News Briefs for the Week Ending
07/15/2011
Copyright 2011, Faulkner Information Services. All Rights Reserved.
Docid:00020009
Publication Date: 1107
Publication Type: NEWS
ACQUISITIONS & DIVESTITURES
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Accenture to Acquire Duck Creek Technologies
Accenture signed a definitive agreement to acquire Duck Creek Technologies, a software maker for the property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry. The company says it will use the acquisition enhance its support
of customers in the P&C industry by allowing them to rapidly provide new products tailored to the industry’s changing demands. The assets of Duck Creek will be incorporated into Accenture’s Software division. The transaction is expected to close within 30
days. No financial terms were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
Cincinnati Bell Selling Security Monitoring Business
Regional telecom carrier Cincinnati Bell announced the signing of a definitive agreement to sell its Complete Protection security monitoring business to Guardian Alarm
Company. Cincinnati Bell will continue to offer Complete Protection services through a marketing agreement with Guardian. The transaction is a continuation of the company’s plan to divest non-core assets, a spokesman said. Financial terms of the deal
were not released.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
Citrix Completes Acquisition of Cloud.com
Citrix completed its acquisition of Cloud.com, maker of the CloudStack product line. The company says it will use the acquisition to expand its own offerings to include a complete lineup of virtualization,
networking, and orchestration solutions. Citrix says it plans to continue supporting open source software following the integration of Cloud.com’s products. This includes maintaining support for commercial hypervisors such as Citrix XenServer and VMware
vSphere, as well as open source hypervisors like Xen. Citrix plans to release a new self-branded version of the CloudStack line in the near future. No financial terms for the acquisition were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
DQE Communications Acquires Met-Net
DQE Communications, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based fiber network provider and subsidiary of Duquesne Light Holdings, has acquired the assets
of Met-Net Communications for an undisclosed sum, effective July 1. The acquisition of Met-Net expands DQE’s fiber network. In a press release,
DQE said it plans to extend service to Pennsylvania business customers in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Indiana, Washington, and Westmoreland counties as a result of the acquisition. Later this Summer, DQE said it will begin work on building out
new backbone routes in Butler and Westmoreland counties, followed by Washington County in Pennsylvania.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
DoJ Requests More Information on Level 3, Global Crossing Deal
Level 3 and Global Crossing have each received a request for additional information (a “second request”) from the US Department of
Justice under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 with respect to Level 3’s previously-announced acquisition of Global Crossing. Level 3 said it intends to respond to the request “appropriately” and that it continues to expect the
transaction to close before the end of this year.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Morpho to Acquire Card Manufacturing Centers from Carvajal Group
Morpho has signed an agreement to acquire Carvajal Group’s banking card manufacturing and personalization centers in Colombia and Peru. With this move, Morpho expects to increase its regional presence and address the
South American banking market as it undergoes chip migration to EMV, the global standard for credit and debit payment cards based on chip card technology.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
NCR to Acquire Radiant Systems
NCR signed a definitive agreement to acquire Radiant Systems, a provider of multichannel point-of-sale and managed hosted service solutions for the hospitality and specialty retail industry. NCR says the acquisition
will allow it to expand into adjacent industries, thereby increasing its revenue growth rates. Specifically, NCR plans to use Radiant’s Software as a Service (SaaS) capabilities to expand its existing offerings, and to broaden its operational territory to
include emerging markets around the world. The agreement, which has already been approved by the Boards of both companies, includes a purchase price of $28.00 per Radiant Systems share, or an aggregate total of $1.2 billion. The transaction is expected to
close during the third quarter of 2011.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
News Corp Withdraws Offer for Remaining Stake in BSkyB
News Corp, after announcing a revised offer just 24 hours earlier, withdrew its offer for the British Sky Broadcasting Group. News Corp’s offer for the company, which it already owns a portion of, had become more
complicated as the UK’s Competition Commission required certain provisions and guarantees to prevent a reduction in plurality among the country’s news reporting services. This problematic start to the process developed into stronger governmental scrutiny,
finally resulting in News Corp’s decision to withdraw. The company says it plans to maintain its current stake in BSkyB, and would consider reissuing its offer if the certain factors were to change.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
Courts Approve Nortel Patent Portfolio Sale
A consortium comprising Apple, Microsoft, Research in Motion, EMC, Ericsson, and Sony has received court approval to buy Nortel Network‘s wireless patent portfolio for $4.5 billion. Judges in the United States and
Canada approved the sale of 6,000 patents and applications. Nortel Networks filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors in January 2009 and courts in the two countries are overseeing the disposal of the company’s assets as the former telecommunications
giant winds down its operations. The auction started with a “stalking horse” bid of $900 million, which Google made in April.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
OpenText Acquires Global 360 Holding Corporation
OpenText acquired Global 360 Holding Corporation, a provider of process and case management solutions. The company says the purchase will be used to enhance its position in the business process management (BPM)
market. It expects the merger to add to its available talent, services, partner and geographical strengths, as well as allowing it to offer new solutions for dynamic case management. The acquisition cost OpenText a total of $260 million, subject to
undisclosed closing adjustments.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
QinetiQ Divests US Oil and Fuel Analysis Business
QinetiQ has agreed to the sale of Spectro, a supplier of oil and fuel analysis instrumentation based in Littleton, Massachusetts. The disposal of Spectro to SFW Capital Partners is for a total cash consideration of
$20.5 million USD.
Source: Vendor, 7/7/2011
Savvis Stockholders Approve Merger with CenturyLink
Savvis announced that its stockholders have voted to approve all proposals related to the merger with CenturyLink. Approximately 99 percent of the votes cast – representing
86 percent of Savvis’ shares outstanding – voted to adopt the merger agreement at Savvis’ special stockholders meeting held in St. Louis. The companies confirmed they intend to close the transaction July 15, 2011, subject to satisfaction of the remaining
conditions to the merger. Telecom CenturyLink announced on April 27th that it planned to acquire the IT services and cloud computing company for $2.5 billion in cash and stock.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
Symantec Closes Acquisition of Clearwell Systems
Symantec has completed the acquisition of Clearwell Systems, which was first announced on May 19. Clearwell, a privately held company, is a provider of electronic discovery technologies.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
Toshiba Transfers Ownership of N American LCD Site
Toshiba Japan concluded an agreement to transfer its ownership of Toshiba Electromex – its LCD production site in North America – to Compal Electronics, an original design manufacturer in Taiwan. It will still use
the facility as a source of LCD products in North America.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
ALLIANCES & JOINT VENTURES
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Telefonica Announces Bouygues Telecom as New Partner
Telefonica announced the addition of Bouygues Telecom to its partner program. The Telef¢nica Partners Program is a new initiative designed to let certain organization leverage Telef¢nica’s assets and collaborate
on key business opportunities. In the case of Bouygues Telecom, the duo will be focusing on improving roaming services, launching services for corporate accounts, and cooperating on new devices. Bouygues will also gain access to Telef¢nica Global Services,
the group’s procurement unit.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
Toshiba, Hynix Sharing MRAM Development
Leading semiconductor developers Toshiba Japan and Hynix Semiconductor are collaborating to develop a new spin-transfer torque Magnetoresistance Random Access Memory (MRAM)
device. Once the MRAM development stage is completed, the companies will share manufacturing in a production joint venture. Hynix and Toshiba also extended their patent cross-licensing and product-supply agreements.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
BUSINESS CONTINUITY
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AT&T: Companies Prioritize Business Continuit;, Considering the Cloud
AT&T published a disaster recovery survey, and the findings reveal that 73% of companies are considering business
continuity to be a priority for 2011, while 85% said they are planning to invest in such technologies this year. The survey of London-based businesses also found that 45% of executives use or are contemplating using cloud computing as a way to improve
business continuity for their organizations.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
EPA Announces Plans to Improve Risk Information System
The US Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to improve its Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program as part of an ongoing effort initiated in 2009 to strengthen
the program. IRIS is a publicly available on-line database that provides science-based human health assessments used to inform the agency’s decisions on protecting public health and the environment. The improvement plan is in direct response to
recommendations received on April 8, 2011, from the National Academy of Sciences.
Source: EPA, 7/12/2011
CARRIER SERVICES
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FairPoint Meets Broadband Rollout Deadline
FairPoint Communications announced that it met its regulatory broadband commitment in Vermont by the June 30, 2011 deadline. The service rollout was a major milestone since the carrier emerged from Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection earlier this year. FairPoint said in a press release that it now offers broadband service to more than 83 percent
of its customers in Maine, more than 85 percent of its customers in New Hampshire, and almost 90 percent of its customers in Vermont. In meeting its Vermont commitment, FairPoint expanded broadband access to approximately 140 communities and neighborhoods
in the state. The service provider is also making a major push to drive Ethernet-over-fiber to more than half of its 1,600 tower sites to support 4G wireless rollouts from major wireless operators.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
T-Mobile USA Introduces Mobile Phone Caller ID Feature
T-Mobile USA introduced a new feature called Name ID, developed by mobile technology company Cequint, which is owned by TNS. The feature – for
which the carrier is charging $4 per month – displays the name, number, and city of a caller, even if the call is received as “anonymous.” Name ID is available now on the Samsung Exhibit 4G, and will be available soon on additional handsets, including the
upcoming T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide, T-Mobile USA said.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
Telefonica Launches its Own Promotional Deals Service
Telefonica announced plans to launch its own promotional deals service, Priority Moments. The location-based service is exclusive to O2 customers in the UK, and offers time-limited sales and special pricing on
“experiences”. Telefonica provides examples such as early access to a certain sale, free delivery of a purchase, or a free drink with a meal. The carrier says Priority Moments will launch with 40 individual offers from 30 different brands. Users of the
service will be able to present their phone at more than 3500 retail locations across the country to redeem these offers.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
Verizon to End Automatic Delivery of Printed in Virginia
Verizon will end the automatic delivery of printed residential white pages listings in Virginia, effective with the release of the 2011-2012 Danville (Virginia) Verizon Superpages in late July. Customers will be
able to obtain a free residential white pages directory on request, however, the company said. In addition, all Verizon directory white pages listings are accessible at the carrier’s directory Web site.
Discontinuation of the automatic delivery of residential white pages listings in Virginia will keep approximately 1,640 tons of paper out of the commonwealth’s waste stream annually, Verizon said.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
Virgin Mobile USA to Raise PayLo Prices; Drop Cost for Unlimited Plan
Fierce Wireless reported that Sprint Nextel‘s Virgin Mobile USA prepaid brand will increase its low-end PayLo price plans
this week but drop the cost of its most expensive plan. Sprint spokeswoman Jayne Wallace confirmed to FierceWireless that, starting this week, Virgin Mobile will increase the price of its PayLo $25 plan – which includes unlimited texting, email and data
and 300 voice minutes – to $35. The $40 plan, which comes with unlimited texting, email and data and 1,200 minutes, will increase to $45. The unlimited $60 plan will drop to $55, and Virgin also will drop a $10 add-on fee for Research In Motion BlackBerry
devices. The pricing changes were first reported by the blog MobileCrunch.
Source: FierceWireless, 7/11/2011
CHIP TECHNOLOGY
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AMD Unveils New Radeon Graphics Chip
AMD announced the Radeon HD 6990M GPU, which, it says, is faster than all other graphics chips on the market. The chip will have a clock speed of 715 MHz, can process up to 1.6 TFLOP per second, and will support up to
2GB of DDR5 memory.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Toshiba, SanDisk Open Earthquake Resistant Chip Fab Plant
PCWorld reported that Toshiba and SanDisk have opened a chip fabrication plant in Japan designed to withstand earthquakes.The factory, which is in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, will make chips such as NAND flash for
devices like smartphones and tablets. Factory construction started last year, and the facility is being opened just a few months after a devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami, which killed thousands and caused extensive damage to buildings and
factories along Japan’s eastern coast. The manufacturing facility, which is called Fab 5, has “advanced earthquake-absorbing structures and integrates multiple power compensation techniques for protection against unexpected disruptions,” the companies said
in a joint statement.
Source: PCWorld, 7/13/2011
CLOUD COMPUTING
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AWS Announces Lineup of New Capabilities for AWS CloudFormation
Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced a lineup of new capabilities for AWS CloudFormation. First, the service now supports Amazon Route53 weighted round robin (WRR) functionality and Elastic Load Balancing zone
apex support with security group integration. These two additions allow users to route their root domains directly to a load balancer. It will also let developers choose the frequency with which users are presented with each DNS response. Additionally, AWS
has added the ability to attach arbitrary, structured metadata to any resource in a template, providing users with a method of tagging resources with additional information. Lastly, AWS launched a new tool called CloudFormer, which will make it possible
for CloudFormation users to create snapshots of current configuration, which can then be duplicated in subsequent templates. More information about these new options is available form the AWS CloudFormation
product page.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
AWS Launches Support for Import/Export in Elastic Block Store
Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched support for importing data into Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) via AWS Import/Export. The service allows users to utilize portable storage devices to transfer large amounts of
data into and out of AWS, at either the US East (Virginia) or US West (Northern California) regional headquarters. Amazon says the turnaround time for shipping the portable storage to its facilities and uploading it locally can often be less than the time
it would take to upload very large amounts of data. Import/Export currently supports eSATA and USB storage devices, as well as internal SATA hard drives. More information about the service is available from AWS’ Import/Export fact page.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
Cisco Unveils Cloud Network Virtualization, Security Offerings
Cisco Systems introduced new technology to increase the data center virtualization, network performance, and security of cloud-based networks. New releases include Cisco UCS, Nexus data center and cloud switches, Wide
Area Application Services, and IronPort e-mail security. The technology is based on borderless network. It encompasses private, public, hybrid, and community clouds, providing connectivity for mobile devices, PCs, tablets, and PCs.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
HP Integrates VMware Virtualization into Converged Infrastructure
Hewlett-Packard (HP) integrated its new VMware software within the HP Converged Infrastructure, a move to accelerate the migration to an open, hybrid cloud environment for customers. Virtualization requires optimized
server, storage, and network platforms.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS & EQUIPMENT
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Alcatel Preparing Optical Upgrade for New World Telecom
Alcatel-Lucent was selected to prepare an optical network for New World Telecom of Hong Kong, a service provider that plans to introduce 100G technology for new enterprise services. Alcatel will extend the
capacity and performance of its network to better address growth in the demand for high speed data transmission services, especially for the banking, finance, and media industries.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Cisco to Upgrade US Signal IP Next-Gen Network
Cisco Systems will upgrade US Signal’s IP NGN to support extended, virtual carrier services and increase the adoption of its new Infrastructure-as-a-Service managed data center service. US Signal is looking to address
the growing demand for video, cloud, and advanced collaboration and Ethernet services, at up to 100G bps. With over 12,000 miles of fiber route, US Signal operates its fiber optic network throughout the midwest US.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
Cisco Unveils Catalyst Switch-Related Products
Cisco Systems introduced new Catalyst 6500 series switch products, designed to upgrade the communications network to accommodate new connected devices, plus the growth of video traffic and cloud computing business
models without requiring a “rip and replace” upgrade. The rollout includes a new supervisor engine, for increasing throughput, new line cards, and an update to Cisco’s IOS software, for managing security, mobility, application, voice/video, and
virtualization.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Cisco to Lay Carrier Ethernet Upgrade for Polish Telecom
Cisco Systems agreed to provide Polish Telecom with the Carrier Ethernet for its IP Next Generation Network, to help it better provide voice, video streaming, collaboration, mobile, and premium cloud services. The
deployment includes the CRS-3 carrier routing system and ASR 9000 aggregation services routers. ITP Group is a top telecommunications provider in Poland. It operates in all segments of the Polish market, including fixed-line voice, data, TV, and mobile
networks.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
Cisco Updates ASR 9000 Aggregation Svcs Routers
Cisco Systems updated its lineup of ASR 9000 aggregation services router system, which is positioned in the edge and aggregation sections of the network with new network virtualization technology. ASR 9000 was
designed to compliment the Cisco Carrier Routing System. The new additions should better accommodate highspeed business and residential connectivity for video, mobile, and cloud services.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Ericsson Deploys HSPA Technology for Entel Mobile Broadband
Ericsson provided the highspeed packet access (HSPA) Evolution dual-carrier technology to power Entel’s Latin American mobile broadband network. The commercial launch will provide peak data rates of 42M bps, as the
Chilean operator looks to accommodate growth in mobile data traffic due to smartphones and mobile applications for Internet and media browsing.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Level 3 Launches New Ultra-High-Speed Trading Route
Level 3 announced the launch of a new “ultra-low-latency” fiber-optic route to increase financial exchange trading speeds between London and Frankfurt. The new route will also allow banks, hedge funds, brokers, and
other financial services institutions to execute trades between additional exchanges connected to the Level 3 network including Zurich, Milan, New York, and Chicago. Level 3’s network spans more than 20 countries and reaches approximately 190 markets in
Europe and North America.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
Motorola Solutions Deploying ASTRO System for Northwestern
Motorola Solutions is deploying a 900-MHz, ASTRO Project 25 (P25) voice and integrated data communications system for Northwestern University in Chicago. The P25 system replaces a 14-year-old
analog trunking system, and will extend IP interoperability throughout the school community. It will be used by Northwestern’s Evanston and Chicago campus police, facilities management, events staff, sports facilities management, and other support and
operations staff. The system consists of three simulcast sites and will provide text messaging capability for Motorola subscribers, to compliment voice operations.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
NSN Releases M2M Software for Managing GSM Traffic
Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) rolled out its Machine to Machine (M2M) software for GSM, for preventing traffic overloads and avoiding congestion within the network. The M2M software suite is based on a
NSN precise paging feature, for reducing the amount of signaling information between M2M mobile stations and base transceiver stations. M2M refers to technology that uses a device to capture an event, then relayed by a network to an application that
translates it into useable information. The software will be commercially available next month.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
Nokia Siemens Upgrades T-Mobile HSPA+ Network
Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) upgraded portions of T-Mobile USA’s HSPA+ 4G network. The network provides speeds of up to 42M bps in 152 markets, reaching 170 million customers. T-Mobile and NSN have been
working together for more than a year to drive the standardization of longterm HSPA Evolution, the evolution of HSPA in 3GPP, a technology that allows operators to extend their mobile broadband network to access the full potential of HSPA technology.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
Swisscom Announces Collaboration with Winterthur Public Utilities
Swisscom announced a collaboration with Winterthur Public Utilities as part of its continued fiber-optics expansion. Under the terms of the alliance, Swisscom will install new fiber lines with 4 fibers, two of
which will be retained by Swisscom, and two of which will be offered to certain other telecom providers by Winterthur. This is the seventh partnership of this type signed by Swisscom. The plans must still receive approval from local political authorities
and citizens via referendum, before it can proceed.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
CONFERENCING
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Cisco Introduces Mobily TelePresence Suite in Saudi Arabia
Cisco Systems and Mobily – a Saudi Arabian mobile and data services provider – introduced a Cisco TelePresence Suites venue at Mobily’s headquarters in Riyadh city. The TelePresence suite will connect 32 business
cities, worldwide, across five continents, using technology from Tata Communications and other partners. It will deliver live, immersive, face-to-face communications via the network.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
CONSULTING & MANAGED SERVICES
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Avaya Introduces Customer Social Media Services
Avaya unveiled new services for incorporating social media into a customer sales and service strategy. These include social media consulting and management, and agent desktop integration. The announcement is part of
Avaya’s launch of new contact center solutions.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
CSC Signs Contract to Provide Hosted Insurance Platform to Swiss Re
CSC signed a contract to provide a hosted insurance processing platform for Swiss Re, a reinsurance company. The so called POINT IN system will be hosted and managed by CSC, and will provide Swiss Re with an insurance
administration system, business process management (BPM) functionality, claims management software, and a real-time Web portal. No financial terms for the system were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Orange Signs Contract to Build Content Portal for Samsung
France Telecom‘s Orange signed a European partnership agreement with Samsung to provide a content and services portal for Samsung Smart TVs, Home Cinema receivers, and
Blu-Ray players. The portal’s content will include sport info, Liveradio, an enhanced program guide, trailers for weekly cinema releases, and free content from Orange’s cinema series channels. The service will be available to all Samsung product owners,
regardless of their Internet service provider. However, Orange customers are expected to receive additional exclusive services in the coming months. No financial terms for the agreement were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
IBM Signs 10-Year IT Services Agreement with Bharti Airtel
IBM signed a 10-year agreement with Bharti Airtel to provide comprehensive IT solutions to its workers in 16 countries across Africa. IBM will be tasked with providing help desk and desk side support, as well as
implementing and maintaining a standard operating environment. This agreement builds on an earlier contract signed between the two companies, which gave IBM responsibility for managing Airtel’s mobile communications network.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
NEC Receives Trio of Cisco Master-Level Specializations
NEC achieved three Master-level specializations with Cisco: Master Security, Master Managed Services and the Master Unified Communications. All three of the certifications denote a recipient’s ability to design and
integrate network solutions based on Cisco’s product portfolio. Specific requirements include meeting industry-standard technical certification requirements for the Master Security specialization; undergoing an independent audit by a third-party auditor
for the Master Managed Services specialization; and meeting a number of Cisco and industry-standard technical certification requirements for the Master Unified Communications specialization.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
NEC Signs SaaS Cloud Services Agreement for Amata’s Industrial Estate
NEC signed an agreement with Amata Corporation PCL to provide SaaS (Software as a Service) cloud services to the companies located at Amata’s industrial estate in Thailand. Amata owns a pair of estates, which can house
approximately 650 tenants combined. NEC will be providing services such as PBX, servers, and ERP packages to the occupying companies. If the agreement proves successful, NEC plans to expand its offerings to include IaaS, DaaS, and PaaS services in
collaboration with Amata. No financial terms for the agreement were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
CONTENT DELIVERY NETWORKS
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Cisco Providing Content Delivery for NET’s NOW Service
Cisco Systems will provide the content delivery system for NET – a multi-service cable operator in Latin America – to power its new NOW video-on-demand streaming service. Cisco will also handle system integration. NOW
was launched in April.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
CRM
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Avaya Announces Contact Center Collaboration Software
Avaya announced Contact Center 6.2, software for improving agent-based and automated services to drive more personalized and seamless customer experiences. It provides collaboration and custom features for helping
solve customer issues among agents and experts. The software can support up to 90,000 agents on a single, virtual network. It integrates with the Aura Communications Manager.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Oracle Unveils CRM On Demand Release 19
Oracle unveiled its Oracle CRM On Demand Release 19 solution. The company says the new solution includes increased cloud extensibility options and mobile choices, including personalized CRM information, iOS support,
and the ability to access CRM information from a BlackBerry or Microsoft Outlook. The product will be marketed to the life sciences, insurance, financial services, and automotive industries. More information is available at the Oracle CRM On Demand Release 19 product page.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Oracle launches WebCenter Customer Engagement Platform
Oracle launched Oracle WebCenter, a new customer engagement platform. The platform consists of four components: Oracle WebCenter sites, a Web experience management solution which lets users create, deploy, target,
and measure multi-channel online marketing; Oracle WebCenter portal, which works as a bridge between the features of Oracle WebCenter Suite and Oracle WebCenter services; Oracle WebCenter content, a content management system; and Oracle WebCenter connect,
a set of social tools designed to accelerate business processes. The Oracle WebCenter platform is available now as part of the Oracle Fusion Middleware lineup.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
CYBERCRIME
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Canadian Intelligence Service Warns of Cyber Attack Danger
SC Magazine reported that the Canadian intelligence service has singled out cyber attacks as one of the biggest threats facing Canada. In its
latest annual report. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), which is responsible for investigating threats to national security, said that politically-motivated threats, or attacks against critical information infrastructure, are of particular
interest. Energy, finance and telecommunications are particularly vulnerable, according to the agency. In June 2009, CSIS issued a top-secret memo warning that cyber attacks on government computers, along with academic and commercial machines, had been
growing substantially.
Source: SCMagazine, 7/13/2011
Attackers Hit Microsoft Security Center, Redirect Users to Porn
Attackers poisoned the search links on Microsoft‘s Safety & Security Center, redirecting users who clicked on them to pornographic URLs, causing the vendor to pull the switch on the search fields. Microsoft shut
down the links last Saturday and restored them Monday afternoon, issuing an apology for the snafu.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
DATA BREACHES
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Booz Allen Hamilton Hacked, Latest Victim of Anonymous
The hacker group known as “Anonymous” attacked a server at Booz Allen Hamilton, a government contractor, and stole 90,000 military email addresses and passwords, calling its mission “Military Meltdown Monday.” Digital Trends reported that Anonymous claims it broke into a server that did not contain any type of security measures and also claimed to have pulled some 4 GB of source code from Booz Allen’s SVN software
revisioning and version control system.
Source: Digital Trends, 7/11/2011
DATA CENTERS
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IBM Announces Two New Cloud Data Centers in Japan
IBM announced an expansion for its cloud computing customers in the Japan and Asia Pacific regions. The expansion comes in the form of a new IBM Cloud Data Center in Japan and a dedicated data center for LotusLive,
the company’s cloud collaboration service. Located in Makuhari, the new center will deliver IBM’s entire spectrum of enterprise-class cloud services. The dedicated data center for LotusLive will also be located in Japan when it opens later this year. It
will provide the full range of LotusLive services, including messaging, file storage, and sharing. It will also increase the performance of the service for customer in the area by lowering latency, IBM said.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
DBMS
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Oracle Announces Certification of SAP Apps on Exadata Database Machine
Oracle announced the certification of certain SAP applications to run on its Oracle Exadata Database Machine. The certified applications are based on the SAP NetWeaver 7.x software,
and include SAP ERP and SAP Business Warehouse (BW). Oracle claims access to its Exadata platform will provide customers with improved performance, reduced costs, decreased system stack complexity, and fewer necessary IT staff interventions. More
information about the newly certified SAP apps is available at Oracle’s Web site.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
DESKTOPS
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Lenovo Supplants Acer for Third in PC Sales in Qtr 2
Lenovo overtook Acer International to become the world’s third-largest PC vendor in the 2011 second quarter – ended June 30th – and is inching closer toward
Dell’s second-place position, according to a recent IDC post that has also been reported by news outlets such as TechWorld. Lenovo benefited from
stable PC growth in the Asia-Pacific, and by expanding its distribution channel to more regions, Lenovo shipments grew by nearly 23 percent during the second quarter, bucking slower-than-expected PC growth during the quarter. Worldwide PC shipments totaled
84.4 million units, growing by just 2.6 percent compared to the year-ago quarter,
Source: IDC, 7/13/2011
DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE
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Debian Posts “Community Distribution Patent Policy FAQ”
The Debian Project posted a new Community Distribution Patent Policy FAQ. The new document is meat to educate both software developers and distribution editors
on the risks of software patents. The paper was written by attorneys from the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), at the request and guidance of the Debian Project. While Debian says it does not agree with the existence of software patents in general, it
has commissioned this guide to those involved in creating free software deal with the reality of a heavily litigious software market.
Source: Vendor, 7/9/2011
Red Hat Launches New JBoss Application Server 7
Red Hat launched its new JBoss Application Server 7 solution. The new community project provided a cloud-ready architecture, and reduces startup time to a tenth of its previous length, according to the company. Red
Hat says the technology behind the new product represents a step forward in lightweight, modular, and agile design for Java application servers. Other new capabilities include a Java Enterprise Edition (EE) 6 Web Profile, a Java Context and Dependency
Injection (CDI) framework, support for Arquillian testing, developer tool support for Eclipse-based Jboss tools, and a new domain model with management APIs. The Jboss Application Server 7 is available for Download from Red Hat.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
E-READERS & E-BOOKS
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Amazon Announces $139 AT&T Sponsored Kindle 3G with Special Offers
Amazon announced a new price for its Kindle 3G with Special Offers model, thanks to a sponsorship deal with AT&T. The new price point will be $139, and will include the same free
lifetime 3G connectivity as the device’s predecessors. The new price reduction places the e-reader at $50 less than its non-Special Offers counterpart. The AT&T sponsored version is available now at Amazon’s Kindle product page.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
iRiver to Launch First Google Books Integrated eReader
Google announced the launch of the first e-reader to connect with its Google eBooks platform, the iRiver Story. The device features a thin and light form factor,
high-resolution e-ink screen, Wi-Fi connectivity, and built-in access to Google’s eBook store. The iRiver Story is expected to retail for $139.99, and will be sold at Target stores, and on Target.com starting July 17.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
FINANCIAL
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Axis Communications Posts Financials for First Half of 2011
Axis Communications reported a 10% increase in net sales for the second quarter of 2011 to 747 million SEK ($113 million USD). For the quarter, profits amounted to 66 million ($10 million) and earnings per share were
0.96 ($0.14). For the first half of the year, Axis posted net sales of 1.5 billion ($227 million), representing a growth of 18%.
Source: Vendor, 7/8/2011
Google Posts Strong Increase in Revenue, Profit for Q2
Google reported revenues of $9.03
billion USD for the quarter ended June 30, 2011, an increase of 32% compared
to the second quarter of 2010. Google’s net income in the second quarter of
2011 soared to $2.51 billion, compared to $1.84 billion in the second
quarter of 2010.
Google CEO Larry Page said “we had a great quarter,” and that he is “super
excited” about interest in Google+, the company’s social networking effort.
The full earnings release is posted at Google’s
Investor Relations site.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
Juniper Notified of Unsolicited Mini Tender Offer
Juniper Networks reported an unsolicited “mini tender” offer by TRC Capital, to purchase up to three million shares – less than 0.56 percent of outstanding shares of Juniper common stock, at $28.25 per share.
Juniper does not endorse the offer, nor does it recommend stockholders tender their shares in response to the offer, which is below market price for Juniper shares. TRC’s offer price is approximately 4.33 percent less than the $29.53 closing price of
Juniper Networks common stock as of June 22, 2011.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
News Corp Announces New $5 Billion Stock Repurchasing Program
News Corp‘s Board of Directors has approved a new stock repurchasing program with a budget of $5 billion. This total includes the remaining $1.8 billion still unspent as part of News Corp’s previous stock
repurchasing efforts. The combined funds will be used to purchase shares of both Class A and Class B common stock over the next 12 months. The purchases will be made as open-market transactions, and are expected to commence on August 15, 2011, when the
company’s current blackout period ends.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Treasury Department to Stop Issuing Paper Bonds at Year’s End
The US Treasury Department announced that its Bureau of the Public Debt will cease issuing paper savings bonds as of January 1, 2012. The Treasury hopes this move will increase the number of transactions made
through electronic means, rather than physical. According to the department’s estimates, this will save the government approximately $70 million over the next 5 years by eliminating costs related to producing and managing paper bonds. The Treasury said it
plans to begin promoting the electronic sale of its Series EE and I electronic savings bonds, which can be purchased through its online store.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
ZTE Secures $900 Million in Loans
ZTE secured $900 million in loans to support its expansion into overseas markets. The syndicated term loan was initiated with 10 international banks. The company says it chose to shift this much of its debt to the US
Dollar as a method of lessen the impact of appreciation of the RMB. The acquired funds will be used for the general working capital requirements of ZTE (H.K.) Limited.
Source: Vendor, 7/8/2011
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
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Booz Allen Hamilton Wins Spot on VA Transformation Contract
Booz Allen Hamilton received a slot on the Veterans Affairs Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology (T4) contract in support of the modernization of the US Veterans Affairs (VA) department. Under the terms of the
agreement, the VA will be able to acquire IT services from Booz in the areas of program management, strategy and planning; systems/software engineering; enterprise network; cyber security; operations and maintenance; and IT facilities. The agreement has a
five-year period of performance and a total value of $12 billion for its 14 awardees.
Source: Vendor, 7/8/2011
Raytheon Receives Additional $16 in MNP Program Funding
Raytheon received an additional $16 million for phase two of the Military Networking Protocol (MNP) program. The goal of the program is to create architectures, protocols, and network devices designed to improve
network capabilities and integrity for tactical military units. The second phase will attempt to create a method of reliably identifying individuals and participants on the network, such as command staff and specific network resources.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
SAIC Receives Spot in DIA Contract for MASINT Intelligence Community
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) received a prime contract from the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to provide measurement and signature intelligence services in support of the National
Measurement and Signature Intelligence (MASINT) Office. SAIC will be tasked with providing its services, as require by the office to complete its responsibilities as functional manager of the MASINT intelligence community. The agreement has a one-year base
period and four one-year options. SAIC is one of five companies named in the contract. No financial terms were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
GRANTS
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Wikimedia Receives $3 Million Grant from Sloan Foundation
The Wikimedia Foundation, owners of Wikipedia received another $3 million grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Foundation’s previous grant of $3 million was awarded to the online encyclopedia in 2008, and
was the single largest cash contribution the organization had ever received. Wikimedia says the new funds will be used to increase its quality of service, to recruit a more diverse stable of editors, and to increase its readership, especially in the global
south.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS
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Oracle Launches Pair of Health Information Management Solutions
Oracle launched Oracle Health Sciences Information Manager 1.2 and Oracle Health Sciences Information Gateway 1.2. The pair of software titles are both components in the company’s Oracle Health Information
Exchange and are designed to comply with the Nationwide Health Information Network (NwHIN) “Direct Project” Secure Health Email requirements for protected health information (PHI) sent via the internet. Other features include stored audit trails of all
communications, selective review and import of electronic health records, and support for Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) and Nationwide Health Information Network (NwHIN) Web service specifications.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
SAS Adds New Clinical Trials Programmer Certification to Offerings
SAS expanded its Global Certification Program offerings with the launch of a new credential, SAS Certified Clinical Trials Programmer using SAS9. The
accompanying exam for the program will focus on clinical trials programming, and will require proficiency in the areas of data manipulation and integration, production of data listings, tables and figures based on a Statistical Analysis Plan, and the
generation of graphs and reports. SAS says it developed the exam in collaboration with practitioners and hiring managers from 10 pharmaceutical and life science companies. More information is available at the SAS. Certification Web site.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
INTERNET
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US ISPs Agree to Help Curb Online Content Piracy
US Internet Service Providers have agreed on a system to warn Internet customers suspected of
infringing copyright by sharing online content. The Copyright Alerts system is a voluntary system, where ISPs will send up to six alerts to a subscribers if his or her account may have been used for online content theft of film, TV shows, or music. It will
also put in place a system of “mitigation measures” intended to stop the online piracy if the subscriber does not respond to the alerts. Termination of a subscriber’s account is not part of the measures, and ISPs said they will not provide subscriber names
to rights’ holders. The agreement also establishes a Center for Copyright Information to support implementation of the system and educate consumers about the importance of copyright. Negotiations on the
agreement were initiated by Andrew Cuomo when he was New York Attorney General. Parties to the agreement include the ISPs AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon, as well as industry groups such as MPAA, RIAA, IFTA, and A2IM.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
AOL Launches Two New Sites: HuffPost Celebrity and HuffPost Culture
AOL‘s Huffington Post Media Group launched two new sites: HuffPost Celebrity and HuffPost Culture. HuffPost
Celebrity will be led by Katy Hall, Managing Editor of Entertainment at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, and will feature content including entertainment and celebrity news, photos, videos, and blog posts from industry executives. HuffPost Culture will
be helmed by Gazelle Emami, Culture Editor of AOL Huffington Post Media Group, and will feature performing, visual, and broadcast art news, as well as dance, opera, music, architecture, film, TV, and photography content.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
AOL Launches AOL Government Site
AOL announced the launch of AOL Government, its latest site to provide news, photos, and expert analysis on a given topic. The site will be led by Wyatt Kash, a veteran journalist with experience in business-to-business
media management, content, and business development. This site is the third, and final, component of AOL Industry, with the other two sites, AOL Energy and AOL Defense, having launched in June.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
Internet2, ESnet to Build 100Gbps Research Network
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Internet2 announced an agreement to build one of the world’s fastest scientific networks. The new network will be
built for the Department of Energy by Berkeley Lab’s Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) for its Advanced Networking Initiative (ANI) under a $62 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant. Under the agreement, ESnet
and Internet2 will construct and operate the new 100 gigabit per second (100 Gbps) ANI prototype network using one of the first national-scale deployments of 100 Gigabit Ethernet technology. The ANI prototype network will significantly increase the
information-carrying capacity of ESnet’s present network, which uses 10 Gbps technology. To build the national network, Internet2 will use fiber strands on Level 3‘ Tier 1 fiber-optic network. ESnet will also have the
option to access 4.4 terabits per second (Tbps) of capacity for the ESnet ANI network using Ciena‘s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform. The ESnet ANI prototype network will initially connect three DOE unclassified
supercomputing centers and will be used for applications and networking research. The prototype network will also serve as a platform for building out technologies leading to an eventual 1-terabit per second wavelength network.
Source: Internet2, 7/14/2011
LAPTOPS
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Asus Debuts New Thin U-Series Notebook Systems
Asus International introduced new inch-thick U46 and U56 model laptops, featuring Intel processors. The series have 14- and 15-inch displays.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
LEGAL
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Law Firm Investigating Cincinnati Bell
Robbins Umeda, a shareholder rights law firm, said it has begun an investigation into “possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of the law” by executives at regional carrier Cincinnati Bell. Specifically, the firm said it is investigating the unanimous decision by the board of directors to “dramatically increase executive compensation between 54.3% and 80.3% in 2010, despite Cincinnati
Bell’s poor financial performance during the same period.” In 2010, Cincinnati Bell posted a loss of $61.8 million in net income and an 18.8% negative annual return for investors. Cincinnati Bell’s board, however, approved a 71.1% increase in compensation
for CEO John F. Cassidy, who received $8,562,462 in executive pay from the company in 2010. Additionally, the law firm said, Cincinnati Bell’s CFO Gary K. Wojtaszek, and General Counsel for the company Christopher J. Wilson, received compensation increases
of 80.3% and 54.3% respectively in 2010.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
MALWARE WATCH
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Fortinet Spots Zeus Trojan Targeting Android
Fortinet reported that a new version of Zeus-in-the-Mobile (ZitMo) is targeting Android devices. The malware poses as a banking activation application and listens to all incoming SMS messages, forwarding them to a
remote Web server.
Source: Vendor, 7/8/2011
MOBILE APPS
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eBay Announces Plans for Peer-to-Peer NFC-Based Payment App
eBay‘s PayPal announced plans for an upcoming peer-to-peer NFC solution mobile payment solution. The system works via a mobile app for NFC-equipped smartphones. The user taps his or
her phone against the recipient’s device, which initiates and instant transfer of funds between the two users’ accounts. The online payment service said this app is only the first step in its attempts to integrate NFC technology into its mobile payment
offerings. PayPal plans to announce other products in the coming weeks and months. No public release date for the demonstrated application were announced.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
Facebook Launches App for Feature Phones
Facebook released a new mobile application designed specifically for non-smartphones. The application features many of the same functions as its smartphone counterparts, but works on more than 2,500 devices from
numerous manufacturers and carriers. Users can download the app by clicking the download link on Facebook’s mobile site, or by entering d.facebook.com/install in their mobile browsers. It will also be available from several app stores, including GetJar,
Appia, and Mobile Weaver. Facebook says the application was designed to use a minimum amount of data to reduce usage costs for members. To further combat this, certain carriers are offering free data usage for the app for a limited time. A full list of
these carriers can be found on Facebook’s announcement about the app.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
France Telecom Releases TVCheck Social Networking App
France Telecom released TVCheck, a new iPhone applications designed to add a social networking aspect to television watching. The free app automatically recognizes any program the viewer is watching, as long
as it is being broadcast on one of the 19 French DTTV channels. The user can then comment on the program, “like” it on Facebook, participate in trivia quizzes about the show, and perform “check-ins” to earn badges for
watching a certain show frequently, or consistently. The TVCheck app is available now from the Apple App Store.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Google Unveils Updated Version of Android Market with Videos, E-Books
Google announced an updated version of the Android Market with videos and e-books. The updated app store will include a redesigned user interface; new app collections, such as Editor’s Choice, and Staff Picks; video
rentals; and e-book purchases. Video rentals from Google’s new rental application will cost $1.99, and will be available for streaming as soon as the purchase is completed. Google says the title can also be downloaded to the purchasing device, for viewing
when an Internet connection is not available. E-books will be purchasable for various prices, and will sync across all portions of the users’ Google accounts, making them viewable on any compatible device. The updated Android Market will be gradually
rolling out over the coming weeks to all devices in the US running Android 2.2 or higher.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
Hughes Creates Customer Gateway Mobile Apps
Hughes introduced a new lineup of mobile applications designed to let IT professionals track device health and trouble tickets from anywhere. The software was created for Hughes’ managed network service customers,
and is compatible with iPhones, iPads, and any other major smartphone platform. The apps are designed to extend the company’s Customer Gateway portal to mobile devices, allowing IT staff to keep an eye on factors that would otherwise require them to remain
at a PC. iOS users can download the new app from the Apple App Store, while owners of other smartphones can download the software from Hughes’ Web site.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
Lockheed Martin Teams with Esri for Geospatial App Development
Lockheed Martin announced a new collaboration with Esri, a location-based services company, with the goal of designing and marketing new geospatial apps and services to the military, intelligence, homeland
security, and emergency response communities. The alliance is being made possible by Lockheed’s recent decision to join the Esri Partner Network, which it is now a Gold Tier member of. The duo says it will focus on enterprise GIS solutions designed to
connect “desktop and mobile users across a range of devices with a secure worldwide network”. No projected date for the availability of any joint products has been announced.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Twitter for Android Updated with Push Notifications, Multiple Accounts
Twitter released an updated version of its official mobile app for Android. The new Twitter for Android includes two new features: push notifications and support for multiple accounts. Push notifications provide a
pop-up message whenever the user’s account receives a new direct message, @mention, or Tweet. The user can also customize which of these triggers a push notification. The second feature, support for multiple accounts, allows users to interact with more
than one Twitter account without having to log out and back in when switching between the profiles. Twitter said the application also includes several performance enhancements and aesthetic improvements. Twitter for Android is available for free from the
Android Market.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
Zoho Launches First Android App, Zoho Invoice for Android
Zoho launched its first Android application, Zoho Invoice for Android. The app allows users to create, send, and edit invoices, estimates,
and expenses from anywhere. The application also features the ability to display customer information such as contacts, notes, and outstanding balances owed. Zoho Invoice for Android is available as a free download from the Android Market, and is
compatible with all tiers of Zoho service, including the free tier.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
PERSONNEL AND ORGANIZATION
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Allscripts Announces 4 New Executive Appointments
Allscripts released a list of new executive appointments. First, Cliff Meltzer has been named the company’s new Executive Vice President, Solutions Development. Meltzer comes to Allscripts from Apple. Steve Shute
has been named Executive Vice President, Sales. Shute most recently worked as Vice President of Worldwide Sales for Enterprise Content Management for IBM. Jackie Studer will take over as Senior Vice President and General Counsel. Studer’s most recent
position was as General Counsel, Healthcare Information Technology, for GE Healthcare IT. Lastly, John Guevara has been named Chief Information Officer. He comes to Allscripts from Microsoft, where he held the position of General Manager of the Enterprise
Services Solution Management application portfolio.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
AT&T to Power 11 California Sites with Bloom Energy Fuel Cells
AT&T announced that Bloom Energy will install Bloom Energy Servers, commonly called “Bloom Boxes,” at eleven AT&T sites in California. AT&T is the first telecommunications
service provider to use Bloom Energy Servers to help power their operations. Using proprietary solid oxide fuel cell technology, the Bloom Boxes will provide 7.5 megawatts of onsite power that reduces carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 50% compared
to the conventional electrical grid, and will virtually eliminate harmful smog-forming particulate emissions, AT&T said.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Cisco Launches IT Education Initiatives in Russia
Cisco Systems launched several long-term initiatives focused on the development and modernization of IT education in Russia, in the form of educational programs and the promoting of teaching “best practices.” New
programs will cover general school education, vocational training, higher education, and workforce retraining. The initiatives will run through 2014.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
Cisco Believed to Be Shedding 10,000 Positions
Cisco Systems is preparing to cut as many as 10,000 jobs – about 14 percent of its workforce – to help revive profits as competitors such as Juniper and HP take market share from Cisco’s main businesses, according to
a report published by Bloomberg that cited people familiar with the situation. Approximately 7,000 will be let go by the end of
August, and Cisco will provide early retirement packages for an additional 3,000 who accept buyouts.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
Cisco Taiwan Names Industry Veteran as New Manager
Cisco Taiwan announced Frank Wu as its new GM, overseeing strategy and field sales operations. Wu has more than 20 years experience in Taiwan’s high-tech industry, and has served in management positions with Dell, HP,
and Sun Microsystems.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
Coveo Names Louis Tˆtu Chairman and CEO, Laurent Simoneau to be CTO
Coveo announced a pair of major executive appointments. First, Louis Tˆtu has been appointed CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Tˆtu has been with the company since he was hired as Executive Chairman in 2009.
Prior to that hiring, Tˆtu founded and served as CEO of the Taleo Corporation. He will be replacing Laurent Simoneau, founder of Coveo and long-time CEO. Simoneau will be moving on to the positions of Chief Technology Officer and President for Coveo.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
HP Establishes webOS Global Business Unit, Formerly Palm
Hewlett-Packard announced it is reorganizing its HP Palm brand into a new group – the webOS global business unit. It will be headed by Stephen DeWitt, the former head for HP Personal Systems Group Americas. DeWitt
replaces former Palm CEO Jon Rubenstein, in the wake of what it considered a less-than-stellar TouchPad launch. HP also appointed Stephen DiFranco as SVP and GM for the Americas region of the Personal Systems Group, replacing DeWitt in his former
position.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Juniper Appoints New CIO, Manufacturing Operations Head
Juniper Networks named former Honeywell chief information officer (CIO) Bask Iyer as SVP and CIO, and also named Martin Garvin – the former head for Dell’s global supply chain – as SVP, Manufacturing Operations.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
New Board of Directors Named at Kaspersky
Kaspersky Lab appointed a new board of directors following modification of its corporate governance rules. Eugene Kaspersky, CEO and co-founder of the company, was appointed chairman of the board of directors.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
McAfee to Appoint Co-Presidents
McAfee announced that Michael DeCesare and Todd Gebhart will assume the role of co-presidents, reporting directly to Ren‚e James, Intel senior vice president and group general
manager and chairman of the McAfee subsidiary.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Microsoft Plans $5.8 Billion Partner Network Expansion
Microsoft announced plans for $5.8 billion in investments for its Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) to be carried out during its 2012 fiscal year. The company plans to use these funds to provide its partners with
new tools, training, and incentives. Its goals for the initiative include aligning partner competencies to customers’ needs in the areas of messaging and communication, as well as systems management and virtualization; providing incentives to accelerate
cloud adoption, including bonuses for using its Windows Azure platform; and enhancing partner tools and benefits, such as offering increased numbers of Lync and Windows Intune licenses for partners.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
Nokia Siemens Completes Review, Outlines Cost-Cut Measures
Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) confirmed that both Nokia and Siemens completed the review for assessing its private equity
interest, and that – along with ongoing efforts to cut costs – it will take several steps to improve its competitiveness as a standalone entity. In particular, Nokia Siemens plans to strengthen its capabilities for mobile broadband, services, and customer
experience management. NSN has made good progress in its turnaround plan, with first quarter 2011 results marking a third successive quarter of year-on-year revenue growth.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
Northrop Grumman Names Jim Kane VP and Manager of VITA Program
Northrop Grumman announced the appointment of Jim Kane as vice president and program manager for the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) program, effective September 19. The new role will give Kane
responsibility for managing the Information Technology Infrastructure Partnership between Northrop Grumman and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Prior to this appointment, Kane worked as Northrop Grumman’s director of Information Technology Services on the US
Missile Defense Agency Joint National Integration Center Research and Development Contract program.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Progress Software Expands Board with Appointment of Phillip M. Pead
Progress Software appointed Philip M. Pead to its board of directors. Pead will be occupying a newly created seat, which will raise the total number of Board members to 7. Pead currently holds the position of
Chairman of the Board of Directors at Allscripts Health Solutions, and has more than 25 years of experience in the software industry.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
SAP Announces Departure of Executive Board Member Dr. Angelika Dammann
SAP announced the resignation of Dr. Angelika Dammann from its Executive Board. Dammann was responsible for human resources, and has decided to leave the company for personal reasons. Company CFO Werner Brandt will
assume the vacated position on a provisionary basis, until a replacement can be named.
Source: Vendor, 7/8/2011
ZTE to Open New R&D Centre at Technical University Dresden
ZTE signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Technical University Dresden to pave the way for a new R&D center adjacent to university grounds. The facility will focus on the development of new
technologies relating to Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, particularly Time Division Duplex (TDD) technology. This location will allow the company to draw on the engineers and technical facilities located at the University Dresden. The company has also
made commitments to hire graduating students from the school in the coming years.
Source: Vendor, 7/8/2011
PUBLIC SAFETY
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Watchdog Agency: TSA Stalled on Improving Baggage Screening
The US Government Accountability Office has published a new report that cites difficulties the Transportation Security Department has encountered in deploying additional screening
actions for checked baggage. The report notes that the agency has enhanced its explosive detection for checked baggage to meet 2005 requirements but that meeting the most recent, 2010 requirements has
not begun because the TSA “has faced challenges” in procuring the first 260 explosive detection systems required under the latest guidelines.
Source: GAO, 7/13/2011
InterAct Public Safety Systems Lands Wyoming Contract
InterAct Public Safety Systems has been awarded a contract to consolidate multiple public safety answering points in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. The installation will include an integrated platform providing
computer-aided dispatch, geographic information systems, records management, jail management and mobile applications integrated with all systems.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
Task Force Recommends Major Nuclear Plant, Regulatory Changes
Task Force Recommends Major Upgrades for US Nuclear Plants, Regulatory Changes (07/13/2011) The Japan Task Force, made up of experts from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission that has been evaluating US
nuclear plant safety in the wake of the nuclear emergency in Japan, has delivered its final report. While saying a sequence of events like the Fukushima accident is unlikely
to occur in the US, and that plants can be operated safely, the Task Force also recognized that “an accident involving core damage and uncontrolled release of radioactivity .. is inherently unacceptable.” The Task Force called for major changes to bolster
plant safety, including upgrades at many US plants and broad regulatory changes. The report includes 12 recommendations – many with both short and long term elements. It has been given to the five members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission who are
responsible for making decisions regarding the Task Force’s recommendations.
Source: NRC, 7/13/2011
UK Addresses New Threats in Updated Counter-Terrorism Strategy
In an effort to better prepare for the 2012 Olympic Games that will be held in London, the UK Home Office has released an updated counter-terrorism strategy (CONTEST) to address new threats posed by Al-Qaeda and Northern Ireland as well as possible cyber attacks. Among the key points of this strategy are to
strengthen border security within the UK, to prepare for “low probability but high impact” terrorist attacks, and to ensure that emergency services work seamlessly in the event of such an attack.
Source: UK Home Office, 7/12/2011
REGULATORY & GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
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Government Releases Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the 2011 National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy in an effort to boost security in that
area of the US. The strategy outlines actions to reduce the flow of illicit drugs, cash, and weapons across the border. The National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy calls for coordination and information sharing between various law enforcement
agencies, and continued collaboration with Mexico in their efforts against the drug cartels.
Source: DHS, 7/7/2011
DHS Issues Maritime Coordination Plan
The US Department of Homeland Security unveiled a Maritime Operations Coordination plan to enhance the Department’s coordination capabilities when responding to threats. The plan, which uses a layered approach to
security, is intended to unify communications and information-sharing between the Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection agency, and Immigration and
Customs Enforcement.
Source: DHS, 7/7/2011
GAO Testifies that Security at Federal Facilities Is Still a Challenge
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Protective Service (FPS) continues to face challenges for the responsibility of protecting federal employees and
visitors in approximately 9,000 federal facilities, according to testimony from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Among the issues that the GAO highlighted
were the lack of a risk management program for the FPS to use in protecting federal facilities and weaknesses that hinder the proper training for those guards in the contract workforce.
Source: GAO, 7/13/2011
FCC Votes for More Stringent E911 Location-Accuracy Standards
The US Federal Communications Commission has taken action to strengthen the Enhanced 911 (E911) location accuracy rules for wireless carriers and is seeking public input on improving both 911 availability and E911
location determination for Voice over Internet Protocol services. Specifically, the FCC announced that after the conclusion of the eight-year implementation period in early 2019, it will sunset the existing network-based rule and require all wireless
carriers to meet the more stringent location-accuracy standards in the handset-based rule. The FCC will set a specific sunset date for the network-based standard at a later time. The FCC also voted to require all wireless carriers to test their E911
location accuracy results periodically and to share the results with appropriate agencies.
Source: FCC, 7/13/2011
GAO Points Out Flaws in Foreign Countries’ Ability to Thwart Terrorism
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report that describes key gaps that the US government has identified in foreign countries’ capacity to prevent
terrorist travel overseas. The report also evaluates US-based efforts to address those gaps and the progress being made to rectify them.
Source: GAO, 6/30/2011
NIST Seeks Public Comment on SCAP Update
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking comments for its publication entitled “The Technical Specification for the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP): SCAP Version 1.2.” The
document is identified as Draft Special Publication 800-126 Revision 2. NIST is also requesting public comments for “Recommendation for Key Derivation through
Extraction-then-Expansion,” which is identified as Special Publication 800-56C.
Source: NIST, 7/12/2011
Comments Sought for Paper on Trust Model for Security Automation Data
“Trust Model for Security Automation Data (TMSAD) Version 1.0” is a draft report that is being released for public comment by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The document is identified as
draft Interagency Report 7802.
Source: NIST, 7/13/2011
XO Urges FCC to Block Level 3, Global Crossing Merger
XO, a major competitor to both Level 3 and Global Crossing, has filed comments with the Federal
Communications Commission arguing that the combination of Level 3 and Global Crossing would monopolize the tier one Internet backbone market. “By bringing together the two leading Internet backbone providers, the transaction will create a ‘global
colossus’ that will dominate the market, leading to significantly higher prices and decreased service quality and innovation,” XO said in its FCC filing. In addition to XO and the
Department of Justice, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have also asked the FCC to delay making a final decision on the deal.
Source: FCC, 7/14/2011
SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS
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Russian National Carrier Selects Gilat
Gilat said it has been selected by Synterr, the national communications carrier of Russia, to provide satellite communications equipment for the extension of a
broadband network throughout Siberia and the Russian Far East. The network will support the carrier’s goal of providing residents of remote communities with connectivity to broadband internet and telephony services. As part of the agreement, Synterra, a
long-time Gilat partner in Russia, has committed to implementing Gilat’s technology in 1500 remote sites.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
SEARCH
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Yahoo to Shut Down Site Explorer, Transition to Bing’s Analytics
Yahoo announced plans to shut down its Site Explorer service. The company said that, following the merger of its backend processing with Bing, Site Explorer was only duplicating the services already available from
the Bing Webmaster Center. Going forward, all analytics data will be available from Microsoft’s Webmaster Tools. The company plans to initiate the shut-down once it has confirmed that all services have been successfully transitioned to the Bing network. It
expects this to occur later this year, with a September 15, 2011 cutoff date for the Site Explorer APIs.
Source: Vendor, 7/8/2011
SECURITY FLAWS & FIXES
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Users Warned of Apple iOS Vulnerability
Apple iOS has a security hole caused by the use of vulnerable FreeType code. The vendor has not advised on this issue and no patch has been made available.
Source: Secunia, 7/14/2011
Advisory Provides Details on Citrix Vulnerability
Citrix Access Gateway Plug-in for Windows has a security hole that is caused by an ActiveX control error. The vendor-issued advisory instructs users to update
to version 8.1-67.7 and 9.1-96.4 or later.
Source: Secunia, 7/14/2011
Hitachi Advises on Cosminexus Vulnerabilities
Hitachi‘s Cosminexus products contain some critical security vulnerabilities. The vendor released an advisory and
recommends that users update to a fixed version.
Source: Secunia, 7/14/2011
Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday Bulletin Fixes Critical Bluetooth Hole
Microsoft released its monthly Patch Tuesday security bulletin, resolving 22 vulnerabilities including a Bluetooth flaw in which an
attacker could hack into an unpatched system even if that computer is not linked to a network. Of the four bulletins released, three were rated as “important.” The Bluetooth bulletin was the only one considered “critical.”
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Microsoft Updates Earlier Advisory on Library Loading Issue
Microsoft updated a security advisory from August 2010 that pertains to an insecure library loading flaw. The vendor has added an
update to a knowledgebase article with information to help developers securely load external libraries.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Microsoft Issues Update to June Security Bulletin
Microsoft announced a detection logic change to a June 14 security bulletin regarding a vulnerability in implementations of Vector
Markup Language. No changes were made to the security update files.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Mozilla Updates Firefox; Version 5.0.1 Available
Mozilla has released Firefox 5.0.1. Further details about this update are available in the release notes.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
Bug Found in Sun Java JRE, No Fix Yet
An insecure executable loading vulnerability has been reported in Oracle‘s Sun Java JRE. The exploit could result in the execution of arbitrary code. This bug has not yet been patched.
Source: Secunia, 7/11/2011
VideoLAN Publishes Advisories for VLC Media Player
VideoLAN has released two advisories regarding its VLC Media Player. The product contains two flaws that could result in the execution of arbitrary code.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
SECURITY PRODUCTS & COMPANIES
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IBM Wins Contract with UIL Holdings Corp for Smart Meter Security
IBM signed a contract with UIL Holdings Corporation, an electric and natural gas delivery company, to provide security measures for the company’s smart meters and related systems. IBM will be tasked with securing the
network connections of about 50,000 smart meters initially, with that number expected to rise to 80,000 before the end of the year. IBM plans to use its WebSphere DataPower appliance filters to monitor all traffic passing into and out of the smart meters
and related systems. The filters detect any traffic that does not meet with specific parameters, and alerts the utility company of the potential intrusion. No financial terms for the agreement were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
Intego Secures the iPhone, iPad with VirusBarrier iOS
Intego released VirusBarrier iOS, a malware scanner for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.VirusBarrier iOS allows users of iOS devices to scan files attached to email messages in the cloud for malware that could affect
Macs or Windows PCs.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
New Kaspersky Article Promotes Safe Surfing for Kids
A new article from Kaspersky Lab highlights the dangers the Internet can pose to young cyber surfers. One of
the points that the article makes is that cybercriminals can use blackhat SEO techniques to push unwanted or dangerous links to the top of search engine results, making them easily accessible to children. The article also suggests ways that parents can
make Internet surfing a safer experience for their kids.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
Kaspersky Lab Awarded Russian Patent
Kaspersky Lab has been granted a new Russian patent that covers technology for emulation of a file system or system registry.
Source: Vendor, 7/8/2011
Kaspersky Receives US Patent for Resource Optimization Technology
Kaspersky Lab has obtained a US patent for its technology that reduces the system load during the launch of antivirus software and enhances the use of computer resources when scanning files for malicious code.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
Kaspersky: Nearly 75% of Companies Restrict Social Networking Access
The “Global IT Security Risks” survey conducted by Kaspersky Lab uncovered the employee activities that are most
frequently subjected to restrictions. Access to social networking is completely blocked in 53% of companies, while another 19% restrict this kind of user activity in some way. This made social networking the second most frequently banned activity after
peer-to-peer file sharing.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
Ocean County, CA Awards Surveillance Contracts to March Networks
March Networks received two separate contracts totaling $6.2 million USD with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA). The contracts include a $2.6 million deal to equip more than 200 buses with its
Mobile Solution, as well as a five-year, $3.6 million Managed Services contract to provide OCTA with video system health monitoring services across its entire 850-bus fleet.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
McAfee Releases Free Threat Tool
McAfee has released a Fake Alert Stinger tool that is designed to detect and remediate fake alert-based threats. The tool is available as a free download from McAfee’s Web site.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
New Microsoft White Paper Addresses Exploit Mitigations
A new white paper from Microsoft provides details on how exploit mitigation technologies can be used to help reduce or
eliminate risk, prevent attacks, and minimize operational disruption caused by software vulnerabilities. The free whitepaper explores the exploit mitigation technologies provided by Microsoft, and provides a business case for the value of these
technologies.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Symantec Rolls Out Web Gateway 5.0
Symantec released Web Gateway 5.0, which protects against various types of Web-borne malware. This new version of Web Gateway gives customers the ability to monitor and protect sensitive information being
communicated across the Internet.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Trend Micro SecureCloud Now Offers Encryption Support for Vmware
Trend Micro‘s SecureCloud has been expanded with a new offering designed for cloud service providers, as well as encryption support for VMware vSphere environments. In
addition, SecureCloud is available as an enterprise appliance or as a Trend Micro hosted SaaS service.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Trend Micro Rolls Out Mobile Security 7, Supports Android, iPhone
Mobile Security 7 from Trend Micro has been updated to include support for Android devices, iPhones, and iPads. Its key features are single console management, mobile device management, data protection, and
security for mobile devices.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
N ew Product Offerings Now Available from Trend Micro
Trend Micro announced Worry-Free Business Security Services, Worry-Free Remote Manager, and the Licensing Management Platform as a set of management tools to enable service providers the ability to manage their
customers’ services through the cloud. Trend Micro also announced that Worry-Free Business Security Services supports the Microsoft Small Business Server 2011 Essentials dashboard add-in.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
Verizon Beefs Up Enterprise Identity Services
Verizon Communications said it is enhancing its cloud-based Enterprise Identity Services to provide two-factor authentication for a range of mobile devices. The carrier’s Enterprise Identity Services will now
support smartphones and tablets running under Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android, and RIM’s BlackBerry OS. The enhanced network security process will use two-factor authentication, and enable digital signing capabilities for contracts, wills, and other
legally-binding documents.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
RSA, VMware Partner to Add Security into vShield 5 Product Line
VMware will embed RSA Data Loss Prevention (DLP) classification technology and policies into its vShield 5 product family. VMware vShield App with Data Security will include
RSA’s DLP content analysis engine and expert policies to enable customers to discover and classify sensitive data such as PCI, PII and PHI residing within virtual environments.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
SERVERS
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CA Announces Expanded Support for IBM zEnterprise Technology
CA announced plans to support IBM’s new zEnterprise Technology, including the zEnterprise 114 mainframe. The company will offer its support by integrating its IT management solutions with zEnterprise. This plan includes
providing management capabilities for z/OS, Linux on z and cloud applications; providing updates for CA VM Manager Suite for Linux on System z; and by integrating new IBM technologies in their upcoming products, such as IBM Smart Analytic Optimizer, and
the IBM DataPower XI50z workload-optimized appliance. More information about this new level of IBM zEnterprise support is available from CA’s mainframe products page.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
IBM Launches New zEnterprise System 114 Server
IBM launched a new server in its IBM zEnterprise System line, the IBM zEnterprise 114 mainframe. According to IBM, the new system is its most scalable mainframe ever, and was designed specifically for enterprise and
government customers in emerging markets. The company says the new system costs 25% less and offers 25% more performance than its predecessor, the System z10 BC server. Features of the zEnterprise 114 include support for up to 14 CPUs, System z Integrated
Information Processor (zIIP) technology, and Integrated Facility for Linux (IFL) technology. Prices for the new system start at $75,000. More information is available from IBM’s Systems Web page.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
SMART GRID TECHNOLOGY
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Harris Corp Receives Contract for Wide-Area Power Disturbance Detector
Harris Corp received a contract to provide the Western Electricity Coordinating Council with a wide-area network designed to detect and prevent electrical system disturbances. The system is expected to provide
coverage for an area extending from the Canadian border to include 14 US states. Harris says it will accomplish its task by installing more than 250 Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) in the service area. The devices are capable of monitoring a power grid and
informing personnel of any changes in real time. The agreement has a 5-year duration. No financial terms were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
NEC Launches Household Energy Storage System
NEC launched a new household energy storage system. The system uses lithium-ion batteries to store and control electrical power in the home. NEC
says the technology can allow the house and its occupants to interactively coordinate with their local power company, their own electronic devices, and installed solar power systems. The company suggests the system can be used to store excess power
overnight and release it during the day when demand is higher. The initial run of these systems will only include 100 units, which will be offered to home construction companies and businesses starting July 18. NEC says, if the units are successful, it
will consider a wider rollout.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
SMARTPHONES
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AT&T to Launch Pantech Pursuit II July 17
AT&T said it launching the Patech Pursuit II “quick-messaging” phone on July 17th. The phone runs on the Brew Mobile Platform, has a sliding keyboard, camera, camcorder, and pre-loaded social media widgets. The carrier
is offering the phone in its retail stores and online for $49.99 with a two-year service agreement and qualifying rate plan, after a $50 mail-in rebate.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
Motorola Mobility Unveils New XT316 Android Smartphone
Motorola Mobility introduced its new XT316 touchscreen Android smartphone. It is available in China, and will also be released in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Latin America, with further availability to follow
throughout Asia and Europe later in the Summer. In addition, Motorola Mobility France SAS announced that the Android-powered PRO smartphone will soon debut in France.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
Sprint to Launch PHOTON 4G Smartphone July 31
Sprint and Motorola Mobility announced the July 31 availability of Sprint’s first international 4G smartphone, the Motorola PHOTON 4G. The Android-based smartphone
boasts a 1GHz dual-core processor, touchscreen, and dual cameras. It is being sold for $199.99 (excluding taxes) with a new line or eligible upgrade, and two-year service agreement.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
Verizon Wireless to Launch LG Cosmos 2
Verizon Wireless and LG Mobile Phones announced that the LG Cosmos 2 will be available online and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores beginning July 14.
Cosmos 2 has a QWERTY keyboard; mobile Web capability; and “easy access” to Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. The phone is being sold for $29.99 after a $50 mail in rebate, with a new two-year customer agreement. Customers will receive the rebate in the form
of a debit card, Verizon said.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
SOCIAL MEDIA
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Open-Xchange Accuses Facebook of Disabling Tool Without Cause
Open-Xchange revealed that Facebook has disabled a tool created to give users the option of exporting all of their stored data. The company claims the tool used official
Facebook APIs and was not in violation of any of the social network’s policies. Facebook’s message detailing the reason for the tool’s termination claimed that it was, in fact, in violation of its terms of service due to its accessing friends lists of
users not connected to the application. Facebook went on to explain that this particular practice is blocked to prevent users from unwanted spam messages. However, Open-Xchange says the tool never parses out those users’ email addresses, thus making it
impossible to use the information for spamming anyone. It says, instead, that Facebook disabled the tool as a method of preventing users from exporting their own data out of fear that it would encourage migration to other social networking services.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
Mayo Clinic Launches its Own Social Network
The Mayo Clinic opened a social network designed to connect its patients
and caregivers with people around the world. The medical facility is no stranger to social networking, maintaining a YouTube channel, Facebook page, and boasting more than 200,000
followers on Twitter. However, this is the organization’s first attempt at creating its own social product to enhance its online presence. The service features privacy controls, customizable conversation spaces, and access to healthcare experts in a wide
variety of fields. According to the clinic more than 1,000 users have already signed up for the service in its first 7 days online.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
Twitter Reports More than 1 Million Registered Applications
Twitter reported that it has passed 1 million registered applications with more than 750,000 contributing developers. The company says this is a huge expansion compared to the 150,000 Twitter registered apps available
one year ago. According to the micro-blogging service a new app is registered, on average, every 1.5 seconds. To promote further growth in the Twitter ecosystem, the company has opened a new developer’s site, which was created to help new developers with integrating Twitter into their software.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
STORAGE
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Oracle Launches Exadata Storage Expansion Racks
Oracle introduced its new Exadata Storage Expansion Rack, a product designed to allow customers to add storage servers to an Oracle Exadata Database Machine. The company says the solution is ideal for storing both
structured and unstructured data such as historical relational data; backups of Oracle Exadata Database Machines; blogs; documents, images, LOBs, and XML files. Expansion Racks range from 96 Terabytes to 3 Petabytes, with Flash PCI Cards also available in
ranges from 1.5 Terabytes to 47 Terabytes. The new systems also feature redundant 40 Gb/sec InfiniBand connectivity. More information about the new Expansion Racks is available from Oracle’s Exadata Database Machine
page.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
STREAMING MEDIA
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Motorola Mobility Announces Spotify US Debut on its Devices
Motorola Mobility announced that Spotify, an on-demand digital music service with more than 10 million European subscribers, will launch in the US with Motorola
Mobility as an exclusive partner. The collaboration will bring the service to Motorola mobile devices. It is available in both a free, ad-supported service, as well as a subscription service.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
TABLETS
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Amazon Rumored to be Releasing Android-Based Tablet Before October
Amazon will release its long-awaited tablet device before October, according to The Wall Street Journal. Citing “people familiar with the matter,” the Journal claimed the device will
have a 9-inch screen, and will run on Google’s Android operating system. The device will not have a camera, unlike the competing Apple iPad 2. Details on pricing and distribution plans remain unknown.
Source: WSJ, 7/14/2011
AT&T to Be Exclusive US Carrier for New Sony Tablet
AT&T will be the exclusive US mobile broadband provider for the new Sony tablet, codenamed S2. The dual-screen tablet device will be launched later this year. With a qualifying data
plan, users of the S2 will have access to AT&T’s mobile broadband network and unlimited access to AT&T’s more than 20,000 hot spots. AT&T will offer monthly data plans for the device; distribution and pricing will be announced at launch, AT&T said.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
HP Announces TouchPad 4G Available Soon for AT&T
Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced that its TouchPad 4G will be available in the US, exclusively through AT&T, by the Fall. TouchPad 4G offers a connected version of HP’s first webOS tablet, with 32GB of internal storage and
wireless mobile broadband capabilities built in.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Panasonic Unveils Toughbook Tablet for First Responders
Panasonic introduced its Toughbook H2, a rugged Windows 7 tablet designed for healthcare workers and first responders. It has a 10-inch display, and features Transflective Plus technology that uses sunlight as a
backlight to extend battery life. It can be used with a stylus that is housed above the display. It can withstand a fall from six feet, and can operate at temperatures ranging from -20 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Telecom New Zealand Announces Carraige of Motorola XOOM Tablet
Telecom New Zealand announced plans to carry the Motorola XOOM tablet. The device features a 10.1-inch 1280×800 widescreen HD display, a 1GHz dual-core processor, front and rear-facing cameras, and Adobe Flash
10.2 pre-installed. All of this is running on Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). The Motorola XOOM will be available from Telecom New Zealand’s online store and retail locations starting July 14, with a suggested retail price of NZ $1,149. The carrier also plans to
offer accompanying data plans on its XT smartphone network for the XOOM.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
Verizon to Launch Cisco Cius Tablet Later this Summer
Verizon Business announced that the Cisco Cius tablet will be available to Verizon enterprise and government customers, worldwide, later this Summer. US Verizon customers
will be able to combine the device with a Verizon Wireless 4G LTE mobile hot spot. Designed for the enterprise, the Android-based Cisco Cius combines voice, video, collaboration, and virtualization capabilities
on one device. Pricing and other availability details have not yet been released.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS
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Polycom Debuts CX7000 Unified Collaboration System
Polycom introduced the CX7000 Unified Collaboration System, which it said is the first room video telepresence solution custom-built for full integration with Microsoft Lync.
The Polycom CX7000 solution (codenamed “Rally”) offers presence, IM, online meetings, and content collaboration integrated with Polycom’s room video collaboration solutions in a single plug-and-play system. Polycom also offers interoperability with Lync
across the Polycom UC Intelligent Core infrastructure, telepresence family, and voice endpoints. Polycom said it is also committed to working with Microsoft to ensure that Polycom products are interoperable with Microsoft’s Office 365 cloud offering via
Lync Online. Lync is Microsoft’s Unified Communications solution and the new brand name for Communications Server 14.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
WEB COMMERCE
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Opera Launches Two New Features for Mobile Audience Network
Opera announced two new features for its mobile ad exchange. The first feature is fine grain analytics for carriers, OEMs, advertisers, and publishers. The company says these statistics will give organizations deeper
insight into the minds of their customers, allowing them to better monetize their assets. The second new feature comes in the form of a new “bid and ask system”. The system allows advertisers to ask for a specific price based on real-time value
assessments, or to bid for the rights to receive certain types of Web traffic, also in real time. More information is available at the Opera Mobile Audience Network Web page.
Source: Vendor, 7/13/2011
WIRELESS
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Boost Mobile Adds Unlimited Calling to Mexico
Boost Mobile has added unlimited calling to all of Mexico for as low as $5 a month when added to a monthly unlimited plan. The limited-time offer is good for subscribers who add International Connect to a
Monthly Unlimited plan by August 31. Customers who activate the add-on during the promotional period will continue to receive unlimited calls to Mexico as long as the account is active and the $5 monthly add-on remains on the account. Existing Boost Mobile
customers who previously signed up for either of the carrier’s International Connect add-on plans as of April 11 will automatically receive the unlimited calls to all of Mexico feature. Boost Mobile offers $5 and $10 per month International Connect
add-ons.
Source: Vendor, 7/11/2011
Clearwire, Time Warner Cable, Sprint Expand 4G Footprint in NYC Area
Clearwire, Time Warner Cable, and Sprint announced a “significant expansion” of the Clearwire 4G network footprint and capacity
upgrades for mobile broadband customers in the greater New York City metro area. The regional CLEAR, Time Warner Cable Mobile Internet, and Sprint 4G service areas have added coverage for an additional 91,363 people. Clearwire said that, with the
expansion, more than 11,927,000 people in the New York City area have access to Clearwire’s 4G mobile broadband network. The New York City metro area includes: Alpine, Bayonne, Elizabeth, Fair Lawn, Newark, Paramus, Secaucus, and Union, NJ; and Hartsdale,
New Rochelle, New York, Rockville Centre, and Yonkers, NY.
Source: Vendor, 7/12/2011
Cox Expands Wireless Service Rollout
Cox Communications has introduced its “Unbelievably Fair” mobile phone and high-speed Internet service in Roanoke, VA and communities in northern Virginia, which completes its wireless service rollout in that state. By
the end of the year, the carrier said Cox Wireless will be available in more than 50% of its footprint.
Source: Vendor, 7/14/2011
FCC Launches Learning-On-The-Go Project
The US Federal Communications Commission has formally authorized funding for 20 schools and libraries – in 14 states – for off-premises wireless Internet projects. The announcement marked the launch of a program called
Learning-On-The-Go, which has the goal of giving participating K-12 students off-premises connections to the Internet to increase students’ access to digital textbooks, interactive learning tools, and other wireless technologies. The program will provide
up to $9 million for the 20 schools and libraries selected for the 2011-2012 funding year.
Source: FCC, 7/12/2011
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