Business Editors & Travel Writers
PARSIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 24, 2001
New EasyAccess HOD 1.1 Release Offers High-Level Administration
Capabilities
Adam's Mark Hotels & Resorts, Accor Hotels and Outrigger Hotels and Resorts are among a diverse and expanding group of hotel industry leaders to adopt WizCom's EasyAccess HOD product, which allows companies to easily update their hotel description information within the four major GDSs simultaneously through WizCom's single point of entry system.
WizCom also announced the release of EasyAccess HOD 1.1 with enhanced administration capabilities.
"From hotel chains to representation companies, the fast-growing number of EasyAccess HOD users worldwide speaks to the fact that WizCom incorporated customer feedback on the initial EasyAccess HOD design to develop a product that addresses the technical needs of our diverse customer base," said Flo Lugli, President of WizCom. "We are also pleased to release an update to EasyAccess HOD with greater functionality based on additional customer feedback."
EasyAccess HOD reduces operational costs for customers by serving as a centralized data entry point to the GDSs and leading Internet sites. With the release of EasyAccess HOD version 1.1, the product will now allow hotel chain headquarters level personnel more flexibility in allowing access to HOD information at the management company or property level.
"With more than 3,500 hotels and 400,000 rooms in 90 countries, we immediately realized how EasyAccess HOD will enable us to update and maintain our hotel description information in a very cost-efficient way," said Alain Bergerat, Automation Marketing Manager of Accor Hotels.
"EasyAccess HOD will provide us with enhanced hotel description updating capabilities across all our units, and is a definite competitive advantage," said Mark Lowery, Corporate Director of Reservation Services for Adam's Mark Hotels & Resorts.
EasyAccess HOD is a part of the WizCom EasyAccess Plus suite of products designed for the hospitality industry to manage information distribution more effectively and cost-efficiently.
Headquartered in St. Louis, Adam's Mark Hotels & Resorts is an upscale, quality-tier hotel chain that ranks as one of the largest independently owned and operated companies in the hospitality industry with more than 13,000 rooms and one million square feet of meeting space in 14 states.
Accor is the European leader and one of the world's largest providers of travel and tourism-related services in 90 countries across the globe. With 145,000 associates in 140 countries, Accor is the European leader and one of the world's largest groups in travel, tourism and corporate services, with two major international activities:
- hotels: more than 3,500 hotels (400,000 rooms) in 90 countries, travel agencies, restaurants and casinos; - services to corporate clients and public institutions: each day, 12 million people in 31 countries use a broad range of services (Food Vouchers, People's Care, Expenses Management, Social Services, Incentive / Events) engineered and managed by Accor.
WizCom International, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD), is a leading global provider of electronic reservations processing and information management systems for the travel industry. WizCom provides its hotel, car rental, and tour / leisure travel customers with innovative, flexible and cost-effective electronic distribution and e-commerce solutions for the Internet, GDS and / or other travel reservation systems. Established in 1987, WizCom has an extensive customer base with more than 90 hotel companies and over 25 car rental firms operating in more than forty countries worldwide.
DIRECTORY OF TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANY IN INDONESIA Telekomunikasi Indonesia (PT. Telkom Tbk.), PT Head office: Jl. Japati, Bandung, Jawa Barat Phone : 022-2500000; 425-1510 Fax No.: 022-2500000; 440-313 Web-site/Home page: http://www.telkom-indonesia.com Line of business: Telecommunication services Management: Jusman Syafii Djamal (President Commisioner) Johnny Swandi Sjam. (Commisioner) Rinaldi Firmansyah (President Director) Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel), PT Head office: Wisma Mulia 12th floor Jl. Jend. Gatot Subroto No. 42 Jakarta 12710 Indonesia Phone : (021) 5240811 Fax No.: (021) 52906112 Web-site/Home page: http://www.telkomsel.com E-mail: Investor@telkomsel.co.id Line of Business: Telephone Cellular Operator Management: Mr. Rinaldi Firmansyah (President Commisioner) Mr. Losso Judianto (Commisioner) Mr. Lim Chuan Poh (Commisioner) Mr. Sarwoto Atmosutarno (President Director) Mr. Triwahyusari (Director) Mr. Leong Shin Loong (Director) Mr. Triwahyusari (Director) Mr. Leong Shin Loong (Director) Indosat Tbk., PT Head office: Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat No. 21 Jakarta 10110, Indonesia Phone : Jakarta 10110, Indonesia Fax No.: (021) 3000-3001, 3000-3002, 380-2614, 381-0727 Web-site/Home page: (021) 3809-833, 3458-155, 380-9633, 345-8155 Line of Business: http://www.indosat.com Management: International Telecommunication services Mr. Harry Sasongko Tirtotjondro (President Director) Mr. Laszlo Imre Barta (Director and Chief Commercial Officer) Mr. Fadzri Santosa (Director and Chief Wholesale and Infrastructure Officer) Mr. H.E. Sheikh Abdulla Mohammed S.A Al Thani (President Commissioner) Mr. Dr. Nasser Mohammed Marafih (Commissioner) Mr. Rachmat Gobel (commissioner) XL Axiata Tbk., PT Head office: Menara Prima, Jl. Lingkar Mega Kuningan Blok 6-2 Kawasan Mega Kuningan, Jakarta (12950)--Indonesia Phone : +62-21-57959573 Fax No.: +62-21-57959025 Web-site/Home page: http://www.xl.co.id Line of Business: Telephone Cellular Operator Management: Mr. Hasnul Suhaimi (President Director) Mr. Willem Lucas Timmermans (Director) Mr. Tan Sri Dato' Insinyur Muhammad Radzi bin Haji Mansor (President Commissioner) Mr. Dato' Sri Jamaludin bin Ibrahim (Commissioner) BakrieTelecom Tbk, PT Head office: Wisma Bakrie 2nd floor, Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said kav B1 Jakarta Pusat--12920 Phone : (021) 910-1112 Fax No.: (021) 3633585, 3843882 Web-site/Home page: http://www.bakrietelecom.com Line of Business: Telecommunication services Management: Mr. Gafur Sulistyo Umar (President Director) Mr. Ai Mulyadi Mamoer (Independent Commissioner) Mr. Nalinkant A. Rathod (Commissioner) Mr. Anindya Novyan Bakrie (President Director) Mr. Frederik J. Meijer (Deputy Presiden Director) Axis Telekom Indonesia, PT Head office: Menara AXIS Kawasan Mega Kuningan Jl. Mega Kuningan Barat Kav. E4.3 No. 2, Jakarta 12950, Indonesia Phone : (021) 576 0880 Fax No.: Web-site/Home page: http://www.axisworld.co.id Line of Business: Telecommunication services Management: Mr. Erik Aas (President Director) Mr. Michael McPhail Mr. Syakieb Ahmad Sungkar (Director) Hutchison CP Telecommunications, PT Head office: Menara Mulia, Jl. Jend. Gatot Subroto Kav. 9-11 Jakarta Selatan 12930-Indonesia Phone : 021 5290 6800 Fax No.: 021 5290 6900 Web-site/Home page: http://tri.co.id Line of Business: Telecommunication services Smartfren Telecom Indonesia, PT Head office: Newsletter-March 2011 71 Jl. H. Agus Salim No. 45 Kelurahan Kebon Sirih Menteng Jakarta Pusat 10340 Phone : Web-site/Home page: http://www.smartfren.com Line of Business: Telecommunication services Bitnet Komunikasindo, PT Head office: Jl. R.P. Soeroso No.37, Jakarta--10350 Indonesia Telp..: (021) 390-3939 Fax No.: (021) 390-3938 Costumer support: support@bit.net.id Marketing: sales@bozz.com Web-site: http://www.bit.net.id Bidang usaha: Internet Services Provider Manajemen: Mr. Popo Suriatmaja (Direktur) Aplikanusa Lintasarta, PT Head office: Menara Thamrin, 12th floor, Jl. MH. Tahamrin Kav. 3 Jakarta 10340 Phone No.: (021) 230-2345 Fax No.: (021) 230-3883 Web-site: http://lintasarta.co.id Line of business: Internet Services Provider Management: Mr. Yoyo Waluyo (Direktur Utama) Cyberyndo Aditama (CBN), PT Head office: Manggala Wanabakti IV, Lt. 6, Jl. Gatot Subroto, Senayan, Jakarta Phone No.: (021) 57994588 Fax No.: (021) 574-2481 Web-site/Home page: http://www.cbn.net.id Line of Business: Internet Services Provider Management: Mr. Sugiharto Dharmakusuma (Chief Commercial Officer) Citra Sari Makmur (CSM), PT Head office: Chase Plaza 16th floor, Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav. 21 Jakarta-12910 Indonesia Phone No.: (021) 5700194, 5208311 Fax No.: (021) 5704656 Web-site/home page: http://www.csmcom.com E-mail: marketing@csmcom.com Line of Business: Satellite network services Management: Mr. Subagio Wirjoatmodjo (Direktur Utama) Mr. Dodiet Hendrojono (Vice President/ Managing Director) Mr. Pandapotan L. Tobing (Managing Director)
Summary: RIYADH: The special court trying the Saudi militants accused of terror attacks in Riyadh in 2003 ordered Sunday all members of the media to leave the courtroom in compliance with the wish of a defendant, who also charged that the trial was a sham.
The defendant said he opposed the presence of journalists because he blamed them for defamatory reports that he is a homosexual. He said he attended the trial in order to refute the charges of sodomy against him. The media did not claim the defendant sodomized anyone, but he argued that making a charge without specifying the name made the public suspect all defendants as homosexuals and he suggested that name of the homosexual should be published to clarify suspicions. The judge told the defendant that suspects' names were not published because it was against the country's printing and publishing regulations, which was outside the domain of the court. On Sunday, the special trial court had its third hearing to look into the charges against 15 militants accused of involvement in the bombings of three compounds in east Riyadh and the plots to attack King Khaled Air Base in Khamis Mushayt and Prince Sultan Airbase in Al-Kharj. In all, 85 militants are charged with involvement in the attacks. The protesting defendant walked out of the courtroom refusing to listen to the charge sheet read out in the court even after the judge warned him that his conduct would in no away affect the course of the trial. However, an official of the Human Rights Commission went after the defendant and persuaded him to return. It was then that the defendant made the request that no reporter be present in the courtroom when the charge sheet against him is read out. The judge complied with his demand and ordered the journalists to leave the chamber. In the sitting that began at 10 a.m. charge sheets against 15 of the 85 accused were read out while charges against 19 other defendants were read in the previous two sittings. Apart from the bombing of the three residential complexes in Riyadh on May 13, 2003, the major charges against the accused included plots to kill important members of royalty and security officers, conspiring with foreign parties to undermine the Kingdom's national security, spreading takfiri ideology (branding Muslims as infidels and enemies of Islam), and issuing fatwas pertaining to their efforts. The charges included associating with Al-Qaeda and importing and possessing explosive materials and heavy weapons. They were also charged with destroying government and private buildings and killing members of the public and security officers. The charges also included staging armed resistance against state security. The militants had reportedly formed a cell named after Turki Al-Dandani, who was killed in a gunbattle with security forces in Jouf. They were also charged with terror financing and recruitment, providing refuge and forging documents for terrorists. The bombing of the three compounds in Riyadh resulted in the death of 239 people including women and children. Defendant No. 24 was also charged with exploiting the Internet to abuse the grand mufti and the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars and publishing a hit list of security officers. One of the charges against the 26th defendant is preparing a hide-out in a villa in the Al-Jazeera district in which a cell member was killed in an explosion. While Defendants No. 26 and No. 37 were involved in the plot to attack King Khaled Air Base in Khamis Mushayt, Defendants No. 27, No. 29, No. 31, No. 34, No. 36 and No. 37 were involved in the plot to attack Prince Sultan Airbase in Al-Kharj. No. 37 was also involved in an attempt to assassinate an Interior Ministry official. No. 35 was charged with dealing in drugs and liquor. The public prosecutor is demanding the death sentence for 13 of the defendants. The prosecutor said another defendant should be crucified because he was one of the bombers of the Al-Hamra Complex in Riyadh.
Copyright: Arab News 2011 All rights reserved.
Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company
Developers from across the country create apps that help people improve their lives; AT&T and One Economy award up to $50,000 in prize money to winning developers
WASHINGTON, June 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- One Economy and AT&T* announced today the winners of the national contest, Applications for Good. The grand prize winner was Brendan McBride and his colleagues from New York City, for their application "Remas." The team received $10,000 to continue the development of their "app" that enables users to find the lowest cost overseas money transfer option closest to their location.
According to a Pew Research Center report, lower-income households often access the Internet on mobile phones and devices in place of home Internet connections. Those without computers and high speed Internet in-home are disproportionately people of color. Eighty-seven percent of African Americans and Latinos own smart or feature phones and are more likely to take advantage of a wide array of phone data functions.
For the past three months, developers across the country have been working with community partners to create applications that will help low-income residents improve their lives. The apps specifically address needs related to education, health and finances.
Today's live event and webcast also engaged a national audience in a conversation about the relevancy of broadband access and adoption, technology and mobile devices-especially in underserved communities.
"Technology is important, but today's event shows that what really matters is how people, families and communities use technology to make their lives better," said Kelley Dunne, President and CEO of One Economy. "We must constantly challenge ourselves to seek creative ways to meet people where they are delivering resources that can truly transform communities. I am also very grateful for AT&T supporting this effort with us."
A panel of judges from top corporations, software companies, education and financial organizations chose the final winners in the following categories: Connect Learners; Trim the Fat and Bank the Unbanked. The general public also had the chance to vote on their favorite app, for which the Remas app also took home the $5,000 prize.
"There is no question that mobile phones and devices can deliver innovative, life changing solutions for people across the United States and around the world," said Carlton Hill, Vice President of Device Operations and Product Development at AT&T. "AT&T is proud to work with One Economy to challenge innovators, problem solvers and individuals to be a part of social and economic change."
"We are so excited to win the first Applications for Good grand prize - what an honor," said McBride. "A dedicated team of volunteers has poured hours and their own money into the development of Remas. This prize money will enable us to finish our testing and take our app live faster than we anticipated. We are very thankful to One Economy and AT&T for helping us make this possible."
Judges for the contest included: Mark Drapeau, Microsoft; Carlton Hill, AT&T; Gloria Guard, One Economy; Alex Howard, O'Reilly Media; Patrick Mork, GetJar; and Jim Rosenberg, World Bank. Additional sponsors of the contest included Urban Airship.
Other winners and their prizes include:
* Ysiad Ferreiras won the $5,000 Health prize for his application, SnapFresh, which helps food stamp recipients find healthy places that accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments (formally known as food stamps).
* David Simnick and Daniel Doll won the $5,000 Education prize for their web-based application, TalkChalk, which leverages the power of social gaming and networking and applies it to how students learn.
* Nick Jacobsen won the $5,000 Banking prize for his application, MobileSaver, which is a mobile web portal for the management of an Individual Development Account.
* Robert Hellestrae won the $4,000 Gaming prize for his app, Nutrition Missions, which introduces users to delicious, nutrient dense foods by completing steps of varying difficulty through fun and healthy "missions."
Additional information on all of the winners can be found at http://www.one-economy.com/apps4good.
The full webcast of the announcement can be found on One Economy's website at one-economy.com. To learn more about the contest visit http://applicationsforgood.org/.
About Applications for Good Applications for Good is a part of One Economy's effort to bring everyone into the economic mainstream using Internet technology. Applications for Good challenges software developers, game designers, students, and other innovators to develop fun and engaging mobile applications and games that help hard working families to become connected learners, find jobs, get healthy and build financial security.
* AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
About One Economy One Economy is a global non-profit organization that uses innovative approaches to deliver the power of technology and information to low-income people. More than 19 million people have used One Economy's online tools and resources including public-purpose media at www.pic.tv to build better lives. Learn more at www.one-economy.com. To date, One Economy has launched on-the-ground programs in 42 U.S. states, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.
About AT&T AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates - AT&T operating companies - are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's fastest mobile broadband network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. A leader in mobile broadband, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse and AT&T | DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T Advertising Solutions and AT&T Interactive are known for their leadership in local search and advertising.
Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com. This AT&T news release and other announcements are available at http://www.att.com/newsroom and as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss. Or follow our news on Twitter at @ATT. Find us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ATT to discover more about our consumer and wireless services or at www.Facebook.com/ATTSmallBiz to discover more about our small business services.
All rights reserved. Mobile broadband not available in all areas. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE One Economy
CORPORATE IT UPDATE-(C)1995-2011 M2 COMMUNICATIONS
26 May 2011 -- A group of top media and Internet company executives, including Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) chairman Eric Schmidt and Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg, will speak at the Group of Eight summit in France on Thursday, the Financial Times reported.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy organised on Tuesday and Wednesday a so-called e-G8 meeting in Paris aimed at preparing the world leaders for discussing technological issues at the G8 meeting in Deauville.
The one-hour meeting between the business leaders and the heads of the G8 nations, including Sarkozy, US president Barack Obama and British prime minister David Cameron, will focus on views for the future of Internet and on ways for governments to boost growth and innovation.
((Comments on this story may be sent to info@m2.com)).END.PUB430>PDMay 26, 2011>JNCORPORATE IT UPDATE.PRICEDATENOT APPLICABLE.DAY
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today revealed that 22-year-old Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks will be the new face of the NHL[R] 11 videogame from EA SPORTS[TM]. With last year's title featuring Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane, NHL 11 marks the first time that EA SPORTS has put back to back players from the same team on the cover of the NHL franchise. Jonathan Toews' image will be on the front of all packaging when NHL 11 is available in North American retail stores this September.
Celebrating its 20th Anniversary with NHL 11, the EA SPORTS NHL[R] franchise has won 22 Sports Game of the Year awards over the past three years and is poised to raise the bar yet again. With a revolutionary real-time physics engine that brings an unprecedented amount of realism to the franchise, gameplay innovations like broken sticks and a revamped face-off system, as well as the addition of the Canadian Hockey League, NHL 11 is set to be the most complete hockey videogame ever created.
After being selected third overall in the 2006-07 entry draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, Toews has emerged as one of the most skilled centers in the NHL after just two seasons. After helping lead team Canada to a gold medal win during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Toews locked up the Conn Smythe, given to the most valuable player in the NHL playoffs, after playing a crucial role in leading the Chicago Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup championship since 1961. Toews is currently the youngest captain in the NHL, and has registered more than 65 points in each of his first two seasons.
"I am really excited to be on the cover of NHL 11," said Toews. "It's been an amazing year for me and the team, and it's nice to end it by being a part of a game I played growing up. The NHL games have always been great, so it's an honor for me to be a part of the EA SPORTS family."
"Jonathan Toews is one of the best centers in the NHL today," said Jordan Edelstein, Vice-President of Marketing for EA SPORTS. "He is a great ambassador for the sport of hockey and his impact on the sport this year is undeniable. It's great to have him in the EA SPORTS family."
NHL 11 will be available for the PLAYSTATION[R]3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360[R] video game and entertainment system with an MSRP of $59.99. It is developed by EA Canada in Burnaby, B.C. The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB or PEGI.
EA SPORTS[TM] is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, global videogame competitions and breakthrough digital experiences. EA SPORTS delivers personal access to the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports simulation videogames, including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL[R] hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA[R] Football and NCAA Basketball, Fight Night boxing, EA SPORTS MMA and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR[R] golf, and EA SPORTS Active[TM].
For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums and game apps, please visit www.easports.com to connect, share and compete.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS[TM], EA[TM], EA Mobile[TM] and POGO[TM]. In fiscal 2010, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.7 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million units. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks or a registered trademark of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. NHL is a registered trademark of the National Hockey League. John Madden, NFL, NBA, FIFA, NHL, NCAA, Tiger Woods and PGA TOUR are trademarks of their respective owners and used with permission. Xbox and Xbox 360 are registered trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. "PLAYSTATION" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. NHL and NHL team marks are the property of the NHL and its teams. All Rights Reserved. NHL 11 is an Officially Licensed Product of the NHL.
NHL 11 is an Officially Licensed Product of the NHLPA. NHLPA, National Hockey League Players' Association and the NHLPA logo are trademarks of the NHLPA. [c] NHLPA.
There are times to build your business and times to cut back. According to Danielle Babb, author of The Online Professor's Practical Guide to Starting an Internet Business (Entrepreneur Press, $19.95), this is the time to start building, and the place is on online (see also Entrepreneur Press).
"Today's economy offers a ripe environment to build a business. With product and service costs very low and businesses willing to negotiate for your business, this is the time to build out a website-based business," says Babb. "You can get a great web developer with a lot of experience for historically low contract prices, snap up excellent tools online at minimal costs, and negotiate with providers that you need to make your site fantastic."
For aspiring online entrepreneurs who need more convincing, Babb offers a few more reasons why they should get started now.
Keywords: Entrepreneur PressEntrepreneur Press.
This article was prepared by Science Letter editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Science Letter via NewsRx.com.
SEATTLE -- Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), today announced that customers can now instantly watch ad-free movies and television shows on Macs or PCs with Amazon Video On Demand, Amazon's digital video service offering thousands of movies and television shows. Previously, customers could only download titles and watch them on a PC (using the Amazon Unbox application) or on their TiVo box. Now customers can either watch instantly within their web browser or download using the Unbox application and watch anytime. Additionally, customers can now rent or purchase Amazon Video On Demand movies and TV shows directly through Sony's BRAVIA Internet Video Link device on compatible BRAVIA[R] television sets (currently in beta). Sony's BRAVIA Internet Video Link device seamlessly streams Internet video content directly to compatible Sony HDTVs through a broadband connection.
Starting today, to make it even easier for customers to decide whether they want to rent or purchase a title, the first two minutes of every movie and TV show automatically plays for free as soon as they visit the product detail page. At any time during the free viewing period, customers can choose to purchase or rent the title to watch it in its entirety. Once a customer orders a video, it is automatically added to Your Video Library. With the new Your Video Library, customers can access and stream their Amazon videos through popular web browsers on Macs and PCs. Customers can also access Your Video Library through the Sony BRAVIA Internet Video Link device on their compatible Sony BRAVIA televisions.
"We're continuing to create new, convenient ways for our customers to watch digital movies and TV shows. The ability to watch content instantly without downloading first was among the most requested features of our customers, and now it's live--customers can instantly watch the ad-free title of their choice on a Mac, PC or compatible Sony BRAVIA TV via Sony's BRAVIA Internet Video Link device," said Roy Price, director of Amazon Video On Demand. "Amazon Video On Demand provides customers with the choice of how to watch their favorite movies and TV shows, be it on their PC or Mac, on the TV with TiVo or through Sony's BRAVIA Internet Video Link device on compatible Sony BRAVIA TVs, or on the go with a portable video player."
Also starting today, Sony BRAVIA Internet Video Link users can rent or purchase and instantly watch movies and commercial-free TV shows directly on their compatible BRAVIA TV. With the Sony BRAVIA Internet Video Link, customers can explore and purchase or rent from the Amazon Video On Demand library with the push of a button. To get started, customers simply go to www.amazon.com/videoondemand/bravia and link their BRAVIA to their Amazon.com account. After a purchase is made, the title can be immediately watched. A backup version can also be found in Your Video Library, accessible from the Sony BRAVIA Internet Video Link device user interface or on Amazon.com. Customers interested in purchasing a Sony BRAVIA television and/or Sony BRAVIA Internet Video Link device can do so in the Amazon.com Electronics store at www.amazon.com/electronics. Amazon Video On Demand through the BRAVIA Internet Video Link is currently in beta.
Amazon Video On Demand, operated by Amazon Digital Services, Inc., is the only U.S. digital video service that gives customers the choice to stream or download premium movies and TV shows. With over 40,000 licensed movies and TV shows, customers can now watch on their Mac, PC, Sony BRAVIA TV, TiVo box, Windows Media Center extender devices such as Xbox 360, and portable media players. The Amazon Unbox Video Player will remain as the client application for downloaded content, allowing customers to watch purchased content on their computer when they are not connected to the Internet or transfer it to a portable media player. With Fall TV starting in early September, Amazon Video On Demand will have a full selection of the most popular returning and new shows, including pilots, premieres, and full episodes.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc., (NASDAQ:AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc., seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as books, movies, music & games, digital downloads, electronics & computers, home & garden, toys, kids & baby, grocery, apparel, shoes & jewelry, health & beauty, sports & outdoors, and tools, auto & industrial.
Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Examples of the services offered by Amazon Web Services are Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), Amazon SimpleDB, Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS), Amazon Flexible Payments Service (Amazon FPS), and Amazon Mechanical Turk.
Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, and the Joyo Amazon websites at www.joyo.cn and www.amazon.cn.
As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.
Amazon Kindle is sold through Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, significant amount of indebtedness, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, and subsequent filings.
Byline: 3ple-Media
Mobile multimedia specialist, 3ple-Media, has established a dedicated local presence in Johannesburg to serve pan-African operators in bringing a wealth of new multimedia services to their subscribers. 3ple-Media believe there are three key criteria that African operators must satisfy to maximise their revenue in the wake of the multimedia opportunity: knowing their subscribers, setting and sustaining high service delivery targets and ensuring all new services support operators' ARPU growth objectives.
African operators face unique opportunities in the next few years with their entry into the multimedia arena. Unlike in other more saturated markets that may have to carry and accommodate a legacy of more extensively developed and heavily invested protocols, African operators are poised to take great advantage of a move into the multimedia arena with the most appropriate and revenue generating technology today. With this in place Africa, as one of the world's fastest growing mobile markets according to a recent Research and Markets report*, could also be set to experience rapid ARPU growth as multimedia delivery catalyses services such as mobile advertising and content distribution. This is especially relevant in the many African markets where the primary, and often the only, mass market advertising channel is radio, yet there is a large and rapidly growing subscriber base of Multimedia (GPRS) handsets. This represents a massive and untapped addressable market for major international and local brands to utilise multimedia advertising which is both interactive and provides real time data & analytics about campaign success.
Mobile multimedia, with the reach of radio and the interactivity of the Internet, coupled with the benefits of audio and visual which bypass the literacy limitations of SMS, has inherent potential. Part of the challenge for operators will be ensuring that they deliver on the multimedia promise from the start. Subscribers' expectations on delivery times, relevance of content and affordability will all play an important part in making multimedia services work. Markets with a pre-paid bias often have difficulty tracking and understanding their subscribers' preferences, behaviours and handset capabilities. 3ple-Media's MercuryTM solution, with real-time subscriber profiling and data track capabilities, allows operators to map response and viral communities for future segmentation and report immediate campaign analytics to third parties for fast ROI. This helps advertisers refine their target audience with greater precision and enforces a degree of accountability that maximises the effectiveness of each message sent and ultimately, each advertising dollar spent.
New multimedia services that are as relevant in their timely delivery as their content will set the benchmark for ongoing and sustained ARPU growth. One such example is aAs-Live' content such as real-time sports highlights. FIFA report that 2006 FIFA World Cup coverage across Africa saw a massive 131.5 per cent increase over 2002, up from 7,475 hours to 17,301.** With South Africa hosting the next 2010 World Cup, the demand for such content translating to the mobile device is certain. Operators employing push multimedia have an opportunity to manage the valuable content end-to-end and profit greatly from the value structure rather than becoming the middlemen for apull' services where they are relegated to bit-pipe revenues as mobile subscribers click off the operator's portal to access 3rd party content via the Internet.
Costi Manda, Managing Director and CTO for 3ple-Media, says operators will benefit from a multimedia strategy that addresses the opportunity with revenue longevity in mind, "Growth of the addressable market in Africa for Mobile Multimedia will be driven by compelling content that can be monetised effectively. 3ple-Media's commitment to the African market is founded in our belief that operators have a great deal to gain from push multimedia, even in the short term. We can provide Operators with the catalyst."
With predictions of a total African mobile subscriber base of over 351.93 Million by the end of 2011* early adopters in the African market have every opportunity to capitalise on multimedia push services through an approach that ensures a steady rise in ARPU along with subscriber growth.
* Source: 'Research and Markets' African Mobile Market Forecast (2007-2011) July 2007 ** Source: FIFA.com, February 2007
To find out more about making Multimedia Push work in your market, visit: www.3ple-Media.com
Byline: By Wales on Sunday
Grey imports are alive and well and being snapped up by yesterday's boy racers, according to a big insurance broker.
Youngsters who cut their motoring teeth by souping up second-hand superminis are graduating into high performance grey imports from Japan and the USA because they cost less than the equivalent cars bought second-hand through a franchised dealer.
That's the finding of high street insurance broker Swinton which has seen an 18 per cent hike in demand for quotes on grey imports in the last year.
As a result the company is launching Swinton Specialist with a dedicated team to handle the upsurge in customers seeking quotes for non-standard motor insurance.
Neil Ackinclose, head of Swinton Specialist, says: 'Grey, performance and modified cars have never been more popular in the UK. The internet has opened up the international car market to UK buyers.'
But it's not just yesterday's boy racers who are snapping-up imports according to Swinton, which says it has seen a resurgence of men and women in their 20s making the most of low interest rates to buy specialist cars.
'We continue to see growing interest from the younger end of the market, where customers have high disposable incomes and credit is easily obtainable,' says Neil Ackinclose. 'Grey imports lend themselves excellently to this market, especially when prices can start for as little as pounds 2,000.' Top 10 grey imports: 1. Nissan Skyline (Japan)
2. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (Japan)
3. Subaru Impreza (Japan)
4. Toyota Supra (Japan)
5. Mazda RX7 (Japan)
6. Mazda MX5 Eunos (Japan)
7. Honda Integra (Japan)
8. Mitsubishi Pajero (Japan)
9. Cadillac EXT (USA)
10. Ford Mustang (USA)
Isilon Clustered Storage Enables NBC to Make Critical, Real-Time Editing Decisions Required to Deliver 418 Hours of the Very Best Olympic Winter Game Moments to Millions of Viewers Across Several NBC Universal Networks
SEATTLE, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Isilon(R) Systems, the leader in clustered storage, today announced that NBC is using Isilon IQ as one of the storage solutions used to power its broadcast coverage of the XX Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy, February 10-26. NBC is primed to deliver the most broadcast coverage across the most platforms of any Winter Olympics in history. The Networks of NBC Universal, NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, NBC HD and Universal HD will provide a record 418 hours of coverage, including the most live and high definition coverage in Olympic television history. Following NBC's successful use of Isilon IQ for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, NBC is storing a majority of the Olympic Winter Game content on more than 15 Terabytes of Isilon clustered storage, providing NBC producers with the rapid review, identification and selection capabilities necessary to quickly produce and deliver compelling Olympic Winter Games coverage.
"NBC has continued to grow and create new broadcast platforms in which we can bring the many fascinating Olympic stories and events to our millions of viewers," said Matt Adams, Director of Technology for NBC Olympics. "We had such great success in Athens that we wanted to leverage our relationship with Isilon again for a very demanding media environment."
In order to deliver such unprecedented broadcast coverage of the Olympic Winter Games, including video coverage of more than 2,500 athletes from 85 different nations competing in 15 events, with more clips available to producers than ever before, NBC is using a complete solution combining Blue Order's asset management system with Isilon IQ clustered storage. This solution provides NBC's directors and producers with immediate and easily searchable access to all game and background video content, which allows them to quickly and effectively search through countless hours of footage to deliver the best and most compelling Olympic broadcasts to viewers.
"NBC is leveraging state-of-the-art technologies to transform Olympic broadcast coverage by delivering unprecedented volumes of high quality programming to viewers while, at the same time, deriving more revenue from its advertising base, " said Brett Goodwin, VP of Marketing & Business Development, Isilon Systems. "Isilon clustered storage products were designed with the idea that storage can be a strategic asset in business. NBC's use of Isilon IQ is a perfect showcase for how clustered storage can help businesses maintain a competitive edge while creating new revenue streams and decreasing costs."
Isilon recently announced the next generation of its award-winning Isilon IQ family of clustered storage systems -- the Isilon IQ 1920, 3000 and 6000 -- which are powered by the latest version of Isilon's award-winning OneFS(TM) distributed file system software and use high-speed, low-latency InfiniBand for intracluster communication.
About NBC Olympics
NBC, "America's Olympic Network," owns the exclusive U.S. media rights to the Olympic Games, television's most powerful property, through 2012, which includes Torino, Italy in 2006, Beijing in 2008, Vancouver in 2010 and London in 2012. This February, NBC Universal will present the 2006 Olympic Winter Games from Torino, Italy (February 10-26, 2006). In August 2004, 203 million viewers watched as the networks of NBC Universal-NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Bravo, Telemundo, and NBC's HD affiliates-offered a record 1,210 hours of Olympic coverage from Athens. In February 2002, 187 million watched the Salt Lake Olympic Games on NBC, MSNBC and CNBC. For additional information, log onto NBCOlympics.com, the Internet's preeminent source for Olympic results, video, photos, news and athlete profiles through the Torino Games. NBCOlympics.com will be the only site in the United States featuring competition video of complete runs and routines, real-time results and medal counts for every event, an interactive television viewing guide to help visitors navigate the 418 hours of Olympic programming on the NBC Universal networks, and comprehensive, multimedia-filled profiles on every American Olympian.
About Isilon Systems
Isilon is the leader in clustered storage. Isilon's award-winning family of Isilon IQ products consists of high-performance clustered storage systems that combine an intelligent distributed file system with modular industry-standard hardware to deliver unmatched simplicity and scalability. Isilon IQ was designed for unstructured data and for use in data-intensive markets such as media and entertainment, digital imaging, life sciences, oil and gas and government. The Seattle-based company is financed by Lehman Brothers Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, Atlas Venture, Madrona Venture Group and Focus Ventures. For more information, please visit: http://www.isilon.com/ .
NOTE: The names of companies mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Lucas Welch of Isilon Systems, +1-206-315-7621, or lwelch@isilon.com
Web site: http://www.isilon.com/
