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While technology like smartphones, iPads and the Internet are usually considered to be a distraction from finals studying, there are also ways to use them to your advantage while you’re trying to cram for exams. Whether you’re calculating the grades you need to pass or trying to memorize facts, as always, there’s an app for that. SelfControl for Mac This OS X application will block access to certain websites, but still allow you to get to the rest of the Web. For example, you can set the app to block your Facebook, email, Twitter and any other distractions for a certain length of time, such as 30 minutes or three hours. The best — and worst — part: Once you start the timer, there’s no stopping it. Even if you delete the program or turn off your computer, you can’t get to those sites until the time runs out. There’s no turning back! Flash Card Apps Flash cards are a key study tool, but carrying them everywhere can be a hassle. Fortunately, there are apps for Mac, iPhone, Android and ...

While technology like smartphones, iPads and the Internet are usually considered to be a distraction from finals studying, there are also ways to use them to your advantage while you’re trying to cram for exams. Whether you’re calculating the grades you need to pass or trying to memorize facts, as always, there’s an app for that. SelfControl for Mac This OS X application will block access to certain websites, but still allow you to get to the rest of the Web. For example, you can set the app to block your Facebook, email, Twitter and any other distractions for a certain length of time, such as 30 minutes or three hours. The best — and worst — part: Once you start the timer, there’s no stopping it. Even if you delete the program or turn off your computer, you can’t get to those sites until the time runs out. There’s no turning back! Flash Card Apps Flash cards are a key study tool, but carrying them everywhere can be a hassle. Fortunately, there are apps for Mac, iPhone, Android and iP...

A congressional committee tasked with reducing the deficit by $1.2tn (£762bn) has failed to come to an agreement. The panel of six Republicans and six Democrats confirmed after the New York Stock Exchange closed that its work had ended without a deal. The outcome means automatic cuts outlined in the bill that created the committee should take effect from 2013. The US national debt has just risen above $15tn. The panel was set up in August, the result of a last-minute deal between the two sides in Congress to raise the debt ceiling and avert a default on US debt payments. Blame game "After months of hard work and intense deliberations, we have come to the conclusion today that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement available to the public before the committee's deadline," Democratic Senator Patty Murray and Republican Representative Jeb Hensarling said in Monday's joint statement . "We remain hopeful that Congress can build on this committ...

Foes of a controversial copyright measure have gained some high-profile allies: Google, Facebook, Twitter, Zynga, and other Web companies have joined the ranks of the bill's opponents. They sent a letter (PDF) last night to key members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, saying the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, "pose[s] a serious risk to our industry's continued track record of innovation and job creation, as well as to our nation's cybersecurity." The protest was designed to raise objections in advance of a hearing before the full House Judiciary committee tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET (7 a.m. PT). The letter, also signed by eBay, Mozilla, Yahoo, AOL, and LinkedIn, asks politicians to "consider more targeted ways to combat foreign 'rogue' Web sites." SOPA, which was introduced last month in the House to the applause of lobbyists for Hollywood and other large content holders, is designed to make allegedly copyright-infringing Web sit...

They called him Sweetness, but Chicago Bears great Walter Payton had a dark side, according to a biography to be released Oct. 4. An excerpt of "Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton," by Jeff Pearlman will appear in the Oct. 3 issue of Sports Illustrated and describes the Hall of Famer as suicidal, abusing pain medication and dealing with a crumbling family situation. Payton, who retired as the then-all-time leading rusher in NFL history after the 1987 season, was depressed and suicidal in the mid-1990s. Pearlman cites a letter to a friend in which Payton said he imagined himself killing those around him and then turning a gun on himself. "Walter would call me all the time saying he was about to kill himself, he was tired," Payton's longtime agent Bud Holmes said, according to SI.com. "He was angry. Nobody loved him. He wanted to be dead." Payton's executive assistant, Ginny Quirk, echoed those sentiments. "He would call and ...