News Briefs for the Week Ending
04/01/2011
Copyright 2011, Faulkner Information Services. All Rights Reserved.
Docid:00020009
Publication Date: 1104
Publication Type: NEWS
ACQUISITIONS & DIVESTITURES
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Advantest to Buy Verigy Limited
Advantest, which makes semiconductor-testing equipment, agreed to buy Verigy Limited for $1.1 billion USD. Advantest will acquire all shares of the Singapore-based company at $15 a share, the Tokyo-based equipment
maker said in a statement. The all-cash offer is subject to Verigy shareholders’ approval. The acquisition will make Advantest the world’s largest manufacturer of equipment for testing semiconductors, overtaking Massachusetts-based Teradyne.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
CenturyLink, Qwest Receive Last Regulatory Approval Needed for Merger
With approval secured March 25th from the Public Utility Commission of Oregon, CenturyLink and Qwest Communications have won the last regulatory approval needed for their
merger. The companies pledged to invest a minimum of $45 million over 5 years on broadband infrastructure in Oregon as part of the approval process. CenturyLink earlier said it plans to combine operations on April 1, 2011. The combined company will use the
name CenturyLink and its stock will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under CenturyLink’s current symbol, CTL. As of Dec. 31, 2010, CenturyLink had approximately 2.4 million broadband customers, 6.5 million access lines, and almost 628,000
satellite video subscribers. On the same date, Qwest had 2.9 million broadband customers, 8.9 million access lines, more than 1 million video subscribers, and more than 1 million wireless customers. Beyond combining customer bases, the merger will result
in a 180,000-route-mile national fiber network.
Source: Vendor, 3/25/2011
Cisco to Acquire Cloud Management Software Provider
Cisco Systems announced it plans to acquire newScale, a privately-held software provider that delivers a service catalog and self-service portal for helping businesses deploy cloud services. Cisco’s cloud strategy is
to harness the network as a platform for building and using clouds and cloud services. The newScale purchase will complement and expand existing Cisco and partner software for IT and cloud management and automation. The acquisition will close in the second
half of fiscal 2011, at which time the newScale team will report to Cisco’s Advanced Services organization.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
eBay Agrees to Acquire GSI Commerce for $2.4 Billion
eBay signed an agreement to acquire GSI Commerce, a provider of ecommerce and interactive marketing services, for $29.95 per share, or a total cost of approximately $2.4 billion. eBay plans to incorporate the company’s
assets into its own marketplace and PayPal businesses. It will, however, be divesting several segments of the acquired company, including 100 percent of GSI’s licensed sports merchandise business and 70 percent of
ShopRunner and Rue La La. These will be sold to a new holding company, which will be run by GSI founder and CEO Michael Rubin. eBay says it expects the deal to close in the third quarter of the year, subject to regulatory and GSI shareholder approval. It
does not expect the transaction to impact its non-GAAP 2011 EPS, and believes it will have a $0.30 – $0.34 negative impact on its 2011 GAAP EPS guidance.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
Northrop Grumman Completes Spinoff of Huntington Ingalls Industries
Northrop Grumman completed its spinoff of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII). Northrop Grumman shareholders will receive 1 share of HII stock for every 6 shares of Northrop Grumman stock owned. Cash will be
distributed for any fractional shares owed. As a result of the spinoff, Northrop Grumman will present its shipbuilding financial results as discontinued operations for the first quarter of 2011.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
Salesforce.com to Acquired Radian6 for $326 Million
Salesforce.com signed an agreement to acquired Radian6, a social media monitoring platform. Radian6’s technology is used by companies to monitor, analyze, and generate social media conversations. Salesforce
plans on using the acquired technology to enhance all of its products, including updates to its Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Chatter, and Force.com offerings. The transaction will be completed for $276 million in cash and $50 million in stock, net of cash
acquired. The acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter of the year.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
T-Mobile USA Says Acquisition by AT&T Would Benefit Customers
T-Mobile USA posted an “open letter to customers” concerning its proposed acquisition by AT&T, saying the deal would benefit both carriers’ customers by ensuring the deployment of “a robust 4G LTE network to 95% of the US population, something neither company would achieve on its own in the timeframe that would
be possible with this merger.” T-Mobile USA said it expects the regulatory review of the deal to take a year and that, until the deal is closed, the company “remains as an independent competitor to AT&T.”
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
ALLIANCES & JOINT VENTURES
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XO, Exalt Sign Partnering Deal for LMDS Spectrum
XO Communications announced that it has entered into an agreement with Exalt Communications, a manufacturer of microwave backhaul systems, to jointly pursue business opportunities
with telecommunications service providers and wireless carriers using XO-licensed Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS) spectrum. XO said the agreement enhances its carrier-grade broadband wireless access service offering for the wholesale
market.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
Agilent Enters Research Agreement for Lipidomics
Agilent Technologies and the National University of Singapore announced an agreement to focus on research developments in the area of analytical lipidomics. The goal of the partnership is to develop workflow
technology to provide researchers with a more accurate understanding of disease states. Agilent’s provision of sophisticated test and measurement instruments will be housed at the school’s Center for Lipidomics.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
Alcatel Launches Center for Energy Efficient Telecom
Alcatel’s Bell Labs unit and the University of Melbourne announced they worked with Australia’s Victorian State Government to launch the Center for Energy Efficient Telecommunications (CEET), one of the largest
research efforts on “green” telecommunications in the world. CEET will be devoted to developing new innovations in more energy efficient networks and technologies. The facility will house researchers and technology experts, and will build to a team of 22
over the next three years.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
Bearing Point Allies with Asian Consulting Firm ABeam
Bearing Point formed a strategic consulting alliance with Asian-based ABeam Consulting. The companies say the new alliance will allow them to extend their consulting capabilities across Europe and Asia. The duo
will treat each other as preferred partners within their respective territories, and will cooperate on both pre-sales and project delivery activities.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
HP Names Tecan as Sales, Marketing Partner
Hewlett-Packard (HP) reached an agreement for Tecan Group to provide sales, marketing, services, and support – through its Life Sciences business – to commercialize products based on
HP’s inkjet dispensing technology, for pharmaceutical drug discovery. The technology is intended for use in research designed to enable biopharma researchers to accelerate and improve the evaluation of novel research drugs. Products will be sold under the
HP brand. Tecan will begin marketing the products across the US and Europe, making them commercially available later this year.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
Microsoft and Telefonica Team up on BlueVia SDK for .NET
Microsoft announced a collaboration with Telefonica based on the telecom company’s BlueVia developer platform. The jointly developed BlueVia software development kit (SDK) for .NET offers tools including NET
Framework, Microsoft Silverlight and Microsoft Visual Studio 2010, all of which have been customized to integrate BlueVia APIs. This adds support for services such as SMS, advertising, and contextual user information. The companies expect the BlueVia SDK
to foster the development of new software for the PC, TV, and mobile platforms.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
BUSINESS CONTINUITY
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DHS Offers New Resilience White Paper
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently released a white paper, exploring the idea that a resilient cyber
ecosystem would both prevent and limit the effects of cyber attacks. Three key security building blocks for building this cyber ecosystem are discussed in the paper: automation, interoperability, and authentication.
Source: DHS, 3/23/2011
EU’s Security Agency Publishes Resilience Report
The European Union’s (European Union) Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) has published a report to help organizations measure their networks’ resiliency. The “Main Challenges and Recommendations on Network and Service Resilience Metrics” report promotes the effectiveness of
creating a standard of resilience metrics while depicting the need to develop tools that will automate resilience measurement deployment.
Source: ENISA, 3/28/2011
Infor Expands Asset Management Capabilities of Infor EAM
Infor announced expanded asset management capabilities for its Infor EAM product. The new enhancements includes a graphical scheduling board, ENERGY STAR benchmarking, fleet and transportation management, and Infor
EAM connectors for other Infor applications. The new software is now available in a variety of languages. More information about Infor EAM 8.5 can be found at its product page.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
New Report Defines Activities Necessary to Mitigate Earthquake Risk
A new National Research Council (NRC) report presents a 20-year roadmap that outlines steps for increasing US resilience to earthquakes. The report, “National
Earthquake Resilience – Research, Implementation, and Outreach,” describes 18 categories of focused activities necessary for accomplishing the plan of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, which intends to reduce the impact of future
earthquakes.
Source: NIST, 3/30/2011
CARRIER SERVICES
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Cox Launches Wireless Service in Oklahoma
Cox Communications introduced mobile phone and high-speed Internet service in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Oklahoma City and Tulsa are the 5th wireless cities for Cox, following the company’s initial launch in
Hampton Roads, Virginia; Omaha, Nebraska; and Orange County, California.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
Endstream Secures CLEC License in Florida
Competitive Local Exchange Carrier Endstream Communications announced that it has obtained its CLEC license in Florida. Endstream will provide local termination, origination, Ethernet over copper, and long haul
data facilities services for both wholesale and retail. The services will be available in the second quarter of 2011, Endstream said. The carrier’s Florida CLEC practice is the first state in a planned nationwide expansion of Endstream’s footprint. Other
states will include New York, New Jersey, Texas and California, as well as several states in the Southeast and Midwest throughout the year, company officials said.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
Rogers Expands High-Speed Wireless to Cover 97% of Manitoba
Rogers expanded its high-speed wireless network to cover 97 percent of the population of Manitoba. This gives customers in the newly expanded service area access to 21Mbps speeds over the company’s HSPA+ network. More
details on the new service area are available from Rogers’ Coverage map.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
Swisscom Expands Teleclub On-Demand TV Offering
Swisscom announced plans to expand its Teleclub on Demand offering. The expansion will include the addition of 160 additional Swiss films, as well as a broadening of the service to include HD support for Swisscom
TV basic customers. This brings the company’s total library to 900 high-definition feature films, and 3,700 total on-demand titles. The new films will be available for CHF 3.50 for the standard-definition version, and CHF 4.50 for the HD version.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
CLOUD COMPUTING
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Amazon Launches Cloud Storage, Music Streaming for Desktops, Android
Amazon unveiled Amazon Cloud Drive, Amazon Cloud Player for Web, and Amazon Cloud Player for Android. The trio of services is designed to let users store and stream their own collections of music from Amazon’s cloud to a PC, Mac, or Android-based device. The new service
includes multiple levels: a 5GB free storage option, a 20GB option free with the purchase of any MP3 album from Amazon, and additional storage plans available for $1 per GB, per year. The service also supports the storage of videos, photos, and documents.
Any music track purchased on Amazon by a user with an active Amazon Cloud Drive account will be automatically added to that user’s library.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
AWS Launches Second Tokyo Availability Zone
Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the opening of a second Availability Zone in the AWS Tokyo Region. The company says numerous customers already running on the first Tokyo Availability Zone requested the launch
of the second Zone to support fault tolerance by running in two locations. AWS says it is aware of the current power situation in Japan, following the recent earthquake and tsunami, and it is monitoring the situation closely. Users concerned about the
status of AWS services in the region should visit the AWS Service Health Dashboard.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
AWS Launches Dedicated Instances for Amazon VPC
Amazon Web Services (AWS) added a dedicated instance option to its Amazon Virtual Private Cloud service. These images are launched within a standard VPC and run on hardware entirely devoted to a single customer.
AWS lists the benefits of this option as on-demand elastic provisioning, the ability to pay only for actual usage, and complete hardware isolation. More information about the new offering is available at the Amazon VPC Web page.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
Cisco Unveils Data Center Switch, Encryption Products
Cisco Systems introduced several new products for its Data Center Business Advantage portfolio, The rollout includes new Nexus 7000, 5000, and ultra-low latency series 3000 switches, MDS 9000 storage media encryption
fabric services, Unified Computing System products for network and storage access and virtualization, and the new NX-OS data center operating system, for hosting virtual appliances.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
HP Announces Cloud Installation Programs, Services
Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced a new program to aid channel partners as they look to implement HP cloud portfolio products. The CloudSystem Partner Program provides tools for helping build expert cloud practices. It
focuses on evolving business models and developing cloud-focused skills. HP is also expanding the infrastructure solutions for its Cloud Centers of Excellence, which allow channel partners to transform their facilities into cloud demonstration sites that
build on CloudSystem, which combines HP’s CloudSystem Matrix and Cloud Service automation software for unified building and cloud services management.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
HP Web, Cloud Printers Supporting Google Cloud Print
Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced its portfolio of Web-connected and cloud-aware printers now support Google Cloud Print, a move that will allow Cloud Print users to print directly to any HP ePrint-enabled printer using the
app on a computer or smartphone. Apps supported by Google Cloud print currently include Gmail for Mobile, Google Docs for Mobile and Chrome OS, with additional plans in place to include third party apps. A full list of compatible printers is published via the HP site.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
Open-Xchange Adds Usability Enhancements, Mobile Support
Open-Xchange announced usability enhancements and expanded mobile support for its business-class email and groupware. Enhancements include more granular tab controls, a compact panel for use on smaller screens
and tablets, improved setup, and a redesigned start page. The company also released a preview of its Mobile Web App. The application gives users access to their data on Open-Xchange Server 6 from the iPhone or an Android device. The app also features
offline access to appointments, contacts, and emails. Both new offerings can be found at the Open-Xchange Preview Server.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
Savvis Cloud Platform for Government Agencies Now Available in UK
IT services company Savvis announced that its Government Wide Service (GWS) platform is now available to all government departments and third-party suppliers in the United Kingdom. Savvis said its GWS
Infrastructure-as-a-Service platform provides a solution for government agencies looking for a cloud-based model of hosted IT operations and services.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS & EQUIPMENT
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Alcatel to Provide Wireless Guardian for Chinese Operators
Alcatel-Lucent will deploy its wireless network guardian for Chinese operators Jiangsu Mobile and Ningxia Telecom – which are subsidiaries of China Mobile and China Telecom, respectively – for their 3G
network and operations center. Alcatel’s advanced wireless data analytics will provide Jiangsu and Ningxia with better real-time insight into subscriber devices, applications, and networks, giving them the ability to detect anomalies before they are
impacted.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
Alcatel-Lucent to Upgrade MTN Nigeria’s Network
Alcatel-Lucent was selected by MTN Nigeria to upgrade the telecommunications operator’s DSL access and aggregation network. Alcatel’s technology will allow MTN to transform its time-division multiplexing
(TDM)-based transport network into an all-IP powered network. By migrating from legacy TDM to next-generation IP, MTN plans to leverage broadband IP to deliver video-rich content and multimedia data services and application awareness for premium and
managed services. The new network is based on Alcatel’s High Leverage Network architecture, which combines an all-IP network infrastructure – underpinned by MPLS – and pseudowire technologies with embedded intelligence and application awareness. MTN
Nigeria has more than 30 million subscribers.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
Alcatel to Provide IP Multimedia Subsystem for Manx
Alcatel-Lucent will provide its IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) for Manx Telecom, to allow it to provide expanded access to voice, data, and multimedia services on the Isle of Man in the British Isles as it
looks to create a unified network for rich broadband services. The IMS technology will modernize an existing, fixed network, providing the architecture to provide subscribers with VoIP over narrow or broadband access.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
Avaya to Provide Voice, Data Technology for Australian Firm
Avaya was selected to provide voice and data technology for Cochlear’s new global head office, located at Macquarie University in Sidney, Australia, to streamline employee communications while also providing its
mobile workforce with more efficient remote communications. The deployment – conducted by channel partner NSC – is valued at $1 million USD. Cochlear is a developer of implantable hearing technology. Avaya also deployed Aura unified communications
technology for BankMuscat, for use by 1,600 staff at its new head office, as well as workers at more than 120 branches in Oman.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
HP to Build Next-Gen Intelligent Network for VIVACOM
Hewlett-Packard (HP) reported that VIVACOM Bulgaria is using HP technology to build a next generation intelligent network (NGiN) to accommodate its 600,000 pre-paid and virtual private network customers. VIVACOM is a
major telecommunications provider in Bulgaria. It offers range services for fixed and mobile voice, broadband data, and television. By migrating to the NGiN, it can support VoIP applications while also strengthening existing services and accommodating
other real-time network capabilities.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
Juniper to Bring Network Architecture for New World Telecom
Juniper Networks reached an agreement to provide the network architecture for New World Telecommunications to serve as the foundation for its next generation, scalable Metro Ethernet services. The Juniper deployment
– which includes a contribution from Nokia Siemens Networks – should allow New World to meet the growing demand of mobile service providers and business customers, improving its ability to scale and manage
a point-to-point, any-to-any connection network. Metro Telecom is a provider of Metro Ethernet and International Ethernet Private Line services with a strong presence in Hong Kong.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
Nokia Siemens to Provide Technology for Italian 4G Upgrade
Nokia Siemens Networks agreed to modernize Telecom Italia’s mobile infrastructure in several regions of Italy, providing the base station technology to help it offer 4G longterm evolution (LTE) mobile
services. The network modernization should allow Telecom Italia to offer extended voice quality and data speed, while also supporting an increase in the use of smartphones and other handheld devices. It will offer a throughput of more than 140M bps per
cell. The LTE technology has already passed a testing phase in rural Turin.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
Nokia Siemens Providing TD-LTE, Services for Chinese Trial
Nokia Siemens Networks is providing commercial, time division – longterm evolution (TD-LTE) equipment, operation support services, and software to support China Mobile’s large-scale TD-LTE trial, being
conducted in conjunction with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The field trial – already underway in Hangzhou – includes Nokia Siemens interoperability testing of equipment with a number of devices from suppliers. Nokia Siemens
Networks will also cooperate with China Mobile to accelerate network construction, equipment installation, and network optimization.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
Verizon First Carrier to Announce 100G Deployment on US Network
Verizon Communications plans to deploy 100G (gigabits per second) technology on selected segments of its US backbone network by the end of the second quarter of 2011, bringing greatly increased performance for
everything from cloud-based enterprise applications to video streaming, the carrier said. The network segments include Chicago to New York, Sacramento to Los Angeles, and Minneapolis to Kansas City. Verizon’s rollout of 100G in the US will use Juniper
Networks routers and Ciena’s 100G coherent optical transport solution. Verizon also used Juniper and Ciena equipment for its 100G deployment in Europe earlier this year. Verizon said moving to 100G enables it to increase bandwidth efficiency on its
existing fiber infrastructure, enabling the company to carry up to 10 times the amount of network traffic carried on a standard route. Optical efficiencies also are gained from carrying traffic on a single 100G wavelength as opposed to 10 wavelengths, each
operating at 10 gigabits per second.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
LTE Modem from Novatel Available Through Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless and Novatel Wireless announced that the Verizon USB551L modem, made by Novatel Wireless, is now available to order in Verizon Wireless Communications
Stores and online. The new modem offers expected download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in Verizon’s 4G LTE Mobile Broadband coverage areas. It is a small USB device with proprietary antenna technologies. The USB551L supports
Windows, XP, Vista, and Windows 7, as well as Mac 10.4 and later versions. Customers who travel outside a 4G LTE coverage area will stay connected on the Verizon Wireless 3G network.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
CONFERENCING
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Cisco to Provide TelePresence for MLB Network
Cisco Systems announced it will provide TelePresence technology for Major League Baseball’s MLB Network, an agreement that covers network television programming and live telecasts. Cisco TelePresence technology
creates live, face-to-face communications over a network.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
Cisco to Provide TelePresence for Monash University
Cisco Systems announced it will provide TelePresence technology for Monash University in Australia, to provide real-time virtual video teleconferencing between medical students – on work-placement in rural Victoria –
and teaching staff located at central campuses.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
CONSULTING & MANAGED SERVICES
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Accenture Creates Digital Mail Service for Postal Agencies
Accenture announced plans to begin offering digital mail services to postal agencies around the world. The service allows the post office to convert physical mail into an email, which can then be sent to a secure
online mailbox. Accenture believes this service can help postal agencies recapture some of the revenue they are losing to email and other forms of electronic communication. More information about the new offering is available from Accenture’s Health & Public Service Media/Analysts Center.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
Accenture Signs BPO and Management Consulting Agreement with CEVA
Accenture signed an agreement with logistics company CEVA to provide finance and accounting (F&A), business process outsourcing (BPO), and management consulting services. Specific services to be provided will
include accounts payable, accounts receivable, balance sheet reconciliations, and month end close. The company will also attempt to harmonize and redesign several of CEVA’s legacy systems. The deal has a five year duration. No financial terms were
disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
HP to Provide Outsourcing Services for Coca Cola Bottler
HP Mexico signed a five-year technology outsourcing services contract to build and manage a converged infrastructure for Coca Cola FEMSA, to support the bottler’s operations in Latin America. HP will consolidate 348
locations into a single data center in Mexico, and will migrate business-critical applications, server monitoring, and management to HP Best Shore locations in Brazil and Argentina. HP will also provide security services from Best Shore global delivery
centers in Costa Rica.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
IBM to Revamp Payroll for Cameroon Ministry of Finance
IBM signed a contract with the Cameroon Ministry of Finance to modernize the payroll processes of the agency. The new system will use IBM mainframe and storage technologies to increase security, and improve the
efficiency of the Ministry’s systems. IBM says the changes will increase the payroll department’s performance by 200%, while reducing operating costs by 30%.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
CYBERCRIME
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FBI Investigating Fake Digital Certificates Case
CNET reported that the FBI is working closely with Italian police to determine how a hacker was able to get Comodo, a certificate authority
company, to issue nine fraudulent digital certificates to sites including Microsoft and Google. Comodo’s CEO told CNET that an Italian reseller’s networks were attacked by an
Iranian hacker, who then was able to obtain the nine fraudulent certificates, which have since been revoked. Those certificates enabled the hacker to impersonate the secure versions of the Web sites.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
Exploit-as-a-Service Kit become Latest Rage among Hackers
Cybercriminals are now selling exploit kits with hosting services to willing customers who will pay for them, according to an article from IDG News. These kits are equipped with different types of exploits or codes that
capitalize on software vulnerabilities to deliver malware, and some of the products are even offering hosting services. Exploit kits can contaminate computers that run the Windows operating system and then steal sensitive data and send out spam
messages.
Source: IDG News, 3/28/2011
Hackers Pledge to Continue Exposing Flaws Despite Legal Concerns
Network World reported that a hacker group that has revealed security holes in McAfee‘s Web site and admitted that it is breaking the law says it will continue its campaign
to expose other vendors’ vulnerabilities. The Myanmar-based YGN Ethical Hacker Group sent an email to Network World saying: “We do understand performing security testings without authorization is illegal under US law.” YGN discovered cross-scripting
vulnerabilities and source code problems on McAfee’s site and reported them to the vendor back in February, then publicly disclosed those flaws to a hacker email list.
Source: Network World, 3/30/2011
DATA BREACHES
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European Parliament, Commission Hit with Coordinated Attacks
An article in the European Voice published information that a cyber attack that hit the European Commission on March 24 has also targeted the European Parliament. A Parliament spokesperson confirmed the attack and said the agency is working diligently to resolve the issue, put new security measures into place, and is blocking email services through Web
browsers. Although the attacks appear to be coordinated, the Commission and the Parliament use different computer networks.
Source: EU Voice, 3/29/2011
Cybercrime Now Targets Corporate Intellectual Capital
McAfee and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) released findings from a global study of how cybercriminals have made the shift from stealing personal information,
to targeting the corporate intellectual capital of organizations. More than 1,000 IT decision-makers were surveyed for “Underground Economies: Intellectual Capital and Sensitive Corporate Data Now the Latest Cybercrime Currency,” which found that 25% of
organizations have had a merger/acquisition or a new product roll-out stopped or slowed by a data breach, but only three out of 10 companies will report that they’ve suffered such a breach.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
DESKTOPS
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Lenovo Announces New Workstation, Desktops for Business
Lenovo announced its new Intel based ThinkStation E30 workstation, focused on rapid processing for data crunching tasks, and ThinkCentre M81 desktop, which provides advanced computing for large businesses. Each
features Windows 7, and has a solid state drive with 160-GB capacity.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE
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Microsoft, Telefonica Alliance Extends BlueVia ‘s Reach
Microsoft and Telefonica announced a partnership that will give 6 million .NET developers the tools to create software that can take advantage of Telefonica’s BlueVia
application platform. Telefonica’s agreement with Microsoft sees the launch of a new BlueVia SDK (software development kit) that integrates Telefonica’s SMS, MMS, advertising, and user contextual information APIs with Microsoft’s Visual Studio, Silverlight
and .NET Framework programming environments. The deal also enables developers to host their applications on Microsoft’s cloud platform Windows Azure, allowing them to publish across not only multiple handsets, but also PCs, connected TVs, and games
consoles. Telefonica is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world with a significant presence in 25 countries. Based in Spain, the telecom company has a strong presence in Spain, Europe, and Latin America.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
E-READERS & E-BOOKS
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Amazon Says Kindle NY Times Subscribers to Get Free Web Access
Amazon made a brief announcement to inform Kindle owners that users subscribing to the New York Times on their device would also receive free access to the publication’s Web site. This will allow them to view the
newspaper’s content without being impeded by the site’s recently introduced paywall, which limits non-paying visitors to 20 article per month. Amazon says it does not yet have a date for when the access will begin, or any details on how it will be handled,
but it will be updating qualified users via email in the near future.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
ENTERPRISE APPLICATION SOFTWARE
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HP Introduces EcoSMART Energy Management Software
Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced its new portfolio of EcoSMART fleet and console software, for providing real-time performance information to reduce energy consumption. It also unveiled a proof of concept – via HP Labs –
for home energy monitoring research, including a tool that uses sensors and HP gateways to track energy use throughout the home, and introduced the EcoSolutions
Store, an online resource with more than 300 consumer and small business products. HP also opened a new research facility in Fort Collins, CO, US, to extend the HP Converged Infrastructure architecture by developing technologies to eliminate IT sprawl,
increase energy efficiency, and reduce power consumption.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
Microsoft Adds “Active Views” to Hotmail
Microsoft announced Active Views for its Hotmail service. The new feature automatically recognizes various types of links and attachments, and creates media playback experiences appropriate to them. This includes
photo slideshows from photo attachments, embedded videos from video links, and a JavaScript based area to display any compatible content. Microsoft suggests that the JavaScript compatibility could be used for displaying information that usually required
visiting an external Web site, such as shipping info, or documents. Future plans for Active Views include invitations, updates, ratings, and deals. Microsoft has already signed with LinkedIn, Posterous, and LivingSocial to expand the offerings of Active
Views.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
OpenText’s Metastorm Software Received Powered By Windows Azure Badge
OpenText‘s Metastorm business software received Powered by Microsoft Windows Azure certification. The badge ensures that the business process management (BPM), business
process analysis (BPA), and enterprise architecture (EA) software has met with a specific set of functionality and performance requirements required by Microsoft. OpenText has published a detailed case study of Metastorm and its use on the Windows Azure Platform.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
FINANCIAL
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Accenture Posts Strong Growth on Impressive Bookings in Q2
Accenture posted its financial results for the second quarter ending February 28, 2011. Revenues totaled $6.5 billion, up significantly from the $5.5 billion reported for the same quarter in 2010. Net income was
$503 million, or $0.75 per share, compared to $399 million, or $0.60 per share reported for the same quarter, last year. Quarterly bookings reached $7 billion, including a record setting number of consultancy agreements.
Source: Vendor, 3/24/2011
Acer’s Fourth Quarter Sales Slide on Weak Demand
Acer International reported fourth quarter revenues of 149 billion NTD ($4.7 billion USD) for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, as weak demand in Western Europe and the US impacted the
company bottom line. Acer also said in recent statement that it expected PC revenues in the first quarter to fall short of expectations. Revenues were down 11 percent from 2009 fourth quarter revenues of 168 billion NTD. Profits were 3.9 billion NTD, or
1.27 NTD per share, for the fourth quarter. This was up 11 percent from 2009 fourth quarter profits of 3.5 billion NTD, or 1.33 NTD. For the full year, revenues were 629 billion NTD, up 9.5 percent from 2009 revenues of 574 billion NTD. Profits were 15
billion NTD, or 5.71 NTD per share, up 32 percent from 2009 profits of 11.4 billion NTD, or 4.31 NTD per share. Acer also announced it nominated Julian Horn-Smith and FC Tseng as independent members of the board of directors.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
AT&T Board Okays Quarterly Dividend
AT&T‘s board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share on the company’s common shares. The dividend is payable on May 2, 2011, to stockholders of record at the close of business on April 8, 2011.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
China Mobile Limited Tops 594 Million Subscribers
China Mobile Limited released its February subscriber numbers. The mobile carrier said that, as of 28 February, 2011, it had 594,931,000 customers, including 5,651,000 net additions in the month of February. Of
its more than 594 million mobile subscribers, 24.5 million have 3G service.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
China Mobile Full Year Profit Up 3.9%
China Mobile Limited, the country’s largest mobile carrier by number of subscribers, reported a 3.9 percent increase in profit for the full year 2010, as more of its customers accessed the Web via mobile phones.
The carrier’s profit reached 119.6 billion yuan ($18.2 billion USD). Revenue rose 7.3 percent to 485.2 billion yuan ($73 billion USD). At the end of 2010, China Mobile had 584 million customers, an increase of 61.73 million over the course of last
year.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
China Telecom Posts 42% Jump in Q4 Profits
China Telecom, the country’s largest fixed-line carrier, said fourth-quarter 2010 profit rose 42 percent as its mobile-phone unit more than tripled the number of smartphone users on its network. Profit
excluding gains from connection fees rose to 2.67 billion yuan ($408 million USD) in the three months ended Dec. 31, 2010, up from 1.88 billion yuan a year earlier. Revenue in the fourth quarter rose 5.1 percent to 56.2 billion yuan.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
China Unicom Profit Down 60% for 2010
China Unicom said its net profit fell 60% in 2010 as it spent heavily on handset subsidies to attract users to its third-generation mobile services. China Unicom said its net profit for the 12 months ended
Dec. 31, 2010 fell to CNY3.85 billion (US$586.9 million) from CNY9.56 billion a year earlier. Revenue rose 11% to CNY171.30 billion from CNY153.95 billion. China Unicom, the country’s second-largest mobile operator by subscribers after China Mobile Limited
faces growing competition in the mobile arena; it is competing with China Telecom and China Mobile to attract users for 3G services.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
Oracle Reports Strong Revenue, Income Gains in Q3 Results
Oracle reported its financial results for the third quarter of its fiscal year. revenues were up 37% to $8.8 billion, while net income rose 78% to $2.1 billion. This resulted in earnings per share of $0.41, up 75%
over the same period in the prior year. On these results, Oracle approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.06, marking a 20% increase over the previous quarter. This amount will be payable on May 4, 2011 to all shareholders of record by the close of
business on April 13, 2011.
Source: Vendor, 3/24/2011
Progress Software Shows Recovery in Q1 2010 Financials
Progress Software released the financial results for the first quarter of its 2011 fiscal year. The company’s revenue totaled $134.2 million, up 5% from the same period last year, when it took in $127.5 million.
Net income bounced back to $20.5 million after the company suffered a $1 million net loss during the corresponding period last year. Earnings per share reacted accordingly, rising to $0.31 after a loss per share of $0.02 in the first quarter of 2010. These
results caused the company to reaffirm its 2011 year-end guidance of revenues in the range of $560 million to $570 million, and earnings per share between $1.22 and $1.32.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
TIBCO Posts Record Revenue Gains in Q1 Financial Results
TIBCO reported its financial results for the first quarter of its 2011 fiscal year. The company’s revenues were $185 million, up from $155 million during the same quarter in 2010. Net income was $16 million, up more
than 50% from the $10.4 million reported for the same period last year. This raised earnings per share to $0.10, up from $0.06, year-over-year. TIBCO pointed to its middleware platform’s ability to weather the transition to mobile and cloud usage as a
driving force behind its record setting quarter.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
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Accenture Signs GBP 22 Million Contract for UK Gov Shared Services
Accenture received a contract from the UK Ministry of Justice for a new shared services solution for use by its human resources, payroll, finance, and procurement operations. The company will design, integrate,
and install the system, which is expected to serve about 80,000 employees across various branches of the UK government. The agreement has a duration of 5 years, and a total value of approximately GBP 22 million.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
Gilat Wins Contract from Peruvian Government
Gilat Satellite Networks announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Gilat to Home Peru, has been awarded a new contract by Peru’s Agency for Promotion of Private Investment to provide Internet access and telephony
services throughout the country’s rural regions. Valued at $14.5 million USD, the project is funded by Fondo de Inversion en Telecomunicaciones, and is the sixth contract the government agency has awarded Gilat in the past 12 years. Gilat’s solution is
expected to connect more than 770 communities across rural Peru, allowing more than 215,000 people access to essential communication services.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
HP Signs US Military Contract for Data Center Mgmt Services
HP Enterprise Services signed a four-year, $68 million USD data center services contract with the US Special Operations Command to provide data center management support services for its global enterprise IT
server and storage computing environments. The services will be performed in multiple stateside and overseas locations, and will support special operations warfighters in accomplishing their worldwide missions.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
Qwest Wins DoD Contract for Internet Protocol Services
Qwest Communications, which is merging with CenturyLink, has won a multi-year task order from the Department of Defense for advanced
data services valued at more than $100 million. Under terms of the agreement, Qwest Government Services will provide Internet Protocol Services (IPS) to the US Department of Defense as it migrates to Networx, a program designed to streamline acquisitions of the latest communications technologies. When the task order is fully implemented, Qwest will be the sole provider of IPS for the Army, Air Force,
Marines and Navy, as well as other DoD agencies.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS
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ICSA Labs Rolls Out Electronic Health Record Certification Program
ICSA Labs, an independent division of Verizon, has unveiled a new certification program for electronic health record systems and has certified the first three products in two
domains – ambulatory and inpatient – under the program. The US federal government, under the Department of Health and Human Services, requires the “meaningful” use of electronic health record systems to improve health care coordination, boost the quality
of care, and safeguard the privacy and security of records. ICSA Labs has been designated an Authorized Testing and Certification Body by the department’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, one of six entities currently authorized to test and certify health IT systems.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
McKesson’s Horizon Lab Info System Receives EHR Modular Certification
McKesson‘s Horizon Lab laboratory information system (LIS) received EHR modular certification. This clears the product to qualify for Stage 1 meaningful use measures under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(ARRA). The software was certified by the Drummond Group’s Electronic Health Records Office of the National Coordinator Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB) program, and is guaranteed compliant through 2012.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
Oracle Releases Oracle Health Sciences Clinical Development Center 3.1
Oracle released Oracle Health Sciences Clinical Development Center 3.1, an update to its solution for integrating, managing
and analyzing clinical trial information. The company lists the improvements to the new version as new integrations, increased automation, expanded data standardization, enhanced governance capabilities, and interoperability with Oracle Health Sciences
InForm GTM electronic data capture (EDC). Oracle Health Sciences Clinical Development Center 3.1 is available now.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
INTERNET
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US, EU Narrow Differences over Internet Privacy Rules
EurActiv reported that US and EU regulators have narrowed their disagreements on how to regulate Internet privacy, but, significant differences remain, such as Europe’s insistence on a “right to be forgotten”.
According to the report, US and European officials are converging in their Web privacy positions, partly through intensive meetings in recent months between regulators from Washington and Brussels. Final legislative proposals are not expected from the
European Union until later this year and the United States in June or July but officials are confident about steadily narrowing the gap, EurActiv reported.
Source: EurActiv, 3/31/2011
ARIN Opens Up Possibility for IPv4 Address Trading
BetaNews reported that ARIN, the American Registry for Internet Numbers, is allowing companies to trade in unused IPv4 addresses – something not allowed in the
past. The policy came to light when Microsoft purchased 666,624 addresses from Nortel. ARIN calls the policy the
Specified Transfer Listing Service (STLS). It allows IPv4 address owners to return a block of addresses to ARIN for re-distribution to entities that qualify as "needy." Any monetary exchanges will be handled through private
agreements between the participating companies, and will not involve ARIN in any way. This policy has the potential to extend the lifespan of the IPv4 protocol, which has run out of assignable addresses at the IANA level. (IANA – the Internet Assigned Number Authority – oversees the DNS Root, IP addressing, and other Internet protocol resources.) Individual national registries still retain assignable IPv4 addresses,
but those numbers would last a few months, at most. Meanwhile, the transition to IPv6 is moving along, albeit slowly.
Source: BetaNews, 3/31/2011
Kansas City Wins Google Ultra-High-Speed Network
Kansas City, Kansas is the winner of a 1Gigabit/second broadband network that Google plans to build. Google last year said it would choose a city in which to build the ultra-high-speed network, and hopes to start
offering the service in early 2012. In describing the choice, Google said it was looking for a location where it could build efficiently, make an impact on the community and develop relationships with local government and community organizations. “We’ve
found this in Kansas City,” Milo Medin, vice president, Access Services for Google, wrote in a blog post. The plan must still be approved by the city’s Board
of Commissioners, he said, and noted that over the coming months, Google be talking to representatives from other cities about the possibility of bringing ultra high-speed broadband to their communities. Kansas City was one of the 1100 cities to submit a
case for winning the high speed network.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
India to Block all Sites Using Recently-Approved .XXX Domain
India is poised to block all .xxx domain names, the Economic Times reports. A senior official at India’s Ministry of IT told the Times India opposed the creation of the domain by ICANN, (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and plans to block the entire domain because it “goes against the IT Act and Indian laws.” This confirms the fears that the domain would attract blocks and
negative attention voiced by some members of the adult entertainment and Internet regulatory communities. India says that it will examine sites that deploy a .in or .com domain, but feature the same content as their .xxx equivalent, on a case by case
basis.
Source: Vendor, 3/24/2011
ICANN Responds to NTIA Request for Comment on IANA Improvements
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) responded to a request from the National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA) on possible enhancements to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). ICANN’s primary assertion on the topic is that the NTIA follow through on its plan laid out in the “White Paper” published over 10 years ago,
which suggested that the management of DNS protocol be switched over to the private sector. This proposal was restated as part of the Affirmation Of Commitments made by the US Department of Commerce in 2009. However, the transition has still yet to begin.
ICANN went on to list the benefits of transitioning to the private sector, as it sees it. They include increased security and stability, increased transparency and accountability, and a narrowing of IANA functions.
Source: Vendor, 3/25/2011
Microsoft Offers Nortel $7.5 Million for Block of IPv4 Addresses
Microsoft has agreed to pay $7.5 million to purchase a block of 666,624 IPv4 addresses from bankrupt Canadian telecom equipment maker Nortel, according to Computerworld, which reported that Nortel has filed a motion seeking approval for the sale from the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. If the sale is approved, Microsoft would assume control of the IPv4
addresses currently owned by Nortel for about $11.25 apiece. About 470,000 of the addresses will be available for immediate use by Microsoft, while the remaining will be released to the company at the end of the bankruptcy proceedings. The proposed deal
comes just weeks after the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers announced that it had handed out its last block of IPv4 addresses, and that any supplies remaining with regional registries would soon run
out. The exhaustion of IPv4 addresses adds value to any that might be available, and underscores the urgency of transitioning to the next generation Internet protocol, IPv6.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
Mozilla Claims a Pair of Victories in Adoption of Do Not Track Header
Mozilla announced that two major Internet entities have adopted the use of its Do Not Track (DNT) HTTP header. The Associated Press News Registry service implemented the feature across its network of 800 news sites.
Meanwhile, the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) is planning to incorporate the header in its Self-Regulatory Program for Online Behavioral Advertising. Mozilla says the change at the AP took only a few
hours to implement, despite being spread over its multitude of sites.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
LAPTOPS & TABLETS
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Asus Rolls Out 10-Inch Tablet with Keyboard Dock
Asus International released its Eee Pad Transformer, a 10-inch sleek tablet that runs on the Android 3.0 operating system. Its display can be detached from the keyboard to allow users to more easily browse the Web or
stream multimedia. When plugged into this optional keyboard dock, it can be used as a full-featured laptop. It is now available in Taiwan, with further availability to follow in the US. Cost ranges from 14,900 NTD ($500) – for a base version with 16-GB
capacity – to 17,900 NTD for the version with a keyboard dock.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
7-Inch Netbook Navigator Tablet Available for Pre-Order
Mobile device provider Netbook Navigator rolled out its new seven-inch NAV7 Slate PC, a portable Windows 7 tablet that weighs just 1.25 pounds and has a 64-GB solid state drive. It features a front-facing
Webcam and supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and, optionally, 3G broadband. NAV7 is available for pre-order on a limited basis, with orders placed in March to begin shipping May
11th. More than 30 different configuration options are available, and start at $649 USD.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
LEGAL
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Google Agrees to Settle FTC Case Over Buzz Privacy Violation
Google has reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over the privacy breach caused by the launch of its Buzz
service. The settlement requires Google to refrain from future privacy misrepresentations, to implement a comprehensive privacy program, and calls for regular, independent privacy audits for a period of 20 years. The FTC noted that this is the first time
that it has compelled a company to implement a comprehensive privacy program in order to protect its customers. The suit originated from numerous complaints that users were not properly informed of the services launch, were enrolled in Buzz against their
will, and, most importantly, had their privacy compromised by the service’s original structure, which automatically connected with other users, without first asking for consent.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
Microsoft Wants Domestic Companies Held Liable for Suppliers’ Piracy
TechDirt reports that Microsoft is petitioning
the court in several states for the right to sue domestic companies for the use of pirated software, not by the company itself, but by that company’s foreign suppliers. If approved, this legislation would give the software giant the right to sue a company
if so much as a single document involved in its supply chain was created using bootleg Microsoft software. A similar law was already passed in Louisiana in 2009, while Microsoft’s bill is currently in the process of being merged with an existing piece of
legislation for Approval by the Washington state Senate and House. Despite the seeming acceptance of Microsoft’s position by at least 2 states, numerous companies, including Dell, IBM, Intel, and HP have protested the creation of such a law, saying it
could wreak havoc on their supply chains.
Source: TechDirt, 3/27/2011
Microsoft Files Formal Complaint Against Google with Euro Commission
Microsoft is filing a formal antitrust complaint against Google with the European Commission. Microsoft claims Google has participated in anti-competitive actions related to
search, online advertising, and smartphone software. The complaint also describes what Microsoft calls Google’s practice of building its search services on the snippets of other companies’ content, while increasingly "walling off" its own
data, as well as a pattern of retaining and restricting the data provided by advertisers using Google’s ad services.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
Nokia Files Second Patent Complaint Against Apple
Nokia has filed a second complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) alleging that Apple infringes Nokia
patents in virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players, tablets, and computers. The seven Nokia patents in the new complaint relate to the areas of multi-tasking operating systems, data synchronization, positioning, call quality, and the use
of Bluetooth accessories. This second ITC complaint follows the initial determination in Nokia’s earlier ITC filing that there was no violation – a ruling with which Nokia disagrees and which it may contest. In addition to the two ITC complaints, Nokia has
filed cases on the same patents and others in Delaware, and has patent infringement cases proceeding in Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
MALWARE WATCH
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There Is No Samsung Keylogger; Virus Scan Issued False Alarm
Third-party security researchers at F-Secure and SophosLabs have backed up Samsung‘s assertion that it is not using
rogue software to record every keystroke users make using Windows-based Samsung laptops. The denial came after a security researcher wrote in a Network World article that he’d found the StarLogger keylogger on
Samsung laptops. Samsung issued a statement saying: “Our findings indicate that the person mentioned in the article used a security program called VIPRE that mistook a folder created by Microsoft Live Application for a key logging software, during a virus
scan.” GFI Software, the company that makes the VIPRE anti-virus, issued an apology and said VIPRE’s false detection of StarLogger has now been patched.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
IBM X-Force Report Documents More than 8,000 New Vulnerabilities
IBM released results from its X-Force 2010 Trend and Risk Report, highlighting that public and private organizations around the world faced
increasingly sophisticated, customized IT security threats in 2010. Key observations from the X-Force Research team include: IBM documented more than 8,000 new vulnerabilities, a 27 percent rise from 2009; the historic high growth in spam volume leveled
off by the end of the year; “spear phishing,” a targeted phishing attack technique, grew in importance in 2010; although attacks against the latest generation of mobile devices were not yet widely prevalent in 2010, X-Force data shows a rise in
vulnerability disclosures and exploits that target these devices.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
Kaspersky Warns of New Malware Lurking in the Wild
Kaspersky Lab has detected a new variant of the malicious program GPCode. The program is classed as ransomware, because it encrypts data on an infected computer and threatens to delete it if the user refuses to
pay a fee. At this time, files encrypted by the new version of GPCode cannot be recovered.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
New Banking Trojan on the Prowl, Warns SonicWALL
SonicWALL has found that a new online banking Trojan is stealing security credentials and targeting such sites as PayPal, MasterCard,
and Citibank. The Delf.EP Trojan targets Brazilian users, but may also affect those from other countries.
Source: Vendor, 3/25/2011
Symantec MessageLabs Report: Rustock Crashes, Spam Nose-Dives
The latest MessageLabs Intelligence Report from Symantec confirms that prior to its shutdown in March, the Rustock botnet was sending out up to 13.82
billion spam emails daily, accounting for an average of 28.5% of global spam sent from all botnets for the month. Global spam volumes fell by 33.6% between March 15 and 17 following legal action against command and control hosts used by the Rustock botnet.
Additional evidence from the report found that the global ratio of email-borne viruses in email traffic was one in 208.9 emails (0.479 percent) in March, an increase of .134 percentage points since February.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
MOBILE APPS
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Mozilla Releases Completed Firefox 4 for Android and Maemo
Mozilla released the completed version of Firefox 4.0 for Android and Maemo. Features of the mobile browser include Firefox Sync, a bookmark syncing service; tabbed browsing; add-on support; and faster JavaScript
performance than the default Android Browser, according to the company. Firefox 4.0 is available via the Android Market, or from Mozilla’s download page.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
MOBILE PLATFORMS
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Google Begins Tightening Control on Android Customization
Bloomberg reported that Google is tightening control over alterations many carriers and phone manufacturers have applied to Android. About a dozen executives at "key
companies" have confirmed receiving notices asking them to get approval for future changes to the operating system from Andy Rubin, the head of Google’s Android group. This new policy is a requirement for continued membership in the Android early
access program. Google’s move is designed to curtail the “fragmentation” caused by the numerous variations on Android, which has plagued the operating system since its original release.
Source: Bloomberg, 3/31/2011
OPERATING SYSTEMS
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Debian Releases Fix for 6.0.1 Update Flaws
Debian released updated ISO images of its Debian 6.0.1 operating system. The previously available images were found to have several flaws in them, including an erroneous installer code for “small CDs,” incorrectly
sized DVD images for some architectures, and missing packages and source files. The newly released 6.0.1a image has addressed all of these issues, and can be applied to existing installations via the Jigdo utility. Debian says it is unnecessary for 6.0.1 users to update unless they have actually experienced one of the aforementioned bugs.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
PERIPHERALS
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Telef¢nica Espa¤a Launches “Distrito NFC” Test Program
Telefonica Espana launched “Distrito NFC,” a new program designed to demonstrate the usage of NFC (Near Field Communication) in a corporate environment. The project will begin with 1,000 employees, who have been
supplied with NFC terminals for use at retail locations on the company’s campus, and other local stores. The devices can also be used in lieu of a keycard to access secure locations within the company. Telef¢nica plans to gradually expand this experiment
to eventually include 14,000 employees.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
PERSONNEL AND ORGANIZATION
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Acer President, CEO Lanci Steps Down
Acer International announced that CEO and president Gianfranco Lanci has resigned from the company, effective immediately, and will be replaced on an interim basis by chairman JT Wang. This
resignation was approved at a meeting of Acer’s Board of Directors, and the company has communicated internally with its worldwide employees. Lanci had held different views from a majority of the board members, and could not reach a consensus following
several months’ of dialog. The change does not affect current operations, which company executives report are functioning as normal. His role as EMEA president will be filled by deputy president Walter Deppeler.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
Amerisource Bergen Names Steven H Collis as New CEO
Amerisource Bergen announced the retirement of its current Chief Executive Officer R. David Yost, effective July 1, 2011. On the same date, Steven H. Collis will take over the CEO position. Collis is
currently serving as the company’s Chief Operating Officer, and is responsible for all business segments of Amerisource Bergen. He has been with the company for 17 years.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
HP Names Head for New Growth Markets Organization
Hewlett-Packard (HP) appointed Brian Humphries to serve as SVP for the newly created Growth Markets Organization. Humphries will lead a team responsible for creating specialized, go-to-market strategy, technology, and
customer, partner, and public sector relationships. Growth Markets will first focus on expanding HP’s business in 60 countries throughout Africa, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central and South America. Humphries most recently served as SVP, Strategy
and Corporate Developments.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
IBM Opens New Power Systems Development Lab in Taiwan
IBM opened a new Power Systems Development Laboratory in Taipei City, Taiwan. The goal of the lab will be to design new power efficient technologies for the Power platform. This is the latest of the company’s Power
Systems facilities, which have seen $3.2 billion in investments from IBM over the past 4 years. The Taipei City location will join existing labs in Austin, Texas; Rochester, Minnesota; and Boblingen, Germany.
Source: Vendor, 3/25/2011
Internet2 Names Steve Wolff as Interim Vice President and CTO
Internet2 announced Steve Wolff as its Interim Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. Wolff will be responsible for developing a strategic technical roadmap to ensure the research and education communities
remain the focus of network technology innovation and development. He will also be tasked with managing the organization’s portfolio of services. Wolff is a 40 year veteran of the industry, most recently working at Cisco, where he served as the Technical
Manager in Corporate Consulting Engineering. Internet2 says it will continue to search for a permanent replacement for former CTO Randy Frank, who is back with the organization in a complementary role, following an extended medical leave.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
McKesson Medical-Surgical Appoints Stanton McComb as New President
McKesson Medical-Surgical announced Stanton McComb as its new President, effective April 1. He will replace Brian Tyler, who was named president of McKesson US Pharmaceutical. McComb will oversee the company’s
distribution of medical-surgical supplies, medical equipment, and health care technology-related services. Stanton McComb has been with McKesson for 9 years, and most recently served as president of McKesson Automation.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
Mitre Picks George Campbell to Serve as Trustee
Dr. George Campbell, Jr. was named to Mitre‘s board of trustees. He is currently the president of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, an all honors college.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
News Corp Announces a Pair of Executive Appointments
News Corp announced a pair of executive appointments. First, Julie Henderson has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Communications and Corporate Strategy. Henderson has served as Senior Vice President,
Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, for News Corp since 2007. She will continue to oversee the company’s communications and public affairs activities, while also taking responsibility for increasing the value of the company’s business portfolio.
Additionally, News Corp appointed James Murdoch to the offices of Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Chairman and CEO, International. This is a newly created role, which will see Murdoch collaborating with senior leaders across the organization to create
strategies to strengthen the New Corp’s brands and franchises.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
Northrop Grumman Makes 4 New Executive Appointments
Northrop Grumman announced a slew of new executive appointments. Jeffrey D. Grant has been named vice president and general manager of the Space Systems Division of the Aerospace Systems sector, while Robert V.
Burke will become vice president and deputy general manager, Space Systems Division. Grant will replace Dr. David M. DiCarlo, who retired from the company. Additionally, Northrop appointed Kathy Warden Vice President and General Manager of Cyber
Intelligence Division. The new role will give her leadership over cyber or cyber-related mission areas for the company. And, lastly, the company tapped David Ryan Vice to be its new President and General Manager of Intelligence Systems Division. Ryan has
been with Northrop Grumman since 2005, serving in numerous leadership roles, the most recent of which was vice president of programs and general manager of the Civil Systems Division in the company’s space business.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
Siemens Introduces New Sector, Managing Board Members
Siemens is preparing to launch a new sector of its business operations: Infrastructure & Cities. Infrastructure & Cities includes select businesses from its industry and energy sectors. Moving forward, the Industry
Sector will concentrate exclusively on industry customers and reinforce its industry and service business. In conjunction with this announcement, Siemens’ Supervisory Board appointed three new members to its Managing Board: Corporate Strategies head – and
new CEO for Infrastructure & Cities – Roland Busch, Drive Technologies division CEO Klaus Helmrich, and Fossil Power Generation Division CEO Michael Sub. Each are effective April 1, 2011. Siemens also reported it will begin publicly listing its Osram
lighting brand subsidiary in the Fall of 2011. It will retain a minority stake as a longterm anchor shareholder.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
Toshiba Launches Digital Products, Social Infrastructure Companies
Toshiba Japan commenced operations for two new in-house companies. Its new Digital Products & Services company will combine its Visual Products consumer products group and Digital Products & Networks, which
handles PCs and related products. It also launched Social Infrastructure Systems, a group that integrates its infrastructure business with its corporate-level division. This new company should extend Toshiba’s ability to offer power transmission and
distribution (PTD) technology, social infrastructure, and automotive systems. Related to this, it also acquired a 67 percent equity stake in Ansaldo Transmissione & Distribuzione, an Italian firm that engages in engineering PTD, electric power, and
industrial power generation. The move marks Toshiba’s entry into these markets in Europe and North America.
Source: Vendor, 4/1/2011
Vivisimo Appoints Gary Palmer Director of Sales, UK and Nordics
Vivisimo appointed Gary Palmer as the new Director of Sales for the United Kingdom and Nordics. Palmer is a 16-year veteran of the industry, having worked at Autonomy and eSpirit. Prior to accepting this position, Gary
Palmer served as a strategic account manager within the Product Lifecycle Management division of Siemens.
Source: Vendor, 3/25/2011
PUBLIC SAFETY
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Report: US Marines Nuclear Emergency Team Will Deploy to Japan
Kyodo News reported that the US military is sending Marines specialized in responding to nuclear emergencies to Japan to help deal with multiple problems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan. Japan’s
Self-Defense Force Joint Chief of Staff Ryoichi Oriki announced the measure, according to Kyodo News, which said US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has approved sending the 140-member Chemical Biological Incident Response Force. The unit is trained in
search-and-rescue operations and clearing highly radioactive nuclear materials. Oriki said the unit will not necessarily take immediate action, and that the Self-Defense Forces hope to share information with the unit and study how it can be put into use
when needed.
Source: Kyodo News, 3/31/2011
Japan’s Death Toll Surpasses 11,500
The NHK news service said the death toll from the March 11th quake and tsunami in northeastern Japan has risen to 11,532 as of March 31st. The Japanese National Police Agency reported that 16,441 others are listed as missing, bringing the number of dead or missing to nearly 28,000. Police officials said the number of quake and tsunami victims could
continue rising because officials have been unable to assess the number of missing in some coastal municipalities devastated by the tsunami, and search operations are suspended within the 20-kilometer exclusion zone around the troubled Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear plant.
Source: NHK, 3/31/2011
DHS Expands “If You See Something Campaign” to AEG Facilities
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and AEG President and CEO Timothy J. Leiweke are expanding the DHS’ “If You See Something, Say Something” public awareness campaign to stadiums, arenas,
and other venues owned by or affiliated with AEG Facilities. The campaign engages the public and frontline employees to identify and report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to the proper authorities.
Source: DHS, 3/28/2011
FDA, EPA Monitoring Radiation Levels in US
In response to the ongoing nuclear emergency in Japan, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a joint press release with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) saying the agencies
have taken steps to increase the level of US monitoring of milk, precipitation, drinking water, and other potential radioactivity exposure routes from Japan. The FDA said milk testing results on March 25th and 28th from Spokane, Washington and San Luis
Obispo County, California detected radioactive iodine (iodine-131) at a level 5,000 times lower than the limit it sets for safety. The agencies said these types of findings “are to be expected in the coming days and are far below levels of public health
concern, including for infants and children.” Iodine-131 has a very short half-life of approximately eight days, and the level detected in milk and milk products in the US is therefore expected to drop relatively quickly, the agencies said
Source: EPA, 3/31/2011
NIST Unveils Test Materials for Explosives Detection
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in cooperation with ASTM International, has developed new test material for trace explosives detectors (TED), which enables users of these products to evaluate
their performance and reliability. The NIST reference material contains calibration solutions of three high-level explosives.
Source: NIST, 3/30/2011
REGULATORY & GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
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New York AG to “Thoroughly” Review Proposed T-Mobile USA, AT&T Merger
The New York Attorney General‘s office announced it will undertake a “thorough” review of the proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA by AT&T. In a
press release, the Attorney General’s office noted that the proposed merger would create the largest wireless company in the US with a total of 130 million subscribers, “opening the
door to a near duopoly shared by the merged firm and Verizon.” The Attorney General will analyze the merger for potential anti-competitive impacts on consumers and businesses in the state of New York.
Source: ag.ny.gov, 3/31/2011
Sprint Urges Regulators to Block AT&T’s Bid for T-Mobile USA
Sprint Nextel urged US regulators to block AT&T’s bid to buy T-Mobile USA. Sprint said the transaction would harm consumers and competition. “Sprint will fight this attempt by AT&T to undo the progress of the past
25 years and create a new Ma Bell duopoly,” said Vonya McCann, Sprint’s senior vice president of government affairs.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS
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Global Crossing, Setanta Sports, MEASAT Sign New Programming Deal
Global Crossing announced a new 24-hour sports channel offered by Setanta Sports and delivered by Global Crossing Genesis Solutions and MEASAT Satellite Systems to consumers across Asia. Setanta Sports is
using Global Crossing Genesis Solutions’ IP network from Dublin, Ireland to the MEASAT Teleport and Broadcast Center in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, where the signal is then uplinked to the MEASAT-3a satellite, co-located with MEASAT-3. MEASAT is a satellite
operator providing satellite communication services to the Asia-Pacific region. The new deals expands a longstanding association between Setanta and Global Crossing Genesis Solutions, which currently supports Setanta’s programming in Canada and
Australia.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
SEARCH
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Google Introduces +1 Button to Search Results Page
Google introduced the +1 button to its search results. The new feature allows users to recommend a site that they have found useful. Google has also integrated the new
feature into its social networking functionality. This allows +1 suggestions from people who are connected with the user’s Google account to be highlighted when viewing search results. The tool will also inform users of how many searchers, in total, have
give a +1 recommendation to a site. Google says future plans for the +1 button include possible integration of connections from other social networks. The +1 button is rolling out now on English search result pages, with other Google services to
follow.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
SECURITY FLAWS & FIXES
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Cisco Releases Advisory, Updates for Secure Access Control
An advisory from Cisco provides information about a vulnerability in its Secure Access Control System (ACS) in which an attacker could change the password
of any user account to any value without providing the account’s previous password. Cisco also released updates to mitigate this vulnerability.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
IG: NASA Networks Wide Open to Catastrophic Vulnerabilities
A new report from NASA‘s Inspector General (IG) reveals serious security issues within NASA’s critical
infrastructures and points out high-risk vulnerabilities that were found on six computer servers that control spacecraft, and have connections to the Hubble Telescope and International Space Station. Those servers were capable of being exploited via the
Internet, and if such an attack were to occur, it could cripple NASA’s operations. NASA CIO Linda Cureton said the agency has patched the vulnerabilities, but the IG noted there is still no program in place to find and correct such flaws when they are
noticed. The report also noted that encryption keys, encrypted passwords, and user account information were found on other NASA servers, which could be exploited by attackers.
Source: NASA, 3/28/2011
SECURITY PRODUCTS & COMPANIES
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AuthenTec Expands its IPSec Toolkit Offerings
AuthenTec introduced the QuickSec 5.2 Server and Client Toolkits, which offer compliance with IPsec security standards including updates to IKEv2. QuickSec 5.2 Server Toolkit uses authentication, confidentiality,
and data integrity to protect routers, security gateways, and network servers while the Client Toolkit enables developers to build IPSec VPN client functionality into mobile networking devices.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
New Surveillance Camera Line Available from Axis Communications
Axis Communications has launched a new outdoor-ready and fixed camera line that supports HDTV video quality. The AXIS M11-E series support multiple, individually configurable, high-resolution video streams in H.264 and
Motion JPEG in up to 30 fps in full resolution.
Source: Vendor, 3/30/2011
Gulf Oil Spill Victims Face New Worry – Possible Identity Fraud
A British Petroleum (BP) employee lost a laptop that had the names and information of more than 13,000 claimants from the April 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, according to eWeek.
Information from peope who filed compensation claims directly with BP prior to August 2010 was likely on the missing laptop – and included sensitive data like Social Security numbers, addresses, and birth dates. The laptop was lost on March 1, and
although it was password-protected, BP has said that the information contained in it was not encrypted.
Source: eWeek, 3/30/2011
Cloudmark Gets Added Email Security from European Internet Association
Cloudmark and eco, the Association of the German Internet Industry and Europe’s largest Internet association, announced a partnership integrating data from eco’s Certified Senders
Alliance (CSA) whitelist project as one of several components of Cloudmark’s backend messaging security processing system. The CSA is a centrally administered whitelist with standard registration procedures for mass mailers, services and customer compliant
mechanisms.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
F-Secure Debuts New Portal for Partners
F-Secure rolled out a new Partner Portal for its resellers. The portal provides various online tools.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
Kaspersky Revs the Engines with Internet Security Ferrari Edition
Kaspersky Lab has rolled out its Internet Security Special Ferrari Edition, which coincides with the vendor’s new partnership with Scuderia Ferrari. This edition offers all of the security features of Internet
Security 2011, but includes a user interface that is dominated by a combination of green and red, the themed colors of the two companies.
Source: Vendor, 3/25/2011
Kaspersky Promotes Law Enforcement’s Role in Combatting Spam
A newly published article from Kaspersky Lab, “A Short, Sharp Shock for Spam,” details the critical importance of law
enforcement in protecting computer users against spammers. According to the article, the shutdown of the command centers for the Pushdo, Cutwail and Bredolab botnets and criminal proceedings started against partnership programs that operated mass mailings
of pharmaceutical-themed spam have significantly helped in cutting down on the amount of spam in circulation.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
Symantec’s VIP Access for Mobile Protects iPad
Symantec‘s VeriSign Identity Protection (VIP) Access for Mobile credential for the Apple iPad is now available for free at the App Store. The VIP Access for Mobile app adds a
one-time-password (OTP) credential to the iPad that can be used in conjunction with a username and password in an effort to boost security of online accounts protected by the VIP Authentication Service.
Source: Vendor, 3/24/2011
UTC Fire & Security Donates to New Fire Engineering Lab
UTC Fire & Security has pledged $150,000 over five years to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts, towards the build-out of a new fire science research and education center. Construction
for the facility will begin in late April and is expected to be completed in 2012.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
SMARTPHONES
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Google Teaming with MasterCard and Citigroup for NFC Payments
Google is teaming with MasterCard and Citigroup for its upcoming phone-based mobile payment system, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Journal cited “people familiar with the
matter” as saying the company hopes to increase mobile payment adoption as a method of increasing its advertising sales. This would be accomplished by tracking customers’ purchasing habits and using the information to help advertisers more accurately
target ads to individuals. The upcoming system will allow customers of the aforementioned credit companies to register an Android phone for use as a payment method at the checkout. Numerous phones with the Near Field Communication (NFC) technology
necessary for this are expected to be released in the near future. VeriFone is also said to be involved in the venture. The company will produce the sensors required for communication between cash registers and the NFC systems in the phones. No date for
the launch of this service is yet known.
Source: WSJ, 3/28/2011
IDC Forecasts 49% Growth in Global Smartphone Market
The worldwide smartphone market is forecast to grow by 49.2 percent in 2011, according to a report from market research firm IDC. Smartphone vendors
are expected to ship more than 450 million handsets in 2011, up from an estimated 303.4 million in 2010. IDC also believes the Android mobile operating system “is poised to take over” as the leading smartphone operating system in 2011 after “racing into
the number 2 position in 2010.”
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
SOCIAL MEDIA
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Bing Updates with Twitter Feed in News, Facebook “Overview” Tab
Bing updated several social media features on its news and entertainment sites. First, Bing news will now stream real-time Twitter updates alongside standard Web results. This
integrates the company’s existing Bing Social Twitter feed into the news stream, providing users with search results related to current events. Additionally, Bing Entertainment now includes an “overview” tab. This new tab allows for people browsing movies,
television shows, music, or actors to post an overview of the item to their Facebook newsfeed, including a space for a comment on the item posted. Both features are limited to the US.
Source: Vendor, 3/25/2011
Facebook Adds Poll-Style Answers to Questions Service
Facebook updated its Questions feature. The existing version of the feature allowed users to pose a question to their friends and receive answers via their profile. The new format of Questions brings the additional
option to agree with an existing answer, creating a poll-like table of the most popular replies. Joining the new format is the option to expand the results of the users’ questions to include answers provided by friends of friends, and other broader groups
of people. The results will still filter out the outlying responses by default, but can me set to include them via an “others” button within the question. Facebook Questions will roll out to all users soon. In the meantime, Facebook has set up a demo page for those wishing to preview the service.
Source: Vendor, 3/24/2011
STREAMING MEDIA
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W3C Releases Report on Latest Web and TV Workshop
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) released a report on the results of its second Web and TV workshop. The publication includes a summary of the
discussions between 77 industry organizations. The topics include adaptive streaming over HTTP, home networking and second-screen scenarios, metadata and its relation to semantic Web technology, and possible extensions to HTML5 for television. The results
will be handed over to the W3C Web and TV Interest Group, which will examine possible solutions to better unifying the Web with television.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS
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Mitel Releases Upgraded Unified Communications Platform
Mitel, a provider of Unified Communications software, announced the release of version 5.0 of the Mitel 5000 Communications Platform. Designed for small and mid-sized businesses with up to 250 users, Mitel said the
new version of the platform delivers enhanced mobility support, increased ease-of-use for the end user, and simplified, centralized management for IT.
Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011
WEB COMMERCE
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Google Launches Commerce Search 3.0
Google launched a third generation of its Commerce Search. The new retail search
product offers enhancements such as "Search as You Type," local product availability, enhanced merchandising, and product recommendations.
Source: Vendor, 3/29/2011
WIRELESS
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Best Buy Connect, Clearwire Sign Network Deal
Best Buy Connect, the retailer’s branded mobile 4G broadband service, announced an expanded selection of mobile devices being offered through a wholesale relationship with WiMax-based 4G
services provider Clearwire. Initially, Best Buy Connect will offer unlimited 4G service for $45 per month with a month-to-month or two-year contract. With the purchase of a two-year contract, customers can waive the
$35 activation fee and receive up to an additional $150 off some of Best Buy’s mobile devices. Last week, 4G LTE mobile network wholesaler LightSquared said it has signed a distribution agreement with Best Buy, as
well. LightSquared’s combination LTE-satellite network is scheduled to launch in 2012.
Source: Vendor, 3/28/2011
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