Yearly Archives: 2011

369 posts

Mikogo Offers Free Online Meeting Alternative

Business

The free online meeting provider used in over 200 countries, Mikogo, is welcoming all Dimdim customers to its service as the new source for free and reliable online meetings. The sudden news came yesterday that Dimdim has been acquired by Salesforce.com and that subscriptions to the online meeting service will end, some as early as March 15 this year. Thousands of businesses will be looking for an online meeting alternative, and Mikogo believes that it has the right service to meet those needs.

Dimdim always promoted the use of their service for free, and the news that its service will end could lead customers to highly-priced web meeting providers. This has led Mikogo to speak up and welcome Dimdim customers to its free online meeting service.

Since 2007, Mikogo has been making a strong name for itself in the world of online collaboration. There are now over half-a-million registered Mikogo users who participate in millions of free desktop sharing sessions each year for online meetings, web presentations and remote support. With such experience in providing its web collaboration solution to the Mikogo user base, Dimdim users will be welcomed and presented with an easy-to-use solution for their upcoming meetings.

“Our compatriots at Dimdim did a fantastic job at promoting the use of free online meetings compared to paying the larger web collaboration corporations, such as WebEx™ and GoToMeeting™, for their services,” says Mark Zondler, Mikogo’s Managing Director and Co-Founder. “But they have been presented with a great offer by Salesforce.com, so it’s no surprise that they have accepted and gone down this path. However we know that users of online meeting software become very dependent upon such a service for their daily work. Hence we would like to welcome all Dimdim users to use Mikogo, and can assure them a high-quality and reliable service for their online meetings.”

In fact, Dimdim users are already talking about Mikogo. David Riecks from Illinois wrote on Twitter: “Good thing I found @Mikogo yesterday, as I just got a note that Dimdim.com has been acquired by Salesforce.com and free accounts close March 15!”

More info about Mikogo is available at www.mikogo.com

Office of Fair Trading (OFT) Crackdown on Twitter Business Users

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has begun a crackdown on Twitter users and bloggers using their online presence to endorse products and companies without clearly stating their relationship with the brand, reports the Guardian.

The OFT has brought a case against a PR firm that was discovered to be paying bloggers to write effusively about its clients. The watchdog has launched an investigation into Handpicked Media, which operates a commercial blogging network – insisting that it must clearly state when promotional comments have been paid for.

In a statement, the OFT said online advertising and marketing that did not disclose paid-for promotions were “deceptive” under fair trading rules. “This includes comments about services and products on blogs and microblogs such as Twitter,” it said.

Full Story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jan/09/oft-clampdown-covert-twitter-endorsements

Google Apps Customers Get DKIM

Internet

Google have introduced DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) for their Apps customers to help curb spam.

“Today, we mark another notch in the spam-fighting belt: we’re making it possible for all Google Apps customers to sign their outgoing messages with DKIM, so their sent mail is less likely to get caught up in recipients’ spam filters. Google Apps is the first major email platform – including on-premises providers – to offer simple DKIM signing at no extra cost. Once again, the power of the cloud has made it possible for us to bring this feature to millions of customers quickly and affordably.”

Google Apps administrators can enable DKIM signing in the “Advanced Tools” tab of the control panel.

More on Google blog at: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2011/01/spam-takes-another-hit-email.html

Salesforce.com Acquires Dimdim From Dow Jones

Business

Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM) announced it acquired messaging and screen-sharing company Dimdim for about $31 million as the software company looks to build on the rapid adoption of Chatter, its new business-collaboration software.

“It’s all about Chatter” Chief Executive Marc Benioff said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires. “We want more collaboration services than ever before in Chatter” for things like instant messaging and online meetings. Salesforce did not have the in-house expertise to build those services, he added.

The move comes amid ongoing consolidation in the software industry. Last month, Salesforce said it would acquire the Heroku cloud platform for $212 million, a move it hopes will give it a leading position in programming tools for applications residing on the Internet.

Features from Dimdim will be integrated into the next major version of Chatter, Benioff said. That new version will either be announced or rolled out in August at the company’s annual customer meeting, he said.

The San Francisco-based company launched Chatter in June, offering features reminiscent of Facebook and Twitter for corporate collaboration. Chatter is Salesforce’s first product marketed through a company, rather than just to the sales or customer service departments that are the company’s traditional customer targets.

Today, about three-quarters of the companies that are Salesforce customers use Chatter, the company has said.

“Facebook has fundamentally changed the way we communicate in our personal lives” Benioff said in a statement. “The acquisition of Dimdim will help Salesforce.com deliver to the enterprise the same integrated collaboration and communication experience that made Facebook the world’s most popular Internet site”

The company expects the Dimdim deal to reduce its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings by a penny and its earnings for fiscal 2012 by 4 cents to 5 cents. The deal won’t materially affect revenue in either period.

“We bought it for a relatively low cost” Benioff said in the interview. “We’re buying it primarily for the technology”

Dimdim was founded in 2007 and has offices in Lowell, Mass. and Hyderabad, India. Its platforms let users host or attend live online meetings, demos and webinars using a web browser.

Skype To Acquire Qik

Internet

Skype has announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Qik, a provider of mobile video software and services that enable individuals to capture, instantly share and preserve great moments on video from anywhere. Qik has 60 employees, and is headquartered in Redwood City, California and has an office in Moscow, Russia. The transaction is expected to close in January 2011. Terms of the acquisition will not be disclosed.

Qik was founded in 2006 and offers innovative and flexible solutions to capture and share video with anyone across mobile devices, the web, and desktop platforms. Videos can be shared in real time or stored so moments can be viewed later, allowing for video messaging, sharing and archiving. The Qik service is available on over 200 mobile phones across the Android, iPhone, Symbian, Blackberry and Windows Mobile platforms, and comes pre-loaded on a wide variety of mobile handsets through partnerships with leading handset manufacturers and carriers.

Both Skype and Qik have a common purpose of enriching communications and sharing with video, across any device. The acquisition of Qik helps accelerate Skype’s leadership in video by adding recording, sharing and storing capabilities to Skype’s product portfolio. Through this acquisition, Skype will also be able to leverage the engineering expertise that is behind Qik’s Smart Streaming™ technology, which optimizes video transmission over wireless networks.

www.skype.com

Twitter for Mac Launched on Mac App Store

Internet

Twitter for Mac has launched today as part of the Mac App Store.

This app gives Twitter users another fast and convenient way to stay connected to what they care about the most. Tweets appear in real-time (using our streaming API), and the app auto-shortens URLs and has lots of useful keyboard shortcuts.

The app is also three times faster than its original version that was previously called Tweetie for Mac. Tweetie for Mac was a desktop client that was originally created by atebits developer Loren Brichter prior to our acquisition of atebits last April. Twitter for Mac is a new version updated by Loren and team during Twitter’s first Hack Week in October.

More: http://blog.twitter.com/2011/01/twitter-for-mac.html

RIM Shows BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet at CES

Technology

Research In Motion will preview the upcoming, highly-anticipated BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) from Thursday, January 6 to Sunday, January 9. Attendees can visit the BlackBerry booth (#30320 in the South Hall) to check out the powerful new tablet in action.

With industry leading performance, uncompromised web browsing, true multitasking, HD multimedia, advanced security features, out-of-the-box enterprise support and a robust development platform, the BlackBerry PlayBook is the world’s first professional-grade tablet.

“Initial feedback about the BlackBerry PlayBook has been outstanding,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “Our strategic decision to invest in groundbreaking performance, web fidelity and an open web-based development environment is resonating extremely well with customers and developers.”

Free BlackBerry PlayBook Offer
The BlackBerry developer community has already begun developing and submitting applications for the BlackBerry PlayBook. Registered developers who submit a qualifying BlackBerry PlayBook app that is accepted into BlackBerry App World™ prior to the initial product launch in North America will receive a free BlackBerry PlayBook, subject to certain terms and conditions. Although developers are encouraged to submit multiple apps, there is a limit of one free BlackBerry PlayBook per registered developer in BlackBerry App World. For additional information on the offer, including the Terms and Conditions, visit www.blackberry.com/developers/blackberryplaybookoffer.

BlackBerry PlayBook specifications

* 7″ 1024×600 WSVGA capacitive LCD touch screen
* Ultra-portable at less than a pound and less than one-half inch thick: 0.9 lbs (400g) and 5.1” x 7.6” x 0.4” (130mm x 194mm x 10mm)
* 1 GHz dual-core processor
* BlackBerry® Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
* MP3, AAC and WMA audio playback
* Support for 1080p HD video playback (H.264, MPEG4, WMV)
* HDMI out
* Dual HD cameras for video conferencing and video capture
* 1 GB RAM memory
* Up to 64 GB internal storage (16, 32 and 64 GB models)
* Wi-Fi® (802.11 a/b/g/n) connectivity
* Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR support

Denon and Marantz AirPlay Update Released

Technology

Denon Electronics, a premier manufacturer of high-quality home entertainment components celebrating 100 years of innovation and technology leadership, and Marantz America, a world leader of advanced home entertainment solutions, are proud to announce the availability of AirPlay music streaming capability on nine network-capable audio/video components in their respective lineups, making the A/V receivers the world’s first to include AirPlay capability. Given the availability of the newly launched Apple iOS 4.2 update to its mobile operating system, owners of AirPlay compatible Denon and Marantz components may now stream songs directly from their iTunes music libraries, as well as music stored on their mobile devices, though their Wi-Fi enabled networks from their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch devices.* The AirPlay upgrade is available at both the Denon and Marantz websites for $49.99.

Denon® A/V receivers that are AirPlay capable include the AVR-4311CI (SRP: $1,999), AVR-3311CI (SRP: $1,199) and AVR-991 (SRP: $999), as well as the company’s new 100th Anniversary Product Collection Model AVR-A100 (SRP: $2,499) and its N7 Networked CD Receiver and 2.0 Channel Speaker System, consisting of the new RCD-N7 CD Receiver (SRP: $599) and SC-N7 Stereo Loudspeakers (SRP: $199/pair). In addition, all of the new, IP-based Marantz® products, including the Model SR7005 A/V Receiver (SRP: $1,599), AV7005 A/V Preamplifier (SRP: $1,499), NA7004 Network Audio Player (SRP: $799) and M-CR603 Networked CD Receiver (SRP: $699) will work with the new AirPlay feature.

Unleash Your iTunes Library and “Give Your Home a Soundtrack!”
With AirPlay, users can literally “give their home a soundtrack” by unleashing their iTunes music libraries whether from Mac or PC and streaming all their favorite iTunes songs, as well as music stored on their Apple mobile devices, to select Denon and Marantz components through their Wi-Fi enabled networks from iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch devices. Users do not even need to be in the same room as their Denon or Marantz components to play, pause, skip, and stop the songs in their iTunes libraries. Users may even view iTunes music information, including album art, track titles, and artist info on Apple compatible devices or with their Denon and Marantz components with video output.

Noted Bob Weissburg, President of D&M Holdings NA: “Denon and Marantz both share a commitment to providing consumers with the most advanced lifestyle enhancing features and capabilities that allow them to get closer to the entertainment they love – simply and easily. Maximum compatibility with all of today’s home entertainment content and source components is a top priority, including the iPod and iPhone, and now AirPlay capability. AirPlay adds yet another great dimension to content enjoyment and enhances the overall home entertainment experience. This is yet another example of how both the Denon and Marantz brands utilize ahead-of-the-curve innovations and technologies to take home entertainment to the next level.”

For more information on Denon, visit http://usa.denon.com. For Denon 100th Anniversary and other news, visit http://www.denon100.com and http://usblog.denon.com. Become a fan of Denon on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/denonusa or follow Denon on Twitter at http://twitter.com/denonus.

For more information on Marantz, visit http://us.marantz.com. Become a fan of Marantz on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/marantzamerica or follow Marantz on Twitter at http://twitter.com/marantzamerica.

*A home Wi-Fi network, connected computer and iTunes account are required to configure the streaming feature.

Drupal 7.0 Available

Internet

Drupal 7.0 is now available with lots of new features.

Announcing the launch, Drupal said, “We are proud to present to you our best work yet – Drupal 7, the friendly and powerful content management platform for building nearly any kind of website: from blogs and micro-sites to collaborative social communities.”

Mashable recently named Drupal one of the 10 websites to watch in 2011, in large part because of the improvements promised by Drupal 7. The CMS already powers approximately 1% of all the websites in world and we expect to see that figure only increase. More info: http://drupal.org/drupal-7.0

Drupal 7 Marketing Video from Lullabot on Vimeo.