs on Tuesday that the GOP will move forward with a proposed tax hike, without involving the Democrats.Politico and The Hill said House Speaker John Boehner was preparing a bill that called for a tax hike on households making more than $1 million a year. If the proposal is similar to other ideas floated...

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Why gun control, fiscal cliff issues are on collision course

Congress now faces two critical issues with an early January deadline, gun violence and the fiscal cliff, which could lead to an extraordinary session to start off the New Year.Joint_Session_of_CongressAn intersection of the two hot-button issues is the prospect of deep cuts to the nation’s mental health system. But also on the radar is the distinct possibility that fiscal cliff and gun control debates...

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Constitution Check: Who has the power to fill the president’s cabinet seats?

Lyle Denniston looks at the controversy over two Cabinet nominations by President Barack Obama, and how it further erodes the constitutional respectability of the nomination and confirmation process.The statement at issue:“With Chuck Hagel, a former senator from Nebraska, emerging as a front-runner to be President Obama’s next secretary of defense, critics are taking aim at his record on Israel as...

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The daily gossip: Ben Affleck is open to running for Senate, and more

5 top pieces of celebrity gossip — from Claire Danes' newborn baby to Psy's pricy new Los Angeles condo1. Ben Affleck is open to running for SenateIn recent months, Ben Affleck has been in the news as much for his political activism as for his filmmaking — but would he ever give up the gridlock and constant scrutiny of Hollywood filmmaking for the gridlock and constant scrutiny of Congressional politics?...

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