2010/08/26

Screen Design Manual: Communicating Effectively Through Multimedia (X.media.publishing)

Screen Design Manual: Communicating Effectively Through Multimedia (X.media.publishing) Review






Screen Design Manual: Communicating Effectively Through Multimedia (X.media.publishing) Overview


The 'Screen Design Manual' provides designers of interactive media with a practical working guide for preparing and presenting information that is suitable for both their target groups and the media they are using. It describes background information and relationships, clarifies them with the help of examples, and encourages further development of the language of digital media. In addition to the basics of the psychology of perception and learning, ergonomics, communication theory, imagery research, and aesthetics, the book also explores the design of navigation and orientation elements. Guidelines and checklists, along with the unique presentation of the book, support the application of information in practice.


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- - TechPad Agency LLC RSS Generator Dedicated Servers, Reseller Web Hosting News http://www.thehostingnews.com 2007 The TechPad Agency LLC en Mon, 22 Oct 2007 13:09:03 GMT Mon, 22 Oct 2007 13:09:03 GMT Web Hosting News for WebSite Hosting Resellers - Web Hosting, VoIP Firm, Covad, Offers Small Business Broadband Security Bundle http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-web-hosting-voip-firm-covad-offers-small-business-broadband-security-bundle-3745.html http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-web-hosting-voip-firm-covad-offers-small-business-broadband-security-bundle-3745.html Mon, 22 Oct 2007 12:37:30 GMT - -
San Jose, California - (The Hosting News) - October 22, 2007 - Web host and national provider of integrated voice and data communications firm, Covad Communications Group, Inc., has joined security firm, McAfee, to provide a broadband and security bundle designed specifically for small businesses.

The partnership is designed to allow Covad to bundle McAfeeTotal Protection for Small Business services with Covad's broadband products, to provide small business customers with a simple, affordable solution to meet their security needs. This announcement follows Covad's earlier introduction of enhanced Email and Web Hosting services that enable small businesses to quickly and easily establish a professional Internet presence with minimal cost.

Eric Weiss, Chief Marketing Officer at Covad explained, ''Covad is excited to provide customers and partners with the first new managed service in our initiative that we call Business Essentials. We are very pleased that McAfee is partnering with us to give our small business customers the peace of mind that comes from deploying the industry's leading security solution.''

McAfee Total Protection for Small Business was developed to provide an all-in-one service that manages updates automatically to protect desktops and servers against emerging threats. The product includes anti-virus and anti-spyware protection for desktop PCs and file servers, combined with a desktop firewall and McAfee SiteAdvisor to guard against viruses, spyware, identity thieves, phishing, unsafe browsing and hacker attacks. This service also includes 24x7 technical support as well as access to the McAfee SecurityCenter, an online management portal where customers will be able to see all their protected computers in one virtual place. McAfee SecurityCenter also enables customers to set policies and view reports without the need to invest in additional management software or servers.

Todd Gebhart, Senior Vice President and General Manager at McAfee Consumer, Mobile and Small Business added, ''We look forward to working with Covad to build a strong partnership to benefit our customers. McAfee Total Protection automatically safeguards businesses against known and as yet undiscovered threats, freeing business owners from managing IT security and allowing them to focus on their core business, Covad's nationwide network, experience in serving small businesses, and commitment to providing innovative broadband products make it an ideal partner for McAfee.''

Supporting the McAfee service is Covad's portfolio of access services including regular and bonded T1, business-class DSL, and fixed wireless broadband. Covad operates what the company says is the nation's first and largest next-generation broadband network, from which it has launched advanced broadband services such as Bonded T1 and ADSL 2+ services for businesses.

Clark Severson, owner of Costa Mesa, CA-based AVANT Productions noted, ''Choosing the McAfee Total Protection for Small Business from Covad gives me the benefits of a single, experienced provider for both my high-speed Internet access and security service needs. As a small business owner, I am always looking for ways to save time and money. With Covad, I get one bill and one point of contact for support, and I don't have to sign a yearly contract or pay an upfront fee. Doing business with Covad is easy and enables me to focus on what's really important to my customers.''

By purchasing a Covad-McAfee solution, small businesses will benefit from a convenient bundle that combines high-speed Internet access with real-time intelligent protection for servers and desktops. The offer requires no upfront capital investment in software, and provides easy installation and maintenance, including automatic updates. This appeals to small businesses, which typically have minimal or no IT staff, that are price and time-conscious. A typical 10-user small business will pay $40.00 a month for the security service.

A nationwide provider of integrated voice and data communications, Covad offers DSL, Voice Over IP, T1, web hosting, managed security, IP and dial-up, wireless broadband, and bundled voice and data services directly through Covad's network and through Internet Service Providers, value-added resellers, telecommunications carriers and affinity groups to small and medium-sized businesses and home users. According to the company, as the first company to commercially deploy DSL in the United States, Covad has spent hundreds of millions of dollars building a network that passes more than 57 million homes and businesses in 44 states - the largest nationwide footprint of any DSL company. Covad broadband services are currently available across the nation in 235 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) which represent over 50 percent of all US homes and businesses. Corporate headquarters is located at 110 Rio Robles, San Jose, California 95134. Telephone: 1-888-GO-COVAD.

To learn more about the new products, please visit: www.covad.com/services/business_essentials.

For more information about Covad, please visit: www.covad.com.

]]> - Server NSC SpeechBlade Firm, Developing Multimedia Search Engine http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-server-nsc-speechblade-firm-developing-multimedia-search-engine-3744.html http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-server-nsc-speechblade-firm-developing-multimedia-search-engine-3744.html Mon, 22 Oct 2007 12:01:07 GMT - -
Rishon Lezion, Israel - (The Hosting News) - October 22, 2007 - Natural Speech Recognition Ltd., (NSC), will be launchin a multimedia search engine, designed with the capability to recognize spoken words in online multimedia files, as the firm seeks to develop partnerships with content providers.

The speech recognition vendor specializing in Automatic Speech Recognition and Key Word Spotting is planning the launch for 2008. Based on NSC's speech recognition technology, successfully deployed globally, the search engine enables the rapid identification of spoken words and phrases in web-based multimedia files presented in a smart presentation layer to provide the users with useful information and fast sorting capabilities. The company is actively seeking partnerships with content providers

According to the company, due to the ongoing expansion of today's multimedia environment, there is a growing need for search engines that provide advanced search capabilities for media files. Traditional search engines do not deal effectively with rich media - usually handling only the textual attributes of media files - which leads to poor search results and low query relevancy. In addition, with currently-available search engines, users are typically required to view media files in their entirety - often required to spend time in accessing and viewing the entire media file, prior to determining the relevance of the files.

In response to the current situation, NSC has developed a powerful multimedia search engine that enables Internet users to quickly and easily locate, preview, and gauge the relevance of media files. The smart preview functionality - based on the company's cutting-edge technology - significantly reduces the time required to browse through media files and sort results, and enables fast identification of the relevant content.

Dr. Ami Moyal, CEO of NSC noted, ''The ability to look for relevant content within online media files not only provides clear benefits for Internet users, but also helps content providers to increase traffic to their websites and increase the visibility of their content by making it searchable from an external source. NSC's multimedia search engine will enable access to specific points within multimedia content as well as rapid indexing of new material - which will enable users to search and access new content immediately after its release - an especially important for providers of news-related content.''

During the current pre-launch period, NSC is calling on content providers and aggregators to partner with the company on this new initiative, and to make their content searchable and available via the new search engine. In addition to enabling the intelligent and effective search of their media content, partners will benefit from increased traffic to their websites, expanded advertising potential, and exposure of their content well beyond their own sites.

NSC (Natural Speech Communication Ltd.) is a leader in the use of speech recognition technologies for audio mining and speech-driven services. The company has deployed its advanced solutions for clients in the telecom, security, call center and enterprise markets around the globe. NSC's cutting-edge solutions are based on a unique approach which combines a blade platform with advanced speech technology. The NSC SpeechBlade Server - a high-performance, high-density, speech processing server with multiple engines - operates a family of DSP-based blades. The NSC SpeechBlade Server currently supports the NSC Spotter - a word-spotting engine, and the NSC Speecher - a speech recognition engine.

To learn more, please visit: www.nscspeech.com.

]]> - Dedicated Server Web Hosting Provider, eUKhost, Upgrades Business Plan Offerings http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-dedicated-server-web-hosting-provider-eukhost-upgrades-business-plan-offerings-3743.html http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-dedicated-server-web-hosting-provider-eukhost-upgrades-business-plan-offerings-3743.html Fri, 19 Oct 2007 13:26:06 GMT - -
County Durham, United Kingdom - (The Hosting News) - October 19, 2007 - Shared and reseller hosting provider, eUKhost Ltd., has launched a new business web hosting plan with a 100 percent uptime guarantee, including 5GB of disk space and 100GB monthly transfer, along with cPanel.

Business web hosting account runs on 2 high configuration servers in 2 different racks out of which one server is master server and other is slave. According to the company, generous technical allowances and a mirroring solution, makes this business hosting plan ideal for Corporate Professionals.

Mark Ducadi, Chief Marketing Officer for eUKhost remarked, ''We are always looking for ways to constantly enhance our web hosting services by offering the latest technical strategies and our superior technology and systems help us accomplish this. To continue with the trend, we have now implemented mirroring solution with FAM and RSYNC modules to offer business web hosting with 100% uptime guarantee.''

The UK Based Hosting company says that it has carried out in-depth research and development work to ensure smooth functioning of the process thereby making sure eUKhost's customers receive the most reliable web hosting service possible.

Since its inception in 2001, eUKhost has offered a comprehensive range of web solutions, including domain name registrations, Shared Hosting, Reseller Hosting, Semi-Dedicated Hosting, Business Web Hosting, Virtual Private Servers, Dedicated Servers and Offsite Backup solutions, with 24/7 technical support and a 99.95% uptime guarantee on UK based servers at cost effective pricing structure.

To learn more, please visit: www.eukhost.com.

]]> - Colocation Web Hosting Provider, Zogmo.com, Selected to Host Med DataLink http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-colocation-web-hosting-provider-zogmo-com-selected-to-host-med-datalink-3742.html http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-colocation-web-hosting-provider-zogmo-com-selected-to-host-med-datalink-3742.html Fri, 19 Oct 2007 13:10:47 GMT - -
Houston, Texas - (The Hosting News) - October 19, 2007 - Server colocation and hosting services company, Zogmo.com, has completed the rewrite of Med DataLink's Patient Care System from its former web site. Zogmo is also providing Med DataLink with fully managed colocation services, and local Internet and backup services.

Zogmo is also managing nearly all of Med DataLink's technology needs, as well as providing complete code development services. The entire process reportedly took nearly nine months as Zogmo worked with Med DataLink to completely revamp the old system by rewriting the code and overhauling the site's old processes. Med DataLink's old web hosting provider couldn't provide the performance the company needed, or the security to comply with the latest HIPPA requirements.

Linn Boyd, Vice President of Operations at Zogmo remarked, ''For companies like Med DataLink, their Web site may be the only opportunity that the organization has to make contact with its customers. We take very seriously our commitment to making certain our clients' systems are available when their customers need to access it.''

Med DataLink needed their applications to be co-located on servers in a highly secure facility. The servers are located in the same building as Med DataLink's offices, and also have redundant electric power, multiple load-balanced fiber-optic Internet service providers, and redundant real-time data backup systems.

Craig Schweitzer, Executive Director for Med DataLink added, ''The migration of our system and servers - which included a total redesign of our web site - to the Zogmo data center in Houston, went off without a single hitch. Obviously, we cannot afford a major downtime. From the redundant power systems, environmental controls, multiple ISP feeds to the redundant data storage and 24-hour data center support, they've got us covered. With the exception of scheduled server maintenance, we have had a 99.99 percent up time with Zogmo. They promised this before we started and they're still delivering it.''

Med DataLink provides provide HIPAA-compliant data management solutions for referring physicians/practitioners, rendering service providers, supervising clinicians and interpreting physicians. Med DataLink was formerly known as neurosentinel.com.

Recently, Zogmo entered into a contract to host Screen Imaging Technology's ScreenSeis and JavaSeis systems, in Zogmo's data center, located in downtown Houston. Zogmo is providing SITI with a datacenter infrastructure that provides capacity for 624 processor cores in a single rack. SITI provides 3-D wave, equation-based prestack time/depth imaging services and software for oil companies and other service providers, as well as seismic imaging services for oil/gas exploration and production companies. To be effective, the technology requires significant processing power from a cluster of servers.

Founded in 2005, Zogmo is a Houston, Texas-based Internet Service and Colocation Provider. The company offers an array of Fully Managed Hosting solutions, including its Z-Manage service. Z-Manage technicians monitor servers 24/7/365, install and configure server software, and autonomously deploy necessary security updates as they become available.

For more information about Zogmo.com, please visit: www.zogmo.com.

]]> - Google Search Engine, Reports Financial Surge http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-google-search-engine-reports-finanical-surge-3741.html http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-google-search-engine-reports-finanical-surge-3741.html Fri, 19 Oct 2007 13:02:51 GMT - -
Mountain View, California - (The Hosting News) - October 19, 2007 - Search engine, Google, has released the company's third quarter 2007 financial results, with reported revenues of $4.23 billion, an increase of 57% compared to the third quarter of 2006 and an increase of 9% compared to the second quarter of 2007.

Google reports its revenues, consistent with GAAP, on a gross basis without deducting traffic acquisition costs, or TAC. In the third quarter of 2007, TAC totaled $1.22 billion, or 29% of advertising revenues.

Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google explained, ''We are very pleased with the impressive growth we experienced across our business. Our core search advertising business experienced continued momentum driven by growth in monetization and traffic, and we are creating a wider and deeper ads system through our focus on innovation, bringing more ad formats to our advertisers. Our efforts to offer more products and services in international markets as well as effectively grow our technology infrastructure and add to our deep talent base during the quarter helped to deliver growth by enabling Google to reach more users around the world.''

Google reports operating income, net income, and earnings per share (EPS) on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis. The non-GAAP measures, as well as free cash flow, an alternative non-GAAP measure of liquidity, are described below and are reconciled to the corresponding GAAP measures in the accompanying financial tables.
  • GAAP operating income for the third quarter of 2007 was $1.32 billion, or 31% of revenues. This compares to GAAP operating income of $1.10 billion, or 29% of revenues, in the second quarter of 2007. Non-GAAP operating income in the third quarter of 2007 was $1.52 billion, or 36% of revenues. This compares to non-GAAP operating income of $1.35 billion, or 35% of revenues, in the second quarter of 2007.
  • GAAP net income for the third quarter of 2007 was $1.07 billion as compared to $925 million in the second quarter of 2007. Non-GAAP net income in the third quarter of 2007 was $1.24 billion, compared to $1.12 billion in the second quarter of 2007.
  • GAAP EPS for the third quarter of 2007 was $3.38 on 317 million diluted shares outstanding, compared to $2.93 for the second quarter of 2007 on 315 million diluted shares outstanding. Non-GAAP EPS in the third quarter of 2007 was $3.91, compared to $3.56 in the second quarter of 2007.
  • Non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP net income, and non-GAAP EPS are computed net of stock-based compensation (SBC). In the third quarter of 2007, the charge related to SBC was $198 million as compared to $242 million in the second quarter of 2007. Tax benefits related to SBC have also been excluded from these non-GAAP measures. The tax benefit related to SBC was $31 million in the third quarter of 2007 and $43 million in the second quarter of 2007. Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to GAAP operating income, operating margin, net income, and EPS are included at the end of this release.
Revenues - Google reported revenues of $4.23 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2007, representing a 57% increase over third quarter 2006 revenues of $2.69 billion and a 9% increase over second quarter 2007 revenues of $3.87 billion. Google reports its revenues, consistent with GAAP, on a gross basis without deducting TAC.

Google Sites Revenues - Google-owned sites generated revenues of $2.73 billion, or 65% of total revenues, in the third quarter of 2007. This represents a 68% increase over third quarter 2006 revenues of $1.63 billion and a 10% increase over second quarter 2007 revenues of $2.49 billion.

Google Network Revenues - Google's partner sites generated revenues, through AdSense programs, of $1.45 billion, or 34% of total revenues, in the third quarter of 2007. This represents a 40% increase over network revenues of $1.04 billion generated in the third quarter of 2006 and an 8% increase over second quarter 2007 revenues of $1.35 billion.

International Revenues - Revenues from outside of the United States totaled $2.03 billion, representing 48% of total revenues in the third quarter of 2007, compared to 44% in the third quarter of 2006 and 48% in the second quarter of 2007. Had foreign exchange rates remained constant from the second quarter of 2007 through the third quarter of 2007, Google revenues in the third quarter of 2007 would have been $24 million lower. Had foreign exchange rates remained constant from the third quarter of 2006 through the third quarter of 2007, Google revenues in the third quarter of 2007 would have been $121 million lower.

Revenues from the United Kingdom totaled $661 million, representing 16% of revenue in the third quarter of 2007, compared to 16% in the third quarter of 2006 and 15% in the second quarter of 2007.

Paid Clicks - Aggregate paid clicks, which include clicks related to ads served on Google sites and the sites of Google AdSense partners, increased approximately 45% over the third quarter of 2006 and approximately 5% over the second quarter of 2007.

TAC - Traffic Acquisition Costs, the portion of revenues shared with Google's partners, increased to $1.22 billion in the third quarter of 2007. This compares to TAC of $1.15 billion in the second quarter of 2007. TAC as a percentage of advertising revenues was 29% in the third quarter, compared to 30% in the second quarter of 2007.

The majority of TAC expense is related to amounts ultimately paid to Google AdSense partners, which totaled $1.12 billion in the third quarter of 2007. TAC is also related to amounts ultimately paid to certain distribution partners and others who direct traffic to Google website, which totaled $105 million in the third quarter of 2007.

Other Cost of Revenues - Other cost of revenues, which is comprised primarily of data center operational expenses, credit card processing charges as well as content acquisition costs, increased to $441 million, or 10% of revenues, in the third quarter of 2007, compared to $412 million, or 11% of revenues, in the second quarter of 2007.

Operating Expenses - Operating expenses, other than cost of revenues, were $1.25 billion in the third quarter of 2007, or 30% of revenues, compared to $1.21 billion in the second quarter of 2007, or 31% of revenues. The operating expenses in the third quarter of 2007 included $659 million in payroll-related and facilities expenses, compared to $625 million in the second quarter of 2007.

Stock-Based Compensation (SBC) - In the third quarter of 2007, the total charge related to SBC was $198 million as compared to $242 million in the second quarter of 2007. In the second quarter of 2007, Google launched its employee transferable stock option (TSO) program and, in connection with this launch, incurred an SBC modification charge of $62 million.

Google currently estimates stock-based compensation charges for grants to employees prior to October 1, 2007 to be approximately $801 million for 2007. This does not include expenses to be recognized related to employee stock awards that are granted after October 1, 2007 or non-employee stock awards that have been or may be granted. Google currently anticipates that dilution related to all equity grants to employees will be at or below 2% this year.

Operating Income - GAAP operating income in the third quarter of 2007 was $1.32 billion, or 31% of revenues. This compares to GAAP operating income of $1.10 billion, or 29% of revenues, in the second quarter of 2007. Non-GAAP operating income in the third quarter of 2007 was $1.52 billion, or 36% of revenues. This compares to non-GAAP operating income of $1.35 billion, or 35% of revenues, in the second quarter of 2007.

Net Income - GAAP net income for the third quarter of 2007 was $1.07 billion as compared to $925 million in the second quarter of 2007. Non-GAAP net income was $1.24 billion in the third quarter of 2007, compared to $1.12 billion in the second quarter of 2007. GAAP EPS for the third quarter of 2007 was $3.38 on 317 million diluted shares outstanding, compared to $2.93 for the second quarter of 2007, on 315 million diluted shares outstanding. Non-GAAP EPS for the third quarter of 2007 was $3.91, compared to $3.56 in the second quarter of 2007.
Income Taxes - Google effective tax rate was 27.3% for the third quarter of 2007 compared to 25.5% in the second quarter of 2007.
Cash Flow and Capital Expenditures - Net cash provided by operating activities for the third quarter of 2007 totaled $1.63 billion as compared to $1.23 billion for the second quarter of 2007. In the third quarter of 2007, capital expenditures were $553 million, the majority of which was related to IT infrastructure investments, including data centers, servers, and networking equipment. Free cash flow, an alternative non-GAAP measure of liquidity, is defined as net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures. In the third quarter of 2007, free cash flow was $1.08 billion.

Google expects to continue to make significant capital expenditures. A reconciliation of free cash flow to net cash provided by operating activities, the GAAP measure of liquidity, is included at the end of this release.

Cash - As of September 30, 2007, cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $13.1 billion. On a worldwide basis, Google employed 15,916 full-time employees as of September 30, 2007, up from 13,786 full time employees as of June 30, 2007. Google also acquired approximately a dozen other small start-ups this year, having acquired mobile social networking company, Dodgeball, two years ago.

A live audio webcast of Google's third quarter 2007 earnings release call will be available through midnight Thursday, October 25, 2007 by calling 888-203-1112 in the United States or 719-457-0820 for calls from outside the United States. The required confirmation code for the replay is 2070643.

With the largest index of websites available on the World Wide Web and the industry's most advanced search technology, Google Inc. delivers the fastest and easiest way to find relevant information on the Internet. Google's technological innovations have earned the company numerous industry awards and citations, including two Webby Awards; two WIRED magazine Readers Raves Awards; Best Internet Innovation and Technical Excellence Award from PC Magazine; Best Search Engine on the Internet from Yahoo! Internet Life; Top Ten Best Cybertech from TIME magazine; and Editor's Pick from CNET. A growing number of companies worldwide, including Yahoo! and its international properties, Sony Corporation and its global affiliates, AOL/Netscape, and Cisco Systems, rely on Google to power search on their websites. A privately held company based in Mountain View, Calif., Google's investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers and Sequoia Capital.

For more information Google, please visit: www.google.com.

]]> - Web Development SAP Tool, Offered for Eclipse Community http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-web-development-sap-tool-offered-for-eclipse-community-3740.html http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-web-development-sap-tool-offered-for-eclipse-community-3740.html Fri, 19 Oct 2007 12:49:29 GMT - -
Munich, Germany - (The Hosting News) - October 19, 2007 - A new tool has been created for the Eclipse developer community, designed as an advanced memory analyzer, with capabilities to enable enterprise application building, within the open source environment.

The new tool endeavors to enable developers to build more efficient enterprise applications within Eclipse, the leading open source integrated development environment (IDE). All Java developers will be able to benefit from memory analyzer capabilities within Eclipse that were previously available only for the SAP NetWeaver technology platform. This signals a deeper commitment from SAP for Eclipse technology, beyond its long-standing support for the Eclipse IDE and plug-ins, which help developers connect Eclipse with SAP business process applications. The announcement was made at SAP TechEd '07, held in Munich, Germany.

With the new capabilities, Java developers will be able to more easily analyze memory usage for applications created in the Eclipse IDE. Typically, when developers create an application, they set aside a certain amount of memory on the server designated to that application. However, enterprise applications often run continuously and can use up that memory over time, frequently requiring a server shut-down. With possibly millions of objects contained in a very large memory footprint after server failure, these situations are extremely difficult to analyze. With the new memory analyzer capabilities from SAP, Eclipse developers can more easily use a graphical tool based on the Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP) to analyze object retention patterns and determine how best to optimize memory usage without having to shut down their servers and interrupt critical business processes.

Mike Milinkovich, Executive Director of the Eclipse Foundation offered, ''As a founding member of the Eclipse Foundation in 2004, SAP has historically provided significant support for the Eclipse community. By empowering Eclipse developers with these new memory analyzer tools, SAP will help developers to more efficiently build commercial applications on the extensible Eclipse development and application framework. We're pleased to see SAP continue to renew its commitment to the open source development community.''

SAP continues to find new ways to ensure that members of the developer community have the flexibility they need to innovate on top of any business process platform. New development capabilities for Eclipse will enable developers to model business processes and create composite applications based on open standards, which address the needs of varied user communities. Using advanced development features contributed by SAP to the Eclipse environment, developers can easily access all the development tools they need to build applications on top of their own business platforms.

At SAP TechEd '07 Las Vegas, SAP announced the global release of SAP NetWeaver Composition Environment, an integrated set of tools that customers, partners and SAP can use to compose and deploy standards-based composite applications across heterogeneous IT environments (see Oct. 2, 2007 press release titled, ''SAP Delivers New Capabilities for SAP NetWeaver to Power Accelerated Business Innovation''). With today's announcement, SAP now makes available its innovations from the SAP NetWeaver Composition Environment to the whole Eclipse community.

Zia Yusuf, Executive Vice President, Global Ecosystem and Partner Group, SAP AG added, ''SAP is dedicated to supporting open solutions, driving industry standards and empowering the developer community with the tools they need move their businesses forward. Eclipse has become the IDE of choice for Java developers, and these new capabilities from SAP will spark further co-innovation from the development ecosystem. With this contribution, SAP boosts developers' ability to create enterprise-class applications for mixed computing environments. We are pleased to offer our expertise in this area to the Eclipse community.''

SAP also announced that it recently joined the OSGi Alliance, a group committed to creating standards that promote interoperability between applications and networks, as well as providing the architectural foundation for Eclipse. SAP recognizes that its customers and partners benefit from increased openness and interoperability through compliance with industry standards. As such, SAP participates actively in the standards community to help define industry standards for enterprise service-oriented architecture, business process management and modeling, as well as vertical markets.

As announced at SAP TechEd '07 Las Vegas, IDC has declared the SAP ecosystem an economy of its own, at SAP TechEd '07 Munich, SAP welcomes more than 4,500 attendees on-site to learn how to transform existing business processes and IT landscapes and take advantage of the power of flexibility of enterprise service-oriented architecture.

More than 15,000 SAP customers, partners and technical experts are convening at SAP TechEd '07 to learn how to transform existing business processes and IT landscapes and take advantage of the power and flexibility of enterprise service-oriented architecture. Celebrating its 11th anniversary, SAP's largest ecosystem education event of the year offers more than 1,000 hours of lecture-driven and hands-on sessions. SAP TechEd is being held in Las Vegas on October 1-5, Munich on October 17-19, Shanghai on November 6-7 and Bangalore on November 28-30.

SAP is a provider of business software. More than 41,200 customers in more than 120 countries run SAP® applications-from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small and midsize enterprises to suite offerings for global organizations. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver platform to drive innovation and enable business change, SAP software helps enterprises of all sizes around the world improve customer relationships, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across their supply chains and business operations. SAP solution portfolios support the unique business processes of more than 25 industries, including high tech, retail, financial services, healthcare and the public sector. With subsidiaries in more than 50 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol SAP.

To learn more, please visit: www.sapteched.com.

]]> - Web Hosting Report from Tier 1, Details Mass Market Mergers and Acquisitions http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-web-hosting-report-from-tier-1-details-mass-market-mergers-and-acquisitions-3739.html http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-web-hosting-report-from-tier-1-details-mass-market-mergers-and-acquisitions-3739.html Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:20:31 GMT - -
New York, New York - (The Hosting News) - October 18, 2007 - Tier1 Research has issued a new report, focused on M and A Activity in the mass-market web hosting sector, indicating that it has excelled, in the first half of 2007.

Philbert Shih, Senior Analyst at T1R and coauthor of the report noted, ''The hosting industry has always seen regular M and A activity, and the first half of 2007 was no exception. In fact, the volume of activity picked up considerably from the previous year, with several larger deals in both the infrastructure and mass-market segments. We believe M and A will continue to be a hallmark of the sector. The second half of the year should see less activity, but going into 2008, we should not expect that the M and A trend will slow.''

The new report also details that the Internet infrastructure and mass-market hosting sectors continue to mature, and demand has returned to the point where vendors in this space are looking to commit themselves to the business long-term and are seeking acquisitions to complement their organic growth efforts and achieve meaningful scale. Various other factors are driving this activity, such as the need for specific technological capabilities or facilities, international expansion, strategic considerations and others.

The findings are contained in a report released today by New York-based Tier1 Research (T1R), an independent research firm that analyzes the financial and industry implications of developments affecting public and private companies within the hosting, IT, communications and Internet sectors.

The 47-page report, titled ''M and A Review Series - Report 1: A Review of Merger and Acquisition Activity for the Internet Infrastructure and Mass-Market Hosting Sector,'' provides an overview of M and A activity in the Internet infrastructure and mass-market hosting areas for the first six months of 2007. The key details of more than 20 deals are presented, followed by in-depth analysis that summarizes the impact on the companies involved and the sector itself. Important M and A trends - present and emerging - are also identified.

The M and A Review serves as an invaluable tool for investors and industry executives who want to know about the main players in Internet infrastructure and mass-market hosting sector M and A, what valuations are being paid and the driving forces behind this activity.

Tier1 Research (T1R), a division of The 451 Group, analyzes the financial and industry implications of developments affecting public and private companies within the IT, communications and Internet sectors. Tier1 blends traditional Wall Street investment research with industry analysis to deliver dynamic market and financial intelligence. Clients include institutional investors and technology vendors, along with end users and venture capitalists. Clients leverage Tier1 Research's analytical insight for idea generation, trend identification, due diligence and grounded opinions, as well as metrics and forecasts on companies and industries covered. Since its founding in August 2000, Tier1 Research's coverage has spanned the largest publicly held technology companies as well as smaller, pioneering public and privately held companies.

To learn more, please visit: www.tier1research.com.

]]> - Dedicated Server Web Hosting Firm, The Planet Chairman, Presents ISPCON Keynote http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-dedicated-server-web-hosting-firm-the-planet-chairman-presents-ispcon-keynote-3738.html http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-dedicated-server-web-hosting-firm-the-planet-chairman-presents-ispcon-keynote-3738.html Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:11:44 GMT - -
Houston, Texas - (The Hosting News) - October 18, 2007 - Privately held dedicated web hosting company, The Planet's Chairman and CEO, Douglas J. Erwin, delivered a keynote address at the ongoing ISPCON Fall 2007.

Taking place at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, Mr. Erwin's keynote -- ''Beyond Hosting: Unlocking Profits with On Demand IT Infrastructure for the SMB'' -- covered the changing industry landscape and what companies must do to remain profitable.

Mr. Erwin reiterarted, ''It takes monumental capital to enter today's hosting market, particularly as company values skyrocket. Our industry is in a race to build new data centers and keep pace with customer requirements, at the same time managing balance sheets to accommodate growth and deliver shareholder profitability. At no time have the rewards been greater or the challenges more complex.''

ISPCON is the Internet industry event that focuses on wired and wireless ISPs, CLECs, web hosts, VoIP providers and other Internet-based businesses. ISPCON delivers a unique, comprehensive conference and the opportunity to reach the most viable, progressive and forward-thinking service providers.

Earlier this moneth, The Planet expanded its technology portfolio with new servers and load balancers. Adding a new mid-range, high-performance and Ready-To-Go servers to its product portfolio, the company also bolstered its private rack offerings with the availability of Foundry's new ServerIron Global Server Load Balancer products that operate at gigabit speeds and beyond.

Designed to provide choices in processing power, price and flexibility, The Planet today adds three new servers to meet the needs of its broad customer spectrum:
  • Dell 840 Kentsfield Servers: These next-generation mid-range performance servers are powered by a single quad-core multiprocessor system, equipped with Intel's Xeon 3210 series processors with up to 8GB of memory.
  • Dell PowerEdge 2950 Dual Clovertown Servers: These new ''skinny'' Clovertowns provide high-performance Xeon 5335 processors that are less expensive and more flexible. With the smaller configuration and footprint, the dual processor, quad-core server delivers next-generation power, expandability, rack density and up to 1.8TB of internal storage
  • Ready-To-Go Opteron Servers: The company's Dual Opteron 265 servers are now part of its Ready-To-Go server line, available to customers in under an hour with or without the cPanel control panel.
Operating at gigabit speeds and beyond, Foundry Networks load balancers can provide the added benefit of multi-geography redundancy. Customers can choose from products that optimize performance and uptime of their critical applications.
  • Foundry 4G: These load balancers are designed to meet the growing demand for secure and accelerated delivery of Web services in data center environments. The devices support a broad range of IP- and Web-based applications for small-scale enterprise and e-commerce organizations.
  • Global Server Load Balancing: For customers who require load balancing and high availability across Web sites or server farms hosted in multiple data centers, the Foundry GSLB directs customers to the location with the fastest response time. In the event of a failure, GSLB transparently directs customers to the best alternate location for uninterrupted service.
The Planet's network is designed without single points of failure, which means the network operates with full redundancy for its core routers and distribution switches. The company also offers carrier diversity, with connections to seven Tier-1 telecommunications providers. As a result, customers never face obstacles or suffer from poor peering connections, sub-optimal routing paths, or congested or oversold networks that limit the power, speed and availability of their sites.

Ultimately, The Planet endeavors to provide the following:
  • High level of network capacity and speed to deliver peak performance
  • Instant scalability to handle even the largest spikes in network traffic
  • Parallel, redundant, multi-tiered network routing and switching architecture to assure reliability and stability
  • Multiple layer network security that prevents Delayed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks from harming businesses
  • Knowledgeable experts with a passion for excellence and a commitment to operate the best networks in the business
The Planet is a leading provider of On Demand IT Infrastructure solutions, hosting more than 22,000 small and medium size businesses and 2.8 million web sites worldwide, using the best choice of servers, software tools and support, backed by state-of-the-art facilities and network connectivity.

For more information about The Planet, please visit: www.theplanet.com.

]]> - Colocation Provider, Rackfloor, Enters into Partnership, with PacketExchange http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-colocation-provider-rackfloor-enters-into-partnership-with-packetexchange-3737.html http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-colocation-provider-rackfloor-enters-into-partnership-with-packetexchange-3737.html Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:05:28 GMT - -
Dublin, Ireland - (The Hosting News) - October 18, 2007 - Colocation provider, Rackfloor, has partnered with Packet Exchange, to provide bandwidth services and global private peering, from the new Rackfloor data center facility underway in Limerick, Ireland.

The Rackfloor low carbon emission data centre underway in Limerick is aimed at the growing number of multinationals seeking greener and more energy-efficient colocation services. The growing requirement for bandwidth-heavy applications such as Virtual Grid Computing Clouds, Social Networking, gaming and streaming, necessitates a higher speed network access. By opening a large data centre in Limerick and adding a high quality Internet centric network provider such as PacketExchange to the Limerick region area Rackfloor has increased the communications options for its customers and secures its position as one of Ireland's leading telecommunications hubs.

Gerry Murray, Country Manager Packet Exchange noted, ''Rackfloor's data centre is an ideal location for Packet Exchange to establish a point-of-presence, given the scale of the facility, the green energy technology used and the profile of client attracted to a next generation facility of this type.''

Jason O'Conaill, CEO, Rackfloor added, ''Increasingly global and national carriers are opting to bring their fibre network into Rackfloor's carrier neutral data center. Rackfloor provides excellent facilities for carriers with choice of diverse 'meet-me' rooms and dual fibre entry points into the facility. This level of expansion offers significant benefits for our utility computing clients as does the deployment of carriers in the data centre which increases communication options and network resilience.''

Rackfloor is a 70,000 sq foot data centre underway in Limerick, Ireland. Rackfloor offers the following:

7 data suites at 10,000 sq foot each
  • 160 - 200 watts per sq foot power and equivalent cooling
  • Grid in tandem w/ CHP power-plant to significantly reduce the kW Hour Rate
  • N+1 on all infrastructure
  • 3.2 foot high raised floor
  • 24/7 Security
  • VESDA and Fire Suppression
  • New Fit Out - completely new facility
  • 2 MW Suites available from June 2008 on Grid Power
  • CHP equipment will be fully operational by Q4 2008

PacketExchange is an Application Sensitive delivery platform offering an alternative to the public Internet. Customers in with Interactive Applications such as Social Networking, MMO Gaming, and Software as a Service (SaaS) join a network of trusted partners including Broadband ISPs and Access companies to ensure revenues from upload and download interaction. Its Application Sensitive platform converts delivery to a strategic cost of sale versus a tactical infrastructure expense. Since its foundation in 2001, the company has established itself as a successful growth business, with top 20 ratings in the Sunday Times/Microsoft TechTrack 100 index in 2005 and 2006. Its community of customers represents multiple industry sectors and countries including online businesses and major national and global brands.

To learn more about Rackfloor, please visit: www.rackfloor.com.

For more information about PacketExchange, please visit: www.packetexchange.net.

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- Wall Street Business Information Portal, Adds CEO of Panel Application Interview http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-wall-street-business-information-portal-adds-ceo-of-panel-application-interview-3736.html http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-wall-street-business-information-portal-adds-ceo-of-panel-application-interview-3736.html Thu, 18 Oct 2007 12:50:26 GMT - -
New York, New York - (The Hosting News) - October 18, 2007 - Search portal for the investment community, WallSt.net, has conducted an upcoming interview with Michael Hawkins, the CEO of panel application developer, Alternative Construction Technologies, Inc.

The CEO is featured in an exclusive interview posted on the website. The interview covers topics including Alternative Construction Technologies' market potential, growth initiatives, competitive edge, recent news, and milestones for which investors should watch. The interview can be accessed by locating the company's ticker symbol under the appropriate exchange at the ''Interviews'' section or by entering the company's ticker symbol in the Search Archive window.

Alternative Construction Technologies, Inc. (ACCY) utilizes a patented construction technology called the ACTech Panel System that is used in the design and production of state of the art buildings in commercial, residential, industrial and modular building applications. Generically known as structural insulated panels (SIPs), ACCY's revolutionary and efficient construction solution utilizes an inherently better galvanized steel ''skin'' SIP system to complete energy efficient, stronger, safer, faster, and more economical structure than conventional wood and brick based building products. The patented ACTech SIP system is environmentally-friendly and easier to construct with -- not only saving labor cost and cutting construction time, but also reducing recurring monthly heating and cooling energy bills by 30-50% and often more. Most importantly, the ACTech Panel System possesses disaster tolerant strength and has tested stronger than conventional concrete block or wood frame construction. In hurricane projectile tests, the ACTech Panel System has proved to meet or surpass the most stringent wind, projectile and uplift codes in the nation levied by the 2006 Florida Building Code. The ACTech Panel System offers builders and consumers many competitive and comparative advantages of use due to its wide range of attributes. As this new construction technology gains awareness or hurricane- and tornado-prone states establish new building codes and rebuild from recent weather disasters, ACCY believes its' products will be in greater demand.

Earlier this month, the search portal featured an interview with CEO of iBroadband, Matthew Hutchins, Sr., the company's Chief Executive Officer. The exclusive interview is posted at the website, and covers topics including iBroadband's market potential, growth initiatives, competitive edge, recent news, and milestones for which investors should watch. Among its other telecommunications services as a CLEC, iBroadband is a leading fixed pre-WiMAX service provider delivering high-speed Internet access and telecommunication services in the southwest U.S. Founded in 2000, the company has established networks in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and East Texas. For more information, please visit: www.ibroadband.com and www.ibroadbandtexas.com.

WallSt.net is owned and operated by WallStreet Direct, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Financial Media Group, Inc. The web site is a leading provider of timely business news, executive interviews, multimedia content, and research tools. Financial Media Group, Inc. also owns www.mywallst.net, a financial social network for investors, and Financial Filings Corp. (www.financialfilings.com), a provider of media and compliance solutions to publicly traded companies. In addition to WallSt.net, WallStreet Direct, Inc. owns and operates WallStRadio (www.wallstradio.com), a business and finance podcast web site. The firm has nine thousand nine hundred ninety five dollars from IDGLOBAL Corp., and is expecting an additional sixty four thousand four hundred eighty three free trading shares of IDGJ from a third party for media and advertising services for IDGLOBAL Corp.

To learn more, please visit: www.wallst.net.

]]> - Web Hosting Provider, 1&1 Internet, Collaborates on Push Email, PIM Sync http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-web-hosting-provider-1and1-internet-collaborates-on-push-email-pim-sync-3735.html http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-web-hosting-provider-1and1-internet-collaborates-on-push-email-pim-sync-3735.html Wed, 17 Oct 2007 13:26:34 GMT - -
Redwood City, California - (The Hosting News) - October 17, 2007 - Webhosting company, and subsidiary of United Internet, 1 and 1 Internet, has deployed the integration of a new push email and PIM sync solution, designed for mass market distribution, with open-xchange collaboration software firm, Funambol.

Funambol provides Mobile 2.0 messaging solutions, powered by open source. The solution uses Open-Xchange for collaboration capabilities, including contact and calendar management. 1 and 1 chose Funambol due to its mobile email and PIM feature set for the mass market, source code transparency and low cost that is enabled by open source. By using Funambol software, 1 and 1 expects to differentiate its offerings and mobilize its massive email user base as well as attract new customers for its affordable email services.

Fabrizio Capobianco, CEO of Funambol offered, ''1 and 1 is leading the way into a new mobile market in which many more people can receive compelling mobile services such as push email at a fraction of the cost of proprietary alternatives. We are pleased to work with 1 and 1 as this will set a precedent for how service providers can utilize open source to address a major new portion of the market and provide profitable mobile services.''

Andreas Gauger, Chairman of the Board at 1 and 1 noted, ''After thoroughly researching the market for push email services, Funambol proved to offer the solution we were looking for. We believe in the success of Software-as-a-Service and Funambol's open source-based solution delivers on both our business and customer needs. We look forward to making this mobile service available to our customers soon.''

Gerald Labie, CEO of Open-Xchange observed, ''Business users and consumers want easy-to-use mobile messaging and collaboration capabilities such as Personal Information Management services, on all the devices they use, anywhere, anytime at a reasonable cost. The market potential for mobile SaaS solutions is tremendous. Our three way partnership is a major step forward in meeting this need.''

The 1 and 1 and Funambol push email service, points to a trend in the industry -- service providers such as 1 and 1 are choosing open source-based software to provide mobile services. Earlier this year, Funambol announced an agreement with EarthLink and anticipates more will follow. These moves are expected to generate a wide range of new low-cost mobile email and related services for the mass market. Funambol has been leading the evolution of this market with its mobile open source software since 2001. The new 1 and 1 mobility service is expected to launch within a few months.

J. Gerry Purdy, Ph.D., Vice President and Chief Analyst, Mobile and Wireless, Frost and Sullivan added, ''We project mobile email adoption by consumers to rapidly accelerate over the next few years. This service by 1 and 1 and Funambol is just the first of many similar offerings to come. This deployment of mobile email for millions of users helps legitimize open source as a realistic alternative to proprietary solutions.''

Funambol provides mobile 2.0 messaging solutions that are powered by open sourcem, as a provider of open source push email and PIM synchronization solutions for the mass market. Funambol's open source software has been downloaded more than 1,000,000 times by a global network of 10,000 developers and contributors in more than 200 countries. The commercial version of Funambol's software has been deployed at service providers, mobile operators, portals, Global 1000 businesses, hardware OEMs/ODMs and ISVs including customers such as 1 and 1, EarthLink and Computer Associates. Funambol is headquartered in Redwood City, California with an R and D center in Italy.

1 and 1 Internet Inc. is a subsidiary of United Internet, a profitable public company with a market cap of $4 billion. 1 and 1 was established in 1992 and hosts more than 8 million domain names, while more than 40,000 servers run on the company's five data centers. 1 and 1's global community is over 6.8 million customer contracts strong. The company's U.S. headquarters is located in Chesterbrook, PA. 1 and 1 features an array of services, from instant domain packages to all-inclusive shared hosting plans, dedicated servers and ready-to-run eShops. 1 and 1 is a Microsoft Joint Development Partner, and works with other paramount companies such as Google, Plesk, Symantec, and HP/Compaq.

To learn more about Funambol, please visit: www.funambol.com.

For more information about 1 and 1 Internet, please visit: www.1and1.com.

]]> - ISPCON Fall 2007 Swings Into Gear http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-ispcon-fall-2007-swings-into-gear-3734.html http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-ispcon-fall-2007-swings-into-gear-3734.html Wed, 17 Oct 2007 13:10:21 GMT - -
Los Angeles, California - (The Hosting News) - October 17, 2007 - ISPCON Fall 2007 has opened at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. The three day event billed as 'The Internet Industry Event' launched with educational speaking sessions in the morning, a well delivered keynote address after lunch, and a networking event in the exhibit hall in the afternoon.

This fall's event features several tracks for the sessions including: wireless, hosting, technology, VoIP, and business. Among the many intimate and informative sessions in the business track was the talk entitled, "Positioning Your Internet Company for Sale - and Making More Money" delivered by Tom Millitzer, President, New Commerce Communications. Mr. Millitzer, who is also a blogger at industry website The WHIR, delivered a great session that focused on how an Internet services company can maximize the price a buyer would consider fair in an acquisition. Among the many useful tidbits of information:

Rule #1 - Be honest.

Other than rule #1 - there are no rules.

Mr. Millitzer, who brings hundreds of transactions worth of experience to the table, explained such topics as: how to turn a negative into a positive, and his ''5 minute rule''. The 5 minute rule says that any decision maker who sees the details of the 40-50 page brochure created for the sale has to be able to make a decision regarding acquisition - right then (or within 5 minutes). He then went on to describe the M and A process - and revealed an industry secret. Overall, the discussion was very insightful - and the question and answer session afterwards brought up some key points from the audience as well.

One of the presentations in the hosting track was delivered by Tobby Davasia from the executive team at Bobcares.com and Douglas Johnson, Director of Hosting Marketing at SWsoft. This "tag team" affair delivered on the session title of, ''10 Ways to Improve Business and Data Center Effiiciency''. The short scoop on the 10 things:

1. Use I.T.
2. Automate ordering and ecommerce
3. Automate provisioning
4. Virtualize your infrastructure
5. Self service control panels
6. Standardize applications
7. Build upgrade processes
8. Automate billing
9. Marketing vision
10. Hire the right support staff

The session translated an incredible amount of industry knowledge and experience into a well delivered presentation.

Another session that delivered tangible results for the attendees was the aptly titled, ''Strategies for Growing Your Hosted Business" presented by Ravi Agarwal, CEO of groupSPARK and Rich Bader, President and CEO with EasyStreet Online Services. Mr. Agarwal explained how web hosts and ISPs could take advantage of the 20,000 to 40,000 new hosted exchange seats being created each month - each with the capability of generating an average of $20 per month of ARPU. Mr. Bader chimed in with real world experience in transitioning an ISP into a data center, colocation and managed services provider to increase margins. The combination of an active web hosting company coupled with a great service provider with high margin private labeled solutions was powerful.

Here are a few other thoughts from some hosting professionals in attendance.

Stacy Griggs, Vice President of Sales with HostMySite.com, "ISPCON is a great show. It's always good for companies to get together and exchange ideas and best practices. The sessions were informative and high quality."

Candice Rodriguez, Director of Business Development and Marketing at the Web Host Industry Review, "There are a lot more web hosting vendors. There are more companies who want to get their foot in the door with larger hosting providers."

This content was written by Derek Vaughan and is provided courtesy of The Hosting News.

]]> - SWsoft Server Virtualization Firm, Releases Plesk 8.3 for Windows Beta http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-swsoft-server-virtualization-firm-releases-plesk-8-3-for-windows-beta-3733.html http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-swsoft-server-virtualization-firm-releases-plesk-8-3-for-windows-beta-3733.html Wed, 17 Oct 2007 13:05:56 GMT - -
Herndon, Virginia - (The Hosting News) - October 17, 2007 - Virtualization software company, SWsoft, has released the beta version of Plesk 8.3 for Windows, designed as the first control panel to support Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and Internet Information Services 7.0 (IIS7).

SWsoft will be demonstrating the Plesk beta at the Windows Server 2008 Hosting Roadshow, which begins today in the United States with additional dates in cities worldwide. SWsoft Plesk software automates a large number of tasks, allowing service providers to reduce operating costs while increasing efficiency, profitability and customer satisfaction. The Plesk 8.3 beta program gives Windows users an opportunity to test a variety of new features in Plesk, as well as improvements to IIS7 such as the enhanced FastCGI module for faster, more reliable hosting.

Serguei Beloussov, CEO of SWsoft noted, ''As the first control panel to support Windows Server 2008 and IIS7, the Plesk 8.3 beta gives Windows customers an opportunity to provide us with valuable feedback to ensure product quality. Microsoft and SWsoft collaborated so that Windows customers can leverage our industry-leading Plesk control panel and ongoing Open Fusion technology initiative to take advantage of new Windows-based hosting opportunities.''

John Zanni, Managing Director of Worldwide Hosting in the Communications Sector at Microsoft observed, ''Microsoft is pleased to work with SWsoft to offer support for Windows Server 2008 and IIS7 in the next version of Plesk for Windows. SWsoft Plesk 8.3 customers will benefit from new features in IIS7 that directly benefit the hosting community to reduce total cost of ownership, improve manageability and go to market faster with new services.''

The Windows Server 2008 Hosting Roadshow is a free Microsoft event designed for Microsoft hosting partners, available at http://ws08hostingroadshow.msregistration.com. Plesk 8.3 for Windows is available for beta testing now with general availability expected later this year.

Open Fusion is an SWsoft technology initiative to improve integration among a wide range of systems, third-party applications and modules, and custom and in-house solutions. The Open Fusion platform enables optimized delivery of SaaS and traditional hosting services to help independent software vendors (ISVs) and service providers take full advantage of new opportunities in the market.

SWsoft is a virtualization and automation software firm with solutions designed to assist consumers, businesses, and service providers optimize technology use. The company's software powers more than 130,000 servers and 600,000 desktops worldwide. The SWsoft product line includes Virtuozzo - the leading operating system virtualization solution, Parallels - the leading desktop virtualization product, and Plesk - the leading server control panel. Founded in 1999, the company has offices throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.

For more information about the beta program, please visit: www.swsoft.com/plesk83/beta.

To learn more about SWsoft, please visit: www.swsoft.com.

]]> - UK2 Web Hosting Company, Acquires Reseller Customers, from Stargate http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-uk2-web-hosting-company-acquires-reseller-customers-from-stargate-3732.html http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-uk2-web-hosting-company-acquires-reseller-customers-from-stargate-3732.html Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:59:34 GMT - -
London, United Kingdom - (The Hosting News) - October 17, 2007 - British web hosting company, UK-2 Group, has acquired domain, shared hosting and reseller clients, from web hosting solutions firm, Stargate Holdings Corp.

The acquisition follows the recent decision by Stargate to focus exclusively on Data Center, Colocation and Dedicated Hosting services, and heralds the expansion of UK-2 Group into the American marketplace.

Ditlev Bredahl, CEO of UK-2 Group remarked, ''The acquisition of the domain, shared hosting and reseller customers from Stargate is a big step for us. Not only does it significantly grow our business and market share, but expansion into the US hosting market allows us to become a truly global organization, and will play a key role in UK-2 Group's ongoing growth strategy.''

UK-2 Group has been a significant player in the British and European hosting markets for many years, and recently underwent a large restructure, making important organizational changes in readiness for customer growth plans and challenging the bigger hosting brands.

UK-2 Group will integrate the Stargate customers into two new brands - US2.net and Resell.biz. US2.net will be an expert and innovative hosting option for both individuals and small businesses, and the shared and dedicated hosting packages will offer outstanding value in the highly competitive marketplace. Resell.biz will support and grow the reseller customer base by offering a range of attractive products and services, tailored for customization and selling on to end users. As part of the UK-2 Group, US2.net and Resell.biz customers will benefit from long standing hosting industry experience and knowledge. The talented and dedicated members of staff supporting the brands will ensure that all clients are provided with the best customer service and technical support in the industry.

Stargate has been a global IT services firm, for the past twelve years. The company believes in forging strong relationships with its clients to ensure realistic Colocation and Data Center solutions and intensive support. It serves a wide range of companies from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies around the world.

Recently, UK2 incorporated extensive increases in the amount of monthly data transfer provided with all of its dedicated servers, for both new and existing customers, including 10000GB monthly data transfer with 100Mb connectivity. New customers will get this as standard and existing customers previously on the 2000GB option have already been automatically upgraded. This means that customers will get 5 times more bandwidth than before, giving much greater peace of mind regarding usage levels.

UK2 has been in the web hosting industry since 1998. The company has sold over a million domain names, and hosted thousands of websites with dedicated servers for customers in various countries. Some of the recent improvements in its products and services has included: new UK based call centre, 24/7 live online support and new product packages. UK2 is a major shareholder of the merged Redbus Interhouse and Telecity group (one of the biggest colocation managed data centers in Europe).

For more information about Stargate, please visit: www.stargate.com.

To learn more about UK-2 Group, please visit: www.uk2.net.

]]> - Search Firm, InfoNgen Debuts Bullseye Customized Tool, with TheMarkets.com http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-search-firm-infongen-debuts-bullseye-customized-tool-with-themarkets-com-3731.html http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-search-firm-infongen-debuts-bullseye-customized-tool-with-themarkets-com-3731.html Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:51:47 GMT - -
New York, New York - (The Hosting News) - October 17, 2007 - Discovery search engine, InfoNgen, along with research and estimates services provider, TheMarkets.com, has launched the new Bullseye customized alerting tool, to include real-time news, combined with broker research.

TheMarkets.Bullseye, is designed as a a real-time alerts system combining broker research and web-based news content. Amy Kadomatsu, Senior Vice President of Product, Marketing, and Strategy for TheMarkets.com remarked, ''Bullseye represents our continued focus on enhancing our product line in direct response to our client base's requests. We've taken this request a step further by integrating news content and broker research- targeted to the investment interests of the client-in a single alerting system that is available via the web or a customizable window on the desktop.''

The Company reported that, in a recent survey, 90% of respondents indicated that adding news to TheMarkets.com would add value to their workflow. Bullseye enables subscribers to TheMarkets.com to customize their watchlists of coverage, collating relevant results from broker research and online sources including mainstream news, local and foreign language media, government and regulatory websites, company press releases, and blogs.

Key benefits of Bullseye: -- Extends clients' currently existing Profiles-watchlists of tickers, keywords, and industries-from TheMarkets.com to web-based news, blogs, and regulatory content -- Features real-time scrolling headlines, targeted to the client's coverage, from tens of thousands of online sources and TheMarkets.com -- Links to original source documents, with translated and original-language versions, as well as seamless access into TheMarkets.com -- Tags web-based content with key topics, such as mergers and acquisitions, using InfoNgen technology -- Includes a customized browser toolbar, that enables the user to search TheMarkets.com from anywhere on the web.

Alina Sullivan, Vice President of Global Sales for TheMarkets.com added, ''We're driven by the mandate of saving clients time. And Bullseye does just that, by narrowing down to one the number of resources an institutional investor needs to see the announcements and analysis that will impact their investments. More than that, it also enables subscribers to rely on Bullseye to keep them from missing a piece of breaking news or a lesser known item that might represent alpha potential. Bullseye is about saving time and identifying opportunity, and we're excited to present it to our over 1800 client firms globally.''

John Mahoney, CTO and Co-founder of InfoNgen offered, ''Bullseye is the first product we've launched, in partnership with TheMarkets.com, that leverages our technology to provide their client base of institutional investors a solution for discovering relevant information across their broker research, news sources, industry publications, journals, blogs and more. Our proprietary tagging technology makes quick work of categorizing and filtering hundreds of thousands of pieces of web-based content daily-enabling clients to focus their time on taking action on issues and opportunities.''

TheMarkets.com is a provider of research and estimates services to over 1800 institutional investment management firms worldwide. TheMarkets.com is owned by: Banc of America Securities, LLC (NYSE: BAC), Citi (NYSE: C), Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS), Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB), Dresdner Kleinwort, part of Dresdner Bank AG and a member of the Allianz Group (NYSE: AZ), The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH), Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), UBS Investment Bank (NYSE: UBS), and Reuters (Nasdaq: RTRSY, LSE: RTR), which provides technological infrastructure, web-hosting services, and certain proprietary content.

Recently, InfoGen opened its subscriptions to include an offer for free professional-grade business and financial information search. InfoNgen launched its free news monitoring and search service at www.infongen.com. At the center of InfoNgen's search capability is a proprietary tagging engine that processes and filters volumes of information to make the results relevant to each individual user's needs.

InfoNgen is owned by Instant Information, Inc., which was founded in 2004 by Isaak Karaev and John Mahoney to provide information management and collaboration solutions to the financial industry. The company is privately owned and funded by Standard and Poor's, Reuters, and several private equity firms including Union Square Ventures.

To learn more about InfoNgen, please visit: www.infongen.com.

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