Any news search for Boeing this week will result in a dozen or more stories about how the aircraft manufacturer lost a massive government contract to Northrop and European company Airbus.

Quick Summary
All government planes used to refuel other planes in the air are extremely old and need to be replaced. The U.S. government opened up bidding to the public and two companies responded: Boeing and Northrop/Airbus. There was heated debate over the possibility of a European manufacturer landing this tremendous $35 billion contract. Never before has a non-American manufacturer won this kind of government contract. Continue Reading

CRN.com reported Friday that Google Reader made a major misstep by revealing user data to users’ connections without user approval. The Reader is intended to share RSS feeds and readable content with one’s friends and connections. However, information was shared without first allowing Google Reader users to opt-in or select which connections could receive the data.

According to the article, Facebook Beacon made the same mistake some time ago. It’s unusual to see giant web corporations lacking the foresight to handle this type of situation in advance. But when hundreds of complaints start coming in, it’s hard to turn a blind eye. Continue Reading