WAGWARE Systems, Inc. and Brainyware LLC Providers of CASL, a world-class cross platform development tool, announced support for the Janam series of rugged barcode scanners. Support for the Janam XP Series is provided in the form of libraries that can easily be added to new or existing CASL applications. Also available on the CASL Janam page are sample applications that demonstrate the ease with which CASL applications can incorporate advanced bar-coding technologies. The source code for these CASL sample applications is provided to CASL customers and may be used at no additional charge.
"We are pleased to add support for the Janam XP family of devices within the CASL development environment. The ability to quickly and easily integrate Janam devices into CASL applications is a tremendous asset to developers. We are excited by the opportunity that the Janam hardware provides our customers and the value it adds to new or existing applications," said Paul Steinmeyer, co-owner and Technology Director of CASL.
"The CASL development environment is a valuable tool for software developers who want to quickly create barcode scanning applications for our powerful XP Series," said Harry B. Lerner, Co-CEO of Janam. "We are excited by the large number of Janam resellers and ISVs who have already indicated their intention to utilize CASL's robust platform for their application development."
About CASL
CASL (Compact Application Solution Language) is a development environment that allows developers to create applications for PalmOS®, PocketPC / Windows Mobile and Windows platforms. CASL is the ideal Rapid Application Development (RAD) environment for mobile application developers that want to create compact applications on multiple platforms quickly, using a singe code base. There are no run-time royalties to distribute CASL applications to end-users of CASL applications. This makes CASL particularly attractive to corporate and commercial developers. CASL strikes an optimum balance of core capabilities, extendibility and features on all three (3) supported platforms. The CASL + Janam Support page and associated information may be found at http://www.caslsoft.com/janam .
About WAGWARE Systems, Inc & Brainyware, LLC
WAGWARE Systems, Inc. and Brainyware, LLC are providers of world-class cross-platform development tools for creating mobile applications. We provide tools for creating applications for the PalmOS®, PocketPC/Windows Mobile and Windows using a single Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Our products are used by thousands of developers worldwide and in nearly every industry. CASL, our flagship product, was first released in 1996 making CASL one of the earliest supporters of the PalmOS®. For more information please visit www.caslsoft.com.
About Janam
Janam Technologies, LLC. is a provider of rugged, handheld computing devices for mobile workers. Janam combines deep industry knowledge with advanced technologies to deliver products and accessories that increase productivity, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction. Specializing in purpose-built mobile computers that scan barcodes and communicate wirelessly, Janam now offers the industry's first, fully-featured industrial Palm OS based product line, designed to run mission-critical applications in retail, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing and logistics. Janam is headquartered in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. For more information please visit www.janam.com.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Turn your device into an iPhone now
As we all know Palm and Windows Mobile have had touch screen devices for quite some time and if you don't want to wait until the middle of 2007 you can get an Apple iPhone-like experience by changing your Windows Mobile Today screen or Palm OS launcher. Both of these utilities look quite cool and I'll have to give them a try soon to see how they perform. With the 6 month time delay until the iPhone is supposed to be out, there may be time for ingenious developers to come up with the same type of functionality on existing Palm, Windows Mobile, and Symbian devices since most everything the iPhone has on it is existing technology found on many devices.
source : www.geek.com/news
source : www.geek.com/news
Connaught House goes live with retail management system
Exclusive jewellery and gift retailer Connaught House has this week gone live with a complete Microsoft Retail Management System operating simultaneously across its shops.
The system provides intelligent and real time stock control and visibility of consumer buying trends and also features a promotions and loyalty module, which ensures mail order customers are informed when items become available.
Managing director Mike Allsopp says the technology will enable Connaught House to develop an intelligent database of purchasing information to enable it to tailor ordering of stock to customer needs.
‘Our old system was slow, out-of-date and did not offer us the flexibility that we need to ensure the personal service that we pride ourselves on,’ he said.
‘In the past, we have used the old fashioned ‘stamp on a card’ loyalty scheme but we were often faced with receipt and redemption fraud.
I am confident the new system will considerably simplify staff processes to ensure a much more streamlined business.’
Davidson-Richards installed the Microsoft Retail Management System and RMSynergy promotions, data management, customer loyalty and customer price matrix modules.
Plans are already being made for the installation of a warehouse management system in coming years to enable the integration of its expanding mail order processes.
The system provides intelligent and real time stock control and visibility of consumer buying trends and also features a promotions and loyalty module, which ensures mail order customers are informed when items become available.
Managing director Mike Allsopp says the technology will enable Connaught House to develop an intelligent database of purchasing information to enable it to tailor ordering of stock to customer needs.
‘Our old system was slow, out-of-date and did not offer us the flexibility that we need to ensure the personal service that we pride ourselves on,’ he said.
‘In the past, we have used the old fashioned ‘stamp on a card’ loyalty scheme but we were often faced with receipt and redemption fraud.
I am confident the new system will considerably simplify staff processes to ensure a much more streamlined business.’
Davidson-Richards installed the Microsoft Retail Management System and RMSynergy promotions, data management, customer loyalty and customer price matrix modules.
Plans are already being made for the installation of a warehouse management system in coming years to enable the integration of its expanding mail order processes.
Easy code archiving in SQL Server 2005
DBA Tim Chapman extols one of the virtues of SQL Server 2005 is the ability to return the entire code of an object from a system function. He notes that this function will make it much easier to archive your procedure code.
As a database administrator, I always try to give code that I promote to our production environments a thorough look before the move is made. However, as much as I hate to admit it, I can't catch everything that may disrupt our production system. When these situations occur, sometimes the remedy is to revert back to a previous version of the object code, which can be a stored procedure, view, function, etc. What you do not want to have to do, if possible, is have to restore the code from a database backup. It often takes too long to get to the backup if it is stored on tape, and if the database is large, it takes quite a while to restore. Not to mention that you have to find a server large enough for restoring the backup file. There's got to be a better way.
A solution I created a long time ago was to back up the database code to a separate table, so that in the event of an error in our production code I could rebuild the procedure or function from that table. This solution has absolutely saved me hours upon hours of time.
The way this can be accomplished in SQL Server 2000 is to make a copy of the syscomments table for a specific database nightly and place that copy in an archive table. I usually keep up to two weeks worth of procedure code. The only cumbersome thing about this technique is that if the code object is a large one, the code would have to be rebuilt because the code would be contained on separate rows in syscomments, which could sometimes be a pain.
One of the many great things new to SQL Server 2005 is the ability to return the entire code of an object from a system function. This function will make it much easier to archive your procedure code.
complete read this article visit at : http://articles.techrepublic.com.com
As a database administrator, I always try to give code that I promote to our production environments a thorough look before the move is made. However, as much as I hate to admit it, I can't catch everything that may disrupt our production system. When these situations occur, sometimes the remedy is to revert back to a previous version of the object code, which can be a stored procedure, view, function, etc. What you do not want to have to do, if possible, is have to restore the code from a database backup. It often takes too long to get to the backup if it is stored on tape, and if the database is large, it takes quite a while to restore. Not to mention that you have to find a server large enough for restoring the backup file. There's got to be a better way.
A solution I created a long time ago was to back up the database code to a separate table, so that in the event of an error in our production code I could rebuild the procedure or function from that table. This solution has absolutely saved me hours upon hours of time.
The way this can be accomplished in SQL Server 2000 is to make a copy of the syscomments table for a specific database nightly and place that copy in an archive table. I usually keep up to two weeks worth of procedure code. The only cumbersome thing about this technique is that if the code object is a large one, the code would have to be rebuilt because the code would be contained on separate rows in syscomments, which could sometimes be a pain.
One of the many great things new to SQL Server 2005 is the ability to return the entire code of an object from a system function. This function will make it much easier to archive your procedure code.
complete read this article visit at : http://articles.techrepublic.com.com
Oracle Upgrades Free SQL Developer Tool
Oracle recently issued the first upgrade to its free SQL Developer tool, a step it hopes will win further adherents to its easiest-to-use tool. Last March, Oracle supplemented its command line tools with the new offering to introduce a more graphical environment for developing Oracle applications.
SQL Developer can now import and export data from spreadsheets and other sources, saving tedious reentry of data.
It can browse the tables and data of non-Oracle databases, primarily SQL Server and the open source MySQL at this time. It can inspect a record in a database with "a pivot view" that shows all the elements of the record. Oracle will add an ability to browse its Times Ten in memory database next, says Michael Hichwa, VP of software development.
The visual environment of SQL Developer has been enhanced with an object browser to show the properties of objects that a developer may be working with. The ability to see the data sets, network connections, and procedural properties of objects helps developers quickly find and work with the ones they want. SQL Developer filtering has been refined to make it easier to discriminate among those objects which may closely resemble each other, Hichwa says.
The tool allows developers to produce either SQL or Oracle's PL/SQL procedures inside or outside the Oracle database system. Developers told Oracle they wanted to be able to produce stored procedures outside the database so they could make use of their version control systems, a way to track the progress of code through several iterations, he says. Previously, SQL Developer assumed developers would want to produce code inside the database system.
Oracle has also created the SQL Developer Exchange, a site where developers can request enhancements to the tool, rate planned feature additions, and share code with other members of the community. The site will also serve as a way to dispense news and blogs about the tool. It is available at http://sqldeveloper.oracle.com.
SQL Developer can now import and export data from spreadsheets and other sources, saving tedious reentry of data.
It can browse the tables and data of non-Oracle databases, primarily SQL Server and the open source MySQL at this time. It can inspect a record in a database with "a pivot view" that shows all the elements of the record. Oracle will add an ability to browse its Times Ten in memory database next, says Michael Hichwa, VP of software development.
The visual environment of SQL Developer has been enhanced with an object browser to show the properties of objects that a developer may be working with. The ability to see the data sets, network connections, and procedural properties of objects helps developers quickly find and work with the ones they want. SQL Developer filtering has been refined to make it easier to discriminate among those objects which may closely resemble each other, Hichwa says.
The tool allows developers to produce either SQL or Oracle's PL/SQL procedures inside or outside the Oracle database system. Developers told Oracle they wanted to be able to produce stored procedures outside the database so they could make use of their version control systems, a way to track the progress of code through several iterations, he says. Previously, SQL Developer assumed developers would want to produce code inside the database system.
Oracle has also created the SQL Developer Exchange, a site where developers can request enhancements to the tool, rate planned feature additions, and share code with other members of the community. The site will also serve as a way to dispense news and blogs about the tool. It is available at http://sqldeveloper.oracle.com.
Wonderlic Announces Release of Revised Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT-R)
Wonderlic, Inc., will introduce the latest version of its renowned intelligence test, the Wonderlic Personnel Test - Revised (WPT-R), on January 16, 2007.
Development of the new version, the WPT-R, required years of research, and thousands of field tests administered by clients to their job applicants. The 12-minute test of cognitive ability, or general intelligence, has been taken by more than 125 million people since 1937 - leaving the revision with some oversized shoes to fill.
"Many organizations have been using the WPT for decades," explains Charles F. Wonderlic, President and CEO. "It is as much a part of their corporate culture as it is our own. If we were going to replace that test, it had to be substantially better without losing the essential characteristics valued by those clients."
To ensure that clients were involved in every step of the process, the WPT-R went through five separate rounds of field testing involving 427 companies and 36,543 test takers. The resulting new forms of the WPT-R incorporate the latest advances in test development and scoring, which makes it an even more accurate predictor of success on the job.
The items on the test are designed for working adults and range from general math and English to syllogisms and spatial relations items. In field testing, test takers were very comfortable with the new format and item content of the WPT-R.
"The biggest change is in the accuracy of administration and scoring," says Executive Vice President Winnie Clonts. The WPT-R is administered online or using a bubble form answer sheet and is scored by Wonderlic itself. "This eliminates the human error associated with hand scoring. We also provide an online database of scores and other job applicant information to facilitate better hiring decisions."
About Wonderlic
The Wonderlic Personnel Test is a 12-minute test of cognitive ability, or general intelligence, which has been taken by more than 125 million people since 1937. Wonderlic serves thousands of clients, including the NFL Combine, which has used the Wonderlic Personnel Test for more than 30 years as part of its draft selection process. Wonderlic tests are referenced in hundreds of books on psychology and have been featured on Dateline, CNBC, Lifetime, CNNfn, and 20/20. More than 130 million people have taken Wonderlic assessments.
For more information Call Leah Anchor, Marketing Project Coordinator, at (800) 323-3742.
This press release was distributed through eMediawire by Human Resources Marketer (HR Marketer: www.HRmarketer.com) on behalf of the company listed above.
Development of the new version, the WPT-R, required years of research, and thousands of field tests administered by clients to their job applicants. The 12-minute test of cognitive ability, or general intelligence, has been taken by more than 125 million people since 1937 - leaving the revision with some oversized shoes to fill.
"Many organizations have been using the WPT for decades," explains Charles F. Wonderlic, President and CEO. "It is as much a part of their corporate culture as it is our own. If we were going to replace that test, it had to be substantially better without losing the essential characteristics valued by those clients."
To ensure that clients were involved in every step of the process, the WPT-R went through five separate rounds of field testing involving 427 companies and 36,543 test takers. The resulting new forms of the WPT-R incorporate the latest advances in test development and scoring, which makes it an even more accurate predictor of success on the job.
The items on the test are designed for working adults and range from general math and English to syllogisms and spatial relations items. In field testing, test takers were very comfortable with the new format and item content of the WPT-R.
"The biggest change is in the accuracy of administration and scoring," says Executive Vice President Winnie Clonts. The WPT-R is administered online or using a bubble form answer sheet and is scored by Wonderlic itself. "This eliminates the human error associated with hand scoring. We also provide an online database of scores and other job applicant information to facilitate better hiring decisions."
About Wonderlic
The Wonderlic Personnel Test is a 12-minute test of cognitive ability, or general intelligence, which has been taken by more than 125 million people since 1937. Wonderlic serves thousands of clients, including the NFL Combine, which has used the Wonderlic Personnel Test for more than 30 years as part of its draft selection process. Wonderlic tests are referenced in hundreds of books on psychology and have been featured on Dateline, CNBC, Lifetime, CNNfn, and 20/20. More than 130 million people have taken Wonderlic assessments.
For more information Call Leah Anchor, Marketing Project Coordinator, at (800) 323-3742.
This press release was distributed through eMediawire by Human Resources Marketer (HR Marketer: www.HRmarketer.com) on behalf of the company listed above.
Software builds social networks and online communities.
Based on enterprise-class technology, Connect v1.8 Community Builder integrates with company's existing web infrastructure to promote user-generated content. Interactive functions allow users to upload video and audio files, syndicate content using RSS, make real-time edits using AJAX tools, and search through keyword linking and tagging. Software offers site administration functions enabling companies to combine user content with their own content without affecting site performance.
Windows database management solution for Firebird administration and development
Is a powerful Windows database management solution for Firebird administration and development.
Firebird Maestro is a powerful solution for the Firebird server administration and development. It allows you to create, edit, copy, extract and drop all the database objects such as tables, views, procedures, domains, generators, etc., build queries visually, execute queries and SQL scripts, view and edit data including BLOBs, represent data as diagrams, export and import data to/from most popular file formats, manage Firebird users and their privileges, and use a lot of other tools designed for the easiest and most efficient work with Firebird Server.
complete read this article visit at : www.jumbo.com
Firebird Maestro is a powerful solution for the Firebird server administration and development. It allows you to create, edit, copy, extract and drop all the database objects such as tables, views, procedures, domains, generators, etc., build queries visually, execute queries and SQL scripts, view and edit data including BLOBs, represent data as diagrams, export and import data to/from most popular file formats, manage Firebird users and their privileges, and use a lot of other tools designed for the easiest and most efficient work with Firebird Server.
complete read this article visit at : www.jumbo.com
XChange International announce the release of CopyFlow Gold
for QuarkXPress for Mac/Universal Binary and Windows.
XChange International, the source for extended technology worldwide, are pleased to announce the release of CopyFlow Gold for QuarkXPress v7 with support for Universal Binary. CopyFlow Gold adds powerful page-assembly capabilities to QuarkXPress and provides menu selections which enable end users to automatically import and export multiple linked text stories to and from Quark documents, even those in different text chains. CopyFlow Gold is particularly useful where volume is high, production involves multiple revisions, and deadlines are tight.
Features include batch processing of text, automate pagination and re-purposing of text content. CopyFlow Gold provides tools for naming Quark text frames individually and for identifying folders from which text may be batch imported and exported. An included Namer tool allows for the automatic naming of frames, a very useful feature when many frames are involved. Using the Batch Import tool, users can rapidly import content into text boxes of an Quark document. In addition, file types are filtered using the same logic that applies to Quark’s text filters. Text files can then be batch exported from Quark into RTF or tagged text files for further editing or re-purposing.
Usage examples:
* Book Production — Use CopyFlow Gold to import all the text and elements for book chapters as a batch process, even across a network from multiple locations and in multiple file formats. Proof page layouts with all elements in position, then export text files which require revisions back to the originator or editor. Multiple revision passes are more manageable with CopyFlow Gold controlling import and export. Once revisions are completed, quickly reassemble finished chapters automatically for output.
* Translations — Automatically name all text frames in an existing Quark document, export all of the text into a single composite tagged file, submit this file to the translation application of choice, and reimport the translated text into the same Quark document.
* Database Publishing — Use the report generator in a database application to automatically tag fields with layout frame names and create an input text file. Then prepare Quark layouts with corresponding frame names for page elements. Finally, batch import the file or files using CopyFlow Gold and quickly build catalogues or directories.
Features at a glance:
• Advanced Auto-Naming and grouping of text and picture boxes
• Import and Export using any standard QuarkXPress filter
• Export all the text in a Quark document into a single file of XPress Tags which can be batch re-imported into the Quark document or a copy of the Quark document after language translation or other processing.
• Batch Import and Export Quark XPress tags in ASCII or Unicode UTF-16
• AppleScript support for CopyFlow Gold
- Naming boxes
- Batch Import
- Batch Export
- Batch Flush
• Picture Import and Export — Export low resolution previews or high resolution images
System Requirements:
Macintosh OS X 10.4
Windows XP
QuarkXPress 7 for PPC/Intel Macs (Universal Binary XT) or Windows XP
CopyFlow Gold for QuarkXPress is available now through XChange International. To order, or for more information, users can visit www.xchangeuk.com, or call on +44(0)20 7490 4455 during UK business hours. Email address is info@xchangeuk.com.
XChange International are a leading supplier of desktop graphic and publishing applications, QuarkXTension® technology; Adobe InDesign®, Acrobat® and Photoshop® Plug-ins® and other design and publishing utilities. XChange source extended technology products from across the world specific to the graphic design, print and publishing industries and make them available to an extensive user base via their printed catalogue or online at their web site. The company are headquartered in Central London and also offer specialist training on many of the solutions they sell.
source : DMN Newswire
XChange International, the source for extended technology worldwide, are pleased to announce the release of CopyFlow Gold for QuarkXPress v7 with support for Universal Binary. CopyFlow Gold adds powerful page-assembly capabilities to QuarkXPress and provides menu selections which enable end users to automatically import and export multiple linked text stories to and from Quark documents, even those in different text chains. CopyFlow Gold is particularly useful where volume is high, production involves multiple revisions, and deadlines are tight.
Features include batch processing of text, automate pagination and re-purposing of text content. CopyFlow Gold provides tools for naming Quark text frames individually and for identifying folders from which text may be batch imported and exported. An included Namer tool allows for the automatic naming of frames, a very useful feature when many frames are involved. Using the Batch Import tool, users can rapidly import content into text boxes of an Quark document. In addition, file types are filtered using the same logic that applies to Quark’s text filters. Text files can then be batch exported from Quark into RTF or tagged text files for further editing or re-purposing.
Usage examples:
* Book Production — Use CopyFlow Gold to import all the text and elements for book chapters as a batch process, even across a network from multiple locations and in multiple file formats. Proof page layouts with all elements in position, then export text files which require revisions back to the originator or editor. Multiple revision passes are more manageable with CopyFlow Gold controlling import and export. Once revisions are completed, quickly reassemble finished chapters automatically for output.
* Translations — Automatically name all text frames in an existing Quark document, export all of the text into a single composite tagged file, submit this file to the translation application of choice, and reimport the translated text into the same Quark document.
* Database Publishing — Use the report generator in a database application to automatically tag fields with layout frame names and create an input text file. Then prepare Quark layouts with corresponding frame names for page elements. Finally, batch import the file or files using CopyFlow Gold and quickly build catalogues or directories.
Features at a glance:
• Advanced Auto-Naming and grouping of text and picture boxes
• Import and Export using any standard QuarkXPress filter
• Export all the text in a Quark document into a single file of XPress Tags which can be batch re-imported into the Quark document or a copy of the Quark document after language translation or other processing.
• Batch Import and Export Quark XPress tags in ASCII or Unicode UTF-16
• AppleScript support for CopyFlow Gold
- Naming boxes
- Batch Import
- Batch Export
- Batch Flush
• Picture Import and Export — Export low resolution previews or high resolution images
System Requirements:
Macintosh OS X 10.4
Windows XP
QuarkXPress 7 for PPC/Intel Macs (Universal Binary XT) or Windows XP
CopyFlow Gold for QuarkXPress is available now through XChange International. To order, or for more information, users can visit www.xchangeuk.com, or call on +44(0)20 7490 4455 during UK business hours. Email address is info@xchangeuk.com.
XChange International are a leading supplier of desktop graphic and publishing applications, QuarkXTension® technology; Adobe InDesign®, Acrobat® and Photoshop® Plug-ins® and other design and publishing utilities. XChange source extended technology products from across the world specific to the graphic design, print and publishing industries and make them available to an extensive user base via their printed catalogue or online at their web site. The company are headquartered in Central London and also offer specialist training on many of the solutions they sell.
source : DMN Newswire
Oracle to issue pre-release patch info
Microsoft-style warnings allow firms to prepare for upcoming patches.
Oracle has started to issue pre-release announcements ahead of its quarterly patch updates.
The warnings provide IT staff with information about the applications that the enterprise software vendor plans to patch.
It also lists the number of security fixes that will be distributed, and the Common Vulnerability Scoring System code for the most severe fix in each major product category.
Pre-release information for Oracle's 16 January patch is currently posted on the vendor's website. The database and enterprise software vendor plans to issue 52 security updates.
Microsoft pioneered the practice of sending out pre-release warnings to allow IT support staff to prepare for upcoming patch releases.
Oracle's decision comes nearly two months after security researchers at NGS Software compared the security record for the firm's database to that of Microsoft's SQL Server and found that Oracle was trailing far behind Microsoft.
Researcher David Litchfield warned at the time that Oracle's security practices have failed to keep up with the evolution in security threats.
The NGS report was not the first to poke holes in Oracle's security record. The firm has made several changes to it security practices in recent years, and has adopted a regular patch release cycle to help IT staff plan and prepare for new updates.
source : www.pcw.co.uk
Oracle has started to issue pre-release announcements ahead of its quarterly patch updates.
The warnings provide IT staff with information about the applications that the enterprise software vendor plans to patch.
It also lists the number of security fixes that will be distributed, and the Common Vulnerability Scoring System code for the most severe fix in each major product category.
Pre-release information for Oracle's 16 January patch is currently posted on the vendor's website. The database and enterprise software vendor plans to issue 52 security updates.
Microsoft pioneered the practice of sending out pre-release warnings to allow IT support staff to prepare for upcoming patch releases.
Oracle's decision comes nearly two months after security researchers at NGS Software compared the security record for the firm's database to that of Microsoft's SQL Server and found that Oracle was trailing far behind Microsoft.
Researcher David Litchfield warned at the time that Oracle's security practices have failed to keep up with the evolution in security threats.
The NGS report was not the first to poke holes in Oracle's security record. The firm has made several changes to it security practices in recent years, and has adopted a regular patch release cycle to help IT staff plan and prepare for new updates.
source : www.pcw.co.uk
A firewall between predators and prey
Easier said than done, as Myspace tries to keep its site safe from those on the prowl for sex with kids.
n March, a 15-year-old student at Honeoye Central School left campus with an 18-year-old she met on MySpace, the online networking site. The girl was found in his company in Syracuse a day and a half later.
Protecting teens from predators and other dangers is why MySpace recently announced it will address complaints by developing a way to help block convicted sex offenders from the site.
By messaging, sharing photos and creating personal pages, MySpace users expand their circles of friends online at the site — and critics say those circles could include sexual predators.
The site, owned by News Corp., is partnering with Sentinel Tech Holding Corp. to build and deploy a database, to be called Sentinel Safe, that will contain the names and physical descriptions of convicted sex offenders. An automated system will search for matches between the database and some 135 million MySpace user profiles. MySpace employees will then delete any profiles that match.
According to Ontario County Sheriff's Investigator John Abraham, who has specialized in Internet safety for about 10 years, predators are using the Internet not only to contact potential victims but to coach other pedophiles how to do it.
Were parents to peruse some of the communiques police see exchanged between fellow sex offenders, "it would make your hair stand up on the back of your neck — it's just sickening," Abraham said.
"They learn what to say," Abraham said, referring to a 12-page glossary he just released citing hundreds of acronyms used online, primarily when instant-messaging on sites like MySpace. The online lingo includes codes like: P911 (parents are coming), RPG (role playing games), QT (cutie), WTGP (Want to go private?), 143 (I love you) and LMIRL (let's meet in real life).
Predators are "getting smarter and using technology as a tool, " Abraham said. "These sex offenders are starting to send text messages to kids in school. "
Teenagers "think it's a friend they met online when it's someone watching them walk home from school," Abraham said.
Forty-six states, including New York, now maintain registries containing more than 550,000 convicted sex offenders.
Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace’s chief security officer, said such high numbers mean “there was absolutely no real way to do this (screening) in a real-time, scalable fashion.”
Instead, Sentinel will build a search tool for MySpace using a database of sex offenders, to be updated monthly, that will include details such as names, age, hair color, height, scars and tattoos.
But the problem remains that "no one is getting on saying 'I'm Joe Blow, a sex offender recently released from prison and I want to talk to your 13-year-old daughter,'" Abraham scoffed. "There's really no way of knowing whether the information given is really true."
Abraham would rather see legislation barring convicted predators from Internet access, "banning any sex offender from ever touching a computer again," he said.
Dave Henderson, director of computer services at Victor Central Schools, agreed that there was no way a "straight technological solution is going to be the be-all, end-all. It just won't be."
Victor has blocked student access to MySpace at school not just because of potential danger from predators but because officials have deemed the site has no instructional value. Nonetheless, Henderson added, Victor students are supervised when online "because even a good content filter won't filter out all inappropriate Web sites," he said.
"Parents have to be vigilant regardless," Henderson cautioned.
In June, MySpace adopted restrictions on how adults may contact the site’s younger users and request to view their full profiles, which contain hobbies and additional personal details. That, too, was criticized as ineffective because adults may simply register as teens to skirt the restrictions.
"It's not too hard to pull off a fake identity on it," said Alyssa Eddinger, a junior at Bloomfield who visits MySpace every couple of days. While a teenage MySpace user has to first approve a the request of a new "friend" request to view the teen's full profile, she has seen little concern among fellow students they might be unwitting targets of a prospective predator.
"More often than not, it just gets shrugged off as something that isn't going to happen to them," Alyssa said.
Parry Aftab, executive director of WiredSafety.org, a group dedicated to Net safety, credited MySpace for trying, but doubted a database will make anyone safer.
“The fact that it sounds more effective than it really is, that’s a big problem. The people who they really need to protect kids from in most cases are not (convicted) sexual offenders,” she said. “They are people who haven’t been caught yet."
The only way MySpace could "truly pull this off," Inv. Abraham suggested, would be to require users to register their e-mail addresses, thereby enabling authorities to identify the point of origin through something known as an Internet Protocol address. Once authorities had the IP address, they could permanently block anything from that account at the site, he said.
However, even that alternative would produce limited results because while the IP address for high-speed modem lines remains the same, IP addresses on dial-up modem lines change each time the user connects to the Web, he said. Enforcement could prove challenging given the free Internet access available in places like public libraries, he added.
If sex offenders were completely prohibited from computer use, Abraham said, it would be easier to protect the public. Parole officers could monitor whether a sex offender under their supervision has a computer, for example, Abraham said.
But with changing technologies, more and more portable devices, such as Blackberries, cell phones, and video game consoles, are also able to access the Web. Those advances, he said, make it harder for authorities to track or catch predators, and tools officials hope may help today could prove obsolete in the near future.
"It would be great to see it go back to the days where they had to order stuff through the mail and the Post Office could set up stings," Abraham said.
n March, a 15-year-old student at Honeoye Central School left campus with an 18-year-old she met on MySpace, the online networking site. The girl was found in his company in Syracuse a day and a half later.
Protecting teens from predators and other dangers is why MySpace recently announced it will address complaints by developing a way to help block convicted sex offenders from the site.
By messaging, sharing photos and creating personal pages, MySpace users expand their circles of friends online at the site — and critics say those circles could include sexual predators.
The site, owned by News Corp., is partnering with Sentinel Tech Holding Corp. to build and deploy a database, to be called Sentinel Safe, that will contain the names and physical descriptions of convicted sex offenders. An automated system will search for matches between the database and some 135 million MySpace user profiles. MySpace employees will then delete any profiles that match.
According to Ontario County Sheriff's Investigator John Abraham, who has specialized in Internet safety for about 10 years, predators are using the Internet not only to contact potential victims but to coach other pedophiles how to do it.
Were parents to peruse some of the communiques police see exchanged between fellow sex offenders, "it would make your hair stand up on the back of your neck — it's just sickening," Abraham said.
"They learn what to say," Abraham said, referring to a 12-page glossary he just released citing hundreds of acronyms used online, primarily when instant-messaging on sites like MySpace. The online lingo includes codes like: P911 (parents are coming), RPG (role playing games), QT (cutie), WTGP (Want to go private?), 143 (I love you) and LMIRL (let's meet in real life).
Predators are "getting smarter and using technology as a tool, " Abraham said. "These sex offenders are starting to send text messages to kids in school. "
Teenagers "think it's a friend they met online when it's someone watching them walk home from school," Abraham said.
Forty-six states, including New York, now maintain registries containing more than 550,000 convicted sex offenders.
Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace’s chief security officer, said such high numbers mean “there was absolutely no real way to do this (screening) in a real-time, scalable fashion.”
Instead, Sentinel will build a search tool for MySpace using a database of sex offenders, to be updated monthly, that will include details such as names, age, hair color, height, scars and tattoos.
But the problem remains that "no one is getting on saying 'I'm Joe Blow, a sex offender recently released from prison and I want to talk to your 13-year-old daughter,'" Abraham scoffed. "There's really no way of knowing whether the information given is really true."
Abraham would rather see legislation barring convicted predators from Internet access, "banning any sex offender from ever touching a computer again," he said.
Dave Henderson, director of computer services at Victor Central Schools, agreed that there was no way a "straight technological solution is going to be the be-all, end-all. It just won't be."
Victor has blocked student access to MySpace at school not just because of potential danger from predators but because officials have deemed the site has no instructional value. Nonetheless, Henderson added, Victor students are supervised when online "because even a good content filter won't filter out all inappropriate Web sites," he said.
"Parents have to be vigilant regardless," Henderson cautioned.
In June, MySpace adopted restrictions on how adults may contact the site’s younger users and request to view their full profiles, which contain hobbies and additional personal details. That, too, was criticized as ineffective because adults may simply register as teens to skirt the restrictions.
"It's not too hard to pull off a fake identity on it," said Alyssa Eddinger, a junior at Bloomfield who visits MySpace every couple of days. While a teenage MySpace user has to first approve a the request of a new "friend" request to view the teen's full profile, she has seen little concern among fellow students they might be unwitting targets of a prospective predator.
"More often than not, it just gets shrugged off as something that isn't going to happen to them," Alyssa said.
Parry Aftab, executive director of WiredSafety.org, a group dedicated to Net safety, credited MySpace for trying, but doubted a database will make anyone safer.
“The fact that it sounds more effective than it really is, that’s a big problem. The people who they really need to protect kids from in most cases are not (convicted) sexual offenders,” she said. “They are people who haven’t been caught yet."
The only way MySpace could "truly pull this off," Inv. Abraham suggested, would be to require users to register their e-mail addresses, thereby enabling authorities to identify the point of origin through something known as an Internet Protocol address. Once authorities had the IP address, they could permanently block anything from that account at the site, he said.
However, even that alternative would produce limited results because while the IP address for high-speed modem lines remains the same, IP addresses on dial-up modem lines change each time the user connects to the Web, he said. Enforcement could prove challenging given the free Internet access available in places like public libraries, he added.
If sex offenders were completely prohibited from computer use, Abraham said, it would be easier to protect the public. Parole officers could monitor whether a sex offender under their supervision has a computer, for example, Abraham said.
But with changing technologies, more and more portable devices, such as Blackberries, cell phones, and video game consoles, are also able to access the Web. Those advances, he said, make it harder for authorities to track or catch predators, and tools officials hope may help today could prove obsolete in the near future.
"It would be great to see it go back to the days where they had to order stuff through the mail and the Post Office could set up stings," Abraham said.
Oracle To Patch 55 Database, App Server Bugs Next Week
The 55 patches include 24 for bugs that can be exploited remotely by attackers, which generally are considered critical threats by security researchers and vendors.
Taking a page out of rival Microsoft's playbook, Oracle on Thursday issued its first-ever advanced warning that spells out the number and severity of the patches it plans to release to fix flaws in its flagship database and other software.
According to the advance notification posted on Oracle's Web site, the quarterly Critical Patch Update, scheduled to roll out Jan. 16, will include 55 patches, including 24 for bugs that can be exploited remotely by attackers. Generally, such flaws -- characterized by Oracle as "remotely exploitable without authentication" -- are considered critical threats by security researchers and vendors.
The planned disclosures and patches affect Oracle Database (27 patches, 10 for remote code execution vulnerabilities), Application Server (12/8), E-Business Suite and Applications (7/0), Oracle Enterprise Manager (6/5), and PeopleSoft Enterprise and JD Edwards EnterpriseOne (3/1). Other products, including Oracle Collaboration Server, also must be patched because they use flawed components of some of the fixed applications.
Security vendor Symantec told users of its DeepSight threat management system to set aside time starting Tuesday to deploy the Oracle fixes. "Due to the critical nature of some of these issues, customers are advised to allocate resources for the immediate deployment and testing of vendor patches," Symantec said in its own alert on the upcoming security roll out.
Last October, Oracle instituted a ranking system for the vulnerabilities it planned to patch, and said the changes were made after gathering feedback from customers. The new advance notification -- similar to the practice at Microsoft, which releases limited information the week before its monthly patch release -- is another such customer-oriented tool, said Oracle Thursday.
"It is our hope that these pre-release announcements will become valuable tools to help security professionals analyze the criticality of the forthcoming CPUs and brief their management to obtain any necessary approvals for a timely application of the CPUs," said Duncan Harris, senior director of security assurance, in a blog entry.
Oracle's CPU will be released Tuesday at noon Pacific time, and will be available from the update page of the Oracle Technology Network.
Taking a page out of rival Microsoft's playbook, Oracle on Thursday issued its first-ever advanced warning that spells out the number and severity of the patches it plans to release to fix flaws in its flagship database and other software.
According to the advance notification posted on Oracle's Web site, the quarterly Critical Patch Update, scheduled to roll out Jan. 16, will include 55 patches, including 24 for bugs that can be exploited remotely by attackers. Generally, such flaws -- characterized by Oracle as "remotely exploitable without authentication" -- are considered critical threats by security researchers and vendors.
The planned disclosures and patches affect Oracle Database (27 patches, 10 for remote code execution vulnerabilities), Application Server (12/8), E-Business Suite and Applications (7/0), Oracle Enterprise Manager (6/5), and PeopleSoft Enterprise and JD Edwards EnterpriseOne (3/1). Other products, including Oracle Collaboration Server, also must be patched because they use flawed components of some of the fixed applications.
Security vendor Symantec told users of its DeepSight threat management system to set aside time starting Tuesday to deploy the Oracle fixes. "Due to the critical nature of some of these issues, customers are advised to allocate resources for the immediate deployment and testing of vendor patches," Symantec said in its own alert on the upcoming security roll out.
Last October, Oracle instituted a ranking system for the vulnerabilities it planned to patch, and said the changes were made after gathering feedback from customers. The new advance notification -- similar to the practice at Microsoft, which releases limited information the week before its monthly patch release -- is another such customer-oriented tool, said Oracle Thursday.
"It is our hope that these pre-release announcements will become valuable tools to help security professionals analyze the criticality of the forthcoming CPUs and brief their management to obtain any necessary approvals for a timely application of the CPUs," said Duncan Harris, senior director of security assurance, in a blog entry.
Oracle's CPU will be released Tuesday at noon Pacific time, and will be available from the update page of the Oracle Technology Network.
AsiaInfo Enters China Unicom Deal In Mobile Email
AsiaInfo Holdings entered an agreement Friday to develop China Unicom's national push-mail mobile email system, which allows users to send and receive emails and view multimedia attachments via a mobile device.
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
Shares of AsiaInfo, which is based in Santa Clara, Calif., were recently trading above its 52-week high at $8.68, up 12%, or 93 cents on heavy volume.
The deal follows several others the company has signed within the last three months. AsiaInfo has been inking deals with China's leading telecommunications companies, including China Telecom and China Mobile.
Analyst Chang Hua Qiu, of Forun Technologies, said the company has benefitted from the potential for third-generation, or 3G, licenses in China, which would allow mobile providers to operate non-voice services like email, music downloads and entertainment on their phones.
"The firm basically is coming back," said Chang, who has an outperform rating on the stock and expects the firm to break even for its 2006 fourth quarter. The company reports earnings later this month.
"Telecom software is growing at an accelerated pace, and their security software business has turned around. As of this year, it no longer lost money," Chang added. Chang says 2007 should be a growth year for the stock, which fell earlier in 2006 and has since rebounded.
Forun Technologies and Chang both own shares of AsiaInfo.
Last month was a busy month for the company, which, while based in the U.S., deals primarily with Chinese telecom companies and has offices in seven Chinese cities including Shanghai.
In late December, AsiaInfo signed a contract with four China Telecom units to upgrade the company's business support systems, a month after it signed a similar deal with China Unicom.
A few weeks earlier, the company announced it entered an agreement to build a new billing system for China Mobile, which would allow the company to track what features customers use on their phones.
Before that deal, AsiaInfo agreed to expand the customer service system for Beijing Mobile Communication Corp.
The terms of the deals weren't disclosed and the company couldn't be reached for comment this morning.
A. Christian Jean, Dow Jones Newswires, 201-938-2007
(Adam Kuczynski contributed to this report.)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
Shares of AsiaInfo, which is based in Santa Clara, Calif., were recently trading above its 52-week high at $8.68, up 12%, or 93 cents on heavy volume.
The deal follows several others the company has signed within the last three months. AsiaInfo has been inking deals with China's leading telecommunications companies, including China Telecom and China Mobile.
Analyst Chang Hua Qiu, of Forun Technologies, said the company has benefitted from the potential for third-generation, or 3G, licenses in China, which would allow mobile providers to operate non-voice services like email, music downloads and entertainment on their phones.
"The firm basically is coming back," said Chang, who has an outperform rating on the stock and expects the firm to break even for its 2006 fourth quarter. The company reports earnings later this month.
"Telecom software is growing at an accelerated pace, and their security software business has turned around. As of this year, it no longer lost money," Chang added. Chang says 2007 should be a growth year for the stock, which fell earlier in 2006 and has since rebounded.
Forun Technologies and Chang both own shares of AsiaInfo.
Last month was a busy month for the company, which, while based in the U.S., deals primarily with Chinese telecom companies and has offices in seven Chinese cities including Shanghai.
In late December, AsiaInfo signed a contract with four China Telecom units to upgrade the company's business support systems, a month after it signed a similar deal with China Unicom.
A few weeks earlier, the company announced it entered an agreement to build a new billing system for China Mobile, which would allow the company to track what features customers use on their phones.
Before that deal, AsiaInfo agreed to expand the customer service system for Beijing Mobile Communication Corp.
The terms of the deals weren't disclosed and the company couldn't be reached for comment this morning.
A. Christian Jean, Dow Jones Newswires, 201-938-2007
(Adam Kuczynski contributed to this report.)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Check Point: 87 Percent Accept $625M Protect Data Tender Offer
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. stock rose Thursday after the company said it is on track to acquire Protect Data AB, a Swedish security company it offered to buy for $625 million in cash.
Shares of Check Point closed up 68 cents, or 3 percent, at $23.10 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Israel-based Check Point said about 87 percent of Protect Data shares and warrants on a fully diluted basis were tendered in Check Point's offer for the company. Check Point said it plans to acquire the tendered shares and warrants.
It has extended the acceptance period for remaining shareholders until Jan. 22.
Check Point, which develops firewall, virtual private network and security-management software, originally bid $586 million for Protect Data in November. Check Point then raised its bid to $625 million in December.
The acquisition of Protect Data is part of a push by Check Point into data and network security. Earlier this week, Check Point completed a $20 million deal to buy Rockville, Md.-based NFR Security Inc.
AP
Shares of Check Point closed up 68 cents, or 3 percent, at $23.10 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Israel-based Check Point said about 87 percent of Protect Data shares and warrants on a fully diluted basis were tendered in Check Point's offer for the company. Check Point said it plans to acquire the tendered shares and warrants.
It has extended the acceptance period for remaining shareholders until Jan. 22.
Check Point, which develops firewall, virtual private network and security-management software, originally bid $586 million for Protect Data in November. Check Point then raised its bid to $625 million in December.
The acquisition of Protect Data is part of a push by Check Point into data and network security. Earlier this week, Check Point completed a $20 million deal to buy Rockville, Md.-based NFR Security Inc.
AP
AsiaInfo Signs Contract with China Unicom to Develop Push Mail Mobile Email System
AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of high-quality telecom software solutions and IT security products and services, today announced it has recently signed a contract with China Unicom to develop its national CDMA push mail platform.
'We are seeing a growing trend towards managing information through mobile devices and we are excited to collaborate with China Unicom to develop this push mail solution,'' said Steve Zhang, AsiaInfo's President and CEO. ''China Unicom's push mail platform will be tailored to synchronize with their multi-media email system and meet the unique mobile email requirements of Chinese users.''
Push mail, which allows users to send and receive emails and view multi- media attachments via a mobile device, is rapidly gaining popularity worldwide. In China, China Unicom's push mail service has seen strong user growth since it was introduced in early 2006.
''Since the construction of China Unicom's UniNet internet backbone, we have worked closely with China Unicom to build its VoIP network, broadband network, CDMA billing systems and CDMA based wireless VAS applications,'' added Mr. Zhang. ''We are delighted to continue this relationship with China Unicom and look forward to collaborating on many more high value projects in the future.''
AsiaInfo's high capacity push mail system is based on detailed research, analysis and testing of leading domestic and foreign push email systems. With the imminent arrival of the 3G era, mobile data services such as voice email, music download, and other information and entertainment services are expected to become an essential business for all of China's telecom operators. AsiaInfo will continue to pioneer reliable and efficient mobile data solutions in order to ensure increased profitability among its telecom operator clients.
About AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc.
AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASIA - News) is a leading provider of high-quality telecom software solutions and security products and services to some of China's largest enterprises as well as many small and medium sized companies in China. An established leader in the Chinese telecommunications industry, AsiaInfo became a prominent supplier of security products and services in China with the acquisition of Lenovo's non-telecom related IT services business in 2004.
Organized as a Delaware corporation, AsiaInfo began operations in the United States in 1993. The Company moved major operations to China in 1995 and played a significant role in the construction of the national backbones and provincial access networks for all of China's major national telecom carriers, including China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Netcom. Since 1998, AsiaInfo has continued diversifying its product offerings and is now a major provider of telecom software solutions in China.
For more information about AsiaInfo, please visit http://www.asiainfo.com .
The information contained in this document is as of January 12, 2006. AsiaInfo assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information or future events or developments.
This document contains forward-looking information about AsiaInfo's operating results and business prospects that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the fact that they use words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: government telecommunications infrastructure and budgetary policy in China; our ability to maintain our concentrated customer base; the long and variable cycles for our products and services that can cause our revenues and operating results to vary significantly from period to period; our ability to meet our working capital requirements; our ability to retain our executive officers; our ability to attract and retain skilled personnel; potential liabilities we are exposed to because we extend warranties to our customers; risks associated with cost overruns and delays; our ability to develop or acquire new products or enhancements to our software products that are marketable on a timely and cost-effective basis; our ability to adequately protect our proprietary rights; the competitive nature of the markets we operate in; political and economic policies of the Chinese government. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties, and other matters can be found in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, and in our periodic reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K (if any) filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and available at http://www.sec.gov .
Source: AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc.
'We are seeing a growing trend towards managing information through mobile devices and we are excited to collaborate with China Unicom to develop this push mail solution,'' said Steve Zhang, AsiaInfo's President and CEO. ''China Unicom's push mail platform will be tailored to synchronize with their multi-media email system and meet the unique mobile email requirements of Chinese users.''
Push mail, which allows users to send and receive emails and view multi- media attachments via a mobile device, is rapidly gaining popularity worldwide. In China, China Unicom's push mail service has seen strong user growth since it was introduced in early 2006.
''Since the construction of China Unicom's UniNet internet backbone, we have worked closely with China Unicom to build its VoIP network, broadband network, CDMA billing systems and CDMA based wireless VAS applications,'' added Mr. Zhang. ''We are delighted to continue this relationship with China Unicom and look forward to collaborating on many more high value projects in the future.''
AsiaInfo's high capacity push mail system is based on detailed research, analysis and testing of leading domestic and foreign push email systems. With the imminent arrival of the 3G era, mobile data services such as voice email, music download, and other information and entertainment services are expected to become an essential business for all of China's telecom operators. AsiaInfo will continue to pioneer reliable and efficient mobile data solutions in order to ensure increased profitability among its telecom operator clients.
About AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc.
AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASIA - News) is a leading provider of high-quality telecom software solutions and security products and services to some of China's largest enterprises as well as many small and medium sized companies in China. An established leader in the Chinese telecommunications industry, AsiaInfo became a prominent supplier of security products and services in China with the acquisition of Lenovo's non-telecom related IT services business in 2004.
Organized as a Delaware corporation, AsiaInfo began operations in the United States in 1993. The Company moved major operations to China in 1995 and played a significant role in the construction of the national backbones and provincial access networks for all of China's major national telecom carriers, including China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Netcom. Since 1998, AsiaInfo has continued diversifying its product offerings and is now a major provider of telecom software solutions in China.
For more information about AsiaInfo, please visit http://www.asiainfo.com .
The information contained in this document is as of January 12, 2006. AsiaInfo assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information or future events or developments.
This document contains forward-looking information about AsiaInfo's operating results and business prospects that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the fact that they use words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: government telecommunications infrastructure and budgetary policy in China; our ability to maintain our concentrated customer base; the long and variable cycles for our products and services that can cause our revenues and operating results to vary significantly from period to period; our ability to meet our working capital requirements; our ability to retain our executive officers; our ability to attract and retain skilled personnel; potential liabilities we are exposed to because we extend warranties to our customers; risks associated with cost overruns and delays; our ability to develop or acquire new products or enhancements to our software products that are marketable on a timely and cost-effective basis; our ability to adequately protect our proprietary rights; the competitive nature of the markets we operate in; political and economic policies of the Chinese government. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties, and other matters can be found in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, and in our periodic reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K (if any) filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and available at http://www.sec.gov .
Source: AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc.
Shares of Check Point Software Continue Climbing As Company on Track to Close Deal
Shares of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. continued climbing in premarket trading Friday a day after the maker of Internet security software said it is on track to complete the acquisition of Protect Data AB.
Protect Data helps broaden Check Point's portfolio of software guarding computers and networks from hackers, spyware and data theft. With $414 million in 2005 sales, Protect Data makes products encrypting data on computers and cell phones.
Check Point, which booked $579.4 million revenue in 2005, is acquiring Protect Data through a $625 million tender offer.
After rising 3 percent on the Nasdaq Thursday, Check Point's stock gained an additional 28 cents to $23.38 in premarket electronic trading Friday. The stock is poised to open near its 52-week high of $23.48.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Robert Breza upgraded Check Point Software to "Outperform" from "Sector Perform," raising his price target to $32 from $22.
Check Point acquired "an industry leader with the best products on the market," Breza said. With the acquisition, Check Point Software gives its sales force a new bundle of products to pitch to customers, he said.
Breza expects Check Point to launch four new products in 2007, and he thinks the deal will help the company grow at a faster pace with a more diversified product portfolio.
Protect Data helps broaden Check Point's portfolio of software guarding computers and networks from hackers, spyware and data theft. With $414 million in 2005 sales, Protect Data makes products encrypting data on computers and cell phones.
Check Point, which booked $579.4 million revenue in 2005, is acquiring Protect Data through a $625 million tender offer.
After rising 3 percent on the Nasdaq Thursday, Check Point's stock gained an additional 28 cents to $23.38 in premarket electronic trading Friday. The stock is poised to open near its 52-week high of $23.48.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Robert Breza upgraded Check Point Software to "Outperform" from "Sector Perform," raising his price target to $32 from $22.
Check Point acquired "an industry leader with the best products on the market," Breza said. With the acquisition, Check Point Software gives its sales force a new bundle of products to pitch to customers, he said.
Breza expects Check Point to launch four new products in 2007, and he thinks the deal will help the company grow at a faster pace with a more diversified product portfolio.
EBay Set to Buy Inc. 500 Company for $310 Million
StubHub, which ranked No. 8 on this year's list, is considered eBay's chief rival in the online ticket market.
StubHub, an online ticket reseller that ranked No. 8 on the 2006 Inc. 500 list, will be acquired by eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) for $310 million, the companies announced Thursday after months of speculation surrounding the deal.
San Francisco-based StubHub, which was founded in 2000, grossed more than $400 million last year, and is considered a leading player in the online resale market for sports, concert, and other event tickets.
The company provides a secure way to connect buyers and sellers of tickets, and offers a money-back guarantee if buyers don't receive their tickets. EBay, the online auction giant, is considered StubHub 's biggest competitor.
"StubHub has been extremely successful in the online tickets segment, and it's a perfect complement to eBay's tickets business," Bill Cobb, president of eBay's North America Marketplaces, said in a statement.
The deal will allow eBay to expand its online ticket offerings and presence in the secondary ticket market, while giving StubHub access to the site's resources and expertise.
"StubHub's business model is an excellent fit with eBay, a company we've admired for a long time," StubHub founder and CEO Jeff Fluhr said in a statement. "StubHub exists to serve passionate fans -- and we feel great knowing our customers will benefit from the power of eBay and its community of users."
The deal, which is pending approval by regulators and StubHub shareholders, is expected to close during the first quarter of the year.
source : www.inc.com
StubHub, an online ticket reseller that ranked No. 8 on the 2006 Inc. 500 list, will be acquired by eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) for $310 million, the companies announced Thursday after months of speculation surrounding the deal.
San Francisco-based StubHub, which was founded in 2000, grossed more than $400 million last year, and is considered a leading player in the online resale market for sports, concert, and other event tickets.
The company provides a secure way to connect buyers and sellers of tickets, and offers a money-back guarantee if buyers don't receive their tickets. EBay, the online auction giant, is considered StubHub 's biggest competitor.
"StubHub has been extremely successful in the online tickets segment, and it's a perfect complement to eBay's tickets business," Bill Cobb, president of eBay's North America Marketplaces, said in a statement.
The deal will allow eBay to expand its online ticket offerings and presence in the secondary ticket market, while giving StubHub access to the site's resources and expertise.
"StubHub's business model is an excellent fit with eBay, a company we've admired for a long time," StubHub founder and CEO Jeff Fluhr said in a statement. "StubHub exists to serve passionate fans -- and we feel great knowing our customers will benefit from the power of eBay and its community of users."
The deal, which is pending approval by regulators and StubHub shareholders, is expected to close during the first quarter of the year.
source : www.inc.com
FreeTrip.com to Resell InTouch Wireless Internet Access
SiriCOMM, Inc., (OTC Bulletin Board: SIRC - News) today announced a reseller agreement with FreeTrip.com in which FreeTrip will resell SiriCOMM's InTouch wireless Internet access. FreeTrip will use banner ads and direct mail campaigns to market and resell InTouch to the monthly visitors to their web sites, www.freetrip.com, www.insidetrackclub.com, and www.truckpilot.com.
"We are very pleased that FreeTrip will be offering InTouch to their large subscriber base," stated David Mendez, Executive Vice President of SiriCOMM. "FreeTrip is a popular site among highway travelers and this agreement presents a new market base for SiriCOMM. We look forward to working closely together in 2007 to gain subscribers through FreeTrip's marketing efforts."
FreeTrip and SiriCOMM share a common interest of providing productivity services to the highway transportation industry, including the commercial trucking market and recreational vehicle (RV) community. There are approximately 4.5 million truckers and 11 million RV enthusiasts in North America.
SiriCOMM offers InTouch wireless Internet access at over 475 Hot Spot locations. Subscribers have always-on wireless access to the Internet anytime they are in a SiriCOMM Hot Spot. InTouch is available for purchase online or at any of the SiriCOMM Hot Spot locations. This gives truck drivers and other highway travelers a convenient communication tool for both business and personal use while on the road.
"We are excited about this agreement with SiriCOMM because it gives FreeTrip.com the opportunity to expand the services we offer to our members and the 2 million unique visitors to our web sites each month," stated Ann Shack, President, FreeTrip, Inc. Ms. Shack continued, "In today's environment, highway travelers want and need access to information available on the Internet, and SiriCOMM will play a major roll in keeping them connected while on the road."
About SiriCOMM
SiriCOMM is an application service provider specializing in wireless Internet connectivity and productivity applications tailored to the transportation industry. By providing both network access and a robust application host platform, SiriCOMM delivers a responsive and convenient way for all industry stakeholders to utilize and leverage information. The company uses Wi-Fi and radio-frequency technologies to create hot spots at locations convenient to highway travel. More information including network locations is available at http://www.siricomm.com
About FreeTrip.com
FreeTrip.com, Inc. develops highway routing technology and services for the travel and transportation industries, focusing on highway travel planning, truck fleet operations, and on-the-road information website services. FreeTrip technology specializes in providing comprehensive highway itineraries that include not only accurate and easy-to-read directions, but road advisory and en-route points of interest information as well. The technology also allows a variety of ways to drive from A to B, depending upon personal needs (e.g. avoid tolls in Pennsylvania, favor scenic roads in Colorado, avoid tunnels that do not allow propane, avoid I-95, etc.) Our motto is: "Make It Useful ... Keep It Simple"
Statements about the future performance of SiriCOMM, economic trends, and other forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, continued acceptance of SiriCOMM's products, increased levels of competition for the company, new products and technological changes, SiriCOMM's dependence on third-party suppliers, and other risks detailed from time to time in SiriCOMM's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. SiriCOMM provides no assurance regarding the actual outcome of the events contemplated by any forward-looking statements included in this release.
Source: SiriCOMM, Inc.
"We are very pleased that FreeTrip will be offering InTouch to their large subscriber base," stated David Mendez, Executive Vice President of SiriCOMM. "FreeTrip is a popular site among highway travelers and this agreement presents a new market base for SiriCOMM. We look forward to working closely together in 2007 to gain subscribers through FreeTrip's marketing efforts."
FreeTrip and SiriCOMM share a common interest of providing productivity services to the highway transportation industry, including the commercial trucking market and recreational vehicle (RV) community. There are approximately 4.5 million truckers and 11 million RV enthusiasts in North America.
SiriCOMM offers InTouch wireless Internet access at over 475 Hot Spot locations. Subscribers have always-on wireless access to the Internet anytime they are in a SiriCOMM Hot Spot. InTouch is available for purchase online or at any of the SiriCOMM Hot Spot locations. This gives truck drivers and other highway travelers a convenient communication tool for both business and personal use while on the road.
"We are excited about this agreement with SiriCOMM because it gives FreeTrip.com the opportunity to expand the services we offer to our members and the 2 million unique visitors to our web sites each month," stated Ann Shack, President, FreeTrip, Inc. Ms. Shack continued, "In today's environment, highway travelers want and need access to information available on the Internet, and SiriCOMM will play a major roll in keeping them connected while on the road."
About SiriCOMM
SiriCOMM is an application service provider specializing in wireless Internet connectivity and productivity applications tailored to the transportation industry. By providing both network access and a robust application host platform, SiriCOMM delivers a responsive and convenient way for all industry stakeholders to utilize and leverage information. The company uses Wi-Fi and radio-frequency technologies to create hot spots at locations convenient to highway travel. More information including network locations is available at http://www.siricomm.com
About FreeTrip.com
FreeTrip.com, Inc. develops highway routing technology and services for the travel and transportation industries, focusing on highway travel planning, truck fleet operations, and on-the-road information website services. FreeTrip technology specializes in providing comprehensive highway itineraries that include not only accurate and easy-to-read directions, but road advisory and en-route points of interest information as well. The technology also allows a variety of ways to drive from A to B, depending upon personal needs (e.g. avoid tolls in Pennsylvania, favor scenic roads in Colorado, avoid tunnels that do not allow propane, avoid I-95, etc.) Our motto is: "Make It Useful ... Keep It Simple"
Statements about the future performance of SiriCOMM, economic trends, and other forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, continued acceptance of SiriCOMM's products, increased levels of competition for the company, new products and technological changes, SiriCOMM's dependence on third-party suppliers, and other risks detailed from time to time in SiriCOMM's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. SiriCOMM provides no assurance regarding the actual outcome of the events contemplated by any forward-looking statements included in this release.
Source: SiriCOMM, Inc.
TMO at Macworld - Ovolab Shows New Geophoto Geocoding Software
Ovolab was demonstrating Geophoto, a new photo organization utility, at this week's Macworld Expo. Unlike other photo organization utilities, which typically present photos based on date order, Geophoto offers a new perspective, allowing you to browse photos based on the location they were taken.
Adding location information to a photo is commonly referred to as "geocoding." You can of course manually tag your photos with this information, but if you want to get serious and save time, you'll want to get a camera with integrated GPS, or add a GPS module if you camera supports this.
In addition to being able to tag and view your own photos, you can also use Geophoto to fly through the pictures taken by a vast community of people around the globe, who share them through Photocasts or through Flickr.
Geophoto will be released in the second half of February for $49.95. You can also preorder now for the reduced price of $39.95.
source article : www.macobserver.com
Adding location information to a photo is commonly referred to as "geocoding." You can of course manually tag your photos with this information, but if you want to get serious and save time, you'll want to get a camera with integrated GPS, or add a GPS module if you camera supports this.
In addition to being able to tag and view your own photos, you can also use Geophoto to fly through the pictures taken by a vast community of people around the globe, who share them through Photocasts or through Flickr.
Geophoto will be released in the second half of February for $49.95. You can also preorder now for the reduced price of $39.95.
source article : www.macobserver.com
Monday, January 08, 2007
Consumer Electronics Leaders Embrace Rhapsody DNA Platform
RealNetworks® Inc., (Nasdaq: RNWK - News), the global leader in digital media delivery, today announced that a number of leading consumer electronics companies, including Nokia, TiVo, iriver, Logitech, SigmaTel, and Telechips, have licensed its Rhapsody® DNA technology platform and plan to build support for Rhapsody DNA into products and services shipping in 2007.
These new partnerships will help make the award-winning Rhapsody digital music service accessible virtually anywhere, from your PC to your home stereo to your portable music player. The news underscores growing support for the Rhapsody DNA platform among leaders in the home audio, portable device, chipset and middleware markets.
These new partnerships will help make the award-winning Rhapsody digital music service accessible virtually anywhere, from your PC to your home stereo to your portable music player. The news underscores growing support for the Rhapsody DNA platform among leaders in the home audio, portable device, chipset and middleware markets.
"Our vision for Rhapsody is to deliver seamless and personalized access to millions of songs, on-demand and from any device," said Dan Sheeran, senior vice president of music and video, RealNetworks. "Last October, we released tools and technologies that enable CE companies to deliver on that vision by creating products with built-in access to Rhapsody. With industry leaders like Nokia, TiVo, SanDisk, iriver, and Sonos embracing Rhapsody DNA, we look forward to a steady stream of Rhapsody-enabled CE products in 2007."
"Combining Real's Rhapsody DNA technology with our award-winning TiVo service will make it easy for consumers to enjoy Rhapsody from the comfort of their living rooms," said Jim Denney, vice president of product marketing at TiVo.
Rhapsody DNA is a technology platform and set of marketing programs that enable CE makers to extend the award-winning Rhapsody digital music experience beyond the PC to portable and in-home devices through features such as the ability to browse the Rhapsody Music Guide and My Library menus, instant song playback, and access to Rhapsody's critically-acclaimed editorial content. Additional information about Rhapsody DNA and Rhapsody DNA licensing can be found at http://webservices.rhapsody.com .
PORTABLE AUDIO
RealNetworks today announced that it is working with Reigncom, maker of the popular iriver portable multimedia devices, to introduce two new Rhapsody DNA-enhanced portable players this spring (see companion release). These flash-based devices include a groundbreaking Wi-Fi enabled MP3 player that will allow consumers to download, stream and share their favorite music over the air directly to the device via the award-winning Rhapsody digital music service, and the iriver clix 2, a new and enhanced version of iriver's acclaimed clix line of players.
RealNetworks also announced that Nokia is integrating Rhapsody DNA support into the Nokia N800, the newest generation of its groundbreaking Nokia Internet Tablet product line and is demonstrating the Rhapsody service with the product at its booth during CES 2007. The sleek, pocket sized Nokia N800 device is a desktop Linux-based handheld product dedicated to convenient Internet browsing, messaging, email communications and other applications over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth phone data connections. Using the new Nokia N800, consumers will be able to wirelessly access Rhapsody virtually anywhere and enjoy their favorite music on the device's stereo speakers or with headset. The Nokia N800 Internet Tablet includes a high-resolution widescreen display (4.13") with zoom, an on-screen keyboard, and intuitive thumb navigation that is ideal for browsing for music through Rhapsody. Rhapsody support on the Nokia N800 device is expected to be available in February.
DIGITAL LIVING ROOM
Real is also working with manufacturers of set-top boxes and home audio devices to enable direct playback of Rhapsody's music and radio stations via their devices. In support of that effort, Real today announced that it is working with TiVo, Inc. to integrate Rhapsody DNA support into TiVo digital video recorders. Later this year, TiVo customers will have from-the-couch access to Rhapsody's library of over 3 million songs right through their TiVo (see companion release).
Real also announced it is working with Logitech to give consumers direct access to Rhapsody via the Logitech Squeezebox(TM) and Transporter home audio players. In an industry first, consumers can search the entire Rhapsody library for specific artists, albums and songs -- and then instantly play selections using the intuitive Squeezebox and Transporter remote interface without having to interact with a PC. The new Rhapsody feature-set for the Squeezebox and Transporter is expected to be available in the United States from Logitech on January 15 (see companion release).
A number of other device OEMs, including Dedicated Devices, Inc., D-Link, NETGEAR, Pepper Computer, and Roku have licensed Real's Rhapsody DNA platform for inclusion in their products.
CE INDUSTRY
To make it easier for CE device makers to integrate Rhapsody into their products, Real is working with leading chip makers and middleware providers to integrate support for Rhapsody DNA. Real today announced that two of the leading chipset manufacturers for portable devices, SigmaTel, Inc. and Telechips Inc., have licensed Real's Rhapsody DNA technology.
Real also announced today that many of the market's leading home audio middleware providers, including BridgeCo, Digital Deck, DigiOn, Mediabolic, Oregan Networks, Syabas Technology, and Verismo Networks, have also licensed Real's Rhapsody DNA technology and are building support for Rhapsody DNA into their middleware.
RealNetworks pioneered the unlimited access music service model, and currently leads the market for those services with more than 1.65 million subscribers to Rhapsody and its other premium music services. Since launching in 2001, Rhapsody has received multiple industry awards and honors. In 2006, Rhapsody earned Billboard's Digital Entertainment Media and Marketing Excellence award for the Best Downloadable or Subscription Music Service, Entertainment Weekly named Rhapsody one of its "25 Best Music Websites," and PC World honored Rhapsody with a 2006 World Class Award in its annual list of "100 Best Products."
About RealNetworks
RealNetworks, Inc. is the leading creator of digital media services and software including Rhapsody®, RealPlayer® 10, and casual PC and mobile games. Broadcasters, network operators, media companies and enterprises use RealNetworks' products and services to create and deliver digital media to PCs, mobile phones and consumer electronics devices. Consumers can access and experience audio/video programming and download RealNetworks' consumer software at http://www.real.com. RealNetworks' systems and corporate information is located at http://www.realnetworks.com.
Source: RealNetworks, Inc.
Nokia Unveils New Mobile Devices With Hopes of Competing With Rivals Motorola and Samsung
Nokia Corp. unveiled new mobile devices Monday including a smaller handset, hoping to compete with its chief rivals, and claimed it now leads the smartphone market with 40 million units sold last year.
Analysts had seen Nokia as losing ground on slim models to its chief rivals, U.S.-based Motorola and Samsung of South Korea, which introduced the handsets more than a year ago.
Analysts had seen Nokia as losing ground on slim models to its chief rivals, U.S.-based Motorola and Samsung of South Korea, which introduced the handsets more than a year ago.
Nokia's new model, the N76, is a light clamshell model, which includes a 2-megapixel camera and 2 gigabytes of expandable memory. But at 13.7 millimeters (0.5 inch) thick, it is only slightly thinner than Motorola's popular Razr model and is nearly twice as thick as Samsung's X820, which the Asian company claims to be the thinnest on the market.
In a series of announcements, Nokia avoided the word "slim," describing the new model only as "a trimmer fold model," and emphasized its large display and high memory capacity.
Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said Nokia "did not want to compromise any of the key Nokia N-series experiences" with the N76.
Nokia -- the world's largest mobile phone maker -- said it is now also the top maker of smartphones, known as "converged devices" that enable fast Internet access and downloads -- having sold more than 44 percent of the 90 million on the global market.
The number of smartphones is expected to hit 250 million by 2008, Kallasvuo said at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
"Single-purpose devices are becoming less attractive. And the converged devices taking their place are increasingly powerful and easy to use," he said.
Kallasvuo said that more than 850 million people worldwide now use Nokia handsets. "No other consumer electronics company in the world has ever had such a customer base," he said.
Nokia said it will cooperate with eBay Inc.'s Skype telecommunications subsidiary to enable cell phone users to make calls over the Internet, particularly with its new N800 Internet Tablet, which allows wireless Skype connections.
Skype said it will team up with Nokia with the N800, which is already commercially available in the U.S. and selected European countries. The updated version of the device with Skype features will be available by the end of first half of 2007, Nokia said.
"Working with the leading mobile handset manufacturer puts us in a unique position to get Skype to the mobile masses," said Eric Lagier, head of Skype's business development in hardware and mobile operations.
Nokia also launched the N93i, a combined multimedia phone and digital camcorder that it says allows users to shoot DVD-quality videos.
Last year, Nokia said the Internet was boosting mobile technology faster than earlier expected and predicted that 3 billion mobile subscriptions will be reached in 2007, instead of 2008 as it had earlier said. It also predicted that the 4 billion mark would be reached in 2010.
Nokia shares were little changed at euro15.25 (US$19.95) in Helsinki trading.
Based in Espoo near the Finnish capital, Nokia has operations in 130 countries with 65,000 employees.
ICG Announces Closing of Merger of StarCite with OnVantage
Internet Capital Group, Inc. today announced that the merger of its partner company, StarCite, Inc., and OnVantage, Inc. was consummated on December 29, 2006. This transaction was structured as a consolidation of equals, resulting in the formation of the largest on-demand meetings management company in the global marketplace for meetings and events. ICG owns approximately 26 percent of the combined company.
The combined company processed, on a pro forma basis, over 2.5 million attendee registrations on behalf of companies in fiscal year 2006, an annual increase of 50% over 2005. Pro forma revenues for the combined company are growing at an annual rate of over 40%, excluding any necessary adjustments for purchase accounting.
The combined company processed, on a pro forma basis, over 2.5 million attendee registrations on behalf of companies in fiscal year 2006, an annual increase of 50% over 2005. Pro forma revenues for the combined company are growing at an annual rate of over 40%, excluding any necessary adjustments for purchase accounting.
The resulting company, operating under the StarCite name, is based in Philadelphia. Under the direction of its CEO, Mike Boult, the combined company offers a global solution that drives savings and control for clients by automating the complex workflow process inherent in meetings management.
About Internet Capital Group
Internet Capital Group (www.internetcapital.com) owns and builds Internet software companies that drive business productivity and reduce transaction costs between firms. Founded in 1996, ICG devotes its expertise and capital to maximizing the success of these platform companies, which are delivering on-demand software and service applications to customers worldwide.
About StarCite
StarCite, Inc. is the leading provider of On Demand Global Meeting Solutions(TM). StarCite optimizes global investments in corporate meetings and events, delivering visibility, savings and control. StarCite provides process efficiency, enabling technology and proven adoption management support to drive significant cost reduction to buyers and enhanced revenues to suppliers. StarCite is based in Philadelphia. Investors in StarCite include Internet Capital Group (NASDAQ:ICGE - News), Texas Pacific Group, Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), Maritz Travel Company, Seaport Capital, and TL Ventures. For more information about StarCite or its technologies and services, please visit www.starcite.com
Safe Harbor Statement under Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties including but not limited to risks associated with the uncertainty of future performance of our partner companies, acquisitions or dispositions of interests in partner companies, the effect of economic conditions generally, capital spending by customers and development of the e-commerce and information technology markets, and uncertainties detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These and other factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected.
Source: Internet Capital Group, Inc.
Waffle House Restaurants Selects Vocus On-Demand PR Software to Drive More Value From Media Relations
Vocus, Inc., a leading provider of on-demand software for corporate communications and public relations, announced today that Waffle House Restaurants (Waffle House) has chosen Vocus to help manage and enhance its public relations efforts. Using Vocus PR management solution's integrated news monitoring and measurement, Waffle House will effectively promote its long-standing reputation for customer service around the country.
According to Charnae Knight, PR Manager, Waffle House, the company's manual and disparate PR tools made it difficult to track and evaluate the results of PR activities. To help understand PR's role in promoting the company's ideals and message, Knight sought an integrated solution to track and compile the company's news coverage as well as provide complete analysis on the results of coverage and media activities. Vocus PR software's integrated news monitoring and analysis offered Knight real-time insight into media outreach and campaigns and Vocus' built-in reporting tools made it easy to share results of PR efforts with key stakeholders.
Source: Vocus, Inc.
According to Charnae Knight, PR Manager, Waffle House, the company's manual and disparate PR tools made it difficult to track and evaluate the results of PR activities. To help understand PR's role in promoting the company's ideals and message, Knight sought an integrated solution to track and compile the company's news coverage as well as provide complete analysis on the results of coverage and media activities. Vocus PR software's integrated news monitoring and analysis offered Knight real-time insight into media outreach and campaigns and Vocus' built-in reporting tools made it easy to share results of PR efforts with key stakeholders.
"Vocus PR software has taken the guess-work out of our public relations efforts," said Knight. "Vocus' measurement and reporting features give us a clear and concise picture of the results and success of our media programs. As an added bonus, we can easily compile and distribute this information to our executives and other key contacts throughout the company."
"Public Relations professionals struggle with identifying and applying the metrics needed to understand the results of PR efforts," said Bill Wagner, Chief Marketing Officer of Vocus, Inc. "The automated Vocus PR software solution provides the analysis, graphics and reporting capabilities PR professionals need to draw meaningful conclusions and enhance their planning and strategies."
Vocus provides an integrated on-demand software suite for PR professionals. The Vocus on-demand software suite manages media and analyst relationships; interactive email campaigns; projects and news; files, documents and other collateral; and online newsrooms. The software also analyzes media coverage and other PR information to provide real-time feedback on the effectiveness of PR campaigns and early intelligence on trends unfolding in the press.
About Vocus, Inc.
Vocus, Inc. (Nasdaq: VOCS - News) is a leading provider of on-demand software for corporate communications and public relations. Our web-based software suite helps organizations of all sizes manage local and global relationships and communications with journalists, analysts, public officials and other key audiences. Our software helps customers manage media relations, monitor and analyze their news, conduct interactive email campaigns, build online newsrooms, and manage government relations activities. Vocus' PRWeb platform is also recognized as one of the Internet's leading online news and press release distribution services. Vocus' software is available in five languages and can be accessed from any computer via secure login over the internet with no need for internal hardware, software or IT support. Vocus is based in Lanham, MD with offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. For more information please visit http://www.vocus.com or call 800.345.5572.
About Waffle House
Headquartered in Norcross, Ga., Waffle House restaurants have been serving Good Food Fast® since 1955. Today the Waffle House system operates more than 1,500 company and franchise restaurants in 25 states and is the world's leading server of waffles, T-bone steaks, hashbrowns, cheese 'n eggs, country ham, pork chops, and grits.
This release contains "forward-looking" statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or that include words such as "may," "will," "expects," "projects," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "intends," "plans," "should," "seeks," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual future results to differ materially from those projected or contemplated in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be significantly impacted by certain risks and uncertainties described in Vocus' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Source: Vocus, Inc.
Sigma Designs and Tiplay Announce Cooperative Efforts in Interactive Entertainment Field
Sigma Designs, Inc., a leader in digital media processing for consumer electronics, and Beijing Tiplay Networking Ltd., a member of Shanda Interactive Entertainment, a leading interactive entertainment media company in China, announced today at CES that both parties will cooperate closely to provide the world's first interactive entertainment solutions based on peer to peer (P2P) and consumer electronics platforms. The companies will be demonstrating product prototypes to industry experts at CES 2007.
The solution is based on Sigma Designs SMP8634 media processor and Linux OS. Employing the P2P Internet connectivity technique, Tiplay creatively integrated many advanced Internet technologies such as RSS, DRM and SOAP into the platform, and further integrated these technologies into a consumer electronics product successfully. The primary application is an Internet client home appliance that will access to the website of a SNDA back-end server. This will provide a total solution to the end user to experience content distribution, sharing, and education and game operations.
Based on this solution, end users can enjoy abundant audio/video sources from the Internet on their TV set and by using a remote controller. Consumer electronic manufacturers can implement this technology with their next generation media players and interactive TV products. Content and service providers can deliver their contents and services worldwide effectively and efficiently. Telecom and Broadband operators can expand the subscription to non-PC users and increase the number of their clients.
Mr. Qu Haibin, Senior Vice President of Shanda and President of Tiplay said, "Through the cooperation with Sigma Designs, we have achieved a breakthrough in the interactive entertainment field based on consumer electronics. This commercial product is expected to be launched into the market in Q2 2007. We believe this technology is the first to market which will gain full acceptance by end users in the interactive Internet entertainment field."
Mr. Ken Lowe, Vice President of Strategic Marketing for Sigma Designs, said, "The world's interactive Internet entertainment market has huge potential and is developing very fast. We are pleased to cooperate with Tiplay and integrate their technology into a complete solution."
The two companies agree to cooperate closely to work toward the goal of launching the commercial product into the market in the first half of 2007.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the companies and the industry. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the statement regarding the launch date of the product, design features included in the commercial release version of the product and user experience of the product developed under this cooperation. These forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. Although the companies believe that their expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they cannot assure you that their expectations will turn out to be correct. Important risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to be materially different from expectations include but not limited to the risk that the cooperation fails to yield the intended results, the results fail to be commercialized or the commercialized results fail to meet the expectations of end users.
About Sigma Designs, Inc.
Sigma Designs (Nasdaq: SIGM - News) specializes in silicon-based media processors and wireless chipsets for IPTV set-top boxes, digital media receivers, high definition DVD players, HDTV, and portable media players. The company's industry-leading media processor architectures feature high definition video, advanced codec support (H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2), and secure media processing in a complete system-on-chip (SOC) solution. Headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., the company also has sales offices in China, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.sigmadesigns.com.
About Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited
Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited (Nasdaq: SNDA - News) is a leading interactive entertainment media company in China. Shanda offers a portfolio of diversified entertainment content including some of the most popular massively multi-player and casual online games in China, along with online chess and board games, a network PC game platform and a variety of cartoons, literary and music content. Shanda's interactive entertainment platform attracts a large and loyal user base. Each user can interact with thousands of others and enjoy the interactive entertainment content that Shanda provides. Interaction enriches your life. For more information about Shanda, please visit http://www.snda.com.
Source: Sigma Designs, Inc.
The solution is based on Sigma Designs SMP8634 media processor and Linux OS. Employing the P2P Internet connectivity technique, Tiplay creatively integrated many advanced Internet technologies such as RSS, DRM and SOAP into the platform, and further integrated these technologies into a consumer electronics product successfully. The primary application is an Internet client home appliance that will access to the website of a SNDA back-end server. This will provide a total solution to the end user to experience content distribution, sharing, and education and game operations.
Based on this solution, end users can enjoy abundant audio/video sources from the Internet on their TV set and by using a remote controller. Consumer electronic manufacturers can implement this technology with their next generation media players and interactive TV products. Content and service providers can deliver their contents and services worldwide effectively and efficiently. Telecom and Broadband operators can expand the subscription to non-PC users and increase the number of their clients.
Mr. Qu Haibin, Senior Vice President of Shanda and President of Tiplay said, "Through the cooperation with Sigma Designs, we have achieved a breakthrough in the interactive entertainment field based on consumer electronics. This commercial product is expected to be launched into the market in Q2 2007. We believe this technology is the first to market which will gain full acceptance by end users in the interactive Internet entertainment field."
Mr. Ken Lowe, Vice President of Strategic Marketing for Sigma Designs, said, "The world's interactive Internet entertainment market has huge potential and is developing very fast. We are pleased to cooperate with Tiplay and integrate their technology into a complete solution."
The two companies agree to cooperate closely to work toward the goal of launching the commercial product into the market in the first half of 2007.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the companies and the industry. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the statement regarding the launch date of the product, design features included in the commercial release version of the product and user experience of the product developed under this cooperation. These forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. Although the companies believe that their expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they cannot assure you that their expectations will turn out to be correct. Important risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to be materially different from expectations include but not limited to the risk that the cooperation fails to yield the intended results, the results fail to be commercialized or the commercialized results fail to meet the expectations of end users.
About Sigma Designs, Inc.
Sigma Designs (Nasdaq: SIGM - News) specializes in silicon-based media processors and wireless chipsets for IPTV set-top boxes, digital media receivers, high definition DVD players, HDTV, and portable media players. The company's industry-leading media processor architectures feature high definition video, advanced codec support (H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2), and secure media processing in a complete system-on-chip (SOC) solution. Headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., the company also has sales offices in China, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.sigmadesigns.com.
About Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited
Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited (Nasdaq: SNDA - News) is a leading interactive entertainment media company in China. Shanda offers a portfolio of diversified entertainment content including some of the most popular massively multi-player and casual online games in China, along with online chess and board games, a network PC game platform and a variety of cartoons, literary and music content. Shanda's interactive entertainment platform attracts a large and loyal user base. Each user can interact with thousands of others and enjoy the interactive entertainment content that Shanda provides. Interaction enriches your life. For more information about Shanda, please visit http://www.snda.com.
Source: Sigma Designs, Inc.
eBay's Q4 Listings Well Below Estimates - Jaffray
Notable Calls submits: Piper Jaffray is surprisingly negative on eBay saying their proprietary count of worldwide eBay listings suggests total Q4 listings of between 578M-590M. These results are between 8%-11% below their 639M listing estimate for the quarter and could potentially be sequentially down in the seasonally strongest quarter (listings were up sequentially 19% in 4Q05 and 17% in 4Q04). While listings were expected to be weaker than in previous years due to the changes to Store listings, with a second sequential quarterly decline, and listings below expectations, estimates are likely to come down.
Assuming firm's range of a listing miss of 8%-11% is accurate, eBay would need a corresponding increase in revenue per listing of 8%-11% in order to match their $1,052M estimate for Q4 auction-based revenue. Firm notes that their estimate for total revenue is near the mid-point of company guidance and $21M below the Street consensus. Without any improvement in revenue per listings, the shortfall could be near $100M.
complete read this news visit at : http://biz.yahoo.com/
Assuming firm's range of a listing miss of 8%-11% is accurate, eBay would need a corresponding increase in revenue per listing of 8%-11% in order to match their $1,052M estimate for Q4 auction-based revenue. Firm notes that their estimate for total revenue is near the mid-point of company guidance and $21M below the Street consensus. Without any improvement in revenue per listings, the shortfall could be near $100M.
Current Street consensus estimates for 2008 assume growth accelerating from 21% in 2007 to 22% in 2008, despite the marked slowdown in growth eBay is seeing across its core properties. Considering that slower listings growth indicate that 4Q06 overall growth will likely only be between 21%-23% (down from 42% in 4Q05), PJ believes that expectations of over 20% growth for '07 or '08 are unrealistic. Firm's newly released 2008 revenue estimate of $8,142M is $568M below current Street expectations and assumes 16% growth in 2008.
complete read this news visit at : http://biz.yahoo.com/
RealNetworks Brings PC-Free Rhapsody Experience to the Logitech Squeezebox and Transporter Devices
Continuing its efforts to extend the Rhapsody® digital music experience into the living room, RealNetworks®, Inc. today announced that consumers will soon be able to enjoy PC-free direct access to its award-winning digital music service via the acclaimed Logitech Squeezebox and Transporter home audio players, which were created by Slim Devices, a company recently acquired by Logitech.
The new Rhapsody feature-set for the Squeezebox and Transporter players is expected to be available in the United States from Logitech on January 15, 2007 as a part of a free update to be available at www.logitech.com/downloads. This update to the Logitech Squeezebox and Transporter home audio players uses RealNetworks' Rhapsody DNA technology to deliver Rhapsody's 3 million song library straight to users' fingertips in any room in the home.
The new Rhapsody feature-set for the Squeezebox and Transporter players is expected to be available in the United States from Logitech on January 15, 2007 as a part of a free update to be available at www.logitech.com/downloads. This update to the Logitech Squeezebox and Transporter home audio players uses RealNetworks' Rhapsody DNA technology to deliver Rhapsody's 3 million song library straight to users' fingertips in any room in the home.
In an industry first, consumers can search Rhapsody's library for specific artists, albums and songs -- and then instantly play back selections via the intuitive Squeezebox and Transporter remote interface without ever having to interact with a PC.
"Combining the Rhapsody service with award-winning devices like the Squeezebox and Transporter allows us to continue evolving the digital music experience," said Dan Sheeran, senior vice president of music, RealNetworks. "By introducing the direct search feature, Squeezebox users are now enjoying a truly on-demand, personalized 'celestial jukebox' in the home."
As part of the software upgrade, Squeezebox and Transporter customers can also access hundreds of Rhapsody's professionally programmed channels, which provide unending themed streams of music via the Squeezebox. They can also browse Rhapsody's charts of the top 100 songs, artists and albums in hundreds of music genres to find something new to enjoy, and access Rhapsody's critically-acclaimed editorial content. When consumers hear a song that they like in the Rhapsody Music Guide or on Rhapsody Radio, they can instantly add the song or entire album to their music library using the intuitive user interface on the Squeezebox or Transporter.
"We are excited to be offering people seamless access to one of the industry's leading digital music service," said Sean Adams, director and general manager of Logitech's Streaming Media Systems group. "Incorporating Rhapsody DNA technologies with Squeezebox and Transporter has allowed us to take the home digital audio experience to an unprecedented level of integration."
Squeezebox owners who upgrade their devices will automatically receive a 30-day, no credit card required free trial of the Rhapsody music service. Consumers can choose to continue their Rhapsody service beyond the trial period for only $9.99 per month. More details can be found at http://offer.rhapsody.com/squeezebox .
Rhapsody DNA is a technology platform and set of marketing programs that enable CE makers to extend the award-winning Rhapsody digital music experience beyond the PC to portable and in-home devices through features such as the ability to browse the Rhapsody Music Guide and My Library menus, instant song playback, and access to Rhapsody's critically-acclaimed editorial content. Additional information about Rhapsody DNA and Rhapsody DNA licensing can be found at http://webservices.rhapsody.com .
The Logitech Squeezebox and Transporter home audio players have revolutionized the way consumers listen to music. By using true 802.11g wireless networking and dual internal antennas, Squeezebox and Transporter deliver digital music that is no longer restricted by cables, connectors or even a consumer's music library. In addition to the deep integration with Rhapsody, the Squeezebox and Transporter include a directory of thousands of Internet radio stations and other personalized music services.
ABOUT REALNETWORKS
RealNetworks, Inc. is the leading creator of digital media services and software including Rhapsody®, RealPlayer® 10, and casual PC and mobile games. Broadcasters, network operators, media companies and enterprises use RealNetworks' products and services to create and deliver digital media to PCs, mobile phones and consumer electronics devices. Consumers can access and experience audio/video programming and download RealNetworks' consumer software at http://www.real.com. RealNetworks' systems and corporate information is located at http://www.realnetworks.com .
Source: RealNetworks, Inc.
Over 26,000 Field Technicians Have now Been Transitioned Into a Live Scheduling Environment
ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd., a leading provider of workforce and service optimization solutions, today announced that a significant milestone had been reached at one of its largest customers.
T-Com, a division of Deutsche Telekom AG, has successfully deployed ClickSoftware's optimized scheduling solution to over 26,000 field technicians across the whole of Germany. These technicians are responsible for a wide spectrum of field activity ranging from short term, residential break/fix and installations to longer term, complex projects around network and infrastructure maintenance.
T-Com, a division of Deutsche Telekom AG, has successfully deployed ClickSoftware's optimized scheduling solution to over 26,000 field technicians across the whole of Germany. These technicians are responsible for a wide spectrum of field activity ranging from short term, residential break/fix and installations to longer term, complex projects around network and infrastructure maintenance.
"Through the help and expertise of ClickSoftware we managed to adapt the system to the work flows and large variety of procedures required in the different regions and groups with all the different skills and challenges," commented Klaus Schmitt, Vice President, Systems Integration at T-Systems.
In line with Deutsche Telekom's strategic focus on optimum customer support and customer loyalty, ClickSoftware is enabling T-Com to improve the efficiency of its field service operation and response time to customer service requests. The enterprise-wide workforce optimization solution has provided T-Com with a centralized scheduling and dispatching process, giving the organization greater control and visibility over their business. The system intelligently schedules jobs based on a variety of user-defined parameters, such as customer availability, engineer skills, territory, availability and priority of the job. T-Com and its customers are now benefiting from reliable appointment slots, reduction in the total mileage traveled, reduction in overtime and ensuring they have the resources to complete the service calls.
"The successful deployment of ClickSchedule at T-Com is a fantastic testament to the scalability of ClickSoftware's products," said Hannan Carmeli, Chief Operating Officer, ClickSoftware. "We have worked closely with both T-Com and T-Systems to ensure that all the stakeholders involved understood and supported this workforce management initiative and we are delighted to reach this milestone of over 26,000 resources being scheduled today."
About ClickSoftware
ClickSoftware is the leading provider of workforce and service optimization solutions that maximize workforce productivity and customer satisfaction while minimizing operations costs. ClickSoftware's ServiceOptimization Suite provides an integrated, intelligent solution for automatic, efficient, and effective decisions over the entire servvice decision-making chain. I includes reliable customer demand and workload forecasting, strategic and tactical capacity planning, optimized shift planning, daily service scheduling, troubleshooting and repair support, wireless workforce management, location based services and business analytics, connecting all organizational levels and functions. The company is headquartered in Burlington, Mass. and Israel, with offices in Europe, and Asia Pacific.
Source: ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd
BlueHornet Networks' Management to Speak at San Diego Software Industry Council Event
BlueHornet Networks, Inc., a leading provider of e-mail marketing solutions and subsidiary of Digital River, Inc., today announced that the company has accepted an invitation to present at the San Diego Software Industry Council's upcoming Sales and Marketing Business Interest Group event. BlueHornet, a San Diego-based company, will speak about permission-based e-mail marketing at the event, which is being held at Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps LLP on Jan. 12, 2007.
BlueHornet's global vice president of deliverability and privacy issues, David Fowler, will discuss how implementing permission-based e-mail marketing best practices can help increase the deliverability rates of marketers' messages in today's challenging e-mail environment. Registration for the session, entitled "Permission-Based E-Mail Marketing: How to Navigate the Minefield to the Inbox," is open to the public. To learn more, visit http://www.sdsic.org/eventregistration.php.
BlueHornet's global vice president of deliverability and privacy issues, David Fowler, will discuss how implementing permission-based e-mail marketing best practices can help increase the deliverability rates of marketers' messages in today's challenging e-mail environment. Registration for the session, entitled "Permission-Based E-Mail Marketing: How to Navigate the Minefield to the Inbox," is open to the public. To learn more, visit http://www.sdsic.org/eventregistration.php.
About BlueHornet Networks, Inc.
BlueHornet Networks, a wholly owned subsidiary of Digital River, Inc., is a leading provider of permission-based e-mail marketing solutions. BlueHornet conducts e-mail campaigns for hundreds of top brands, including Match.com, Famous Footwear, 3M, GUESS?, House of Blues Entertainment, Inc., Kyocera Wireless and Red Lobster. In addition, BlueHornet supports more than 100 resellers, many using private label versions of its e-mail marketing solution. For more information, visit www.bluehornet.com.
About Digital River, Inc.
Digital River, Inc., a global leader in e-commerce outsourcing, builds and manages online businesses for more than 40,000 software publishers, manufacturers, distributors and online retailers. Its multi-channel e-commerce solution, which supports both direct and indirect sales, is designed to help companies of all sizes maximize online revenues as well as reduce the costs and risks of running an e-commerce operation. The company's comprehensive platform offers site development and hosting, order management, fraud prevention, export controls, tax management, physical and digital product fulfillment, multi-lingual customer service, advanced reporting and strategic marketing services.
Founded in 1994, Digital River is headquartered in Minneapolis with offices in major U.S. cities as well as Cologne, Germany; London, England; Shannon, Ireland; Luxembourg, Luxembourg; Taipei, Taiwan; and Tokyo, Japan. For more details about Digital River, visit the corporate Web site at www.digitalriver.com or call 952-253-1234.
Digital River is a registered trademark of Digital River, Inc. All other company and product names are trademarks, registrations or copyrights of their respective owners.
Source: Digital River, Inc.Oracle widens SQL Developer's scope
Oracle Corp. on Monday released the first major upgrade to SQL Developer, its free visual database development tool, with one key theme being the ability to browse non-Oracle databases.
SQL Developer 1.1 incorporates user feedback Oracle received after the vendor debuted the tool in its version 1.0 release in March 2006, according to Sue Harper, senior principal product manager for SQL Developer at Oracle.
SQL Developer simplifies the creation and debugging of code written in both SQL (structured query language) and Oracle's PL/SQL (procedural language for SQL).
While a main focus of SQL Developer 1.0 was its support for multiple platforms -- the Windows, Linux and Mac OS X operating systems -- the new release of the tool has expanded its links outside of Oracle's own databases to rival offerings, initially Microsoft Corp.'s SQL Server and Access databases and MySQL AB's open-source database.
Oracle's Migration Technology Group is working on a further extension to SQL Developer that later this year will make it possible for developers to move some or all of the objects and data contained in third-party databases over to Oracle.
Domain name registrar Network Solutions Inc. of Herndon, Virginia, has been using SQL Developer since March and has already adopted release 1.1. The vendor's 40-strong database development team all have access to the Oracle tool, with 15 to 20 of them actively using it. The team manages the databases supporting Network Solutions' online Web presence and previously used Toad from Quest Software Inc.
Cost and the developers' specific needs drove the move from Toad to SQL Developer, according to Dominic Delmolino, senior director of database engineering at Network Solutions.
"Toad's per-seat licensing was expensive," he said. "We were looking for an open-source or a cheaper alternative." Toad also took a more "kitchen-sink approach" to database development, Delmolino added, with the tool providing much more functionality than his team required.
SQL Developer 1.1's support for non-Oracle software is particularly important to Network Solutions since the vendor runs both Oracle and MySQL databases. "That was a real plus," Delmolino said, enabling developers to use a single tool to access both databases.
In general, the 1.1 release of SQL Developer looks like a more polished product, he added, with the browsing of code and objects becoming a lot more straightforward.
Prior to the release of SQL Developer 1.0 which was formerly known as Project Raptor, Oracle didn't have its own visual database development tool, only the character-based SQL Plus. There's a sense both within Oracle and externally that the vendor has finally become more serious about its tools business. Delmolino agrees. "They're more in the game," he said.
The tool now merits its own Oracle Web site -- the SQL Developer Exchange -- where developers can request new features, rate feature requests and share code extensions they've created. The site also features blogs by Oracle's developers and news and updates about SQL Developer.
Oracle definitely plans another release of SQL Developer, either to be called version 1.2 or 2.0, later this year, Harper said. The emphasis will likely be on tuning features and taking advantage of the functionality coming in the next major release of Oracle's enterprise database Oracle 11g. Oracle has yet to commit to a shipping date for 11g.
SafeNet Scheduled to Present at Needham Company Growth Conference
SafeNet, Inc., setting the standard for information security, today announced that SafeNet is scheduled to present at the Ninth Annual Needham Company Growth Conference being held at The New York Palace Hotel in New York City. The presentation will be webcast at 4:30 pm ET on Tuesday, January 9, 2007.
Walter Straub, Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer, and John Frederick, Interim Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer, are scheduled to provide an overview of the Company.
Source: SafeNet, Inc.
Walter Straub, Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer, and John Frederick, Interim Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer, are scheduled to provide an overview of the Company.
The webcasts will be available on SafeNet's Investor website at www.safenetinvestor.com.
About SafeNet, Inc.
SafeNet is a global leader in information security. Founded more than 20 years ago, the company provides complete security utilizing its encryption technologies to protect communications, intellectual property and digital identities, and offers a full spectrum of products including hardware, software, and chips. UBS, Nokia, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Bank of America, Adobe, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Samsung, Texas Instruments, the U.S. Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and scores of other customers entrust their security needs to SafeNet. For more information, visit www.safenet-inc.com.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
The statements contained in this release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are subject to uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are included but are not limited to those listed in Eracom technologies AG and SafeNet's periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and neither company assumes any obligation to update information concerning its expectations.
Source: SafeNet, Inc.
McAfee, Inc. Strengthens Management Team With Chief Security Officer, Chief Process Officer and Chief Technology Evangelist
McAfee, Inc., today announced it has expanded its senior management team with the appointments of Martin Carmichael, chief security officer, Bill Curtis, chief process officer and Carl Banzhof, vice president and chief technology evangelist. The addition of these key roles will aid in the innovative development of new products and services, and the implementation of increased efficiencies in the company's operations and business infrastructure.
"The industry expertise that Martin, Bill and Carl bring with them will put McAfee in a strong position as we start 2007 as a new year of growth and innovation," said Dale Fuller, interim chief executive officer, McAfee. "Our commitment to finding the best and brightest talent will continue to help us deliver on the promise of quality we've made to our customers, investors and employees."
"The industry expertise that Martin, Bill and Carl bring with them will put McAfee in a strong position as we start 2007 as a new year of growth and innovation," said Dale Fuller, interim chief executive officer, McAfee. "Our commitment to finding the best and brightest talent will continue to help us deliver on the promise of quality we've made to our customers, investors and employees."
As chief security officer, Carmichael is responsible for McAfee's IT risk assessment and compliance, including the protection of McAfee's intellectual assets, financial interests and reputation. He is also responsible for the company's physical security, including its global physical assets, and its security engineering and forensics. Carmichael is a 20-year industry veteran who has recently joined McAfee from Asurion, where as chief security officer, he architected and implemented the security organization and infrastructure for the billion dollar global company. Carmichael is also responsible for co- founding a company and has held senior roles with Wells Fargo Bank, Sparta and classified projects in NATO and the Department of Defense.
As chief process officer, Curtis is responsible for managing business process improvement projects across McAfee and for contributing to process- based methods that supplement corporate security solutions. Curtis joins McAfee from Borland, where he held the role of chief process officer. Prior to Borland, Curtis co-founded TeraQuest, which became the world's premier Capability Maturity Model (CMM) consultancy before it was acquired by Borland in January 2005. Curtis is best known as a co-author of the CMM, the de facto standard for evaluating the capability of a software organization, a project he directed while at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. Curtis has also held management and executive roles in GE Aerospace, ITT Programming Technology Center, and MCC.
As vice president and chief technology evangelist, Banzhof is heavily involved in the architecture, communication and technical promotion of McAfee's security risk management family of products. He will help drive the company's development teams toward a strong and unified architectural construct, while externally translating and communicating the technology vision to customers, new prospective partners and the industry as a whole. Banzhof joins McAfee through the recent Citadel acquisition, where he was chief technology officer for more than nine years. In April 2005, Banzhof was named one of the "Top 25 Most Influential CTOs" by InfoWorld.
About McAfee, Inc.
McAfee, Inc. is the leading dedicated security technology company. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, McAfee delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that secure systems and networks around the world. With its unmatched security expertise and commitment to innovation, McAfee empowers home users, businesses, the public sector, and service providers with the ability to block attacks, prevent disruptions, and continuously track and improve their security. http://www.mcafee.com .
Source: McAfee, Inc.
Trovix Selected by Trend Micro to Automate and Streamline Staffing
Trovix, Inc., a leading provider of intelligent search technology, today announced that Trend Micro Incorporated, a leader in network antivirus and Internet content security and services, is using Trovix Recruit(TM) intelligent candidate matching technology and applicant tracking management to accelerate and streamline its hiring processes.
With over 3,000 employees, Tokyo-based Trend Micro sought an on-demand recruiting solution that can search thousands of resumes in multiple formats in order to quickly find the right candidate for each open position. Leveraging concepts rather than simple keywords, Trovix's Intelligent Search Technology allows Trend Micro to accurately and immediately identify the best candidates, regardless of the format of their resume.
With over 3,000 employees, Tokyo-based Trend Micro sought an on-demand recruiting solution that can search thousands of resumes in multiple formats in order to quickly find the right candidate for each open position. Leveraging concepts rather than simple keywords, Trovix's Intelligent Search Technology allows Trend Micro to accurately and immediately identify the best candidates, regardless of the format of their resume.
"We chose Trovix Recruit because of its intelligent search technology and proven HRIS integration ability," said David Silverberg, staffing manager for the United States region, Trend Micro. "Trovix Recruit meets and exceeds our business-critical needs to efficiently screen thousands of resumes to find the right candidates for our organization."
Because Trovix Intelligent Search understands the true context of the information on a resume, Trend Micro can personalize search results and instantly identify the best qualified candidates for a specific position. Trovix Recruit has already helped companies reduce time-to-hire by up to 83%.
About Trend Micro Incorporated
Trend Micro, Inc. is a leader in network antivirus and Internet content security software and services. The Tokyo-based corporation has business units worldwide. Trend Micro products are sold through corporate and value-added resellers and managed service providers. For additional information and evaluation copies of all Trend Micro products, visit our Web site, www.trendmicro.com
About Trovix, Inc.
Trovix, Inc. is a leading provider of intelligent search technology. Its award-winning first product, Trovix Recruit, combines intelligent, personalized search technology with a full-featured applicant tracking system to help companies recruit the best talent available faster, reduce their cost- per-hire, and streamline their workflow. Trovix customers include successful and growing ventures such as Palm, Stanford University, Linksys, Juniper Networks, VMware and Rambus. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Trovix is backed by top-tier venture capital firms including 3i, Granite Ventures and USVP. For more information, visit www.trovix.com.
Trovix and Trovix Recruit are trademarks of Trovix, Inc. Other product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Source: Trovix, Inc.Sonic Unveils Windows Vista Technology Preview
Sonic Solutions®, the leader in digital media software, today unveiled a technology preview that takes full advantage of new Windows Vista technologies to deliver a truly intuitive, interactive, and visually-rich user experience. Roxio Central, which serves as a core access point to digital media tasks across Roxio software products and offers digital-media recording and backup features, is one of the first applications to build upon and exploit Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), the presentation sub-system for Vista. WPF enables software designers and developers to create unique software applications that offer rich 3D graphics, animations, transitions and stunning visuals. Sonic is demonstrating the technology preview in Microsoft's booth (#7144) and by appointment in a private meeting room at the Renaissance Hotel (Copa Conference Suite A and B) during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), January 8th to the 12th. Sonic plans to provide the technology as a download from www.roxio.com and www.windowsvista.com later this quarter.
"We are delighted to extend our relationship with Microsoft and use the Vista platform to provide consumers a glimpse into the future," said Stan Wong, general manger, Roxio division of Sonic Solutions. "Our early work with Microsoft's next-generation tools and technologies has helped accelerate the development of applications that exploit unique Vista capabilities that will revolutionize digital media experiences on the PC."
Source: Sonic Solutions
"We are delighted to extend our relationship with Microsoft and use the Vista platform to provide consumers a glimpse into the future," said Stan Wong, general manger, Roxio division of Sonic Solutions. "Our early work with Microsoft's next-generation tools and technologies has helped accelerate the development of applications that exploit unique Vista capabilities that will revolutionize digital media experiences on the PC."
Roxio design and engineering teams, working closely with Microsoft, developed Roxio Central by taking advantage of the new programming model for Windows Vista, NET Framework 3.0, and participating in the early adopter programs for Expression Blend and Expression Designer, which are part of Microsoft's Expression Studio family of professional-design tools.
"Windows Vista is designed to fit people's lives. Our work with Sonic helps us deliver on the promise of personal computing," said Dave Wascha, director of partner marketing communications for Windows Client at Microsoft Corp. "We appreciate the support Sonic has provided at this year's Consumer Electronics Show to make people's lives easier and better connected."
"Working with Microsoft's new design tools and the WPF platform has been an empowering experience," said Paul Spallas, art director for product design, Roxio division of Sonic Solutions. "Microsoft's next-generation technologies and applications help design and development teams collaborate more effectively. More importantly, they allow software designers to quickly and accurately turn innovative user-interface concepts into reality."
In addition to working with Microsoft on a Vista technology preview, Sonic's AuthorScript® engine powers the core media-recording functionality in the next-generation Operating System. Sonic is participating in the Vista launch with Roxio Easy Media Creator® 9, the company's flagship digital media suite. The product will be promoted by Microsoft at Vista launch events as a key productivity application. Easy Media Creator 9, which extends Vista with innovative features for digital media creation, management and enjoyment, will be demonstrated by Microsoft during CES in its Vista Partner Launch Pavilion.
Sonic will be providing demonstrations of Easy Media Creator 9 and its Vista technology preview at Microsoft's corporate booth (#7144) and in a private meeting room at the Renaissance Hotel. Roxio Easy Media Creator 9 is currently available from retail and online resellers globally, and from www.roxio.com.
About Sonic Solutions
Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ:SNIC - News; http://www.sonic.com) is the leader in digital media software, providing a broad range of interoperable, platform-independent software tools and applications for creative professionals, business and home users, and technology partners. Sonic's products range from advanced DVD authoring systems and interactive content delivery technologies used to produce the majority of Hollywood DVD film releases, to the award-winning Roxio®-branded CD and DVD creation, playback and backup solutions that have become the premier choice for consumers, prosumers and business users worldwide.
Sonic products are globally available from major retailers, online at Sonic.com and Roxio.com, and are bundled with PCs, after-market drives and consumer electronic devices. Sonic's digital media creation engine is the de facto standard and has been licensed by major software and hardware manufacturers, including Adobe, Microsoft, Scientific-Atlanta, Sony, and many others. Sonic Solutions is headquartered in Marin County, California.
Sonic, the Sonic logo, Sonic Solutions, Roxio, and Roxio Easy Media Creator are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sonic Solutions or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other company or product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
Source: Sonic Solutions
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