STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: NPR's business news starts with Microsoft's big secret.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Microsoft is not confirming or denying this. The company is expected to unveil a tablet device at an event in Los Angeles later today.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Bloomberg News reports that sources say the device would compete with Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle. Microsoft is rumored to have partnered with Barnes & Noble to create this product. The manufacturing move, if it happens, would be unique for the company, which has focused heavily on software.</s>LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST: Another American tech company has created a supercomputer now ranked the fastest in the world. IBM's Sequoia supercomputer recently took the number one spot on the list, which is published every six months. The Sequoia machine beat out the previous number one, the Japanese Fujitsu.</s>LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST: The supercomputer will be used to run simulations that help extend the life of aging nuclear weapons without needing actual nuclear tests.
Microsoft isn't confirming but the company is expected to unveil a tablet device at an event in Los Angeles on Monday. Bloomberg News reports sources say the device would compete with Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle. Meanwhile, IBM has created a computer that ranks the fastest in the world. The Sequoia machine beat out the previous No. 1, the Japanese Fujitsu.