Pentagon opens rocket launches to competition

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon has approved a plan that will allow the U.S. Air Force to buy up to 36 rocket launches for government satellites from a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co , while opening up to 14 launches to competition from other companies, the Air Force said on Tuesday.The Pentagon has been moving aggressively to introduce more competition to defense procurement...

Read More..

WestJet embraces tech to woo business travelers

TORONTO (Reuters) – WestJet Airlines Ltd will use technological innovation, including a new Internet ticket booking system, to help it transform from a no-frills carrier to a lower-cost full-service airline courting lucrative corporate travelers, its chief executive said on Monday.Canada’s second-biggest airline plans to launch a series of technology systems, most notably the new online booking engine,...

Read More..

$120 tablet that runs both Android and Linux to launch in early 2013

For anyone who has ever used his or her Android tablet and wished that it could double as a desktop-style device, PengPod has a product just for you. Ars Technica reports that the new PengPod tablet, which runs both Android and Linux, has met its crowd-sourced fundraising goals and will so on sale in January for $ 120 a 7-inch model and $ 185 for a 10-inch model. According to Ars, the tablet...

Read More..

FDA, medical device industry form research partnership

(Reuters) – The Food and Drug Administration said it has formed a partnership with the medical device industry aimed at speeding the development and review of new device products.The nonprofit organization, called the Medical Device Innovation Consortium, will collaborate with patient support groups, academia, foundations and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to improve the process for...

Read More..

The March of Robots Into Chinese Factories

Step into the factory of Chinese SUV and truck maker Great Wall Motors, and it’s easy to forget you’re in the world’s most populous country. Swiss-made robots pivot and plunge, stamping metal door frames and soldering them to the skeletal vehicle bodies of a mini-SUV called the Haval M4. The blue-smocked workers in yellow hard hats are few and far between here in Great Wall’s largest factory complex,...

Read More..

Official: Syria moving chemical weapons components

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. and allied intelligence have detected Syrian movement of chemical weapons components in recent days, a senior U.S. defense official said Monday, as the Obama administration strongly warned the Assad regime against using them.A senior defense official said intelligence officials have detected activity around more than one of Syria‘s chemical weapons sites in the last week. The...

Read More..

Chris Brown Returns To Twitter, Instragrams Photo Of Scantily Clad Rihanna

Breezy’s back with a bang.Chris Brown has returned to Twitter, after deleting his account last Sunday following an expletive-laced online fight with comedian Jenny Johnson.PLAY IT NOW: Rihanna Discusses Her Fashion Sense & TattoosWhile the “Don’t Wake Me Up” singer still boasts 7.7 million followers, he has yet to grace the Twittersphere with a post since reactivating his account on Saturday.However,...

Read More..

Analysis: In U.S. “fiscal cliff” maneuvers it’s all about the holiday

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Watching the events of the past few weeks, you could have gotten the idea that the United States is not only going to slip from the “fiscal cliff” but jump lemming-like off it.President Barack Obama presented last week a proposal that upset Republicans with its $ 1.6 trillion in revenue increases and limited spending cuts and then goaded them while on the road at a toy factory...

Read More..

UN net regulation talks kick off

2 December 2012 Last updated at 20:43 ETBy Leo Kelion Technology reporterA UN agency is trying to calm fears that the internet could be damaged by a conference it is hosting.Government regulators from 193 countries are in Dubai to revise a wide-ranging communications treaty.Google has warned the event threatened the “open internet”, while the EU said the current system worked, adding: “If it ain’t...

Read More..

Egypt’s anti-Morsi rebellion of judges is complete

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt‘s rebellion of the judges against President Mohammed Morsi became complete on Sunday with the country’s highest court declaring an open-ended strike on the day it was supposed to rule on the legitimacy of two key assemblies controlled by allies of the Islamist leader.The strike by the Supreme Constitutional Court and opposition plans to march on the presidential palace on Tuesday...

Read More..