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Welcome badgerfan92! If I might inquire,
how did you stumble upon this humble board, knowing we'd be interested in data theft?
Lucky you! or us!!
FM
tony, weby, of course dig is right!! e/
TCG at CTIA
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060828005....
Role of Standardized Mobile Security to Be Addressed at CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2006; Iain Gillott of iGR to Keynote; Joins Speakers from Leading Mobile Industry Groups and Companies
CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2006
Room 408A
PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 28, 2006--The Trusted Computing Group (TCG)'s Mobile Phone Work Group, whose members include Vodafone, Nokia, Freescale and other leading mobile companies, will host a free educational security seminar in conjunction with the CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2006, Sept. 12-14 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles.
The seminar, "Security and Mobile Devices: An Industry Perspective" will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m., in Room 408A of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Mobile industry experts from groups including Liberty Alliance, OASIS and TCG, and companies including Aruba Networks, Freescale Semiconductor Inc., Novell, Nokia, Symantec and Vodafone will discuss the role of industry standards and specifications, as well as steps to make data and transactions safer. These companies are part of the TCG's Mobile Phone Work Group, which is developing specifications for mobile security in device hardware and relevant software layers.
The keynote, "Mobilizing Security: An Industry Perspective" by Iain Gillott, president of iGR, will include Gillott's high-level perspective on mobile technology, security issues, standards, and applications.
Gillott is the founder of iGR (formerly iGillottResearch Inc.) and is known as one of the wireless industry's leading analysts. An acknowledged wireless and mobile industry authority, Gillott has addressed audiences at many of the leading industry conferences. Before founding iGR, Gillott was a group vice president in IDC's Telecommunications practice. In addition, he is frequently quoted in various publications including Wired, Investors Business Daily, The Wall Street Journal, Telephony, Computerworld, NetworkWorld, eWeek, Newsweek International, RCR, Wireless Week, Business Week, and Communications Week. Gillott has a Bachelor of Science degree in computer systems engineering from the University College of North Wales, Bangor, Wales, with a concentration in hardware and software design.
For more information about CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2006, please visit www.wirelessit.com.
About TCG
The Trusted Computing Group (TCG) is a not-for-profit organization formed to develop, define, and promote open standards for hardware-enabled trusted computing and security technologies, including hardware building blocks and software interfaces, across multiple platforms, peripherals, and devices. TCG specifications will enable more secure computing environments without compromising functional integrity, privacy, or individual rights. The primary goal is to help users protect their information assets (data, passwords, keys, etc.) from compromise due to external software attack and physical theft.
Last year, the group's Mobile Phone Work Group released use cases for mobile phone security, and this fall it will announce an open specification for security. More information and the organization's other specifications are available at the Trusted Computing Group's Web site, www.trustedcomputinggroup.org.
Brands and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Great new TCG Mention
http://www.networkworld.com/cgi-bin/mailto/x.cgi
The NAC train is leaving the station
Bottom Line By Joel Snyder, Network World, 08/28/06
Recently I spent a week with the InteropLabs team preparing a network access control interoperability demonstration for Interop New York, to be held Sept. 18-22. Although we wanted to update things from our initial round of testing conducted in the spring, our general objective was to replicate what we had done for Interop Las Vegas in May and not reengineer everything. Despite this modest goal we had almost 30 people, including our team and vendor engineers, working on the labs - more than we had for the Las Vegas show. This proves that NAC has become one of the hottest technologies of the year. I learned three main things from this latest round of testing:
The Trusted Computing Group (TCG) team is quickly getting its act together. Everyone wants to play with NAC powerhouses Cisco and Microsoft, but the lure of open protocols and industry standards is strong. TCG's work on NAC is ongoing, with most of the protocols defined. Still, compared with Cisco's more mature framework, we had no problem getting enthusiastic support to build a full TCG-based solution.
In some ways, TCG has a substantial advantage in terms of the number of products being developed in accordance with its specs. For example, we had two TCG policy servers, one from Juniper and an open source one. Meanwhile, Cisco is struggling with a patched-up policy server badly in need of a redesign, and Microsoft won't release Longhorn until next year.
Cisco has an amazingly broad solution and great industry support. When most people talk about NAC, they end up tongue-tied when it comes to the details. That's not good enough for a complete and successful deployment. Having a framework is nice, but having answers for all the details is critical. Cisco has those answers, either from its own portfolio or from a broad set of supporting partners.
Cisco's extensive enterprise experience should not be underestimated. Cisco is the big cheese of the LAN world and knows enough to cross NAC borders when the opportunity arises. For example, we were able to use the Cisco Clean Access appliance as part of the TCG demonstration, to fill in gaps in the TCG architecture.
Microsoft is marshalling its forces. For a product that won't ship for at least six months, we had an astonishing number of vendors gathered around the Microsoft table trying to make the Vista/Longhorn-based NAC solution work with their own products. This included hardware from Aruba Wireless Networks, Avaya, Cisco, Enterasys, Extreme Networks, HP and Nortel, along with software from Lockdown, Microsoft and Trend Micro. This tells me that when Microsoft does release Longhorn, it's going to be strong out of the gate with solutions and partners already in tow.
Even after spending all this time and energy taking in all three NAC schemes, I hope Microsoft, Cisco and TCG can come together on a single solution. In the long run, that would be better for everyone.
Hey zen, I wondered, too
white sox, red sox, then I settled on orthopaedic sox...
lol
FM
1260, its also on the Dow Jones newswire
as of 2:00 Pacific time......... just as ramsy predicted.
FM
Okay Wave Board Members
This must be birthday week!!
Let's all give a warm iHub welcome to snakeboy and soxrule !!
Watch closely for their posts as I'm sure, as the newest members, they're gonna be eager DD contributors!!
Stinkey sox: You guys sure like to dream. Same song and dance.
Snakey's gem: granted with the way they twisted the numbers for last quarter one might think they nearly had a million dollar quarter but that was just smoke and mirrors & leaves them at a disadvantage for reporting the next quarters revenues.
tommy, yep, but my point is
that they'll be at their conference next month. You'll see them listed under the tech sector.
FM
New conference, new audience:
http://www.merrimanco.com/mcf-my.place.internet/mcf-conference/investor_summit_2006/01.tables.php
Merriman Curhan Ford: http://www.merrimanco.com
barge, I'm revisiting MBA thesis
on Modern Portfolio Theory .......... you'll need $1000 per share?
excepting splits !!!!!!!!!!!
Snacks, what is unbelievable to me,
as I ponder the 250% increase in revenue, is that we're still only at the bottom of the first inning. This is promising to be a long, fun game.
SKS has been planting flags for only a couple years; there's still a lot of real estate to conquer, especially the Asian and whitebox markets. All of which will undoubtedly use biometrics, scanners, smart cards, encrypting drives, or some combination thereof.
Then comes the mobile space. Then come the trusted devices.
The entire world is DIGITIZING and about to enter the digital highway and, like the Italian police with their pressed uniforms that take your lira at the autostrada, Wave is the gatekeeper. Heck, SKS referenced a la mode where we get paid by the signature. Talk about micro transactions.
But I am really excited about the later innings where, after TPMs are ubiquitous, Wave will have achieved Digital Distribution Dominance.
I think one day the world will wake up and realize SKS was a pretty clever guy.
Wavxmaster, the FDE.2 is here!:
http://www.seagate.com/docs/pdf/marketing/po_momentus_5400_fde_bb.pdf
On August 7th, Wave is
at the SRA Summer Tech Conference. I'm thinking this will be an important update to the Rodman-Renshaw and Dutton audiences addressed in the very recent past. SRA is their placement agent so I would anticipate some positive news (in the days leading up to their presentation) along the lines of revenue, licensing, pilots, stock split, etc.
At any rate, the call will be webcast:
http://www.sracap.com/aug06-event.html
fm
Security in Silicon
http://enterpriseapps.itbusinessnet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=39225
The next generation of CPUs may include virtualization and other security capabilities.
"For the first time," said Fred Weber, former CIO of AMD Corporation and considered the father of the Opteron chip set, "Security is a major focus in the computer industry -- and not just in a niche community." More importantly, Weber added, work is underway from the major players in the computer industry to cooperate on how to bring security into the computer -- not just into the network.
Weber was keynoting the first "International Swarm Intelligence & Other Forms of Malware Workshop," held in conjunction with the IEEE International Performance Computing and Communications Conference, held this week in Mesa, Arizona. In his presentation, he covered the efforts of the Trusted Computing Group and its efforts to improve the security of CPUs -- and thus of the applications you build and run. He's optimistic... mostly.
The Trusted Computing Group is a nonprofit organization which has the active participation of most of the hardware and software companies you know, including AMD, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Infineon, IBM, Microsoft, and Sun. You might scoff: Microsoft? Weber insists that Microsoft has spent the last few years truly pushing on security matters; according to Weber, the company has made it a major focus and commitment, and security was a major hurdle in Microsoft's development of a 64-bit operating system.
All the stars are aligning for virtualization, says Weber, which can bring many good things to enterprises. Virtualization lets a single computer run many operating systems or many versions of a single operating system. Its major business appeal is server consolidation, since it's common to have several single-application servers, each running at 20% efficiency; yet, those applications can't all be installed on a single computer because of the application's OS or version requirements or even accounting needs. Plus, pointed out Weber, too much software runs at the most privileged protection level -- often because the software developer needs more than basic permissions, even if the application shouldn't be run at the most trusted levels.
Currently, virtualization is done in software, using tools like VMWare, Xen, or Microsoft Virtual Server, but you'll soon see that functionality built into the chip set. A new protection level will be provided below Ring 0, and instruction intercepts will be provided, along with machine-specific registers and ten protection vectors. The new chip-sets will have another level of virtual memory, says Weber, with security features that include shadow page tables and recursive page table walks.
Security-specific hardware is coming along very quickly, In the next few years you'll see silicon that includes the "read/no-execute" capability (which Weber says was "a small but important fix" that killed a lot of attacks). Multi-factor authentication, such as fingerprint IDs and Fobs, are becoming commonplace, but Weber says, "it's one of the smallest problems in security these days." Though, of course, you have to plug all holes. Additional coming-soon hardware support will include protected input (i.e. encryption) to prevent keystroke-grabbing attacks, and protected output (relevant more for movies and digital rights management than for password gathering).
Will that be enough? All the hardware community can do is create solutions, said Weber, and "hope the software community doesn't misuse them." Even when the CPUs support advanced security features, software is a problem, Weber says, "Because tens and hundreds of millions of lines of code don't change quickly." Secure input needs drivers and connections to applications. Realistically, claims Weber, the security capabilities have to be exploited from the operating system up, with a "trusted hypervisor" -- and it will be the end of the decade before that happens.
Among the biggest problems in adding these features, admits Weber, is that "Security is a performance disaster." For example, three months of work went into designing how an automatic memory clear should work in hardware, a longed-for capability in the security community... but the downside is that computer boot time is slowed down significantly.
Overall, however, building security into the hardware is a good thing, Weber jested, "Because we [designers] are running out of things to do. After all, how much faster can a spreadsheet go?"
Security Fears Prompt Tech Co Mergers
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--EMC Corp.'s (EMC) pricey acquisition of RSA Security
Inc. (RSAS) is evidence that the anxiety induced by a barrage of recent
high-profile data-security breaches is driving a major shift in the technology
industry - one not fully appreciated by Wall Street.
Breach-notification laws now in force in some 23 states have spawned a
steady stream of disturbing news reports over the last two years about hacker
break-ins, inside jobs, and lost laptops and backup tapes exposing reams of
sensitive information about companies and consumers alike. Since the watershed
ChoicePoint Inc. (CPS) case of February 2005, when information about 145,000
customers may have been handed over to thieves, organizations have revealed
that some 89 million consumer records may have been exposed in 236 incidents,
according to a tally by the advocacy group Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
Fears of embarrassing break-ins, as well as increasing pressure for better
security from government regulators and business partners, are pushing
organizations to beef up their computer defenses and creating demand for
better data-security tools. And that demand appears to be driving a new wave
of information-industry consolidation, as large providers of data storage and
backup systems seek ways to bring security functions into their offerings.
On June 29, storage giant EMC said it would pay about $2.3 billion to
acquire RSA Security. EMC Chief Executive Joe Tucci said gaining RSA's
technologies for encrypting data and ensuring only authorized people can
access sensitive information was vital to EMC's future success in the
marketplace. Such tools, Tucci said, would allow EMC to respond to customer
demand that it transform itself from "the place where information lives" to
the place where it "lives securely."
EMC's stock fell 8.5% on the news, hitting a 52-week low of $10.11 on June
30, as some investors questioned the deal's strategic rationale and its high
price tag. The stock has recovered somewhat, trading recently at $10.50.
Shares were trading at $11.25 before the acquisition announcement.
EMC's deal with RSA, however, seemed to validate another large acquisition
that was considerably more unpopular on Wall Street: Symantec Corp.'s (SYMC)
giant $10.25 billion purchase of Veritas Software a year ago. Symantec said
the ambitious merger would allow it to better meet customers' needs with
systems that combined its security prowess with Veritas' data-backup and
storage strengths. Symantec's stock, which was trading recently at $14.90, has
fallen about 50% since the plan to buy Veritas came to light in December 2004,
as investors debated the deal's strategic wisdom and fretted about a big,
risky integration.
But when it comes to assessing strategy, "Wall Street is a step behind,"
says Jerry Silva, an analyst at research firm Tower Group, which advises
financial-services companies on technology matters. "If you're an operations
person at an institution [that buys information products], you understand
where those mergers are coming from," he says. "There is this connection
between data and security we haven't sorted out yet, but the connection is
there."
At the heart of the matter are new challenges posed by the boom in digital
data, Internet use and mobile devices at corporations and among consumers made
possible by the remarkable technological advances of the last decade. Because
these data are so valuable and reside on networks that can be - and are -
compromised by hackers and unscrupulous employees, a sizable criminal
enterprise has also sprung up. Corporate technology professionals, who must
now do battle daily with cyber thieves, are growing increasingly frustrated
with costly - and complex - bolted-on security products. They are crying out
for simpler defenses that are built in to their information infrastructures.
Technology companies have rushed to respond. The same forces behind the
EMC-RSA and Symantec-Veritas mergers also pushed Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) into
the security arena. And they led network-equipment makers like Cisco Systems
Inc. (CSCO) and Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) to acquire security technologies
they could integrate into network infrastructures. Even personal-computer
makers have been adding fingerprint readers and other security technologies to
their machines.
"As an industry, we've never been able to respond to a threat as quickly,"
says Silva of Towers Group.
The rush to meld storage and security is music to the ears of John Halamka,
chief information officer of Boston-based CareGroup Healthcare System and a
large EMC customer.
His 300-person staff is responsible for a system that supports 3,000 doctors
and 9,000 other employees in eastern Massachusetts and holds and protects nine
million medical records. Today's technology means that decisions about who can
see what data are enforced by software applications. Since CareGroup runs 146
critical applications, that means it has 146 different security systems.
"Imagine if it was only one [security system], sitting in the storage,"
Halamka says. Not only would security be less of a headache, but adherence to
security policies would be easier and protection could happen closer to the
data itself, where it is more effective, he says.
EMC and RSA want to make this vision a reality. They plan to build in access
controls that will secure sensitive data, whether the information is in motion
or at rest in storage systems. EMC and RSA are already developing a common
security platform for their products, says Dennis Hoffman, EMC's vice
president for information security.
Down the road, the combined company also hopes to leverage RSA's growth
engine - its newer business, based on its Cyota acquisition, of helping
companies authenticate consumer users and detect fraudulent activity - into a
full-fledged consumer business, RSA Chief Executive Art Coviello says. "There
will be lots and lots of data that will accumulate on people's computers," he
explains. "Protecting access to that information will become an important part
of our long-term strategy."
EMC and RSA will likely tussle with Symantec in the race for this converging
market. Since the "Code Red" worm outbreak shook the security industry in
2003, Symantec has been pursuing a vision that information security, backup,
storage and management must all go hand in hand.
Symantec declined to comment on its acquisition plans or whether it bid for
RSA. But Symantec, which has steadily made acquisitions to fulfill its vision,
may well try to buy an RSA competitor.
Symantec "has to realize that if they're backing up data that's not
encrypted, the customer still has an area of exposure we'd like to get rid
of," says Robert Graham, chief information officer at Farmers and Merchants
Bank of Long Beach, Calif., a Symantec customer who has been a fan of its
merger with Veritas. "If you look at the future and where everything's
going, these things make sense to combine together," Graham said.
RMN
this broadcast was, I think, originally for institutions. There is no-soft-sell quality about the interview and this is exactly how SKS envisions the VERY-NEAR-TERM-FUTURE. Despite all the dire warnings of "jtf-lose-it-all cabal" (which, btw, has been going on for how long now?), trusted computing is happening.
May I predict: the government is a juggernaut that will catapault trusted computing by early next year.
FM
retiremenow...........
How about "we'll be the largest supplier of biometric software to Dell"?
What did you think about "the hot list of $5 to $6 million worth of deals" that could close this year?
Oh, and did he say (when speaking about DoD procurement) that the air force alone has 530,000 laptops and are aware of the procurement specs?
ahhhh, if not for that nasty, little, NASDAQ thingey
FM
Today I listened to what was probably
the best conference call featuring sks that I've ever heard (the Q&A was lame). Here's the link. The call is about 15-20 minutes long and I would encourage anybody to listen:
http://jmdutton.com/ConfCall_062206/
Meanwhile, it is business as usual (alphabetical, scroll down):
http://www.voip-magazine.com/content/view/3683/20060616005060/
Rodman & Renshaw 3rd Annual Security, Biodefense & Connectivity Conference Presenter Profiles
Friday, 16 June 2006
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 16, 2006--The Rodman & Renshaw 3rd Annual Security, Biodefense & Connectivity Conference takes place at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City on June 19th, 2006. For in-depth information about the event visit http://www.rodmanandrenshaw.com/security2006. Below are profiles from Rodman & Renshaw 3rd Annual Security, Biodefense & Connectivity Conference presenters.
Business Wire is the official news wire for Rodman & Renshaw 3rd Annual Security, Biodefense & Connectivity Conference. Breaking news releases and photos are available at http://www.tradeshownews.com, Business Wire's trade show, conference, and event news resource.
Company: Bharosa
Investor Relations Contact: Danielle Cole
Investor Relations Contact Phone: 415 505 9273
Web: www.bharosa.com
Date of Presentation: June 19, 2006; 10am
Bharosa is a complete multifactor authentication and active fraud
detection online security solution for the enterprise. Bharosa's
Tracker and Authenticator products form the organization's most
powerful weapon in the fight against online identity theft.
Bharosa Tracker works behind the scenes to verify a host of
factors used to confirm a user's identity, including computer,
location and online behavior. Tracker scores risk through a unique and
proprietary "gated" security method and responds to risk in real time
by increasing online security. Tracker offers strong asset and
transaction authentication security that can be implemented without
any change to the online experience.
Bharosa Authenticator protects sensitive password credentials data
from Phishing, Trojans and Proxy-Based Fraud.
Company: BIO-key International
Ticker Symbol & Exchange: BKYI.OB
Investor Relations Contact: Bud Yanak
Investor Relations Contact Phone: 732-359-1113
Web: http://www.bio-key.com
Date of Presentation: Monday: June 19,2006
BIO-key develops and delivers advanced identification solutions
and information services to law enforcement departments, public safety
agencies, government and private sector customers. BIO-key's
high-performance, scalable, cost-effective and easy-to-deploy
biometric finger identification technology accurately identifies and
authenticates users of wireless and enterprise data to improve
security, convenience and privacy and to reduce identity theft.
BIO-key's mobile wireless technology provides first responders with
critical, reliable, real-time data and images from local, state and
national databases. Over 2,500 police, fire and emergency services
departments in North America use BIO-key solutions, making BIO-key the
leading supplier of mobile, wireless solutions for public safety
worldwide.
Company: CombiMatrix Corporation
Ticker Symbol & Exchange: NASDAQ: CBMX
Investor Relations Contact: Bret Undem
Investor Relations Contact Phone: 425.493.2293
Web: www.combimatrix.com
CombiMatrix Corporation is a biotechnology company headquartered
near Seattle, Washington, USA, with a subsidiary, CombiMatrix
Molecular Diagnostics, headquartered in Irvine, California.
CombiMatrix's patented electrochemical manufacturing process utilizes
standard semiconductor technology, proprietary software, and chemistry
to build arrays of materials -- molecule by molecule. The company's
CustomArray(TM) products are DNA microarrays, which have uses in
pharmaceutical, biotech, and agrochemical industries as well as in
research and government markets. The company also uses its technology
in synergistic internal programs for diagnostics development, drug
development, and biodefense in addition to partnerships for
nanomaterials development.
Company: deltathree, Inc.
Ticker Symbol & Exchange: DDDC NASDAQ
Investor Relations Contact: Erik Knettel
Investor Relations Contact Phone: 1-646-284-9415
Web: www.deltathree.com
Date of Presentation: June 19th 2006
Founded in 1996, deltathree is a leading provider of integrated
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony services, products,
hosted solutions, and infrastructure. deltathree offers customers high
quality Internet telephony solutions that are viable and
cost-effective alternatives to traditional telephone services.
Supporting hundreds of thousands of active users around the world,
deltathree serves customers through its two primary distribution
channels: the Service Provider / Reseller channel and the iConnectHere
direct-to-consumer channel. deltathree offers a broad suite of private
label VoIP products and services as well as a back-office platform for
service providers, resellers, and corporate customers.
Company: ForeScout Technologies
Investor Relations Contact: Ray Wizbowski
Investor Relations Contact Phone: 408-213-3195
Web: www.forescout.com
Date of Presentation: June 19, 2006
ForeScout's clientless network access control (NAC) solutions
enable customers to gain complete control over network security
without disrupting end-user productivity. ForeScout's CounterACT,
combines NAC and signature-less intrusion prevention in a single
network appliance that interrogates and controls access of every
device and seamlessly integrates with any existing IT infrastructure.
ForeScout's NAC is completely transparent and enables enterprises to
tailor enforcement to match the level of policy violations,
eliminating disruptions during device interrogation. Today, Fortune
1000 corporations and government agencies have deployed ForeScout
appliances globally to control access to their networks and resources,
defend against hackers and self-propagating malware, and ensure
business continuity.
Company: Global ePoint, Inc.
Ticker Symbol & Exchange: GEPT
Investor Relations Contact: John Price
Investor Relations Contact Phone: (909)839-1700
Web: www.globalepoint.com
Date of Presentation: June 19, 2006
Global ePoint, Inc. (GEPT) designs, develops and manufactures
digital video security surveillance solutions for the aviation,
government, law enforcement, retail, transportation and homeland
security markets. On the cutting edge of digital technology, GEPT is
leveraging new compression technologies and IT network applications to
develop next generation secured network digital surveillance systems.
GEPT operates through three business divisions: Digital Technology
Division, Aviation Division and Contract Manufacturing Division.
Company: GlobalOptions Group, Inc.
Ticker Symbol & Exchange: OTCBB: GLOI
Investor Relations Contact: David K. Waldman
Investor Relations Contact Phone: 212-838-3777
Web: www.globaloptionsgroup.com
Date of Presentation: June 19, 2006
GlobalOptions Group, Inc. is an integrated provider of risk
assessment and management services that proactively helps
organizations maintain stability in the face of any number of risk
factors. Through its four major business units -- International
Strategies; James Lee Witt Associates; Confidential Business
Resources; and SafirRosetti -- the company offers the most
comprehensive range of services in three main areas: investigations
and litigation support, risk management and security, and emergency
preparedness and crisis management.
Company: Iomai
Ticker Symbol & Exchange: IOMI
Investor Relations Contact: Daryl Messinger
Investor Relations Contact Phone: 415 946 1062
Web: www.iomai.com
Date of Presentation: June 19, 2006
Iomai Corporation discovers and develops vaccines and immune
system stimulants, delivered via a novel, needle-free technology
called transcutaneous immunization (TCI). TCI taps into the unique
benefits of a major group of antigen-presenting cells found in the
outer layers of the skin (Langerhans cells) to generate an enhanced
immune response. Iomai is leveraging TCI to enhance the efficacy of
existing vaccines, develop new vaccines that are viable only through
transcutaneous administration and expand the global vaccine market.
Iomai currently has four product candidates in development: three
targeting influenza and pandemic flu and one to prevent E.
coli-related travelers' diarrhea.
Company: j2 Global Communications, Inc.
Ticker Symbol & Exchange: NASDAQ-JCOM
Investor Relations Contact: Laura Hinson
Investor Relations Contact Phone: 323-657-5371
Web: www.j2global.com
Date of Presentation: May 31
j2 Global Communications, Inc., provides outsourced, value-added
messaging and communications services to individuals and businesses
around the world. j2 Global's network spans approximately 2,000 cities
in 29 countries on five continents. The Company offers faxing and
voicemail solutions, document management solutions, Web-initiated
conference calling, and unified-messaging and communications services.
j2 Global markets its services principally under the brand names
eFax(R), j2(R), jConnect(R), JFAX(TM), eFax Corporate(R), Onebox(R),
Electric Mail(R), jBlast(R), eFax Broadcast(TM), eVoice(R),
PaperMaster(R), Consensus(TM), (R) and Protofax(R). As of March 31,
2006, j2 Global had achieved 36 consecutive quarters of revenue growth
and 17 consecutive quarters of growing operating earnings.
Company: LaserCard Corporation
Ticker Symbol & Exchange: NASDAQ: LCRD
Investor Relations Contact: Steven Larson
Investor Relations Contact Phone: 650-969-4428
Web: www.lasercard.com
Date of Presentation: June 19, 2006
LaserCard Corporation manufactures and markets LaserCard(R)
optical memory cards, chip-ready Optical/Smart(TM) cards and other
advanced-technology secure identification cards. The Company has sold
over 35 million secure ID cards to meet the demanding requirements for
border security, immigration and national identification in countries
around the world, including the United States, Canada, and Italy. In
addition, the Company manufactures optical card read/write drives and
develops optical card system software, card-related ID subsystems and
peripherals. The Company operates a wholly owned German subsidiary:
Challenge Card Design Plastikkarten GmbH, which manufactures
advanced-technology cards and also does business as cards & more GmbH,
which markets cards, system solutions, and card personalization
printers.
Company: Magal Security Systems Ltd.
Ticker Symbol & Exchange: MAGS
Investor Relations Contact: G.K. Investor Relations
Investor Relations Contact Phone: 1-866-704-6710
Web: www.magal-ssl.com
Date of Presentation: 19 June 10.40am
Israel based, Magal Security Systems Ltd., is a world leader in
developing, manufacturing and marketing of Perimeter Intrusion
Detection Systems, which automatically detect, locate and identify the
nature of unauthorized intrusions. The company recently launched 3 new
products: DreamBox - All-in-One CCTV Solution, Pipeguard- Pipeline
Security system and Fortis, which is an Integrated Command and Control
system. Magal has subsidiaries in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany,
Romania, Mexico and an office in China. The Company's products are
used in more than 70 countries worldwide to protect national borders,
airports, correctional facilities and other sensitive facilities from
terrorism, theft and other threats.
Company: QSGI INC
Ticker Symbol & Exchange: NYSE Arca: QGI
Investor Relations Contact: David K. Waldman
Investor Relations Contact Phone: 212-838-3777
Web: www.qsgi.com
Date of Presentation: June 19, 2006
QSGI is the only data security and regulatory compliance provider
offering a full suite of end-of-life and other life-cycle services to
help Fortune 1000 and government clients manage their entire IT
platform from PCs to mainframes. QSGI offsets its clients' expenses
through its value-added remarketing program. Prior to resale, the
company utilizes its proprietary DOD-level certified data sweep to
eliminate otherwise recoverable data. QSGI reduces its clients'
potential liability by ensuring regulatory compliance for IT products.
QSGI also provides services on enterprise-class hardware, including
mainframes, midrange servers, tape storage products and disk storage
products.
Company: Saflink
Ticker Symbol & Exchange: NASDAQ: SFLK
Investor Relations Contact: Tony Schor, Investor Awareness
Investor Relations Contact Phone: 847-945-2222
tony@investorawareness.com
Web: www.saflink.com
Saflink biometric and smart card security solutions verify the
identity of users and control their access to computer networks and
facilities. Saflink is involved in two key Department of Homeland
Defense (DHS) initiatives:
1. Spearheading the FLO(TM) (Fast Lane Option) program, a
registered traveler solution allowing travelers to pass through
airport security quickly and securely. Partners include Microsoft,
JPMorgan Chase, Johnson Controls, The Paradies Shops, Expedia
Corporate Travel and ID Technology Partners.
2. Actively pursuing the Transportation Worker Identification
Credential (TWIC) program, a national initiative designed to improve
security at seaports, airports and other mass transit facilities.
Saflink provided key technology during the prototype phase and is
well-positioned for involvement as the program moves forward.
Company: Sequiam Corporation
Ticker Symbol & Exchange: SQUM.OB
Investor Relations Contact: CFSG1, Stanley Wunderlich
Investor Relations Contact Phone: 1-800-625-2236
Web: www.sequiam.com
Date of Presentation: June 19, 2006
Sequiam Corporation develops, markets, and supports a portfolio of
biometric fingerprint verification devices and software that enable
users to gain access using their personal identity. Our strategy is to
sell B2B biometric technologies in support of consumer products. We
integrate biometrics into existing and new products as they are
developed. We don't always make the product, but we always make it
biometric. We also build custom turnkey biometric solutions for those
who require advanced services. In addition to our primary role as an
OEM provider, Sequiam also produces a line of end-user products.
Company: Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation
Ticker Symbol & Exchange: AMEX: SWB
Investor Relations Contact: Elizabeth A. Sharp
Investor Relations Contact Phone: 602-405-8835
Web: www.smith-wesson.com
Date of Presentation: Monday, June 19, 2006
Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation, through its subsidiary Smith &
Wesson Corp., is one of the world's largest manufacturers of quality
handguns, law enforcement products and firearm safety/security
products. The Company also licenses shooter protection, knives,
apparel, footwear and other accessory lines. The Company is based in
Springfield, Mass., with manufacturing facilities in Springfield and
Houlton, Maine. The Smith & Wesson Academy is America's
longest-running firearms training facility for America's public
servants. For more information, call (800) 331-0852 or log on to
www.smith-wesson.com.
Company: SYS Technologies
Ticker Symbol & Exchange: Amex: SYS
Investor Relations Contact: Edward Lake
Investor Relations Contact Phone: 858-715-5500
Web: www.systechnologies.com
Date of Presentation: June 19, 2006
SYS Technologies (AMEX: SYS), is a leading provider of information
connectivity solutions that capture, analyze and present real-time
information to decision makers. Customers include the Department of
Defense, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, other government
agencies and large industrial companies. Using interoperable
communications software, sensors, digital video broadcast and
surveillance technologies, wireless networks, decision-support tools
and Net-centric technologies, our technical experts enhance complex
decision-making. We also provide solution lifecycle support with
program, financial, test and logistical services and training.
Founded in 1966, SYS Technologies is headquartered in San Diego
and has principal offices in California, Maryland and Virginia. For
additional information, visit www.systechnologies.com
Company: VASCO Data Security International, Inc.
Ticker Symbol & Exchange: Nasdaq: vdsi
Investor Relations Contact: Ken Hunt
Investor Relations Contact Phone: Ken Hunt 630-640-9127
Web: www.vasco.com
Date of Presentation: June 19th 10:20 AM - 10:40AM
VASCO designs, develops, markets and supports patented user
authentication products for financial world, remote access, e-business
and e-commerce. VASCO's user authentication software is delivered via
its Digipass hardware and software security products. With approx. 25
million Digipass products sold and delivered, including the units sold
by AOS Hagenuk prior to our acquisition, VASCO has established itself
as a world-leader for strong User Authentication with over 470
international financial institutions and approximately 2,600 blue-chip
corporations and governments located in more than 100 countries
Company: Wave Systems Corp.
Ticker Symbol & Exchange: Nasdaq: WAVX
Investor Relations Contact: David C. Collins
Investor Relations Contact Phone: 212 835 8500 or wavx@jcir.com
Web: www.wave.com
Date of Presentation: Monday, June 19, 2006
Wave Systems works to solve some of the important PC security and
authentication problems with reliable, easy to use software solutions.
Wave's solutions leverage a new security chip - the "Trusted Platform
Module" (TPM) being deployed by leading PC makers, including Wave
customers Dell, Gateway and Intel. This concept of "Trusted Computing"
is led by a standards body called the Trusted Computing Group (TCG).
Industry analysts predict that annual PC shipments with TPMs will
exceed 200mm units by 2009, from 25mm units in 2005, creating a
substantial market opportunity. Wave's TCG-compliant software includes
strong authentication, data protection, advanced password management
and enterprise-wide trust management services
timmers.....if I may
What has this board been clamoring about for the last oh-so-many-years? Remember? revenue
Let's say we eventually get to a quarter where Wave has a net profit.. for argument's sake, let's say $10 million.
With 100 million shares outstanding, EPS would be $.10 cents per share. With 50 million shares outstanding, it would be $ .20 ents per share. With a reverse split, Wave would have doubled EPS (earnings per share).
There is no doubt that there is a psychological negative associated with a reverse split. A reverse split is something I have long argued against. But SKS, being a pragmatist, has to realize a few things:
1) a move to the small cap increases the hurdle to any future financings, all of which most certainly would have to be done at a discount, unlike the most recent;
2) there is the EPS advantage; when you're losing money, you want more shares outstanding... when you're profitable, fewer shares (do the math):
3) once de-listed from NASDAQ, regaining compliance requires a $5 minimum bid; we just need $1 to maintain compliance.
In the back of my mind, I beleive Wave had to show NASDAQ a plan to regain compliance. Perhaps over the next several weeks we get the long-awaited NTT news, or DHS, or design wins, or OEM wins, or enterprise news... any of which could have a positive impact on share price?
Anyway, I'm looking for mid-sixties on Monday, but hoping for an offsetting PR.
Windows VISTA DRM
http://www.itweek.co.uk/itweek/news/2157537/windows-vista-digital-rights
Windows Vista digital rights tools may tie firms to Microsoft
New technology in Vista and Office could cause problems, says Cory Doctorow of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Roger Howorth in Nashville, IT Week 05 Jun 2006
Trusted Computing features in Windows Vista could lock firms into using Microsoft Office for years to come, warns Cory Doctorow, a key contributor and fellow of the charitable campaign group called the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
In an exclusive interview with IT Week, Doctorow said the Trusted Computing digital rights management (DRM) technology built into the forthcoming Microsoft Windows Vista and Office 12 products would mean documents could only be used by other people who also have these or later versions of Microsoft products, or third-party products for which Microsoft has authorised compatibility. Such documents could not be used with open-source technologies such as Open Office, nor could they necessarily be indexed by third-party commercial systems such as document management software.
In a speech at the Red Hat Summit in Nashville last week, Doctorow said DRM was ineffective at protecting copyright material. He said a recent survey showed music protected by DRM was typically hacked and made available online without DRM protection within three minutes of the DRM version being published. Instead, he argued, DRM was actually designed to help vendors find new revenue streams from law-abiding customers. "For example, DRM combined with legislation such as the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act [DMCA] lets Apple sue firms that make [iPod-compatible devices]," he said.
While most IT managers would not be worried by this, they should be concerned that DRM technologies built into Windows Vista and Office 12 could determine whether or not users could access documents without first buying Microsoft-sanctioned products. Doctorow said the problem is not confined to the US because other countries around the world have laws similar to the DCMA.
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Now Nortel's Got the NAC, Too
http://www.certcities.com/editorial/news/story.asp?EditorialsID=995
2/21/2006 -- Give Cisco Systems Inc. credit: It was onto a good thing with Network Admission Control (NAC), its endpoint security, policy enforcement and network access management program that made a NAC of a different kind -- i.e., Network Access Control -- a household acronym almost 30 months ago.
Since NAC first went live in November 2003, Cisco has signed up a who's who of industry heavyweights -- including IBM Corp., Network Associates Inc., Microsoft Corp., Symantec Corp. and Trend Micro Inc. -- to deliver (or go through the motions of delivering) NAC-friendly solutions. The result? Even though some industry watchers have derided Cisco's network self-defense strategy as hopelessly scattershot, they've typically given NAC itself much better reviews.
Success inspires imitation, and Nortel Networks Inc. recently threw its hat into the NAC ring with SNA, a Secure Network Access program (not to be confused with the mainframe-centric SNA of old, Systems Network Architecture) that the company hopes will rival Cisco's prescient NAC scheme. Last week, Nortel announced its first SNA deliverable -- the Secure Network Access Switch, which (in true Machiavellian fashion) it positions as compatible with the Microsoft Network Admission Control (NAP) program and the Trusted Computing Group's Trusted Network Connect (TNC) initiative -- but not Cisco's NAC.
Analysts like what they see, but say that as a late comer to the NAC arena, Nortel has to make up a lot of ground. "Nortel is shrewdly leveraging its existing assets in combination with best-of-breed industry partner solutions to ensure that it can respond to competitive threats and present customers with a complete end-to-end architecture for enterprise access both inside and outside the enterprise perimeter," says Joel Conover, a principal analyst for enterprise infrastructure with consultancy Current Analysis.
At first glance, Nortel's new SNA switch appears to deliver the goods. It can support pre-admission posture assessment and post-admission proactive monitoring to ensure compliance with access policies, Conover says, and -- in time -- will be able to interoperate with firmware on Nortel's LAN switches, routers and VPN platforms to enforce policy-based access. Conover acknowledges, however, that Nortel is still in the midst of delivering SNA firmware support on its Ethernet switches, which might engender "some concern that Nortel is jumping the gun on the SNA announcement."
But Nortel faces an uphill struggle, Conover says. "Nortel is jumping into the frenetic circus that is the Network Admission Control market, and while this technology is absolutely critical to Nortel and its success in the enterprise market, Nortel is late, and needs to have validation and market differentiation to distinguish its solution clearly in a very busy market."
It's also crucial that Nortel doesn't oversell SNA, he argues. "Nortel is couching SNA in promises including critical support for its Ethernet switching platforms as well as tighter integration with its SSL VPN access solution. Nortel needs to be very clear and upfront about how its solution can be leveraged today, and what customers will gain when Nortel completes its firmware implementation in the near future." Conover says Nortel should consider establishing "hard, external-facing time deadlines" to demonstrate to customers that it's committed to delivering SNA features in a timely manner.
Given marketplace confusion over Cisco's NAC, Microsoft's NAP, TCG's TNG and other NAC solutions, new entrants such as Nortel must tread carefully. "There is a great deal of uncertainty in the market as the result of Microsoft, its NAP initiative, Cisco and its NAC initiative, and the TCG/TNC, and dozens of implementations coming from small and large competitors alike in the market," Conover concludes. "Nortel is attempting to straddle the NAP and TCG/TNC issues, but needs to bring credibility to its solution through demonstrations of actual partner-enabled integrations." -Stephen Swoyer
orda, since you're a "freebie"
I'm assuming you're broke and someone pays you to bash about on this board.......
see why one should not assume???
Actually, the folks I work for have what I call "restless capital"; it is the kind of money that looks for the next big "thing". It is my job to look over that horizon. That is why I attend RSA, IDF, and other venues. By the time folks like you figure it out, it is about to become mainstream and you've missed the groundfloor, 3 pre-public splits, and the IPO. I honestly cannot determine why, in the face of the DD that's here, you can't see what's about to happen. But, hey, I need people like you. Sorta like the non -believers that bot Google close to $500, you'll be part of the squeeze.
Post on!!
xxxcslewis, just back from RSA
and I'm happy to share just a few a few of my observations. Now, keep in mind I'm 6'8", 320 lbs, and wear a floor-length crocodile-leather cape, so it is easy for me to blend in with the crowd. I will say that this conference was jam-packed to the extent it affected accomodations, dining, and parking. Trusted Computing is a hot issue and I had the distinct impression the crowd knows this is the next driver. This is what I thought I heard emanating from booth 1407:
Seagate ships three-and-a-half times the volume than does Dell. All notebook OEMs probably to incorporate FDE when it is RTM'd this summer. They've been working with Seagate on this for years. The most significant feedback from their participating in the "Dell Security Solutions" tour last year was that enterprises are demanding encryption on the disk. Encryption software for files, etc, is expensive and reduces speed by up to 30%. For a cost measured in a few dollars, Wave can encrypt at the disk level.
US Army - As of today, Feb 17, 2006, anybody responding to Army RFPs (Request for Proposal) must submit proposals that include TPM v1.2 enabled systems. So, if you are a govt contractor that hasn't switched to them, you are effectively locked out of the competition. This should further prod the introduction of 1.2s.
Lenovo - interesting in that they have the largest activated base of biometric readers, and this appears to be a growing market. If you buy a Dell product, you need to activate the TPM in order to use the biometric reader, or the smart card reader, or the Momentus drive. So to take advantage of any of these components, you have to activate the TPM. A buyer might buy a new Dell machine because of some other feature, not intending to activate the TPM. When he discovers that the Momentus disk is amust have feature because it prevents unauthorized access in the event of loss or theft, the buyer MUST activate the TPM.
cpa, you are unbelievably short-sighted ................
I just returned from the RSA Conference and let me say this: Whatever the terms were, or will be on any subsequent round, it's mouse-nuts compared to the return I'm anticipating. I think you'll understand that within the next three to six months.
So you do taxes for free, or do you object just to others generating fee income?
FM
EV,
Sorry about jumping on you...
at 70 cents I'm only 70% of my normally affable self.
Welcome aboard
FM
EV, you're boring us. move on e/
Hi barge
I attended a TPM presentation that featured Stacy Canady and
Lark Allen. I was three feet away from their podium. Believe me, they know each other well. Wave is no stranger to the mid-level tech guys that ultimately report to the decision makers.
Interesting DRM site:
(I posted the RAND info for our friend Sell-grafix)
http://www.info-mech.com/drm_dictionary.html#numbers
Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
An add-in security hardware component for PCs currently promoted by the Trusted Computing Group. The TPM provides security primitives including digital signatures, random number generation, protected storage and binding information to the TPM. For the TPM to be useful the PC must have related support in its BIOS and, preferably, Operating System. Currently, several manufacturers (e.g. Infineon, Atmel and Wave Systems) manufacture such modules. However in a classic chicken-or-egg dilemma, the main driver for uptake of TPMs, Microsoft's NGSCB, appears to be stalled.
Basically, the TPM amounts to a Black Box inside every PC, which could be used for some purposes which are clearly good (e.g. increasing the security of corporate desktops) and some which are worrisome (e.g. enforcing draconian copy protection or preventing the installation of software not "approved" by Microsoft.) The related controversy may have influenced Microsoft's decision not to include NGSCB in Vista, which pushes any possibility of real TPM uptake out to 2007 at least.
Reasonable And Non-Discriminatory(RAND)
Favorable licensing terms sometimes offered by owners of technological Intellectual Property - usually patents - so that other companies may build products that incorporate their technology. Typically, this is done in a situation where the intellectual property covers part of an industry standard. The idea is to compromise between, on the one hand, killing the standard by unreasonable license demands, or, on the other hand, simply giving the technology away as per the Royalty Free model. The spirit of RAND is to charge small licensing fees and to not deny licenses to anyone, including competitors. The interplay between patents and standards is controversial, with patent policy being a key differentiator between different standards bodies.
RAND is not specific to DRM, but it does affect DRM. Any company designing a DRM system may find that they need a technology license from a patent holder such as ContentGuard or Intertrust - and if that license is not available on reasonable terms, it could kill their business. Licensing terms - such as financial compensation for the use of codecs - may well also be a major factor in the war for Media Player dominance between Microsoft, Real Networks, and MPEG, and the winner of course gets to win in DRM as well as codecs. For more on this see our standards page.
Hi Ramsey and Wavxmaster .....................
It's not widely understood how significant Wave's bundling deal with Dell is!
Ramsey, you must be British!! It's huge, and it's launch is imminent.
FM
OT: Seagate
ADMIT IT, YOU'RE A digital pack rat. You've got an electronic album of
photos that's easily a thousand strong, umpteen music files sitting on your
computer or MP3 player, and maybe even a nice-sized video and TV show
collection. Like everyone else, you're living the digital lifestyle - and
living it large.
So you can see why the argument for hard-disk-drive storage isn't
complicated: As electronic hoarding grows, the billions of digitized bits
packed onto PCs, notebooks and consumer electronic devices continue to
multiply at a dizzying pace. And all that stuff has got to be stored
somewhere.
Enter Seagate Technology (STX), the industry's granddaddy and champion stock
on Thursday. Following a strong quarterly report late Wednesday, in which the
Scotts Valley, Calif.-based company topped guidance and raised the bar on
fiscal 2006 expectations, its shares soared nearly 10% in morning trading. Of
course, investors had taken notice of Seagate prior to its latest results,
boosting shares by 23% year-to-date and by 68% since Nov. 1. Even more
impressive: Analysts see the stock heading higher still. I wouldn't be
surprised if they're right.
A bit of industry background: Hard disk drives have been around now for more
than two decades, having grown considerably smaller and more powerful over the
years. It's a scrappy industry known for vicious price wars and equally brutal
stock moves. But despite different flavors of storage that find favor among
customers (Hello, flash memory!), there's simply no getting away from
hard-disk-drive workhorses.
In December, Seagate announced it would purchase smaller competitor Maxtor
(MXO) in a $1.9 billion all-stock deal. Eliminating one price-war combatant -
and, according to some, the most aggressive - should help the remaining big
players, which include Seagate, Western Digital (WDC), Hitachi (HIT), Fujitsu,
Toshiba and Samsung. "I think that [Seagate] is going to be a key beneficiary
of the consolidation in the space that it itself is creating with its
acquisition of Maxtor," says Shebly Seyrafi, analyst at New York-based
investment bank Kaufman Bros.
Seagate expects to save $300 million in operating expenses each year after
the first full year of Maxtor's integration, or fiscal year 2008. (The company
said during Wednesday's conference call that the deal is still expected to
close in the second half of calendar 2006.) And management projects the linkup
will translate into a 10% to 20% boost to the bottom line. The combination
would also mean a larger market-share footprint for Seagate.
It seems a smart move for a company that's doing swimmingly. During last
month's midquarter update, management said it would beat expectations on the
top and bottom line for its fiscal second quarter, ended Dec. 30. On
Wednesday, it surpassed even that guidance. Not too shabby for a company
that's been cranking out disk drives since 1979.
And when it comes to technological advances, Seagate is considered tops. On
Monday, the company started shipping its first 2.5-inch notebook PC disk drive
to use perpendicular recording technology. Basically, it's a new technology
that stacks up bits of data on their end, rather than flat, allowing for
greater storage density and capacity. It might not sound like much, but in the
world of storage, it's huge. "It's the biggest and the best in terms of
technology," says Kaushik Roy, analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group, a Bala
Cynwyd, Pa.-based research firm, of Seagate. "They are technology leaders."
Of course, the frenzy over flash memory spooked Seagate investors last year.
While flash is more expensive, it's smaller, retains data after power is
turned off and has no moving parts, unlike hard disk drives. Flash is also
increasingly being packed into the coolest cellphones and consumer electronics
devices. So in September, when Apple Computer (AAPL) opted to use flash in its
iPod Nano, replacing its iPod Mini, which used Seagate's one-inch hard disk
drive, it sent tremors through the hard-disk-drive industry. Shares of Seagate
dropped nearly 12% in two week's time. They've since recovered, as investors
have moved past that psychological phase, says Kaufman's Seyrafi.
Indeed, many analysts say the whole flash fracas was overdone, emphatically
noting that the need for hard disk drives isn't about to go the way of the
dodo. "Will there be flash memory? Absolutely," says Susquehanna's Roy. "Is
flash memory going to grow? Absolutely. But we think they'll coexist."
Agreed. Flash memory is ideally suited for digital cameras, cellphones and
some flavors of MP3 players. But at the end of the day, everything has to be
backed up. The more digital entertainment and media that's consumed, the
greater that need grows.
Even with pressure from flash, Seagate appears well positioned. Not only
should it benefit from stable pricing for hard disk drives and lean industry
inventories, but its pending acquisition of Maxtor will give it a larger chunk
of market share. Most importantly, it has a technological edge on the
competition, according to analysts.
That's all well and good, but what of the stock?
Prior to Seagate's earnings report, the stock traded at 12.6 times forward
earnings, compared with the Standard & Poor's 500's price/earnings multiple of
15.8, according to Zacks Investment Research. And that didn't take into
account Seagate's sweetened outlook provided on Wednesday. For example, in
fiscal '06, the company now expects to earn $2.04 to $2.09 a share (using
generally accepted accounting principles), higher than previous guidance
calling for $1.84 a share and the Reuters consensus estimate of $1.98.
Topping estimates, raising guidance, soaring stock - who'd of thunk a
hard-disk-drive maker would ever be sexy?
Lenovo Gets a Dell Exec
.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 20, 2005--
Lenovo Group Limited today announced that its Board of Directors has
appointed William J. Amelio as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr.
Amelio most recently was Senior Vice President of Dell Inc. and President,
Asia-Pacific and Japan, before which he served in senior executive and
operating positions at NCR Corp., Honeywell International Inc., AlliedSignal
Inc. and IBM, including General Manager of Worldwide Operations for IBM's
Personal Computing Division. He is succeeding Stephen M. Ward, Jr., who has
agreed to assist in the transition and serve as a consultant to the Company.
Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo's Chairman, said, "With our integration of IBM's PC
Division on track and our organizational integration complete, we are
accelerating our planning for our next phase of growth. Steve and Lenovo's
board agreed that now is the right time for this transition. Bill Amelio's
combined experience - in our industry, in emerging and mature markets, in
senior operational roles and with IBM -- gives him the perfect profile to lead
Lenovo from the important stability we have achieved in the first phase of our
integration, to the profitable growth and efficiency improvement to which we
are committed in our next phase."
Mr. Amelio said, "I am very excited to lead this ground breaking global
enterprise. Lenovo provides me a unique chance to draw on the skills I have
developed in every component of my career. Lenovo has a solid foundation in
place and enormous opportunities, and I look forward to working with Yuanqing
and the entire team to continue the drive to enhance profitable growth."
Robert Moffat Jr., IBM's Senior Vice President for Integrated Operations,
said, "A year after we announced this historic transaction and partnership
between IBM and Lenovo, we are pleased with Lenovo's progress and prospects
for the future - as a partner, customer and shareholder. IBM remains fully
committed to Lenovo and our mutual customers."
Mr. Amelio will join Lenovo effective immediately. He served in his most
recent position, with responsibility for strategy and operations across the
region, since 2001. During his tenure, sales more than doubled in the region
and service levels improved significantly, as measured by third-party customer
satisfaction metrics.
From 2000 until 2001 Mr. Amelio was Executive Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer of NCR's Retail and Financial Group, one of its two
businesses. From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Amelio was with Honeywell and its
predecessor, Allied Signal, where he was President and CEO of Honeywell's
transportation and power-systems divisions, and head of the
turbocharging-systems business at Allied Signal. Under Mr. Amelio, the
turbocharging-systems business doubled in revenues to more than $1 billion,
implemented Six Sigma and SAP, and successfully integrated acquisitions. From
1979 to 1997, Mr. Amelio was with IBM, where he held a wide range of senior
management positions, including General Manager of Worldwide Operations for
IBM's Personal Computing Division. Mr. Amelio has a master's degree in
management from Stanford University and a bachelor's degree in chemical
engineering from Lehigh University.
Mr. Yang continued, "Steve Ward successfully helped to create a single,
global PC company from two distinct organizations. As a result, we have
created significant value for our shareholders over the past year, and Lenovo
is in a strong position to make continually better progress against our goals.
We appreciate Steve's contributions to Lenovo and his continuing support."
Mr. Ward said, "Yuanqing and I have spent a lot of time thinking about this.
Bringing in Bill Amelio is a great move. Lenovo is an incredible company and I
have great confidence in its future success."
As Lenovo outlined during its earnings announcement last month for the
second quarter of its fiscal year ending March 31, 2006, the Company's
accomplishments since the acquisition of IBM's Personal Computing Division
closed in May 2005 include:
-- Customer retention - Lenovo shipped record volume and had
nearly even market-share compared with Lenovo's and IBM's
combined pre-acquisition shares.
-- Profitability growth - EPS grew by 1% quarter-over-quarter,
and Lenovo succeeded in turning the IBM PC Division from a
loss-maker to profitability compared with its prior year's
performance.
-- Strong cash position - Lenovo had HK$7.8 billion in net cash
reserve as of September 30, 2005.
-- Successfully integrated into a global organization, on track
to achieve its targeted synergy run rate.
LadyX.........................
Ask your friend to send the email again !!!
I think you should send it to KeV, cmf, GratziPrego/Maxwell Smart,.......and probably
orda(nary)
just my two pennies
FM
Here's the reason for today's move.............
We were recommended by the Stock Trader's Almanac (sorry, no link):
Also on page 1 is a little stocking stuffer microcap. Wave Systems (WAVX) also gave up some ground today in the tax-loss selling wave but this offers us an excellent opportunity. WAVX is the only “pure play” we could find in trusted computing, which promises to be the next computer standard. WAVX has been added to our recommended list at yesterday’s close of $0.67. WAVX closed today at $0.66. Our Buy Limit is $0.75.
nick, re: your gold and silver
.0094% and 1.63% annualized, respectively, not adjusted for inflation or storage.
But I think it's beter than my return on Wave!
24601/Mighunter
As always, thanks for lending your particular expertise relating to this issue. It is appreciated.
Sound familiar?
Barron's Review & Preview Follow-Up: Avi's Nasty Surprise
By Andrew Bary
AVI Biopharma angered some of its supporters last week by selling $22
million of stock in an unexpected offering on the heels of an upbeat Barron's
article. The deal dampened AVI's share price, which had risen sharply in
initial trading Monday after our "A Cure for Avian Flu?" piece highlighted
AVI's promising drug pipeline, including treatments for the disease mentioned
in our headline, plus hepatitis C, restenosis (the reclogging of arteries
after angioplasties) and ahost of bioterror threats.
AVI stock, which closed on Nov. 11 at $3.26, topped $4 Monday morning before
closing at $3.69. After the end of trading, AVI said it had issued 6.9 million
shares at $3.26 through a PIPE (private investment in public equity) offering
done by Rodman & Renshaw. The stock finished the week at $3.46.
"This wasn't a smart way to raise money if you want to put the stock in
strong hands," Richard Macary, a managing partner at Corporate Insights, an
independent research firm in New York, says of the PIPE deal. "This company
ought to be spending its time and effort courting investors who want to hold
the stock long term," adds Macary, an AVI bull who owns the stock.
Small companies often use PIPE transactions to raise money quickly. They're
controversial because buyers include hedge funds interested only in making
fast profits. There have long been suspicions that some unscrupulous hedge
funds short stock on word of PIPE deals and then profit by covering their
positions cheaply when the PIPEs hit the market. That would violate securities
laws.
AVI, which has no drugs on the market, is burning cash at a rate of about
$22 million annually. It had $31 million in its coffers at the end of the
third quarter, and stands to get $22 million from Uncle Sam to develop drugs
for bioterror threats like the Ebola virus. That money has been appropriated
by a Senate committee, but has yet to clear Congress.
"I hear the criticism and understand it," Alan Timmons, AVI's chief
operating officer, says of the PIPE deal. He adds that AVI wanted to raise
capital in the current quarter to avoid ending the year with just roughly 12
months' worth of cash -- an uncomfortably low level for a biotech. AVI saw its
chance Monday, when the stock rose on heavy volume.
AVI is expected to have initial results from its phase I/II trial of its
hepatitis C drug around year end. Some investors worry that AVI was sending a
discouraging signal by raising money now, rather than waiting for the results
of that trial. "We saw this as a way to take risk off the table," Timmons
counters. "I believe that we'll get good clinical data, but there's no
guarantee it will happen."
If the hepatitis C trial is successful, larger drug and biotech firms are
apt to court AVI about a marketing deal, ending the need for PIPE deals.
---
The Trusted Computing Group (TCG) is
http://www.magazine.jaring.my/2005/october/ind_features.html?id=205&month=october&year=2005
an industry consortium that is trying to build more secure computers. They have a lot of members, although the board of directors consists of Microsoft, Sony, AMD, Intel, IBM, SUN, HP, and two smaller companies who are voted on in a rotating basis.
The basic idea is that you build a computer from the ground up securely, with a core hardware "root of trust" called a Trusted Platform Module (TPM). Applications can run securely on the computer, can communicate with other applications and their owners securely, and can be sure that no untrusted applications have access to their data or code.
This sounds great, but it`s a double-edged sword. The same system that prevents worms and viruses from running on your computer might also stop you from using any legitimate software that your hardware or operating system vendor simply doesn`t like. The same system that protects spyware from accessing your data files might also stop you from copying audio and video files. The same system that ensures that all the patches you download are legitimate might also prevent you from, well, doing pretty much anything.
In May (2005), the Trusted Computing Group published a best practices document: "Design, Implementation, and Usage Principles for TPM-Based Platforms." Written for users and implementers of TCG technology, the document tries to draw a line between good uses and bad uses of this technology.
"The principles that TCG believes underlie the effective, useful, and acceptable design, implementation, and use of TCG technologies are the following:
"Security: TCG-enabled components should achieve controlled access to designated critical secured data and should reliably measure and report the system`s security properties. The reporting mechanism should be fully under the owner`s control.
"Privacy: TCG-enabled components should be designed and implemented with privacy in mind and adhere to the letter and spirit of all relevant guidelines, laws, and regulations. This includes, but is not limited to, the OECD Guidelines, the Fair Information Practices, and the European Union Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC).
"Interoperability: Implementations and deployments of TCG specifications should facilitate interoperability. Furthermore, implementations and deployments of TCG specifications should not introduce any new interoperability obstacles that are not for the purpose of security.
"Portability of data: Deployment should support established principles and practices of data ownership.
"Controllability: Each owner should have effective choice and control over the use and operation of the TCG-enabled capabilities that belong to them; their participation must be opt-in. Subsequently, any user should be able to reliably disable the TCG functionality in a way that does not violate the owner`s policy.
"Ease-of-use: The nontechnical user should find the TCG-enabled capabilities comprehensible and usable."
It`s basically a good document, although there are some valid criticisms. I like that the document clearly states that coercive use of the technology -- forcing people to use digital rights management systems, for example, are inappropriate: "The use of coercion to effectively force the use of the TPM capabilities is not an appropriate use of the TCG technology."
I like that the document tries to protect user privacy: "All implementations of TCG-enabled components should ensure that the TCG technology is not inappropriately used for data aggregation of personal information."
I wish that interoperability were more strongly enforced. The language has too much wiggle room for companies to break interoperability under the guise of security: "Furthermore, implementations and deployments of TCG specifications should not introduce any new interoperability obstacles that are not for the purpose of security."
That sounds good, but what does "security" mean in that context? Security of the user against malicious code? Security of big media against people copying music and videos? Security of software vendors against competition? The big problem with TCG technology is that it can be used to further all three of these "security" goals, and this document is where "security" should be better defined.
Complaints aside, it`s a good document and we should all hope that companies follow it. Compliance is totally voluntary, but it`s the kind of document that governments and large corporations can point to and demand that vendors follow.
But there`s something fishy going on. Microsoft is doing its best to stall the document, and to ensure that it doesn`t apply to Vista (formerly known as Longhorn), Microsoft`s next-generation operating system.
The document was first written in the fall of 2003, and went through the standard review process in early 2004. Microsoft delayed the adoption and publication of the document, demanding more review. Eventually the document was published in June of this year (with a May date on the cover).
Meanwhile, the TCG built a purely software version of the specification: Trusted Network Connect (TNC). Basically, it`s a TCG system without a TPM.
The best practices document doesn`t apply to TNC, because Microsoft (as a member of the TCG board of directors) blocked it. The excuse is that the document hadn`t been written with software-only applications in mind, so it shouldn`t apply to software-only TCG systems.
This is absurd. The document outlines best practices for how the system is used. There`s nothing in it about how the system works internally. There`s nothing unique to hardware-based systems, nothing that would be different for software-only systems. You can go through the document yourself and replace all references to "TPM" or "hardware" with "software" (or, better yet, "hardware or software") in five minutes. There are about a dozen changes, and none of them make any meaningful difference.
The only reason I can think of for all this Machiavellian maneuvering is that the TCG board of directors is making sure that the document doesn`t apply to Vista. If the document isn`t published until after Vista is released, then obviously it doesn`t apply.
Near as I can tell, no one is following this story. No one is asking why TCG (www.trustedcomputinggroup.org) best practices apply to hardware-based systems if they`re writing software-only specifications. No one is asking why the document doesn`t apply to all TCG systems, since it`s obviously written without any particular technology in mind. And no one is asking why the TCG is delaying the adoption of any software best practices.
I believe the reason is Microsoft and Vista, but clearly there`s some investigative reporting to be done.