SAN FRANCISCO — The high-tech industry has been working itself into paroxysms of excitement lately over an idea that is not exactly new: tablet computers.

Quietly, several high-tech companies are lining up to deliver versions of these keyboard-free, touch-screen portable machines in the next few months. Industry watchers have their eye on Apple in particular to sell such a device by early next year.

Tablets have been around in various forms for two decades, thus far delivering little other than memorable failure. Nonetheless, the new batch of devices has gripped the imagination of tech executives, bloggers and gadget hounds, who are projecting their wildest dreams onto these literal blank slates.

In these visions, tablets will save the newspaper and book publishing industries, present another way to watch television and movies, play video games, and offer a visually rich way to enjoy the Web and the expanding world of mobile applications.

Brazil has formally entered into negotiations with France for the acquisition of 36 French-built fighter jets, during President Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit to the country where he is backing Brazil’s quest to act as a world power.

In an interview with major Brazilian newspaper O Globo on Sunday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy put the potential sale of French fighter jets into the context of developing relations between the two nations. On his way to attend Brazil’s independence celebrations, the French president told the newspaper that "the relationship between Brazil and France is not one of supplier and client, but one of partners".

It was not the first time that Sarkozy showed his desire for France and Brazil to cooperate more. In December, he announced his support for Brazil’s bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, an elite club of which France is already a member. The previous February, Sarkozy was in Brazil to inaugurate the construction of a bridge to French Guiana. At that time, the two leaders also shared strategies on combating illegal gold mining and trafficking in their border region.

This time, however, Brazil is sending its strongest signal yet of being ready to accept France’s overtures. On Thursday, the Senate in Brasilia sealed a 6.1-billion-euro deal in which France will help Brazil build 50 helicopters and a nuclear-propelled submarine.

spoo, Finland - Nokia today marked the next phase in the evolution of Maemo software with the new Nokia N900. Taking its cues from the world of desktop computing, the open source, Linux-based Maemo software delivers a PC-like experience on a handset-sized device. The new Nokia N900: Computer-grade performance in a handset

The Nokia N900 has evolved from Nokia’s previous generation of Internet Tablets and broadens the choice for technology enthusiasts who appreciate the ability to multitask and browse the internet like they would on their desktop computer.

Running on the new Maemo 5 software, the Nokia N900 empowers users to have dozens of application windows open and running simultaneously while taking full advantage of the cellular features, touch screen and QWERTY keyboard.

"With Linux software, Mozilla-based browser technology and now also with cellular connectivity, the Nokia N900 delivers a powerful mobile experience," says Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President, Markets, Nokia. "The Nokia N900 shows where we are going with Maemo and we’ll continue to work with the community to push the software forward. What we have with Maemo is something that is fusing the power of the computer, the internet and the mobile phone, and it is great to see that it is evolving in exciting ways."

Designed for computer-grade performance in a compact size, Maemo complements Nokia’s other software platforms, such as Symbian, which powers Nokia’s smartphones.

PALO ALTO, CALIF.—August 10, 2009—Facebook today announced that it has agreed to acquire FriendFeed, the innovative service for sharing online. As part of the agreement, all FriendFeed employees will join Facebook and FriendFeed’s four founders will hold senior roles on Facebook’s engineering and product teams.

“Facebook and FriendFeed share a common vision of giving people tools to share and connect with their friends,” said Bret Taylor, a FriendFeed co-founder and, previously, the group product manager who launched Google Maps. “We can’t wait to join the team and bring many of the innovations we’ve developed at FriendFeed to Facebook’s 250 million users around the world.”

“As we spent time with Mark and his leadership team, we were impressed by the open, creative culture they’ve built and their desire to have us contribute to it,” said Paul Buchheit, another FriendFeed co-founder. Buchheit, the Google engineer behind Gmail and the originator of Google’s “Don’t be evil” motto, added, “It was immediately obvious to us how passionate Facebook’s engineers are about creating simple, ground-breaking ways for people to share, and we are extremely excited to join such a like-minded group.”

Taylor and Buchheit founded FriendFeed along with Jim Norris and Sanjeev Singh in October 2007 after all four played key roles at Google for products like Gmail and Google Maps. At FriendFeed, they’ve brought together a world-class team of engineers and designers.

“Since I first tried FriendFeed, I’ve admired their team for creating such a simple and elegant service for people to share information,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO. “As this shows, our culture continues to make Facebook a place where the best engineers come to build things quickly that lots of people will use.”

FriendFeed is based in Mountain View, Calif. and has 12 employees. FriendFeed.com will continue to operate normally for the time being as the teams determine the longer term plans for the product.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not released.

Powermat will release a wireless charging mat that allows iPhones, iPods, BlackBerrys, Sony PSPs and Nintendo DSi’s to power up without the need for proprietary connectors.

The new system sees a mat, costing £70, accompanied by various add ons and new covers for the electronics devices that mean all you need to do is chuck the device onto the pad to will wirelessly charge it.

An RFID chip on the device can be read by the mat, which will then supply power. When full, the mat drops back to standby mode, consuming a small amount of milliwatts of current, making it far more efficient than a standard mobile phone charger.

Read Hands on: TechRadar tries the magical wireless charging Powermat There’s a portable version of the device as well, retailing at £70 when released, which features all the same elements of the larger version but folds down to a 100mm x 100mm x 35mm footprint with magnetic carrying case.

For the BlackBerry Powermat has developed a back cover with the wireless charge pad in, costing £30, but for the iPhone (which doesn’t have a changeable cover) a silicon skin is used with the receiver, and costs £35, apparently due to Apple demanding royalties for anything to fit its devices.

Powermat also has a slimmer skin for the iPod touch, as well as forthcoming options for the DSi and PSP prior to a Q4 launch in the UK, Italy and the US.

Phones or PMPs without a dedicated Powermat case can use the Powercube, which has a variety of interchangeable tips to power different devices. These will also be available for £30 as well.

Wireless furniture

The company also told TechRadar it is looking into integrating the technology into other devices too, such as powertools, laptops and even furniture, meaning you could just place your iPhone on a worktop and have it charge wirelessly.

Powermat is also set to show off an Apple workstation at CES in 2010, with wireless charging zones for a Macbook and an iPhone, with wireless synchronisation between the two, as well as speakers for multimedia content.

Other territories, such as Germany, France and Benelux, will get the Powermat system in Q1 2010.