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Our favorite free apps for Election Day 2012

Weathered by debates and endless political advertisements? We're in the home stretch of the 2012 U.S. election season now. Whether you've already voted or are still mulling politicians and propositions, there are plenty of apps to tap for an up-to-the minute perspective on the various battles.

Scan our brief list of mobile apps that can help you vote and stay in tune with the rapid-fire developments sure to occur tomorrow. Got a favorite app you're leaning on for election information? Let us know in the comments section. … Read more

Facebook pushes you to vote

Monday's CNET Update has the power:

The CNET New York office has reopened, and it's great to be back to give you today's tech news roundup:

- Apple sold 3 million iPads in the three days since new models went on sale. That number includes the sales of two models: the iPad Mini fourth-generation iPad. But the bulk of the sales are estimated to be for the smaller tablet.

- Tuesday is election day in the U.S., so prepare to be bombarded with voting reminders and peer pressure on social media. Facebook is making a big push … Read more

Facebook readies Election Day bits blitz

Facebook engineers are putting the final touches on an all-out election day blitz of products and features all U.S. members of voting age will see tomorrow.

Just as it did for the presidential election in 2008 and the midterm elections in 2010, the social network will remind users that it's election day with a message that appears on top of their news feeds. Then, when you click that you voted, that message will appear for your Facebook friends to see. This time around, however, Facebook will also blast out the message to users across all mobile devices, which … Read more

The 404 1,153: Where we're not yelling (podcast)

Enter our week-long Threadless contest for a chance to win one of three Threadless T-shirts -- one lucky winner will receive a $30 gift certificate to the Threadless Web Store. Just follow us on Twitter and @reply us a photo of your favorite T-shirt along with the hash tag #404Threadless. We'll select the winners next Monday. Good luck!… Read more

eBay copies Pinterest in redesign

Wednesday's CNET Update is bent out of shape:

eBay is changing with the times, and these are Pinteresting times. In today's tech news roundup, we look at the the new eBay. The online auctioneer has a redesigned homepage features large images of products in a "feed." Much like Pinterest, there's plenty to scroll through that can catch your eye and suck you into a black hole of browsing. The new look is rolling out over the next 100 days, but you can activate it now by going to ebay.com/feed. Search results and profiles … Read more

Wal-Mart aims to one-up Amazon with same-day delivery

Wal-Mart is testing a same-day delivery service in a bid to outmaneuver Amazon in the increasingly cutthroat retail world.

The Bentonville, Ark., retail giant has been tested the service in Northern Virginia, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis. It will next expand to San Francisco and San Jose, Calif.

The service, called Wal-Mart To Go, is a trial run for the holidays that lets customers order specific items and gifts, which can then be sent to their homes or offices that same day. Orders have to be made by noon, and there is a charge of $10 with no minimum order requirement.

"… Read more

Should Columbus Day be changed to 'Exploration Day'?

Columbus Day has attracted its share of detractors in recent years among indigenous peoples' groups and others. That's not to mention the widening recognition that Christopher Columbus ended up in the Americas through some remarkably bad navigational skills and then set about conquering its people through slavery, disease, and other little bits of nastiness.

Suburban St. Louis business owner Karl Frank Jr. has always had similar sentiments. While taking in media reports on the death of Neil Armstrong that compared the shy moonwalker to Columbus, Frank says a light bulb went off. He contacted a few nerdy friends and soon a petition was drafted to re-dedicate Columbus Day as "Exploration Day." … Read more

New Java flaw could hit 1 billion users

It's just a proof of concept for now, but a newly revealed Java vulnerability could have very widespread repercussions.

Security research company Security Explorations has issued a description of a new critical security flaw in Java SE 5 build 1.5.0_22-b03, Java SE 6 build 1.6.0_35-b10, and the latest Java SE 7 build 1.7.0_07-b10. This error is caused by a discrepancy with how the Java virtual machine handles defined data types (a type-safety error) and in doing so violates a fundamental security constraint in the Java runtime, allowing a complete bypass of the Java … Read more

iPhone 5 launch-day mania

Friday's CNET Update visits the iPhone fanboys and fangirls:

Six years after the first iPhone, people are still excited and lining up at stores around the globe. The iPhone 5 launched in nine countries Friday morning, and Australia was the first to sell it. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was seventh in line at a store in Australia just to say he was one of the first in the world to get one. (That put him 17 hours ahead of customers in California.)

For today's show I interviewed the loyal Apple fans waiting at the iconic 5th Ave. Apple … Read more

Apple union's 'Day of Solidarity' to protest working conditions

Apple stores selling the iPhone 5 today may see more than just customers outside their doors.

The Apple Workers Union wants store staffers to protest in front of Apple stores today to show solidarity for employees in France and at China's Foxconn plant. The union's "Day of Solidarity" is aimed at stores in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, France, Germany, China, and Japan -- the same countries offering the iPhone 5 starting today.

Calling on workers to "demand a better Apple," the union is backing Apple Store employees in France who … Read more

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