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Medicare, veterans to get downloadable health info

SAN LEANDRO, Calif.--The U.S. government is adding a new "blue button" to the Medicare and Veterans Affairs Web sites that will allow veterans and seniors on Medicare to download their health records onto their own computers. The program, though live already, is set to be formally unveiled by the White House tomorrow, CNET has learned.

For some time, the government has allowed both Medicare recipients and veterans to view their medical records or claims history, but is only now adding the download option, Health and Human Services department CTO Todd Park said in an interview today … Read more

Apple could alleviate iPhone 4 proximity sensor issues with iOS change

One of the major issues surrounding the iPhone 4 release this summer was the proximity sensor failing during phone calls, resulting in muting, conference calling, and other inadvertent touch input. Despite the promise of relief in the iOS 4.1 update, many users, including myself, are still having proximity sensor issues.

A forum thread on the Apple Support Discussions addresses a functionality of the sleep/wake button (the one on the top of the iPhone) that could help users experiencing proximity sensor problems, if Apple would adjust the code in iOS slightly.

Currently, the sleep/wake button, when pressed during … Read more

Report: Official Twitter share button on the way

Twitter will reportedly soon get its own external sharing tool that will help both users and publishers share content on the popular social publishing platform.

Based on internal company documents, blog Mashable on Wednesday unearthed details on the "Tweet Button" program, which centers on an embeddable sharing button. When put on third-party sites, it will allow users to share whatever content they're looking at, while it keeps track of how many times that particular URL has been retweeted by other Twitter users.

Sound familiar? If you look at the top of this post, you'll see that … Read more

The 404 622: Where it's nothing but a movie set (podcast)

Parents can rest a little easier knowing that kids can now hit a "panic button" on Facebook to protect them from online predators. The social network is allowing the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre to promote an ad for its ClickCEOP that will show up on pages of members between the ages of 13 and 18.

Once installed, the application will serve as an easy way kids can contact the authorities when they're faced with a potentially dangerous situation. Although this is admittedly not a "silver bullet" to make the Internet safer, … Read more

Facebook 'Like' button in real life

Each time you see a nice photo or interesting link on your friends' Facebook walls, you would probably click the "Like" button to give the person a virtual pat on the back. Wouldn't it be great to have such a button in real life?

That's exactly what the Facebook Like Button Stamp does. U.K.-based design studio Nation created the product, which is essentially a rubber stamp that lets you "Like" paper documents complete with the thumbs-up icon. It isn't in mass production, but the company seems to be assessing market interest … Read more

Facebook 'Like' button draws privacy scrutiny

When Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg recently announced a "Like" button that publishers could place on their Web pages, he predicted it would make the Web smarter and "more social."

What Zuckerberg didn't point out is that widespread use of the Like button allows Facebook to track people as they switch from CNN.com to Yelp.com to ESPN.com, all of which are sites that have said they will implement the feature.

Even if someone is not a Facebook user or is not logged in, Facebook's social plug-ins collect the address of the … Read more

Spruce up your Start button

To paraphrase a line from Wolverine, the Windows 7 Start Button Changer is the best there is at what it does. And what it does is very simple: it changes your Windows 7 Start button. A one-hit wonder that should appeal to the customizing fanatic, the lightweight program provides two buttons on its simple interface: it allows you to easily change your Start button, and it allows you to back up your current one.

Click the Select & Change button to open a file browser to choose your new Start button icon. If you're not sure where to get … Read more

Facebook rejects suggested 'Panic Button' for pages

commentary Facebook on Tuesday launched a so-called Safety Center as a worldwide resource for parents, teens, law enforcement, educators, and the general public, but it's taking safety a step further in the U.K.

In addition to the global safety page, Facebook has developed more resources specifically for members in the United Kingdom, where it has been under pressure from Britain's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) to include a clearly visible "panic button" on every page. Facebook has agreed to redesign its report abuse system for U.K. members but hasn't agreed to … Read more

How Apple plans to fix gaming on the iPad

Say what you will about the new iPad, but there's no denying it's a sleek and sexy device. Good looks aside, there is certainly some friction between the gaming community and Apple's new tablet.

Sure, the iPhone and iPod Touch have carved out a considerable niche in the casual gaming market, but, like we've said before, it's tough to consider the platform a legitimate gaming machine without buttons. The same can now be said about the iPad and its 10-inch screen.

We've had plenty of hands-on time with gaming on the iPhone, and though it's a relatively pleasurable experience with titles that just require tapping, the same cannot be said for games that were originally created for consoles with controllers. Sonic the Hedgehog is a perfect example of this shortcoming, as the game performed quite well with the major exception of having to use an onscreen virtual button configuration.

Of course the iPad will give developers more real estate to work with, but it's arguably even tougher to grasp the iPad like you would a normal handheld gaming device. The recent unveiling of a patent filing may give some more insight as to how Apple plans on addressing the awkwardness of touch-screen gaming. … Read more