Wikipedia ‘a good source for political info’

Wikipedia has become a reliable source for political information, according to a new study.

Brigham Young University political scientist, who fact-checked biographical information and voting statistics, said his study validates Wikipedia as a reliable place to get a political education.

Focusing on Wikipedia entries on past and present candidates for governor across 50 states in the US, Brown confirmed biographical information on the candidates and their election statistics and found very few inaccuracies, a BYU release said Thursday.

He focused on past and present candidates for governor across 50 states in the US and found very few inaccuracies.

“My finding is optimistic for the health of our country. It doesn’t have to be hard to learn about the political process, or your political candidates,” said Brown.

He studied 230 Wikipedia articles about 246 major-party candidates who ran for governor between 1998 and 2008 and found that all of the verifiable biographical information in those articles was completely accurate.

RIM's PlayBook email-less; gets tough reviews

RIM's PlayBook tablet bombed with influential technology reviewers who called the iPad competitor a rushed job that won't even provide RIM's vaunted email service unless it's hooked up to a BlackBerry.

The poor initial response to a device the company hopes will get it onboard the tablet computing explosion overshadowed a splashy coming-out party in New York Thursday evening, where co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis drummed up the gadget's attractiveness with corporate users.

There was little mention of the stinging reviews only hours before.

" RIM has just shipped a BlackBerry product that cannot do email. It must be skating season in hell," New York Times' David Pogue wrote in a review published on Thursday.

Research In Motion built its reputation on a BlackBerry email service that it says is so secure that it can't bow to government requests to tap messages, winning high-profile customers in business, defense and politics before branching out to a wider consumer market.

But the PlayBook, which hits North American store shelves on Tuesday, offers that secure service only in tandem with a BlackBerry. RIM says secure email and other key services will come later, not at launch.

BlackBerry PlayBook tablet called 'half baked' product

The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet has received mixed reviews before its launch April 19.

The New York Times calls the PlayBook a "half baked'' product, adding that "it seems almost silly to try to assess it, let alone buy it.''

The BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) has touted the 7-inch PlayBook as a rival to Apple's 10-inch iPad 2 . Its initial only-Wi-Fi version comes in three models, featuring 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of storage at $499, $599 and $699 respectively.

Though reviewers have praised its all-new QNX operating system, Flash-capable web browser (which Apple doesn't offer) and smart interface, the tablet has not found much favour because of lack of apps as compared to the iPad 2.

Further, the PlayBook is only Wi-Fi and it cannot connect to mobile networks, unlike the rival tablets from Apple, Motorola and Samsung.

As a result, important apps like email, contacts and BlackBerry Messenger will be available only when the tablet is linked with your BlackBerry smart phone through BlackBerry Bridge. So if you are not a BlackBerry user, forget about using email or other important apps on the tablet.