Friday, October 26, 2012

CACI Awarded $20 M to Continue RBS Support for Naval Supply ...


  • Sustains History of Helping U.S. Navy Stay Supplied and Ready

CACI International Inc (NYSE:CACI) announced today that it has been awarded a prime contract to continue providing Readiness Based Sparing (RBS) solutions for the Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP). With an anticipated ceiling value of $20 million, this three-year (one base plus two options) indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract expands CACI's business in logistics and material readiness solutions.

The NAVSUP mission is to deliver sustained global logistics capabilities to the Navy and joint forces. Using RBS solutions, the Navy keeps key equipment and systems mission ready through enhanced inventory management.

The CACI team has been a leader in developing and implementing innovative RBS tools and techniques for more than 25 years. CACI helped the Navy move from traditional demand-based inventory solutions to a comprehensive decision support system that leverages cost, reliability, maintainability, and response time for continuously improving inventory management. CACI's RBS solutions are powerful enough to be used to evaluate the results of conventional logistics information systems, and flexible enough to interface with legacy supply/logistics systems. The result has enabled the Navy to reduce costs while achieving specific goals for maintaining critical supplies and equipment.

John Mengucci, CACI Chief Operating Officer and President of U.S. Operations, said, "This latest Readiness Based Sparing award continues a partnership with the Naval Supply Systems Command that will take us to 30 years of continuous RBS support upon contract completion. We believe this is great confirmation that our operational excellence and solid customer relationships make us a provider of choice."

According to CACI President and Chief Executive Officer Dan Allen, "CACI has pioneered solutions that constantly evolve to help keep our Armed Forces informed, equipped, and mission ready. Our focus on these enduring requirements, coupled with our agility in responding to emerging customer needs, enables us to sustain CACI's growth in a large addressable market and offer innovative solutions and trusted services for our nation's most important missions."

Source : CACI International Inc.

Published on ASDNews: Oct 25, 2012
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Source: http://www.asdnews.com/news-45777/CACI_Awarded_$20_M_to_Continue_RBS_Support_for_Naval_Supply_Systems_Command.htm

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Obama lobbies casino workers in late-night pitch

LAS VEGAS (AP) ? President Barack Obama has wrapped up a long day of campaigning with a brief speech to hotel workers at the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas.

Obama told workers gathered in the employee cafeteria that they "represent the dignity of work" and the American dream. He asked them to vote and shook hands with some of them.

Buzz had built before Obama arrived, and Obama conceded that "the word got out." He never ventured to the casino floor or other parts of the hotel.

The next stop on Obama's two-day campaign marathon is Tampa, Fla. He planned to sleep on Air Force One during the red-eye cross-country flight.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-10-25-Obama-Vegas/id-851903b069ca440386a11a0c61743627

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Thursday, October 25, 2012

Audit: US oversight of charter school funds lax

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? An audit of the U.S. Department of Education's division overseeing hundreds of millions of dollars in charter school funding has criticized the office for failing to properly monitor how states spend the money.

The report released in late September by the department's Office of the Inspector General also singled out state education departments in California, Florida and Arizona for lax monitoring of what charter schools do with the funds and whether their expenditures comply with federal regulations.

The education department's Office of Innovation and Improvement spent $940 million from 2008 to 2011 on charter schools, which are autonomously operated public schools. Most of the money is funneled through state education departments, although some is given directly to charter schools.

The funds are administered through competitive grants aimed at helping launch new charters and replicate successful charter models.

The inspector general said the innovation office has not given proper guidance to states on monitoring the use of the money and does not have policies to ensure that states corrected deficiencies when they were found.

Additionally, the audit, which was conducted by San Francisco-based education research company WestEd, found that the office did not review expenditures to ensure they met with federal disbursement requirements.

The office has agreed to beef up its procedures to track federal funds and ensure states are adequately overseeing charter schools, the report said.

WestEd also examined state charter oversight policies in California, Arizona and Florida, which collectively received $275 million in federal funds for charter schools from 2008 to 2011.

Among the findings:

In California, which has received nearly $182 million in federal charter grants from 2008 to 2011, auditors found "significant weaknesses" in charter oversight, such as school reviewers being unqualified to conduct on-site school visits. One reviewer felt "awkward" conducting site visits because of a lack of knowledge and experience, the report said.

California Department of Education spokeswoman Tina Jung said officials in Sacramento had just received the report and were reviewing it, but she acknowledged that the department had been aware of oversight deficiencies.

"Even before this review, we recognized the need to build our monitoring capacity, and that effort has already begun," she said.

In Florida, state officials had no records of which schools received federal grant money nor which schools received on-site monitoring and audits. Florida received $67.6 million.

Florida Education Department spokeswoman Cheryl Etters said the agency disagreed with the findings. She said in an email that the state has "an excellent grant management and records system to ensure that the state's charter schools comply with all aspects of the grant requirements," but the documentation was not in a format the inspector general would have liked.

"To enhance our current capabilities with regard to oversight of federal funds, Florida has created a new web-based system to more closely monitor charter school grant expenditures," Etters said.

In Arizona, which received about $26 million, reviewers lacked a monitoring checklist and thus collected inconsistent data when they visited schools.

___

Contact the reporter at http://twitter.com/ChristinaHoag .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/audit-us-oversight-charter-school-funds-lax-191134813.html

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Saturday, October 20, 2012

Heidi Montag wouldn't repeat extreme surgeries

John M. Heller / Getty Images file

Heidi Montag in May 2011.

By Jesse Spero, Access Hollywood

Heidi Montag?s life has taken a drastic turn over the years. After skyrocketing to fame on ?The Hills? and making headlines for undergoing 10 plastic surgery procedures in one day in 2010, the former reality star is happy to be living her life out of the spotlight.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: From On-Set Romance To Real-Life Love: Hollywood?s Hottest Co-Star Couples!

The 26-year-old stopped by "Access Hollywood Live" on Thursday, where she dished about her now infamous choice to go under the knife and come back up with a whole new look. But does Heidi regret the cosmetic work she had done?

?I would never do it again and I never recommend it for anyone,? Heidi told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Stars Who Have Gone Under The Knife

?I was definitely way in over my head. I?m glad it worked out and you can?t really reverse time,? she said of her decision to undergo numerous procedures. ?I kind of wanted a few enhancements and then it kind of got out of hand. I wasn?t told really the repercussions and what would happen, emotionally and psychically and the pain I would be in. I was kind of in shock.?

Heidi told Billy and Kit that she has not gone under the knife since and doesn?t think she?ll have more plastic surgery in the future.

?I haven?t done anything. I?m not sure if I would have done anything again,? she explained. ?I just focus now on being healthy, alive and strong. If you?re not beautiful inside it really doesn?t matter what you look like outside, and I think I kind of lost track of that.?

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Heidi Montag & Spencer Pratt

Adding, ?I should have just been reflecting on my heart.?

Heidi also opened up about husband and reality TV partner in crime, Spencer Pratt, who was not happy about her choice to have the surgeries.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: They Dated? Surprising Former Couples!

?He was very against it. That was a big issue in our marriage,? she told Billy and Kit. ?[But,] we?re good, we?ve been married for four years and we?ve been together for six?-- in Hollywood that?s ancient! Until death do us part I would say. I honestly love him more and more every day, I laugh more, we enjoy each other more, especially taking a step out of the spotlight. We?ve really been able to enjoy each other without all the chaos.?

Heidi, who is hosting the third anniversary party at Crazy Horse III in Las Vegas on Friday, does have one regret about not being in the spotlight.

?I only miss the money,? she admitted. ?If we would have saved our money, it would have been better.?

She said that expenses like ?clothes, hair and makeup, managers, publicists, agents and lawyers? took a toll on their bank accounts.

But how much does Heidi estimate that she and Spencer lost over the years?

?I?ve never really counted, so I?m not sure [how much we lost], a lot ... over a million or so,? she estimated.
The former reality star said she now lives in a property owned by Spencer?s family, which has helped the pair save money.

?I?m eating and healthy ... a lot of our expenses are minimized,? she told Billy and Kit, explaining that Spencer could have a new career in his future, possibly in politics. ?It?s his last semester at USC for a political science degree ...?I?m not sure if he wants to go into politics, but I think he?s interested in certain areas. He?s more of a behind the scenes kind of guy these days.?

Looking back, Heidi said she and Spencer lost their way during their rise to fame and after having ?a self-awakening? moment, they are back to their former selves.

?I?ve really just taken these years since ?The Hills? and kind of been on my own journey? we both just kind of stepped back and have been able to reflect on who we?ve been, where we want to go and who want to be and what we want in our lives and it wasn?t the path we were going down. So we just kind of changed back to who we originally were,? she told Billy and Kit. ?We?re very grounded and humbled and money and fame and the fast life, you don?t really know how you?re going to react to it. I certainly never thought I would become the person that I was.?

Adding, ?It was quite the whirlwind and I?m happy to be out of it.?

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/10/18/14541143-heidi-montag-on-her-extreme-plastic-surgery-i-would-never-do-it-again?lite

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Thursday, October 18, 2012

The Art of Love: Relationships Are Matters of the Heart | Trinity UMC

Do you like country music?

Are you a country music fan?? Back in the 90s when grunge ruled the rock and roll radio stations, I too, was a country fan.? Mary Chapin Carpenter was one of my favorites along with Colin Raye and Allison Krauss.? What have been some of your favorite country songs? ? ?There is the old joke about country music.? If you play a country song backwards, ?you get your truck back, your dog back, your job back, and your wife back. We laugh, but years ago, Chicago Lutheran pastor Bruce Cole used to be a DJ on a country and western station. His call-in show greeted every caller with these words: Are You Crying, Laughing, Loving or Leaving? Is it any wonder country and western music has become our nation?s #1 music with songs like Here?s A Quarter?Call Someone Who Cares?

What makes country music so popular with such a broad cross section of people?? One of the reasons that country music is so popular, is that it deals with real issues.? We all have difficulties in our relationships.? We have all had our hearts broken by someone we love.? We have all been disappointed.? We have all been happy as a NASCAR fan on race day.? We all have times when we feel lower than low.? Country music captures all those emotions, the good ones and the bad ones.? I have also noticed that often, country music has a cynical bent to it. Country music is infamous for the songs they have about substance abuse, rain, cheating, and death.?Who else sings about stuff like this?? I remember Barbra Mandrel?s song, ?Sleeping Single in a Double Bed.?? And today we have Carrie Underwood reminding men why they should remain faithful with her song, ?Before He Cheats.?

That?s why we like country music.? We have a touch of cynical in us.? Is that how we are created to be though?? In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul encouraged the church to think on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, and praiseworthy (see Philippians 4:8). But our cynical culture makes it hard to focus on these things, doesn?t it? All we have to do is open our email or our Facebook page or watch TV to see tons of cynical and sometimes just negative and hateful things.? That is one reason it has been so nice this week thinking about the positive things in life.? Last week we named things that we love about this church.? This week, I invited you to think about people who have made an impact on your spiritual life.? We got to write about people that we love and why they matter to us.? This week we got to do the opposite of the culture.? We can focus on those that we love and the impact they have made in a positive way in our lives.? There are two short scripture verses that go perfectly along with loving and appreciating those people in our lives. From the great Shema of the Torah in Deuteronomy to the teaching of Jesus found in John 13, this focus on loving relationship is at the root of the scriptural values of our faith.

Deuteronomy 6:4-6. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. (NRSV)

John 13:34-35. ?I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.? (CEB)

In the Christian faith, we pay attention to the teaching of the Shema in the context of the teaching of Jesus. One of the ways we express our love for God is through our love for one another. This is a clear expectation of our faith. Do you find this difficult sometimes?? Loving other people isn?t always easy.? Sometimes people we love do things that drive us absolutely crazy. ?They push our buttons.? They know just how to hurt us.? What are some obstacles you have seen or experienced to a healthy or loving relationship?

The Bible tells us much about love and relationships.? Our two scripture lessons for this morning are a good reminder of what a loving relationship is supposed to be like.? Love God with all your heart, soul, and strength.? And then love one another.? In fact Jesus says that people should know we are Christians by the way we love one another.? Let?s look for a moment at these scriptures and figure out how they can apply to us this morning in Red Springs in 2012.

The Jews say that the Ten Commandments and the Shema should be taught to children from their earliest days and fixed on the door of every house.? You can tell a Jewish person, at least one who practices Judaism, when they have a mezuzah on their doorpost.? [Pass one around.]? Orthodox Jewish men wear the phylacteries or small leather pouches with the scripture written on small scrolls on their foreheads.? That would certainly be a way to always remember God?s word and how to act in the world.? That is certainly a way to remember to put our words of scripture into action.

In fact, faithful Jews recite this exact passage from Deuteronomy every day.? Yes, every day, multiple times a day and at the very least first thing in the morning and last thing at night.? Israel is told to HEAR and then to LOVE God.? This is a defining relationship for Jews and for us as Christians.? God delivered us from slavery.? God loves us before we even know God.? God saved us from ourselves.? As a result, we are to love God and love our neighbor.? This isn?t the feeling love that my family has for frozen yogurt.? It isn?t the love we feel for our first boyfriend or girlfriend.? It isn?t the love we have for our favorite ball team.? This love is total commitment.? It?s like that quote from Talladega Nights:? The Legend of Ricky Bobby.? ?If you?re not first, you?re last.?? If God isn?t first, then you?re last.? If you don?t love God and God only, then you aren?t following God?s commands properly.? If money is more important than God, if our relationships are more important than God, if our job is more important than God, then it is time to consider what is getting between us and God.? God has been loyal to us, so therefore, we must be loyal to God with our whole person. In the original Hebrew, we are to love God with our me?od or ?muchness? with our whole heart, mind, and soul.?? That is why Jewish people say this prayer every morning and every evening and have these words written and stuck on the doorpost of their houses.? A Jewish writer explains it this way, ?Thus the Shema is the last greeting and admonition to those who leave the house; may their lives be guided by its ideals. The Shema is man?s first welcome home; may he place his home, and his thoughts and actions within it, under the instruction of God?s Torah.?? We are invited to love God with all we?ve got.

We have all probably had people in our lives that have been reminders of God?s presence or pointed us closer to God?s presence.? We have had people in our lives that help us love God with all we?ve got.? Who has been that person for you and why?? Who has made an impact on your spiritual journey?? [Input]

These people have helped us love God and love our neighbor.? That is what Jesus is talking about in our Gospel scripture.? When Jesus speaks these words, he had just washed his Disciple?s feet.? What an eye opening experience that must have been for the Disciples.? Their leader stooped as low as a servant and touched their dirty, stinky, nasty feet.? Then this servant leader commands them to love one another.? No wonder it is written down for us to read today.

This instruction to love echoes the words of the schema and Torah.? What is new in what he says is that the command to love comes from the life of Jesus.? Jesus? followers are asked to enter into the love the God and Jesus share.? That radical love is what will set them apart and make others notice them.? Keeping this commandment will be a mark of discipleship because it is an outward and visible sign of the Disciples? love for Jesus.? Love is a reciprocal thing.? Jesus loves the Disciples and the Disciples love him back.? Jesus loves us and we love him back.? Jesus showed just how much he loved us by sacrificing himself for our sins.? What can we do in response??? We cannot hang on a cross.? We cannot usually lay our life down for a friend.? However, we can love one another.? If we had to leap tall buildings in a single bound, it might be easier some times.? To be the Church in the world, we have to love one another like God loves us.? We have to live lives full of extravagant generosity.

I read this snippet in a book this week that talks about how we live into the extravagant generosity of loving one another.? ?Every sanctuary and chapel in which we have worshiped, every church organ that has lifted our spirits, every pew where we have sat, every Communion rail where we have knelt, every hymnal from which we have sung, every praise band that has touched our hearts, every church classroom where we have gathered with our friends, every church kitchen that has prepared our meals, every church van that has taken us to camp, every church camp cabin where we have slept?they are all are the fruit of someone?s Extravagant Generosity.

We have been the recipients of grace upon grace. We are the heirs, the beneficiaries of those who came before us who were touched by the generosity of Christ enough to give graciously so that we could experience the truth of Christ for ourselves. We owe the same to generations to come. We have worshiped in sanctuaries that we did not build, so to us falls the privilege of building sanctuaries where we shall never worship.? (pp. 41?42).? How we treat this space matters.? How we bring others along in the faith matters.? How often we bring our children to church and to Sunday school matters.? Who we impact for Christ matters.

Studies show that the most people can name between five and eight people who?ve made an impact on their lives ? people who came into their lives at different times and influenced them in profound ways.? Mentoring isn?t just a one-on-one relationship.? We create webs of mentors across our lifetimes and bring others we mentor into the web or relationships.

We need to have relationships like these in our church and provide opportunities for people of all ages to interact and form teaching and mentoring relationships.?This week we celebrated people we love in the church. We have named the people who have made a spiritual impact on our lives. How can we express our appreciation of these gifts of grace this week? How can we pass that grace onto someone else?? How can we let these people know that what they did mattered to us?? And if that person is already in heaven, let?s think about who we could impact in a similar way.? Who could you mentor?? Find a way this week to say I love you to your family members as well. ??This church does not have to live like a country song.? We don?t have to focus on the negative and we don?t have to have a trail of broken relationships in our lives.? We have a relationship with Jesus Christ, so we base all our other relationships on that relationship of love and extravagant generosity.

Next time we get together, we will explore what we would most like to see happen in our church in the coming year. I invite you to consider what your greatest hope and best vision for God work through this congregation could be.? Where is God calling us to be living into this extravagant love He has for us?

Source: http://trinityredsprings.org/2012/10/18/the-art-of-love-relationships-are-matters-of-the-heart/

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Round two over, Obama and Romney back to campaign trail

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fresh off a feisty debate that re-energized Barack Obama's bid for a second term, the Democratic president and Republican rival Mitt Romney headed back on the campaign trail on Wednesday to start their final appeals to undecided voters.

With 20 days to go until the November 6 election, the candidates' vice presidential running mates blanketed the morning television talk shows to claim victory in the second U.S. presidential debate on Tuesday evening.

Romney's partner, U.S. Representative Paul Ryan, said Obama failed to lay out a convincing plan for economic recovery.

"The president ... couldn't justify his record on deficits and job creation. And what Mitt Romney offered was a very specific plan on how to get the country growing and creating jobs again," Ryan said on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Vice President Joe Biden, whose aggressive strategy in his own debate with Ryan last week set the tone for Tuesday's Obama-Romney matchup, said the president "had a great debate."

Romney, however, remained woefully short on details, especially about his pledge to lower taxes for the middle class while not adding to the federal budget deficit, he said.

"Even after three debates ... there is still not a single specific in the Romney $5 trillion tax plan. Everything is sketchy," Biden said on NBC's "Today" show. "There's no direct answers to any questions, and I think it's becoming clearer and clearer to the American people that there's a fair amount of rhetoric but not much substance."

Obama made up for a much-criticized listless showing in the first presidential debate two weeks ago, attacking his millionaire opponent over economic proposals he said would bolster the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.

Greg Valliere, political strategist at Potomac Research Group, said Obama scored points while Romney missed some opportunities.

"Barack Obama, trailing by 4 points in yesterday's Gallup poll of likely voters, needed a great debate last night, and he got a very good one," Valliere wrote in a memo to clients. "Obama stopped his free-fall, and he probably will be tied again in polls by this weekend."

Valliere and other analysts said Romney bungled on foreign policy when he mischaracterized - and was corrected by the debate moderator - Obama's initial remarks on last month's deadly attack on diplomatic facilities in Libya.

Instead, Obama took advantage of the moment to accuse Romney and Ryan of politicizing the event that killed four Americans, including U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens.

Obama travels to Iowa and Ohio and Romney holds campaign events in Virginia on Wednesday. All three states are considered "swing states," with polls showing they could go to either candidate in the presidential election.

ECONOMY FOCUS

Instant polls after the debate gave the edge to Obama.

But Romney, a former private equity adviser who says his business experience will help him turn around the U.S. economy, scored points when he accused Obama of failing to follow through on promises of his 2008 campaign.

In one of his most effective moments of the debate, the former Massachusetts governor said Obama's poor economic record had led to 15 million more people on food stamps, slow growth and a lack of jobs.

The debate's impact will not fully emerge for a couple days. Romney enjoyed a surge after his first matchup with Obama on October 3, but the latest opinion polls show the presidential race is near a dead heat.

Tuesday's Gallup poll had Romney ahead by 4 percentage points in the 12 most contested states, while the daily Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll shows Obama in the lead by 3 points among likely voters across the country.

The Tuesday Reuters/Ipsos poll also showed more likely voters have moved away from one of the candidates and declared themselves "undecided."

The two candidates were clearly seeking the female vote in the debate on Tuesday night, but Romney stumbled over his words as he explained how he supports equal opportunities for women.

He said while he was Massachusetts governor he once had "binders full of women" candidates for cabinet jobs - an awkward phrase that prompted a flurry of reaction on social media. The claim also raised questions about whether influential women were part of his circle while he was governor.

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Preibus said on MSNBC that Romney was just trying to emphasize that women are a big part of his administration.

The pair meet again on Monday in Boca Raton, Florida, for their final debate, which will be on foreign policy.

(Editing by Karey Wutkowski and Doina Chiacu)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-gets-second-chance-debate-rematch-romney-000004120.html

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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Surface tablet pre-ordering starts now at $499; ships Oct. 26

8 hrs.

Microsoft's Surface RT, the company's surprise entrance into the tablet world, will start at $499 when it ships on Oct. 26. Pre-ordering starts today?at Surface.com. More importantly, I got a chance to play with some of them on Monday, and my impressions are below.

The base-price tablet has 32GB of internal storage (twice what the $499 iPad has, for those keeping track). For $599, you can buy that tablet with a Touch Cover keyboard add-on, and for $699, you get a 64GB version of the product with a Touch Cover. Microsoft isn't talking about its Surface Pro tablet yet ? that is scheduled to arrive, as previously announced, three months after the initial Surface RT product launch.

On Monday, Microsoft's Windows president Steven Sinofsky and Surface team general manager Panos Panay walked reporters through an extensive demo of the product, along with a behind-the-scenes look at how the product was designed and manufactured.

The latest specs
During the presentation, new specs and information came to light. The device will run the Nvidia Tegra 3 T30 processor?with 2GB of RAM. Both the front and back cameras are 720p, meaning it will be good for video (and Skype video calling), but it won't be very useful for still images other than quickie snapshots (not that many people shoot pictures with tablets ... yet). It has two microphones and stereo speakers, and an HD video out port (adapter sold separately).?

Its "Cover port" is specifically used to dock the powered keyboard cover accessories, but Panay confirmed that in the future, this could be used as a means of connecting interactive accessories. (In case you're wondering about speaker docks and things like that, the best answer at this time is that, because the device has both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, it supports many audio devices wirelessly, including those that use the DLNA protocol for wireless media streaming.)

Though Microsoft says Surface RT will have a 31.5 watt-hour battery, the company didn't name an exact number of hours it could get. Sinofsky did say it gets "all-day battery life," suggesting 8 or more hours of uptime, and he confirmed that it takes just 2 hours to charge up fully, using the included charger.

How about that touch?keyboard?
Though we only had a brief time to actually use the Surface RT, my first impressions are positive. It's snappy, and the Windows 8 start screen springs to life when you touch it. Flying through a photo gallery is as good as you'd expect, and quite?comparable to an iPad.

What I was really curious about was what it would be like to use the Touch Cover keyboard, and its ease of use came as a pleasant surprise. This isn't some dumb accessory: There's a lot of code written to ensure that the keyboard knows the difference between actual typing and you just setting your fingers down. For instance, if you gently place your finger down on the backspace key, nothing happens. But if you start to press down, it suddenly responds.?

Typing fast will take some practice ??even Panay says the learning curve is four to five days.?When I tried to build up some?speed, I did alright.?The only real issue I had was with the space bar. Though the touchable area of the space bar is pretty large, I couldn't quite manage to hit it, but practice will no doubt improve my space-barring skills.

The other neat feature of the Touch Cover is the integrated track pad. It supports two-finger scrolling, and responds to swipes and taps with problem whatsoever. You quickly start to treat the Surface like a laptop, but given the fact that it comes with a free?full Office 2013?suite ? which is impressive in its own right but isn't particularly touch friendly ? having the laptop-like?mode is a good thing.

Accessories and availability?
If you buy the Surface then want to add accessories later, a Touch Cover by itself costs $119.99, while a Type Cover, the cover with a deeper, mechanical keyboard, costs $129.99. An HD digital AV adapter costs $39.99 and a VGA adapter costs $39.99. Though the product comes with a power supply, you can buy an additional one for $39.99.

Microsoft is adamant that the first wave of Surface tablets is sold through its direct retail channel. You will see it at Microsoft stores around the country ? 27 brick and mortar stores to date in U.S., with four more opening in November, along with 34 more "holiday" kiosk stores popping up in malls all over. You will not see it at any Best Buy or Walmart stores.?

Online shoppers in the U.S. as well as the UK, Canada, Germany, France, Australia, China and Hong Kong will be able to go to Surface.com to buy it as well.

"Is it a tablet or is it a laptop?" Sinofsky asked reporters, rhetorically, in anticipation of the big question most people have. "I've been using this now for a long time, six months, and it's been really fascinating for me," he continued. "I've used a lot of tablets. This is not a tablet, but it is the best tablet I've ever used. And I've used a lot of laptops. This is not a laptop, but it's the very best laptop I've ever used."

We shall see, but from what we did get a chance to experience, this baby is well worth a look come Oct. 26 ? assuming you live close enough to a Microsoft store to get a gander.

Wilson Rothman is the Technology & Science?editor at NBC News Digital. Catch up with him on Twitter at @wjrothman, and join our conversation on Facebook.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/surface-tablet-pre-ordering-starts-now-499-ships-oct-26-1C6493698

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