1. Walmart

Revenue: $421.849 billion

Walmart

2. ExxonMobil

Revenue: $370.125 billion

ExxonMobil

3. Chevron

Revenue: $204.928 billion

Chevron

4. ConocoPhillips

Revenue: $198.655 billion

ConocoPhillips

5. Fannie Mae

Revenue: $154.270 billion

Fannie Mae

6. General Electric

Revenue: $150.211 billion

General Electric

7. Berkshire Hathaway

Revenue: $136.185 billion

Berkshire Hathaway

8. General Motors

Revenue: $135.592 billion

General Motors

9. Ford Motor Company

Revenue: $128.954 billion

Ford Motor Company

10.  Hewlett-Packard

Revenue: $127.245 billion

Hewlett-Packard

Specs

Those of you who would like to taste and experience the all new Windows 8, you can download the Developer Preview, which is currently in pre-beta version. The developer version shows off the current stage of the OS. It is available for free download, and comes in three different packages:

(1) 64-bit version – Only the OS
(2) 32-bit version – Only the OS
(3) 64-bit version with developer tools

Windows 8 offers a number of new Windows 8 features from its all new UI to Windows App Store and improvised security features. Here’s a list of new features and improvements which will arrive with Windows 8:
Support for both x86 PCs and ARM tablets

Windows 8 is the first edition of Windows which will work on both ARM based tablets and traditional x86 (as well as x32 and x64) PCs based on ARM processors from Intel and AMD.

“Support for ARM-based chipsets, touch, and sensors makes Windows 8 work beautifully on your choice of a full spectrum of devices, such as 10-inch slates with all-day battery life, ultra-lightweight laptops, and powerful all-in-ones with 27-inch high-definition screens,” Microsoft contends, in a Windows 8 Guide distributed with Windows Developer Preview.

Windows To Go

The “Windows To Go” seems to be an exciting feature that basically allows Windows 8 to boot from a USB device (called as Live USB), including user’s programs, settings and files. The feature is designed to work with both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, and on both legacy NIOS and UDFI firmware. However, Microsoft says that a user will not be able to “Hibernate” with this feature.

Windows Store

To compete with Apple, Windows has confirmed the introduction of a Windows Store, similar to Mac App Store, which allows users to browse through Windows applications, while developers can publish their Metro-style apps on Windows 8 devices.

Few days back, Microsoft gave a strategic view of its app store, and gave a quick demo on how it works. Microsoft revealed that the Windows App Store will be the only place where users can access the Metro-styled apps. Here’s a quick demo that shows how users will be able to buy their apps.

Windows 8 User Interface

Speaking about the UI, Windows 8 certainly has got a mind blowing interactive UI, which has been extensively redesigned to a “Metro-style” design, which shows the most important information to you, embodies simplicity, and gives you full control over it. The UI is designed to provide a fluid and intuitive interaction and navigation with touch, or a mouse and keyboard.

Julie Larson-Green, Corporate Vice President, Windows who stated: “Everything that’s great about Windows 7, is better in Windows 8,” gave a quick hands on look at the Windows 8 user-interface. Here are some of the screenshots she released:

Windows Logon Screen – Unlike the traditional way of entering a password to unlock the screen, Windows 8 can be unlocked by just tapping on the right areas of the screen.

Improved Windows Defender

The Windows Defender which was first released with Windows Vista is getting a security upgrade with the upcoming Windows 8. This would probably edge-our third-party antivirus and anti-malware programs. Windows Defender will become a full-fledged anti-malware solution for Windows 8. This will include protection against all types of malware such as virus, worms, trojans and rootkits.

In addition to that, Windows Defender will provide real-time detection and protection from malware threats using a file system filter, and will interface with Windows secured boot, which is another security feature.

Internet Explorer 10

The developer preview of Windows 8 comes with a Metro version of Internet Explore (IE) 10. Since it is a preview version, it does not support any browser plugins and extension – including Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight. However, it will feature full screen browsing mode by default, implements several new HTML5 capabilities, turbocharges HTML5 performance, and adds some security options for Web applications.

20. Bobby “B.o.B” Simmons, Jr., $5 million (tie)

The 22-year-old rapper-singer-songwriter burst onto the scene in 2010 with the smash hit “Nothin’ on You,” featuring Bruno Mars. The duo performed the song at the Grammys, helping to fuel sales of B.o.B’s first album, The Adventures of Bobby Ray. Touring, guest appearances and a viral Adidas commercial boosted him to his Cash Kings debut.

20. Faheem “T-Pain” Najm, $5 million (tie)

AutoTune may be dead, but T-Pain’s earnings are alive and well. The “I’m On A Boat” crooner has racked up over 60 guest appearances since the beginning of 2010. He also beefs up his bank account with concerts and side ventures like the I Am T-Pain iPhone app.

17. Armando “Pitbull” Perez, $6 million (tie)

Better known by his stage name, Armando Christian Perez is one of the most prolific artists on our list, releasing two albums and performing 50-plus shows over the past 12 months. But it’s his endorsement deals that really set him apart; he earned seven figures for a deal with Kodak this year.

17. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, $6 million (tie)

Though he holds the record for the highest single-year earnings of any Cash King—$150 million in 2008, fueled by a nine-figure Vitamin Water windfall—50’s fortunes have fallen of late. But he still earns from his G-Unit empire, as well as acting roles, concerts and recorded music, most notably a verse on Michael Jackson’s posthumous album.

17. William “Rick Ross” Roberts, $6 million (tie)

The rotund rhymester makes his third-straight Cash Kings appearance on the strength of solid album sales and touring. His latest, Teflon Don, was certified gold; he’s been supporting it by hitting the road with Lil Wayne and performing lucrative gigs on his own.

15. Onika “Nicki Minaj” Maraj, $6.5 million (tie)

Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Nicki Minaj grew up in Queens and is now the first female rapper to grace our Hip-Hop Cash Kings list. Her debut Pink Friday went platinum shortly after its launch this fall, and she’s not shy about her earnings: on Kanye West’s “Monster,” she boasts that she gets $50,000 for her guest verses.

15. Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean, $6.5 million (tie)

It’s been more than a decade since Swizz burst onto the scene by producing DMX’s “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” at age 16; since then, he’s added hundreds of credits to his catalog, most recently on Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch The Throne. He tied the knot with singer Alicia Keys last summer and recently announced a lucrative partnership with Reebok.

14. Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley, $7 million

The superstar beat-maker had something of a quiet period in between album cycles, leading to a steep earnings drop from last year. But he still makes a killing by peddling his production talents and should earn more in the coming year–his third solo album, Shock Value III, is scheduled for release later this fall.

13. Pharrell Williams, $10 million

The Virginia-born super-producer continues to earn industry-leading production fees even while touring and releasing albums with his funk-rock group N.E.R.D. Not included in this year’s tally: proceeds from the recent licensing deal struck between his Billionaire Boys Club clothing line and Jay-Z’s Rocawear.

11. Aubrey “Drake” Graham, $11 million (tie)

His debut Thank Me Later debuted last fall and quickly went platinum; another record is in the works. Touring and endorsements generate plenty of cash in the meantime: he shills for Kodak and Coca-Cola’s Sprite, and even has a Drake-emblazoned Virgin America airplane already in the sky.

11. Cameron “Wiz Khalifa” Thomaz, $11 million (tie)

Riding high off hit single “Black and Yellow,” Pittsburgh’s most famous rapper has been touring nonstop, playing well over 100 shows in the past 12 months. Adding to his coffers: a robust merchandise business centered on his identity as a marijuana enthusiast. (Read more: “Wiz Khalifa’s High Earnings”).

10. Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges, $12 million

The self-proclaimed Mouth of the South makes money from much more than just music. This year, he earned big on movie roles including Fast Five, No Strings Attached and New Year’s Eve, as well as endorsements with Tag body spray and Trojan condoms. He also struck partnership deals to launch Soul By Ludacris headphones and a cognac called Conjure.

9. Aliuane “Akon” Thiam, $13 million

The Senegalese-American singer-songwriter-producer extraordinaire caked up on a string of international concerts from Australia to Zimbabwe, a lucrative World Cup spot with Pepsi, a host of business ventures and hit song “I Just Had Sex,” which has garnered over 115 million YouTube views since its December debut. (Read more: “Akon’s Recession-Proof Tune”).

6. Calvin “Snoop Dogg” Broadus, $14 million (tie)

The ageless wonder of the West Coast turned in another strong year, boosted by new album Doggumentary, heavy touring and endorsements with companies from Metro PCS to Pepsi Max. Icing on the proverbial cake: A verse on Katy Perry’s smash hit “California Gurls.”

6. Andre “Dr. Dre” Young, $14 million (tie)

The man who launched the careers of fellow Cash Kings including Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent keeps bringing in cash—namely from producer fees and Beats by Dre, his lucrative headphone venture with Interscope chief Jimmy Iovine.

6. Marshall “Eminem” Mathers, $14 million (tie)

Eminem doesn’t tour as much as many rappers and his outside business interests are limited, but music alone was enough to blast him back into the upper reaches of the list this year. His album Recovery sold 5.7 million copies worldwide and earned 10 Gramm nominations. Normally non-commercial, he added to his coffers with Super Bowl spots for Lipton and Chrysler.

4. Bryan “Birdman” Williams, $15 million (tie)

The Cash Money chief continues to rake in cash from the label he cofounded, home to fellow Cash Kings Lil Wayne, Drake and Nicki Minaj. Excluded from previous lists because we deemed him more executive than rapper, Birdman was included this year because most of his peers now have a similar job description.

4. Dwayne “Lil Wayne” Carter, $15 million (tie)

The lyricist reportedly wrote his first song at age 8 and signed a record deal with Cash Money a year later. Today he’s one of rap’s richest, despite serving eight months in jail last year. His latest release, I Am Not A Human Being, made him the first artist since Tupac Shakur to have a No. 1 album while incarcerated.

3. Kanye West, $16 million

The self-proclaimed Louis Vuitton Don returns to the top three for the first time since 2009. His new album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, hit stores in November, earned critical raves and quickly went platinum. His follow-up, Jay-Z collaboration Watch the Throne, debuted on August 8th.

2. Sean “Diddy” Combs, $35 million

Music now accounts for less than 20% of earnings for the artist formerly known as Puff Daddy, thanks to big stakes in clothing lines Sean John and Enyce, record label Bad Boy and marketing firm Blue Flame. But it’s his Ciroc vodka deal that led FORBES to estimate his net worth at $475 million this winter.

1. Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, $37 million

Hip-hop’s reigning Cash King continues to reap the benefits of a 10-year $150 million Live Nation deal, as well as stakes in the New Jersey Nets, the 40/40 Club chain, ad firm Translation and others. This year marked the first time he out-earned wife Beyonce since their marriage in 2008.

Jong-il was born in Vyatskoye, Russia, where his father was stationed. On December 18, 2011 Korean state news reported that Kim Jon-il had died. His 20 year old son is expected to take over as supreme leader. The fate of North Korean politics can shift both ways either becoming more Democratic or becoming more Communist.

Net Worth: $4 Billion

The scientists claim that a thigh bone found in August contains remarkably well-preserved marrow cells, which could form the starting point of the experiment.

The team claim that the cloning could be complete within the next five years.

But others have cast doubt on whether such a thing is possible.

Mother cow?

The team, from the Siberian mammoth museum and Japan’s Kinki University, said that they planned to extract a nucleus from the animal’s bone marrow and insert it into the egg of an African elephant.

Similar procedures have been done before with mixed results.

In 2009 it was reported that the recently extinct Pyrenean ibex was brought back to life briefly using 10-year-old DNA from the animal’s skin. The cloned ibex died within minutes of being born, due to breathing difficulties.

The Roslin Institute, famous for cloning Dolly the sheep, no longer conducts cloning work but has published some thoughts on the possibilities of bringing extinct species back to life.

It said it was extremely unlikely such an experiment would be successful, especially using an elephant surrogate.

“First, a suitable surrogate mother animal is required. For the mammoth this would need to be a cow (as best biological fit) but even here the size difference may preclude gestation to term,” it said.

The success rate for such an experiment would be in the range of 1-5%, it said.

The second issue would be the need for viable whole cells.

“If there are intact cells in this tissue they have been ‘stored’ frozen. However, if we think back to what actually happened to the animal – it died, even if from the cold, the cells in the body would have taken some time to freeze. This time lag would allow for breakdown of the cells, which normally happens when any animal dies. Then the carcass would freeze. So it is unlikely that the cells would be viable,” it said.

Assuming that viable cells are found it becomes a numbers game, it went on.

“Let’s say that one in a thousand cells were nevertheless viable, practical issues come into play. Given that we have an efficiency of 1% cloning for livestock species and if only one in a thousand cells are viable then around 100,000 cells would need to be transferred,” it said.

Hybrid

Charles Foster, a fellow at Green Templeton College, Oxford, seemed more optimistic.

“The idea of mammoth cloning isn’t completely ridiculous.

“How the resultant embryos would fare beyond the stage of a few cells is more or less unknown,” he said.

While most of the genetic coding of the embryo would come from the mammoth, some would come from the elephant ovum.

“We really don’t know what the contribution of that cytoplasmic material is, or how it would interact with ‘alien’ DNA,” he said.

It would however mean that, even if successful, the clone would be a hybrid rather than a pure mammoths.

10. Frank Lampard

Salary 2012: $17 million

His main wage is the salary on Chelsea’s field, of around $11 million, putting him on Britain’s highest paid sportsmen but he also has a couple of endorsements that make his total earnings quite a lot bigger.

9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Salary 2012: $17 million

His salary at the Italian club still keeps him among the first ten in the world, thanks to his reputation of one of the best footballers in the world. He always  had impressive salaries at all teams he played and that’s what happens at AC Milan as well.

8. Wayne Rooney

Salary 2012: $20 million

Given his bold and rude attitude, he went back at cursing in front of cameras at West Ham. He did this soon after ending his $600,000-a-year contract with Coca-Cola. His current sponsors are Nike and Electronic Arts, and, the deal at Old Trafford, for around $8 million a year, will last at least 5 more years.

7. Thierry Henry

Salary 2012: $21 million

After moving to MLS in 2010 to play for the New York Red Bulls, he has bought a suite in New York for almost $15 million, while his partnership with Gillette started during the late 2010.

6. Ronaldinho

Salary 2012: $24 million

He was the best players of the world two years in a row just a couple of years ago and now, after moving to his home country to play for Flamengo he still gets the appreciation he truly deserves. His deal with the Brazilian club will last until 2014 and his endorsements are amazing.

5. Ricardo Kaka

Salary 2012: $25 million

He joins this list thanks to his contract with EA Games, selling around 100 million units of the game FIFA 2011, for his presence on the package cover and, of course, thanks to his huge salary from Real Madrid and several ads he’s been doing lately.

4. Samuel Eto’o

Salary 2012: $29 million

Africa’s most decorated footballer of all time, winning the “African Player of the Year” award four times, he has now added Puma and Ford to his list of sponsors. His salary at the Russian club rises up to $29 million a year, for a 3 year deal, making him the highest-paid player in the history of soccer. On 23rd of August he agreed for a transfer to Internazionale Milano, with a $38.9 million transfer fee.

3. Lionel Messi

Salary 2012: $32 million

Known as the world’s best player right now, Messi is now sponsored by Konami, AudemarsPiquet, Chery, AirEuropa, PepsiCo and Adidas. And these are just the big companies who sponsor this brilliant player. His annual salary of $16 million adds to the numbers.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo

Salary 2012: $38 million

He enhanced his fame on Twitter, with 3 million followers, and on Facebook, 26 million fans. Names like Nike, Armani, Coca-Cola and Castrol stick with him because he’s got the looks and skills needed to promote any product. His salary at Real Madrid is also incredibly high but he scores a lot of goals for the team and I’m sure he deserves it all.

1. David Beckham

Salary 2012: $40 million

After his deal with Adidas, the biggest in the sports world, supported by upper-class soccer apparel, he signed another deal with Samsung, in may 2011, becoming the company’s main figure for the Games. He’s also doing ads for top fashion companies and his salary is probably the highest in the MLS right now.

10. Ram pickup

9. Chevrolet Cruze

8. Toyota Corolla

7. Honda Accord

6. Ford Fusion

5. Ford Escape

4. Nissan Altima

3. Toyota Camry

2. Chevrolet Silverado pickup

1. Ford F-150 pickup

1. New York

New York

Population: 8,175,133

2. Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Population: 3,792,621

3. Chicago

Chicago

Population: 2,695,598

4. Houston

Houston

Population: 2,099,451

5. Philadelphia

Philadelphia

Population: 1,526,006

6. Phoenix

Phoenix

Population: 1,445,632

7. San Antonio

San Antonio

Population: 1,327,407

8. San Diego

San Diego

Population: 1,307,402

9. Dallas

Dallas

Population: 1,197,816

10. San Jose

San Jose

Population: 945,942

10. CBIZ

9. Crowe, Chizek and Co.

8. Mayer Hoffman McCann

7. BDO

6. Grant Thornton

5. McGladrey & Pullen

4. KPMG

3. Pricewaterhousecoopers

2. Ernst & Young

1. Deloitte & Touche