News Briefs for the Week Ending04/08/2011
Docid:00020009Publication Date: 1104Publication Type: NEWS
ADT Buys Physical Security Info Management Vendor ADT Security Services has acquired Proximex, a privately-held provider of physical security information management (PSIM) system software for an undisclosed sum. Provimex will operate under ADT’s commercial Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 Bell Canada Completes Acquisition of CTV, Creates Bell Media Unit Bell Canada closed its CA$3.2 billion acquisition of CTV, and launched a new business unit called Bell Media. The new unit will be the responsibility of President Kevin Crull, and will combine CTV and other Bell content Source: Vendor, 4/1/2011 CA Acquires Base Technologies CA acquired Base Technologies, a consulting firm specializing in the management of IT assets. The company says it will use the acquired assets to strengthen the technical capabilities of CA Services and CA Technologies, Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Capgemini Acquires Artesys and Avantias Capgemini announced a pair of acquisitions: Artesys, a provider of corporate IT infrastructure solutions; and Avantias, an enterprise content management (ECM) firm. The combined cost of the purchases is EUR 40 Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 CenturyLink, Qwest Complete Merger As expected, CenturyLink and Qwest officially completed their merger April 1. With the acquisition of Qwest and merger of the two telcos, CenturyLink becomes the third largest Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 CSC Agrees to Purchase iSOFT CSC signed an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding equity of iSOFT, a provider of advanced medical IT solutions. The company says it expects the acquisition to enhance its own software products, and healthcare Source: Vendor, 4/1/2011 DISH Network Acquires Blockbuster in Bankruptcy Auction Satellite TV provider DISH Network announced that it was selected as the winning bidder in the bankruptcy court auction for substantially all of the assets of video rental company Blockbuster. DISH Network’s winning bid Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Earhtlink Acquires One Communications Corp Earthlink acquired One Communications, a telecommunications solutions provider. The purchase was made for approximately $370 million in cash, including the repayment of $282 million of One Communications’ net Source: Vendor, 4/1/2011 EMC Buys NetWitness EMC has acquired NetWitness, a network security provider. NetWitness’ technologies allow security teams to detect and remediate advanced threats and automate the incident-investigation process. The company will operate Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Google Makes $900 Million Bid for Nortel’s Patent Portfolio Google has bid $900 million for Nortel Networks‘ patent portfolio as part of the search giant’s strategy to defend itself against patent litigation. Nortel is operating under Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Harris Corp Closes Acquisition of GCS Unit of Schlumberger Harris Corp completed its acquisition of the Global Connectivity Services (GCS) of Schlumberger Corporation. The newly acquired assets were joined with the company’s’ Maritime Communications Services unit, and Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Harris Completes Acquisition of Carefx Corporation Harris Corp completed its acquisition of Carefx Corporation, a provider of interoperability workflow solutions for government and commercial healthcare providers, for a total of $155 million in cash. The acquired Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Lockheed Martin Completes Divestiture of PAE Business Lockheed Martin completed its divestiture of its Pacific Architects and Engineers Incorporated (PAE) business to Lindsay Goldberg, LLC. The divestiture was the result of a comprehensive portfolio review, and Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 News Corp Completes Acquisition of Shine Group News Corp completed its acquisition of the Shine Group for approximately GBP 290 million. The closure comes following the approval of the transaction by the Audit Committee of the News Corporation Board of Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 SAIC to Sell Oil and Gas Businesses to Wipro Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) agreed to sell its US oil and gas IT services business, as well as subsidiaries located in the United Kingdom, France, India, and the Middle East to Wipro. The Source: Vendor, 4/1/2011 SugarCRM Acquired iExtensions, a Lotus Notes CRM Provider SugarCRM acquired iExtensions CRM from iEnterprises. iExtensions is a CRM solution provider for IBM’s Lotus Notes. The company says the acquisition will be used to expand the IBM collaboration tools inside Sugar 6. Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Telstra Acquires iVision, Plans Expanded Video Conferencing Services Telstra acquired iVision, a video conferencing and collaboration company. The carrier says the assets of the acquired company will immediately make it the number one video conferencing company in Australia, and Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 Teradata Completes Acquisition of Aster Data Systems Teradata completed its acquisition of Aster Data Systems, a data analytics provider. The company plans on leveraging the acquired firm’s technology, such as its structured query language, SQL-MapReduce, to expand Source: Vendor, 4/7/2011 Texas Instruments to Buy National Semi in $6.5 Billion Deal Texas Instruments (TI) announced it plans to acquire competitor National Semiconductor for $6.5 billion USD. The acquisition combines two industry leaders in analog Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Verizon Successfully Completes Tender Offer for Terremark Worldwide Verizon Communications announced the successful completion of the tender offer made by Verizon’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Verizon Holdings, for all outstanding shares of Terremark Worldwide common stock. Verizon Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 Vodafone Sells 44% Stake in SFR to Vivendi Vodafone signed an agreement to sell its entire stake of 44% in SFR to Vivendi for a cash total of EUR 7.75 billion. The sale will include a final dividend payment from SFR to Vodafone of EUR 200 million, as well Source: Vendor, 4/3/2011 ALLIANCES & JOINT VENTURES
Cisco VPNs Now Manufactured by Russian Partners Cisco Systems announced its virtual private network hardware product is now manufactured for Cisco using a high-technology, multi-tiered supply chain of local partners in Russia. The announcement is part of Cisco’s Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 HP to Collaborate with Angel Capital on Future Initiatives Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced an agreement to collaborate with the Angel Capital Association on events, resources, and other initiatives for helping angel investors and their startup companies access HP programs and Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 Lenovo Systems Now Available Through Best Buy Lenovo announced a retail agreement extending its PC presence to more than 1,000 Best Buy retailers in the US, as well as online via bestbuy.com. The B560, IdeaPad Z565, and V560 laptops are first available products. Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 Microsoft Teams with Toyota for New Telematics System Microsoft joined forces with Toyota to launch a new telematics service based on the Windows Azure platform. The new cloud-based offering could support technologies such as GPS, energy management, and various forms Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Telefonica O2 Signs Network Sharing Agreement with eircom Telefonica O2 formed a comprehensive mobile network sharing arrangement with the eircom Group in Ireland. The goals of the partnership includes the introduction of new, faster broadband technologies; the merger of Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 BUSINESS CONTINUITY
Toyota: No North American Supply Chain Disruptions Seen Toyota has strongly denied widespread reports that plant shutdowns may occur in North America due to part shortages after Japan’s massive earthquake and tsunami. According to the BBC, Toyota’s spokesperson at the company headquarters in Tokyo, Paul Nolasco, said there had been a “total misunderstanding” and that he was “astounded”. A statement on the company Web site also said that recent reports Source: BBC, 4/5/2011 Hurricane Forecast Team Sees Busier-than-Normal Season Ahead The Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project issued an updated forecast for the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, saying it Source: Colo State, 4/6/2011 QinetiQ Technology to Assist in Japanese Recovery Efforts QinetiQ announced that it will provide unmanned vehicle equipment and associated training to the government of Japan to aid in recovery efforts resulting from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. This technology Source: Vendor, 4/1/2011 SunGard Expands Partner Program with Addition of Cloud Services SunGard Availability Services has added Enterprise Cloud Services to the offerings in its Business Partner Program. Enterprise Cloud Services provide managed network, storage and security resources that Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Verizon Helps TX College Secure Networks, Prevent Data Breaches Lone Star College, the second largest community college system in Texas, has joined forces with Verizon to prevent data breaches and other computer crimes on its campuses. After conducting a vulnerability assessment Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 CALL CENTER
SugarCRM Announces Partnership with Infratel SugarCRM teamed with Infratel to begin offering telephony solutions alongside their CRM services. The additional offerings will include traditional call center services, as well as upcoming plans for social Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 CARRIER SERVICES
France Telecom Launches International Airtime Hub for Mobile Operators France Telecom launched the International Airtime Hub, a new airtime transfer platform designed for mobile operators. The new platform consists of two services: Roaming Recharge, which allows customers to add Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Frontier Aggressively Deploying Packet-Optical Network Frontier Communications said it is aggressively deploying its packet-optical transport network to the rural US communities it serves. To date, approximately 345 Reconfigurable Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Sprint Wins Contract Extension from VHA Sprintannounced that VHA – an Irving, Texas-based health care purchasing network – has agreed to a three-year contract extension with Sprint worth an estimated $1.2 billion. Sprint, a primary telecom carrier to VHA Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 T-Mobile USA Expands 4G Footprint to 10 New Markets T-Mobile USA announced the expansion of its HSPA+ service, which it markets as 4G, to ten new markets. The new markets are Ames, Iowa; Anderson, Indiana; Battle Creek, Benton Harbor and Jackson, Michigan; Fort Source: Vendor, 4/7/2011 tw telecom Wins Converged Services Contract from Texas Firm tw telecom announced that Texas homebuilder Gehan Homes has selected it to deliver a package of converged services that includes digital voice, secure Internet access, and IP VPN services. The services, part of a Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 CLOUD COMPUTING
AWS Launches Spot Instances in North Virginia Region Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the availability of EC2 Cluster Compute and Cluster GPU Spot Instances in the Northern Virginia Region. The company says the combination of High Performance Computing (HPC) Source: Vendor, 4/7/2011 CA Launches Workload Automation 11.3 CA launched CA Workload Automation 11.3, its new software for the management of cloud workloads. New capabilities of the 11.3 update include support for new Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 CSC Launches ACE Suite for Application to Cloud Transitions CSC launched its ACE Suite of transformational services to aid businesses in migrating applications to the cloud. Part of CSC’s Application Portfolio Management lifecycle services, ACE uses technology from VMware and Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 IBM Expands Cloud Computing Offerings for the Enterprise IBM announced an expansion of its cloud services for enterprise. New offerings include IBM SmartCloud, a new scalable cloud service with optional security, and support levels; IBM Workload Deployer, a new platform for Source: Vendor, 4/7/2011 Novell Officially Launches Cloud Vibe Collaboration Platform Novell officially launched its Vibe Cloud cloud-based collaboration platform. The new offering will be available in two editions: Basic, which includes “all Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS & EQUIPMENT
Alcatel Unveils Network Mesh Virtualization Blueprint Alcatel-Lucent announced a new data center switching blueprint to provide network virtualization with a mesh architecture, managin application delivery to multiple sites and devices. Businesses can use it to Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Alcatel to Deploy Ultra HighSpeed Network in Spain Alcatel-Lucent was selected by the Sociedad Promotora de Telecomunicaciones de Extremadura (SPTE) consortium to serve as sole supplier for a new cable network in Western Spain. Alcatel will provide design, Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Alcatel Completes 4G LTE Trial for nTelos Network Alcatel-Lucent announced it completed an end-to-end, 4G longterm evolution (LTE) field trial for US services provider nTelos Wireless, in Waynesboro, VA, US. It provided 4G LTE base stations, Evolved Packet Source: Vendor, 4/7/2011 Alcatel Technology to Upgrade Vodafone Sure Signal Service Alcatel-Lucent Australia and New Zealand was selected to power Vodafone New Zealand’s commercial Sure Signal service, launched in February. The upgrade – which includes Alcatel’s small cells technology – Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 Ericsson to Join TD-LTE Trial in Shenzhen, China Ericsson was selected by China Mobile to participate in a time-division – longterm evolution (TD-LTE) trial network in Shenzhen. The contract has already been approved by Source: Vendor, 4/7/2011 NEC to Construct Submarine Cable System in Maldives NEC signed an agreement with Dhiraagu, a telecom carrier in the Maldives, to construct an optical submarine cable system connecting eight islands in the Maldives chain. NEC will provide both equipment and services, Source: Vendor, 4/7/2011 Nokia Siemens Provides Technology for E-Ten Base Station Nokia Siemens Networks supplied the fuel cell and deep-cell battery technology to power mobile service provider E-Plus’ new base station, which uses solar and wind power instead of German grid Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 SaskTel Unveils Fiber-to-the-Home Buildout Plan SaskTel, the dominant regional carrier in Saskatchewan, Canada, announced a seven-year plan to build a Fiber to the Home (FTTH) network throughout its serving regions. Under its Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 T-Mobile USA Adds 10 Markets to HSPA+ 4G Network T-Mobile USA announced the addition of 10 new markets to its HSPA+ 4G network. This brings the number of markets covered by T-Mobile’s 4G to 167, with 200 million people having access to it. The new markets are Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Telus Announces Plans for 4G LTE Rollout Telus announced plants to launch a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in early 2012. The network is expected to reach speeds of 150Mbps download, and 70Mbps upload. Construction on the network will begin in the Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Verizon, NEC Successfully Complete High Bit-Rate Trial Verizon and NEC Corporation of America jointly completed a field trial transmitting high bit-rate technologies, including 100G, 450G, and 1T (1 terabit or 1000G), coexisting on Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 CONFERENCING
Alcatel Introduces Smart Deskphone with Touchpad Alcatel-Lucent released its new smart deskphone, a tool with intuitive touchpad for providing enterprise employees with communications management and applications directly from the desktop. It is available Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Cisco Extends WebEx Contract with Boeing Cisco Systems renewed an agreement with aerospace, commercial jetliner, and military aircraft company Boeing to continue providing WebEx online conferencing products. Boeing – which has 600,000 users taking part in Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 Cisco to Provide TelePresence for National Dance Institute Cisco Systems and Tata Communications announced they will provide TelePresence technology for the National Dance Institute. The deployment will allow it to conduct Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Verizon to Deploy TelePresence System at SUNY Verizon Business announced it will deploy a unified communications and collaboration system, including Cisco TelePresence technology, for The State University of New York at Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Zoho Releases Zoho Meetings for Google Apps Zoho launched Zoho Meetings for Google Apps. The new version of the company’s collaboration software Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 CONSULTING & MANAGED SERVICES
Accenture Signs 4-Year Contract Extension with RSA UK Accenture signed a four-year contract extension with RSA UK for its insurance business process outsourcing (BPO) services. The original contract, signed in 2003, included provisions for several front- and Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Telia Sonera Signs EUR 1 Million Deal with Populis Telia Sonera signed a EUR 1 million deal with Populis, owners of the Italian Media Portal Excite.it. The agreement calls on the carrier to provide managed services and IT services to aid in the expansion of Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
HP Unveils New Information Management Products Hewlett-Packard (HP) updated its Information Management portfolio with new products and a service to help the instant-on enterprise embed intelligence for real-time information viewing. the Integrated Archive Platform, Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 CRM
SugarCRM Announces New Additions to Sugar 6 Platform SugarCRM announced several new additions to the Sugar 6 platform. They are support for simple customization, expanded database support, increased support for cloud-based deployments, and 8 additional language Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 CYBERCRIME
HP DVLabs Report Details 2010 Cyber Security Risks HP DVLabs published its 2010 Top Cyber Security Risks report, in which it identifies a significant increase in organized Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 DATA BREACHES
Enormous Data Breach Affects Millions of Consumers A massive data breach is affecting millions of customers and a range of companies including JP Morgan Chase, Target, Walgreens, and Source: WSJ, 4/5/2011 The Hartford Suffers Data Breach PC World reported that The Hartford insurance company was attacked by cybercriminals who laced the insurer’s servers with password-stealing programs. The Hartford discovered the breach in late February and sent a Source: PC World, 4/6/2011 DESKTOPS
Acer Previews Desktop with HD Touchscreen Acer International announced its new Aspire Z5761, an all-in-one desktop with high-definition touchscreen. It also has a 1.5-TB hard drive and TV tuner capability. It will be available starting Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE
Novell Launches Software to Support .NET Development for Android Novell announced Mono for Android, its new solution for developing Microsoft .NET applications for the Android platform using Microsoft Visual Studio. The company says this new Source: Vendor, 4/7/2011 E-READERS & E-BOOKS
Barnes&Noble Also Giving Access to NY Times Online to Subscribers Barnes & Noble announced that subscribers to The New York Times on its Nook line of e-readers will also receive access to the newspaper’s online digital version. B&N Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 ENTERPRISE APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Infor Launches Infor FMS SunSystems Enterprise Infor launched its new financial management solution, Infor FMS SunSystems Enterprise. The company lists the new solution’s Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 SugarCRM Launches New IBM Integrated Solutions SugarCRM launched a new set of solutions that integrate the capabilities of SugarCRM and IBM LotusLive. The first product, SugarCRM for LotusLive, adds social business capabilities Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 FINANCIAL
IDT Stockholders Convert All Shares to Class B Common Stock IDT Corporation announced that its stockholders approved an amendment to its certificate of incorporation reclassifying each outstanding share of its Common Stock into one share of its Class B Common Stock. In Source: Vendor, 4/7/2011 Siemens Projecting Strong Growth in Second Quarter Siemens announced it expects a double-digit increase in the amount of new orders it accumulated for the 2011 fiscal second quarter, ended March 31, 2011. It expects close to 21 billion EUR ($30 billion USD), Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 XO Posts Loss for 2010 Communications services provider XO announced its 2010 fourth quarter and full year financial results. Total revenue for 2010 was $1.5 billion USD, an increase of $8.0 million, or less than 1%, compared to 2009. Net loss Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
Cable&Wireless Signs Deed of Undertakings with UK Government Cable&Wireless signed a Deed of Undertakings (DoU) with the UK Government. The Deed reinforces the company’s move into the public sector, as well as allowing it to access opportunities within the new Public Sector Source: Vendor, 4/7/2011 Raytheon Wins $177 Million Contract Modifcation for STARS Installation Raytheon received a $177 million contract modification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to continue its deployment of the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS). STARS is a joint Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 SAIC Wins Spot on DOJ’s $1.1 Billion IT Contract Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) received a prime contract from the US Department of Justice to provide a range of IT services in support of several federal agencies. Specifically, SAIC will Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS
Cisco Survey Highlights Need for Healthcare Collaboration According to a new survey published by the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group and conducted by Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Verizon, MEDfx Trial Health Record Conversion System Verizon Business and MEDfx announced the successful implementation of a pilot program enabling health care providers that still use paper records to “easily convert them Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 INDUSTRY GROUPS
Huawei Named to the DMTF Board of Directors Huawei Technologies announced its appointment to the board of directors for the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF), an international organization for bringing together Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 INTERNET
ICANN Initiates Bulks Domain from Two Registrars to NamesBeyond The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) initiated a bulk transfer of domain names from Blue Gravity Communications and Moozooy Media to NamesBeyond.com. Both companies were de-accredited as Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 ICANN Releases 2010 Annual Report The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) released its 2010 annual report. Report highlights include statements Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 LAPTOPS & TABLETS
Samsung Galaxy Tab WiFi Edition Available April 10 in US Samsung Telecommunications America said several US retailers and Web sites will carry its WiFi-only Galaxy Tab Android touchscreen tablet, beginning Sunday, April 10th, at a cost of $349.99 USD. Consumers Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Sprint, Verizon Slash Price for Galaxy Tab Sprint and Verizon Wireless dropped the price of the Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet to $199.99 with a two-year contract. The price cut is the third this year, after the Tab Source: Vendor, 4/7/2011 LEGAL
ObjectVideo Files Complaint Against Sony, Samsung, Bosch ObjectVideo has filed a complaint in the US District Court of Virginia against Robert Bosch; Bosch Security Systems; Samsung; Samsung Techwin; Samsung Techwin America; Sony; and Sony Electronics. The vendor is seeking damages for the sale of products that contain Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 ZTE Responds to Ericsson Patent Infringement Suits ZTE posted a response to the fact that Ericsson has filed patent infringement lawsuits against it in the UK. ZTE says it will file patent invalidation procedures against Ericsson with the patent re-examination board Source: Vendor, 4/2/2011 MALWARE WATCH
Malicious Bootkit in Circulation Kaspersky Lab has discovered a new bootkit, known as Rookit.Win32.Fisp.a, which infects the boot sector of a hard drive. The bootkit is distributed by a Trojan, which infects the computers of users who try to Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 LizaMoon Attack Hits Millions of Web Sites More than a 4 million Web sites have fallen prey to a massive "scareware" cyber attack that was launched via an SQL injection. The attack, dubbed “LizaMoon,” carries out a fake virus scan, warns victims that there are vulnerabilities within Source: BBC, 4/4/2011 Symantec Report: 2010 Bred New, Scarier Cybercrime Tactics Symantec‘s Internet Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Toolkits, Pharmaceutical Spam Major Threats in 2010, Says Trend Micro New research from Trend Micro has revealed that toolkits flourished in 2010 and were widely used by Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011 MEDIA
AOL Fires Remaining Business and Finance Freelancers AOL has terminated all of its business and finance freelancers, Business Insider reported. This leaves sites such as AOL’s Daily Finance and Walletpop with one or two Source: BusinessInsider, 4/6/2011 MOBILE APPS
Google Cloud Music Service Shows Up on Pre-Release Music 3.0 App Google may be poised to launch its own cloud-based music service according to pre-release software discovered by TechFrom10. The technology blog stumbled on a new official Android Source: TechFrom10, 4/5/2011 Opera Mini Reaches 100 Million Monthly Users Opera revealed that its Opera Mini mobile Web browser reached 100 million monthly users in March and 2 billion daily page views. The company says these statistics make it the world’s most used mobile browser. This Source: Vendor, 4/7/2011 Twitter Pulls Quickbar from Next iPhone and iPad App Update Twitter will remove its recently Added Quickbar feature in the next update to its Twitter for iPhone and iPad apps. The sidebar was designed to help users discovers new people and topics, as well as to be a platform for Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011 Zoho Launches Zoho Docs for iPad Zoho launched Zoho Docs for the iPad. The application, previously only available as an iPhone app, is now a universal app available for any iOS device. Like its predecessor, Zoho Docs 2.0 lets users view documents, Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 MOBILE PLATFORMS
ISIS to Launch in Salt Lake City ISIS, the joint venture between AT&T, T-Mobile USA, and Verizon Wireless for mobile payments, has announced Salt Lake City, Utah as Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Google Extends Lead, Apple Fifth Among OEMs in February ComScore List comScore released its US Mobile Share rankings for the three months ending with February 2011. On the OEM list, Samsung maintained its lead, gaining 0.3% since November to hold Source: Vendor, 4/1/2011 Sprint Plans to Launch NFC-based Mobile Payment System This Year Bloomberg News reported that Sprint is committing itself to introducing a Near Field Communications-based mobile payments platform before the close of 2011. According to Kevin Source: Bloomberg, 4/5/2011 SugarCRM Launches Expanded Mobile Offerings for Sugar 6 SugarCRM announced an expansion of the mobile components of its Sugar 6 platform. These additions include support for both the Blackberry and Android operating systems. The newly supported devices will receive all Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 OPERATING SYSTEMS
SugarCRM Unveils IBM I Solution Edition for SugarCRM SugarCRM launched its new IBM i Solution Edition for SugarCRM. The new product is designed to leverage the IBM i operating system and POWER7-based Power Systems servers to reduce the cost of deploying a CRM Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 PERIPHERALS
HP Introduces OfficeJet Enterprise, Mobile Printers Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced the new OfficeJet Pro 8000 Enterprise Printer and 100 Mobile Printer, for telecommuting, branch office, and mobile workforce users. The printers are compatible with select HP laptops and Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Motorola Mobility Introduces Wireless Video Bridge for Home Market Motorola Mobility announced the Motorola VAP2400 video bridge solution, a wireless access device capable of transmitting high-quality video content over Wi-Fi spectrum throughout the home. Motorola Mobility Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 NCR to Add 309 More Blockbuster Express Kiosks to Southeast NCR announced plans to install 309 Blockbuster Express kiosks at RaceTrac convenience stores throughout the Southeast. These new locations will join an existing 200 kiosks, and are expected to be completed by June 2011. Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011 Open-Xchange Begins Offering Data Syncing with SugarCRM Open-Xchange announced that its email, contacts, and calendars can all be synced with SugarCRM. This is being made possible by the DIGITEC OXtender, a new piece of software Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 Telstra Launches Elite Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot Telstra launched its new Telstra Elite Mobile Wi-Fi hotspot. The device, which Telstra says is the fastest battery-powered model available in Australia, allows up to 5 devices to connect via Wi-Fi, and utilize its Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 PERSONNEL AND ORGANIZATION
Accenture Opens New Analytics Innovation Center in Barcelona Accenture opened a new Analytics Innovation Center in Barcelona, Spain. The company plans on using the location as a showcase for its predictive analytics capabilities, with a focus on supply chain management. The Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Amerisource Bergen David W. Neu to President of Drug Corporation Amerisource Bergen announced the promotion of David W. Neu to President of AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation (ABDC). He will be replacing Steven Collis, who will take over as CEO of the company when Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 AT&T, Verizon Showcase Energy-Efficient Equipment, Vehicles AT&T and Verizon showcased their green initiatives at an event sponsored by the US Department of Energy’s Clean Fleets Partnership. Verizon showed off a hybrid Chevrolet pick-up, an Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 Avaya Names Global Svcs, Corp Development SVPs Avaya announced Mohamad Ali as SVP and president of Avaya Global Services, and Brett Shockley as SVP, Corporate Development & Strategy. Both will report directly to president and CEO Kevin Kennedy; the appointments Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 Avaya Opens New R&D Center in Galway, Ireland Avaya launched its Customer Experience Center, a research and development (R&D) facility for providing direct access to developers for creating custom, customer-specific environments using Avaya technology. The Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Charter Announces Resignation of Gregory L Doody Charter announced the resignation of Gregory L. Doody, its Executive Vice President, Programming and Legal Affairs. He plans to return to his own restructuring advisory practice. Doody has been with the company Source: Vendor, 4/1/2011 Cisco CEO Warns Staff of Imminent Changes Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers cited slow decision-making, lapses in execution, and the lack of discipline in an aggressive expansion as key contributors to the company “losing its way,” according to a company-wide memo to employees released April 4, 2011. Chambers also indicated the company would soon begin taking steps to restore what he considers lost Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Dell to Open R&D Center in Silicon Valley, California Dell reported it plans to open the Dell Silicon Valley Research and Development (R&D) Center, a California facility to support its growing focus on network design and development, storage development, and cloud Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Dell to Spend $1 Billion for New Worldwide Data Centers Dell reported it will invest $1 billion USD to build 22 data centers, worldwide, as part of a new focus on delivering products, services, and cloud delivery options for the virtual era. The data centers should improve Source: Vendor, 4/7/2011 Dell Appoints New Head for Applications, BPO Group Dell Services named former Wipro executive Suresh Vaswani as EVP, Applications and Business Process Outsourcing, a group that includes more than 15,000 team members Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Ericsson Appoints New Head for Ericsson India Ericsson India named Fredrik Jejdling as head for its operations in India, Nepal, and Bhutan, effective June 1st. Jejdling has more than 13 years of experience in Ericsson’s sales and global services Source: Vendor, 4/7/2011 Frontier Names New Chief Accounting Officer Frontier Communications announced that Susana D’Emic will join the company on April 15, 2011 as Senior Vice President and Controller and serve as the company’s designated Chief Accounting Officer, replacing Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Jonathan Rosenberg Departing Google Following Larry Page’s Request Jonathan Rosenberg, senior vice president of product management at Google, announced plans to step down in the coming months, The LA Times reported. This announcement comes as Source: LA Times, 4/7/2011 HP to Open Sunnyvale Software Innovation Center Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced it will create a software innovation center at Moffett Towers in Sunnyvale, CA, US, in 2012. The facility will bring together offices throughout the Bay area, including those recently Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Ipanema Technologies Appoints Sales Director Ipanema Technologies announced the appointment of Charlie Barzilla as Director of Central Operations. Based in Houston, Texas, Barzilla will be responsible for sales and partner development for the central US Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 KPN Appoints Eelco Block as New CEO KPN named Eelco Block as its new Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Management of Royal KPN. He will replace Ad Scheepbouwer, who vacated the position last year. Block most recently held the position Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Microsoft Appoints Crhis Caposella SVP and Pres of New Consumer Group Microsoft appointed Chris Caposella as senior vice president of the Consumer Channels and Central Marketing Group. The newly formed group includes the company’s Retail, Mobile Operator and Distribution teams. Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 MITRE Names Barbara Toohill as VP and Director of HS SEDI MITRE appointed Barbara Toohill as vice president and director of the Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute (HS SEDI). The organization is a research and development center funded by US Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011 Mozilla to Shutter Thunderbird Group, Merge it with Mozilla Labs Mozilla has absorbed the Thunderbird group, makers of its email and messaging software, into its Mozilla Labs division, according to a blog post by Mitchell Baker, Chair of the Mozilla Foundation. Baker said the move is designed to Source: Vendor, 4/7/2011 Nokia Siemens Names Asia Pacific, N America Directors Nokia Siemens Networks appointed Paul Tyler to head up its Asia Pacific operations, succeeding Rick Corker, who will now lead its North American business. Tyler is currently head of sales for Nokia Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 PAETEC Says Intellifiber Network, Products Ready for Channel Partners Business communications provider PAETEC announced that its newly-acquired Intellifiber network and products are now available for PAETEC’s channel partners to sell across the US. PAETEC’s additional fiber Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Raytheon Appoints Ron Stefano Pres of Mission Ops for Intel and Info Raytheon appointed Ron Stefano as vice president of Mission Operations Solutions for its Intelligence and Information Systems business. The new position will give Stefano responsibility for the MOS program and Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 Euteneuer Joins Sprint As CFO Sprint Nextel said Joseph J. Euteneuer, 55, has officially joined the company as its chief financial officer, succeeding Bob Brust, who is retiring. Sprint announced in late 2010 that it had reached an agreement with Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 Verizon Employees, Foundation Pledge $800,000 to Japan Relief Efforts The Verizon Foundation and Verizon employees have pledged more than $800,000 to support earthquake-tsunami relief efforts in Japan. The donations were raised through the Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 PREPAID WIRELESS
Clearwire Signs Wholesale Agreement with Locus Telecommunications WiMax network provider Clearwire announced a wholesale agreement with prepaid wireless MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) Locus Telecommunications. The deal will Source: Vendor, 4/7/2011 PUBLIC SAFETY
Japan’s Toll of Dead, Missing: More than 27,000 The official death toll from the March 11th earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan has risen to 12,554. Some 15, 077 people are still listed as missing, according to Japan’s National Police Source: NPA, 4/6/2011 Another Strong Earthquake Hits Japan Japan was hit by another strong earthquake on April 7th in the same northeastern coast region devasted by the catastrophic March 11 earthquake and tsunami. A tsunami warning was issued April 7th but lifted a few hours later. The US Geological Survey reported the most recent earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.1, and struck near the east coast of Honshu, Japan in the Miyagi prefecture, at a Source: USGS, 4/7/2011 US Military Relief Efforts Shift Focus in Japan Japan’s NHK World reported that the US military has withdrawn 10 ships from a disaster relief mission off the battered coast of northeastern Japan, saying the initial phase of the relief mission Source: NHK World, 4/5/2011 LightSquared Network, GPS Controversy Growing Will LightSquared’s planned nationwide broadband network disrupt GPS systems used by everyone from commuters to first responders and the US military? That is the claim being made by some manufacturers of GPS equipment who are warning that strong signals Source: AP, 4/7/2011 TEPCO Officials: Radioactive Water Leak Stopped The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said that, after several failed attempts to patch a cracked containment vessel, the flow of water contaminated with radioactivity from the damaged Fukishima Source: TEPCO, 4/6/2011 REGULATORY & GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
EPA Begins Requiring Electronic Submission of Chemical Notices The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that all future chemical notices under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) must be submitted electronically. This decision is the result of a ruling issued on April 6, 2010, by the EPA, which Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 EU: Progress Made in Cyber Strategy, but More Work Critical In a new report, the European Union (European Union) has found that member states have taken steps to help Source: EU, 4/1/2011 FBI Turns to Crowdsourcing to Break Murderer’s Code Nearly 12 years after the gruesome murder of a man in St. Louis, Missouri, FBI officials have turned to the public for help in deciphering two coded messages that were found in the victim’s pocket. Despite assistance Source: FBI, 3/29/2011 FCC Proposes Stricter Guidelines for Wireless Signal Boosters The Federal Communications Commission wants to impose stricter guidelines for wireless signal boosters, which are designed to fill gaps in wireless coverage in areas where signal strength is weak. The agency has issued Source: FCC, 4/7/2011 TSA Launches New Screening Program for Airline Pilots The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), and the Air Transport Association (ATA) have received approval from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for testing of a new crew member screening system. The new system, which is set to be tested in a limited number of airports, will screen airline pilots so that TSA security officers can verify their identities and Source: TSA, 4/1/2011 Judge Kicks Verizon, MetroPCS Lawsuits Against FCC, for Now Lawsuits filed by Verizon Wireless and MetroPCS against the FCC‘s new net-neutrality rules have been thrown out by a federal court. The Wall Street Journal reported that a federal appeals court has dismissed lawsuits filed by Verizon Wireless and MetroPCS against the Federal Communications Commission’s net-neutrality regulations, calling the suits Source: WSJ, 4/5/2011 SEARCH
Yahoo Officially Launches Search BOSS V2 Yahoo officially launched Search BOSS V2. The new API gives developers access to Web search, images, and news content for a single monthly fee. It includes Source: Vendor, 4/7/2011 SECURITY FLAWS & FIXES
Advisory Provides Information on Linux DHCP Client Flaw The Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) issued an advisory and an update to fix a remote code execution vulnerability within the Linux DHCP client. Source: ISC, 4/5/2011 Juniper Advisory Issued for Secure Access Juniper Networks‘ Secure Access has an unspecified error within the Network Connect Credential Provider, which can be exploited to bypass the authentication on Windows 7 and Windows Vista. An advisory directs users to update to version 6.5R9, 7.0R4, or 7.1R1. Source: Secunia, 4/1/2011 RealNetworks Releases Helix Server 14.2 to Rectify Two Flaws It is recommended that users of RealNetworks‘ Helix Server and Helix Mobile Server update to version 14.2 to fix two security issues. Further details can be found in the vendor’s advisory. Source: Secunia, 4/1/2011 WordPress Releaases New Version — 3.1.1 WordPress 3.1.1 has been released to fix nearly 30 vulnerabilities in the earlier version. An article from WordPress is available for reading, and users Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 SECURITY PRODUCTS & COMPANIES
ZyXEL Integrates AuthenTec IPSec Server into Security Appliance Line ZyXEL Communications, a networking company, has selected AuthenTec‘s QuickSec IPsec Server toolkit to boost security in its ZyWALL Series of network security appliances. QuickSec Server supports multiple standards Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Axis Communications Takes Wraps Off New Cameras Axis Communications has introduced various new camera product families.The AXIS P5512/-E PTZ Dome Network Camera line offers 360-degree pan for overview surveillance and is targeted to stores, banks, construction Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 UK Retailers’ IT Concerns Hinders Digital Surveillance Adoption A report commissioned by Axis Communications found that many UK retail stores avoid deploying IP-based surveillance because of a lack of collaboration with their IT departments. According to the report, this is due to Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Cisco Improves Security Services Under Smart+Connected Cisco Systems updated several safety and security services, under its Smart+Connected Communities initiative, for helping migrate to IP based safety and security systems. The updates include: a revamped Physical Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Interlogix Updates Security Products Interlogix, a business unit of UTC Fire & Security, released updated versions of its GE Simon XT security system and wireless two-way talking touch screen. The Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 March Tragedies Used to Boost Cybercrime: Kaspersky In its March report on malicious activity, Kaspersky Lab found that three out of the five exploits that appeared Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 New Command Video Management Platform Available from March Networks March Networks has launched its Command video management platform, which contains an intuitive user interface, and is available in two versions: Professional, supporting up to 128 cameras; and Enterprise, Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Newest Edition of Microsoft Security Update Guide Now Available Microsoft released its latest Security Update Guide, Second Edition, replacing the earlier version from 2009. The guide provides information on how Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 ObjectVideo OnBoard Analytics Available for ARM Processors ObjectVideo‘s analytics software is now available for devices and SoC (system on a chip) platforms that leverage the ARM processor architecture. The integration of the ObjectVideo OnBoard suite of analytics Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011 UTC Fire & Security’s Onity Unit Opens New Facility in Spain Onity, a business unit of UTC Fire & Security, has relocated to a new facility in Oyarzun, Spain. The 5000-square meter facility offers an ergonomically designed Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011 Symantec Gives Backup Exec System Recovery a Facelift Symantec is delivering new recovery updates and platform support to its System Recovery 2011, formerly Backup Exec System Recovery, for both physical and virtual environments. The vendor added enhancements to the Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 UTC Fire & Security Links Businesses Under Chubb Brand Name UTC Fire & Security has aligned its US fire and security services businesses under the Chubb brand. The businesses that will combine under the Chubb name include Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 UTC’s Sale of UK-Based Business Completed UTC Fire & Security completed the sell off of its Chubb Security Personnel manned guarding business in the UK. An affiliate of Securitas of Sweden purchased the business unit. Source: Vendor, 4/1/2011 SERVERS
Dell Unveils New 4U Mission-Critical Servers Dell introduced new PowerEdge 4U rack servers for running mission critical applications – including large databases and server virtualization – as well as for migrating from proprietary UNIX deployments. Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 NEC Announces New Server with Support for Intel Xeon E7 Architecture NEC announced its support for the Intel Xeon processor E7 architecture. The new NEC Express5800/A1080a server includes the new processor and can support up to 2TB of memory and 160 simultaneous processing threads. The Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 SMARTPHONES
Telecom New Zealand Launches LG Optimus 7Q Smartphone Telecom New Zealand launched the LG Optimus 7Q smartphone. The Windows Phone 7-based device includes a slide out QWERTY keyboard, 720p video recording and playback, and a 5 MP camera. The device is available now Source: Vendor, 4/1/2011 SOCIAL MEDIA
LinkedIn Creates Facebook Open Graph Competitor LinkedIn opened up full access to its new Javascript platform to Web developers. The platform, which has been in beta since October 2010, supports OAuth Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 Twitter Adds Topical Results to Site Search Twitter updated its search to help users discover accounts featuring topics of interest, not just the specific terms searched for. Previously, if a user searched for a given term Twitter would only provide accounts Source: Vendor, 4/4/2011 STANDARDS
IEEE Launches Cloud Computing Initiative with Two New Draft Standards The IEEE announced the launch of its new Cloud Computing Initiative. Designed to serve as a “catalyst for innovation” in the cloud computing arena, the effort is kicking off with the approval of two new standards Source: IEEE, 4/5/2011 IEEE Approves New 802.16m WiMax Standard The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has approved a new version of the WiMax standard, a competitor to LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology. IEEE announced approval of the 802.16m standard, sometimes called “Mobile WiMax release 2,” on March 31, 2011. Source: IEEE, 3/31/2011 STORAGE
Toshiba Unveils SmartNAND 24-NM Flash Products Toshiba America Electronic Components introduced its new SmartNAND family of 24-nanometer NAND Flash products with a control chip that supports error-correction code. SmartNAND was designed to simplify the Source: Vendor, 4/5/2011 STREAMING MEDIA
Google Prepping New Professionally Produced Video Channels for YouTube Google is preparing to launch a revamped YouTube with professionally-produced content, The Wall Street Journal reports. The redesign would add a Source: WSJ, 4/7/2011 WEB COMMERCE
comScore Launches AdEffx Campaign Essentials in Europe comScore launched its AdEffx Campaign Essentials product in Europe. The new offering includes the ability to measure audience composition for specific media buys; optimize publishers, placements, and creatives; Source: Vendor, 4/6/2011 eBay Adds Local Inventory to Auction Site eBay unveiled a new integration of local inventory on its auction site. The service is powered by Milo, a local shopping company acquired by eBay last year. The feature allows customers to check product availability Source: Vendor, 3/31/2011 ©2011 Faulkner Information Services |