Seattle, WA  (Profitable.com)  Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI), a global leader in high-performance, high-efficiency server technology innovation and green computing, will display its latest innovations in HPC at SC11 November 14-18 in Seattle, Washington.

“Supermicro takes the lead in High Performance Computing with our new generation X9 computing platforms,” said Charles Liang, President and CEO of Supermicro. “Our close working relationships with partners like Intel® and Mellanox ensures our HPC Solutions are first-to-market with the most advanced processor and networking technologies. Supermicro’s innovations include Twin Architecture and with the upcoming FatTwin™ and Digital Switching power supplies, we will enable the HPC community with new solutions offering superior integration and even higher performance, density, and efficiency.”

At SC11, Supermicro exhibits its vast array of leading-edge HPC products. Supermicro’s X9 serverboards support future Intel® Xeon® processor E5 family, 8-Core (16 Thread) processors and are available in a multitude of form factors. The largest selection of industry standard and WIO/WIO+ motherboards offer extreme flexibility to fit any application need. 1U/2U GPU SuperServer®, Twin Architecture and SuperBlade® systems provide the highest density, highest performance solutions. 3U, 4U (SYS-7047A-6) and Workstation/Tower configurations offer solid, expandable systems. Supermicro’s advanced serverboards combined with SuperChassis and high-efficiency Power Supplies are the basis of Supermicro’s HPC Building Block Solutions® and provide the ultimate flexibility and performance for configuring application optimized solutions.

Also on display will be the latest generation X8 SuperServer® motherboards and high-end systems including GPU SuperServers in 1U, 2U and 4U configurations, the 5U 8-Way, 80-Core (160 Threads) (5086B-TRF) supporting eight 10-Core Intel® Xeon® E7-8800 processors and up to 2TB of memory and the 1U 4-Way, 32-Core server (8016B-TF) supporting four 8-Core Intel® Xeon® 7500 processors.

For ultra high-compute density Supermicro will display products from its SuperBlade line including the high-performance GPU SuperBlade (SBI-7126TG) providing 20 GPUs in a 7U SuperBlade enclosure and the TwinBlade® (SBI-7226T-T2) supporting up to 120 DP servers with 240 Intel® Xeon® 5600/5500 series processors per 42U SuperRack®. SuperBlade offers the highest computing density, fastest most cost-effective networking (InfiniBand) and most power efficient (Platinum Level 94%+) supercomputing solutions on the planet.

Additional exhibit highlights include MicroCloud (5037MC-H8TRF) with 8 Hot-Swap Nodes in a 3U, high-density Double-Sided Storage® systems and a demo of Intel’s MIC card in a 1U SuperServer.

“One size no longer fits all in the HPC industry.  A broad range of real workloads requires a range of system solutions with the latest technologies, varying ranges of memory and interconnect, and management solutions,” said Rajeeb Hazra, General Manager of Technical Computing at Intel. “The broad range of platforms supported by Supermicro serves the industry by taking the high performance technology from Intel® Xeon® processor platforms and delivering it efficiently to real applications.”

Supermicro’s HPC solutions will also be on display at Mellanox Technologies Booth (#522) with focus on the resource optimized 1U HPC server (SYS-6017R-N6RF4+) with FDR 56Gb/s InfiniBand interconnect technology.

“We are proud to partner with leading system builder Supermicro on HPC endeavors, and together open doors for the research and business community to faster processing than ever before,” said David Barzilai, vice president of marketing at Mellanox. “With onboard Mellanox ConnectX®-3 FDR 56Gb/s InfiniBand adapters, Supermicro’s HPC solutions are perfectly suited to take advantage of our continuously evolving I/O solutions, providing end-users with unprecedented application and job runtime benefits.”

Supermicro’s total SC11 showcase presents the company’s broad spectrum of HPC building block solutions, industry-wide partnerships and unparalleled integration of the latest high performance computing technologies. See Supermicro’s extensive portfolio of supercomputing solutions in Booth #2918. For more information on all Supermicro computing solutions, visit www.supermicro.com.

About Super Micro Computer, Inc.

Supermicro® (NASDAQ: SMCI), the leading innovator in high-performance, high-efficiency server technology is a premier provider of advanced server Building Block Solutions® for HPC, Data Center, Cloud Computing, Enterprise IT and Embedded Systems worldwide. Supermicro is committed to protecting the environment through its “We Keep IT Green®” initiative by providing customers with the most energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly solutions available on the market.

Supermicro, TwinBlade, SuperBlade, SuperServer, 2U Twin2, SuperRack and We Keep IT Green are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Super Micro Computer, Inc.

Intel, Intel Xeon, the Intel Xeon logo and the Intel logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

Mellanox and ConnectX are registered trademarks of Mellanox Technologies, Ltd.

Honolulu, HI  (Profitable.com)  The Hawaii State Public Library System (HSPLS), in partnership with Microsoft Corp., has announced that HSPLS has become the first statewide public library system in the world to adopt Digital Literacy and Microsoft IT Academy programs for technology training and preparation for certifications for all library patrons in Hawaii. The Microsoft IT Academy Program is the first training program to launch under the HSPLS HI Tech Academy initiative and is expected to reach nearly 1 million people across the state of Hawaii.

Craig Mundie, Microsoft chief research and strategy officer; Donald Horner, chairman of the Hawaii State Board of Education; and Richard Burns, Hawaii State librarian, announced the kickoff of the Microsoft IT Academy in a news conference today at the Hawaii State Library.

The Microsoft IT Academy Program includes training and certification in Microsoft products, such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint, in addition to advanced subjects such as programming, Web development and database development. The program’s digital literacy resources will equip Hawaii’s library patrons with the technical skills needed to become more employable and successful in the 21st-century workplace.

“For students and workers alike, technological literacy is essential to compete in today’s economy,” Mundie said. “Programs that help nurture 21st-century skills at scale will help prepare more people in Hawaii, in the U.S. and around the world to participate and succeed in the global workforce.”

The Microsoft IT Academy provides access to e-learning, certification preparation and official Microsoft course materials, which will help users qualify for and acquire industry-recognized Microsoft Office Specialist, Microsoft Technology Associate or Microsoft Certified Professional certifications.

Funding for the Microsoft IT Academy is provided by the federal Library Services and Technology Act, which is administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The launch of the Microsoft IT Academy marks the first time the subscription-based program will be made available to Hawaii’s library users through in-library and remote access via Windows Internet Explorer. In Hawaii, hundreds of thousands of library cardholders will have free, unlimited access to more than 350 Microsoft courses, ranging from basic computer skills to advanced network architecture and design. The Microsoft IT Academy will provide many of the vocational and adult-education resources that have been reduced in Hawaii as a result of budget cuts.

“IT certifications are increasingly recognized as valuable credentials that give young people expanded career opportunities,” Horner said. “The Microsoft IT Academy ensures patrons equal access to IT training and certification through all libraries across the state, regardless of location or economic status.”

The Microsoft IT Academy will expand educational, workforce development and lifelong learning opportunities for all the people of Hawaii. The program will also help students, as library patrons, become college- and career-ready upon graduation from high school and will improve their abilities to compete in the rapidly evolving modern workplace.

“With the unveiling of the Microsoft IT Academy, we are excited that all our patrons — from keiki to kupuna — will be able to access technology training that has the potential to affect transformational change in Hawaii’s education and workforce landscape and is closely aligned with Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s New Day in Hawaii Plan’s Hawaii Broadband Initiative and his emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math education,” Burns said. “We enthusiastically encourage all our patrons to take full advantage of the Microsoft IT Academy — it will truly benefit everyone who participates.”

Access to the Microsoft IT Academy will be available through the HSPLS website, http://www.librarieshawaii.org. Library patrons with valid library cards can access the courses of their choice by following simple instructions. The courses are accessible at any time in all public libraries and remotely. The courses are self-paced and several sessions in length, and patrons can stop and resume their coursework at their convenience.

Patrons who decide to pursue Microsoft Office Specialist, Microsoft Technology Associate or Microsoft Certified Professional certifications will have the opportunity to take an exam at an official Microsoft Certification site. Access to the Microsoft IT Academy, a list of the certification sites and course curriculum are available on the library system’s website at http://www.librarieshawaii.org.

About HSPLS

The Hawaii State Public Library System is the nation’s only statewide public library system, comprised of 50 branches located on six islands. Its mission is to provide Hawaii’s residents, in all walks of life, and at each stage of their lives, with access to education, information, programs and services, and to teach and nurture the love of reading and the habit of life-long learning.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Bloomfield Hills, MI  (Profitable.com)  That’s Biz, a leading online restaurant marketing firm is Michigan-based and pleased to offer Michigan restaurants a 35 percent discount on its Email Marketing and Facebook Marketing monthly service fees.

“Restaurant owners are some of the hardest working people we know” said Dave Gonynor CEO of That’s Biz. “We work with thousands of restaurants across the US. Michigan restaurants have been hit particularly hard these past few years.”

That’s Biz has designed its services for busy restaurant owners that don’t have time to create email marketing messages and figure out how to take advantage of social media tools like Facebook.

“We hear it all the time from restaurant owners that they do not have the time create email messages or manage a Facebook page,” Gonynor continues. “They certainly want to save money but they just don’t know how to get started and how to get the most value from these services.”

That’s Biz works exclusively with restaurants. Dedicated account managers create the customer email messages for the restaurant owner. That’s Biz has been helping restaurants manage their Facebook pages for the past three years.

Dave concludes, “We have built some amazing industry first email marketing and Facebook tools that are low cost and take very little of the owner’s time. We’re hoping that this lower pricing will help Michigan restaurants lower their marketing costs and increase business.”

The That’s Biz website has some very short videos that show the services and how a restaurant can benefit from these services. The standard pricing, savings button, and order form is listed on the Pricing tab on website.

The That’s Biz special discount offer runs through December of 2011 and guarantees pricing for all of 2012.

About That’s Biz

That’s Biz provides email marketing, Facebook marketing and online survey services for thousands of restaurant locations across North America. For more information visit http://www.thatsbiz.com.

New York, NY  (Profitable.com)  Mobile users can try EyeBrights products simply by taking a self-portrait with a camera-enabled mobile phone and sending it to eyebrights(at)agm(dot)tw as an MMS/picture message or email. The mobiSHADES mobile service immediately analyzes the user’s facial structure and returns an image displaying an EyeBrights™ eye-wear selection superimposed on the user’s facial image. The mobiSHADES service then provides links to a mobile site where more quality EyeBrights™ eye-wear models can be selected for display on the user’s photo.

While the mobiSHADES service is remarkable in its ability to immediately and accurately show users how they look in a particular style or color of EyeBrights™ reading glasses using ordinary feature phones as well as smart phones and it doesn’t stop there. mobiSHADES allows customers to share their images on social media platforms where they can ask friends to vote for the best-looking style. Additionally, mobiSHADES provides a quick-purchase mobile e-commerce platform with unique security features.

“We love the fact that anyone can now virtually try on our various styles of eyebrights™ to see what looks best for their face as well as how to turn them on and off”, said David Ropes, Co – Founder of eyebrights™.

The mobiSHADES application is a development of Mobius image recognition software, which has been used worldwide in a variety of mobile applications from advertising to food security and anti-counterfeiting technology.

“We think mobiSHADES will help EyeBrights™ to enter the mobile market quickly and securely,” said Mobius International CEO Aram Kovach. “All Mobius applications are flexible and designed to satisfy the needs of mobile users as well as the retailer or producer because Mobius does not require anything more than a camera-enabled mobile phone. In the case of EyeBrights™, we’ve matched the service with the power of social media, which helps customers make better choices and provides EyeBrights™ with a new and powerful market reach. In addition, once a user completes their first mobiSHADES experience, EyeBrights™ will also be able to follow up with the user with special offers or other sales-building information.”

The sophisticated mobiSHADES mobile image recognition system determines the capabilities of the mobile device that has sent the image, and returns content that is best suited for that particular device. For example, a “smart phone” user will receive access to high quality, optimized video and still images, whereas a “regular” mobile phone will receive video and images at file sizes and resolutions that are in line with its capabilities.

Mobius image recognition service is free to registered members, requires no downloads, and works internationally across all mobile devices and service providers. Mobius also responds in the primary language of the country where a call originates. Users pay only the charges associated with their mobile phone service contract.

For more information visit http://www.EyeBrights.net and http://mobishades.mobiusworld.me.

About: EyeBrights™

EyeBrights are a product of Vision Group LLC. EyeBrights are licensed from Waters Industries under U.S. Patent #’s 6,612,695; 6,863,416; 7,104,670 and 7,377,664.

About: CompEx, Inc.

CompEx, Inc., the parent company of Mobius International the image recognition technology in mobile commerce] which provides comprehensive integrated web solutions to solve the complex connectivity problems facing today’s organizations. Based in Columbus, Ohio, CompEx, Inc. is a privately-funded company formed in 1992 as a technology brand of global invention and vision to develop solutions for new business ventures. CompEx specializes in interactive mobile marketing, web and mobile application development, business intelligence, infrastructure/security, and digital data management. Our innovative thinking, knowledge and systematic work methodology enable us to provide our customers with timely and highly effective solutions.

For more information about CompEx, Inc. or Mobius, contact our US Headquarters (877) 829-0536 or visit mobiusworld.me or mobiSHADES.MobiusWorld.ME

New York, NY  (Profitable.com)  Hotlist (http://www.Hotlist.com), the social planning and discovery platform, has released a slew of advanced features and sleeker interface for their website and iPhone app. The tech startup aims to simplify the way friends coordinate plans and discover what will be happening today, tomorrow, and throughout the week at millions of venues worldwide.

Hotlisters can now take “virtual peeks” into venues hours or days in advance to see Facebook profile photos of the expected crowds, details of upcoming events, male: female ratios, and which of their Facebook friends (even if they’re not Hotlist users) plan to attend.

Hotlist has also launched a new social coordination tool, named “Planner,” which allows users to quickly determine the best time and place for a get-together with invited Facebook friends. Built for ease and speed, Planner helps friends coordinate more effectively than email, phone calls, text messages, and even Facebook.

Hotlist aggregates public plans in order to show users which places will be trending nearby. Users receive even more personalized social recommendations based on the friends, places, events, and brands they follow.

Already named one of the Top 100 Websites of 2010 by PC Magazine and nominated for Best Location-Based Service at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, Hotlist now seems poised to become the first major application to help people plan their offline social lives.

“Hotlist is the first location-based service to completely focus on simplifying people’s social lives. Our goal is to leverage the connective power of social media and smartphones to encourage real-world interaction,” said Chris Mirabile, co-Founder and CEO of Hotlist.

Available for free download in the Apple iTunes Store, Hotlist is the first app to use over 100 million people’s plans to provide social information on over 2.7 million venues in more than 40,000 cities. Hotlist makes social decisions easier by pulling public data from Facebook and Twitter and customizing it for each user based on their social preferences.

Additional Information:

Hotlist Promo Video: http://www.hotlist.com/promo

Hotlist Media Kit: http://www.hotlist.com/mediakit

About Hotlist

Hotlist puts you in the right place, at the right time by making it easy to coordinate with friends and discover what people are planning at millions of places worldwide. Hotlisters use their smartphones, computers and tablets to see which places are trending nearby. By following People, Places & Interests, you receive even more personalized social recommendations about what’s happening today, tomorrow and throughout the week. Staying in the loop has never been easier! While there are a lot of factors that go into having a stellar time, it’s usually not about where you are as much as who you’re with. On Hotlist, you can take virtual peeks into places hours or days in advance to see which friends plan to be there (even if they’re not on Hotlist), event details, girl/guy ratios, and Facebook profile photos of the expected crowd!

Think of Hotlist as the friend at the party you call to ask “Hey, how is it?” Except we know everyone and always pick up.

Plan. Follow. Socialize at http://www.Hotlist.com.

Contact:

Elisabeth Murphy, Zito Partners
Tel: 631.838.7964
Email: Elisabeth@zitopartners.com

Bob Zito, Zito Partners
Tel: 908.546.7447
Email: Bob@zitopartners.com

Merrimack, NH  (Profitable.com)  The results are in, and the gift experts at Brookstone have announced four hot buying trends this Holiday season. The product development company and specialty retailer is seeing a strong attraction to four key product categories, ranging from app control and iPad tablets to massage and merry-making.

“We’re seeing a continuation of the home entertaining trend and have several winning products sure to be the hit of the party,” said Brookstone CEO Ron Boire. “With 300 gifts under fifty dollars and hundreds more on Brookstone.com, shoppers are sure to find clever gifts for everyone on their list for a great value at Brookstone.”

Holiday Gift Trends at Brookstone for 2011

Total App-Control

App-controlled vehicles have achieved techno-nirvana by successfully combining the live-action toys with streaming video and night vision. Here’s the rundown on this year’s best app gifts.

Rover Wireless Spy Tank

It’s the video-streaming, night-vision wireless tank that’s taking over holiday wish lists across the nation. Drives by iPod touch®, iPhone® or iPad® device using free downloadable app. For ages 14 and up. $149.99

Parrot® AR.Drone™ Quadricopter

Built-in Wi-Fi connection, accelerometer and gyroscopes let pilots fly it using an iPod touch, iPhone, iPad® or Android™ device using free downloadable app. Built-in video cameras let the pilot view the flight from the AR.Drone’s perspective. For ages 14 and up. $299.99

Wi-Fi Racer

Ready, set… GO! This app-controlled 1/10-scale racecar generates its own Wi-Fi. Drivers can steer the racer using the accelerometer on their iPod touch, iPhone, iPad or Android devices. Beginner, advanced and expert driving modes keep things interesting. For ages 14 and up. $99.99

Tankbots

Tankbots are mini vehicles that can be driven via Apple iOS or Android™ devices. Infrared obstacle detection and an autonomous personality mode to explore terrain and navigate through mazes, and even duel each other. Available in multiple colors. For ages 8 and up. $29.99 each

Soulo™ Karaoke—Wireless Microphone with Pitch Control

Soulo takes the music in any iPad, iPod touch or iPhone device, strips out the vocal, and then lets anyone be the star of the show. Soulo streams lyrics onto the screen and uses real-time pitch enhancement to keep less-than-professional singers in tune. $99.99

Hot Gifts for iPad Lovers

More iPad users in the world means more people trying to personalize and accessorize. Brookstone is the gift destination for the tablet lover on everyone’s list.

Bluetooth® Keyboard Portfolio  

Foldover portfolio has a built-in Bluetooth® wireless keyboard that lets iPad users type with wild abandon. In cool new colors.$99.99

Brookstone® Boombox    

Lose the cassettes not the swagger. This portable stereo lets people “share” music with everyone on the block… just by docking their iPad tablet. $129.99

Hot for the Host

Brookstone is happy to announce that the party is back with a vengeance. Here’s what’s coming to parties this year.

Automatic Wine Opener with Built-in Foil Cutter

Corks (and foils) have met their match. Thirsty guests will be impressed by how quickly this opener lets them get to their wine. It’s placed over the bottle, a twist removes the wine foil, and then a push of the button removes the cork. Cordless and rechargeable. $49.99

Vinturi® Wine Aerator

Guests may think the wine is more expensive than it really is. This handheld device instantly “breathes” wine as each glass is poured, enhancing flavor and bouquet. Available for red or white wines and for liquors. From $39.99

Obol®, the Never-Soggy Cereal Bowl

If adult beverages aren’t the main attraction at the party, Obol® makes a great conversation-starting gift for your hosts (or their kids). This very modern-looking bowl has two sections—an upper area for cereal (or holiday cookies), and a lower reservoir for milk. One swoops a scoop of cereal onto a spoon, then swoops into the milk for the perfect crispy bite every time. Also great for soup and crackers or chips and salsa. $19.99

Feel-Good Gifts

Feel-good gifts like massagers, slippers and memory foam pillows are always popular during the holiday season.

Brookstone® Body Bean

It’s a high-tech update on the beloved hot water bottle that’s cordless and rechargeable. It’s great for soothing aches and pains, tired muscles, and for just keeping warm on a chilly day. $34.99

3-in-1 Heated Wrap—with Body Bean

Pairs a cordless Body Bean with versatile body wrap that holds the Bean against the lower back, neck and shoulders, or anywhere else soothing warmth is needed. $49.99

Active Sport Handheld Massager

Brookstone is finding that athletes and other active people are using handheld massagers to soothe and loosen up muscles before and after workouts. The Active Sport Massager packs plenty of massaging horsepower and has 3 interchangeable massage heads that let users target specific areas or enjoy all-over relief. $69.99

Tempur-Pedic® Comfort-Step Slippers

Revolutionary Tempur-Pedic® slippers deliver maximum comfort with a pressure-relieving breathable material, while the durable hard sole is ideal for around the house and quick trips out to the mailbox. “The best slippers I’ve ever owned … I would never think about wearing another type of slipper now.” - Susie, Brookstone Customer Review $49.99

Brookstone, Inc., is an innovative product development company and specialty retailer of unique gifts. Brookstone operates 300 stores nationwide and in Puerto Rico. Typically located in high-traffic regional shopping malls and airports, the stores feature unique and innovative consumer products. The Company also operates a Direct Marketing business that includes the Brookstone catalog and an e-commerce website at Brookstone.com. Fans of the Company are encouraged to Like Brookstone on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.

Product prices and availability subject to change without notice.

Contact:
Kristina Lynch
Tara Ink
+1-305-864-3434 ext 153
kristina@taraink.com

Baltimore  (Profitable.com)  MILCOM – Raising the bar on performance and precision standards for mission critical applications, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE:TXN) is offering developers the industry’s highest performing multicore digital signal processors based on its TMS320C66x DSP generation. Ideal for applications such as software defined radios (SDRs), radar, surveillance and imaging cameras, TI’s C66x DSP generation offers developers a variety of multicore solutions and capabilities, combined with an expanded array of IP cores and development software and tools, enabling sophisticated system architectures that are both power- and cost-efficient. With TI’s C66x multicore DSPs, developers can more effectively meet the essential requirements of increasing processing power, accuracy and finer resolution in mission critical applications.

“The defense sensor processing market has an almost endless thirst for computational power often with the need for low power devices,” said Bill Lundgren, CEO, Gedae, Inc. “The high bandwidth on-chip data, available on-chip memory, flexibility of a MIMD multicore and massive available compute bandwidth make this family of multicore DSPs from TI very appealing for mission critical applications.”

Meeting the needs of mission critical developers

Functionality, reliability and ease of use are vital factors mission critical developers must take into consideration when designing quality system applications. TI’s C66x multicore DSPs deliver the industry’s first 10-GHz DSP with fixed- and floating-point performance on a single device for increased precision, a key requirement for mission critical systems. Additionally, C66x multicore DSPs increase system capabilities by consolidating the functionality of multiple DSPs onto a single device, saving board space and cost and alleviating the challenge of size, weight and power (SwaP), as well as reducing overall clock rates and power consumptions. TI’s multicore DSPs also address interface bandwidth requirements, such as SRIO, PCIe and Hyperlink. And for those applications required to work under extreme physical conditions, such as scorching temperatures and sustaining system long shelf life, TI’s multicore solutions offer lead solder ball packages at industrial temperatures, making the C66x family highly reliable and useful in mission critical applications.

Meeting the needs of SDRs

TI’s C66x DSP generation includes the TMS320C6670 radio SoC, a 1.2 GHz four core device, boasting improved accelerators for software defined radios (SDRs), public safety and emerging broadband radio systems. The C6670 includes a multistandard Bit Rate Coprocessor (BCP) as well as other coprocessors that accelerate physical layer processing for LTE, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA and WiMAX, substantially increasing system capacity and performance with low latency. In addition, the well balanced programmable CPU cores and configurable accelerators enable software defined radios with a simplified programming model. The addition of improved accelerators further helps to develop multistandard communications-centric solutions for the mission critical industry. In addition, TI’s KeyStone multicore architecture allows developers to use the same platform, across TI’s C66x multicore DSPs, for supporting multiple and complex waveforms in SDRs.

Meeting the needs of intelligent radar systems

Today’s radar systems demand faster processing time for Fast-Fourier transform (FFT). TI’s C66x multicore DSPs provide a path for parallel processing in order to meet the FFT processing time requirements. Radar developers can choose to use all of the cores or some of the cores to meet FFT time repose requirements. Once FFT performance is met within a radar system, developers can use the other C66x DSP cores to perform pre and/or post processing of the signals or other tasks in the system. In addition, TI’s software tools provide full multicore entitlement to determine the best core configuration, allowing developers more flexibility to meet multiple requirements of radar systems.

Meeting the needs of surveillance and imaging systems

With the advent of cloud computing, there is a move for more centralized networks in surveillance applications, as well as a growing demand for advanced video analytics algorithms to assist in managing the increasing number of camera inputs. All of these demands require a significant amount of processing capabilities. TI’s C66x multicore DSPs offer mission critical developers a large collection of algorithms from industry leading third parties and partners, as well as the ability to easily develop their own algorithms with TI’s Vision Library. TI’s Vision Library includes over 40 common kernels which serve as the essential building blocks of most video analytic algorithms. In addition, TI offers developers advanced codecs, including JPEG 2000, for the best possible image quality, low latency and no inter-frame dependencies which are necessary for many government regulated applications.

In addition to SDRs, radars and surveillance and imaging systems, TI’s C66x multicore DSPs have ideal uses in application areas including, flight control, routing, servers, video processing networks and security.

Easing development with multicore software, tools and low cost EVMs

With its robust suite of multicore software, tools and low cost evaluation modules (EVMs), TI is easing development and getting customers closer to tapping the full performance of multicore. Significant updates to TI’s multicore software kit and toolset, include Linux software, optimized libraries, support for the OpenMP programming model and a free multicore software development kit (MCSDK). Development and evaluation of the C66x multicore devices is made easy with comprehensive low cost EVMs available from TI. Designers can begin development on the C6678 multicore DSP with the TMDSEVM6678L for$399. The EVM includes a free MCSDK, Code Composer Studio™ integrated development environment (IDE) and suite of application/demo codes to allow programmers to quickly come up to speed on the new platform.

TI’s KeyStone multicore architecture

Texas Instruments’ KeyStone multicore architecture is the platform for true multicore innovation, offering developers a robust portfolio of high performance, low-power multicore devices. Unleashing breakthrough performance, the KeyStone architecture is the foundation upon which TI’s new TMS320C66x DSP generation was developed. KeyStone differs from any other multicore architecture as it has the capacity to provide full processing capability to every core in a multicore device. KeyStone-based devices are optimized for high performance markets including wireless base stations, mission critical, test and automation, medical imaging and high performance computing. Learn more at www.ti.com/c66multicore.

TI’s HiRel analog and embedded processing portfolio

In addition to commercial and industrial temperature offerings, TI’s HiRel group is helping shape technology to improve the quality and accessibility of defense, avionic and aerospace applications, offering an enhanced product portfolio where high reliability and long service life are required. All of TI’s analog and embedded processing products are available in industry-standard packages, which have the benefits of a controlled baseline, extended product change notification, extended temperature performance and qualification pedigree. TI guarantees all products will manufacture to datasheet specifications. For more information, please visit www.ti.com/ep.

For more information:

• Watch TI’s multicore Ask The Experts series
• Engage with engineers and TI experts on the TI E2E™ Community and Multicore Mix
• Follow TI on Twitter
• Become a fan of TI on Facebook

About Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments semiconductor innovations help 80,000 customers unlock the possibilities of the world as it could be – smarter, safer, greener, healthier and more fun. Our commitment to building a better future is ingrained in everything we do – from the responsible manufacturing of our semiconductors, to caring for our employees, to giving back inside our communities. This is just the beginning of our story.  Learn more at www.ti.com.

Trademarks

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Portland, OR  (Profitable.com)  Chrome Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRAK), and a leader in managing automotive data, today announced the availability of its newly expanded Image Gallery solution, a comprehensive and cost-effective library of vehicle photographs for enhancing vehicle descriptions and creating eye-catching online presentations.

The expanded Image Gallery includes up to 21 of the most requested exterior and interior vehicle views, and three exterior angles (front-3/4, rear-3/4 and side profile) of color-matched images in every paint color available for specific vehicles and models. The solution’s images can be cost-effectively and efficiently delivered through a common media server and can be linked to a Chrome StyleID for integration optimization.

“Our new Chrome Image Gallery is the next best thing to a test drive,” said Amit Maheshwari, general manager, DealerTrack Data Services. “Chrome’s studio-quality multi-view and color-matched images deliver the broad coverage and exact angles automotive retailers need to economically enhance their online vehicle data and take their listings to the next level of presentation.”

About Chrome

Chrome Systems, Inc., provides vehicle content, software, technology and services to deliver complete enterprise solutions to all segments of the automotive retail industry. Chrome pioneered the technology behind electronic vehicle configuration with the introduction of PC Carbook, and since 1986 has collected, analyzed and enhanced “raw” automotive data from all manufacturers.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

Statements in this press release regarding the benefits of Chrome’s Image Gallery and all other statements in this release other than the recitation of historical facts are forward-looking statements (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995).  These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements of DealerTrack to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Factors that might cause such a difference include the adoption of Chrome Image Gallery by Chrome’s customers, Chrome’s ability to continue to provide updated images, and other risks listed in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2010. These filings can be found on DealerTrack’s website at www.dealertrack.com and the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements included herein speak only as of the date hereof and DealerTrack disclaims any obligation to revise or update such statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or circumstances.

(Profitable.com)  Processing means not-yet-shipping, and shipping out orders is what makes customers happy. To that end, The Flag Company, Inc. has just introduced a new order-processing system that decreases processing time and increases order-fulfillment rate.

“We realize”, said Mike Lawrence, Vice President of Marketing, “that to remain America’s number one source for flags, we must continue to improve our customer service while providing the best quality products as fast as possible. To accomplish this, we have streamlined our order-processing procedures to substantially shorten the time it takes between receiving an order and shipping the product. Any new computer system is a major investment and a real headache to implement but our customers will notice the difference, and that makes it worthwhile.”

In conjunction with the software/computer upgrades, modifications in the Warehouse completed the project. Reorganization of stock and improved shipping lines facilitate the packing process.

To complement their internal ability to quickly process orders, The Flag Company, Inc. is working with its suppliers and contractors to reduce turnaround time for non-stock and custom items. The Flag Company, Inc. is becoming a lean, mean, order-processing machine.

“We want our customer,” continued Mike, “to have a pleasant, quick, and satisfying buying experience with us and this new system is another step to assuring that they do.”

About The Flag Company, Inc.

The Flag Company, Inc. offers a complete range of flags and flag-related products in addition to its line of flagpoles and Flagpole Beacon. Custom screen printing and digital printing are available for special events, corporate logos, etc. Stock merchandise includes U.S., state, international and military flags and all types of accessories such as bunting, memorial cases, pennants and more. The Flag Company, Inc. is the nation’s largest producer of message flags, offering over 300 different messages, which are used by realtors, restaurants, car dealerships and every other kind of company imaginable. Toothpick flags – both stock and custom-made to order – are also available. The complete product line can be viewed at the website, http://www.flagco.com. “Feel Good Light-Ups”, a decorative light lens for fluorescent light fixtures became so popular that they have their own website, http://www.feelgoodlightups.com. Flagpoles and Flagpole Beacons are featured at http://www.flagpolewarehouse.com.

Delray Beach, FL  (Profitable.com)  Online travel retailer, iCruise.com® announced today the launch of its mobile cruise website, http://m.icruise.com.  The new site provides real time cruise pricing and booking capability and offers much of the same functionality as the company website www.iCruise.com, but optimized for hand-held mobile devices.

The iCruise® mobile website features an easy to use layout with comprehensive information on more than 20 cruise lines, 200 ships, and 12,000 itineraries.  Additionally, the iCruise® mobile website includes ship amenities, public room photos, port information, and complete online pricing and booking on 10 cruise lines including Royal Caribbean Cruises, Carnival Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Disney Cruise Line, and Norwegian Cruise Line.

“The number of people visiting our websites from mobile devices is growing,” said Uf Tukel, Co-President and co-founder of iCruise.com® parent company WMPH Vacations, “Clearly clients are changing – not only in how they search and buy cruises, but how they communicate as well.  We want to give them the tools they need to make it easy and convenient to work with us in any way they want.”

This is the third initiative in mobile cruise retailing from iCruise.com.  Its CruiseFinder™ iPhone and Android apps are the most popular and comprehensive mobile cruise apps in the travel industry.  Both are available as free downloads on the iTunes Appstore and in the Android Marketplace or at the company’s website at www.iCruise.com/mobileapps

About www.iCruise.com

iCruise® is a unit of WMPH Vacations, an award-winning global cruise and travel retail company headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida.  WMPH also operates www.CruiseCheap.com,www.EuropeCruises.com, www.AlaskaCruises.com, www.HawaiiCruiseOutlet.com, and www.RegentCruises.com.

For More Information Contact:
Uf Tukel – President WMPH Vacations
Tel:  (800) 427-8473 ext 7844 -  Email:  Uf.Tukel@WMPH.com

Navigating a Night on the Town Made Easier with New Android Apps

Redwood City, CA  (Profitable.com)  Imagine standing on a busy street corner in the nightlife district of an unfamiliar city. You want to find someplace to have a good time, but you’re not sure where to go. A new series of QuickClick apps from Marketimpacts.com makes finding places to go as easy as on button tap.

The QuickClick Locale Series offers a number of apps, each focused on a specific need. Apps for a night out include:

• Nightlife
• Restaurants
• Fast Food
• Casinos
• Coffee
• Dessert
• Gas Stations
• Parking
• ATMs

“There are times when you need information very quickly and easily” said Don Cowan, the lead QuickClick apps developer and Director of Software Engineering at Marketimpacts.com. “We designed these apps to deliver instant results with as little as one click. People can mix and match our apps to give themselves a custom group of easy to click icons.”

“We put a lot of effort into designing the user interface” said Cowan. “If you need to enter some extra information, such as the type of cuisine for a restaurant, it can all be done on just one QuickClick screen.”

“Studies, and our own experiences, have shown that the popularity of an app is directly correlated with how quickly it can be learned and used. QuickClick apps are designed around these needs.”

According to statistics on the Android Developers Console, downloads of the QuickClick apps are growing at a rate of 20% month over month and they have been installed in over 50 countries.

QuickClick Apps are available for download on the Android Market and more information can be found on the QuickClick Apps web page. To find the apps from a smartphone or tablet, search the Android Market for “QuickClick Apps”.

The Marketimpacts.com team develops software for smartphones, tablets and PCs.
Marketimpacts, QuickClick and Locale are trademarks of Arelinda Technology Group, Inc.
For more information, visit http://www.marketimpacts.com.

Richmond, CA  (Profitable.com)  California based solar hot water equipment manufacturer Heliodyne has now received certification by The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) on the Commercial Solar Station, otherwise known as the HCOM. This signifies a major milestone not just for Heliodyne, but for the solar water heating industry in general as the HCOM is the first commercial scale pre-assembled heat transfer appliance that carries the IAPMO certification.

The HCOM is a packaged closed-loop heat transfer appliance for accommodating large solar hot water projects of up to 100 flat plate collectors, while still larger projects can combine HCOMs in parallel for limitless sizing potential. The HCOM was engineered by Heliodyne in order to offer installers a factory assembled, plug and play appliance that can work universally with any commercial project reducing the design complexity and time associated with larger installations. “Commercial solar thermal systems can be complicated to the average solar professional or plumbing contractor. The HCOM eliminates a lot of the sizing and engineering guesswork making larger solar commercial projects an easier task.” comments Nicole Cusick, head Engineer at Heliodyne. “And now with the unit being IAPMO certified, the engineer and installer on the project as well as the inspector can trust that it has gone through rigorous testing and inspection to pass all UPC code compliances and requirements.”

The HCOM contains all major balance of system components that compromise a typical commercial solar water heating system. Some notable features of the HCOM include “plug and play” installation, touch screen interface, advanced controller for remote web based monitoring and data storage, single/double wall heat exchanger and integrated variable speed pumps for system energy optimization. “We’re seeing a growing demand in solar thermal commercial projects.” says Ole Pilgaard, President of Heliodyne. “We’re confident that with the simplicity of installing the HCOM, commercial jobs will not only be a simpler task for experienced installers, but also a viable option for less experienced installers new to commercial solar”

More information on the HCOM can be found at http://www.heliodyne.com or by calling the main office at 1.888.878.8750.

About Heliodyne

Established in 1976, Heliodyne has acquired a solid reputation of engineering and manufacturing quality solar water heating equipment for both residential and commercial applications. With offices and manufacturing facilities in Richmond, California, the company manufactures and assembles a variety of solar water heating products including the Gobi line of solar flat plate collectors and the Helio-Pak heat transfer appliances.

Heliodyne is the North American branch of SolarCAP, the active parent company of the VKR Group’s thermal solar energy business area, a holding based in Europe.

SolarCAP’s vision is to become the leading provider of sustainable energy solutions focusing on thermal solar energy – while at the same time making thermal solar energy the most environmentally sound and cost-effective source of energy.

SolarCAP is owned by VKR Holding, which is one of Denmark’s largest and most respected industrial investors, as well as owner and developer of companies that bring daylight, fresh air and a better environment into people’s everyday lives.

Beijing  (Profitable.com)  Air China, Boeing (NYSE: BA), and Chinese and U.S. aviation energy partners recently  conducted China’s first sustainable biofuel flight. The two-hour mainland flight from Beijing Capital International Airport was witnessed by officials from both countries and highlights the viability of using sustainable aviation biofuel sourced in China.

“Through our collaborative efforts with China we have found an incredible partner and place where national capability, innovation and technology come together in a remarkable way,” said Boeing China President Marc Allen. “This historic flight illustrates exactly how bilateral collaboration can help address environmental challenges, and we commend the Chinese for their leadership in helping to develop sustainable aviation solutions.”

PetroChina, working with Honeywell’s UOP, sourced and refined the China-grown, jatropha-based biofuel used for today’s flight aboard a Boeing 747-400 powered by Pratt & Whitney engines. China National Aviation Fuel blended the biofuel with traditional jet fuel and also provided aircraft fueling support.

China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) and Boeing also announced an agreement for further study of regional biofuel development. The study results will help support future efforts to establish a sustainable aviation biofuels industry in China, and also form the foundation for an announced renewable energy agreement between the U.S. Trade and Development Agency and the NEA.  

Air China and Boeing are already working plans for an international flight between the U.S. and China fueled by sustainable biofuel, which will highlight increasing cooperation on renewable energy development between the two countries.

“The recent success of our biofuel initiatives with government, energy and aviation organizations in China and around the world underscores the tremendous support that exists for the macro-economic benefits and value aviation provides through its unique ability to connect people, cultures, goods and services,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes Vice President of Environment and Aviation Policy, Billy Glover. “Working closely with the Chinese and U.S. energy agencies we can reduce carbon emissions in the two largest aviation markets, while helping to ensure sustainable industry growth.”

The China-Boeing aviation partnership dates back nearly a century, with more than half of all commercial jets operating inChina today being Boeing aircraft. Boeing and its partners, including the US-China Energy Cooperation Program, are now jointly addressing the challenges of sustainability and working to establish a pathway for China to create a sustainable aviation biofuel industry. Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Boeing Research & Technology are at the forefront of the global effort to expand aviation’s fuel supply through sustainable options. For more information on Boeing’s sustainable biofuel initiatives, please visit www.newairplane.com/environment or www.SAFUG.org.

Lyon Station, PA  (Profitable.com)  East Penn Manufacturing Co., Inc., and its subsidiary Ecoult, announces the launch of Public Service Co. of New Mexico’s (PNM) Prosperity Energy Storage Project in Albuquerque, NM. This project integrates an Advanced VRLA (Valve-Regulated Lead-Acid) and UltraBattery energy storage solution with a separately installed 500 kW solar plant. Its purpose is to provide simultaneous voltage smoothing for consistent energy levels and peak shifting to deliver energy when it’s needed the most.

East Penn, through its subsidiary Ecoult, is bringing these breakthrough technologies to market as complete energy storage solutions and modules ready for custom integration. Ecoult engineered and integrated the energy storage system, and developed the Smart Grid platform that controls both the batteries and the power conversion system.

“This is an exciting time to be in the energy storage business. Advanced lead acid batteries can play a major role in solar and wind systems, smart grid technology, and other applications as well. The energy landscape is evolving, and we’re well positioned to change with it,” stated Sally Miksiewicz, CEO of East Penn.

This project was achieved with the collaboration of many key partners, led by PNM and including the Department of Energy Smart Grid Storage Demonstration Program, the University of New Mexico, Northern New Mexico College, Sandia National Laboratories, and Electric Power Research Institute. Ecoult also worked with a number of US manufacturers who supplied critical components of the project, including S&C Electric Company that provided a Purewave™ PCS for power conversion and grid integration, Sea Box, Inc.’s contract services for assembly of containerized components, Peterson Panel’s power panels, and KTR Associates’ interconnection design.

John Wood, CEO of Ecoult stated, “We thank our partner US manufacturers for their dedication in bringing this project online in less than a year, PNM for hosting the demonstration, and the US DOE for financially supporting the project. Together this team is demonstrating the multiple Smart Grid benefits of electrical energy storage, and its role in the electric grid of the future.”

This is the first of 16 Smart Grid energy storage demonstrations funded from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 to go live.

Additionally, East Penn with Ecoult is commissioning a second site partially supported with ARRA funding, located at its Lyon Station, PA manufacturing campus. This will be a 3MW site and will provide continuous voltage smoothing using the UltraBattery. It will serve a secondary application of 1 MWh for demand management for 1 to 4 hours.

Advanced VRLA batteries feature a design enhancement to East Penn’s Deka Unigy VRLA battery technology that has been proven as an industry leading product for telecommunication and data center applications. This enhancement protects the battery from accelerated deterioration while performing multiple cycles in Partial State of Charge (PSOC) applications.

The UltraBattery combines the advantages of the Advanced VRLA with the advantages of an asymmetric supercapacitor. This enables the optimal balance of an energy storing lead-acid battery with a quick charge acceptance, power discharge, and longevity of a capacitor, which is critical for High-Rate PSOC applications.

Both advanced types of VRLA batteries are virtually 100% recyclable and made in the United States.

The information gained from these advanced battery projects will be a key component in furthering its integration into the commercial marketplace for wide spectrum of potential applications. Advanced VRLA and UltraBattery’s current ability to serve the grid, renewable energy, and HEVs has the potential to have immediate impacts on cost effective energy conservation and clean energy generation. Ecoult’s energy storage solutions are further proof of these implementations in action.

East Penn is a leading manufacturer of high quality lead-acid batteries and accessories for the telecommunications, UPS, automotive, commercial, marine, and motive power markets. The company’s quality and environmental systems for its entire 520-acre complex have been certified to ISO 9001:2008, ISO/TS 16949:2009, and ISO 14001:2004 requirements. For more information, contact East Penn Manufacturing Co., Inc., Lyon Station, PA 19536 or visit the company web site at www.dekabatteries.com.

Ecoult, a subsidiary of East Penn, is a leading supplier of energy storage solutions based on advanced lead-acid batteries including the hybrid energy storage device UltraBattery. Ecoult provides complete Energy Storage Solutions & Modules that are ready for custom integration and are utilized to provide cost effective, long life solutions for power conditioning and energy storage applications for wind and solar farms, grid ancillary services, and remote area power systems. Visit the company web site at www.ecoult.com for more information.

Contacts:

Inka Schrader
Email: inka.schrader@ecoult.com
Tel: +61-2-9241-3001

Toronto  (Profitable.com)  KineticD™, has ranked number 331 on Technology Fast 500^™, Deloitte’s ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology, media telecommunications, life sciences and clean technology companies in North America. Rankings are based on the percentage of fiscal year revenue growth during the period from 2006-2010; KineticD’s grew 253 percent during this period.

KineticD’s chief executive officer, Jamie Brenzel, credits its industry leadership, providing SMBs with a robust, flexible and economic means of protecting business-critical digital assets with a complete hybrid solution including both local and cloud copies with the company’s explosive revenue growth. Jamie Brenzel said, “The 2011 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 is North America’s pre-eminent technology awards program, celebrating leadership, innovation and excellence in the technology sector, honoring emerging, industry leaders. We are extremely honored to have been placed on this prestigious list and we look forward to continuing to demonstrate our leadership and commitment to advancing technology in our industry.”

“KineticD and all the Technology Fast 500 winners in 2011 have shown a remarkable drive for creativity and innovation, and of course growth, particularly when you look at their accomplishments in the context of current economic challenges,” saidRichard Lee, National Leader, Technology Media & Telecommunications Industry Group, Deloitte Canada. “Deloitte congratulates KineticD for this significant achievement.”

“We are pleased to honor KineticD as one of the 2011 Technology Fast 500,” said Mark Jensen, managing partner, technology and venture capital services, Deloitte & Touche LLP. “As one of the fastest growing tech companies in North America, KineticD has demonstrated technological innovation, entrepreneurship and rapid growth.”

For additional detail on the Technology Fast 500 including selection and qualifying criteria, visit www.fast500.com.

Social Media Destinations:

• Twitter: www.twitter.com/kineticd
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/kineticd
• LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/kineticd-formerly-data-deposit-box

About KineticD

KineticD™ sets a new standard by providing small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) with the same level of service and protection for irreplaceable digital assets that large enterprises rely on. It delivers comprehensive solutions that enable SMBs to continuously backup, restore, access, and share information online from any location. Its agile, cloud-based services are specifically designed for SMBs that want to activate their digital assets and more efficiently share and collaborate through improved access to information. Founded in 2002, the company’s industry-acclaimed Data Deposit Box product delivers advanced, patented technology that is used daily by over 40,000 customers and is supported around the world through an extensive partner network. Its acquisition of ROBOBAK™, a leading provider of hybrid cloud backup software for MSPs and the Remote Offices/Branch Offices (ROBO) of small enterprises has been integrated into its technology offerings. For a free trial or to request more information, visit www.kineticd.com.

As used in this document, “Deloitte” means Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.

MEDIA CONTACT: 
Kim Dearborn
Nadel Phelan
+1-831-440-2407
kim.dearborn@nadelphelan.com

Word Wizard 2.0 for iPad and iPhone - Talking Spelling App for Kids New and Noteworthy

Sophia-Antipolis, France  (Profitable.com)  L’Escapadou has announced Word Wizard 2.0 for iOS, an update to their New and Noteworthy Education app that lets kids hear the sounds of letters and words, and provides spelling practice with a customizable Word List of more than 1,300 questions and answers. Featuring advanced text to speech capabilities, the app can pronounce an unlimited number of original words and spell-check more than 100,000 words.

Word Wizard has won many accolades including:

• Editor’s Choice Award for Excellence in Design from Children’s Technology Review
• “…Powerful language-learning tool that is ideal for a child learning to read” - The New York Times
• “…A fantastic app for young children” - GeekDad Blog, Wired Magazine
• ”…I love the talking alphabet…I will certainly recommend it to early educators.” – Mary Ellin Logue, Ed.D, Early Childhood Education, University of Maine
• Featured by Apple as ‘New and Noteworthy’ for iPad and iPhone

There is no clear distinction between learning and playing. This is immediately apparent to the casual observer, who may witness young children enthusiastically engaged in the classroom. Clearly, not all classroom activities stimulate the natural curiosity of kids no matter how young they are. Word Wizard, however, nearly always attracts and holds the attention of children. It provides an expertly planned and exuberantly realized world in which children are encouraged to experiment with all the letters of the alphabet. There are two interrelated modes of operation: Movable Alphabet and Spelling Quiz.

In Movable Alphabet kids see all the letters in two rows at the bottom of the landscape oriented screen and hear the name or the sound of each letter aloud when they touch it. This multi-sensory approach, made famous through the writings of physician and educator Maria Montessori, engages the child completely. Each sense reinforces the other, and a wide range of cognitive styles is accommodated. Using the technology of the iPad/iPhone, Word Wizard enhances and amplifies the experience of seeing, touching, and hearing letters that young children have had in Montessori classrooms for more than 100 years. The app can be seen as taking the best of the Montessori method and making it still better.

The talking Movable Alphabet lets kids drag one letter at a time on to a grid (that automatically aligns the letters) or a blank page. As each letter is added to a word-in-progress, Word Wizard speaks the name of the letter aloud (or optionally, its phonetic sound) and then pronounces the proto-word, demonstrating how each additional letter alters the pronunciation of the whole. The child may never create a word in the English language, but he or she is completely free to get to know the building blocks of words on their own terms. When the last letter of a correctly spelled word is put in place, the entire word is surrounded by white light, all the letters grow to remove the spaces between them, and the word is clearly pronounced.

Touching any letter of the newly built word repeats the highlighting animation and pronunciation of the word. Add words to create a sentence, and touching any letter still repeats the animation and pronunciation of the word. But touch the Speak Aloud button in the top left, and the synthesized voice reads the sentence aloud, altering the inflection with which it reads some words so that they make sense in the sentence. This is natural language processing at its best (and the user’s iOS device can now pronounce such random neologisms as “kjedrwy”).

Talking Movable Alphabet Highlights:

• Spell checker highlights unrecognized words
• 2 American voices and 1 British voice
• Optional magnetic grid to ease letters placement
• Reads all the words as a sentence
• Uppercase or lowercase letters
• Phonics or letter names when a letter is touched in the alphabet
• 2 backgrounds
• Voice Transformer (speed, tone) for added fun

Familiar and at ease with letters, phonemes, syllables, words, and pronunciation, children can leave Movable Alphabet mode and visit Spelling Quiz, where they can put into practice all they have learned and play a semi-formal game with rules and scoring. Each spelling quiz consists of 10 words. Word Wizard prompts “Spell ‘chair’,” and the child drags each letter as they did before to spell the word. If necessary, they can touch the Hint button to receive hints one letter at a time. When all 10 words have been spelled, the app displays the number of correct answers and the number of hints used.

The Built-In Word List of more than 1,400 words is organized into 12 categories: Numbers, Colors, Animals, Body, Clothes, Family Members, Food, Sports, Nature, Shapes, 1,000 Most Frequently Used Words, and Dolch Words. Dolch Words are a list compiled in 1936 of 220 “service words” that are not easily sounded out but are essential to basic literacy (the list excludes nouns), e.g., “show,” “six,” “seven,” “small,” “start,” etc.

Spelling Quiz Highlights:

• 189 Word Lists of 10 words: Dolch Words, 1000 Most Frequently Used Words, Body Parts, Family Members, etc.
• Create custom Word Lists by entering custom words and sentences, and even share lists
• Hints are available if kids do not know how to spell a word
• A variety of colorful animations are displayed when a word is completed
• Once a quiz is completed, a report is displayed and fun, interactive animations are available as a reward

Children, parents, and teachers can quickly and easily create custom Word Lists. Type in a list of words separated by commas, or even sentences. Though the word may not be in the app’s Word List it will properly pronounce it and go on to score the quiz. This expansion capability makes Word Wizard a flexible tool for learning special vocabularies and terms, practicing words challenging to particular students, and challenging super-spellers with spelling bee favorites.

New Features & Options in Version 2.0 (as requested by users):

• QWERTY or alphabetic layout
• New voice added (3 voices available now), and a new version of the speech engine
• Keyboard emulation (dragging letters is now optional)
• 4 letter sizes available (allowing more letters on the board)
• Option to turn off the vocalization until the speech bubble button or a word is tapped
• New caps lock key to make typing capital letters easier
• 16 new Word Lists for beginners (CVC words)
• Recognition of words that break at the end of a line
• Erase All Letters button is now accessible on the board
• Add a friend’s Words List
• Add custom words to the profanity list (Settings option to prohibit some words)

“The overwhelmingly positive response we have received to version 1 of Word Wizard has been very encouraging and gratifying,” offered Pierre Abel. “We are very thankful to all those users and reviewers who made such useful suggestions, many of which have been included here in version 2.”

Word Wizard 2.0 is available for $3.99 on the iTunes App Store. It is a universal application that runs both on iPad and iPhone. Review copies are available upon request.

More information is available on the Word Wizard’s product Web Site including a YouTube demo and a media kit.

About L’Escapadou

Based in Sophia Antipolis, France, L’Escapadou is an award-winning, family, design studio dedicated to creating fun, creative, and educational apps for iPad and iPhone, and it was recognized as an Editor’s Choice by Moms With Apps. Montessori Crosswords, L’Escapadou’s top selling app, has won the Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice Award for Excellence in Design. Pierre Abel holds a PhD in computer science and has worked extensively on user experience design. His wife, a translator currently busy home-educating their daughters, helps in the design of their educational apps. Watching their kids – 5 and 8 years old – learn and play is their main source of inspiration for the apps they make. The studio was founded in 2010 after the launch of the iPad, with the belief that the iPad can be a great tool for learning and creativity.

Oak Brook, IL  (Profitable.com)  Follett Higher Education Group’s Rent-A-Text continues to grow, and remains the most popular choice for students looking to save big on course materials. Just this fall, students across the country saved nearly $90 million compared to the cost of buying new books by using Rent-A-Text. Students also bought more CafeScribe® digital textbooks as sales more than doubled compared to last year’s figures.

“The growth and popularity of both Rent-A-Text and CafeScribe® digital textbooks show that we have been successful in meeting the evolving needs of our customers,” said Thomas A. Christopher, President of Follett Higher Education Group. “We will continue to grow our offerings to ensure students have more choices and better access to affordable course materials on all of the campuses we serve, both in-store and online.”

Textbook rentals doubled this year compared to last, making Follett’s Rent-A-Text the fastest growing in-store and online bookstore rental program. The company has already rented more than 4.5 million textbooks and saved students more than$215 million. Follett’s rental programs are expected to save students more than $200 million in the 2011-2012 academic year alone.

Students at California State University Northridge took full advantage of the rental options available at the Matador Bookstore and rented approximately 25,000 books, more than any other Rent-A-Text school. The most popular rental title for the fall semester was “They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing,” (W.W. Norton & Company).

In a national survey conducted by Follett this September, 99 percent of students expressed satisfaction for the program and a majority of students said they had a better opinion of their bookstore after using Rent-A-Text. Students also reported buying additional course materials and textbooks with their savings.

Rent-A-Text is available at more than 860 Follett-managed bookstores in the United States and Canada. The program provides savings, on average, of 50 percent or more compared to new textbook prices and is also available online through efollett.com. As a leader in the textbook industry, Follett also offers rental solutions to virtual and independently-managed bookstores.

Explosion in Digital Sales

This fall, Follett announced a new version of its CafeScribe® platform that makes digital textbooks smarter with better study tools, more accessibility on different types of devices and more book titles than ever before.

Already, students are taking advantage of the CafeScribe® application’s unique study tools with hundreds of thousands of highlights, notes and bookmarks created. One of the many dynamic tools available through the new version of the product is Snap Summary, which allows users to quickly and easily compile their notes and highlights into a powerful study and reference tool.

“The CafeScribe® application is truly a dynamic digital textbook platform that allows students to interact with their textbooks,” said Christopher. “We are committed to serving the current and future needs of the academic community and we are confident that CafeScribe® digital textbooks will continue to be an affordable and reliable choice for our students.”

During the fall semester, “Guide to First-Year Composition” (CafeCustom) topped the charts as the best selling digital title, and students at Florida State College at Jacksonville bought the most digital textbooks.  Students at Ivy Tech Community College, Trine University, University of Texas and Arizona State University were also strong adopters of digital course materials. Confirming Follett’s belief that digital content will take hold first in problem-based disciplines, students in accounting, mathematics and computer science bought the most digital titles this fall.

CafeScribe® digital textbooks are available at CafeScribe.com, Follett campus stores, independently-managed bookstores and through efollett.com, the most visited-collegiate ecommerce site. To provide students with the opportunity to experiment with digital for free, Follett offers three-day trials for most CafeScribe® titles. The company created the Try Now, Buy Later program because it found that after using digital textbooks, two-thirds of students prefer the option to print.

For the most up-to-date list of Follett-managed campuses and virtual bookstores offering Rent-A-Text, visit www.rent-a-text.com. For more information on Follett Textbook Rental for independent bookstores, visit www.follettbooks.com. For more information on CafeScribe®, visit www.cafescribe.com.

About Follett Higher Education Group

Follett Higher Education Group of Oak Brook, Illinois, is the leading provider of bookstore services and the foremost supplier of used books in North America. Follett services five million students and over 400,000 faculty members through more than 930 stores. Follett also services more than 1,600 independent campus stores with its wholesale services, and has the most visited ecommerce collegiate website, efollett.com, that provides services and products through a network of more than 900 campus stores.

About Follett

Follett Corporation is a $2.7 billion, privately-held company that provides products, services and solutions to the educational marketplace. Follett Corporation was founded in 1873, and today is headquartered in River Grove, Illinois.

San Francisco, CA  (Profitable.c0m)  Osann IP Consulting has announced the auction of a patent portfolio for smart phone video messaging at the ICAP Patent Brokerage Fall 2011 Live IP Auction on November 17th in San Francisco.

Video calls now exist, and features like Skype’s “video snapshot” enable still images to be combined with a video call. US Reissue Patent No RE42210 describes such combined calls including saving them in the manner of voicemails today. The acquisition of Skype by Microsoft raises the probability that video-voicemails according to this invention will be available on smart phones in the future.

In addition to storing video-voicemails, realtime video-voice conversations are optionally recorded for later retrieval in order to document a conversation or because a party in the conversation is not able to view the images in realtime. While the sending party will normally use a conventional smart-phone with digital camera, the receiving party may view video-voicemail images on smart phones or a variety of devices with high-resolution displays including a conventional PC/Laptop/Tablet connected to the Internet providing a 10x higher resolution experience.

For friends and family, the Video-Voicemail paradigm provides an easy way to communicate image and video information while maintaining a communication paradigm that is familiar, basically that of phone calls and voicemails. While shopping, a person might call a friend or family member to show videos and images of items they are considering, while the receiving party views the information for comment and approval.

Mobile phone communication among workgroups is used by most businesses that require frequent communications among individuals at different locations in a local area – for the most part, businesses in the construction industry. Video-Voicemail enables a manager, foreman, or responsible person to better track the progress at a variety of locations and effect swift problem resolution or avoidance. The ability of a foreman to view or anticipate problem areas – using this IP – adds tremendous value.

Entitled “Video-Voicemail Solution for Wireless Communication Devices”, the original application was filed on March 22, 2002 and initially issued in 2006 as US Patent No 7,092,735. A reissue application was filed in 2008 and issued with broader claims on March 8, 2011 as Re-issue Pat No RE42210. Pending Re-issue Continuation Application No 13/018,314 is included in the auction lot with claims focused on communication paths and display resolutions, covering scenarios currently emerging in the video messaging arena.

The Video-Voicemail IP lot should be of interest to Mobile Service Providers, Smart Phone Manufacturers, and Software Companies providing platforms for mobile communications. Forward citations for this lot include: Sony, LG Electronics, NEC Electronics, and Sprint Nextel. To find out more about this unique IP portfolio, the IP Auction event, and the patents being offered, contact: Dean Becker at (561) 309-0011 or Dean(dot)Becker(at)us.(dot)cap(dot)com.

About Robert Osann and Osann IP Consulting:

Robert Osann is an Intellectual Property consultant, inventor, and veteran of five venture-backed startups. He was the founding CEO at two VC-funded startups and a co-founder at three others. With equal experience in both engineering and marketing, he is also an inventor with 36 US Patents issued and more than 20 applications pending. Since 2007, he has sold 6 US patents and 9 pending applications in four transactions to three different buyers, including the sale of a Smart Phone patent portfolio at the Ocean Tomo Fall IP auction in 2007. Visit http://www.silaero.com.

About ICAP Patent Brokerage:

ICAP Patent Brokerage is a division of ICAP plc and the world’s largest intellectual property brokerage and patent auction firm. Visit http://icappatentbrokerage.com/forsale.

Santa Clara, CA  (Profitable.com)  Shipments of tablet PCs with ARM processors are expected to grow 211% Y/Y in 2011 to 59.9 million units, while tablet PCs with x86 processors (typically used in notebook and netbook PCs) are not expected to experience strong growth until 2013, according to the newly-launched DisplaySearch Tablet Quarterly report. Similarly, Windows 8, which is also associated with mobile PCs, is not expected to take significant share until 2013. Global tablet shipments are expected to reach nearly 330 million units by 2017, up from less than 60 million units in 2011, so this market segment provides significant growth opportunities.

“The tablet PC and notebook PC markets are on a collision course as both product categories continue to evolve and improve on their respective weaknesses,” said Richard Shim, DisplaySearch Senior Analyst. “As such, each product category will influence the other over time. Still, the incumbent platforms have inherent advantages in the early years.”

More brands will challenge Apple for a share of the tablet PC market and are expected to experiment with the various platforms available to them in the market. PC brands are likely to gravitate toward the familiar—Windows and x86 platforms—with some branching out towards the ARM platform as well. The emergence of Amazon as a tablet hardware vendor introduces even more non-Windows and non-x86 thinking into the tablet PC ecosystem, requiring players like Microsoft and Intel to catch up to the changing landscape of consumer computing.

“Although several processor architectures could be used to power tablet SoCs, the rich software ecosystem of the ARM architecture built around smart phones is proving to be a key differentiating factor,” according to Jim McGregor, Chief Technology Strategist for In-Stat, an NPD Group Company. “Unlike notebook and netbook PCs, where consumers have chosen products based on the processor or PC vendor, consumers of new mobile devices care more about what they can do with the devices, which is associated more with the device applications and services.”

Ultimately the developer community and the apps they create will play a significant role in the success of any emerging platform.

The new DisplaySearch Tablet Quarterly report tracks quarterly changes in tablet PC products and strategies and forecasts the impact of those changes on the market. It covers the changing landscape of screen sizes, features that are expected to be included and excluded in future tablets, and operating systems, including these highlights:

• Cellular connectivity could be a potential catalyst for shipment growth and will be an influential technology in the growth of the tablet category. The share of tablets with embedded cellular connectivity will reach about 10% in 2013 and will exceed 25% by 2017.
• Many display manufacturers are transitioning tablet panel production to larger plants, Gen 6 and Gen 8, which will lead to greater panel capacity for tablets. This transition could affect pricing.

For more information on this report, please contact Charles Camaroto at 1.888.436.7673 or 1.516.625.2452, or contact(at)displaysearch(dot)com or contact your regional DisplaySearch office in China, Japan, Korea or Taiwan.

About DisplaySearch

Since 1996, DisplaySearch has been recognized as a leading global market research and consulting firm specializing in the display supply chain, as well as the emerging photovoltaic/solar cell industries. DisplaySearch provides trend information, forecasts and analyses developed by a global team of experienced analysts with extensive industry knowledge. In collaboration with The NPD Group, its parent company, DisplaySearch uniquely offers a true end-to-end view of the display supply chain from materials and components to shipments of electronic devices with displays to sales of major consumer and commercial channels. For more information on DisplaySearch analysts, reports and industry events, visit us at http://www.displaysearch.com. Read our blog at http://www.displaysearchblog.com and follow us on Twitter at @DisplaySearch.

About The NPD Group, Inc.

The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,800 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For more information, contact us or visit http://www.npd.com and http://www.npdgroupblog.com. Follow us on Twitter at @npdtech and @npdgroup.

New York, NY  (Profitable.com)  There’s an old adage that says, everyone has a soul mate. Thanks to a new dating site, there’s a way for singles to find the exact kind of person they really want.

“Whether you are looking for an ugly people dating service, wealthy matchmaking or other adult online dating service, we have an online dating community that is perfect for you,” said Aaron Fraser, spokesman and developer of gothamdatingpartners.com. “We offer dating for all walks of life, wealthy people, dating by race, attractiveness, religion, and more.”

Fraser added that gothamdatingpartners.com is the mother site of 11 additional websites that will ultimately lead visitors to a dating portal of their liking, such as prisonhookup.com, lovenotlust.com, whitepeopledate.com, Donsanddivasdating.com, faithfullover.com, wealthypeopledate.com, and more.

What sets this dating service apart from everyone else on the market, Fraser said, is that it offers a $99 lifetime membership, which costs less than a yearly membership at any of the major dating websites.  “That’s $99 bucks for life,” Fraser said.

The launching of the dating sites could prove to have perfect timing.

According to a recent study by The New York Daily News, about one in five people who have used online dating sites have gone on to marry someone they met via the Web. The study also concluded that 94 percent of those who used online dating sites were satisfied enough to go on a second date.

Gothamdatingpartners.com, which was developed after Fraser found himself homeless, and without a companion to share his ups and downs with, prides itself on making the first connection, quick and easy.  “It is easy to connect with members of our ugly people dating service, millionaire dating website and other services,” Fraser stressed. “You can send a message or send a card on the profile of the member you want to contact. You can browse free online personals dating profiles and read our online dating guide as a guest.”

Jason Thomas, 34, of Houston, said he has always had a fetish for people who most consider unattractive, and is impressed with what the new dating site has to offer.

“This makes it a lot easier for me to find the woman I want even if they feel like they are ugly,” Thomas said. “I’m not the greatest looking person in the world, but ugly people need love too.”  That’s the primary goal of gothamdatingpartners.com and its 11 other feeder dating sites.

“We have a huge database of over 1 million people on each website, which is the largest database of viable dating candidates, “Fraser noted. “All you have to do is click on the dating website that best describes what you are looking for to start on the path to finding that perfect person, whether for one date or the rest of your life.” Unlike the other sites, our database is comprised of real members, real contacts, and who really want to meet someone like you. We also cover all the bases,sites like: match.com, E-harmony,Zoosk, and Plentyoffish.com, have niche markets that shuts out other users from making a viable connection based on their particular likes or dislikes. Aaron Fraser is also considering a run for congress against Charles Rangel, who has occupied his seat in Harlem for forty years. “New blood is sorely needed,” says Fraser.

For more information about dating for ugly people, black people dating, white people, and more, visit http://www.gothamdatingpartners.com
Gotham Dating Partners Inc.
45 East 135th Street
New York, NY 10037
Info(at)gothamdatingpartners(dot)com

Pittsburgh, PA and Fort Worth, TX  (Profitable.com)  Lucas Systems, Inc., the leading independent provider of voice-directed warehouse applications, has introduced Jennifer FoodSelect, the first voice-directed solution designed especially for foodservice and grocery distribution centers. Jennifer FoodSelect is being introduced this week at the IFDA Distribution Solutions Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Ace Endico, a regional foodservice distributor in New York State, is the first customer to install this new Jennifer voice solution, with double-digit improvements in selector productivity and accuracy.

“Jennifer FoodSelect incorporates industry-leading voice technology and best practices that Lucas Systems has developed over ten years of delivering voice-directed warehouse applications for foodservice and grocery DCs,” says Chris Sweeney, SVP of Lucas Systems. “Jennifer FoodSelect maximizes the operational gains possible with voice, adds powerful QC/Audit tools, and includes the most advanced management tools available today, the Engage Management Services Console. Unlike a one-size-fits-all package, Jennifer FoodSelect includes comprehensive configuration capabilities to provide easier, faster implementation without sacrificing flexibility in the future. This new Jennifer solution is designed for foodservice and grocery DCs that need a full-featured voice solution that can extend their existing inventory management, WMS and other warehouse systems.”

Jennifer FoodSelect is tailored to the unique needs of foodservice and grocery DCs. The system supports GS1 data standards for product traceability, and also provides flexible voice- or scan-based data capture for lot numbers, catchweights, or date codes using any industry-standard voice capable mobile computer. This new Jennifer solution inherits key components of the award-winning Jennifer VoicePlus solution that have been pre-configured for food DCs:

• Voice-directed order selection including two-stage PIR picking and single and dual-pallet case picking. For foodservice DCs, Jennifer FoodSelect includes on-demand case label printing which eliminates selector idle time, reduces paper handling, and adds points to individual productivity rates.
• Voice-directed truck loading improves overall productivity and reduces dock clutter and congestion. Jennifer FoodSelect generates accurate load maps to improve service and efficiency for truck drivers and customers.
• The integrated QC/Audit module allows managers to better prioritize audits and focus scarce QC resources on the orders that need to be checked, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of audits.
• Engage MSC includes route planning and management, robust productivity and process tracking, and system configuration tools in a flexible, user-friendly Web environment.

About Lucas Systems, Inc.

Since 1998, Lucas Systems has delivered more voice-directed warehouse applications on a wider variety of mobile computers than any other company. Customers like Cardinal Health, C&S Wholesale Grocers, CVS/pharmacy, Do it Best Corp., Kraft Nabisco, and OfficeMax trust Lucas to deliver solutions that greatly improve worker productivity and accuracy because Lucas truly understands warehouse operations. Jennifer™ VoicePlus, the Lucas voice solution, creates a conversation with warehouse workers that frees their hands and eyes to focus on the job at hand. Jennifer also provides managers and supervisors with real-time reporting and management tools that help them better manage their operations. Tens of thousands of associates at hundreds of distribution centers work with Jennifer every day. For more information, visit http://www.lucasware.com.

Santa Barbara, CA  (Profitable.com)  As the overweight and obesity rates in America continue to rise, FindTheBest has developed a Fast Food Nutrition comparison to help consumers make more informed decisions when it comes to their health.

Americans love fast food.  A reported 25 percent of American adults consume fast food each day—whether it’s a large order of McDonald’s French fries, weighing in at 500 calories, or Taco Bell’s Volcano Nachos, which comes loaded with 1,000 calories.  It’s no surprise that an estimated 68 percent of American children and adults are overweight or obese.

The issue has become so important that First Lady Michelle Obama has launched the Let’s Move campaign to get childhood obesity under control.  But while part of the problem is a lack of self-control, a large part of the problem is a lack of information.  Educating consumers about what they are eating is an important step to containing the obesity epidemic.

FindTheBest’s Fast Food Nutrition comparison allows users to sort and filter their favorite fast food items and popular restaurant chains—from KFC to El Pollo Loco—by menu item, number of calories, serving size, total fat, carbohydrates, sodium, sugar, protein and more.

For those not willing to give up fast food, the Fast Food Nutrition comparison helps users compare healthier alternatives.  Substituting Del Taco’s Jalepeno Rings for the Habit Burger’s onion rings can drop 240 calories.  Swapping a Hardee’s 2/3 LB Monster Thickburger with a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder sheds 910 calories.

Next time you walk into a Burger King and the smell of freshly made French fries wafts past your nose, or you’re in line at Subway and can’t decide between the Subway Footlong Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki Sandwich and the 6-inch BLT, check in with FindTheBest’s Fast Food Nutrition Comparison to compare the nutritional information before making a decision.

Washington  (Profitable.com)   From boutique city-market hotels to beautiful resorts in tropical destinations, LivingSocial Escapes has announced that it has booked more than a half million room nights at nearly 800 properties around the world since its launch in November 2010.  On a monthly basis, the company has sold an average of 45,500 room nights and put 1,500 heads in beds each night.

“Inspiring our members to book more than a half million room nights in less than a year is exciting and a true testament to the power of actually telling destination and travel brand stories, and selling package experiences,” said Doug Miller, senior vice president, LivingSocial New Initiatives.  ”We work hard on getting people out from behind their computer screens and into new experiences.  Whether it’s a quick weekend away or the trip of a lifetime, we create travel demand and bring new high-quality travelers to our hotel and travel partners.”

To give the number some perspective, 500,000 room nights is:

• More than triple the total number of hotel rooms in Las Vegas, one of the world’s largest hotel markets;
• Equal to roughly 10.4% of the nation’s total 4.8 million hotel rooms;
• The equivalent of selling out all the rooms in Charleston, South Carolina for more than a month; or
• Like booking every hotel room in Niagara Falls, New York for nearly a year.

For more information or to book your next trip with LivingSocial Escapes, visit www.LivingSocial.com/escapes.

In addition to LivingSocial Escapes, members can find even more fun with:

• LivingSocial Adventures – one-of-a-kind excursions and events in and around your city, personally guided by LivingSocial Adventures employees
• LivingSocial Daily Deals — handpicked experiences, discounted by at least 50 percent, on the coolest things to do in your backyard;
• LivingSocial Families — local, family-friendly experiences selected to help parents and kids discover hidden gems around town; and
• LivingSocial Instant Deals — real-time, mobile offerings, allowing merchants to drive patrons through the door.

About LivingSocial

LivingSocial helps people around the world find, share and enjoy great local deals and new experiences. We’ll help you get more out of your city. Through its daily deal e-mails and alerts, LivingSocial introduces members to handpicked local businesses, products or services each day at significant savings. With a range of products for different interests, like Families and Adventures, LivingSocial helps delight members with the perfect deal for them. Other services include LivingSocial Escapes, which features easy “vacations in a box” to leading destinations, and LivingSocial Instant, which helps members discover real-time discounts at nearby restaurants, stores and businesses. LivingSocial works with each merchant partner to create customized marketing solutions that attract and retain loyal, long-term customers. Based in Washington, D.C., LivingSocial now has more than 47 million members in 25 countries.

Tulsa, Ok  (Profitable.com)  With a 98% SMS text message open rate versus only a 22% open rate for email, according recent findings, Sitter Pals leverages the power of SMS text messaging to quickly and efficiently post babysitting jobs to members’ network of trusted sitters. The addition of SMS text notifications and mobile web access are included in the release of the Premium Membership for parents, among other features. Sitters have free access to Sitter Pals’ mobile website, a vehicle to quickly post, review, and book babysitting jobs for parents and sitters on the go.

Launched in April 2011, Sitter Pals established a social network within which parents connect with the sitters their friends know, trust, and hire. Initially, job postings and communication within members’ networks, allowed parents and trusted sitters to book babysitting jobs within a safe and secure network of friends via email notifications. It is widely reported more than 90% of SMS text messages are opened and read within 4 minutes. Now, with the introduction of SMS text notifications and mobile web accessibility, Sitter Pals connects and books parents with their network of available and trusted sitters in near real time, saving time and frustration often associated with finding a babysitter.

“Nearly everyone’s phone in the US has SMS capability,” Armstrong explains. “and we keep our phones with us at all times.” Armstrong adds “It only makes sense to incorporate SMS text messaging into our functionality, however, this goes well beyond just texting your sitter and waiting for a response. Now you can empower parents and sitters to connect in a way they never have before.”

In addition to increase booking speed, the Premium Membership gives parents access to a host of features including: advanced search options, access to sitters’ reviews, job postings options including one-time and recurring, pet sitting jobs, house sitting jobs, and applicant review before assigning. The Premium Membership is available to new and existing parents at $8 a month or $75 a year. Sitters join and start their networks for free, joining families they know, while connecting with families’ friends.

Tokyo, Japan  (Profitable.com)  Putter King, Japan’s first indoor miniature golf franchise, has announced it has released the Putter King Adventure Golf app on the Apple App Store. Putter King Adventure Golf is a 3D mini golf game for iOS devices.

The game follows Putty in his quest to become the Putter King. Players can test their putting skills on visually stunning holes from all over the world, everywhere from the Great Wall of China to the Pyramids of Egypt to Mt. Fuji in Japan.

In Putter King Adventure Golf players can compete against friends and post scores to Facebook and Twitter while trying to unlock all of the challenging Achievements.

The game features 3 different courses – “Adventures in Japan,” “Trip around the World,” and “Putty’s Playground”

Putter King Adventure Golf is the first game to feature crowd sourced hole design. Anyone can submit a miniature golf hole design to the 2011 Putter King Hole Design Contest on Putter King’s homepage. The top 3 designs with the most votes when the contest ends on Dec. 31st, 2011 will be added to the Putter King Adventure Golf app as a free update.

Features:

• 24 unique, themed holes + 3 user designed holes*
• 4 game modes (Championship, Timed Trial, Multiplayer, and Practice)
• Ability to unlock new holes and various other Achievements
• 4 character avatars
• Realistic physics
• Professionally composed soundtrack
• OpenFeint enabled

Publish scores to Facebook & Twitter

*to be added as a free update at the completion of the 2011 Putter King Hole Design Contest

Device Requirements:
iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch
Requires iOS 4.2 or later
93.2 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Putter King Adventure Golf is $1.99 USD (or the equivalent amount in other currencies) and is available worldwide through the Apple App Store.

New York, NY  (Profitable.com)   Skribblr fills the void left by other social networking sites by providing the extra gratification of rewarding users. Users earn points that are then used to unlock site features and content from future partners. Skribblr allows users to meet new people or current friends no matter where they are.

Skribblr emphasizes connection, giving users control over who they allow into the network they build. By sharing fun, creative updates, users can get to learn more about the people they “trace” or follow before engaging in live video chat. Also, updates expire after a week, so users constantly see the latest from their network.

Key Features:

• Personalize posts by adding custom drawings or text
• Record 10 second video status updates
• Top skribbles of the day make it into the featured gallery
• “Trace” friends to follow their posts
• Video Chat face-to-face and text chat simultaneously
• Points unlock more features on the site to customize the user experience within skribblr.com
• Share updates to Facebook and Twitter in one click

Sign Up for your Free Skribblr account at http://www.skribblr.com

About Skribblr.com

Skribblr was founded in 2011 to allow people to get rewarded for sharing. Skribblr offers a fun, creative environment for you to personalize posts and meet new friends.

Lubbock, TX  (Profitable.com)  Effective eye tracking just became affordable and accessible with the shipping of Grinbath’s EyeGuide™ to customers worldwide. Invented by usability researchers at Texas Tech University in 2010, EyeGuide™ has undergone hundreds of user tests as part of its development process. The result is a complete hardware and software system that works on both Windows and Macs, calibrates any user in any lighting condition, and retails at under $1,500.

“We needed eye tracking in our lab because of client demand,” said Dr. Brian Still, CEO of Grinbath and the current director of Tech’s Usability Research Lab. “Many of the current eye tracking devices, although very good, are far too expensive for many out there. I just couldn’t choose buying one of those over paying a graduate assistant. So we made EyeGuide™. Initially it served as a solution just for us, but as we worked with it and improved it, we realized that it offered a viable solution for others like us who research users or build products, design advertising, or engage in other activities that could benefit from eye tracking research.”

EyeGuide™ includes an adjustable, wireless headset that houses an infrared camera and LED light, which can be used inside or outside and, most importantly, with users who wear contacts, glasses, and even bifocals. Videos on the Grinbath website, http://www.grinbath.com, demonstrate actual testing of users, including children as young as three.

After testing as many users as needed, researchers can take advantage of EyeGuide™’s built-in analysis tools to generate data similar to what more expensive eye trackers offer, such as heatmaps, AOIs (clusters), gaze plots, and bee swarm. All video, select images, and .html and .csv data can also be exported to run in other programs. EyeGuide™ will also soon feature a real time API that allows researchers to monitor user activity and stream test data live to another program.

This feature, and all other future enhancements, will be free to customers for EyeGuide™’s lifetime. “Free upgrades, in fact, define Grinbath at its core,” said Dr. Still. “We’re educators and researchers, and we’re going to remain educators and researchers. We want EyeGuide™ to be affordable enough to buy—effective enough for others to rely on to get the job done. That’s why we will upgrade it as much as needed, for free, to make it better. Further, that’s why we’ve brought on an advisory board of leaders in user experience, psychology, medicine, web design, and other fields. Their sole role is to help us continue to make EyeGuide™ an effective, reliable solution that people can depend on to integrate into the work they need or want to do.”

In addition to free upgrades, Grinbath offers various educational opportunities to researchers and educators. The EyeSay™ webinar series will be kicked off on World Usability Day, November 10, 2011. The first webinar, “Visionaries in Usability,” will feature Dr. Tharon Howard of Clemson University, Dr. Joyce Carter of Texas Tech University, and Dr. Still. Together, they will discuss the use of eye tracking as an addition to the usability professional’s tool kit. Future webinars will include hot topics in eye tracking research and data collection such as discussions of methodology and data analysis. These webinars are free and can accommodate 100 participants

London  (Profitable.com)  When a company debuts a social gaming app, expectations are that it will perform well. However, House of Fun, the new, free app by Pacific Interactive, now hosts over 700,000 active players since the unveiling on September 13, 2011. The first week alone, user buzz on Facebook caused over 100,000 people to flock to experience the vibrant graphics and interactive gameplay, and Pacific Interactive couldn’t be more pleased with the game’s viral appeal.

Proving how on-trend the House of Fun app truly is, InsideFacebook.com and InsideSocialGames.com have both included House of Fun in recent lists of their fastest growing social media apps. Pacific Interactive also closely monitors the app’s Facebook page, interacting with players, gaining feedback, and tailoring the game to meet the customers’ demands.

“Our team of programmers at Pacific Interactive works incredibly hard to provide such a rich experience for our players. We’re actually changing how the player interacts with the app, instead of just changing the graphics, and we’re thrilled to see that users are enjoying it so much,” said the CEO and Founder of Pacific Interactive.

Social gaming is becoming more popular every day, with over 290 million players looking for the next best app. House of Fun currently offers over 15 varieties of interactive slots, with table gaming coming soon. Loyal gamers clearly like the app too; over 10,000 reviews have been posted to the app’s Facebook page.

“The numbers don’t lie. Our players are really enjoying the unique House of Fun experience! We’d like everyone on Facebook to see what the hype is about. Visit us at http://apps.facebook.com/houseoffun/ and start playing today!” concluded the CEO and Founder.

About Pacific Interactive:

Pacific Interactive is comprised of experienced gaming industry professionals, committed to providing players with an unrivaled social gaming experience. With a number of game options available, players will be impressed with the crisp, colorful graphics, as well as the varied interactive play. House Of Fun is the developer’s latest endeavor, which is available on social media sites like Facebook.

Redmond, WA and Luxembourg  (Profitable.com)  Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT) has closed its acquisition of Skype Global S.a r.l. Negotiations of the definitive agreement under which Microsoft would acquire Skype, an Internet communications company, for $8.5 billion were led by investor group Silver Lake and the transaction was originally announced on May 10, 2011. Boards of directors of both Microsoft and Skype previously approved the acquisition.

Microsoft and Skype will remain focused on their shared goal of connecting all people across all devices and accelerating both companies’ efforts to transform real-time communications for consumers and enterprise customers. The completion of the acquisition also marks the official introduction of Skype as a new business division within Microsoft.

“Skype is a phenomenal product and brand that is loved by hundreds of millions of people around the world,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “We look forward to working with the Skype team to create new ways for people to stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues — anytime, anywhere.”

Skype CEO Tony Bates will assume the title of president of the Skype Division of Microsoft immediately, reporting directly to Ballmer. The Skype division will continue to offer its current products to millions of users globally. Longer term, Skype will also be integrated across an array of Microsoft products to broaden Skype’s reach and accelerate its growth as a fundamental way people communicate online. Skype employees will continue to be located around the world in offices including Estonia, theCzech Republic, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United States.

“By bringing together the best of Microsoft and the best of Skype, we are committed to empowering consumers and businesses around the globe to connect in new ways,” Bates said. “Together, we will be able to accelerate Skype’s goal to reach 1 billion users daily,” Bates said.

Founded in 2003, Skype was acquired by eBay in September 2005, and then acquired by an investment group led by Silver Lake in November 2009. Skype has made impressive progress, developing new products and revenue streams, strategic acquisitions, acquiring the intellectual property powering its peer-to-peer network, and recruiting an outstanding senior management team.

Other members of the selling investor group led by Silver Lake include eBay International AG, CPP Investment Board, Joltid Ltd. in partnership with Europlay Capital Advisors; and Andreessen Horowitz.

The acquisition remains under review in a few countries, and will be completed in those countries when such reviews are closed.

To learn more about Microsoft and Skype, click here.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Microsoft’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of Microsoft’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Microsoft’s Investor Relations department at (800) 285-7772 or at Microsoft’s Investor Relations website.

All information in this release is as of Oct. 14, 2011. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the company’s expectations.

New York  (Profitable.com)  Becoming social is an imperative for brands today, and while many are embracing the digital revolution, substantial improvements are yet to be made to build a brand with a distinctive social identity, according to a new global Weber Shandwick study in partnership with Forbes Insights.

“Socializing Your Brand: A Brand’s Guide to Sociability” offers brand and communications executives with a starting point for developing their own best-in-class practices when creating an authentically social brand. The research was conducted online among 1,897 senior executives from high revenue companies across 50 countries in North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America.

According to the study, global brand executives believe that sociability is growing rapidly as a contributor to a brand’s overall reputation, from 52 percent today with a projected estimate of 65 percent three years from now. Yet, a large majority (84 percent) report that their brand’s sociability is not yet up to world class brand standards, despite the fact that nearly all of them (87 percent) say they have a social media brand strategy.

What does it take to be among the elite set of world class brands? The study found that being a world class social brand means interacting with target audiences and creating original content that heightens the interactive experience, going beyond broadcasting news, deals or events. World class brands get their communities of interest engaged and develop meaningful ties over shared passions or commonalities. They demonstrate a genuine interest in what their audiences say and listen carefully to responses. World class sociability rests on the collaboration of the entire organization to integrate the brand personality across all communications channels. World class sociability also means that brand managers are prepared to accept all the risks that come with the rewards of venturing into this new era of customer engagement.

“There is a disconnect between theory and reality when it comes to socializing a brand. All too often, brand managers clamor for the latest and greatest application and new technology, bypassing the need for clear business objectives, a true social orientation and programs that deliver real value to brand communities. To be a fully socialized brand, leaders need a new blueprint; one that factors in both proper internal structure as well as external programming that help people be informed and identified with brands they engage online,” said Chris Perry, president of Digital Communications, Weber Shandwick. “Organizations need to break down silos, operate strategically and integrate all marketing communications. Only then can a brand successfully and seamlessly engage in a real social dialogue.”

Socializing Your Brand – The Risks vs. The Rewards

Global brand executives consider that the rewards of using social media outweigh the risks, by more than a 2-to-1 margin. Among the rewards of social media, global brand executives count strengthening customer loyalty, improving brand recognition, helping locate new customers and prospects and improving customer service.

“While there are inherent risks in socializing a brand, it is no longer an option to go without a social presence. Now, more than ever, executives need to harness this opportunity to connect with customers, facilitate a conversation and encourage feedback. Their reputations and livelihood depend on it,” said Leslie Gaines-Ross, chief reputation strategist, Weber Shandwick.

Nine Drivers of Leading Brand Sociability:

For more information, please go to our infographic and executive summary at www.webershandwick.com/socialbrands

1. It’s not the medium — and it’s more than the message: World class brands are much more likely than the average brand to create original content. 45 percent of them create content specifically for social media purposes, compared to 28 percent of all global companies. World class brands depend upon much more than just the medium to make themselves social.
2. Put your brands in motion: World class companies do more than build an inventory of social media tools. They apply their tools in more social ways than the average global company. For example, they are 44 percent more likely to offer brand-related mobile content, 43 percent more likely to participate in “check-in” apps, 41 percent more likely to do proximity marketing and 40 percent more likely to have their own branded YouTube channel.
3. Integrate or die: World class organizations are much better integrators of brand personality — they are nearly twice as likely as other organizations to have a consistent brand personality across all social and traditional media channels and are much more likely to include a social media element to their traditional print or broadcast messaging.
4. Make social central: 61 percent of world class brands have a dedicated social media strategist or manager, vs. 41 percent of all global brands. According to one global executive respondent, “The most important thing we can do is to centrally plan social media activities across all channels to amplify key messages.”
5. Listen more than you talk: World class companies fine-tune their messages to customers and integrate what is on their fans’ minds into their brand stories. Nearly twice as many world class brands have changed a product or service based on fan recommendations compared to the average global brand.
6. Count what matters — meaningful engagement: World class brands place more weight than other brands on their number of contributors when measuring social media effectiveness. Social contributors are ranked #1 by world class companies but #6 by other companies as a key metric.
7. Think global: Executives managing world class brands consider global reach as important as customer service as a driver of corporate reputation while the average global executive ranks global reach last.
8. Go outside to get inside: World class companies are nearly twice as likely as average global companies to engage outside support to measure their brand’s social performance.
9. Be vigilant: To protect their social brand integrity, world class brands are always on high alert. They are 85 percent more vigilant since Wikileaks has been in the news and are 58 percent more likely to be concerned about privacy violations.

Brand Sociability Ranges Cross Continents

“Socializing Your Brand” found relatively few differences across regions. Weber Shandwick and Forbes Insights believe this is due to the globality of social media and, although some geographies are more technologically developed than others, they all embrace the same opportunities and face the same challenges of using social media to connect with customers in a meaningful way.

The most pronounced regional differences are:

• North American companies are most likely to have integrated their social media brand strategies into their overall marketing or communications strategies (73 percent vs. 54 percent in EMEA, 60 percent in APAC and 62 percent in Latin America).
• While EMEA organizations are just as likely as those in other regions to have a centralized social media function, they are the least likely to have a dedicated social media strategist/manager (62 percent vs. 77 percent in North America, 70 percent in APAC and 78 percent in Latin America).
• APAC brand executives are significantly more likely than executives in other regions to report difficulty quantifying social media results/gauging ROI (27 percent vs. 19 percent in North America, 17 percent in EMEA and 14 percent in Latin America). In fact, this is APAC executives’ number one barrier to using social media more extensively. APAC is also the most likely region to cite lack of talent to effectively implement social media as a barrier, which could be a reason for or byproduct of ROI challenges.
• Latin American brand executives expect the most from their brand’s online sociability. On average, they project in three years that 72 percent of their brand’s reputation will be attributed to its online sociability. This is higher than what executives in other regions expect (65 percent in North America, 63 percent in EMEA and 66 percent in APAC).

“Collectively, brands are re-defining marketing models for a super-social media environment. Whether it’s to reach employees, customers or media, social communications is a powerful, unstoppable market force. Communications and marketing executives and are now well aware. The question is how to use this power to maximum advantage,” said Perry.

About The Survey

Weber Shandwick partnered with Forbes Insights to identify what makes brands social – and how. The research was conducted via an online survey in Spring 2011 of 1,897 senior executives from high revenue companies across 50 countries inNorth America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Executive respondents were selected for their personal involvement in marketing, communications or public relations strategy and utilization of digital channels as part of that strategy.

About Weber Shandwick

Weber Shandwick is a leading global public relations agency with offices in 74 countries around the world. The firm’s success is built on its deep commitment to client service, our people, creativity, collaboration and harnessing the power of Advocates – engaging stakeholders in new and creative ways to build brands and reputation. Weber Shandwick provides strategy and execution across practices such as consumer marketing, healthcare, technology, public affairs, financial services, corporate and crisis management. Its specialized services include digital/social media, advocacy advertising, market research, and corporate responsibility. In 2010, Weber Shandwick was named Global Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report for the second year in a row; an ‘Agency of the Decade’ by Advertising Age, Large PR Agency of the Year by Bulldog Reporter, a Digital Firm of the Year by PR News, and Top Corporate Responsibility Advisory Firm by CR Magazine. The firm has also won numerous ‘best place to work’ awards around the world. Weber Shandwick is part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). For more information, visit http://www.webershandwick.com.

About Forbes Insights

Forbes Insights (www.forbes.com/forbesinsights) is the custom research practice of Forbes Media.  Forbes Insights’ research covers a wide range of vital business issues, including: talent management; corporate social responsibility; financial benchmarking; risk and regulation; and doing business in emerging markets.

Jennifer Norton
Weber Shandwick
212.445.8314
jnorton@webershandwick.com

Rachel Manfredo
Weber Shandwick
212.445.8171
rmanfredo@webershandwick.com

New York  (Profitable.com)  LifeWellth, the creator of the leading long-term Personal Finance Advice platform, has announced that the LifeWellth iPad™ app is now available in the iTunes™ Store. The iPad™ app is specially designed for smart consumers who need a long-term plan to reach their financial goals such as retirement, purchasing a home, and saving for college while also building a foundation for lifetime financial security and wellbeing.

“LifeWellth takes a 360 degree look at your finances and goals and then through the app, helps you set and formulate a customized plan to achieve your goals,” said Francisco Prat, Founder and CEO of LifeWellth. “Many consumer investors need secure, independent financial advice and LifeWellth has created the ultimate platform to map out their financial future through specially customized suggestions to reach realistic long-term goals.”

Some of LifeWellth’s noteworthy features include:

• Independence from a Financial Advisor and freedom to chart your own path
• Privacy of information is bulletproof as your data resides on your device
• Investor controls financial destiny by defining the goals and outcomes that matter to them, while tailoring their plan accordingly

Most other players in the market only offer a short-term and day-to-day finance management tool; whereas LifeWellth offers consumers a transparent view of what steps they need to take to reach their long term investment and personal finance goals. The leadership at LifeWellth brings a powerful mix of experience in wealth management and technology to their platform that enables the savvy consumer investor to take control of their financial lives.

LifeWellth will be offering tailored investment solutions in the near future, and will soon be coming to other devices and the Web.

About LifeWellth

LifeWellth is an investment management platform and mobile application that enables consumers to get transparent and trustworthy advice on how to plan for their long-term financial wellbeing. LifeWellth worked with over 400 investors and financial advisors to understand the needs of today’s investor. The dynamic features of the LifeWellth application provides guidance to save for purchasing a home, retirement, college, and long-term financial security.  LifeWellth was founded in 2011 by experienced financial services entrepreneur Francisco Prat. For more information, visit www.LifeWellth.com.

Media Relations Contact:
Teena Touch PR for LifeWellth
415-310-3125
Teena@teenatouchpr.com

New York  (Profitable.com)  LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ: LPSN) has announced its inclusion in Software Magazine’s Software 500 ranking of the world’s largest software and service providers, now in its 29th year.  LivePerson was ranked in the top 250 with revenues of$109.9 million in 2010, representing a 25.6% improvement over 2009.

“We are proud to have made Software Magazine’s list for the fourth year in a row despite the competitive nature of this industry,” said LivePerson CEO Rob LoCascio.  ”Our consecutive inclusion in the top 500 is a testament to the consistent value and innovation we deliver through our intelligent engagement platform – companies are able to meaningfully connect with their consumers across multiple channels, strengthening their business and brand loyalty.”

LivePerson’s intelligent engagement platform enables businesses to create meaningful, real-time consumer connections that help increase conversions and improve the customer experience across multiple channels and screens. This intelligent engagement is powered by advanced analytics and a broad set of behavioral data that enables a real-time understanding and action based on customer needs and business objectives.

“In 2011 more than 100 companies made the Software 500 list for the first time, a reflection of the true dynamic nature of the industry,” said John P. Desmond, editor of Software Magazine and Softwaremag.com.

The Software 500 is a revenue-based ranking of the world’s largest software and services suppliers, targeting medium to large enterprises, their IT professionals, software developers, and business managers involved in software and services purchasing.

Financial information was gathered by a survey prepared by King Content Co. and posted at www.softwaremag.com, as well as from public documents.

About LivePerson

LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ: LPSN) offers a platform that enables businesses to proactively connect in real-time with their customers via chat, voice, and content delivery at the right time, through the right channel, including websites, social media, mobile devices, and consoles. This “intelligent engagement” is driven by real-time behavioral analytics, producing connections based on a true understanding of business objectives and customer needs.

More than 8,500 companies rely on LivePerson’s platform to increase conversions and improve customer experience, including Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Verizon, Sky, Walt Disney, PNC, QVC and Orbitz.

LivePerson has received the CODiE award for Best Ecommerce Solution in 2011, and has been named one of America’s 25 Fastest-Growing Tech Companies by Forbes in 2011, and a Company of the Year by Frost and Sullivan in 2010.  LivePerson is headquartered in New York City with offices in San Francisco, Tel Aviv, Atlanta, London and Melbourne, Australia.

About Digital Software Magazine and Softwaremag.com

Digital Software Magazine, the Software Decision Journal, has been a brand name in the high-tech industry for more than 35 years. Softwaremag.com, its Web counterpart, is the online catalog to enterprise software and the home of the Software 500 ranking of the world’s largest software and services companies. Software Magazine and Softwaremag.com are owned and operated by King Content Co.