Archive for July, 2010

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French Carrier SFR advises users to avoid iOS 4 for iPhone 3G

July 30th, 2010
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iPhone 3G users who were tempted to upgrade to iOS 4 in order to use folders, Bing search, better mail, iBooks and other improvements in the latest operating system for iPhone are now wishing they hadn’t upgraded their device.

We recently reported that iPhone 3G running iOS 4 becomes slow and the battery drains faster. Apple support forum is filled with users complaining about slow performance, frequent crashes and now French carrier SFR on it’s iPhone software update info page warns users about sluggish performance:

According to a news story published by WSJ Apple is investigating this issue and it is expected to address it via software update.

If you can’t wait for Apple to release a fix then the only option is to downgrade your iPhone 3G from iOS 4 to iOS 3.1.3. The process is very simple and in less than 10 minutes you can make your iPhone 3G snappier just like before. CNET has posted a how to video showing the downgrade process.

Source:http://touchreviews.net/ios-4-iphone-3g-slow-crash-sfr/

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Support.com Reports Second Quarter 2010 Financial Results

July 30th, 2010
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Support.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRT), a leading provider of services and software that help consumers and small businesses with their technology needs, today reported unaudited financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

For the second quarter of 2010, total revenue was $9.9 million, compared to $3.4 million in the second quarter of 2009 and $9.9 million in the first quarter of 2010. Second quarter 2010 revenue consisted of $6.9 million in services revenue and $3.0 million in software and other revenue.

On a GAAP basis, net loss from continuing operations for the second quarter of 2010 was $6.2 million, or $(0.13) per share, compared to $4.2 million, or $(0.09) per share, in the second quarter of 2009, and $4.2 million, or $(0.09) per share, in the first quarter of 2010.

Non-GAAP net loss from continuing operations for the second quarter of 2010 was $5.1 million, or $(0.11) per share, compared to $6.1 million, or $(0.13) per share, in the second quarter of 2009, and $3.2 million, or $(0.07) per share, in the first quarter of 2010.

Non-GAAP results exclude stock-based compensation expenses, amortization of intangible assets, restructuring and impairment charges, and the income tax impact of the disposition of business units on continuing operations. These items impacted results from continuing operations by $1.1 million in the second quarter of 2010, $(1.8) million in the second quarter of 2009, and $944,000 in the first quarter of 2010. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results is presented in the tables below.

“In the second quarter, we staffed up to roll out new programs that will contribute substantially to future growth,” said Josh Pickus, President and Chief Executive Officer of Support.com. “Revenue took longer than expected to ramp, adversely affecting our results. Looking forward, we believe the investment to ensure superior customer experience in the early stages of programs will drive long-term success for both our partners and the Company.”

Source:http://dmnnewswire.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=1167293

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India’s stiff telecom rules rile US, Europe & Japan vendors

July 30th, 2010
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India’s latest telecom regulations to secure the country’s mobile networks have stirred a hornet’s nest in the US, Europe and Japan.

Over 10 leading trade bodies in the US have approached secretary of state Hillary Clinton, secretary of commerce Gary Locke, United States trade representative ambassador Ron Kirk and deputy national security advisor for international economic affairs ambassador Timothy J Roener stating that India’s new telecom security requirements “raise potential WTO compliance concerns, which left unchallenged could throw billions of dollars in sales and export opportunities of US companies at risk”.

The US business community is up in arms over India’s demand that all global telecom gear makers place their source codes and other sensitive design elements in an escrow account which can be accessed by mobile phone firms and security agencies here in case of any security threat.

The Indian government on Wednesday also announced that all global gear makers, such as Nokia Siemens, Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent, which manage and maintain networks of telcos here should employ only Indian engineers for local operations while adding that these firms would be given a 24-month deadline to comply.

“Among its new policies, India has mandated the transfer of technology from foreign equipment manufacturers to domestic ones, and is now contemplating requiring all equipment makers to escrow source code and other sensitive design elements when selling gear to telcos in India,” the 11 powerful trade lobbies said in their communication to Ms Clinton and others.

“This extremely sensitive and proprietary information is at the core of US ICT companies’ products and the compromise of such information would severely harm their continued commercial viability,” the 11 powerful trade lobbies said. The trade lobbies also demanded that the US government intervene to address ‘troubling developments’ in trade between both the countries.

These US lobbies include United States Council for International Business, US-India Business Council, TechAmerica, Emergency Committee for American Trade, Business Software Alliance, Global VAST Forum, IT Industry Council, Software and IT Association and Semiconductor Industry Association, amongst others.

Their communiqué further warns: “Not only do India’s new telecom security requirements raise potential WTO compliance concerns, if they remain unchallenged, other government may use them to justify their own elaborate information security regimes. India’s approach is establishing a dangerous precedent for governments that may be inclined to use national security in a way that is detrimental to global ICT trade.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/telecom/Indias-stiff-telecom-rules-rile-US-Europe–Japan-vendors/articleshow/6239599.cms

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Sunbelt Software Named to Top 100 Best Companies To Work For in Florida

July 30th, 2010
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Sunbelt placed as number 25 on the rankings of medium-sized companies. One-hundred companies were recognized in small, medium and large company categories. The rankings – the second annual statewide Best Companies list – appear in the August issue Florida Trend and on FloridaTrend.com.

The Best Companies To Work For in Florida program was created by Florida Trend and Best Companies Group and endorsed by the HR Florida State Council.

“Companies that retain the best employees with strong workplace programs are frequently the very same companies that serve their clients exceptionally well,” says Florida Trend Publisher Andrew Corty. “It’s our pleasure to recognize these great companies and encourage others to join them in building Florida’s competitive advantage.”

To be considered for participation, companies or government entities had to employ at least 15 workers in Florida and be at least one year old.

Companies that chose to participate in the Best Companies To Work For in Florida process underwent a two-part survey process. The first part consisted of evaluating each company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure employee satisfaction. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration, survey and analysis process and determined the final rankings. Companies were not required to pay a participation fee to go through the online assessment process.

“It is an honor to be recognized for the second year in a row as one of the Best Companies to Work for in Florida, and this is an achievement that everyone in the company can be proud of,” said Alex Eckelberry, CEO of Sunbelt Software. “Sunbelt places a high value on creating a corporate culture that fosters a rewarding place to work and values the loyalty and dedication of our employees.”

“For our coverage this year we looked carefully at the survey results to focus on the practices that distinguish the best companies from the rest. The surveys show that while employees like ‘bells and whistles’ types of benefits, the companies that make the list all are very good at the basics — especially at communicating with their employees and offering training and opportunities to work creatively. This year’s stories are a great how-to guide for companies looking to improve,” says Mark Howard, executive editor.

For a complete list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in Florida, go to www.FloridaTrend.com/BestCompanies.

Source:http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/press/to-work-for-florida,1405964.html

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Callidus Software Announces Second Quarter 2010 Results

July 30th, 2010
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Callidus Software Inc. (NASDAQ: CALD), the leader in Sales Performance Management (SPM), today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

“Revenues grew sequentially for the second quarter in a row from $16.2 million to $17.1 million, and recurring revenues are up 12% year over year, now accounting for 77% of our total revenues,” said Leslie Stretch, president and CEO at Callidus Software. “In parallel, we made significant progress in our operational efficiency, reducing quarterly operating expenses by approximately $2.0 million over the prior year and $1.2 million over the prior quarter. We also generated $2.3 million of positive cash flows from operations versus using approximately $2 million in Q1.”

“In the quarter, we continued to drive growth in our business, successfully adding 54,000 new payees, and implementing a record-high 24 customers. We continued to see strong renewal rates for our existing customers at over 90% during the quarter, attesting to the high on-going return on investment generated by the solutions. At the same time, we added good new customer wins on our new Monaco SPM solutions, including MetroPCS Wireless and CoBiz Financial.”

Total second quarter revenues of $17.1 million, represented a decrease of 23% compared to the same quarter last year; however, revenues were up 6% compared to first quarter this year revenues of $16.2 million. Recurring revenues, which include subscription and support, were $13.3 million, an increase of 12% compared to the same quarter last year and up 8% compared to first quarter this year revenues of $12.3 million. Recurring revenues now contribute 77% of total revenues, up from 53% in the same quarter last year.

Second quarter services revenues were $3.5 million, down 63% from Q2 2009, and down slightly from Q1 2010. Second quarter license revenues were $0.4 million, down 67% as compared to the second quarter of 2009 and up slightly from Q1, reflecting the planned, on-going shift to a business model which focuses predominantly on recurring revenues.

While total and recurring revenues grew over Q1, cost control continued to play an important role in Q2 2010 resulting in a gross margin of 40% consistent with Q2 of 2009 and an increase from Q1 2010’s level of 32% primarily due to an improvement in the recurring revenue margin from 48% in Q1 2010 to 54% in Q2 2010. The negative margin in our services business continued to pull down the overall margin and is a focus of senior management. Operating costs of $10.5 million in Q2 2010 were down $2 million or 15.6% from Q2 2009 and down $1.2 million or 10.5% from Q1 2010 as the benefits of off shoring and other Q1 expense control actions were fully realized.

Second quarter GAAP net loss was $3.7 million, or ($0.12) per share, which included $0.5 million of restructuring expense, $1.9 million of stock-based compensation expense, and $0.2 million of amortization of acquired intangible assets. This compares to GAAP net loss of $3.3 million, or ($0.11) per share, for the second quarter of 2009, which included $0.6 million of restructuring expense, $1.2 million of stock-based compensation expense and $0.1 million of amortization of acquired intangible assets. The significant improvement in Q2 results over the Q1 GAAP net loss of $6.0 million or ($0.19) per share resulted from the improvement in margin and the reductions in operating costs.

Second quarter non-GAAP net loss was $1.2 million, or ($0.04) per share, compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $1.3 million, or ($0.04) per share, for the same period last year and a non-GAAP net loss of $3.7 million or ($0.12) per share in Q1 2010. Non-GAAP net loss excludes restructuring expense, stock-based compensation expense and amortization of acquired intangible assets. Non-GAAP operating expenses for Q2 2010 of $8.3 million were down $2.5 million or approximately 23% from Q2 2009 and $1.6 million or 15.9% from Q1 2010. Non-GAAP operating expenses exclude restructuring expense, stock based compensation expense and amortization of acquired intangible assets.

Cash and investments totaled $29.7 million at June 30, 2010; a decrease of $0.5 million from March 31, 2010. Cash generated from Operations was $2.3 million in the quarter while total deferred revenue of $29.2 million is up $1.9 million from the prior quarter.

Source:http://www.consumerelectronicsnet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=1167279

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Autodesk Helps APTwater Increase Availability of Clean Water

July 30th, 2010
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APTwater, a California-based developer of advanced water treatment technologies, is using software from Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) to design its HiPOx and PulseOx reactors, both of which use advanced oxidation processes to remove harmful compounds and pollutants from water. This high-performance water treatment helps increase water quality and reusability.

The Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program — which provides software for emerging clean tech companies in North America and Europe — enabled APTwater to significantly accelerate the design of its advanced reactors, which are customized for use at a variety of water and wastewater facilities. Since floor space is limited at most of these sites, APTwater uses Digital Prototyping technologies such as Autodesk Inventor software to produce reactor designs that make the most of every square inch of usable space. With the help of Autodesk reseller KETIV Technologies, the company was soon leveraging the benefits of Inventor software.
“We need to optimize our designs for use in very tight spaces, and we simply wouldn’t be able to do that without the 3D modeling tools in Autodesk Inventor,” says Louis LeBrun, vice president of business development at APTwater. “Inventor software helps us make our pipe reactors as small and efficient as possible, and makes our injection points fit perfectly into the limited space we have available.”
APTwater’s reactors work by creating a complex chemical reaction that oxidizes biologically toxic and nonbiodegradable materials, including pesticides, herbicides, petroleum and other volatile agricultural and organic compounds. The oxidation process literally burns up and destroys the contaminants, without leaving behind any harmful by-products. The result is clean water that can be reused by municipalities, businesses and agriculture.
Creating digital prototypes and then sharing the design and engineering data across offices with Autodesk Vault Professional software has helped APTwater to significantly reduced the amount of time required to create water treatment reactors and deploy them in the field. This speed, in turn, helps shorten the amount of time before APTwater’s customers can turn a polluted or contaminated water source back into a viable source of clean, reusable water.
“APTwater’s water processing technologies have positive implications for many different industries and regions of the world that face clean water shortages,” said Robert “Buzz” Kross, senior vice president, Autodesk Manufacturing Industry Group. “Digital Prototyping has helped accelerate APTwater’s ability to solve key design and engineering problems for its diverse customer base.”

Source:http://www.centredaily.com/2010/07/29/2122697/autodesk-helps-aptwater-increase.html

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SAP Warms to Open Source

July 30th, 2010
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Although not traditionally known for its contributions to the open-source community, the German-based SAP is adopting more open-source software, as well as contributing more of its own code back into the community, company officials said in an interview.

“In the past we didn’t have an open-source strategy,” said Claus von Riegen, SAP’s program director of technology standards and open source. “That has changed over the last two years or so.”

In 2005, Shai Agassi, then the SAP executive in charge of the company’s product group, expressed ambivalence over using open-source software. In the years since, however, the company has warmed to the idea. Certainly, SAP’s chief rival Oracle, for instance, is an active, if controversial, supporter and sponsor of many open-source software projects.

In 2007, SAP began contributing significantly to the Eclipse project, and in October 2009, the company joined the Apache Software Foundation. In 2009, SAP contributed 1.8 million lines to the Eclipse project, making it the third-largest corporate contributor.

While SAP should not be considered an “open-source company” in the same way as say, Red Hat, the company nonetheless “represents a good case study on how proprietary companies have learned that it is in their best interests to contribute to open source software projects,” wrote 451 Group enterprise software analyst Matthew Aslett in a review note.

For SAP, using open source has become “a matter of development productivity,” von Riegen said. “We have a lot of areas where we develop our own software, but there are a lot of commodity areas where we don’t need to differentiate ourselves — that’s where we want to more efficiently use existing software, like open source,” he said.

In these cases, it makes sense to use the open-source application, saving the time and cost to develop the identical functionality in-house. Now the company uses more than 100 open-source applications developed outside of SAP.

In order to use all of this externally generated code, SAP has standardized the way it manages its use of open-source software. Using a program called Code Center, offered by Black Duck Software as part of its Black Duck Suite, von Riegen’s office runs a companywide registry of which open-source applications have already been approved by SAP for use within its products. It also specifies which versions of these applications have been approved, which streamlines the maintenance process for the company.

This centralized approach helps the company deal with licensing issues, said Janaka Bohr, SAP’s head of global licensing for open source. Before any software is approved, the company’s lawyers must check the license to ensure it does not conflict with the company’s plans for the product. The centralized approach cuts down on the number of times a lawyer has to check a license and reduces the amount of due diligence work a development team must do.

“In the past our developers had to spend a few hours researching an open-source product to find the licenses, to find the technical information,” Bohr said.

The Black Duck software also includes a library for scanning code to unveil what open-source code is embedded within other applications. SAP doesn’t want to inherit, say, a GPL violation, which could force the company to open source the entire program that uses a snippet of GPL code.

The ability to review code has also been crucial in helping SAP in its process of acquiring other companies. Even if SAP didn’t use open-source software, it would still have to grapple with all the open-source software used by the companies it acquires. Overall, in 15 acquisitions since 2007 (not including Sybase), the company has had to examine 2,000 different software programs.

On Friday, SAP announced that it has finalized its US$5.8 billion purchase of Sybase. Although Sybase will continue to operate as a separate company, SAP has still inherited a lot of code in the purchase.

While von Riegen would not comment on the Sybase acquisition specifically, he did say, in general, SAP invests a lot of effort in understanding what code it is acquiring as part of any potential sale.

Although SAP engineers typically are not allowed to review the code of a company that it intends to purchase, the Black Duck software can be used by a third party to scan the software and return a list of what open-source code has been found.

This activity has been tremendously helpful, von Riegen said. It allows SAP to get a handle on the code base of the company it intends to acquire. In one case, a company that it had acquired had claimed to be using no open-source code, when, in fact, it had embedded more than 80 open-source applications within its own programs.

“Some of the acquisition targets claim that they don’t use open source, but when you scan you find quite a lot of open-source code,” he said. In at least one case, a planned acquisition fell through because the review of the code base revealed far more open source was being used than the takeover prospect had claimed.

Joab Jackson covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Joab on Twitter at @Joab_Jackson. Joab’s e-mail address is Joab_Jackson@idg.com

Source:http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/202280/sap_warms_to_open_source.html

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