Gawkwire: Web Hosting and Internet News Resource

IPRental.com Releases Rotating IP Address Service

2008-12-31T12:30:00-05:00

IPRental.com announces the launch of its innovative IP address rental service which allows users to change their IP at any time. The unprecedented service is designed for those companies or individuals requiring the ability to rotate through many different IP addresses. IPRental allows its customers to refresh their IP address constantly, accessing a virtually unlimited pool of USA-based IP addresses.

Some have and will likely complain about an IP rental service, citing the tendency for it to be used for gray market purposes, including over posting on forums, Craigslist, Yelp, Google and other popular websites, but the company staunchly maintains its right to deliver anonymous secure web surfing for complete anonymity and privacy.

"Yes we are aware that our service makes grey marketing easier, and could potentially be used for nefarious purposes. We don't believe it is our right to know what our customers are using the service for, and we hold our customers' privacy with the highest regard," stated Founder JP LaMere. "…we're concentrating on providing the best service possible without getting involved in policing the Internet. We believe that individuals should be allowed to surf the web anonymously, and switch their IP address whenever they choose."

IPRental already has many subscribers from around the world after being open for less than one month. The ability to hurdle existing firewalls allows users to access content otherwise blocked by various corporations and governments, including the well-known "Great Firewall of China", as well as firewalls put in place by the governments of most Arab countries, and soon perhaps even Australia.

Pricing:
Members pay a monthly fee of $49.95, and can cancel any time for any reason. IPRental also sells a $9.99 day pass. The company does not offer a free trial, for security reasons. A modern Affiliate Program pays $10 for each signup, and $10/month recurring.

All IPRental.com company and product names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Company Website: http://www.iprental.com

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/iprental_com_releases_rotating_ip_address_service.html

Times Square, New Year's Eve, Broadcast Live on the Internet

2008-12-31T12:22:00-05:00

Times Square Corporation and Mogulus Corporation team up on January 31 2008 to bring the world New Year's Eve for the first time ever, live on the Internet. Anyone with access to a Wi-Fi network, an iPod, or Internet connection can enjoy the New Year's Eve party in Times Square; live all night long.

The event starts at 4:00 PM eastern time on December 31, 2008 to 12:15 AM on January 1, 2009. Visit www.timessquare.com and tune into the fun!

Besides covering traditional topics on shopping, dining, and hotels, Times Square covers a wide range of "out of the box" activities and events throughout New York City. Reporters, contributors and writers are all encouraged to cover "out of the box" news events, art galleries, theater, old cinemas, historical hidden facts, controversial world matters, and other events not always covered by main stream media.

President, Lorenzo Tartamella and Vice President and Founder, Brooks Williams are promising great changes in 2009. Plans include partnerships with main stream media, live video feeds from Times Square, and radio show broadcasts. As the News Center of the world, forums will be open for NGO's and the general public to exchange ideas and discuss world issues like preserving water and our green planet, war issues, elections, and more. Times Square "The Cross Roads Of The World" will offer the planet what it needs; an open box discussion tool and a live daily crew to make it all happen.

TimesSquare.com is proud to announce that it will be working closely in 2009 with Mogulus.com which hosts a powerful live broadcast platform for the Internet. Producers can easily create live Internet television to broadcast anywhere on the Web through a single player widget. Unique features include the ability to mix multiple live cameras, imported videos clips, and overlay graphics. Producers can also broadcast live from a mobile phone; use a customizable flash player with integrated chat; and develop a branded channel. Visit www.mogulus.com for full details.

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/times_square_new_year_s_eve_broadcast_live_on_the_internet.html

Vulnerable CA Certificate Check Tool

2008-12-31T12:20:00-05:00

Short after the publication that several Certificate Authorities are using a weak signature algorithm for signing purposes Networking4all -- the largest SSL reseller in the Benelux -- announces a tool to check if your certificate is affected by an insecure signature somewhere in the certificate chain.

A web browser displays a tiny image of a padlock when a user has a secure connection to a web site. This is intended to provide evidence that the Web site is legitimate, as the browser and the site exchange digital certificates provided by a Certificate Authority -- a trusted third party.

This team of computer security researchers have proven they can create fake certificates that will be accepted by the security system.

You can check if a certificate in the chain has been signed with a insecure algorithm using the Vulnerable CA Check tool provided by Networking4all.

Example:
http://www.networking4all.com/en/support/tools/site+check/?fqdn=www.verisign.com

You can check all sites on:
http://www.networking4all.com/en/support/tools/site+check/

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/vulnerable_ca_certificate_check_tool.html

SF's Rogue IT Admin Facing 4 Felonies

2008-12-29T19:36:00-05:00

Terry Childs, the rogue system administrator for San Francisco who locked officials out of the city's fiber-optic wide area network (WAN) this year, is facing four felony charges in the case.

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala D. Harris announced Friday that Childs, 43, will be arraigned in San Francisco Superior Court on January 13. He is accused of tampering with the city and county of San Francisco's network system in such a way as to deny other authorized administrators access to the network, and to set up devices to gain unauthorized access to the system.

The DA's office said Childs is facing four felony charges for causing losses in excess of $200,000 as a result of the alleged computer network tampering. ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/sf_s_rogue_it_admin_facing_4_felonies.html

PC.com Sponsors Intel CES Party, Brooke Burke to Host

2008-12-30T15:11:00-05:00

WHEN:     Jan. 8-11, 2009

WHERE:   2009 International Consumer Electronics Show
              Las Vegas Convention Center, Central Hall #7153 (Wednesday-Sunday)
              LAX Nightclub at Luxor (Friday night)


WHAT:
             PC.com is an online destination to explore, learn and ask questions about PC technology and purchasing options – geared to the consumer who may find the world of personal computers a bit confusing.

             TV personality and model Brooke Burke will host the red carpet at Intel’s CES party, an invitation-only event from 7:30-11 p.m. Jan. 9 at LAX Nightclub at Luxor and headlined by rock group Counting Crows.

Burke last month won Season 7 of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” Outside of her busy modeling career, she gained fame as host of E! Entertainment Television’s popular travel series “Wild On!” from 1992-2002.

PC.com will be demoed at the Intel Media Center (Intel booth 2nd floor) Spokespeople will be on hand for media interviews.

WHAT ELSE:

PC.com, which went live in July after a 4-month beta test, is on target to reach 1.4 million hits during CES.

Mario Lopez is next up for the “Celebrity Techovers” series on PC.com; Part 1 with Lopez is scheduled to go live on Dec. 29 with Part 2 (“the reveal” of his Burbank home – and the TV personality himself – getting teched up) slated for post-CES.

Check out others now with Rob Lowe, Paula Abdul, Marcia Cross, Joely Fisher, Tori Spelling and Josh Duhamal.

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/pc_com_sponsors_intel_ces_party_brooke_burke_to_host.html

Filter Forge for Mac OS X Beta Version Released

2008-12-29T12:11:00-05:00

Filter Forge, Inc. today released the long-awaited public beta of the Mac OS X version of Filter Forge, a high-end plugin for Adobe Photoshop allowing computer artists to build their own filters -- seamless textures, visual effects, distortions, patterns, backgrounds, frames and more.

Starting December 29, the beta version of Filter Forge for Mac OS X is available at http://www.filterforge.com/download/?mac. The beta is open for anyone with a Mac -- no registration required. The minimum system requirement is Mac OS X 10.4, on both Intel and PowerPC processors. Users who find and report bugs will be rewarded with free copies of Filter Forge, which will be granted after the Mac version becomes commercially available. For more information about the beta test, visit http://www.filterforge.com/download/mac-version.html

The final commercial version is planned for release in the first quarter of 2009. Meanwhile, all editions of Filter Forge for Mac OS X are available for preorder at a special 45% discount -- preorder customers can save up to $135. To preorder Filter Forge for Mac at a 45% discount, click here: http://www.filterforge.com/buy/?mac

Filter Forge is an innovative Photoshop plugin allowing its users to create their own filters -- seamless textures, visual effects, distortions, patterns, backgrounds, frames and more. The key features of Filter Forge include a visual filter editor and a free online library of user-created filters which contains over 5600 textures and effects at the moment. To download the free trial version, click here: http://www.filterforge.com

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/filter_forge_for_mac_os_x_beta_version_released.html

The Holidays May Be Over, But The Savings Aren't

2008-12-29T11:53:00-05:00

Retail stores have their post holiday sales but weaving your way through the maze of online stores that have post holiday sales, discounts and special offers can be a little nerve-wracking. Whether you are surfing for an iPod for Aunt Alice, winter boots for little Johnny or a surfboard for yourself, there are some essential rules you need to follow to maintain your sanity and your pocketbook.

StarReviews has compiled a list of rules and tips that will help you find savings online while making sure you are safe when you shop.

1. Find the product and the store that you want to shop at first, then look for coupons. Sites like StarReviews, have done the research for you and have listings of the, top rated free coupon sites.

2. When in doubt, visit sites like the BBB, SHOPzilla, and ConsumerConfidence.net to make sure the store is reputable.

3. Always look for free shipping offers as many stores offer savings at certain purchase levels.

4. Save sales tax by ordering what you want from a website based out-of-state.

5. If the coupon you found is expired, give it a try anyway. Many stores leave their coupons valid after the expiration date.

6. When all else fails, try Google! If you can't find a specific coupon go to Google and search for "XYZ Store Coupon". Try variations of your search and you may be surprised.

7. Check out Deal a Day websites for great one shot bargains.

8. We all get gifts we weren't in the market for and many of us will auction them off on eBay. eBay is a great source for post holiday bargains.

"StarReviews is dedicated to helping consumers make the best choices and get the most for the money," said Jeff Rosenzweig, Vice President of Marketing for StarReviews, "This time of year, especially with today's economy, we really want to do everything we can to help people maximize their online savings."

After the holidays is a great time to shop and save online without having to deal with the crowds at the mall. Follow some simple rules, don't buy anything that is "too good to be true", and take your time to find the great deals. They are out there ... especially after the holidays.

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/the_holidays_may_be_over_but_the_savings_arent.html

3FN Completes European Backbone Upgrades

2008-12-29T11:51:00-05:00

3FN Inc., Triple Fiber Network, a leading web hosting company, providing dedicated server and web hosting services all over the world, today announces the successful upgrade of its European backbone.

Triple Fiber Network is proud to announce another enhancement in its web hosting network - the upgrade of its European backbone. By upgrading major web hosting network equipment within all European key cities, the company has achieved considerable improvement of IP network connectivity performance. Installing highly reliable network equipment 3FN has provided its web hosting customers with fully resilient network.

"We are happy to announce such an upgrade as it means faster and more reliable web hosting services for all our European customers. Our development strategy also embraces further backbone upgrades all over the world. The priorities of further backbone upgrades will be determined by the demand of our web hosting customers," announces Dean McToner, the 3FN official representative. "Being a world leading web hosting provider, our company's main aspiration is to make our web hosting services available with a top level of quality from every spot on a globe. Thus, in near future all our web hosting services will be upgraded and enhanced even if there is no need in it; all upgrades are implemented in order to power our customers with unprecedented quality of web hosting."

As new better network equipment appears on a web hosting market 3FN immediately implements it in its entire web hosting network. Although, the web hosting company utilizes only best and proven equipment as this is a guarantee of high performable and reliable web hosting. This upgrade combining with recent improvements allow 3FN's web hosting customers to benefit from the outstanding backbone providing premium web hosting. As the requirements for better IP connectivity grow in order to provide web hosting with outmost quality the company has made this upgrade. Such an upgrade of European web hosting backbone is a long term investment that will bring much more advantages with web hosting services by 3FN. All European customers will now experience the best and fast IP connectivity performance of the whole network.

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/3fn_completes_european_backbone_upgrades.html

ClickBooth Protects Consumers From Credit Card Auto-Deduction

2008-12-26T09:30:00-05:00

Sarasota, FL (Gawkwire.com) Affiliate networks continue to gain substantial traction in retention programs - those sales offers that provide consumers with auto-shipped products... and advertisers with recurring cashflow streams. It can be a win-win for both parties, if the consumer is fully aware of the terms. If not, these offers can cause challenges with advertisers, raising their interest rates or even forcing cancellation of their merchant services as the number of chargebacks increase. ClickBooth.com, a leader in affiliate marketing management, has developed a standard that protects both parties, and could set a benchmark for the industry.

"The industry needs a standard that consumers and advertisers consider the baseline of integrity," says John Lemp, CEO of IntegraClick, the company behind www.ClickBooth.com. "We've been working with the biggest players in the field, on both the product and the merchant systems sides of the field. What we've established should provide significant support to both parties, and increase mutual trust as well."

As an industry leader in web based marketing, ClickBooth.com recognized the need for certain criteria that would help both advertisers and affiliates within the ClickBooth Network. By establishing the standards before the issues become big enough for SEC oversight, the company facilitates significantly greater possibilities for advertiser success.

As an example, the health and beauty industry continues rapid growth through CPA affiliates. Many of the companies behind these products charge monthly fees to help consumers gain the benefit of regular usage.

"Online advertising has had huge success with these retention programs. These products have little regulations not only with regards to advertising online, but on TV advisements as well," comments Ziare Brown, Sr. Director of Compliance and Enforcement at www.Clickbooth.com. "After being approached with several Acai berry and other similar retention based campaigns, our consumer advocate investigated issues that were arising from these particular campaigns. We established these guidelines as a result of our investigation and feel that consumers will be better protected all around."

Affiliate networks are not currently forced to employ such guidelines by any national or government entity. Clickbooth feels that there is a real need for such standards in order to protect the both parties as much as possible, especially when it comes to potential consumer abuse issues.

"Anyone who does business with us knows the importance we place on compliance," says Graham Gochneaur, Chief Marketing Officer. "Being the company in the online marketing space to establish a set of guidelines should help the industry as a whole. We're dedication to making the consumer's experience online one of mutual trust, regardless of the product or company being represented."

Clickbooth will be the first CPA network to develop and enforce retention guidelines. The new program is slated to launch January 1, 2009. Details of the regulations cover payments terms, refund/cancellation policies, standards regarding potentially false or unsubstantiated claims to promote product, and pre-authorized electronic fund transfers, in accordance with the EFTA.

Participating advertisers as well as the the public are encouraged to view these new guidelines at http://www.clickbooth.com/compliance.html the first of the January.

About ClickBooth.com:
Clickbooth has been providing proprietary industry technology to the Cost Per Acquisition online advertising market for more than five years. The company provides partners with a progressive full-service management platform dedicated to optimizing revenue generation for both its Advertisers and Publishers and delivered in one convenient package.

Access is given to top-of-the-line third party technical resources, the highest quality traffic with top dollar payouts and an exclusive inventory of advertisers and publishers. A team of experts works around the clock to assist in maximizing client campaign's performance.

Clickbooth is focused on delivering unprecedented efficiency in the buying and selling of online advertising. Advertisers leverage the network to receive optimized global reach at dynamically efficient pricing, while Publishers realize the benefit of 100% inventory fill technology.

The company, located in Sarasota, Florida, can be reached at 941.483.4188 or visit www.ClickBooth.com. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/clickbooth_protects_consumers_from_credit_card_auto-deduction.html

Train Signal, Inc. Releases Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 PowerShell Training

2008-12-23T10:05:00-05:00

Rolling Meadows, IL (Gawkwire.com) Train Signal Inc., a global leader in professional computer training, is excited to announce the release of their new course, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 PowerShell Training.

The comprehensive Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 PowerShell training features nearly 5 hours of video instruction on two DVDs. Multiple file formats, such as iPod Video, Mp3 Audio, .WMV and .AVI, are available to make the training even more convenient. And students can print out the instructor's notes to follow along more easily and enhance the learning process.

Train Signal's Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 PowerShell training package is designed to teach the basic concepts and capabilities of PowerShell. Total automation of account provisioning and maintenance processes in Exchange 2007 will also be covered. Key topics in the training include:

Variable Types, Manipulation, and Scope
Functions and File Manipulation in PowerShell
Active Directory and Exchange Objects
Database Creation
Creation and Automation of Recurring Administrative Tasks
Creation and Management of Distribution Lists

Train Signal's Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 PowerShell video course is instructed by Scott Lowe, MCSE, CNA. Lowe is the author of O'Reilly's Home Networking: The Missing Manual and a coauthor of Microsoft Press' Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Administrator's Companion. Scott has utilized his 14 years of Information Technology experience to write more than 500 technical articles for CNet's TechRepublic.

"Mastering PowerShell is such an integral aspect of running an efficient Exchange Server environment." said Iman Jalali, Train Signal's Director of Sales and Marketing. "Our PowerShell training teaches you everything you need to know to fully utilize PowerShell and apply it to your organization."

Founded in 2002, Train Signal Inc. provides computer training that gives individuals the tools and confidence to tackle real-world challenges and succeed in today's competitive global IT market. Train Signal offers over 35 courses including Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007, VMware ESX Server, Cisco CCNA and Cisco CCNP. Train Signal Inc., a privately-held company, is based in Rolling Meadows, IL.

For more information about the Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 PowerShell training package and Train Signal's other product offerings, please visit www.trainsignal.com. Or contact Iman Jalali at 888-229-5055. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/train_signal_inc_releases_microsoft_exchange_server_2007_powersh.html

Search Marketing Expo - SMX Search Analytics Scheduled for 2009

2008-12-22T02:00:00-05:00

Redding, CT and Santa Barbara, CA (Gawkwire.com) The Search Marketing Expo event series will bow in Canada next year with SMX Search Analytics, March 31-April 1.

SMX Search Analytics will be co-produced by Search Marketing Expo owner Third Door Media and specialist business event producer Rising Media.

"Search engine marketing isn't just about website optimization and paid search campaigns," said SMX Search Analytics programming chair and Search Engine Land Executive Editor Chris Sherman. "To really know if your efforts are paying off, you need to test, measure and refine on an ongoing basis using web analytics. SMX Search Analytics will cover best practices for linking these disciplines."

"We're please to expand our relationship with the SMX team. Events we've produced together in London, Munich and Stockholm have been enthusiastically received and continue to prosper," said Rising Media Managing Director, Matthew Finlay.

About Search Marketing Expo and Third Door Media

The Search Marketing Expo - SMX conference series is produced by Third Door Media, Inc. Third Door Media's mission is to empower interactive and search marketing professionals by providing trusted content and community services they need to be successful. Search Marketing Expo events include SMX East, SMX West, SMX Local & Mobile, SMX Advanced, SMX Social Media Marketing, SMX Munich, SMX Sydney and SMX London. The full list is available at the Search Marketing Expo site.

Third Door Media also publishes the search marketing news and analysis site Search Engine Land, produces Search Marketing Now, a lead-generation marketing solution for suppliers of SEM-related products and services, and Sphinn.com, the place for web, online, search, interactive and internet marketers to share news stories, talk within subject-specific discussion forums, build a network and stay connected to hot topics in internet marketing. http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/search_marketing_expo_-_smx_search_analytics_scheduled_for_2009.html

WebHostingBuzz.com Launches VPS Web Hosting Service

2008-12-22T12:00:00-05:00

Wilmington, Delaware (Gawkwire.com) WebHostingBuzz.com, a leading US based web hosting company providing services to over 75,000 websites, announced last week that it has launched VPS web hosting plans.

Wayne Reavill, of WebHostingBuzz.com, states "We have been providing shared and reseller hosting for over 6 years. Dedicated servers were introduced a couple of years back and introducing Virtual Private Servers (VPS) was an easy and obvious decision to make.

We tested and trialled our VPS hosting solution for 6 months and we are highly confident that it is one of the best in the industry. Pricing is competitive, VPS specifications are generous and this is backed by the highly acclaimed WebHostingBuzz support team. Our VPS plans will serve as a warning to our major competitors whom only offer unmanaged solutions at the price point we're selling semi-managed VPS at."

VPS, or Virtual Private Servers, offer dedicated-server like root environments and customizability at costs usually associated with shared hosting. A virtualization layer, provided by a hypervisor engine creates multiple dedicated environments on a single physical server. VPS offers root access, higher resources and the benefit of segregation; one user on the server cannot cause difficulties for another.

VPS is becoming increasingly popular for the busy website that demands custom software setup and higher CPU and Memory limits than traditionally associated with shared web hosting.

About WebHostingBuzz VPS Plans:
WebHostingBuzz's impressive VPS plans are served from high availability Supermicro 8 CPU Xeons located in their Atlanta datacenter suite. Their suite features N 1 redundancy built into all network, power, cooling and operational systems and customers can expect excellent reliability as a result.

WebHosting buzz also employ a team encompassing of more than 50 front line system administrators and customer service staff, a ratio of staff to customers that not many companies can boast. Their average ticket response time is an excellent 17 minutes 32 seconds.

WebHostingBuzz also take great pride in their uptime figures, published on a monthly basis on their blog. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/webhostingbuzz_com_launches_vps_web_hosting_service.html

Google Selects Relevant Ads as Authorized AdWords Reseller

2008-12-22T09:14:00-05:00

Fountain Valley, CA (Gawkwire.com) Relevant Ads Founder and Chief Technology Officer, David Rodecker, announced that the company has been accepted into the Google AdWords Authorized Reseller Program. This is the highest authorization level Google provides for AdWords management.

"I am excited for our customers, employees and partners," said Rodecker, "In addition to recognizing our superior AdWords skill level, this will enable us to provide an even greater level of service to our customers, training for our employees and additional marketing support for our business partners."

Relevant Ads specializes in getting local businesses online placement at the top of Google's local search results and maps. Its local search engine optimization plans place Google AdWords sponsored ads for customers to help them get business online.

"We are constantly focused on finding ways to improve our customers' ability to be found on the internet," Said Mike Rosenthal, RelevantAds.com COO, "The vast majority of people searching the internet use Google and our extended partnership will provide more benefits to our customers."

Individuals and companies interested in learning more about Relevant Ads local search optimization business opportunities should contact us. We have an extensive reseller, agent and affiliate program that offers high commission payouts.

"Our acceptance into the Google Adwords Reseller Program gives us the ability to improve our offerings for new distribution partners as well. We are looking for entrepreneurs and businesses interested in selling our products as an agent, reseller or affiliate," explained Rosenthal. "Our payouts, sales and marketing support and products are among the best available and are constantly improving."

Interested parties should contact us via email at info@relevantads.com for more information. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/google_selects_relevant_ads_as_authorized_adwords_reseller.html

Host Color Published SEO Tips For WordPress Bloggers

2008-12-22T09:11:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Host Color reported to web hosting media that its PR team has published an article in company's corporate blog titled SEO Tips For WordPress (http://blog.hostcolor.com/2008/12/16/seo-tips-for-wordpress/). The article can also be reached from Host Color's corporate website.

"Create Sitemap, use Permalinks, build quality internal and external links, write good titles and meta tags, make good navigation, use unique design, and finally create quality content", summarizes the SEO tips Dani Stoychev, Host Color's Online Marketing and PR Manager.

Host Color also says that "even out of the box and with just a few posts some blogs get high ranking and appear in search results".

This September Host Color has launched an exclusive WordPress Hosting Service ( http://www.hostcolor.com/webhosting/bloghosting/wordpress ) which its customers can use only for websites that run WordPress blogging CMS. The limitation is set due to quality assurance, so company can guarantee that customers of WordPress Plan will not use the promotional price of $2.99/month to host other applications instead of WordPress.

The WordPress Hosting plan allows WP blog owners to use 1,000 MB disc space and 5 GB data transfer per month. Host Color says that these quotas will be increased for anyone that needs more disc space and monthly transfer, but the company does not want to promote any numbers that aren't realistic and could be considered as overselling.

Host Color also offers Blog Hosting Plan (http://www.hostcolor.com/webhosting/bloghosting), an universal blogging plan, that supports all popular blogging CMS - WordPress, b2Evolution, TextPattern, MODx, LyfeType, Movable Type and other blog software. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/host_color_published_seo_tips_for_wordpress_bloggers.html

SoftLayer Receives SAS 70 Type II Certification

2008-12-22T09:10:00-05:00

Dallas, TX (Gawkwire.com) SoftLayer has completed a SAS 70 review, including the assessment of all processes and systems necessary to complete an accompanying Type II report. The audit and evaluation were part of the on-demand IT leader’s ongoing commitment to provide customers with industry-best standards and practices.

A SAS 70 Type II review is an in-depth survey of a service organization’s control objectives and activities, with an evaluation of the organizations’ effectiveness in meeting those control objectives. It is an important step for any service organization supporting outsourced, mission-critical, and information technology services. The survey includes a full assessment of:

ï‚§   Oversight by executive management
ï‚§   Operations and customer service
ï‚§   Development and information technology organization
ï‚§   Human resources policies and procedures
ï‚§   Risk assessment monitoring

SAS 70 data centers must maintain prescribed levels of data security and redundancy, as well as personnel controls. The data center’s staff cannot access servers or data without a specific procedure. All systems access and activity must be logged, and all physical access is highly controlled.

“We are very excited to have completed this process,” said Steve Kinman, SoftLayer Customer Service Manager. “It gives us an objective standard for assuring all of our customers, of all sizes, that we provide reliable, tested, and secure hosting services based upon industry-recognized standards.”

SoftLayer's review was conducted by an independent auditing agency and included extensive testing performed over a six-month period. It involved all existing SoftLayer data center facilities in Dallas, Seattle, and Washington, DC. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/softlayer_receives_sas_70_type_ii_certification.html

Invesp Consulting Names Top 100 Influential Online Marketers of 2008

2008-12-20T06:00:00-05:00

Farmington, MI (Gawkwire.com) Invesp Consulting, a landing page optimization company, has named the top 100 most influential online marketers of 2008. The list includes the greatest marketing minds, visionaries, and thought-leaders in the industry. After over 1,000 recommendations and nominations, Invesp picked 100 of the top online marketers. They are people who provided the most insightful, cutting edge marketing ideas, products, and/or services in 2008.

These are the leaders people go to and respect for their online marketing expertise. "There are thousands of marketers who produce content every day and deliver results for their clients. In creating the list, we were looking for the thought leaders, innovators, and those who changed and influenced the marketing space during 2008," said Ayat Shukairy, co-founder and managing partner at Invesp consulting.

Many on the list are well-known, some may not be as famous, but all were named because of their continued efforts to expand as well as give back to the online marketing community.

Here are the Top 10 Online Marketers of 2008

1.     Chris Hughes
2.     Guy Kawasaki
3.     Brian Clark
4.     Michael Arrington
5.     Rand Fishkin
6.     Pete Cashmore
7.     Aaron Wall
8.     Jackie Huba
9.     Darren Rowse
10.    Avinash Kaushik

Chris Hughes who is praised for his work in helping elect Barak Obama has topped the list. "Chris took his intimate knowledge of social media to create My.BarackObama.com; The Obama campaign's online social networking website. His transformation of Barak Obama form a mere candidate to an online phenomenon contributed to the Presiden Elect's nomination and admiration of tens of millions across the world," adds Ayat Shukairy.

Rand Fishkin of SEOMoz, one of this year's top 10 marketers, praised and nominated Google's Avinash Kaushik. He said: "Avinash has made marketers across the web more responsible and more informed when it comes to measuring their successes and failures. Through his book, blog and evangelizing, he reaches tens of thousands of companies and websites that can take truly actionable intelligence from his advice."

The top woman marketer of 2008 is Jackie Huba of Church of the Customer. Jackie's effort in evangelizing citizen marketing as well co-founding The society for Word of Mouth earned her the title top woman marketer of 2008. To get the full list see www.invesp.com/2008/top-100-marketers-of-2008.html http://www.gawkwire.com/business/invesp_consulting_names_top_100_influential_online_marketers_of_.html

Who or What has Made the Biggest Impact in the Consumer Electronics Industries in 2008

2008-12-20T06:00:00-05:00

Nyon, Switzerland (Gawkwire.com) With 2008 fast drawing to a close destination for consumer electronics enthusiasts in the know, Biz-News.com, is gathering entries for the titles of Man/Woman of the Year and Product/Service of the Year.

Nominations are now being accepted for the annual consumer electronics excellence awards in the Smartphone, HDTV, VoIP and Storage industries.

As an open process, professionals and technology enthusiasts in the consumer electronics industry are invited to nominate influential individuals and/or products/services they believe have had a major impact on the consumer electronics in one of four sectors -- Smartphone, HDTV, VoIP and Storage -- over the past 12 months.

The winners will be selected from the submissions received in each of the four categories: Smartphone, HDTV, VoIP and Storage.

Participants are being asked to submit their nomination(s) for any of the consumer electronics categories through forms on the biz-news website (www.biz-news.com/en/surveys/index.html).

Along with the name of the person or consumer electronics product, people are invited to give a short description about why they think their candidate deserves the accolade.

It is possible to make multiple submissions - but individuals can only vote once for any person or product in each of the four categories -- Smartphone, HDTV, VoIP and Storage.

Nominations must be received by 31 January and the full results will be announced shortly afterwards (Personal information about contributors will not be disclosed). http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/who_or_what_has_made_the_biggest_impact_in_the_consumer_electron.html

Tips to Enhance End-of-the-Year Performance Reviews

2008-12-19T09:49:00-05:00

Edison, NJ (Gawkwire.com) CheckPoint HR, a trusted advisor empowering small and medium size businesses in managing their human capital throughout the entire employee life cycle, today released tips to enhance end-of-the-year employee performance reviews. The list details ways that employees can use their end-of-the-year performance reviews to their advantage as well as reasons why performance reviews are vital to an organization.

1. Performance Reviews are Linked to Business Goals
Companies who are trying to identify ways to cut costs, improve processes, develop new products/services or increase revenue should encourage their departments to consider themselves "mini businesses." In conducting this practice, supervisors and line staff alike develop a contributory and ownership-like work ethic. Employees become more aware of their contribution and value, and are therefore more engaged in their company's success and their role.

Performance appraisals are a great method which can capitalize on company objectives to be shared with staff. This direction allows managers and staff alike to engage in an open dialogue regarding goals, objectives and next steps. With accountability for an end result, employees can share a sense of reward and accomplishment.

For organizations who integrate company initiatives through the workforce, the end result is a united, targeted agenda which is tied into financial results or level of service.

2. Open the Lines of Communication
It is important for supervisors to understand the value of feedback and employee engagement. Open communication allows employees to better understand the expectations and goals of the organization, as well as the supervisor to offer guidance on productivity.

Employees should never leave the discussion with any doubt about what is expected of them. Additionally, this is a time to identify what has worked and offer ideas to improve on the things that may have been challenging.

3. Reflect and Reset
Performance appraisals offer a means for both employees and supervisors to reflect on the past year's challenges and successes. While performance reviews are often times geared toward the employee, this can also be a time when employees inform their supervisors what type of management style that they work best under. This is the opportunity to hit the "reset" button and take what was learned in the previous year and apply it to the goals and expectations for the coming year.

"Taking the time to conduct performance reviews allows employers to effectively manage and engage employees, while at the same time working towards common goals," explained Michelle Moylan, HR Specialist, CheckPoint HR. http://www.gawkwire.com/business/tips_to_enhance_end-of-the-year_performance_reviews.html

CRE Loaded Announces New Bundled Software + Managed Services Offering

2008-12-19T09:47:00-05:00

Atlanta, GA (Gawkwire.com) CRE Loaded (www.creloaded.com) a leading open source ecommerce software suite that enables nearly 200,000 online stores worldwide announced today a new hosted ecommerce software bundle to compliment its flagship Professional and B2B Series shopping cart software that is still available for one-time download and personal hosting. In this new hosted ecommerce bundle, CRE Loaded's commitment to security, credit card fraud prevention and PCI compliance is further demonstrated by offering a choice of Verified Secure Website security and marketing solutions at a great price from industry leading firm, ControlScan, with both solutions --the hosted CRE Loaded store or the CRE Loaded software download version.

"Online merchants and developers have been asking for a more secure, turn-key approach that helps them get stores up and generating revenue faster. Customers can reduce their upfront cost by now purchasing CRE Loaded shopping cart software along with hosting services all on a monthly basis," said Greg McGraw, chief executive officer of CRE Loaded's parent, Chain Reaction Ecommerce, Inc. "Now our store owner customers and web developers can purchase CRE Loaded in two ways -either through a one-time download to your own web server or for a monthly fee which includes hosting on our secure web servers, our CRE Loaded software, PCI Security solutions, SSL, chat services, search engine optimization and much more. The flexibility of owning or renting your own, secure online store is what our customers have been asking for especially in today's economy where the number of online web sites getting started by entrepreneurial store owners who recently left the traditional workforce due to downsizing and job loss, has skyrocketed", said Mr. McGraw.

CRE Loaded online merchants can now pay a low monthly fee starting at just $49.99 per month with zero set-up or transaction fees. Key features and benefits of the hosted bundled offering are pre-configured PCI scanned compliant servers that host CRE Loaded's shopping cart software, unlimited products in the merchant store, full membership for company staffed technical support and upgrades, SEO friendly architecture, integration with UPS and FedEx shipping software and QuickBooks accounting software, along with other introductory priced services from ControlScan, Submitnet, ChatStat and several popular web template design companies.

To learn more or to get started, please visit www.creloaded.com or call 800-609-2141 in the U.S. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/cre_loaded_announces_new_bundled_software_managed_services_offer.html

LogMeIn Offers Technology Considerations for 2009

2008-12-19T09:43:00-05:00

Woburn, Mass. (Gawkwire.com) Don't overlook technology when creating resolutions for the New Year. Small technology changes or enhancements can help individuals reach business and personal goals for 2009 by saving money, increasing productivity and becoming more environmentally friendly.

New habits for a New Year can include:
Updating security software. Waiting to protect computers and data could have costly consequences. It only takes a few minutes for a new virus or security threat to damage entire systems. Set security software programs to automatically download and apply available updates or patches as soon as they are available. And don't be fooled--patches and updates should never be downloaded from an email message.

Backup data. A computer crash or other unforeseen disaster can erase years of data--everything from cherished personal photos to business information. Backup and data recovery software is an affordable, easy and necessary "insurance policy" at home and at work.

Save money by using free software. Great technology doesn't have to cost a lot--or cost anything at all. Many reliable and secure software programs are available for free--from PC games to remote access software. Check out solutions such as LogMeIn Free https://secure.logmein.com/products/free/ that provides access to your home and work PC or Mac from anywhere with an Internet connection.

Donate to a better cause. There's no better time to donate technology (less than five years old) to a local library or non-profit organization. This helps organizations in need and it can be a tax break for 2008. Sites like TechSoup.org www.techsoup.org provide a complete list of non-profit organizations across the U.S. that accept donations. Don't forget to erase and reformat your hard drive with drive cleaner software before handing over used equipment.
Be environmentally conscious. Small changes can make a big difference. Look for opportunities to lower carbon footprints by turning computers and other technology equipment off when not in use. Be smart and environmentally safe when recycling old products.
http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/logmein_offers_technology_considerations_for_2009.html

10 Ways Your PC Can Save You Money in the Bad Economy

2008-12-19T09:41:00-05:00

Los Angeles, CA (Gawkwire.com) As daily reports confirm, we're now officially in the longest recession since the 1940s, with consumer spending down for the first time since 1991. Whether you're one of the many people that want to avoid the cost of an unnecessary computer purchase and to continue using their old machine or you just managed to buy that dreamt-of newest model, the good news is you can follow these 10 easy steps outlined by the PC tune-up experts at iolo technologies to make your system - old or new - go a long way in the bad economy.

One of the most frequent reasons people cite as justification for a new computer purchase is that their old one has just gotten too slow. However, contrary to what many of us believe, computer electronics do not actually slow down as they get older. So, why is it that your snappy new PC seems to suffer from ongoing performance degradation over time? Over a decade of research shows that 98 percent of all slowdowns and other problems are caused by faulty settings, clutter, and fragmentation that result from normal everyday use.

The tips below can help keep your machine performing like the day you bought it. They will also help you save on energy, repair and recycling costs - perhaps enabling you to take advantage of some of this season's unexpected travel specials and finally go on that Caribbean vacation instead of spending money on expensive computer service and upgrades.

RAM memory - with these three steps, you'll soon forget you needed extra memory.
1.   Remove unnecessary Windows startup programs.
Many software programs will load unnecessary portions of themselves during startup eating up both memory and processor power.

How to: Use System Mechanic with its vast knowledge base of startup programs to safely recommend and automatically remove unnecessary memory wasting startup programs.

2.   Defragment your memory.
Memory fragmentation occurs over time as memory is allocated and released by programs. When RAM becomes highly fragmented and Windows runs out of free memory, programs do not have enough resources to function properly. Programs may not open or may run slower and frequently crash. Defragment your RAM and you'll liberate enough memory to save you from buying an upgrade.

How to: Use System Mechanic to automatically defrag and rescue wasted memory

3.   Clean, compact and defragment the registry.
Inaccurate registry references frequently cause computer crashes and lock-ups, while a scattered and bloated registry wastes system memory and slows down Windows processing. With a cleaned-up and defragmented registry, programs will load faster and you'll be able to run more items at the same time, without the extra RAM.

How to: Use System Mechanic to clean up, compact and defragment your registry and gain back all that wasted RAM memory

Hard drive - with two easy steps, you'll save on buying a new one.
4.   Defragment the hard drive.
As you create, delete, and download files, your computer cannot store data as one unit and instead will split it up and store pieces in various drive locations. A fragmented hard drive has a large amount of such scattered data and can significantly slow PC performance. Files take longer to open and programs take longer to start. Defragment the drive and you'll accomplish these common tasks faster without buying a bigger drive.

How to: Use System Mechanic to automatically keep your hard drives defragmented. System Mechanic will even defragment core Windows System files, boosting performance well beyond the capability of the Windows built-in defrag tool.

5.   Clean up clutter.
Over time, your hard drive steadily accumulates gobs of unnecessary files - old downloads, temporary internet cache, etc. Clean it up and you can recover gigabytes of hard drive space without spending time and money needlessly searching for a larger replacement drive.
How to: Use System Mechanic to automatically keep your PC free of clutter and your hard drive running at maximum capacity.

Energy use - follow these steps and you'll see your energy bill shrink.
6.   Turn off the screensaver.
Research reveals that 53 percent of computer users never turn off their machine or turn it off only before they call it a day. The Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program touts figures estimating that people can save $25 to $75 in energy costs a year by merely turning off their screensaver.

How to: Go to Control Panel / Display / Screensaver and turn off the screensaver.
7.   www.iolo.com [Tune up your PC.
A tuned up computer uses less energy by allocating its resources more effectively. Tune up your PC and you'll be able to run programs faster, accomplish more, and dramatically reduce your energy bill at the same time.

How to: Use System Mechanic, with more than 40 advanced tools and a range of options to satisfy both novice and expert users, to automatically tune-up your machine.

8.   Monitor the devices around your PC.
The various peripherals that are plugged directly into your computer use extra energy. Wireless mice and keyboards are expensive and require regular purchases of new batteries.
How to: Unplug peripherals when not in use and opt for wired mice and keyboards instead of wireless ones.

Everything else - regularly tune up your PC and you'll save on much more than just the component upgrades.
9.   Perform comprehensive regular tune-up and maintenance and save money on expensive support calls and Service Center visits.
Service center visits and tech support calls can often be costly, time consuming and stressful. The good news is most of them can be avoided because the majority of Windows problems can be easily fixed by a software tune-up.

How to: Use System Mechanic's patent-pending ActiveCare technology to keep your computer automatically tuned-up.

10.   Tune up your PC instead of throwing it out and you'll save on recycling costs too.
You wouldn't throw out your car if it started running a little slower and a simple tune-up would restore power, so avoid the same mistake with your PC when System Mechanic can easily and inexpensively bring it back to like-new performance. A study performed in 2001 showed that approximately half of 500 million computers discarded in the US were actually in good working order; their slowness named among the top reasons they were discarded. Before you decide to toss your trusted machine, consider the fact that disposing of your PC in an environmentally responsible way can be expensive. Even when you think you've recycled it, your old PC might end up being sold to third world countries, where underpaid employees will be exposed to hazardous substances in search for the precious metals contained in its parts. Limit the pollution, waste and your expenses by regularly tuning up your PC and thus extending its life well beyond the currently brief national 30-month average.

How to: Use System Mechanic to keep your old PC running like new instead of throwing it out for a new one every 30 months.

iolo technologies, makers of the #1 best-selling PC tune-up product used by more than 21 million users worldwide, hope that the tips above will help you get the most out of your personal computer this holiday season and put some much-needed cash back in your wallet.

However, if you decide you still want a brand new PC as your gift this holiday season - or just happen to discover an extra one lying around - make sure to donate your old one instead of throwing it out. You will get a tax break next year if you donate your computer before December 31, a local charity will benefit, and the environment will be spared more e-waste. iolo will offer you tips on how to safely and cost-efficiently donate your computer in time to write the donation off your taxes in the next installment in this tips series.
http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/10_ways_your_pc_can_save_you_money_in_the_bad_economy.html

Green data center EvoSwitch raises energy saving to 40 percent

2008-12-18T14:57:00-05:00

AMSTERDAM (Gawkwire.com) EvoSwitch, the Dutch carrier- and CO2-neutral data center, managed to reduce the average Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of the data center from 1.8 to 1.6. This resulted in a 20 percent increase in energy saving - from 20 to 40 percent - compared to a traditional data center. The ultimate goal of EvoSwitch is to achieve an energy saving of 70 to 80 percent.

The extra 20 percent saving in energy consumption is largely the result of further investments in low-energy equipment and control systems. The expansion of the data center in 2008 also contributed to the improved PUE.

The first phase of EvoSwitch (2,000 m2) is already fully occupied by equipment from customers. This phase was completed in April 2007. Part of the second phase (2,000 m2 extra) is also almost fully used. The second phase was completed shortly before the summer of 2008 and required an additional investment of 9 million Euros. When the next phases are completed, EvoSwitch will have a potential floor area capacity of more than 9,000 m2.

Objective: 70 to 80 percent energy saving
“The extra energy saving is in line with what we calculated beforehand,” says Laurens Rosenthal, Innovation Director of EvoSwitch. “An average PUE of 1.6 is low, but the new design of the next phases enables us to achieve an even lower PUE. After completion of the next phases a PUE of 1.2 to 1.3 is a very realistic objective. According to our calculations, an energy saving will be realised in the new phase, in phase 3, of 70 to 80 percent compared to a traditional data center.”

A PUE of 1.2 to 1.3 is very low and proves that EvoSwitch is a leading data center innovator. Rosenthal: “It means that you need only 20 to 30 percent extra power to manage the data centre infrastructure, whereas in traditional data centres 80 to 120 percent extra power is quite common nowadays. There are even excesses in the market of 3.0, which means that 200 percent extra energy is required.”

Affordable prices
The energy savings are used by EvoSwitch to finance the current and new investments in green technologies, but also to offer customers affordable energy prices. “Building a green data center is more expensive than a traditional data center, but this does not affect our customers,” says Rosenthal. “We use the savings for further investments in green technology. Our customers also do not have to pay anything extra for our CO2 compensation, in which we invest together with the Climate Neutral Group. At EvoSwitch, companies are also better protected against high energy charges. Because of our investments in green technology and our long-term energy purchasing strategy, we can keep energy costs controllable and predictable for our customers.”

Energy-low data centre
The environmentally friendly design of the EvoSwitch data center was the result of expert advice from TNO (www.tno.nl) and the innovative work of our own dedicated design team. It enabled us to offer an energy-low concept at the opening of the data center in April 2007, among other things based on Free Cooling (using the outside temperature), Cold Corridors (separating warm and cold air flows) and UPS technology with Delta Conversion.

EvoSwitch is now putting the final touches to a new design that will improve the PUE even further. Rosenthal: “This will result in lower capital costs and operating costs and will benefit both the environment and the customers of EvoSwitch.”

PUE and DCiE
There are many suppliers on the market who claim to operate ‘green’. “The only thing that counts in a data center, however, is the Power Usage Effectiveness,” says Rosenthal. “A data centre may buy green power, but that does not make it energy-low. A data centre may install Cold Corridors, but that does not necessarily result in the best possible energy saving. The PUE of a data centre is the key figure that shows ‘how green’ a data center actually is. Recently, the Green Grid, of which we are a member, decided to use the term Data Center infrastructure Effectiveness (DCiE) as well. The lower the PUE or the higher the DCiE, the more successful the concept of a green data center. How this is achieved is a matter of making the right choices from the various available green technologies. We now aim to realise a PUE of 1.2 to 1.3 in the new data center designs.”

For a detailed explanation of PUE and DCiE also see: http://www.thegreengrid.org/gg_content/TGG_Data_Center_Power_Efficiency_Metrics_PUE_and_DCiE.pdf http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/green_data_center_evoswitch_raises_energy_saving_to_40_percent.html

Google's Effort to Become the Internet

2008-12-18T09:48:00-05:00

Elizabethtown, KY (Gawkwire.com) Google's effort to get a fast lane for its services is old news, according to Stephen E. Arnold, author of several Google technology analyses.

A recent spotlight on Google and its plans for entering into deals with large telecommunications companies has created a need for information and analysis about the large Internet company. While some companies are dismissing the possible future, Arnold warns content providers not to be too complacent.

"You're grasping at straws when you suggest that Google requires the support and permission of any entity or individual. The GOOG is emerging as the first digital nation state: Tough to understand, tough to regulate, and tough to thwart," Arnold said.

Arnold's monographs date from 2005 to September 2008 with a new report due out in March 2009.

The Google Legacy

"The Google Legacy: How Google's Internet Search Is Transforming Application Software" breaks down the transformational computing platform that is Google. Written for business readers, especially senior executives of mid to large-sized, knowledge-based corporations, "The Google Legacy" places Google under a microscope, dissects Google's technology, evaluates its potential and determines that Google's future lies beyond search.

Three appendices provide lists of Google patents, publishers who have indicated some type of relationship with Google, and universities working with Google-information that, according to the author, Google has sought to keep under wraps.

This publication is available in PDF for US $180 or €115 euros. Order "The Google Legacy: How Google's Internet Search Is Transforming Application Software" at http://www.infonortics.com/publications/google/google-legacy.html.

Google Version 2.0

Arnold's second study, "Google Version 2.0: The Calculating Predator," published by Infonortics in 2007, takes an even closer look at the content provider's growing power and ubiquity. It was the first detailed study of the major patents held by Google and extrapolated the company's possible business strategies -- many of which have held true.

"Innovation at Google is the fuel needed to power the Googleplex and to satisfy Google's hunger for ever more powerful, capable systems and software," Arnold said. "Google, unlike Amazon or Yahoo, is built on mathematics, not engineering."

And while the company is not specifically secretive; it is, according to Arnold, not forthcoming about its aims, plans, strategies and ambitions. The key patents analyzed in this study are often difficult to discover, since Google rarely files under the Google name; an exhaustive hunt of some of the key Google technical staff is required in order to unearth many of the patents held by Google.

This publication is available in PDF for US $640 or €410 euros. Order "Google Version 2.0: The Calculating Predator" at http://www.infonortics.com/publications/google/google-predator.html.

Beyond Search

The third monograph, "Beyond Search: What to Do When Your Enterprise Search System Doesn't Work," was published by Gilbane Group this year. It is focused on procedures designed to get incumbent search systems back on track and includes tips and tricks to fix an ailing system. It also identifies alternatives to the now-ageing "enterprise" systems so common in organizations today and profiles 24 vendors.

A workgroup license (up to 10) is US $895 and an enterprise site license is US $1,595. Order "Beyond Search: What to Do When Your Enterprise Search System Doesn't Work" at http://gilbane.com/beyond-search.html.

Specific services

Arnold and his Beyond Search team at http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/ also offer professional, tailored briefings on Google's technology investments over the last decade, including the telco analysis and a new one on Google's machine learning methods. These are a blend of technology analysis and examples in Google's open source publications.

Arnold's Overflight service at http://www.arnoldit.com/overflight/ is an RSS aggregation service. The service that is now publicly available aggregates the headlines from Google's 74 Web logs. The team groups the most recent headlines using the same categories that Google favors. The for-fee service offers more bells and whistles, but a free trial is available at http://www.arnoldit.com/overflight. Companies can see at a glance what Google is publishing on its own Web logs; Arnold can organize and quantify the information tailored to a company's specifications.

"I rely on my analytical methods to identify key trends and use only open source materials. Nevertheless, the capabilities of Google are quite interesting," Arnold said. "Just look at what the GOOG has done in online advertising. The disruptive potential of its other technologies is comparable."

Two other monographs discussed Google's technology investments designed to give the company pride of place in Internet services. The 2006 BearStearns' report on Google's Programmable Search Engine is no longer available. The more recent analyses of Google's dataspace initiative, co-authored with Sue Feldman, is available from IDC, the information technology consulting firm. Dataspaces is IDC report number 213562.

For more information on Arnold's services, contact him at seaky2000 [at] yahoo [dot] com or the Beyond Search team at (502) 228-1966.

About Stephen E. Arnold

Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. For more information about Arnold IT, contact Stuart Schram, chief technology officer, at (502) 228-1966. The company's Web site is http://arnoldit.com, and the Beyond Search blog is at http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/. http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/google_s_effort_to_become_the_internet.html

Nintendo, Nyko Settle Patent and Trademark Infringement Lawsuit

2008-12-18T09:45:00-05:00

REDMOND, WA (Gawkwire.com) Nintendo of America Inc. and Nyko Technologies, Inc. today announced they have settled a lawsuit brought by Nintendo regarding Nintendo’s intellectual property rights relating to its popular Nunchuk® controller.

Under the agreement, Nyko will continue to sell a redesigned version of its Kama wireless controller.

“We are pleased to have resolved this dispute,” said Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime. “The Nunchuk and Wii brands are familiar to consumers worldwide, and Nintendo is dedicated to vigorous defense of those brands.”

“Nyko Technologies is proud to be an industry leader in gaming accessories,” said Herschel Naghi, CEO of Nyko, “and we will continue to develop exciting products for the benefit of the gaming community.”

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.8 billion video games and more than 480 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii and Nintendo DS, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company’s Web site at www.nintendo.com.

About Nyko Technologies, Inc.: Nyko Technologies® develops, manufactures and markets innovative peripherals to enhance the digital lifestyle. The company’s mission is to deliver products that solve problems and improve user experience for work and play. Nyko specializes in interactive entertainment, computing, consumer electronics, as well as online and wireless technologies. The company has distribution through major U.S. and Canadian retailers, along with distributors worldwide. Founded in 1995, Nyko is headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif. Please go to www.nyko.com or call 888-444-6956 for more information. http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/nintendo_nyko_settle_patent_and_trademark_infringement_lawsuit.html

FuelNet Reveals 5 Hot Consumer Marketing Trends for 2009

2008-12-18T09:44:00-05:00

Boston (Gawkwire.com) Today's business marketplace is crowded, noisy, and, arguably, more competitive than at any other time in history. For growing businesses that are short on cash, it can be especially difficult to get noticed. Marketers have to work harder and smarter, and pay attention to trends in consumer marketing.

Being in tune with the hottest trends, however, is only a start. It's also important to understand how to tap into them to gain a competitive advantage. To ensure success, marketing initiatives must be comprehensive, integrated, dynamic, measurable, and responsive.

To help owners and managers of growing businesses turn prospects into customers as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible, FuelNet announces the release of the new Smart Report "5 Hot Consumer Marketing Trends You Can't Ignore in 2009." The in-depth report, based on extensive research and insights from leading consumer marketing experts, offers actionable advice and surefire tips to boost business success. Readers will learn:

- why "inside-out marketing" is more powerful than one-to-one marketing.
- how to reach consumers through "creative customer contact" strategies.
- the secrets to partnering with charitable organizations and winning customer support.
- why social media and customer intelligence are a potent one-two punch.
- ways to work with competitors to grow your business quickly. http://www.gawkwire.com/business/fuelnet_reveals_5_hot_consumer_marketing_trends_for_2009.html

WebmasterRadio.FM Presents 2009 Search Marketing Expo West Preview

2008-12-17T23:42:00-05:00

Fort Lauderdale, FL (Gawkwire.com) WebmasterRadio.FM, the premier free, 24/7 Internet business radio network focused on the B2B marketplace in association with the Search Marketing Expo Conference Series, presents a preview of the upcoming 2009 Search Marketing Expo West on Thursday, December 18th at 5pm Eastern Time.

This radio special will preview Search Marketing Expo West 2009, being held in Santa Clara, California February 10th thru February 12th, 2009.

Marshall Simmonds, Chief Search Strategist for the New York Times will preview the event with Search Marketing Expo Conference Chair and Search Engine Land Editor In Chief Danny Sullivan.

SMX West 2009 will deliver more than 50 sessions designed for search marketers of all skill levels and covering the spectrum of internet marketing topics.

This preview special showcases the agenda for the three-day, multiple track conference being hosted by Danny Sullivan along with Search Engine Land Executive Editor Chris Sherman.

This SMX preview special will be available On Demand from WebmasterRadio.FM's Search Marketing Expo Conference Channel (www.webmasterradio.fm/Conferences/Search-Marketing-Expo/).

WebmasterRadio.FM is the official radio podcast network of Search Marketing Expo and will provide Live and On-Demand Coverage throughout the event, including hosting WebmasterRadio.FM's Searchbash at SMX West on Wednesday February 11th, 2009. http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/webmasterradio_fm_presents_2009_search_marketing_expo_west_previ.html

Fpweb.net Achieves Safe Harbor Certification

2008-12-18T09:40:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Safe Harbor certification proves that Fpweb.net hosted services meets the privacy protection standards set forth by the European Commission's Directive on Data Protection. This means that all Fpweb.net customer data is pre-certified to move freely in and out of European Union (EU) countries, making the connection with these countries more time and cost efficient.

With Safe Harbor, Fpweb.net customers can confidently conduct business dealings with EU countries without delay. “We do our best to remove any and all obstacles that might obstruct the business of our clients,” said Rob LaMear IV, Fpweb.net CEO. “This certification is just one more guarantee that our clients will experience a secure, seamless hosted solution.” For more information on Fpweb.net’s Safe Harbor Certification, visit their site at http://www.fpweb.net/about-us/legal/safe-harbor.asp, or call 866.780.4678.

Fpweb.net provides managed hosting services for SharePoint, Exchange, CRM, Project, PerformancePoint, Office Communications Server and SQL to customers around the world. Fpweb.net offers shared, semi-dedicated and dedicated server environments to cater to the client’s need for speed, security and control, while cutting IT costs 60%. All hosted services are housed in SAS 70 Type II data centers with PCI, SOX and HIPPA compliance to ensure the highest level of data security. Additionally, each solution is backed 24/7 by expert, U.S.-based service and support. With Fpweb.net’s rapid server deployment, clients can access the infrastructure they need today, without a significant up-front investment. As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, they serve over 5,000 enterprise customers including the NY Yankees, U.S. Air Force and Honda. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/fpweb_net_achieves_safe_harbor_certification.html

Server Intellect Named Netcraftâ€™s Most Reliable Windows Host

2008-12-17T12:45:00-05:00

Orlando, FL (Gawkwire.com) Netcraft has released their November analytical report that measures uptime and reliability for 50 top web hosting providers. The results were published after a month long automated analysis of routing requests and load timing requests from multiple key internet testing locations in the United States such as New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, California, Arizona and international locations such as London, UK and Italy. Server Intellect fared better than all other providers who were running Windows Server as their host operating system in order to secure the top spot for the Most Reliable Windows Host and was ranked number six on the list of all providers who utilized other operating systems. “We are extremely pleased to be named Netcraft’s Most Reliable Windows Web Host. It is an affirmation of our hard work and strong commitment to maximum network uptime. We know that reliability is a critical factor in choosing a web hosting provider, and this designation furthers our goal of being a leading provider of Microsoft focused hosting solutions." said Eric Pratt, CEO of Server Intellect. The periodic Netcraft uptime reports are widely popular for customers conducting provider research and network analysis experts alike. Netcraft has provided research data and analysis on many aspects of the Internet since 1995 and is a well respected authority on the market share of web servers, operating systems, hosting providers, ISPs, encrypted transactions, electronic commerce, scripting languages and content technologies on the internet.
Server Intellect recently announced it has obtained a rare Triple Competency in the Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Program with competencies in Hosting Solutions, Networking Infrastructure Solutions and the Information Worker Solutions. http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/server_intellect_named_netcraft_s_most_reliable_windows_host.html

Leading University Professor unravels the mysteries of SEO

2008-12-17T09:34:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Linkrelationships.com, The Science In SEO blog by Professor Mike has just been relaunched following a redesign and a fresh update.

What happens when you start unpicking SEO from the viewpoint of a leading scientist? That's exactly what's happening at Linkrelationships.com. SEO is being taken apart and analysed from the perspective of Professor Mike Thelwall, the Head of Statistical Cybermetrics Research Group at University of Wolverhampton. The articles on his blog will come with experience from a long list of awards and recognition within the world of information science.

The central theme of the blog is to talk about SEO as science. A key debate has always been is SEO science or is SEO art? Either way, what's clear is that a large part of SEO is based on the link relationship between websites, essentially link building. However the uncertainty in value of links from different sources has always been shrouded in mystery and debate.

The Science In SEO breaks down the mystery with analysis and gives practical conclusions. Subscribe to the blog and stay up to date, follow Mike's research about link relationships and the influence between websites.
http://www.gawkwire.com/seo_sem/leading_university_professor_unravels_the_mysteries_of_seo.html

Tips for Job Hunters - Way to Make Sure You Stand Out in an Increasingly Large Crowd

2008-12-17T09:32:00-05:00

London, United Kingdom (Gawkwire.com) With more and more people finding themselves out of work before the holidays, competition to find new employment is fiercer than ever. For people actively job hunting and wondering what to do to give themselves an edge, Tony Willis, a high profile recruiter who has 15 years of experience in the industry and places candidates at fast growth companies in the technology industry, has the following advice:

1.   When writing your CV, focus on recent experience. "Most people don't care what your first job was 15 years ago, and if they do, they'll ask to hear more about it," says Willis. "Elaborate on what you've done recently."

2.   Think about your CV as currency. People tend to plaster their CV's everywhere or engage with too many recruiting specialists and this devalues the currency of a CV. Choose carefully and be strategic. And, when updating your CV, think about the narrative. Willis says, "It is not just a list of accomplishments and job titles. Think about the common theme that ties your career together and makes you different from other candidates."

3.   Use and update social and professional networking sites. Willis believes that, "In today's world, online networking sites are one of the most critical tools for job seekers, even more than a strong resume." While it makes sense to cover all venues, it is critical to ensure that your online networking profiles are professionally updated with your current resume and that you are connected to any relevant people from your real world network. Willis recommends sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Plaxo and says that people should, "put as much care into their online profile as they do in their CVs."

4.   Market yourself! With so many people in the hunt for a job, standing out from the crowd and developing your own personal brand is increasingly important. Willis suggests using sites like moo.com to create memorable, unique business cards, thank you cards or other printed products that you can hand out at networking events. "While much of our networking these days happens online, the connections you make in the real world still carry the most weight. Don't waste an opportunity by not being able to provide contact details so people can easily follow up and remember you," says Willis. Choose cards that speak to your personality and business experience - serious, light hearted, unique - it is a great way to stand out and be noticed. Once you have them, network like crazy.

For recommendations from moo.com on how to make your business card stand out, see below.

5.   Don't give up. While it may seem hopeless, Willis reminds people that there are still positions open, it just make take longer to find them. "Companies may not be adding new headcount, but many are upgrading particular roles, which presents an opportunity if you're patient. Think about the growth markets, like digital media and technology in general, and focus your efforts there." Based on his experience, he also anticipates a big rebound. "Big corporations tend to cut too deep when doing layoffs. That means when things turnaround, there will be lots of roles that need to be filled."

Tony Willis is a Managing Director at Renaissance, a London-based recruiting firm, focused on the technology and digital media sectors. Recent Clients include - Seatwave, moo.com, Yahoo!, Orange, match.com, Just Giving, Propertyfinder, Koodos and isango.

YOUR PERSONAL BRAND: HOW THE RIGHT BUSINESS CARD CAN HELP YOU STAND OUT

"An important, yet often overlooked aspect of how people market and brand themselves is their business cards," said Lisa Rodwell, VP Sales and Marketing at moo.com. "Why waste an opportunity by handing out a boring, forgettable card when it is so easy to create something that reflects you as a person and will be much more memorable." Rodwell has the following tips to keep in mind when creating a business card:

1.   Be an individual. Your card should say something about who you are and what you do. It should be personal and show off the scope of your expertise, making it easily recognizable as your card. When the recipient is flicking through their rolodex, your card should jump out and remind them of you.

2.   Create a conversation starter. Make your card remarkable. It should spark interest and prompt further questions about you, your business, and your experiences. It should stand out from the crowd and make an impact.

3.   Make it relevant to the market. Tailor your card to the recipients to maximize the effect. Hand over a card that demonstrates your awareness of who they are, and what they might find interesting about you and your business. Take an interest in who they are and they'll take more notice of who you are. With MOO business cards, every one can be different so it is easy to create several versions for different potential audiences.

4.   Insist on high quality: Pick cards that make an impression both to the eye and in the hand. Impress your contacts by handing over a card that feels and looks great. And with the options on the market now, this does not have to mean high priced.

For inspiration, check out examples on moo.com: http://www.moo.com/ideas/business_cards.php

For interviews with Renaissance, MOO or LinkedIn Europe, please contact:
Paula "at" sparkpr "dot" com +44 (0)207 033 7759
http://www.gawkwire.com/business/tips_for_job_hunters_-_way_to_make_sure_you_stand_out_in_an_incr.html

New Security Flaw in Internet Explorer

2008-12-16T16:14:00-05:00

The problem, first revealed last week, allows criminals to hijack computers and steal passwords if the user visits an infected website.

As many as 10,000 sites have already been compromised to take advantage of the flaw, according to anti-virus software producer Trend Micro.

So far the websites, which are mostly Chinese, have been used to steal computer game passwords which can be sold on the black market.

But Trend Micro security researcher Paul Ferguson told the Associated Press there were major concerns that the problem could be exploited by "more financially motivated criminals for more serious mayhem".

Microsoft said it had so far only found attacks against version 7 of Internet Explorer, the world's most popular web browser, but warned that other versions were "potentially vulnerable".

In a security update issued yesterday, the computer giant said: "We are actively investigating the vulnerability that these attacks attempt to exploit.

"We will continue to monitor the threat environment and update this advisory if this situation changes."

Microsoft may fix the problem in its regular monthly security update or issue an emergency software patch.

The flaw is known as a "zero day" vulnerability because it has not been fixed yet, allowing cyber criminals to exploit it.

It was discovered on December 9, the same day Microsoft released its monthly security update.

Rik Ferguson, Trend Micro's senior security adviser in the UK, said this was a deliberate tactic by criminals to cause maximum confusion among computer users, who could wrongly believe they were protected.

"Zero days are unusual - and zero days in the world's most popular browser on the world's most popular operating system are really unusual," he said.

The expert said the flaw was of "really high value to the cyber-crime community", adding: "The threat from it is only going to grow."

Computers can be infected by visiting a legitimate website that has been compromised with a small piece of code that invisibly redirects the browser to an infected site.

Then a Trojan programme is downloaded to the hard drive, allowing criminals to do everything from stealing passports to using the machine to send out spam e-mails or even host a child pornography website.

Computer code that exploits the flaw is being sold on internet forums - but it was also released by Chinese researchers who incorrectly thought the problem had been fixed.

Mr Ferguson advised Internet Explorer users to download his company's free Trend Protect plug-in, which protects against the vulnerability.

He said changing to free rival web browser Firefox would "certainly be an option" but urged people who do this to use the NoScript plug-in.

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/new_security_flaw_in_internet_explorer.html

Social Networks are a Viable Recruiting Source

2008-12-16T09:33:00-05:00

New York City, NY (Gawkwire.com) Bernard Hodes Group, a leading provider of integrated talent solutions, today announced the results of its New Voices Project survey, which measured the workplace attitudes and job search behaviors of the millennial generation. Defined as young adults between the ages of 16 and 29, the millennial generation is considered the most technologically advanced in the workforce, and according to those surveyed, 89 percent stated they spend their free time on social networking sites at least once a week, second only to watching television (91%).

Although most millennial workers (77%) use social media to discuss and share information about entertainment, an increasing number of them (47%) are considering social networking sites as outlets to receive career and employment information, with the majority of that group falling into the 20 to 24-year-old range (53%).

“The New Voices survey confirms assumptions about the millennial generation and the amount of time they spend interacting through online communities. When it comes to engaging and building relationships and trust with this generation of workers, employers need to listen to and participate in the conversations happening in digital communities,” said Shannon Seery Gude, vice president of digital and an expert on social media at Bernard Hodes Group. “With that being said, it is important that employers first understand the needs, preferences and influencers of their ideal candidates within different age segments and be very strategic and thoughtful with their interaction, and never compromise authenticity.”

The New Voices survey revealed the following breakdown of online social networks usage:

Facebook is mentioned most by 16 to 19 (81%) and 20 to 24 year-olds (86%) while LinkedIn, a professional networking community, is mentioned most by 25 to 29 year-olds (25%).

YouTube is visited by many 16 to 19 year-olds (83%) and is visited more by men than women (83% vs.74%).

Before entering into any social networking strategies for recruitment purposes, Seery Gude recommends that companies first listen to the conversations that may or may not exist around their employer brand and assess their existing reputation within online communities.

“Entering into a social media strategy with a baseline understanding of existing conversations is essential to any successful initiative,” said Seery Gude. “Companies can do this by conducting an online employer reputation audit and then continuing to monitor the conversations over time, which will help determine the online communities where candidates can best be reached, illuminate the needs of those candidates, and provide direction on topics that candidates are most interested in.”

A social media strategy is valuable for more than recruitment purposes. Having a strong online presence also allows companies to lend a critical eye to their brand messaging and discover key attributes through the virtual conversations. This honest communication provides insight into preferred destinations, topics of interest, candidate preferences and the impact of your brand.

To access the executive summary of the Hodes New Voices survey, visit http://www.hodes.com/solutions/research/newvoices_nov08.asp.
http://www.gawkwire.com/business/social_networks_are_a_viable_recruiting_source.html

Leadership IQ Study: Don't Expect Layoff Survivors to be Grateful

2008-12-16T09:30:00-05:00

Washington, D.C. (Gawkwire.com) If your company is undertaking a layoff, be forewarned: Your surviving employees are not going to work harder out of gratitude. According to a new study by Leadership IQ, 74% of employees who kept their job amidst a corporate layoff say their own productivity has declined since the layoff. And 69% say the quality of their company's product or service has declined since the layoffs.

Leadership IQ, a leadership research and training company, compiled these results after surveying 4,172 workers who remain employed following a corporate layoff. These subjects were drawn from 318 companies that have undertaken layoffs in the past 6 months. Employees were asked questions about productivity, product quality, workforce issues and management effectiveness.

Other key study findings about the state of the workplace following the layoffs include:

87% of surviving workers say they are less likely to recommend their organization as a good place to work
64% of surviving workers say the productivity of their colleagues has also declined.
81% of surviving workers say the service that customers receive has declined.
77% of surviving workers say they see more errors and mistakes being made.
61% of surviving workers say they believe their company's future prospects are worse.

What causes this precipitous decline in quality and productivity? Through an open-ended question, surviving workers were asked to describe their personal feelings following the layoffs. The three most commonly used words (representing 62% of respondents) were:

Guilt
Anxiety
Anger

Mark Murphy, Chairman of Leadership IQ, has a name for this phenomenon. "We call this Layoff Survivor Stress," he says. "There is a great myth that, following a layoff, the surviving employees will be so grateful that they still have a job that they'll work harder and be more productive. But as this study shows, the opposite is usually true."

The study did identify a bright spot when workers were asked questions about their manager. Workers that gave their managers high scores for Visibility, Approachability and Candor were 72% less likely to report a decrease in their productivity and 65% less likely to report a decline in the quality of their company's product or service.

What can companies do to prevent these problems following a layoff? "Managers not only need to know how to conduct a layoff with candor and compassion, but it's also vital that they know how to manage their workforce following a layoff," notes Murphy. "Managers need to be highly visible to their staff, approachable even when they don't have anything new to say, and candid about the state of things in order to build their trust and credibility. If your company has to conduct a layoff, it is imperative that you train your managers how to both manage that process and deal with the highly debilitating aftermath. Layoffs won't deliver real cost savings if you mismanage the layoff process. Offering terminated employees severance packages and outplacement assistance is wonderful, but it completely misses the most important group of employees; the survivors. You have to keep the surviving employees engaged and productive, or your company won't ever recover." http://www.gawkwire.com/business/leadership_iq_study_don_t_expect_layoff_survivors_to_be_grateful.html

1&1 Servers Now with Windows Advanced Hosting

2008-12-16T09:28:00-05:00

Philadelphia, PA (Gawkwire.com) 1&1 Internet Inc. (http://www.1and1.com), the world's largest host by known servers, today announced all dedicated Windows Servers are delivered with Microsoft's new operating system, Windows Web Server 2008. All systems are also equipped with the platform that helps users to install comprehensive web applications with just a few mouse clicks.

The delivery of web applications and services is based on the new Internet Information Services 7 (IIS7). Thanks to individual modules for these services, the new operating system is less vulnerable to external attacks and requires fewer server resources. IIS7 includes many new and improved administration tools like the graphical IIS manager. 1&1 customers can choose from three Windows Server 2008 versions - besides the standard image including SQL Microsoft Express Edition 2008, there are also versions with Parallels Plesk Panel 8.6. and 'minimal installation' available.

On all 1&1 Windows Servers with Windows Web Server 2008, the Windows Server Advanced Hosting package is pre-installed. Advanced Hosting includes a package manager that enables users to install comprehensive applications with few mouse clicks. Users can choose from some 50 free available programs like the popular eShop software osCommerce, DotNetNuke and content management systems Drupal and Joomla as well.

1&1 Windows Servers are available in 5 versions. The entry model is 1&1 Business I with Dual-Core AMD Opteron 1216 Processor, RAID 1, two 250-Gigabyte hard drives and two Gigabytes of RAM for $119.99/month. The top-notch model, 1&1 Titan Server, includes Quad-Core AMD Opteron 2352 Processors, RAID 5, three hard drives and a total of 1,500 Gigabytes of storage space. With 16 Gigabytes of RAM, 1&1 Titan Server is available for $519.99/month.

1&1 is the one-stop-shop for web solutions, providing a high quality service with the security of our state-of-the-art green data centers and
24/7 technical support. 1&1 currently holds over 7.8 million customer contracts worldwide and manages over 10 million domain names.

For more information on 1&1 Internet Inc. visit the website at http://www.1and1.com. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/1_1_servers_now_with_windows_advanced_hosting.html

Host Color Deploys Plesk 9.0 On VPS Hosting Plans

2008-12-16T09:16:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) The quality web hosting provider Host Color (http://www.hostcolor.com) announced that its VPS Hosting customers can upgrade their Plesk control panel to Version 9.0 on December 22.

"We are ready to provide stable VPS Hosting services with the new Plesk 9.0 web hosting control panel", said Host Color's Managing Director Alexander Avramov and advised the company's customers to use the days before Christmas or vacation period to upgrade their software.

"There are many great features in Plesk Panel 9.0 such as enhanced interface for efficient navigation and the addition of a Reseller mode which enables our Resellers to better manage their VPS and to better organize their offerings", said Mr. Avramov.

Plesk 9.0 is available for all Virtual Private Servers
(http://www.hostcolor.com/vps) - VPS Start (http://www.hostcolor.com/vps/vps-start), VPS Advance (http://www.hostcolor.com/vps/vps-advance), VPS Power
(http://www.hostcolor.com/vps/vps-power) and VPS Custom (http://www.hostcolor.com/vps/vps-custom).

Host Color has recently upgraded VPS Hosting services, and now powers them with the latest version of Virtuozzo Containers - Virtuozzo 4.0.
The new Virtuozzo offers a numbers of new advantages and makes even easier the management of a virtual private server. It has better design interface that provides access to templates and sample virtual environments, plus a streamlined installation. The new release also offers "High availability" through a several new options to ensure maximum uptime and new backup enhancements.

The hosting provider is well-known with its approach to hosting business named Quality Web Hosting. Its executives say that Host Color "customizes not just VPS and Dedicated Hosting, but even Shared Hosting services to allow anyone to work in personalized business environment".
http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/host_color_deploys_plesk_9_0_on_vps_hosting_plans.html

SoftLayer Increases 10G Network Connections

2008-12-16T09:04:00-05:00

Dallas, TX (Gawkwire.com) SoftLayer Technologies, the on-demand IT services provider, recently upgraded all of its data centers’ network connectivity. The upgrades included additional 10G connections, for a total of 20 across the company’s facilities in Dallas, Seattle, and Washington DC. The new connections provide additional redundancy with low latency across both SoftLayer’s Public and Private networks and increase bandwidth for SoftLayer customers’ ever-growing capacity needs.

“Network reliability is the backbone of all we offer and our customers’ first priority,” said Ric Moseley, SoftLayer Vice President of Engineering. “We are committed to continually enhancing our network and increasing our redundant connections to ensure we deliver industry-leading performance and uptime.”

The company’s Seattle data center received additional 10G peering connections from Comcast and the Seattle Internet Exchange (SIX), as well as 10G transit connections from Level 3 and NTT America. The facility’s upgrades included the installation of Internap’s Flow Control Platform (FCP), which enhances Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing performance by monitoring each provider’s connections and rerouting traffic when a connection is interrupted.

The Dallas data center’s upgrades included adding a 10G Comcast connection for private peering. Currently this link carries more than 2.5Gbps of network traffic; in the coming days, it will have connectivity into Equinix facilities in Dallas and Washington DC, providing direct connections to additional carriers.

SoftLayer’s upgraded data center connectivity:

Dallas, TX
ï‚§   Comcast—1x10Gbps
ï‚§   Global Crossing—1x10Gbps
ï‚§   Internap—1x10Gbps
ï‚§   Level 3—1x10Gbps
ï‚§   NTT America—2x10Gbps
ï‚§   SAVVIS—1x10Gbps
ï‚§   Equinix—1x10Gbps

Seattle, WA
ï‚§   Comcast—1x10Gbps
ï‚§   Internap—2x10Gbps
ï‚§   Level 3—1x10Gbps
ï‚§   Quest—1x10Gbps
ï‚§   SIX—1x10Gbps

Washington, D.C.
ï‚§   Internap—2x10Gbps
ï‚§   Level 3—1x10Gbps
ï‚§   NTT America—2x10Gbps
ï‚§   Equinix—1x10Gbps http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/softlayer_increases_10g_network_connections.html

Neeru Khosla to Become Wikipedia Advisor

2008-12-15T14:28:00-05:00

San Francisco, CA (Gawkwire.com) The Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization behind the web encyclopedia Wikipedia, today announced the appointment of Neeru Khosla to its Advisory Board. Khosla is co-founder and chair of CK-12, a non-profit based in Palo Alto, California which is pioneering the concept of "open source textbooks." In September, the U.S. state of Virginia announced a collaboration with CK-12 to produce an open source physics textbook, a major coup for the young non-profit organization.

"I am delighted that Neeru is joining us," said Michael Snow, Chairman of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees. "In addition to her understanding of the educational arena both in the United States and elsewhere, Neeru is experienced with the challenges of building and leading non-profit organizations. As we grow and evolve, her expertise will be enormously valuable and welcomed."

The Wikimedia Foundation, which operates the volunteer-written encyclopedia with a staff of just under 25 people, created its Advisory Board in January 2007 as a mechanism for input from leaders and thinkers in fields like education, technology, and free culture. Advisory Board members convene with Wikimedia's leadership once a year and also support the organization in their specific areas of expertise.

"When people want to learn things online, they go to Wikipedia first," said Neeru Khosla. "It's absolutely clear to me that anyone who cares about education online should seriously consider how they can help Wikipedia do an even better job. It's an important cause, and I'm more than happy to volunteer."

In March 2008, the Wikimedia Foundation received a $500,000 donation from Vinod and Neeru Khosla.

The current Advisory Board membership includes:

   * Angela Beesley (Chair, Wikimedia Advisory Board; co-founder, Wikia)
   * Ward Cunningham (Developer of the first wiki)
   * Heather Ford (Executive director, iCommons)
   * Debbie Garside (Multi-lingual web pioneer)
   * Melissa Hagemann (Open Access advocate)
   * Danny Hillis (Engineer, author, inventor)
   * Mitch Kapor (Founder/Co-founder Lotus Developments, EFF, Mozilla Foundation)
   * Neeru Khosla (Co-founder, CK-12)
   * Teemu Leinonen (Head, Learning Environments research group of the Media Lab, University of Art and Design Helsinki)
   * Rebecca MacKinnon (Journalist; founder, Global Voices Online)
   * Wayne Mackintosh (Education specialist, Commonwealth of Learning)
   * Benjamin Mako Hill (Author, free software advocate)
   * Erin McKean (Chief consulting editor, American Dictionaries at Oxford University Press)
   * Trevor Neilson (Partner, Global Philanthropy Group)
   * Florence Nibart-Devouard (Former Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees; Scientist)
   * Achal Prabhala (Journalist and researcher)
   * Jay Rosen (Journalist, author, educator)
   * Clay Shirky (Author, consultant, educator)
   * Peter Suber (Open Access advocate)
   * Raoul Weiler (ICT advocate)
   * Ethan Zuckerman (Research Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School)

For more information, visit: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Advisory_Board http://www.gawkwire.com/business/neeru_khosla_to_become_wikipedia_advisor.html

Online Shoppers Judge Online Reputation

2008-12-14T23:20:00-05:00

Philadelphia, PA (Gawkwire.com) Online reputation matters for the majority of North American consumers, according to research released today by 1&1 Internet Inc., the world's largest web host by known servers. The survey, conducted by MaCorr Research, of over 1000 North American consumers(1) found that 80 percent of consumers regularly check the Internet for material about an online retailer, or e-tailer, before committing to a purchase. It appears that consumer-created content, such as online reviews or blog posts, has never been so highly valued, with 9 out of 10 consumers reading online reviews or recommendations on a specific product before buying it. The research also found that today's consumers are eager to share their online shopping experiences on the Internet, with over half (63 percent) of us willing to publish a review online.

In today's economic climate, it is not surprising that shoppers are seeking more reliable and value-conscious experiences from e-tailers.
However, it appears that the average consumer now takes into account the online image of the online retailers available to them. The survey shows that 91 percent of online shoppers admit to searching the Internet for material relating to an e-tailer in order to judge their 'online reputation' or reputability before clicking 'Order.' In fact, most consumers (89 percent) intentionally stay away from companies with negative online reviews and postings. A further two-thirds of consumers purposely buy elsewhere after reading negative reviews of an e-tailer.

Oliver Mauss, CEO 1&1 Internet Inc., said, "Consumers have clearly learned to do their homework before buying online. It is significant that the average online shopper will now invest time in appraising a retailer's online reputation as an integral part of their buying decision."

Interestingly, shoppers appear to be just as eager to collaborate and share their shopping experiences as they are to leverage those of others'. The proliferation of social networking and growth of consumer review and advice websites, has given consumers greater confidence to share their knowledge. For example, the survey found that over half of consumers (63 percent) are willing to publish an online review or opinion of an e-tailer, while only 24 percent would consider writing a letter to the retailer in question. In 2008, the most popular method of sharing online shopping experiences remains word-of-mouth with over three-quarters of consumers regularly sharing online shopping
experiences with friends and family.

1&1's survey also reveals that consumers are confident in opting for the web during the holiday shopping season. Some 7 out of 10 consumers are confident that they receive the same standard of service online as they do 'over the counter.' For consumers the biggest concerns regarding online retail purchases lies in the security of the Internet transaction. Some 49 percent of online shoppers are concerned about security, with another 34 percent concerned on the speed of delivery from these e-tailers.

Mauss added, "At a time of online advertising-overload, consumers clearly see great value in sharing their knowledge. This is perhaps contributing to their growing confidence to experiment with smaller online retailers. It is impressive that consumers are as keen to contribute as they are to consume market intelligence."

1&1 Internet, the world's largest web host by known servers, provides high quality web hosting services to online businesses. 1&1 currently holds over 7.8 million customer contracts worldwide and manages over 10 million domain names.

For more information on 1&1 Internet Inc. visit the website at www.1and1.com

(1) 1,071 North American adults interviewed by MaCorr Research in November 2008 via electronic feedback form http://www.gawkwire.com/business/online_shoppers_judge_online_reputation.html

Internet Domain Seizures Challenged in Kentucky Appeals Court

2008-12-15T09:18:00-05:00

Louisville, KY (Gawkwire.com) The Kentucky Court of Appeals listened to oral arguments in a suit (2008-CA-002000) brought by the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA) to block the seizure of 141 Internet domain names by the Kentucky government.

Attorneys for iMEGA, an Internet trade association in Washington, DC, asked the appeals court to overturn a lower court ruling (Commonwealth of Kentucky, Franklin Circuit Court, Division II, 08-CI-1409) ordering the seizures, on the grounds that the commonwealth's attorneys improperly tried to create a hybrid of criminal and civil laws to justify seizing the domain names without any normal criminal or civil proceedings.

"It is not sufficient for the state or a lower court judge to decide on their own that there is a criminal violation," said Jon L. Fleischaker, iMEGA's lead attorney from Dinsmore & Shohl in Louisville. "They don't like this (Internet gambling), Fleischaker said, "so they seized the names without hearing or process."

Kentucky Gov. Stephen Beshear and Michael J. Brown, the state's Secretary of Justice and Public Safety, have sought the domain names, most related to Internet gambling, in an effort to protect the state's own gambling industry from competition by online gambling sites.

Fleischaker also noted that the US 6th Circuit has ruled that domain names are no more than billboards. He noted that the Horseshoe Casino in Southern Indiana can advertise in Kentucky, even though gambling is illegal here, because of the First Amendment. Seizing a domain name is no different than the state seizing a casino billboard, Fleischaker said. "That is classic prior restraint," he said.

iMEGA, along with lawyers for the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC) and William Johnson, the "dean of Kentucky attorneys", all argued that the Kentucky courts lack jurisdiction over the domain names, which are owned by foreign companies.

Private attorneys, representing the commonwealth on a contingency fee-basis, repeatedly insisted that Internet gambling was against the law, though there are no laws in Kentucky making it illegal for residents to gamble online.

Erik Lycan, lead attorney for the commonwealth, raised a few eyebrows during questioning by Judge Michelle M. Keller, when asked about the commonwealth's assertion that domain names constituted "gambling devices". Judge Keller asked if, given that logic, the state had a right to seize the buses that transported people across the bridge to Indiana to gamble in that state's legal casinos. Lycan responded yes, the state had that right.

iMEGA representatives were pleased by the proceeding. "Clearly, our attorney and the lawyers representing the other groups were excellent," said Joe Brennan Jr., iMEGA's chairman. "They were very comfortable with the give-and-take with the judges, and had a command of these important issues. We're very confident that we will prevail in this matter and put a stop to this dangerous precedent being set by the governor with this action."

"This matter has generated concerns across the online world about abuse of governmental power," said Brennan. "Kentucky is opening the door for any government -- state and local, foreign and domestic -- to use what amounts to blackmail to achieve its ends. If this precedent is allowed to stand, it's not hard to imagine a government like China utilizing this kind of seizure power to prevent free media, like the New York Times, from reaching their citizens."

"I think John Tate (attorney for IGC) said it well," Brennan said. "'If we can do it to them, they can do it to us'"

For additional information, contact Joe Brennan Jr., chairman of iMEGA, or visit www.iMEGA.org. http://www.gawkwire.com/domains/internet_domain_seizures_challenged_in_kentucky_appeals_court.html

SEO Consult Launch New SEO Forum

2008-12-15T09:16:00-05:00

Cheshire, England (Gawkwire.com) SEO Consult, the UK's leading Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) agency, today announced the launch of its new online SEO Forum.

The forum is designed to promote an open discussion of all SEO techniques and methods, including SEO content development, on page and off page SEO, the use of SEO tools, link building strategies and social network marketing. Furthermore, the forum brings together professional SEO Programmers and website owners who may be struggling to get first page rankings. It also allows small businesses with limited SEO resources to seek free of charge guidance and advice.

"We envisioned the SEO Forum as a way for SEO Consult to do some pro bono work," Matt Bullas, Managing Director of SEO Consult, comments. "If any businesspeople seek SEO help but cannot afford it, they can now use our free forum to engage the UK's number one SEO company and to quiz SEO Programmers with a proven track record of first page listings."

To sign up for free membership to the SEO Consult Forum, please register here.

For more details about SEO Consult, please visit our website www.seoconsult.co.uk or call 0845 205 0292. http://www.gawkwire.com/seo_sem/seo_consult_launch_new_seo_forum.html

oDesk Data Reveals Offshore Outsourcing Statistics for 7 countries

2008-12-15T09:15:00-05:00

San Mateo, CA (Gawkwire.com) oDesk, the leading marketplace for online workteams for employers outsourcing technology jobs to certified, freelance developers and programmers, announced new data that highlights the leading countries for offshore outsourcing as well as homeshoring.

The network of service providers on oDesk now tops 150,000 individuals worldwide in over 100 countries.

Some of the insights gained from the new reports include:

1. The United States has the greatest number of providers and highest average feedback rating. Homeshoring within the US continues to gain momentum.

2. The level of outsourcing to Philippines is growing faster than any other country. Its largest work category is Knowledge Processing Outsourcing (KPO), including things like data entry and virtual assistants. The country's average feedback rating recently surpassed the oDesk average for the first time.

3. The level of outsourcing to India remains the highest in the industry boasting the highest number of new hires. Its largest work category is Software and Web Development.

4. Web Developers, Software Developers and Consultants are earning nearly 3x the rates of talented offshore writers and administrative assistants.

The data shows:
(view detailed stats in SlideShare presentation on Outsourcing Statistics)

CANADA
Total Number of Providers: 3,581
Average Hourly Rate Charge: $19.60
Average Feedback Score: 4.32 (out of 5.00)

INDIA
Total Number of Providers: 27,454
Average Hourly Rate Charge: $12.52
Average Feedback Score: 4.01

PAKISTAN
Total Number of Providers: 5,960
Average Hourly Rate Charge: $11.13
Average Feedback Score: 4.36

PHILIPPINES
Total Number of Providers: 17,213
Average Hourly Rate Charge: $6.33
Average Feedback Score: 4.30

RUSSIA
Total Number of Providers: 2,721
Average Hourly Rate Charge: $16.86
Average Feedback Score: 4.31

UKRAINE
Total Number of Providers: 2,929
Average Hourly Rate Charge: $15.96
Average Feedback Score: 4.36

USA
Total Number of Providers: 52,637
Average Hourly Rate Charge: $18.32
Average Feedback Score: 4.40 http://www.gawkwire.com/business/odesk_data_reveals_offshore_outsourcing_statistics_for_7_countri.html

Tom Sawyer Software Releases Upgraded Java Visualization Software

2008-12-15T09:12:00-05:00

Oakland, CA (Gawkwire.com) Tom Sawyer Software, the leading provider of high-performance graph visualization, layout, and analysis solutions, today announced Tom Sawyer Visualization, Version 9.0, Java Edition Release.

The Tom Sawyer Visualization product line delivers sophisticated component technology that manages, reveals, and displays graphical, customized views of relational data, making it possible to immediately identify relationships, connections, and emerging patterns within the data. The software displays pathways, models, flows, dependencies, networks, and schematics in a comprehensive visual format.

New Benefits

Tom Sawyer Visualization, Version 9.0 focuses primarily on the graphics system and refined user interface presentation. The new release introduces a new data-driven scene-based graphics system with an integrated expression language support. This new graphics system enables our customers in defense, financial services, IT, networking, and software engineering to build applications with expressive data-driven graphics more quickly and efficiently. Many new graphical effects and transitions are supported or can be easily implemented. The user interface elements have been redesigned for improved visual appeal. Our customers can readily decorate their drawings with data driven graphical attributing.

Tom Sawyer Visualization also relies on Tom Sawyer Layout for fine global and incremental automatic layout, labeling, and routing. For years, enterprise-class customers with large complex data sets and many drawing rules have been aware that no other academic, commercial, or open source offering has the scalability, reliability, and quality that Tom Sawyer products offer.

Tom Sawyer Visualization, Version 9.0 also introduces new layout progress, layout cancel, layout fading transitions and animation, and multi-threaded layout support. The new release implements new drawing fitting technology where each layout style has new features to fit the drawing canvas or the printed page more optimally. For instance, circular and symmetric layouts will rotate optimally to fit the canvas or printed page. If a resultant drawing more closely fits the aspect ratio of the canvas or printed page, then each user interface element in the drawing is easier to read at lower zoom levels. Further, this release continues with many layout, labeling, and routing refinements.

New Features

Tom Sawyer Visualization, Version 9.0, Java Edition offers new and enhanced features:

System
-Enhanced Apple Macintosh support
-Refined Linux support
-Refined internationalization

Documentation
-Enhanced Developer's Guide
-Expanded Tutorials
-Enhanced References

Graphical Drawings
-New data driven scene-based drawing elements
-New drawing element scene hierarchies permit rich user interface decoration
-New runtime drawing element construction and manipulation
-New expression language enables dynamic control of user interface representation
-New runtime graphics API
-New graphical node, edge, connector, label and arrow head representations
-Refined expanded node representation
-Refined selection representation
-New highlighting
-New shading
-New graphical badging
-New industry shapes
-Enhanced XML representation
-Backward compatibility for prior graphics system

Display
-New fade transitions
-New interpolated animation
-New zoom animation
-High rendering performance

User Interactions
-New tool implementations
-New preference dialog

Layout
-New layout progress
-New layout cancel
-New layout animation
-New layout fade transitions
-New non-blocking multi-threading
-New drawing fitting optimizes screen utilization
-Circular layout
-New drawing fitting rotation
-Hierarchical layout
-Refined node placement
-Orthogonal layout
-Many routing refinements
-Many local crossing refinements
-Symmetric layout
-New drawing fitting rotation
-Refined constraints
-New grouping constraints
-Nested layout
-Apply layout style deeply
-Reduced inter-drawing edge crossings
-Labeling
-Refined labeling improves clarity

Demonstrations
-New demonstration applications
-New toolbars
-New menu design
-New docking http://www.gawkwire.com/web_design/tom_sawyer_software_releases_upgraded_java_visualization_softwar.html

Forecast for 2009: Cloudy - Interactive Webinar on Future of Cloud Computing

2008-12-13T06:00:00-05:00

St. Louis, MO (Gawkwire.com) Cloud computing thought leaders at Appistry, a provider of cloud application platform software, today offered its predictions for cloud computing in the year ahead and announced an interactive webinar to explore these topics in greater detail. These predictions and webinar are offered at a time when the overall economy and cloud computing industry face a variety of challenges and opportunities. Uncertain economic times and rising business costs have companies evaluating how to best leverage cloud computing to create increased value and operational efficiency in the current marketplace.

Appistry's Cloud Predications Interactive Webinar will be held on Thursday, December 18, 2008 from 2:00 p.m. (EST) to 3:00 p.m. (EST). The interactive webinar will feature a panel of top executives and thought leaders from Appistry who will provide an in-depth look at Appistry's predictions for cloud computing in 2009. Those interested can register for the webinar at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/580758866

"This is an unprecedented time in the history of global economics and cloud computing offers a compelling advantage for enterprises to more quickly and cost-effectively deliver highly-agile applications and IT services," said Kevin Haar, CEO, Appistry. "Several trends are emerging that will enable enterprises to take full advantage of cloud computing. It's our belief that the introduction of cloud-enabled application platforms will accelerate cloud adoption among businesses of all sizes -- enterprises in particular -- in 2009. Our predications for 2009 are based on our deep expertise in this market, as well as a keen understanding of where cloud computing is headed."

2009 cloud computing predications from Appistry include:
1. 2009 Will Herald the "Year of the Cloud" for Enterprises
Virtualization has matured; the economy is sinking while business costs are rising; and private clouds have already captured enterprise attention for their inherent security and reliability. These factors and more have created an ideal environment for enterprise cloud computing to thrive in 2009.

2. Cloud Platforms Will Begin to Overtake the App Server in 2009
Oracle and others will continue to fight a losing battle to keep their legacy application server cash cows alive. Oracle will do everything it can to protect its Oracle Application Server and BEA WebLogic franchises. In no way should they be counted out of the market, but newer, cloud-specific platforms are poised to further erode aging middleware options.

3. HP Finally Works Its Way into Middleware
While competitors scramble to save the app server, companies such as HP will be presented with an opportunity to capitalize on their competitors' app server weaknesses. Without the constraints of older middleware that must be retrofitted for the cloud, HP is poised to use cloud computing to take market share from IBM's traditionally reliable middleware business. In the past, these two behemoths have battled it out around hardware and services, but HP could smell blood in '09 and look to take advantage of a rare IBM weakness in software.

4. Several Organizations Will Offer Standards for Cloud Computing - Standards Debate Rages On
Historically, technologies have evolved and succeeded because of standards. The process of getting to these standards is often a dirty, political and hard-fought mess. 2009 will see this same evolution take shape around the cloud. Already we're seeing several attempts at standardization, including IBM's RCC. The year ahead is just the beginning; we don't expect true standards to emerge until well into 2010. The question is: Who will win the battle and drive the process?

5. Amazon Will Release Tools to Enter the Platform Arena
While most eyes are on Google and Microsoft, Amazon has emerged as the company doing the heaviest lifting to advance cloud computing. Look for Amazon to move up the stack by offering additional tools for cloud developers in 2009, putting them at odds with the partner ecosystem they've built around companies such as RightScale, Elastra, 3tera and Appistry.

In addition to the interactive webinar, Appistry has issued an invitation for others to add their 2009 cloud computing predictions to the company's blog at: http://www.appistry.com/blogs/sam/forecast-for-2009-cloudy
http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/forecast_for_2009_cloudy_-_interactive_webinar_on_future_of_clou.html

5 End-of-Year Tax Preparation Tips

2008-12-13T06:00:00-05:00

Gaithersburg, MD (Gawkwire.com) The taxation of investment gains can be a confusing and frustrating exercise for many individuals. Even moderately complex investment portfolios may require expert tax advice, says Cameron Bell, President and Founder of Wealth Management Institute, a comprehensive financial planning and money management firm located in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

"The goal of tax planning is to arrange your investments in such a way as to minimize your tax liability," said Bell. "However, the best options for doing so vary for each investor."

Cameron Bell advises that, as the year draws to a close, individuals keep the following five tips in mind as they assess their 2008 tax liabilities:

Don't wait until January to start planning your taxes
January is too late to begin planning investment strategies to limit tax liability. Right now - before the end of the year - is the perfect time to evaluate your options. Keep in mind that decisions you make today will impact your tax liability not only for 2008, but for future years as well. Involving an investment professional will help you make the right decisions for your future.

Talk to your investment advisor before your CPA
Your accountant determines estimated tax payments for the coming year by evaluating your previous year's tax returns. Without current capital gains information, those estimates may not be accurate. Instead, begin your tax planning by talking to your investment advisor, who will evaluate your expected tax liability and suggest investment strategies.

Have you met your required minimum distribution?
Many retirement plans require a minimum annual distribution of money out of the plan. These withdrawals are tax-free provided you're of retirement age - but only if you distribute at least the stated minimum amount. Your plan provider considers this distribution income whether it's removed from the plan or not.

Here's the key: This minimum distribution amount is considered income by your plan provider whether it's distributed or not. The difference between this minimum distribution figure and the actual amount removed is taxed as personal income at a rate of up to 50%, depending on your tax bracket, so plan retirement distributions carefully.

Harvest tax losses before capital gains from are paid
A lot of investments this year will be down substantially. Some of those investments will pay out capital gains. If you own one of those investments in a non-retirement account, you may be in a position where you pay tax on an investment that has gone down in value in 2008. So be sure to review all your investments for estimated capital gains (this information should be public available). It may make sense to book the loss before the gain is distributed.

Work around the AMT
Individuals who reap substantial capital gains income often find themselves elevated to a higher tax bracket than they had anticipated. This investment income can also have another "benefit" - triggering the alternative minimum tax (AMT). Briefly, the AMT disallows many deductions and exemptions, ensuring that high-income households will have a minimum tax liability.

The AMT can cause problems in several different ways. Since it was developed in the 1970's and is not indexed for inflation, an increasing number of households now qualify for it. With a tax rate of 26% to 28%, the AMT can result in a serious hit on after-tax income. Perhaps the biggest problem is that individuals often don't recognize they're subject to the AMT until they've computed their taxes. Talk about a nasty surprise!

One way to work around the AMT is to shift investments from taxable to tax-deferred accounts. Income realized from these investments will be subject to the capital-gains tax rate of 15% - far better than the AMT. As usual, the nature of your investments will depend on several factors, including your tolerance for risk and the amount of money you need to shield.

The end of the year is an ideal time to review your investment portfolio and get a handle on your potential tax liability. An experienced, customer-focused financial planner can be a valuable asset as you weigh investment strategies for this year and many years to come. http://www.gawkwire.com/business/5_end-of-year_tax_preparation_tips.html

topseos Ranks PSD2HTML as #1 PSD to HTML Slicing Service

2008-12-13T06:00:00-05:00

Plymouth, IN (Gawkwire.com) A new month and topseos is ready with it monthly rankings of various internet marketing service providers and the gold medal for the best CSS conversion firm for the month of December goes to PSD2HTML. A firm that has made its mark in the internet marketing industry ever since it was established, PSD2HTML has proven time and again that high performance is the key to success.

"This is a name that has been around for some time now and has always shown promise. PSD2HTML have continually excelled in their performance and have been in the receiving end of some very impressive testimonials", shares Jeev Trika, Partner at topseos.

Established in early 2005, PSD2HTML was the first internet marketing firm to offer the conversion of PSD (PNG, AI) files to HTML or derivatives. A firm with over 100 full-time employees, who have always given the highest quality of output in any project they have undertaken, PSD2HTML has provided their services to over 10,000 clients in the past 3 years.

They have consistently had a clear goal in mind. Efficiency, diligence and customer satisfaction has always been their mantra. It's great that this hard work is getting acknowledged in such a way and this is only going to make their service better.

For more information on PSD2HTML and the services that are offered go to http://www.psd2html.com.

Find out more about CSS Conversion rankings from topseos at http://www.topseos.com/rankings-of-best-css-conversion-companies. http://www.gawkwire.com/web_design/topseos_ranks_psd2html_as_1_psd_to_html_slicing_service.html

Call Centers New Approach to Handling Irate Callers

2008-12-11T23:47:00-05:00

Denver (Gawkwire.com) Ramshyam has recently announced a new approach to handling irate callers. The companies CEO laid it out in a blog post in 3 easy steps. It is not so much that this is a new technique for Ramshyam as much as it is a transparent explanation of their services.

In this economic day and age there is no end to the need for affordable high quality services. As the US economy slows down business owners all over America have to find methods of offering high quality services at less cost to themselves.

The problems that are being faced come from a need for personnel but the lack of resources to hire them. This is why in the past year more and more business owners have been turning to outsourcing their call center and programming needs.

America is in the new economic era, one in which boarders and nationalities are being overcome by economic need. India has become one of the hot beds of highly educated affordable personnel. The question for most Western business owners is how to navigate these new international partnerships.

In fact, although this seems like a daunting task it is not as difficult as one might think. The fear about communication difficulties and the insecurities of dealing with a foreign company are becoming less and less founded in reality.

Call Center Ramshyam stepping forward in this way to offer clear and concise information about their approach puts them at the head of the pack of new outsourcing services.

The focus for outsourcing companies is to offer a safe and more sophisticated service then has been available before. Ramshyam is a company that offers a variety of services in the inbound call center industry. They are a good example of where the market is going.

Call Center Ramshyam has a laundry list of services to help any company that has a phone number and is involved with customer relations. Practically speaking this includes most business. Ramshyam is an example of a overseas company that not only offers phone answering services, the company offers order taking services, customer support, product support, IT support and back office service just to name a few. They also offer multiple payment plans that help make their services available to a wide range of businesses from very large to very small.

As things are getting tighter for businesses all over the western world it is important to find alternative solutions to overcoming traditional problems. The key to the current market is not sacrificing quality in that process. This recent detailed description of how Call Center Ramshyam will handle a troubled client is a show of transparency designed highlight the quality of service they offer.

To learn more go to http://callcenter.ramshyam.com/ http://www.gawkwire.com/business/call_centers_new_approach_to_handling_irate_callers.html

Research Shows Happy Snap Crooks Take a Liking to Electronics

2008-12-12T12:00:00-05:00

Sydney, NSW (Gawkwire.com) Electronic items - particularly digital cameras - are high on the wish list of NSW thieves, according to new research by NRMA Insurance.*

Aside from digital cameras, other electronic items in the NRMA Insurance Thieves Wish List included games consoles, MP3 players, laptops, mobile phones and TVs. Cash, purses, handbags or wallets, watches and jewellery also made the list.

The insurer estimated that household theft costs the NSW community around $45 million a year.

According to NRMA Insurance spokesperson John Hallal, the modern day thief has shifted their focus.

"Traditionally, thieves have tended to focus on jewellery, including watches, rings, bracelets and earrings," explained Mr Hallal. "However the technology boom hasn't gone unnoticed by thieves and they realise that most electronic items are popular, portable and valuable.

"MP3 players in particular are becoming increasingly targeted and now sit at number four on the list. Only two years ago they were ranked at ten.

"Many of these items are easy to pick up, and can even be put into pockets, allowing a thief to make their get away far more easily."

Mr Hallal said many electronic items were also easy to sell second hand. However, engraving a driver's licence number on these types of items can be an invaluable deterrent for thieves.

The revelations come as a timely reminder as we approach Christmas, a time where households tend to spend up big and leave their home behind for holidays.

"If you're shopping ahead, don't leave wrapped gifts on display in your house where thieves looking in may see them.

"And after Christmas, it is also important to remember not to leave the packaging of expensive items outside waiting for collection. This only alerts thieves to the types of contents you have in your home. Cut the boxes up and put them in your recycling bin," added Mr Hallal.

NRMA Insurance Thieves Wish List

Number Item
1 Cameras
2 Cash
3 Game consoles
4 MP3 players
5 Laptops
6 Jewellery (not incl watches)
7 Watches
8 Mobile phones
9 Televisions
10 Purses/handbags/wallets

NRMA Insurance suggests these tips to help deter burglars:

Lock the house every time you go out;
If going on holidays, ask a trusted neighbour to keep an eye on your house and collect mail and newspapers; Don't leave packaging for expensive items around your home or in the driveway;
Keep your home looking lived in with open blinds and timer switches on lights;
Never leave a message on your answering machine saying you are not home;
Mark your driver's licence number and state on the back of all electronic valuables;
Keep your car keys somewhere safe as home burglars may steal a car if the opportunity presents; and
Secure garages and garden sheds and remove valuables from your garden.

NRMA Insurance offers premium reductions on Home Contents Insurance policies for homes with approved alarms in NSW and the ACT.

For more information on home security, visit www.nrma.com.au/security-monitoring

Based on NRMA Insurance claims data, 2007-2008.

Insurance Australia Limited ABN 11 000 016 722 trading as NRMA Insurance. When making decisions about the product you should consider the Product Disclosure Statement available from NRMA Insurance. NRMA Home Security is provided
by Insurance Australia Limited NSW Master Licence No. 409604820, ACT Master Licence No. 17501127 http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/research_shows_happy_snap_crooks_take_a_liking_to_electronics.html

Blue Ridge Networks Announces New Anti-Malware Solution

2008-12-12T12:00:00-05:00

Chantilly, VA (Gawkwire.com) Blue Ridge Networks today announced Blue Ridge/Secure AppGuard™, an anti-malware solution that protects PCs from attack by the latest generation of sophisticated malware threats, increasing endpoint security coverage to address more than 90% of known and unknown vulnerabilities.

Unlike today's market leading products, AppGuard does not rely on signatures that are quickly outdated, or require constant monitoring and tuning of policy rules. Instead, Secure AppGuard prevents an application from executing instructions that would indicate it has been hijacked by malware.

An August 2008 study published by Cyveillance Inc. and similar market studies by Secunia, reveal that legacy security products detect only 34% of malware attacks, leaving corporate networks and data constantly at risk. "These industry reports regularly document how traditional anti-malware products are failing their users," stated Blue Ridge Networks CEO Mike Fumai. "Security experts agree that a new approach is required to protect users and their PCs from exposure to these attacks."

Secure AppGuard is unique in that it prevents an attacked application from harming itself, other applications, or critical operating system resources by regulating file system and registry resource access. For instance, by focusing on blocking actions that should never occur, Secure AppGuard eliminates the administrative complexities and end-user decision making that legacy Host Intrusion Prevention Systems (HIPS) products impose.

Secure AppGuard complements existing security software by:

Blocking Zero-day malware that can attack even the most up-to-date and well maintained systems and networks;
Increasing protection while minimizing the impact on IT workload through simplified product installation and configuration, and eliminating constant parameter fine-tuning required by HIPS products;
Running non-intrusively with virtually no impact on system performance and end-user productivity.

Immediately upon installation, Secure AppGuard protects the applications most targeted by hackers, including Web browsers, Microsoft Office Applications, and Media Players. Additional applications are easily added to the guarded list by either System Administrators or end-users.

Blue Ridge/Secure AppGuard is priced at $24.95 per user and is available for purchase and download today. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/blue_ridge_networks_announces_new_anti-malware_solution.html

Ultra-Secure Data Center Protects Medical Records and Other Critical Information

2008-12-12T09:43:00-05:00

Fayetteville, AR (Gawkwire.com) Integris Tech has just opened a new data center with something no one else in the region can offer: a true data-rated fireproof server vault for managed hosting and co-location services, otherwise known as the ICON, Integris Co-Location Network.

After extensive testing with temperatures up to 2,000 degrees F. outside the vault, the FIRELOCK® modular server vault is capable of keeping the interior temperature below 125-degrees F. for at least three hours. It is critical to keep server equipment below the temperatures where data can be lost, especially for managed hosting/co-location firms with clients like Integris.

Preserving the data in their facility is critical because about 90% of Integris clients are in the healthcare industry. The hospitals, clinics, physician networks and other healthcare providers served by Integris must protect their patient information to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Loss of patient data could also have dire consequences for the patient, and by extension, the healthcare provider. With the installation of the Class 125-3 Hour data vault, Integris can offer their clients peace of mind by knowing their patients' information is protected from even a catastrophic fire.

One service offered by Integris provides the healthcare industry with a Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) for digital X-Rays. When a patient visits a PACS-equipped radiologist, the digital X-Rays are electronically sent to Integris' FIRELOCK® server vault, where they can be utilized by physicians and other caregivers that have access to the secure network. These digital X-Rays generate large volumes of critical patient information and all of it must be must be protected in accordance with HIPAA requirements.

The vault is constructed with modular panels with a core of ceramic fiber insulation. This is the same type of insulation used in industrial furnaces, such as steel foundries, where temperatures exceed 2,500-degrees F. and are in continuous operation for up to 15 years. Protecting against the heat of a building fire is only one capability of this extreme high temperature insulating material. FIRELOCK® understands that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so every component of the vault must be as heat-proof as the vault structure. For example, special heat-insulated cable tray assemblies (much like those used in nuclear power plants) are installed to protect the entry points for the many power and data cables that are needed to operate a state-of-the-art data center. Because there is no single door on the market that can provide a Class 125 rating, FIRELOCK® installs a double door system to reach that level of performance. These doors are also equipped with automatic closers that are activated by heat, smoke, flammable gas or a power failure. This ensures that in the event of a fire, the vault will be sealed even if everyone has to evacuate quickly. A fire suppression system and advanced fire detection equipment inside the vault guard against any combustion starting within the vault chamber. Integris has taken many precautions to prevent fires within their facility. "We chose to invest in a data-rated fireproof server vault because our clients demand the highest level of protection for their critical information," said Allen Laymon, Director of Integris Tech.

Integris has also invested in redundant support systems to maintain maximum up-time. This data center is connected to two different Internet service providers to eliminate a potential single point of failure. Their facility is equipped with backup power generating systems in case of a prolonged power failure in the area. Redundant cooling units are also in place to ensure that a proper environment in the server vault can be maintained at all times. Along with installing a data-rated server vault, adhering to these best practices gives Integris' clients confidence in the ability to provide the data protection and 24/7 service they demand.

Of course, healthcare industry clients are not the only ones who demand a protected data center with redundant support systems. Integris provides co-location and managed hosting services for a wide range of small and medium-sized businesses, such as attorney offices, accounting firms and others. These businesses rely on Integris to provide Web hosting, email administration and a full complement of IT services. Located near Wal-Mart's global corporate headquarters, Integris serves both local clients and many others across several states.

By investing in a new data center with unsurpassed fire protection and redundant power, connectivity and environmental controls, Integris can now better protect information assets for their current clients. It also gives them a decisive advantage in winning new clients in the very competitive IT services industry. The value of operational and archival data keeps escalating as the dependency on this information continues to increase. Integris is now capable of meeting the growing demand for co-location and managed hosting service providers that offer data protection, high availability and superior service.
http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/ultra-secure_data_center_protects_medical_records_and_other_crit.html

Networking4all Partners with GlobalSign to Provide SSL Solutions

2008-12-12T09:42:00-05:00

London, UK (Gawkwire.com) GlobalSign (eu.globalsign.com), one of the longest established Certification Authorities (CA) and specialists in SSL Partner Programs, today announced that Networking4all, a leading Dutch Internet Solutions Provider and one of the largest resellers of SSL Certificates in the Netherlands, has joined GlobalSign as a ‘Preferred Partner’ which will allow them to provide GlobalSign SSL Certificate products to its extensive Benelux based customer base.

A provider of SSL Certificates for over seven years, Networking4all is an extremely successful SSL Certificate reseller across the Benelux countries. With plans to continue their growth throughout Europe and to heavily promote EV SSL Certificates (which activate the new Green Address Bar in the IE, Firefox and Opera browsers), Networking4all believe that GlobalSign’s ExtendedSSL product will help them to achieve such expansion aims. After many years of experience of selling SSL from a number of vendors, Networking4all is working closely with GlobalSign because it recognises that GlobalSign provides the best products and value to customers and the best margins to partners.

Recognising the benefits of Networking4all promoting the GlobalSign brand across Europe, GlobalSign have awarded Networking4all with the ‘Preferred Partner’ status. GlobalSign’s range of SSL Certificates is currently available from Networking4all via their Preferred Partner web site http://nl.globalsign.com.

“As a leading supplier of SSL Certificates in the Benelux countries we wanted to be able to offer our customers a comprehensive range of SSL Certificates, including EV SSL, and GlobalSign enables us to do exactly this”, said Paul Van Brouwershaven, Networking4all. “GlobalSign’s commitment to customer excellence also matches our philosophy and it is extremely beneficial that they can offer validation services in Dutch, speeding up the organisation vetting and certificate issuance process, as well as providing an all round enhanced customer experience.”

“We are delighted to welcome Networking4all as a GlobalSign Preferred Partner and look forward to them taking our trusted solutions to their customer base,”, said Ronald DeTemmerman, General Manager of GlobalSign’s Belgian operation, “Networking4all is yet another example of a specialised and influential reseller choosing GlobalSign and we look forward to a long term and close business relationship.”

With the ability to offer three main types of Certificate - Domain Validation, Organization Validation or the newly standardised Extended Validation SSL Certificate, all with free Server Gated Cryptography (SGC - to “step up” weak 40 bit browser to server connections to strong 128 bit) included as standard, issued from GlobalSign’s widely distributed 2048 bit Root CA Certificate, Networking4all can provide their customers with the most secure SSL Certificates available in today’s SSL market. Also with the option of including additional premium features (for example, Subject Alternative Names (SANs) and wildcard characters to allow the securing of multiple sites with a single certificate), Networking4all is able to meet their customers individual requirements by offering tailor made SSL solutions - saving their customers time, effort and cost in the longer term.

GlobalSign SSL Certificates are available through Networking4all’s Preferred Partner web site at http://nl.globalsign.com immediately.
http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/networking4all_partners_with_globalsign_to_provide_ssl_solutions.html

BlogWorld Expo Acquires New Media Expo

2008-12-12T09:23:00-05:00

SAN DIEGO, CA (Gawkwire.com) BlogWorld Expo today announced that it has acquired New Media Expo; the new combined entity will be called BlogWorld & New Media Expo. The next event, featuring a comprehensive conference and tradeshow, will take place in Las Vegas on October 15-17, 2009. The financial terms of the agreement were undisclosed.

New Media Expo was founded in 2005 to serve the educational and networking needs of podcasters and online video creators. Its 4th annual convention was held in August 2008 in Las Vegas, which drew 1800+ attendees and 50 exhibitors. BlogWorld Expo had its 2nd annual convention in September 2008 in Las Vegas, drawing similar attendance numbers and nearly 100 exhibiting companies, and featured keynote addresses by Guy Kawasaki, Anil Dash, Richard Jalichandra, Tim Ferris, Mike Shinoda and other new media thought leaders.

“The lines between blogs, podcasts and videos are blurring in that content creators are using all of these tools to communicate and share information online – the message is more important than the medium,” said Tim Bourquin, founder of New Media Expo. “Given that people are mixing podcasts, video and blogs to deliver their message, it became obvious that our two events should come together and provide a single all-encompassing conference where attendees can learn all of the latest and best content creation techniques in one place.”

“As more content is being created and shared online, the market for an event like this is growing at a rapid pace,” said Rick Calvert, founder and CEO of BlogWorld Expo. “Bringing together the world’s largest podcasting event and the world’s largest blogging event creates a unique learning, networking and business environment for everyone involved in new media. Our attendees include individual and corporate content creators, new media as well as traditional media companies, entrepreneurs and enterprise-level marketing professionals.”

BlogWorld & New Media Expo 2009 will feature conference tracks on everything from creating better audio content to using social networking tools to grow your brand, blog audience and nurture the relationship between content creators and their audiences, as well as companies and their customers. As in previous years, after-hours networking receptions, special events and parties will combine to make it the gathering of the year for the new media industry. http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/blogworld_expo_acquires_new_media_expo.html

Analytics Exploited to Track Offline Phone Calls

2008-12-09T03:52:00-05:00

Manchester, Greater Manchester (Gawkwire.com) A Manchester technology firm claims to be the first UK company to successfully integrate its call tracking software with Google Analytics, to further measure the success of online advertising performance.

Encompass Media launched its innovative AdInsight software on the market earlier this year, offering businesses a way to monitor, in real time, the number of calls generated by an advertising source and the subsequent sales received.

After months of further development, Encompass Media have announced that AdInsight can now be integrated into almost any existing web analytics platform, including Google Analytics - a major step forward for businesses wanting to monitor the success of their online advertising campaigns.

Ross Fobian, a Director at Encompass Media, explained: "Marketing professionals have always found it difficult to track how many phone calls their online advertising is generating and, more importantly, how many sales result from those calls - people go online to get a company's contact details but then go offline to phone them and order products.

"We developed AdInsight to help companies see which advertising campaigns are working by providing detailed information on calls generated by an advert, whether it is online such as a website or offline, for example a newspaper ad."

The new developments to AdInsight means that call data can now be injected into almost any web analytics platform, providing companies with more detailed information on website performance, for example what keyword people typed into a search engine or which PPC ad they clicked on before they called the company.

He continued: "By injecting data from AdInsight into an analytics platform, companies have access to detailed information on customer behaviour, including how to best improve a website to increase conversions.

"Companies can be as detailed as they wish when tracking their results. They can track conversions right down to the single keyword phrase level or they can track conversions generated from a PPC ad group, an ad campaign or only track the difference between natural search and PPC advertising, to see which is working best."

According to Ross, Encompass Media is the only company in the UK and one of only two companies globally to have successfully integrated the two platforms for the marketplace.

"It has taken a lot of work to get to this level but we think it will provide marketing departments with a higher scope for accountability," he explained.

"For example, with pay per click (PPC) campaigns, a company is paying every time someone clicks through to their website.

"Our software tracks whether or not that click or any other advertising source has been successful in generating a call, by dynamically changing the number shown on the website depending on where the visitor has come from. The conversion rate of the PPC ad can then be tracked in Google Analytics.

"All of the call data is provided in an online, easy to read dashboard and, working alongside a company's existing analytics platform, gives information on how your website is performing."

Ross also pointed out that the enhanced AdInsight software has already attracted a lot of interest from American companies who trade in the UK.

For more information on AdInsight please visit http://www.adinsight.eu http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/web_analytics_exploited_to_track_offline_phone_call_conversions.html

Free Internet Security Software by Comodo

2008-12-10T12:00:00-05:00

Jersey City, NJ (Gawkwire.com) Comodo Internet Security is a firewall and antivirus suite, available for download at www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/download_firewall.html

"From Portugal to New Zealand and here in the United States, Comodo Internet Security's customers thank us for keeping their PCs safe for free. They also tell us what they want us to improve. And we do it!" said Melih Abdulhayoglu, CEO and Chief Information Architect.

Updates include

* improved virus database updating,
* enhanced prevention of process access in memory
* Windows XP 64 protection
* Better interoperability with Windows Vista and Windows Security System

"We help people prevent computer problems, not detect them," said Abdulhayoglu. "Cyber crime is on the rise and computers are compromised every day. Don't let your computer get infected by malicious spammers. By the time you detect the problem, you might be used as a spam bot spreading the virus to everyone you know. We are doing what we can to stop the problem. Comodo offers its award-winning firewall and antivirus software for free to help prevent the spread of malware and stop criminals dead in their tracks."

For more information visit our website at www.comodo.com.
About Comodo

The Comodo companies provide the infrastructure that is essential in enabling e-merchants, other Internet-connected companies, software companies, and individual consumers to interact and conduct business via the Internet safely and securely. The Comodo companies offer PKI SSL, Code Signing, Content Verification and E-Mail Certificates; award winning PC security software; vulnerability scanning services for PCI Compliance; secure e-mail and fax services.

Continual innovation, a core competence in PKI, and a commitment to reversing the growth of Internet-crime distinguish the Comodo companies as vital players in the Internet's ongoing development. Comodo secures and authenticates online transactions and communications for over 200,000 business customers and has over 10,000,000 installations of desktop security products. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/free_internet_security_software_by_comodo.html

The Top Ten Spyware/Malware Threats for November

2008-12-10T09:49:00-05:00

Clearwater, FL (Gawkwire.com) Sunbelt Software, a leading provider of Windows security and management software, today announced the top ten most prevalent spyware and malware threats for the month of November. The report, compiled from monthly scans performed by Sunbelt's award-winning antispyware tool, CounterSpy™, and its new anti-malware solution, VIPRE™ Antivirus + Antispyware, is a service of the Sunbelt Software Malware Research Labs.

The results represent the number of times a particular spyware or malware infection was detected during CounterSpy and VIPRE scans that report back to Sunbelt's community of opt-in users.

The top ten most prevalent spyware threats for the month of November are:

1.   Trojan-Downloader.Zlob.Media-Codec 4.27%

2.   Trojan-Downloader.braviax 2.89%

3.   Virtumonde 1.88%

4.   Explorer32.Hijacker 1.62%

5.   Trojan.FakeAlert 1.42%

6.   Rootkit.TDss.Gen 1.25%

7.   Trojan-Spy.Win32.Zbot.gen 1.15%

8.   Antivirus 2009 1.08%

9.   INF.Autorun (v) 1.07%

10.   Trojan-Downloader.Generic 1.04% http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/the_top_ten_spyware_malware_threats_for_november.html

Home burglars are cashing in on our gadget and technology culture

2008-12-10T09:45:00-05:00

Brisbane, QLD (Gawkwire.com) Home burglars are cashing in on our gadget and technology culture, with the 10 most commonly stolen items in Queensland able to fit into a thief's backpack*.

Digital cameras, game consoles, MP3 players, mobile phones and laptops all feature in the top 10 items on a thief's wishlist, along with cash, jewellery and watches, according to new research by NRMA Insurance.

NRMA Insurance spokesperson Frank Adler said thieves were honing in on popular, portable and easy-to-pawn electronics, so it was important consumers regularly updated their home insurance.

"Thieves have always aimed for quick grabs but they tended to focus on jewellery, including watches, rings, bracelets and earrings," he said.

"Now, the technology boom has created new opportunities for thieves to grab and run. MP3 players, for example, sat at number ten on our list of most commonly stolen items two years ago. Now, they're number four."

Mr Adler urged consumers to engrave a driver's licence number on electronics to help deter thieves from stealing and pawning them.

The NRMA Insurance findings are a timely reminder in the lead-up to Christmas, with new game consoles and MP3 players high on many households' shopping lists.

"Don't leave wrapped gifts on display where thieves may see them," Mr Adler said.

"This is a really busy time of year but it pays to give some attention to home security so would-be thieves don't get the chance to steal your Christmas."

Top 10 Most Stolen Items:

1. Cameras
2. Games Consoles
3. Watches
4. MP3 Players
5. Cash
6. Jewellery (other than watches)
7. Mobile Phones
8. Laptops
9. Sunglasses
10. Purses/handbags/wallets http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/home_burglars_are_cashing_in_on_our_gadget_and_technology_cultur.html

Pay Per Click Summit Announces 2009 Conference Lineup

2008-12-10T09:41:00-05:00

Washington (Gawkwire.com) Pay Per Click (PPC) Summit, premier Search Engine Marketing educational conference announces its 2009 event lineup designed to educate online businesses on how to make more money with Pay Per Click advertising during two-days of comprehensive training in cities across the U.S. PPC Summit offers full-scale Search Engine Marketing education and laser-focused training to help online advertisers extend their marketing dollars in a recession. In 2009, PPC Summit will bring together hundreds of internet marketers from around the world for in-depth educational conferences in: Chicago / April 22-23, New York / June 16-17 and Los Angeles / Sept. 23-24.

Now in its third year, PPC Summit will introduce a star-studded expert pool of Search Engine Marketers from Microsoft, Google and other leaders from the Search Marketing community for face-to-face discussions, expert strategies and real world best practices, case studies, tutorials, keynotes, personal consulting coaching and much more.

"We are excited for the coming year, in 2009 PPC Summit will bring the best and the brightest from the Search Engine Marketing community to share their knowledge and expertise during practical How-To sessions, passionate discussions and hands-on case studies and panel discussions," said Mary O'Brien, PPC Summit Chairman. "PPC Summit meets a crucial need for search engine marketing and brings together the right people and ingredients for learning, collaboration and productive networking that result in increased ROI."

PPC Summit will bring together online marketers with the goal of sharing Search Engine Marketing knowledge and leveraging the proven best practices of world renowned industry experts. Delivering hands-on workshops, panel discussions and training sessions, PPC Summit is the cornerstone for the Search Engine Marketing community providing a unique environment to learn strategies from industry experts, network with peers, and gain the tools necessary to take action and increase results.

"We welcome PPC Summit as the comprehensive educational conference that offers the Search Engine Marketing community and advertisers new opportunities, resources, research, educational training and valuable networking," says Brian Lewis, Vice President of Engine Ready.

PPC Summit 2009 conferences will cover all aspects of Search Marketing hot topics including: Pay Per Click Strategies for Success, Effective Keyword Development, Stop Click Fraud, Must-Know Web Analytics and Reporting, Improved Website and Landing Pages, Winning Advertising Copywriting, Google Adwords Tips, Search Engine Optimization Trends, B2B and B2C strategies and much more.

Attendees can register online at www.ppcsummit.com now through December 31 to receive a $400 pre-registration discount. For more information about PPC Summit 2009 conferences, please email press at ppcsummit dot com.
http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/pay_per_click_summit_announces_2009_conference_lineup.html

Santa's Secrets to a Successful Business Revealed

2008-12-02T23:39:00-05:00

Riverwoods, IL (Gawkwire.com) www.toolkit.com -- Business Owner's Toolkit, the total know-how for small businesses, is helping bring new business wishes to life this holiday season by telling the story of how Old St. Nick became the successful business owner, Santa Claus.

The story of Nick becoming Santa Claus is chronicled in, Santa's Storybook: A Dream, A Wish and a World of Inspiration.

Nearly 1.5 million Americans launch new businesses each New Year, according to USA Today. Of those new businesses, "Two-thirds survive the first two years," states Patricia Schaefer, of Franchisetrade.com.

Santa's Storybook illustrates the seven steps toymaker Nick Claus took in creating his successful business, including:

Business Plan. Creates a formal statement of business goals, the reasons why they are attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. Nick the toymaker believed that he had the experience necessary to make his toyshop a success and the kind smile to raise sufficient capital.

Incorporate. Forms a new corporation and safeguards personal assets against the claims of creditors and lawsuits. Realizing that he needed to protect his personal assets and his new business, Nick changed his legal persona to Santa Claus.

Hire. Process of sourcing, screening, and selecting people based on the business needs and the prospects skills. Once Santa Claus set up his toyshop, he needed to find a staff that could handle the different aspects of his toy making needs and who better then the elfin denizens of the North Pole?

Manufacture. Use of tools and labor to make things for use or sale. Santa Claus and the elves knew that efficiency and skill were needed to make all the toys for the little boys and girls of the world.

Promote. Distribution of information about a product, product line, brand, or company on a continual basis. To promote the Santa Claus brand, Santa Claus and his elves made appearances in stores, schools and even at sporting events. Every year Santa and his elves make these appearances to ensure the Santa Claus brand is well known and asked for by name.

Distribute. Allocation of goods and services from those who make them to those who use them. Once the toys were completed, Santa Claus needed to distribute them. Using the remaining capital, Santa purchased a shiny new sled and reindeer to transport the toys to the children of the world.

Sign Up. To learn more on how Nick the toymaker was able to make his holiday dream a reality and how your new business wish can come true sign up for a free membership to Business Owner's Toolkit.

"Starting a new business can be tough, especially when you are not sure of where to begin. This is why new and prospective business owners need resources to ensure that they know every step in the new business process," stated Troy Janisch, publisher of Business Owner's Toolkit. "Santa's Storybook and the free membership to Business Owner's Toolkit gives those new to business ownership the know-how needed to succeed." http://www.gawkwire.com/business/santa_s_secrets_to_a_successful_business_revealed.html

How Do You Measure Online Success?

2008-12-09T09:17:00-05:00

Chicago, IL (Gawkwire.com) What's the most valuable way to measure whether your web site is paying sufficient dividends on your campaign investments? Richard Zwicky, president and founder of Enquisite, Inc., a provider of search marketing automation and monetization solutions, is among the thought leaders offering his take on this critical question at Search Engine Strategies Chicago, December 8-12, 2008.

"Measuring Success in a 2.0 World," a session in which Zwicky will serve as a panelist, takes place on Monday, December 8 from 11:45 AM to 12:45 PM. The panel will examine both traditional and more cutting-edge approaches to measuring success.

"Even with the current downturn in the economy, you continue to see the shift to online media spend. Cyber Monday is a good example. That term didn't even exist several years ago," says Zwicky. "At SES, we'll examine how to measure the success of your online campaigns, and what statistics make the most sense to measure in a 2.0 world."

Search analytics is an important part of measuring success, says Zwicky, since it enables analysis at the front end of the sales cycle, as people begin their search. "At Enquisite, we help marketers make better choices at the beginning of their campaigns, so they can bring the most qualified traffic through to the end of the sales cycle."

Tactics for Success
On Wednesday, December 10th, Zwicky will also moderate the "Tactical Success Measurement" workshop from 4 to 5:15 PM. This session will give the audience practical tips on how to measure the individual tactical events in a campaign, and how to use those measurements to further success. "It's a good companion session to our measuring success discussion on Monday. This will take the subject to a tactical level, and give agencies and in-house marketers actionable ideas they can put to use immediately," says Zwicky.

Auditing Tips
Zwicky is also a key speaker at the session "Search Marketers on Auditing" to be held Thursday, December 11 from 10:15 to 11:15 AM. The session will explore issues and tactics related to auditing concerns. Also on Thursday, Zwicky will moderate the panel on "Black Hat, White Hat & the Best Kept Secrets to Search" from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM. The session will be a frank discussion on approaches to search ranking and will also offer SEO and marketing tips from industry leaders. http://www.gawkwire.com/business/how_do_you_measure_online_success.html

Vocus to Speak at Search Engine Strategies (SES) Chicago 2008

2008-12-08T23:15:00-05:00

Lanham, MD (Gawkwire.com) Vocus, Inc., (NASDAQ: VOCS) a leading provider of on-demand software for public relations management, today announced that the company will be speaking at Search Engine Strategies (SES) Chicago 2008. The event will be held at the Chicago Hilton from December 8-11, 2008.

Vocus' PRWeb Product Manager Jiyan Wei will participate on a panel of industry experts discussing "Turning PR Efforts into SEO Results." The panel will be held on Tuesday, December 9th from 2:45pm - 3:45pm and will focus on how companies can use public relations to effectively and affordably increase their search engine rankings. Wei will offer tips for incorporating search optimization, multimedia and social media tools into press release and media strategies to drive traffic and raise the organization's online visibility.

Now in its 10th year, the global SES Conference and Exposition Series educates tens of thousands of marketers each year, with a 98% satisfaction rate. SES Chicago, the only major Search Marketing Conference and Expo in the Midwest, will be packed with 60+ sessions, multiple keynotes and Orion Strategy sessions, exhibitors, networking events and more. http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/vocus_to_speak_at_search_engine_strategies_ses_chicago_2008.html

Key Security Megatrends and Threats for 2009

2008-12-08T03:22:00-05:00

Scottsdale, AZ (Gawkwire.com) Cybercrime and outsourcing were named top security concerns according to a new study commissioned by Lumension Security and conducted independently by The Ponemon Institute. The survey found that 50 percent of IT operations professionals viewed outsourcing as an imminent and near-time critical risk, while more than 75 percent of IT security professionals noted cybercrime a major issue -despite concerted efforts to thwart hackers in recent years. In tandem, survey results highlighted an increase in shared thinking between traditionally disparate IT functions within the organization - IT operations and IT security.

"With the emergence of consumer technology in the workplace, coupled with social networking and Web 2.0 technologies and the increased sophistication of cyber criminals, truly securing an organization's IT environment is an uphill battle," said Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder, Ponemon Institute. "In the next year or two, these challenges will increase in both the breadth and depth of threats - the companies we surveyed made this very clear. The key for both IT operations and IT security is to find the common ground necessary to better-wage this security battle together."

The 2008 Security Mega Trends Survey was developed to better understand if certain publicized IT risks to personal and confidential data are truly a concern for organizations in the next two years. Based on interviews with IT experts in operations and information security, the following eight mega trends rose to the top: cloud computing; virtualization; mobility and mobile devices; cybercrime; outsourcing to third parties; data breaches and the risk of identity theft; peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing and Web 2.0.

Key Findings from the 2008 Security Mega Trends Survey include:

Outsourced IT is a Major Concern: As companies look to reduce costs based on economic factors in 2009, outsourcing will continue to be an attractive option for efficiency gains. The security risks associated with outsourcing are tremendous according to survey data. The top risks posed by outsourcing according to IT security (50%) and IT operations (59%) respondents is the exposure of sensitive information to third parties and the threat that that data will be improperly protected in transit.
Data Breaches and Cybercrime are on the Rise: Survey results indicated that the biggest concern relative to data loss is the threat of data making it into the hands of cyber thieves (46% for IT security and 24% for IT operations), thus wreaking continued havoc not just on the customers whose data was stolen but also on the organizations responsible for that lost data. IT survey participants reported that 92 percent of the organizations have experienced a cyber attack The injury to corporate brands as a result of a major data loss incident is critical, especially in an economic downturn
Workforce Mobility Contributes to Data Loss: IT security and IT operations' respondents (96% and 91% respectively) agree that employee mobility introduces a significant threat to securing corporate data as it diminishes IT's ability to properly identify and authenticate remote users on the network.
Emerging technologies - Web 2.0, P2P, virtualization and cloud computing - are growing in prevalence with Cloud computing causing the most concern: The influx of new technologies - both business and consumer technologies - has opened additional avenues for cyber thieves to steal trade secrets and confidential business information. Cloud computing came out on top with 61 percent of respondents ranking it as a major security concern among the emerging technology trends. Virtualization was perceived as the least concerning at this time, though survey respondents cited all of these types of technologies as key concerns in the next year, where the increased risk to expose sensitive data ranked highest among both respondent groups.
"Given the breadth and depth of security breaches spanning the globe this year - all of which have had a long-lasting negative impact on organizations and consumers alike - IT security and IT operations professionals have an increasingly critical task at hand, to protect sensitive data wherever it lives in an organization," said Pat Clawson, CEO & Chairman, Lumension Security. "What became clear, in conducting this research, is that while these threats will only increase over time, the gap between these distinct groups is starting to close. This is a great step forward in waging the data security battle - the less siloed and more collaborative IT security and operations groups operate, the more successful they will be in protecting their company's most valued asset: sensitive corporate data and trade secrets."

For additional insight into the mega trends outlined in this year's survey, please download the full results of the 2008 Mega Trends Survey. http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/key_security_megatrends_and_emerging_threats_for_2009.html

Walmart.com Makes Tens of Thousands of Nintendo Wiis Available Online Today

2008-12-08T09:21:00-05:00

Brisbane, CA (Gawkwire.com) Walmart.com is helping moms everywhere be the hero this Christmas by making tens of thousands of Nintendo Wii consoles, one of the the hottest selling gifts this season, available for purchase today online at walmart.com. Starting today while supplies last, Walmart.com will offer Nintendo Wii consoles for $249.24, two Wii games for $30 and accessories starting under $10. Customers who have been looking for the hard-to-find Nintendo Wii now have an opportunity to purchase the top selling video game console at a great value.

Nintendo Wii Console

"We're thrilled to be able to provide more customers the opportunity to experience and enjoy the Nintendo Wii this Christmas," said Kelly Thompson, Walmart.com chief merchant. "Based on the success we've seen with Wii Fit and Nintendo Wii, customers recognize that Walmart.com is the online destination for the strongest values and best selection in video games this season."

In addition to Nintendo Wii consoles and accessories, Walmart.com is also offering special values on the popular handheld Nintendo DS Lite and games. The following items are available starting today, while supplies last:

Nintendo Wii

Wii video game console - $249.24
Wii video games - 2 for $30 on select titles
Accessories, such as the Nintendo Wii Racing Wheel - starting under $10
Nintendo Wii Value Bundle including console, game, accessory pack and extra set of controllers - $329 ($30 savings)

Nintendo DS Lite

DS Lite, choice of 6 colors - $129
DS Lite video games - 2 for $20 on select titles
Nintendo DS Lite Value Bundle includes handheld unit in customer's choice of colors, two games and accessory kit - $159 ($20 savings) http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/walmart_com_makes_tens_of_thousands_of_nintendo_wiis_available_o.html

Demonstrate Your SEM Smarts and Gain the Recognition You Deserve

2008-12-08T09:19:00-05:00

San Francisco, Calif. (Gawkwire.com) Google, Yahoo!, MSN - everyone searches on the Web and has clicked on those ubiquitous search ads on the top and side of the page. But how many people realize a legion of advertising experts is engaged in a fierce competitive battle every day to win this very quantitative and complex form of advertising? Today, the Search Engine Marketing (SEM) experts who manage complex search campaigns for leading brands and advertising agencies are finally getting their day.

Marin Software, provider of the leading enterprise-class paid search management application for advertisers and agencies, and Search Marketing Expo - SMX West today announced the Biggest Search Geek Contest. The thought-provoking and challenging contest launches today at www.biggestsearchgeek.com.

"Compared with other forms of advertising media including display, TV, print, radio, and direct mail, search marketing is certainly one of the more complex and intellectually challenging, but when done well it's also among the most rewarding," said Chris Lien, chief executive officer of Marin Software. "We wanted to recognize the top experts in the SEM industry with the first-ever award for those we fondly refer to as search geeks."

"The SMX Biggest Search Geek Contest celebrates the unsung heroes of search marketing who make SEM campaigns successful for the brands and agencies they work for every day," said Danny Sullivan, SMX West program chair and Search Engine Land editor-in-chief.

The SMX Biggest Search Geek Contest is open to anyone with the mettle to answer 20 tough questions about the ins-and-outs of search marketing. The winner will receive a free trip for two people to SMX West in Santa Clara, California, February 10-12, 2009. The prize includes round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations, and passes to SMX West 2009 for the winner and a travel companion. The winner will also receive an award on stage from Danny Sullivan, and will gain nationwide recognition as the Biggest Search Geek.

The winner of the SMX Biggest Search Geek Contest will be chosen based on who answers the most questions correctly in the least amount of time. Search marketing experts have until the end of January to take the timed questionnaire and the winner will be notified on the first week of February. What's more, the top 10% of contest entrants answering the most correct questions in the shortest amount of time will each receive a "Search Geek" recognition award from Marin Software. http://www.gawkwire.com/seo_sem/demonstrate_your_sem_smarts_and_gain_the_recognition_you_deserve.html

Free Webinar Covers the Basics of Using Twitter for Business

2008-12-08T00:15:00-05:00

Kansas City, Mo (Gawkwire.com) John Jantsch, creator of Duct Tape Marketing, announced today that he is hosting a live webinar session with social media expert Chris Brogan on the topic of using twitter for business marketing and networking purposes. The live session is Thursday, Dec 11th at 12:00 pm, CST.

John Jantsch - Duct Tape Marketing
According to the New York Times, Twitter is "one of the fastest-growing phenomena on the Internet". This free social messaging service provides business owners and marketers with the opportunity to connect and stay connected with their network.

Twitter users simply answer - "What are you doing" in 140 characters or less. Using a rich set tools, hosted by twitter and 3rd-party developers, twitter users then connect around these conversations.

The use of this and other social media tools is still great mystery to the non-technical business and Jantsch and Brogan are deft at turning the hype surrounding social media into practical business strategies and tactics.

"I love sharing this kind of useful information with business owners because once you strip away the hype you can see them really getting how they could use a tool like twitter to grow their business," said John Jantsch, host of the webinar.

During this live webinar, sponsored and by iLinc web and video conferencing, Jantsch and Brogan will cover twitter basics, strategies, tips, tools and tactics for business folks who want to explore and enhance the use of this powerful networking and publishing tool. http://www.gawkwire.com/business/free_webinar_covers_the_basics_of_using_twitter_for_business.html

From Cirque du Soleil to iWeb!

2008-12-05T14:21:00-05:00

Montreal, Quebec (Gawkwire.com) iWeb (TSX.V - IWB), a global provider of Internet hosting services and IT infrastructure, is pleased to announce the arrival of Michel Thivierge as their new Director of Human Resources.

Having previously held various Human Resource management positions at Cirque du Soleil, Bell Canada, Dessau and MIL Davie, Mr. Thivierge joins iWeb, for whom the management of Human Resources is becoming increasingly important.

"iWeb has grown from 42 employees in 2006 to more than 130 employees today, and we have nearly 50 new positions to fill by the end of the year, "confirms Michel Thivierge, whose first weeks were devoted to developing a strategic plan for the management of Human Resources. "I am really proud to be joining iWeb at such an important moment in its evolution. The foundations are solid, the original team is still in place and the web hosting industry is experiencing tremendous growth. There's a lot of enthusiasm in the air, and I am convinced that many here, myself included, are aware that we are participating in a great adventure; we are a part of something special."

This sentiment is echoed by iWeb's President and CEO; "We are delighted to welcome Michel," said Eric Chouinard, who was recently named the FIQ Personality of the Month for October 2008. "He has tremendous expertise in HR Management, and complements our management team extremely well. "

One of the challenges facing the company is to continue its sustained growth while preserving its corporate identity and personality, "iWeb is growing rapidly, but we want to grow without compromising our values." added Martin Leclair, Co-Founder and President, Products and Technology.

In addition to seeking the right candidates to fill jobs typically associated to a Montreal technology company such as Programmer, Programmer-Analyst and Customer Service Representative, iWeb is also seeking Data Center Operators, a Financial Analyst, Assemblers, System Administrators, a Research and Development (R&D) Manager, a Director for Managed Services (Managed Hosting), as well as several others; iWeb expects to have most of these positions filled by Spring 2009. http://www.gawkwire.com/business/from_cirque_du_soleil_to_iweb.html

DOMAINfest Global Agenda Features Rich Sessions

2008-12-06T06:00:00-05:00

Los Angeles, CA (Gawkwire.com) DomainSponsor™, the domain monetization business of Oversee.net and organizer of DOMAINfest Global®, a franchise of premium conferences designed to promote and support the advancement of the domain industry, today published the agenda for DOMAINfest Global 2009. The third annual event will take place at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Hollywood, California from January 28-30, 2009, with a pre-event Boot Camp on January 27.

DOMAINfest Global Agenda

This year's agenda offers educational sessions and networking activities designed to help all attendees understand the changes under way in the Internet advertising and domain name industry and provide strategies to stay a step ahead.

DOMAINfest Global will conduct a pre-event Boot Camp for beginner or intermediate domain investors on Tuesday, January 27. Expert speakers will explain domain industry fundamentals in four featured sessions:

Domain Industry Trends - What's Your Action Plan?
Domain Monetization 101 & 201
Legal Issues to Consider as You Build Your Business
The Art & Science of Buying and Selling Domains
The Main Event, beginning on Wednesday, January 28, offers a full-day of learning as well as structured networking activities:

Domaining 2.0TM: What Does the Next Evolutionary Phase of Our Industry Look Like?
Keynoter Steve Wozniak on Conquering Change in the Technology Space
Domain Build-Out Showcase: Examples of Winning Build-Outs
Domain Build-Out Nuts and Bolts - What You Need to Know to Succeed

DOMAINfest Global rolls out the red carpet on Wednesday night with a reception and dinner party at Universal Studios from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. that includes exclusive access to the best areas of the park, including the rides and studio back lot tours.

Thursday, January 29 has two main sessions, which are followed by a Moniker® Live Auction.

What Can We Expect from the Legal and Regulatory Environment
The Google Perspective: Winning over the Advertiser and Optimizing Site Performance through Analytics

After the structured networking activities that follow the Moniker Auction, DomainSponsor will be hosting the farewell dinner and party at a world-renowned entertainment venue to be announced soon.

"The DOMAINfest agenda is specifically designed to provide attendees with the tools they need to navigate the changes impacting our domain industry," said Jeff Kupietzky, President of Oversee.net. "What makes this show unique is that it blends valuable content with unbeatable entertainment and a ton of networking opportunities. This is the industry's largest gathering of domainers and those who serve the domain industry. As a result, it's a must attend event."

Steve Wozniak Keynote Speaker
Steve Wozniak will be the keynote speaker on Wednesday, January 28. The Apple Computer, Inc. co-founder and Silicon Valley icon is one of the most influential and colorful innovators in technology history and is credited with helping shape the personal computer industry with his Apple designs. http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/domainfest_global_agenda_features_rich_sessions.html

ResellersPanel Launches a Free PHP Script Installation Website

2008-12-05T09:35:00-05:00

London, UK (Gawkwire.com) ResellersPanel, the synonym of free reseller web hosting, announces that it has recently launched elefanteinstaller.com - a new website, which offers detailed descriptions, demo versions and the free installation of more than 30 open source PHP scripts, among them phpBB2, WordPress, Joomla, Mambo, osCommerce, Drupal, Coppermine and many others, grouped in the following categories: Blog, Forum, CMS, E-Commerce, Photo Gallery, Wiki, Classified Ads, Calendar, Guestbook, Project Management, Client Management, Ad Management, Customer Support. The one-click automated script installation available through the new Elefante Installer website will help users avoid the difficulties related to the otherwise quite complicated PHP script installation process, which requires at least some basic knowledge of MySQL, phpMyAdmin, the Apache web server, etc., on their part.

Typing the elefanteinstaller.com URL into a web browser will take the visitors to a website where they can see detailed explanations of the functionalities of the various PHP scripts and learn how each script is working in real website environment through the admin and client demo accounts provided. However, if a given reseller's customer opens elefanteinstaller.com through the respective link placed on that reseller's web store, the Elefante website will also display the hosting offers of the very reseller whose store the client has been referred from. In this case the name of that reseller's store will appear in the URL of the Elefante website immediately after the domain name itself, which will increase its brand awareness, and elefanteinstaller.com will in fact serve as an additional reseller web store.

Each web hosting plan offered on the reseller web stores and, respectively, on the new Elefante website, has been optimized to accommodate websites based on the various scripts elefanteinstaller.com is offering, and comes with a free website builder, free domain name registration and PHP script installation options, and a set of free marketing tools for boosting website popularity. Moreover, all users can download for free any of the Joomla templates and WordPress themes currently on offer, and create dynamic, content-rich, professionally-looking, multi-language personal and business websites, online communities, blogs or e-commerce portals quickly and easily.

Nick Blaskov, CFO of ResellersPanel, said that the new Elefante Installer website is designed to help people who would like to have a website of their own establish a successful online presence, that now even novices can install popular PHP packages and create a blog, a forum, an e-shop, a gallery or a guestbook in a matter of seconds, without having to possess PHP script configuration and installation knowledge or any server administration, web design and programming skills, and without the help of a professional webmaster, and that all accounts ordered through the Elefante website will be hosted on an entirely new in-house developed semi-cluster platform, wherein last generation Quad-Core servers distribute the load generated by the different hosting services between each other, thus making it several times faster than the widespread one-server ones.
http://www.gawkwire.com/web_design/resellerspanel_launches_a_free_php_script_installation_website.html

ReelSEO.com to Feature Multimedia Coverage of SES Chicago

2008-12-05T09:28:00-05:00

Newport Beach, CA (Gawkwire.com) ReelSEO, the web's premiere source for internet video marketing news and information, will be offering multimedia coverage of the 2008 Search Engine Strategies (SES) Conference and Expo, taking place December 8-11, 2008 at the Chicago Hilton.

With the rise of universal search and the growing popularity online video, unique opportunities exist to leverage online video as a powerful and effective search engine marketing strategy and tactic. SES, a long-time leading global conference series aimed at search engine marketing professionals, is offering several informative sessions this year specifically related to online video marketing and video search engine optimization.

"ReelSEO is pleased to be able to offer multimedia coverage of SES Chicago. We hope that our coverage will serve as yet another resource for those looking to learn about the exciting opportunities that exist today with internet video marketing and video SEO," said Mark Robertson, Founder and Publisher of ReelSEO.com

"Search Engine Strategies is one of the best marketing conferences today for bringing together online video experts across a wide range of industries and solutions," stated Grant Crowell, Senior Analyst for ReelSEO and Project Director for SES Conference Coverage.

ReelSEO will be providing coverage of the following SES sessions:

- Video Search Engine Optimization
- The Next Wave for Online Video
- Act Universal: Using Video in Small Business Marketing
- Intellectual Property & Trademark Issues: What SEMs Should Know
- And more...

Multimedia coverage of the conference will include:

- In-depth article coverage of the sessions listed above.
- Online video coverage of select speaker interviews
- Podcast and audio coverage. (also available via iTunes)

Please visit ReelSEO before, during, and immediately following the conference for our featured Search Engine Strategies Chicago event coverage. http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/reelseo_com_to_feature_multimedia_coverage_of_ses_chicago.html

Superb Internet â€“ (Curtis) R. Curtis Steps Down as Sr. VP, Sales & Marketing

2008-12-04T15:34:00-05:00

Vancouver, BC (Gawkwire.com) Superb Internet Corporation, a world leader of quality managed dedicated servers, shared hosting and e-commerce solutions; announces that (Curtis) R. Curtis, a veteran in the hosting industry, will be stepping down as Sr. VP, Sales & Marketing at the end of the month.

Since 2000, Curtis has led Superb Internet in their sales & marketing efforts, along with helping to guide the direction of the company. Additionally, he has been an extremely vocal evangelist for the hosting industry, especially within the search marketplace. While he is stepping down from Superb, he will continue to speak on and work with the hosting industry and the search marketplace, especially with those companies and industry leaders who are dedicated to transforming the Internet to its next evolution.

“We have been very fortunate to have Curtis’s dedication and leadership, especially with regards to our sales and marketing efforts for these many years,” states Haralds Jass, Superb Internet's CEO. “His outstanding commitment to our customers and his continued pursuit of excellence in the quality of our service is what has greatly contributed to Superb Internet success as a hosting company. He has been instrumental in the Company’s desire to lead the hosting industry; to constantly set the bar higher for others to follow, and to always strive for the very best on behalf of the Company and its customers.”

“It has been a great pleasure for me to work in the hosting industry since its initial inception in the form of the earliest ISPs and to have been able to associate with so many outstanding companies and individuals in the process.” notes Curtis. “The hosting industry is unquestionably undergoing some dramatic changes and I look forward to continue to play a role in the transformation; in whatever directions that may take. I am pleased to announce that Superb Internet has been able to bring on very capable and talented individuals to replace me.”

Curtis is being replaced by the newly appointed Director of Marketing, Dale Bunten, Director of Sales, George Allen and Director of Business Development, Patrick Ahler.

About Superb Internet Corp.:
Since 1996, Superb Internet has been consistently rated as one of the very best web hosts by all web host rating agencies. Superb Internet provides a complete range of managed web hosting services, from virtual hosting through to high-volume, mission-critical dedicated service solutions. Superb Internet has offices and 24-hour/365-day operations in McLean, VA, Tukwila, WA, and Vancouver, BC, serving customers in over 150 countries worldwide.

For more information about Superb Internet, visit the website at;
http://www.superbhosting.net http://www.gawkwire.com/business/superb_internet_curtis_r_curtis_steps_down_as_sr_vp_sales_market.html

Oddest Tech Gadgets for the 2008 Holiday Season

2008-12-01T09:23:00-05:00

Troy, NY (Gawkwire.com) Bright Hub, the fastest-growing expert writer community for science and technology information impacting our daily lives, today announced their recommendations for the hottest technology gadgets, as well as the oddest, for the 2008 holiday season. Skilled writers and leading industry experts are giving their picks for top technology products including laptops, USB devices, mobile phones, desktop computers, eBooks, and more for the tech savvy gift giver.

"USB-powered gadgets and devices are becoming weirder as technology evolves. Not only are USB peripherals not limited to the keyboard, mouse, speakers, and headphones, but now USB devices can range to a refrigerator, cooling fans and more," said Arnold Zafra, Bright Hub Writer, Windows, iPhone and Computer Hardware channels. "These unique USB devices can make really fun gifts for people who are technology geeks without hurting the wallet."

Desktop computers and laptops are popular gift items and due to the economic climate this year there are likely to be more affordable computers than previous holiday shopping seasons. According to Jessica Mintz (AP) in USA Today*, the summer season was slow for most personal computer vendors and coupled with the end of the year outlook, there is great seller motivation for not having a lot of unsold inventory on the shelves of computer retailers at the end of 2008. On Bright Hub, insight on many laptops and tablet PC reviews are available to help buyers understand the range of choices out there as well as which ones are the best buys.

As well as personal computers, there are many gadgets available for people on the go. Product reviews on the hottest mobile devices, portable music players, and navigation technologies help shoppers get a good grasp on the latest trends in portable technology. Neil Henry, Managing Editor for the Windows and Computer Hardware channels, "Looking at the best technologies I have come across in 2008 for the home and business. We discuss the best gadgets, most stylish innovations, and newest performance enhancing hardware technologies that have had a groundbreaking impact on our culture in 2008."

Editor's Note: * Penny-pinching shoppers may get PC deals soon. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2008-10-21-holiday-pcs_n.htm http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/oddest_tech_gadgets_for_the_2008_holiday_season.html

Future Hosting Rebrands from â€˜.Bizâ€™ to â€˜.Comâ€™ After Acquisition of Domain Name

2008-12-04T12:00:00-05:00

NOVI, Mich. (Gawkwire.com) In acquiring the new domain name, the Future Hosting has settled a dispute with the previous domain holder. Further details of the settlement are unavailable due to a Non Disclosure Agreement signed by both parties.

“The acquisition of the FutureHosting.com domain name is an important step forward to sustaining the long-term growth of our company. Although we have generated tremendous growth under the ‘.biz’ top level domain, we recognize there are a variety of key advantages associated with a ‘.com’ online presence. It is our belief that ‘.com’ will allow us to attract even more support from small businesses looking to get online for the first time,” said Vik Patel, Future Hosting president and CEO.

In its effort to rebrand, the company will update links and graphics on its internal and external marketing operations. It has also notified vendors to update advertisements and promotional literature to send traffic to the new domain name.

Future Hosting will remain accessible from FutureHosting.biz indefinitely.

Developed by Future Hosting, Server Doctor™ is a revolutionary system that provides a proactive approach to maintaining Virtual Private Servers—automating everything from account provisioning to weekly security scans.

For more information about Future Hosting, please visit http://www.futurehosting.com. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/future_hosting_rebrands_from_biz_to_com_after_acquisition_of_dom.html

eBay's Video Player Now Available to All Online Businesses

2008-12-04T09:31:00-05:00

London, UK (Gawkwire.com) The power behind 100,000 video player was originally designed to match eBay's exact requirements but with the launch of its new player, vzaar has opened up the Internet to its eBay customers and any other online business that wants to showcase its products or services to a global audience of buyers.

Whilst eBay sellers can still automatically insert video into hundreds of eBay listings via the vzaar API, they can now embed the same video on any other Internet site. This means any businesses can now use vzaar's service to power their video in a professional, unbranded video player on their own website.

Jamie Parkins, COO at vzaar adds, "With the current slowdown in the economy businesses are looking for more creative ways to stand out from the competition. Having video on your website offers this angle, inspiring trust and providing a more engaging experience. A number of our customers have cited an increase in sales as a result of adding video. The new unbranded player focuses solely on the video content and there are no third party links at the end of the video to other videos or pre roll adverts to distract the buyer."

There are a variety of packages for businesses to select from. They start at US$10 per month and go up to US$200 per month depending on the video bandwidth requirements. There is also a free package for the light users. http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/ebay_s_video_player_now_available_to_all_online_businesses.html

Craigslist.org Founder To Appear On WebmasterRadio.FM's RainMaker Program

2008-12-04T09:24:00-05:00

Fort Lauderdale FL (Gawkwire.com) Craig Newmark, the pioneering founder of Craigslist.org, will talk about his work blogging about the Obama campaign on behalf of the Democratic National Committee on the WebmasterRadio.FM show, Rainmaker this afternoon at 6 p.m. EST.

Craig Newmark became a certified entrepreneurial success giving away free classified ads. Founded in 1995, craigslist has grown to become the largest classified advertising network in the world. Built around a well ordered but seemingly endless list of cities, states, provinces and nations, there is a craigslist market in almost every major city around the world. Craig Newman has forever changed the traditional news media by making classified advertising virtually free.

Craig's community activities include being on the advisory boards of Climate Theatre and Haight-Ashbury Food Program, as well as supporting local writers through Grotto Nights. Craig has been featured in the Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Business Week, Time Magazine, and Esquire Magazine.

As one of the DNC's strategic Internet advisors, Craig Newmark helped shape the image of Barack Obama's extraordinarily successful use of Internet applications such as blogging, social networking and search marketing. Newmark himself covered Obama, blogging on behalf of the DNC.

The DNC's use of the Internet has changed the tone of American politics forever. As a guest on Rainmaker, Craig Newmark will talk about his advice to the DNC and his work blogging the Obama campaign. He will also discuss new concepts that have come out of his dealings with the Obama team including one they called "Craigslist for Service".

Craig Newmark's appearance on Rainmaker is his second visit with WebmasterRadio.FM. Craig appeared on the WebmasterRadio.FM show CoverStory on October 22 in advance of his keynote address at the 2008 Public Relations Society of America Conference. http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/craigslist_org_founder_to_appear_on_webmasterradio_fm_s_rainmake.html

Funk.Me Launches a Funky Domain Forum

2008-12-04T09:21:00-05:00

Miami, FL (Gawkwire.com) The leading DOT ME domain auction site now has a Funky domain forum, a cool place for domainers, investors, developers, and entrepreneurs to hang out, connect and exchange information with other members of the Cyber ME Generation.

The Funk.Me domain auction site is targeting buyers and sellers who wish to list and buy premium DOT ME domains, with already over 2000 premium ME domains listed on the site to make and receive offers and bids. New premium ME domains are posted daily, and hundreds more would be listed, but the owners are focusing on the premium market and they have had to turn down several DOT ME names that didn't meet the criteria for being a premium.

Nikolas Gough, the CEO and founder of Funk.Me, states the mission of the Funk.Me forum is to create a vibrant and diverse domain community of global ME citizens who can exchange ideas, provide information, and help promote the fastest growing extension - DOT ME - to launch in this millennium.

Gough adds, "Become part of the new ME generation and help us create a community to connect, engage, and inspire other DOT ME netizens, or even if you're just interested or curious about learning more about this exciting extension. Here's your chance to become charter members of the leading DOT ME domain forum!"

There are already over 2½ million DOT ME web pages on the Google search index, and these sites have been built in a span of 4 months, after the launch of the DOT ME extension in July.

The first DOT ME domain auction, held by the DOT ME registry, broke records for a new extension, with total sales reaching just over 2 million USD.

The new .ME domain extension has become the fastest domain extension to ever launch on the Internet.

If you want to join the forum, and get "funky" with the Funk.Me community, go to www.Funk.Me/forums. http://www.gawkwire.com/domains/funk_me_launches_a_funky_domain_forum.html

Aventure Host Launches Web Hosting Affiliate Program

2008-12-04T12:00:00-05:00

Belfast, UK (Gawkwire.com) International web hosting company Aventure Host (http://www.aventurehost.com) based in the United Kingdom and Ireland hosting approximately 15,000 websites has today announced the availability of it's new web hosting affiliate and partner program.

According to the announcement, the new partner program is aimed at web hosting customers and marketing professionals who want to advertise and sell web hosting solutions in return for a per-sale commission rate ranging from 10 to 20 percent.

Through it's partner portal affiliates are provided with real time tools to track payments, commission, click-throughs, usage reports and access to online media such as banners, corner peels, videos, text links and access to a desktop application to provide real time commission alerts.

"Every six months we ask our clients to complete a survey on our services, our staff, and to give us feedback on what we're doing well, and other areas that we need to focus more on going forward," Aventure Host managing director Richard Kennedy said in a statement. "Over the last 24 months a large number of our clients have requested an affiliate program to help generate profit from their websites."

"Taking this feedback over several surveys in the last couple of years, we've been able to pin point the actual needs of our clients and find out what they really wanted in an affiliate program, and we've developed our system around most of those suggestions." said Richard Kennedy, Managing Director at Aventure Host.

Until February 2009 the company is providing new affiliates with a £5 GBP welcome bonus, and a starting commission of 10% but depending on affiliate performance, additional commission tiers are available up to 20%.

The company will continue to provide 24/7/365 telephone, email and helpdesk support to partners to help increase conversion rates, and to establish and create new networking opportunities with partners.

New (Free) Partner Applications: http://www.myaventure.com/affiliates/signup.php
Additional Information: http://www.aventurehost.com/solutions/affiliates/ http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/aventure_host_launches_web_hosting_affiliate_program.html

UltraQuantix Rolls Out New Line of Shared, VPS Hosting Plans

2008-12-04T09:39:00-05:00

TURNERSVILLE, N.J. (Gawkwire.com) With today’s announcement, UltraQuantix now offers 12 Linux-based shared Web hosting plan choices, starting at $12/yearly for an entry-level solution and ranging to $96/monthly for more advanced solutions with greater resource allotments. All shared hosting plans are powered by cPanel/WHM and include a competitive assortment of features, including access to unlimited MySQL databases and email accounts.

UltraQuantix also now offers four new Linux-based Virtual Private Server hosting plans, starting at $33.70/monthly. The entry-level UQ-V15 VPS plan includes 15GB of data storage, 200GB of monthly data transfer, and access to 384MB of server RAM (burstable to 512MB).

“By offering a wider variety of hosting configurations, we have created a more realistic and structured approach to selling Web hosting to individuals and small businesses. Between our entry-level and high-end solutions, our customers will be able to pay for only what they use, and have the flexibility to upgrade or downgrade as their needs evolve,” said Peter Marek, founder of UltraQuantix.

All hosting plans include access to world-class customer support from UltraQuantix. The company offers telephone, live chat, and helpdesk support each weekday from 9am to 9pm EST. Server hardware is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition, all hosting plans feature enterprise-grade email anti-virus and anti-spam, available automatically at no extra charge.

In addition to Web hosting, UltraQuantix offers domain name registration, IT consulting for small businesses, and Web design.

To learn more about UltraQuantix, please visit http://www.ultraquantix.com.

To learn more about Web hosting from UltraQuantix, please visit https://www.ultraquantix.com/hpoview.php. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/ultraquantix_rolls_out_new_line_of_shared_vps_hosting_plans.html

Getting the Domain Name You Want

2008-12-05T09:37:00-05:00

Quit Messing Around with New Domains

You know it, I know it – the good names are already taken. Don't settle for a hyphenated or number-ridden domain name. What you need to understand is backordering expired domain names.

Every day around 15,000 – 20,000 domain names expire. Some are completely useless. Others have real value. For example, recently ‘shelves.com' expired. So what resources do you need to understand which domains are expiring?

1. deleteddomains.com – this site has a great search feature which let's you see expiring and on-hold domain names by keyword. This is a core resource for uncovering the domains that you want which are soon to expire.
2. pool.com – another great site for viewing soon-to-expire domains. Also offers a keyword search and backordering service.
3. snapnames.com – the original backordering service. Once you find a domain that looks attractive to you – go to snapnames and you can ‘backorder' it for $69 per domain name. That price includes the first year of registration fees if the domain is acquired for you.

Other Tips and Tricks

Remember to be fast – many other people are using the same tools in an attempt to acquire the very best expiring domain names. Therefore, this is a very, very competitive business. Additionally, SnapNames will only permit one backorder prospect per domain name – so you need to act quickly if a name is available for backordering.

Be patient – remember there are 15,000 – 20,000 names expiring every day. Your ideal name may not come along for a month or two – or even longer. Don't worry – there will always be a fresh set of domains expiring tomorrow and the next day and the next day.

Expand your set of keywords – don't limit the scope of your search. You can search far and wide but still be choosy about which domains to acquire. So use as many variations of your keywords as possible.

Good luck and happy searching! http://www.gawkwire.com/domains/getting_the_domain_name_you_want.html

Virtual Worlds - Better Experience and Less Costly Than Conference Calls

2008-12-03T09:37:00-05:00

SAN MATEO, CA (Gawkwire.com) Forterra Systems, a market and technology leader in enterprise virtual worlds, announced today that it will ship the 2.2 release of its OLIVE ™ (On-Line Interactive Virtual Environment) software platform this month. The release includes new collaboration features and IBM Lotus Sametime integration.

The new features have prompted feedback from several customers in global organizations and analysts that virtual meetings in OLIVE are both more engaging and less expensive then traditional Web and audio conference calls. The combination of OLIVE’s spatially accurate VoIP-based audio along with several new media-sharing features and Lotus Sametime integration provides the next generation of interactive communications infrastructure. This new approach will be appealing for enterprises looking to improve organizational communications, collaboration, and training while lowering their operations costs.

With the challenging financial times most enterprises are curtailing travel and rethinking how their organizations hold events, training sessions, conduct periodic meetings, or improve their collaboration processes. Audio and Web conferencing are inexpensive, ubiquitous, and generally easy to use. However for meetings involving complex or longer topics the participants can be challenged to grasp the discussion context and maintain focus due to multi-tasking. Virtual meetings in OLIVE are proving to be less expensive yet more engaging and productive for users. Most enterprise-grade teleconferencing systems charge $0.10 to $0.25 per person per minute which can equate to thousands of dollars of expense per employee every year. OLIVE pricing is an order of magnitude less.

Forterra believes the fastest path for large-scale virtual world adoption within organizations is for 3D meetings to be an easy-to-use extension of the existing unified communications tools employees already use every day. Forterra’s integration of OLIVE with Lotus Sametime is the first robust offering in the market to pursue this strategy. When integrated to Lotus Sametime, immersive 3D environments built with OLIVE provide an interactive communications platform that is unsurpassed for collaboration, training, and knowledge management use cases.

In their October 31, 2008 Forrester Research report titled Will Unified Communications Make Virtual Worlds Relevant To Business TJ Keitt and Henry Dewing indicated, “As the workplace has changed and as decentralized information workers demand tools to allow them to work together, companies have to rethink their collaboration, training, and knowledge management schemes. According to a recent survey of North American and European enterprise IT decision-makers, 49% view implementing an enterprise collaboration strategy as a priority in the next 12 months. However, current collaboration and knowledge management tools are still developing and often jumble efforts to bring together employees rather than streamlining their interactions. Consolidating information worker tools in a holistic platform is a trend that Forrester has labeled as the Information Workplace. Virtual worlds, with their rich graphical interfaces, seem — at least on the surface — to be great for simulating a gamut of experiences to these distributed information workers.”

"Our customers are asking how their communications and collaboration strategy can combine real-time presence, voice and data sharing capabilities with the richness of virtual worlds,” noted Bruce Morse, vice president of unified communications and collaboration, IBM Lotus. "We believe Forterra's plug-in to Sametime will provide important functionality for our customers, and be an easy means for users to start experiencing a virtual world."

The key OLIVE capabilities being released this month include:

A Virtual Meeting Reservation System that allows a meeting organizer to reserve a 3D room type (ex, auditorium, board room, classroom), room equipment (ex, projector screen size, chairs, and podiums), and to invite mandatory and optional attendees. Invitations are sent out through the user’s native email system (ex, Lotus Notes, MS Exchange), and if accepted display in their native calendaring system.
Presenting on 3D screens and viewing by all participants a spectrum of media including MS Powerpoint files, streaming videos (Windows Media Player® based), any software application running on a Windows desktop, and collaborative whiteboards.
A Lotus Sametime plug-in so users can achieve single sign-on to OLIVE from Lotus Sametime, instantly invite colleagues to join a 3D meeting directly from their Lotus Sametime client, or schedule a future meeting through the Virtual Meeting Reservation System. A demonstration of this integration between Lotus Sametime with OLIVE is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVY8fmKXH9Y
Presence awareness of other OLIVE or Sametime users logged in. Users can quickly join a colleague in a virtual environment by teleporting to their location.
Avatar profiles through integration with any social networking system like LinkedIn, Facebook, Lotus Connections, a Learning Management System or enterprise HR system so users can view the profile of another meeting attendee by right clicking on their avatar.
Simplified firewall port configuration and compatibility so IT departments can set the communications for OLIVE to work through two firewall ports. OLIVE has always supported being able to deploy entirely behind a firewall.
Support for 3D model import into OLIVE for Autodesk 3ds Max and Maya, Google Sketchup, Blender, Poser Pro, FaceGen, and Softimage, and other content authoring tools which provide COLLADA file export options. http://www.gawkwire.com/business/virtual_worlds_-_better_experience_and_less_costly_than_conferen.html

Tucows Joins Ethoca-Powered Global Fraud-Fighting Community

2008-12-03T09:36:00-05:00

Toronto (Gawkwire.com) Ethoca, the company powering the Global Fraud-Fighting Community, today announced that Tucows, a global provider of domain names, email and other Internet services, is its newest member.

News Facts:

Tucows conducts millions of transactions annually and as a result, faces unique challenges in verifying the identity of customers who purchase exclusively through customer-not-present transactions, and efficiently processing orders while managing fraud risk.-- Through OpenSRS (http://opensrs.com), Tucows interacts with over 9,000 web hosting companies and Internet Service Providers to manage over 8 million domain names and millions of email boxes.
-- Tucows provides services to consumers and small business through Hover (http://hover.com). Hover is the easiest way for individuals and small businesses to manage their domain names and email addresses.
-- Tucows also owns a portfolio of tens of thousands of domain names, some of which are available for resale through YummyNames (http://yummynames.com).

The Ethoca-powered Global Fraud-Fighting Community provides an important new source to verify and authenticate good orders and sift out the bad ones. With Ethoca, Tucows will augment its existing fraud management tools with a large pool of both positive and negative customer experiences, as well as rejected order experiences, which will enable it to serve new customers more quickly while improving its ability to identify bad orders.
A major issue for domain providers is that the majority of fraud they must deal with comes from stolen credit cards used by fraudsters whose aim is to create new domains to launch phishing and spam attacks. Stopping a fraudster also means eliminating the two or three weeks of abuse that occur before the account is abandoned or shut down due to the criminal activity perpetrated from the account. The benefits include reducing credit card charge-backs, tied up domain names, and bandwidth usage, as well as the effects spam and phishing have on victims.
Tucows will use Ethoca to improve customer experiences and speed order processing by leveraging positive order histories to make more informed customer decisions based on community data. Likewise, by contributing its data to the community pool, Tucows will provide its collaboration partners with knowledge they can use to identify their own good-risk customers.
Too often neglected as a cost of fraud management, an improved customer shopping experience is a unique benefit provided by the Ethoca-powered Global Fraud-Fighting Community.

Quotes:

"Tucows knows modern fraud management means keeping fraudsters at bay, but it also means ensuring a positive experience for our customers," said Ross Rader, Director of Retail Services, Tucows. "By working with the Global Fraud-Fighting Community we reduce the need for manual fraud reviews and avoid delays for customers. This improves the experience and transparency for all parties involved in a transaction with us, from customers to partners to credit card companies."
"Our objective is to reduce our total cost of fraud to as close to zero as possible," said Ross Rader, Tucows Director of Retail Services, Tucows. "Fraud costs us time, effort and money. Ethoca offers a unique, collaborative approach that is substantially different and adds significant value by reducing all of these costs."
"As one of the top domain registrars and an innovation leader in providing Internet services, Tucows is a very exciting addition to the Global Fraud-Fighting Community," said Andre Edelbrock, CEO, Ethoca. "The fact that criminal gangs both perpetrate credit card fraud to set up accounts, and then use those accounts to hijack the system and create phishing and spam attacks which are then used to perpetrate identity theft against consumers, puts domain registrars at the nexus of many types of cybercrime. We're thrilled that Tucows will be taking aim at all these problems with our solution. It really demonstrates the power of community collaboration to fight back against fraud and other forms of crime."

Fraud Facts:

Nearly 98 percent of online transactions are legitimate, but most fraud management solutions focus on the fraudulent 2 percent. To keep this fraud rate low, online businesses refer more than 27 percent of transactions for manual review. Yet after review, more than half of all merchants accept over 90 percent of these orders and 2/3 of merchants accept more than 80 percent. Put simply: the largest online businesses overspend by enormous sums to inspect orders manually, 80 percent or more of which could be saved if they had better customer experience data to identify the good customers and give them a better purchasing experience. Ironically, the current process costs a lot of money to protect against a small minority of actual fraudulent transactions.
The primary reason for such a large percentage of manually checked orders is a lack of prior experiences with the customer. That is where Ethoca fits into the puzzle. The Global Fraud Fighting Community powered by Ethoca is the only source of positive experience information about customers who have yet to make a purchase from a particular merchant, and the only way to cut down on the 80 percent or more of manually reviewed orders that didn't require checking. Manual reviews represent by far the largest cost of managing fraud, and are often the source of processing and shipping delays that degrade the customer's experience.
The ability to quickly and automatically identify good transactions means lower direct fraud costs; fewer resources dedicated to manually reviewing orders; faster order turnaround; fewer falsely rejected good orders (meaning higher revenues) and a significantly better customer experience. Most fraud tools, if they can deal with this problem at all, attempt to sort orders based on predictive scoring algorithms or evaluating other risk factors using scant information -- in other words, they guess, rather than know -- which is the primary source of errors both in accepting bad orders and refusing good ones.
Fueled by the 20 percent annual growth rate in Internet shopping, customer-not-present transactions are rapidly becoming the primary source of payment fraud. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/tucows_joins_ethoca-powered_global_fraud-fighting_community.html

topseos Ranks the Best SEO Firms for December 2008

2008-12-03T09:34:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Here's the list of the top 30 Organic Optimization firms that are selected for December 2008:

1.   Bruce Clay Inc.
2.   Increase Visibility Inc.
3.   SEOP Inc.
4.   Intrapromote LLC.
5.   ArteWorks SEO
6.   SEO Image Inc.
7.   Portent Interactive
8.   Customer magnetism
9.   Direct Hit Solutions, Inc.
10.   Web.com Search Agency
11.   Yellow7 Interactive
12.   eVisibility Inc.
13.   SEO.com
14.   SEO Inc.
15.   eBrandz Inc.
16.   Getupdated Internet Marketing
17.   High Position Limited
18.   Weblinx Limited
19.   Sems
20.   Whoast Inc.
21.   iProspect
22.   1st of the List Promotion Inc.
23.   First Page SEO
24.   Infatex
25.   Reprise Media
26.   Inteliture
27.   Seer Interactive
28.   Trafficdeveloper
29.   Mannix Marketing
30.   RegisterEverywhere.com

The compilation of this list is subsequent to a detailed evaluation process. The list vouches for its reliability because of it strict selection process. Some questions asked to clients of the organic optimization firms for evaluation purposes are:

1   What are the most competitive keywords you have been able to rank on the major search engines and how long did it take you to achieve those rankings?
2   Did the agency modify the way they achieved higher rankings for you based on the Universal Search model introduced by Google? How?
3   How comprehensive, specific, and useful are the reports that are offered to the client? What metrics do they cover?

Organic optimization firms that would like to be considered for the topseos rankings can apply at:
www.topseos.com/rankings/search-engine-marketing-agencies/apply-for-ranking.

To learn more about the organic optimization companies visit www.topseos.com/rankings-of-best-organic-optimization-companies.
http://www.gawkwire.com/seo_sem/topseos_ranks_the_best_seo_firms_for_december_2008.html

How To Get More Business Using Optimized Landing Pages

2008-12-02T12:00:00-05:00

Charlotte, NC (Gawkwire.com) Adler Interactive launches landing page development to help online marketers increase sales and leads while reducing costs.

With marketing budgets slashed for 2009, how can companies continue driving sales and leads for less money? One way is to turn as many online visitors into leads and sales as possible. This is the area of "post click marketing."

Post-click marketing is what happens after a potential customer clicks on a link in email marketing, Google ads, or banner ads. It is the process of building landing pages and testing them to maximize conversion of visitors into customers.

One challenge that many organizations face is difficulty quantifying how many visitors actually convert from visitors into prospects or leads. This lack of business intelligence prevents many companies from turning their Internet presence into a high-performance lead generator.

As a matter of fact, most experts agree that only 3% of visitors actually volunteer their contact information after clicking on an online ad. However, this waste is unnecessary, as high-performance landing pages can generate 20% conversion rates and higher through ongoing testing and refinement of the message and offer.

Companies have seen remarkable differences in the conversion based on the message, graphics, links, offer, pricing, and layout. One client is currently testing 3 different messages for users who click on a link in the email they sent. One version of the website Landing Page A is converting at 8%, Page B at 3%, and Page C at 18.75%. View Case Study

By optimizing your landing pages or website pages companies can dramatically improve the number of actual leads they receive from their site and make their advertising generate a higher ROI and reduce wasteful spending.

Adler Interactive is a offering free website assessment and has an online case study to learn more about landing page optimization and post click marketing at Adler Interactive http://www.gawkwire.com/business/how_to_get_more_business_using_optimized_landing_pages.html

Companies to Benefit from Texas Hold em Poker Corporate Event Service

2008-12-02T12:00:00-05:00

Sydney, NSW (Gawkwire.com) Creating an environment that rivals Las Vegas casinos in quality (though without the high stakes), QueenSix Poker provides exceptional and fun Texas Hold em poker corporate events, suitable for beginners to experts, either as purely social events or to assist in achieving team building outcomes for Australian businesses.

"We have developed a service that breaks down corporate barriers and allows staff at all levels to interact and compete in a fun environment. The concept has proven a success for corporate team building, client relationship building, Christmas parties and inter-company networking", said James Kruss, Managing Director of QueenSix Poker.

"Many of our clients have already embraced the concept of corporate team building, so they come to us looking for something that's more interactive than other corporate events. A tournament-style poker event ensures interaction between employees and clients, whether or not they would normally interact in the workplace. This often results in new or strengthened relationships and is ideal for team building", Kruss said.

Kruss emphasises that an event's success can be greatly enhanced by professional event management. To ensure the success of each event, QueenSix poker provides a corporate event host, poker dealers and high quality equipment. A 'learn to play' session is usually held, followed by a tournament. As players are eliminated from the main tournament, remaining players are shifted between seats, until an eventual winner is determined. Players interact and develop mutual respect as the competition goes on. Those who are no longer playing in the main tournament play single-table side games.

Unlike casino fun nights, where players often compete with the house, a major benefit of a QueenSix poker corporate event is gained through the interaction that comes from enjoyable competition between employees and guests. This also makes it an ideal event to invite clients to attend.

QueenSix are also able to provide structured and fun casino nights if requested. However, they maintain that the best value for the client can be gained through a poker tournament structure.

In addition to corporate entertainment, QueenSix poker provides private poker events, fundraising events and is also able to host your poker bucks party. Another service provided by QueenSix is a poker league in Sydney. For further information please contact QueenSix.

e information, visit http://www.searchenginestrategies.com/chicago/. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/companies_to_benefit_from_texas_hold_em_poker_corporate_event_se.html

Engine Ready CEO Jamie Smith to Speak at Search Engine Strategies Conference

2008-12-02T12:00:00-05:00

San Diego, CA (Gawkwire.com) Engine Ready CEO, Jamie Smith, noted thought-leader and speaker on search engine marketing strategies, has been invited to speak at the Search Engine Strategies (SES) conference on December 10, 2008. Mr. Smith will be discussing the latest and most effective techniques to measure and evaluate the day-to-day campaign changes marketers make in efforts to maximize their return on their paid search marketing investments.

The SES event, to be held in Chicago, is the only major Search Marketing Conference and Expo in the Midwest, featuring over 60 sessions, multiple keynotes, exhibitors, and networking events. Mr. Smith's presentation, to be held at the Chicago Hilton, will add a new dimension to understanding search marketing performance by digging into advanced web analytics reporting and analysis.

"Gaining a mastery of advanced web analytics gives marketers a clear and competitive advantage in reaching their search marketing goals," reports Mr. Smith. "Web analytics provide the most effective decision support mechanism to search marketers by allowing for high levels of precision in measurement and analysis of their campaign tests."

The presentation titled "Tactical Success Measurement" will be held Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. at Chicago Hilton. For more information, visit http://www.searchenginestrategies.com/chicago/. http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/engine_ready_ceo_jamie_smith_to_speak_at_search_engine_strategie.html

Search Marketing Blog Celebrates 12 Months of Tips and Tricks

2008-12-02T09:49:00-05:00

Brighton, UK (Gawkwire.com) Brighton-based SEO company Upstream Connections' celebrates twelve months of blogging in December 2008 and, in recognition of the milestone, is posting a free, downloadable guide to successful blogging on its website. During the past year, the Upstream Connections blog has seen posts on such diverse topics as social media optimisation, newsletter writing, reputation management, paid search, viral marketing, search engine optimisation and offline publicity.

Upstream Connections' SEO Manager and regular blog contributor Alex Hammond says "We've all been very pleased with the reaction to the blog. When we started blogging in earnest a year ago, nobody was quite sure how successful the project would be, but we've had some great feedback from clients, freelancers and the SEO community in general. As a search engine optimisation company, we were very aware that we should be setting an example for our clients, all of whom are now exploring the blogosphere for themselves."

Blogs are the easiest way of regularly updating content on a website. Some businesses use a blog as an opportunity to connect with the public and present the human side to their organisation. Other companies use their blogs to pass on knowledge or spark debate. Hammond continues, "One of the most satisfying aspects of the blogging project has been the response from our existing clients, who will often call up or email the office to discuss an issue that has been mentioned in the blog. Hopefully they will enjoy the free blogging guide!"

Upstream Connections has provided SEO services since 2003 and serves clients in Britain, mainland Europe, the USA and Latin America. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/search_marketing_blog_celebrates_12_months_of_tips_and_tricks.html

Better Than Good: Customer Service Tips That Boost Profits

2008-12-02T09:48:00-05:00

Boston, MA (Gawkwire.com) Today, a lot of talk in the business world centers on how to move customer service out of the realm of mere gimmick to make it a core element of daily operations. It's not that customers demand perfection; they simply want to feel safe when they have a problem, and they want to feel important. But too often, customer service is viewed as a "cost center" instead of being an inherent part of the total customer experience.

To help growing businesses become more customer-centric -- especially important in a struggling economy -- FuelNet announces the release of the free Smart Paper Better Than Good: Customer Service Tips That Boost Profits. The insightful white paper offers easy-to-understand, actionable tips, tools, and advice from leading customer service experts on how to:

- keep customers engaged by revisiting some of the basic principles upon which superior customer service is built
- make immediate and transformational changes in your business to improve customer service
- tap into customer research to build a stronger relationship with your most loyal and profitable customers
- involve customers in the product development process
- get closer to customers without violating their sense of privacy

For more information on the FuelNet Smart Paper Better Than Good: Customer Service Tips That Boost Profits, please contact Ken Beaulieu, chief content creator for FuelNet, at 617.457.3901. http://www.gawkwire.com/business/better_than_good_customer_service_tips_that_boost_profits.html

IfByPhone Names Industry Veteran Todd Curry Vice President of Marketing

2008-12-02T09:45:00-05:00

CHICAGO, IL (Gawkwire.com) Curry, 40, moves into an operating role at Ifbyphone after having served as a member of the startup’s board of directors for a year. Curry was previously the co-founder and president of e-marketing consultancy Ascenda Partners, LLC.

Ifbyphone founder and CEO Irv Shapiro said: “Since Todd joined our board, I have been very impressed with his suggestions on how to accelerate our growth. I’m very pleased he is now taking a hands-on leadership position in the company.”

Ifbyphone provides building-block telephone applications to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). These applications allow SMBs to build powerful enterprise-quality solutions that can reduce their costs, improve their sales effectiveness and track their marketing success.

“This is the perfect time to expand the company’s positioning, because at this point in Ifbyphone’s evolution, we are truly revolutionizing what SMBs can do with their phone solutions while delivering ease-of-use that will broaden adoption,” said Curry.

“As one example,” Curry elaborated, “I was talking the other day with the CIO of a mid-sized company and showing him how, with a handful of clicks on our Web site, he could replicate the functionality of his integrated call center—which had originally required $100,000 and months to build. He was incredulous, and his reaction speaks to the capabilities and value that Ifbyphone delivers to midsize companies.”

As another example of Ifbyphone “pushing the envelope in technology leadership,” Curry cited the company’s Google® Analytics integration feature that enables companies to track phone calls as page visits, visible alongside Web-site data in their Google Analytics accounts.

Curry’s operating experience includes leadership roles managing the hotel business at Orbitz, running the e-commerce division of HSBC Retail Services and managing channel marketing programs for Intel. Todd also spent six years with Boston Consulting Group. He has an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Northwestern University. Todd and his family live in the Chicago suburbs.

More information about Ifbyphone’s telephone applications, such as voice broadcasting, IVR, and advanced call routing, is available on the Ifbyphone website.
http://www.gawkwire.com/business/ifbyphone_names_industry_veteran_todd_curry_vice_president_of_ma.html

ASG Develops Their Data Center Relocation Services

2008-12-02T09:41:00-05:00

Denver, CO (Gawkwire.com) Advanced Systems Group (ASG), the Denver-based IT Consulting, Integration, and Project Management firm, today announces the major expansion of its Data Center Relocation Services.

Data center relocations are sometimes required as a result of mergers, acquisitions and disaster recovery requirements. Other times, companies seek data center relocations to consolidate their resources, virtualize their IT environments and reduce, not only their hardware needs, but also limit their power and cooling costs. As a result, data center moves are becoming increasingly more necessary and frequent.

To address this growing demand, ASG moved to expand its data center relocation services, focusing efforts on training technical experts to thoroughly plan for contingencies and potential problems in order to minimize risk and potential issues, while maximizing customers' business uptime.

"Recently, we relocated a data center for a large financial services corporation in Colorado," says Ted Burns, Director of Consulting Sales at ASG. "This corporation originally approached another company that refused to do the relocation, predicting a server failure rate of 70 percent. ASG, however, was able to safely and efficiently relocate the data center -- without a single server failure -- meeting the customer's 100 percent uptime requirement. That's a significant accomplishment for ASG, and we're very proud of that success."

ASG now offers a variety of data center relocation services. All ASG relocation services include proven methodology and detailed documentation to create comprehensive plans to relocate production data centers from one location to another without endangering any data or critical services.

"Planning the move for our legacy data center was complex. There were data dependencies that were not well understood," says Michael Alessi, director of IT at Hydro Gulf of Mexico. "ASG analyzed the entire environment and discovered that our business-critical data assets -- large seismic datasets -- were distributed throughout the storage environment. These critical assets could easily have been corrupted if ASG had not discovered their locations and handled the situation properly during the move."

To feature the recent success with their data center relocation services, ASG is releasing a special promotional video, available at www.virtual.com/dcmoveblues.

ASG has completed numerous successful data center relocations of IBM, HP, Sun, EMC, HDS, Cisco and NetApp environments. In addition to its data center relocation services, ASG also provides complete Information Technology (IT) solutions including comprehensive consulting services, storage and data management solutions, assessments and implementation services. As part of all its services, ASG focuses on customer needs, customizing unique solutions for companies to successfully address their particular IT challenges. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/asg_develops_their_data_center_relocation_services.html

SoftLayer Continues Strong Growth; Rising EBITDA and GAAP Profitability

2008-12-01T13:33:00-05:00

Dallas, TX (Gawkwire.com) SoftLayer Technologies today announced it has maintained strong growth and outperformed all projections throughout 2008. The company provides highly automated, on-demand data center and IT services that allow businesses to more efficiently utilize their resources and decrease their capital expenditures. SoftLayer’s growth continues despite general U.S. economic woes, indicating that the company’s model for providing outsourced IT environments has considerable mainstream market advantages.

“As much as we’ve accomplished this year, we keep moving forward, continuing to innovate and enhance our offerings and provide customers the ultimate virtual data center solutions,” said Lance Crosby, SoftLayer Chief Executive Officer. “In these tough economic times our solutions are more relevant than ever. We will be launching additional virtualization and cloud computing options that give our customers highly scalable, flexible solutions for their business’ computing needs.”

Through October of this year, SoftLayer has reached a number of key milestones, including:
ï‚§   Annual recurring revenue of over $60 million, up from $33 million in 2007
ï‚§   40%+ EBITDA margins and growing
ï‚§   Continued GAAP profitability
ï‚§   More than 5,500 active customers across 110+ countries
ï‚§   More than 18,000 deployed servers
ï‚§   Receiving Tech Titans award for the fastest growing company in Dallas
ï‚§   Pending completion of a SAS-70 Type II review in December 2008

Additionally, SoftLayer has expanded its leadership position this year through significant achievements such as:
ï‚§   Launching version 3.0 of the industry-leading SoftLayer Open API
ï‚§   Completing an end-to-end rewrite of SoftLayer’s Infrastructure Management System (IMS), a proprietary and leading-edge management platform, to provide even more scalability and automation
ï‚§   Deployment of a massively scalable data warehouse to support growth in back office systems and capabilities
ï‚§   Adding a third data center in Washington, D.C.
ï‚§   Expanding its data center facilities in Dallas
ï‚§   Launching new enterprise-class services including:
o   CDNLayer™, SoftLayer’s content delivery network with best-in-industry pricing
o   Anycast DNS, for geographically redundant DNS routing
o   Global load balancing
ï‚§   Launching of virtualization solutions including Microsoft Hyper-V, Parallels Virtuozzo, and Citrix XenServer
ï‚§   Delivering the industry’s first deployment of Intel’s Dunnington chipset: a quad-processor, hex-core platform for high-performance computing environments http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/softlayer_continues_strong_growth_rising_ebitda_and_gaap_profita.html

44 Percent of Americans Feel Guilt over Replying Late to Personal Emails

2008-12-01T12:00:00-05:00

Philadelphia, PA (Gawkwire.com) Over 40 percent of the American public admit to feelings of guilt at failing to keep on top of emails from friends and family, according to a survey conducted by MaCorr Research and released today by GMX, http://www.gmx.com, the free email service for more than 11 million active users. From those surveyed, an alarming 55 percent admitted that they were currently overwhelmed with emails from personal contacts. The survey of over 1000 US consumers(1) also found that Americans are heavily reliant on their free email services, with the average individual using 2 separate personal accounts checking them several times a day.

While email-related stress is normally seen as a workplace problem, the GMX 'Personal Email Matters' study found that an alarming number of Americans are suffering from negative emotions caused by a failure to cope with their personal emails. Over half (55 percent) of people surveyed expressed concern that they could not keep up to date with their personal emails. The results of individuals not keeping up with email include accounts closing, losing contact with friends, missing birthdays and forgetting to pay bills.

Eva Heil, Managing Director, GMX, said, "Our research shows that the pressure to keep on top of personal email is a major cause for concern for a great many Americans, who place a high importance on keeping in touch with friends and family. It is therefore all the more important for providers to make email management as easy and effective as possible." She criticizes that common web clients do not offer similar mod cons to those of office email programs, which could, if providers would invest more into the usability of their products.

The research lends weight to the argument that email related angst is just as prevalent at home as in the workplace. Of the 60 percent surveyed who email as part of their employment, more than half (53
percent) wished that they could keep as up to date with personal email as well as they do with work email.

Furthermore, the public does not appear entirely satisfied with the free email services that they are using. Many consumers find components of their free email service challenging from aspects such as remembering multiple passwords (42 percent) to checking multiple accounts (40 percent). The biggest technical challenge for users of free email services appears to be SPAM, which causes regular stress for 58 percent of us.

By considering a few rules one can easily reduce stress and ensure that personal email remains a pleasure. Below, GMX offers its "Hot 5 Tips"
for angst-free email:

1.   Keep your primary email address exclusive
Only people you trust should know your email address. If you are in doubt, you should use an alternative email address.

2.   Choose a service that can handle all your email accounts in one
place
Some webmail services allow you to collect all your existing accounts or offer multiple email addresses within one account.

3.   Sort emails within folders
Keep your inbox clean. Set up folders for contacts or important topics.
Good services offer filters to sort emails automatically.

4.   Touch an email once
When reading an email either reply immediately or archive it into the right folder. If you want to reply later, set it to unread status to remind yourself to look at it.

5.   Face the issues
If your personal email is causing you stress, then it is time to act!
Tell your friends if you don't want to receive tons of 'funny' email.
Don't use your main email address for competitions or signing up to online services. Consider changing your service if you think yours does not offer what you need - it's likely to be worth the effort.

Heil added, "How we manage our personal emails is as important to
consider as any work email issue.   It pays all around to review whether
your current email platform is working as effectively as you need it
to."

With over 11 million active users, GMX draws on over a decade of free email expertise and is well placed to offer a reliable, secure service.
Besides great looks, great performance and state-of-the-art functionality, GMX.com offers the widest selection of first-choice addresses such as name@gmx.com.

Free email has grown up, find it at GMX. The new free email service can be seen at http://www.gmx.com

(1) 1008 US adults surveyed by MaCorr Research in 2008 via electronic feedback form
http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/44_percent_of_americans_feel_guilt_over_replying_late_to_persona.html

OW2 Consortium Launches its Web Platform in China

2008-12-01T09:20:00-05:00

Paris, France, and Changsha, China, (Gawkwire.com) The OW2 Consortium, an independent industry community dedicated to developing open source middleware today announced the launch of its Chinese web platform.

OW2 members, including leading IT research institutes in China such as Peking University, Academy of Science, Beihang University and National University of Defense Technology have joined their strengths in an effort sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China to further cooperation between China and Europe in the open source middleware technologies. The launch of the OW2 Chinese site marks the first key milestone of this joint effort.

"We are proud to be launching the OW2 Chinese web platform which shows our commitment to develop the open source community in China. Moreover, this platform will be an essential tool in integrating China into the global open source community." say Professor WANG Huaimin, of NUDT and lead of OW2's China Local Chapter.

"Launching the OW2 platform in Chinese is an important milestone in the development of our global community," says OW2 CEO Cedric Thomas, "it will help the OW2 community grow faster in China. We look forward to welcoming more Universities, Software Vendors, Systems Integrators, End-Users and Individual developers in the OW2 community."

The platform will soon provide a mirror of the OW2 code base freely accessible by Chinese developers. Beside allowing Chinese developers to easily download open source middleware, OW2 offers them a fully-fledged infrastructure and a mature governance framework to grow their open source projects in a global community.

The platform is hosted by OW2 Strategic Member CVIC-SE in Changsha and is run by Chinese members of the Management Office, a global team running the day-to-day operations of the Consortium.

OW2 Members participating in the China Local Chapter include world-class universities such as Peking University, Beihang University, Institute of Software-Chinese Academy of Science, National University of Defense Technology, prominent IT companies such as CVIC-SE, TongTech and Intervision and DOCSC an open source community from the north of China. http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/ow2_consortium_launches_its_web_platform_in_china.html

Engine Ready CEO Jamie Smith to Speak at Search Engine Strategies Conference

2008-12-01T09:19:00-05:00

San Diego, CA (Gawkwire.com) Engine Ready CEO, Jamie Smith, noted thought-leader and speaker on search engine marketing strategies, has been invited to speak at the Search Engine Strategies (SES) conference on December 10, 2008. Mr. Smith will be discussing the latest and most effective techniques to measure and evaluate the day-to-day campaign changes marketers make in efforts to maximize their return on their paid search marketing investments.

The SES event, to be held in Chicago, is the only major Search Marketing Conference and Expo in the Midwest, featuring over 60 sessions, multiple keynotes, exhibitors, and networking events. Mr. Smith's presentation, to be held at the Chicago Hilton, will add a new dimension to understanding search marketing performance by digging into advanced web analytics reporting and analysis.

"Gaining a mastery of advanced web analytics gives marketers a clear and competitive advantage in reaching their search marketing goals," reports Mr. Smith. "Web analytics provide the most effective decision support mechanism to search marketers by allowing for high levels of precision in measurement and analysis of their campaign tests."

The presentation titled "Tactical Success Measurement" will be held Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. at Chicago Hilton. For more information, visit http://www.searchenginestrategies.com/chicago/. http://www.gawkwire.com/seo_sem/engine_ready_ceo_jamie_smith_to_speak_at_search_engine_strategie.html

IT Industry Experiences Growth Despite Economy Woes

2008-12-01T09:17:00-05:00

Waltham, MA (Gawkwire.com) While many U.S. job seekers are struggling to find employment, and workers can attest that it's a tough economy to work in, industry experts say that certain sectors - like information technology (IT) -- are experiencing growth and moving along this economic rollercoaster headstrong.

According to the 2009 Robert Half International Salary Guide, information technology (IT) is one of the few bright spots in the job market, and remains relatively low in unemployment ranks (less than 2 percent), which can be attributed to the proliferation of new technology and the need for professionals to support new technological initiatives.

According to an Employment Projections Report for 2006-2016 from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the IT industry is among the top in projected wage and salary employment growth. The report projected computer software engineers would see a 44 percent employment growth; and network systems and data communications analysts would see a 53 percent employment growth.

"Information technology is different from other fields. In today's tough economy, companies want to keep their business both growing and running as cost efficiently as possible - and that means enhancing applications and infrastructure," said Jay Consiglio of New Horizons of Boston, part of the world's largest independent IT training provider. "IT is unique because often times it can help fuel a company's expansion, services and margin enhancement."

Gartner, Inc., an information technology research and advisory company, noted in an October article that "Organizations now view IT as a way to transform their businesses and adopt operating models that are much leaner" and "IT is embedded in running all aspects of the business."

Forrester Research Inc. predicts a 2 -3 percent growth in tech spending this year, followed by an increase of up to 10 percent in 2009.

"As witnessed by these recent reports, companies focused on an approach utilizing information technology are a significant component in many markets, and IT departments within these businesses are at the core of their operation," Consiglio said. "New Horizons contributes to the growing productivity of IT with its integrated learning methodology used to train technology solutions to businesses and individuals in the local community and around the world."

New Horizons delivers a range of technical training, application and business skills training, ranging from basic application and desktop productivity tools like Microsoft Office to complex and integrated business systems, such as Cisco, information security, ITIL and virtualization.

"We regularly hear testimonials about how people are accomplishing more than just learning the latest technologies at New Horizons of Boston," Consiglio said. "It is true that our customers' success is accomplished through training, but the foundation of New Horizons is based on inspiring students, and companies, to become more productive and successful in their daily activities. Knowledge transfer is enhanced by engaging the learner in real work - real life situations. Confidence comes from learning, knowing and applying."
http://www.gawkwire.com/business/it_industry_experiences_growth_despite_economy_woes.html

WebmasterRadio.FM Presents, The ABCSearch Town Hall Meeting December 1st.

2008-12-01T09:15:00-05:00

Fort Lauderdale, FL (Gawkwire.com) WebmasterRadio.FM, the premier free, 24/7 Internet business radio network focused on the B2B marketplace announces the live broadcast of The ABCSearch.com Town Hall Meeting, on Monday, December 1 at 5 p.m. Eastern.

Daron Babin and Jim Hedger host this Town Hall Meeting and are joined by Danny Yomotobian, President and Founder of ABCSearch, along with Director of Marketing Simon Chernin plus the President of Brick Marketing, Nick Stamoulis.

ABCSearch, is the largest privately held pay-per-click (PPC) search engine and a world leader in online cost-per-click (CPC) advertising. This radio program discusses the Top 10 Things to look for in a New or Current PPC Provider, plus we learn about an extensive case study on ABCSearch conducted with Brick Marketing.

The ABCSearch Town Hall Meeting will be available for podcast, mobilecast and archived format at www.WebmasterRadio.FM following the broadcast. http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/webmasterradio_fm_presents_the_abcsearch_town_hall_meeting_decem.html