Internet ad revenue hits high in '10

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. Internet advertising revenue jumped 15 percent to $26 billion in 2010, setting a record high and proving that more companies are opening up their coffers to reach people online.
The new figures released on Wednesday by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PwC also reported record online ad revenue increases in the fourth quarter of 2010, up 19 percent to $7.5 billion.
"We now have had five consecutive quarters of growth since the great recession impacted interactive advertising in 2009," Sherrill Mane, senior vice president, industry services at the IAB, said in a statement.
The report found that the most popular form of advertising was search, which represented 46 percent of revenue and increased 12 percent from 2009.
Digital video advertising accounted for 5 percent of total ad dollars spent online in 2010, or $1.4 billion.
Display advertising, which also includes video, jumped 24 percent to almost $10 billion last year.
The fastest growing form of advertising in 2010 was sponsorships, which soared 88 percent to $718 million.
"More time spent online, especially with increases in digital video and social media, has certainly helped to fuel the continued growth," David Silverman, PwC assurance partner, said in a statement.
(Reporting by Jennifer Saba; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)
(This story was corrected by the IAB to say "19 percent" in the 2nd paragraph instead of "16 percent")

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Microsoft's Cloud ERP Plans Get Mixed Reactions

Microsoft's announcement this week that it would begin offering its Dynamics ERP (enterprise resource planning) software via the Azure cloud platform drew significant interest from attendees of the Convergence conference in Atlanta, but some users and partners have questions Microsoft has yet to answer about its plans.
With Azure, Microsoft said it can deliver ERP at scale for lower cost, through means such as multi-tenancy, an architecture that differs from traditional hosting by allowing many companies to share the same instance of an application, while keeping their data private. This approach enables vendors to apply upgrades frequently and more easily to customers, and is more economical.
Microsoft is not expecting all customers to adopt the Azure model, and anticipates many hybrid deployments.
That outlook is reflected in the attitude of users like Lee Weiner, chief financial officer of printer parts supplier Bradshaw Group in Richardson, Texas. The company currently runs Dynamics NAV on-premises.
"I have one IT guy, so it's not like I'm going to save a lot of money by outsourcing that," said Weiner, who also chairs the Dynamics NAV User Group's advisory board. However, he added, "I'm interested in following the technology."
"The other question is how much flexibility do you lose?" Weiner said. "The loss of flexibility, does it outweigh the cost that you save? Every company's going to see that a little bit differently."
Weiner also doesn't see a burning need to mess with success.
The NAV system replaced one from Sage that had been problematic. Thanks to the added efficiencies in NAV, Bradshaw has seen a significant return on investment. "We're doing more with less. There are less bodies to do the same amount of work. I can have one person in purchasing instead of three," he said.
He is concerned about potential downtime due to a system failure in the cloud. "I live and breathe on the fact that I have my systems up." Right now, Bradshaw is achieving nearly 100 percent uptime with the in-house deployment, he said.
Ryan Connolly, director of enterprise solutions at the American National Standards Institute in New York, said he is interested in cloud deployments, but it likely won't happen. ANSI uses Dynamics GP and CRM, among other Microsoft products.
"My boss isn't into the cloud thing. He likes having everything on-site, on-premise," Connolly said. The company's higher-ups are particularly afraid of customers' information being exposed, he said.
Connolly can see pushing ANSI's SharePoint and Exchange implementations to a cloud service. ERP would also be possible because ANSI's system has a small footprint, focusing on basic accounting functions and not more complex areas like manufacturing, he said.
Microsoft may have some success convincing customers with smaller IT shops to move to Azure, said Frank Vukovits, director of programming for the Dynamics AX User Group.
A single IT staffer may be pulling double, triple, even quadruple duties as a database administrator, network technician and Exchange server supporter, he said. If the ERP system was moved to Azure, that could free up time for projects that create new benefits, instead of keeping the lights on.
But for companies with larger IT staffs, such a move may be less attractive. "It's a little tougher to say we'll move ERP but keep everything else in-house," he said.
However, Dynamics customers who are already using a hosting service would do well to give Azure some consideration, according to Vukovits. "Most people don't know Microsoft has been in the hosting business for a long, long time," he said. "If I was a CIO I would probably be comfortable hooking up with Microsoft."
Argo Turboserve Corp., a user of both Dynamics AX and CRM, has some interest in moving to the cloud but will likely do a phased approach, said CIO Art Johnston, who is also chairman of the Dynamics CRM User Group's advisory board.
But Johnston is not satisfied with the level of detail Microsoft has provided so far about its plans, particularly about how such a deployment will integrate and co-exist with other systems at Argo, a supply chain management and nuclear engineering services company based in Edison, New Jersey.
Microsoft will tackle cloud integration with technologies like Azure Service Bus, according to Kirill Tatarinov, corporate vice president and head of Microsoft Business Solutions. "Interoperability has been a huge priority for Microsoft as a whole and Dynamics," he said.
Johnston also has mixed emotions about subscription pricing, which helps customers avoid large up-front costs, but in the long run may end up costing more.
Meanwhile, Dynamics ERP has historically been sold and delivered strictly through Microsoft's vast partner channel, whether in on-premises or hosted form. Partners have therefore been the primary "face" for Dynamics customers, not Microsoft itself. They also depend on ongoing revenue from services engagements.
"We expected it," said one employee with a hosting company based in California, who requested anonymity. "Their message for the last year or so has been all in [for the cloud]. You can't have 'all in' without ERP," he said.
Microsoft hasn't given partners like his company much information so far, he said. "They said they were going to bring the partners into the cloud. We're not sure how."
However, he added, "there's been room for us with [Dynamics] CRM Online, so we're thinking there's going to be some aspects where we fit in."
Microsoft is certainly trying to hammer that message home. "Whatever we do, we bring the ecosystem with us," Tatarinov said during a keynote address Monday. "It is hugely important for us to take the entire ERP ecosystem into the cloud."
It is not as if Microsoft would attempt to cut partners out of the loop, given their important role both as ISVs (independent software vendors) and systems integrators and as the vendor's sales channel.
For one, partners will be able to sell "cloud-enabled" vertical applications, services and add-ons through the Dynamics marketplace. Microsoft has also released a Cloud Partner Profitability Guide that is supposed to help partners mull over the financial implications of the cloud deployment model.
Partners "will still be very, very involved with the process," as Dynamics software moves to Azure and Microsoft's own data centers, said Guy Weismantel, director of ERP marketing. "Partners are still going to own the primary [customer] relationship in most cases. In today's environment, the partner's generally in the lead. We don't anticipate much changing as we move into the cloud."
However, it may be different for AX customers with multinational accounts, according to Weismantel. AX is aimed at larger companies, particularly manufacturers. "With those types of companies, they may want a direct relationship with Microsoft," he said.
Microsoft is still working on how to handle billing for Azure ERP so customers are presented with a single invoice, he said. It has had some practice, however, thanks to CRM Online, he added.
Partners will still have great flexibility to customize Dynamics software even when it is residing in a multi-tenant environment, although the process may need to be more regulated, according to Tatarinov.
That said, Microsoft has of late introduced much more regimentation and methodologies for development than in the past, he said. Now it will be about "taking it to the next level in the cloud."
"We have a broad partner ecosystem," Tatarinov added. "Some will make the transition, some will continue to sell on-premises."
In any event, members of the Dynamics ecosystem have plenty of time to figure out their positions. The first Dynamics application to hit Azure will be NAV 7, scheduled to be released next year.
That means it could be several years before the entire Dynamics lineup is ported to Azure.
Despite that timeline, Microsoft does not consider itself late to the cloud ERP game compared to competitors like NetSuite or SAP, and its approach is deliberately designed to ensure customer success, Tatarinov said.
"Nobody's doing it in the cloud at scale today. Everyone who's doing it today has massive issues. They're largely figuring it out," he said. Those challenges include privacy, partner models and ISV ecosystems, according to Tatarinov.
"We don't want customers to figure it out, we want to figure it out and bring it to our customers," he said.
Chris Kanaracus covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Chris's e-mail address is Chris_Kanaracus@idg.com

http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20110412/tc_pcworld/microsoftsclouderpplansgetmixedreactions;_ylt=Ah56seT05fSexTYmDihjz37w7rEF;_ylu=X3oDMTNrYW4zcWMxBGFzc2V0A3Bjd29ybGQvMjAxMTA0MTIvbWljcm9zb2Z0c2Nsb3VkZXJwcGxhbnNnZXRtaXhlZHJlYWN0aW9ucwRwb3MDMjcEc2VjA3luX3BhZ2luYXRlX3N1bW1hcnlfbGlzdARzbGsDbWljcm9zb2Z0Mzlz

Microsoft: Office for Mac SP1 Available for Download

Microsoft said Tuesday that Office for Mac 2011 Service Pack 1 is now available for download, as promised last week.
The new service pack can be downloaded from Microsoft's Web site.
Microsoft promised "increased stability, security, and some new features to the suite—including improved Outlook syncing support—as well as some performance enhancements."
Specifically, SP1 will enable calendar synching between Outlook for Mac and Apple's Sync Services, which Microsoft said was much-requested.
"This will let you sync your Outlook calendar as well as contacts, notes and tasks with any service or device that supports Sync Services, including your iPhone and iPad," Microsoft said in a blog post.
Microsoft stressed, however, that Apple's new version of MobileMe will not sync with MacOS Sync Services starting May 5; it's live now for people who have already moved to the new version of MobileMe calendar. "As a result, Outlook 2011 SP1 calendars that sync with Sync Services on the Mac, will NOT be synced with MobileMe calendars," the company said.
So, if you sync your iPhone or iPad calendar with Sync Services via iTunes over a cable, you can sync with Outlook 2011 SP1. But if you sync via MobileMe, it won't sync with Outlook 2011 SP1.
"Office for Mac SP1 is a big step forward," Microsoft said in the blog post. "But we know we have more work to do, specifically around better integration with additional services." However, the company did not share any information about future updates.
Other updates included in SP1, meanwhile, include: Outlook support for Exchange based server-side rules; Outlook Redirect button (you can redirect the message to the intended recipient and the replies will go to the original sender); Outlook Resend button; Outlook edit of existing messages; and Solver integration support in Excel.
Microsoft said future service packs will focus on better integration with other services, like contacts, calendars, tasks, and notes from Hotmail/Live, Google, and Yahoo.
For more, see PCMag's full review of Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 and the slideshow below.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20110412/tc_zd/263072;_ylt=AqAMYbHyXmyCz.1q_Y1M4Zjw7rEF;_ylu=X3oDMTJkM2R1MHNjBGFzc2V0A3pkLzIwMTEwNDEyLzI2MzA3MgRwb3MDMjUEc2VjA3luX3BhZ2luYXRlX3N1bW1hcnlfbGlzdARzbGsDbWljcm9zb2Z0b2Zm

Adobe Warns of Another Zero-Day Security Risk in Flash

There's another zero-day security risk in Adobe's Flash. The new vulnerability comes a few weeks after the announcement of a previous one -- which was followed by updated versions of the popular multimedia software -- and in Adobe Reader and Acrobat.

In an advisory posted Monday on its security blog, the company said the vulnerability could cause a crash and, possibly, allow an attacker to take control of a system. The advisory also noted that there are reports the vulnerability is being exploited using a .swf Flash file embedded in a Microsoft Word file and delivered as an attachment to Windows users. Adobe added that it's not aware of any attacks using PDFs that target Reader or Acrobat.

Used in 'Spear Phishing'

The critical vulnerability exists in Flash Player 10.2.153.1, as well as earlier versions for Windows, Mac, Linux and Solaris; Flash Player 10.2.154.25 and earlier for Chrome users; Flash Player 10.2.156.12 and earlier for Android; and the Authplay.dll component that ships with Adobe Reader and Acrobat X (10.0.2) and earlier 10.x and 9.x versions for Windows and Mac operating systems.

Adobe said it's in the process of finalizing an update schedule for Flash Player 10.2.x and earlier versions for Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris and Android; Acrobat X (10.0.2) and earlier 10.x and 9.x versions for Windows and Mac; Reader X (10.0.2) for Mac; and Reader 9.4.3 and earlier 9.x versions for Windows and Mac.

The company added that, because Reader X Protected Mode prevents the exploit from executing, the issue for Reader X for Windows will be addressed in the next quarterly security update for Reader, presently scheduled for the middle of June.

According to some security researchers, the Flash-based attacks are featured in some of the recent spear-phishing campaigns against major organizations, including marketing house Epsilon and security firm RSA. The attacks reportedly utilized Flash embedded inside Microsoft documents disguised as government documents.

Flash Threat Predicted

Spear-phishing refers to e-mails that purport to be from a trusted company or organization that are looking to obtain confidential information and targeted toward specific users.

In its 2010 Threat Predictions report released -- ironically -- as a PDF in late 2009, security firm Symantec predicted that, in 2010, "Adobe software, especially Acrobat Reader and Flash," would take the top spot as a target of cybercriminals, replacing Microsoft products such as Windows and Internet Explorer.

The report noted that Flash and Acrobat Reader have become a favorite among attackers, who use "reliable 'heap spray-like' and other exploitation techniques." Adobe has been successful in making Flash and Adobe Reader virtually ubiquitous on every computer platform, and has touted this huge cross-platform installed base as a strength.

But Symantec noted that this wide deployment also makes Flash and Adobe Reader increasingly attractive to attackers, because they "provide a higher return on investment to cybercriminals."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20110412/tc_nf/78118;_ylt=AoHU5TDDpkS8_09EkrJXgBjw7rEF;_ylu=X3oDMTJjM2czY3BxBGFzc2V0A25mLzIwMTEwNDEyLzc4MTE4BHBvcwMyMwRzZWMDeW5fcGFnaW5hdGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNhZG9iZXdhcm5zb2Y-

Windows Phone Tools Aimed at Richer Mobile Apps

RELATED QUOTES

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Jennifer LeClaire, newsfactor.com – Wed Apr 13, 4:26 pm ET

Microsoft is doing a lot of teasing these days -- teasing about the next iterations of some of its products, that is. Besides offering a sneak peak at Internet Explorer 10, Microsoft on Wednesday also offered a glimpse of the next version of the Windows Phone operating system at its MIX11 conference in Las Vegas.

Microsoft will roll out a new version of Windows Phone 7 later this year. With it, Microsoft promised developers more hardware capabilities, better browsing and improved tooling, and expanded opportunities and Windows Phone Marketplace options. The goal is to create a richer application environment that expands mobile usage scenarios.

Joe Belfiore, vice president of Windows phone program management, called the next release of Windows Phone an evolution of Microsoft's strategy to make sure developers are at the forefront of what's next. He explained, "We will soon deliver a new set of Windows Phone developer tools that will enable developers to create a new generation of apps that are even faster, more capable, and better integrated with Windows Phone."

Leveraging Live Tiles

Some of the improvements to Windows Phone developer tools include a performance profiler and sensor simulation. That upgrade will make way for developers to build more integrated applications.

For example, the new tools make possible application multitasking for background processing, audio and file transfers, and fast application switching. It also lets developers integrate apps with the platform more deeply so the apps can take better advantage of Live Tiles. Live Tiles are dynamically updated to show real-time content. This differs from traditional static icons that offer stepping stones to an application.

Finally, Windows Phone tools allow access to the camera and motion-sensor library so developers can build apps that incorporate device hardware and build augmented reality experiences. This could be especially significant for mobile gaming.

Microsoft also offered a glimpse of app concepts for the next version of Windows Phone, including new looks at Skype, Spotify, Layar, Qantas, Amazon Shopping, and Kik Messenger. The free developer tools will be available in May.

Will Microsoft Meet the Deadline?

So what does the next Windows Phone need to look like to draw new developers and handset makers? A lot like what Microsoft showed at MIX, according to Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Gartner.

He said it's unlikely that Nokia will build devices based on the existing Windows Phone platform. The handset maker is more likely to roll out its first devices with the new Mango platform showcased at MIX on Wednesday. It's important for Microsoft to meet the development deadline, he said, so Nokia can ship a flagship device with the new release this calendar year.

"What Microsoft showed certainly covers a multitude of issues that both users and developers had in the first release," Gartenberg said. "The key for Microsoft is going to be getting this out the door and getting it onto existing and new devices. This next update is super-important for existing customer satisfaction and to help drive the platform forward for the holidays and into 2012."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20110413/tc_nf/78142;_ylt=Aj7Rikv2IjCheYHlN47m0Arw7rEF;_ylu=X3oDMTJiaW80Mm5mBGFzc2V0A25mLzIwMTEwNDEzLzc4MTQyBHBvcwM1BHNlYwN5bl9wYWdpbmF0ZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA3dpbmRvd3NwaG9uZQ--

Metro-North Railroad Purchases Smart Software's SmartForecasts to Improve Service, Reduce Inventory, and Save Money

BELMONT, MA, March 16, 2011 /Computer PR News/ -- Smart Software, Inc., provider of industry-leading demand forecasting, planning, and inventory optimizationsolutions, today announced that Metro-North Railroad (MNR) has purchased Smart's flagship product, SmartForecasts, as part of a company-wide service improvement and inventory reduction program. MNR, the nation's second largest commuter railroad, serves 275,000 passengers each weekday in the New York City metropolitan area, operating 1,193 engines and rail cars over 765 miles of track. It will use SmartForecasts to reduce inventory stocking levels for its 40,000 active service/spare parts, valued at almost $100 million, while improving parts availability in support of daily operations.

A large percentage of MNR's parts inventory experiences "slow-moving", intermittent demand. This sort of demand is especially difficult to forecast, and its presence can lead to expensive purchases of excess safety stock. MNR's inventory stocking challenge is compounded by the need to manage parts availability between two central distribution centers and 13 manned physical storerooms, which oversee a total of 66 virtual inventory sites.

Seeking substantial improvement in its forecasting and inventory planning, MNR issued a Request for Proposals, and ultimately selected SmartForecasts as the best overall solution. "As part of our evaluation process, we asked each of the finalists to forecast MNR's parts consumption, using real MNR data," said Richard Price, Chief Material Officer for MNR. "SmartForecasts substantially exceeded the forecast accuracy of its nearest competitor. This ability, combined with the product's ease of use and the company's demonstrated competence serving the transportation industry, made Smart Software our best choice. We expect that the implementation of SmartForecasts will enable us to significantly improve the availability of critical parts while reducing our inventory and safety stock margins."
SmartForecasts demand planning, forecasting and inventory optimization software offers unique, patented statistical solutions to forecast intermittent demand, a particularly challenging aspect of service parts management, as well as a complete suite of automated forecasting and planning methodologies. By automatically identifying the right method for each part, SmartForecasts can significantly reduce the amount of inventory required to meet a defined level of service.

"Today's economy places a premium on doing more with less," said Charles N. Smart, CEO of Smart Software. "This is especially true of inventory management, particularly among public and quasi-public enterprises like MNR, where budgets are under exceptional scrutiny. We look forward to helping MNR streamline its parts inventory planning, and demonstrating the potential for improvement to its peers nationwide."
About the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Metro-North Railroad
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public benefit corporation chartered by the New York State Legislature in 1965, operates the nation's largest public transportation system. The MTA serves the 14.6 million people living in the 5,000-square-mile area fanning out from New York City through Long Island, southeastern New York State, Connecticut and New Jersey. Metro-North Railroad, one of seven independent agencies within the MTA, is the nation's second largest commuter railroad. Its main lines run northward out of Grand Central Station into suburban New York and Connecticut. West of the Hudson River, Metro-North's lines operate from New Jersey Transit's Hoboken terminal and provide service to Rockland and Orange counties. Founded in 1983, MNR and its 5,920 employees serve 275,000 commuter rail passengers each weekday, operating six rail lines with 120 stations and 1,193 rail cars and engines over 765 miles of track.
About Smart Software, Inc.
Founded in 1984, Smart Software, Inc. is a leader in providing businesses with enterprise-wide demand forecasting, planning and inventory optimization solutions. Smart Software's flagship product, SmartForecasts, has thousands of users worldwide, including customers at mid-market enterprises and Fortune 500 companies. Customers with significant service parts requirements include Montreal Transit, Prevost Parts (Volvo Bus), Motor Coach Industries, Otis Elevator, Disneyland Resorts, General Electric, and Siemens. SmartForecasts gives demand planners the tools to handle sales seasonality, promotions, new and aging products, multi-echelon hierarchies, and intermittently demanded service parts and capital goods items. It also provides inventory managers with accurate estimates of the optimal inventory and safety stock required to meet future orders and achieve desired service levels. Smart Software is headquartered in Belmont, Massachusetts and can be found on the Internet atwww.smartcorp.com.

For more information, please contact Gregory Hartunian at Smart Software at 1-800-762-7899 or gregoryh@smartcorp.com.

SmartForecasts is a registered trademark of Smart Software, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.


http://computerprnews.com/computer_articles/2011/03/metronorth-railroad-purchases-smart-softwares-smartforecasts-to-improve-service-reduce-inventory-and-save-money-202251.htm

Free to Enter $100,000 March Madness Bracket From MrSportsbook Launches

LONDON, ENGLAND, March 15, 2011 /Computer PR News/ -- MrSportsbook has teamed up with a leading online sportsbook to launch the MrSportsbook March Madness Bracket Contest which is completely free to enter and carries a $100,000 perfect bracket prize. With further cash and gadget prizes including a prize for the last place finisher there is something for all college basketball fans. The march madness Bracket is free to play at www.mrsportsbookbracket.com.

The bracket is a straight pick-em contest with players simply picking which team will progress through each of the match-ups. Correctly predict all 63 games to win $100,000 in cash. The prizes include:

- Perfect Bracket Prediction: $100,000 cash
- Predicting 60 or more games correctly: $10,000 cash
- Bracket Champion: Apple iPad
- Last Place finisher: Apple iPod

There is also a further incentive for players to share this bracket with their friends as if a player refers one of the four main winners they will also receive a prize. The original referrer will bag a free basketball jersey of their choice whilst their friend picks up their own prize.

The online sportsbook that are sponsoring the event will also be releasing hundreds of free $10 bets to players who sign up. For every 1,000 contestants the sportsbook will release 50 free bets that can be used during March Madness or beyond. 

Now that the teams have been chosen by the NCAA Selection Committee the picks process can now start and entrants to the Bracket will need to make their picks by 11:00 March 17th and before the first game of the tournament.

MrSportsbook and the online sportsbook welcome all contestants from the USA and Canada to take part and try and win the $100,000 perfect bracket prize. More information can be found at www.mrsportsbook.com/march-madness orwww.mrsportsbookbracket.com.


http://computerprnews.com/computer_articles/2011/03/free-to-enter-100000-march-madness-bracket-from-mrsportsbook-launches-201878.htm

New Mac Streaming Video Downloader Supports Thousands of Sites

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, March 13, 2011 /Computer PR News/ -- World's first online video and music recorder for Mac to be Introduced at Macworld 

Applian Technologies and Jaksta Technologies are showcasing Jaksta for Mac at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco from January 27th to the 29th. As a follow-on to Jaksta for Windows, Mac users now have the same freedom to download and convert online streaming audio and video for personal use. It's the first program designed specifically for Macintosh capable of this feat.

Jaksta supports all popular stream formats and protocols, enabling it to capture video from thousands of websites including YouTube and Facebook. Similarly, because of Jaksta's powerful audio-capturing capabilities, customers can download streaming audio from their favorite music and radio sites with ease. In addition to allowing Mac users to save their favorite videos, songs, and radio programs, Jaksta can automatically convert the downloaded files to a variety of devices, such as the iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, PS3, PSP, and Android. Jaksta is exceptionally easy to use; customers simply need to open it and play the music and video they want to record. 

Jaksta is available at http://jaksta.com for $49.95. Alternatively, Mac users can download a free trial mode which provides limited functionality. The trial mode allows users to download up to 50% of any on-demand audio or video clip and up to one minute of any live stream. In order to run properly, Jaksta requires Mac OSX 10.5 or later, as well as an Intel processor.

About Applian Technologies and Jaksta Technologies Pty

Jaksta is a joint venture between Applian Technologies Inc. of the USA and Jaksta Technologies Pty Ltd. of Australia.

Jaksta was written originally for Windows PCs in 2008, and then rewritten as a pure Mac application in 2011. As new streaming protocols and formats are introduced, the developers behind Jaksta are dedicated to keeping these programs at the forefront of technology.


http://computerprnews.com/computer_articles/2011/03/new-mac-streaming-video-downloader-supports-thousands-of-sites-201580.htm

Cybrain Software Solutions Helping Enterprises Get Online Presence

PUNJAB, INDIA, March 13, 2011 /Computer PR News/ -- Online presence has become a crucial thing for every business on the planet. Be it a manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer, almost every business needs to maintain its online identity to get successful in this era of cut-throat competition. The credit for this goes to the technological advancements and the internet boom. People all around the world have become so much addicted to virtual world that they look for everything on internet before going to market for actual purchase. This makes the online presence really important. Cybrain Software Solutions offers a complete set of promotional services that help you create your online presence and maintain it. 

The company offers a gamut of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services that help online businesses become more visible in search engines. Companies spend several thousands every year as a part of their marketing budget, just to reach their customers. Search Engine Optimization is an economic yet powerful way of promoting your marketing campaigns in the web world. Revealing his thoughts on the same, Mr. Puneet Verma, CEO, Cybrain Software Solutions said, 

"We offer affordable SEO packages to our worldwide clients that meet their budget and online marketing requirements. Our tailor-made SEO packages ensure search engine visibility within six months of regular optimization work. We give money-back guarantee to our clients that separates us from the crowd."

Headquartered in Mohali, India, the company is providing every type of web solutions including software development, web designing, web development, content writing and SEO. With a long list of satisfied clients, Cybrain Software Solutions has come a long way, improving themselves at every step. 

"I received really good results after Cybrain team did SEO of my website. Just within three months, my website started getting good ranking in search engines. I'm glad to be associated with the company," said Mr. Jain, a client for Search Engine Optimization services.

About Cybrain Software Solutions:

Incepted in 2006, Cybrain Software Solutions is an IS0 9001:2008 certified company providing industry-specific web designing solutions, web development, online marketing and custom software solutions in India. Being a premier IT company, it caters to the needs of global clients in an affordable and efficient way.


http://computerprnews.com/computer_articles/2011/03/cybrain-software-solutions-helping-enterprises-get-online-presence-201574.htm

Time Warner launches TV-viewing app for iPad

(Credit: Time Warner Cable)

Apple iPad owners who subscribe to Time Warner cable now have an app that will let them watch live TV directly on their tablets.

Launched today, the free TWCable TV app streams the live cable TV feed to the iPad via a Wi-Fi connection, meaning people can catch their favorite shows from any room in the house.

An online channel guide lets viewers scroll to see which shows are currently on and which ones are coming up next. Tapping on a particular show then streams it to the iPad. Subscribers will find shows broadcast in high-definition from a variety of cable networks, including A&E, Bravo, Discovery, MSNBC, SyFy, and USA.

"We are tremendously excited about this app, which is the first of many that will allow our customers to harness the power of their tablet-type devices," Time Warner Cable President Rob Marcus said in a statement. "Helping our customers see the content they're paying for on multiple devices makes their Time Warner Cable subscription even more valuable, and they can expect much more from us in this space very soon."

There are a couple of initial limitations. The service works only through Wi-Fi, so users can't watch TV outside the house via the iPad's 3G connection. Customers must also subscribe to Time Warner cable TV and Internet to use the app.

And for now, only around 30 channels are available for live streaming, though Time Warner Cable is promising to add more channels and beef up the app's capabilities. Future enhancements will let subscribers stream shows outside the home via Wi-Fi, set up a DVR to record shows, and use the iPad as a remote to control both live and on-demand shows.

The app is compatible only with the iPad and requires iOS 4.2 or higher.

Looking at other cable carriers, Dish Network subscribers can also download a free app for the iPad and other mobile devices to let them watch live TV and recorded shows. Comcast recently announced plans to launch its own TV-viewing app for the iPad and Android tablets later this year.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20043265-93.html#ixzz1GlGTdjsD


http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20043265-93.html?tag=mncol;title

Google refurbishes chrome logo

Chrome's no-so-shiny new logo

Google gave its browser a new logo yesterday, a design that drops the bubbly 3D look for a flatter, more geometric look.

The new design is no surprise: an all-blue version of the new logo showed up for Chromium, the open-source foundation of Chrome, a week ago.

It's just a cosmetic change, of course, but people often care about such skin-deep matters. That's why the ability to reskin Chrome and Firefox were deemed important features even if they don't do much for loading Web pages faster or enabling new Web applications.

The new logo first surfaced with Chrome 11.0.696.12, a developer-channel release launched yesterday to fix a number of bugs, including one that really annoyed me, a failure to show Web addresses in a pop-up status bar when I hovered over links.

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Google Apps: Now for early and late adopters

It's hard to strike the right balance in the technology business between change that's too fast or too slow--in part because different customers prefer different paces. To try to better match those preferences, Google Apps now will come in two varieties.

The "rapid release" track will get new technology into customers' hands as soon as it's passed quality-assurance testing. The "scheduled release" track will issue updates once a week, with at least a week's notice to let administrators learn about the upcoming changes, Google announced today.

The dual-track approach applies to Gmail, Contacts, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Sites--the main parts of the Google Apps subscription. New features will be published at Google's new site for what's new at Google Apps.

Google strives to be a company that disrupts existing practices where it thinks disruption is needed. But that can clash ...

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