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Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:47:35 -0500

Cisco Borderless Access Offers Low-Cost Switches
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:35:19 -0500Cisco on Wednesday released a new network architecture that promises secure wired and wireless communications, energy management, and optimized video-application delivery -- all at a lower cost. Dubbed Cisco Borderless Access, the latest version of the company's Borderless Networks architecture includes a new series of fixed-switching product lines: the Catalyst 3560/3750-X Series and 2960-S Series. The new lines come with lower prices than traditional Cisco switches.

As part of the product announcement, Rob Soderbery, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco's Ethernet Switching Technology Group, noted that communications, collaboration and entertainment are fast becoming digitized and connected. This trend, he said, is not only loading networks but also changing them.

"Switching and routing are the foundation for innovation that will bring the next generation of the Internet to life," Soderbery said. "Cisco's strategy is to deliver greater value within its core networking offerings and, in turn, provide customers with a more cohesive, architecturally sound IT infrastructure to support the new Internet."

Building on the Borderless Vision

Borderless Access builds on the Borderless Networks vision Cisco rolled out last October and the Cisco Secure Borderless Networks announcement earlier this month. The Borderless Networks architecture works to, as Cisco put it, "help businesses connect anyone to anything, anywhere and anytime in a highly secure, reliable and seamless environment."

The new Catalyst 3750-X and 3560-X enterprise-class stackable and stand-alone switches offer high-performance switching with 10-gigabit Ethernet. Cisco also introduced StackPower, a power-interconnect technology that brings power resiliency to a stack of Catalyst 3750-X Series switches. Cisco said a single 1,100-watt power supply can provide power to four switches and the mission-critical endpoints attached to them to help ensure business continuity.

Meanwhile, the Catalyst 2960-S Series offers more access portions and performance than previous models, including FlexStack stacking for increased availability and performance, 10GE uplinks, and EnergyWise...

Booming Mobile-App Sales May Drive Platform Choices
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:51:33 -0500Analysts at several research firms are predicting explosive growth for mobile-app sales in the years ahead. A new report commissioned by cross-platform app provider Getjar, for example, forecasts worldwide revenue from mobile applications could reach $17.5 billion by the end of next year -- up from $4.1 billion in 2009.

Yankee Group forecasts that mobile-app sales in the United States alone will generate nearly $1.6 billion in revenue this year -- more than double the amount the research firm forecast just six months ago.

"We now expect that U.S. consumers will download almost 1.6 billion apps in 2010, and that those numbers will swell to more than six billion by 2014," noted Yankee Group report author Carl Howe. "Even more impressive, paid app revenue will swell from $1.6 billion this year to more than $11 billion in 2014."

Developers Driving Growth

Gartner Research sees consumers spending $6.2 billion at mobile-app stores during 2010, and expects advertising to generate an additional $0.6 billion worldwide. The research firm's analysts also predict that downloads from mobile-app stores will exceed 4.5 billion this year -- eight out of 10 of which will be free to end users.

By 2013, Gartner believes worldwide mobile-app downloads will surpass 21.6 billion, with free offerings accounting for 87 percent of the total. "Application stores will be a core focus throughout 2010 for the mobile industry, and applications themselves will help determine the winner among mobile-device platforms," said Gartner Research Director Carolina Milanesi.

The Getjar-commissioned report released Wednesday is even more optimistic. "The overall mobile-apps downloads are expected to increase from over seven billion in 2009 to almost 50 billion by 2012, growing at the rate of 92 percent" compound annual growth rate, wrote the report's author, Chetan Sharma.

One of the key driving forces behind all these growth predictions is the...

Pegasystems Acquires Chordiant Software for $161.5M
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:15:17 -0500In a further consolidation of the customer relationship management (CRM) space, Pegasystems on Tuesday agreed to acquire Chordiant Software for $161.5 million in cash. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.

The acquisition looks like a steal for Pegasystems. Chordiant's revenues totaled $76.3 million for the four quarters ended Dec. 31, and it made $52.3 million in cash and investments during the same period.

Chordiant works to optimize the customer experience to help global brands multiply customer lifetime value with its suite of "intelligent conversation management applications." Chordiant's software also helps brands measure the effectiveness of business strategies.

Building a Broader Portfolio

Best known for its Build for Change technology, Pegasystems was well-positioned to make a cash acquisition. The company has posted 10 consecutive quarters of record revenue. With the acquisition, Pegasystems adds Chordiant's predictive decision-management solutions to the mix.

Alan Trefler, founder and CEO of Pegasystems, said the merger "creates a broader portfolio which will offer an expanded client base new capabilities to meet next-generation CRM needs." Combined, the companies serve some of the world's largest companies, including Barclays, HSBC and Orange.

"We expect that our customer base will welcome this news, and can look forward to the increased innovation that Pegasystems is known for, along with the many other benefits resulting from the mutual strengths and combined scale of our companies," said Steven Springsteel, chairman, president and CEO of Chordiant.

As a result of the merger, the companies said, Chordiant clients can incorporate Pegasystems intent-driven process automation to drive a better customer experience, and Pegasystems clients can take advantage of Chordiant's predictive decision-management solutions, CRM assets, and expertise in customer experience. The companies also plan to build an expanded partner network.

The CRM Competition

Chordiant gives Pegasystems more than just new technology -- it gives the company a stronger focus on the financial-services...

BlackBerry Users Casting Glances at iPhone, Android
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:26:45 -0500Research In Motion may find that many of its customers are in motion, a survey of more than 1,000 smartphone users suggests. Asked about their next smartphone purchase, 39 percent of 159 RIM BlackBerry users told Crowd Science, an online research firm, that they "definitely or probably" want an Apple iPhone.

Another 34 percent said they would prefer a phone that uses Google's Android operating system. Combined with 38 percent who said they might consider Android, that makes a 72 percent opening for Android, narrowly beating the 68 percent opening for the iPhone.

Open To Nexus One

Asked if they would switch from their present handset to Google's Nexus One, which debuted in January, 32 percent of BlackBerry users said they would, compared to just nine percent of iPhone users. The poll did not ask users about Palm or Windows Mobile phones.

"These results show that the restlessness of BlackBerry users with their current brand hasn't just been driven by the allure of iPhone," said John Martin, CEO of Crowd Science, in a blog post. "Rather, BlackBerry as a brand just isn't garnering the loyalty seen with other mobile operating systems."

The largest share of BlackBerry users, however, 49 percent, chose the category "other smartphone," which could include another BlackBerry. (Because participants were allowed multiple selections, totals for each device add up to more than 100 percent.)

No Status Quo Option

The poll did not allow BlackBerry users to directly express satisfaction with their current model, which led Current Analysis consumer-devices research expert Avi Greengart to question its reliability.

"The survey doesn't ask BlackBerry owners if they would buy another BlackBerry, so its results are meaningless," said Greengart. "If you ask 'Which of the following things would you buy' and not include 'What you already have,' you will get, by design, high responses for whatever you present...

Bacteria May Blow the Whistle on Criminals One Day
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:00:39 -0500Colonies of bacteria that live on people's hands are highly personal to each individual, meaning that forensic experts could one day use those bacteria to prove who had touched an object, researchers report in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Each one of us leaves a unique trail of bugs behind as we travel through our daily lives. While this project is still in its preliminary stages, we think the technique could eventually become a valuable new item in the toolbox of forensic scientists," lead author Noah Fierer of the University of Colorado said in a statement.

In one test the researchers swabbed computer mice that had not been used in 12 hours and compared the bacteria with those collected from the hands of the computer owner and 270 other randomly chosen people. The closest match was to the computer owner.

Overall, the researchers said, their technique was between 70 percent and 90 percent accurate. Researchers said that's expected to improve as the technique becomes more sophisticated.

This analysis is something that scientists could not have done even two years ago, noted Fierer, an assistant professor in Colorado's ecology and evolutionary biology department.

In addition to smudged fingerprints, the technique may also be useful in determining who has touched things like fabrics and highly textured materials, the researchers said.

The average human hand contains about 150 species of bacteria with only about 13 percent shared by any two people, Fierer's team found in earlier studies.

The new research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

China Without Google: 'A Lose-Lose Scenario'
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:04:42 -0500China without Google -- a prospect that looks increasingly likely -- could mean no more maps on mobile phones. A free music service that has helped to fight piracy might be in jeopardy. China's fledgling Web outfits would face less pressure to improve, eroding their ability to one day compete abroad.

Chinese news reports say Google Inc. is on the verge of making good on a threat to shutter its China site, Google.cn, because Beijing forces the Internet giant to censor search results. The reports indicated that Google had, in fact, already stopped censoring results, but searches Tuesday for sensitive topics like "Tiananmen massacre" appeared to still return only whitewashed results.

A Google spokesman, Scott Rubin, denied censorship had stopped and would not confirm whether Google.cn might close.

The extent of a possible pullout from China is unclear. But on top of a local search site that Google says it may close, services that might be affected range from advertising support for Chinese companies to online entertainment.

"If Google leaves, it's a lose-lose scenario, instead of Google loses and others gain," said Edward Yu, president of Analysys International, a Beijing research firm.

Google says it is in talks with Beijing following its Jan. 12 announcement that it no longer wants to comply with Beijing's extensive Web controls. But China's industry minister insisted Friday the company must obey Chinese law, which appears to leave few options other than closing Google.cn, which has about 35 percent of China's search market.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said last week something would happen soon, but Rubin, speaking by phone from Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California, said no action had yet been taken.

Such a step could have repercussions for major Chinese companies as well as local Web surfers. It would deliver a windfall to local rival Baidu Inc., China's major search...

Climate Talks May Move To 'Dual-Track' Negotiations
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:01:18 -0500Talks on a new global climate change accord, bogged down for years in contested negotiations among nearly 200 countries, will increasingly move outside the sluggish U.N. framework and focus on a streamlined group of countries, special U.N. envoy Gro Harlem Brundtland said Tuesday.

The disappointment of the Copenhagen summit last December, which failed to come up with binding rules on reducing pollution blamed for global warming, likely will bring a shift in the way countries view the cumbersome U.N. process and the need for more informal contact among key players, Brundtland said.

Copenhagen concluded with a nonbinding three-page paper hammered out in an all-night private meeting among President Barack Obama and a handful of leaders, most importantly from China, India, Brazil and South Africa. It fell far short of the summit's original objective, a full-fledged and legally binding accord setting emission reduction targets for major countries.

The Copenhagen experience "will serve as a base for discussions going on this year. It's not only going to be focused on the United Nations framework, but more on what these emerging economies and big economies are committing to," said Brundtland, speaking on the sidelines of a world conference on biofuels.

"You will have more of a double track system" in addition to the U.N. framework, she said.

Brundtland's comments reflect a growing admission that the U.N. process has proven dysfunctional. They add weight because of her 20-year involvement in climate issues and her current role as Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's special climate envoy.

The former Norwegian prime minister, who also has been director of the World Health Organization, authored the 1988 U.N-sponsored report that made "sustainable development" a mantra for environmentalists, warning that the world cannot continue to grow while disregarding the impact on nature. The report, "Our Common Future," was a reference point for the first summit on...

Law Enforcement Fights Crime on Facebook
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:05:33 -0500The Feds are on Facebook. And MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter, too. U.S. law enforcement agents are following the rest of the Internet world into popular social-networking services, going undercover with false online profiles to communicate with suspects and gather private information, according to an internal Justice Department document that offers a tantalizing glimpse of issues related to privacy and crime-fighting.

Think you know who's behind that "friend" request? Think again. Your new "friend" just might be the FBI.

The document, obtained in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, makes clear that U.S. agents are already logging on surreptitiously to exchange messages with suspects, identify a target's friends or relatives and browse private information such as postings, personal photographs and video clips.

Among other purposes: Investigators can check suspects' alibis by comparing stories told to police with tweets sent at the same time about their whereabouts. Online photos from a suspicious spending spree -- people posing with jewelry, guns or fancy cars -- can link suspects or their friends to robberies or burglaries.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based civil liberties group, obtained the Justice Department document when it sued the agency and five others in federal court. The 33-page document underscores the importance of social networking sites to U.S. authorities. The foundation said it would publish the document on its Web site on Tuesday.

With agents going undercover, state and local police coordinate their online activities with the Secret Service, FBI and other federal agencies in a strategy known as "deconfliction" to keep out of each other's way.

"You could really mess up someone's investigation because you're investigating the same person and maybe doing things that are counterproductive to what another agency is doing," said Detective Frank Dannahey of the Rocky Hill, Conn., Police Department, a veteran of dozens of undercover cases.

A decade ago, agents...

More Courthouses Switching To Digital Technology
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:02:59 -0500Courts in Iowa, Minnesota and New York are considering replacing at least some court reporters with digital recording systems to cut costs.

If they do, they would follow Utah, Vermont, New Hampshire, Alaska and Kentucky in using electronic recording systems. Utah and Vermont switched exclusively for budget reasons in 2009, according to SueLynn Morgan, president of the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), and officials in those states.

"The budget crisis since January 2009 is behind the push now," Morgan said.

Utah was the most recent state to go digital in July, laying off 18 court reporters, with expected savings of more than $1 million per year, courts spokeswoman Nancy Volmer said.

Among courts considering changes:

*Minnesota. A system called CourtSmart is being used in 15 percent to 20 percent of each day's hearings in Stearns County, Minn., according to District Court Judge Thomas Knapp, who helped implement the technology. "I don't think it's a step showing that we're going to ... eliminate court reporters," Knapp said. "We still need them."

The state's judicial council will make a decision in May or June about expanding the practice, said Jan Ballman, CEO of Paradigm Reporting & Captioning.

*Iowa. The judicial council is considering the change but has not set a time frame, said Steve Davis, spokesman for the Iowa Judicial Branch.

*New York. The Worker's Compensation Board is working on a pilot test to compare records produced by digital audio recording to those from court reporters, spokesman Brian Keegan said.

New Hampshire laid off all of its court reporters in 2005, said Laura Kiernan, state judicial branch communications director.

Alaska has used a recording system for more than 20 years, and Kentucky has exclusively used video recording since the 1980s, court officials in those states said.

Jim Cudahy, NCRA's senior director of marketing and communications, said the cost savings are largely perceived.

Although salaries...

Study: Mini Clip Proves Safer Than Heart-Valve Surgery
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:01:54 -0500Many Americans with leaky heart valves soon might be able to get them fixed without open-heart surgery. A study showed that a tiny clip implanted through an artery was safer and nearly as effective as surgery, doctors reported Sunday.

The device is already on sale in Europe, and its maker, Abbott Laboratories, hopes to win approval to sell it in the United States next year. Elizabeth Taylor reportedly got one last fall -- the 77-year-old actress told fans about it on Twitter.

About 8 million people in the U.S. and Europe have leaky mitral valves -- the valve between the heart's left upper and lower chambers. Not all are so bad they need treatment, but the worst cases can lead to heart failure over time.

In the study, six times more people who had surgery suffered complications during the next month than those who got Abbott's MitraClip. Deaths, strokes and blood transfusions were less common with the device. The clip was not dramatically less effective than surgery after one year.

Doctors called the study a watershed -- the first big test of repairing or replacing heart valves through arteries rather than drastic surgery.

The MitraClip is only for the mitral valve. Other devices for other heart valves are in late-stage testing, and many doctors believe they will transform how these conditions are treated in the near future.

"We have opened the door for a new therapeutic option for patients," said Dr. Ted Feldman of NorthShore University Health System in Evanston, Ill.

He led the new study and gave results Sunday at an American College of Cardiology conference. The study was sponsored by Evalve Inc., which developed the device. Evalve was sold last year to North Chicago, Ill.-based Abbott, and Feldman consults for the firm.

Some surgeons were not convinced the device is close to surgery's effectiveness, and said...

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