obama

Obama to Internet: Hang out with me on Google+

Having worked for years to connect with voters on the Internet, President Obama will actually hang out with some in a Google+ video chat.

Later this month, Obama will meet with selected members of the public in a videoconference chat using the Google+ hangout feature on January 30, said Ramya Raghavan, YouTube's news and politics manager, in a blog post yesterday.

It won't be just anybody, though. People must submit questions at the White House's YouTube page, either in text or 20-second video form.

"Your YouTube questions will drive the interview, and several participants with top-voted … Read more

Payback: Did SOPA cost Obama Hollywood donors?

Depending on where you stand, President Obama either showed tremendous courage when he distanced himself from SOPA and PIPA--or a complete lack of it.

Last Saturday, the White House announced it would not support important provisions of the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act, the anti-piracy bills being debated in the House and Senate. The legislation would make it easier for the federal government to block access to overseas sites accused of piracy. Much of the tech sector opposes the bills.

Where Hollywood is concerned, though, the president's stand is nothing short of a betrayal. And … Read more

Obama CTO touts tech as path to success for disadvantaged youths

SAN FRANCISCO--President Obama knows that unemployment is rampant among disadvantaged teens, and he thinks that the tech industry can help.

Earlier this month, Obama unveiled what is being called Summer Jobs +, which is "a call to action for businesses, nonprofits, and government to work together to provide pathways to employment for low-income and disconnected youth for the summer of 2012." The goal was to get to a commitment level of 250,000 private-section job opportunities by June.

Today, the administration--along with some new private industry partners--doubled down on Summer Jobs +. At an event held today at the … Read more

Michelle Obama joins Twitter as 2012 election nears

First Lady Michelle Obama officially joined Twitter this morning, and after only four tweets, she has 185,000 followers and counting.

"Hi, everyone, and thanks for the warm welcome. Look forward to staying in touch with you here. -mo," she first tweeted.

As the 2012 election season heats up, it's all hands on deck for Team Obama. The president, who joined Twitter during his 2008 election campaign and has almost 12 million followers, welcomed his wife onto the social networking site. "It's not every day we get to welcome the First Lady of the United … Read more

President Obama joins Instagram

Keeping up with his reputation as the first "Internet President," Barack Obama got in on the popular photo-sharing app Instagram this week.

The account is run by Obama 2012 staff members, who encourage users to share photos from the campaign trail using the hashtag #Obama2012.

So far, the account has posted three photos and gained more than 24,000 followers. … Read more

New 'Firewall' song protests SOPA copyright bill (Q&A)

The songwriter behind the 2007 Internet hit "I Got a Crush on Obama" is now taking aim at the Stop Online Piracy Act.

Leah Kauffman, a Philadelphia-based singer and songwriter, has released "Firewall" to protest the Hollywood-backed copyright bill, which a House of Representatives committee had been scheduled to debate tomorrow. Earlier today, the committee debate was postponed until 2012.

In addition, Dan Bull, a U.K. singer, has released "SOPA Cabana," a none-too-flattering rap taking aim against SOPA. (SOPA can "ban" you--get it?)

Opposition from the two musicians is notable because … Read more

President Obama travels through time in Google Maps

I've seen some bizarre Street View images on Google Maps, but this time the satellite feature has leaked government secrets about Air Force One's flight arrangements: time travel.

Well either that, or Air Force One commercial airplanes can fly faster than the speed of light. This image from the unofficial Google Maps blog shows the official USAF aircraft emerging out of a crack in time. If I had to guess, I'd say around 99 percent of us don't have access to this technology.

Not sure what's going on in East Lake-Orient Park, Fla., that … Read more

The 404 958: Where we lied our way into this job (podcast)

Our guest today is Emily Dreyfuss from CNET's newest tech gossip podcast, Rumor Has It!

We're learning all kinds of stuff from Emily, like to how to defeat an oncoming shark attack, the best way to win a burger-eating competition, and the backstory behind the Carrier IQ keylogging controversy.

Leaked from 404 Podcast 958:

How Carrier IQ was wrongly accused of keylogging. Controversy, confusion over Carrier IQ. Congress lifts five-year ban on the sale of horse meat. Thanks Obama! Rumor: Apple TV sets will be mighty pricey.… Read more

FCC: Ready for reform yet?

commentary In a surprising and disturbing break with long-standing agency practice, the FCC on Tuesday released a draft report on the proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile prepared by its staff--days after the parties withdrew their application with the agency.

The move could fuel calls for serious reform of the agency's increasingly free-wheeling behavior.

The two companies withdrew their application on Thanksgiving, following word that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski planned to ask the other commissioners to refer the merger to an administrative judge for a hearing.

That step, agency officials made clear, signaled the chairman's belief … Read more