Members in the news
Applications
HP
Intermec
ISPCON
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Panasonic
Partners
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Members in the news

Who maintains those high tech devices when the manufacturer disappears?
If you bought a switch manufactured by InRange, Telenex, Computerm or General Signal just a few years ago, you may be experiencing some difficulty in obtaining an upgrade or having it maintained. The problems obtaining support and upgrades stem from the policies of many technology companies that designate the products of acquired companies as “end-of-life,” thus limiting sales of upgrades and parts and establishing end of service dates beyond which recent mainstay products will no longer be serviced.  This is why many of America’s corporate giants, long-time users of InRange, Telenex, Computerm and General Signal products, have turned to a small but rapidly growing company that specializes in switching and channel extension products called KCI, Inc.

KCI, Inc., which bills itself as “The Switch Capital of the World,” was originally founded in 1982 by Jeff Klein (a former engineer and software developer). KCI promptly established itself as a leading supplier of mainframe channel switching equipment manufactured by IBM, Tbar and Data Switch (the dominant manufacturers of the day) for large scale enterprise class IT centers. When the use of channel extenders became widespread, KCI - already expert in channel architecture - easily transitioned into this area, followed by Wide Area Network switching and eventually ESCON directors and Fibre Channel directors. Over the years KCI, Inc. has established itself as a leading channel connectivity specialist. Today, with twenty-five years of experience, KCI has built a nationwide maintenance organization with eleven field offices in the United States and affiliated companies in London and Singapore.  
Read more about industry consolidation and KCI’s loyal and growing customer base.^Back To Top

Applications

Fast-track to modernization for System i/iSeries applications
US Technology Resources Inc. (USTRI) and Relativity Technologies, Inc. announced the release of the jointly developed System i Modernization solution. The System i platform, formerly known as AS/400 and iSeries, is recognized for its stability and power. Yet as applications built on the platform age, they tend to become more complex and less adaptable to emerging business needs. USTRI’s proven methodologies and expertise combined with Relativity Technologies’ automated understanding and modernization of RPG and System i Cobol applications addresses these challenges -- increasing the efficiency and flexibility of clients’ System i-based applications. The System i Modernization solution begins with an assessment of the existing application portfolio that results in a detailed modernization roadmap complete with priorities and options. Building on this roadmap, the second phase generates detailed plans for the selected modernization option, for instance code revitalization or application re-engineering. The third phase then implements the selected modernization option, yielding more flexible and efficient System i applications.
Visit www.ustri.com/iSeriestech.aspx or www.relativity.com/systemi.

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HP

HP beats IBM to storage blade
IBM may lead the market for blade servers by a long shot. But HP has beaten Big Blue to market with its first storage blade. HP said that it has created a dedicated storage blade server to let customers tack on more storage simply by popping thin servers into a chassis. Used in conjunction with HP BladeSystem c-Class server blades, the HP StorageWorks SB40c storage blade serves up data for applications such as file and print, mail and messaging, video streaming, databases and distributed file systems. The SB40c consists of six disk drives with an internal RAID controller that sits next to a BladeSystem server, providing up to 876 more gigabytes of direct-attached storage (DAS) capacity to each blade within an HP BladeSystem c-Class enclosure, said Kyle Fitze, director of SAN marketing for HP StorageWorks. Supporting small form factor serial-attached SCSI or SATA drives, the SB40c's capacity and low power consumption accommodate the space and power constraints of data centers.
Visit www.hp.com.
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Intermec

Hong Kong International Airport selects Intermec RFID Gen 2 bag tag system
Intermec Inc. has been selected to provide the Gen 2 RFID (radio frequency identification) bag tag printer system for the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) in Hong Kong. The Intermec RFID Gen 2 printers will be installed at check-in counters to further enhance the existing RFID baggage sorting system, which was first installed in 2005. HKIA is the first airport in the world to implement an end-to-end RFID baggage tagging/sorting system. The Airport Authority has selected Intermec EasyCoder PF2i Baggage Tag Printers with integrated Gen 2 RFID modules to enable the use of baggage tags with embedded RFID Gen2 chips. As the system does now, the printer will print the flight and baggage data on the bag tag as visual barcode information. In addition, the integrated RFID module will encode the data to the RFID Gen 2 chip. The bag tags will be attached to all check-in baggage, which then will be sorted and loaded according to the RFID data. Intermec will install and provide service for the new printer system as well.
Visit www.intermec.com.
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ISPCON

Motorola provides connections and “Meet Up Lounge” at ISPCON
Showing strong support for the ISP industry and its premier event, Motorola is the Official Corporate Host of ISPCON Fall 2006, held November 7 – 9 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California. As part of its sponsorship, Motorola will provide attendees network-ing opportunities at a “Meet Up Lounge” on the show floor and through ISPCONNECT Forums—an electronic messaging system that enables ISPCON attendees, press, speakers, exhibitors and show management to communicate with one another before, during and after the ISPCON event. With ISPCONNECT Forums attendees can review session material, discuss issues and keep the ISPCON conversation going. In addition, two Motorola executives will speak during the ISPCON conference program.
Visit www.ispcon.com.

ISPCON to unveil innovative new products and services during ''Sneak Peek Press Preview''
Members of the media will have an exclusive opportunity to have an early look at the hottest announcements being made at ISPCON Fall 2006 during its second annual “Sneak Peek Press Preview.” After reviewing the numerous news announcements planned for release at the event, ISPCON show management hand-selected its “Top 10” most newsworthy developments, which will be unveiled during the special “Sneak Peek Press Preview” on Tuesday, November 7. Exhibitors selected to participate in this special press event include: 3tera Inc.; Barracuda Networks; Biztology; Etelos Inc.; Forval International; Hostopia; NovaStor; SiteKreator; ValuePoint Networks; and XRoads Networks. Each participating company will make a brief presentation, and the event will be followed by a reception on the show floor at which top company officials will be available to speak with members of the press.
Visit www.ispcon.com.
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Leasing

Hertz sets price range for IPO
Hertz Global Holdings, parent of Hertz Equipment Rental, is making preparations to go public less than a year after it became a private entity. Hertz was purchased in December from Ford Motor Co. for $5.6 billion in cash and assumption of $10 billion in debt by a group of private equity companies including Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc., Carlyle Group and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity. In an SEC filing, Hertz Holdings said it is offering 88,235,000 shares for a starting price of between $16.00 and $18.00. The company has been approved to list the common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol HTZ. In a statement, Hertz said it believes significant opportunities exist in its global car and equipment rental businesses. The company estimates the size of the U.S. equipment rental industry - which grew at a 9.7% compound annual growth rate between 1991 and 2005 -- to be approximately $31 billion in annual revenues. ^Back To Top

Panasonic

Panasonic notebooks certified to deliver built-in 3G BroadbandConnect service from Cingular
Panasonic Computer Solutions Company (PCSC) and Cingular Wireless announced that the semi-rugged Toughbook CF-74 notebook now features built-in support for the 3G UMTS/HSDPA BroadbandConnect Service from Cingular using Novatel Wireless’ Embedded Module. In addition, Panasonic has achieved Cingular Master Dealer status. This designation enables Panasonic to directly sell and activate Cingular Wireless services for Panasonic Toughbook preferred channel partners. The Cingular-enabled semi-rugged CF-74 joins rugged Toughbooks, the CF-29 and the industry’s only rugged convertible tablet PC, the CF-18, as part of the Panasonic’s portfolio of UMTS/HSDPA-enabled notebooks. With this additional certification, users will have the option for Cingular-powered mobile broadband access in more than 115 markets (with populations of more than 100,000) in over 50 metropolitan areas, as well as seamless EDGE wireless data network coverage in 13,000 additional cities and towns across the country outside those areas. Toughbooks with Cingular built-in will also have global wireless data capabilities with access to EDGE or GPRS data service in more than 115 countries.
Visit www.panasonic.com or www.cingular.com.
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Partners

Pentaho joins IBM Partner Program
Pentaho Corp. announced that the company has joined IBM’s Partner Program and that Pentaho Open BI Suite and Pentaho BI Suite Professional Edition are now validated on IBM’s popular DB2 9 database. This partnership opens new markets for Pentaho and provides IBM and its partners with an attractive opportunity to expand its presence in international markets and in the small- and medium-sized (SMB) business market. Pentaho and IBM have a shared commitment to open standards and J2EE technology and both companies understand the power of the open source development and distribution model. Pentaho’s architecture and portability allow Pentaho to run on all of IBM’s platforms that support Java including iSeries, pSeries and xSeries servers, and allow Pentaho to leverage IBM’s deep expertise and market awareness in key vertical industries like Financial Services, Insurance, Manufacturing, Wholesaling and others.
Visit www.pentaho.org.
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Scams

Microsoft's counterfeit auction dragnet
Using online auctions to hawk counterfeit software hasn't paid off for dozens of alleged sellers named by Microsoft. In its largest effort so far, the software giant said it filed suit against 50 online dealers who used eBay and other Internet auction sites to sell counterfeit products to unaware consumers and businesses. The U.S. topped the focus of the worldwide enforcement effort with 15 legal auctions. Others include 10 each in Germany and the Netherlands with five online dealers named each in France and the U.K., according to a statement. Microsoft said there are also proceedings in Argentina, Belgium, Korea, Mexico and Poland. Before filing the lawsuits, the defendants had been sent cease-and-desist letters, as well as the items removed from the online auction site, according to a state-ment. In all cases, it was found the sellers had engaged in copyright and trademark infringement, according to Microsoft. Microsoft intervenes in about 50,000 eBay software auctions each year that are viewed as involving copyright infringement. The software maker said more than 50 percent of discs it purchased on eBay were suspect for one reason or another. More than a third of the time -- 39 percent -- the purchases were counterfeit while another 12 percent was either counterfeit or had been tampered with.
Visit www.microsoft.com.
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