The 2012 EMC World is underway this week in Las Vegas and EMC has announced new Isilon scale-out storage, Documentum and DataBridge software.

New Isilon Storage Nodes

EMC announced new Isilon X400 and NL400 storage nodes, featuring more throughput than previous platforms and traditional NAS single volume throughput. The X400 and NL400 will scale to over 15 Petabytes in a single cluster, is highly efficient with over 80 percent storage utilization and help enterprises meet large-scale IT storage needs. Data that is frequently accessed or used with business-critical applications are suited for the X400 while older, less-frequently accessed data can be stored on the more economical NL400. When used with EMC Isilon software capabilities such as FlexProtect and SmartPools, storage solutions built with the X400 and NL400 are designed to deliver the highest availability and efficiency.

New DataBridge Enterprise Management Software

EMC announced a brand new enterprise management software – EMC DataBridge – to empower IT operations teams with a “single-pane of glass” management tool to easily build customizable dashboards for delivering ITaaS. DataBridge breaks down the individual silos of compute, storage and network, combining and relating infrastructure management data in a way that provides a more complete multi-dimensional view of their infrastructure. DataBridge will support EMC ProSphere, EMC Data Protection Advisor, EMC Unified Infrastructure Manager, EMC IT Operations Intelligence Suite, EMC Storage Configuration Advisor and EMC AppSync, in addition to non-EMC data sources.

“EMC DataBridge delivers visibility across a business’ IT infrastructure in both the physical and virtual environments–providing customers with integrated dashboards, and analytics with better visibility across the organization, said Jason Buffington, Senior Analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group. ”These new capabilities—combined with EMC’s storage and infrastructure solutions, and the ability to include third party data sources—create valuable new opportunities for companies looking to exploit and leverage real-time data from their cloud environment.”

Documentum D2 4.0

EMC announced the availability of EMC Documentum D2 4.0, a content management application with a modern, configurable and intuitive user experience for the EMC Documentum platform. Documentum D2 4.0 delivers new features such as configurable widget-based workspaces that increase usability and accommodate user preferences. New features include widget-based interfaces for personalized control of workspaces, and workspaces, to act as containers for widgets and gadgets. Documentum D2 focuses on configuration versus coding to significantly decrease the time to create, deploy and maintain a solution, and enable business analysts and systems administrators to make changes to applications without specialized coding. Documentum is available as a client in EMC onDemand, and is the core of the Documentum Life Sciences solutions, also announced at EMC World 2012.

“EMC is pleased to deliver this next release of Documentum D2,” said Rohit Ghai, Vice President, Products, Information Intelligence Group at EMC. ”Companies struggle with balancing the user demand for ease and productivity with IT’s push for agility, security and governance. We are the only vendor to accommodate both of these needs with Documentum D2. In extending Documentum D2 to the cloud via EMC OnDemand, we further enable our customers to focus on delivering business value without the burden of managing complex IT infrastructure.”

Source:http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2012/05/23/emc-world-new-scale-out-storage-and-software/

A division of UNIT4 (euronext amsterdam:UNIT4), the world’s leading provider of business software for fast-changing organizations, today released guidelines to help companies determine when it’s time to change their financial software. According to a recent survey conducted at CFO Leadership Summit, financial executives said that the biggest challenges they face with their financial systems are a lack of real-time reporting and poor integration with other systems in their organization.

“The financial system is the backbone of every organization, providing the data that is critical for analyzing and reporting profitability, sales and expenses,” said Steve Pugh, CEO of UNIT4 CODA. “Unfortunately, many organizations don’t have one single integrated system that can provide real-time visibility into their finances, but rather have data in disparate systems. This makes it impossible for them to know what’s really going on in their organizations.”

Other challenges CFOs cited include their system’s inability to adapt to change, complex financial tables, poor ease-of-use, minimal support, and features that are less than comprehensive.

Based on these insights and UNIT4 CODA’s experience with thousands of customers, the company offers the following signs that it is the time to improve financial management and change your accounting system:

1. You are adapting processes to accommodate your system. Instead of implementing the best practices for your business, you are re-engineering them to fit your legacy system.

2. You are relying more on work-arounds and spreadsheets. When you start depending on manual systems to complete everyday tasks that should be handled by your accounting solution, it’s time to change. You are at risk for human error and problems resulting from using outdated numbers for activities such as budgeting, forecasting and planning.

3. You have different versions of the truth. If General Ledger (GL), Accounts Receivable (AR), and Accounts Payable (AP) are all managed separately in disparate databases, you won’t have one accurate view of the data, the ability to identify issues and opportunities as they arise, or the agility you need to respond to them quickly.

4. You no longer have your finger on the pulse of your business. Without a single real-time view into your finances, you can be out of touch with what’s really happening within your organization. The more changes in your organization — such as expansion, acquisitions, and new product lines — the harder it is to know what’s really going on. You need visibility across your organization and the ability to drill down to the detailed level view and to “slice and dice” data in multiple ways.

5. You can’t support your global organization. If your financial system can’t handle multiple languages, currencies, taxes, and regulations, and it can’t simultaneously handle GAAP and IFRS accounting and reporting needs, it’s time for change.

“Every business, regardless of its stage of maturity, faces the organizational, technological, and economic challenges of change and growth. If the internal systems and processes aren’t designed to easily accommodate change, it can result in inefficiencies and missed business opportunities. The good news is that there are solutions that enable companies to achieve the visibility and agility they need to be competitive and support their business goals,” said Pugh.

Source:http://www.marketwatch.com/story/five-signs-that-its-time-to-change-your-financial-software-2012-05-23

China will be the biggest single source of smartphone growth in the near future, but the software platform battle will play out with different rules from those in more established markets. There is a rising trend to rely on homegrown operating systems and highly localized applications, which may prove challenging to Google’s or Apple’s one-size-fits-all approach.

Chinese search giant Baidu recently unveiled its own twist on Android and the first step in an ambitious plan to deliver a full cloud/browser operating system for mobile devices. But the firm is not alone. According to researchers at IDC, local OSs are on the rise because they integrate indigeneous mobile and web services, which are familiar to consumers.

While the currently fragmented OS market will consolidate, several players will survive, reflecting Chinese players’ desire to control their own destinies rather than rely heavily on western technologies. “Many of these developers are utilizing homegrown OS as a platform to create additional revenue streams,” commented ID research manager Ian Song.

By localizing the user environment and integrating well known services, an OS – or in some cases, a simpler Android overlay or fork – can drive greater mobile data usage and create revenues for operators and apps suppliers. Several localized platforms have been created by carriers, including China Mobile’s oPhone.

“Although many locally developed Chinese mobile OS are thinly disguised attempts at increasing the vendors’ bottom line, there are gems in this group that truly shine. These vendors know that having a great OS is half the battle,” concludes IDC. Baidu, Alibaba and China Mobile would fall into this group.

IDC predicts that smartphone shipments in China will eclipse those of featurephones by 2013 as operators build out 3G and offer incentives, such as subsidies, for consumers to upgrade from low end devices.

Nokia and Microsoft claim they will be in a strong position to take advantage of Chinese users’ taste for localized interfaces and content. Nokia has a long history of working with local software partners in emerging economies to create tailored apps. Michel van der Bel, Microsoft’s COO for Greater China, recently said that WP7 had gained 7% share on Chinese smartphones in its first two months of availability, overtaking iPhone on 6%.

A research study by Strategy Analytics found that handset vendors must offer highly tailored content to succeed in China. Mobile apps in highest demand include local shopping sites, stock market reports and restaurant reviews, commented analyst Alvin Wu. “Chinese consumers seek a mobile application store that should not only be easy to use and well structured, but provides a specific Chinese consumer experience.”

Paul Brown, director of the firm’s user experience practice, noted that smartphone vendors “must meet unique Chinese consumer needs for integration of native applications and social networking services, contacts and messaging, file management, security, privacy and customization”.

Source:http://www.rethink-wireless.com/2012/05/24/localized-software-key-chinese-success.htm

The leading provider of software globalization products and consulting services, announced today that it has released the survey results of the 2012 Internationalization and Localization Conference.

The conference attracted industry professionals from all over the USA, Asia, Europe and South America and the feedback shared with Lingoport was very positive. Of the 140 who attended the main conference day, 71 completed the online questionnaire. Survey results unveil that nearly 100% of all respondents would recommend the conference to a friend or colleague, 94% of the survey respondents thought that the conference location was appropriate, and nearly 90% of the survey respondents felt that they were given ample opportunity to network and that they liked the one-day main conference format.

Organized and hosted by Lingoport, the conference was held March 14-15, 2012 in Santa Clara, California. The event featured a full-day software i18n workshop and a full-day of industry related presentations and panel discussions. The main conference consisted of two tracks and was host to 11 interactive and engaging software globalization related sessions. Presenting companies included industry leaders such as Acrolinx, Adobe, Cisco, Cloudwords, Common Sense Advisory, Intel, LinkedIn, Lingoport, Moravia, Rearden Commerce, Twitter, VistaTec, Yahoo!, and Zynga.

Training and conference attendee @camertron tweeted, “A huge shout out to the organizers of the @Lingoport i18n conference – really good stuff!,” and @ken_lunde posted, “Yesterday’s #2012i18n conference was superb! Many thanks.”

Led by globalization expert Olivier Libouban of Lingoport, the pre-conference i18n training focused on building an understanding of programming and practices for developing world-ready products and targeted anyone facing ongoing software globalization, including software engineers, development managers, internationalization and localization managers, test engineering managers, and QA managers. 93% of the 25 workshop attendees were either satisfied or very satisfied with the training and nearly all of the attendees would feel comfortable recommending the class to a friend or colleague.

Source:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/05/23/prweb9538011.DTL

A newly devised computer software program devised by Nuance Communications Inc., a US based Multinational Corporation is called Dragon Drive. This product can turn your car into a Siri like computer personal assistant.

This facility is available to car owners around the world who are already using the Nuance voice recognition system which enables voice dialing and climate controlling systems. These are only limited to controlling technology in the vehicle. Customers tire of such devices and are always on the lookout for something new and exciting and that is just what Nuance Communications inc., have come up with. The company has extended the control to a cloud wherein you can interact with the internet while cruising along. The car is loaded with Dragon Drive which can text, make grocery lists and give updates on the latest news bulletins all while you concentrate on driving. All the user has to say is next if they do not find the news bulletin interesting enough.

Car owners however will not be able to get their hands on this new and highly efficient software as Nuance sells the same directly to car manufacturers. So the only way would be to buy a new car and that too in the medium or higher price range that comes fitted with the software.

Source:http://www.rushlane.com/nuance-communications-inc-computer-software-technology-transforms-car-to-siri-like-assistant-1235008.html

Promoting Software as a Service SaaS business application to millions of SMBs worldwide just became easier and more cost effective. Silicon Valley based, SaaS Markets has launched the SaaS Commerce Network™ (SCN), the largest global business network for Software-as-a-Service web applications.

The announcement of the SaaS Commerce Network (SCN) will allow SaaS application developers’ greater opportunity to distribute their SaaS based apps worldwide to an audience of over 71 million businesses through the network.

By participating in the SaaS Commerce Network (SCN), the application provider immediately gains exposure in 32 stores around the world, in 23 different countries (with significant targeted growth plans for 2012 to 100+ Stores). With hundreds of new SaaS apps being added on a monthly basis, businesses can quickly discover the latest app to streamline any process. While, SaaS providers can effortlessly promote their SaaS app to a global business network.

With Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) fundamentally transforming the way businesses of all sizes operate, and forecasts for the global market in cloud computing expected to grow from $40.7 billion to more than $241 billion in 2020, no longer will enterprises be subjugated to purchasing costly systems and software that require time-consuming installation, significant customization and maintenance. The internet is making it easier to utilize nimble point solutions in a way that’s more efficient, cost-effective and virtually maintenance free.

“I’ve spoken before about bringing ‘SaaS to the Masses,’” said Ferdi Roberts, CEO of SaaS Markets, “but this is greater than that. With the SaaS Commerce Network, we are building the platform that we believe will be the number one source of software sales globally. Every single software company on the planet needs to have a SaaS offering and there are hundreds of new SaaS Companies being born every year. The SaaS Commerce Network gives these new and established software businesses an instant route to market through our global network of stores”. “That,” he added “is a game-changer for the software industry”.

For buyers, stores in the SaaS Commerce Network (SCN) offers small and medium sized businesses the opportunity to browse, trial, and buy over 1,200 unique Software-as-a-Service solutions.

Source:http://www.businessreviewcanada.ca/press_releases/the-future-of-the-software-business—the-saas-commerce-network

Google, the largest Web search provider, didn’t infringe Oracle’s patents in developing Android software, a federal jury found in the second phase of an intellectual-property trial in San Francisco.

The 10-person jury ruled unanimously today that neither of the two patents at issue was infringed. Jurors found May 7 that Google infringed Oracle’s copyrights and deadlocked on whether it was “fair use,” denying Oracle the ability to seek as much as $1 billion in damages from the search engine company. Last year Oracle said copyright damages could amount to $6 billion.

The patent phase of the trial was less important than the copyright issues because the patents were worth much less, said Brian Love, an intellectual-property attorney and teaching fellow at Stanford Law School. Still, the jury finding today underscored how the trial went against Oracle, he said.

“This case is maybe something like a near disaster for Oracle,” Love said in a phone interview.
The company may be limited to seeking about $150,000, the most allowed by law, for copyright infringement, the presiding judge in the case has said.

‘Couple of days’ “That potentially is not enough to cover what they are spending over a couple of days” in legal fees during the trial, Love said.

US District Judge William Alsup said he may issue a ruling next week on whether Oracle’s Java application programming interfaces, software tools at the heart of the case, can be copyrighted. A ruling that they can’t would be another blow to Oracle, while a ruling for Oracle would revive the company’s ability to seek large damages.

Alsup also must rule on Oracle’s request for a patent judgment in its favor based on his reading of the evidence, and Google’s request for a new trial on copyright infringement.

Immediately after the verdict was announced, the judge dismissed the jury from the case and canceled the third phase of the trial over damages.

Oracle, the largest maker of database software, alleged Google stole two patents for the Java programming language when it developed Android, which now runs on more than 300 million smartphones. In the first phase of the trial, the same jury found the search engine company infringed Oracle’s Java copyrights while it couldn’t agree on whether the copying was “fair use.”

‘A victory’
“Today’s jury verdict that Android does not infringe Oracle’s patents was a victory not just for Google but the entire Android ecosystem,” Catherine Lacavera, Google’s director of litigation, said in an e-mailed statement.

Google and Oracle’s experts had estimated damages for both patents at $3 million to $4 million if the jury found infringement.

“Oracle presented overwhelming evidence at trial that Google knew it would fragment and damage Java,” Deborah Hellinger, a spokeswoman for Oracle, said in an e-mail after the verdict. “We plan to continue to defend and uphold Java’s core write-once run-anywhere principle and ensure it is protected for the nine million Java developers and the community that depend on Java compatibility.”

Jury foreman Greg Thompson, 52, said today that during deliberations he alone among the 10 jurors thought that Google infringed Java patents. After almost six days of discussions, said he was persuaded by other panel members to change his vote.

Jury foreman
The jury lost two members over the course of the six-week trial. Thompson said he alone voted that Google’s use of Java copyrights didn’t constitute fair use early in deliberations in the copyright phase. Eventually he convinced two other jurors and the jury deadlocked after nine members voted that Google made fair use of the copyrights, he said.

“The more tech-savvy a person is, the more difficult it is to persuade them about what limitations should be placed on technology,” Thompson said in an interview after the trial.

Handing patent cases to juries is “always a mixed bag,” Love said.

Google rose $8.66 to $609.46 at 4:02 p.m. in New York trading after spiking as much as 0.7 per cent when the verdict was announced. Oracle climbed 32 cents to $26.68.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/software-services/Google-didnt-infringe-Oracle-patents-Judge/articleshow/13436731.cms

Enterprise-applications software giant SAP has agreed to buy Ariba for $4.3 billion in the German company’s second multi-billion purchase in the cloud computing arena, furthering its efforts to take on Oracle.

SAP will pay $45 a share or 20 per cent more than Ariba’s May 21st closing price.

The transaction, subject to approval by Ariba shareholders and regulators, is expected to be completed by the end of August, SAP chief financial officer Werner Brandt said on a conference call.

Ariba is the leader in cloud- based collaborative commerce applications, counting BHP Billiton and Deutsche Bank among customers it connects to more than 730,000 suppliers.

As competition in on- demand software intensifies, SAP has increased its pace of acquisitions, last buying SuccessFactors in December.

With businesses increasingly choosing to store and process data on the web, SAP is shifting many of its staple applications to the internet.

“We don’t have the DNA in the cloud,” SAP co-chief executive officer Bill McDermott said in an interview. “We’re probably the most strategic cloud player in the enterprise software industry.”

Source:http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2012/0524/1224316606709.html

A Silicon Valley software executive put fake bar codes on Lego sets at various Target stores, bought the toys at a steep discount, then sold them online for thousands of dollars, authorities said.

Thomas Langenbach, 47, appeared in court Tuesday on four felony counts of burglary that could net him up to five years in prison if convicted. He did not enter a plea.

Authorities say Langenbach bought Lego sets at Target stores but covered their original bar codes with his own bar-code stickers to get a cheaper price.

Examples of his thefts included a $279 box of Millenium Falcon Legos he bought for $49 and a $90 Anakin Skywalker Lego set he got for $35, said Cindy Seeley Hendrickson, supervising deputy district attorney for Santa Clara County.

When police obtained a search warrant for Langenbach’s posh home south of San Francisco, they said they found hundreds of sets of the colorful toy bricks, many of which he sold on eBay under the name “tomsbrickyard.”

Authorities say Langenbach’s house in San Carlos also was filled with Lego creations he had built himself.

Eight baggies of bar code stickers were found in his car, police said.

Langenbach works for German software giant SAP. His LinkedIn profile lists him as a vice-president in a Northern California division.

He was already under surveillance by Target security officers who suspected him of the scheme when they spotted him at the chain’s Mountain View store May 8. After he completed his purchases using the bogus bar codes, the store called police and Langenbach was arrested, authorities said.

“This particular crime, the way it was done, the sophistication, the amount of expenditure in time and money to do it, suggests there’s something way beyond money that motivated him to do it,” Hendrickson said.

Attempts to reach Langenbach, who is free on bail, were unsuccessful.

Source:http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120523/Lego-bar-code-scam-120523/20120523/?hub=MontrealHome

Global software major Microsoft will incubate 10 early-stage technology start-ups in cloud computing, internet and mobile using its Accelerator for Windows Azure programme to help them build businesses, a top official said on Wednesday.

“The start-ups will have access to our resources such as BizSpark programme and $60,000 in Azure credit through BizSpark Plus programme to take advantage of the cloud,” Microsoft India (R&D) Managing Director Amit Chatterjee told reporters here unveiling the programme in the Indian sub-continent.

Start-ups that can build any application using the company’s cloud platform and operate in any business or market segment will be eligible to apply for the programme, being launched simultaneously in Beijing (China), Tel Aviv (Israel), Seattle (US) and Bangalore.

The start-ups will also be able to leverage the company’s Metro user interface on Window 8 and Window Phone to operate in a cloud environment.

Cloud computing uses a network of computers, data centres and storage systems as an integrated IT infrastructure for seamless operations, eliminating investments in stand-alone IT installation by enterprises and small and medium businesses.

To be selected for the four-month incubation, prospective start-ups can apply online from Wednesday till July 1 and join the programme from September at the company’s office in this tech hub.

“The start-ups will have the benefit of mentorship and coaching from successful entrepreneurs, leading venture capitalists and industry leaders. We are also partnering with industry mentors to provide start-ups with the support they need to innovate and become successful businesses,” Chatterjee said.

The company will also facilitate meetings between start-ups and venture capitalists and prospective investors in addition to mentoring. “The benefit of the programme will be measured by the success of the start-ups though we will have no stake in them,” Chatterjee said.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/microsoft-to-incubate-10-indian-start-ups-in-cloud-computing/articleshow/13412220.cms

IBM Corp. has completed its acquisition of analytics software provider Varicent Software Inc. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Varicent’s software automates and analyzes data across sales, finance, human resources and IT departments to uncover trends and improve sales performance and operations.

The Toronto company’s approximately 200 workers will join IBM’s software group.

“Varicent advances IBM’s efforts to deliver analytics directly into the hands of front line employees, helping them uncover new ways to remain competitive and stay ahead of increasing demand,” Les Rechan, IBM’s general manager of business analytics, said Wednesday in a statement.

IBM said that the buyout is part of its long-term strategy to broaden its business analytics and software and services capabilities. The company announced the deal last month.

Shares of IBM, which is based in Armonk, N.Y., fell $1.13 to $195.69 in morning trading Wednesday. They are near the high end of their 52-week range of $157.13 to $210.69.

Source:http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9UUEQP81.htm

Global Strategic Management Institute (GSMI) is proud to present the Mobile+Web Developer Conference. Mobile+Web DevCon will be hosting it’s first installment on July 17-19, 2012, at the Marines Memorial Club & Hotel in San Francisco.

Mobile+Web DevCon is a unique opportunity for developers, designers and engineers to come together and explore the three most pervasive platforms in development: Android, iOS, and the web. The conference will provide attendees with key takeaways and solutions for mobile app and web creation and design essential to their business strategy and development career.

Mobile+Web DevCon is excited to announce two new keynote speakers!

Rick Tywoniak from Cisco Systems, opening up the iOS and Android tracks, will be speaking on Collaboration – Developing the Next Wave of Productivity in the Enterprise. Rick will explore how integration of collaboration can help developers capitalize on their enterprise applications.
Mahi de Silva, EVP of Consumer Mobile at Opera Software, will be opening up the Mobile Web & Web Development Track, speaking on The State of the Mobile Economy. Mahi will provide user, device and publisher insights and delve into such topics as advertiser best practices, rich-media engagement metrics and much more. Mahi’s presentation will also include the release of Opera Software’s latest report, “The State of Mobile Advertising”.

Other presentations and speakers include:

-Smarter Apps for Smarter Phones, presented by Qualcomm Labs
-Extreme Optimization for the Mobile Web, presented by Disney Mobile
-Panel: Developing Tablet-Based Experiences, moderated by WIP and including panelists from NOOK Developer, Appbackr, AOL, and Jetson Creative
-Debugging JavaScript Applications, presented by Adobe

Source:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/05/23/prweb9533856.DTL

The total value of pirated software in Australia reached $739 million in 2011, amounting to 23 per cent of all of software installed in the country, according to software education organisation, Business Software Alliance (BSA).

The findings were reflected in the company’s recent 2011 Global Software Piracy Study, conducted in partnership with IDC and Ipsos Public Affairs. It incorporated 182 discrete data inputs for each of 116 national and regional economies studied.

On a global level, 57 per cent of the PC software installed in 2011 was pirated. The global commercial value of pirated software has surged from $US58.8 billion in 2010 to $US63.4 billion in 2011.

Piracy rates in emerging markets tower over those in mature markets — 68 per cent to 24 per cent, on average — and emerging markets account for an overwhelming majority of the global increase in the commercial value of software theft.

“Software piracy persists as a drain on the global economy, IT innovation and job creation,” BSA president and CEO, Robert Holleyman, said.

According to him, Governments have to take steps to modernise their IP laws and expand enforcement efforts to ensure that those who pirate software face consequences.

However, the research also found Australia is the only country in Asia-Pacific where piracy has consistently dropped by a percentage point per year over the last eight years.

“At a local level, our reports show, year-on-year progress is being made to reduce the level of software piracy in Australia,” BSA Australia Co-Chair, Clayton Noble, said.

He said that though the statistics show progress, there is still a long way to go to minimise piracy, which will see significant and lasting benefits for the Australian economy.

Other findings from the BSA Global Software Piracy Study include:

Globally, the most frequent software pirates are young (aged between 18 to 24), male and more than twice as likely to live in an emerging economy as they are to live in a mature one (38 to 15 per cent). In Asia-Pacific, they amount to 32 per cent.
Business decision makers confessed to pirating software more frequently than other users. They are also more than twice as likely as others to say they buy software for one computer and then install it on additional machines in their offices.
There is strong support for IP rights and protections in principle, but a lack of incentives for pirates to change their behaviour in practice. Only 20 per cent of frequent pirates in mature markets and 15 per cent in emerging markets said the risk of getting caught is a reason not to pirate software.
In Asia-Pacific, 36 per cent of admitted software pirates said they acquire software illegally “all of the time”, “most of the time” or “occasionally”, while 27 per cent “rarely” do so.

Source:http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/425438/australian_pc_software_theft_reaches_record_739m_2011_bsa/#closeme

EMC announced new Isilon X400 and NL400 storage nodes, featuring more throughput than previous platforms and traditional NAS single volume throughput. The X400 and NL400 will scale to over 15 Petabytes in a single cluster, is highly efficient with over 80 percent storage utilization and help enterprises meet large-scale IT storage needs. Data that is frequently accessed or used with business-critical applications are suited for the X400 while older, less-frequently accessed data can be stored on the more economical NL400. When used with EMC Isilon software capabilities such as FlexProtect and SmartPools, storage solutions built with the X400 and NL400 are designed to deliver the highest availability and efficiency.

New DataBridge Enterprise Management Software

EMC announced a brand new enterprise management software – EMC DataBridge – to empower IT operations teams with a “single-pane of glass” management tool to easily build customizable dashboards for delivering ITaaS. DataBridge breaks down the individual silos of compute, storage and network, combining and relating infrastructure management data in a way that provides a more complete multi-dimensional view of their infrastructure. DataBridge will support EMC ProSphere, EMC Data Protection Advisor, EMC Unified Infrastructure Manager, EMC IT Operations Intelligence Suite, EMC Storage Configuration Advisor and EMC AppSync, in addition to non-EMC data sources.

“EMC DataBridge delivers visibility across a business’ IT infrastructure in both the physical and virtual environments–providing customers with integrated dashboards, and analytics with better visibility across the organization, said Jason Buffington, Senior Analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group. ”These new capabilities—combined with EMC’s storage and infrastructure solutions, and the ability to include third party data sources—create valuable new opportunities for companies looking to exploit and leverage real-time data from their cloud environment.”

Documentum D2 4.0

EMC announced the availability of EMC Documentum D2 4.0, a content management application with a modern, configurable and intuitive user experience for the EMC Documentum platform. Documentum D2 4.0 delivers new features such as configurable widget-based workspaces that increase usability and accommodate user preferences. New features include widget-based interfaces for personalized control of workspaces, and workspaces, to act as containers for widgets and gadgets. Documentum D2 focuses on configuration versus coding to significantly decrease the time to create, deploy and maintain a solution, and enable business analysts and systems administrators to make changes to applications without specialized coding. Documentum is available as a client in EMC onDemand, and is the core of the Documentum Life Sciences solutions, also announced at EMC World 2012.

“EMC is pleased to deliver this next release of Documentum D2,” said Rohit Ghai, Vice President, Products, Information Intelligence Group at EMC. ”Companies struggle with balancing the user demand for ease and productivity with IT’s push for agility, security and governance. We are the only vendor to accommodate both of these needs with Documentum D2. In extending Documentum D2 to the cloud via EMC OnDemand, we further enable our customers to focus on delivering business value without the burden of managing complex IT infrastructure.”

Source:http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2012/05/23/emc-world-new-scale-out-storage-and-software/

A Waukesha business software company that specializes in smartphone and tablet applications for business has been sold to global business enterprise applications firm IFS.

Metrix LLC has been sold to IFS, which is a publicly held Swedish firm that has one of its main North American offices in Brookfield. IFS reported global sales last year of more than $396 million.

Financial terms of the sale weren’t disclosed. Metrix generated $8.7 million in revenue last year.

Founded in 1980, Metrix specializes in providing mobility and service management technology tools that allow field service workers to use smartphones and tablets.

The Metrix mobile apps allow a company’s field technicians to check parts, labor and expenses, manage work requests and view service history, turn-by-turn driving directions as well as other functions, on a smartphone. Customers include Ericsson Group, Motorola, Xerox and DHL.

Metrix adds capabilities including a broader offering of apps for android smartphones than IHS has been able to provide, said Cindy Jaudon, IFS North America president and chief executive.

IFS said the acquisition would help boost its market position in a high-growth market

Industry research consultant Aberdeen said a survey last year found 41% of organizations were evaluating a variety of devices, from smartphones to tablets to other devices, for purchase this year.

IFS expects that the acquisition will add to earnings in 2012. The deal helps position the combined company to take on industry leader ClickSoftware Technologies, an Israel-based company with offices in Massachusetts.

An industry report recently pegged ClickSoftware’s market share at nearly 15%, with IFS at nearly 11% and Metrix at nearly 3%.

There are no plans at this time to combine the local operations, as they both have long-term office leases, she said.

Many acquisitions involve job cuts, but that’s not the forecast based on IFS’ expansion plans, Jaudon said.

“We’re doing this because we want the people, because we want the product,” she said. “This is not one of those cost-cutting, slash-and-burn kinds of things.”

The Milwaukee area isn’t known as a technology hub, but Jaudon said she’s impressed “at how much tech talent there is in Milwaukee.”

“My team and I very much look forward to joining IFS and continuing to accelerate the growth of the mobile workforce management business,” said Larry Laux, Metrix founder, in a statement.

Metrix employs more than 50 people, mainly in Waukesha. It has small sales offices in the Netherlands and Singapore. IFS employs 42 people in Brookfield.

Source:http://www.jsonline.com/business/waukesha-business-software-firm-metrix-sold-v05haqb-153118625.html

North Carolina’s Medicaid office says a new software program designed to look for potential fraud has yielded questionable billing by more than 200 outpatient behavioral health care providers.

Health and Human Services acting Secretary Al Delia said Wednesday the unusual Medicaid billing is valued at up to $191 million. Ten cases already have been investigated and could mean $6 million in potentially fraudulent payments. They’ve been referred to state attorneys. Funds also could be recovered.

Auditors and investigators are making unannounced visits to providers to examine billings.

Gov. Beverly Perdue directed the health department to contract IBM for software that searches claims data. The analysis found cases where some providers billed more than 24 hours of service for a patient in a single day or double-billed for the same service.

Source:http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20120523/APN/1205230974

A team developing analytic software that scores patients for the risk they pose to being readmitted within 30 days after being discharged from a hospital is the winner of the inaugural Janssen Connected Care Challenge. The prize is sponsored by Janssen, a unit of New Brunswick, NJ-based Johnson & Johnson .

Kim Park, a founding partner with Janssen Healthcare Innovation, declared the Discharge Decision Support System (D2S2) as the winner this morning at the 6th Annual Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance (WLSA) Convergence Summit in downtown San Diego. The D2S2 team also was awarded $100,000 to advance the technology, which is under development by RightCare Solutions, a Philadelphia-based startup founded last year by Eric Heil of Domain Associates and Kathryn Bowles, a professor of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania.

The company describes the D2S2 system as a decision-support tool that uses key data from a patient’s admission to analyze the risk that the patient could be readmitted within 30 days after discharge. The software algorithm also “learns” by tracking patient outcomes and adjusting the way it scores a patient’s risk for readmission.

Because the D2S2 risk assessment is done upon admission, RightCare says hospital officials can better plan the discharge and follow-up care for at-risk patients. The company says a second-generation system will be able to recommend whether a patient at-risk for 30-day readmission should be referred to a skilled nursing facility, home care, rehab, or nursing home.

Source:http://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2012/05/23/analytic-software-wins-janssen-prize-to-reduce-hospital-readmissions/

Earlier today, a California jury cleared Google of all claims of patent infringement brought by Oracle. The trial, which had been in its 23rd day, concluded with a unanimous decision that Android did not infringe on six claims in U.S. Patent RE38,104 as well as two claims in U.S. Patent number 6,061,520. In the space of two weeks, Oracle’s visions (some would say hallucinations) of up to $6 billion in damages have gone up in smoke.

Linux creator Linus Torvalds called the suit “idiotic” but predicted Oracle would “come out posturing and talk about how they’ll be vindicated, and pay lawyers to take it to the next level of idiocy.” The good news, though, is that this ruling has removed one of the darkest clouds hanging over Google and Android. Oracle can appeal, but their prospects don’t look good.

After the trial, Joe Mullin at Ars Technica did an interesting interview with the jury foreman (Greg Thompson) that indicates Oracle “wasn’t even close” to proving their case against Google in the patent phase of the trial, or even in the earlier copyright phase:

After the copyright verdict, there had been some speculation around the Web that because the jury found that Google infringed copyright—but split on fair use—it was basically a pro-Oracle jury with one or two holdouts sticking up for Google. Talking to Thompson, it quickly became clear that wasn’t the case at all. A majority of jurors favored Google’s argument from the start, and the holdouts—primarily Thompson himself—were a beleaguered few favoring Oracle. At one point during the copyright phase, in fact, Thompson said he was the lone holdout. At the end, he swung a couple more jurors to his side, but they were still a distinct minority.

There is still an unsettled copyright question, but even in the unfortunate event that the judge ruled against Google on that part, we’re only talking about 9 lines of code out of millions. Lines which were immediately removed from the Android source when somebody pointed them out.

I find it refreshing that in this trial, both the Judge and jury proved to be much smarter than the lawyers. Thompson and others on the jury asked pretty good questions, especially considering most had no technical background at all. The judge (the Hon. William Alsup) revealed he was something of a developer himself and scoffed at some of Oracle’s arguments about the mysterious invention known as the “range check”. If you ask me, all software patent trials should be held in California from now on instead of East Texas.

Source:http://www.zdnet.com/blog/burnette/jury-strikes-a-blow-against-software-patents/2524

Halfway through the physics and astronomy department’s initial two-year contract to use WebAssign in Physics 104 and Physics 105 labs, some administrators and teaching assistants said they oppose its renewal.

Duane Deardorff, director of undergraduate physics labs at UNC, said in the fall 2011 semester, WebAssign deleted the lab exam responses for about 100 physics lab students. The exam scores were not counted in the students’ final grades.

“We do not want to commit to a longer contract,” Deardorff said. “We are in the process of reshaping the curriculum for Physics 104 and 105 labs.”

Deardorff determines the curriculum for physics lab classes and assigns teaching assistant positions. He said he recommended WebAssign to Arthur Champagne, chair of the physics and astronomy department.

Deardorff and Champagne said the two-year contract was signed before the software was tested in Physics 104 and Physics 105 labs at UNC.

John Corn, a former teaching assistant for Physics 104 and Physics 105 labs, said he and his colleagues were told by Deardorff that WebAssign would undergo a trial period, but received an email the following day that a two-year contract had already been signed.

“I don’t recall the rationale for signing the contract before the trial period, but we had a good experience with it in higher-level classes,” Champagne said.

Champagne said the software was the best option available at the time.

“Basically the discussion was that we would like to become more efficient in the way we grade big classes, especially with budget cuts,” Champagne said.

Deardorff said that if budget cuts had not affected the physics and astronomy department, he would not have supported using WebAssign.

“However, even with its faults, in the current budget situation I would much rather have WebAssign,” Deardorff said. “To recognize mistakes in real time has raised the level of understanding in many of our labs.”

Deardorff said that its instant grading feature made WebAssign the best option, but also harder to avoid problems.

Deardorff estimated that the software saves the department about $50,000 per year.

The department does not pay WebAssign for the right to use its software. Instead, WebAssign makes an estimated $20,000 per year on the $25 per semester student fee.

Several teaching assistants within the department said they oppose the continued use of WebAssign but wished to remain anonymous.

Corn said his impression of WebAssign was that it had too many problems.

“This software was a complete nightmare from day one,” Corn said. “If I search my inbox for WebAssign, I would have pages of complaints from former students.”

Corn said he offered to update for free an existing software program used by the department called WebLabs — which was free of charge to the department.

Corn taught labs that required WebAssign both 2011 summer sessions and said there were problems with the software.

“I would tell students to forget about WebAssign because many of them are pre-med students who have to make great GPAs,” Corn said.

Medical schools nationwide require applicants to have taken one year of physics, either Physics 104 and 105 or Physics 116 and 117.

Source:http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2012/05/physics_software_renewal_unlikely

Yahoo! on Wednesday set out to reclaim the Internet search crown from Google with the release of software that transforms the way users explore the Web using Apple’s coveted gadgets.

A Yahoo! Axis application was introduced for iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touch devices and also as “plug-in” software for Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox and other Web browsers featuring HTML-5 graphics capabilities.

“Yahoo! is still very much in search,” special projects product management director Ethan Batraski said while giving AFP an advance look at Axis. “We continue to flourish.”

Axis does away with the blue links that have defined Internet query results for a decade and replaced them with previews of pages that might provide the information being sought.

The application lets users easily “swipe” from one Web page to another or review a pull-down strip of preview pages instead of making them click on links to see what websites look like.

“We removed the entire search results page from the equation for a game-changing search experience,” Batraski said.

“The entire search experience is in the app,” he continued. “You will never have to use Safari ever again.”

Safari is the Web browsing program Apple builds into its devices.

The Axis search results pane instantly displays information of potential interest, such as the score from a most recent game if the query is a sports team.

Yahoo! also made it simple to email, tweet, “pin,” or bookmark pages with touches of screens.

Axis also gives users the option of synching pages across devices, so that driving directions, movie times or other pages left open on one gadget will automatically display on another, the demonstration showed.

“I could easily start something on my iPad and continue on my iPhone,” Batraski said. “The goal here is to connect all my devices together.”

Clicks of side tabs replace swipes in the plug-in version of Axis for desktop computer browsing software.

For now, Yahoo! is not displaying ads in Axis because the focus is on winning users before weaving in ways to make money without marring the smooth experience.

Yahoo! has been steadily losing ground to Google in the Internet search market. Google’s share inched up to 66.5 percent in April while Yahoo!’s portion slipped a fraction to 13.5 percent, according to comScore.

Microsoft’s Bing was the second most popular search service, handling 15.4 percent of queries, the industry tracker reported.

Yahoo! in 2009 made a deal with Microsoft to have Bing handle the labor-intensive job of finding and indexing content on the Internet, freeing itself to concentrate on interesting or personalized ways to present results.

“We outsourced a backend process that every search engine was trying to do,” Batraski said.

“It is grunt work and we are really focused on innovating.”

Axis became available at Apple’s online App Store late Wednesday.

Axis will be begin rolling out to France, Britain and a few other countries by the end of the year, according to Batraski.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/yahoo-moves-to-reclaim-internet-search-crown/articleshow/13430774.cms