News

Provider of Online CRM, Web CRM and Small Business CRM Really Simple Systems Adds Built-in Mass Emailing to its Cloud CRM

LONDON, August 30, 2012/PRNewswire/ --

    - Online CRM, web CRM and small business CRM users will no longer have to use third
party emailing systems -

    Really Simple Systems - http://www.reallysimplesystems.com - one of the world's
largest providers of online CRM [http://www.reallysimplesystems.com/our-customers ], web
CRM and small business CRM [http://www.reallysimplesystems.com/pricing-options ] systems,
today launched a new extension to its Marketing module that includes all the online CRM
[http://www.reallysimplesystems.com/our-customers ], web CRM and small business CRM
[http://www.reallysimplesystems.com/pricing-options ] system mass emailing functionalities
that had traditionally only been provided by dedicated emailing systems.

    The new online CRM [http://www.reallysimplesystems.com/our-customers ], web CRM and
small business CRM [http://www.reallysimplesystems.com/pricing-options ] system emailing
functionality is part of Really Simple Marketing, the Marketing Module available in the
Enterprise Edition of Really Simple Systems online CRM
[http://www.reallysimplesystems.com/our-customers ], web CRM and small business CRM and
will be available free of charge to all existing Enterprise Edition customers.

    The new functionality within the online CRM, web CRM and small business CRM system
includes features such as:

   
    - Easy-to-use HTML editor
    - Standard and custom email templates
    - Image hosting
    - Multiple attachments
    - Personalization
    - Email scheduling for a specific date or over a period using DribbleMail(TM)
    - Tracking of opens and click-throughs from multiple links within the email
    - Unsubscribe and bounce handling
    - Spam score reporting; and clickable graphs and reports.

    John Paterson, CEO of online CRM, web CRM and small business CRM company, Really
Simple Systems, comments, "Our mission is to make CRM Simple and by bundling the mass
emailing functionality into the online CRM, web CRM and small business CRM system, we've
removed the complexity of trying to link the two applications together."

    David Hutter of Real Training, http://www.realtraining.co.uk, a provider of training
and testing services to the education industry, was a beta test user of Really Simple
Marketing from the online CRM, web CRM and small business CRM company. Hutter comments,
"We had been looking at using third party emailing systems like MailChimp, but the task of
moving data between the online CRM, web CRM and small business CRM and emailing system was
complicated and time-consuming. Integrating the two saves a huge amount of time and it is
really useful to see the emailing stats tie directly into the campaigns in the CRM
system."

    He continues, "Adding contacts to an emailing campaign can be done easily from within
the online CRM, web CRM and small business CRM system too and having an easy-to-use HTML
editor means that non-technical marketing people can easily set up new mailshots. We also
had an issue with data cleansing, and the automatic bounce handling has made a huge
improvement to our data quality."

    About Really Simple Systems

    Really Simple Systems Cloud CRM is aimed at small and medium sized organisations with
between 2 and 200 people who want a straightforward hosted CRM sales, marketing and
support system. The hosted model is particularly suitable for companies with multiple
locations and sales people who work remotely or at home.

    Really Simple Systems - winner at EuroCloud 2011, the Software Satisfaction Awards in
2008, 2010 and the Database Marketing Awards 2011 - is the largest European provider of
hosted CRM systems. Users include the Tumblr, Royal Academy of Arts, the British Museum,
the Red Cross, NHS and the Department for Environment as well as many small and medium
sized companies.

    http://www.reallysimplesystems.com

   
    For further information, please contact:
    Gemma Farmer
    Neo PR
    Tel +44(0)1296-733867
    http://www.neopr.co.uk

    John Paterson
    Really Simple Systems
    Tel +44(0)1730-823300
    http://www.reallysimplesystems.com

Source: Really Simple Systems

Badgeville and Acquia Partner to Deliver First Gamification Platform Capability for Thousands of Drupal Communities

Badgeville provides first gamification platform solution to be layered on top of Drupal, driving better user engagement and a stronger community.

MENLO PARK, Calif., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Badgeville, the #1 gamification and behavior management platform, today announced the launch of Badgeville for Drupal, the first integration to drive user generated content and other rich user behaviors on top of popular websites and online communities. With this announcement, Badgeville becomes the first gamification platform to offer a pre-packaged integration with Drupal, the leading open-source platform for building rich content, social and commerce experiences.

Badgeville for Drupal makes it easy to apply engagement mechanics on top of Drupal-powered websites. Badgeville for Drupal can drive and reward myriad behaviors, including starting discussion forums, writing and replying to blog posts, and commenting. By creating a more sticky experience on top of Drupal's rich content tools, companies leveraging Badgeville for Drupal can increase customer loyalty, satisfaction, and retention.

"Our Badgeville for Drupal integration helps us power The Nest, our social loyalty program for Mother Nature Network," says Hope Dlugozima, Vice President of the Mother Nature Network, an online media site delivering environmental and sustainability news. "By leveraging Badgeville to reward key Drupal behaviors -- such as our Green Blog posts, reader comments, and uploading videos -- we're able to inject a fun, engaging experience for our users who interact with content, helping generate repeat visits and a more loyal audience."

"This partnership with Badgeville lets Acquia customers create an even more exciting and engaging experience on top of their Drupal-powered communities," says Peter Guagenti, vice president of products at Acquia. "Badgeville's gamification platform is a natural extension of our Drupal Commons social business software, or any web experience built in Drupal. We have a number of customers who are using the two products together with great results, and we're excited for more customers to use this integration in the coming months."

"We're proud to deliver the first integration between our industry-leading gamification and behavior platform and Drupal," says Kris Duggan, Badgeville's CEO. "Drupal is a powerhouse in community software. In fact, we've chosen to deploy Drupal ourselves forThe Badgeville Community, using a combination of both Drupal and our capabilities. In addition to the dozens of Drupal deployments we already support, we believe our community provides a powerful demonstration of the two platforms working together."

Other customers that are layering gamification on top of their Drupal-powered communities include iVillage, Paypal's X.commerce, PropertyInvesting.com and more. Customers of Badgeville have seen massive increases in customer loyalty and employee engagement, including:

    --  500 percent increase in user comments
    --  140 percent growth in time on site
    --  20 percent increase in conversion rates
    --  60 percent increase in employee engagement
    --  25 percent acceleration in sales cycles
To enable Badgeville for Drupal, please contact sales@badgeville.com today.

About Badgeville

Badgeville, the #1 gamification and behavior management platform, enables companies in virtually every industry to influence and measure user behavior. World-class businesses in more than 20 countries use Badgeville's Behavior Platform, an award-winning Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution to increase customer loyalty, user engagement, and employee performance across an organization's websites, mobile apps and enterprise applications. With over 180 customers, Badgeville brings Game Mechanics, Reputation Mechanics, and Social Mechanics to industry leaders and innovators including Deloitte, EMC, Oracle, Autodesk, Bell Media, NBC, Universal Music, Recylebank, VMware, and more. Founded in 2010, Badgeville is based in Menlo Park, Calif. and has offices in New York and Europe. (To learn more follow @Badgeville or visit http://www.badgeville.com)

SOURCE  Badgeville

Badgeville

CONTACT: Sarah Hilmer, +1-719-634-1180, shilmer@sspr.com

Web Site: http://www.badgeville.com

Follett's new K12DigitalDecisions.com Website Helps Districts, Schools Navigate eReader Highway

'Which Comes First ... Content or Device?' Quandary Explored in Depth

MCHENRY, Ill., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Follett has sponsored a new website, K12DigitalDecisions.com, a timely and robust resource to help educators and districts navigate the eReader highway and answer the critical question, "Which Comes First ... Content or Device?"

Follett Library Resources and Follett Software, part of the Follett School and Library Group (FSLG) that also includes Follett Educational Services and Follett International - sponsored the website to serve as a one-stop resource for school and district librarians and administrators to find the information that will help them create the best digital strategy customized to their specific needs.

"It is clear that mobile learning provides tremendous opportunities for student engagement," said John Williams, director of digital products for Follett Library Resources. "Sorting through the wide variety of available mobile device strategies, however, is overwhelming to many of today's school leaders. To amplify the challenge, the pace of technological change is so rapid now that digital tools and resources are being developed faster than schools can evaluate their options for implementation."

When users sign up for the free digital diagnostic tool kit, the K12DigitalDecisions.com website will present a clear step-by-step process to help evaluate digital content resources, hardware needs, and understand content licensing terms. Ultimately, K12DigitalDecisions.com will enable districts and schools to connect the right digital tools to their desired learning outcomes.

The website also includes several insightful articles, including:

    --  Navigating the eReader Highway
    --  Purchase or Lease? Options for School Library eBook Acquisition
    --  One Tablet Per Child?
    --  eBooks and School Libraries
    --  Tips for BYOD K12 Programs
    --  Interactive eBook Apps: The Reinvention of Reading and Interactivity
    --  School Administrators Are More Open to Mobile Devices, Study Says
Whether it is sorting out the advantages and disadvantages of various mobile devices, such as commercially available dedicated eReaders, or learning how to compare and contrast various licensing agreements, K12DigitalDecisions.com addresses core digital issues with practical information to help educators make the best decisions for their school or district.

"We keep waiting for things to calm down with eBooks before we jump into them, and it's not going to happen," said Ann Fondren, library media coordinator, Spotsylvania County (Va.) Schools. "We're used to spending money on things that are going to last, and in the eBook market we have no idea what's coming down the road, but we can't afford to wait because our kids are missing out."

K12DigitalDecisions.com was unveiled at ISTE '12 in San Diego in late June, and Williams said the response only affirmed why Follett took the step to sponsor the website.

"We had people coming by the booth to tell us their schools and districts were immersed in the content/device quandary, and they were only too eager to delve into resources that could help them make the right decisions," Williams said. "We are confident K12DigitalDecisions.com is a positive step forward in that direction."

Visit http://www.K12DigitalDecisions.com to explore the new website.

For more information about Follett Library Resources, visit http://www.titlewave.com, or visit Follett Software Company at http://www.FollettSoftware.com

About Follett's PreK-12 Business
Follett is the largest provider of educational materials and technology solutions to PreK-12 libraries, classrooms, learning centers and school districts in the United States, and a major supplier to educational institutions worldwide. Follett distributes books, reference materials, digital resources, eBooks and audiovisual materials, as well as pre-owned textbooks. Follett also is one of the leading providers of integrated educational technology for the management of physical and digital assets, the tracking, storing and analyzing of academic data, and digital learning environment tools for the classroom focusing on student achievement.

About Follett
Follett Corporation is a $2.7 billion, privately held company that provides products, services and solutions to the educational marketplace. Follett Corporation was founded in 1873, and today is headquartered in River Grove, Illinois.

SOURCE  Follett

Follett

CONTACT: Doug Thompson, Thompson Drake Public Relations, +1-541-322-9345 (office), +1-541-419-4471 (cell), doug@thompsondrake.com

Web Site: http://www.K12DigitalDecisions.com

RedSky E911 Solutions Now Available through Avaya DevConnect Select Product Program

Innovative E911 software and nationwide 9-1-1 call routing solutions can be ordered directly from Avaya and its resellers

CHICAGO, Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- RedSky Technologies, Inc., the leading provider of on-premise and cloud-based E911 solutions, today announced that its portfolio of E911 location management software and nationwide 9-1-1 call routing solutions will be sold through the Avaya Select Product Program. 

The Avaya Select Product Program offers customers a streamlined way to order Avaya-compatible, third-party applications chosen for the powerful capabilities they bring to Avaya's portfolio.

"RedSky's acceptance into the Select Product Program is the next logical step in our long-standing relationship with Avaya and their customers," says Nick Maier, senior vice president, RedSky. "RedSky was the first E911 solution provider rated Avaya compliant and we have been collaborating with Avaya and participating in the Avaya DevConnect program for more than 10 years. We're especially proud to have been chosen DevConnect Member of the Year, Avaya's highest recognition for technology partners."

The RedSky E911 solutions offered through the program have been compliance-tested for compatibility with Avaya Aura and can easily be purchased through both Avaya and Avaya resellers. Customers can add specific capabilities to their existing Avaya platform or can source a complete Avaya-based communications solution that incorporates RedSky's on-premise or cloud-based E911 solutions. 

One customer, Fairfax County Government, has deployed RedSky's E911 Manager® across its Avaya voice platform of 15,000 endpoints in more than 80 locations across the county. "We have been extremely pleased with the performance and stability of the product, and continue to be impressed with the ongoing support we get," says Jerome D. Craig, senior telecommunications engineer, Fairfax County. "RedSkyand Avaya have provided Fairfax County with a seamless integrated solution for day-to-day communications and for precise employee location information in case of an emergency."

Streamlined ordering through the Avaya Select Product Program is available in the U.S. initially, and expected to expand globally during 2012. Delivery, implementation, service and support are provided by Select Product Program companies.

About RedSky
RedSky is the leading provider of on-premise and cloud-based E911 solutions with more customers, more technology, and more experience than any other provider. More than a million workers, students, guests and visitors rely on RedSky for E911 protection. RedSky leverages legacy standards as well as the new National Emergency Number Association (NENA) i3 standards for Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) to help organizations provide effective 9-1-1 emergency response, comply with state E911 regulations and meet business requirements for safety, risk management and efficiency. For more information, visit http://www.redskyE911.com.

About Avaya
Avaya is a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, providing unified communications, contact centers, networking and related services to companies of all sizes around the world. For more information please visit http://www.avaya.com.

SOURCE  RedSky Technologies, Inc.

RedSky Technologies, Inc.

CONTACT: Dave Wallinga, RedSky, +1-312-829-8383 ext. 26, media@redskytech.com

Web Site: http://www.redskyE911.com

Beazley Announces Major Enhancements to its Suite of Products Designed to Help Businesses Respond Effectively to Data Breaches

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Beazley has unveiled major enhancements to its highly successful Beazley Breach Response (BBR) product.  Launched over three years ago, BBR has gained widespread recognition as the most comprehensive and effective solution available to the often challenging task of responding successfully to a data breach.  BBR was the first such offering to include a separate limit of coverage for breach response services, and Beazley recently announced the creation of BBR Services, a dedicated business unit to help clients manage data breaches successfully - again a first in the insurance industry.

The latest product enhancements include support for the victims of data breaches in the form of sophisticated credit monitoring and identity monitoring provided by Experian Data Breach Resolution.  For a breach involving the compromise of personal information, BBR clients now may choose to offer notified individuals either:

    --  Experian's ProtectMyID(®) identity protection tools, as well as Family
        Secure(®)( )monitoring products available for any minors involved in a
        breach; or
    --  DataPatrol(TM), an Internet based data monitoring service provided by
        Experian(®).  Every month DataPatrol monitors millions of unsecure web
        pages to detect lost or stolen personal and financial information that
        may put affected individuals at risk of identity fraud.
In addition, Beazley has introduced a number of further enhancements to BBR:

    --  The attorney services retention for privacy breach response services has
        been lowered to $5,000, making it easier for BBR clients to access
        Beazley's panel of legal counsel (firms selected for their deep
        experience in data breach laws and regulations).  This retention
        previously stood at between $10,000 and $20,000.
    --  Coverage is now offered for up to 5,000,000 customer notifications in
        the event of a data breach involving personally identifiable data.  The
        previous limit was 4,000,000 notifications.
    --  Retail and hospitality organizations with revenues of up to $4 billion
        will qualify now for BBR.  (The previous ceiling was $3 billion).
With these enhancements, clients can customize BBR to their own specific needs, with notification limits available from 250,000 to 5,000,000 and a separate limit of liability for third party claims available from $1 million to $15 million.  For smaller organizations, the BBR Select product also offers lower notification and liability limits.

Mike Donovan, head of the technology, media and business services team at Beazley, which underwrites BBR, said:

"Since its successful introduction over three years ago, we have continually developed and enhanced our breach response product to help our clients keep pace with evolving breach exposures.  These new coverage enhancements - combined with the creation of BBR Services - will ensure that our clients have instant access to the services they need to safeguard their reputations in the event of a breach."

Note to editors:

Beazley plc (BEZ.L), is the parent company of specialist insurance businesses with operations in Europe, the US, Asia and Australia.  Beazley manages five Lloyd's syndicates and, in 2011, underwrote gross premiums worldwide of $1,712.5 million.  All Lloyd's syndicates are rated A by A.M. Best.

Beazley's underwriters in the United States focus on writing a range of specialist insurance products.  In the admitted market, coverage is provided by Beazley Insurance Company, Inc., an A.M. Best A rated carrier licensed in all 50 states.  In the surplus lines market, coverage is provided by the Beazley syndicates at Lloyd's.

Beazley is a market leader in many of its chosen lines, which include professional indemnity, property, marine, reinsurance, accident and life, and political risks and contingency business.

For more information please go to: http://www.beazley.com

For updated security breach notification laws visit http://www.beazley.com/databreachmap

About Experian Data Breach Resolution

Experian(®) is a leader in the data breach resolution industry and one of the first companies to develop products and services that address this critical issue. As an innovator in the field, Experian has a long-standing history of providing swift and effective data breach resolution for thousands of organizations, having serviced millions of affected consumers. For more information on the Experian Data Breach Resolution division at ConsumerInfo.com, Inc. and how it enables organizations to plan for and successfully mitigate data breach incidents, visit http://www.experian.com/databreach.

SOURCE  Beazley plc

Beazley plc

CONTACT: Mike Donovan, Beazley Group, +1-415-263-4050

Web Site: http://www.beazley.com

Newly-launched Graphics Card on Sale Today at Currys and PC World

LONDON, August 30, 2012/PRNewswire/ --

          Highly anticipated Nvidia GeForce GTX 660Ti graphics card offers die-hard

                          gamers the ultimate gaming experience.

    The highly anticipated, newly-launched Nvidia GeForce GTX 660Ti graphics card is on
sale at Currys and PC World, the UK's leading electrical retailers, from today.

    The Nvidia GeForce GTX 660Ti graphics card offers gamers the ultimate gaming
experience. Designed to significantly improve a computer's
[http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/desktop-pc-monitors/desktop-pcs-706-c.html ] operating
performance, it comes equipped with the GK104 chip, which boasts 1344 cores, 24 ROPs
(Render Output Units), 112 TMUs (Texture Mapping Units) and a 192-bit memory interface,
which converts to 2GBs of memory. This offers plenty of leeway for the discerning
'overclocker' (overclocking refers to users operating their computer at a higher spec than
originally stipulated).

    The Nvidia card runs at a respectable 915MHz but increases to a whopping 980MHz once
its booster capability begins to kick in. The GTX660Ti also uses the impressive Kepler
architecture featured with previous GPU models.

    Computer buffs at Nvidia claim the GTX 660Ti will hit every gamer's sweet spot because
of the relative price combined with the high operating performance. The Graphics
Processing Unit (GPU) comes jam-packed with all the key tech benefits which made the GTX
660Ti's predecessors, the GTX 680 and GTX 670, both commercially successful. The GTX
6660Ti is sure to have gamers salivating at the mouth as staggering visuals bring video
games to life on gaming laptops
[http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops-703-c.html ] and desktops, and
state-of-the-art features take the overall gaming experience to a vivid new level.

    Currys and PC World are offering Nvidia's latest graphics card at GBP249.99, complete
with a free copy of hotly-anticipated First Person Shooter/Role-Playing game Borderlands
2*. The game is also free with purchases of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 660Ti Overclocked
Edition graphics card.

    The GeForce GTX660Ti can be slotted into any Central Processing Unit (CPU) - CPUs
driving desktop computers and touch-screen laptops
[http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops-315-c.html ] alike.

    For more information, please visit the Currys and PC World websites (
http://www.currys.co.uk and http://www.pcworld.co.uk).

    *Free copy of Borderlands 2 for PC only on selected NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660Ti cards

    About Currys and PC World:
Currys and PC World are part of Dixons Retail plc. With over 1,200 stores and online
services spanning 28 countries, Dixons is widely acknowledged as one of Europe's leading
specialist electrical retailing groups. Dixons employs over 38,000 people and provides
top-quality training to ensure their personnel can provide amazing customer service on
products ranging from televisions to ovens to computers and dishwashing machines.

Source: Currys

Andrea San Pedro / +44(0)20-7544-3686 / andrea.sanpedro@mcsaatchi.com; Leigh-Anne Leonce / +44(0)20-7544-4741 / leigh-anne.leonce@mcsaatchi.com

Walmart Announces New Search Engine to Power Walmart.com

Semantic Search Technology Increases Shopper Conversion Rate

SAN BRUNO, Calif., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Walmart today announced a new search engine for Walmart.com to help millions of shoppers browse, discover and purchase items in an easy, fast and intuitive manner.  Built from the ground up by @WalmartLabs, the research and technology hub for innovation at Walmart, the engine uses semantic search technology to anticipate the intent of a shopper's search to deliver highly relevant results for them.  Walmart.com has already seen an approximate 10-15 percent increase in shoppers completing a purchase after searching for a product using the new search engine. 

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101115/DA01204LOGO)

Named Polaris, the new search engine was developed by a small team within @WalmartLabs and completed in ten months.  The group includes experts in information retrieval, machine learning and text mining with experience from top search and e-commerce companies and renowned research institutions. Over the past few months, Walmart.com has migrated the site over to Polaris and it is now fully powered by the search engine.  Polaris is also used for mobile search and will expand to power the company's international e-commerce sites over the coming months.

"Search is a crown jewel for any e-commerce company to own," said Neil Ashe, president and CEO of Walmart Global eCommerce.  "Today's announcement underscores our commitment to owning technology that is fundamental in giving our millions of customers anytime, anywhere access to the products they want at the lowest prices."

"With Polaris, we are giving users the ability to connect with the items they want but also surface items based on their interests and likely intent," said Sri Subramaniam, vice president for @WalmartLabs and head of the Polaris initiative. "This is the start of what we imagine search to be as we continue to deliver products to accelerate Walmart's global e-commerce efforts."

Searching for a shopping result is very different from conducting a general search.  Polaris is based on the Social Genome project, a platform that connects people to places, events and products giving Walmart a richer level of understanding about customers and products.  The new search engine uses advanced algorithms including query understanding and synonym mining to glean user intent in delivering results.  When a user types in the word "denim," it returns results on jeans or "chlorine tablets" returns results related to pool equipment.

Polaris focuses on engagement understanding, which takes into account how a user is behaving with the site to surface the best results for them.  It delivers a new and intuitive results page when browsing for topics instead of giving a standard list of search results allowing shoppers to discover new items they may not have considered.  When a user types in "patio furniture," they get a colorful page with multiple patio set options for the backyard along with a banner showing featured items on sale.

The @WalmartLabs team continues to evolve Polaris and is working on new advances that will be rolled into Walmart.com.  It is the latest innovation from @WalmartLabs.  In the past year, the group has created Shopycat, a social gift finder; Classrooms by Walmart, a program to make back-to-school shopping easer; Get on the Shelf, a crowdsourcing contest to unearth new products for Walmart; and Social Media Analytics, tools that use social chatter to select items to be carried by Walmart.

About Walmart

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at over 10,000 retail units under 69 different banners in 27 countries. With fiscal year 2012 sales of $444 billion, Walmart employs 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmartnewsroom. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.  @WalmartLabs information is available at http://www.walmartlabs.com.

SOURCE  Walmart

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101115/DA01204LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Walmart

CONTACT: Walmart Media Relations, 1-800-331-0085, http://walmartstores.com/reporter

Web Site: http://corporate.walmart.com

Razer Launches Aviation Design-Inspired Gaming Headset

Razer BlackShark is Locked, Loaded and Ready for Take-off

SEATTLE, Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- PAX Prime -- Razer­(TM), the world leader in high-performance gaming hardware and software, today announced the addition of the Razer BlackShark Stereo Gaming Headset. Inspired by tactical aviator headsets and armed with total audio immersion, Razer's newest piece of audio hardware comes as a Razer-branded version of the popular Battlefield 3( )Razer BlackShark, a headset that the company developed from the ground up for the Battlefieldfranchise and released earlier this year at E3.

Designed to look and feel like the headsets worn by attack helicopter pilots, the Razer-green accented BlackShark is your battle-ready solution for powerful, immersive PC gaming audio. The Razer BlackShark delivers superior sound isolation, with full circumaural ear cups.  The headset is built with memory foam ear cushions that mold to the shape of your ears for maximum comfort over extended use, making the Razer BlackShark the most vital weapon for your total PC gaming and music enjoyment.

Whether blocking out the loud noise made by a deadly attack helicopter, the construction work just outside the home or any other ambient sounds, gamers will hear nothing but the sweet, immersive sounds of ownage, destruction and victory.

Gamers interested in a versatile headset on-the-go need look no further. Detach the microphone boom and take the lightweight headphones with you for a stylish audio solution. The BlackShark plugs directly into any device with a 3.5mm audio jack, offering compatibility with nearly every audio device on the market today.

"Soldiers in intense combat situations need to be fully focused with minimal distractions to take the objectives successfully and come out alive.  The same goes for gamers seeking the win - and that's what the Razer BlackShark gaming headset was built to deliver," said Robert "RazerGuy" Krakoff, president of Razer USA. "When you stop gaming to get out and about, detach the boom microphone and you've got the perfect sound-isolating headphones for your audio on-the-go."

ABOUT THE RAZER BLACKSHARK GAMING HEADSET:

With a sleek aluminum design and green accents, the Razer BlackShark brings forth extreme comfort for long, extended missions and top-notch sound isolation. The circumaural design and leatherette sealant of the headset's ear cups, block out all unwanted, ambient noise and allows players to only hear the awesome, intense audio of their games and music. The Razer BlackShark's detachable boom microphone and audio / mic splitter adapter cable make this a highly versatile headset, at home both at a gaming setup and out on the streets for music playback.  Go from immersive gaming audio and smack-talking foes at your desktop to listening to your music out and about in seconds.

Price:

US $119.99 / EU EUR119.99

Availability:

Razerzone.com - September 2012

Worldwide - September 2012

Product features:

    --  Stereo sound with enhanced bass
    --  Sound-isolating circumaural ear cup design
    --  Detachable boom microphone for voice chat or added mobility
    --  Audio / mic splitter adapter cable
    --  Memory foam leatherette ear cushions for maximum comfort
    --  40mm neodymium magnet stereo drivers
Technical Specifications:
Drivers: 40mm neodymium magnets with copper-clad aluminum voice coil

Frequency response: 20Hz - 20KHz

Impedance: 29 ohm

Sensitivity @ 1KHz: 105dB +/- 3 dB

Input power: 50mW

Cable:  1.3m rubber sheathed

Connector: 3.5 mm gold-plated audio + mic combined jack

Microphone:
Frequency response:  50Hz - 16KHz

Signal-to-noise ratio:  50dB

Sensitivity @ 1KHz:  -37 dB +/- 4dB

Pick-up pattern:  Unidirectional

Audio Usage

    --  Devices with 3.5mm audio jack
Audio + Microphone Usage

    --  Devices with 3.5mm audio + mic combined jack OR separate 3.5mm jacks for
        audio and line-in. (Works with all portable audio/mobile/computing
        devices including the iPod, iPhone, iPad, Kindle Fire, Android phones,
        Razer Blade, Macbook Pro, and today's newer Ultrabooks.)
Audio / Mic Splitter Adapter Usage

    --  Devices with separate 3.5mm audio and microphone jacks (Works with most
        laptop and desktop computers)
For more information about the Razer BlackShark, please visit http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-blackshark.

Razer BlackShark images:
Black background
White background
Transparent background

ABOUT THE RAZER GROUP:

Razer(TM) is the world leader in high-performance gaming hardware. Founded in 1998, with its headquarters in Carlsbad, California, the company has offices in nine cities around the globe.  Used by the most demanding professional gamers who compete in global tournaments, Razer provides gamers with the unfair advantage of cutting-edge technology and award-winning design. We live by our motto: For Gamers. By Gamers(TM).

Learn more at http://www.razerzone.com

SOURCE  Razer Group

Razer Group

CONTACT: USA, Kevin Scarpati, Kevin.Scarpati@razerzone.com, or Europe, Timo Helmke, Timo.Helmke@razerzone.com, or Asia Pacific, Jarieul Wong, Jarieul.Wong@razerzone.com, or China, Chris Chen, Chris.Chen@razerzone.com

Web Site: http://www.razerzone.com

NComputing First-to-Market With HDX Ready System-on-Chip Thin Clients to Transform Citrix Deployments Globally

REDWOOD CITY, California, August 30, 2012/PRNewswire/ --

    NComputing [http://www.ncomputing.com ], the world leader in end-to-end desktop
virtualization solutions, today announced that its breakthrough N-series product line is
now verified as HDX Ready for Citrix XenApp(TM), Citrix XenDesktop(R), and Citrix
VDI-in-a-Box(TM). A result of NComputing's work with Citrix to support the HDX Ready
System-on-Chip initiative, the N-series devices, purpose-built for HDX, are both
first-to-market and deliver disruptive price/performance compared to existing HDX Ready
devices which are significantly higher in cost. All N-series products are available from
Citrix resellers around the world.

    "System-on-a-chip based solutions like the ones offered by NComputing can disrupt the
economics of thin clients for Citrix environments by offering a high-quality desktop
experience with a very low-priced client" -said Bob O'Donnell, vice president at IDC.
"Organizations that are eager to take on desktop virtualization but have been concerned
about client costs now have a viable new alternative that they can use to drive important
transformations within their IT organization."

    A recent study by Cowen and Company[1] stated that declining thin client costs is now
a top-3 enabler for customer adoption of desktop virtualization. NComputing is seeing this
trend validated by accelerating market traction from customers and partners. Examples of
commitments already made at scale include:

   
    - 1,400-seat deployment with a large health care organization in Europe
    - 500-seat project with a major retail organization and a 230-seat project with
      an important energy player, both in Latin America
    - 500-seat project with a large university in India and with several prestigious
      universities across Europe

    In addition, Citrix partners globally are investing in the NComputing advantage.
Examples of this commitment are the following:

    Said Rick Fasino, VP of Solutions Development at MTM, a leading Citrix Platinum
Partner in North America, "MTM has been in the virtual application and desktop market for
nearly two decades, and NComputing has produced something we've never seen before: a
device that provides a high performance end user experience at a price point that is
unprecedented. This is the definition of value. With the increasing trends of VDI,
application virtualization, mobile computing, and BYOD, the timing couldn't better."

    Said Stewart Constantine, Business Development Manager at e92 in the UK, "The
NComputing N-series devices are not only a terrific piece of technology, but they address
a key pain point within my customer organizations. Because they deliver the full HDX
experience at a much lower price without any compromise in performance, customers are able
to spend IT budgets more wisely and for more business impact."

    Said Dario Torres of Datco, a Citrix Gold Solution Advisor in Latin America, "for one
of our customers, the high performance of the N400 and N500 allows the deployment to
perform even where connectivity is challenging and connections are over satellite. We are
impressed by the performance and the cost advantages yield benefits to everyone involved."

    All three N-series devices are now verified as HDX Ready: the N400 targeted for task
workers, the N500 targeted for knowledge workers and providing client-side rendering and
other higher-end capabilities, and the N500w which offers a wireless option. These
NComputing devices are now shipping and are purpose-built to support Citrix desktop
virtualization solutions - XenDesktop, XenApp, and VDI-in-a-Box, any deployment model -
whether assigned virtual desktops or other shared computing models. These devices leverage
a "silicon up" approach based on NComputing's own Numo(TM) 3 SoC that radically changes
what a thin client can deliver.

    "In 2011, Citrix threw out the challenge to the industry to help transform the
performance and economics of desktop virtualization leveraging Citrix HDX technologies,"
said Chris Fleck, vice president, Mobility Solutions and Alliances at Citrix. "NComputing
accepted the challenge to deliver new products that leverage HDX technology to provide
customers a low-cost and high-performance thin client for their virtual desktop
environments."

    HDX Ready verification information for each product can be found at the following
locations:

    N400: http://www.citrix.com/ready/partners/ncomputing/products/n400

    N500: http://www.citrix.com/ready/partners/ncomputing/products/n500

    N500w: http://www.citrix.com/ready/partners/ncomputing/products/n500w

    More information about the devices is at
http://www.ncomputing.com/products/nseries.

    Tweet This: @NComputing first-to-market with HDX Ready SoC devices; N-Series devices
verified as @Citrix HDX Ready http://bit.ly/Twauku #VDI

    [1]Cowen Desktop Virtualization Global Reseller Survey, June 22, 2012

    About NComputing

    NComputing, Inc. is the fastest growing desktop virtualization company in the world
with over 20 million daily users in 140 countries. The company's award-winning, patented
technology lowers desktop computing costs, improves manageability, and reduces both energy
consumption and e-waste. It is the perfect solution for leveraging the power and potential
of PCs and cloud computing. To learn more about NComputing, visit
http://www.ncomputing.com.

Source: NComputing Inc

Media Contact: Nancy Robbins, Senior Manager, Media and Analyst Relations, NComputing, Inc., Email: nrobbins@ncomputing.com, Tel: +1-650-594-5800

Truphone Establishes Technology Center in New Jersey to Support Company's Expansion in U.S.

Broader nationwide presence enables delivery of innovative mobile services for business customers

NEWARK, N.J., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Truphone, the pioneering international mobile communications company, today announced the establishment of a Technology Center.  The New Jersey center complements Truphone's United States headquarters in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120127/LA43016LOGO)

The technology center is led by Ed Guy, Ph.D., Vice President of Engineering, and Chris Celiberti, Vice President of Business Engineering. They and their staff of computer and communications engineers are responsible for developing innovative mobile services for the global business market. Both report to Truphone founder and Chief Technology Officer James Tagg.

Located in the Enterprise Development Center at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark, the Truphone technology center initially consists of a staff of 12, many of whom are NJIT graduates. 

Guy, who has worked with Truphone since the company's earliest days, designed and led the implementation of its network as it evolved from a mobile VoIP provider into a full-fledged global mobile operator capable of connecting voice, data and text messaging to more than 200 countries.

Guy developed the original architecture for many of today's VoIP systems and is author of patents and essential documents that specify how the Internet works. "Our mission is to develop Truphone's patent portfolio and turn these into new and innovative services that people need, can't live without, and can't obtain elsewhere," he said.

Tagg said: "We are seeing incredible demand for Truphone's solutions from U.S.-based multi-nationals, and we are expanding our U.S. operations and engineering staff to meet that demand and add to our innovation portfolio. International business travelers want to stay connected on the road. Truphone allows them to do just that, with the same mobile phone experience they enjoy at home but without fear of bill shock when they roam internationally."

Mobile users who switch to Truphone no longer need to carry multiple phones, change SIM cards or stop using their phones when traveling. Truphone offers a complete solution for use at home and abroad.

Founded by Tagg, Truphone began on a farm in Kent, U.K., in 2006 with a handful of people and a big idea to break down the barriers to effective global mobile communications. Now, with global headquarters in London, and additional operations in Australia, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Portugal and the U.S., the company has grown to employ approximately 350 people worldwide.

Truphone initially gained attention in 2006 with the introduction of the world's first mobile VoIP application. In 2007, it made history by demonstrating the first VoIP application on the Apple iPhone before launching a string of industry firsts starting in 2008 with applications for Apple's iPhone, iPad and the Google Android line of smartphones. Truphone has since expanded its offerings to include GSM-based voice, text and data mobile services, which will soon be available in the United States.

About Truphone
Truphone is a global mobile operator, helping people and businesses around the world stay connected, wherever they may be.

About NJIT's EDC
Since 1988, the Enterprise Development Center (EDC) operated by New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has been instrumental in the development and the commercialization of High Tech and Life Science companies. Residence at the EDC is open to venture and expansion companies that have, or will have, proprietary technology as a significant source of revenue.

SOURCE  Truphone

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120127/LA43016LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Truphone

CONTACT: Jim Byrnes on behalf of Truphone, +1-610-248-5053, jbyrnes@comunicano.com

Web Site: http://www.truphone.com

Cars.com Heads Back to the Big Game with Super Bowl XLVII Ad Buy

CHICAGO, Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cars.com, the premier online resource for buying and selling new and used vehicles, announced today that it is heading back as an advertiser in Super Bowl XLVII. With one 30-second spot, Cars.com joins an elite group of brands advertising in the Big Game for six consecutive years. 

"Commercials during the Big Game have proven to be very highly anticipated, so there is no better platform to start the year off with an all-new campaign," said Linda Bartman, Vice President of Marketing for Cars.com. "Year after year, the Super Bowl has afforded us the opportunity to showcase Cars.com in a powerful way, giving us a significant boost to our brand, and this year we expect to see even greater results when we unveil our latest brand campaign."

The 30-second spot and full campaign will be the first work released by mcgarrybowen for Cars.com, who was named the site's agency of record in May of this year. Cars.com has long offered car shoppers the confidence they need to make the right decisions when buying a new car. In the new campaign, Cars.com will show how the site's tools make car shopping a great experience.

"Buying a car is the second largest purchase most people will ever make," said Bartman. "Car shoppers often indicate that they feel stressed during the process, so our new campaign taps into this insight and highlights the tools that Cars.com offers to help take the stress out of car shopping."

ABOUT CARS.COM

Cars.com is an award-winning online destination for car shoppers that offers information from consumers and experts to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how much to pay for a car. Cars.com offers thousands of new and used vehicle listings, consumer reviews, side-by-side comparison tools, photo galleries, videos, unbiased editorial content and many other tools. Cars.com put millions of car buyers in control of their shopping process with the information they need to make confident buying decisions. Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures LLC, which is owned by leading media companies, including A.H. Belo (NYSE: AHC), Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI), Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).

SOURCE  Cars.com

Cars.com

CONTACT: Ethan Hertzberg, +1-312-601-5685

Web Site: http://www.cars.com

New Comply(TM) Foam Plugs Cut the Intensity without Compromising the Listening Experience

Acoustic baffling and high-pass filter design revolutionize the sound experience without distorting sound quality and damaging hearing

OAKDALE, Minn., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Addressing the need for comfortable ear plugs that cut the intensity of surrounding sound levels without compromising the quality of the sound, Hearing Components has introduced the Comply(TM) Foam Plugs. A natural extension of the Comply(TM) brand, the plugs are ideally suited for the concert goer and frequent traveler alike. With a similar feel to Comply(TM) Foam Tips, the plugs are available online at http://www.complyfoam.com for $19.95.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120830/CG65701)

Unlike traditional ear plugs currently used by concert-goers, event spectators and musicians that distort the sound by "muffling" the mid and high frequencies, Comply(TM) Foam Plugs use acoustic baffling and high-pass filters to even out the sound blocking across the entire frequency spectrum. As a result, the user experiences hi-fidelity retention along with a noise reduction rating of 15dB.

For the traveler, the Comply(TM) Foam Plug design dampens the sounds associated with airplane, rail and transit travel without inhibiting the user's ability to hear announcements.

Recognizing that comfort and personal fit are important elements as well, the plugs leverage the popular Comply(TM) foam tip that holds the plugs securely in place while lowering noise isolation to allow outside sounds in.

"Those of us who use them know how distracting most ear plugs can be," says Steve Thompson, director of sales and marketing for Hearing Components. "Beyond the muffled sound, they are uncomfortable and cumbersome but most of all don't stay in place for any length of time. We've designed the Comply(TM) Foam Plugs with the idea that you'll forget you're wearing them and simply enjoy the moment."

Made with high-tech, viscoelastic polyurethane foam, the Comply Foam Plugs are 30-times softer than silicone tips. The heat-sensitive, breathable foam conforms to the dynamic shape of the ear canal and maintains a proper seal even when the individual is singing along at their favorite concert, celebrating a buzz beating goal or just relaxing on a plane enjoying an inflight meal.

The patented technology behind Comply(TM) Foam Plugs is unrivaled. With engineering based on knowledge of ear-canal structure and with innovative memory-foam technology, Comply(TM) products dramatically enhance the listening experience.

Available online at http://www.complyfoam.com for $19.95 U.S. (plus shipping and handling), each Comply(TM) Foam Plugs package includes one pair of plugs, 2 pairs of Comply Foam Tips T-100 and a cinch travel pouch.

For more information about the Comply(TM) Foam Plugs and the full line of Comply(TM) products visit http://www.complyfoam.com.

For More Information:

    --  Comply(TM) Foam Tips Website: http://www.complyfoampro.com
    --  Comply(TM) Foam Plugs Webpage:
        http://www.complyfoam.com/products/comply-foam-plugs/

About Hearing Components
Comply((TM)) Foam Tips, Comply(TM) Canal Tips, Noise Reduction Earphones, and Whoomp!((TM)) Earbud Enhancers are manufactured and sold by Hearing Components, a 3M spin-off founded in 1990 by Dr. Robert Oliveira. The patented technology was developed through several grants by the National Institutes of Health to improve and protect hearing. In addition to applications in law enforcement and public safety, the technology is currently used in military communications, industrial high-noise environments, consumer electronics, hearing aids and in commercial aviation. Hearing Components is located in the Twin Cities suburb of Oakdale, Minnesota. For more information visit http://www.complyfoam.com

SOURCE  Hearing Components

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120830/CG65701
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Hearing Components

CONTACT: Eva Keiser, The Plural I, +1-612-940-4254, eva@theplurali.com; or Steve Thompson, Hearing Components, +1-651-797-7315, sthompson@complyfoam.com

Web Site: http://www.complyfoam.com

Hearst Television Launches Free "Election 2012" App For iPhone, Android

NEW YORK, Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Hearst Television Inc., parent of one of the country's largest television station groups, has launched an "Election 2012" app featuring up-to-the-minute and in-depth election-related national content as well as content from the company's news stations in 25 markets stretching from Portland, Maine to Honolulu.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120830/NY65683-INFO )

The advertising-supported Election 2012 app is available for free in the iTunes Store for iPhone users and the Google Play Store for Android users.

Among the features of the "Election 2012" app:

    --  A friendly interface enabling users to browse local election and
        political coverage - including articles, slideshows, and videos - from a
        selection of local stations;
    --  Local "Voters' Guides" with information such as deadlines on voter
        registration, polling locations, candidate biographies, and candidates'
        positions on issues;
    --  A "count-down clock" to election day;
    --  Electoral College map;
    --  A featured "photo of the day";
    --  The ability to upload user-generated content;
    --  Facebook integration; and
    --  Live election-night video, continuous news and commentary updates, and
        election results.
Each station's local content is fed to the app using the content management system of Hearst Television partner company Internet Broadcasting.

The Election 2012 app is the latest feature of Hearst Television's Commitment 2012election-coverage project, a renewal of the Company's biannual election-coverage efforts which began with Commitment 2000 and which have earned a Peabody Award and multiple USC Annenberg Walter Cronkite Awards.  Other features of Commitment 2012 include "12 in 12" - a pledge of a minimum 12 minutes' airtime for daily political news and candidate-discourse coverage - and an exclusive partnership with PolitiFact, the Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking website of the Tampa Bay Times.

"This app should come in handy not only for voters in the 25 Hearst Television news markets, but for any political observer interested in the latest developments in closely contested presidential-election states like Florida, Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - and in states hosting tight Senate races, like Massachusetts - in all of which states Hearst Television has leading news stations and websites," said Roger Keating, Senior Vice President of Hearst Television Inc.

About Hearst Television

Hearst Television, a national multi-media company, owns and operates 29 local television stations and two local radio stations, serving 30 U.S. cities and reaching approximately 18% of U.S. television households.  The TV stations broadcast 60 video channels, featuring local and national news, weather, information, sports and entertainment programming, and local community service-oriented programs.  The stations also host and operate digital on-line and mobile platforms that extend the company's brands and content to local, national and international audiences.  Hearst Television is recognized as one of the industry's premier companies, and has been honored with numerous awards for distinguished journalism, industry innovation, and community service.  Hearst Television is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst Corporation.  The Company's Web address is http://www.hearsttelevision.com.

SOURCE  Hearst Television Inc.

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120830/NY65683-INFO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Hearst Television Inc.

CONTACT: Tom Campo, Campo Communications, LLC, +1-212-590-2464, Tom@CampoComm.com

Web Site: http://www.hearsttelevision.com

Rapid Fire Marketing's Cheryl Shuman Recreates Marijuana Dispensary for Wilfred on FX Network

CANNAcig featured as a prop on FX Network Hit Show 'Wilfred'

LOS ANGELES and CARSON CITY, Nev., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Rapid Fire Marketing (Pink Sheets: RFMK) announced today that company  spokesperson, Cheryl Shuman, returns for Season Two as the marijuana expert on the FX Hit Show Wilfred.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120830/LA65670)

Wilfred is based on the critically acclaimed Australian series of the same title and was adapted for FX by David Zuckerman (Family Guy, American Dad, King of the Hill).  Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings) stars as "Ryan" and Jason Gann, who co-created and starred in the Australian series, plays the title character "Wilfred."

Wilfred tells the story about a "pot smoking" dog and adventures with Elijah Wood (Ryan), a legal medical marijuana patient.

Known as the "Martha Stewart of Marijuana", Shuman brings 25 years of experience as the "cannabis expert" on the show hired to produce authentic scenes for the "Marijuana Dispensary" recreated from her very own "Beverly Hills Cannabis Club", complete with props including the CANNAcig and other products by GotVape.com.

Combining the worlds of the $1.7 billion cannabis industry and celebrity, Wilfred is seen as a pioneer in introducing marijuana use to be discussed openly like any other topic at the dinner table and water coolers around the world.

"I placed the CANNAcig's fate in the hands of Director Randall Einhorn. While we have no creative control on the final cut of the show, the CANNAcig being used as a prop in 'Wilfred' is a big step in exposure of the brand. The CANNAcig was also gifted to several members of the cast and crew," said Cheryl Shuman, Company spokesperson for Rapid Fire Marketing.

Tune in to watch Wilfred Thursdays at 10 p.m. on the FX Network.

Safe Harbor:  From time to time, the Company may issue news releases that contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. This material may contain statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. For those statements, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statement provisions contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and any amendments thereto. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, goals, assumptions, or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." "Forward-looking statements" are based upon expectations, estimates and projections at the time the statements are made that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated.

SOURCE  Rapid Fire Marketing

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120830/LA65670
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Rapid Fire Marketing

CONTACT: MEDIA: Cheryl Shuman, Director of Celebrity, Media & Public Relations, +1-310-779-4797, Cheryl.Shuman@GreenAssetInc.com, or INVESTORS: Tom Allinder, CEO, investors@rapid-fire-marketing.com

Web Site: http://rapid-fire-marketing.com

CollabNet To Host Free Webinar On Fourth Tenet Of Enterprise Cloud Development - Orchestrate And Automate DevOps

Webinar to focus on increasing quality of service with DevOps

BRISBANE, Calif., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

    WHO:      Paul Peissner
              Director of Business Development
              CollabNet (http://www.collab.net)

              Nick Gulrajani
              Senior Software IT Architect
              CollabNet (http://www.collab.net)

    WHAT:     "Orchestrate and Automate DevOps"

               CollabNet's blueprint for Enterprise Cloud Development (ECD) maps out a path of five
               steps to achieve success with modern software development and deployment practices.
               In this fourth installment of the five-part webinar series, Peissner and Gulrajani
               will outline DevOps promises and pitfalls, best practices for continuous delivery and
               release automation, and present live demos of working deployment pipelines. After all
               the effort to build and maintain quality applications, the real value is delivered
               when the software is actually in production. This webinar explains DevOps, and
               outlines how to integrate enterprise development into continuous IT service delivery.
               Session takeaways will include how to establish trust and collaboration between
               development and IT operations, and how to make software release a repeatable,
               automated process.

    WHEN:     Tues., Sept. 4, 10 a.m. Pacific

    REGISTER: (http://visit.collab.net/webinar-orchestrate_and_automate_devops.html)

    SHARE:     #CollabNet #webinar outlines orchestrating and automating #DevOps for #cloud
               development #ECD register http://tinyurl.com/983xl9n

               Or, to follow along on Twitter with tweets from this webinar, please follow
               @CollabNet.

    CONTACT:   For more information on CollabNet, or to arrange an interview with Peissner or
               Gulrajani, please contact Christie Dennison at 303-581-7760 or at
               (cdenniston@catapultpr-ir.com).
SOURCE  CollabNet

CollabNet

Web Site: http://www.collab.net

ViXS(TM) powers Sony's New PlayStation(R), PS3(R), Networked Recorder and Media Storage Nasne(TM)

The ViXS XCode((R)) 4210 network media processor and dual HD transcoder delivers
unprecedented performance, feature set and integration making it the
ideal choice to power Sony's newest PlayStation PS3 Media Platform

TORONTO, Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - ViXS Systems Inc. today announces that
the XCode( )4210 powers Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. PS3 networked recorder and
media storage device called "Nasne".   The XCode 4210 is a network media
processor and transcoding single chip System on Chip (SoC). The Sony
Nasne is the first product of its kind and a central addition to Sony's
strategy for the connected home.   Nasne provides multiple users with
the ability to watch and record digital terrestrial and satellite
broadcast through dedicated applications such as "torne" for
PlayStation3 (PS3 and "VAIO TV".   Users will also be able to access
recorded content from their PlayStationVita (PS Vita), Sony Tablet,
VAIO PCs, Xperia(TM) TVs or any other Digital Living Network Alliance DLNA
Certified((R)) TV, SmartPhone, Tablet or PC and stream this throughout the home.

Nasne represents the first step in Sony's newly harmonized media
business strategy.   A PS3-lookalike Nasne is encased in a slick
enclosure housing a 500 GB hard disk drive for external program
recording and storage. Taking full advantage of ViXS' dual HD
transcoding capabilities on the XCode 4210, the Sony Nasne has the
capability to concurrently stream stored video to two devices.    With
the first product launch in Japan the Sony Nasne also comes integrated
with "G GUIDE TV OUKOKU CHAN-TORU," a Japanese program guide service,
which will enable scheduled recordings to be set remotely from Sony
hardware.

Interfaces to Nasne include gigabit Ethernet, antenna input and output,
a B-CAS card slot for security decryption, and a USB port for hooking
up external drives to augment its internal hard disk drive capacity.
Multiple Nasne units can also be supported by various Sony devices so
as to boost the number of simultaneous recordings: the PS3 can handle
up to four, with the "torne" app, while VAIO PCs for example could
manage up to eight using the free "VAIO TV with Nasne" app.

"Since the launch of   XCode 4210 in 2010 ViXS has remained at the
forefront of the media processing technology curve" said Sally Daub.
President and CEO, ViXS Systems Inc.   "The XCode 4210 has continued to
exceed industry expectations with its ground-breaking technical
performance, level of integration and power efficient design. ViXS is
delighted to be playing such a significant part in Sony's latest
connected home experience".

The XCode 4210 single chip in the Sony Nasne products controls the
following features:

        --  Decode and display via HD satellite and terrestrial
            CAS-encrypted broadcasts
        --  Display HDMI out
        --  Ethernet networking
        --  Internet codec transcoding
        --  Advanced dual audio and video HD Transcoding
        --  Streaming n-screen support
        --  Rich 2D and 3D graphics user interface
        --  Digital Rights Management (DRM) for content protection
        --  Software stacks to support DLNA Certified(R)
        --  System design within 4 W power consumption budget

About Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Recognized as the global leader and company responsible for the
progression of consumer-based computer entertainment, Sony Computer
Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) manufactures, distributes, develop and
markets the PlayStation(R)2 (PS2(R)) computer entertainment system, the
PSP(R) (PlayStation(R)Portable) handheld entertainment system, the
PlayStation(R)3 (PS3(R)) computer entertainment system and the
PlayStation(R)Vita (PS Vita) portable entertainment system. SCEI has
revolutionized home entertainment since they launched PlayStation in
1994. PS2(R) further enhances the PlayStation legacy as the core of home
networked entertainment. PSP(R) is a handheld entertainment system that
allows users to enjoy 3D games with high-quality full-motion video and
high-fidelity stereo audio. PS3(R) is an advanced computer system,
incorporating the powerful Cell Broadband Engine and RSX processors. PS
Vita is an ultimate portable entertainment system that offers a
revolutionary combination of rich gaming and social connectivity within
a real world context. SCEI also delivers the PlayStation(R) experience to
open operating systems through PlayStation(R)Suite, a cross platform and
cross device initiative. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, SCEI, along
with its affiliated companies, Sony Computer Entertainment America
LLC., and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd., and its division
companies, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan and Sony Computer
Entertainment Asia develops, publishes, markets and distributes
hardware and software, and manages the third party licensing programs
for these platforms in the respective markets worldwide.

"PlayStation" and "PS3" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer
Entertainment Inc.

"Nasne" and "torne" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

"VAIO" and "Sony Tablet" are either registered trademarks or trademarks
of Sony Corporation.

"Xperia" is a registered trademark or a trademark of Sony Mobile
Communications AB

About ViXS Systems Inc.   

ViXS is a multimedia solutions innovator providing technologies for
processing, managing, securing and distributing high quality video and
audio allowing seamless control, conversion, and connectivity between
many classes and sizes of digital entertainment devices. 

ViXS supplies advanced System-on-Chip semiconductors, software solutions
and hardware reference designs for the world's top manufacturers of
Digital TVs, DVDs, Set-top boxes, Personal Video Recorders, PCs,
Network-Attached Storage devices, Residential/Home Gateways, Blu-ray
players/recorders, as well as Broadcast and Professional Equipment
OEMs. 

ViXS is headquartered in Toronto, Canada with global operations and
offices in Europe, Asia and North America. ViXS has 382 patents issued
and pending worldwide. Listed for four years running as one of
Deloitte's fastest growing North American companies, ViXS is setting
new standards in the way digital entertainment is viewed and
transmitted across an endless array of multimedia products. 

For more information on ViXS, please visit our website:  http://www.vixs.com.

VIXS((TM)), the ViXS((R) )logo, XCode(TM), XConnex(TM) and Xtensiv(TM) are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of ViXS. Other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.

SOURCE  ViXS Systems Inc.

ViXS Systems Inc.

CONTACT:  David Jones, Tel: (416) 646-2000, E-mail: djones@vixs.com

Mobile Customer Engagement Made Easier: Comm100 Live Chat for iPad Released

Take Live Chat while on the Go with Newly Released Comm100 Live Chat iPad App

VANCOUVER, Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Comm100, the leader in customer service and communication software, has just announced the release of Comm100 Live Chat for iPad (http://livechat.comm100.com/ipadchat.aspx), an iPad app that makes live customer engagement easier and more convenient than ever. Specifically designed for the iPad, Comm100 Live Chat iPad app enables users to run Comm100 Live Chat smoothly on their iPad so as to keep connected with website visitors even when they are on the road.

Comm100 is the leading global provider of customer communication solutions, including live chat software, email marketing software, help desk software and more. To date, Comm100 has won the trust of over 196,500 businesses from all over the world. Comm100 Live Chat is the enterprise-grade live chat software that features a powerful feature set, friendly user interface and stable system performance. Since it first launched on August 5th, 2009, Comm100 Live Chat has been embraced by over 100,000 businesses around the globe.

"We have tried several other live chat services. All of them were a disappointment and did virtually nothing. Comm100 has saved the day. Finally, we have great customer support equal to Comm100's. With no help, my staff had it up and running in minutes. The incoming chat requests were astounding from the first day. The reports are awesome which help with our SEO efforts. Comm100's live chat software blows the others away in quality, support and price," said Steve Tomlinson, President of Lost Bwana Outfitters.

Comm100 Live Chat for iPad has been built specifically for the device, which can work in the background and automatically notifies the user whenever there's an incoming message from a website visitor. As a natural extension of Comm100 Live Chat, the iPad app supports almost all the major live chat features including real-time visitor monitoring and tracking, multiple concurrent chats, proactive chat invitation, canned response, inter-operator transfer and many more.

"The iPad app makes it a real pleasure to engage customers while on the go. It frees users from the desk and makes 24*7 live chat support easy, which will surely lead to improved customer satisfaction and sales. On top of the iPad app, we also provide great apps for other mobile devices or platforms, including iPhone, Android, Blackberry and more. Our users can bring Live Chat with them on their favorite device wherever they go," said Amy Gu, VP of Comm100.

About Comm100
Comm100 is the leading global provider of enterprise-level customer service and communication solutions, including Live Chat, Support Ticket, Help Desk, Forum, Knowledge Base and Email Marketing. Powerful, integrated and hosted, Comm100 gives businesses an unmatched power to communicate effectively with their customers through multiple channels and deliver superior customer experience. Learn more at: http://www.comm100.com/.

SOURCE  Comm100

Comm100

CONTACT: Amy Gu, Vice President, Comm100 Network Corporation, +1-778-785-0464amy.gu@comm100.com

Web Site: http://livechat.comm100.com/ipadchat.aspx

Fleetwood Deploys Rand McNally TND(TM) 760 Fleetwide

TND(TM) 760 chosen for ability to support Fleetwood's five divisions

SKOKIE, Ill., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Rand McNally announced that Fleetwood Transportation Services, Inc. has selected the TND(TM) 760 fleet management solution for its 120-truck fleet. Fleetwood, based in Diboll, Texas, is a multi-faceted company comprising a forest products division, a flatbed division, an energy division, a dry van division, and a port operation in Houston, Texas.

After a short testing period, Fleetwood chose the TND(TM) 760 for its ease of installation, robust fleet management features, International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) reporting capabilities, and affordable pricing.

"Rand McNally's TND(TM) 760 had the requirements we needed to address all lines of our business, and was priced in such a way that it made sense to deploy it now across our entire fleet," said Mark Prowell, CEO of Fleetwood. "Rand McNally's unit was particularly appealing as it was built on a new technology platform, which will allow them to continue to move quickly to meet customers' needs versus being hampered by legacy infrastructure and software."

Rand McNally's technology platform enabled it to build a very cost-effective, easy to use, and easy to install single-box device. The TND(TM) 760 seamlessly integrates with a truck's on-board computer and sends and receives information via both Wi-Fi and cellular modes. Designed to be set up in less than 30 minutes, the TND(TM) 760 does not require the installation of a separate "black box" monitoring unit like traditional mobile communication systems.

Prowell's team at Fleetwood plans to use the TND(TM) 760's features to eliminate paperwork where possible, such as with the IFTA reporting, and hours of service logs. The company also will drive efficiencies for its drivers and dispatchers by using Rand McNally's award-winning navigation, and real-time vehicle location information to communicate estimated delivery times to customers. Finally, monitoring driver behavior such as idling and hard breaking will help drive accountability.

Fleetwood will use Rand McNally Connect software to integrate information coming from the in-cab TND(TM) 760 devices with McLeod's LoadMaster 10.1 fleet management system.

Prowell also shared that the company driver feedback has been positive to date.  His company will encourage all of their owner-operator vehicles, which make up two-thirds of their fleet, to implement the TND(TM) 760 in the future.

Despite its compact design and affordable price, the TND(TM) 760 features a broad array of capabilities including fleet communications via email, driver and vehicle performance monitoring, electronic hours of service (HOS) compliance, and truck-specific navigation. Information on fleet activity is managed via Rand McNally's Connect web-based portal.

For more information call 1-800-641-RAND (7263) or visit randmcnally.com/tnd760.

About Rand McNally - Rand McNally is the most trusted source for maps, directions, and travel content.  Rand McNally's products and services include: Road travel review site bestoftheroad.com; Interactive travel referral service, tripology.com; America's #1 Road Atlas; and TripMaker® RVND(TM) GPS for RVers; IntelliRoute® truck-routing software and navigation devices; TruckPC and the TND(TM) 760 Fleet Edition mobile communication solutions for the transportation industry; and the leading geography-based educational resources for the classroom.  Consumers, businesses, truckers, and educators depend upon Rand McNally to help navigate today's world. randmcnally.com

IntelliRoute and Rand McNally are registered trademarks; RVND and TND are trademarks of RM Acquisition, LLC d/b/a Rand McNally.

Follow us -
Twitter
http://twitter.com/randmcnally
http://twitter.com/randtrucking

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/randmcnally
http://www.facebook.com/randtrucking

Travel Blog:
http://ontheroad.randmcnally.com

Provide yourTrucker Story at:
http://www.randmcnally.com/truckerstories

About Fleetwood Transportation Services, Inc. - Fleetwood Transportation Services, Inc. is recognized as an industry leader for innovative technology, exceptional customer service and superior quality performance. We provide our customer base with integrated and customized services through our managed transportation programs. Since 1956, these programs have developed cost-effective traffic management solutions with proven value for our customers.www.ftwd.net

SOURCE  Rand McNally

Rand McNally

CONTACT: Amy Krouse, Rand McNally, +1-703-860-2677, akrouse@randmcnally.com

Web Site: http://www.ftwd.net

HotelPlanner.com Releases iPad App for Customers and Hotel Managers

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- HotelPlanner is a leader in mobile applications development and its apps are already available on iPhone and Android. The company is pleased to announce that the app for the iPad is now available.  The new iPad app features a unique design that is geared towards group planners, hotel managers and individual travelers alike.

The new HotelPlanner.com app for iPad currently ranks among the top 10 iPad apps under keyword "hotels" in the Appstore. It's easy to see why the app has been so popular given its unique and streamlined design that makes it exceedingly easy to book a room. The app also provides access to highly discounted group deals and free hotel room giveaways every week. The app has dozens of impressive features, yet its functionality remains simple and intuitive for all users. App users can use the interactive map to quickly and efficiently browse thousands of hotels until they find their perfect match or hone in on a specific property in seconds to make a booking.

Existing group and hotel users can access their accounts with a few easy touches, as well as track past bookings and initiate competitive bidding for their larger groups in real time. Quick links to the HotelPlanner.com feature Free Room Giveaways and a $500 Mobile Weekly Contest as an extra incentive to keep the app handy.

"We are very excited that HotelPlanner.com's new iPad app has shown such popularity in just a few days of its release! It shows that our dedication to cutting edge online group hotel booking technology is appreciated by user community," says John Prince, CIO of HotelPlanner.com.

HotelPlanner.com is the leading provider of online services to a global group hotel sales market. Currently, HotelPlanner's system processes over 40,000 group hotel booking requests per month completely online with assistance from regional planners all around the world with over 10 years of hospitality experience. The HotelPlanner network powers the group bookings from beginning to end for most online travel companies and processes the group hotel reservations for many colleges, professional sports teams, leisure groups, associations, businesses and conventions.

CONTACT: Emily Pierce, 1-888-300-3647 x210, emily.pierce@hotelplanner.com

SOURCE  HotelPlanner.com

HotelPlanner.com

Web Site: http://www.hotelplanner.com

Navman Wireless Grows in Top .02%, Earning Inc. 500|5000 Ranking

U.S.-Based Fleet Management Technology Provider Serves Customers on Five Continents

GLENVIEW, Ill., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Navman Wireless, a provider of GPS-based fleet optimization tools and services for efficient and cost-effective management of corporate and construction fleets, last week was named to the 2012 Inc. 500|5000 list of the fastest-growing privately held U.S. companies. The company's technology is used by fleet managers around the globe to monitor vehicle and equipment location in real time, communicate with drivers and equipment operators from the central office or the road, and generate detailed analytics that can help optimize operations, including reducing fuel, labor and vehicle operating costs. 

Navman Wireless earned a slot on the Inc. 500|5000 list in its first year of eligibility since spinning off from a parent company in late 2007. Rankings are based on percentage revenue growth from 2008 to 2011 and limited to companies that were founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2008. Qualifying companies must also be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent--not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies--as of December 31, 2011.

With its strong growth history, Navman Wireless is now one of the top five fleet management technology providers in the world. Today the firm's OnlineAVL2 fleet tracking platform tracks more than 160,000 vehicles in 13 countries, with new vehicles added on a regular basis. The technology is helping participating companies save over 33 million gallons of fuel annually through the ability to improve routing and identify sources of fuel waste such as idling and unauthorized vehicle use. Other benefits range from increased productivity achieved through 24/7 visibility of fleet location to optimized preventive maintenance schedules made possible by electronic monitoring of mileage and engine hours.

"Our growth reflects strong customer demand for solutions that help corporate and construction fleets reduce costs and increase profitability, as well as the advanced technology that we have developed to meet those needs," said TJ Chung, President and CEO. "We have doubled our install base since 2008, generated record sales and profits for the past three years, and have every reason to believe that we will maintain this growth pattern as fleet managers continue their search for operating efficiencies and cost savings." 

Navman Wireless' OnlineAVL2 platform is the only fleet tracking solution that provides location, operations and performance data for both on-road vehicles and construction equipment from a single interface. Components include the back-end OnlineAVL2 application, delivered under the Software-as-a-Service model with no major in-house software installation or maintenance required; the Qube on-road and Qtanium off-road GPS tracking devices; and in-vehicle M-Nav and MDT mobile messaging/turn-by-turn GPS navigation devices.

More information is available by visiting http://www.navmanwireless.com, emailing sales@navmanwireless.com, or calling 877-891-5009 in the U.S. International contact information is at http://www.navmanwireless.com/about-us/contact-us

About Navman Wireless
Navman Wireless is a global leader in GPS-based fleet optimization products and services, including real-time vehicle tracking and analytics delivered under the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model that enable companies to track, monitor and communicate with their movable and fixed equipment assets. The company's technology currently monitors more than 160,000 vehicles owned by over 14,000 organizations worldwide, making Navman Wireless one of the world's largest fleet management providers with coverage on five continents. Navman Wireless is based in Glenview, IL, with facilities in the U.S., Mexico, UK, Italy, Taiwan,Ireland, China, New Zealand and Australia. For more information, visit http://www.navmanwireless.com.

SOURCE  Navman Wireless

Navman Wireless

CONTACT: Lisa Kornblatt, SSPR, +1-847-415-9330, lkornblatt@sspr.com

Web Site: http://www.navmanwireless.com

ExtraMile's New Service Embraces Mobile Website Technology

STOKE-ON-TRENT, England, August 30, 2012/PRNewswire/ --

    Web development specialists ExtraMile Communications have launched a new service which
will enable companies to take advantage of a growing number of online searches on mobile
devices.

    Responsive Design is aimed at companies with websites which were created for larger
screens, or that have developed mobile versions of their original site to try and cater
for users searching the web on phones, tablets and other mobile devices.

    Viewing a conventional site on a mobile device is not a satisfactory user experience,
because the user needs to zoom and scroll in order to view the content properly.

    Companies can now have a site which automatically changes to suit the screen size. The
images and layout are scaled up or down, elements of the layout (such as icons) are
relocated, and all content is retained, making it as accessible as if it were viewed on a
normal computer screen.

    ExtraMile MD Gabrielle Hadley said: "28% of Internet usage is from a mobile phone, and
the same percentage of people in the UK have purchased something using their phone.

    "If you add to that the fact that 38% of tablet owners spend more time on their tablet
than watching TV, then you can see that websites need to be responsive to these changes in
online habits.

    "Until now, the solution for most businesses was to develop a mobile site for
smartphones and tablets, to run alongside the original site - an unwieldy, unreliable and
often expensive process.

    "Responsive Design means the same site can be viewed on any screen, regardless of its
size, eliminating usability and management problems that occur with a 'conventional plus
mobile' solution."

    The first company to take advantage of ExtraMile's new service is a marketing and
communications company in Crewe, called The PrintPOD Limited (
http://www.theprintpodltd.co.uk), which was established in November 2011.

    Owner Damien Mooney said: "As business owners and marketers, we must not only show but
demonstrate we are aware of technological and innovative developments, so the perception
and impression of our new responsive site will give us a major advantage over our rivals.

    "From my initial meeting with ExtraMile Communications, I have been comprehensively
impressed with not only their knowledge and expertise, but also their attitude and
professionalism.

    "I had fallen out of love with my website but now I feel proud and positive as my new
site reflects and portrays the quality and service that my customers will expect from my
business."

    Further information is available at http://www.extramilecommunications.com.

    Note

    The statistics quoted were obtained from
http://www.gpmd.co.uk/blog/2012-mobile-internet-statistics

Source: ExtraMile Communications

Richard Swancott Associates, +44(0)1782-472035 or info@richardswancottassociates.co.uk

Adult Entertainment Chief Steven Hirsch Cautions GOP on Over Zealous Enforcement of Existing Pornography Laws

Suggests That GOP Catch Up to Modern Times

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Steven Hirsch, co-chairman of adult movie powerhouse Vivid Entertainment, today cautioned the GOP to lower the rhetoric against adult entertainment intended for adults. At the same time, he saluted Republicans for their stand against child pornography but suggests that they catch up to modern times when it comes to grown ups.

The Republican platform adopted in Tampa this week said "the Internet must be made safe for children" and called on service providers to "ensure that the Internet cannot become a safe haven for predators while respecting First Amendment rights."  The platform also said; "Current laws on all forms of pornography and obscenity need to be vigorously enforced."

"Everyone is against child pornography, so Republicans aren't saying anything new when they call for strict laws to ensure safety for children on the internet," Mr. Hirsch said. "As for the platform's other reference to pornography, responsible producers of adult entertainment created for and offered to adults already obey 'current laws on all forms of pornography and obscenity.'

"Republicans, however, need to catch up with what's happening in America and the world today.  Books like '50 Shades of Grey,' dozens of popular cable TV shows and the web have made the public more comfortable with portrayals of sex than they ever have been before. Sex is everywhere in the adult world and this isn't going to change.  If anything, it will become more pervasive.

"The Republicans' call for 'vigorous' enforcement of these laws is a hollow gesture and obvious pandering to ultra right wing conservatives. Republican officials shouldn't take this platform idea as a license to start some kind of witch-hunt that would waste taxpayer dollars and accomplish nothing."

Hirsch added, "According to Harvard researcher Ben Edelman, eight of the ten top porn consuming states voted Republican in the last presidential election; so conservatives should be careful who they target, since it's likely to be fellow conservatives."

Mr. Hirsch also notes that the advent of the internet has so pre-empted the so-called "community standards" framework governing "acceptable" adult entertainment that the standard is now dubious at best. "In any event, we have so many more important issues in front of us today than worrying about whether someone is breaking laws that probably should never have been written in the first place."

About Vivid: Founded in 1984, Vivid has always placed heavy emphasis on high quality erotic film entertainment and has created wide brand-name awareness through its films and the www.vivid. com website, an innovative marketing and a licensing program that extends to advertising, apparel, book publishing and a range of other products. Co-founder and CEO Steven Hirsch was honored in 2012 with the first AVN Visionary Award as a leader who "has propelled innovation and taken his company and the business as a whole to new heights." In addition to its Vivid-Celeb imprint famous for celebrity sex tapes, the company is known for its Vivid Super XXXHeroes parodies and award-winning feature films. Vivid maintains the single largest studio archive of adult films. For more on Vivid visit Twitter.com/VividCorp or Facebook.com/vividgirls.   

SOURCE  Vivid Entertainment

Vivid Entertainment

CONTACT: Jackie Martin, jackie@vivid.com, 1-800-762-4761 Ext. 10

Developers can spin BLDC motors in minutes with four new Texas Instruments microcontroller (MCU) motor control kits

Choose the best MCU solution for motors: Ultra-low-power MSP430(TM), Stellaris® ARM® Cortex(TM)-M4 with floating point and Hercules(TM) ARM Cortex-R4 floating-point safety MCUs

DALLAS, Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Enabling easier and more cost-effective motor control development, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN) today announced four new compatible motor control kits that spin three-phase brushless DC (BLDC) motors in minutes. Developers can now scale their product lines using TI's broad portfolio of microcontrollers (MCUs) ranging from 16-bit ultra-low-power MSP430 devices to 32-bit ARM-based, floating-point Hercules safety and Stellaris MCU solutions. All four kits are part of a robust and growing ecosystem that provides all of the hardware, software and documentation necessary to get motors spinning out of the box in minutes.

The four new motor control kits include object-oriented software functions and drivers that make coding extremely easy and compatible, which enables simple and cost-effective portability across TI MCU and motor driver families. Each motor control kit includes a reliable, fully protected motor driver monitoring cycle-by-cycle over-current, over-temperature, cross-conduction and under-voltage situations.  This level of integrated protection reduces design complexity and board space and ensures higher system reliability.

Modular tools and software further ease design
A plug-in controlCARD module lets developers choose the right combination of motor driver for voltage, current and experimentation with different MCUs for control. All of the kits have the required firmware to run TI's sensorless InstaSPIN-BLDC(TM) motor control software solution out-of-the-box. InstaSPIN-BLDC is an innovative and free back-electromagnetic field (EMF) technique that sensorlessly spins any motor in seconds without knowledge of a motor's parameters. Unlike traditional back-EMF zero crossing techniques, InstaSPIN-BLDC extends sensorless operation to lower speeds and is highly immune to miscommutation caused by rapid speed changes. The Stellaris kit also includes a sensorless sliding mode observer (SMO) field oriented control (FOC) speed plus torque control application while the Hercules kits add firmware for sensored (encoder) speed plus torque control with SMO as sensorless redundancy for safety systems.

Additionally, all motor control kits contain TI's Code Composer Studio(TM) integrated development environment (IDE), as well as a graphical user interface to run examples and demonstrations with either the included or a self-provided motor.

Features and benefits of the MSP430 DRV8312-430FR-KIT motor control kit:

    --  controlCARD module with MSP430FR5739 MCU features 24 MHz performance,
        16KB FRAM, five 16-bit timers, 10-bit ADC and more features that allow
        developers to create robust yet cost-efficient motor control designs
        with a tiny footprint.
    --  Ultra-low-power, non-volatile ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM)
        technology on-board allows for incredibly fast read and write time,
        unified memory capable of storing program and info data on one memory
        block and virtually unlimited write endurance.
    --  Free supporting software includes motor control source code and
        InstaSPIN-BLDC library, as well as access to MSP430Ware - a complete
        collection of software resources including peripheral driver libraries
        and APIs.
    --  DRV8312 motor driver spins sub-50V, 3.5A continuous three-phase motors.

Features and benefits of the Hercules DRV8301-LS31-KIT (TMS570)and DRV8301-RM48-KIT(RM4x)safe motor control kits:

    --  Include a controlCARD module featuring a dual core, lock-step Hercules
        ARM Cortex-R4F safety MCU with floating point with up to 220 MHz
        performance, 3 MB of Flash and a safety architecture that is ideal for
        transportation (TMS570) and industrial (RM4) safe motor control.
    --  Enable customers to meet safety standards such as IEC61508 and ISO26262
        by leveraging the Hercules safety MCU architecture.
    --  Generate PWMs and decode the quadrature encoder signal with example
        microcode for the flexible, integrated 32-channel timer coprocessor.
    --  Include a state-of-the-art servo motor from Teknic with built-in encoder
        and hall sensors for providing robust rotor angle measurements to
        complement the shunt current based rotor angle estimation from the
        sliding mode observer.
    --  Leverage standard Hercules software to ease the development of safe
        motor control solutions with peripheral support and configuration via
        HALCoGen, connectivity stacks and example motor projects.
    --  Build upon the highly-integrated DRV8301 motor pre-driver which includes
        self protection and two programmable gain amplifiers to control sub-60V
        inverters with external FETs.
Features and benefits of the Stellaris DK-LM4F-DRV8312 motor control kit:

    --  Includes a controlCARD module with Stellaris LM4F211 MCU featuring 80
        MHz ARM Cortex-M4 floating point core, 256 KB Flash and two 12-bit ADCs
        for applications including industrial pumps, fans, blowers, compressors,
        vacuums, tools and robotics.
    --  Stellaris LM4F211 MCU with floating point provides all the necessary
        computational requirements to run technology variety of motor control
        solutions, StellarisWare® software libraries and other
        customer-developed applications.
    --  DRV8312 motor driver spins sub-50V, 3.5A continuous three-phase motors.

Pricing and availability
Developers can get started immediately with these new motor control kits. The Hercules DRV8301-LS31-KIT and DRV8301-RM48-KIT safe motor control kits are $499 USD and include the Teknic servo motor and a 24V power supply.   The MSP430 DRV8312-430FR-KIT and Stellaris DK-LM4F-DRV8312  kits are available for purchase for $299 USD and include a 24V NEMA17 BLDC motor with hall sensors and 24V power supply. Developers with a compatible motor driver base can also buy the Hercules TMDX570LS31CNCD or TMDXRM48CNCD controlCARD modules for $99 USD. The MSP430 MSP-CNCD-FR5739 and Stellaris MDL-LM4F211CNCD controlCARD modules are available separately for $49 USD.

Find out more about TI's MCUs, motor drivers, tools and software:

    --  Download motor control block diagrams, application notes and selection
        guides: http://www.ti.com/motor
    --  Ask questions  and help solve problems in the Motor Drivers forum on the
        TI E2E(TM) Community: http://www.ti.com/mcumotors-pr-e2e
    --  Read blogs and watch videos from TI motor experts in the new Motor
        Solutions Group on the TI E2E Community: http://www.ti.com/mcumotors-pr-forum
    --  TI eStore: http://www.ti.com/estore
    --  Make the Switch to TI MCUs: http://www.ti.com/maketheswitch
    --  Learn about TI's unified memory, FRAM: http://www.ti.com/fram
    --  Follow TI Microcontrollers on Facebook:
        http://www.facebook.com/timicrocontrollers

TI's broad portfolio of microcontrollers (MCUs) and software
From general purpose, ultra-low power MSP430(TM) MCUs, to Stellaris® Cortex(TM)-M MCUs to real-time control C2000(TM) MCUs, and Hercules(TM) safety MCUs, TI offers the broadest range of microcontroller solutions. Designers can accelerate time to market by tapping into TI's complete software and hardware tools, extensive third-party offerings and technical support.

TI spins motors
TI combines a rich history in motor drive and control, a broad portfolio of analog and microcontroller products and a comprehensive offering of tools, software and support to deliver efficient, reliable, cost-effective motor solutions.  Customers can get the right solutions at the right performance level to quickly spin any motor, including AC induction (ACIM), brushed DC (DC), BLDC, PMSM and stepper.

About Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments semiconductor innovations help 90,000 customers unlock the possibilities of the world as it could be - smarter, safer, greener, healthier and more fun.  Our commitment to building a better future is ingrained in everything we do - from the responsible manufacturing of our semiconductors, to caring for our employees, to giving back inside our communities.  This is just the beginning of our story.  Learn more at http://www.ti.com.

Trademarks
Hercules, MSP430, C2000, InstaSPIN, Code Composer Studio and TI E2E are trademarks and Stellaris and StellarisWare are registered trademarks of Texas Instruments Incorporated.  All registered trademarks and other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

SOURCE  Texas Instruments Incorporated

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20010105/NEF016LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Texas Instruments Incorporated

CONTACT: Christi Davidson, GolinHarris, +1-972-341-2584, cdavidson@golinharris.com; or Patty Arellano, Texas Instruments, +1-214-567-7828, parellano@ti.com

Web Site: http://www.ti.com

Men's Clothing Retailer ForTheFit.com Launches Industry-First Denim Line Custom Tailored for Short Men's Sizes (and Tall Men's, Too)

With her unique Tall and Short Men's Clothing sizes, small business entrepreneur and ForTheFit.com CEO Consuelo Bova has proven that business can blossom outside industry norms

ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Thanks to the Internet and social networks, consumer-driven sourcing and fashion design is the wave of the future ... or, in some cases, like ForTheFit.com, just the status quo. Founded to meet the fashion apparel needs of men and women of a variety of hard-to-find sizes, ForTheFit.com (http://www.ForTheFit.com) began their journey with short men's clothing back in 2005. This week, ForTheFit presented the marketplace with an industry first and reached its biggest milestone to date with the launch of its first denim jeans line. ForTheFit's denim was designed start-to-finish specifically for its two main niche markets: Short Men and Tall (but not necessarily Big) Men. Said Bova, "We consulted with our own customers and considered every detail, from the obvious like rise and inseam, to the seemingly minor: belt loops, zipper lengths, pocket sizes and pocket openings." ForTheFit's jeans are proportioned for men under 5'9" and men over 6', with slim, athletic and big (or stout) options for both. They are available for sale exclusively through ForTheFit's online store, (MSRP $119.00; short men's pants, http://www.forthefit.com/Men_s_short_rise_low_rise_short_length_denim_jeans_s/125.htm and tall men's pants http://www.forthefit.com/Men_s_tall_rise_long_inseam_pants_trousers_denim_shorts_s/153.htm).

In addition to denim, ForTheFit sources, designs, manufactures and retails short and tall men's clothing and offers a full complement of styles in hard-to-find sizes, from pajamas and athletic wear, to formalwear and suiting. Bova recalled meeting and consulting with men's fashion industry insiders when she started ForTheFit.com, "They said I was crazy and tried to school me on the basics of the bell-curve and the need for a brick and mortar store." But Bova's personal experience with hard-to-find sizes (she is 5'1", her husband/cofounder Jeff Bova is 5'7", and some family members happen to exceed the 6'3" mark) made it clear that the demand existed.  The supply, however, did not, said Bova. "In stores, I would ask sales staff to point me in the direction of pants for my husband with a 30" inseam or shorter. Some even laughed." Why wasn't she discouraged? "I knew the number of men shorter than the bell curve exceeded 28 million; adding tall men doubled that number," explained Bova.

An online-only platform for ForTheFit.com allowed the company to reach the largest possible audience from their first day. Social networking allowed them to engage their customers in a constant dialogue. Bova is enthusiastic about her customers, "The demand for our products has been overwhelming, and given the economic downturn that began around the time we launched in '05, we have been extremely fortunate." Indeed, with growth rates since 2011 exceeding 30%, ForTheFit has proven that clearly a niche Fashion business can flourish. The secret, offered Bova, is listening: "Customers can tell you what they want better than anyone."

ABOUT FORTHEFIT.COM

Founded by a couple of short people big on ideas and determination, ForTheFit.com sources and manufactures clothing that offers men and women (tall, short, slim or stout) a better overall fit (the key to a better look). ForTheFit began offering clothing for shorter men under 5'9" in 2005, adding other hard-to-fit categories for men and women as recently as 2011 (tall men's sizes). ForTheFit hopes to add more segments in the near future. To learn more, visit ForTheFit.com at http://www.ForTheFit.com.

Contact :

Sarah Hanson
ForTheFit.com
407-677-7774
sarah@forthefit.com
http://www.ForTheFit.com
Twitter: @His_Style
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/forthefit

This press release was issued through eReleases® Press Release Distribution. For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE  ForTheFit.com

ForTheFit.com

Web Site: http://www.ForTheFit.com

Sopris Learning 2012 Fall Webinar Series Brings Educators in Contact With World-Renowned Authors and Researchers for Third Year

LONGMONT, Colo., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sopris Learning, a leading provider of evidence-based assessments, supplemental materials, intervention solutions, positive behavior interventions and supports, and professional development offerings, announced today that it will host its fifth seasonal complimentary webinar series focused on ways to improve student outcomes and meet rigorous standards with robust, relevant, real-world solutions and classroom strategies.

The complimentary series is designed to support leaders in implementing proven, practical solutions. Each presentation in the Sopris Learning 2012 Fall Webinar Series connects attendees to authors who will share their cutting-edge research, as well as education consultants and trainers who will provide teaching tips and strategies for a total of more than 18 hours of professional development over the course of the series. Interested educators may register for the webinars starting today at http://www.soprislearningwebinars.com/fall.

"The continuing Sopris Learning webinar series allows educators nationwide the opportunity to interact directly with leading authors, educational consultants, and creators of outstanding products and professional development programs," says George Logue, president of Sopris Learning. "The format provides the ability for webinar participants to customize solutions needed for their particular school and classrooms. By providing these complimentary professional development opportunities, teacher support is ongoing and comprehensive."     

New features to this fall series are multipart presentations and updated presentations that incorporate new research reflecting changes in the educational landscape. The series focuses on topics that are of interest to educators, such as implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Topics feature strategies that can be applied in the classroom immediately following the webinars.Renowned authors and education trainers/consultants who will be featured throughout the webinar series include: Jan Hasbrouck, Ph.D.; Judith Hochman, Ed.D.; Pat Sekel, Ph.D.; Kelly Powell-Smith, Ph.D.; James Martin, Ph.D.; Sandra Jones, Ph.D.; Melody Ilk, M.A.; Stephanie Gottwald, M.A.; Antonio Fierro, Ed.D., and Howard Knoff, Ph.D.

"In this day of information overload and the need to determine what information is most essential for school-based practice, feedback from these webinars has been overwhelmingly positive," says Dr. Knoff, author and presenter in the past two Sopris Learning webinar series. "Practitioners appreciate that we provide evidence-based but implementation-friendly practices, and that we recognize the importance of presenting systems and strategies that result in solid student, staff, and school outcomes."

Kathy C. Villere, a speech-language pathologist from Monument, Colorado, commented: "I continually seek new ideas to use with the students I see in private therapy and to share with preschool teachers with whom I consult. Attending the Spring 2012 Sopris Learning Webinar Series enabled me to accomplish both of those goals by listening to language and literacy experts from around the country in the comfort of my own home. I listened to the free sessions live or taped, whichever best suited my schedule. I walked away from each session with a new insight or idea to implement."

The series will begin Monday, September 17, 2012, and end Monday, November 12, 2012. All webinars start at 11 a.m. ET and are one hour in length to include a live question-and-answer period with the presenter, which is moderated by the host of the series. All webinars are recorded so that those who register may listen to each webinar at their own convenience. Archived recordings will be posted after the conclusion of each webinar at http://www.soprislearningwebinars.com.

For more information on the Sopris Learning 2012 Fall Webinar Series or to register, visit http://www.soprislearningwebinars.com/fall.

About Sopris Learning

Sopris Learning is committed to bringing learning to life for students and making professional growth meaningful for educators. We are proud to represent the life's work of world-renowned researchers and education leaders. For 35 years, Sopris Learning has supported teachers and students with a range of proven assessments, academic interventions, literacy and math supplements, positive behavior supports, and professional development. With a firm commitment to translating research into practice, we have helped schools and districts boost student participation, improve test scores, and increase graduation rates. Sopris Learning is a business unit of Cambium Learning Group, Inc. [Nasdaq: ABCD] based in Dallas, Texas. For more information, please visit http://www.soprislearning.com.Media and Investor Contact:
Shannan Overbeck
Cambium Learning Group, Inc.
214.932.9476
shannan.overbeck@cambiumlearning.com

SOURCE  Sopris Learning

Sopris Learning

Web Site: http://www.soprislearning.com

Baytems' New ESDzap Offers the Most Affordable ESD Simulation on the Market

TAMPERE, Finland, Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Baytems, a world leader in electronics testing equipment, is pleased to announce the release of the ESDzap -- the most economical and capable ESD simulator in its class. With a price tag under $4,000, the ESDzap offers the same features and functionality as devices that cost twice as much. As a handheld device that is IEC/EN 61000-4-2 certified, the ESDzap offers versatility, reliability and an ease of use that's hard to match. For smaller companies with small budgets, it is a perfect solution.

ESD simulators are essential tools in a number of industries, from consumer electronics to automotive, that need to test the immunity of a device or component to potentially harmful electrostatic discharge. In the past, companies often relied on large, clunky, expensive tools. Baytems' new ESDzap brings together quality craftsmanship and lightweight design, all at an attractive price point. Now, even small businesses and individuals can benefit from industrial-grade testing equipment. At less than $4,000, the ESDzap is an investment that will quickly pay for itself.

ESD simulation is an important facet of precompliance testing and is also a requirement for a product to receive the CE mark, which certifies that a product meets certain performance and safety standards in European markets. With the ESDzap, developers can ensure that a new product will perform well and safely before launching into full-scale production.

The ESDzap offers a wide range of functionalities. It can test in 100 V increments, with a minimum setting of 500 V and a maximum setting of 8 kV. The ESDzap includes air and contact modes, automatic triggering, pulse detection, automatic polarity switching, discharge detection and a straightforward user interface. It even comes with a handy carrying case. With the ESDzap's combination of useful features, convenience and affordable pricing, no electronics manufacturer should be without one.

To download the ESDzap datasheet, review its features, or buy a unit, visit the Baytems online shop at http://www.baytems.com/?t=products&s=emc&p=esdzap.

ESDzap Hi-Resolution Image
http://www.baytems.com/images/prod/esdzap_1_big.jpg

About Baytems

Baytems is a leading designer, developer and manufacturer of electronic instruments and testing devices. In addition to ESD simulators, the company produces LISN devices for testing interference on power lines. Baytems also produces telecommunications equipment for the aerospace and defense industry, including broadband amplifiers and databus products. Based in Finland, Baytems has delivered innovative devices and technology solutions for 10 years.

Contact:

Eero Alkkiomaki
info@baytems.com
Phone: +358-40-545-3786
Fax: +44-872-115-7886
http://www.baytems.com

This press release was issued through eReleases® Press Release Distribution. For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE  Baytems

Baytems

Web Site: http://www.baytems.com

80Bites: Lose Weight With Revolutionary Smart Phone App

NEW YORK, Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- 80Bites, the digital weight loss tool, announces an updated app and plan.  The revolutionary approach to food challenges traditional dieting, conventional nutrition and the supersizing of America.  The program cuts through conventional fitness and nutrition advice, much of which contradicts what the body requires.  80Bites is based on the fact that taking fewer bites causes the stomach container to shrink and return to normal size.  Consequently, the body craves less food, eats less, and absorbs fewer calories. For 99% of the population, 80 bites is the target number.

America's overeating and misunderstanding of what our stomachs need has caused our stomachs to stretch beyond capacity. Large stomachs escalate hunger, which leads to overconsumption and obesity.  80Bites boldly proclaims that eating unlimited amounts of fruits and vegetables stretches the stomach causing it to need more food to be satisfied.  Drinking large quantities of water will have the same affect.  Its principles challenge popular dieting plans that advocate unlimited servings of fruits and vegetables, and drinking eight glasses of water a day to stave hunger.

The 80Bites smart phone app is a handheld pedometer for your mouth that makes it easy to track how much and how often users eat. Within one week, stats will be clear.  Sam the Stomach is the animated star of 80Bites adding humor and encouragement to the experience.  After the app, comes the 80Bites Plan, which offers four eating approaches over 12 weeks.  Quantity, Frequency, Quality and Balance are introduced in three weeks segments, providing users the 21 days it takes to build new habits.

The updated 80Bites app features an improved interface, graphs, and system to record bites. Milestones in the user's 80Bites progress are easily shared with friends through Facebook and Twitter.  It is free for those who originally purchased 80Bites app and available to new users for 99 cents.

80Bites is the brainchild of Meredith Luce, MS, RD, LN, who has prepared hundreds of patient meals based on FDA recommended portions and Joan Briebart, who is renowned for popularizing pilates by founding The Method Pilates.  The app is available for 99 cents for the iPhone and Android. The twelve-week 80Bites plan is available at http://www.80bitesplan.com for $49.95.

Mohamed Alladin
212-358-9516
mohamed@companyagenda.com

SOURCE  80Bites

80Bites

Web Site: http://www.80bitesplan.com

Guitar Icon Zakk Wylde to Host Sports Talk Show on SiriusXM

"Wylde on Sports" debuts September 4 on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio channel

Founder of Black Label Society and former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist will talk with fans and special guests on six-week radio series

NEW YORK, Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sirius XM Radio today announced that guitar icon Zakk Wylde, founder of Black Label Society and former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, will host a new weekly sports talk series available to SiriusXM listeners nationwide.

Wylde on Sports - which Wylde will host alongside veteran sports talk personality Ken Thomson - will debut September 4 and air every Tuesday night (9:00 - 11:00 pm ET) for six weeks on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio, SiriusXM's 24/7 fantasy sports channel.  SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio airs on channel 87 on XM and channel 210 on Sirius Premier and is also available on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App and online at SiriusXM.com.

Wylde, who grew up in New Jersey and is a lifelong New York Giants fan, will take calls from fantasy football players around the country, discussing roster moves and potential trades and previewing the coming weekend's games.  Throughout the series Wylde will also be joined on the show by celebrities and special guests from the worlds of entertainment and sports. 

"I'm excited to join my brother-in-law Ken Thomson every Tuesday night on SiriusXM to recap all of the awesome NFL action, and to find out what in the Wylde world of sports is going on," states Wylde. "We'll be hosting an amazing cast of characters from the worlds of sports, music, movies, television & your local bowling alley as we get WYLDE ON SPORTS! Yay! Go Team!"

In the two decades since Ozzy Osbourne hired him away from his job at a gas station to become his new guitarist, Zakk Wylde has established himself as a guitar icon known and revered the world over.  Writing and recording with Osbourne led to multi-platinum success, inspiring him to create the now legendary Black Label Society in 1998. In the decade since, BLS has turned the notion of what a rock band should be upside down by inspiring legions of fans (known as Berzerkers) all over the world to follow the mantra: Strength, Determination, Merciless, Forever--SDMF for short.  The Berzerkers, with Wylde as their leader, have created a heavy metal institution true to his vision of uncompromising, unfiltered, and unrestrained rock and roll.  Wylde has won nearly every guitar award imaginable, and is a major influence on a new battalion of rock guitarists currently popular today.  Follow Zakk on Twitter @ZakkWyldeBLS and on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/ZakkWylde

To see Wylde's picks and follow the league, or for more info on the SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio channel, visit http://www.siriusxm.com/fantasysportsradio.  Follow the channel on Twitter @SiriusXMFantasy.

SOURCE  Zakk Wylde

Zakk Wylde

CONTACT: Andrew FitzPatrick, SiriusXM, +1-212-901-6693, andrew.fitzpatrick@siriusxm.com, Ryan Romenesko, Jensen Communications, Inc., +1-626-585-9575, ryanr@jensencom.com

WD® Introduces Its Fastest My Book® External HDD System Ever

My Book® VelociRaptor(TM) Duo Combines Extreme Speed of Two 1 TB 10,000 RPM Hard Drives with Revolutionary Thunderbolt(TM) Technology

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- WD(®), a subsidiary of Western Digital Corporation(NASDAQ: WDC), and a world leader in external storage and connected home solutions, is combining two high-speed technologies to produce one of the fastest and most robust dual-storage systems ever offered. Supported by the Mac OS X operating system, the new My Book(®) VelociRaptor((TM)) Duo dual-drive storage system becomes the ultimate storage drive for performance hungry Mac computer users and creative professionals.

My Book VelociRaptor Duo provides ultimate speed and performance with two 1 TB 10,000 RPM WD VelociRaptor drives along with two Thunderbolt(TM) ports. The 2 TB dual-drive storage system is ideal for editing high resolution video, 3D rendering, graphic design, and other demanding digital media applications. This boost in performance delivers solid state drive (SSD) -like data transfer rates of up to 400 MB/s for greater work-flow productivity. The dual-drive storage system offers RAID 0 for performance or RAID 1 for protection; and the twin Thunderbolt ports offer daisy-chaining multiple My Book VelociRaptor Duo drives and other high performance peripherals without impacting data transfer speeds or performance. The My Book VelociRaptor Duo also comes complete with a Thunderbolt cable in the box and is user-serviceable.

Photographers, graphic designers and post-production professionals can conduct several high intensity tasks such as video editing and 3D rendering, while completing other graphics-intensive projects. My Book VelociRaptor Duo customers will now have the ability to transfer 22 GB full-length HD movies in less than 65 seconds, 2000 5 MB pictures in less than 33 seconds and over 500 5 MB songs in less than 8 seconds.   

"The My Book VelociRaptor Duo is the fastest and most reliable high performance consumer storage device on the market today," explains Jody Bradshaw, senior director of WD's consumer storage solutions group.  "Creative professionals now have access to a super-charged storage drive that will keep pace with even the most demanding projects. Daisy-chaining multiple My Book VelociRaptor Duo devices together offers even greater speed, more capacity and flexibility."

While RAID 0 maximizes the drive's speed and capacity, RAID 1 support allows users to create a second copy of their digital content on the drive for added protection, security and peace of mind. The drive also provides a JBOD (just a bunch of disks) option for users running a Windows(®) operating system on a Mac.

Additional features found on the My Book VelociRaptor Duo dual-drive storage system include out-of-the-box compatibility with Apple Time Machine and HFS + Journaled for Mac computers; capability for multi-stream workflows; and a 3-year limited warranty.

Price and Availability
The My Book VelociRaptor Duo dual-drive storage system is currently available at select U.S. retailers and online at http://www.wdstore.com, starting at $899.99 MSRP USD. Additional information can be found on the WD website at http://www.wd.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=860

About WD
WD, a Western Digital company, is a long-time innovator and storage industry leader. As a storage technology pacesetter, the company produces reliable, high-performance hard disk drives and solid state drives. These drives are deployed by OEMs and integrators in desktop and mobile computers, enterprise computing systems, embedded systems and consumer electronics applications, as well as by the company in providing its own storage products. WD's leading storage devices and systems, networking products, media players and software solutions empower people around the world to easily save, store, protect, share and experience their content on multiple devices. WD was established in 1970 and is headquartered in Irvine, California. For more information, please visit the company's website at http://www.wd.com.

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC), Irvine, Calif., is a global provider of products and services that empower people to create, manage, experience and preserve digital content. Its companies design and manufacture storage devices, networking equipment and home entertainment products under the WD, HGST and G-Technology brands. Visit the Investor section of the company's website (http://www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of financial and investor information.

Western Digital, WD, the WD logo, and My Book are registered trademarks in the U.S. and other countries; VelociRaptor is a trademark of Western Digital Technologies, Inc. Thunderbolt and the Thunderbolt logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Apple, Mac, Time Machine, and OS X are trademarks of Apple Inc. Other marks may be mentioned herein that belong to other companies. Pictures shown may vary from actual products. Not all products or services may be available in all regions of the world. As used for storage capacity one terabyte (TB) = one trillion bytes. Total accessible capacity varies depending on operating environment. As used for transfer rate or interface, gigabit per second (Gb/s) = one billion bits per second. Examples of transfer time for songs and HD videos are provided for illustrative purposes only. Your results will vary based on file size and format, settings, features, software and other factors.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120830/LA65157)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20000711/WDCLOGO)

SOURCE  Western Digital Technologies

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120830/LA65157
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20000711/WDCLOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Western Digital Technologies

CONTACT: Heather Skinner, WD Press Relations, +1-949-672-7920, heather.skinner@wdc.com, or Bob Blair, WDC Investor Relations, +1-949-672-7834, robert.blair@wdc.com

Web Site: http://www.westerndigital.com

Cricket's Top App Picks for a Staycation in Your Home City

~ Engage with Events and Activities Happening in Your City with Cricket's Selection of Android(TM) Apps

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cricket Communications, a leading provider of innovative and value-driven wireless services, today announced its top app picks to discover, guide or share your next staycation. Considering a fun, new way to explore your city? So many people are these days.  A recent article from Ragan Communications reported that "fifty-two percent of travelers use social media for vacation inspiration."  Discover staycation inspiration through a selection of Android apps for events, hiking, boating, surfing, watching movies, taking pictures and many other activities for you and the whole family with the help of your Cricket smartphone.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120202/LA46949LOGO)

Take a fun-filled or relaxing staycation in the comfort of your own home city or see what your home city has to offer with the following list of top Android(TM) App picks from Cricket.

Cricket's Top App Picks for a Staycation:

    --  Kids Zoo Animal Sounds & Photos is a free and fun app that helps kids
        recognize animals and their sounds. Don't have a zoo in your home city?
        You and your kids can enjoy a video zoo experience by the click of a
        button on your smartphone. Download Kids Zoo Animal Sounds & Photos for
        free at Google Play.
    --  Instagram is a fast, free, and fun way to take and share photos with
        family and friends. Remember that family vacation by taking pictures of
        every moment. Pick from a variety of filtered affects and transform
        everyday moments into works of art you'll want to share with everyone.
        Download Instagram for free at Google Play.
    --  AllTrails - Hiking & Biking is a free app that allows you to browse
        through over 40,000 high-quality trail guides for outdoor activities.
        This app includes everything from hiking, mountain biking, and trail
        running to fly fishing and snowshoeing for all your family and friends
        to enjoy. Read and write trail reviews, share trails with friends, and
        access your trails without an internet connection. Download the free All
        Trails-Hiking & Biking App at Google Play.
    --  Boat Ramps is a free app that helps you quickly locate and get
        directions to boat ramps all throughout the US. Browse through boat
        ramps nearest to your city. Once you find the boat ramp that you are
        looking for, the app will also provide you with directions on how to get
        there, enjoy a relaxing boat ride with family and friends in your home
        city. Download Boat Ramps for free at Google Play.
    --  Surfline Surf Report is a free app for all those surfers out there. This
        app provides the most accurate surf reports and forecast 5-days in
        advance for thousands of surf sports worldwide. You have the ability to
        move between your favorite surf sports with just a swipe of your finger
        and watch LIVE streaming HD cams at over 100 breaks in the US and
        Hawaii. Take your family and friends and enjoy a fun day of surfing at
        your local beach. Download Surfline Surf Report App for free at Google
        Play.
    --  Netflix is a free app as part of your Netflix membership. Start enjoying
        immediately on your phone with their one-month free trial. Watch a movie
        anywhere, anytime with family and friends. Search for titles and rate
        your favorite shows and movies so that Netflix can suggest the best
        titles for you. Download the free Netflix App at Google Play.
    --  Cricket 411 is a free app that is bundled with your Cricket service
        which allows you to make unlimited calls to find phone numbers or
        addresses using 411 Directory Assistance. You can be connected directly
        to the number you requested and also receive a text message with the
        number. It offers an interactive phone book experience that provides
        information about local restaurants, hotels and night clubs in your
        hometown.
Power your music listening experience with Cricket's Muve Music service which offers millions of songs to choose from while enjoying your staycation. Listed below are several of Cricket's Muve Music smartphones.

Cricket's Muve Music Smartphone Lineup:

    --  HTC One(TM) V, Cricket's first HTC smartphone, offers a premium
        experience with a 3.7-inch WVGA touch-screen, Qualcomm® Snapdragon(TM)
        S3 1Ghz processor, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS, an amazing
        5-megapixel camera, Beats Audio(TM), 3G Real Web Browsing, Wi-Fi and
        tethering capability. Soon to be available in Cricket company owned
        stores, Premiere dealers and online.
    --  Huawei Mercury offers a 4-inch FWVGA touch-screen, 1.4 Ghz processor,
        Android 2.3 OS, 8-megapixel rear camera, VGA front camera/camcorder,
        DTS® audio, 3G Real Web Browsing, and Wi-Fi capability.
    --  Samsung Vitality offers a 3.5-inch HVGA touch-screen, 800 Mhz processor,
        Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, 3.2-megapixel camera/camcorder, 3G Real Web
        Browsing, and Wi-Fi capability.
    --  Huawei Ascend Q offers both a 3.2-inch capacitive touch screen and a
        full QWERTY keyboard, 800 Mhz processor, Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS,
        3.2-megapixel fixed-focus camera/camcorder, DTS® audio, 3G Real Web
        Browsing, Wi-Fi capability.
    --  Huawei Ascend II offers a 3.5-inch HVGA touch-screen, 600 Mhz processor,
        Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, 5-megapixel camera, 3G Real Web Browsing,
        and Wi-Fi capability.
For more information about Cricket's dynamic device lineup, please visit http://www.mycricket.com.  To follow Cricket's latest news and updates online, go to Cricket's Facebook page online at http://www.facebook.com/cricketwireless and Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cricketnation.

About Cricket
Cricket is the pioneer and leader in delivering innovative value-rich prepaid wireless services with no long-term contracts serving approximately 6 million customers. Cricket offers nationwide wireless voice and mobile data services over high-quality, all-digital wireless networks. Cricket's innovative products and services including the award-winning Muve Music(®) - the first music service designed for a wireless phone, are available nationwide at Cricket branded retail stores, dealers, national retailers and at http://www.mycricket.com. For more information about Cricket, please visit http://www.mycricket.com.

Android is a trademark of Google, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

SOURCE  Cricket

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120202/LA46949LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Cricket

CONTACT: Jennifer Briscoe, Media Relations, +1-858-882-9238, jbriscoe@cricketcommunications.com

Web Site: http://www.mycricket.com