Archive for June, 2010

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TransLink implements HASTUS software for improved schedule efficiency and intermodal integration

June 30th, 2010
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GIRO is pleased to announce that the TransLink Transit Authority has purchased the HASTUS 2010 software solution to help improve service reliability and optimize intermodal public transportation in South East Queensland (SEQ), Australia. The Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR) has a sub-contract with TransLink to share in the benefits of HASTUS 2010 for its qconnect urban network. This venture will bring under one system all scheduling of urban bus, train, and ferry services provided by TransLink in SEQ and by qconnect in regional Queensland. This will allow passengers to access timetables and service information as a one-stop shop for the entire state.

HASTUS was chosen as the exclusive software solution for TransLink’s bus, rail, and ferry services which operate on a network spanning 10,000 square kilometers and 23 zones; qconnect spans ten major regions across the remainder of Queensland. The HASTUS scheduling suite, namely the Vehicle, Crew, CrewOpt, Minbus, and Geo modules, will be used to optimize personnel and vehicle resource allocation and for the development of improved transit schedules that ensure timely passenger connections.

TransLink will also use the HASTOP module to produce new timetables for all stops and stations, ensuring a clear and consistent presentation of timetable information. Another customer information module being implemented is the HASTINFO tool, which lets transit users plan trips online according to desired mode(s) of transportation and other preferences such as shortest walking distance or fewest connections. With HASTINFO, TransLink will be able to offer customers a central point of access to updated schedule information for its multimodal services as well as services provided by other operators in Queensland.

TransLink’s HASTUS solution will be complemented by the analysis suite – comprising the ATP, Rider, and NetPlan modules – for run-time analysis, ridership information, and improved network and timetable planning. According to TransLink, the ability to measure performance and generate efficiencies is one of the most impressive and important aspects of HASTUS. Planning and performance measurement is important not only for TransLink’s current operations but also for expanded services being developed to accommodate the rapidly growing Gold Coast ridership. In fact, the installation of the HASTUS solution coincides with preparations for the introduction of the Gold Coast Rapid Transit, a new light rail service designed to reduce congestion in this fastest-growing community in Australia.

“The service improvements and savings that HASTUS has brought to public transportation in the Brisbane area was a leading factor in our decision to implement the software,” said Ken Benson, TransLink’s Manager of Business Systems. “HASTUS integrates the performance, reliability, and flexibility TransLink requires to quickly and effectively improve operations across all modes of transportation on a network that is growing at a record pace,” added Benson.

“We appreciate the loyalty of the HASTUS community in Australia and are delighted that our software will play a key role in TransLink’s efforts to innovate and make significant improvements at a time when ridership is on the rise and customer expectations are more demanding than ever,” said GIRO’s Daniel Pelletier, Director of Public Transport Projects. “It is especially exciting that TransLink will be the first HASTUS client in Australia to use our NetPlan module to improve operational efficiency in a large urban environment,” added Pelletier.

Source:-http://www.prlog.org/10769053-translink-implements-hastus-software-for-improved-schedule-efficiency-and-intermodal-integration.html

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Ricoh gears up cloud storage for iPhone

June 30th, 2010
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Ricoh, the Japanese digital office solutions company, is announcing a new iPhone app from its Quanp subsidiary. The app provides 10GB of free cloud-based storage, the ability to share files up to 500MB, uploading and management of photos and videos taken on an iPhone, and a potentially cool local sharing function with other nearby iPhone users.

The Quanp app rose to No. 2 on the Japanese App Store in the Productivity category after its release in Japan earlier this month. It’s now available in the App Store for users in the U.S.

There are a vast array of choices for cloud storage, including a number of products that address the need to manage files from a mobile device. One interesting angle of the Quanp product is a function called “Flick File,” which allows you to send files back and forth via Bluetooth. It reminds me of the old days of beaming business cards to Palm devices, or more recently of the Bump social-networking application.

I’ve been watching Ricoh’s Quanp organization work its way through the ins and outs of Silicon Valley for the past year and a half. Their online storage service–they call it “visual” online storage due to the fancy 3D interface of their PC client–has potential to help handle the deluge of data we are creating at home.

The vast majority of computer users don’t have great backup habits, and with more and more people embracing mobile devices and data usage rates on smartphones skyrocketing, the lack of backups is only going to get worse. With cloud-based storage that can sync with a PC, much of the hassle is removed from the backup equation.

In Japan, mobile phones are ubiquitous: people use them to enter subways with a quick swipe, to pay for things in vending machines, and to manage paperless boarding passes in airports. Japanese conglomerate Sharp leads in cell phone market share with 26.2 percent, and Apple has the largest American corporate presence with 4.9 percent.

I asked Sho Harada, general manager of Ricoh’s Quanp team, to answer a range of questions about what Japan, known as a kind of cell phone utopia, can learn from U.S. smartphones.

According to Harada, with Apple and Google competing to build smartphones in the U.S., it’s wide-open territory here. Every day brings interesting developments, and the reliance of open–or semi-open systems–to popularize technologies is fascinating, he said.

Harada told CNET that Apple’s iPhone is brilliant, but it would just be a fancy cell phone if it weren’t for the App Store and the opportunity for tens of thousands of developers and designers to push Apple’s product in innovative and interesting ways. From open source to social media to app stores, the U.S. is really pushing the envelope in harnessing the power and energy of development communities, Harada said. Japan simply has no answer to this currently in consumer products, he added.

According to Harada, prior to the launch of the iPhone, the U.S. cell phone market was pretty uninteresting in comparison to Japan. Japanese consumers have depended on cell phones for a wide range of daily activities for years now.

One area that is very different is the focus on written communications. The Japanese language has dense information capabilities and a cultural focus on writing–as opposed to speaking. Small cell phone screens fit that cultural proclivity well.

Source:-http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-20009288-62.html

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Qualcomm introduces mobile augmented reality platform and software development kit

June 30th, 2010
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Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM) today unveiled plans to offer an augmented reality platform and software development kit (SDK) to enable a new generation of vision-based augmented reality applications. Initially available for Android devices, Qualcomm’s augmented reality platform will enable developers to build applications that merge reality and cyberspace. The SDK will be made available at no charge to developers for use in the development and distribution of commercial applications.

Mattel, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAT), a worldwide leader of toys and family products, is one of the first consumer products companies embracing augmented reality and has used Qualcomm’s SDK to bring the classic Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em® game to life in a whole new way. Additionally, Qualcomm has collaborated with leading game engine developer Unity Technologies to include support for Qualcomm’s augmented reality platform as an add-on to Unity for Android, providing developers with a rich development environment for augmented reality applications.

Augmented reality allows computer-generated content to be superimposed over a live camera view of the real world. The concept has seen growing interest among developers for its potential to create applications that are more intuitive and interactive. While many current augmented reality applications rely on a compass and GPS, Qualcomm’s SDK is based on world-class computer vision technology recently acquired from Imagination Computer Services GmbH. Vision-based augmented reality provides a greatly enhanced user experience by allowing computer graphics to be tightly aligned with real world objects. It enables developers to build games, extend print and TV media with interactive 3D content, and create educational applications that bridge the digital and real worlds.

“Augmented reality represents a quantum leap in the mobile experience,” said Matt Grob, senior vice president of engineering and head of corporate research and development at Qualcomm. “By offering a no-charge SDK with state-of-the-art image detection and tracking technology, we help developers create the new generation of applications that are richer and more compelling than anything seen on the market today.”

Mattel’s Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em game has captivated children and adults alike for decades. Mattel’s proof-of-concept Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em game using augmented reality technology extends traditional play into the mobile environment, making it even more relevant to a new generation of technology-savvy consumers.

“Qualcomm’s technology has the potential to make augmented reality much more accessible for the consumer,” said Peter Marx, vice president of production and technology at Mattel. “We are always looking for technology solutions that complement and extend physical toys into new engaging experiences that are relevant to today’s kids — this technology is ideal for this purpose.”

Unity Technologies is the provider of the market-leading Unity development platform for highly interactive 3D content on mobile devices. Unity provides a rich, integrated environment that enables game developers to focus on game content and game play instead of complicated low-level functionality. By adding Qualcomm’s augmented reality platform to Unity for Android, new and existing Unity developers will be able to quickly and easily create augmented reality games for Android.

“Augmented reality adds a dash of magic to reality, creates new ways of interacting with the physical world and enables access to extremely valuable data in a natural way,” said David Helgason, CEO of Unity Technologies. “Qualcomm’s augmented reality platform will unleash our users’ creativity to create new and exciting forms of real-world entertainment.

Source:-http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/qualcomm-introduces-mobile-augmented-reality-platform-and-software-development-kit-97500739.html

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Contemplating a dead computer

June 30th, 2010
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It was my early morning ritual. Having pushed the button to boot my computer, I turned my attention to the waiting pleasure of steaming coffee. After a few delicious sips, I glanced at the monitor. Strangely, it was black. I pushed the button again. To my distress, this had no effect on the monitor or on the absolute quiet of my PC. I unplugged the PC, waited, and tried again, to no avail.

How could this be? Had the computer died in its sleep? It had worked flawlessly for a year, including the night before. Perhaps that first jolt of electricity in the morning had—like a too-strong cup of coffee—arrested its frantic little heartbeat.

I spent the next hour pushing the on button repeatedly in the ridiculous belief that the computer would spring to life. Then I went into troubleshooting mode. It wasn’t hard to determine that the motherboard itself was the problem, and that issue, as they say, is above my pay grade. The computer was officially dead.

As I drove to the local computer store, I thought about how the world has changed in the last couple of decades. Once, I would have fixed that computer and bragged about my accomplishment. Once, I would have mourned my dead computer as a friend who had stood by my side. But that was no longer the case. As I was leaving the house, my wife had called out to me. ”Buy one that will last,” she had admonished. ”None of them will,” I replied.

I realized that I had come to think of computers and other electronic gadgets as disposable. Even if they don’t break, they’re good for only a couple of years anyway. Technological progress overruns them, and they get bogged down with the accumulation of junk. The sad reality is that they’re not worth fixing. The cost of identifying and fixing the problem is more than that of a new system. After all, electronic circuitry gets ever less expensive, while the cost of skilled labor escalates.

That evening I was having dinner with some friends, and I mentioned what had happened. ”But there aren’t any moving parts,” someone remarked. ”What could go wrong?” It was a good question. Anywhere something whirs, like the hard drives, or where there is burning heat, like around the microprocessor, we expect bad things might happen. The good news is how remarkably robust electronic circuitry is. Hundreds of millions of transistors must do their jobs perfectly. I always consider it a miracle that computers work in the first place. But once they do, the circuits seldom fail.

I’ve always taken a great pride in the engineering achievements embodied in a computer. The sophistication and complexity of the software and the hardware—and in the network beyond—epitomize the wonderful progress we have made. But here I am at the store looking at new computers and thinking of how little I miss the one that has just quit working. I’m thinking instead that the real value was my data, and that for once, the hard drive had outlived its host. My precious data was still safe.

Ah, but I had jumped to this conclusion too quickly. First, my backup routines had been imperfect; I had not backed up frequently enough. After all, the computer had always worked, hadn’t it? Worse, my computer had outsmarted itself. The manufacturer had cleverly used two hard drives, which appeared to the operating system as a single logical drive in a RAID array—brilliant!—but alas, striping the data across the drives in a way that only the dead motherboard fully understood. Not in a way that would be impossible to reconstruct, but once again the considerations were time and expense. And once again, it wasn’t worth fixing.

Home again, I bid farewell to my deceased computer. The moment of truth was upon me. Could I put the machine out with the trash? Alas, no. I still harbor the hope that the next time I push the button, my computer will come alive.

Source:-http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/hardware/contemplating-a-dead-computer

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Google upsets travel industry, gets chinese website partially blocked

June 30th, 2010
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Google is upsetting more people today, with plans to buy out a travel software company leading to complaints from travel sites, and Google’s search engine being partially blocked in China after it failed to comply with Chinese censorship requirements.

Google is in negotiations with ITA, a software company specialising in travel, to buy it out and incorporate it into Google’s growing empire. ITA’s software is employed by a long list of airlines and travel sites, including Kayak and Orbitz, but not everyone is happy with the idea of a Google takeover.

In fact, there is such opposition to the idea that Kayak tried to beat Google to it by offering to buy ITA. Another travel website, Expedia, was willing to give $200 million (£134 million) to seal the Kayak deal, but Google has a lot of money to throw about and managed to get exclusive talks with the sought after software firm.

The reason so many people are concerned about Google taking over ITA is that the combined dominance of Google in the search market and ITA in the travel software sector will lead to a situation where it has too much leverage over data and prices, making it difficult for companies like Kayak to operate successfully.

Source:-http://www.techeye.net/software/google-upsets-travel-industry-gets-chinese-website-partially-blocked

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Better management for small business IT

June 30th, 2010
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Remote monitoring and managed services software vendor Level Platform has launched its Managed Workplace software for HP’s StorageWorks X500 Data Vault Series.

The product allows small businesses with between 10 and 100 computers to manage their IT environment more easily.

The company says that IT environments have become increasingly complex due to rising security threats, unified communications and the introduction of cloud computing.

Tom Joyce, the marketing vice president for HP’s StorageWorks division, said: “The HP StorageWorks X500 Data Vault and Level Platforms software provide them with cost-efficient solutions to backup critical data ensuring their systems are there when they need them.”

Solutions providers will be able to provide remote monitoring of IT environments for small business clients, including their desktop PCs, laptops and printers, ensuring that every system is running correctly.

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HP claims that one in every six small businesses experience downtime each year, resulting in breakdown of operations and increasing maintenance costs.

Source:-http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2010/6/30/better-management-small-business-it/

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Wolters kluwer tax & accounting closes tax compliance software acquisition

June 30th, 2010
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PRNewswire Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting today announced that it has completed the acquisition of the Tax Compliance Software (TCS) products: Tax Integrator, Fringe Benefits Tax Organiser and Global Tax Integrator from Ernst & Young Australia. The acquisition advances Wolters Kluwer’s strategy to expand its presence in the global corporate market, serving tax and accounting professionals with best-of-breed solutions. Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting, a division of Wolters Kluwer, is the leading global provider of tax, accounting and audit information, software and solutions.

The acquired products are market-leading software solutions that have been developed in close consultation with clients to help streamline the corporate tax compliance workflow process. The products will be marketed worldwide under the CCH brand.

The Tax Integrators are comprehensive solutions designed to streamline the corporate tax compliance workflow process through data gathering, analysis, provisioning, reporting and, in some cases, filing. Integrators help corporations to manage their tax function more efficiently by focusing on reducing effort, reducing risk and increasing integrity.

The acquisition of these products is very exciting for Wolters Kluwer as they extend our ability to deliver leading global corporate tax and accounting solutions,” said Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting CEO Kevin Robert. “We’re confident that corporate tax professionals and their advisors around the world will quickly realize the value of these products to them, and their clients. In fact, the recent signing of an agreement that will see the Global Tax Integrator used in up to 140 countries is a great example of the global scope and value these solutions offer.

Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting, a division of Wolters Kluwer, is the preferred provider of premier information, research, and software tools in the global tax and accounting arena. Tax, accounting, and audit professionals who serve as trusted advisors to clients and businesses worldwide rely on authoritative content and integrated workflow solutions from global leader Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting. Its market leading solutions include CCH®, ProSystem fx® Suite, CorpSystem®, CCH® IntelliConnect™. Its headquarters are in Riverwoods, Illinois.

Wolters Kluwer is a market-leading global information services company. Professionals in the areas of legal, business, tax, accounting, finance, audit, risk, compliance, and healthcare rely on Wolters Kluwer’s leading, information-enabled tools and solutions to manage their business efficiently, deliver results to their clients, and succeed in an ever more dynamic world. Wolters Kluwer has 2009 annual revenues of euro 3.4 billion ($4.8 billion/3.0 billion pound sterling), employs approximately 19,300 people worldwide, and maintains operations in over 40 countries across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices.

Source:-http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wolters-kluwer-tax–accounting-closes-tax-compliance-software-acquisition-97493859.html

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