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Archive for May, 2011

Software AG Acquires Mobile App Platform Developer Metismo

May 31st, 2011

Software AG has acquired Metismo, the U.K. creator of a mobile development platform that allows applications to be deployed natively on multiple smartphone operating systems, it said on Tuesday at its ProcessWorld event in Berlin.

The German company didn’t provide any financial details on the transaction.

Metismo’s Bedrock platform allows developers to write applications using Java. The company’s CrossCompiler then converts the source code into native applications than can run directly on Apple’s iPhone and iPad, and smartphones based on Android, BlackBerryOS, Windows Phone and webOS.

The growing popularity of mobile Internet access and smartphones is rapidly transforming enterprise computing, and is something companies have to react to, according to Wolfram Jost, CTO at Software AG.

Metismo’s technology helps solve the complex issue of cross-platform mobile access to the enterprise, according to Software AG.

Using Bedrock, companies can focus on application development instead of “spending time and money on handset idiosyncrasies”, Metismo said.

Metismo is far from the only company offering cross-platform development tools for smartphones. It competes with the likes of RhoMobile and Appcelerator.

Mobile apps often access or manipulate data stored in the cloud. Last week Software AG bought a software developer at the other end of that connection, Terracotta, which will allow it to develop more advanced cloud services and increase the performance of its business software management tools using Terracotta’s in-memory technology.

Source:http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/229000/software_ag_acquires_mobile_app_platform_developer_metismo.html

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Tags: Mobile Software

Bad software analysis causes release of 450 dangerous Calif. inmates

May 31st, 2011

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For once there has been a major security breach not directly attributable to weak network security or nonexistent data-loss protection – the kind of IT-related security breach that won’t necessarily get some digital-security geek fired.

The bad news is that it might get some programmers or project-managers fired, or get other people killed.

Due to an error in the way it analyzes prisoner records, a program used by the California Bureau of Prisons made recommendations that led to the release of 450 felons whose records indicate a “high risk of violence.”

Another 1,000 prisoners listed highly likely to commit drug crimes, property crimes or other offenses were also released as part of a court-ordered program to reduce the 143,335-prisoner population of California’s overcrowded prisons by about 33,000.

The program, running since January, 2010, relied on a program that examined arrest records of prisoners, but not previous convictions or in-prison disciplinary actions, which prosecutors told the Los Angeles Times paint a far clearer picture of an inmate’s proclivity for violence.

The application evaluates information in a database of 16.4 million arrests statewide, but had no access to data that would have given better indications of a prisoner’s risk of committing further violence.

Its access to California juvenile-criminal records was spotty, the Inspector General’s (IG) report concluded,(PDF) so only a prisoner’s adult record was often considered.

It also lacked access to in-prison disciplinary records – which often identify gang affiliations and the likelihood a prisoner will become violent without being arrested.

Worst, the application had to use as its primary data source California’s Automated Criminal History System (ACHS), which contains data on more than 16.4 million arrests, but is missing data on convictions for half those records, making it difficult to weight each incident accurately as an indicator for future violence, the IG’s office concluded.

“Despite these significant shortcomings in the ACHS database, [California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation] had no choice but to use that database, however inadequate, as the best available source of data,” the IG’s report concluded.

Even estimates of the number of potentially violent felons released are imprecise.

The Bureau of Prisons discovered the errors only after former prosecutor-turned-legislator State Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), asked for a review of the program.

Using humans rather than software to review a sample of 200 files from the pile of 10,134 released, prison officials found 31 who should not have been considered for release – an error rate of 15 percent.

Procedures require records to be reviewed by prison officials, but the state inspector general’s report didn’t say whether any potentially violent felons were refused release due to that review.

It also didn’t say why the records-analysis application was unable to access conviction data.

By changing the application’s criteria, the bureau was able to get the error rate down to 8 percent, but is not able to re-arrest those already released.

The program gave prisoners non-revocable, unsupervised parole – meaning they’re free to do as they please without reporting to a parole officer or undergoing any other supervision. They can be sent back to prison for violating parole only if they’re arrested for other reasons.

Even those legitimately listed as low risks for violence may not live up to expectations based on a profile.

In July, 2010 a former prisoner named Javier Joseph Rueda, whose record shows he did fit criteria for release, was shot to death after firing on two Los Angeles police officers, wounding one in the arm.

Source:http://www.itworld.com/security/169703/bad-software-analysis-causes-release-450-dangerous-calif-inmates

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India lost $866 mn in taxes to software piracy in FY’09: Study

May 31st, 2011

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Indian government may have lost as much as $866 mn in taxes to software piracy in 2009, a study said today.

With software piracy rate at 65 per cent (more than six out of 10 computer software installed were not paid for) in 2009, the exchequer tax receipts loss was about $ 866 mn in net taxes, both indirect and direct, a joint study by BSA- IDC said.

“Software piracy is a unique crime as most of illegal and unlicensed usage of software occurs in otherwise legal and legitimate businesses, depriving government of legitimate taxes from software sales and distribution,” IDC Asia/Pacific Research Manager (AP Consulting) Harish Taori told reporters here.

Business Software Alliance (BSA) is a software industry body working in 80 countries to expand software markets. Its members include Adobe, Apple, HP India, Microsoft and Symantec among others. IDC is a global IT research firm.

According to the study, indirect tax receipts from software sales would have contributed $ 553 mn, while services-related business transactions and direct tax receipts would be around $ 313 mn in 2009.

The study found that in 2010, IT companies paid nearly $ 3.04 bn to state exchequer in tax. By 2014, the tax receipt is expected to grow to $ 5.7 bn with IT spending expected to grow at a CAGR of 15 per cent until 2014.

According to IDC estimates, losses of over $ 2.27 bn was caused in 2009 on account of unlicensed software sold in India in 2009 (with piracy of packaged software at 65 per cent).

The total impact in 2009 would then come to about $ 3.13 bn for 2009, BSA India Committee Chair Keshav S Dhakad said.

“High rates of piracy in India results in a lot of value erosion, which in turn affects the entire value chain from distributors to traders to resellers and hampers job creation in the areas of sales, marketing, distribution, maintenance, development etc,” Dhakad said.

He added that there was an urgent need to facilitate the creation of a strong intellectual property compliance and accounting governance model in companies to account for usage of genuine and licensed software as part of their internal and external audits.

The study said that if PC software piracy is curtailed by five per cent in 2011, the incremental potential industry revenues or the GDP contributions could be $ 790 mn, tax revenue could be $ 95 mn and 26,108 new high-skilled jobs could be created.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/personalfinance/taxsavers/taxnews/India-lost-866-mn-in-taxes-to-software-piracy-in-FY09-Study/articleshow/8665260.cms

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Software piracy caused tax loss of $866 mn in FY09

May 31st, 2011

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Indian government may have lost nearly $866 million in taxes to software piracy in 2009, a study said today.

With software piracy rate at 65% (more than six out of 10 computer software installed were not paid for) in 2009, the exchequer tax receipts loss was about $866 million in net taxes, both indirect and direct, a joint study by BSA-IDC said.

“Software piracy is a unique crime as most of illegal and unlicensed usage of software occurs in otherwise legal and legitimate businesses, depriving government of legitimate taxes from software sales and distribution,” IDC Asia/Pacific Research Manager (AP Consulting) Harish Taori told reporters here.

Business Software Alliance (BSA) is a software industry body working in 80 countries to expand software markets. Its members include Adobe, Apple, HP India, Microsoft and Symantec among others. IDC is a global IT research firm.

According to the study, indirect tax receipts from software sales would have contributed $553 million, while services-related business transactions and direct tax receipts would be around $313 million in 2009.

The study found that in 2010, IT companies paid nearly $3.04 billion to state exchequer in tax. By 2014, the tax receipt is expected to grow to $5.7 billion with IT spending expected to grow at a CAGR of 15% until 2014.

According to IDC estimates, losses of over $2.27 billion was caused in 2009 on account of unlicensed software sold in India in 2009 (with piracy of packaged software at 65%).

The total impact in 2009 would then come to about $3.13 billion for 2009, BSA India Committee Chair Keshav S Dhakad said.

“High rates of piracy in India results in a lot of value erosion, which in turn affects the entire value chain from distributors to traders to resellers and hampers job creation in the areas of sales, marketing, distribution, maintenance, development etc,” Dhakad said.

He added that there was an urgent need to facilitate the creation of a strong intellectual property compliance and accounting governance model in companies to account for usage of genuine and licenced software as part of their internal and external audits.

The study said that if PC software piracy is curtailed by 5% in 2011, the incremental potential industry revenues or the GDP contributions could be $790 million, tax revenue could be $95 million and 26,108 new high-skilled jobs could be created.

“The millions of dollars being lost in taxes to the state due to software piracy if checked, could lead to re-investment in critical developmental projects for the country,” Taori said.

The need of the hour is to put in place some strong regulatory mechanisms to prevent software theft leading to these tax losses, he added.

Taori said countries like Greece and Italy have declared usage of unlicenced and pirated software in companies as a form of tax evasion and similar steps should be taken in India.

“The government tax inspectors, external and internal auditors need to be empowered to check and account for genuine software licenses inside organizations, whether public or private,” Taori said.

Companies should declare genuine software licenses in their books of accounts and financial statements, he added.

Source:http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/software-piracy-caused-tax-loss866-mn-in-fy09/137076/on

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Tags: Piracy Software

RBI appoints Polaris to install intellect CBS

May 31st, 2011

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Reserve Bank of India has appointed Polaris Software to install intellect core banking solution (CBS) in its office. The announcement of this appointment was made by Polaris.

As per the deal, Polaris will be responsible for integration as well as maintenance of the software in the central bank for a tenor of 10 years. The deal has a valuation of $55 million.

The apex bank had been planning since long to bring into practice a centralized system which would integrate all banking operations of all regional RBI offices and also bring the system at par with the current IT requirements.

The CBS would also add to security in the operational domain with security features like internal account numbers, tamper-proof database, PKI-supported transaction execution and storage, security in account operations amongst others.

Source:http://www.rupeetimes.com/news/fixed_deposits/rbi_appoints_polaris_to_install_intellect_cbs_5372.html

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Tags: CBS RBI Software

Drugstore software flaws pose health risks

May 31st, 2011

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o prevent harmful drug interactions, pharmacies use computer software that’s supposed to flag potentially dangerous combinations of drugs before a prescription order is filled.

But those systems are flawed, according to a new study of Arizona pharmacies by the University of Arizona.

The study found that only 28 percent of pharmacies tested with a list of 13 potentially dangerous drug interactions got a perfect score.

“These systems aren’t doing as good a job as we hoped, and therefore, we need to be vigilant still. We can’t rely on the software to identify some of these reactions,” said Dan Malone, a UA professor of pharmacy and the study’s lead investigator.

The university’s study focused on 64 Arizona pharmacies, including those owned by chains, independents and hospitals, from December 2008 to November 2009.

The results were published in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association earlier this year, followed by possible solutions in the May/June issue of that publication.

The university’s findings are consistent with other studies, including a 1996 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that found that one-third of 50 pharmacies in the Washington, D.C., area failed to detect potentially dangerous drug interactions.

There are several theories why more drug interactions aren’t flagged, including pharmacies using outdated software and inconsistencies in the drug databases upon which the software relies. Some pharmacies also turn off some of the drug alerts to keep from being overwhelmed by the more minor alerts.

UA researchers designed a fictional patient, a man in his late 50s, who was taking a combination of 18 drugs mainly for cardiovascular problems.

Thirteen of the drugs were considered “clinically significant,” meaning if paired with another drug on the list, they were likely to produce harm. One example was the drug Viagra, used for erectile dysfunction. When combined with nitroglycerin, it can produce a dangerous drop in blood pressure.

The UA study used a “pass/fail” system for the pharmacies.

A pharmacy failed if it didn’t flag all the 13 risky combinations. Malone said some of the systems flagged more combinations than others.

He said identifying all the combinations is important because “if you don’t identify (them), then you can’t assess to what extent the patient is at harm.”

The pharmacies in the study agreed to take part and allowed researchers to come in and test their drug-alert systems, although they didn’t know which drugs would be involved. Malone said the research wasn’t designed to be a “gotcha” effort; pharmacies also learned more about their systems.

“It was testing the (software) system,” Malone said. “It wasn’t testing the pharmacist’s knowledge or ability.”

No one’s system was terrible, he said, but the study shows software systems need some fine-tuning to get to the optimal level.

There are many different software systems on the market designed to provide drug alerts. But there is no universal standard for classifying the severity of drug interactions, Malone said. Different systems may use different drug databases: One system might flag a particular drug combination as potentially dangerous, and another might not.

UA’s research suggests that pharmacies must ensure they receive timely drug information and software updates. Some systems also allowed for some drug alerts to be turned off, so pharmacists should be aware if this is happening.

For consumers, Malone said they should ask their pharmacists, “Is there anything I shouldn’t take?” with their medication and let them know what other drugs they are taking. They should ask their doctors the same question.

The pharmacies in the UA study weren’t identified but included some chains. Malone said it was unusual to see identical performance by pharmacies with the same ownership.

“Even though everyone thinks they are operating with the same (software) system, there may have been modifications to programs that were either known or unknown,” he said.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores in Alexandria, Va., did not make anyone available for comment on the study. A spokeswoman for Walgreens, the nation’s leading chain drugstore, which filled 778 million prescriptions in fiscal 2010, said no one was available to comment.

Source:http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/05/31/20110531druginteractions0530.html

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Tags: Drugstore Software

Computex 2011 to signal reshuffle of PC software/hardware

May 31st, 2011

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Computex Taipei 2011 opens today with the expectation that more than 35,000 buyers from around the world will descend on Taipei to participate in Asia’s biggest IT trade show. About 1,800 global exhibitors, utilizing over 5,200 booths, up 8% from 2010, will hopefully supply up to US$23 billion in business as a result of the show.

And while Computex is first and foremost an event where IT buyers and suppliers can make deals and solidify relationships, it is also a major IT venue for industry leaders to jostle for mindshare. The hot topics this year include market trends such as color e-book readers, 3D Television and cloud computing, but it will be the tablet market that is expected to grab the main spotlight during the show this year.

The Apple iPad has created a surge in demand for tablet PCs, resulting in a situation where semiconductor firms focusing on x86 architecture – mainly Intel – will face off against ARM-based architecture vendors including Nvidia and Qualcomm, while competition in the software arenas will pit Microsoft and its upcoming Windows 8 operating system against Google Android and Chrome.

Intel to beat drum for tablet PCs

Intel executive vice president and Architecture Group general manager Sean Maloney will introduce Intel’s latest R&D and road map of product development as well as Intel’s competing strategies for tablet PCs and smartphones, market segments where Intel has not been able to claim a leadership position. In addition, corporate vice president and PC Client Group general manager Mooly Eden, corporate vice president and Netbook and Tablet Group general manager Doug Davis as well as Software and Services vice president and System Software Division general manager Doug Fisher will disclose the company’s planning for their respective business units.

Intel is expected to showcase Oak Trail tablet PCs supporting MeeGo, Windows and Android as well as inexpensive netbook models and Chrome notebook PCs jointly developed by Google. Sandy Bridge models and Z68 motherboards developed by Intel’s Taiwan-based hardware partners will also be exhibited and Intel is expected to release details on its next-generation Ivy Bridge platform.

Intel will also exhibit the X79 chipset (code name Patsburg-HEDT) that will be offered in August 2011, with the chipset to match three 6-core and quad-core Sandy Bridge-E processors to form the Waimea Bay platform.

During Intel’s recent analyst day, the company indicated it would be making two major high level changes in its roadmap and those changes should be evident at the Computex show. The first initiative is a renewed focus on essentially reinventing its vision of the PC, one that was much more CE device oriented and featuring ultra-thin, ultra secure and ultra-responsive devices in its plan. The company is stressing features that put it into head-to-head competition with its rivals from the ARM camp, including features such as instant on, always on and always connected, as well as 10 hours of battery life.

While not directly conceding that it needs to better compete with ARM in the tablet segment, Intel most definitely reminded the world why it is the industry leader in the semiconductor industry with its second initiative, which is to accelerate its SoC development strategy. The company plans to halve its two-year process technology development cycle for SoCs for smartphones and tablets starting from 32nm products next year (Medfield) and then 22nm (Silvermont) products in 2013 and 14nm products (Airmont) in 2014, essentially doubling the speed of Moore’s Law to help the company improve its standing in the ultra-mobility market.

Even though Intel has yet to become a major player in the smartphone or tablet industry, the company has the resources and advantages in process technology to keeps its competitors from discounting the prospects of the chip giant. Moreover, Intel is quick to point out based on tablets on smartphones, it is the number one silicon vendor in the market in terms of profits, since every 600 smartphones sold and/or every 122 tablets sold creates the sale of a server, most likely a high-margin Intel product

AMD to showcase Llano

AMD unveiled Brazos, a low-power Fusion APU, in January 2011 and has shipped more than three million chips. AMD will exhibit Llano, its latest Fusion APU, at Computex 2011, with company senior vice president and chief marketing officer Nigel Dessau to introduce details on AMD’s most advanced architectures and technology.

Viewing that Brazos has successfully been adopted by Sony, Hewlett-Packard and Taiwan-based Acer and Asustek Computer for their notebook PCs, AMD will ship Llano to notebook PC vendors first in June and then to retail market in July. According to AMD internal estimates, monthly shipments of Llano will keep increasing from one million units in June to 1.5 million units in July and further to 8.0-9.0 million units at the end of 2011.

Made on a 32nm process, Llano has built-in graphics chip Radeon HD 6550 or 6450 which is functionally equivalent to the Nvidia GeForce GT 240. Liano motherboards equipped with Socket FM1 A75 chipset support Dual Graphics technology and related motherboard graphics performance can be increased by 80% using CrossFire.

There will be three series of Llano APUs for use in notebook PCs, that is, A6-3400M, A4-3300M and E2-3000M. AMD will soon unveil Llano APUs for use in desktop PCs which will include at least five A series and one E series.

AMD will also unveil its road maps of tablet PC architectures, and is cooperating with Microsoft to develop Windows 8-based platforms which will be released as early as the first quarter of 2012.

Nvidia Tegra 2 seeing booming demand

CEO and president Huang Jen-hsun will introduce Nvidia’s road maps of developing Tegra and architectures.

However, Nvidia’s possible participation in Microsoft’s Integrated Development Program specifically for developing Windows 8 is expected to be the question that the media will be asking.

Absent from Computex in 2007-2010, Nvidia will return to the IT event this year to showcase the achievement of Tegra 2, including applications to tablet PCs, smartphones and automotive electronics as well as release quad-core processors and Project Denver. Nvidia plans to unveil quad-core Tegra 3 (Project Kal-El) in the second half of 2011, Tegra 4 (Wayne) in 2012, Tegra 5 (Logan) in 2013 and Tegra 6 (Stark) in 2014.

ARM president Tudor Brown

ARM president Tudor Brown and executive vice president of marketing Ian Drew will introduce ARM’s business outlook and performance of ARM architectures used in tablet PCs and handsets. In addition, ARM will showcase new ARM-based devices developed by hardware partners.