Vice-Chancellor (V-C) of Utkal University Prashant Kumar Sahoo on Tuesday inaugurated a web software, developed by four varsity students, that would facilitate e-admission to PG courses from the ensuing academic session.

Aspirants to PG courses, including self-financed courses, at Vani Vihar can now apply online for admission. They can download forms and deposit them with fees at the varsity counters physically. The process will, however, be phased out over the years, making the process completely paperless.

The software has been prepared by four Integrated Master of Computer Application (IMCA) students __ Chandrasekhar Biswal, Kamalakant Pradhan, Javed Anwar and Abhinash Sahoo.

On the occasion, the V-C said the e-admission would make the process much faster. Now, several students from far-flung areas would also be able to apply, he said.

The university has put in place its own server for facilitating the e-admission and the existing server, to which the Utkal University website is connected, will not be used. The existing server is managed by ‘All India Online’ agency and was hacked just two days back. “The server that will be used in e-admission belongs to the Utkal University Computer Centre and is hack-proof. In another 15 days, we would procure a dedicated server for both the e-admission purpose and the varsity website,” said PG Council Chairman P K Sarkar. He added the varsity website will be upgraded in a few days.

Congratulating the students, the V-C said hiring a professional agency for creating the e-admission software would have cost the varsity lakhs, but the students have done it for free.

�The four students developed the software in two months. They will be in charge of maintenance and development of the software for another three years. As part of the software, the students have also created a help desk to address students’ problems, if any, during the e-admission process. “We have developed a foolproof system and are hopeful that the students will not face any problems. But if there is any problem, they can contact us at the mobile numbers that will be provided in the website,” said Chandrasekhar.

� The university authorities have also decided to standardise the application fee for all the courses from this year. The application fee has been hiked to ` 400.

Source:http://ibnlive.in.com/news/four-students-develop-web-software/258285-60-117.html

American Software, Inc. AMSWA -0.12% today announced that its Board of Directors has approved the Company’s quarterly dividend of $.09 per share. The Company’s regular quarterly cash dividend of $.09 per share of American Software common stock is payable on September 7, 2012 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 17, 2012.

About American Software, Inc.

Atlanta-based American Software AMSWA -0.12% provides demand-driven supply chain management and enterprise software solutions, backed by more than 40 years of industry experience, that drive value for companies regardless of market conditions. Logility, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Software, is a leading provider of supply chain management solutions for companies of all sizes. Logility Voyager Solutions(TM) is a comprehensive suite, which includes supply chain visibility; demand, inventory and replenishment planning; Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP); inventory and supply optimization; manufacturing planning and scheduling; transportation planning and management; and warehouse management. Demand Management, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Logility, delivers supply chain solutions to small and midsized manufacturers, distributors and retailers. Demand Management’s Demand Solutions(R) suite is widely deployed and globally recognized for forecasting, demand planning and point-of-sale analysis. Logility and Demand Management proudly serve customers such as Arch Chemicals, Avery Dennison Corporation, McCain Foods, Pernod Ricard, Sigma Aldrich, and VF Corp. New Generation Computing(R) (NGC(R)), a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Software, is a leading provider of PLM, supply chain management, ERP and product testing software and services for brand owners, retailers and consumer products companies. NGC customers include A|X Armani Exchange, Aeropostale, Billabong, Carter’s, Casual Male, Hugo Boss, Jos. A. Bank, Lakeshore Learning, Lululemon Athletica, Marchon Eyewear, and Swatfame. For more information about American Software, please visit www.amsoftware.com , call (800) 726-2946 or email: ask@amsoftware.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by statements made herein. These factors include, but are not limited to, changes in general economic conditions, technology and the market for the Company’s products and services, including economic conditions within the e-commerce markets; the timely availability and market acceptance of these products and services; the Company’s ability to satisfy in a timely manner all SEC required filings and the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations adopted under that Section; the challenges and risks associated with integration of acquired product lines and companies; the effect of competitive products and pricing; the uncertainty of the viability and effectiveness of strategic alliances; and the irregular pattern of the Company’s revenues. For further information about risks the Company could experience as well as other information, please refer to the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2011 and other reports and documents subsequently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information, contact: Vincent C. Klinges, Chief Financial Officer, American Software, Inc., (404) 264-5477 or fax: (404) 237-8868.

e-Intelliprise is a trademark of American Software, Logility is a registered trademark and Logility Voyager Solutions is a trademark of Logility, Demand Solutions is a registered trademark of Demand Management.. Other products mentioned in this document are registered, trademarked or service marked by their respective owners.

Source:http://www.marketwatch.com/story/american-softwares-board-approves-the-quarterly-cash-dividend-2012-05-16

Diablo in details

Activision Blizzard Inc.’s just-released “Diablo III” video game is gaining notoriety over a software bug, as hundreds of Twitter Inc. users post messages about “Error 37.” In 24 hours, said Topsy.com, which compiles hit data, as many as 1,850 posts complained about a bug preventing them from logging on to the online role-playing game. Similar messages were posted on forums of the “Diablo III” website, citing errors about login servers unable to process demands as they are at capacity.

Activision, controlled by Paris-based Vivendi SA, said preorders of 2 million units for “Diablo III” were a record high for the firm, best known for its “World of Warcraft” subscription-based role-playing game.

Getting thinner

Apple Inc. is preparing a new lineup of thinner MacBook laptops running on more powerful chips made by Intel Corp., people with knowledge of the plans said. The MacBook Pro machines, to be unveiled at Apple’s annual developers conference starting June 11, also will have high-definition screens like those on the iPhone and iPad, as well as flash memory to cut startup times and extend battery life.

Apple sales are growing faster than the personal-computer market, benefiting from the popularity of its mobile devices. Competitors such as Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. have followed suit in making thinner, aluminum laptops that start up more quickly.

HIV test

A panel of HIV specialists is recommending that U.S. regulators approve the first over-the-counter HIV test designed to quickly return a result in the privacy of a person’s home, a new option that could expand testing for the virus that causes AIDS. The 17 members of the Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted unanimously that the benefits of OraQuick HIV test outweigh its potential risks. The test kit uses a mouth swab sample to detect the presence of HIV within 20 minutes.

Faster cloud?

Nvidia Corp. unveiled a version of its processors that will work in cloud-computing centers, offering users the ability to stream advanced graphics through the Internet to remote devices such as Apple Inc.’s iPad. Nvidia collaborated with software maker Citrix Systems Inc. to make the technology work, Chief Executive Officer Jen-Hsun Huang said at Tuesday in San Jose, Calif. Nvidia is one of the top three providers of graphics processing units, or GPUs.

Ethanol up

Ethanol rose the most since April as more expensive corn signaled higher manufacturing costs for U.S. producers. One bushel of corn makes at least 2.75 gallons of the fuel, and producers are losing 4 cents on every gallon made, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Source:http://www.kansascity.com/2012/05/15/3612849/starwatch-consumer-gamers-all.html

Infosys, a world leader in consulting and technology services, has adopted the IEEE Computer Society’s Certified Software Development Associate (CSDA) and Certified Software Development Professional (CSDP) certifications. Infosys will use the two credentials to enhance software development standards within the company.

The IEEE Computer Society is also identifying and training Software Engineering Certified Instructors (SECI) to lead efforts to prepare Infosys employees to take these certifications. The certifications are aimed at enhancing the training levels of software engineers among Infosys’ 150,000 employees.

“We are very excited to be working together with Infosys on this very important initiative,” said Angela Burgess, executive director of the IEEE Computer Society. “More and more companies are realizing the benefits of certifications like the CSDA and CSDP and we applaud Infosys for taking a leadership position in India in this regard.”

Infosys is the first major Indian corporation to become an IEEE Computer Society Registered Education Provider. The IEEE Computer Society has more than a dozen REPs worldwide that offer its certification and professional education programs.

“Infosys has always aimed at providing world-class training, education, and research facilities to its employees and this partnership is a step in strengthening our efforts in this direction. This learning alliance provides our employees a unique opportunity to raise their levels of competence through access to a rich repository of content and references developed by the IEEE Computer Society in collaboration with leaders from industry and academia,” said Srikantan Moorthy, Senior Vice President and Group Head of Education & Research at Infosys.

The CSDA and the CSDP are the first two certifications that conform to the ISO/IEC 24773 standard, which stipulates methods of certifying software engineering professionals worldwide. The basis of both certifications is the Computer Society’s Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK). For more information on the Computer Society’s certifications go to http://www.computer.org/getcertified

The CSDA credential, intended for graduating software engineers and early-career software professionals, serves to bridge the gap between educational experience and real-world work. The CSDP credential, intended for mid-career professionals, confirms professionals’ proficiency with established software development practices and demonstrates commitment and professionalism.

Source:http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/computer-software/20120517120141.htm

India may be a software services powerhouse, but the trade body representing the likes of Microsoft, Adobe and Symantec claims that software makers lost nearly $3 billion or about Rs 16,150 crore in 2011 because Indians prefer illegally copying software rather than pay for it.

Business Software Alliance (BSA), a lobby that represents software product companies whose study arrived at the potential loss figure, said that the comparable loss in the United States was about $9.7 billion and $9 billion in China.

“India should take note at the rate at which China has been cutting down on piracy,” said Lizum Mishra, director of BSA India. In 2010, software worth $2.7 billion was pirated in India, or that nearly 64% of software products used in India were illegally copied.

In 2011, this percentage has marginally come down to 63%, according to BSA. The estimates were published in BSA’s Global Software Piracy Report, which was based on a study by market researcher IDC and IPSOS Public Affairs who surveyed 15,000 computer users in 33 countries.

Professor Rahul De of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, says that emerging markets contribute more to piracy due to high software prices and lack of availability. “But piracy is on the decline as enforcement has become stronger and cloudbased software is driving costs down,” De said.

“You can now buy licences for a marginal cost.” Piracy rates in China was among the highest globally at 77% but it is going down rapidly, said Mishra who added that in 2003, when a similar study was done, piracy rates were as high as 92%.

After a recent US China strategic meet, the latter had committed to promote use of legal software by Chinese enterprise and prioritise trade secrets in its intellectual property protection policies. Worldwide, estimated commercial value of pirated software climbed from $58.8 billion in 2010 to $63.4 billion in 2011.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/software-lobby-bsa-pegs-piracy-loss-at-rs-16150-cr/articleshow/13159377.cms

When you are transporting nuclear reactors, you have only one chance for a safe, zero-error shipment. Perkins, a specialised highway transportation contracting company realised this only too well when it had to transport four massive steam generators for a nuclear power plant from southern California to Utah.

It used a completely digital approach to create a massive transportation vehicle — a 400-foot-long truck with over 192 wheels. It began with 2D sketches of the transporter in AutoCAD software then brought alive in 3D models which were then put through a simulation software. Thus, Perkins was able to simulate every possible accident or “situation” that might have happened and optimise design accordingly to avert the worst.

Similarly, simulation software allowed a new elevator system for US Navy aircraft carriers to be tested for shocks — like those produced by underwater explosions. And the US National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) could have safer and more effective respirator masks for firefighters.

It could digitally capture reality, using the same software, to analyse the fitting process between the respirator mask and a human head and assess airflow for the mask, in two-and-a-half days.

Augmented reality, the blending of virtual and real worlds and simulation are mainly linked with gaming, animation movies, entertainment and other consumer applications.

But digital recreation of real-world environments and situations have almost infinite applications in safety and research as well because they allow you to see and prepare for the worst, without necessarily having to go through it in reality, which is incredibly expensive. The US Navy for instance, saved hundreds of millions of dollars on those tests alone.

Moreover, simulation means that multiple situations can be dealt with simultaneously, which may not always be possible in regular testing. This is better preparation since in real life, situations rarely occur one at a time. It also aids in research because you can see things that you might not have seen otherwise.

CIM Data, a consultancy firm focused on product lifecycle management, forecasts that the simulation and analysis software market will exceed $3.1 billion by 2014.

“In as little as 10 years, all kinds of testing will be done digitally with a big focus on simulation,” says Buzz Kross, vice-president, design, lifecycle & simulation at Autodesk. The design software giant has been among the strongest supporters having invested over half a billion dollars in simulation technology.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/hardware/simulation-software-marks-its-might-in-safety-testing/articleshow/13192785.cms

iOS application developers are spotting devices running iOS 6 in application usage logs.

iOS 6 is the next incarnation of the iOS software used in Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. This update is highly anticipated, due the addition of new software features, including a new Maps application with a 3D option.

9to5mac reports that developers running analytics software are beginning to notice users running versions of iOS 6. Analytics software let developers keep track of who is using their applications. This information includes the version of iOS that said users were running.

While most hits began appearing sometime in the past week, some developers reported hits as early as late April. Several versions of iOS6 have been going around the Apple campus. This indicates that the software is likely going to be released soon, presumably during June’s World Wide Developers Conference.

There is always excitement when Apple prepares to update its software, especially that of mobile devices. So many people actually own Apple devices, which are getting improved on every year. While there will surely be much to rejoice about in iOS6, users should not expect the addition of Android-like widgets and major home screen changes. While hackers will always have their way with the software, the official UI style of iOS has stayed very consistent throughout its history, and isn’t likely to change any time soon.

Source:http://vr-zone.com/articles/app-devs-notice-ios-6-hits-in-analytics-software/15878.html

Construction firms which use 3-D modelling software can apply to be subsidised by a government fund now doubled to $12 million.

The move is part of efforts by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) to encourage more building companies to use such technologies, also called Building Information Modelling (BIM).

The announcement was made by BCA on Tuesday at the BuildTech Asia Exhibition, a three-day trade show for the building and construction industry at Marina Bay Sands.

BIM technology allows architects, engineers and builders working on the same building projects to collaborate virtually. It also helps companies save costs by cutting back on labour and time.

Source:http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_799461.html

China’s Internet security provider Beijing Rising International Software Co Ltd on Tuesday released the nation’s first business-level anti-virus system based on private cloud technology in an effort to maintain its lead in the corporation anti-virus sector.

“Private cloud will help us provide more integrated services to our customers,” said Deng Sheng, sales director of the company.

Rising has yet to decide the prices of the new products but said they are likely to be revealed in the next two months.

Some of the country’s top security companies, such as Kingsoft Co Ltd and Qihoo 360 Technology Co, started to release free enterprise-level anti-virus products in 2011, a move that may eat up Rising’s market share.

The company’s senior executives said Rising had no plans to allow its clients to use its enterprise-level products free of charge.

“Unlike our competitors, Rising not only sells anti-virus software but also hardware. It is not possible for us to give away enterprise-level services,” said Julia Zhang, vice-president of the company.

Rising claims to have about 150,000 corporation clients in China, the largest number among local security companies. It plans to lure more clients from financial and new energy industries this year.

Source:http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2012-05/16/content_15309288.htm

Satisfaction with Microsoft’s software slipped last year, part of an industrywide downturn driven by U.S. consumer discontent with traditional PC programs, a national survey said today.

Microsoft scored 75 points in the poll conducted since 2006 by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), down from a record 78 last year.

The three-point drop from 2010’s results — representing a decline of about 4% — put Microsoft software’s satisfaction rating at its lowest level since 2009, but still higher than the company’s worst showing of 69 in 2008, when it was dealing with the fallout over Windows Vista.

Microsoft’s skid in 2011 wasn’t due to any Vista-like debacle, said David VanAmburg, director of ACSI.

“We’re not finding any lapse in quality per se,” said VanAmburg, referring to Windows 7, the current edition of Microsoft’s operating system. “It’s somewhat of a relativity game, where the mobile environment is recasting how people think of traditional software.”

That thinking revolves around words like “cumbersome,” “difficult” and “expensive.”

“[Mobile] apps are so much easier to manipulate, and they’re a lot cheaper,” said VanAmburg. “For 99 cents you buy an app that does some kind of very cool thing, and by comparison, traditional software looks cumbersome.”

Microsoft wasn’t alone in seeing its satisfaction score drop: ACSI’s “All Other” category, which includes software from vendors such as Adobe and Symantec, fell by two points to 77, a decline of 2.5%.

“I don’t think this problem is only Microsoft, it’s the entire software industry,” said VanAmburg. “Mobile has taken a little bit of the edge off software.”

While he downplayed the extent of the decline in software satisfaction — Microsoft’s score for 2011, after all, was higher than in the years 2006-2009 — VanAmburg questioned whether it was another hint that Microsoft faces tougher times in the face of sluggish PC sales and the quick rise of tablets.

“How is Microsoft going to reinvent itself when everything starts to be much more about mobile?” VanAmburg asked, pointing to the weakening software satisfaction. “It’s hard to see how much longer the Windows OS will get Microsoft by.”

Others, including Microsoft, have asked that same question.

Microsoft’s answer is Windows 8 and an offshoot, dubbed Windows RT, designed specifically for ARM-powered devices, including tablets. Both operating systems, which analysts expect will debut in the fourth quarter, feature a touch-first interface, an app model similar to Apple’s and Google’s, and an emphasis on mobile hardware.

Source:http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9227160/Consumer_love_for_mobile_sparks_discontent_with_Microsoft_s_software?taxonomyId=125

A leading provider of Allworx telecommunications solutions, is proud to announce Allworx’s new System Software 7.4 upgrade. The software upgrade delivers on Allworx’s commitment to providing the most user-friendly business phone systems to their customers. Allworx, one of the fastest-growing telecommunications companies in the world, is focused on providing VoIP business phone systems that are profitable, efficient, and easy to use. The features included in the System Software 7.4 upgrade makes communication in the office easier than ever before.

The Allworx System Software 7.4 upgrade is an exciting advancement in the telecommunications industry with innovative features for Allworx office phone systems that are sure to please customers. For instance, enhanced disaster recovery features have been added. If a user’s primary server becomes unavailable, Allworx phones can now automatically connect to up to four backup servers. The Allworx System Software 7.4 upgrade also gives users the capability to import customized on-hold music without using expensive external equipment. The improved call transfer process is another key highlight. Users can simply press one pre-programmed extension button to transfer a call, reducing caller wait time. Additionally, the software allows every handset to be configured to light the phone’s visual indicator when the phone is in use. This feature prevents co-workers from disturbing employees during important business calls.

Telcom & Data is excited to offer Allworx business phone systems, complete with cutting edge software. Ricardo Trinidad, president of Telcom & Data, said “Allworx systems are great because they are so user-friendly, allowing companies to concentrate on what’s really important to them, their business and their customers. That’s why we use an Allworx system in our office.”

Telcom & Data is one of Allworx’s leading Platinum APEX (“Authorized Partner of Excellence”) dealers. The Allworx APEX program is offered to those select partners that have proven their dedication and support to Allworx and their commitment to driving IP-based telecommunications systems forward.

Source:http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/712538

An industry report says software piracy in Asia cost businesses more than $20 billion in lost sales last year.

The Business Software Alliance’s study released Wednesday said consumers in Asia Pacific countries used illegally copied computer software with a commercial value of $21 billion.

The figure was higher than any other region and an increase from $19 billion in 2010.

Software piracy is growing faster in developing nations where individuals and companies are buying more personal computers but are less willing to spend on software when cheap pirated versions are widely available.

The report estimated that software piracy resulted in lost sales of nearly $9 billion in China where 77 per cent of all software is illegally copied.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/software-services/Software-piracy-cost-21bn-to-Asia-in-2011/articleshow/13162400.cms

Table computers like the Merel mTouch and the Samsung SUR40 running Microsoft’s Surface software (nee PlayTable nee Project Milan nee Microsoft Table) have been a thing for a while now. The basic idea is very simple, just the iPad writ large–a giant, HD-quality, touch-sensitive screen, backed by a reasonably powerful PC.

But hardware like that will set you back four or eight grand, respectively, putting it out of reach of all but the most dedicated hobbyists and institutions, and so table computers have consequently seen little uptake. A device like that makes a nice CES demo, and there are lots of cool /ideas/ swirling around it, but at that price point basically nobody can afford to use it, so nobody is really sure what it’s worthwhile to /do/ with it.

The Playsurface Kickstarter aims to change that. It’s an open-source, open-hardware touch table that can be used as a peripheral for an external computer or with an integrated computer as a table computer. In order to get high enough screen resolution at a reasonable cost, the Platsurface team is using an extremely short-throw projector (rather than the expensive high-resolution active displays that the Merel and Samsung devices appear to be using).

Unfortunately, this means that existing but expensive multitouch input hardware won’t work with the new display. As a result, making the touch table work as a peripheral will entail designing a board, called the Blob Board, to make it available over USB like a mouse or Wacom tablet or an existing multitouch screen. This will allow software developers to all write to the standard USB interface rather than needing to each roll their own drivers for the touch table.

The upside of this, though, is that they’re aiming to make the table available as an Ikea-easy kit with a full computer inside for $1750, or $1250 for just the table. This places it within range of hobbyists and general consumers. (The kit will ship with a Windows computer, but we here at GeekTech trust that Linux enthusiasts will quickly provide a palatable alternative, if the table doesn’t work out-of-the-box with Linux’s existing multitouch hardware support.)

The Playsurface is being developed by Templeman Automation, an engineering consultancy from Somerville, Massachusetts, who have done previous work on touch tables for the US Navy and the National Science Foundation, in the latter case together with Tufts University, so they have experience and reputation in this area to build on. The team also pledges that half of the money (at least the lower-level pledges?) will be spent on “getting the prototype hardware out in an educational environment,” maybe one much like the Tufts project, so even if you don’t want one of the devices yourself, your money will go towards productive uses.

Even the lower pledge levels will get you early access to the mechanical and electronic designs for the table, which is a neat way to engage hobbyists who might want to build peripheral devices. A company like Apple might only extend that kind of privilege to a select group of partners, but in the open-hardware world, anyone is a potential integrator.

If you felt like it, you could have your cabinet all built by the time the computer and screen shipped. (Not currently on the list, but something I’d like to see: early access to the software, for purposes of someone porting the drivers to Linux or building client software specifically for the table.)

There are clearly a ton of cool and worthwhile ideas for how a device like this could be put to use–educational play, ordering food at restaurants, displaying maps for tabletop RPG campaigns, playing arcade games, controlling a home theater system…

If the Playsurface Kickstarter can reduce the price as far as it promises to, hopefully we’ll start to see a lot more of them.

Source:http://www.techworld.com.au/article/424676/open-source_touch_table_puts_world_your_fingertips/

Trustees approved several purchases and recognized local veterans’ leaders for helping the township’s annual American flag program.

During their meeting Tuesday, trustees signed off on spending for these fire department requests: $3,105 for replacing outdated paging software, $5,600 for interface software, $3,708 for 12 mattresses to replace ones that are older than 10 years and $26,460 for 15 sets of turnout gear to replace gear that is more than 10 years old and no longer meets national standards.

Fire Chief George Brown said the department applied for a federal grant to cover the cost of the gear, but was denied.

“We need to be as safe as possible,” Brown said. He added that the department has secured $1,500 grants from both Walmart and Sam’s Club and worked with Carolina Bedding in Youngstown to get the mattress prices cut by $1,500.

Trustees also approved having the fiscal officer advertise for bids for the township’s road resurfacing program at an estimated cost not to exceed $360,000.

Road Superintendent Larry Wilson said portions of 14 township roads are set for resurfacing this year and pointed to the rising cost of materials, particularly asphalt, for fewer roads in the program. Wilson said that in 2001, the amount would have covered the cost of about 30 roads.

At the beginning of the meeting, trustees issued a proclamation to John P. “J.P.” Brown III, former AMVETS state and national commander, and AMVETS Post 44 for their donation of 60 American flags to be flown on Market Street and U.S. Route 224.

The township flies the flags on utility poles on those two streets annually from Memorial Day through September.

Brown said the AMVETS stepped in when they realized trustees needed help getting replacement flags.

“We wanted to donate to sustain the program. Although we own a building in Struthers now, our roots are here in Boardman, and we’re proud to support it,” Brown said.

Source:http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/may/16/boardman-oks-purchases-for-safety-of-fir/

Logic Solutions has acquired Quantum Compliance Systems, capping off a year of growth that has included 20 new hires for the software firm.

Based in Ann Arbor, Logic Solutions specializes in custom strategy and development of mobile and web applications. Quantum Compliance Systems, which calls Ypsilanti home, develops software that embeds sustainable environmental, health and safety practices into a company’s daily operations. The two software companies have been partnering on projects for several years before this acquisition.

“Quantum offered a software product that was exceptional but needed some updating,” says Angela Kujava, director of marketing for Logic Solutions. “They wanted a new web portal and a mobile app. We has worked with them for years before so it just made sense.”

Logic Solutions employs 200 people around the world, including 40 at its Ann Arbor headquarters and another 10 across the U.S. It has brought on 20 new people to its team over the last year, including the five people at Quantum Compliance Systems who will be folded into the Ann Arbor office.

“We’re hiring people almost every month,” Kujava says. “The hiring we’re doing in the U.S. is for leadership positions.”

Source:http://concentratemedia.com/innovationnews/logicsolutionsquantumcompliance0195.aspx

Harmonic Inc. has announced the release of the ProMedia Xpress high-performance file-based transcoder, the newest addition to the company’s ProMedia family of software and appliance solutions engineered to optimize video production workflows for high-volume multiscreen video-on-demand (VOD) applications.

ProMedia Xpress uses Harmonic’s market-leading H.264 codec technology to deliver excellent video quality without impeding transcoding speeds, thereby improving video workflows for content owners and service providers, enabling them to deliver a significant increase in content hours while adhering to processing timetables and video quality targets. Facilitating cost-effective, faster-than-real-time transcoding of broadcast-quality content for multiscreen VOD delivery to mobile devices, PCs, and connected TVs, ProMedia Xpress allows operators and media companies to launch new services efficiently without compromising on the quality of their offering.

ProMedia Xpress employs Harmonic’s new MicroGrid parallel-computing technology to achieve a dramatic improvement in transcoding performance. MicroGrid’s video-centric approach for exploiting multi-core computing environments eliminates the bottlenecks associated with traditional transcoding approaches. By employing all available processor core capacity, ProMedia Xpress can scale effectively to provide remarkable transcoding performance without the need for custom computing hardware.

“Service providers and content owners must not only deliver VOD content to consumers’ PCs, connected TVs, and mobile devices within a tight timeframe, but also meet specific performance requirements for each adaptive streaming format used.” said Moore Macauley, Senior Director, Multiscreen Product Line Management at Harmonic. “ProMedia Xpress addresses these demands, enabling programmers to take on the challenge of providing high-volume multiformat OTT delivery while maintaining the quality and value of their video assets through the use of Harmonic’s market-leading H.264 codec.”

Part of the ProMedia suite of multiscreen products, ProMedia Xpress is a critical component of a complete file-based multiscreen workflow that scales from several to hundreds of nodes and provides the operational integrity required in demanding 24/7 VOD environments.

When combined with the ProMedia Package stream packager, ProMedia Xpress allows multirate H.264 assets to be encapsulated with the utmost speed and flexibility for target ecosystems including Apple HTTP Live Streaming, Microsoft Smooth Streaming, Adobe HTTP Dynamic Streaming, and MPEG-DASH. Because ProMedia Xpress and Package separate the transcoding and packaging processes, users can transcode an asset once and package it multiple times, thereby reducing repetitive processor-intensive tasks and easing the need to accommodate changing delivery standards and protocols. In addition, tight integration between ProMedia Xpress and Harmonic’s Omneon MediaGrid shared storage system allows content to be stored and accessed on the network at high speed, eliminating the latency associated with copying content to the transcode nodes before transcoding, and instantly making available transcoded content for downstream operations such as QC, distribution, delivery or archive.

Harmonic’s comprehensive portfolio of solutions for multiscreen production, distribution, and delivery will be on display at Harmonic’s booth 212 during Streaming Media East in New York, May 15-16. ProMedia Xpress is expected to ship in the third quarter of 2012.

Source:http://www.mediamughals.com/News/1/1/Article/9864/Harmonic_announces_launch_of_ProMedia_Xpress.htm

Two in five users of BusinessObjects business intelligence software have said that the support provided by SAP is not as good as other software vendors, according to a new user group survey.

This was just one of the findings from the UK&Ireland SAP User Group survey that indicated a need for SAP to engage more with its BusinessObjects customers.

The research also found that 57 percent of SAP BusinessObjects users found it difficult to use SAP’s Service Market Place support portal, and that 63 percent said it was hard for them to search and find relevant support information.

Alan Bowling, chairman of the UKI SAP User Group, said: “These figures show that there is still more work to do when it comes to supporting and communicating with BusinessObjects users.

“We have an important role in ensuring that they are able to effectively interact and influence SAP.”

Craig Dale, chief executive at UKI SAP Group, added: “We are working with the SAP customer experience team to see how they can improve the experience, and we are looking to put together a customer advisory council, set up specifically for the support portal.”

Despite users’ percieved problems with SAP support, there has been a trebling in the number of existing SAP customers using BusinessObjects – 21 percent at present, compared to just seven percent last year.

“As we see more SAP customers using BusinessObjects tools, now we’ve got the customer expertise feeding back to the user base. Having that expertise will allow us to leverage that for the wider SAP community,” said Dale.

In addition, a higher proportion (76 percent compared to 69 percent last year) of users are now using the latest version of SAP’s core ERP business suite, ERP 6.0, which the user group believes indicates that more members are realising the functionality and support benefits of upgrading to the latest release.

According to Dale, the rate of adoption of the latest version of technology among members of the user group was higher than among non-members, because they have access to more educational initiatives from the user group.

“We’ve got customers wondering if they have to go on to more expensive maintenance packages, or upgrade to the latest versions. Both have cost implications.

“We are working on bringing that knowledge and education to the customer base so they can make an informed choice,” he said.

The user group surveyed 312 SAP user organisations and 96 BusinessObjects user organisations in the UK and Ireland.

Source:http://www.cio.in/news/businessobjects-users-call-better-support-sap-260712012

Tableau Software, a global leader in rapid-fire business intelligence (BI) software, today announced that Gartner has ranked the company as the fastest growing BI vendor among the top 20 firms represented in its Market Share Analysis: Business Intelligence, Analytics and Performance Management, Worldwide, 2011*. Gartner’s assessments show that while the BI market was the second-fastest growing software segment that Gartner tracks, coming in at 16.4 percent growth 2011 over 2010, Tableau’s revenue increased by more than 86 percent.

These findings come on the heels of the Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence Platforms** report, which positioned Tableau as a “challenger” based on its ability to execute and completeness of vision. Tableau has made the full Magic Quadrant report available at no charge for a limited time at www.tableausoftware.com/gartner-2012.

“Tableau’s remarkable growth is a symbol of one of the most important trends in the industry: the consumerization of enterprise technology,” said Christian Chabot, CEO and co-founder of Tableau Software.”We are ushering in a golden era of fast, easy, visual analytics for everyone. It’s a sea change in business analytics.”

Tableau customer AOL has been using the software for the last several years of its rapid growth. “We chose Tableau because it had a heavy emphasis on data visualization, could plug into any sort of dataset, was really easy to use and ultimately could deliver self-service BI to our clients,” said Ricardo Rivera, senior technology manager at AOL. “As Tableau has achieved its quick growth, we’ve been able to grow with it – transforming ourselves from a push model when it came to reports to a pull model where people are in charge of what data they need, in real-time when they need it.”

“Tableau helps its customers leverage their investments with lightning fast connectivity to Teradata’s world-class data warehousing and analytic solutions in a relevant and intuitive way for the enterprise,” said Scott Collins, vice president of Teradata Partnerships and Alliance Marketing, a Tableau partner. “It’s the ability to reveal patterns, outliers and insights through detailed data that has added enormous value and helped Tableau grow so quickly among our customers.”

Tableau is designed for people to rapidly analyze data of any format or size. It brings business dashboards, fast analytics and data visualization to organizations of all sizes. Tableau Desktop lets people create interactive reports, dashboards and visualizations using an easy drag and drop interface. Tableau Server provides a complete web-based business intelligence solution for distribution, sharing and collaborating.

Source:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/05/15/prweb9512109.DTL

An industry report says software piracy in Asia cost businesses more than $20 billion in lost sales last year.

The Business Software Alliance’s study released Wednesday said consumers in Asia Pacific countries used illegally copied computer software with a commercial value of $21 billion.

The figure was higher than any other region and an increase from $19 billion in 2010.

Software piracy is growing faster in developing nations where individuals and companies are buying more personal computers but are less willing to spend on software when cheap pirated versions are widely available.

The report estimated that software piracy resulted in lost sales of nearly $9 billion in China where 77 per cent of all software is illegally copied.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/asia-software-piracy-cost-21-billion-lost-sales/articleshow/13161901.cms

Scott Berube hasn’t driven in 20 years, since the day the world went dark when he was 28.

The Manchester Township man was working as a professional truck driver, but a crash left him blind and in search of a new career.

So he now relies on Rabbit Transit’s paratransit system for rides to and from his production job at ForSight Vision Center on Spahn Avenue.

For at least a decade, the service has provided specially equipped vans for disabled riders, taking them to jobs or medical or other appointments.

But a new software program used to map routes is abandoning some riders while leaving others, like Berube, waiting.

“It’s basically a crapshoot,” he said. “I have a standing order for 3:25, and it might be quarter-to-six or quarter-after-four when I get home.”

Berube said he’s waited as long as two hours, standing outside his workplace, waiting for the bus.

When he actually gets on the bus, it sometimes heads south from York to Windsor or Dallastown before dropping him off at his home, northwest
of the city.

“I was in Fireside (north of York City) and the bus went past my house to get people north of me,” he said. “The driver called and had them change it.”

He’s also spent more than an hour, he said, riding back-and-forth in the city before being dropped off.

“If it’s near somebody, it just grabs them,” he said. “But on Friday we got home half-decent because the computer was broke.”

The problem: Rabbit Transit volunteered for a pilot program, and on April 1 launched a new software program designed to improve communication between service providers in adjoining counties.

Currently, Rabbit buses from York are sent to different counties when it doesn’t make sense, said executive director Richard Farr. For example, a York bus will be sent to New Cumberland to take a patient to an appointment in Camp Hill despite it being more efficient for a Cumberland County bus to take the job, he said.

Under the new “smart software,” routes that had been designed by people are being designed by the software, to some disastrous early results, Farr said.

“If we can make this successful, it might be the software used statewide for all shared-ride services,” he said. “I believe at the end of the day it’ll be an improvement.

It’s just a matter of getting to the end of the day.”

He said the first couple of weeks of the program were “beyond wild,” and the service was running on time only 55 percent of the time. It has steadily improved and was near 80 percent — about where it was under the old system — on Monday, he said.

Software experts from the company were riding with drivers Monday to reduce human errors, Farr said.

“We’re not moving widgets,” he said. “We’re moving people, and every day is a new day, different medical appointments. We tweak it, there’s a train wreck. Tweak it, train wreck. There also were some user errors. We’re learning as we go.”

Farr said he’s not “making excuses” for the level of service, and he knows it has been a challenge. Trips to senior centers have been late every day, he said.

An automated dialer that has been telling people the wrong time for their bus arrival will be fixed by Tuesday or pulled from the system and replaced by the former human-powered system, he said.

He said some customers have been helping to identify the problem with the automated dialer, reporting pickup times and comparing them the actual arrival time.

But Farr said he couldn’t say how long it’ll take to have all the issues resolved, though people are “working 12-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week” to resolve it.

“We feel bad we’re asking our customers to be patient,” he said. “It’s been six weeks. I can only imagine if I was dependent on someone picking me up every day how I would feel.”

How it feels: Berube said it’s “not a good feeling” to be left waiting.

“You’re wondering when your ride’s going to get there,” he said. “We’re just hoping by winter it’s fixed, because right now it’s warm.”

Berube and co-worker Dale Baldwin, 51, of Manchester said they’ll try to be patient.

But Bob Gage, a 47-year-old York Township man who was partially paralyzed after a stroke in 2006, said he feels like Rabbit officials are “blowing smoke,” and the assurances of a fix are little consolation.

Gage uses the service for rides to and from work and appointments.

“I’m a diabetic. I eat certain times of day, and the aggravation of waiting and not knowing what time they’re going to pick me up affects my diabetes. It doesn’t do me any good to get that worked up,” he said.

“Be patient. I have done that. It’s not getting better. It’s getting worse,” he said. “I’m sorry, but that’s unacceptable, letting people sit for hours.”

Source:http://www.yorkdispatch.com/news/ci_20626969/new-software-leaves-some-paratransit-bus-riders-waiting