Password Express Delivers Secure, Self-Service Password Management in the Cloud
Ilantus Technologies Releases Premier Express Initiative Product
SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Oct.18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ILANTUS Technologies, a leading system integrator and consulting organization in the identity management arena, today announced the release of Password Express, an intuitive, easy-to-use self-service password management solution with strong security and enterprise integration. Part of the ILANTUS Express Initiative, Password Express can be deployed in the cloud or on premise to meet the needs of an enterprise managing hybrid deployments quickly and easily.
Password Express builds on the success of its predecessor, Password Management Portal. Deployed in many organizations over the past four years, the Password Management Portal core engine has been redesigned on current technology to provide a more robust feature set, the ability to harness the hybrid world of cloud/enterprise, and ensure tight security with a user friendly interface. Password Express delivers a simple, secure user experience for access and authentication.
"Business today is global, workforces are virtual, and access to resources is expected instantly. Users are able to manage password-related issues in a matter of minutes instead of hours, from anywhere, at anytime, on any web-enabled device," said Binod Singh, President and CEO of ILANTUS. "This greatly improves user productivity and satisfaction, and frees help desk and security resources thereby reducing costs."
Password Express is a self-service solution which provides an exceptional level of enterprise system security with industry-best-practice identity authentication, without complicating the user experience. With its open architecture, Password Express can be easily integrated with most Service Desk ticketing systems, providing the benefit of automated password-related issue tracking. Password synchronization is delivered through seamless integration with an enterprise's existing IAM solution, infrastructure, applications, and cloud-based services.
Password Express is an affordable solution that can be implemented in less than an hour as a cloud-based service or an on-premise solution; and because of its ease of use, no end-user training is required. Helping the enterprise securely manage the convergence of cloud and enterprise environments and users, Password Express exemplifies ILANTUS' ability to simplify the complex with an easy, intuitive, affordable solution.
About ILANTUS Technologies
ILANTUS Technologies (http://www.ilantus.com) is a leading product and solution provider in identity management, access management, access governance, and information security. ILANTUS delivers innovative identity security products and solutions rapidly and affordably in cloud, hosted and enterprise platforms, leveraging best of breed technologies and their 12 years of IAM software integration experience. ILANTUS is the implementation partner of choice, provides hosted/ managed services and 24/7 support for companies deploying IAM software across the globe. ILANTUS responds to critical challenges in a complex market with innovative, simple, fast-to-implement Identity Management, Access Governance, Federation, and Password Management solutions.
Solavei Launches Mobile Service In Puerto Rico, Offering First Mobile Plan That Pays Its Customers
Solavei To Talk to Puerto Rican Residents on Saturday, October 20 at the Puerto Rico Convention Center, on a Unique and Economical Mobile Alternative, Addressing the Most Important Consumer Issues regarding the Confusion and High Costs of Phone Bills
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Solavei(TM), a social network ranked first in its category as well as a commercial platform, will be presenting its unlimited 4G national voice, text and data mobile phone service plan for residents of Puerto Rico. On Saturday, October 20, at the Puerto Rican Convention Center, Solavei will explain to more than 2,000 attendees the potential it is offering consumers to earn financial benefits through its economical, contract-free service that pays people to bring in new customers. This business model leverages the one billion dollars that big phone companies spend on advertising to benefit people, who are actually the best vehicle for advertising.
Solavei offers an initial fixed rate of $49 for an unlimited mobile phone plan, addressing the problems consumers have arranging economical phone service, as indicated by a recent survey [1] conducted by the market research firm Toluna. It shows that most consumers (63 per cent) have concerns about their mobile phone service, with its high prices, hidden fees, plan changes and charges for exceeding data limits.
In response to the demand for a simple and economical mobile phone solution, Solavei has created a comprehensive mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) to offer its members an unlimited service plan for only $49 a month. Customers have the flexibility of being able to use any compatible GSM mobile phone, or to purchase a new HTC One S, HTC Wildfire, or ZTE Origin by Solavei. In addition, they can also earn income now when they share their mobile phone service with their friends and relatives through Solavei's social commerce community, which is integrated with one of the main social networks.
"Today's consumers are interested in staying connected, and to do this they depend on their mobile phones, but they struggle with the high mobile service costs currently offered on the market," said Solavei founder and executive director, Ryan Wuerch. "Solavei has developed a comprehensive social commerce platform with tools and resources to make use of the power of relationships, using existing social Networks to make mobile services more economical and actually profitable for our members."
Solavei motivates customers to earn regular monthly income by doing something that many of them already do anyway, which is to suggest their favorite products or services to their friends and relatives. In fact, nearly all consumers (93 percent) have recommended some product or service to someone. Consumers have a chance to create revenue streams by sharing their experience of mobile service with others through the social network platform integrated with Solavei.
How Solavei works
Consumers can review coverage in their area, explore phone options and sign up for services at Solavei.com. Through the social commerce platform and the mobile application, members can share their experience of Solavei Mobile Service with others and earn income by doing so. In its simplest form, members can make up to $20 a month for every three mobile service members (called a "Trio"), that they or someone directly connected to them signs up for mobile service. When members sign up three Trios, the earnings generated are greater than the $49 cost of their monthly plan, essentially making their mobile service free and profitable. Members can continue to increase their regular monthly earnings by using their social networks to sign up more people for Solavei mobile services, thus turning their cell phones into a source of revenue.
Solavei matches consumer needs
Wuerch founded Solavei bearing in mind two significant changes in consumer behavior: social networks and the desire to find new ways of making money. With regard to consumer lifestyle, Solavei recognizes that consumers are facing a difficult economic situation. This is borne out by the results of the Solavei/Toluna survey:
-- The Need for Cell Phones - access to wireless telephony is so important
to people that, in the United States, only 4 percent of consumers
surveyed stated that they would cancel their phone service when finances
are tight, followed by gasoline, savings and cable television.
-- Seeking Financial Stability - Many consumers are willing to plow any
amount of money saved or earned through mobile phone service back into
their resources, allocating more than a third (37 percent) of the money
to other expenses, 28 percent for savings and 13 percent for payment of
debts.
-- Consumers Want to Sign Up - The Solavei compensation plan makes sense to
survey respondents, since a majority (80 percent) said "yes" or
"perhaps" they would share new mobile phone service with friends and
family members, if by doing so they would receive free mobile phone
service or earn extra income.
ABOUT SOLAVEI
Solavei is a social network and commercial platform that enables its members to connect, share and capitalize on the power of social networks. The mission of Solavei is to make business more accessible by motivating individuals to increase their earnings from the products and services they use and enjoy every day.
The initial product Solavei offers is economical, does not require a contract, consists of unlimited voice, text and data service in all of Puerto Rico and the United States, and has more than 30,000 members. It operates as an MVNO through a strategic partnership with T-Mobile USA. Solavei is managed by former executives and board members of the telecommunications Fortune 100. For more information, go to Solavei.com. For the latest news and updates, look for Solavei on social networks at Facebook.com/Solavei and Twitter.com/Solavei.
[1] Toluna, Inc. conducted this survey on behalf of Solavei from August 29 through 31, 2012, through its omnibus online service, obtaining a national sample of 2,174 participants, aged 18 and older. Data were calculated using scores representative of the total adult population of the United States on the basis of region, age broken down by gender, education, income, ethnicity, and internet use. Data for questions concerning internet use or behavior were specifically calculated with respect to the online population. It is not possible to calculate theoretical estimates of errors in the samples, yet a complete methodology is available.
Marquette Residents Invited to Participate in Scavenger Hunt for Chance to Win a New Smartphone, Verizon To Make Donations to Domestic Violence Organizations, Northern Michigan University
MARQUETTE, Mich., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- To celebrate the launch of Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology in Marquette, Mich., the nation's fastest 4G network, the company is hosting a celebration in Marquette that gives residents a chance to win one of 10 brand new 4G LTE smartphones. Verizon hosted a citywide scavenger hunt for pins that were hidden in secret locations around town. On Wednesday, Oct. 17, 100 Verizon 4G LTE pins were hidden in secret locations across Marquette. Throughout the week, residents visited http://www.verizoninsider.com/400 for clues to the locations of the pins. Upon finding a pin, the customers were invited to bring it to the Verizon Wireless store in Marquette, located at 2840 U.S. Highway 41 West on Thursday, Oct. 18 at 12 p.m., where there will be a special celebration event, to see if they are a winner. Ten of the pins are guaranteed to win a lucky participant a 4G LTE smartphone at that event.
Today, Verizon will officially launch 4G LTE in Marquette, by providing a $10,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to The Women's Center, a domestic violence prevention organization located in Marquette; a technology grant of tablets to Northern Michigan University's CITE program and a total of $44,000 in HopeLine® grants to the following domestic violence shelter and prevention organizations from across the Upper Peninsula:
-- Alliance Against Violence & Abuse, Inc. (Escanaba, Mich.),
-- Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home (Calumet, Mich.),
-- Baraga County Shelter Home (L'Anse, Mich.),
-- Caring House, Inc. (Iron Mountain, Mich.),
-- Dial Help, Inc. (Houghton, Mich.),
-- Diane Peppler Resource Center (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.),
-- Domestic Violence Escape, Inc. (Ironwood, Mich.),
-- Hannahville Indian Community (Wilson, Mich.),
-- Keweenaw Bay Indian Community VOCA (Baraga, Mich.),
-- Bay Mills Indian Community (Brimley, Mich),
-- Family Counseling and Shelter Services (Monroe, Mich.).
Marquette is not the only community in Michigan to benefit from the expansion of Verizon's 4G LTE wireless network on Oct. 18. The company will also expand to Monroe, Allegan and Ionia counties. With this statewide expansion, the company reaches a significant milestone, having invested $2 billion in its Michigan network since the company was formed in 2000.
"More and more Michiganders are now able to connect to the world around them through the continued development of high-speed mobile broadband services." Michigan Governor Rick Snyder said. "Broadband access is essential to a 21(st) Century economy and to the reinvention of Michigan. It enables government to better serve its customers, schools to expand their curriculums and research capabilities, the health care industry to better engage with patients, and private businesses to reach global markets. The expansion of Verizon's 4G LTE network to Marquette is an important part of closing the digital divide."
Executives from Verizon Wireless, including Marni Walden, chief operating officer, Verizon Wireless, and T.J. Fox, region president, Verizon Wireless, will be in Marquette to discuss Verizon's commitment to bringing 4G LTE to cities of all sizes and rural locations across the country, and share in the celebration.
"We are so happy to bring 4G LTE to areas like Marquette for businesses, the students at Northern Michigan University and customers who want to enjoy the very best experience in wireless technology," said Fox. "As our 4G LTE wireless network continues to expand, Marquette is a perfect example of the evolution of Verizon's 4G LTE and our efforts to ensure the technology is available not just in larger cities across the country, but in small towns and rural areas as well," Fox added. "Verizon is committed not only to bringing the latest technology to Marquette, but also to supporting organizations like The Women's Center and the many others across the Upper Peninsula that provide such vital services supporting and sheltering domestic violence victims."
Verizon has a long history of supporting domestic violence organizations and working to help end the abusive cycle of violence in our communities. Statistics show that one out of every four women in America will experience domestic abuse in her lifetime. Organizations like The Women's Center provide vital support services to victims of this pervasive problem.
"In times of economic hardship, we find the need for our services is the most pressing," said Phyllis Loonfoot, executive director, The Women's Center. "It's also when we count on the support of organizations like Verizon Wireless the most. This grant from Verizon Wireless means we will continue to be able to provide our services to women and children who have a very real need."
More About the HopeLine Program
Through the award-winning HopeLine® program, Verizon Wireless collects no-longer-used wireless devices in their stores and at special events year-round. Phones that are collected are refurbished or sold with the proceeds used to purchase newer wireless phones for domestic violence survivors and to support domestic violence shelters and organizations across the country, like the ones in the Upper Peninsula. Phones that can't be refurbished are recycled in an environmentally sound way.
Since 2001, HopeLine has collected more than 9 million phones; awarded more than $14.2 million in cash grants to prevention and awareness programs nationwide; and donated more than 123,000 HopeLine phones with 406 million minutes of airtime to victims, survivors and domestic violence organizations. In 2011 in Michigan, more than 34,000 phones were collected and more than $300,000 in cash grants were awarded. The company is committed to ending domestic violence and supporting victims of this silent epidemic.
More about 4G LTE
With the 23 new and 41 expanded markets on Oct. 18, the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network is now available in more than 410 markets across the Unites States, surpassing its previously announced goal of providing its mobile broadband service in 400 markets by the end of this year. The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network covers nearly 4 out of 5 people in the U.S. - and offers more 4G LTE coverage in the U.S. than all other networks combined.
In real-world, fully loaded network environments, 4G LTE users should experience average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink. When customers travel outside of 4G LTE coverage areas, devices automatically connect to the Verizon Wireless 3G network, where available, enabling customers to stay connected from coast to coast.
Beyond Major Cities
Verizon Wireless has expanded its 4G LTE network beyond major cities with its LTE in Rural America program. Seventeen rural carriers have announced their participation in the program and five have introduced the service. Verizon Wireless customers can also take advantage of HomeFusion(?) Broadband, a solution that leverages the power and speed of the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network to deliver high-speed, in-home Internet access for residential broadband, particularly in areas where Internet options are limited or are not currently available.
Visit http://www.verizonwireless.com/lte for a full list of 4G LTE markets, including a list of markets that will be coming on Oct. 18, and additional details about the upcoming 4G LTE events being held in local Verizon Wireless Communications Stores. For street-level detail of coverage and more, please visit http://www.verizonwireless.com/4GLTE.
Digital Satellite News Feed Of Verizon Wireless 400(th) Market Celebration:
-- Event News Footage from Marquette, Mich., Verizon Wireless Store
-- Marni Walden, chief operating officer, T.J. Fox, region president,
presenting grant checks to teams of individuals from 11 domestic
violence organizations from the Upper Peninsula.
-- Presentation of technology grant to Northern Michigan University
-- Footage of representations "flipping the switch" for the launch of
Verizon's 400(th) 4G LTE market
-- Remarks from Marquette, Mich., Mayor John Kivela
-- Remarks from Congressman Benishek
-- Footage of residents bringing 4G LTE map scavenger hunt pins to the
Verizon store
-- Interviews - Public/participants in event and Verizon Representatives
SATELLITE TRANSMISSION INFORMATION (Call 414-339-0150 with questions)
Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012; 3:30 - 3:45 P.M. EDT
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THIS FEED IS FREE FOR UNRESTRICTED USE - COURTESY - VERIZON WIRELESS
For Verizon Wireless Updates on Twitter
Stay in the know about Verizon Wireless news in Illinois/Wisconsin follow @VZWAndrea on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VZWAndrea. For the latest network-related news, information and upgrades, follow @VZWnews on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VZWnews. For more news and stories specific to the Verizon Wireless Midwest Area, visit and subscribe to our blog: http://vzwmidwestarea.com/
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 94.2 million retail customers, including 88.8 million retail postpaid customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 78,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit http://www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
SOURCE Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless
CONTACT: Andrea Meyer, Verizon Wireless, +1-847-706-1721, andrea.meyer@verizonwireless.com; Colin Deval, For Verizon Wireless, +1-414-339-0150 (mobile), colin@corecreative.com
Verizon Wireless Introduces America's Largest 4G LTE Network In Mercer County, West Virginia And Tazewell County, Virginia
Company's 4G LTE Network Available in More Than 410 Markets Across the Country
LAUREL, Md., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless customers in Mercer County, West Virginia, and Tazewell County, Virginia, will be able to experience the blazingly fast speeds and capabilities of America's largest 4G LTE network when the service launches there today. With the introduction of the network in 23 new markets and the expansion in 41 existing markets, the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network is now available in more than 410 markets across the United States, surpassing its previously announced goal of providing its mobile broadband service in 400 markets by the end of this year. The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network covers nearly four out of five people in the U.S. - and offers more 4G LTE coverage in the U.S. than all other networks combined.
On Thursday, Oct. 18, customers who live in or visit Bluefield, Princeton, Richlands, Tazewell and other surrounding communities will now be able to surf the Web, stream music and video, and stay in touch with family, friends and colleagues, all with speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G. The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network expansion into Mercer County, West Virginia and Tazewell County, Virginia extends the company's existing footprint west of Summers County and south of Raleigh County, WV.
"Less than two years since the launch of our 4G LTE network, this milestone signifies our continued commitment to expanding and enhancing our 4G LTE network to reach customers across the country," said Mike Maiorana, region president. "With the expansion of our 4G LTE network into more Virginia and West Virginia towns and cities, customers and local businesses will be able to take advantage of the innovative products and services made possible by 4G LTE technology."
Innovations with 4G LTE Technology
To date, Verizon Wireless has introduced 37 4G LTE-enabled devices, including smartphones, tablets, personal Wi-Fi hotspots and more since the network launched 22 months ago. Verizon Wireless customers can choose from the largest selection of 4G LTE devices and solutions to experience the nation's fastest 4G network. The newest 4G LTE devices include the DROID RAZR((TM)) M by Motorola and the Samsung Galaxy S(®) III. Details can be found at http://www.verizonwireless.com/4G LTE. Information on plans and pricing for consumers and businesses is available at http://www.verizonwireless.com/plans.
4G LTE Coverage and Speed
In real-world, fully loaded network environments, Verizon Wireless 4G LTE customers should experience average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink.
When customers travel outside of a 4G LTE coverage area, 4G LTE devices automatically connect to Verizon Wireless' 3G network, enabling customers to stay connected from coast to coast. Verizon Wireless' 3G network is the most reliable high-speed data network in the country and allows customers in 3G coverage areas who purchase 4G LTE devices today to take advantage of 4G LTE speeds when the faster network becomes available in their area, or when they travel to areas already covered by 4G LTE.
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 94.2 million retail customers, including 88.8 million retail postpaid customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 78,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit http://www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
Industry Leader Cash Biz Corporate Has Redesigned Their Website - CashBiz.com
CashBiz.com offers same day loans to help people get through these emergencies without as much worry. The company has now relaunched their website as an added service to their customers.
WEST CHESTER, Ohio, Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cash Biz is pleased to announce the launch of its newly revamped website CashBiz.com. While providing clients with a richer understanding of the exceptional services available through Cash Biz, the website now offers enhanced navigation, making user exploration simpler than ever. Other highlights to look forward to online include a stress-free loan application that makes quick and easy loans more accessible, as well as an up-to-date store locator tool. The website also features a new Blog that will keep current customers as well as prospective clients in the loop on the latest services and updates available from the growing Cash Biz Company.
CashBiz.com is the industry leader when it comes to cash advance loans. There are few other companies that offer such quick and reliable service. In many cases, an applicant can complete the online form, be approved, and have the money wired to the specified checking account in only a few hours.
Cash Biz has been providing short-term cash solutions to the public since 2006. With current storefront venues located in Missouri and Texas, and upcoming plans for expansion to areas near you, Cash Biz is making it easier than ever to satisfy the short-term borrowing needs of customers, both in person and online.
SOURCE Cash Biz Corporate
Cash Biz Corporate
CONTACT: Dave Flanagan, Cash Biz Corporate, +1-513-771-0111
PhotoPunch Image Mashup App Launches on Android for Free
Create One of a Kind Images, Embellish and Share On-the-Go with the World's First Automatic Image-Punching App
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- SK Planet today announced the launch of PhotoPunch, a free image altering app for Android that allows users to accurately punch out objects from one photo, and paste into another. PhotoPunch enables users to create photo mashups with content from their mobile photos or images off the web. Users can then share their creative mashups with the in-app PhotoPunch community as well as their followers on Facebook and Twitter. PhotoPunch is the first automatic image-punching app, putting an end to mindless photo sharing and making it fun and easy for users to create, share and inspire followers with one of a kind images on the go.
"Until PhotoPunch, users had to utilize numerous editing tools and apps to create this comical punch out effect," said Michael Lesniak, Product Manager for PhotoPunch at SK Planet. "The nature of the app and tools provided lend themselves to creating meme-like content with the ability to go viral. We've designed the app to promote creative, funny and inspiring images that leave friends and family smiling."
By tapping on the "Punch" button, users can choose to take a new photo from within the app, select a photo from their mobile gallery or search the web for an image to "Punch." Once the user chooses their first image, they simply use their finger to draw an outline around the object in the image they want to punch out. The app auto-recognizes the object and punches it out to create an isolated image, or "Punch Shot." Users can then hit the "Background" tab, where they can choose the second photo that acts as the backdrop for the Punch Shot. Users can select the background image from a gallery of pre-populated sample images in addition to being able to choose from their photo gallery, the web or to take a new photo.
PhotoPunch then places the Punch Shot image as a layer on top of the background image, where users can manipulate the size and rotation of the Punch Shot to fit on the background image at their discretion. Users can embellish the unique image with borders, artistic photo filters and hilarious stickers. Once users have edited the image to their liking, they can create a custom caption before sharing to the PhotoPunch library, Twitter and Facebook.
PhotoPunch Features
-- Ability to punch out image accurately with Smart Punch feature
-- Ability to edit photo mashup or individual Punch Shot
-- Save each Punch Shot to your library to re-use at any time
-- Share instantly on Facebook and Twitter
-- Comment on and share other PhotoPunch users' creations
-- Embellish content with a variety of options including fun borders,
stickers and 20+ artistic filters
-- Scan the community's most recent PhotoPunch images or draw inspiration
from the most popular mashups
Pricing and Availability
PhotoPunch is free and available for immediate download at Google Play here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.skp.adf.photopunch
About SK Planet
SK Planet, a wholly owned subsidiary of SK Telecom, was established on October 1, 2011, with an aspiration to become a global platform innovator. As the lynchpin of SK Telecom's future growth, the company was spun off with the industry-leading platform businesses including T-Store, T-map, MelOn, Cyworld and hoppin, Korea's biggest mobile app store, mobile navigation, online music service, SNS and multi-screen premium video service. SK Planet is committed to building global platform business in Asia and other strategic markets. For more information, please visit http://www.skplanet.co.kr/eng.
All trademarks and product names are the property of their respective companies.
Verizon Wireless Launches 4G LTE Service In Jamestown Area Today
-- 4G LTE provides data speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G service
-- Company's 4G LTE network available in more than 410 markets across the country
-- Full nationwide deployment to be complete by end of 2013
JAMESTOWN, N.Y., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Verizon Wireless customers in the Jamestown area who use a 4G LTE-capable device may have noticed a new icon on their device screen today. The "4G LTE" icon signals the fact that the company's 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) high-speed data network is now on the air, allowing customers to surf the Web, download large files, and share music and photos at speeds up to ten times faster than before. The new network will be available in the Jamestown/Chautauqua Lake area, in the Dunkirk/Fredonia area, and along the I-86 corridor from eastern Chautauqua County through the Findley Lake area. Additional local cell sites will get the technology over the next several months, expanding and filling in coverage further. Full nationwide deployment of the company's 4G LTE network is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2013.
"With the introduction of our 4G LTE network in the Jamestown area, customers and local businesses will be able to take advantage of the innovative products and services made possible by 4G LTE technology," said Chris Felix, president of Verizon Wireless' Upstate New York Region. "Less than two years since we first launched 4G LTE nationwide, the 4G LTE ecosystem continues to grow with expanding coverage, a growing array of devices, and the development of leading-edge applications that take full advantage of this high-speed wireless data network."
As part of the company's 4G LTE network launch celebration, and in honor of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Verizon Wireless presented its 2012 HopeLine Award to Diana Butcher of the Salvation Army of Jamestown, in recognition of her efforts to end domestic violence in the Jamestown area. The company also made a $2,500 donation in Diana's name to the Salvation Army of Jamestown. Both presentations took place at the Verizon Wireless store at 901 Fairmount Avenue in Jamestown.
With today's introduction of the network in Jamestown and 22 other new markets, and the expansion in 41 existing markets, the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network is now available in more than 410 markets across the United States, surpassing its previously announced goal of providing its mobile broadband service in 400 markets by the end of this year. The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network covers nearly 4 out of 5 people in the U.S. - and offers more 4G LTE coverage in the U.S. than all other networks combined.
In real-world, fully loaded network environments, Verizon Wireless 4G LTE customers should experience average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink.
When customers travel outside of a 4G LTE coverage area, 4G LTE devices automatically connect to Verizon Wireless' 3G network, enabling customers to stay connected from coast to coast. Verizon Wireless' 3G network is the most reliable high-speed data network in the country and allows customers in 3G coverage areas who purchase 4G LTE devices today to take advantage of 4G LTE speeds when the faster network becomes available in their area, or when they travel to areas already covered by 4G LTE.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves nearly 96 million retail customers, including 90.4 million retail postpaid customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 75,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit http://www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
SOURCE Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless
CONTACT: John O'Malley, +1-585-321-7264, or +1-585-261-5899, john.omalley@verizonwireless.com, http://twitter.com/VZWjohno, Meredith Dropkin, +1-315-413-4293, mdropkin@mower.com
University of Farmers Campuses Using iPads for Improving Efficiency and Effectiveness of Class Content for Students
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Inspired by cost efficiency and capabilities of delivering interactive participant materials, Farmers has invested in iPads for classrooms throughout the campuses of the University of Farmers.
"We have campuses in California and Michigan where we conduct our claims, agents, and managers training," notes Art Dobrucki, Farmers Director of Learning Strategy and Performance. "We realized when using traditional binders for participant guides, there is a great cost, no re-usability, and materials tend to collect dust on bookshelves after classroom training. Transitioning our materials to iPads lets us create learning materials more cost effectively as our tablets are refreshed and reused for each class. Students personalize their learning experiences through note taking directly on the tablets, and then download their material to their personal computer so that their learning notes are available to reference on the job."
Dobrucki noted that when computers first took off, it took years to reach critical mass. He says today, however, that mobile technology is more rapidly becoming commonplace in our world. "By 2013-14, tablets are forecasted to outsell computers," he adds. "To stay on top of these trends in the classroom, our participants are learning with tools they use daily in their personal lives."
Farmers trains more than 5,000 individuals per year in University of Farmers classrooms. "After 7-8 weeks of classes, the iPads pay for themselves," Dobrucki said. "Another excellent use of the iPads is video. We use the video capabilities of the iPads to record exercises conducted during breakout sessions. We can then bring the recorded video exercises back to the main class and conduct critiques, coaching and debriefing."
Mike Cuffe, V.P., Claims Training and Development has been integrating iPads into claims curriculums for the last two years. Cuffe explains, "We have been utilizing technology to lower our costs of curriculum design, development and delivery which has improved our efficiency and productivity of our learning organization. Another area of improved learning productivity, is in the area of real time testing and evaluation. During class, students receive test questions to send back which are designed to see if the concepts are being understood. This has all kinds of implications for achieving maximum understanding in the classroom."
Students at the University of Farmers are responding favorably to the new technology. "We will be experimenting with other uses of the iPads," said Dobrucki. "We will soon extend support for personally owned devices in our classrooms, and are shifting our design to be less focused on formal courses, and more accommodating of small learning elements which can be effectively delivered through mobile technology. We continue to study how emerging technologies can enhance our learning experiences here at Farmers."
Farmers Insurance Group of Companies is a leading U.S. insurer of automobiles, homes and small businesses and also provides a wide range of other insurance and financial services products. Farmers Insurance is proud to serve more than 10 million households with more than 20 million individual policies across all 50 states through the efforts of over 50,000 exclusive and independent agents and nearly 24,000 employees.
Farmers is a trade name and may refer to Farmers Group, Inc. or the Farmers Exchanges, as the case may be. Farmers Group, Inc., a management and holding company, along with its subsidiaries, is wholly owned by the Zurich Insurance Group. The Farmers Exchanges are three reciprocal insurers (Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange and Truck Insurance Exchange), including their subsidiaries and affiliates, owned by their policyholders, and managed by Farmers Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information about Farmers, visit its Web site at http://www.farmers.com or at http://www.Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance.
Contact: Jerry Davies
213-400-4459
Jerry.davies@farmersinsurance.com
SOURCE Farmers Insurance Group
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080605/LATH062 http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Farmers Insurance Group
Verizon Wireless Introduces America's Largest 4G LTE Network In Morgantown, West Virginia
Company's 4G LTE Network Available in More Than 410 Markets Across the Country
MORGANTOWN, W.Va., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless customers in Morgantown will be able to experience the blazingly fast speeds and capabilities of America's largest 4G LTE network when the service launches there today. With the introduction of the network in 23 new markets and the expansion in 41 existing markets, the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network is now available in more than 410 markets across the United States, surpassing its previously announced goal of providing its mobile broadband service in 400 markets by the end of the year. The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network covers nearly 4 out of 5 people in the U.S.--and offers more 4G LTE coverage in the U.S. than all other networks combined.
"Expanding high-speed, wireless communications access throughout West Virginia is so important for helping our small businesses, communities, and local economies," said Senator Jay Rockefeller. "Today's announcement is another step forward to closing the digital gap that West Virginia has faced. It means providing access to cutting-edge wireless services for the Morgantown community including West Virginia University.
"We're seeing firsthand how this faster, better coverage is impacting communities in West Virginia as Verizon expanded access to Huntington and Logan County earlier this year, and to Charleston last year. And I'm thrilled that Verizon is working to increase availability throughout our state. This is a true testament to the benefits of private investment working to expand high-speed communications access."
On Thursday, Oct. 18, existing customers who live in or visit areas including Morgantown, West Virginia University, along Interstate 79 from the Pennsylvania border south to the Interstate 79/68 interchange, and east along Interstate 68 to the Preston County border will have access to the nation's fastest 4G network.
"I'm pleased to see Verizon Wireless expanding its service in the Morgantown area," said Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin. "High-speed wireless service helps our businesses and our families keep in touch, and it's great to see the service improving for the folks in this region."
Innovations with 4G LTE Technology
To date, Verizon Wireless has introduced 37 4G LTE-enabled devices, including smartphones, tablets, personal Wi-Fi hotspots and more since the network launched 22 months ago. Verizon Wireless customers can choose from the largest selection of 4G LTE devices and solutions to experience the nation's fastest 4G network. The newest 4G LTE devices include the DROID RAZR((TM)) M by Motorola and the Samsung Galaxy S(®) III. Details can be found at http://www.verizonwireless.com/4G LTE. Information on plans and pricing for consumers and businesses is available at http://www.verizonwireless.com/plans.
4G LTE Coverage and Speed
In real-world, fully loaded network environments, Verizon Wireless 4G LTE customers should experience average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink.
When customers travel outside of a 4G LTE coverage area, 4G LTE devices automatically connect to Verizon Wireless' 3G network, enabling customers to stay connected from coast to coast. Verizon Wireless' 3G network is the most reliable high-speed data network in the country and allows customers in 3G coverage areas who purchase 4G LTE devices today to take advantage of 4G LTE speeds when the faster network becomes available in their area, or when they travel to areas already covered by 4G LTE.
For more news and stories specific to the Verizon Wireless Midwest Area
Visit and subscribe to our blog: http://vzwmidwestarea.com/.
For Verizon Wireless Updates on Twitter
Stay in the know about Verizon Wireless news in West Virginia by following @VZWLaura on Twitter at http://twitter.com/vzwlaura. For the latest network-related news, information and upgrades, follow @VZWNews on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VZWNews
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves nearly 96 million retail customers, including 90.4 million retail postpaid customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 75,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit http://www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
SOURCE Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless
CONTACT: Laura Merritt, Verizon Wireless, +1-614-345-3210, laura.merritt@verizonwireless.com; Jennifer O'Rourke, For Verizon Wireless, +1-412-642-7700, jennifer.orourke@elias-savion.com
Verizon Foundation Launches Education Initiative to Strengthen Student Learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Through Mobile Technology
'Innovative App Challenge' and Intensive Teacher Training Programs Designed to Engage Middle School and High School Students in New Digital Ways
BOSTON, Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Every day in schools across the country, students are told to turn off and put away their mobile devices. Yet, studies show that these devices can get students interested in science, technology, engineering and math. And Verizon has a plan to do something about it.
The Verizon Foundation announced on Thursday (Oct. 18) a major education initiative to accelerate the use of mobile technology in the classroom and advance student achievement in what are known as STEM subjects - science, technology, engineering and math. This new initiative is designed to strengthen teachers' expertise in integrating mobile technology into STEM instruction and to engage students in innovative and creative ways.
The education initiative consists of three integrated programs: the Verizon Innovative App Challenge, Verizon Innovative Learning Schools and the new Thinkfinity platform.
The Innovative App Challenge, created in partnership with the Technology Student Association, is a competition that invites middle and high school students to design concepts for mobile apps that integrate STEM and address a problem in the students' school or community. To guide the students, Verizon's Innovation Center engineers have created a set of instructional videos on app design and development that will be on the App Challenge website, http://www.verizonfoundation.org/appchallenge.
"We know that technology can transform the way teachers teach and students learn," said Rose Stuckey Kirk, president of the Verizon Foundation, in announcing the education initiative during an event at the Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School, in Marlborough, Mass.
"This new app challenge is our way of meeting kids where they are and showing them how technology can be used in unique and fun ways to help them learn," Kirk said. "Our engineers are excited to participate and lend their expertise to make this learning experience more relevant and engaging for the students."
The winners of the app challenge -- five middle schools and five high schools -- will be selected by an expert panel of judges. Each school will receive a $10,000 cash grant along with training and support to build the apps and bring them to market. Each member of the team will also receive a Samsung Galaxy Tab. The contest registration opens Oct. 17, and submissions will be accepted from Dec. 1 through Jan. 18, 2013.
"It has been a wonderful experience to collaborate with the Verizon Foundation on developing this app challenge," said Dr. Rosanne White, executive director of the Technology Student Association. "Mobile technology is such an important part of young people's lives today, and this is an exciting opportunity for students to bring their ideas around STEM to the table and learn about creating apps at the same time."
The second part of Verizon's education initiative is the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program, which is designed to help teachers utilize technology and integrate mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets, into classroom instruction to enhance student learning and achievement in STEM subjects. The International Society for Technology in Education and the Verizon Foundation have been working with 12 schools, designated as Verizon Innovative Learning Schools and located in underserved areas across the country, to design and deliver a comprehensive, year-long professional development program for teachers and administrators. Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School is one of the 12 schools.
The development program -- which includes onsite workshops as well as online webinars such as "Transforming the Science Class with Mobile Technology" -- began this summer and will continue throughout the school year.
The third part of Verizon's education initiative is Thinkfinity.org, which was recently redesigned with an integrated platform for educational resources and an online professional learning community. The website now provides teachers nationwide with free access to the new training materials from the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program to complement Thinkfinity's wide range of digital content in STEM and other subject areas, developed by leading educational organizations.
Verizon's new education initiative is shaped by a growing understanding of the role of technology in transforming STEM instruction in America. Student performance and engagement in STEM are critical to U.S. economic growth and competitiveness. Over the past 10 years, STEM jobs grew three times faster than non-STEM jobs, although the number of American STEM graduates has remained stagnant. According to the National Science Board, only 233,000 of 3.8 million 9(th) graders ultimately choose a STEM degree in college.
The Verizon Foundation is focused on accelerating social change by using the company's innovative technology to help solve pressing problems in education, health care and energy management. Since 2000, the Verizon Foundation has invested more than half a billion dollars to improve the communities where Verizon employees work and live. Verizon's employees are generous with their donations and their time, having logged more than 6.2 million hours of service to make a positive difference in their communities. For more information about Verizon's philanthropic work, visit http://www.verizonfoundation.org; or for regular updates, visit the Foundation on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/verizonfoundation) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/verizongiving).
About Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with nearly 96 million retail customers nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune 500. A Dow 30 company with $111 billion in 2011 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of 184,500. For more information, visit http://www.verizon.com.
VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at http://www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by email, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.
SOURCE Verizon
Verizon
CONTACT: Phil Santoro, +1-781-439-5280, philip.g.santoro@verizon.com; or Amy Terpeluk, Finn Partners, +1-917-826-2326, amy@finnpartners.com
Chelsio Demonstrates 2.1 Million iSCSI IOPs Solution On A Single 10G Ethernet Port
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Chelsio Communications, a leading provider of 10Gb Ethernet Unified Wire Adapters, ASICs and Unified Storage software solutions, announced it is demonstrating a 2.1 million IOPs (input/output operations per second) solution this week during Storage Networking World 2012 in Santa Clara, CA.
Built with off-the-shelf hardware and showcasing the Chelsio Unified Wire adapters and Unified Storage Server (USS) software, the demo will show resellers and system integrators how to easily construct a high performance, simple and cost-effective Unified SAN and NAS target solution. The demo includes five iSCSI initiators (running MS Windows Server 2012) accessing the high performance iSCSI target through a generic 10GbE switch. The iSCSI target server includes a single Chelsio T4 Unified Wire adapter, four enterprise-class PCIe SSDs from Micron Technology, Inc., and Chelsio's USS software. Iometer benchmarking software is used to show the read/write performance of the system. Chelsio is achieving 2.1 million IOPs to RAMDisk, and 1.7 million IOPs to SSDs.
"Our USS software and offload silicon technology enables an extremely cost-effective, high performance storage target solution," said Kianoosh Naghshineh, president and CEO of Chelsio. "Chelsio's high performance iSCSI silicon enables Ethernet to permanently supplant Fibre Channel and absorb another protocol, using generic TCP/IP and without reinventing a slew of new protocols or requiring an infrastructure forklift upgrade - exactly what the industry needs. We're continuing to push the price-performance curve and delivering industry-leading solutions for the high performance storage market."
Chelsio Unified Storage Server (USS) Software
USS software supports CIFS/SMB, NFS, RDMA, FTP, HTTP, Lustre, iSCSI, FC, Thin Provisioning volumes, Volume cloning, snapshots, instant restore from snapshots, volume encryption, remote replication, compression, shared storage high availability, system monitor and alert, back-ups, and a host of other features.
Some additional features of USS:
-- Ease-of-Use: Use the Web-based GUI or CLI Interface to configure and
deploy block and file storage. This also includes the ability to easily
configure the supported RAID cards right from within USS.
-- Low TCO: USS provides some of the lowest cost per Gigabyte solutions in
the industry. Users can add storage to the solution with no additional
software licenses.
-- Chelsio T4 Technology: USS uses Chelsio's Unified Wire technology to
provide unsurpassed off-load capabilities that provide some of the
highest performance in the industry.
-- Mission Critical: Chelsio USS provides for Highly Available
configurations as well as replication and snapshots.
-- Scalability: Chelsio USS has been deployed in cloud applications with up
to half a petabyte of data per head.
About Chelsio Communications, Inc.
Chelsio is a leading technology company focused on solving high performance networking and storage challenges for virtualized enterprise data centers, cloud service installations, and cluster computing environments. Now shipping its fourth generation protocol acceleration technology, Chelsio is delivering hardware and software solutions including Unified Wire Ethernet network adapter cards, unified storage software, high performance storage gateways, unified management software, bypass cards, and other solutions focused on specialized applications. Visit the company at http://www.chelsio.com.
SOURCE Chelsio Communications
Chelsio Communications
CONTACT: Tim Helms, Chelsio Communications, 408-962-3677
StratoGen Creates a Buzz With New York Cloud at 33% Discount
NEW YORK, October 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
VMware Hosting Provider launches high performance cloud with big discounts
StratoGen, a global leader in VMware hosting, today announced the immediate
availability of its latest cloud location in New York. With the announcement came news of
a huge 33% discount for clients that sign up before the end of November 2012.
The limited time offer presents a perfect opportunity to get on the StratoGen cloud
and enjoy the premium features - blazing fast NetApp storage, guaranteed 100% uptime, full
VMware integration, and the most powerful control panel in the industry.
"We are really excited to bring our unique VMware hosting solutions to the East
Coast," said Karl Robinson, Vice President of Sales. "Everything we do is driven by the
needs of our clients and this expansion is no different. We built the platform to
extremely high standards to ensure our clients' business critical applications perform
exceptionally well and are available 100% of the time. Our no compromise approach meant
utilizing top end NetApp SANs and HP Blade systems to give the kind of performance that
will leave others reeling."
The needs of IT managers today are significantly more diverse than ever before with a
greater emphasis on high performance and reliability. With that in mind, each StratoGen
cloud location offers an enterprise grade service that empowers customers to self-manage
their hosted VMware [http://www.stratogen.com/products/vmware-hosting.html ]
infrastructure through the StratoGen control panel. Functionality goes well beyond
deploying elastic servers or VMware appliances; clients can use the control panel to fully
integrate with their local systems (including corporate authentication), build out complex
networks, firewalls and even site to site VPNs all from a single web interface.
To complete the picture StratoGen hold SSAE 16 Type II data center certification and
ISO 27001 security credentials to ensure their clients valuable data is in safe hands.
"Organizations want the best possible VMware cloud platform for their business
applications but are having to compromise as budgets are squeezed. For users that sign up
before the end of November 2012 we can offer a price/performance mix that is simply
unbeatable," said Karl Robinson.
StratoGen offer VMware based public and private cloud hosting, disaster recovery and
replication services out of their existing Denver, USA and London, England locations with
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia opening shortly. A free migration service is available.
StratoGen is a leading VMware hosting company with a worldwide client base and award
winning cloud platform. StratoGen operate in multiple datacenters across the US and
Europe, offering vCloud hosting, disaster recovery and associated services. StratoGen
hosted VMware products include a 100% uptime service level guarantee.
Notes to editor
For further information or to arrange interviews please contact
press@stratogen.com or call +1(877)778-2260.
FlowPay Corporation Launches Mobile Giving for Non-profits
Successfully raises $1.5 million
WILMINGTON, Del., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- FlowPay Corporation, a mobile giving platform targeting churches and non-profits, today announces it has secured $1.5 million in its seed and angel round. FlowPay expands a church or non-profit's limited donation options by allowing individuals to donate anytime or anywhere. FlowPay's pricing model eliminates significant capital investment and high monthly maintenance fees for churches and non-profits while increasing and stabilizing cash flow. FlowPay Giving Management Payment System(TM) offers a mobile, onsite, and online giving solution with robust reporting, and an easy to read dashboard for both donors and organizations. FlowPay is PCI compliant and the mobile app does not transmit any financial information.
For information:
R. Wayne Steiger - President/CEO
FlowPay Corporation
The Power of Mobile Giving
720-425-3244
888-959-9109 ext. 101
Margaret (Peg) Catalfamo, SPHR
FlowPay Corporation
The Power of Mobile Giving
Cell (609)647-4647
Toll Free 888-959-9109
LodgeNet Gaming Market Initiative Driving Room Base Growth
More than 15,000 Gaming Rooms Contracted for EnvisionTM iTV Platform and Apps
Cross-Platform Capabilities Expanding Company's Reach Beyond Traditional Gaming Locales
SIOUX FALLS, S.D., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- LodgeNet Interactive Corporation (NASDAQ: LNET), the leading provider of interactive media and connectivity services to hospitality and healthcare businesses and the consumers they serve, today said that the company is making significant inroads into the gaming market thanks to the capabilities of its Envision(TM) interactive TV (iTV) platform and a comprehensive mobile app being offered by the company's Mobile division.
LodgeNet's strategic initiative to extend Envision into the gaming market has yielded new-installation and upgrade contracts representing over 15,000 rooms. These include six gaming properties that are currently being installed: the Peppermill Resort Spa Casino (1,623 rooms) in Reno, NV; the Colorado Belle Resort (1,164 rooms) and Edgewater Casino Resort (1,053 rooms), both in Laughlin, NV; Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, NY (605 rooms); the Isle of Capri Casino Hotel Lake Charles in Westlake, LA (493 rooms); and the Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel in Salamanca, NY (413 rooms).
"Owners and operators in the gaming space are catching the vision of how the Envision platform and apps can improve their bottom line and enhance the total destination experience - especially when integrated with our LodgeNet Mobile App," said Rich Battista, President & CEO for LodgeNet. "Whether it's promoting on-site events, extracting more revenue from their guest rooms or helping guests enjoy all the events and amenities the property has to offer, gaming operators can use Envision to cross the boundaries of space and time in delivering the information and services their guests want, when they want it - through whatever screen they are watching at the time."
About LodgeNet
LodgeNet Interactive Corporation is the leading provider of interactive media and connectivity services to hospitality and healthcare businesses and the consumers they serve. Recently named by Advertising Age as one of the Leading 100 US Media Companies, LodgeNet Interactive serves approximately 1.6 million hotel rooms worldwide in addition to healthcare facilities throughout the United States. The Company's services include: Interactive Television, Broadband and Advertising Media Solutions along with nationwide technical and professional support services. LodgeNet Interactive Corporation owns and operates businesses under the industry leading brands: LodgeNet, The Hotel Networks and LodgeNet Healthcare. LodgeNet Interactive is listed on NASDAQ and trades under the symbol LNET. For more information, please visit http://www.lodgenet.com.
LodgeNet, the LodgeNet logo, and Envision are trademarks or registered trademarks of LodgeNet Interactive Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Verizon Wireless Expands America's Largest 4G LTE Network In Fresno, California on Oct. 18
Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Network Available in More Than 410 Markets Across the Country
WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless announced that customers in more areas of Fresno will be able to experience the blazingly fast speeds and capabilities of America's largest 4G LTE network when the company expands the service in Fresno today. With the introduction of the network in 23 new markets and expansion in 41 existing markets, the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network is now available in more than 410 markets across the United States, surpassing its previously announced goal of providing its mobile broadband service in 400 markets by the end of this year. The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network covers roughly 4 out of 5 people in the U.S. - and more 4G LTE coverage than all other networks combined.
Verizon Wireless first launched its 4G LTE network in Fresno in June 2011. The expanded 4G LTE coverage area in Fresno includes:
-- Downtown Sanger
-- Downtown Reedley
-- Downtown Madera
-- Mendota
-- Firebaugh
-- Calwa
-- Fowler
In addition to expanding its 4G LTE network in Fresno, Verizon Wireless is also expanding and introducing the network in Bakersfield, Kings and Tulare counties, Chico, and Oroville in California on Oct. 18.
"Less than two years since the launch of our 4G LTE network, this milestone signifies our continued commitment to expanding and enhancing our 4G LTE network to reach customers across the country," said Russ Preite, region president for Verizon Wireless. "With the introduction of our 4G LTE network in Fresno, customers and local businesses will be able to take advantage of the innovative products and services made possible by 4G LTE technology."
In addition to Fresno, the company has announced it also will launch 4G LTE service in Eureka, California before the end of this year.
RootMetrics recently awarded Verizon Wireless the RootScore Award for the fastest speeds and strongest network reliability in Fresno. Additionally, it was awarded for call quality and text message delivery.
Innovations with 4G LTE Technology
To date, Verizon Wireless has introduced 37 4G LTE-enabled devices, including smartphones, tablets, personal Wi-Fi hotspots and more since the network launched 22 months ago. Verizon Wireless customers can choose from the largest selection of 4G LTE devices and solutions to experience the nation's fastest 4G network. The newest 4G LTE devices include the DROID RAZR((TM)) M by Motorola and the Samsung Galaxy S(®) III. Details can be found at http://www.verizonwireless.com/4G LTE. Information on plans and pricing for consumers and businesses is available at http://www.verizonwireless.com/plans.
4G LTE Coverage and Speed
In real-world, fully loaded network environments, Verizon Wireless 4G LTE customers should experience average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink.
When customers travel outside of a 4G LTE coverage area, 4G LTE devices automatically connect to Verizon Wireless' 3G network, enabling customers to stay connected from coast to coast. Verizon Wireless' 3G network is the most reliable high-speed data network in the country and allows customers in 3G coverage areas who purchase 4G LTE devices today to take advantage of 4G LTE speeds when the faster network becomes available in their area, or when they travel to areas already covered by 4G LTE.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 94.2 million retail customers, including 88.8 million retail postpaid customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 78,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit http://www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
Now "More than Just Draw," SmartDraw 2013 Creates Everyday Productivity with Smart Visuals and a New Cloud Service, SmartShare, to Help People Get Things Done
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- SmartDraw Software today announced the launch of its new SmartDraw 2013, which takes the power of visual communication beyond the desktop to the web and any mobile device. It combines "smart" business visuals with mobile access and universal sharing features to help business users work smarter, faster and more effectively.
"We've designed SmartDraw 2013 to be the fast, productive way to keep your entire team organized, on task, and on target to complete any project or objective," said Paul Stannard, SmartDraw CEO. "Our 'smart visuals' let you capture important information and share it instantly with anyone, on any device. This allows you to put information to work wherever you are. Making it easy to connect people and information every day so that your entire organization gets things done is what SmartDraw 2013 is all about."
What is a Smart Visual?
SmartDraw 2013 is not your typical flowcharting or mind-mapping program. The difference is the creation of the "smart visual." It begins with SmartDraw's exclusive automated drawing tools that make it fast and easy for anyone--with or without drawing skill--to create perfectly formatted, eye-catching and intuitive visual graphics. They may be used to illustrate workflows, functions, diagrams, and many other business processes. But smart visuals aren't just pictures--they're real data. Smart visuals enhance meetings and project planning with built-in task assignment, notification and tracking. They also allow the user to add links, notes and attachments to any visual, which can then be shared with anyone--even non-SmartDraw users--on the SmartShare cloud service. Smart visuals make SmartDraw 2013 much more than just a business document drawing tool. It's a suite of business planning, communication and productivity solutions.
Smart Visuals Put Vital Information Just a Click Away
Smart visuals eliminate the time often wasted in tracking down the necessary resources and documents for a project by making it easy to organize, publish and access everything you need in a single, interactive dashboard.
Automated drawing tools in SmartDraw make smart visuals fast and easy to create--just click to add shapes. Drag and drop shapes and they automatically format, perfectly. Add links to websites or attachments, such as PDF or Office documents. When a user clicks on a smart visual, SmartDraw immediately launches the link or attachment, instantly accessing the desired information.
As Stannard sees it, this is a potential game-changer for businesses. "Think about how much information is out there. But much of it is noise--you need to sift out what is important, without wasting time on what is not. Smart visuals are the perfect vehicle to allow you to capture, process and distribute critical information to anyone you want. I see this as one of those things that in five years, we'll look back and wonder how we got along without it."
Meetings and Project Plans that Produce Results
The same technology that powers smart visuals brings boring, inefficient meetings into the modern era.
SmartDraw's interactive mind maps replace hand-written notes and white boards. Action items and task assignments captured during the meeting can be sent immediately in SmartShare to those responsible. This provides for efficient task tracking, accountability and follow-up. And, unlike a white board, a SmartDraw mind map can be shared with anyone using the SmartShare cloud service. Tasks and action items can be viewed and updated from a web browser or any mobile device. There's even a free SmartShare mobile app for the iPad and iPhone. Updates are automatically reflected in the meeting mind map and shared with the team. Everyone stays in the loop.
"SmartDraw's meeting organization and project planning tools are perfect for keeping everyone up-to-date on team projects," Stannard said. "And with SmartShare, it's also ideal for a virtual meeting, which makes collaboration with outside contractors, service providers and remote team members a snap."
A Presentation So Mobile, You Can Carry It in Your Pocket
SmartDraw 2013 also gives users a choice of solutions for creating and giving presentations. There's the PowerPoint(TM) builder feature, which lets you build a presentation from any collection of visuals with just a click. If you're on the go, you can elect to save your presentation to SmartShare, where you can access it from the web or your mobile device. "If you want, you can just plug your iPhone into a projector, instead of lugging around a laptop," Stannard states. "You can literally carry a presentation in your pocket or purse."
More than three million business users each year already install and use SmartDraw to communicate more effectively and efficiently with professional-quality visuals made easily. Three editions of SmartDraw offer the just-right feature set to meet any business need with Standard, Business and Enterprise licenses available.
Watch the SmartDraw 2013 overview video or instantly download a free, 7-day, no-obligation trial of SmartDraw 2013 at http://www.SmartDraw.com.
About SmartDraw Software
SmartDraw Software, LLC helps businesses increase their bottom line by improving communication, refining operations, completing projects on time and successfully implementing their plans through the everyday use of visual communication. Publisher of SmartDraw, the world's first visual processor(TM), SmartDraw Software enables business professionals to easily and automatically create more than 70 types of common business visuals, including flowcharts, project charts, mind maps, org charts, timelines and more. SmartDraw lets anyone achieve professional-quality results in just minutes. SmartDraw is used by more than half of the Fortune 500, as well as thousands of law firms, police departments, health systems and private enterprises of all sizes. SmartDraw Software, LLC is privately-held, with headquarters in San Diego, California. For more information or to download a free trial of SmartDraw, please visit http://www.SmartDraw.com.
SOURCE SmartDraw Software
SmartDraw Software
CONTACT: Lisa Kornblatt, SS|PR, +1-847-415-9330, lkornblatt@sspr.com
First App Of Its Kind Launched For Breast Cancer Reconstruction Patients
NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --The Center for Restorative Breast Surgery in New Orleans has announced the launch of a groundbreaking new iPhone app during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The first and only app of its kind is designed for women newly diagnosed with breast cancer and those looking for more information on the newest and most sophisticated reconstruction techniques available following mastectomy. It can be downloaded for free in the iTunes store.
Developed by the renowned surgeons at The Center for Restorative Breast Surgery and the St. Charles Surgical Hospital--the only hospital in the world dedicated to state-of-the-art breast reconstruction surgery--the app will allow users to explore all reconstructive options, get detailed information about each procedure and see "before and after" photos. "We are passionate about the information that this app is capable of delivering to all women facing a breast cancer diagnosis," states Dr. Frank DellaCroce, one of the app's creators. "It will empower women in search of answers, and assist them in making better reconstructive decisions for themselves."
Already established as pioneers in the field of breast reconstruction, the surgeons at the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery are breaking new ground with the revolutionary Procedure Wizard(sm), a section within the app that uses a supercomputer to determine reconstructive options best suited for each patient. The user anonymously answers a series of questions about their individual situation and the Procedure Wizard(sm )provides a personalized analysis. "We encourage women to explore this part of the app as a first step in learning about their options," states DellaCroce. "They can then schedule an appointment with us, directly from their iPhone, to further discuss those options."
This app will also assist patients in asking the right questions when visiting with potential surgeons prior to surgery. The "What to Ask" section provides questions to pose, and "best practice" answers, to assist in the selection of the best surgeon for each individual case. In addition, it is equipped with convenient, easy to use features that provide assistance in scheduling and keeping track of all appointments during treatment, taking notes, and recording messages or reminders while on the go. Finally, users can contact the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery directly from the app for additional information, to send an email or information prior to a visit. "By creating this app we hope to help women feel more in control throughout their diagnosis and treatment," states DellaCroce. "A sense of knowledge and organization can go a long way towards the overall healing and recovery for a woman with breast cancer."
The Center for Restorative Breast Surgery was established to serve as a dedicated resource for women seeking the most advanced methods of breast reconstruction utilizing the body's own tissue. Frank DellaCroce, M.D., FACS, Scott Sullivan, M.D., FACS, Chris Trahan, M.D., and Michael Cohen, M.D. specialize exclusively in state-of-the-art breast surgery techniques that allow for microsurgical fat transplantation to rebuild the breast without sacrifice of important functional muscles. They are international leaders in breast cancer surgery options, pioneering groundbreaking procedures including Nipple Sparing Mastectomy, the Stacked DIEP, the Gluteal Hip Flap, and the revolutionary BODY LIFT Flap(SM). They have performed over 4000 breast reconstruction procedures for women facing breast cancer from around the world.
SOURCE Center for Restorative Breast Surgery
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121018/LA94115 http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Center for Restorative Breast Surgery
Equity Crowdfunding Platform Launched in Sweden by FundedByMe
STOCKHOLM, October 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
Equity Crowdfunding is predicted to be the next big thing in 2013, and Sweden's
FundedByMe [http://fundedbyme.com/equity ] has launched their Equity Crowdfunding platform
to the global public, making it an early player in the upcoming emerging market on the
equity crowdfunding scene. FundedByMe already offers a crowdfunding platform similar to
Kickstarter, which repays investments through gifts or preorders. In comparison, an equity
crowdfunding platform provides a mechanism to legally disperse shares of a company to its
investors. FundedByMe has the uinque edge of beeing a website offering both traditional
and equity based crowdfunding.
As the legislative process of the JOBS Act in the US is complex and slow, with framing
the regulation and defining the rules, the entrepreneurial financing roadmap has an
unclear destination. If America doesn't quickly implement a simple crowdfunding rubric,
international platforms will be the beneficiaries. Swedish FundedByMe
[http://www.fundedbyme.com/equity ] is already up and running and is offering equity
crowdfunding. And it's global.
David Drake, founder of TheSohoLoft, predicts crowdfunding will be a $1 trillion
business within 10 years. If crowdfunding even begins to approach that scale, it will
completely change the landscape for start-up financing. The world of entrepreneurial
finance is changing rapidly.
The FundedByMe Equity [http://www.fundedbyme.com/equity ] crowdfunding platform
launched as recently as a month ago and is already showing a theoretical capacity of over
EUR16 million (20 MUSD) ready to be invested by the crowd. The amount is growing by the
hour and consists of amounts as low as hundreds up to thousands.
"In the last year, since we launched FundedByMe.com [http://www.fundedbyme.com/equity
] we've proven that crowdfunding can also work and be big in Europe and the world. The
crowd has together helped crowdfund: a hamburger joint, a train, numerous of CD's and
books, films, experiments, charity, heart-warming projects and everything between. Now we
take the biggest step ever. We are adding equity-crowdfunding to a functioning system, not
only because we can or because we see a huge growth within this market but because our
clients have asked for it." says Daniel Daboczy, co-founder and CEO.
Colo5 Partners with Appcore® to Launch Colo5 Cloud in Hardened Data Center
Appcore Onsite(TM) automates Highly Secure Private, Public and Hybrid Cloud Hosting
DES MOINES, Iowa, Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Appcore®, provider of the industry's only complete automated cloud computing platform, today announced Jacksonville, Fla.-based Colo5 Disaster Recovery Center has selected the Appcore Onsite(TM) system to power their new cloud computing product, making simple and flexible private, public and hybrid cloud services available to businesses of any size in Colo5's highly secure, high-availability data center.
Appcore's fully automated platform expands Colo5's product line with a complete, ready-to-launch system that makes it fast and easy for any business to get up and running on the cloud in just days. Appcore's simple to use, pre-configured solution eliminates the complexity of cloud technology, implementation and management, providing Colo5 customers with an intuitive user interface and automated provisioning tools to streamline cloud and IT operations with a self-service system backed by end-to-end management and support.
As a premier independent data center, Colo5 offers secure and hardened colocation, disaster recovery and cloud services to customers nationwide with state-of-the-art security, redundant power systems and a robust fiber network optimized for performance and speed. The company's core infrastructure is rated to withstand a Category 5 hurricane to ensure maximum reliability and peace of mind, and its data centers accommodate the changing power density and cooling needs of the colocation market while maintaining consistently superior levels of customer service and support.
The new Appcore partnership enables Colo5 to deliver leading-edge IT services for its customers, while capturing new business and additional revenue by offering a highly sought-after, value-added service.
"Adding cloud to our offering enables us to provide a more comprehensive experience for our clients that makes us a much more valuable business partner with business continuity, disaster recover, telecom and cloud, all under one umbrella," said Ernie Bono, VP of cloud services with Colo5. "Appcore clearly understands the business of cloud computing, providing a comprehensive, robust product that deploys and scales quickly. And, it provides the built-in automation and management services our customers need."
In evaluating cloud solution partners, Bono said Appcore's complete solution at an affordable price, backed by the company's commitment to 24/7 dedicated customer service, stood out as core differentiators. "We were impressed by the comprehensive solution that enabled us to roll out and monetize fast," he said. "And, the Launch to Cloud Appstore is a unique product that makes it easy for our customers to put cloud technology to work quickly."
Appcore's fully integrated Appstore with Launch to Cloud(TM) automatic application deployment, provides rapid launch of business services and applications, like Microsoft's Exchange and SharePoint, Sugar CRM, WordPress, Drupal and Joomla, along with numerous server, backup and gaming apps, all architected and optimized for compatibility and reliability in the Appcore cloud environment.
Behind the scenes, Appcore's custom-built architecture is optimized specifically to support its cloud platform. Built-in business services and business intelligence tools enable Colo5 to accurately capture, analyze and bill for customer usage, with robust, automated tracking and reporting of resource consumption, network monitoring and built-in billing and payment protocols.
"Appcore automates the business of cloud computing, providing the only complete cloud platform on the market that combines the hardware infrastructure, software and business services with automated provisioning in a fully converged system," said Brian Donaghy, Appcore founder and CEO. "We're very pleased to work with Colo5 to provide this complete portfolio of services that makes it both efficient and profitable for Colo5 to offer world-class cloud services for their customers."
For more information about the Appcore cloud services solution, visit http://www.Appcore.com.
About Appcore
Appcore® automates the business of cloud computing®.
Appcore delivers local cloud infrastructure for Enterprise Private Clouds and Service Provider Public Clouds. Appcore Onsite(TM) is a converged platform of architecture, automation, administration and appstore designed to be roll-in ready, accelerating the deployment and automating the operations of cloud environments. Appcore simplifies the complexity of cloud technology for data centers, telcos, software vendors, and enterprises with flexible and scalable best practice solutions, backed by end-to-end management and support. Headquartered in Des Moines, IA with offices in Hong Kong, Manila, and Singapore, Appcore delivers the business of cloud computing worldwide. In 2012, Appcore was named the fastest-growing company in mid-America by Five Elms Capital. http://www.appcore.com
Media Sentiment, Inc. (MSEZ) Closes Acquisition of Social Media Video Technology videocourier.com
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Media Sentiment, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: MSEZ) is of the opinion that the following is a material event which warrants a public release. The Company is pleased to report that it has closed the transaction to acquire a new asset, the technology of videocourier.com.
Marian Munz, MSEZ' CEO, said, "Social media technologies have been acquisition targets at top valuations lately. Two of the most talked about examples are the $1.2 billion acquisition of Yammer by Microsoft in June and the $730 million acquisition of Instagram by Facebook in April of this year. These acquisitions are strong indications that social media technologies are seen as very valuable assets even to the big players in the technology industry."
Media Sentiment plans to make use of its trademark assets to create one of the most comprehensive video links databases in the world, by allowing users worldwide to aggregate videos that have material importance over the value of equities, currencies, products, movies, political campaigns and more. Media Sentiment sees a day when it could offer very specialized video channels. For instance, if an investor is interested in following material news that could move the Apple Inc. stock he/she may find a video channel focusing on aggregating Apple Inc. video news that have material impact, brought from a multitude of video news sources from around the world wide web.
Currently, there is no other such service on the market that could easily indicate a potential stock move via a thumbs up or thumbs down alert for a particular stock price. To have access to this type of information, users would need to spend time and effort to search for news clips and to understand the potential material impact the news may carry within the video.
The technology behind videocourier.com allows users to easily capture the code of video clips from news sources that allow their code to be embedded into other web sites. Users enter the stock symbol or market along with text indicating the important news elements, and rate the sentiment with an easy to understand thumbs up or thumbs down symbol.
Once the new video is posted, the followers in the social network receive the thumbs up or thumb down alert along with the video clip automatically. As the videocourier technology allows the social network participants to follow each other's channels, this has the potential to grow into an invaluable source for video news regarding the stocks which investors and traders are interested in. It could work like a personalized video channel that updates automatically with the most current and pertinent video clips from around the world.
The importance of the 'follow' functionality that allows users to share information with large groups of people has been highlighted recently by LinkedIn's decision to add such functionality to its social network.
More, the videocourier technology allows users to easily grow the viewership of the channel, by automatically creating code for each channel, code which users could easily embed into any number of web sites and blogs anywhere on the internet.
Media Sentiment plans to create interfaces to the top existing social networks to allow for rapid growth, dissemination and integration of the material news into these networks.
More details regarding the business plans regarding this new technology will follow on a timely basis.
As indicated, the company will continue its search for additional acquisition candidates.
Safe Harbor Statement
Information in this news release may contain statements about future expectations, plans, prospects or performance of Media Sentiment, Inc., that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the Safe Harbor Provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words or phrases "can be," "expects," "may affect," "believed," "estimate," "see," "intent," "plan," "project" and similar words and phrases are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Media Sentiment, Inc. cautions you that any forward-looking information provided by or on behalf of Media Sentiment, Inc. is not a guarantee of future performance. None of the information in this press release constitutes or is intended as an offer to sell securities or investment advice of any kind. Media Sentiment, Inc.'s actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, some of which are beyond Media Sentiment, Inc.'s control. In addition to those discussed in Media Sentiment, Inc.'s press releases, public filings, and statements by Media Sentiment, Inc.'s management, including, but not limited to, Media Sentiment, Inc.'s estimate of the sufficiency of its existing capital resources, Media Sentiment, Inc.'s ability to raise additional capital to fund future operations, Media Sentiment, Inc.'s ability to repay its existing indebtedness, the uncertainties involved in estimating market opportunities, and in identifying contracts which match Media Sentiment, Inc.'s capability to be awarded contracts. All such forward-looking statements are current only as of the date on which such statements were made. Media Sentiment, Inc. does not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which any such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
CONTACT
Media Sentiment, Inc.
INVESTORS@MEDIASENTIMENT.COM
Bigger Really Is Better When Skylanders Giants Hits Store Shelves On October 21, 2012
Skylanders Giants(TM) Debuts 16 All-New Characters, New Tech, Returning Favorites with New Powers and Vast New Playgrounds to Explore
New Game in the Successful Kids Franchise Pegged as a Holiday Hit For Second Year In A Row
Special Treats In Store For Fans Of Nintendo 3DS And Wii U
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Portal Masters everywhere will once again face the evil Portal Master Kaos in a brand new adventure in Skylanders Giants, which is poised to prove that bigger really is better when the game hits store shelves in North America on October 21, 2012 for Nintendo's Wii(TM) system, Nintendo 3DS(TM), the Xbox 360(TM) game and entertainment system, and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.
The sequel to the best-selling kids title in 2011* and best-selling game of 2012 year to date**, Skylanders Giants, from Activision Publishing, Inc., a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), has already received endorsements from the Toys"R"Us(®) Holiday Hot Toy List, the Toy Insider "Hot 20 Toys for the Holidays" and Time To Play's "Holiday 2012 Most Wanted List."
Skylanders Giants builds on the success of its predecessor by dramatically enhancing the magic of bringing toys to life in an exciting virtual experience as first introduced in Skylanders Spyro's Adventure. The game features 16 new characters, led by eight Giant Skylanders, who are twice the size of their comrades. The Giants each have exciting new powers and abilities to match their size. Joining the Giants are eight new Skylanders, who also feature never-before-seen powers. Additionally, Skylanders Giants introduces new LightCore(TM) Skylanders that glow when on or near the Portal of Power®--no batteries required. Fan-favorites from Skylanders Spyro's Adventure return as Series 2 characters featuring an all new "Wow Pow" upgrade power as well as the choice of more than one upgrade path. And all your favorite characters from Skylanders Spyro's Adventure are 100% compatible with Skylanders Giants--stats and customizations intact.
"It's really gratifying that in less than a year, we've seen Skylanders go from being an intriguing untested new IP to becoming one of the hottest kids franchises in the world. And it has been universally acclaimed by parents, kids and critics alike," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. "Skylanders is more than just a new piece of interactive entertainment, but a genuinely new kind of thinking in interactive entertainment. The response of the fans has been incredible, and the only way we can return the favor is with a sequel like Skylanders Giants. This game is all about big: big creatures, big worlds, bigger ideas. We're very excited to see Skylanders Giants finally hit the shelves."
Skylanders Giants will leap to Wii U(TM) day and date with the launch of Nintendo's new console on November 18, 2012. In the Wii U version, the game takes clever advantage of the system's motion and touchscreen controls. Meanwhile, Nintendo 3DS owners will experience a new adventure exclusive to this version. The storyline features fan-favorites Flynn, Hugo and Cali, and introduces the villainous Captain Frightbeard.
Skylanders Giants is rated E+10 by the ESRB. The game, technology, and Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation3 platforms were developed by Activision's Novato, California studio, Toys for Bob, led by creative director and studio head Paul Reiche. The Nintendo 3DS platform was developed by n-Space and the Wii U platform was developed by Vicarious Visions. For more information, visit http://www.skylanders.com
Activision Publishing Broadcast Media Center
Members of the media can visit Activision Publishing's Broadcast Media Center to download broadcast quality video, web-ready video and high-resolution images. Broadcast Media Center: http://activisionvideo.com
About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.
Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, mainland China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, http://www.activision.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the expected release date of SKYLANDERS GIANTS, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
SKYLANDERS UNIVERSE is a service mark, SKYLANDERS GIANTS and LIGHTCORE are trademarks, and SKYLANDERS SPYRO'S ADVENTURE, PORTAL OF POWER, and ACTIVISION are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc.
*Source: According to NPD, Gfk data
**Source: According to NPD, Gfk, and internal estimates, based on revenue from January to September, 2012, including sales from accessory packs and figures.
Health IT Insight and Expertise Featured in New Blog from Stoltenberg Consulting
"HITStoltenblog" offers 'real world' HIT knowledge, opinions from industry veterans
PITTSBURGH, Pa., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Stoltenberg Consulting, Inc., a leading healthcare information technology consulting firm, launched a new blog today to provide insight and musings around health information technology (HIT). HITStoltenblog will provide regular contributions from several Stoltenberg veteran consultants, as well as company founder and CEO, Sheri Stoltenberg, a 30-year HIT industry professional.
"The combination of the vast experience Stoltenberg has and the IT challenges currently facing hospitals across the country was really the motivating factor behind starting this blog and publicly sharing our experiences and insight," said Sheri Stoltenberg, CEO of Stoltenberg Consulting, Inc. "As consultants, we are in constant communication with IT vendors, hospital C-Suite and IT teams, and this level of visibility affords us insight and perspective on some of the toughest obstacles the industry is looking to overcome. Our goal is to extend those conversations online in an effort to help drive productive, thought-provoking dialogue for HIT professionals as they negotiate this very complicated period in healthcare."
Upcoming blog posts will highlight the following topics:
-- Recaps and key learnings from this year's CHIME12 Fall CIO Forum
-- Insights and best practices on the hospital go-live process
-- Advice on how to approach IT challenges for rural and community
hospitals
-- Counsel from the front lines of IT project managers
-- How to effectively motivate employees
"Meaningful use requirements and reimbursement standards can be extremely overwhelming to hospital IT teams," continued Stoltenberg. "I hope that the honest and upfront conversations we generate through this blog will serve as a useful resource for them."
To submit inquiries and/or blog topics to Stoltenberg, please email blog@stoltenberg.com. To learn more about Stoltenberg Consulting, visit the website and watch Stoltenberg's 3-minute informational movie at http://www.stoltenberg.com/movie.
About Stoltenberg Consulting
Founded in 1995, Pittsburgh-based Stoltenberg Consulting Inc. creates an environment for success by working with healthcare organizations to provide a variety of services including project management, implementation support and integration between systems. Members of the Stoltenberg Consulting team are consultants with extensive experience in both financial and clinical systems, averaging more than 15 years of direct on-site hospital experience. Stoltenberg Consulting has grown rapidly to serve a client base of more than 100 preeminent healthcare organizations throughout the United States providing services for Siemens (Approved Partner), Epic (Preferred Partner), Cerner, McKesson, Meditech, NextGen, Allscripts and Zynx customers. For more information call 1-888-724-1326 or visit http://www.stoltenberg.com.
ThinkGeek's iCade 8-Bitty Brings Retro Control to Mobile Gaming
Control Your Classic Games and More with This Pocket Friendly iCade Device
FAIRFAX, Va., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ThinkGeek (NASDAQ: GKNT) is proud to announce the iCade 8-Bitty - Retro Wireless Game Controller as the newest handheld member of the popular iCade line of mobile gaming accessories.
The iCade 8-Bitty works via wireless Bluetooth® technology to connect with iOS and Android devices and gives users pocket portability and the power to enjoy the deep library of iCade games.
"Our original iCade gave serious retro gamers something to enjoy at home and now ThinkGeek wants users to be able to take the experience mobile," says Ty Liotta, End Boss of GeekLabs, ThinkGeek's Research and Development Lab. "Its retro styling is the perfect compliment to the classic games."
The iCade 8-Bitty features eight-button control with four face buttons, select, start, and two shoulder buttons along with an integrated D-pad for movement and control.
The controller is also designed on a completely open development platform. App developers can add support for the iCade 8-Bitty with no permission needed from Apple or ThinkGeek.
ThinkGeek, a wholly owned subsidiary of Geeknet, Inc. (NASDAQ: GKNT), is the premier retailer for the global geek community. Since 1999, ThinkGeek has sought to provide tech, gadget, and toy-obsessed communities with all the things geeks crave. ThinkGeek was founded to serve the distinct needs and interests of technology professionals and enthusiasts and today has grown to become the first choice for innovative and imaginative products that appeal to the geek in everyone. Want to learn more? Check out thinkgeek.com.
VuMee.com Launches New Website and Apps to Focus on User Experience
POMPANO BEACH, Fla., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- VuMee (OTCBB: VUME)--VuMee.com announced new features in its re-release, providing online video publishing at VuMee.com and offering a range of user-friendly options. The company expects this recent change to its online presence to help visitors better navigate their way through the site to load, find, and share video content from both the desktop and mobile platforms. The new design is aimed at creating a more engaging environment for VuMee's visitors with a clearer design and layout, customized brand pages, easier navigation, larger video player, better navigation, and more social features.
-- Sharing functionality with full Facebook and Twitter integration
-- Follow feature
-- Desktop and app upload
-- Higher upload limit than most competitors
-- Smart phone optimized for Android and iOS, making it available for 85%
of all smartphones shipped in the second quarter of 2012
"The growth of the VuMee platform necessitated a more effective web design strategy to meet the needs of online users and to meet our marketing goals," said Michael Speigel, CEO of VuMee.com. "The new web and application design strategy gives VuMee both an edge in professionalism and make it easier for both brands and consumers to engage in a more meaningful way, anytime, anywhere."
About VuMee
VuMee is a digital mobile advertising platform designed to provide high profile individuals and brands the ability to connect with fans and consumers via engaging and entertaining video content. VuMee utilizes user-friendly push technology to help connect companies, brands and celebrities to targeted consumer segments. It acts as a unique platform to hear from consumers, build visual relationships and connect users with their favorite celebrities and brands through both mobile and PC platforms.
Forward-Looking Statements. Certain of the above statements contained in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Actual results, events and circumstances (including future performance, results and trends) could differ materially from those set forth in such statements due to various factors, risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, risks associated with the company's future growth and operating results, the uncertainty of market acceptance of the company's business plan, competitive factors and general economic conditions. VuMee has no duty and undertakes no obligation to update such statements.
Lexmark extends MFP leadership with new solutions-enabled laser products
Latest product introduction includes 18 smart MFPs that, when combined with services and the Perceptive Software portfolio, transform time-consuming processes into efficient, automated workflows to enable business growth
LEXINGTON, Ky., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In one of the most significant product launches in the company's history, Lexmark International, Inc. (NYSE: LXK) today announced a wide breadth of new laser printers and multifunction products (MFPs) built on an enhanced technology platform that delivers productivity-enhancing solutions.
Lexmark's smart MFPs include an intuitive touch screen that provides access to many powerful applications that reduce the complexities of manual processes and improve productivity. This seamless integration of Lexmark's smart MFPs with the Perceptive Software portfolio helps improve infrastructure efficiency and team performance to propel growth.
Some of the newest additions to Lexmark's printer and MFP product families introduced today include:
-- CX510 color laser MFP - Designed for mid-size workgroups, the Lexmark
CX510 offers time-saving productivity solutions that are typically
present on larger devices. This device produces professional-quality
color worthy of branded marketing collateral thanks to Lexmark's
calibration technology for the PANTONE(®) color system and Lexmark
Named Color Replacement true color matching.
-- MX812 monochrome laser MFP - This high-performance MFP features
exceptionally fast processor, print, copy and scan speeds. As the first
A4 monochrome laser MFP to print and copy up to 70 pages per minute(1),
as well as to deliver the first page in as quickly as four seconds(1),
this is the ideal device for large enterprise workgroups who need a
workhorse in the office. It provides professional finishing and comes
with pre-loaded business solutions that are quickly accessible through
an intuitive 10.2-inch color touch screen. An extra high-yield
45,000-page Unison toner cartridge, the largest in its class(1), ensures
fewer user interventions to replace toner.
-- MX611 monochrome laser MFP - The Lexmark MX611 features a vibrant 7-inch
color touch screen, providing access to pre-installed workflow solutions
that enhance business productivity by automating tasks. It's a workhorse
equipped to print up to 50 pages per minute and prints or copies a first
page in as quickly as seven seconds. The Lexmark MX611 is the only MFP
in its class(2) that offers an automatic inline stapler finishing
option.
-- MX410 monochrome laser MFP - The Lexmark MX410 introduces solutions
capabilities on an MFP below the affordable $600 price point. The device
saves time with fast processor, print, copy and scan speeds, and with
powerful productivity solutions via the 4.3-inch color touch screen. It
prints up to 10,000 pages per month, up to 40 pages per minute, and
prints or copies a first page in as quickly as seven seconds.
-- MS610 monochrome laser printer - Starting at $699, the Lexmark MS610 is
impressive in its own right with duplex and built-in productivity
solutions(3). As the fastest compact A4 monochrome laser printer(4), it
prints up to 16,000 pages per month, up to 50 pages per minute, and a
first page in as little as six-and-a-half seconds. The easy-to-use
4.3-inch color touch screen(3) also enables users to manage jobs right
at the device.
Further information about these products and additional models introduced today can be found at http://www.lexmark.com.
Supporting Quote:
"The intelligence offered through Lexmark's devices is a key differentiator, and when combined with our state-of-the-art imaging technology, we are able to provide our customers unmatched capabilities in a solutions portfolio," said Marty Canning, Lexmark executive vice president and president of Imaging Solutions and Services. "Our innovative, smart MFPs are the backbone to the many workflow solutions we provide, and this close marriage between our hardware and software portfolios is what gives our customers access to unavailable information and improves customer satisfaction."
Lexmark International, Inc. (NYSE: LXK) provides businesses of all sizes with a broad range of printing and imaging products, software, solutions and services that help customers to print less and save more. Perceptive Software, a Lexmark company, is a leading provider of process and content management software that helps organizations fuel greater operational efficiency. In 2011, Lexmark sold products in more than 170 countries and reported more than $4 billion in revenue.
For more information on Lexmark, see the Lexmark Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.
For more information about Perceptive Software, please visit the company's Facebook and Twitter profiles.
Lexmark and Lexmark with diamond design are trademarks of Lexmark International, Inc., registered in the U.S. and/or other countries. Unison is a trademark of Lexmark International, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
All prices are estimated street prices in U.S. dollars - actual prices may vary.
All prices, features, specifications and capabilities are subject to change without notice.
PANTONE® is a registered trademark of Pantone, Inc.
(1) Based on a comparison of A4 monochrome
multifunction laser printers priced
$2,000 and above. Data sourced from
manufacturers' websites and independent
competitive intelligence analysts as of
August 2012.
(2) Based on a comparison of A4 monochrome
multifunction laser printers priced under
$2,000. Data sourced from manufacturers'
websites and independent competitive
intelligence analysts as of August 2012.
3 Applies to the Lexmark MS610de and
MS610dte configurations only.
4 Based on a comparison of A4 monochrome
laser printers that weigh less than 40
lbs. Data sourced from manufacturers'
websites and independent competitive
intelligence analysts as of August 2012.
SOURCE Lexmark International, Inc.
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121018/MM93057 http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Video:http://www.multivu.com/mnr/48241-lexmark-smart-mfps-multifunction-printers
Lexmark International, Inc.
Huntkey Show Successfully Held at GITEX 2012, Dubai
SHENZHEN, China, Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Huntkey Enterprise Group, a global professional power supply provider, has shown its lineup of products at GITEX 2012, Dubai, Oct. 14 - 18.
This year, Huntkey has brought its latest FX series power supply FX500SE which is 80PLUS Platinum certified, featuring high efficiency (92% or higher), low noise and a smart fan which will not work until the total output is above 250W. Huntkey's latest X-MAN 90W II notebook adapter is also showcased in the exhibition. It's smaller and lighter than the X-MAN 90W adapter and has 2 removable DC wires. There are several other new products, including the HPBA6000 power bank and the dual USB charger.
Many buyers have been attracted to Huntkey booth. "We're impressed by Huntkey's products," said Mr. Hassan, purchasing manager of AVANG Communication Development & IT, "92% efficiency at 500W is really impressive, and HPBA6000 is the smartest power bank I've ever seen. We're very interested in these products. We hope to cooperate with Huntkey after the show."
During the exhibition, Huntkey has met many local distributors. "We have been working with Huntkey for many years. In every show, Huntkey has always brought many new and interesting products. We see hope in these products. We believe Huntkey will have a bright future," said the marketing director of TwinMOS Technologies ME LLC.
All are welcome to visit Huntkey at GITEX 2012, Dubai!
Date: Oct. 14 - 18, 2012
Booth No.: B8-07&08, Hall 8,
Dubai World Trade
Centre
About Huntkey
Huntkey Enterprise Group, founded in 1992, is a professional provider that specializes in the development, design, manufacturing and marketing of power supplies. Huntkey's products include power supplies (1W~250KW), power systems, computer cases, universal notebook adapters, chargers, power supply converters, power strips etc. The industrial parks of Huntkey in Shenzhen, Heyuan and Hefei, which cover a total area of over 750,000 square meters, are now the largest IT manufacturing base in mainland China. Huntkey, with over 8,000 employees, has set up its branch companies in Hong Kong and Japan. Its clients are found all over the world in more than 50 countries and regions, including Lenovo, DELL, Bestbuy, Exper, Vestel, Positivo, Durama, Unicoba, DSG, HCL, Carrefour, FPT, Siragon, Olidata etc.
Iomega Expands Award-Winning Desktop Network Storage Offerings with New High Performance Two-Drive Network Storage Device and Next Generation Four-Drive Model
Iomega StorCenter px2-300d & StorCenter ix4-300d Deliver Ultra Fast Storage, Data Protection and Cloud Connectivity For Small to Mid-Sized Businesses and Distributed Enterprise Locations
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
News Summary
-- New high performance Iomega(®) StorCenter((TM)) px2-300d features
diskless option or up to 6TB of hot swap storage capacity using secure,
reliable Server Class drives for outstanding performance and high
availability of data in a small form factor - perfect for small offices,
work groups or advanced home networks.
-- New Iomega(®) StorCenter((TM)) ix4-300d ranges from diskless to 12TB of
network storage, utilizing enterprise class EMC(®) storage technology
for today's SMBs and distributed enterprise.
-- Both network storage product lines protect and share all types of files
locally and remotely with multiple cloud options for safety and
convenience, including Iomega Personal Cloud technology.
-- The StorCenter px2-300d is the only network storage product in its class
to support the McAfee(®) VirusScan((TM)) Enterprise product, including
automatic antivirus scanning and cleaning.
-- Improved performance: The StorCenter ix4-300d more than doubles the
performance versus the previous ix4-300d (Cloud Edition) model.
Iomega Corporation, a global leader in data protection, today announced the worldwide availability of the latest additions to Iomega's award-winning lineup of network storage solutions: the new Iomega(®) StorCenter((TM)) px2-300d Network Storage, a high performance, Intel(®) Atom((TM)) powered double-drive desktop network storage device with up to 6TB of storage; and the new Iomega(®) StorCenter((TM)) ix4-300d Network Storage, the next generation of Iomega's popular StorCenter ix Series of versatile and easy-to-use four-drive desktop network storage appliances.
Designed for advanced users, small offices, small to medium-sized businesses and distributed enterprise, Iomega's new StorCenter px2-300d and StorCenter ix4-300d utilize EMC's award-winning LifeLine((TM)) operating system for cross-platform file-sharing with seamless integration of security and convenience features such as RAID data protection, hot-swappable hard drives (only with the px2-300d), virtualized environment support, multiple cloud options for offsite data storage, antivirus protection (Only on px2-300d), Active Directory integration, advanced media sharing features and more. Both products are shipping with the Iomega's very latest LifeLine release 3.4, which delivers significant enhancements and new features like improved Active Directory Support, a more efficient EXT4 file system, added MySQL Server support and added video surveillance capabilities.
Executive Quotes
"The new Iomega StorCenter px2 and ix4 desktop models offer an unparalleled balance of performance, simplicity and versatility in terms of data storage, sharing, and protection for today's small and mid-sized businesses and remote enterprise offices," said Mike Nikzad, Chief Operating Officer, Iomega Corporation. "These two new network storage products offer flexible storage capacity configurations that fit your business needs today and tomorrow, as well as easy access to the cloud for remote storage, dual Gigabit Ethernet connectivity for high performance and a wealth of other business features that make these small network devices the backbone of any SMB's data management plan."
"Iomega's high performance PX series of network storage products have proven themselves to be solid network storage implementations for our customers," said Eli Zvi, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, CompuTech International, a New York-based reseller specializing in SMB and government sales and a Premier Plus member of the Iomega ioclub, Iomega's top tier program for resellers. "We are very pleased to see the addition of the double-drive desktop StorCenter px2-300d, which gives our CompuTech International team an ideal option for customers that require a small easy-to-deploy, dependable, feature-rich desktop NAS for their small business or remote office."
"The small and medium business market for storage in Latin America is constantly growing," said Fabio Gaia, General Manager of Officer Distibuidora, Iomega's largest reseller partner in Latin America. "These new desktop network storage products from Iomega meet the sales channel expectations in terms of tailored capacity for the SMB market as well as delivering high performance at an affordable price."
Flexible Configurations for the New Iomega StorCenter px2-300d and StorCenter ix4-300d
In addition to fully populated options utilizing 1TB, 2TB and 3TB enterprise grade 7200 rpm hard drives for the px2-300d, and 1TB, 2TB and 3TB SATA II drives for the ix4-300d, both product lines also offer diskless models allowing users to use their own HDDs.
Iomega is qualifying 4TB drives for future models in both lines.
Core Capabilities of the New Iomega StorCenter px2-300d and StorCenter ix4-300d
Among the many standard features of these two new product lines:
-- Built-in cloud technology with choice of EMC Atmos cloud connector, EMC
Avamar data deduplication (StorCenter px2-300d models only), Mozy Pro,
Amazon S3 and Iomega Personal Cloud technology.
-- Iomega Personal Cloud allows for remote access and sharing via a
web-based computing architecture that connects your StorCenter unit to
other individuals and/or devices via the Internet.
-- Advanced video surveillance storage and monitoring capabilities,
including enhanced motion detection and alert notifications, as well as
support for up to 16 cameras per each px2-300d and up to 8 cameras per
each ix4-300d StorCenter NAS device.
-- Advanced data replication features allow for easy protection of files to
and from attached USB drives or any network share, including invited
members of your Iomega Personal Cloud.
-- Cloud disaster recovery using two StorCenter units in different
locations.
-- Automatic anti-virus scanning and cleaning using the included McAfee
VirusScan Enterprise software. (StorCenter px2-300d models only)
-- Compatible with virtualization environments: VMware(®), Microsoft(®)
Windows((TM)) Server (Hyper-V) and Citrix(®) XenServer((TM)) certified.
-- Encrypted volumes allow you to further protect and secure your data from
unauthorized access. (StorCenter px2-300d models only)
-- Supports PC, Mac(®) and Linux(®) computing environments.
-- Iomega Link iOS client application for remote viewing and control from
your smart device.
-- Simplified backup with Time Machine(®) support for Apple OS X users,
Iomega QuikProtect for PC users.
-- Enhanced Active Directory integration, including Trusted Domain support
-- Built-in UPnP((TM)) DLNA Certified(®) Audio Video Media Server - stream
content to a variety of media devices.
-- Keep your customers and others up-to-date on your business by dropping
your latest news files into convenient folders that automatically upload
to your social media accounts, including Facebook, Flickr and YouTube.
Both the StorCenter px2-300d and ix4-300d can help protect your business with the integrated SecureMind Surveillance Manager video management software, which delivers multi-channel live monitoring, video recording, and fast video playback with multiple IP cameras (cameras not included). With the built-in storage capacity, the archiving and retention capabilities of Iomega's new network storage products are exceptional for capturing and storing surveillance video. Each StorCenter px2-300d and ix4-300d includes one camera license free of charge.
Additionally, The StorCenter px2-300d is the only network storage product in its class to support the McAfee VirusScan Enterprise product. McAfee Virus Scan enterprise features built-in, real-time on-access and automatic antivirus scanning and cleaning using the McAfee scanning engine. This is a full implementation of McAfee VirusScan Enterprise, with the familiar McAfee user interface and product features. The StorCenter px2-300d includes a subscription to McAfee VirusScan enterprise at no extra charge.
Availability and Warranty
The new Iomega(®) StorCenter((TM)) px2-300d Network Storage is now shipping worldwide. The diskless model is $499.99, the 2TB model is $699.99, the 4TB model is $999.99, and the 6TB model is $1,199.99.
The New Iomega(®) StorCenter((TM)) ix4-300d Network Storage is also shipping worldwide. The diskless model is now available for $599.99. The following storage capacity versions of the new StorCenter ix4-300d will be available shortly: the 4TB model will be $749.99, the 8TB will be $949.99, and the 12TB model will be $1,299.99.
All pricing is U.S. suggested retail.
For more information about Iomega's full lineup of network storage solutions, please go to http://www.iomega.com.
About Iomega
Iomega Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of EMC Corporation headquartered in San Diego, is a worldwide leader in innovative storage solutions for small businesses, home offices, consumers and others. The Company has sold more than 425 million digital storage drives and disks since its inception in 1980. Today, Iomega's product portfolio includes industry leading desktop and rackmount network attached storage products ideal for content sharing, data protection at small and medium businesses and distributed enterprises, as well as vertical applications such as video surveillance installations; a broad selection of direct-attached portable and desktop external hard drives; and multimedia drives, making it easy to move video, pictures and other files from the computer room to the livingroom. To learn about all of Iomega's storage products and network storage solutions, please go to the Web at http://www.iomega.com. Resellers can visit Iomega at http://www.ioclub.net.
* 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes
NOTE: This release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined under the Federal Securities Laws. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk factors, including but not limited to: (i) adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; (ii) delays or reductions in information technology spending; (iii) the relative and varying rates of product price and component cost declines and the volume and mixture of product and services revenues; (iv) competitive factors, including but not limited to pricing pressures and new product introductions; (v) component and product quality and availability; (vi) fluctuations in VMware, Inc.'s operating results and risks associated with trading of VMware stock; (vii) the transition to new products, the uncertainty of customer acceptance of new product offerings and rapid technological and market change; (viii) risks associated with managing the growth of our business, including risks associated with acquisitions and investments and the challenges and costs of integration, restructuring and achieving anticipated synergies; (ix) the ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees; (x) insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory; (xi) fluctuating currency exchange rates; (xii) threats and other disruptions to our secure data centers or networks; (xiii) our ability to protect our proprietary technology; (xiv) war or acts of terrorism; and (xv) other one-time events and other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in EMC's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EMC disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.
Disney Where's My Water? Presents: Swampy's Underground Adventures Launches Today On Disney.com And Disney's YouTube Channel
New short form animated series stars Swampy the alligator from Disney's #1 new mobile game Where's My Water?
Series to premiere on Disney Channel beginning in November
BURBANK, Calif., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Disney Interactive announced today the online launch of the new short form animated video series, Disney Where's My Water? Presents: Swampy's Underground Adventures on Disney.com and Disney's YouTube channel at YouTube.com/DisneyShows, with plans to premiere the short form series on Disney Channel beginning in November. Swampy's Underground Adventures follows the hilarious and unpredictable adventures of Swampy, Disney's first original character born on mobile and star of Disney's #1 new mobile franchise Where's My Water?. The series also marks the first production from Disney Interactive's collaboration with YouTube to bring original family-friendly video series to the web.
Swampy's Underground Adventures consists of 12 episodes that will launch weekly, and treats viewers to original storylines around the imaginative and curious alligator, Swampy, in his quest of acceptance, friendship, and his adventures outside of the bathtub. In the premiere episode, "Meet Swampy," our star gets into mischief by mistaking a fire extinguisher for a rocket pack while trying to show off for his friend, Allie. But when he loses control and starts pin balling around the sewer, his super-heroics blow up in his face.
"Swampy's rise to stardom began on the App Store and now we're extending his story to online video and linear television," said Mark L. Walker, senior vice president of Disney Interactive Entertainment. "With Swampy's Underground Adventures we're able to offer fans of Where's My Water? a fun new look at the humor and personality behind Swampy and his friends."
To support the launch of Swampy's Underground Adventures, Disney is planning to showcase episodes of the new Where's My Water? series on in-store video screens in 175 Disney Stores across the U.S. on Saturday, October 20(th). The promotional campaign will also include special Where's My Water? giveaways such as activity sheets and stickers, in addition to a Swampy plush toy raffle for one lucky guest in attendance at each location.
Since making its debut on the App Store in September of 2011, Where's My Water? has been a global hit, reaching the No. 1 spot on the App Store in 90 different countries. The franchise also has broad support across The Walt Disney Company with the addition of a new merchandise line this year, a mobile game spin-off (Where's My Perry?), a special in-game integration inspired by Walt Disney World Resort water park, Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, and a recent movie partnership with Tim Burton's Frankenweenie (10 Days of Frankenweenie). Together, the Where's My Water? and Where's My Perry? apps have generated more than 100 million downloads worldwide.
About Disney Interactive
Disney Interactive, one of the world's largest creators of high-quality interactive entertainment across all platforms, is the part of The Walt Disney Company responsible for the global creation and delivery of interactive entertainment, multi-platform video games, and family-focused content across all current and emerging digital media platforms. Disney Interactive produces and distributes a broad portfolio of content from Disney Interactive Games and Disney Interactive Media. Products and content released and operated by Disney Interactive include blockbuster mobile, social and console games, online virtual worlds, #1 kid's entertainment destination Disney.com and the #1 Family/Parenting portfolio on the Web.
Disney Interactive is the interactive entertainment part of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS).
Contacts
Disney Interactive
Dana Henry Benson
310-849-2235
Dana.Henry@Disney.com
Ricoh Digital Imaging Services help turn documents into actionable information for agile decision making
Part of Ricoh's new Business Information Solutions portfolio, the services help organizations benefit from information volumes that can swamp other organizations
MALVERN, Pa., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Although organizations have no shortage of documents in 2012, information still remains frustratingly out of reach for knowledge workers making important decisions on the fly.
Ricoh Americas Corporation today detailed a potential antidote to this pervasive customer problem, Ricoh Digital Imaging Services. The solution portfolio can help customers more efficiently capture valuable information, integrate it into important workflows, and distribute it in the right form to the right person at the right time. It's among the first of Ricoh's new Business Information Solutions, which are aimed at solving some of the 21st century's most urgent business problems.
Ricoh Digital Imaging Services comprise a full spectrum of scanning, indexing, data capture and related services. Whether information starts on paper, microfilm, microfiche, aperture cards or unstructured data files, it's converted into useful, manageable and organized knowledge that employees can act on.
Ricoh offers unparalleled experience in imaging. The company provides imaging and related services to organizations small and large across nearly every sector and industry. The company has amassed a wealth of project management and engineering expertise as well as a world-class infrastructure in such key vertical markets as healthcare, financial services and higher education.
"Business information is useless if workers can't have it at their fingertips when they need it," said Dominic Pontrelli, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Ricoh Americas Corporation. "Too often, a worker knows that the information needed exists somewhere in the organization - on paper in someone's desk or in the archives - but that searching for it would be fruitless. Converting the information into a digital form enables an organization to extract the value of that previously elusive knowledge and achieve better business results. In this way, imaging is much more than a clerical task; it's a true business information solution."
To reveal promising opportunities, Ricoh maps organizations' information input, processing and output patterns and finds creative ways to make the workflow more efficient. Ricoh Digital Imaging Services can dramatically improve the information input phase, connecting previously buried information with powerful electronic workflows.
People, processes and technology
Ricoh Digital Imaging Services combine people processes and technology to probe customer challenges, design unique solutions and execute them with efficiency.
People. After analyzing an organization's analog and digital workflows, Ricoh's seasoned service professionals go to work to digitize information, eliminate redundancies, organize data and integrate it with electronic systems.
Process. Ricoh customers benefit from one of the nation's most complete and most technically advanced document processing center infrastructures. Paper, aperture cards, microfiche, roll microfilm and other documents are quickly scanned to transform unstructured data into valuable, useful information on a pay-by-volume basis. Ricoh can convert stored files and archives as well as incoming documents every day.
Technology. Customers can choose solutions for document scanning on their own site or at Ricoh's secure processing centers. Solutions employ a wide range of advanced technologies -- high-speed scanners, internally developed scanning software, bar codes, OCR, ICR, OMR, and automated indexing from a wide array of information sources and mediums. Ricoh easily handles virtually any image format, including TIFF, JPEG and PDF.
For details on Ricoh's full line of products, services and solutions, please visit http://www.ricoh-usa.com.
| About Ricoh |
Ricoh is a global technology company specializing in office imaging equipment, production print solutions, document management systems and IT services. Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in more than 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ending March 2012, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 1,903 billion yen (approx. 23 billion USD).
The majority of the company's revenue comes from products, solutions and services that improve the interaction between people and information. Ricoh also produces award-winning digital cameras and specialized industrial products. It is known for the quality of its technology, the exceptional standard of its customer service and sustainability initiatives.
Under its corporate tagline, imagine. change. Ricoh helps companies transform the way they work and harness the collective imagination of their employees.
PwC's Center for Board Governance Creates New Tool to Help Directors Oversee IT
User-friendly guide provides a roadmap for boards to navigate the complexities of IT and close the "IT confidence gap"
NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Overseeing a company's information technology activities is a significant concern for today's board directors, according to PwC US's Center for Board Governance. The rapid pace of change, complicated subject matter, and technical jargon used to describe emerging technology and associated risks make this a challenging area. This latest research from PwC concludes that some directors are not comfortable overseeing IT for several identified reasons, creating an "IT confidence gap." What can the board do to bridge this gap and more effectively oversee a company's information technology activities? PwC explains how in its new user-friendly board guide, "Directors and IT?What Works Best(TM)," released today.
"Through our daily interactions with boards of directors, we realized there was a huge appetite for IT guidance at the board level," said Mary Ann Cloyd, Leader of PwC's Center for Board Governance. "We built our oversight guide to address this problem."
In the guide, the Center introduces its "IT Oversight Framework," a six-step system that directors can follow to best meet their IT oversight responsibility. These easy-to-follow steps walk the board through a complete process. The guide also shares benchmarks and leading practices that are tailored based on how critical IT is to a company's particular business model and creating long-term shareholder value. For example, it provides data regarding:
-- The importance of IT to specific industries;
-- Which directors are currently involved in overseeing IT at the board
level;
-- The use of outside IT expertise by directors;
-- Board hours spent discussing IT;
-- Frequency of today's board communications with the CIO;
-- Director involvement with reviewing IT budgets; and
-- Perceived level of IT integration with risk and strategy oversight.
The second part of the guide offers supplemental reading, giving directors information to better understand IT subjects that they consider relevant to their respective companies. It provides background material, identifies potential rewards and risks, and summarizes what directors should focus on relative to the important issues that are currently top-of-mind among today's directors. The IT subjects included are:
-- Data security
-- Mobile computing
-- Data privacy
-- Social media
-- Cloud services
-- Business process reengineering
In addition, the guide includes a checklist to incorporate the IT Oversight Framework and a list of suggested questions for directors to ask management about the various technologies.
PwC's Center for Board Governance is a leading resource to enable directors to more effectively meet the challenges of their critical role. The Center promotes excellence in the boardroom by promoting leading governance practices and is dedicated to better enabling boards and audit committees to perform their important roles. To provide timely updates to board members, the Center publishes the Annual Corporate Directors Survey, quarterly To the point, monthly BoardroomDirect, and offers forums for directors to discuss current issues.
PwC firms help organizations and individuals create the value they're looking for. We're a network of firms in 158 countries with close to 169,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, tax and advisory services. Tell us what matters to you and find out more by visiting us at http://www.pwc.com.
CONTACT: Steven Silber, PwC US, +1-646-471-4059, steven.g.silber@us.pwc.com; or Krista Eccleston, Edelman, +1-212-704-4438, krista.eccleston@edelman.com