Portable Computing THE MAGAZINE FOR PORTABLE COMPUTING

June 2007

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Portable Computing

departments

Contents

June 2007

staff

Editor: Monty Fossberg [email protected]

05 News

Assistant Editor: Mark Warnack [email protected] Web Site Manager: Tim Keene [email protected]

09 Broadband

Online Editor: Habib Saah [email protected]

14 Business

Art Director: Kevin Arca [email protected]

19 International

Graphics Manager: Thomas Howell [email protected] Editorial Contributors: Terry Taylor, Tom Williams, Ron Alsop, Andy Gonzalez, Pedro Moreno, Nick Golde, Anthony Perez

23 Hosting

Executive Assistant To the Group Publisher Jose Zepeda [email protected]

27 Product News

Marketing Assistant :Swarna Vamsi Krishna [email protected]

31 Product Spotlight

Advertising

34 Security

Publisher: Norman Sainz [email protected] Associate Publisher: Michael McGee [email protected]

37 Technology

Account Executives: Northeast & Southeast: Andy Weston [email protected] West Coast & Central: Lary Spiegel [email protected]

40 Reviews 45 People

52 Wireless

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inside preview

47 Voip

Digital Media Worldwide Chairman: Paul Stevenson Group Publisher: Terry Logan Admin Manager: Doug Ramsey Controller: Javier Diez Editorial Director: David Maxwell

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News

Portable Computing

HP Positioned to Lead in New Era of Business Technology

HP announced new solutions and services aimed at capitalizing on the next phase of the technology industry – Business Technology.

Moving beyond information technology, the new era of business technology is one where results are measured in only one way: how they deliver business outcomes.

By integrally optimizing the technology environments of enterprises with business outcomes, HP is empowering chief information officers with the tools they need to be tied closer to chief executive officers in strategic business planning.

“The age of information technology as we know it is over. The new reality is that technology doesn’t just support the business – technology powers the business and helps drive growth,” said Ann Livermore, executive vice president, Technology Solutions Group, HP. “The shift to business technology enables CIOs to weigh and measure their investments in terms of business outcomes – whether it’s managing risk, accelerating growth or lowering costs.”

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Research conducted by HP shows an increasing alignment between business and technology decision makers.(1) According to the study, an overwhelming majority of both CEOs and CIOs believes that technology is integral to the success of their companies. Additionally, 88 percent of CEOs and 90 percent of CIOs say they share similar visions for how

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technology can deliver business outcomes at their companies.

But while 99 percent of CEOs agree that technology is integral to the success of their businesses, only 32 percent of them involve their CIOs at the inception of strategic planning. “Moving forward, more CIOs will sit at their companies’ boardroom tables during strategic business planning,” said Livermore.

To address customers’ key business outcomes of managing risk, accelerating growth and lowering costs, HP unveiled at its Technology@Work conference in Berlin new solutions and services within its Business Information Optimization, Business Technology Optimization and Adaptive Infrastructure portfolios. Business Information Optimization

The HP Business Information Optimization portfolio helps companies make better decisions and manage critical information throughout its lifecycle. The portfolio is built around two key solutions: Business Intelligence and Information Lifecycle Management.

In a related press release available at www.hp.com/go/hpbio release, HP announced the general availability of HP Neoview, a nextgeneration, 24x7 data warehouse built on an integrated hardware, software and services platform.

In addition, the company introduced four new business intelligence services to help organizations with their most pressing information management challenges – those rooted in massive data volumes and complex data environments. Designed to deliver better business outcomes by enabling organizations to improve decision making for competitive advantage, the services include: Strategy and Planning, Information Integration, Information Delivery and Information Quality. Business Technology Optimization

The HP Business Technology Optimization portfolio uses the company’s application and management software and services to help customers align business and IT, manage IT services and comprehensively automate change.

As of today, hundreds of customers worldwide have purchased

Ann Livermore

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Portable Computing

a combination of HP OpenView and Mercury products – now part of HP’s BTO software portfolio – since the Mercury acquisition close in November 2006.

A new set of HP Service Management services, along with HP Software, helps customers achieve continuous alignment between business and IT and deliver IT services at defined service levels, quality and cost targets. HP Service Management services use IT infrastructure library (ITIL) v3 to provide a holistic view of an enterprise’s entire IT landscape to improve service management processes. The services include: Demand and Portfolio Management, Application Transition Management, Business Service Management, Traditional IT Service Management and Service Driven Operations.

“Every day, First American uses technology to be more competitive,” said Evan Jafa, chief technology officer, The First American Corporation. “Because of the visibility that HP Software products give us into our IT and business processes, we no longer have ‘blame-storming sessions.’ Instead, we have very direct visibility into areas where problems might be, and we very quickly go after them. HP Business Technology Optimization solutions have enabled us to shorten the cycles of key ITIL processes such as incident management, problem resolution and release management.” Adaptive Infrastructure

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Encompassing much of HP’s portfolio, the HP Adaptive Infrastructure offering provides the platwww.portablecomputingmag.com

News form for the next-generation data center. HP Adaptive Infrastructure helps customers move from highcost IT silos to low-cost, pooled IT assets in order to optimize their infrastructures to reduce cost, minimize risk and accelerate growth. HP has announced:

New HP reference architectures and ready-to-deploy offerings for Microsoft® Exchange Server 2007, Oracle® and SAP® application environments. These HP and partner capabilities are integrated, Ann Livermore

best IT investments to optimize business outcomes.

Expanded IT Shared Services have scale-up and scale-down capabilities that provide more flexibility to grow or shift resources with business demand. The services, which help customers run IT as a business to improve IT cost efficiencies, quality of service and responsiveness, include:

Worldwide HP Realization Centers that provide customers with hands-on training through utility solution demonstrations, workshops and presentations both onsite and remotely; HP Shared Infrastructure Utility QuickPOC Solutions for customers looking to evaluate utility solutions quickly;

HP Shared Infrastructure Utility to boost flexibility and provide integrated management and usage tracking;

pre-tested offerings that bring together all the hardware, software and services components needed for cost-effective, expedient implementations that reduce risk. The HP Adaptive Infrastructure Maturity Model, an accountspecific service that uses standard “real-world” metrics based on research and best practice experience. The service uses pretested offerings to reduce risks and help organizations assess their data center infrastructures. It then provides a step-by-step, pragmatic, action-oriented set of customer-specific recommendations for how to best reach their desired future state – making the

HP Shared Database Utility for Oracle, which delivers database capacity when the system needs it, immediately and automatically.

"IT is no longer an appropriate term for the gear, the discipline of running the gear, or the industry," wrote George F. Colony, chairman and chief executive officer of Forrester Research, Inc. in the August 2006 Forrester Research report titled "My View: IT To BT." "If you are the head of B.T., you are shoulder to shoulder with fellow executives who are running the operation. You're focused on improving process and finding new sources of revenue. You apply technology for business results. It's time to replace I.T. with the term 'business technology,' or B.T. This change conveys the fact that business is technology and technology is business."

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News

Portable Computing

Network Instruments Selected for Membership in Avaya DeveloperConnection Program

Network Instruments, a leading provider of innovative analysis solutions for in-depth network intelligence and continuous availability, today announced it has been selected by Avaya Inc., a leading global provider of business communications applications, systems and services, for membership in the Avaya DeveloperConnection program.

Network Instruments provides customers with network analysis and forensic solutions, including the Observer® Product Family and GigaStor™. These solutions include Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) analysis as a part of a comprehensive solution set.

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The Avaya DeveloperConnection program promotes the development of innovative, third-party products that are compatible with standards-based Avaya solutions. Becoming a member of the program ensures that Network Instruments solutions can be extensively compliance-tested for compatibility with Avaya Communication Manager IP telephony software, media gateways and IP telephones. "Customers rely on our Observer VoIP Expert to support market-leading IP telephony solutions from providers like Avaya," said Roman Oliynyk, CEO and co-founder of Network Instruments. "Being a member of the Avaya DeveloperConnection program, we can build on Avaya resources and work more closely with the company to deliver compliance-tested solutions to the

market that help businesses optimize performance."

Through the Avaya DeveloperConnection program, Network Instruments has access to technical resources, development support and co-marketing initiatives designed to help the company produce and promote Avayacompatible solutions.

"With the involvement of companies like Network Instruments, our Avaya developer community has become a catalyst for rapid innovation - creating multivendor applications that help enterprises around the world unleash powerful new possibilities for operating more efficiently and effectively," said Eric Rossman, vice president, developer relations and technical alliances, Avaya. "We help businesses embed secure, reliable Intelligent Communications into the very fabric of their organization so employees and customers have ready access to information regardless of where they are and how they prefer to communicate."

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Broadband

Portable Computing

Tennessee Consumers Can Do More With Wireless: Faster Sprint Mobile Broadband In Several Cities

Whether in Nashville, Memphis or Knoxville, Sprint customers in Tennessee can do more with wireless thanks to a faster mobile broadband network. With Sprint's newest (EVDO Revision A) technology, along with a wide variety of devices, customers can check and send email with large file attachments, download music and access robust locationbased solutions.

Sprint took a big step forward this month by upgrading its network in more than two dozen markets across the country, including several cities throughout Tennessee including Memphis and Nashville. The more robust technology is already available in Chattanooga and Knoxville. Sprint now reaches more than 193 million people in over 9,600 cities and covers 880 airports with its faster mobile broadband technology (EV-DO Rev. A) and is on track to upgrade the vast majority of its mobile broadband network to the faster technology by year-end.

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of the more than $62 million that Sprint spent in Tennessee in 2006. Sprint is committed to letting our customers do more with wireless."

On average, customers can experience significantly faster upload speeds of 350-500 Kbps (compared with 50-70 Kbps on current EV-DO networks) and download speeds of 600 Kbps1.4 Mbps (from 400-700 Kbps.) on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network. To compare these Rev. A speeds against the speed of their current connection, Internet users can visit www.sprint.com/speedtest.

In December 2006, Sprint's upgraded mobile broadband network was awarded the coveted PC Magazine Editor's Choice Award selected by a panel of PC Magazine editors, and leading industry experts. The upgraded Sprint Mobile Broadband Network is now avail-

able in the following throughout Tennessee:

cities

Memphis – coverage includes major metropolitan area of Memphis including Atoka, Brighton, Brownsville, Covington, Dyersburg, Humboldt, Jackson, Milan, Oakland and Union City. Nashville – coverage includes major metropolitan area of Nashville including Brentwood, Columbia, Franklin, Gallatin, Goodlettsville, Hendersonville, Lebanon, Murfreesboro, Springfield and Smyrna.

Additional areas coming on air with EV-DO Rev. A this month include: Atlanta, Ga.; Austin, Texas; Birmingham, Ala.; Columbus, Ohio; Corpus Christi, Texas; Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas; Des Moines, Iowa; Fort Myers, Fla.; Greensboro, N.C.; Hawaii*; Houston, Texas; Indianapolis, Ind.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Little Rock, Ark.;

"Customers in many cities throughout Tennessee can experience the nation's largest mobile broadband network in more places with faster speeds than ever before, and we are not finished improving the customer experience," said Craven Shumaker, area vice president for Sprint. "This year, Sprint is continuing investments to enhance its powerful networks and expand mobile broadband coverage across the nation. That's on top

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Portable Computing

Louisville, Ky.; Minneapolis, Minn.; New Orleans, La.; Oklahoma City/Tulsa, Okla.; Omaha, Neb.; Raleigh, N.C.; Rio Grande Valley, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; St. Louis, Mo.; Tallahassee and Tampa, Fla.Sprint Mobile Broadband (EV-DO Rev. A-capable) Devices

Mobile professionals can use their laptops in more places and send and receive large data files using Sprint's newest EV-DO Rev. A-capable USB modem – the Sierra Wireless Aircard 595U, which is available in all sales channels including retail. The device is priced as low as $79.99 with a two-year subscriber agreement and $50 mail-in rebate.

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Broadband Sprint offers a variety of other EV-DO Rev. A-capable devices including three PCMCIA cards (Novatel S720, Sierra AC595 and Pantech PX-500); an Express Card (Novatel EX720) and two USB modems (Novatel U720 and Sierra AC595U). Sprint also offers a variety of laptops, handheld computers and modules embedded with these more robust capabilities. Sprint customers using any of the current Novatel devices can perform location-based searches that offer navigational support. The basic Sprint location and search usage is included as part of Sprint's flexible data and unlimited data connection card plans. Data Plans

In an effort to provide customers the best value in wireless broadband, customers signing a two-year Sprint subscriber agreement can receive unlimited data usage for $59.99 per month (no separate voice plan required and no additional discounts apply.) Other individual service plans for mobile broadband devices range from $39.99 per month for 40 MB to $79.99 per month for unlimited data usage with a one year subscriber agreement. Rates apply to all Sprint Mobile Broadband customers and do not change in areas that have been upgraded to EV-DO Rev. A.

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Broadband

Portable Computing

Metro Atlanta Customers Can Do More With Wireless: Faster Sprint Mobile Broadband Throughout Metro Area

Throughout the metro Atlanta area, Sprint customers can do more with wireless thanks to a faster mobile broadband network. With Sprint's newest (EV-DO Revision A) technology, along with a wide variety of devices, customers can check and send email with large file attachments, download music and access robust location-based solutions.

Sprint took a big step forward this month by upgrading its network in more than two dozen markets across the country, including the metro Atlanta area. Sprint now reaches more than 193 million people in over 9,600 cities and covers 880 airports with its faster mobile broadband technology (EV-DO Rev. A) and is on track to upgrade the vast majority of its mobile broadband network to the faster technology by yearend.

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On average, customers can experience significantly faster upload speeds of 350-500 Kbps (compared with 50-70 Kbps on current EV-DO networks) and download speeds of 600 Kbps1.4 Mbps (from 400-700 Kbps.) on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network. To compare these Rev.

In December 2006, Sprint's upgraded mobile broadband network was awarded the coveted PC Magazine Editor's Choice Award selected by a panel of PC Magazine editors, and leading industry experts. The upgraded Sprint Mobile Broadband Network is now available in the following metro Atlanta

markets: Alpharetta, Athens, Atlanta, Canton, Cartersville, Carrolton, Douglasville, Duluth, Dunwoody, Gainesville, Griffin, Lawrenceville, Mableton, Marietta, Newnan, Norcross, Peachtree City, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Smyrna and Tucker.

Additional areas coming on air with EV-DO Rev. A this month include:

Austin, Texas; Birmingham, Ala.; Columbus, Ohio; Corpus Christi, Texas; Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas; Des Moines, Iowa; Fort Myers, Fla.; Greensboro, N.C.; Hawaii*; Houston, Texas; Indianapolis, Ind.; Jacksonville, Fla.;

"Customers in metro Atlanta can experience the nation's largest mobile broadband network in more places with faster speeds than ever before, and we are not finished improving the customer experience," said Jeff Bennett, area vice president for Sprint. "This year, Sprint is continuing investments to enhance its powerful networks and expand mobile broadband coverage across the nation. That's on top of the nearly $138 million that Sprint spent in Atlanta in 2006. Sprint is committed to letting our customers do more with wireless." www.portablecomputingmag.com

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Portable Computing

Little Rock, Ark.; Louisville, Ky.; Memphis, Tenn.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Nashville, Tenn.; New Orleans, La.; Oklahoma City/Tulsa, Okla.; Omaha, Neb.; Raleigh, N.C.; Rio Grande Valley, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; St. Louis, Mo.; Tallahassee and Tampa, Fla. Sprint Mobile Broadband (EV-DO Rev. A-capable) Devices

Mobile professionals can use their laptops in more places and send and receive large data files using Sprint's newest EV-DO Rev. A-capable USB modem – the Sierra Wireless Aircard 595U, which is available in all sales channels including retail. The device is priced as low as $79.99

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Broadband with a two-year subscriber agreement and $50 mail-in rebate.

of Sprint's flexible data and unlimited data connection card plans.

Sprint customers using any of the current Novatel devices can perform location-based searches that offer navigational support. The basic Sprint location and search usage is included as part

In an effort to provide customers the best value in wireless broadband, customers signing a two-year Sprint subscriber agreement can receive unlimited data usage for $59.99 per month (no separate voice plan required and no additional discounts apply.) Other individual service plans for mobile broadband devices range from $39.99 per month for 40 MB to $79.99 per month for unlimited data usage with a one year subscriber agreement. Rates apply to all Sprint Mobile Broadband customers and do not change in areas that have been upgraded to EV-DO Rev. A.

Sprint offers a variety of other EV-DO Rev. A-capable devices including three PCMCIA cards (Novatel S720, Sierra AC595 and Pantech PX-500); an Express Card (Novatel EX720) and two USB modems (Novatel U720 and Sierra AC595U). Sprint also offers a variety of laptops, handheld computers and modules embedded with these more robust capabilities.

Data Plans

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Business

Portable Computing

General Services Administration Awards $110 Million IDIQ SATCOM-II Contract to AT&T Government Solutions

AT&T Government Solutions, a business unit of AT&T Inc. , has been awarded a General Services Administration (GSA) Satellite Services-II (SATCOM-II) contract which will provide end-toend satellite solutions for government agencies. SATCOM-II, an Indefinite Delivery – Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with a potential value of $110 million over the next five years, enables AT&T to provide an expanded range of satellite services to defense and civilian agencies.

AT&T uses satellite services to provide an additional layer of network redundancy to connect domestic and international locations for switched voice applications when international cable facilities are not available or additional capacity is needed to handle a surge in volume. Under the terms of the contract, AT&T will provide Satellite Transport services such as Fixed Satellite Service including VSAT, leased bandwidth and teleport services, and Applications Services such as distance learning with video on-demand, emergency response/continuity of operations, telemedicine, streaming video, and broadcast satellite service.

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Solutions. "AT&T's satellite expertise and services have enabled agencies affected by natural or man-made disasters to maintain uninterrupted service or rapidly recover their communications capabilities. The SATCOM-II contract is further evidence of AT&T's vast network redundancy capabilities and strong track record in disaster recovery." SATCOM-II will also require AT&T to provide agencies with Satellite Design, Engineering, and Maintenance Support services for ongoing support for the services delivered under Satellite Transport and Satellite Application Services.

AT&T has implemented satellite service offerings for several federal agencies, and services

have ranged from simple bandwidth leases to the enormous complexities of engineering and implementing survivable and protected continuity of operations facilities.

SAT-COM-II will serve as the primary replacement contract vehicle for the Satellite Services contracts. AT&T has teamed with the following companies to serve as subcontractors to AT&T on this contract: Globecomm Systems, Inc., of Hauppauge, NY; Emerging Markets Communications, Inc., of Miami, FL; Convergent Media Systems of Alpharetta, GA; Intelsat General Corporation, Bethesda, MD; Norsat International (America), Inc. of Falls Church, VA; Telesat, Inc., of Ottawa, Canada; and Eutelsat America of Washington, DC.

"Continuity of operations in a natural or man-made disaster is a top priority for federal agencies," said Don Herring, senior vice president, AT&T Government

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Business

Portable Computing

IBM SOA Partner Program Grows 200 Percent IBM announced that more than 3,600 partners have joined IBM's SOA Partner Program, which is more than triple the amount of partners enrolled at this time last year.

Depending on their level in the program, Business Partners have access to a range of software, services, tools, education marketing and sales benefits. In addition, they can benefit from Webbased sales support delivered through the PartnerWorld Industry Networks and its Virtual Innovation to help their customers with mission critical SOA projects.

IBM's success in SOA. "Our Business Partners work with us to give customers the flexibility and agility that they need when running their businesses," states Sandy Carter, Vice President of Strategy, Marketing, and Channels for IBM SOA and WebSphere. "We will continue to invest in helping our Business Partners provide new business services and strategic skills that will make customers using SOA more successful." IBM's SOA Business Catalog, also announced last year at PartnerWorld, continues to grow. The

Catalog now contains more than 3,800 IBM and Business Partner-developed SOA software assets used to solve specific business problems. More than half of these assets are from Business Partners.

IBM will continue to work with Business Partners on applying SOA to strategic, mission critical projects. As customers continue to make SOA a more critical part of their business, they will have to ensure that they plan for the scalability, reliability, and performance that they will need going forward.

Sandy Carter

Since the program was announced last year, more than 145 Business Partners have been accepted to the IBM SOA Specialty, which is the highest level where Business Partners receive the most benefits. This requires Business Partners to complete rigorous SOA technical and business requirements and align to IBM's software and strategy for SOA.

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The development of a strong and energetic Business Partner ecosystem is a key aspect of

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Business

Portable Computing

Many of our Business Partners work with IBM to provide customers with strategic insights on their growing SOA initiatives. IBM is expanding its SOA Certification portfolio with a new SOA Advanced Practitioner certification that will be available later this year.

"IBM's SOA capabilities enable us to rapidly build and integrate our composite applications into legacy applications, such as SAP or Oracle, reducing the total cost of ownership and time to value for our customers," said Raymond Blanchard, VP of Business Development, TrueDemand. "As an IBM Business Partner, we get tremendous support on education, training, and marketing from IBM that we can leverage to provide value to our joint customers. To help IBM Business Partners focus their energies on the greatest SOA opportunities, IBM is announcing a series of tools and assets targeting four SOA sweet spots.

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Business Process Management -- IBM is delivering new enablement and marketing materials including comprehensive, industry-focused sales kits and an www.portablecomputingmag.com

of service quality and lifecycle management to customers. These materials include a new whitepaper on SOA Quality Management, and a new "Tell Your Boss" kit complete with case studies and videos.

enhanced ROI Value Assessment tool to help Business Partners use SOA to maximize business process management initiatives.

Whitespace -- SOA solutions enable Business Partners to expand into new opportunities. IBM is providing new tools to reach emerging opportunities including new training classes for WebSphere Service Registry and Repository as well as enhanced marketing materials to help IBM Business Partners reach new mid-market customers. Reuse & Connectivity -- One of the most powerful ways that businesses begin to leverage SOA is by taking their existing applications and "service enabling" them. IBM is strengthening it support for Business Partners targeting these opportunities for service reuse and connectivity with new materials including a sales play around "Turning Green Screens to Gold."

Next month at IBM Impact 2007 -- IBM's first worldwide customer conference for WebSphere and SOA -- IBM with further recognize Business Partner contribution to the advancement of SOA through a set of three awards. The IMPACT Partner Solution Award will recognize the Business Partner solution that illustrates the strength of partnering with WebSphere to solve customer challenges, while delivering proven IMPACT in the marketplace. The IMPACT Innovation award will recognizes visionary Business Partners who are leading the charge in exploiting IBM SOA and WebSphere capabilities in innovative, leading-edge, exciting ways. The IMPACT SOA Process Solution award will recognizes the Business Partner are positioned as a leader in providing their customers with an effective and efficient way to get started with SOA through the 'Process" IBM SOA Entry point.

Quality & Service Lifecycle Management -- As service proliferation reaches mission critical applications and business requirements, service quality is emerging as a growing area of concern. IBM is delivering a set of materials to help Business Partners explain the importance

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Business

Portable Computing

Motorola Phones Held Not to Infringe University of Texas System Patent

Motorola, Inc. has obtained an order granting summary judgment of non-infringement in a patent case brought by the Board of Regents of the University of Texas System (“University of Texas System”). The Federal District Court for the Western District of Texas issued an order finding that certain Motorola handsets do not infringe U.S. Patent No. 4,674,112 (“the ‘112 patent”).

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Although the Court’s ruling is limited to certain Motorola products, the parties have subsequently agreed that all other accused products are subject to the same ruling. This agreement is expected to result in a complete dismissal of the case, although University of Texas System may appeal. “Motorola is extremely gratified that our belief in the non-infringement of our products has been vindicated, but we are frustrated that University of Texas System’s ambush litigation tactics have caused the parties to spend millions of dollars to reach this point,”

said Jonathan P. Meyer, senior vice president for Intellectual Property Law, Motorola, Inc. “The University waited silently for many years while Motorola and many other companies developed textentry technology for mobile phones, then claimed millions of dollars in damages only as the patent expired”, Meyer said.

Motorola will defend the Court’s ruling aggressively in the event that University of Texas System files an appeal and looks forward to a final conclusion that will free Motorola’s products from these ill-conceived allegations of infringement.

University of Texas System, represented by Michael W. Shore of the Dallas law firm of Shore Chan Bragalone, has asserted the ‘112 patent against Motorola and over 30 additional handset manufacturers. Shore has claimed that the ‘112 patent covers software used for text messaging on nearly all mobile handsets and that University of Texas System is owed hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. In rejecting Shore’s claims, the Court found that University of Texas System is trying to interpret the claims of the ‘112 patent in a manner inconsistent with what University of Texas System’s lawyers told the Patent Office in order to obtain the grant of the ‘112 patent. “Plaintiff cannot have it one way at prosecution and another way during infringement litigation”, the Court stated. www.portablecomputingmag.com

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International

Portable Computing

iscoord ag Selected for Gold Membership in Avaya DeveloperConnection Program

iscoord ag, a leading information technology consulting company, today announced it has been selected by Avaya Inc., a leading global provider of business communications applications, systems and services, for membership in the Avaya DeveloperConnection program.

iscoord is the developer of isphone, an application family that integrates softphone functionality into leading communication platforms from IBM. The iscoord solution is designed to work with Avaya SIP-based communications solutions, seamlessly integrating Internet protocol (IP) telephony into IBM Lotus Notes 6.x/7.x/8 and IBM Lotus Sametime 7.5. As a result, is-phone enables companies to have full phone functionality - including click-to-call, conferencing, presence and voice email - in their existing information technology (IT) environment without the need to invest in additional hardware.

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"The membership in Avaya's developer community will enable our customers and partners to use is-phone together with Avaya's IP communications offerings," said Markus Sieger, president & CEO of iscoord ag. "Building on Avaya resources and working more closely with Avaya to deliver compliance-tested solutions to the market, we are able to reduce network complexity, improve security and reliability, and speed time to deployment so businesses can quickly realize a benefit to their bottom line."

"With the involvement of companies like iscoord ag, our Avaya developer community has become a catalyst for rapid innovation creating multivendor applications that help enterprises around the world unleash powerful new possibilities for operating more efficiently and effectively," said David Sheldon, regional director for Avaya's DeveloperConnection Program in Europe, the Middle

East and Africa. "We help businesses embed secure, reliable Intelligent Communications into the very fabric of their organization so employees and customers have ready access to information regardless of where they are and how they prefer to communicate."

As a member of the DeveloperConnection program, companies have access to a wide range of support from Avaya, including technical resources and training. There are three levels of membership – Registered, Gold and Platinum – each entailing progressive levels of marketing and sales involvement. Free Registered membership is available to anyone interested in designing Avayacompatible solutions. Gold-level members and Platinum members must meet rigorous Avaya criteria for customer satisfaction, product support, business operations, marketing and sales. iscoord ag is a Gold member of the Avaya DeveloperConnection program.

The Avaya DeveloperConnection program promotes the development, compliance-testing and co-marketing of innovative thirdparty products that are compatible with standards-based Avaya solutions. Member organizations have expertise in a broad range of technologies – including IP telephony, contact centers and mobility applications – helping companies extend the value of multivendor networks and transform voice into an intelligent business application that delivers true value to the bottom line.

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International

Portable Computing

QUALCOMM and TELGUA Bring Wireless Connectivity to 15 Rural Schools in Guatemala QUALCOMM Incorporated, a leading developer and innovator of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA ) and other advanced wireless technologies, in partnership with TELGUA, a subsidiary of America Movil; the Guatemalan Ministry of Education; Fundacion Sergio A. Paiz Andrade (FunSEPA); and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its public-private partnerships program called Alianzas, today announced it will provide CDMA2000® 1xEV-DO service and devices, enabling high-speed wireless connectivity, to underprivileged schools in Guatemala as part of its global W i r e l e s s Reach™ initiative. This project supports the Ministry of Education's “Schools of the Future” program, which focuses on improving education through intensive teacher training, community involvement, advanced technology integration into a pedagogic model and enhanced school infrastructure. QUALCOMM and its partners will provide 17 computers with EV-DO wireless modems and training for each of the 15 rural schools within the regions of Alta Verapaz, Escuintla, Peten and San Marcos. In the coming months, the partners will continue to identify additional schools to participate in this project, with the goal of bringing the total number to 20 schools within two years.

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To celebrate the launch of this initiative, the President of Guatemala, Oscar Berger, will

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take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Escuela Los Lirios in the region of Escuintla, the first school to launch the new technology.

“We are proud to work with our partners and help support the Guatemalan government with their 'Schools of the Future' program, as we believe access to advanced wireless technology helps improve lives and education,” said Jeff Jacobs, executive vice president and president of

global development for QUALCOMM. “Our Wireless Reach initiative in Guatemala will provide much-needed education resources to help strengthen economic and social development in the region and we look forward to seeing the positive results of this partnership.” “With this donation, TELGUA once again shows its commitment to serve and benefit the general public. This is another example of our support of the Ministry of Education's policies to increase and enhance education in Guatemala,” said Enrique Castellanos, commercial and public relations director, TELGUA. “We are excited that this project will enable thousands of Guatemalan students to be exposed to advanced wireless technology.”

“A critical element of our 'Schools of the Future' program is to improve and support education in Guatemala by implementing new innovative teaching models, as well as integrating information technologies and communication into schools. This project is in line with our strategic vision for technology and education for all by the year 2012,” said Maria del Carmen Aceña, minister of education. “We are honored to count on the support of these partners to bring the latest technology and services to Guatemalan students.”

“Our partnership with QUALCOMM, USAID, the Ministry of Education and TELGUA will help make Internet access in the classroom an integral part of the teaching and learning process,” said Salvador Paiz, president and CEO, Fundacion Sergio A. Paiz Andrade. “This not only allows children to learn about the abundant tools available online, but also will help teach them to implement these tools, which will be fundamental in any profession they choose in the future.” “USAID is dedicated to supporting social investment in Guatemala, specifically in health and education, as the foundation to well-being and peace,” said Wayne Nilsestuen, USAID mission director. “We are excited to help expand access to education and technology though this partnership, furthering our commitment to the people of Guatemala.”

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International

Portable Computing

Globacom picks Alcatel-Lucent to build first 3G UMTS/HSPA network in West Africa

Alcatel-Lucent announced a contract with Globacom, Nigeria’s second national operator, to supply and install a wireless network based on UMTS/HSPA (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service/High Speed Packet Access) technology in selected Nigerian cities, including Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Benin and Ibadan. This UMTS/HSPA network, the first one in West Africa, follows last summer's successful field trial of the 3G platform on the Globacom network and will be built to provide one million more subscribers with state-of-the-art mobile broadband services. It reinforces AlcatelLucent’s worldwide leadership in mobile broadband and its leading position on the African market.

This project will enable Globacom, Africa’s fastest-growing operator, to expand the capacity of its network so it can accommodate an additional million subscribers while offering the next generation of sophisticated new services, including advanced multimedia, mobile broadband and converged services such as video call, video streaming and high-speed mobile Internet access on 3G mobile handsets, phone-to-phone and fixed-tomobile video telephony, video greeting kiosk and video mail box. Globacom also will introduce high-speed Internet and mobile data services to business and residential subscribers through USB modems and data cards.

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“We are very proud to be the first to deploy a UMTS/HSPA net-

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work in West Africa that will enable us to bring compelling new usercentric broadband services to Nigeria for the first time, thanks to Alcatel-Lucent’s unmatched prod-

Etienne Fouques

uct portfolio” said Dr. Adenuga, Globacom’s Chairman. “Through our strategic cooperation with this trusted partner, we are constantly working to introduce innovative services and build the largest and best telecommunications network in the continent.” “This agreement further proves Globacom’s confidence in our leading edge technology and our teams. Our long-standing collaboration in mobile networks is now extended to mobile broadband. This project is strategic for both companies because Africa is one of the fastest growing mobile market in the world and has huge potential,” said Etienne Fouques, President of AlcatelLucent’s carrier activities.

Fouques noted that this contract demonstrates Alcatel-Lucent’s commitment to help service providers in high-growth economies transform their services, network and business to profitably increase voice and data penetration, and enable mass-market broadband.

The agreement calls for Alcatel-Lucent to provide a turnkey solution including UMTS/HSPA radio and core network based on its IMS ready NGN (Next-Generation Network solution, along with network deployment, network and applications integration and services. Alcatel-Lucent's multi-standard radio access solution allows HSPA activation by simple software upgrade. With AlcatelLucent’s IMS-based infrastructure, Globacom will take a major step in its evolution toward an all-IP network and be able to rapidly and cost-effectively offer a wide range of new and differentiating multimedia services, while guaranteeing its subscribers end-to-end quality of service as well as optimized network performance and support.

Globacom recently awarded Alcatel-Lucent a major nationwide fixed and mobile network development and IP transformation program that aims to expand its national mobile capacity from its current 12 million subscribers to 35 million by the end of 2007. As a global leader in the development and deployment of third-generation (3G) networks, Alcatel-Lucent has deployed commercial 3G (CDMA2000 and UMTS/HSPA) systems for more than 70 operators worldwide.

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Hosting

Portable Computing

$0.99 .info Domains Offered by Free Rider Web Hosting

Free Rider Web Hosting announced it is now selling .info domains for $0.99. The domains, which usually sell for $8.95, are on sale until 18 May.

.info domains are ideal for web sites that provide information about a business's products or services, or information about a non-profit organization. The domains have been available since 2001, and since that time, more than 4 million .info domains have been registered. "Free Rider Web Hosting ran this promotion in March, and we were surprised at how popular the promotion was," said Simon Drain, CEO of Free Rider Web Hosting. "As a result, we have decided to offer the special price again. There are still a lot of .info

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domains available for registration, so customers should be able to find a suitable domain easily."

Customers who find that their preferred domain has already been taken will find Free Rider Web Hosting's Smart Search facility to be helpful. Smart Search suggests other suitable domains by using related keywords, and by adding suitable prefixes and suffixes. Customers can use Smart Search to look for available .info domains, or can widen the search and look for domains using several top level domains such as .com and .biz. “Not only have customers found Smart Search to be helpful, the service has been used by Free Rider Web Hosting staff when working on new projects. Smart Search has been invaluable when finding new domains,” said Simon Drain.

.info domains will be instantly recognized by Internet users from around the world. The word “Info” is recognized as meaning “information” in about 37 languages, so the domain is suitable for web sites that provide information to people overseas.

Free Rider Web Hosting (http://www.frwh.net) also suggests that customers consider renewing their .com and .net domains within the next few months. Many registrars will be increasing their prices in October due to increases in the fees charged by Verisign, the company that maintains the Domain Name System for .com and .net domains. Free Rider Web Hosting is suggesting the customers renew their domains for a period of several years at current prices; the increased prices will not take effect until the next renewal.

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Hosting

Portable Computing

Virtual Hosting With PureFTPd And MySQL (Incl. Quota And Bandwidth Management) On Debian Etch MySQL database instead of real system users. This document describes how to install a PureFTPd server that uses virtual users from a

This is much more performant and allows to have thousands of ftp users on a single machine. In addition to that I will show the use of quota and upload/download

bandwidth limits with this setup. Passwords will be stored encrypted as MD5 strings in the database.

Web Host Free Rider Web Hosting Offers Cut-Price .info Domains

Free Rider Web Hosting (http://www.frwh.net) is selling cut-price .info domains until 18 May 2007. .info domains are ideal for web sites that provide information about a business's products or services, or information about a non-profit organization. The domains have been available since 2001, and since that time, more than 4 million .info domains have been registered.

"Free Rider Web Hosting ran this promotion in March, and we were surprised at how popular the promotion was," said Simon Drain, CEO of Free Rider Web Hosting. "As a result, we have decided to offer the special price again. There are still a lot of .info domains available for registration, so customers should be able to find a suitable domain easily."

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Customers who find that their preferred domain has already been taken will find Free Rider

www.portablecomputingmag.com

Web Hosting's Smart Search facility to be helpful. Smart Search suggests other suitable domains by using related keywords, and by adding suitable prefixes and suffixes. Customers can use Smart Search to look for available .info domains, or can widen the search and look for domains using several top level domains such as .com and .biz.

“Not only have customers found Smart Search to be helpful, the service has been used by Free Rider Web Hosting staff when working on new projects. Smart Search has been invaluable when finding new domains,” said Simon Drain.

the domain is suitable for web sites that provide information to people overseas.

Free Rider Web Hosting also suggests that customers consider renewing their .com and .net domains within the next few months. Many registrars will be increasing their prices in October due to increases in the fees charged by Verisign, the company that maintains the Domain Name System for .com and .net domains. Free Rider Web Hosting is suggesting the customers renew their domains for a period of several years at current prices; the increased prices will not take effect until the next renewal.

.info domains will be instantly recognized by Internet users from around the world. The word “Info” is recognized as meaning “information” in about 37 languages, so

» go to Contents page

Hosting

Portable Computing Web Hosting Comparison Site Launched by Affordablehostingservice.com A new research tool available through affordablehostingservice.com provides side-by-side comparisons of Web hosting services. Visitors are invited to use this free resource to compare prices, features, overall ratings and customer service satisfaction of Web hosting services before deciding what one to purchase. Opinions and ratings are based on independent reviews.

Affordablehostingservice.com updates its site daily to include any new features the hosting companies offer and continues to be on the look out for new hosting

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companies to include. It also makes a point to review all hosting packages as to how they can support different types of Windows hosting, SQL server hosting, .net hosting, ASP hosting and cold fusion Web hosting. Only a few hosting services are capable of supporting all these formats equally well. To rank Web hosting sites in a fair manner affordablehostingservice.com has spent many hours combing various Web forums where the topic of Web hosting is being discussed, taking note of what people say about various

Web hosting services. Only hosting services with 24/7 live Phone Support and a 99.99% uptime guarantee are included. Affordablehostingservice.com also signs up for each of the companies in an anonymous manner to attain personalized experiences as part of the process.

"Our theory is that the best Web hosts will have lots of people saying positive things about them," said Charlie Huston founder of the site. "We also don't feel it's fair to judge a Web host based only on the experience of one individual or company."

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Product news

Portable Computing

SAMSUNG Unveils the Symbian OS Smartphone SGH-i400

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a leading provider of mobile phones and telecommunication systems, today showcased its latest Symbian OS smartphone SGH-i400 at S60 summit in Madrid, Spain.

The Samsung i400 is perfect for users who want to have all of the advanced features of a smartphone in a slim and stylish design. The new smartphone i400 is based on Symbian OS and S60 which offer extensive language supports, enhanced download applications and multitasking features. With Symbian S60, the Samsung i400 allows its users to install programs on their mobile phones just like PCs. The stylish slider phone supports full web browsing and Bluetooth connectivity for active business users. To enhance its multimedia features, the Samsung i400 also includes 2 Megapixel camera, music key and SGH-i400

stereo dual speaker. Moreover, the i400 has a 2.3” wide display for the convenient use of business and multimedia functions.

S.P. Yoon, Vice President of Samsung’s Telecommunications Network Business said, “We are happy to introduce our new Symbian based smartphone SGH-i400 which follows the earlier release of SGH-i520, the first Symbian OS smartphone. We can provide a convenient mobile phone experience for our users by adopting Symbian S60.” He added, “Sam-

sung is excited to present new smartphones to our customers around the world, and we will continue to reveal new models to fit our customers’ needs.” The i400 will be launched in Russia from July 2007 and to be expanded in other European countries shortly. SGH-i400 Specification

Standard: GPRS/EDGE TriBand (900/1800/1900) • Camera: 2 MP Camera

• Display: (262K Colors)

2.3” QVGA TFT

• Features:

Bluetooth 2.0 (A2DP), USB 2.0 Full Web Browsing / Web2.0 Music Key / Dual Speaker microSD (-4GB)

• Size: 101x50x15.8 mm

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• Weight: 92g www.portablecomputingmag.com

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Product news

Portable Computing

HP Drives High-performance Computing into the Mainstream with Expanded Unified Cluster Portfolio

HP announced enhancements to its Unified Cluster Portfolio to help simplify and accelerate the configuration, deployment and management of clusters for highperformance computing (HPC).

HP Cluster Platform Express, a pre-configured cluster system that offers shortened delivery times and reduced integration costs, now features HP BladeSystem c-Class servers. The servers are the ideal platform for HPC clusters because of their support for high-performance interconnects, increased processor and node support, simplified management, reduced interconnect and network complexity, high density and efficient power and cooling.

The cluster is available with up to 48 compute nodes, Intel® Xeon™ or AMD Opteron™ processors and a choice of InfiniBand or Gigabit Ethernet cluster interconnects. It also has options for a factory-installed operating system and cluster management software. In addition, HP Cluster Platform Express provides a faster and easier way to order and configure singlerack HPC cluster systems compared to traditional methods. Customers can select from a menu of popular cluster components tuned for increasingly complex HPC workloads. The components are then factory assembled to speed up delivery.

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“Over the past four years, HP has built a cluster ecosystem that

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brings many of the pieces for a full clustering environment together and is driving HPC cluster computing further into the mainstream, as shown by their growing market share and market leadership in 2006,” said Earl Joseph, program vice president, High Performance Computing, IDC. “Their new additions to the Unified Cluster Portfolio should be useful to HPC buyers that are looking for complete and easy-to-install solutions.” New tools expand program

To further expand its Unified Cluster Portfolio program, HP has created an extensive set of tools to simplify and automate the configuration, integration and verification of clusters. The tools will be offered to customers, certified channel partners and independent software vendors so they can benefit from HP’s investments and experience to quickly deliver and support high-quality cluster systems.

tion to customers purchasing a cluster through the program.

Launched in 2004, the HP Unified Cluster Portfolio includes a broad set of industry-standard hardware and software that helps HP and its partners address virtually any HPC problem, large or small. These building blocks are part of the HP Cluster Platform architecture that includes simplified packaging and wiring, compatibility matrices and automated verification and configuration tools.

The architecture includes HP ProLiant and Integrity servers based on AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon and Itanium® 2 processors. It offers a wide variety of cluster interconnects, including Ethernet and InfiniBand, and support for Microsoft Windows®, Linux and UNIX® operating systems. It also offers a broad selection of cluster management and grid software products.

“For years, Matrix Integration has been using HP Cluster Platform Express for configuring and ordering cluster systems,” said Chad Williams, public sector manager, Matrix Integration. “HP enables us to deliver the most accurate, current and best possible solutions in a timely manner. The addition of HP BladeSystem cClass servers to the program is ideal for our HPC customers.” In support of the expanded HP Cluster Platform Express program, Platform Computing is extending its offer for a free 90-day trial of LSF CAE Edi-

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Product news

Portable Computing

Avocent Announces New USB Virtual Media Extension Capability over IP

Avocent Corporation announ ced new product updates for the Emerge ECMS2000U, a small form factor digital workstation extension product for users on Gigabit Ethernet networks. With the ECMS2000, it is possible to back-rack broadcast quality servers without impact to post-production operations. The product delivers high resolution digital and analog video, rich color depth, uncompromised responsiveness, CD quality audio, and is compatible with a wide range of user interface devices, consistent with

demonstrations of a new desktop mode that enables an ECMS2000 user station to access any computer node based upon login credentials.

the needs of today’s digital content creation professionals in the broadcast post-production and editing environments. The new functionality includes extension of USB mass storage devices, such as thumb drives. In addition, at NAB2007, Avocent will conduct technology

“We are pleased to announce the new expanded features for the ECMS2000U digital workstation extender,” said Mitch Friend, senior vice president and general manager of Avocent. “Offering DVI and USB over IP demonstrates Avocent’s continued innovation and leadership in the broadcast market.”

Motorola launches Jay Chou Limited-Edition MOTOROKR E6

Motorola, Inc. launched a special MOTOROKR E6 Jay Chou edition and its first ever Moto x Eric So Jay Chou action figure. These initiatives underscore Motorola’s continuous endeavor in the creation of a unique mobile entertainment experience and innovation in co-marketing.

MOTOROKR E6 Jay Chou edition is the first ever handset inspired by Jay, while Moto x Eric So Jay Chou action figure is the first ever action figure designed by the famous toy designer Eric So. With limited quantities for both MOTOROKR E6 Jay Chou edition and Moto x Eric So Jay Chou action figure, fans and collectors better act fast!

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Embossed with orange edges and engraved with the JC logo –MOTOROKR E6 Jay Chou edi-

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tion is a must have for Hong Kong’s mobile smart mob. The edition comes with a Jay’s lanyard, a stylish pouch, a 1GB SD Card and the exclusive Jay Chou’s ringtone and wallpapers.

Collectors have even more to look forward to – the first ever limited-edition Moto x Eric So Jay Chou action figure is the latest creation by Eric So. Eric So is very well-known amongst young adults and action figure collectors in Asia Pacific. Some of his works include featuring top celebrities such as Michael Jordan, Bruce Lee and Chow Yun Fat. The figure shows Jay Chou posed in a casual outfit holding a miniature MOTOROKR E6 signifying the PDA handset as his indispensable sidekick. Moto x Eric So Jay Chou action figure is a perfect rendition of Jay in mind, body and soul.

screen that allows users complete access to any of the handsets functions in seconds, and equipped with a 2.0 megapixel camera, 3.5mm stereo headphone jack and dedicated music keys, MOTOROKR E6 Jay Chou edition evokes a true multimedia style.

MOTOROKR E6 Jay Chou edition is one of the thinnest entertainment PDA handsets measuring at a mere 14.5mm thick. With a super-sized 2.4” Touch Window®

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Product Spotlight

Portable Computing

Fusiv Vx180 - Fastest Integrated VDSL2 Gateway Processor

The Fusiv(R) Vx180 is the fastest integrated VDSL2 gateway processor. The Vx180 single chip, multi-mode VDSL2 gateway processor provides 2.7 GHz of processing power, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), multi-mode DSL and security, while supporting bestin-class Quality of Service (QoS) and wire speed performance.

Residential gateways are no longer considered a simple broadband access device. As quadrupleplay services become more prevalent in today's households, subscribers will need residential gateways that can handle the different QoS requirements for voice, data and video, while maintaining the security of the subscribers' home network.

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The Vx180 is designed to enable the development of a high performance, integrated residential gateway platform for multi-play applications. The Vx180 reduces space and power requirements by combining Ikanos' industry leading VDSL2 customer premises equipment (CPE) PHY and its widely deployed Fusiv network processor architecture onto a single chip. Ikanos' field-proven physical layer technology supports VDSL2, ADSL2+, ADSL2, ADSL and VDSL standards, and supports IPTV and triple-play optimized features such as Dynamic Rate Repartitioning (DRR) and Seamless Rate Adaptation (SRA), which are expected to be incorporated into future standards enhancements. The Vx180 also supports maximum interleaver and deinterleaver memory for high levels of Impulse Noise Protection, as well as on-chip Quality of Service (QoS) and wire speed performance, all of which is intended to enable optimum viewing experience.

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The Vx180:

1. Supports all VDSL2 profiles - 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, 12a, 12b, 17a and 30a as well as VDSL, ADSL2+, ADSL2 and ADSL standards, and is optimized for 17.6 and 30 MHz spectrums;

2. Supports all mandatory and optional features of VDSL2, as well as all band plans that are defined by Asian, European and North American standards groups; 3. Provides 2.7 GHz of processing power in order to support CPU-intensive features, like 802.11n, and still have additional processing power for current and future applications;

4. Achieves wire speed performance across all local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN) interfaces using Ikanos' unique Accelerator Processor architecture; 5. Offers a rich set of integrated peripherals and interfaces that easily integrate with home networking technologies, like 802.11n, MoCA(TM) and HomePNA(TM);

6. Enables IPSec and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) VPN implementation using on-chip cryptographic engines; and * Delivers comprehensive support for VoIP with a deployment-proven integrated Digital Signal Processor (DSP).

The Fusiv Vx180 chipset combines the highest level of performance, integration and flexibility, which allows us to meet the demanding requirements for next generation residential gateways. With these advanced features, the residential gateways will have a distinct advantage in the marketplace.

The suite of Vx180 support software includes operating system independent drivers for Ethernet, xDSL and integrated peripherals. The Linuxbased software includes a networking stack, voice processing and network management functions, making it possible for system vendors to quickly develop residential gateways. The price/performance and power of the Vx180 combine to give service providers an economical and effortless means to deploy high performance, feature-rich residential gateways into high density applications.

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Product Spotlight

Portable Computing

Handycam HDR-CX7 - Smallest AVCHD High-Definition Camcorder

The new Handycam HDRCX7 model is the world's smallest and lightest AVCHD high-definition camcorder. It can record nearly three hours of full HD 1080 video on an 8-GB Memory Stick PRO Duo(TM) media card (LP mode). Weighing just 15 ounces with the supplied battery, it provides ultra-portability as well as a virtually crash-proof recording system, instant archiving to Memory Stick PRO Duo(TM) media (sold separately), and effortless connection to a PC via USB for editing and back-up.

The new camcorder debut enhanced functions for easy browsing and searching on their high-resolution, 2.7-inch Clear Photo LCD Plus(TM) screens. Users can swiftly find scenes via the new film roll button to view footage as a film roll index, which displays multiple scenes as thumbnails within a single movie file. Sony also integrated new face index technology so you can also access specific scenes by familiar faces. For more advanced searching on a compatible PC, you can use the camcorders' bundled Picture Motion Browser(TM) software to access the highlight index. It incorporates a search engine for voices and colors as well as faces so you can quickly get to the

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Handycam HDR-CX7

scenes you want to watch.

The new model incorporate ClearVid(TM) CMOS sensor technology for stunning detail and clarity. Combined with the Enhanced Imaging Processor(TM) technology, these models deliver the advantages of high resolution, high sensitivity with low noise, and virtually smear-free pictures.

The HDR-CX7 model utilize 3megapixel sensor for full HD 1080 video and 6-megapixel digital still photos. They are also equipped with Super SteadyShot(R) optical image stabilization to produce smooth video results, as well as virtually blur-free photos. The HDRSR5 model integrates a 2-megapixel sensor for full HD 1080 video and produces a 4-megapixel photo. The new model support the AVCHD camcorder recording format based on the MPEG-4 Handycam HDR-CX7

AVC/H.264 codec for video compression and Dolby(R) digital audio. In addition to high-quality video, they provide an exceptional audio experience with built-in Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound recording.

The new high-definition camcorder allow for quick data transfer from the camcorder to a compatible PC for editing, back-up and playback. Although bundled with software for simple editing, these camcorders are also compatible with the new Vegas Movie Studio Platinum Edition 7.0e software update, as well as Vegas Movie Studio Platinum Edition software for more advanced editors. The model supplied Handycam Stations include a One Touch Disc Burn button for easy DVD creation using a PC and the bundled software. These stations now feature HD component output for instant connection to a compatible HDTV set when the camcorders are cradled.

The HDR-CX7 unit's Memory Stick PRO Duo or Memory Stick PRO HG(TM) media cards, featuring high data transfer rates, can also be played back directly on compatible PCs and PS3 by system software update.

www.portablecomputingmag.com

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Security

Portable Computing

Proventia Desktop firewall stymies malware

In the days of overcomplicated security tools, it's satisfying to review a feature-rich product that intentionally keeps it simple. Internet Security Systems (ISS) Proventia Desktop (also known as IBM Proventia Desktop Endpoint Protection) offers a host-based firewall core supplemented by anti-virus, anti-malware, buffer overflow exploit protection, intrusion prevention, and it can function as a Cisco Network Admission Control agent. I was eager to test version 9.0.226.0, released after the IBM buyout of ISS, to see how the product is holding out against the competition.

Setup made simple

Installation of Proventia Desktop was simple and quick -- so quick that I almost didn't even know it installed. The only clue was a new status bar icon in the desktop tray. Clicking on the tray icon pulls up the user interface.

The UI has 7 tabs with a handful of configuration options on each. Interface options were clearly labeled, readily understandable in most cases without any additional reading. If you need more help, just click on the Help button provided on each configuration screen. There were a few minor bugs in the interface, but none that I couldn't immediately figure out.

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The firewall comes with four defining Protection Levels carried over from the product's BlackICE origins: Paranoid, to block all unsolicited inbound traffic; Nervous, to block most unsolicited inbound traffic; Cautious, to block some unsolicited inbound traffic; and Trusting, which allows all inbound traffic.

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The default setting is Nervous. It allows Internet and Windows NetBIOS sharing by default, but disabling each setting is as easy as removing the check mark. You can configure visual and audio indications for blocked traffic as well as get a visual indication when the service is stopped.

All host-based firewalls are subject to unauthorized stops in the firewall service. Typically, this is done accidentally by any user with administrative permissions and privileges or maliciously by a buffer overflow or executed malware program. Proventia Desktop protects itself from both: It prevents unauthorized changes to agent files and service shutdowns, asking for a password before the agent can be reconfigured or disabled. Additionally, the administrator can choose for all network traffic, inbound and outbound, to be blocked if the agent is stopped (i.e. fail secure). The firewall's exception rules are standard. You can block by port or all ports, IP protocol number (UDP, TCP, etc.), IP address, or traffic direction (inbound, outbound, or both), and you can choose to accept or reject particular traffic. One interesting twist is the ability to set the future duration of the rule by hour, day, month, or forever, which is the default.

You should enable outbound Application Control, which is not turned on by default. You can choose the default behavior -- let it connect, prompt before allowing, prevent connection, or terminate

application -- to implement when an unknown or modified application attempts to connect to the network. These same options are used in defining firewall rules, and you may define additional known applications along with the assigned behavior.

To definite an application, you use a path statement or MD5 hash value. Path statements can use system variables and the normal wildcard characters. Many host-based firewalls allow you to block applications, but Proventia Desktop also allows you to terminate the offending program, a setting that could be useful in putting down unauthorized programs and malware.

Unfortunately, over 180 default exceptions are automatically allowed out even when Application Control is enabled. These include many programs that use network services to communicate out, default Windows applications (such as explorer.exe, rdpclip.exe), and various antivirus vendor files. Direct network connections to these excepted applications can be blocked, but if another process attempts to communicate on the network by using an API hook or call into the same application, that application will be able to use the network through that application regardless of the setting in Application Control. This can be used by malware to bypass the firewall. (Users can examine the default exceptions stored as a commadelimited file stored in the Proventia home directory.) It would be nice if ISS listed the default exceptions in the GUI and also allowed these exceptions to be easily removed.

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Security

Portable Computing

Vertical Communications has rolled a telephone, router, firewall and wireless access point into a single package

Voice-over-IP (VoIP) phones offer plenty of attractive options for small businesses, but they also represent a headache for IT departments that have to work them in with existing networks. Vertical Communications is trying to change that with the Xcelerator IP phone it introduced on Monday, a telephone, router, firewall and wireless access point in one package. The company claims the Xcelerator IP is easier to set up and maintain than a traditional VoIP system, and cheaper than buying

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a separate device to perform every one of its functions separately.

As a wide area network, it can support up to eight VoIP SIP trunk connections via a single WAN/RJ45 port and three FXO PSTN trunk connections. As a local area network, it includes one FXS port, four 10/100 ethernet ports, and an integrated 802.11g wireless access point. The phone itself is designed

for business use, and comes with four dedicated line buttons, four soft buttons for different call-handling functions, and a large LCD that displays call status. The integrated voicemail can record up to four hours, and given an analog phone connection, the Xcelerator IP will automatically fall back to it for 911 calls or in the event of power failure.

The Xcelerator IP is available immediately, but no price was mentioned on the product Web page or in the accompanying press release.

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Tech News

Portable Computing

Spammers use new technique to evade filters

Spammers have stepped up efforts to use encrypted attachments to evade filtering systems, service provider Email Systems has reported. Free IT resource

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The technique relies on the fact that many spam systems can't scan inside e-mails containing encrypted or password-protected attachment, and work out that they are not legitimate. Without a rule to block such attachments, most systems will pass on the e-mail to recipients, handing spammers an important victory in the battle to get spam through.

Greg Miller of Email Systems. The company had quarantined hundreds of thousands of copies of attachment spam, up from levels a tenth this volume some months ago.

In recent weeks, Email Systems detected a small but steady stream of such spam emanating from bot-compromised hosts, containing a zipped-up version of the pervasive 'Storm' bot-loading Trojan that plagued Internet users in January. Recipients would have been able to inadvertently unzip the Trojan using an embedded password, after being attracted by a number of eye-catching subject lines, including 'Worm Detected!', 'Virus Detected!', 'Spyware Alert!' and 'Warning!'

Although the technique has been around for some months, spammers appear to be stepping up their attempts to use it, said

"We have moved on from spam being just a guy sending out huge amounts of spam," said Miller. The vast bulk of spam was now automated via bots, and this made finding new infection methods even more critical to the spam economy. "Every six months or so we see a new attack that is very successful," he said. As anti-spam systems adapted to popular techniques such as image spam, criminals were having to look further to engineer spam stealthiness.

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The easiest means of detecting the current encrypted file attacks would be the attachment's filesize, 77KB, but this could be varied in future attacks quite easily. The best approach was simply to disallow encrypted e-mails to pass through the system at all. www.portablecomputingmag.com

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Tech News

Portable Computing

Typology of Information Communication Technology Users U.S. adults fall into 10 attitudinal groups regarding the information and communication technology (ICT) each person uses. That's according to "A Typology of Information and Communication Technology Users," a report released by Pew Internet & American Life Project.

The report finds 85 percent of American adults use the Internet, a cell phone, or both. Those who "exploit the connectivity, the capacity for self expression, and the interactivity of modern information technology" comprise 8 percent of American adults, while half of adults maintain a more distant relationship with ICT. Ten distinct groups emerge in study's findings. Four groups embrace technology or find it takes up a large part of their lives. Eighty percent of these four groups combined have high-speed Internet access at home, twice the national average.

A group classified as "omnivores" comprises 8 percent of American adults. They have an appetite for gadgets and services, and are more likely to participate in Web 2.0 activities. They're 70 percent male, and 53 percent of them are between 18 and 29 years old.

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"We found a younger, technology-oriented group, the group loves technology and is using it as a platform for creativity," said John Horrigan, associate director for research at Pew Internet & American Life Project.

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Connectors (7 percent) frequently use the Internet and feature-packed cell phones to connect to people and keep on top of digital content. Connectors are 55 percent female; 54 percent are between 30 and 49. In addition to managing career and family, ICT devices aid this group in work with community groups and the pursuit of hobbies.

The group classified as "lackluster veterans" (8 percent) is jaded after an average 10 years online. This group is 65 percent male, and predominantly (51 percent) between 30 and 49 years old. While lackluster veterans are frequent users of the Web, and cell phones to a lesser degree, they don't se ICT as a tool to enhance productivity. The group has "come to a well-learned sense of how they feel about information technology," said Horrigan.

Productivity enhancers (8 percent) maintain strongly positive views about the use of technology to enhance their work and social lives. Productivity enhancers are evenly split between male and female, falling predominantly in the 30 to 49 year-old age group (51 percent).

The remaining 49 percent of American adults fall into low-tech groups. Only 14 percent of the segment has a broadband connection at home. Another group is "off the network" (15 percent), unconnected by Web or cell phone. The "off the grid" population is predominantly female (57 percent) with a median age of 64; 50 percent are 65 or older. Three additional groups include the "inexperienced experimenters" (8 percent); "light but satisfied" (15 percent); and "indifferents" (11 percent). These three groups combined have a median age range between 47 and 53. The findings were based on a daily tracking survey on Americans' use of the Internet. Telephone interviews of 4,001 adults age 18 and older were conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International between February and April of 2006.

The middle-range of connected individuals are classified as "mobile centrics" (10 percent), and the "connected but hassled" (10 percent). The mobile group has slightly more men (52 percent), and skews younger than other groups; 40 percent are between 18 and 29. The connected but hassled segment is 59 percent female, most of the group is between 30 and 49 (45 percent).

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REVIEW Main Features:

This notebook uses a fast Core 2 Duo Intel CPU

Other Info:

It also features the NVIDIA GeForce 7950FTX graphics chipset

Price - $

2,599

V E R D I C T This is a fast notebook, even for gamers 2.33GHz is the highest CPU speed for this model

Portable Computing

ABS Mayhem Z5 Notebook

When desktop computers were first introduced, they were quite heavy in weight and anchored to a desk. In the 90’s, notebook systems were introduced and it offered an avenue where users could take the computer with them wherever they roamed. As with their desktop counterparts, laptops have evolved with better performance and are also quite a bit lighter. The release of dual core CPU’s have amazingly turned up the speed of games and business applications. The ABS Computer Technologies Mayhem Z5 Notebook with its Core 2 Duo processor is quite impressive and it wins our Editor’s Choice Award for functionality and performance.

company also offers additional upgrades that can bring both NTSC and HDTV video signals that can be viewed on the screen. You can connect the notebook with a surmounting number of peripheral devices with the system’s four total high speed USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire-400 interface. The computer sports a 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet port to connect with a gigabyte speed network. The unit’s 802.11-a/b/g compliant interface works with

There are several different Intel chips that can be ordered with the Mayhem Z5 system, which starts out with the 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7200 CPU that includes 4MB of shared Level 2 cache. Users can upgrade this to a maximum 2.33GHz T7600 Core 2 Duo processor as well. Both systems come with 1GB of DDR2 SDRAM although you can bump that

Easy % - 95

Value % - 95

Support % - 95 Overall % - 95

www.abs.com

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up to a maximum of 2GB. The standard unit also comes with 5400-RPM 120GB hard drive that is built with 8MB cache. Owners will have the ability to burn their favorite music or movies with the laptop’s 8X DVD+/-RW optical drive. One of the most popular graphic chipsets is used with the ABS Computer Technologies Mayhem Z5 Notebook, which is NVIDIA’s GeForce 7950FTX with 512MB of video RAM. It provides for a maximum WUXGA 1920x1200 resolution on the 17-inch widescreen display. We the think you’ll like to color vibrancy and the ability to discern even Windows small fonts at this setting and it performs quite well with many of the popular graphicsintensive video games sold today. There is also no need to purchase a webcam, as the company furnishes a 1.3-megapixel unit that is located above the display. The

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the vast majority of wireless routers and access points on the market. Dialup services are also accessible through the laptop’s built-in 56K fax-modem. Microsoft’s Windows Vista Home Premium is the operating system of choice that is installed on the system’s hard drive prior to shipping. If your shopping around for a new notebook, then check out the ABS Computer Technologies Mayhem Z5 Notebook with its lightening quick Core 2 Duo processor. The starting cost of this system is around $2,599 and you’ll find more information on the company’s web site that is located at www.abs.com.

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REVIEW Main Features:

It can handle 20-times the duress of plastic notebook cases

Other Info:

You can load it with 2GB of memory if needed

Price - $

1,350

V E R D I C T It is one tough business-class computer You may wish a larger hard drive with this system

Portable Computing

Twinhead Durabook N15R Notebook

If you’re on of those individuals that are often traveling or have a job that requires you to work in outdoor conditions, then you’re well aware of the dangers that a normal notebook computer could encounter especially in certain conditions. Most notebook systems that we’ve reviewed could survive small jostles and certain elements however many could be damaged quite easily. The Twinhead Durabook N15RI Notebook was specifically built to withstand the out of the ordinary situations and this system wins our Editor’s Choice Award for toughness and value.

audio chipset anchored in the motherboard. You can also use several different peripheral devices with the computer through three high speed USB 2.0 ports. The laptop includes a 56K internal fax-model if you’re required to hook up to the internet through dial-up services however broadband

When you’re a computer manufacturer and you wish to sell the system to military users, you must receive the toughto-get MIL-STD-810F certification. The Durabook N15RI has received this rating which means that it is able to withstand outdoor elements such as wind, rain, dust and other elements that could render other systems useless.

Easy % - 95

Value % - 100

Support % - 95 Overall % - 97

www.twinhead.com

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Inside the Durabook N15RI notebook is a 1.73GHz Pentium M740 processor with 2MB of Level 2 cache although another model uses Intel Centrino technology. These laptops normally ship with 512MB of DDR SDRAM but with two chip sockets you can place a maximum 2GB of memory at an additional charge. You’ll have plenty of space for your applications and data with the unit’s 5400-RPM 80GB hard drive. You can burn your favorite media with the computer’s internal DVD+/-RW optical drive that includes dual layer support. The Twinhead Durabook N15RI notebook sports a 15.1-inch diagonal LCD display that has a maximum native resolution of 1024x768. Windows small fonts were quite readable at this resolution and our color comparison tests met our expectations. The company uses Intel’s Graphics Media Accelerator 900 chipset, with 128MB of shared video memory, provides the necessary speed for business applications. Stereo speakers are located on each side of the notebook and are powered by a SoundBlaster-compatible

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users can use the 802.11-a/b/g wireless interface or a 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet port for a faster service. A 2200mAh battery should provide users with around three hours of standalone power before you need to recharge the battery. Twinhead also preloads Microsoft’s Windows XP Home Edition on the laptop prior to shipping along with a few utilities. If you’re looking for a tough computer that is quite durable and can handle a certain amount of outdoors roughness will want to check out the Twinhead Durabook N15RI Notebook that has an approximate price of $1,350. You can find out more about this system by visiting the company’s web site that is located at www.twinhead.com.

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REVIEW Main Features:

An affordable GPS device for any traveler

Other Info:

It contains maps for the entire US and Canada

Price - $

200

Portable Computing

Jensen NVX227 Portable Navigation System

Traveling salesperson and other road warriors throughout the years became dependent on one or more maps to reference during their various mobile excursions. The problem with maps is that they often failed to indicate the changes that occurred to any road or location since the date it was published. They also couldn’t provide you with alternative directions if you encountered such an obstruction. GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) devices have become quite affordable for the average user and with the proper mapping software can provide pinpoint

ahead feature it automatically repositions street names based on the letters that you’ve already entered into the device. Users can select driving modes that will take you through the shortest or faster route to the location depending on the one you wish to use. The company uses iGo’s mapping software for the driving directions with all of the necessary data housed on a Secure Digital memory card that inserts into the GPS unit. The maps can be used for all travels throughout the United States and includes Canadian maps as well.

routes to your final destination. Jensen, a division of Audiovox, manufactures the inexpensive NVX227 Portable Navigation System that can provide accurate driving instructions and it receives our Editor’s Choice Award for effectiveness and price.

When you’re ready get going on the road, you’ll receive voice-prompted directions that will indicate and turns that are necessary to reach your destination point. You can also refer to the display screen, which provides a wider view on your current location. If you happen to go off the planned route, the device easily reconfigures the directions accordingly. Since the NVX227 is intended for use in your automobile the package contains a cigarette lighter power unit that can be used during your travels.

V E R D I C T Excellent voice-prompted driving directions for the road The suction-cup stand may be too big for some folks

Easy % - 95

Value % - 95

Support % - 95 Overall % - 95

www.audiovox.com

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The NVX227 is a standalone GPS that is intended for use by the car’s driver using a suction cup-based unit that attaches to your windshield. It provides a more than average 3.5-inch diagonal color LCD touchscreen that is quite easy to read when driving. There are other controls located around the screen that are used to turn the unit off and on, a waypoint marker, four directional buttons that can be used to move the map accordingly, a zoom button and another that brings the menu system up on the touchscreen. The Jensen NVX227 Portable Navigation System makes it quite easy to enter your beginning and ending points of any trip through touchscreen typing. With a type-

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If you’re looking for a useable GPS system for your car then check out the Jensen NVX227 Portable Navigation System that can be found on the internet from several resellers for approximately $200. More information and technical specifications are available for this device at www.audiovox.com.

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REVIEW Main Features:

Send and receive corporate information using any platform free device

Other Info:

It uses email as a vehicle to transport data requests and responses

Price - Starts at $

60/user

Portable Computing

ClairMail ClairAccess 2.2

Most employees of any sized business have a method of accessing data that is available through various applications, database systems, streaming data products and other sources. Within the walls of you company, you’ll usually find the necessary equipment to peruse the information however in many cases, this can change depending on the source of the data. Employees that travel often use mobile devices and laptops to access the information but this can be a challenge depending on the location, the communication equipment used and whether a VPN (virtual private network) is available.

zations will find ClairAccess so effective is that it has no limitations on the type of equipment used to receive the information or the operating system that it uses. The only requirement is that users be able to access an email program that can send and receive messages from their location whether it is through a cellular or internetbased service provider. Users can even use a dialup service for the messaging as long as the slower speed is acceptable.

ClairMail has developed a unique answer to this particular business challenge with the platform-free and very mobile ClairAccess 2.2 solution that wins our Editor’s Choice Award for performance and ease of operation.

addresses that are setup by an administrator. Once the service or appliance receives the email it goes out and collects the data according to policy. You can further limit the number if records returned by using the email’s subject line to limit the information as a filter in the same manner as a standard query language (SQL) WHERE clause. Once the dataset is returned, the information is returned the same email that requested the information.

V E R D I C T

ClairMail’s ClairAccess 2.2 works on the premise that certain data requests on the server-side are tied into separate email

It's a powerful product to fill data requests regardless of equipment. No negative comments

Easy % - 100

Value % - 100

Support % - 100 Overall % - 100

www.clairmail.com

ClairAccess 2.2 is available through two different ClairMail product offerings. Larger enterprise-level corporations will likely want to consider the purchase of the company’s 1U rack-mountable appliance although those with less of a demand should look into ClairAccess as a service that utilizes ClairMail’s servers. The same type of functionality is available with each solution which has been geared towards those involved in financial, credit card or stock market related industries. Considering the flexibility and effectiveness of this product, we think it could be used very successful with several other business types as well.

Make your corporate data available quickly and on any device that can send and receive email using ClairMail’s ClairAccess 2.2 appliance or service. The solution has an affordable price that starts out at approximately $60 per user. More information is available on the company’s web site at www.clairmail.com.

One reason why many business organi-

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People

Portable Computing

Former Serena Executive Joins OpenMake Software Management Team

Mark Manzo, VP of Sales, to lead sales and distribution expansion for Meister enterprise-class build automation

CHICAGO, IL–May 8, 2007–Today, OpenMake Software welcomed former Serena executive Mark Manzo as senior vice president of Sales. OpenMake Software is revolutionizing the build-torelease management process for organizations of all sizes, adding new products and enhancing sales capabilities. To ensure the company’s success, Mark is responsible for expanding OpenMake’s sales and distribution efforts.

“Mark joins OpenMake at a critical time as Meister is being embraced by enterprise-class users. Building upon OpenMake’s strong technical alliances, Mark will lead expansion of our direct sales and international reseller support organizations,” stated Stephen J. King, CEO of OpenMake Software. Mark, with more than 20 years of experience in software-build technology, held executive positions with Serena, Merant, STEP Technology and Vermont Creative Software. At Intersolv/Polytron— creators of PVCS—he established an inside sales organization and strengthened distribution channel efforts. Working with key industry software-development technology providers, Mark forged strategic alliances within diverse group of companies such as Microsoft, IBM, SAP, Oracle, Remedy, Borland, Merant and Serena.

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In the last quarter, OpenMake has expanded its industry-leading product offerings by introducing OpenMake Meister build services, used for dynamically defining and executing software builds, and OpenMake Mojo, a cost-free build-to-release process automa-

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tion tool for software developers. These OpenMake offerings help teams deliver maximum protection from failed software releases by providing improved buildprocess traceability, impact analysis and audit control through superior compile and dependency management and reporting.

Services provides a layer of virtualization from ad-hoc scripting, enabling build best practices and build project management. In addition, Meister extends the OpenMake Mojo build-process automation solution by going beyond simple workflow management and process automation to support software construction in more than 200 languages and environments. Mark Manzo

Mark Manzo

As audit requirements and impact-analysis requirements grow, speed-to-market is still critical to the software development process. To address the increasingly complex environment IT organizations encounter, OpenMake is enhancing relationships with the business enterprise through expanded direct-sales support, enhanced professional services, and expanded reseller and distributor programs for North America and overseas geographies. Mark contributes key experience and leadership as OpenMake grows to better serve these business relationships. About OpenMake Meister and Mojo

OpenMake Meister is an innovative seventh-generation build-torelease management solution and community-developed build-torelease knowledgebase. Through its innovative Build Services and Build Forensics features, Meister links development efforts to production results while reducing script redundancies and build errors. Build

With more than 20 years of software sales and marketing experience in the IT industry, Mark Manzo was most recently senior director of North American Partner Sales for Serena Software where his turnaround expertise helped increase year-over-year license revenue more than 40 percent. Adept at program design and restructuring, Mark has established and propelled effective business partnership programs for several software development industry leaders. Mark has promoted and managed award-winning strategic business alliances between some of software’s most diverse companies, including Microsoft, IBM, SAP, Mercury, Remedy BMC, Merant, Serena and Accenture. While working with Microsoft, he was a key member of two Microsoft Partner Advisory councils. Mark’s early career included directing marketing and sales for industry pioneer Vermont Creative Software, and sales management for PVCS creator Polytron/Intersolv. A graduate of the University of Colorado, Mark has been recognized by the Portland Business Journal as a “Forty under 40” business leader. More information can be located at www.openmakesoftware.com.

Keywords: software development, configuration management, application deployment

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Voip

Portable Computing

Advances in VoIP and Feature-Rich Options Drive the Growth of Global Audio Conferencing Bridge Systems Markets

The Global audio conferencing bridge systems market has made significant strides in the last year, driven primarily by the increasing prevalence of audio conferencing, uptake of advanced collaboration features and additional growth in the emerging markets and the enterprise arena. There is a renewed focus on enhancing audio conference bridges to better meet the needs of both service providers and enterprise vendors. This focus has led to innovative and exciting new offerings of audio conference bridge systems.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an overview of the latest analysis of the World Audio Conferencing Bridge Systems Markets, then send an e-mail to Tracy Henderson, Corporate Communications, at [email protected] with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.

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"One of the key trends driving the audio conferencing bridge systems markets is the move towards Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), driven by the promise of cost savings and the ability to integrate it into other applications," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Doreen Natukunda. "The enterprise market is increasingly embracing VoIP, and as a result, there is growing demand from new clients looking to purchase audio conferencing bridge products and services."

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With VoIP gaining traction, more and more organizations continue to replace their voice conferencing infrastructure with VoIP to utilize the additional bandwidth to carry audio conferencing bridge systems. The move toward VoIP is expected to continue throughout the business market and reach a mature market cycle in the next 5-7 years.

However, competition continues from other market participants vying to pocket a slice of the audio conferencing bridge customer base. The convergence of collaboration tools means that there exist many more options that employ voice as part of the applications offered to customers. For the business community, this provides more choice, but for the audio conferencing bridge systems manufacturers, this means lower price per port options. "As competition continues to increase among the different segments of voice conferencing markets, it is imperative that vendors for both service providers and enterprise vendors continue to expand their features and services in their respective markets," says Natukunda. "For this reason, superior features, services, and partnerships to go along with the audio conferencing bridge applications will strengthen vendors in this market."

Going forward, audio conferencing bridge systems makers must continuously strive to make the use of bridges as effortless as possible with maximum efficiency, ease-of-use and intuitive features. This will enable the promotion of additional call usage, ultimately translating to time and cost savings for information technology managers.

World Audio Conferencing Bridge Systems Markets is part of the Conferencing and Collaboration Subscription, which also includes research in the following markets: video conferencing, web conferencing, unified communications, and audio conferencing. All research included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews with the press are available.

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective, and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics.

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Voip

Portable Computing

NewCross Technologies Secures VoIP Industry Experts to Lead Company NewCross Technologies, dedicated to delivering wholesale-only hosted VoIP solutions to service providers and resellers, welcomes three of the industry's leading talent in telecommunications to assume the company's helm. The company announces new chairman and chief executive officer, Stanley P. Hanks; chief operating officer, Steven Owens; and executive vice president of sales and marketing, Iain Rae.

CEO Hanks, who brings significant Internet technology and telecommunications experience to NewCross Technologies, will lead corporate strategy and operations. Concurrent with his new appointment, Hanks, who has led start-up efforts for Enron Broadband, Genuity and MFS Datanet, will also continue to serve as Chief Telecom Strategist for Columbia Ventures Corporation.

tions where he served as Vice President of Carrier Sales and brings extensive management expertise in sales, marketing and operations. His tenure there earned the company "Best Carrier Sales Force" by Atlantic ACM for 2003-2005. Rae's multi-level background also includes technical experience with mobile, CLEC, data, voice, IP communications and operations.

NewCross Technologies is dedicated to delivering wholesale-only hosted VoIP solutions for the optimum in quality, reliability and cost efficiency. Using its proprietary Service Manager platform, a sophisticated and robust state-of-the art softswitch with over 86,000 hours of continuous

operation and true 99.999% reliability, NewCross offers a comprehensive suite of VoIP and hosted communications services that allow its customers to rapidly go to market and maintain their competitive edge. By outsourcing VoIP operations to NewCross, its customers can respond to new opportunities and focus on growing their business.

COO Owens, who previously led EdgeNet Communications and OmniCon Technology, is responsible for providing additional vision and day-to-day leadership for NewCross' technology execution. Owens pioneered the design and development of early VoIP networks and specializes in next generation switching products.

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Executive Vice President Rae brings extensive management expertise in sales, marketing and operations and most recently worked with Wiltel Communica-

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Voip

Portable Computing

Skype extends to the handset

Using the internet to make voice calls can be a great way to slash phone bills but for some being tethered to a computer remains a cumbersome way to talk cheap.

require less hardware than voice over internet protocol (VoIP) networks, that are usually offered by broadband internet providers such as TPG and iiNet in Australia.

However, there is a growing range of products that lets users make and receive voice calls on internet phone services like Skype on conventional handsets.

Most users prefer to use a headset when talking on the service.

Since it hit the ether four years ago, Skype has become a serious alternative mode of communication for about 170 million users around the world. The service allows anyone with a computer and a fast internet connection to talk to any other Skype user anywhere around the world for free. The system has expanded to allow users to both make and receive calls to and from regular mobile and landline telephones at very competitive rates. Skype and similar products such as Google Talk generally Netgear SPH200D

To use Skype on a PC, you will require at a minimum a set of speakers and a microphone, which can be easily purchased for around $30 from any electronics store.

But for those who want cheap calls but prefer the ease and comfort of a traditional cordless handset, there are a number of products that allow users to employ the technology away from the PC.

Netgear offers its cordless dual mode SPH200D handset, which can make and receive both Skype and landline calls.

By connecting to a broadband router, the device can make Skype calls without needing a PC interface. For regular landline calls, the unit simply links into the copper phone line wall jack.

The Philips VOIP 321 and the Linksys CIT400 also allow both Skype and landline calls.

Netgear also offers a wireless mobile handset that allows Skype calls from any wireless hotspot. While the device may appeal to those looking to cut their mobile expenses, it could be a while before Australia's wireless internet infrastructure matches the coverage provided by regular GSM or 3G mobile networks.

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Bjarne Munch, an analyst with Gartner, says that while internet

phone options are undoubtedly cheaper, customers need to weigh the savings they make on their phone bills against the costs of high speed broadband.

"You subscribe to a broadband service whether you pay ADSL, wireless or mobile where you pay for the broadband usage," Mr Munch said.

"The telephony is just an application that is using the broadband service."

And while the prices may seem attractive, users should be aware of some of the drawbacks of relying on a broadband connection as a primary telecommunications service.

Unlike mainline carriers that have a number of redundancies in the event of network failures, many broadband services can struggle during peak periods and are subject to regular maintenance outages. Also, many internet voice communications services do not work during power failures and are unable to connect users with emergency service numbers.

And analysts agree that until Australian broadband speeds catch up with those of the rest of the developed world, users will not be able to appreciate the full benefits of the technology.

Linksys CIT400

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Wireless

Portable Computing

Welcome To Harrison: Verizon Wireless Continues Arkansas Expansion Verizon Wireless, the only major carrier with a 30-day network test-drive pledge that pays for calls if a customer isn’t satisfied and switches to another carrier, today announced the launch of its network in Harrison, Arkansas.

The expansion of the company’s network to Harrison includes the addition of 21 new advanced digital cell sites, providing expanded coverage in Harrison and the surrounding area, including Bergman, Bellefonte, Valley Springs, Western Grove, Pindall, Saint Joe, Marshall and Leslie, Arkansas.

Expanding the Verizon Wireless network to include Harrison is the next step in the company’s expansion and investment in Arkansas. Since launching its network in Arkansas in 2005, Verizon Wireless has already invested more than $50 million in the state.

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quality customer service that we offer nationwide." The launch of the EvolutionData Optimized (EV-DO) Revision A (Rev. A) wireless broadband network means Verizon Wireless customers in Harrison and across the state can access the company’s high-speed wireless network and enjoy two flagship services: BroadbandAccess, the company’s high-speed wireless service with average download speeds of 600 kilobits per second (kbps) to 1.4 megabits and average upload speeds of 500-800 kbps; and V CAST, a consumer-oriented multimedia service that offers music and short content on demand, including cutting-edge 3D games, music videos, news, weather and sports.

Verizon Wireless will launch retail distribution in Harrison in the near future to make its full array of wireless devices, accessories and services available locally. Currently, the company operates retail stores in North Little Rock and Little Rock. Verizon Wireless products and services are also sold in Best Buy, Circuit City, Target and Wal-Mart locations across Central Arkansas, as well an local indirect agents.

Verizon Wireless recently introduced its 30-day Test Drive, an industry first that lets customers experience its network virtually riskfree for 30 days. If customers are not satisfied with their experience and take their number to another carrier, Verizon Wireless will refund their money for calls, equipment, activation fee and taxes.

"Harrison is a critical step in our continued expansion across Arkansas. Southern Business and Development Magazine recently named it one of ‘Ten Really Cool Small Southern Markets’ and it is home to several highly-respected companies, so we’re eager to offer Verizon Wireless service in the area, " said Luis Cruz, region president for Verizon Wireless. " As we continue to expand to new markets in Arkansas, we look forward to differentiating Verizon Wireless with the unparalleled products, network reliability and

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Wireless

Portable Computing

Network Enhancement Gives Verizon Wireless Customers In Huber Heights, Ohio, Something To Talk About Verizon Wireless, the only major carrier with a 30-day network test-drive pledge that pays for calls if a customer isn’t satisfied and switches to another carrier, announced today that it has activated a new cell site in Huber Heights, enhancing in-building coverage and increasing network capacity in portions of the town, including several parks.

The network enhancement enables more Verizon Wireless customers to use their wireless phones to make calls; send and receive e-mail and TXT, Picture and Video Messages; and download games and Ring Tones while enjoying clearer reception and fewer dropped calls.

vania/West Virginia Verizon Wireless.

Region,

Reliable service is fundamental to customer loyalty, and Verizon Wireless boasts the highest customer loyalty in the industry. During the fourth quarter of 2006, only 1.14 percent of its customers disconnected their service, a figure well below the industry average.

“The value we offer our customers is closely tied to our industry-leading customer retention,” Tang said. “Wireless consumers today understand that value is not defined by price alone. A major reason our customers choose

Verizon Wireless and stay with us is because we offer the nation’s most reliable network.”

This new cell site in Huber Heights is part of Verizon Wireless’ continual effort to expand coverage, increase capacity and enhance the quality of its wireless voice and data network in Ohio and throughout the country. Verizon Wireless has invested $35 billion in the last seven years—$5 billion on average every year since the company was formed— to increase the coverage and capacity of its national network and to add new services. More than $195 million of this investment was spent in Ohio in 2006.

The new cell site increases network capacity and improves in-building coverage from U.S. Route 40 south to Longford Road and from Bellefontaine Road west to Wildcat Road. Verizon Wireless customers visiting Carriage Hill Metropark, Huber Heights Shullgate Park and Gary Sherman and Rushmore city parks also will benefit from these improvements.

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“This network enhancement reflects our ongoing commitment to meet the growing needs of our customers and to provide them with the reliable, high quality service they expect from Verizon Wireless,” said Roger Tang, president–Ohio/Pennsyl-

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Wireless

Portable Computing

Erie County, New York, Residents To Benefit From Verizon Wireless Network Expansion In a continuing effort to provide the best wireless service for local residents in Erie County, Verizon Wireless has expanded its network with a new cell site in Lancaster. The new site improves coverage and capacity along Route 20 from Route 78 to Olde Stone Lane, and Central Avenue from Route 20 to Walden Avenue in the village of Lancaster.

This network expansion is part of the company’s aggressive multi-billion dollar network investment each year (more than $1 billion every 90 days) to stay ahead of the growing demand for Verizon Wireless voice and data services. Verizon Wireless has invested more than $35 billion – on average, $5 billion every year since the company was formed seven years ago – to increase coverage and capacity, and to offer customers the most reliable service available in the nation. Services include wireless data services such as Picture Messaging, TXT Messaging, and BroadbandAccess, the company’s high-speed wireless broadband network geared toward mobile professionals and business customers.

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breaking low customer turnover rate of 1.1% in the fourth quarter, well below the rate reported by the other major wireless carriers.

The company’s "nation’s most reliable wireless network" reputation is based on network studies performed by real-life test men and test women throughout the country. These engineers drive nearly 100 specially equipped vehicles over 240,000 miles on average each quarter on Interstate, U.S. and state highways, as well as major roads and surface streets. Test vehicles are equipped with computers that

automatically make more than 750,000 voice call attempts and more than four million data tests annually on Verizon Wireless’ network and the networks of other carriers.

Verizon Wireless recently introduced its 30-day Test Drive, an industry first that lets customers experience its network virtually risk-free for 30 days. If customers are not satisfied with their experience and take their number to another carrier, Verizon Wireless will refund their money for calls, equipment, activation fee and taxes.

Strong demand for Verizon Wireless services continued during the fourth quarter of 2006 as the company added 2.3 million net new customers. Verizon Wireless is the leader in wireless customer loyalty, posting a record-

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Wireless

Portable Computing

Motorola Helps Enable RC Technologies To Deliver Video Service Wirelessly Motorola, Inc. announced that it has been selected by RC Technologies, a leading provider of telecommunications services in northeastern South Dakota, to provide its Astria® content processor and Astria video services processor (VSP) head-end solutions. This will allow RC Technologies to deliver video content wirelessly to subscribers in the northeastern portion of the state.

Using a Motorola Astria content processor head-end to provide bandwidth efficient advanced compression technologies, RC Technologies plans to deliver more than 90 channels of video over its core Internet Protocol (IP) fiber network.

include their products and solutions in this consumer offering.”

”Motorola continues to deliver seamless, end-to-end video solutions that meet our customers’ needs. We are very excited to collaborate with RC Technologies on this next-generation video service,” said Doug Means, corporate vice president and general manager Motorola IP Video Solutions business. The primary network into the customer premises in two exchanges will be RC Technologies’ Multipoint, Multichannel Distribution Service (MMDS) wireless access network. "MMDS was the most cost-

effective means of delivering video to RC Technologies’ rural service area where as fiber access would have been cost prohibitive," said David Pawlowski, network engineering manager for CC&I Engineering which delivered the network design to RC Technologies.

In addition to providing the core video processing technologies, Motorola will provide integration and project management for all headend components, including conditional access, multiplexing and set-top testing. Motorola is using its MPEG-4 advanced video codec (AVC) to deliver video content to subscribers via Radio Frequency (RF) set top boxes.

At the edge of the network, Motorola’s Astria video services processor will convert the IP channels to digital RF for delivery over coax or the MMDS network, depending upon location. As a result, customers in RC Technologies’ service area will now have more choice in video service providers.

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“RC Technologies provides world-class communication and entertainment services while maintaining an economical approach to the business,” said Pam Harrington, CEO, RC Technologies. “Motorola has proven expertise and leadership in the delivery of advanced video networks and we are very pleased to www.portablecomputingmag.com

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