WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Starts on new homes in the United States slumped to the lowest in 1-1/2 years in October, mainly due to sharply reduced building of multi-unit homes, according to a government report on Wednesday that underlined the strains facing the sector.The Commerce Department said overall construction starts plummeted 11.7 percent to a 519,000…

GLENDALE, Ariz., Nov. 15, 2010 – GLENDALE, Ariz., Nov. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) is holding its annual conference, the Virtual School Symposium (VSS) on November 14 - 16, 2010 at the Renaissance Glendale Hotel & Spa. The theme is Online and Blended Learning: The Future of Education.…

*NEW YORK (Reuters) – Network equipment maker Juniper Networks Inc (JNPR.N) plans to buy Trapeze Networks, a wireless technology unit of Belden Inc (BDC.N), for about $152 million, stepping up its fight against bigger rival Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O).The all-cash deal is aimed at expanding Juniper's expertise in wireless networking and boosting its position among…

Eminem and Rihanna's dark "Love the Way You Lie" kicked off Sunday's MTV Video Music Award show in Los Angeles as host Chelsea Handler skewered Kanye West and Lady Gaga won the first televised award of the eveningHandler made her grand opening by descending from the ceiling in a Gaga-like, over-the-top dress with a model…

KABUL (AFP) – "I want to show that I am not afraid of the Taliban," declared Mohammad Zaman as he cast his ballot in a southern suburb of the Afghan capital.The 50-year-old was first in line to vote in Kart-e-Naw as Afghans queued to take part in the nation's parliamentary election, defying threats by the…

LONDON (Reuters) – English rapper Tinie Tempah is leading the way among contenders for this year's MOBO awards with four nominations including Best Newcomer and Best UK Act.Plan B and Dizzee Rascal follow with three nominations each.The MOBO (Music of Black Origin) awards show, normally held in London, is being staged in Liverpool this year,…

B&H Photo will be one of the first retailers to stock the new Nikon D7000 DSLR camera designed to meet the needs of ardent photographers who demand outstanding performance, reliability, and unparalleled levels of control and versatility in a compact form factor. Nikon is also introducing two ground-breaking lenses.New York (Vocus) September 15, 2010 --…

At the mention of an "e-reader," most people thinkor , but if you just want the device, sans the deal with the content provider, Sony has a nice little trio of e-readers on offer, and they've all just been upgraded with several important improvements.Sony's 5-inch Pocket Edition e-reader is now called PRS-350 and the 6-inch…

Is there some old-timey music playing in the background when you log into Gmail on Chrome? A glitch with a YouTube video intended to notify users abouthas resulted in some unwanted Gmail background music.The bug seems to only be affecting those running Chrome – though there was one report on the Google forums of its…

Global Velocity Inc., a company that has developed the first hardware-accelerated content inspection solution, has been selected to introduce its innovative security technology during the Security Innovation Network™ (SINET) Showcase 2010 on October 27 in Washington, D.C.SINET, an organization focused on advancing Cybersecurity innovation through public-private collaboration, offered early-stage and emerging growth companies an opportunity…