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LONDON, England, and TOKYO, Japan, February 4, 2008—LiMo Foundation, a global consortium of mobile leaders delivering an open handset platform for the whole industry, today announced the on-schedule availability in March 2008 of the first release of the LiMo Platform—the first globally competitive, Linux-based software platform for mobile handsets—together with the immediate public availability of the application programming interface (API) specifications.

LiMo’s technology will be showcased in Booth 8b135, Hall 8 at Mobile World Congress, February 11-14 in Barcelona.

LiMo’s initial Founder members—Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung Electronics and Vodafone—collaborated on Release 1 (R1), and nearly all of the enabling technology within R1 has been commercially deployed and proven within handsets enjoyed by consumers today.

The LiMo Platform—leveraging standards and open-source projects—is a modular, plug-in-based, hardware-independent architecture built around an open operating system, with a secure run-time environment for support of downloaded applications. Linux was selected as the core technology for the LiMo Platform for its acceptability by the whole mobile industry, its rich functionality and scalability, its record of success in embedded systems and mobile phones and its potential to easily “cross-platformize” with other product categories.

Third-party developers will use LiMo’s API specifications—available in beta form immediately at www.limofoundation.org—to build new applications that deliver next-generation consumer experiences across a tremendous, stable base of globally deployed mobile devices. Middleware components for the LiMo Platform can be implemented in either C or C++ programming languages.

Launched in January 2007, the LiMo Foundation is open to all vendors and service providers in the mobile communications marketplace, including device manufacturers, operators, chipset manufacturers, independent software vendors, integrators and third-party developers. More at Limofoundation.org.

DENVER –BUSINESS WIRE– On Thursday, Dec 20, MPEG LA announced that it has commenced an action against Audiovox for breach of contractual obligations as a Licensee to MPEG LA’s MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License and 1394 Patent Portfolio License.

According to the complaint filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Audiovox has breached its contractual obligations by failing to report fully its manufacture or sale of products such as DVD players and digital TVs that use the MPEG-2 digital video compression standard or employ the high-speed transfer digital interface provided for in the IEEE 1394 standard, failing to make full payments for its manufacture or sale of such products, and refusing to allow an audit as permitted by the MPEG-2 Contract and 1394 Contract.

MPEG LA seeks, among other things, monetary damages, an order requiring Audiovox to allow the contractually required audit, an accounting of all products manufactured or sold by Audiovox subject to the Contracts, as well as injunctive relief prohibiting Audiovox from the manufacture or sale of MPEG-2 and 1394 products. More at MPEG LA (in pdf).

Brussels — On Thursday, Dec 20, the Protocol Freedom Information Foundation (PFIF), a non-profit organization created by the Software Freedom Law Center, signed an agreement with Microsoft to receive the protocol documentation needed to fully interoperate with the Microsoft Windows workgroup server products and to make them available to Free Software projects such as Samba.

Microsoft was required to make this information available to competitors as part of the European Commission March 24th 2004 Decision in the antitrust lawsuit, after losing their appeal against that decision on September 17th 2007.

After paying Microsoft a one-time sum of 10,000 Euros, the PFIF will make available to the Samba Team under non-disclosure terms the documentation needed for implementation of all of the workgroup server protocols covered by the EU decision.

Although the documentation itself will be held in confidence by the PFIF and Samba Team engineers, the agreement allows the publication of the source code of the implementation of these protocols without any further restrictions. This is fully compatible with versions two and three of the GNU General Public License (GPL). Samba is published under the GNU GPL which is the most widely used of all Free Software licenses. In addition it allows discussion of the protocol information amongst implementers which will aid technical cooperation between engineers.

Under the agreement, Microsoft is required to make available and keep current a list of patent numbers it believes are related to the Microsoft implementation of the workgroup server protocols, without granting an implicit patent license to any Free Software implementation.

No per-copy royalties are required from the PFIF, Samba developers, third party vendors or users and no acknowledgement of any patent infringement by Free Software implementations is expressed or implied in the agreement. More at Samba.

Osaka and Tokyo — Dec 21, `07 — Sharp and Toshiba announced today that the two companies have agreed to collaborate closely in LCDs, a move that is expected to enhance the companies’ corporate value, profitability and global competitiveness.

The alliance will allow each company to make full and effective use of its respective strengths and resources, particularly Sharp’s capabilities in LCDs and Toshiba’s expertise in advanced semiconductors.

Sharp and Toshiba will initiate the collaborative partnership in fiscal year 2008, starting with an expansion of reciprocal procurement – Sharp’s procurement of system LSIs for LCDs from Toshiba, and Toshiba’s procurement of Sharp’s LCD modules for TVs of 32 inches and larger. Through the program, Sharp aims to satisfy about 50 percent of its total demand for system LSIs for TVs in fiscal year 2010, while Toshiba targets meeting 40 percent of its demand for LCD modules in the same year. More at Toshiba.

Round Rock, Texas — Dec 21, `07 — Dell and Tesco today announced the availability of Dell notebook and desktop computers in Tesco, a premier international retailer with operations in Europe and Asia.

Beginning next month, customers will be able to purchase Dell XPS and Inspiron products in Tesco stores, primarily in the UK, with sales also in Ireland, Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

Dell products will soon be available in more than 10,000 stores and on-line around the globe.

In the past several months Dell has announced relationships with Best Buy in the US, DSG International and Carrefour in Europe, Staples in the US, Courts stores in Singapore, Gome stores in China, Bic Camera Inc. in Japan, Carphone Warehouse in the UK and Wal-Mart in the U.S., Canada, Brazil and Mexico. More at Dell.

Armonk, NY — Dec 18, `07 — IBM today announced the availability of IBM Atlas for Lotus Connections, a corporate social networking visualization and analysis tool.

IBM Atlas for Lotus Connections is designed to help organizations maximize their investment in social software by answering questions such as who the key experts are on a given topic, how they are connected, and whom a user’s contacts know that they do not.

Developed by IBM Research, Atlas has four Web 2.0-based components — My Net, Find, Reach and Net. These components help users spot the important connections and the relationships between various groups and navigate their personal and corporate networks.

The Net component of Atlas provides a visual indication of the important hubs among topic experts and informal groups that have developed while working on similar projects.

My Net offers similar capabilities for a user’s personal network. For example, a salesperson can better manage and understand their social networks making sure they have connections across the right topic areas.

Reach, the social software dashboard feature in Atlas, helps users navigate the up to six degrees of separation that divide them from a colleague. The dashboard shows users the shortest path to reach an expert and ranks the expert based on the level of interaction across the network.

The Find component of Atlas builds upon core Lotus Connections expertise capabilities by taking searches beyond the corporate directory to include results based on social data such as reporting structures, blogs and communities.

Atlas is designed to work with IBM Lotus Connections, the industry’s first integrated enterprise social software platform. The latest version of Lotus Connections, version 1.02, is now available and features:

* Expanded support for operating systems such as SUSE Linux, browsers such as Mozilla Firefox 2.0 and directories such as Microsoft Active Directory, enabling businesses to deploy and integrate social software across their IT environment.
* Plug-ins for IBM Lotus Notes, IBM Lotus Sametime, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Explorer and IBM WebSphere Portal, enabling people to interact with their professional networks using their everyday productivity tools.
* A rich API based on the REST and Atom standards allow other applications to utilize the profiles, community, bookmarking, blogging and activity services of Lotus Connections.

More on IBM Atlas at IBM.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 delivers flexible power of choice and familiar Outlook experience.

REDMOND, Wash — Dec 17, `07 —The new version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, formerly code-named “Titan,” has been completed and released to manufacturing, Microsoft announced today.

The new version is offered under two product names: Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 for on-premise and partner-hosted deployments and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live for Microsoft-hosted deployment. Designed with a single unified-code base for both on-premise and on-demand deployments, Microsoft Dynamics CRM enables customers to choose the right deployment model for their specific business and IT needs, with the flexibility to change deployment models over time if their needs or preferences change.

Some of the significant new benefits and capabilities of this new release include these:
• An advanced multitenant architecture that supports multiple customers per server
• Extended global capabilities including user choice of more than 25 languages and pervasive support for multiple currencies
• New business intelligence capabilities including cross-entity views and an end-user ad hoc reporting wizard
• Advanced business process automation based on Microsoft Windows Workflow Foundation
• New collaboration capabilities with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 including real-time presence indicators within the CRM application

More at Microsoft.

BURLINGTON, MA, Dec 17, `07 – Cognos today announced that it has extended its wireless business intelligence solution, Cognos 8 Go! Mobile, to support Windows Mobile 6 smartphones.

Cognos 8 Go! Mobile is the industry’s first business intelligence solution designed to make it convenient to view, consume and interact with highly relevant performance information on mobile devices.

Cognos 8 Go! Mobile delivers enterprise data through an intuitive interface optimized for each different type of mobile platform. It now brings timely decision-support information directly to Windows Mobile 6 devices. All decision makers who need to access BI content across the enterprise, either through a mobile device or on the Web, are able to use the same consistent, trusted source of operational information. More at Cognos.

REDMOND, Wash — Dec 13, `07 — Microsoft this morning delivered a holiday surprise for customers and partners, unveiling a public beta for its hypervisor-based server virtualization technology called Hyper-V, a feature with some versions of Windows Server 2008.

Customers and partners today can download Windows Server 2008 RC1 Enterprise with the beta version of Hyper-V to evaluate the new technology, test applications and plan future consolidation, business continuity and high-availability projects. The beta was previously expected to be ready in the first quarter of 2008 with the release to manufacturing (RTM) of Windows Server 2008. The beta is available for download at Microsoft.com/ws08eval.

Windows Server 2008 Moves Closer to Launch
The release of the Hyper-V beta marks another significant milestone for Windows Server 2008 as it approaches final release by the “Heroes Happen Here” launch in Los Angeles on Feb. 27, 2008. The launch, featuring Windows Server 2008, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, will mark the largest enterprise launch for the Redmond, Wash.-based company and is just one of many events planned for a worldwide rollout. So far, almost 2 million customers around the world have obtained Windows Server 2008 evaluation code.

More at Microsoft.

ROUND ROCK, Texas –BUSINESS WIRE– Dec 13, ‘07 — Dell and DSG international plc (DSGi), one of Europe’s leading consumer electronics retailers, announced the availability of Dell notebook and desktop computers in DSGi stores.

Beginning in January 2008, DSGi and Dell customers will be able to buy a range of Dell notebooks and desktops through PC World, Currys and Currys.digital stores in the UK, as well as Dixons.co.uk online.

Customers will also be able to buy Dell products through the European network of DSGi store brands such as Electro World, PC City, and Elkjop. Customers can buy products in stores from Norway to Greece, and from Spain to Finland.

Dell also plans to sell systems through DSGi stores in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland.

DSGi’s unique TechGuys services in the UK will be extended across the new Dell products, providing full IT customer service availability including telephone support, installation and set-up. DSG operates similar support services across its European operations.

With this agreement, Dell products will soon be available in more than 10,000 stores and on-line around the globe.

In the past several months Dell has announced relationships with Best Buy in the US, Carrefour in Europe, Staples in the US, Courts stores in Singapore, Gome stores in China, Bic Camera Inc. in Japan, Carphone Warehouse in the UK and Wal-Mart in the US, Canada, Brazil and Mexico.

The DSGi and Dell agreement will cover stores in UK, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Greece, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.

REDMOND, WA and ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NJ — Microsoft and CNBC on Monday, Dec 10, announced a strategic alliance in which the two companies will collaborate to bring relevant advertising to the more than 2.6 million unique monthly visitors to CNBC.com. Microsoft will be the exclusive third-party provider of display and contextual advertising for CNBC.com and its global audience.

Advanced technology from Microsoft will help connect advertisers with CNBC.com users in more relevant, innovative ways through a combination of graphical ad placements and automated text-based advertisements targeted to content. Over time, the technology will enable the anonymous aggregation of user behavior.

The companies expect to begin execution of the agreement immediately, with contextual advertising appearing later this month. Execution on display advertising will begin in March 2008. More at Microsoft.

White Plains, NY — Dec 12, ‘07 — Nokia announced today that a United States International Trade Commission (ITC) judge issued an Initial Determination in favor of Nokia in the action brought by Qualcomm against Nokia alleging patent infringement.

The judge found no infringement or violation by Nokia of the three asserted Qualcomm patents. In addition, it was determined that patent ‘473 was found to be invalid.

Qualcomm filed its complaint on June 9, 2006 alleging infringement by Nokia of six Qualcomm patents. Prior to the hearing, which began on September 10, 2007, Qualcomm voluntarily withdrew three of the six patents from its complaint. The remaining three patents relate to an invention Qualcomm claims it made when developing CDMA technology. Qualcomm declared the three remaining patents as essential to the GSM standard and subsequently attempted to withdraw its declaration on one of those patents.

Similar patents, relating to CDMA inventions, are at issue in the European and China cases filed by Qualcomm against Nokia.

Qualcomm has yet to prevail in any patent litigation action against Nokia despite it having filed 11 lawsuits around the world over the past two years.

The judge’s Initial Determination will now be forwarded to the full Commission for review. The Commission is scheduled to make its Final Determination by April 14, 2008. More at Nokia, Qualcomm.

Related:

Qualcomm Wins Another Round in Patent Battles with Nokia

Another Round of Qualcomm vs Nokia Patent Battle Starts in Britain

LONDON — Dec 12, ‘07 — Microsoft has acquired Multimap, one of the United Kingdom’s top 100 technology companies and one of the leading online mapping services in the world.

The acquisition gives Microsoft a powerful new location and mapping technology to complement existing offerings such as Virtual Earth, Live Search, Windows Live services, MSN and the aQuantive advertising platform, with future integration potential for a range of other Microsoft products and platforms. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Multimap will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft, as part of the Virtual Earth and Search teams in the Online Services Group. The acquisition is the latest in a series of moves as Microsoft seeks to expand its online services to deliver software, services, and premium content and applications to consumers and businesses.More at Microsoft.

ARMONK, NY — Dec 06 ‘07 — IBM today announced it has filed a complaint against ASUSTeK (based in Taiwan) and its North American subsidiary, ASUS Computer International, with the United States International Trade Commission. The complaint details the infringement of IBM patents by certain ASUSTeK computer products and components, and requests an exclusion order against the importation of infringing ASUSTeK computer products and components into the United States.

IBM has made repeated attempts to reach a licensing agreement between the companies. IBM’s position has been — and remains — that ASUSTeK either must license or stop using IBM’s patented technology.

IBM’s complaint identifies three patents that are infringed by ASUSTeK products imported into the U.S. These three patents cover important aspects of computer systems, including power supplies, computer cooling and computer clustering capabilities. The infringing ASUSTeK computer products include notebook computers, so-called barebones computer systems, servers, routers and various computer components.

The specific patents asserted in the IBM complaint are:

1. U.S. Patent No. 5,008,829: Personal computer power supply
2. U.S. Patent No. 5,249,741: Automatic fan speed control
3. U.S. Patent No. 5,371,852: Method and apparatus for making a cluster of computers appear as a single host on a network

The United States International Trade Commission is an independent federal agency with authority to bar the importation of products that infringe US patents. More at IBM.

Microsoft delivers next milestone for highly anticipated Windows Server 2008, makes RC1 (release candidate one) ready for testing; industry readies for worldwide launch wave with “Heroes Happen Here” launch theme.

REDMOND, Wash — Dec 5, 2007 — Reaching a major milestone in development, Microsoft today made available the Windows Server 2008 release candidate one (RC1) for customers to download and evaluate.

In addition, Microsoft committed more than $150 million (U.S.) worldwide for outreach and demand generation to IT professionals and developers, and disclosed additional details and partner programs in preparation for the “Heroes Happen Here” launch events, beginning on Feb. 27, 2008, in Los Angeles.

Windows Server 2008 RC1
Windows Server 2008, which is scheduled to release to manufacturing (RTM) by the Feb. 27 launch event, reached the RC1 milestone today and is available to customers for download at Microsoft.com/ws08eval.

With RC1, Microsoft is enhancing Group Policy with Group Policy Preferences, formerly known as PolicyMaker Standard Edition and Policy Share Manager. As the code approaches final signoff, RC1 is one of the last opportunities for customers and partners to evaluate it and provide feedback. So far, more than 1.8 million customers have obtained Windows Server 2008 evaluation code.

Industry Partners Kick Off Windows Server 2008 Launch Wave
As the industry gears up for the new enterprise and developer platform, thousands of industry partners have been working with Microsoft on product testing and evaluation, and are currently developing new applications, device drivers, services and solutions.

Ten partners in particular — Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Citrix Systems, Dell, Fujitsu, Hitachi, HP, Intel, Quest Software, SAP AG and Unisys — have already invested significant time and resources to be platinum sponsors of the upcoming launch, demonstrating their strong support for and excitement about Microsoft’s next-generation products.

To date more than 140,000 IT professionals and developers have been trained on Windows Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008, and 3,100 certifications have been granted on Windows Server 2008. More at Microsoft.

Boston — Dec 04, ‘07 — SAP said on Tuesday that new software for sales-force automation that it is hailing as one of the most user-friendly products to date would be compatible with iPhone, reports Reuters.

SAP, the world’s biggest maker of business management software, will include the program as part of new sales-force automation software that it is launching this month.

SAP is breaking with precedent by introducing versions of the new software that are compatible with the iPhone ahead of ones for mobile devices that businesses traditionally use. These include Research in Motion’s Blackberry, Palm’s Treo and devices that run on Windows Mobile from Microsoft.

The iPhone software, part of a new sales-force automation suite from SAP, uses a Web-based interface with drag-and-drop tools similar to ones available on Google. More at Reuters.

REDMOND, Wash — Dec 03, 2007 — Microsoft today unveiled two tools and an accreditation program designed to help customers make the most of their experience with Microsoft adCenter and Live Search.

Microsoft adExcellence

The Microsoft adExcellence program provides agencies and advertisers with the opportunity to become certified adCenter experts. The program offers more than 20 free training modules and a fee-based examination, providing users with the ability to demonstrate to their customers and prospects that they are fully trained and proficient in using adCenter. More at adExcellence.

Microsoft adCenter Add-in for Excel 2007

Microsoft adCenter Add-in for Excel 2007 is a fully integrated Microsoft Office Excel-based tool that enables adCenter customers to easily research keywords to help them reach and capture the right audience with their paid search advertising campaigns.

Webmaster CenterThe Webmaster Center is a portal specifically designed for webmasters and search engine optimizers. It provides all the necessary resources to optimize a Web site for achieving the highest possible algorithmic or “organic” listing on Live Search.

This includes information about how Live Search crawls and indexes site pages; site map creation and submission; statistics about Web sites currently indexed by Live Search; consolidated content submission guidelines; and new content and community resources. The beta version of the Webmaster Center can be accessed at webmaster.live.com.

About Microsoft Advertiser & Publisher Solutions

Microsoft Advertiser & Publisher Solutions (APS) provides world-class advertising platforms and tools for advertisers, agencies and publishers. Its mission is to make buying and selling media simpler, smarter and more cost-effective across media and devices in the Microsoft network of properties and beyond.

The APS portfolio includes Microsoft adCenter, Atlas, DRIVEpm, Massive and ScreenTonic. APS businesses span search, display and emerging media including mobile, gaming, video on demand and IPTV. More information can be found at advertising.microsoft.com.

DUBLIN, Calif –BUSINESS WIRE– Dec 03, ‘07 — Sybase, a leading provider of enterprise infrastructure and mobile software, today announced that it plans to expand its support of mobile platforms to include devices based on the Android platform.

Sybase currently targets a wide range of devices and platforms across its mobile middleware and mobile services offerings, supporting more than 230 Windows Mobile, Symbian, Palm, RIM and iPhone handheld devices, as well as Windows laptops and tablets. With this announcement, Sybase continues to be proactive in addressing the mixed device requirements of today’s businesses.

“It is exciting to see that the emergence of platforms such as Android, combined with the backing of the companies in the Open Handset Alliance, including Google, are fueling even more rapid innovation across the entire mobility industry, and will continue to blur the line between consumer and enterprise use,” said Dr. Raj Nathan, chief marketing officer, Sybase.

“This is consistent with Sybase’s Unwired Enterprise vision. We see a future where information can be shared from any system to any user, with the same rich and consistent user experience whether in the office or on the road, on any device.”

Beijing, China — Dec 03, ‘07 — Nasdaq opened an office in Beijing on Monday, a move that will let it step up efforts to attract more Chinese firms to list on the exchange.

Headed by chief representative Xu Guangxun, Nasdaq’s Beijing office aims to serve the growing number of Chinese companies listed or seeking to list on the technology-heavy exchange, the bourse said in a statement.

‘Having a representative office in China enhances our ability to provide the highest level of value and service to Chinese companies,’ said Eric Landheer, Nasdaq’s head of Asia Pacific, according to the statement.

‘We look forward to further growth and providing even stronger support to the 52 mainland Chinese companies already listed on Nasdaq.’

On Tuesday next week, the NYSE will also launch its representative office in Beijing, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.

It will help the NYSE to woo more initial public offerings in the fast-growing Chinese economy, the report said.

China agreed late last year to let the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq open offices in Beijing as part of deals struck during the first round of a high-level “strategic economic dialogue” with the United States.

The NYSE on Sept 4 won the green light from Chinese authorities to open the office, becoming the first foreign exchange that received such approval.

Dell announces new agency agreement with WPP valued at $4.5 billion in agency billings over three years.

Dec 03, ‘07 — On Sunday, Dec 02, Dell announced that it will partner with WPP, who will join Dell to create a new global integrated marketing and communications agency.

Together with the WPP agency, Dell is creating a new marketing model designed to further propel Dell’s growth. We’ve been calling this “Project DaVinci” because we’ve been looking for the combination of artist and scientist – an agency that has both the creative horsepower and ability to measure the business impact of their work.

The process started with Vice President of Global Marketing, Casey Jones, joining Dell eight months ago and discovering that the company was working with more than 800 agencies worldwide. Project Da Vinci was soon started and, as Casey has often said, “Instead of dating 800 agencies, we are creating a partnership with one firm. We want our partner to spend 100% of their time thinking about our customers, rather than how they will get the next assignment.”

WPP, one of the world’s largest advertising and marketing services firm, edged out peers like Interpublic Group and Omnicom Group to win the account, a spokesman for Dell said. More at Dell.

Seoul, South Korea & Tokyo, Japan –BUSINESS WIRE– Dec 03, ‘07 — Samsung Electronics and Toshiba today announced that they have licensed to one another the rights to produce, market and sell memory with the specifications and trademarks of Samsung’s OneNAND and Toshiba’s LBA-NAND memory chips.

As a result of the reciprocal arrangement, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will have a broader choice of suppliers for each premium memory chip, thereby reducing any potential risk of over-dependence on a single supplier for any of the selected chips. The arrangement is expected to result in increased availability of premium-performance OneNAND and LBA-NAND flash devices worldwide.

Under terms of the agreement, Samsung will license product specifications of its integrated OneNAND and Flex-OneNAND “fusion” memory chips to Toshiba, while Toshiba will license product specifications of its single-package LBA-NAND and mobileLBA-NAND flash chips to Samsung. Both companies will develop and market products that are compatible with the respective original-source technology. Samsung and Toshiba each plan to release products next year based on the respectively licensed product specifications. More here.

As a strategic partner of Microsoft, Infosys has a multidimensional relationship with the company. Infosys has established the new 400-seat capacity VOF to facilitate and highlight its expertise in working on Microsoft programs and industry-leading solutions. It is completely compliant with Microsoft’s rigorous security and privacy standards.

The companies’ collaboration has resulted in measurable enhancements to productivity, customer and partner experience, and operational efficiencies across Microsoft’s businesses while enabling Infosys to refine its industry service offerings for high-tech companies. Examples of joint projects include:

“The Infosys and Microsoft relationship is a shining example of how a strong collaboration may enhance a client’s competitive advantage in the marketplace,” said Anand Swaminathan, associate vice president, High-Tech & Manufacturing, Infosys. “Infosys is committed to combining its industry solutions and services and extending the global delivery model we pioneered to enable Microsoft to deliver world-class software and customer experience in the flat world.”

More at Microsoft.

PARK RIDGE, NJ — On Nov 26, Sony expanded its line of video projection systems for commercial applications with two new LCD models for larger-venues.

The new VPL-FW300L (7,000 lumens) and the VPL-FH300L (6,000 lumens) projector models are designed to deliver outstanding images while in the same room as the audience. This makes them ideal for smaller auditoriums, large classrooms and meeting rooms, museum exhibits, event centers, ballrooms and movie theaters for displaying pre-show content.

The VPL-FW300L projector has a WXGA+ resolution of 1366 x 800, while the VPL-FH300L unit delivers resolution of 2048 x 1080. Both models are housed in the same chassis, and share the same type of lenses, lamps, and filters as well as the same connections and network functions.

Both models use dual 275W lamps to essentially eliminate the risk of a blackout in the event of lamp failure. Their opposing design configuration allows for projector tilting for mirror or other uses. The lamps have an expected life of 1500 (high) or 2500 (standard) hours. This use of low wattage lamps saves energy and running costs, which in turn helps the projector run cooler and quieter when compared with other offerings.

The VPL-FW300L and the VPL-FH300L projectors are planned to be available in January, at suggested list prices of $27,000 and $40,000, respectively. More at Sony.

Round Rock, Texas — Nov 27, ‘07 — Dell today will help simplify enterprise search for U.S. customers by selling the Google Search Appliance and the Google Mini , through Dell’s direct corporate and public sales organizations ( see dell.com/googlesearch).

The Google Search Appliance starts at $30,000 and the Google Mini starts at $1,995. Both search appliances are covered by Google warranty and support services.

“Google’s turnkey search appliances align well with Dell’s priority to simplify information technology in the data center”, said Terry Klein, Dell vice president, Americas Advanced Solutions Group

The Google Search Appliance, with its distinctive bezel and yellow chassis, is designed for larger enterprises, while the blue Google Mini is targeted for the small and medium business market.

These appliances deliver relevant search results from information sources within a company’s firewall. Companies can also design their own interface that users recognize from their familiarity with Google.com, without compromising existing corporate security requirements.

Since 2006, Dell’s OEM Industry Solutions Group has coordinated with Google on the customization of Dell PowerEdgeTM 2950 servers to form the foundation for the yellow Google Search Appliance (GSA). More at Dell, Dell.com/GoogleSearch.

Paris, France — November 27, 2007 –Dell today announced that Carrefour Group will become the first mass merchandiser in Europe to sell Dell notebook and desktop computers.

Dell and Carrefour intend for consumers to be able to purchase Dell products in 365 Carrefour Group stores in France, Belgium and Spain beginning in January. Plans also call for additional stores in more countries later in the year. Carrefour is one of the largest retailers worldwide.

Dell’s relationship with Carrefour is the latest in a series of retail agreements aimed at reaching more consumers globally.

With this agreement, Dell products will be available in nearly 10,000 stores around the globe.

Dell recently announced relationships with Staples in the US, Courts stores in Singapore, Gome stores in China, Bic Camera Inc. in Japan, Carphone Warehouse in the U.K. and Wal-Mart in the U.S., Canada, Brazil and Mexico. More at Dell.