Kofax ups ante with 3.7% growth

Document behemoth grinds out progress against tough economic backdrop, sticks to acquisition plans

By ECM Plus Staff

ECM Plus +++ Document bellwether Kofax plc has just released it latest financial results for the quarter and six months ended December 31, 2011.

According to the company, total revenues grew by 3.7% to US$70 million, up from US$67.5 million for the previous year and for the six months up 5.2% to US$128.5 million from US$122.2 million in the previous year period.

REVIEW: Sandberg USB 2.0 Cable Amplifier

ECM Plus Tech Labs

USB 2.0 Amplifier 5 meters – Model: 133-28

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to use a USB device somewhere in the office or home environment only to find that when the lead is longer than fifteen feet or so, about five metres, the signal degrades to such an extent that the receiving device and the host can no longer synchronise and communicate their datastream with each other.

French TV content to air on Britain’s screens

French connection

FRANCE 24 brings daily news to nation’s FreeviewHD on the Vision TV network

By ECM Plus Staff

ECM Plus +++ The French government-controlled news channel FRANCE 24 is now available in all British homes with compatible FreeviewHD-enabled televisions, broadcasting on the Vision TV Network.

It can be found on Channel 110. FRANCE 24 covers international current events providing the French perspective on world news.

Code-breaking Colossus rebuild takes on tube challenge

Colossus

 

New gallery for the rebuild of Colossus, the world’s first modern computer, gets underway

By ECM Plus Staff

ECM Plus +++ The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC) located on Bletchley Park is creating a completely new gallery for its most famous exhibit: the rebuild of Colossus, the world’s first electronic, programmable computer. Anyone can play a part in helping to build the new gallery by sponsoring a valve on a virtual Colossus at www.colossusonline.org.

The new TNMOC gallery in historic Block H is on the spot where Colossus No 9 stood during the war and where the rebuild took place.

HARDWARE REVIEW: Sandberg SPDIF Digital Audio Cable

Digital sound just got that little bit clearer via ‘Lux Line’

Model: Sandberg SP/DIF digital cable – 504-24: Digital audio, music, primarily is a very subjective thing. Some people have ears like bats, others have cloth ears. From those who can hear a pin drop to those who are atonal as a lump of mud, the world is full of variance .

And so to review and, ostensibly, identical piece of wire is not a task for the faint-hearted.

New muzak model is music to the ears of British retailers

EngIish shopping centre in Stratford

Licence-free background music service MusicStream claims millions in saving for retailers

By ECM Plus Staff

ECM Plus +++ MusicStream, a royalty-free music operator has just launches a new service which boasts to be an exclusively rights-free digital background music service.

According to the company, the music and management control features have been designed specifically for retail, leisure and hospitality business use.

HARDWARE REVIEWS: Sandberg USB Mini DVD Burner

Model 133-66 – Portable storage and media creation takes to the road

By ECM Plus Tech Labs

Sandberg’s DVD Writer is a small, portable USB 2.0 device that is powered via the 5v supply from the Universal Serial Bus data channel, and only requires a standard USB data cable to operate.

The drive is slim and attractive, about the same dimension as a laotop’ in-built CD/DVD drive, and comes plug-and-play ready to roll.

Anti-Apple campaign grows over Dickensian iPad workhouse shame

Apple: Working practices rotten to the core?

Apple factory abuses spark viral online campaign

By ECM Plus

ECM Plus +++ 140,000 people have joined up against Apple Corporation’s abuse of its outsourced workers in China, with user Mark Shields’ campaign on Change.org asking Apple to stop ongoing abuse of workers at iPod and iPad sweat-shop factory conditions in China.

The 140,000 people across the world have joined an explosive campaign on Change.org calling on Apple to protect workers who assemble Apple products from abuse, injury, and death.

Education sector gets smart with free open source software apps

FSF gets smart in educational drive

GNU Project renews focus on free software in education

By ECM Plus Staff

ECM Plus +++ The GNU Project has just relaunched its worldwide volunteer-led effort to bring free software to educational institutions of all levels. The new effort is based at GNU.org

According to GNU, the newly-formed GNU Education Team is being led by Dora Scilipoti, an Italian free software activist and teacher. 

Judges find Feds’ GPS surveillance breaches Fourth Amendment

Supreme Court finds against Feds

Unanimous Supreme Court ensures Americans have protections from GPS surveillance – EFF amicus brief argued that government installation and use of GPS is a search

In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has confirmed that Americans have constitutional protections against GPS surveillance by law enforcement, holding in U.S. v. Jones that GPS tracking is a “search” under the Fourth Amendment.

EFF urges Judge to block Facebook’s dangerous claims

Zuckerberg's Facebook in hot water again

New Facebook ploy will ‘criminalize’ add-on service ‘hurts users and innovation’

By ECM Plus staff

ECM Plus +++ NEWS/San Francisco, CA – - The Electronic Frontier Foundation is urging a district court judge to block Facebook’s attempts to criminalize an add-on service that helped users aggregate all of their social networking data in one place.

According to the Foundation, an Internet entrepreneurial company called Power Ventures created a web-based tool to enable users to view information from different social networking accounts in the same browser window, enabling them to get a complete picture of what’s happening across various platforms.

SharePoint gets sixth sense with DocAve for enterprise content

Image: John Bristowe

DocAve platform extends management and governance for SharePoint 2010

By ECM Plus staff

ECM Plus +++ AvePoint has just released DocAve 6 enterprise-management platform for SharePoint governance.

According to the company, new in Version are increases in business productivity, reduces total cost of ownership, and IT assurance to enable security and compliance for enterprise content.

Yuan trade prospects good for Britain

Britannia on Plymouth Hoe

Hong Kong and England exchange would be good for future British prosperity as euro collapses

By PAUL QUIGLEY

ECM Plus +++ As Europe collapses under the strain of its top-heavy, over-debtedness and uber-bureaucratised idealism, the prospects for Britain are looking infinitely brighter in the light of recent exchange trade talks with the world’s second-largest economy, China.

Reports that the current British chancellor Osbourne is glad-handing the Chinese in the former British colony of Hong Kong comes as a welcome refrain for Britain’s social and economic prosperity, following the disintegration of the euro now taking place across the continent.

Data centres set for future multi-billion dollar mergers and acquisitions – survey

Eye on more M&A in data centre sector. Image: kevindean

Data centre M&A valued at over US$12.3 billion worldwide in 2011

By ECM Plus staff

ECM Plus +++ Mergers and acquisition activity in the datacentre sector for both businesses and property, generated more than US$12.3 billion in deal values globally in 2011.

The most active market is the USA followed by Britain and Australia, according to a review of finance and investment in the data centre sector, from research by consulting firm BroadGroup which assessed all publicly-available data across M&A and fund raising activity.

VIEWPOINT: CES – Gadget glut betrays storage setbacks

CES show portends cost conundrums

No more gimmickry please, just give us the skinny

BY PAUL QUIGLEY

ECM Plus +++ Bullshitometers are very much in evidence at this year’s annual CES bash for boffins of all things tech gadget enslavement.

Axe gods grab hi-fi firm in high-end audio expansion

Nashville, Tennessee, home of Gibson Guitars

Gibson acquires stake in Onkyo Japan and majority interest in Onkyo USA

By ECM Plus staff

ECM Plus +++ American musical instrument manufacturer Gibson Guitar has just inked a strategic partnership with Onkyo Corporation, the Japanese audio specialist.

According to the Nashville firm, Onkyo will give Gibson’s newly-formed pro audio division substantial technology resources.

Crowd-funding entreprenuers get on their bikes and ride

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall presents cheque for £40,290 to The Bicycle Academy, thanks to Peoplefund.it

By ECM Plus staff

ECM Plus +++ Broadcaster and food writer Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall has presented a cheque for £40,290 to Andrew Denham of The Bicycle Academy, at River Cottage HQ, in Axminster.

The money was raised in an amazing 6 days, through website Peoplefund.it and is thought to be the fastest ‘crowd-funded’ enterprise in Britain.

Twitter criticism of public figures protected by First Amendment

First Amendment Rally in Union Square. Image: Luke Redmond via Flickr

Judge: Prosecution of online critic under anti-stalking law is “unconstitutional”

By ECM Plus staff

ECM Plus +++ A federal district court judge in Maryland today blocked the government’s use of a federal anti-stalking law to prosecute a man for posting insults and criticism of a public figure to Twitter, ruling that “the First Amendment protects speech even when the subject or manner of expression is uncomfortable and challenges conventional religious beliefs, political attitudes or standards of good taste.” 

Christmas cracker for content apps at Downloadbuyer.com

Image by NilmaBoston

Magix, Content Watch and other software discounts at online software emporium

By ECM Plus staff

ECM Plus +++ Online software superstore DownloadBuyer is offering 50 percent discounts on its wide range of software products throughout December 2011.

According to the company, the range with the discounts includes apps from mediAvatar, Xilisoft, Wondershare, Magix, O&O, eJay, Innoheim, MacPhun, ABBYY, UpdateStar, Emsisoft, Serif, Abylonsoft, BitDefender and Content Watch.

New Hampshire home for ‘Cyber Kill Chain’ centre

Howarth opens new intelligence centre in Farnborough, England. Image: stumayhew

“Minister For War” opens Lockheed Martin’s new cybersecurity intelligence centre in Hampshire

By ECM Plus staff

ECM Plus +++ Lockheed Martin has just opened its first Security Intelligence Centre in Farnborough, England, which the company said would extend its ‘global reach’ and would be ‘augmenting facilities in the United States’.

The new Farnborough centre was opened in the presence of Conservative Party Member of Parliament The Right Honourable Gerald Howarth representing the constituency of Aldershot, also in Hampshire, England.

REVIEW: Magix Rescue Your Videotapes! 4.0

Wave goodbye to dusty old tapes and bulky cases

by ECM Plus Labs

ECM Plus +++ When it comes to valuable digital assets, few would argue that old family videos and precious moments from our cultural heritage, birthdays, Christmas morning, family weddings, first steps, proud father, Mother’s Day, and so on and so forth, are those moments that many families have made Olde Worlde tape-based videos of, but are in large part, currently languishing in a dusty box in the garage or in the attic.

Money and votes behind House Bill easing sharing of video rental information

Bill passed that allows for VSPs to obtain consent on an "...ongoing basis..."

By ECM Plus staff

ECM Plus +++ The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill (HR 2471) that would amend the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 to ease restrictions on sharing of video rental information.

The bill is supported by Facebook, Netflix, the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Digital Media Association. The measure is opposed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

SOFTWARE REVIEWS: MediAvatar Media Toolkit Ultimate

MediAvatar’s Media Toolkit Ultimate is the Swiss Army knife of modern multimedia convertibility.

By ECM Plus Labs Staff

ECM Plus +++ Billing itself as making it possible to enjoy ‘media anytime anywhere’ the software is indeed a veritable smogasbord of must-have’s for media in all its forms.

MediAvatar’s Media Toolkit Ultimate boasts a Five Knuckle shuffle of apps within its box – the five being: Blu-Ray Ripper, DVD Converter Pro, Audio Converter Pro, Video Converter Pro, and last but not least, for all the narcissists out there, YouTube Video Converter.

Software giveaway brings Yuletide cheer

Yo-ho-ho! ‘Tis the season of goodwill to all men.

DownloadBuyer.com has over ten grand’s worth of software to give away throughout December

By ECM Plus staff

ECM Plus +++ DownloadBuyer, the online software store, is to give away £10,000 worth of software for Windows and Mac OS in their ‘Christmas Lucky Dip’ promotion.

Jon Silvera, managing director commented: “DownloadBuyer.com continues to see strong growth. To celebrate, we pulled together a massive prize pot donated from participating vendors and are both proud and excited to pass these on to our customers as a thank you over the Christmas period. So along with many half price offers over Xmas there’ 50/50 chance to pick up a totally free product on top”.

Global ChokePoint to monitor violations of freedom of expression

New project to monitor worldwide abuses of freedom of expression

New project tracks censorship worldwide, documenting copyright enforcement’s effects on freedom of expression

By ECM Plus staff

ECM Plus +++ The Electronic Frontier Foundation, in collaboration with over a dozen civil society organizations worldwide, has just launched ‘Global Chokepoints’ at www.globalchokepoints.org.

The global collaboration documents how copyright enforcement is being used to censor online free expression in nations around the world.