AT&T Expands Mobile Broadband Coverage in Fulton County
New Cell Sites Activated as Part of Ongoing AT&T Investment in Local Wireless Network
GLOVERSVILLE, N.Y. and JOHNSTOWN, N.Y., March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its continuing network investment to support growing demand for advanced mobile devices and applications, AT&T* today announced the activation of new mobile broadband cell sites in Fulton County that will enhance coverage for area residents and businesses in Gloversville and Johnstown. With mobile broadband speeds, AT&T customers can surf the Web, download files faster, and enjoy the very latest interactive mobile applications.
The new cell sites are one part of AT&T's ongoing efforts to drive investment and innovation to deliver the nation's best, most advanced mobile broadband experience for customers. With the nation's fastest mobile broadband network, AT&T provides accelerated mobile data speeds and simultaneous voice and data capabilities.
"Our goal is pretty simple: We want you to have an extraordinary experience when you make a call, check e-mail, download a song or video, surf the Internet or keep your business mobile on your AT&T device," said Robert Holliday, vice president and general manager, AT&T Upstate/Western New York. "As part of the Gloversville community, we're always looking for new opportunities to provide enhanced coverage to help drive local economic growth, and our investment in the local wireless network is just one way to accomplish this."
AT&T's mobile broadband network is based on the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) family of technologies that includes GSM and UMTS, the most widely used wireless network platforms in the world. AT&T has the best international coverage of any U.S. wireless provider, providing access to voice service in more than 220 countries and data service in more than 200 countries. AT&T also offers voice and data roaming coverage on more than 135 major cruise ships, as well as mobile broadband services in more than 130 countries.
AT&T also operates the nation's largest Wi-Fi network** with more than 24,000 hotspots in the U.S. and provides access to more than 135,000 hotspots globally through roaming agreements. Most AT&T smartphone customers get access to our entire national Wi-Fi network at no additional cost, and Wi-Fi usage doesn't count against customers' monthly data plans.
For more information about AT&T's coverage in New York State or anywhere in the United States, consumers can visit the AT&T Coverage Viewer. Using the online tool, AT&T customers can measure quality of coverage from a street address, intersection, ZIP code or even a landmark.
For updates on the AT&T wireless network, please visit the AT&T network news page.
*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
** Largest based on company branded and operated hotspots. Access includes AT&T Wi-Fi Basic. A Wi-Fi enabled device required. Other restrictions apply. See http://www.attwifi.com for details and locations.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates - AT&T operating companies - are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's fastest mobile broadband network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. A leader in mobile broadband, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T | DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T Advertising Solutions and AT&T Interactive are known for their leadership in local search and advertising.
Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com. This AT&T news release and other announcements are available at http://www.att.com/newsroom and as part of an RSS feed at http://www.att.com/rss. Or follow our news on Twitter at @ATT. Find us on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/ATT to discover more about our consumer and wireless services or at http://www.Facebook.com/ATTSmallBiz to discover more about our small business services.
Website launch coincides with announcement of expanded Verity® offering and additional products
WESTPORT, Conn., March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Imperium, a leading technology development firm that specializes in data quality solutions for the market research industry, announces the launch of its new corporate website, http://www.imperium.com. The website launch coincides with the announcement of an expanded Verity® offering, Verity+(TM), as well as, feature upgrades for several core product offerings.
"Imperium is uniquely focused on serving the needs of the market research industry. This focus enables us to specialize, as we continue to refine the products and services we provide, based on evolving client needs," says Marshall Harrison, Imperium Founder and CEO. "Our corporate website is the best place to obtain current information about our core offerings, and it now reflects an expanded suite of products." Most specifically, today the company announces the launch of an enhancement to its data validation product Verity.
Verity+ enables Verity clients to obtain up to twelve points of demographic data for validated individuals. This reported information includes; age, marital status, occupation, the presence of children in household, education, ethnicity, gender, household income, home market value, home ownership, length in residence, and political affiliation. Verity+ works hand in hand with Verity technology, which compares self-reported data against a series of databases to validate the accuracy of reported.
"Respondents time and attention is highly valuable. Why waste their time answering questions that we already have the answers to. Our clients can use Verity+ data to ensure a relevant respondent experience and ask truly valuable profiling questions," says Harrison. In addition to having an impact on the market research industry, Verity+ is useful for marketers, and e-commerce websites.
To learn more about Verity+ or the Imperium products listed below, please visit http://www.imperium.com.
-- RelevantID® - RelevantID is digital fingerprinting technology that
creates a sophisticated, next-generation approach to assuring and
certifying data reliability. RelevantID is used by industry-leading
panel and MR companies, and processes more than 2 million hits daily.
The latest RelevantID API is platform independent.
-- Verity® - Verity is an identity validation service that helps reduce
fraud by confirming the accuracy of an individual's self-reported data
against well-known databases that specialize in consumer demographics.
Verity is now available in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and
Europe.
-- ICE(TM) - ICE works hand in hand with RelevantID to identify respondents
who have recently participated in the same survey category within a
specified period of time, across participating companies.
-- Capture(TM) - Capture provides a comprehensive profile of website users,
from browser settings to geographic location. Data can be used to
optimize the user experience.
-- M2(TM) - M2 is a java-based, iron-clad approach to machine
identification.
-- Address Correction(TM) - Address Correction helps ensure that the
information obtained from website users or customers is accurate. This
product is available in the United States and Canada.
-- RelevantView® - Imperium's flagship product RelevantView is a server
based proprietary technology that captures both behavior and opinion
online.
To learn more about becoming an Imperium customer contact us at 203.221.1500. A full list of Imperium clients can be viewed by clicking here http://www.imperium.com/clients.html.
About Imperium
Imperium is a leading technology development firm specializing in the design, development, implementation and support of database systems for business intelligence and integrated e-business solutions. Imperium provides innovative products and services in the areas of market research, financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, marketing, advertising and web design.
Our brands include RelevantID® -- the leading industry digital fingerprinting technology for fraud prevention, Verity(TM) -- the data validation service that confirms the accuracy of a person's name, address and other demographics, and RelevantView® -- technology that captures user's online experience on websites and web applications. Imperium is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.
ZeeVee Re-launches Zinc.TV® as an Internet Video Platform for Service Providers
Also offers a consumer portal to allow people to enjoy the power of the new Zinc.TV®
LITTLETON, Mass., March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ZeeVee announced today a new version of Zinc®, a white-labeled, programmable platform that enables third parties to create private-branded Internet TV services.
As the popularity of Internet TV content explodes, Service Providers such as cable operators and telcos want to expand their offerings to include Internet TV. The Zinc® platform offers a unique suite of cloud-based apps which enables operators to build an Internet television platform that can find and manage content, program custom user experiences, and deliver it on both Internet-capable devices and traditional MPEG-4 IP set-tops.
"We have invested four years evolving this technology, first as an end-user PC application, and now as a significant cloud-based web platform with strong automation and greatly simplified user interfaces. We have learned much from our loyal followers and are convinced that we have the ideal platform from which service providers can build their own best in class offerings," said Vic Odryna, CEO. "We will continue to operate http://www.Zinc.TV as a user portal for consumers, because we learn greatly when working directly with end users."
The Zinc.TV® platform advances the state of Internet TV management products with advanced metadata automation, powerful video search, intelligent four-screen support, and features and tools that enable third-parties to bring compelling Internet TV services to market.
Zinc® has automated its metadata engine enabling a highly scalable, readily maintainable solution. A new, lightweight HTML interface replaces Zinc's original PC download application, enabling cross-device, multi-screen support. Zinc® now works on tablets, mobile phones, as well as PCs, MACs, and connected TVs. The Zinc® platform provides programming, business rules, private branding and APIs that enable Zinc® to be the preeminent white-labeled Internet TV platform.
"After looking at nearly two dozen Internet TV plays, we decided ZeeVee had developed something really unique. The Zinc team has cracked the code on back-end automation that makes it possible to curate literally millions of pieces of content with almost no human intervention. The UI virtually eliminates dead ends when searching for and playing high value internet TV, through superior intelligent device and content filtering capability. This is exactly the type of functionality consumers have been craving and that service providers want to provide their customers, across all of their connected devices," said Jeff Binder, General Partner at Genovation Capital, which has a stake in the company.
Zinc.TV® is currently in trials with services providers and partners in the U.S., Europe, and Mexico.
Zinc.TV is an Internet video content management ecosystem that makes it easy to manage and enjoy the best of Internet video, anywhere, any time, on any browser-enabled device. Zinc is also an operating group within ZeeVee, Inc. For more information, visit http://www.Zinc.tv
ZeeVee, Inc. also develops HD video distribution products using broadcast and cable technologies. The ZvPro® line of HD encoding and modulation gear serves the digital signage, private cable operator, and high end residential markets. For more information, visit http://www.ZeeVee.com
Note: Trademarks and registered trademarks contained herein remain the property of their respective owners.
AT&T Brings Mobile Broadband Network to Martinsville
Local Wireless Network Upgrade Extends Access to Advanced Products, Services and Applications
MARTINSVILLE, Va., March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --AT&T* today announced the availability of its mobile broadband network in Martinsville, extending access for advanced mobile services, devices and feature-rich audio and video content to customers in the area. This includes the neighborhoods of Chatmoss, Villa Heights, Collinsville, Bassett Forks and Fieldale, and along the William F. Stone and A.L. Philpott Highways, and at the Lynnwood Golf Club and along Route 220 South to Ridgeway.
"Bringing the mobile broadband network to new areas of Virginia to consumers and businesses is our ultimate objective," said J. Michael Schweder, president, AT&T Mid Atlantic. "Our ongoing investments in the Commonwealth will help our customers have access to the mobile broadband services that help drive continued economic growth."
AT&T is an industry leader in delivering the benefits of mobile broadband networks, devices and applications. With the nation's fastest mobile broadband network, AT&T provides accelerated mobile data speeds and simultaneous voice and data capabilities for an amazing wireless voice and data experience.
"Demand for wireless bandwidth is growing rapidly, whether it's for sharing video and photos with friends, watching a movie, checking the latest scores, or listening to music on a phone, netbook or other on-the-go devices," said Erika K. Thompson-Kemp, Vice President and General Manager for AT&T in Virginia. "With this expansion, our customers can enjoy the nation's best, most advanced mobile broadband experience with emerging devices and tens of thousands of mobile applications."
AT&T's mobile broadband network is based on the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) family of technologies that includes GSM and UMTS, the most widely used wireless network platforms in the world. AT&T has the best international coverage of any U.S. wireless provider, providing access to voice service in more than 220 countries and data service in more than 200 countries. AT&T also offers voice and data roaming coverage on more than 135 major cruise ships, as well as mobile broadband services in more than 130 countries.
AT&T also operates the nation's largest Wi-Fi network** with more than 24,000 hotspots in the U.S. and provides access to more than 135,000 hotspots globally through roaming agreements. Most AT&T smartphone customers get access to our entire national Wi-Fi network at no additional cost, and Wi-Fi usage doesn't count against customers' monthly data plans.
For more information about AT&T's coverage in Virginia or anywhere in the United States, consumers can visit the AT&T Coverage Viewer. Using the online tool, AT&T customers can measure coverage quality from a street address, intersection, ZIP code or even a landmark.
For updates on the AT&T wireless network, please visit the AT&T network news page.
*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
** Largest based on company branded and operated hotspots. Access includes AT&T Wi-Fi Basic. A Wi-Fi enabled device required. Other restrictions apply. See http://www.attwifi.com for details and locations.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates - AT&T operating companies - are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's fastest mobile broadband network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. A leader in mobile broadband, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T | DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T Advertising Solutions and AT&T Interactive are known for their leadership in local search and advertising.
Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com. This AT&T news release and other announcements are available at http://www.att.com/newsroom and as part of an RSS feed at http://www.att.com/rss. Or follow our news on Twitter at @ATT. Find us on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/ATT to discover more about our consumer and wireless services or at http://www.Facebook.com/ATTSmallBiz to discover more about our small business services.
Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Information set forth in this press release contains financial estimates and other forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results might differ materially. A discussion of factors that may affect future results is contained in AT&T's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AT&T disclaims any obligation to update and revise statements contained in this news release based on new information or otherwise.
SOURCE AT&T Inc.
AT&T Inc.
CONTACT: Ellen Webner of AT&T, +1-973-775-1321, Ellen.webner@att.com
ReadyTalk Launches a Partners Program Making Audio and Web Conferencing and Webinar Services Available for Resell
ReadyTalk to exhibit at the Channel Partners Conference and Expo, March 13 - 15 in Las Vegas
DENVER, March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ReadyTalk, a leader in integrated audio and web conferencing and webinar services, today announced the introduction of a partner program designed to further extend the ReadyTalk brand while enabling partners to generate revenue by selling a full range of conferencing and event solutions that meet a company's everyday collaboration and webinar needs.
A recent Frost & Sullivan report shows a steady increase in the need for web event services by small to medium businesses as they turn to webinars as an affordable tool for demand generation and training. Additionally, web and audio conferencing continues to be a go-to solution for collaborative meetings.
ReadyTalk Partners Program offers full support and compensation for selling ReadyTalk's web events or audio and web conferencing services. As a part of the ReadyTalk team, partners have full access to sales and marketing resources, whitepapers and other resources need to support acquiring new accounts. In addition, a team of account managers support both the sales efforts and ongoing account maintenance and customer support.
"Whether you want to simply refer clients or resell ReadyTalk services, we want to ensure your success. ReadyTalk treats partners like clients, offering support and resources to your business," said Dwight Allgood, vice president of channel services for ReadyTalk. "Partnering with ReadyTalk for your customers' web and audio conferencing needs means driving more revenue through new and existing clients."
ReadyTalk is interested in engaging partners that see value in offering a fully supported conferencing and event services to their customer base and will be recruiting partners for a variety of channel programs that allows a partner to choose their level of participation.
ReadyTalk will be exhibiting at the Channel Partners Conference and Expo, March 13 to 15 in Las Vegas, Nevada. ReadyTalk's team will be on hand to answer questions and provide additional information about the partner program.
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Denver, Colo., ReadyTalk delivers audio and web conferencing services that empower customers to successfully conduct audio and web conferences of all sizes - from ad hoc meetings to large webinars. ReadyTalk combines ease of use with sophisticated marketing tools to increase audience engagement, event ROI and meeting productivity. Unlike other services, ReadyTalk gives customers a full suite of tools for training, collaboration, webinars and more. You'll always have access to the right features when you need them, no need to upgrade to another product. Please call toll free 800.843.9166 or visit http://www.readytalk.com for more information.
For More Information:
Bo Bandy
ReadyTalk
303-209-1593
bo.bandy@readytalk.com
SOURCE ReadyTalk
ReadyTalk
CONTACT: Bo Bandy of ReadyTalk, +1-303-209-1593, bo.bandy@readytalk.com
LONDON, March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Lego Star Wars 3 is the next big computer game due to be released this coming March by Tesco Entertainment. It is the latest Lucas Arts and TT Games production of the formidable partnership between Lego and Star Wars. The game will be released on PS3, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii, DS, PC and 3DS consoles.
Lego Star Wars 3 is based on the The Clone Wars animated TV series and is the most action packed Lego Star Wars game yet. There are feature missions from the brilliant TV series as well as scenes and all the favourite characters from the Original Star Wars epic, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.
All the features from the previous hugely successful Lego Star Wars games have returned. The game is also packed full of brand new weapons, dangerous enemies and taxing puzzles, taking you on the thrilling journey through different systems.
Ground battles, boss fights and multi-layered space combat make this the most challenging and engaging game to date in the series. Players will be able to land their craft and continue their battles on land. Strategy comes more into the game as players now have command over their armies across different battlefields.
A new scene swap feature of the multiplayer mode allows players to switch between teams to take on and defeat their enemies. With split screen combat this computer game is undoubtedly going to provide endless entertainment for the multiplayer fans around the world.
Visual improvements make the graphics cutting edge and include lighting enhancements, which give you a greater sense of space and depth, pulling you deep into the Lego Star Wars world.
Tesco Entertainment provides DVD, Blu-ray, CD, MP3 downloads and computer games to customers all across the UK. The website also has a massive archive of all the best entertainment available. The Tesco Entertainment pre-order promise combined with great prices means amazing value for all customers.
New Palm Beach City Guide Launches on The Purple Passport
Free online guide features the city's hippest and chicest spots as a resource for both locals and travelers
PALM BEACH, Fla., March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Purple Passport, a new web-based guide to the world's most exciting cities, has just launched its complete Palm Beach City Guide. Featuring over 70 of the choicest hotels, restaurants, spas, nightlife spots, shops, and activities, the guide will point locals to nearby hotspots and help travelers plan distinctive city experiences.
Recommendations run the gamut from palatial resorts to pristine public beaches, designer boutiques to vintage diners, and buzzing bars to serene spas. Written in a fresh, accessible voice, the guide will appeal to stylish and discriminating individuals who like to be "in the know."
Users can also take advantage of the site's unique features, including a mapping tool to find recommended venues near their primary destinations. Those who open free Purple Passport accounts can create customized "Passports" of their favorite venues to print or share with friends via email.
The site's user-friendly, taste-making approach is a reflection of what its founders, best friends Jennifer Garcia-Alonso and Emily T. Chang, look for when they travel. "We've been traveling together for over a decade -- with matching purple-colored passport covers in tow," said Garcia-Alonso. The pair began blogging about their journeys on The Diary of The Purple Passport in 2008 and launched the beta version of The Purple Passport in 2010 with Guides to London, Los Angeles, and Beijing. They look forward to moving beyond the beta phase in 2011.
About The Purple Passport
The Purple Passport (http://www.thepurplepassport.com) is a web-based collection of city guides for the hip and highly discerning traveler. The site is a one-stop-shop for the full range of urban travel planning needs, from researching a trip start to finish, to reserving hotels and restaurants, to creating an itinerary to be shared with travel companions. The Purple Passport team personally visits every spot that it reviews and never accepts compensation for featuring a venue on the site. First-person accounts of the team's travel experiences can be found on the companion blog, The Diary of The Purple Passport (http://diary.thepurplepassport.com).
Contact:
Jennifer Garcia-Alonso
Co-Founder
The Purple Passport, LLC
245 Park Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10167
jenn.garcia-alonso@thepurplepassport.com
SOURCE The Purple Passport
The Purple Passport
CONTACT: Jennifer Garcia-Alonso, Co-Founder, jenn.garcia-alonso@thepurplepassport.com
Revolutionary Visual Extension to e2Campus Emergency Communication System
Integrated emClock provides affordable network clock and emergency messaging solution for true location-specific messaging in any building or campus wide
LEESBURG, Va., March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Omnilert®, LLC, maker of e2Campus®, the leading safety communication solution for education, today announced emClock® emergency messaging clocks as the newest Certified Endpoint Provider (CEP). Distributed by Emergency Message Controls LLC, the affordable emClocks now integrate with e2Campus uAlert for simplified mass notification. Through the intuitive uAlert interface, emClocks across campus can now display e2Campus messages as well as the presentation of network time. The list price of Power over Ethernet (PoE) indoor emClocks start at $495, while the weather resistant outdoor emClocks list for $545.
emClocks can be one of the most cost effective solutions for location-specific visual messaging available today. They support the facility with network time presentation and low priority scheduled messages. When there is a need for critical messages, they instantly become a public extension to the e2Campus system by presenting high priority emergency messages. Optional use of the emClock tone alarm helps ensure these messages will be hard to miss.
"emClocks support the facility with time presentation, plus the emergency preparedness department with critical messaging services," said Gerry Gorman, Co-Founder of Emergency Message Controls. "Emergency information needs to be delivered in timely manner and it needs to be relevant at each location. emClock provides immediate delivery and the ability to customize information for different locations in your building or across your campus."
Gorman continued, "emClocks will provide e2Campus customers with a persistent visual extension of critical messages. With the e2Campus uAlert system, customers can easily send or remove messages on any emClock."
"They are powered by the Ethernet network, so new electric circuits are not required - making them easy and inexpensive to install. At less than 10 watts power demand and configurable 'sleep mode,' they are extremely inexpensive to operate. They are the most affordable solution for both time presentation and critical messaging."
The new integrated solution is available today. There are no additional fees from e2Campus for the connection. e2Campus clients interested in emClocks should contact their e2Campus account manager for details at 1-800-936-3525.
Emergency Message Controls was founded by experienced emergency notification professionals who are passionate about delivering reliable and cost effective technologies to secure America's buildings, campuses, and public places. The company's flagship product line is emClock, an affordable Ethernet powered emergency messaging clock with a list price of $495. The emClock products provide instant location specific messaging to thousands of people in any building and across any campus. Emergency Message Controls partners with leading notifications technologies to provide customers with a visual extension for their critical messaging systems. For more information, visit http://www.emClock.com.
About e2Campus
Used by more than 750 schools around the country, e2Campus is the leading safety communication solution for education. The e2Campus 360 Safety Suite includes uAlert, uTip, uSafe, uConference, and the Multimodal Showcase. The award-winning flagship service, uAlert, is the first and most trusted unified emergency notification system in education. Higher education clients include large schools such as Arizona State, Penn State, and Cal Poly as well as hundreds of smaller schools with as few as 100 students. K12 clients include large school systems such as St. Tammany Parish Public School System to small private day schools. To learn more, visit http://www.e2Campus.com. Existing client administrators can discover online resources in a peer-driven community at http://www.e2Campus.org.
About Omnilert
Omnilert, LLC develops intuitive communication technologies that keep communities safe and connected. The company's flagship service is a Tier-1 unified mass notification system that enables a single person to communicate timely information to thousands of people anywhere, anytime, on any device or service. The award-winning company's 3,000 clients include the U.S. Army, Bayer, Mazda, sanofi-aventis, Arizona State University, Penn State, Marine Corps Marathon, YMCA, American Red Cross, and UNICEF. Omnilert solutions are sold under the brand names e2Campus, Amerilert, and RainedOut. The privately held company is headquartered in Leesburg, Va., and at http://www.omnilert.com online.
Global IT Services Company Delivers Proactive Monitoring to Clients with Nimsoft Monitoring Solution
G7 InfoTech Adds Value to Technology Solutions and Reduces Operating Expenses
CAMPBELL, Calif., March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Nimsoft today announced G7 InfoTech, a global IT solutions and services company is deploying the Nimsoft Monitoring Solution (NMS) to provide proactive monitoring of its clients critical systems and applications.
With NMS, G7 InfoTech will be able to deliver greater business value to clients in the mid-market segment by maintaining full visibility into the status of critical infrastructure and services while reducing its operational costs.
NMS offers comprehensive functionality and features that enable G7 InfoTech to effectively monitor more clients with little additional administrative overhead. This unified monitoring approach gives G7 InfoTech's clients a single view of their infrastructure, allowing them to keep track of their systems via the Nimsoft Unified Monitoring Portal.
"By improving the automation of IT management processes and tasks, NMS is helping us lower our operational costs," said Balaji Karthikeyan, executive vice president of G7 InfoTech. "With NMS, our team has been able to automate 35 percent of our level-1 tickets, resulting in a 28 percent operating expense savings."
InfoTech plans to deploy NMS to up to 500 customers by the end of 2011, replacing several open source and off-the-shelf monitoring solutions already in place. In addition to providing 24/7 remote, real-time monitoring capabilities for clients' infrastructures, NMS will be a critical component in G7 InfoTech's new cloud services offering.
"Nimsoft enables value-aggressive service providers like G7 InfoTech to deliver greater value to more clients at less cost," said Gary Read, Nimsoft CEO. "Our NMS solution is particularly useful for service providers who are leveraging their dynamic hosting and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) environments to launch innovative cloud computing services. It makes it so much easier for them to respond to changing business requirements and provide clients with the transparency that the market demands."
About G7 InfoTech
G7 InfoTech, part of G7 Group is a IT Solutions & Services company focused on the Medium to Mid market and SME Sector globally with expertise in multiple industry domains of Convergence, Telecom, BFSI, Transportation, Retail and Logistics that uses qualitative frameworks of Service Chain Management and predominantly a B2B partner model approach to optimize Solutions, operations and profitability. G7 Group, a 500 Million USD Corporate house consists of independent companies which can come together to offer unique value in most cost-effective manner and highest qualitative framework to deliver as one entity and thus providing its partners and end-clients a one stop shop solution for perfecting their business strategy, execution, delivery and profitability. G7 using its global delivery model based on Managed Services Strategy and its delivery arm spread across geographies with a Global Delivery Center in India provides the advantage of being able to use its experienced team of business process architects, engineers and consultants to transform customer requirements into cost effective and advanced solutions for their business requirements.
Nimsoft provides Unified Monitoring solutions for virtualized data centers, hosted and managed services, cloud platforms, and SaaS resources. The Nimsoft Unified Monitoring architecture virtually eliminates the need to deploy a new monitoring solution for outsourced services, public or private clouds, or SaaS implementations. Over 1000 customers use Nimsoft Unified Monitoring solutions, including hundreds of leading hosting, cloud and managed service providers such as 1&1, BlueLock, CDW, Hitachi, QTS, Rackspace, SoftLayer and Troubadour. For more information, visit http://www.nimsoft.com or to see Nimsoft Unified Monitoring in action, visit the Nimsoft public portal at http://www.unifiedmonitoring.com.
Leading provider of application performance management for cloud environments grows global network of value-added resellers, technology partners
SAN FRANCISCO, March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- AppDynamics, the leader in application management for the cloud generation, announced today the expansion of its worldwide partner program. The AppDynamics Partner Program, launched in early 2010, is the company's global alliance of value-added resellers (VARs), Ecosystem Alliances and Cloud Platform Enablers, created to meet the increasing demand for application performance management addressing modern application architectures in the cloud and data center.
Since inception, the AppDynamics partner program has grown three-fold, adding strategic relationships with VARs such as codecentric (Germany), Ener4Soft (Italy), Software Libre Andino (South America), Compasso (Brazil), NovaTec (Middle East) and Trinidad Consulting (Baltics), among others. Additionally, the company has expanded both its Ecosystem and Cloud Enabler Alliances to include providers such as VMWare, Coradiant and OpSource.
"Most of our customers have built their application architectures on the principles of SOA. In highly distributed mission-critical environments, operations teams are challenged with managing performance and meeting SLAs as architecture and code are ever-changing," said Alexis Rockenbach, CEO of Compasso in Brazil. "AppDynamics is uniquely designed to address modern applications and we've found it to be the best fit for companies that want to dramatically improve the management of their business transaction response time and mean-time-to-resolution of production problems."
Early AppDynamics partners include Amazon AWS, SOASTA, Red Hat, Application Performance, Benzler and SysPerform. The company continues to expand its partnerships throughout Europe, Latin and South America and is actively seeking select partners around the world.
"Most businesses today have high-volume mission-critical or revenue-critical applications deployed in distributed, dynamic environments, including both cloud and traditional data center architectures," said Peter Abrams, Vice President of Strategic Accounts at AppDynamics. "Our partners have years of experience in application performance management and have specifically chosen to partner with AppDynamics because our solution is purpose-built for these modern applications."
AppDynamics is the leading provider of application management for modern application architectures in both the cloud and the data center, delivering solutions for highly distributed, dynamic, and agile environments. Businesses use AppDynamics to monitor, troubleshoot, diagnose, and scale production applications, and over 20,000 people have downloaded AppDynamics Lite, its free java troubleshooting solution. The company was recognized as a Gartner Cool Vendor in IT Operations Management. Visit our blog or follow us on Twitter.
SOURCE AppDynamics, Inc.
AppDynamics, Inc.
CONTACT: Katherine Nellums, +1-415-321-2347, Katherine@pageonepr.com, for AppDynamics, Inc.
First Spider-Man Comic From 1962 Sells for $1.1 Million
NEW YORK, March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can ... but also what no other 1960s comic book can do ... sell for $1,100,000!
ComicConnect.com, one of the industry's leading online auction sites, just sold an extremely rare, highest graded copy of Amazing Fantasy #15, the Marvel comic book by legends Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, that introduced the world to the web slinging, wall crawling superhero known as Spider-Man, a.k.a. Peter Parker. The sale of this legendary comic is second only to the Guinness World record 8.5 VF+ Action Comics #1,which marks Superman's 1938 debut that was also sold by http://www.ComicConnect.com last year for a whopping $1,500,000.
"The late 1950s and early 1960s are considered the Silver Age of comic books," says http://www.ComicConnect.com CEO Stephen Fishler. "The sale of this book crushed all previous records. Up until today's $1.1 million sale, the record sale price of a comic book from this era was $250,000."
Vincent Zurzolo, ComicConnect.com COO and one of the leading experts on collectible comics stated, "The buyer of this amazing comic wanted to own the very best. The Amazing Fantasy #15 9.6 is the very definition of the very best."
When Amazing Fantasy #15 hit the stands in 1962, it cost a mere 12 cents. Fishler acquired the coveted copy of the comic about 25 years ago, and sold it for $2,500. In 2000, he re-acquired the book and quickly sold it for $140,000 after it had been graded as a CGC 9.6 NM+ on the 10-point grading scale created by Fishler. Today, that scale is used universally to evaluate the condition of comic books.
"People have often wondered how much this near-perfect condition book would sell for, and today we found out," explains Zurzolo. "There are very few books and characters that can dictate this kind of price and Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy #15 is one of them."
Palestinian Technology Venture Fund MEVCF Launches Operations
First Venture Capital Fund Targeting Palestinian Tech Companies
RAMALLAH, Palestine, March 9, 2011/PRNewswire/ -- MEVCF - The Middle East Venture Capital Fund announced today that it
has secured $28.7M from leading international companies, foundations, and
other investors for the first venture fund targeting Palestinian technology
companies. The Fund is beginning to evaluate investment opportunities from
its office in Ramallah.
MEVCF's investors include Cisco, Google, The Soros Economic
Development Fund, Skoll Foundation, Jean and Steve Case, and the European
Investment Bank, among others.
The Fund will be managed by Saed Nashef, a software
entrepreneur and industry veteran who recently returned to the region after
nearly two decades in the US, and Yadin Kaufmann, a longtime venture
capitalist in the US and Israel.
"We believe the Palestinian technology sector offers
significant prospects for economic development and job creation," said
Nashef. "There is a vibrant community of software entrepreneurs who have 'the
right stuff'. We and our investors will aim to provide the access to risk
capital and to international markets that these entrepreneurs need in order
to compete on the world stage."
The MEVCF fund will invest in startup companies in the
internet, mobile and software sectors created by ICT entrepreneurs in the
West Bank. Palestine IT and software exports have grown consistently over the
last decade. Several major multinational technology companies including
Cisco, HP, Intel, and others have begun outsourcing development work to
Palestinian software companies, capitalizing on the educated and
entrepreneurial population and developed IT infrastructure, which includes
several thousand skilled Palestinian engineers and 13 higher learning
institutions.
"We are pleased to have the Google Foundation participate in
the Middle East Venture Capital Fund as part of our effort to enhance
Palestinian economic capacity in the ICT sector," said Google's Director of
New Business Development, Gisel Kordestani.
Yoav Samet, Cisco's Senior Director of Corporate Development
for Europe and Emerging Markets, said, "Our investment in the MEVCF further
extends Cisco's commitment towards creating a sustainable Palestinian
technology sector. We are looking forward to supporting, through our
involvement in this Fund, the development of innovative Palestinian
technology companies."
Jean Case, CEO of the Case Foundation and co-Chair of the
Middle East Strategy Group of the Aspen Institute, early supporters of the
Fund, said: "We see tremendous potential value in technology firms in the
West Bank and believe the fund will make a significant contribution to
creating prosperity and stability in the region."
Philippe de Fontaine Vive, European Investment Bank VP
responsible for Mediterranean partner countries, said: "The successful launch
of this fund sends an important message across the region. The fund is
expected to make a key contribution to the development of the local
technology and financial sectors through combining international industry
experience and risk capital, with the untapped talent pool and
entrepreneurial energy in the Palestinian territories. I am delighted that
EIB is associated with such initiative."
"The Soros Economic Development fund believes that the MEVCF
can be an important catalyst for technology startups, providing jobs and
keeping skilled engineers and programmers in Palestine," said Michel Zaleski,
one of the Soros Fund's directors.
The Balvenie Launches Nationwide Journey of Rare Craft Discovery
The Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow Embarks on Year-Long Search for the Unsung Heroes of American Craftsmanship
NEW YORK, March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Balvenie,the world's most handcrafted Single Malt Scotch Whisky, announces today the launch of the Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow - a nationwide search for the craftsmen and artisans across America who maintain a dedication to the practice and preservation of traditional crafts. Part trans-American road trip and part voyage of discovery, The Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow is a celebration of craftsmanship that will travel from state to state, discovering and honoring the people who share the Balvenie's commitment to craftsmanship, documenting every step in a Web series and eventual documentary film.
As a fifth-generation family owned distillery, the exceptional quality of The Balvenie stems from its commitment to retain and nurture the high level of hand craftsmanship no longer employed by other malt whisky producers. Starting this March, The Balvenie Ambassadors Andrew Weir and Nicholas Pollacchi will travel the length and breadth of the United States to seek out and honor artisans who share their enthusiasm for all things made with skill and passion. Traveling from city to city in a suitably handcrafted Morgan Car, the pair will visit the workshops, studios, and stores where rare crafts are being kept alive, learning more about the craftsmen and their respective crafts along the way.
From brewers, vintners and cheese makers, to apothecaries, tailors, bicycle makers and all points between, The Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow will discover and celebrate the burgeoning community of like-minded American artisans, giving craftsmen the recognition they are due, in the form of wide exposure. In addition to being featured on a dedicated website and in a nationwide print campaign, craftsmen will also have a chance to be honored at special celebratory events and featured in the dedicated Web video series and resulting documentary, charting this unique journey and the skilled characters encountered along the way.
"We are thrilled to begin our journey in search of the best craftsmen that this nation has to offer and cannot wait to see what we uncover," commented Andrew Weir, Eastern USA Ambassador for The Balvenie. "The Balvenie is unique in that nowhere else will you find a distillery that still grows its own barley, malts in its own traditional malting floor, employs coopers to tend every cask, a coppersmith to maintain the stills, and a malt master to ensure that the resulting spirit is consistently excellent. We realize this approach may not be as economical or as profitable as it could be, but as a family-owned distillery, we do it because we can, and because we know it's the best way to ensure quality throughout the whisky making process. We want to recognize those who feel the same way about their respective crafts."
"We are passionate about the need to preserve and practice the art of craftsmanship, and The Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow will bring this passion to life sharing it with those we meet along the way," added Nicholas Pollacchi, Western USA Ambassador for The Balvenie. "We hope that The Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow will ignite the spirit of rare craft across the country, and we look forward to honoring our fellow craftsmen during this epic nationwide journey. We encourage craftsmen to begin signing up immediately."
The Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow will kick-off in March 2011, when Andrew and Nicholas will launch their voyage of discovery. To follow the progress of the Road Show, learn more about scheduled stops and nominate craftsmen, interested parties can visit The Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow Web site at: http://www.balvenie.com/roadshow. The search for the best rare craftsmen in America has officially begun!
For high-res imagery and additional information about the Rare Craft Roadshow, please contact:
Ashley Wallace
Maloney & Fox
646-356-8332
awallace@maloneyfox.com
About William Grant & Sons
William Grant & Sons, Ltd. is an independent family-owned distiller headquartered in the United Kingdom and founded by William Grant in 1887. Today, the luxury spirits company is run by the fifth generation of his family and distills some of the world's leading brands of Scotch whisky, including the world's most awarded single malt Glenfiddich®, The Balvenie® range of handcrafted single malts and the world's fourth largest blended Scotch Grant's® as well as other iconic spirits brands such as Hendrick's® Gin, Sailor Jerry® Rum, Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey and the award-winning Milagro® Tequila.
Among the most recent accolades for the well-awarded company, William Grant & Sons was honored as the "Distiller of the Year" for the fourth time in five years by the prestigious International Spirits Challenge.
Founded in 1964, William Grant & Sons USA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of William Grant & Sons, Ltd. and features one of the fastest growing spirits portfolios in the USA with brands including Glenfiddich, The Balvenie, Hendrick's Gin, Sailor Jerry Rum, Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey, Milagro Tequila, Stolichnaya Vodka, Grant's, Hudson Whiskey, Clan MacGregor, Reyka Vodka, Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur, Lillet, Licor 43, Art In The Age, The Knot and BOLS cordials. The company has offices in New York City (sales and marketing) and Edison, NJ (bottling and warehouse facilities). For more information on the company and its brands, please visit http://www.grantusa.com.
- Online community invites moms to share their stories about what really happens at dinnertime -
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Every night Mom faces dinnertime challenges only other moms can understand - which is why Ragu® is launching "Mom's the Word on Dinner", an online community that brings moms together to laugh, learn and share their stories about what really happens at dinnertime.
Parents can join the conversation by visiting Facebook.com/ragusauce. Each month a group of mom bloggers from Momversation.com(TM), the premier online video series and site for moms, as well as parenting expert and author, Dr. Michele Borba, and Registered Dietician, Dr. Felicia Stoler, will join moms across the country to tackle various dinnertime dilemmas. The topics to be discussed will range from how to deal with picky eaters, to getting kids to eat their vegetables to what dinnertime really means to you and your family.
"From compartmentalizing food on their plates to the 'I want dessert!' before dinner challenges, as a mom of two under the age of six, I've seen just about everything," says Daphne Brogdon, Momversation.com(TM) panelist and creator of Coolmom.com. "We're laying it all out on the table at Ragu® 'Mom's the Word on Dinner' as we compare notes, get the dish from other moms and help each other by providing solutions to whatever issue we're facing that day."
Throughout the year, the Mom's the Word on Dinner community on Facebook.com/ragusauce will feature various videos, photos, polls, quizzes and dinner ideas with quick and easy recipes. Parents can also share their story with America for a chance to be featured in a Ragu® advertisement in PEOPLE magazine this summer.
"For more than seventy years, Ragu® has provided nutritious meal options for moms to help them feed their kids well," says Donna Barker, Marketing Director for Unilever. "We're excited to bring together a passionate community of parents to share the joys and challenges we can all relate to with our family at the dinner table."
With two full servings of vegetables in every half cup of Ragu® Old World Style® Traditional pasta sauce, Ragu® continues to help moms in their mission to feed their kids well. To join the conversation and tell your story for a chance to be featured in a Ragu® advertisement in PEOPLE magazine visit Facebook.com/ragusauce.
About Ragu®
Ragu Pasta Sauces are available in all major grocery stores and mass retailers. For varieties, recipes and other exciting ways to use Ragu, visit http://www.Ragu.com.
About Unilever North America
Unilever works to create a better future every day. We help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. Each day, around the world, we serve over two billion consumers. In the United States, Canada and the Greater Caribbean (Trinidad & Tobago, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico) the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Becel, Ben & Jerry's, Bertolli, Blue Band, Breyers, Caress, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Hellmann's, Klondike, Knorr, Lipton, Omo, Popsicle, Promise, Q-Tips, Skippy, Slim-Fast, Suave, Sunsilk and Vaseline. All of the preceding brand names are registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies. Dedicated to serving consumers and the communities where we live, work and play, Unilever employs more than 13,000 people across North America - generating nearly $10 billion in sales in 2009. For more information, visit http://www.unileverusa.com, http://www.unilever.ca, or http://www.unilevercaribbean.com.
About MOMVERSATION.com
The Webby nominated site delivers authentic personal insights into women's issues. Home to the pioneering series Momversation which brings together a rotating panel of influential mommy bloggers and the inspirational docu-series Her Story.
Momversation panelists are widely recognized as influencers in the parenting blog space. The outspoken cast includes a diverse array of moms, and notable guests and experts.
About DECA
DECA is the premier lifestyle digital media company. We deliver premium online video to an engaged women's audience through a portfolio of owned and operated sites and a scaled distribution network. Central to our success is the cultivation of unique video formats and the DECA Talent Network, which includes hundreds of leading bloggers, influencers and experts from various content verticals. Headquartered in Santa Monica. DECA is funded by Mayfield Fund, General Catalyst Partners, Rustic Canyon Partners and Atomico.
InterCall Partners With Iformata to Offer a Complete Video Managed Services Portfolio
CHICAGO, March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- InterCall, the world's largest conferencing and collaboration services provider, today announced its partnership with Iformata, the longest serving and most experienced Video Network Operations Center (VNOC®) provider, to bring a complete Video Manager Services portfolio to market, including support for immersive telepresence.
With this best-of-breed partnership, InterCall and Iformata will offer global VNOC services: a complete scheduling system, expert project management teams, a superior help desk and a certified equipment reseller to its customers.
"Our partnership with Iformata will leverage the experience of both companies to bring numerous video conferencing enhancements to our customers," said Rob Bellmar, vice president of product management, InterCall. "By joining forces, Iformata's comprehensive solution and InterCall's unmatched product set will offer the broadest and most complete Unified Communications solutions available."
As the only provider who supplies VNOC services for three of the largest telepresence/non-telepresence endpoint manufacturers, Iformata provides complete business-to-business service between TANDBERG, Teliris, Polycom, Cisco and Life-Size endpoints. As Iformata has more than 16 years of video conferencing expertise and is the leading innovator of automated VNOC tools, this partnership will enhance the conferencing experience for InterCall's VNOC customers in more than 55 countries.
"The partnership with InterCall aligns our organizations with a single cohesive strategy, momentum and focus of which we are both committed to providing to the marketplace," said Brian Kinne, executive vice president, Iformata. "It's critical to our industry that we provide solutions which are easy to use yet powerful enough to scale, and the goal of this partnership is to accomplish just that."
For more information on InterCall's web, audio, video and streaming solutions, please visit http://www.intercall.com or follow InterCall on Twitter at @InterCall.
About InterCall
InterCall, a subsidiary of West Corporation, is the world's largest conferencing and collaboration services provider. Founded in 1991, InterCall helps people and companies be more productive by providing advanced audio, event, Web and video conferencing solutions that are easy-to-use and save them time and money. Along with a team of over 500 Meeting Consultants, the company employs more than 1,500 operators, customer service representatives, call supervisors, accounting, marketing and IT professionals. InterCall's strong U.S. presence, which includes four call centers and 26 sales offices, is bolstered by a global reach that extends to Canada, Mexico, Latin America, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. For more information, please visit http://www.intercall.com.
About West Corporation
West Corporation is a leading provider of technology-driven, voice-oriented solutions. West offers its clients a broad range of communications and infrastructure management solutions that help them manage or support critical communications. West's customer contact solutions and conferencing services are designed to improve its clients' cost structure and provide reliable, high-quality services. West also provides mission-critical services, such as public safety and emergency communications.
Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, West serves Fortune 1000 companies and other clients in a variety of industries, including telecommunications, banking, retail, financial, technology and healthcare. West has sales and operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America. For more information on West Corporation, please call 1-800-841-9000 or visit http://www.west.com.
About Iformata Communications
Iformata Communications is the leading video managed service provider of cloud-based services and innovator of ubiquitous VNOC® tools and end-to-end automation through its VNOC Symphony platform. Iformata is the provider of choice for global enterprise firms, equipment manufacturers, and top-tier carriers and networks. With offices in Ohio, Virginia, Mumbai, Stavanger, and Bangalore, Iformata is the industry's longest-serving provider of managed services. Through international peering relationships with major providers and other VNOC suppliers, Iformata's Telepresence Exchange® is a leading video communications network connecting global Fortune 500 firms. For more information, please visit http://www.iformata.com or call 937-832-6957.
All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.
SOURCE InterCall
InterCall
CONTACT: David Friedman of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, +1-303-634-2674, David.Friedman@ogilvypr.com, for InterCall
MobileIron and NitroDesk Partner to Deliver Android Security for the Enterprise
With TouchDown for MobileIron, Regulated Industries Such as Financial Services Can Safely Put Corporate Email on Android Devices
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- MobileIron (http://www.MobileIron.com), the innovator in mobile device management and security, and NitroDesk, (http://www.NitroDesk.com), developers of the leading Enterprise-ready Exchange ActiveSync-based email solution for Android powered phones and tablets, today announced TouchDown for MobileIron, the high-security version of TouchDown email. With TouchDown for MobileIron, MobileIron enterprise customers, specifically those in highly regulated industries such as Financial Services, Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare, can deploy and remotely manage secure corporate email on Android devices.
TouchDown is the leading Exchange ActiveSync synchronization solution for Android-powered devices with over 250,000 active users. TouchDown has been popular with enterprise customers for both its intuitive user experience and its integration with ActiveSync, which is the industry standard for wireless email mobilization. TouchDown for MobileIron also delivers key features that are only available to MobileIron customers:
-- Copy/paste restrictions: IT can set policies through MobileIron to
restrict the user's ability to cut and paste text and data from
corporate email to other applications.
-- Email encryption: All email and PIM data within TouchDown for MobileIron
is encrypted at rest with 3DES or AES encryption.
-- Certificate-based identity: IT can now use MobileIron's certificate
management capabilities to distribute certificates to authenticate the
Touchdown client to the corporate mail environment.
-- Selective wipe: Using MobileIron, IT can wipe email and PIM on Android
without impacting the rest of the device. IT can set up policies to
ensure that only devices under MobileIron management are allowed to
access enterprise email.
"We were consistently hearing from our Financial Services customers that they needed to figure out how to be able to say yes to Android devices," said Bob Tinker, CEO, MobileIron. "TouchDown for MobileIron gives them the security they need to be able to do so. We are delighted to be working with NitroDesk to solve our customers' problems by providing them with the best and most secure email solution for Android."
"NitroDesk has been on the front lines of Android innovation since 2008," said Ronald Goins, COO of NitroDesk Inc. "Our goal has always been to deliver features, options and improvements that go well beyond what anyone else can offer. With MobileIron, we've found a partner who is as focused on innovation and customer service as we are. Together we have a complete solution for managing and securing corporate data on Android phones and tablets."
Founded in May 2008, NitroDesk Inc. is the developer of the popular TouchDown application which lets users synchronize their Android-powered handsets and devices with corporate email, contacts calendar, tasks and notes on their Microsoft Exchange Servers. NitroDesk is based in Bellevue, Washington.
About MobileIron
MobileIron is solving the problems CIOs face as business data and applications move to smart phones and tablets. The MobileIron Virtual Smartphone Platform is the first solution to give IT and users real-time intelligence and control over mobile content, activity, and apps in order to secure the enterprise, reduce wireless cost, and improve the mobile user experience. For more information, please visit http://www.mobileiron.com.
SOURCE MobileIron
MobileIron
CONTACT: Clarissa Horowitz of MobileIron, +1-415-608-6825, clarissa@mobileiron.com
Exvisu Launches Strategic Indicators to Accompany its Lexical Maps
PARIS, March 9, 2011/PRNewswire/ -- Exvisu, the French company specialized in the strategic
analysis of opinions on the Internet, announces new network indicators for
its Exvisu global solution, Rezodience(TM), designed to make sense of vital
network online data.
The Exvisu global solution automatically creates a lexical
map. A lexical map Exvisu is a graphical map representation of large text
data sets. For Instance, a node represents each of the 100 most commonly
occurring words in this data set; the size of the node is proportional to the
number of times the word appears in the entire data set. The links between
nodes indicate that they are semantically connected, and the closer they are
together, the stronger the connection.
"It possible to calculate the nodes of understanding and to identify how
Internet influence converges between controversial themes and their authors,"
comments Josiane Versini, Founder and CEO of Exvisu.
Dr. Andrei Mogoutov, physician, scientific director of Exvisu Lab, is
specialised in methodology and data analysis for the social sciences and he
is the designer of the method and analysis solution for the studies of
controversies and the ideas of the network actor theory (with B.
Latour/M.Callon). With Exvisu, this method and solutions Rezodience(TM) can
analyze data online for brand and products positioning on the network actors
internet.
Having initially tested lexical maps in Montreal, Exvisu Lab is currently
pursuing the development of this innovative approach's numerous applications.
The next step ahead: adapting the Exvisu platform to Internet discussions in
Japanese and Chinese.
About Exvisu
Exvisu provides companies with semantic analysis of Internet
data social media. Our method offers our customers a real tool for brand
positioning, corporate positioning and action, as well as strategic
networking.
Press contact: Just Say It Consultancy, Strategies for influencing & mobilizing stakeholders, Isabelle Jahn, +33(0)1-44-61-81-81, isabelle@just-say-it.com; Exvisu, To make sense and business with social web villages, Josiane Versini, Founder & CEO d'Exvisu, Josiane.versini@exvisu.net
As Microsoft Introduces Natural Language to Bing Shopping, EasyAsk Brings Natural Language E-Commerce Search to the Cloud
EasyAsk's Rich Natural Language Search Is Now In Easy Reach of Thousands of E-Commerce Sites
BURLINGTON, Mass., March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As Microsoft announced new natural language enhancements to Bing Shopping, EasyAsk, an industry leader and original innovator of natural language search technology, announced a new cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) e-commerce search and merchandising offering. The new solution brings the decade long excellence in natural language e-commerce search and merchandising of EasyAsk to the cloud, putting the rich functionality within easy reach of any e-commerce site.
EasyAsk eCommerce Cloud Edition brings the power and ease of the recently announced EasyAsk eCommerce Edition Version 12 to a cloud/SaaS deployment model, giving customers an affordable way to enhance their e-commerce sites with natural language. EasyAsk eCommerce Cloud Edition also builds upon EasyAsk's strategic partnership with NetSuite around EasyAsk eCommerce Edition for NetSuite, which is now being successfully deployed with NetSuite Ecommerce customers.
"Microsoft's announcement continues the market movement towards natural language technology started with the IBM Watson victory on Jeopardy!" said Craig Bassin, CEO of EasyAsk. "We applaud Microsoft's accomplishment with Bing, which shows the richness of natural language within e-commerce. With EasyAsk natural language now available in the cloud, e-commerce sites everywhere can take advantage of this rich capability which none of our major competitors can provide."
EasyAsk eCommerce Edition is the industry leading e-commerce search and merchandising solution that allows visitors to find products faster, and receive compelling promotions and offers. EasyAsk understands the content and intent of the search question - "red long sleeved dresses under $150" - to deliver the right results on the first page. EasyAsk eCommerce Edition customers see the industry's highest conversion rates, deliver a superior customer experience, and see dramatic increases in average order sizes.
About EasyAsk
EasyAsk is radically changing the speed and ease of how people find information through the company's ground-breaking natural language search and query software. EasyAsk software products go far beyond traditional search, allowing users to simply ask questions in plain English and receive highly tuned results on demand. The EasyAsk eCommerce Edition uses this unique technology to deliver an industry leading website search, navigation and merchandising solutions that boosts online revenue through increased conversion rates, better customer experience and agile merchandising. EasyAsk Business Edition revolutionizes enterprise decision-making providing self-service information access and business intelligence with easy, low-cost deployment and a unique natural language interface that extends information throughout the organization.
Based in Burlington, Massachusetts, EasyAsk has long been a leader in natural language information analysis and delivery software. Customers such as Gap, Coldwater Creek, Hewlett Packard, Lands End, Lillian Vernon, Aramark, JJill, Nedbank, BNP Paribas, TruValue, Siemens, Hartford Hospital, Ceridian, JoAnn Fabrics and Harbor Freight Tools rely on the EasyAsk software products to run their business and e-commerce operations daily. For more information, please visit EasyAsk.
For Further Information Please Contact:
Paul Hirsch for EasyAsk; 925-736-0976 office, 510-499-2589 mobile
SOURCE EasyAsk
EasyAsk
CONTACT: Paul Hirsch for EasyAsk, +1-925-736-0976 office, +1-510-499-2589 mobile
Virtela Launches Industry's First IT Infrastructure Management Service Based on Predictive Analytics
Backed by the World's First Actual Time-To-Repair Guarantee, New Service Leverages Innovative VirtelaPredict(TM) Technology to Proactively Identify and Resolve IT Operational Issues
DENVER, March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --
Key Enterprise Benefits:
-- Better uptime: Achieve 5x reduction in downtime for global IT
infrastructure
-- Better savings: Reduce operational costs, typically by 30 percent
-- Better service guarantees: Shift from Mean-Time-to-Repair to
Actual-Time-to-Repair
Virtela, the world's largest independent managed network, security and cloud services company, today announced the availability of the industry's first IT infrastructure management service that integrates predictive analytics technology to accelerate the identification and resolution of enterprise IT infrastructure issues before they impact quality of service.
Leveraging newly-developed technology, called VirtelaPredict(TM), Virtela's IT Infrastructure Management service is able to diagnose more than 95% of potential enterprise network and security issues before they can impact network health. By speeding resolution of issues - or avoiding them altogether - the new service enables enterprises to achieve a 5x reduction in downtime while cutting support and operating costs by an average of 30 percent.
Virtela serves as a single point of contact worldwide for proactive management of a wide array of multivendor IT infrastructure - including WAN, LAN, IP telephony, application acceleration and security devices - regardless of whether it resides within headquarters, branch offices, private or public clouds. Virtela's world-class Network and Security Operations Centers perform 24x7 predictive modeling, monitoring and management with hands-on expertise across best-in-class technologies, delivering a superior end user experience on a global basis.
"Virtela is truly an extension of my IT staff, providing advanced skills and technologies to proactively manage our global multivendor IT infrastructure," said Bharat Poria, senior director of information technology for Natus Medical Incorporated, a leading provider of healthcare products using Virtela's management service. "Virtela often fixes issues before our IT staff or end users are even aware of them, giving them consistently better performance and enabling us to shift our IT focus from operational infrastructure reaction to proactive and advance planning execution."
As CIOs increasingly look for infrastructure management services partners, Virtela is integrating the industry's first set of predictive analytics technologies specifically developed for managing networks and IT service infrastructure. These services can also be leveraged by Virtela's current and new partners worldwide, and fully integrate with partners' back-end systems and can private-labeled, to offer a seamless service to end customers.
These new tools and technologies, such as VirtelaPredict, continuously analyze and process a large number of log and event data generated by network, security and other devices, using predictive analytics algorithms and rules. As a result, Virtela's service can more quickly identify root causes, "hidden" conditions, or early warning signs that could potentially lead to outages.
According to a major new survey of more than 400 IT leaders, multinational companies are demanding their service providers deliver more timely notification and resolution of IT infrastructure issues. Virtela is directly addressing these concerns in its new service, which specifically answers the top three service management needs cited by IT executives: faster issue notification, response time, and repair time.
By applying these innovations, Virtela is able to offer the world's first Time to Repair (TTR) Service Level Agreement (SLA) for infrastructure management services. Conventional Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) SLAs are based on an average of many incidents across devices; companies can experience an extended outage of one critical site or device that seriously impacts operations yet does not constitute an SLA violation. Virtela's TTR SLA uniquely guarantees the actual time to repair each device or service, resulting in much more meaningful penalties should companies experience significant performance degradation or outages.
"Enterprises are facing more challenges than ever in assembling and maintaining a best-of-breed multi-vendor environment that provides the best possible user experience," said Mark Hansard, Virtela's vice president of systems and security. "Virtela offers the advanced support and technology to partner with IT teams, freeing up staff to focus driving the business while relying on Virtela to deliver predictable and consistent infrastructure performance."
Other Virtela IT Infrastructure Management Benefits
Virtela provides a full lifecycle of end-to-end managed network services, from design and implementation to change management and compliance - while adeptly working with the broadest array of technologies, vendors and carriers to resolve customer IT issues through a single point of contact. Customers can also leverage the VirtelaView(SM) portal to view predictive, real-time and historical reports about their Virtela-managed IT infrastructure.
In addition to predictive analytics, Virtela's IT Infrastructure Management service leverages Virtela's award-winning network management systems, multi-vendor management expertise, and cloud-based delivery via Virtela's Enterprise Services Cloud (ESC), to uniquely provide compliance, network discovery, network modeling, and other capabilities that drive further IT efficiencies:
-- Audit and Compliance. The service provides centralized control of access
to all devices, keeps an audit trail of all individual user logins,
applies role-based discretionary access control, and is configured to
mask device credentials from the user. It also features the ability to
trigger an alert if unauthorized network changes take place. Integration
of Virtela's audit logs with existing compliance reporting tools better
enable customers to meet various compliance requirements.
-- Network discovery and inventory management. The service enables
enterprises to automatically identify all devices within their
environment and view the topology within their Virtela dashboard. This
assists with rightsizing equipment maintenance spend, for example,
enabling companies to more easily identify equipment that may be without
maintenance contracts but would benefit from them, as well as equipment
that may have unnecessary maintenance contracts.
-- Network modeling. The service enables modeling the impact of
configuration changes to the network before they are made, further
reducing risk of downtime by avoiding common mistakes due to human
error.
About Virtela
Virtela Technology Services Incorporated is the world's largest independent managed network, security and cloud services company. Virtela offers an award-winning suite of services - including managed networks, security, application acceleration and proactive infrastructure management - to mid-market and Fortune 500 customers around the world. Virtela offers unparalleled geographic reach to more than 190 countries through its partnerships with more than 500 carriers.
Virtela is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with globally distributed Network Operations Centers in the U.S., India and the Philippines. For more information, please call +1 (720) 475-4000 or visit http://www.virtela.net.
SOURCE Virtela
Virtela
CONTACT: Jane Morrissey of Virtela, +1-720-475-4012, jmorrissey@virtela.net; or Angel Badagliacco of LMGPR, +1-408-738-9150, angel@lmgpr.com, for Virtela
MMORPG Developer MindArk Introduce New and Improved Land Grab System
GOTHENBURG, Sweden, March 9, 2011/PRNewswire/ -- MindArk, the company behind the virtual 3D environment Entropia Universe
today announces the upgraded re-introduction of the Land Grab system where
players can fight each other in deadly combat and where the prize has a real
monetary value in Entropia Universe.
The Battle of the Forts is a continuous epic adventure where avatars can
join forces to fight each other to conquer a Land Area that generates income
for the participants as long as they hold it. The system is an integrated
part of the Real Cash Economy system in Entropia Universe, enabling this
unique function.
"As we are introducing new systems into Entropia Universe it is important
to combine exciting game play with the opportunity of earning money. It adds
an edge that is unique for Entropia Universe. On top of this we also have new
state-of-the-art communication technology in the pipeline that will enhance
the experience a great deal, making it even more real," says MindArk's CEO
Jan Welter Timkrans.
The players have to combine strategy with tactics and social skills
whether they are attacking or defending a Fort. They have to master an array
of skills, ranging from combat, communication and maneuvering vehicles such
as attack helicopters, tanks and armed boats.
The system includes two types of battles. One is Fort vs. Fort - a
point-based system where the players themselves set the rules for what prizes
will be handed out. The other, Land Grab Battle, is based on a situation
where there is only one Fort situated on a Land Area. To take the land, the
players must first take charge of the Fort and destroy the Main Control -
upon that, the real battle for the Land Area begins. One thing is for certain
- Destruction pays off!
About MindArk PE AB
MindArk develops, operates and provides Entropia Universe. MindArk is
based in Gothenburg, Sweden and has 80 employees. Furthermore, MindArk
develops supports and monitors the services and maintenance of the Entropia
Platform, the underlying technological and commercial applications that
support the creation and operation of Entropia Universe. Additional
information about MindArk PE AB is available at http://www.mindark.com.
ENTROPIA UNIVERSE(R), ENTROPIA PLATFORM(R) and MINDARK(R) are registered
trademarks of MindArk PE AB.
About Entropia Universe
Entropia Universe was launched in January 2003 and has grown to more than
1 000 000 registered accounts from over 200 countries or territories. It is
the only virtual universe with a true Real Cash Economy (RCE). The currency,
PROJECT ENTROPIA DOLLAR(R) (PED(R)), has a fixed exchange rate of 10:1 with
the U.S. Dollar. The business model is unique as it is based on
micropayments, meaning that the client software is free to download from the
Internet, and there are no monthly subscription fees. Virtual funds acquired
in Entropia Universe can easily be exchanged and then withdrawn into
real-world funds. The business model has been very successful; the 2009
turnover of Entropia Universe topped $422,000,000 U.S.D. For more
information, visit http://www.entropia-universe.com.
Entropia Universe (c) 2010 is created and owned by MindArk PE AB. All
rights reserved.
Source: MindArk
Press Contact: Christian Bjorkman, christian.bjorkman@mindark.com, +46-311607260
A Patchwork of Conflicting Online Privacy Legislation Threatens to Strangle Innovation
Updated iAWFUL List Ranks Top Threats to Online Commerce
WASHINGTON, March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NetChoice's 2011 "iAWFUL" list of bad Internet laws has identified a confusing and contradictory surge in state and federal online privacy legislation that is threatening to tie the hands of online innovators. Proposals in Washington, D.C., California and Tennessee all use the cover of online privacy to insert government regulators between consumers and the online services on which they depend.
The Internet Advocates' Watchlist for Ugly Laws (iAWFUL) (http://www.iawful.com) tracks the 10 pieces of state and federal legislation that pose the greatest threat to the Internet and e-commerce. In its first update for 2011, iAWFUL identifies several new measures that threaten to undermine the freedom and openness that lie at the core of the Internet's global appeal.
"Our 2011 iAWFUL list catalogues the disturbing willingness of legislators to micromanage how consumers and businesses communicate," said Steve DelBianco, executive director of NetChoice. "The continued evolution of free online services is imperiled by state and federal legislators tripping over themselves to jump on the privacy bandwagon."
The number one offender on the iAWFUL list is a bill by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) to let the Federal Trade Commission create regulations to dramatically reduce the use of tracking data that drives Internet advertising, by enforcing a global opt-out preference by users.
The effect of a global opt-out will reduce the population of users for whom targeted ads can be delivered. If ads aren't targeted, advertisers will pay less and sites may be forced to show a greater quantity of lower-paying ads. And if that doesn't make up the lost revenue, sites will likely spend less on new features and services. Do Not Track will harm consumers and businesses alike.
Neither Rep. Speier nor the FTC have been able to demonstrate to Americans why the world needs Do Not Track. Two of the FTC's own commissioners doubt whether such a measure is useful and suggested that the same goals might be accomplished through improved enforcement rather than rulemaking.
At the state level, an avalanche of proposed legislation seeks to regulate everything from online speech (Tennessee's SB 487), to sharing personal information (California's SB 242), to a website's ability to use consumer information to display relevant content and advertising (New York's AB 4809).
All of these proposals threaten to swamp online retailers with an impossible patchwork of conflicting state laws. Rather than adding additional burdens on users and websites, state governments should educate consumers about Internet data collection while ensure that companies comply with their privacy policies.
"We are witnessing an onslaught of network nannies," said DelBianco. "While protecting consumer privacy and minors is important, legislators need to remember that consumers have an important role in managing their own relationships with online service providers they choose to do business with."
Fortunately, several top threats identified in the 2010 iAWFUL list were defeated. Efforts to enact a Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) were turned back at the federal level after NetChoice joined a chorus of voices documenting harms the tax would impose on small online retailers. The SST will find a similar reception in the 112th Congress judging by a House Resolution offered by Representatives Dan Lungren (R-CA) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) that put States on notice this Congress won't impose any new tax collection burdens on the nation's small online businesses.
Another high-profile item on the last iAWFUL - a Colorado bill that required retailers to report consumer purchases to state tax collectors - was rejected by a Colorado judge on constitutional grounds. However, Hawaii and California legislators are threatening to follow in Colorado's footsteps, and NetChoice remains vigilant on the issue.
The iAWFUL list, created in 2009, identifies America's 10 worst legislative and regulatory proposals targeted at the Internet. The iAWFUL web site urges Internet users to join the fight to fix bills that threaten the future of online commerce and communication. The list is regularly updated to reflect the most immediate dangers, based on regulatory severity and likelihood of passage.
The full iAWFUL list, complete with bill descriptions, is available at http://www.iAWFUL.com. Twitter users can follow iAWFUL developments on the NetChoice feed (@NetChoice) and via the hashtag #iAWFUL. Expanded information is also available on the NetChoice blog at http://blog.netchoice.org
The entire 2010 iAWFUL includes:
1. Congressional Do-Not-Track Privacy Bill
What's wrong? Do Not Track is an unjustified restriction on targeted advertising, which helps pay for free online services and content.
1. Social Network Micro Managing (California and Tennessee)
What's wrong? These bills would prevent teenagers from sharing their address and phone numbers on social networking sites and further limit their online interactions.
1. Affiliate Nexus Bills (California, Texas, Massachusetts, et al.)
What's wrong? An unconstitutional expansion of sales tax burdens to out-of-state businesses.
1. Recurring Offer Restrictions Bills (Washington, Indiana, et al.)
What's wrong? Restricting consumers' ability to use convenient automatic renewals.
1. Child Online Registry and Do-Not-Market Mandate (Indiana)
What's wrong? Dangerously exposes children's email addresses while drastically restricting U.S. advertisers' ability to market to children..
1. Behavioral Advertising Restrictions (New York)
What's wrong? Severe restrictions on websites' ability to collect user information that enables websites to provide free services and content.
1. Telemarketing Restrictions on Online Marketing (Missouri and Indiana)
What's wrong? Sorry, but Do Not Call just Does Not Work for the Internet.
1. Adolescents' Online Privacy Protection Act (New Jersey)
What's wrong? Strips teenagers' access to any website collecting information without first obtaining parental consent.
1. Remote Purchaser Reporting Mandate (California and Hawaii)
What's wrong? Requires out-of-state companies to report consumers' purchasing information to the state's Department of Revenue.
1. Restrictions and Liability for Geo-Location Tracking (New Hampshire)
What's wrong? Requires repeated consumer consent for the collection of geographical information.
NetChoice is a public policy advocacy organization that promotes Internet innovation and communication and fights threats to online commerce at state, federal and international levels. The Washington, DC-based group protects Internet commerce-driven competition and battles rules that hinder consumer choice and hurt small businesses. For more information, see http://www.netchoice.org.
Avecto Privilege Guard 2.6 Certified as 'Citrix Ready'
BOSTON and MANCHESTER, England, March 9, 2011/PRNewswire/ -- Avecto, the leader in Windows privilege management, today announced that
it has been certified as Citrix Ready(R). The Citrix Ready(R) program is
designed to build world-class alliances with industry leaders of which
Microsoft, Dell and HP are currently members.
"This is the first step in bringing our award-winning technology,
Privilege Guard to virtual desktops and cloud-based systems," said Mark
Austin, CTO.
The requirement to manage user privileges is not one that is exclusive to
physical desktops and servers, but represents a real problem in the virtual
world also. Heavily focussed on solving real world problems on desktops and
servers, Avecto is set to offer their least privilege management solution to
customers with virtual desktops and servers and on cloud based systems also.
"From a technology standpoint, the software was built from the ground up
to be compatible with virtual technologies; it has been more a matter of
choosing the right partner to go to market. With the Citrix Ready(R) status
customers can feel confident that Privilege Guard is officially validated and
compatible with XenDesktop and XenServer"
"According to Gartner VP Neil MacDonald: Virtualization will be the
target of new security threats," says Paul Kenyon, COO at Avecto. "That means
that security professionals will require solutions which are better able to
meet this growing challenge. This latest certification for Privilege Guard
demonstrates our continued plans to work closely with trusted partners,
through the Citrix Ready partner ecosystem and to deliver more secure desktop
environments for the cloud."
About Avecto
Avecto is the leader in Windows privilege management, helping
organizations to deploy secure and compliant desktops and servers. With its
award winning Privilege Guard technology, organizations can now empower all
Windows based desktop and server users with the privileges they require to
perform their roles, without compromising the integrity and security of their
systems.
Customers of all sizes rely on Avecto to reduce operating expenses and
strengthen security across their Windows based environments. Our mission is
to enable our customers to lower operating costs and improve system security
by implementing least privilege. Avecto is building a worldwide channel of
partners and system integrators and is headquartered in Manchester, UK. For
more information, visit http://www.avecto.com.
About the Citrix Ready Program
The Citrix Ready program identifies verified solutions that are trusted
to enhance virtualization, networking and cloud computing solutions from
Citrix, including Citrix(R) XenDesktop(R), XenApp(TM), XenServer(R),
NetScaler(R) and GoToMeeting(R). The Citrix Ready designation is awarded to
third party products that have successfully met verification criteria set by
Citrix, and gives customers an added confidence in the compatibility of the
joint solution offering. The Citrix Ready program leverages industry-leading
alliances across the Citrix partner eco-system to meet a wide variety
customer needs, and currently incorporates over 2,800 partners who have
demonstrated more than 18,000 product verifications. It also includes the
Citrix Ready Community Verified program which allows customers to see
thousands of products that have been verified by other customers to work in
their production environments.
Press Contact
Donna Shaw
Donna.shaw@avecto.com
+44(0)845-519-0114
Source: Avecto Ltd
Press Contact: Donna Shaw, Donna.shaw@avecto.com, +44(0)845-519-0114
IN Media Announces Development of Android 2.2 Touch Screen Kiosks Based on IPTV Cloud Technology
The Kiosks offer inexpensive but advanced sales and marketing technology for today's consumer
LOS ALTOS, Calif., March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- IN Media Corp. (Pink Sheets: IMDC) today announced the planned launch of its new interactive High Definition Kiosk based upon their IPTV technology. These Google Android 2.2 based kiosks have bar code and credit card scanners, touch screen interface, browser support, and Android apps, for use in hotels, cinema theaters, airports, train stations, hospitals, grocery stores, banks, and malls.
The Kiosks feature cost effective solutions with graphics and video support that allows HD display signage and an interactive touch screen response to both consumer content searches and purchases via the cloud through Internet connection. Displayed content can be changed instantly as the HD screen is fed new information. The need for a full blown computer CPU is eliminated, dramatically reducing costs and space issues.
"We have created an improved marketing and sales tool that will allow consumers and vendors the benefit of instant response and expanded information delivery," said IN Media's CEO Dr. Nick Karnik. "People don't just want to stare at static screens, they want to touch and get responses to information they need to make informed buying decisions."
Nick Karnik continued, "The costs of buying and maintaining a Kiosk will be reduced by more than 50% from current price points. Single retail locations and 1,000 plus retail chains will be able to offer their own in store TV channel. Consumers will be able to find any product in a store simply by touching a HDTV screen and check on inventory in the store."
Plans for field testing of the Kiosk is planned for later this year.
About IN Media Corp
IN Media Corp is an integrator of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) services, products and content for major platform and service providers (e.g. cable, satellite, and Internet providers). IN Media provides a combination of products and services: set-top box hardware and software services, manufacturing of the set-top boxes, library of content and content aggregation for platform providers to implement an all-in-one solution for IPTV services. More information can be found at: http://www.inmediacorp.com
Certain statements contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of federal securities laws, including, without limitation, anything relating or referring to future financial results and planned business activities. Such statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, those in Company reports filed with the SEC. The Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove correct. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those statements.
RDA and SMIC Reach 55nm Joint Production Milestone
SMIC, RDA and Innopower collaborate on China's leading 55nm FM Receiver chip now in production
HSINCHU, Taiwan and SHANGHAI, March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ --
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation ("SMIC", NYSE: SMI and SEHK: 0981.HK) and RDA Microelectronics (Nasdaq: RDA), a leading RF IC company based in China, today announced that RDA5802N, an FM receiver chip using SMIC's 55nm Low Leakage (LL) logic process and adopting Innopower's IP solution, is now in risk-production.
RDA5802N, one of China's leading foundry-owned-tooling (FOT) products, is the result of a collaborative effort between RDA, SMIC and Innopower. RDA developed the cutting-edge design, which integrates the new generation single-chip broadcast FM stereo radio tuner with fully integrated synthesizer, IF selectivity and MPX decoder. The product also leverages Innopower's IP solution and SMIC's advanced 55nm LL process technology. The successful joint development has marked a significant milestone in performance optimization, providing the RDA5802N with an excellent balance between high performance and low power-consumption that is well suited for performance-driven, power-conscious portable devices.
"We are extremely excited to be working with RDA and Innopower. The commercial production of RDA5802N has marked a meaningful and unprecedented breakthrough in the FM Receiver industry," saidChris Chi, Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer of SMIC. "SMIC takes pride in its ability to deliver China's cutting-edge 55nm technology process and IP solutions. The success of the chip consolidates SMIC's leadership position as China's advanced technology provider, and demonstrates SMIC's commitment to bringing our clients world-class solutions with more reliability, stability and cost-effectiveness."
"We are quite satisfied that SMIC is fully capable of tackling our leading-edge design challenges," said Vincent Tai, Chief Executive Officer of RDA. "As the dominant provider in the RF/Mixed-Signal market, close collaboration of our innovative design with Innopower and SMIC accelerates the development of RDA5802N and allows us to provide the most advanced technology for FM radio receiver chip. This is a prime example of a truly synergistic relationship, leveraging the combined expertise and experience to bring next generation products to market."
About RDA Microelectronics
Headquartered in Shanghai, China, RDA Microelectronics is a fabless semiconductor company that designs, develops and markets RF and mixed signal semiconductors for cellular, broadcast and connectivity applications. The company's product portfolio currently includes power amplifiers, transceivers and front-end modules, Bluetooth systems-on-chip (SOC), FM radio receivers, set-top box tuners, LNB satellite down converters, analog mobile television receivers and walkie-talkie transceivers.
Innopower is a leading semiconductor IP provider with a very experienced engineering team in supporting very high-volume production. These IP products are highly differentiated and are in use by many foundries, IDM's and fabless design companies. The product offering focuses on the fundamental libraries (standard cells, memory compilers and I/O's) which are feature-rich and innovative. In addition, the broad product portfolio includes other IP's, such as special I/O and standard interface IPs. With the breath of its offering and competitive specifications, Innopower is there to support any SOC designs, whether the application is in consumer electronics, computer or communication. For more information, visit http://www.innopower-tech.com
Availability
The Innopower 55nm LL libraries and the Memory Compilers are now available for SMIC's customers for free download on Innopower's online eService portal.
About SMIC
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation ("SMIC"; NYSE: SMI; SEHK: 981) is one of the leading semiconductor foundries in the world and the largest and most advanced foundry in Mainland China, providing integrated circuit (IC) foundry and technology services at 0.35-micron to 45/40-nanometer. Headquartered in Shanghai, China, SMIC has a 300mm wafer fabrication facility (fab) and three 200mm wafer fabs in its Shanghai mega-fab, two 300mm wafer fabs in its Beijing mega-fab, a 200mm wafer fab in Tianjin, a 200mm fab under construction in Shenzhen, and an in-house assembly and testing facility in Chengdu. SMIC also has customer service and marketing offices in the U.S., Europe, and Japan, and a representative office in Hong Kong. In addition, SMIC manages and operates a 300mm wafer fab in Wuhan owned by Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation.
(Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995)
This press release contains, in addition to historical information, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on SMIC's current assumptions, expectations and projections about future events. SMIC uses words like "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "project" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks, both known and unknown, uncertainties and other factors that may cause SMIC's actual performance, financial condition or results of operations to be materially different from those suggested by the forward-looking statements, including among others risks associated with the press release, the current global financial crisis, orders or judgments from pending litigation and financial stability in end markets.
Investors should consider the information contained in SMIC's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including its Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on June 29, 2010, especially in the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections, and such other documents that SMIC may file with the SEC or SEHK from time to time, including on Form 6-K. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on SMIC's future results, performance or achievements. In light of these risks, uncertainties, assumptions and factors, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release may not occur. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date stated, or if no date is stated, as of the date of this press release. Except as may be required by law, SMIC undertakes no obligation and does not intend to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Peter Lin
Public Relations
Tel: +86-21-3861-0000 x12349
Email: Peter_LHH@smics.com
Ms Annie Wang
Marketing Communication
Tel: +86-21-3861-0000 x 13091
Email: Annie_WangN@smics.com
SOURCE Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation
CONTACT: Mr. Peter Lin, Public Relations at +86-21-3861-0000 x12349 or Peter_LHH@smics.com; Ms Annie Wang, Marketing Communication at +86-21-3861-0000 x13091 or Annie_WangN@smics.com
Turkey is Included in the World Fiber League for the First Time With Superonline
ISTANBUL, March 9, 2011/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Turkcell (NYSE:TKC, ISE: TCELL), the leading communications
and technology company in Turkey is delighted to announce its 100% owned
subsidiary and Turkey's leading internet service provider Superonline's fast
entrance to the "fiber-to-the-home" league. Superonline was a key contributor
in helping place Turkey 8th on the list of fiber internet penetration among
G20 countries, according to the International Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH)
Council's latest report.
The International FTTH (Fiber-to-the-Home) Council, one of the
world's most reputable non-profit corporations, in its 2011 report, ranked
Turkey 8th among G20 countries in terms of penetration. The report states,
"Superonline, Turkey's leading mobile operator and Turkcell's fully owned
subsidiary, enabled Turkey to be ranked the 8th among G20 countries in global
listing."
Superonline's General Manager Murat Erkan: "Committed to
enhance Turkey"
Superonline's General Manager Murat Erkan stated, "The Company
is proud to contribute to Turkey's inclusion in this list for the first time,
where only eight of the G20 countries were represented. Turkey's innovative
telecom operator Superonline built up its own IP backbone and reached 73
cities and spans more than 22.500km. Superonline offers 100 Mbps fiber
internet speed to residents in eight major cities in Turkey, ending the
copper era and starting up the fiber era."
Superonline recorded a solid financial performance in 2010. It
increased its revenues by 33% to TRY335 million.. In 2010, Superonline also
pursued opportunities to expand its reach across borders, through the RCN
Project, which formed the region's longest terrestrial fiber infrastructure
to connect the Middle East to the world via Turkey.
ABOUT FTTH COUNCIL:
FTTH Council was established at 2001 initially as an
organization accepting the membership of only telecommunication and
technology companies. Currently, it is a nonprofit corporation, which
incorporates different organizations from municipalities to service
suppliers. International FTTH Council's mission is to create awareness of
"fiber to the home" concept and this concept's contribution to life quality.
Turkey's innovative telecom operator Superonline is a fully
owned Turkcell Group company. Superonline invests to new generation fiber
optic infrastructures continuously to create its own infrastructure.
Superonline is the first and only telecom operator which provides 100 Mbps
internet to the residentials. Superonline provides service to individual and
corporate customers, in the fields of internet access, new generation
telephone services, corporate total telecom solutions, wholesale voice and
data services, datacenter services and, any other value added
telecommunication services. Read more at http://www.superonline.net.
ABOUT TURKCELL
Turkcell is the leading communications and technology company
in Turkey with 33.5 million subscribers and a market share of approximately
54% as of 2010 (Source: Operator's announcements). Turkcell is a leading
regional player, with market leadership in five of the nine countries in
which it operates with its approximately 60.4 million subscribers as of 2010.
Turkcell reported TRY9.0 billion ($6.0 billion) net revenue and its total
assets reached TRY15.1 billion ($9.8 billion) as of 2010. Turkcell covers 82%
of the Turkish population through its 3G and covers 99.07% of the Turkish
population through its 2G technology supported network. Turkcell has become
one of the first operators among the global operators to have implemented
HSDPA+ and to reach to 42.2 Mbps speed with HSPA multi carrier solution.
Turkcell has been listed on the NYSE and the ISE since July 2000 and is the
only NYSE-listed company in Turkey. 51.00% of Turkcell's share capital is
held by Turkcell Holding, 0.05% by Çukurova Holding, 13.07% by Sonera Holding
and 1.19% by others while the remaining 34.69% is free float. Read more at http://www.turkcell.com.tr.
For further information please contact Turkcell
Nihat Narin, Investor and International Media Relations
Tel: +90-212-313-1244
Email: nihat.narin@turkcell.com.tr
investor.relations@turkcell.com.tr http://www.turkcell.com.tr
Source: Turkcell
For further information please contact Turkcell, Nihat Narin, Investor and International Media Relations, Tel: +90-212-313-1244, Email: nihat.narin@turkcell.com.tr, investor.relations@turkcell.com.tr
Six Health Plans Pay $1.5 Million in Incentives to Create Medical Homes for Nearly Half a Million Hudson Valley Residents
Taconic Health Information Network and Community convenes payers, providers and community to manage groundbreaking medical home transformation project
FISHKILL, N.Y., March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nearly half a million patients in New York's Hudson Valley can now call their primary care physician offices patient-centered medical homes, thanks to a Taconic Health Information Network and Community (THINC) project that garnered participation from six health plans to improve the quality of care in the region.
The health plans--Aetna, CDPHP, Hudson Health Plan, MVP Health Care, UnitedHealthcare and Empire BlueCross Blue Shield --represent some 65 percent of the commercial insurance market in the Hudson Valley and 43 percent of Medicaid managed care. Setting aside competition in favor of cooperation with THINC, the health plans paid $1.5 million to 236 primary care physicians in 11 practices that achieved patient-centered medical home (PCMH) recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), which served as an objective measure of medical home-ness. The incentives were paid to providers for transformation to a PCMH and for the enhanced, more robust services patients receive in a medical home.
The PCMH transformation project was managed over a one-year period by THINC, the not-for-profit organization that convenes providers, payers, employers, public health agencies, quality organizations, consumers and local leaders to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of health care for the community. The work was managed in collaboration with Taconic IPA.
"This success of this project means we've reached critical mass for the medical home in the Hudson Valley," said Susan Stuard, THINC's executive director. "A majority of the commercial and public program insurance plans serving the Hudson Valley worked together to support the foundation of primary care--bring better preventive care, improved chronic condition care, and better access to coordinated care. Ultimately, this project shows that those caring for the people of the Hudson Valley can move beyond competition to enhance quality."
The PCMH is an emerging model of care in which patients select a primary care practice to be their "medical home." Work flow at practices is redesigned to emphasize a team-based approach to care. Core components include better access to care through open scheduling and use of electronic health communication tools, care coordination among providers, a focus on preventive care and the use of health information technology tools such as electronic health records and electronic prescribing.
The Joint Principles of the Medical Home, adopted in 2007 by the nation's leading primary care physician organizations, assert that payment to physicians should recognize the added value provided to patients in a medical home. THINC's PCMH transformation project ideally brought together physician practices committed to practice transformation and the payers interested in seeing the promise of the medical home fulfilled--improved quality, better patient satisfaction and controlled cost.
The large-scale, multi-payer participation in the project means the benefits of the medical home extend to patients in a PCMH-recognized practice regardless of whether they have a certain type of insurance. PCMH practice transformation positively benefits all the patients served by a practice. Adoption of the medical home model was shown in a national demonstration project to improve measures of quality of care by 8.3 to 9.1 percent and measures of clinical preventive and chronic care services by 5 percent. Outcomes from independent demonstration projects across the country have produced reductions in emergency room visits of as high as 39 percent because of better care for chronic conditions, and significant cost savings.
"The process of becoming a medical home transforms the practice so it can fully utilize the tools of an electronic medical record and align the goals of the practice with the patients to improve the quality of care that the patient receives," said Mark Foster, MD, chairman of THINC's board and lead physician of Hudson Valley Primary Care, a participating PCMH practice. "Some of this is obtained by improved care coordination, access and more complete care. This enhanced value for patients and insurers will allow for lower medical costs in the long term as patients are receiving more preventative services on time. This project would not have been successful without the participation of multiple health plans and the assistance from THINC and Taconic IPA."
Following on the success of its medical home incentive program, THINC, in partnership with Taconic IPA and supported by technical expertise from Geisinger Health System, seeks to bring a model of embedded care management within NCQA Level 3 patient-centered medical homes to achieve gains in efficiency and quality. Geisinger's ProvenHealth Navigator program will be tailored to meet the specific needs of the Hudson Valley. The program will start with a small pilot at several sites with the ultimate goal of rolling out to medical home recognized primary care providers across the community. THINC believes this program will generate significant improvements in cost and quality of care for high-risk patients and will carry with it national importance in testing the applicability of such a model outside of an integrated health system.
Along with the promise of incentive payment once NCQA recognition was achieved, the health plans provided data which will be used to evaluate the project's outcomes, part of a five-year commitment from the plans to help practices delivery enhanced care.
"The project evaluation will go beyond what the national demonstration project was able to measure, giving us information about physician satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and improvements in quality of care, which we can report in 2011," Stuard said. "For the first time, the data set will allow us to benchmark this quality data and then look at those issues over time." THINC partners with researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College to evaluate the outcomes of its programs.
For Frequently Asked Questions, please click here.
About the Taconic Health Information Network and Community (THINC)
THINC is dedicated to improving the quality, safety and efficiency of health care for the benefit of the people of the Hudson Valley region of New York. The primary purpose of THINC is to advance the use of health IT through the sponsorship of a secure health information exchange network, the adoption and use of interoperable EHRs and the implementation of population health improvement activities. These activities include public health surveillance and reporting, pay for performance, patient centered medical home practice transformation, care coordination activities, public reporting, and other quality improvement initiatives. For more information, go to http://www.THINC.org. THINC is part of the Hudson Valley Initiative, an effort to revolutionize health care delivery through a shared vision to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of health care in the community. To learn more, go to http://www.hudsonvalleyinitiative.com.
SOURCE THINC
THINC
CONTACT: Luxsana Iamsakuldacha for THINC, +1-703-319-0957, luxsana@health2resources.com
Robert J. Farrell to Join EDGAR Online as President and Chief Executive Officer
John M. Connolly to assume role of chairman of the board
ROCKVILLE, Md., March 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- EDGAR® Online, Inc. (Nasdaq: EDGR), a leading global provider of XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) software, services and data, today announced that Robert J. Farrell will join the company as president and chief executive officer on March 28, 2011. He will replace John M. Connolly, who has acted as interim president and CEO since September 30, 2010. Mr. Farrell will be based in the company's New York City office.
Mr. Farrell will join EDGAR Online's board of directors. John M. Connolly will remain a member of the board and will assume the position of chairman of the board. Mark Maged, current chairman of the board, will assume the newly created role of lead independent director.
Mr. Farrell, 47, brings to EDGAR Online a proven track record of driving organizations that work with clients to achieve competitive and operational advantages. Most recently, he was chairman and CEO of Metastorm, a global provider of business process management software and solutions, where he grew the company from a start-up to an established firm with revenues of $75 million, recently overseeing the sale of the company to Open Text Prior to Metastorm, Mr. Farrell was president of the Americas region for Mercator Software, a NASDAQ-listed provider of enterprise application integration software. In this capacity, Mr. Farrell directed Mercator's operational and sales activities in the United States, Canada, Mexico and South America. Mr. Farrell was also chief operating officer at LeadingSide, where he led day-to-day operations for the global provider of knowledge-driven information retrieval and also served as executive vice president of international operations at Computer Horizons, a worldwide provider of IT services and solutions to Fortune 1000 and government organizations. Earlier in his career, he held positions at several large organizations including E. F. Hutton, American Express and Grumman Data Systems.
"Bob's vast experience scaling businesses and creating value for organizations worldwide will help further accelerate EDGAR Online's growth at this important time in our company's history," said Mark Maged, chairman of the board of directors of EDGAR Online. "Under his leadership, we are poised to grow EDGAR Online's share of an expanding market."
"The market opportunity for EDGAR Online is tremendous," said Farrell. "The expanding XBRL market, the investment by Bain Capital Ventures, key strategic partnerships and the merger with UBmatrix can all be leveraged to grow this business. I look forward to working with the entire EDGAR Online team to make this happen."
EDGAR Online and Mr. Farrell entered into an employment agreement on March 1, 2011, to be effective as of his joining the company on March 28, 2011. Mr. Farrell's compensation and other employment terms, including a non-solicitation and non-compete covenant, are set forth in the employment agreement. Also set forth in the employment agreement are the terms of a grant of 3,448,310 restricted shares of the company's common stock on March 28, 2011, as an inducement to Mr. Farrell to join the company. The restricted shares will vest in equal installments on the first three anniversaries of such date and represents 5 percent of the company's fully diluted share capital.
About EDGAR Online
EDGAR Online (Nasdaq: EDGR) is a leading global provider of XBRL data, software and services solutions that improve the flow of business information. The company's integrated portfolio of products and services for global enterprises help them create, deliver, analyze and use quality information. Thousands use the company's solutions, including U.S. public companies, mutual funds, leading financial analysts and institutional investors, as well as global regulators such as the FDIC, Banque de France, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company delivers its solutions, including UBmatrix XBRL software solutions, through an extensive network of partners, including NASDAQ OMX, Oracle, PR Newswire, RR Donnelley and SAP. To learn more about EDGAR Online, visit http://www.edgar-online.com.
Use of Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and any such forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the following cautionary statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on current expectations and involve a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Readers are strongly encouraged to read the full cautionary statements contained in EDGAR Online's filings with the SEC. EDGAR Online disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.
EDGAR® is a federally registered trademark of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EDGAR Online is not affiliated with or approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE EDGAR Online, Inc.
EDGAR Online, Inc.
CONTACT: Courtney Hurst, +1-617-236-0500 x11, courtney@metiscomm.com
New etailing solutions Partners With Consumer Goods Marketers and Retailers to Provide E-commerce Brand Strategy, Data Services, and Sales Support
WILTON, Conn., March 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- etailing solutions, an integrated online sales and consulting agency, that offers clients an integrated suite of brand strategy, research and sales optimization services that maximize profitability, is the newest division of marketing services powerhouse D. L. Ryan Companies, Ltd. of Wilton, Conn.
etailing solutions is entirely dedicated to supercharging the sales of consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers and retailers in the burgeoning e-commerce channel titled "etailing."
"We are first to market with a suite of services that answers the question brands are asking," etailing solutions EVP and General Manager Jason Katz said, "including 'How do we get started in online selling?'
"Over the next five years, online sales will be the number one growth channel for consumer packaged goods manufacturers," Katz predicted. "It was for that reason that etailing solutions was founded -- to provide manufacturers with the strategy and tactical tools needed to work more collaboratively with online selling organizations, such as pure play e-tailers Amazon and Drugstore and multichannel e-tailers such as Walmart and CVS."
Katz underscored that etailing solutions is a one-of-kind, one-stop shop featuring four channels of services:
-- Data services and analysis
-- Digital execution
-- Sales support
-- Consulting services
Katz noted. "About a year ago, we had an 'etailing epiphany' that brands focused only on traditional bricks-and-mortar business models needed an agency partner with the online smarts -- and tools --to help them understand and grow their online presence, sales and loyalty."
D. L. Ryan Companies COO Paul Kramer amplified: "Brands that act nimbly to focus on developing consumer insights and lessons, as well as on heightening their availability and visibility at key retail web sites, will have a strong competitive advantage."
Kramer pointed out that online sales success will require a new set of benchmarks, strategies, and key performance indicators, such as elevating search rankings, doing more virtual product bundling, improving merchandising and category management, instituting auto-replenishment features, and fine-tuning the most effective online SKU mix.
Katz said 2010 was a "milestone year" for online sales. Consumer adoption, though not yet at the levels seen in the UK, has doubled vs. 2009. Brands and retailers are responding.
"From Proctor & Gamble's launch of its own e-store to the vast CPG growth of Walmart.com, from Amazon's new focus on moms, not to mention its acquisition of Quidsi.com, to the introduction of new players like Alice.com, Mygofer.com, and Petflow.com," he said, "online sales growth has not only been explosive, it has been underestimated by many of the longtime powerhouses in the CPG space."
"By arming our consumer goods clients with the strategies and tactics needed to work collaboratively with both pure-play and multichannel e-tailers, we offer them to be among the first CPG companies to really own their online sales efforts."
About etailing solutions
etailing solutions is an integrated online sales consulting agency which provides brands with a distinctive suite of services, including data services/insights, strategy development, sales support and digital execution. The company offers solutions that drive faster growth and profitability through online sales because we bring a deep knowledge and understanding of the consumer and the digital trade sales route to market. etailing solutions is uniquely positioned to help brands understand the online sales space and leverage all available resources. Visit http://www.etailing-solutions.com
SOURCE etailing solutions
etailing solutions
CONTACT: Barbara Lisi, blisi@planningsource.com, +1-203-259-4554
TACORI Announces Winner of the TACORI Mating Game Sweepstakes
LOS ANGELES, March 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TACORI, the legendary fine jewelry designer known for exquisite platinum and diamond engagement rings, is pleased to announce the winner of their TACORI Mating Game sweepstakes on Facebook, Michelle Rey.
"The TACORI Mating Game had a fantastic turn-out on Facebook," said a TACORI representative. "Even after entering the sweepstakes many of our Mating Game contestants replayed to see which quirky character, romantic wedding proposal, and gorgeous TACORI diamond ring they would be matched with next!"
The sweepstakes, which ran from February 10 to February 28, tempted almost 14,000 TACORI Facebook fans to play the TACORI Mating Game. The first-ever jewelry industry online interactive game, the whimsical and witty TACORI Mating Game takes players through five different dating situations. Cheeky Brit Guy Goodall then reveals the player's ideal match, engagement ring and wedding proposal.
The most popular male match was Evan McFancypants, an art school graduate and all-around debonair gentleman. The most popular female match was Sarah Chen, a wild and fun Asian-American event planner from San Francisco.
As the lucky winner of TACORI's Mating Game sweepstakes, Michelle now has her pick of any piece from the stylish and playful TACORI 18k925 Collection of color-filled fine jewelry valued up to $3,000. The TACORI 18k925 Collection includes a wide variety of rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces featuring combinations of 18K gold and .925 silver metal with diamonds, gorgeous red onyx, dazzling amethyst, neolite turquoise, smokey quartz, seafoam prasiolite and more.
"Even though our sweepstakes are over, you can still play the TACORI Mating Game on our Facebook page," said a TACORI representative. "The more you play, the more fun you'll have, and the more great ideas you'll find for engagement rings and proposals!"
TACORI is famous for their internationally recognized signature crescent silhouette design and for being an innovator in the design, creation and marketing of fine jewelry for over four decades. TACORI designs has created some of the world's most highly regarded and exquisitely beautiful white gold diamond rings, wedding rings, diamond necklaces, men's wedding bands, diamond earrings, diamond bracelets and 18k925 jewelry.
SOURCE TACORI
TACORI
CONTACT: Michelle Ravan of TACORI, +1-818-863-1536, mravan@TACORI.com
#1 Rated Baseball Franchise Poised for Another MVP Season With MLB® 11 The Show(TM), Now Available Exclusively for PlayStation®3, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable), and PlayStation®2
Critically Acclaimed Baseball Title Delivers the Deepest Major League Experience to Date with New Analog Controls, 3D Functionality, and the Debut of PlayStation®Move Support within Home Run Derby®
FOSTER CITY, Calif., March 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA) announced today the North American launch of the #1 selling and highest rated baseball video game of this console generation, MLB® 11 The Show(TM), available exclusively for the PlayStation®3 (PS3(TM)),PSP® (PlayStation®Portable), PSP® (PlayStation®Portable)go, and PlayStation®2 systems. Widely considered the most authentic baseball game on the market, MLB 11 The Show brings fans closer to the Major Leagues than ever before with true-to-life, broadcast quality gameplay, authentic franchise and season modes, and incredible detail not found in any other sports game. With compelling new features and enhancements to this year's installment, MLB 11 The Show is poised to continue the franchise's reign as the premier Major League Baseball® (MLB®) licensed game on any platform.
Developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios' San Diego Studio, this year's title promises to provide unparalleled innovation and polish to the sports genre complete with a new Pure Analog Control System for pitching, hitting, and throwing as well as up to four-player offline or online cooperative play. Road to The Show returns with a more robust player creation process and a brand new Player Performance Evaluator that analyzes your approach at the plate or on the mound. MLB 11 The Show also adds stereoscopic 3D functionality in all gameplay modes, PlayStation®Move motion controller support within Home Run Derby mode, a new Challenge of the Week online contest with big league prizes, and unmatched stadium realism and ambiance with incredibly detailed graphics and animations that brings the baseball experience to life.
"As the #1 selling baseball franchise in video game history, MLB 11 The Show delivers the most true-to-life baseball experience short of being on the actual diamond," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President, Product Marketing, SCEA. "This year's installment is once again a must-have for sports fans, raising the innovation bar with beautiful stereoscopic 3D functionality and PlayStation Move support providing endless entertainment for the entire family that is only available on PlayStation."
Leading off on the new features set for PS3 is the addition of stereoscopic 3D functionality in all gameplay modes, as well as PlayStation Move motion controller support making its debut in the Home Run Derby mode, providing an easy pick up and play element that will allow fans and newcomers to truly swing for the fences in The Show!
Next up is the newly added Pure Analog Control System which includes analog controls for hitting, pitching, and throwing, adding more precision and accuracy to all three disciplines. Pure Hitting allows you to stride and swing using the Right Analog Stick, Pure Pitching functionality incorporates a new Pitch Meter when setting strength and location, and Pure Throwing can be used to make defensive throws by simply pointing the Right Analog Stick in the direction of the base, also allowing for fake throws to keep runners honest.
MLB 11 The Show also offers a new Co-op Mode, which allows up to four-player offline or online cooperative play where gamers can split duties covering either the infield or outfield, while also switching off at the plate or choosing the specific batters they'd like to control. Users can play 1 vs. 2, 2 vs. 2, or 2 vs. CPU. Also adding to the competitive fire is MLB 11 The Show's Challenge of the Week--a quick, fast paced 2-3 minute, 1-player, online experience, with leader boards and prizes awarded in three tiers.
The fifth generation of Road to The Show returns in version 5.0 bringing a new interactive slider set to the Create Player process, new training modes triggered by the Player Performance Evaluator that awards training points depending on your approach at the plate (or to batters faced), Minor League(TM) substitution logic improvements, advancement system improvements that now compare your stats versus your competition in the organization, and the new No Assist Fielding option to make the fielding experience even more realistic.
MLB 11 The Show once again raises the overall level of detail and realism including a customizable camera editor, stadium specific broadcast camera angles for all 30 MLB teams, new weather elements in the form of rain and dynamic cloud coverage, stadium specific jumbotrons, and firework displays.
For fans who want to take The Show on the road, MLB 11 The Show for PSP and PSPgo systems deliver big baseball action in the palm of your hand by utilizing core gameplay features found in the PS3 system version. MLB 11 The Show is also available for PS2, providing the same authentic baseball experience that fans have come to expect from The Show. Exclusive for PS2 is the unrivaled "Player Creator," providing users with endless possibilities for creating players, including everything down to their player's face using EyeToy®. Users can also adjust their personal rituals, swings, and even emotions as they create and place themselves in the heat of a pennant race.
Last but certainly not least is the addition of former Los Angeles Dodger first baseman Eric Karros to the broadcast booth, joining franchise veterans Matt Vasgersian and Dave Campbell to complete the three man crew. Karros currently works as an MLB color commentator on the FOX network as well as KCAL-TV in Los Angeles, where he is part of the pre-game show for Dodger games.
The independent Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rating for MLB 11 The Show is "E" for "Everyone." For more information about the ESRB visit http://www.esrb.org. For more information about the MLB 11 The Show, visit http://www.theshownation.com/.
About Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC
Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC continues to redefine the entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation® and PS one® systems, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) handheld entertainment system, the ground-breaking PlayStation®3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system and its online and network services the PlayStation®Network and PlayStation®Store. Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC markets the PlayStation family of products and develops, publishes, markets and distributes software for the PS one, PlayStation 2, PSP, PSPgo and PS3 systems for the North American market. Based in Foster City, Calif., Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC serves as headquarters for all North American operations.
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20020701/SFM066LOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC
CONTACT: Eric Levine, +1-858-824-4916, eric_levine@playstation.sony.com, or Alex Armour, +1-858-824-4648, alex_armour@playstation.sony.com, both of Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC