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An open Internet is essential to the American economy, and increasingly to our very way of life. By lowering the cost of launching a new idea, igniting new political movements, and bringing communities closer together, it has been one of the most significant democratizing influences the world has ever known.

“Net neutrality” has been built into the fabric of the Internet since its creation — but it is also a principle that we cannot take for granted. We cannot allow Internet service providers (ISPs) to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas. That is why today, I am asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to answer the call of almost 4 million public comments, and implement the strongest possible rules to protect net neutrality.

When I was a candidate for this office, I made clear my commitment to a free and open Internet, and my commitment remains as strong as ever. Four years ago, the FCC tried to implement rules that would protect net neutrality with little to no impact on the telecommunications companies that make important investments in our economy. After the rules were challenged, the court reviewing the rules agreed with the FCC that net neutrality was essential for preserving an environment that encourages new investment in the network, new online services and content, and everything else that makes up the Internet as we now know it. Unfortunately, the court ultimately struck down the rules — not because it disagreed with the need to protect net neutrality, but because it believed the FCC had taken the wrong legal approach.

The FCC is an independent agency, and ultimately this decision is theirs alone. I believe the FCC should create a new set of rules protecting net neutrality and ensuring that neither the cable company nor the phone company will be able to act as a gatekeeper, restricting what you can do or see online. The rules I am asking for are simple, common-sense steps that reflect the Internet you and I use every day, and that some ISPs already observe. These bright-line rules include:

No blocking. If a consumer requests access to a website or service, and the content is legal, your ISP should not be permitted to block it. That way, every player — not just those commercially affiliated with an ISP — gets a fair shot at your business.
No throttling. Nor should ISPs be able to intentionally slow down some content or speed up others — through a process often called “throttling” — based on the type of service or your ISP’s preferences.
Increased transparency. The connection between consumers and ISPs — the so-called “last mile” — is not the only place some sites might get special treatment. So, I am also asking the FCC to make full use of the transparency authorities the court recently upheld, and if necessary to apply net neutrality rules to points of interconnection between the ISP and the rest of the Internet.
No paid prioritization. Simply put: No service should be stuck in a “slow lane” because it does not pay a fee. That kind of gatekeeping would undermine the level playing field essential to the Internet’s growth. So, as I have before, I am asking for an explicit ban on paid prioritization and any other restriction that has a similar effect.
If carefully designed, these rules should not create any undue burden for ISPs, and can have clear, monitored exceptions for reasonable network management and for specialized services such as dedicated, mission-critical networks serving a hospital. But combined, these rules mean everything for preserving the Internet’s openness.

The rules also have to reflect the way people use the Internet today, which increasingly means on a mobile device. I believe the FCC should make these rules fully applicable to mobile broadband as well, while recognizing the special challenges that come with managing wireless networks.

To be current, these rules must also build on the lessons of the past. For almost a century, our law has recognized that companies who connect you to the world have special obligations not to exploit the monopoly they enjoy over access in and out of your home or business. That is why a phone call from a customer of one phone company can reliably reach a customer of a different one, and why you will not be penalized solely for calling someone who is using another provider. It is common sense that the same philosophy should guide any service that is based on the transmission of information — whether a phone call, or a packet of data.

So the time has come for the FCC to recognize that broadband service is of the same importance and must carry the same obligations as so many of the other vital services do. To do that, I believe the FCC should reclassify consumer broadband service under Title II of the Telecommunications Act — while at the same time forbearing from rate regulation and other provisions less relevant to broadband services. This is a basic acknowledgment of the services ISPs provide to American homes and businesses, and the straightforward obligations necessary to ensure the network works for everyone — not just one or two companies.

Investment in wired and wireless networks has supported jobs and made America the center of a vibrant ecosystem of digital devices, apps, and platforms that fuel growth and expand opportunity. Importantly, network investment remained strong under the previous net neutrality regime, before it was struck down by the court; in fact, the court agreed that protecting net neutrality helps foster more investment and innovation. If the FCC appropriately forbears from the Title II regulations that are not needed to implement the principles above — principles that most ISPs have followed for years — it will help ensure new rules are consistent with incentives for further investment in the infrastructure of the Internet.

The Internet has been one of the greatest gifts our economy — and our society — has ever known. The FCC was chartered to promote competition, innovation, and investment in our networks. In service of that mission, there is no higher calling than protecting an open, accessible, and free Internet. I thank the Commissioners for having served this cause with distinction and integrity, and I respectfully ask them to adopt the policies I have outlined here, to preserve this technology’s promise for today, and future generations to come.

Tianjin – Bank of China (BOC) Tianjin Branch and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the successful completion of the bank’s first smart branch. The new flagship location aims to provide an outstanding customer experience through the use of big data and analytics, mobile and social business tools. This flagship branch will serve as the model for all future Tianjin Branch of BOC locations.

As one of the leaders in China’s banking sector, BOC looks to keep pace with the changing customer and industry requirements driven by mobile and social technologies. BOC is focused on delivering transformational services that tap big data and innovative channels to create new, more personalized customer experiences. A long-term partner of BOC, IBM provided deep industry insight and consulting expertise to help create BOC’s new smart branch.

“The completion of our flagship smart branch further illustrates BOC’s dedication to continuous transformation to best meet the needs of our customers, and this is just the beginning,” said Sun Huimin, president assistant of Tianjin Branch of BOC. “Looking ahead, we plan to capitalize on digital and other innovative technologies to strengthen all of our customer-facing channels and their ability to deliver clients a personalized experience.”

“With IBM’s help, Bank of China is setting a new standard for the Chinese banking industry and the client experiences it delivers,” said Ron Lefferts, FSS leader, GBS, IBM Greater China Group. “Consumers worldwide expect a new level of service whenever they interact with a brand, whether it be a retail store or a bank. BOC’s new smart branch applies forward-looking insights gained from big data and analytics as well as social and mobile technologies to quickly respond to changing customer needs, giving BOC a distinct competitive advantage.”

The new Smart Branch incorporates the following innovative technologies and approaches to provide customers with the best possible experience:
Dedicated Customer Experience Section: The branch features a sales area where customers can freely experience the bank’s services and products through various terminals, including one for mobile banking. In this area, sales representatives are available and equipped with mobile devices to demonstrate products to multiple customers simultaneously.

Intelligent Process Management: The BOC will monitor the flow of customers in surrounding branches, in real time, to proactively divert customers into nearby, unoccupied branches.

Track and Analyze Integrated Customer Data: BOC will capture anonymous user behavior from all interactive media in the branch and analyze it for insight. Better understanding customer behavior will help the bank make changes that respond to customer preferences.

VTM Remote Bank Teller: BOC customers can carry out real-time communications with a remote bank teller for simple, standard transactions. This allows BOC to complete a greater volume of financial transactions, significantly improving efficiency for both the bank and its customers.

Creating a Seamless Experience On and Offline: Customers can purchase services or get additional information through an interactive QR code wall at the branch. Customers can also share service QR codes with friends on social networks to make digital recommendations.

IBM has global expertise working with banking and financial institutions to build a strong technology backbone that helps them become more customer centric, resulting in increased revenue and business performance in a competitive marketplace.
For more information on IBM Banking visit http://www-935.ibm.com/industries/banking/

ARMONK, NY and REDMOND, WA — IBM and Microsoft announced today that they are working together to provide their respective enterprise software on Microsoft Azure and IBM Cloud. As adoption of hybrid cloud computing accelerates, this relationship will give clients, partners and developers more choice in the cloud, helping them drive new business opportunities, spur innovation and reduce costs.

Specifically, the newly announced relationship provides the following client benefits:

IBM and Microsoft will make key IBM middleware such as WebSphere Liberty, MQ, and DB2 available on Microsoft Azure.
Windows Server and SQL Server will be offered on IBM Cloud.
IBM and Microsoft are working together to deliver a Microsoft .NET runtime for IBM’s Bluemix cloud development platform.
To support hybrid cloud deployments, IBM will expand support of its software running on Windows Server Hyper-V, and the companies plan to make IBM Pure Application Service available on Azure.
“Together we are creating new opportunities to drive innovation in hybrid cloud,” said Robert LeBlanc, Senior Vice President, Software and Cloud Solutions Group, IBM. “This agreement reinforces IBM’s strategy in providing open cloud technology for the enterprise. Clients will now gain unprecedented access to IBM’s leading middleware and will have an even greater level of choice over the tools that they use to build and deploy their cloud environments.”

“Microsoft is committed to helping enterprise customers realize the tremendous benefits of cloud computing across their own systems, partner clouds and Microsoft Azure,” said Scott Guthrie, executive vice president, Cloud and Enterprise, Microsoft. “With this agreement more customers will be able to take advantage of the hyper-scale, enterprise performance and hybrid capabilities of Azure.”

IBM and Microsoft will make key products within IBM’s enterprise-proven middleware software portfolio, including WebSphere Application Server, WebSphere MQ and DB2 database software, available in the Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines service for development and production deployment.

Microsoft and IBM are working together to provide .NET runtimes, along with relevant tooling, in IBM Bluemix, IBM’s open cloud platform-as-a-service. This could open the door for millions of .NET developers to build applications at scale for clients on IBM’s cloud platform. The companies will begin with a limited preview offering of .NET operating within Bluemix.

The companies will enable customers to bring their own software licenses to the IBM and Microsoft clouds, helping customers avoid extra cost. Microsoft will also offer IBM middleware software licenses, such as WebSphere Liberty, MQ and DB2, to Azure customers with pay-per-use pricing.

The companies also plan to make IBM Pure Application Service available on both Microsoft Azure and IBM SoftLayer for automated deployment, configuration and license management in a hybrid cloud environment.

IBM SoftLayer currently provides and supports a wide range of Microsoft software, including Windows Server, Hyper-V, WebMatrix, Windows Firewall, SQL Server and others.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services, devices and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

About IBM Cloud Computing
IBM is a global leader in cloud with a broad portfolio of open cloud solutions to enable clients for the hybrid cloud era with integration, control over data and expertise. Since the $2 billion acquisition of SoftLayer, IBM has continued to make significant investments in building out a comprehensive cloud portfolio including $1.2 billion to expand its global footprint to 40 data centers and $1 billion investment to establish Bluemix, a cloud platform-as-a-service on Cloud Foundry, to help millions of developers. IBM Cloud has helped more than 30,000 clients around the world. Today, IBM has 100+ cloud SaaS solutions, thousands of experts with deep industry knowledge helping clients transform and a growing global network of data centers. Since 2007, IBM has invested more than $7 billion in 17 acquisitions to accelerate its cloud initiatives. IBM holds 1,560 cloud patents focused on driving innovation. In fact, IBM for the 21st consecutive year topped the annual list of US patent leaders. IBM processes more the 5.5M client transactions daily through IBM’s public cloud. For more information about cloud offerings from IBM, visit http://www.ibm.com/cloud. Follow us on Twitter at @IBMcloud and on our blog at www.thoughtsoncloud.com. Join the conversation #ibmcloud.

BARCELONA — Oct. 28, 2014 — Tuesday at TechEd Europe, Microsoft Corp. announced new cloud services, mobility solutions, APIs, tools and an expanded ecosystem of partner solutions, all designed to help IT professionals and developers compete and thrive in today’s mobile-first, cloud-first world.

“Today’s enterprise is always on, and IT professionals and developers are under constant pressure to keep up with the demands of the business,” said Jason Zander, corporate vice president of Microsoft Azure, Microsoft. “We are using the power of our cloud platform — Azure, Office 365 and Microsoft Dynamics — to deliver technology solutions that empower IT professionals, developers and end users to do more.”

Azure innovations to help streamline operations and enhance security

At TechEd Europe, Microsoft announced several cloud services to help intelligently automate and streamline IT operations, including these:

Azure Operational Insights brings together Azure, HDInsight and Microsoft System Center to gather and analyze machine data across cloud environments and turn it into actionable insights that inform business decisions. Available in preview in November 2014.
Azure Batch allows customers to deploy massive scale-out jobs, with access to thousands of cores, to solve complex problems with just a few clicks and no infrastructure investment. Available in preview.
Azure Automation automates time-consuming tasks across Azure and third-party environments, reducing the risk associated with repetitive manual processes. Generally available.
Microsoft also announced a number of security enhancements, generally available now, to Azure Virtual Machines and Cloud Services, including these:

Support for multiple network interface cards (NICs) so customers can bring their own networking and security appliances such as load balancers and firewalls
New Network Security Groups that enable customized security boundaries for network access and provide greater control over traffic flow
Microsoft Anti-Malware for Virtual Machines and Cloud Services, a free service that provides real-time threat protection
Comprehensive enterprise mobility management for nearly any device and data

Microsoft also announced management, security, privacy and compliance enhancements for the Enterprise Mobility Suite and Office 365. These new capabilities give IT the ability to enforce policies, protect corporate assets, and empower today’s always-on and on-the-go workforce.

Microsoft Intune updates. These updates will enable customers to comprehensively manage Office mobile apps, wrap management technology around their own line-of-business applications, enable more secure mobile app viewing and provide powerful conditional access features that allow better control of corporate resources with conditional access features. Available within the next few months.
Built-in Mobile Device Management (MDM) for Office 365. New, built-in Intune MDM capabilities for Office 365 on iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices will provide administrators with policy-driven device management and the ability to wipe corporate data to prevent unauthorized access and use — all while preserving personal data. Available in the first quarter of 2015.
Azure Active Directory (AD) Premium updates. Azure AD Application Proxy, generally available by the end of 2014, will make it possible to publish on-premises applications to external users via the cloud. Azure AD Connect, available in preview by the end of 2014, will make it easier to connect on-premises assets to the cloud and synchronize directories to Azure AD.
Extending Data Loss Prevention (DLP) technology across Office 365. Over the next few months, DLP capabilities will be added to SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business to provide protection for sensitive content across Office 365. In addition, in 2015, Office apps will support DLP notifications to provide users with helpful prompts related to information protection.
Office 365 APIs and tools for developers

Microsoft also introduced new APIs and tools that allow developers to access the Office 365 API and create new, data-rich productivity applications using the platforms, tools and devices of their choice.

New Open APIs for Office 365. These REST-based APIs for mail, files, calendar and contacts will empower Android, iOS, Windows or Web developers to leverage over 400 petabytes of Office 365 content to deliver enhanced productivity to the millions of Office 365 subscribers. Available now through the Microsoft API Sandbox for Office 365.
New mobile software development kits (SDKs) for native app development. These SDKs make it easier for developers to use Office 365 APIs to create applications for any platform using tools and languages they’re familiar with. A new iOS SDK for Xcode is available in preview. Android and Visual Studio SDKs are generally available.
Office 365 App Launcher. Office 365 App Launcher provides a single, customizable place in Office 365 where people can access their favorite apps. Developers can use App Launcher to increase visibility of their apps alongside apps such as Outlook, Yammer and OneDrive.
In addition, Visual Studio Online customers in Europe can elect to use the Azure Amsterdam Region for their projects and store their data closer to home.
An expanded ecosystem of cloud partners

Microsoft continued to deliver new partner-powered cloud solutions, including:

An expanded Cloud OS Network, with partner support now available in over 100 countries, gives customers broad access to hybrid cloud solutions.
A new Azure Certified for Application Services program, part of Azure Certified, which covers managed APIs and data services. Customers can now access over 50 solutions from more than 30 partners, through the Azure Marketplace, including New Relic, Cloudera, Hortonworks, CommVault, CoreOS, DataStax, NGINX and Veeam.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services, devices and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

DALLAS, — AT&T* today closed the sale of its incumbent local exchange operations in Connecticut to Frontier Communications, which has its corporate headquarters in Stamford. Announced in December 2013, the transaction includes wireline network assets and consumer, business and wholesale customer relationships.

AT&T will continue to have a significant presence in the state, providing wireless service, networking, application solutions and professional services for consumers and business customers.

“AT&T is committed to the state of Connecticut,” said John Emra, President, AT&T Connecticut. “We’ll continue to deliver advanced networking business solutions as well as world-class mobile products and services to families and businesses throughout the state. We will also preserve our long history of investing in community organizations in Connecticut.”

On October, 25, 2014, AT&T’s business and consumer wireline customers in Connecticut — and about 2,500 employees who support these operations — will transfer to Frontier. Over the past 10 months, AT&T has worked closely with Frontier to plan for the transition for Connecticut customers and employees. AT&T will continue to support Frontier throughout the conversion process.

The sale was approved by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Communications Commission and the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and other state regulatory authorities.

AT&T will use the proceeds of the $2.0 billion cash transaction for general corporate purposes.

* AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and internationally. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation’s most reliable 4G LTE network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best global wireless coverage, based on offering roaming in more countries than any other U.S. based carrier, and offers the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV service with the AT&T U-verse® brand. The company’s suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world.

Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com/aboutus or follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/att and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/att.

– See more at: http://about.att.com/story/att_completes_sale_of_connecticut_wireline_operations_to_frontier_communications.html#sthash.aF76UEt9.dpuf

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. – – Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI) today unveiled the Symbol TC70 touch computer – the industry’s first enterprise-class mobile computer running the Android KitKat operating system – combining the ease of use of a smartphone with the purpose-built durability, reliability and performance that businesses demand. Designed to boost efficiency and customer service in the retail, wholesale and manufacturing industries, the TC70 is supported by more than 50 certified applications including price and inventory checks, line busting, assisted selling, workforce management and inventory management.

KEY FACTS
The TC70’s large 4.7-inch Corning® Gorilla® Glass 2 high-resolution display can automatically adjust to changing conditions so it can be used with wet fingers, gloves or a stylus.
Every TC70 is Voice over IP (VoIP)-ready and equipped with Extensions (Mx) by Motorola Solutions, providing an added layer of security, manageability, data capture and wireless software features.
Mx Data Capture makes it easy for application developers to integrate bar code scanning, signature capture, image capture and payment processing.
In addition to supporting all standard Wi-Fi security protocols, Mx Security helps protect business data and network access with URL filters, communication management and sensor lock down.
Motorola’s most advanced imaging engine and innovative data capture technology help mobile workers quickly capture signatures, photos, videos and virtually any 1D/2D bar code at an extended range.
Motorola’s new Workforce Connect Push-To-Talk (PTT) Express enables the device to serve as a two-way radio right out of the box via Wi-Fi.
With exclusive PowerPrecision batteries, fully submersible IP67 sealing and the ability to withstand high drops to concrete, the TC70 is built for all-day use on the retail store floor and in the backroom or any warehouse, distribution center or manufacturing plant.
The TC70 is available with a comprehensive family of accessories including holsters, a magnetic stripe reader (MSR) for mobile payment and trigger-handles ideal for scan-intensive applications. It can also be used with Motorola’s new ShareCradle, a multi-slot charging system that accommodates multiple battery charge options and future Motorola mobile computers, making backroom management easy and cost-effective.
Motorola also offers application design and porting services for Android and RhoMobile Suite, which provides powerful development tools built from the ground up for enterprise mobility applications.

SUPPORTING QUOTE
Girish Rishi, senior vice president, Enterprise Solutions, Motorola Solutions
“Customers who have tried consumer products have found that it has cost them more money in the long run as the total cost of ownership (TCO) does not compare to enterprise-class devices. The TC70 delivers the mobile experience that customers desire with smartphone usability, optimized voice and data capture functionality, durability and longer lifecycles. By combining the industry-leading features of the TC70 with Android’s KitKat operating system and the expanding library of enterprise applications, mobile workers have the mobile computer necessary to accomplish more than ever.”

About Motorola Solutions
Motorola Solutions is a leading provider of mission-critical communication solutions and services for enterprise and government customers. Through leading-edge innovation and communications technology, it is a global leader that enables its customers to be their best in the moments that matter. Motorola Solutions trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “MSI.” To learn more, visit www.motorolasolutions.com. For ongoing news, please visit our newsroom or subscribe to our news feed.

CUPERTINO, California ―Apple® today announced that customers can start making payments with the touch of a finger. Apple Pay™ is now available in the US. Apple Pay offers an easy, secure and private way to pay using Touch ID™ on iPhone® 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in stores and within apps. Users of the just-announced iPad Air™ 2 and iPad mini™ 3 will be able to use Touch ID on their devices for Apple Pay within apps. The new service will be enabled by a free software update to iOS 8.

“Our team has worked incredibly hard to make Apple Pay private and secure, with the simplicity of a single touch of your finger,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The reaction to Apple Pay has been amazing. We continue to add more Apple Pay ready banks, credit card companies and merchants, and think our users will love paying with Apple Pay.”

“We are excited to make it easier and more convenient for our customers to shop at Whole Foods Market,” said Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market. “We are thrilled to be one of the first retailers to accept Apple Pay across all of our locations nationwide as it offers our shoppers a fast, private and secure check out option at our stores.”

Apple Pay is designed to protect the user’s personal information. It doesn’t collect any transaction information that can be tied back to a user and payment transactions are between the user, the merchant and the user’s bank. Apple doesn’t collect your purchase history, so when you are shopping in a store or restaurant we don’t know what you bought, where you bought it or how much you paid for it. Actual card numbers are not stored on the device, instead, a unique Device Account Number is created, encrypted and stored in the Secure Element of the device. The Device Account Number in the Secure Element is walled off from iOS and not backed up to iCloud®.

Apple Pay supports credit and debit cards from the three major payment networks, American Express, MasterCard and Visa, issued by the top US banks. In addition to American Express, Bank of America, Capital One Bank, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo and others, who announced support in September, more than 500 new banks from across the country have signed on to Apple Pay. Users can make purchases in stores and within apps, with credit cards issued by many of the leading banks nationwide, which make up 83 percent of the credit card purchase volume in the US.*

Apple Pay in stores is fast and easy to use. Simply hold iPhone near the contactless reader while keeping a finger on Touch ID. In addition to the 262 Apple retail stores in the US, availability from leading retailers at launch include: Aéropostale, American Eagle Outfitters, Babies”R”Us, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Bloomingdale’s, Champs Sports, Chevron and Texaco retail stores including ExtraMile, Disney Store, Duane Reade, Footaction, Foot Locker, House of Hoops by Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Macy’s, McDonald’s, Nike, Office Depot, Panera Bread, Petco, RadioShack, RUN by Foot Locker, SIX:02, Sports Authority, SUBWAY, Toys”R”Us, Unleashed by Petco, Walgreens, Wegmans and Whole Foods Market. In addition, many others will add support this year, such as Anthropologie, Free People, Sephora, Staples, Urban Outfitters, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and more.

Checkout is simple and can happen with a single touch—there’s no need to manually fill out lengthy account forms or repeatedly type in shipping and billing information. Your actual card number is kept private and not shared with the online merchant. Online shopping within apps allows users to pay for physical goods and services including apparel, electronics, health and beauty products, tickets and more. Apps with the ability to use Apple Pay at launch include: Apple Store app, Chairish, Fancy, Groupon, HotelTonight, Houzz, Instacart, Lyft, OpenTable, Panera Bread, Spring, Staples, Target and Uber. Many more will support Apple Pay by the end of this year with popular apps such as Airbnb, Disney Store, Eventbrite, JackThreads, Levi’s® Stadium by VenueNext, Sephora, Starbucks, StubHub, Ticketmaster and Tickets.com, among others.

Leading payment solution providers and terminal suppliers such as Adyen, Authorize.Net, Bank of America Merchant Services, Braintree, CyberSource, Chase Paymentech, First Data, Heartland Payment Systems, iMobile3, NCR, Oracle’s Micros, Stripe, TSYS and VeriFone, among others, are working to bring merchants in stores and in apps the ability to easily, securely and privately accept payments using Apple Pay.

Availability
Apple Pay will be available in the US starting Monday, October 20 with iOS 8.1. For shopping in stores, Apple Pay will work with iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and with Apple Watch™, upon availability. For online shopping within apps, Apple Pay is available on iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3. Users should contact their bank to determine their card’s eligibility, some banks may not support all card types. Apple Pay will be available in select retailers and apps in 2014. For more information visit www.apple.com/apple-pay.

* American Express, Bank of America, Capital One Bank, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo at availability with additional banks coming quickly thereafter including Barclaycard, Navy Federal Credit Union, PNC Bank, USAA and U.S. Bank.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

New York, – GE (NYSE: GE) announced today an expanded working relationship with Intel and Cisco to seamlessly connect the growing number of machines, systems and edge devices to the Industrial Internet regardless of manufacturer. These co-innovations will allow operators to integrate Predix, GE’s software platform for the Industrial Internet, into existing infrastructure.

This next generation of software-defined, Predix-ready devices will embed metadata and complex objects, and ensure open, secure communications from the sensors and devices to the supervisory control layer, and ultimately to cloud-based services. By connecting more assets and equipment at the edge to the cloud, to each other, and to people, industrial operators gain more insight and visibility into the performance of their equipment and operations. This in turn allows them to realize cost savings and minimize unplanned downtime.

“From networked systems utilized in railways and electric power grids to edge switches and client devices that connect assets such as laptops, field devices and wireless access points, Cisco and Intel enable Predix to be distributed to the edge, even in some of the most severe conditions,” said Bill Ruh, Vice President, GE Software. “Without our ecosystem of partners, we would not be able to achieve our vision of interconnecting brilliant machines, analytics and people in a way that allows for true asset management and optimization.”

Intel is working with GE to make it possible to embed intelligence and adaptability in any device. The new architecture is being made available to gateway manufacturers to make the exploding number of connected devices and sensor networks “Predix-ready.” By utilizing Intel’s processor and software assets, combined in Intel® Gateway Solutions for IoT, Predix can be deployed on a variety of standard gateway products with critical features like integrated security.

“The platform we are developing with GE is designed to connect the 85% of unconnected edge devices to the cloud with common platform to secure and manage devices, as well as capture data,” said Doug Davis, vice president and general manager, IoT Group at Intel. “By securely capturing and analyzing data from systems not previously connected, businesses can unlock new opportunities by changing employee behaviors, fine tuning assets or designing new products and services.”

With Cisco, GE will integrate Predix software on Cisco’s next generation of ruggedized networking products. The combination of Predix and Cisco® IOx framework will facilitate the collection and analysis of asset performance and operational data anywhere in the network. Together, Cisco and GE have developed a Predix-ready Cisco industrial router designed for harsh environments such as oil and gas production and developed as the first of a portfolio of offerings to optimize assets and operations through connectivity and compute at the edge.

“Today’s industrial customers need a secure, scalable and intelligent infrastructure that is optimized for the explosive growth of machines and devices connected to the Industrial Internet,” said Rob Soderbery, Senior Vice President Enterprise Products and Solutions, at Cisco. “With GE, we are developing a solution for the oil and gas industry that will provide immense value for our joint customers and scale to other industrial applications.”

About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. As a leader in corporate responsibility and sustainability, Intel also manufactures the world’s first commercially available “conflict-free” microprocessors. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com, and about Intel’s conflict-free efforts at conflictfree.intel.com.

About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com.

About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and helping to cure the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ge.com.

About GE Software
GE Software connects streams of machine data to powerful analytics, providing Industrial companies with valuable insights to manage assets and operations more efficiently. World-class talent and software capabilities driving big gains in productivity, availability and longevity. For more information, visit the website at www.gesoftware.com.

New York, NY, – GE (NYSE: GE) today announced it is on track to deliver over $1 billion in incremental revenue this year from more than 40 Industrial Internet offerings, with $1.3 billion in orders, helping customers improve asset performance management (APM) and business operations across the company. In addition, Predix, GE’s software platform that powers the Industrial Internet, will be made available to any company in 2015, allowing them to create and deploy their own customized industry apps at speed and scale to better manage the performance of their assets.

“The tools are in place to realize the potential of the Industrial Internet to increase productivity for our customers and for GE,” said Jeff Immelt, Chairman & CEO of GE. “The more we can connect, monitor and manage the world’s machines, the more insight and visibility we can give our customers to reduce unplanned downtime and increase predictability. By opening up Predix to the world, companies of any size and in any industry can benefit from the investments GE has made by eliminating the barrier to entry.”

GE’s new APM solutions, launched today, focus on power optimization, providing customers 24×7 access to a remote monitoring and diagnostics platform, predictive maintenance insight and incremental power when needed. Distributed Power’s current suite of data-driven solutions – On Site Power Visibility and On Site Power Performance – help to optimize the performance of GE’s aeroderivative gas turbines, reduce life-cycle costs, improve uptime, increase efficiency and drive profitability.

The Predictable Asset Toolbox for Industry: Predix + Predictivity + APM
GE currently monitors and analyzes 50 million data elements from 10 million sensors on $1 trillion of managed assets daily to move customers toward zero unplanned downtime. Powered by Predix, APM enables customers to put streams of data to work to proactively make the right decisions at the right time to keep assets safe, help them run better, consume less fuel, receive service more efficiently and minimize unplanned downtime.

Kristian Steenstrup of Gartner said, “Increased usage of APM solutions and services will help asset owners and operators reduce maintenance costs and operational risk while boosting reliability. The ultimate goal for any organization is the ‘perfectly predictable asset.’ For immature organizations, this might appear to be an unachievable goal. However, the pursuit is worthwhile, given the many benefits that accrue from getting closer to it. APM will be at the center of efforts to get there.” 1

GE will leverage its high-margin services backlog of more than $180 billion to develop new APM technologies, growing its dollars of revenue per installed base 3-to-5 percent annually. Reinforcing the importance of this opportunity, Immelt said: “The Industrial Internet is a win-win for GE and our customers. Our offerings will increase GE’s services margins and boost organic industrial growth, with the potential to drive as much as $20 billion in annual savings across our industries.”

For example, AirAsia is on track to save $10 million in fuel costs in 2014 by using Flight Efficiency Services. The solution enables airlines to optimize traffic flow aircraft sequence management, flight path design, and more by revealing patterns and transforming data into actionable insights. AirAsia fuel savings alone are expected to grow to $30 million by 2017.

Jonathan Sanjay, Regional Fuel Efficiency Manager at Air Asia, said, “If you generate a small savings on each flight it translates to big savings at the end of the year. Even a one percent savings can translate into millions of dollars.”

In addition, E.ON has achieved up to 4 percent more power output from 283 of its wind turbines enrolled in GE’s Wind PowerUpTM, a customized software-enabled platform that increases a wind farm’s output by up to 5 percent, taking into account environmental and site conditions. This increased output results in an additional 40 gigawatt hours of annual energy production, the equivalent energy to power approximately 4,000 American homes for a year.

“E.ON is always innovating, and we are happy that GE’s PowerUp technology has made some of our best wind farms even better,” said Patrick Woodson, chairman, E.ON North America. “Advancements in wind energy technology, like PowerUp services, will continue to make renewable energy even more competitive in the energy market.”

To help businesses accelerate the adoption of Industrial Internet solutions, GE also announced a new APM tool that helps customers assess their current operations and identify the assets and processes that would benefit the most from increased connectivity, data analysis, and optimization. This initial assessment is the first step in realizing bottom line savings and minimizing unplanned downtime.

Designing Apps for Industry that Matter: Predix App Factory
To further the value of APM, GE today launched the Predix App Factory, an advanced methodology for rapidly prototyping, validating, and developing Industrial Internet applications that shortens typical development cycles from months to weeks. GE pioneered this collaborative approach with customers to drive innovation at scale, bringing together experts from user experience and design, data science, machine connectivity, and agile software development.

GE is using the App Factory process at its state-of-the-art Design Center in San Ramon, California to develop new solutions that lead to better customer outcomes such as reduced resource consumption, improved operational efficiency, and lower risk. For example, GE Aviation created an industry app allowing airline and plane operators to blend current information with advanced analytics to actively monitor more than 30,000 jet engines for real-time detection and response to issues.

The Security Standard to Protect Critical Infrastructure: Wurldtech
Securing critical infrastructure is vital to the Industrial Internet, but it holds a unique set of complexities that are different from protecting a traditional IT environment. GE is focused on safeguarding operations technology and improving the reliability of the Industrial Internet for customers and industries. To do this, GE acquired Wurldtech earlier this year to leverage its Achilles industrial security products and services to certify GE and non-GE products and customer environments. GE plans to use Achilles as a standard for securing all of its technology for delivering security enhancements through Predix and GE Products.
In addition, Wurldtech released a firewall, currently entering beta, optimized for industrial infrastructure and operations technology environments. Wurldtech’s Achilles Industrial Next Gen Firewall (NGFW) provides advanced threat detection by monitoring network traffic and blocking unexpected and malicious activity. To simplify administration, NGFW’s graphical user interface is designed for easy and efficient management of security policies and protection profiles.
Bill Ruh, Vice President, GE Software, said, “Protecting sensor networks and critical infrastructure is paramount to the reliability and safety of industrial operations as more machines and systems are brought online and connected to people at work. At GE, we are well positioned to help respond to this dynamic by bringing together three elements that include our industrial big data platform, an ecosystem of partners, and vigorous cyber security management through the acquisition of Wurldtech. All of these important elements will require continued progress across innovation to transform not just the industrial world, but the global economy as organizations realize the benefits of the Industrial Internet.”

Connecting The World’s Assets And People: New Partnerships to expand the Industrial Internet
Today, every GE machine is Predix-ready, but the Industrial Internet extends beyond just GE assets and customers. To expand the Industrial Internet ecosystem, GE has launched new and expanded alliances, and technology innovations to make it possible for operators to collect more data, generate more insights from a growing number of “Predix-ready” machines and devices connected to the Industrial Internet.

Predix-ready Edge Devices
GE and Cisco are working to integrate Predix software on Cisco networking products to enable the collection and analysis of asset performance and operational data anywhere in the network. One of the first of these devices is a Predix-ready Cisco router in a ruggedized form-factor for harsh environments such as oil and gas facilities.
GE and Intel have teamed to develop a reference architecture for edge devices that integrates Intel processors and software with Predix software to make it possible to embed intelligence and adaptability in virtually any asset. The new design will be made available to gateway manufacturers to make the exploding number of connected devices and sensor networks Predix-ready.
The first wave of new Predix-ready devices at the edge of the network will go online early next year.
Global Network Connectivity
GE also announced new global alliances with Softbank, Verizon, and Vodafone to provide a wide range of wireless connectivity solutions optimized for Industrial Internet solutions. In addition, GE continues to fuel innovation with AT&T by connecting its machines and assets such as locomotives, fleet, and aircraft engines through the AT&T global network and highly secure cloud. Together, these relationships enable GE to provide its industrial customers with advanced connectivity services in virtually any geography.
# # #

1 Gartner, Asset Performance Management Transforms, How Operational Assets Are Managed and Maintained, Kristian Steenstrup, 26 July 2013
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and helping to cure the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ge.com.

About GE Software
GE Software connects streams of machine data to powerful analytics, providing Industrial companies with valuable insights to manage assets and operations more efficiently. World-class talent and software capabilities driving big gains in productivity, availability and longevity. For more information, visit the website at www.gesoftware.com.

Palo Alto, Calif., October 6, 2014 – HP (NYSE: HPQ) today announced plans to separate into two new publicly traded Fortune 50 companies: one comprising HP’s market-leading enterprise technology infrastructure, software and services businesses, which will do business as Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, and one that will comprise HP’s market-leading personal systems and printing businesses, which will do business as HP Inc. and retain the current logo. Immediately following the transaction, which is expected to be completed by the end of fiscal 2015, HP shareholders will own shares of both Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and HP Inc. The transaction is intended to be tax-free to HP’s shareholders for federal income tax purposes.

Today’s announcement comes as HP approaches the fourth year of its five-year turnaround plan. Over this time, the company has executed successfully against its turnaround objectives, keeping customers and partners at the forefront. HP has reignited its innovation pipeline, strengthened its go-to-market capabilities, rebuilt its balance sheet, and inspired its workforce and management teams. The company is now positioned to accelerate performance, drive sustained growth and demonstrate clear industry leadership in key areas.

“Our work during the past three years has significantly strengthened our core businesses to the point where we can more aggressively go after the opportunities created by a rapidly changing market,” said Meg Whitman, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of HP. “The decision to separate into two market-leading companies underscores our commitment to the turnaround plan. It will provide each new company with the independence, focus, financial resources, and flexibility they need to adapt quickly to market and customer dynamics, while generating long-term value for shareholders. In short, by transitioning now from one HP to two new companies, created out of our successful turnaround efforts, we will be in an even better position to compete in the market, support our customers and partners, and deliver maximum value to our shareholders.”

Both companies will be well capitalized and expect to have investment grade credit ratings and capital structures optimized to reflect their distinct growth opportunities and cash flow profiles. The separation into independent publicly traded companies will provide each company with its own, more focused equity currency, and investors with the opportunity to invest in two companies with compelling and unique financial profiles well suited to their respective businesses.

Management Structure

Meg Whitman, President and Chief Executive Officer of HP, and Cathie Lesjak, Chief Financial Officer of HP, will hold these positions with Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. When the separation is complete, Whitman will also serve on the Board of Directors of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, and Pat Russo will move from Lead Independent Director of HP to Chairman of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise.

Dion Weisler, Executive Vice President of HP’s Printing and Personal Systems business, will lead HP Inc. as President and Chief Executive Officer. Whitman will serve as non-executive Chairman of HP Inc.’s Board of Directors.

Hewlett-Packard Enterprise

Hewlett-Packard Enterprise will have a unique portfolio and strong multi-year innovation roadmap across technology infrastructure, software and services to allow customers to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by cloud, big data, security and mobility in the New Style of IT. By leveraging its HP Financial Services capability, the company will be well positioned to create unique technology deployment models for customers and partners based on their specific business needs. Additionally, the company intends for HP Financial Services to continue to provide financing and business model innovation for customers and partners of HP Inc.

Customers will have the same unmatched choice of how to deploy and consume technology, and with a simpler, more nimble partner. The separation will provide additional resources, and a reduction of debt at the operating company level, to support investments across key areas of the portfolio. The separation will also allow for greater flexibility in completing the turnaround of Enterprise Services and strengthening the company’s go-to-market capabilities.

“Over the past three years, we have reignited our innovation engine with breakthrough offerings for the enterprise like Apollo, Gen 9 and Moonshot servers, our 3PAR storage platform, our HP OneView management platform, our HP Helion Cloud and a host of software and services offerings in security, analytics and application transformation,” continued Whitman. “Hewlett-Packard Enterprise will accelerate innovation across key next-generation areas of the portfolio.”

HP Inc.

HP Inc. will be a proven leader in the personal systems and printing markets with exciting new technologies on the horizon. The new company’s strong profitability and free cash flow will enable investments in growth markets such as 3-D printing and new computing experiences. At the same time, HP Inc. will continue to execute against a well-defined and established strategic plan, ensuring continuity for customers and consistent value to shareholders.

“Since assuming responsibility for the Printing and Personal Systems Group, Dion and his leadership team have done an excellent job of building our relationships with customers and channel partners, segmenting the market and driving product innovation,” added Whitman. “The creation of HP Inc. will only accelerate the progress the team has made.”

“This is a defining moment in our industry as customers are looking for innovation to enable workforces that are more mobile, connected and productive while at the same time allowing a seamless experience across work and play,” said Weisler. “As the market leader in printing and personal systems, an independent HP Inc. will be extremely well positioned to deliver that innovation across our traditional markets as well as extend our leadership into new markets like 3-D printing and new computing experiences – inventing technology that empowers people to create, interact and inspire like never before.”

Transaction Details

The separation transaction is intended to be tax-free to HP shareholders for federal income tax purposes. The transaction is currently targeted to be completed by the end of fiscal 2015, subject to certain conditions, including, among others, obtaining final approval from the HP Board of Directors, receipt of a favorable opinion and/or rulings with respect to the tax-free nature of the transaction for federal income tax purposes and the effectiveness of a Form 10 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Goldman Sachs & Co. is serving as financial advisor and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz is serving as legal advisor to HP.

For more information, please see here.

Financial Outlook

For fiscal 2014, HP reaffirms its non-GAAP diluted net EPS outlook range of $3.70 to $3.74, and updates its fiscal 2014 GAAP diluted net EPS outlook to be in the range of $2.60 to $2.64.

For fiscal 2015, HP estimates non-GAAP diluted net EPS outlook to be in the range of $3.83 to $4.03 and GAAP diluted net EPS outlook to be in the range of $3.23 to $3.43.

HP’s outlook does not include one-time GAAP charges the company is expected to incur in connection with the separation, including advisory and tax costs which will be quantified at a later date.

Investment Community Conference Call

For webcast details, go to www.hp.com/investor/2014OctAnnouncement/.

HP Securities Analyst Meeting 2014

HP also announced today that, as a result of the announcement of this separation, its October 8, 2014 Securities Analyst Meeting has been postponed.

Media contacts
Sarah Pompei, HP
sarah.pompei@hp.com
About HP

HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. With the broadest technology portfolio spanning printing, personal systems, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP delivers solutions for customers’ most complex challenges in every region of the world. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com

Hangzhou, China, – Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) announced that Taobao (China) Software Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Alibaba Group, has agreed to invest RMB2.81 billion in Beijing Shiji Information Technology Co. Ltd (Shiji Information) (Shenzhen Stock Exchange stock code: 002153), a China-based hotel information technology provider, in return for a 15% stake. After completion of the transaction, Alibaba Group will have one board seat on the board of directors of Shiji Information. The investment is subject to customary closing conditions. As part of the strategic investment, Alibaba Group and Shiji Information will work together to connect the systems of Taobao Travel vertical with Shiji Information’s systems, with the aim to continue to strengthen Alibaba Group’s service capability in the online travel market.

Taobao Travel is a vertical within Taobao Marketplace that enables consumers to book air and train tickets, hotels, vacation packages, excursions, and travel visa services; consumers can also access the platform via a dedicated Taobao Travel mobile application. This investment is part of Alibaba Group’s “live @ Alibaba” vision to diversify the company’s products and services and become central to the everyday lives of consumers. It will also bolster Alibaba Group’s online travel market service capabilities through the two companies’ collaboration in data and systems.

Shiji Information is primarily engaged in the development and sale of hotel information management system software, system integration and technical service. Its products and services are used by both domestic and foreign high-end hotels in China. Currently almost 6,000 hotels use Shiji Information’s service.

As part of this strategic investment, Taobao Travel and Shiji Information are expected to focus their collaboration on hotel information systems, including direct connection with hotel information systems, booking-related product development, integration with member services platforms and payment settlement through scannable technology.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company is the largest online and mobile commerce company in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume. Founded in 1999, the company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help businesses leverage the power of the Internet to establish an online presence and conduct commerce with hundreds of millions of consumers and other businesses.

Alibaba Group’s major businesses include:
Taobao Marketplace (www.taobao.com), China’s largest online shopping destination
Tmall.com (www.tmall.com), China’s largest third-party platform for brands and retailers
Juhuasuan (www.juhuasuan.com), China’s most popular online group buying marketplace
AliExpress (www.aliexpress.com), a global online marketplace for consumers to buy directly from China
Alibaba.com (www.alibaba.com), China’s largest global online wholesale platform for small businesses
1688.com (www.1688.com), a leading online wholesale marketplace in China
Alibaba Cloud Computing (www.aliyun.com), a provider of cloud computing services to businesses and entrepreneurs
Alibaba Group also provides payment and escrow services on its marketplaces through its contractual arrangements with Alipay (www.alipay.com), a related company of Alibaba Group.

Through China Smart Logistics, a 48%-owned affiliate, Alibaba Group operates a central logistics information system that connects a network of express delivery companies in China.

BEIJING — Apple® today announced that iPhone® 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the biggest advancements in iPhone history, will be available in China beginning Friday, October 17 from the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores, and an expansive network of retail stores through all three major carriers and Apple Authorized Resellers. With support for TD-LTE and FDD-LTE, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus provide customers access to 4G/LTE networks from China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom across mainland China. Customers can pre-order iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus from the Apple Online Store beginning Friday, October 10. Beginning Tuesday, October 14, customers can reserve the new iPhones for in-store pick-up starting Friday, October 17.

“We are thrilled to bring iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to our customers in China on all three carriers at launch,” said Apple’s CEO Tim Cook. “With support for TD-LTE and FDD-LTE, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus customers will have access to high-speed mobile networks from China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom for an incredible experience.”

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are the biggest advancements in iPhone history, featuring two new models with stunning 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch Retina® HD displays, and packed with innovative technologies in an all-new dramatically thin and seamless design that is still comfortable to hold and easy to use. Both models are better in every way and include: the Apple-designed A8 chip with second generation 64-bit desktop-class architecture for blazing fast performance and power efficiency; advanced iSight® and FaceTime® HD cameras; and ultrafast wireless technologies.

The new iPhones include iOS 8, the biggest release since the App Store℠, featuring a simpler, faster and more intuitive user experience with new Messages and Photos features, predictive typing for Apple’s QuickType™ keyboard and Family Sharing. iOS 8 also includes the new Health app, giving you a clear overview of your health and fitness data and iCloud Drive℠, so you can store files and access them from anywhere.

Pricing & Availability
iPhone 6 comes in gold, silver or space gray, and is available in China for a suggested retail price of 5,288 (RMB) for the 16GB model, 6,088 (RMB) for the 64GB model and, for the first time, a new 128GB model for 6,888 (RMB). iPhone 6 Plus comes in gold, silver or space gray, and is available in China for a suggested retail price of 6,088 (RMB) for the 16GB model, 6,888 (RMB) for the 64GB model and 7,788 (RMB) for the new 128GB model. Both models are available in China from the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), by reservation only from Apple’s retail stores, and through China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom and Apple Authorized Resellers beginning Friday, October 17. Customers can pre-order iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus from the Apple Online Store beginning Friday, October 10. Beginning Tuesday, October 14, customers can reserve the new iPhones for in-store pick-up starting Friday, October 17.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

DALLAS, Oct. 2, 2014 — AT&T* and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are working together to extend AT&T NetBondSM to AWS. Customers will have a new high performing and highly-secure choice to connect to AWS, including the ability to scale their network at the same rate as their enterprise-class applications running on the AWS Cloud.

AT&T NetBond dynamically adjusts the size of the pathway to the cloud as data needs change and puts the control of the highly-secure network in the hands of the customer. Customers will also benefit from an integrated design that can be quickly implemented.

With AT&T NetBond, customers will be able to access business applications and information that are stored in AWS, bypassing the public Internet and the security risks associated with it. AT&T NetBond also improves performance by as much as 50 percent and can surpass the best experience on the Internet by as much as three times.

“When companies combine their strengths and resources to make the services easier to use, the customer wins,” said Melanie Posey, research vice president at IDC. “The addition of AWS broadens AT&T’s already expansive NetBond ecosystem and will give customers highly secure, reliable, and on-demand connections to another key public cloud service provider. This pairing of AT&T’s VPN with AWS’s leading cloud platform will likely serve as a game changer for enterprises, prompting accelerated adoption of cloud services.”

Many businesses are choosing AT&T NetBond as their on-ramp to cloud. To date, there are a wide-range of customers using the service in industries such as health care, manufacturing, retail and government.

“Our customers want the computing power and cost-efficiency that cloud services deliver with the best security and performance,” said Jon Summers, senior vice president, AT&T Mobile & Business Solutions. “AWS’s extensive portfolio combined with AT&T NetBond offers them the best of both worlds. Our customers will have VPN performance, full cloud networking automation, and flexible and secure bandwidth when accessing AWS cloud services.”

AT&T NetBond offers the following customer benefits:

Simple: Seamlessly works with existing AT&T VPN. Customers don’t need to order or manage any other equipment or access lines.
Security: Isolates traffic going directly to cloud platforms using the AT&T private global network, providing more protections from security risks such as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
Savings: Network elasticity provides the right amount of bandwidth the customer needs. Companies can save as much as 60 percent on networking costs.
Performance: Improves performance by as much as 50 percent and can surpass the best experience on the Internet by as much as three times.
The new integrated solution is expected to be available next year.

For more information, visit, www.att.com/netbond.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and internationally. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation’s most reliable 4G LTE network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV service with the AT&T U-verse® brand. The company’s suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world.

Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com/aboutus or follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/att and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/att.

© 2014 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Reliability claim based on data transfer completion rates on nationwide 4G LTE networks. 4G LTE availability varies.

– See more at: http://about.att.com/story/att_teams_with_amazon_web_services_to_offer_on_demand_network_enabled_cloud_solutions.html#sthash.0i3vtuT3.dpuf

SAN FRANCISCO — Sept. 30, 2014 — Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday unveiled its next Windows operating system, Windows 10, and gave a first look at an early technical preview for the PC available Oct. 1. The announcement highlighted advancements designed for business, including an updated user experience and enhanced security and management capabilities. The company also introduced the Windows Insider Program, kicking off its largest-ever open collaborative development effort to change the way Windows is built and delivered to best meet the needs of customers. Program participants will receive the technical preview of Windows 10 and a steady stream of builds through the development cycle to use and give feedback on.

“Windows 10 represents the first step of a whole new generation of Windows, unlocking new experiences to give customers new ways to work, play and connect,” said Terry Myerson, executive vice president of the Operating Systems group at Microsoft. “This will be our most comprehensive operating system and the best release Microsoft has ever done for our business customers, and we look forward to working together with our broader Windows community to bring Windows 10 to life in the months ahead.”

Windows 10: familiarity and consistency across devices
Windows 10 adapts to the devices customers are using — from Xbox to PCs and phones to tablets and tiny gadgets — and what they’re doing with a consistent, familiar and compatible experience, enabling even greater productivity. Windows 10 will run across the broadest range of devices ever from the Internet of Things to enterprise datacenters worldwide. Microsoft is also delivering a converged application platform for developers on all devices with a unified app store. Developers will be able to write an application once and deploy it easily across multiple device types, making discovery, purchase and updating easier than ever for customers.

Windows 10: designed for the challenges of modern business
Windows 10 builds nearly everything that businesses need right into the core of the product — including enterprise-grade security, identity and information protection features — in ways that can reduce complexities and provide better experiences than other solutions. One area of advancement is in the work Microsoft has done with user identities to improve resistance to breach, theft or phishing. Windows 10 will also help advance data loss prevention by using containers and data separation at the application and file level, enabling protection that follows the data as it goes from a tablet or PC to a USB drive, email or the cloud.

Management and deployment have been simplified to help lower costs, including in-place upgrades from Windows 7 or Windows 8 that are focused on making device wipe-and-reload scenarios obsolete. Businesses will also have the flexibility to choose how quickly they adopt the latest innovations and influence continued improvements. In addition, organizations will be able to customize an app store specific to their needs and environment. The intent is an app store that will allow for volume app licensing, flexible distribution, and the ability for organizations to reclaim or reuse licenses when necessary.

Technical preview PC productivity
The early technical preview of Windows 10 demonstrates new levels of flexibility, navigation and familiarity through the Windows experience. Features include these:

Expanded Start menu. The familiar Start menu is back, providing quick one-click access to the functions and files that people use most, and it includes a new space to personalize with favorite apps, programs, people and websites.

Apps that run in a window. Apps from the Windows Store now open in the same format that desktop programs do. They can be resized and moved around, and have title bars at the top allowing users to maximize, minimize and close with a click.

Snap enhancements. Working in multiple apps at once is easier and more intuitive with snap improvements. A new quadrant layout allows up to four apps to be snapped on the same screen. Windows will also show other apps and programs running for additional snapping, and it will even make smart suggestions on filling available screen space with other open apps.

New Task view button. The new Task view button on the task bar enables one view for all open apps and files, allowing for quick switching and one-touch access to any desktop created.

Multiple desktops. Instead of too many apps and files overlapping on a single desktop, it’s easy to create and switch between distinct desktops for different purposes and projects — whether for work or personal use.

Open and collaborative development
The introduction of the Windows Insider Program demonstrates Microsoft’s continued commitment to working closely with customers to help shape the future of Windows. Windows Insiders will be able to give feedback on early builds of the product throughout the development cycle. The program will include various ways for Windows Insiders to engage in a two-way dialogue with Microsoft, including a Windows Feedback app for sharing suggestions and issues and a Windows Technical Preview Forum for interacting with Microsoft engineers and fellow Insiders. More information on the Windows Insider Program and the technical preview can be found at http://preview.windows.com.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services, devices and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft Corp. announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Mojang, the celebrated Stockholm-based game developer, and the company’s iconic “Minecraft” franchise.

The Mojang team will join Microsoft Studios, which includes the studios behind global blockbuster franchises “Halo,” “Forza,” “Fable” and more. Microsoft’s investments in cloud and mobile technologies will enable “Minecraft” players to benefit from richer and faster worlds, more powerful development tools, and more opportunities to connect across the “Minecraft” community.

Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will acquire Mojang for $2.5 billion. Microsoft expects the acquisition to be break-even in FY15 on a GAAP basis. Subject to customary closing conditions and any regulatory review, the acquisition is expected to close in late 2014.

Available across multiple platforms, “Minecraft” is one of the most popular video games in history, with more than 100 million downloads, on PC alone, by players since its launch in 2009. “Minecraft” is one of the top PC games of all time, the most popular online game on Xbox, and the top paid app for iOS and Android in the US. The “Minecraft” community is among the most active and passionate in the industry, with more than 2 billion hours played on Xbox 360 alone in the past two years. Minecraft fans are loyal, with nearly 90 percent of paid customers on the PC having signed in within the past 12 months.

“Gaming is a top activity spanning devices, from PCs and consoles to tablets and mobile, with billions of hours spent each year,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “Minecraft is more than a great game franchise – it is an open world platform, driven by a vibrant community we care deeply about, and rich with new opportunities for that community and for Microsoft.”

“The ‘Minecraft’ players have taken the game and turned it into something that surpassed all of our expectations. The acquisition by Microsoft brings a new chapter to the incredible story of ‘Minecraft,’” said Carl Manneh, CEO, Mojang. “As the founders move on to start new projects, we believe the high level of creativity from the community will continue the game’s success far into the future.”

Microsoft plans to continue to make “Minecraft” available across all the platforms on which it is available today: PC, iOS, Android, Xbox and PlayStation.

“‘Minecraft’ is one of the most popular franchises of all time,” said Phil Spencer, head of Xbox. “We are going to maintain ‘Minecraft’ and its community in all the ways people love today, with a commitment to nurture and grow it long into the future.”

More details will be available upon the acquisition closing.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services, devices and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

Waterloo, ON – Continuing its strategy to arm mobile professionals with tools that make them more productive, BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB), a global leader in mobile communications, today launched the BlackBerry® Passport. Featuring a large square touch screen and new QWERTY touch-enabled keyboard, the BlackBerry Passport is a device purpose-built for productivity-driven business professionals who want a smartphone that empowers them with the mobile tools they need to get things done, without sacrificing style or portability.

“As we set out to design BlackBerry Passport, we were guided by a simple yet challenging idea – to set aside the limitations of traditional design and to instead simply build a device that fundamentally changes the way business professionals get work done on their smartphone,” said John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO at BlackBerry. “The BlackBerry Passport was created to drive productivity and to break through the sea of rectangular-screen, all-touch devices.”

Thoughtful Design for the Mobile Professional
Inspired by actual passports, the universal symbol of mobility, the size and form factor of BlackBerry Passport is portable enough to easily tuck into pockets and use wherever you go. Utilizing premium, robust materials such as Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 for the display and forged stainless steel for added strength, BlackBerry Passport will provide the durability business professionals require in a smartphone.

The large square screen is optimized for viewing and creating content, and will make everyday tasks like reading and writing emails, reviewing and editing documents, web browsing, and map navigation, more comfortable and effortless. The BlackBerry Passport includes the industry’s first touch-enabled keyboard with gestures that make typing, editing and navigating more efficient and accurate. BlackBerry’s physical QWERTY keyboards have always made it easier for users to create polished, professional communications with exceptional accuracy. BlackBerry Passport’s new QWERTY keyboard is almost four times more accurate than BlackBerry® 10 virtual keyboards – the error rate is on average 74% lower – so there are fewer typos to get in the way of what you’re trying to say.

The BlackBerry Passport along with Porsche Design P’9983 smartphone from BlackBerry®, are the first devices to launch on BlackBerry’s latest OS platform, BlackBerry® 10.3. They come preloaded with new productivity-enhancing features including BlackBerry® Blend and BlackBerry® Assistant, as well as the BlackBerry® World™ storefront and Amazon Appstore, offering access to the very best apps for work and play.

BlackBerry Blend

BlackBerry Blend brings messaging and content that is on your BlackBerry smartphone to your computer and tablet. Get instant message notifications, read and respond to your work and personal email, BBM™ or text messages, and access your documents, calendar, contacts and media in real time on whatever device you are on, powered by your BlackBerry. BlackBerry Blend is being introduced on the BlackBerry Passport and will work across desktop operating systems, including Mac OS X 10.7 +, Windows® 7+ and Android™ tablets running Android 4.4+ via cellular, USB or Wi-Fi connections. BlackBerry is also working to bring the Blend experience on other tablets soon. The downloadable version of BlackBerry Blend for Macs and PCs is available today at www.BlackBerry.com/Blend, on the Apple® App StoreSM for iPad tablets, or via the Google Play™ Store for Android tablets.

Highlight features of the BlackBerry Passport include:

Large High-Resolution Square Screen – The BlackBerry Passport includes a 4.5” square screen with a 1:1 aspect ratio, 1440×1440 pixel (453 dpi) HD display and Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 for added strength.
Innovative BlackBerry® Keyboard – The BlackBerry Passport’s revolutionary new keyboard brings innovation to input with a responsive touch surface like a trackpad that lets you perform many touch functions directly on the keyboard. You can scroll web pages, flick to type or slide along the keys to move the cursor, leaving the full screen space for viewing.
BlackBerry® 10 OS 10.3 – The BlackBerry Passport comes preloaded with the new BlackBerry 10.3 operating system, including new features such as BlackBerry Assistant, BlackBerry Blend and Amazon Appstore. It has a fresh look that incorporates updated icons and an instant action bar so that each user’s most commonly accessed functions are in the center of their screen.
Best-in-Class Battery Life – The 3450 mAh battery is the largest among the top selling smartphones and phablets and, when tested against a very active user, provides up to 30 hours of mixed use. It’s our best battery power to date.*
Dual app storefronts for a Wealth of Professional and Popular Apps
– BlackBerry World – BlackBerry World showcases essential productivity apps for business professionals looking to drive efficient communications and collaboration.

– Amazon Appstore – Preloaded on BlackBerry Passport, users can access popular consumer apps through the Amazon Appstore, including the latest Android games and apps, such as Minecraft – Pocket Edition, Candy Crush Saga, Pinterest, Temple Run 2 and Cut the Rope 2.

BlackBerry Assistant – The BlackBerry Assistant is BlackBerry’s first digital assistant and can be used with voice and text commands to help users manage work and personal email, contacts, calendar and other native BlackBerry 10 applications. BlackBerry Assistant intelligently determines how to respond to you based on how you interact with it – if you type, it responds silently, if you speak, it speaks back and if you activate over Bluetooth, it speaks back with additional context because it assumes you might not have access to the screen.
Premium Components – The device is built for the most demanding user using durable materials mixed with top-of-the-line technology, including a Quad Core 2.2 GHZ Processor, 3 GB RAM, 13 MP OIS rear camera and 32 GB memory.
BlackBerry® Natural Sound – BlackBerry Passport comes with powerful speakers and a quad microphone system that delivers a high-quality listening experience. BlackBerry Natural Sound Technology is built in to adapt Wi-Fi and cellular call sound depending upon phone position and background noise, automatically adjusting volume so you don’t have to.

Availability:
The BlackBerry Passport is now available through local carriers around the world and online through ShopBlackBerry.com and Amazon.com. For more information about BlackBerry Passport, please visit www.BlackBerry.com/Passport. To learn more about BlackBerry Blend, please visit www.BlackBerry.com/Blend.

*Based on mixed usage scenario. Many factors affect battery life, including network connectivity, application usage, feature configuration and battery age. Actual results may vary.

About BlackBerry
A global leader in mobile communications, BlackBerry® revolutionized the mobile industry when it was introduced in 1999. Today, BlackBerry aims to inspire the success of our millions of customers around the world by continuously pushing the boundaries of mobile experiences. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Company trades under the ticker symbols “BB” on the Toronto Stock Exchange and “BBRY” on the NASDAQ. For more information, visit www.BlackBerry.com.

GUANGZHOU, China: IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Yonyou Software Co. Ltd, the largest enterprise ISV in the Asia Pacific region, today announced a strategic collaboration to accelerate the adoption of IBM Big Data & Analytics technologies to help customers gain business insight and run their applications more efficiently and at much lower cost.

Under terms of the agreement, Yonyou and IBM will optimize DB2 with BLU Acceleration for NC, Yonyou’s ERP, supply chain, customer relationship, and human resources software. Yonyou will offer DB2 with BLU acceleration with NC to its customers and together IBM and Yonyou plan to develop an end-to-end ecosystem covering application testing, technical help, marketing expertise, and sales support. Yonyou has also decided to adopt IBM analytics software, such as Cognos, into its Unified Application Platform (UAP). UAP is the common computing platform for the enterprises and organizations.

“Data is the world’s new natural resource, and our goal is to provide Yonyou customers with best-in-class transaction and analytic capabilities,” said Sean Poulley, VP, Databases & Data Warehousing, Information Management Division, IBM. “The combination of NC and DB2 with BLU Acceleration will offer Yonyou customers both cost and performance advantages. Leveraging IBM’s China Software Development Lab, IBM is committed to developing a new generation eco-system and to continue on as a trusted provider to Chinese enterprises like Yonyou.”

IBM’s DB2 with BLU Acceleration delivers in-memory computing analytics with high-performance transaction processing in one database, providing faster answers to today’s business problems.

“ERP and accounting software applications run a lot of reports. In a complex query test of balance of supplier on System x*, DB2 with Blue Acceleration yielded a 40x performance boost over a traditional row database. This type of technology is an ideal fit for Yonyou’s Big Data Analytic Services,” said Zheng Yulin, Senior Vice President, Yonyou Software Co. Ltd.

According to industry analysts, China will be one of the leading countries in big data technology adoption. IDC expects Big Data technology and services in China to grow at 38.7% compound annual growth rate from US$165.5 million to US$850 million by 2017**.

About Yonyou:
Headquartered in Beijing, Yonyou Software Co. was founded in 1988 and is now recognized as a leading enterprise management software, solutions and cloud service provider in China and the Asia Pacific region. The company specializes in the research, development and provision of software and solutions for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Supply Chain Management (SCM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Human Resources Management (HRM), Business Intelligence (BI) and Office Automation (OA).
For more information about Yonyou, visit: http://www.yonyou.com.

About IBM Big Data and Analytics:
IBM has established the world’s deepest portfolio of Big Data and Analytics technology that spans research and development, solutions and software. IBM has invested $24 billion to build its capabilities in Big Data and Analytics through R&D and more than 30 acquisitions. Today, more than 15,000 analytics consultants, 6,000 industry solution business partners, and 400 IBM mathematicians are helping clients use big data to transform their organizations.

CUPERTINO, California—September 15, 2014—Apple® today announced a record number of first day pre-orders of iPhone® 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the biggest advancements in iPhone history, with over four million in the first 24 hours. Demand for the new iPhones exceeds the initial pre-order supply and while a significant amount will be delivered to customers beginning on Friday and throughout September, many iPhone pre-orders are scheduled to be delivered in October. Additional supply of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be available to walk-in customers on Friday, September 19 at 8:00 a.m. local time at Apple retail stores. Customers are encouraged to arrive early or order online from the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com) to pickup in-store or receive an estimated delivery date. Both models will also be available on Friday from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, additional carriers and select Apple Authorized Resellers.

“iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are better in every way, and we are thrilled customers love them as much as we do,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Pre-orders for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus set a new record for Apple, and we can’t wait to get our best iPhones yet into the hands of customers starting this Friday.”

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK beginning this Friday, September 19 and in more than 20 additional countries beginning on Friday, September 26 including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and United Arab Emirates.

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are the biggest advancements in iPhone history, featuring two new models with stunning 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch Retina® HD displays, and packed with innovative technologies in an all-new dramatically thin and seamless design that is still comfortable to hold and easy to use. Both models are better in every way and include: the Apple-designed A8 chip with second generation 64-bit desktop-class architecture for blazing fast performance and power efficiency; advanced iSight® and FaceTime® HD cameras; ultrafast wireless technologies; and Apple Pay™, an easy way to simply and securely make payments with just the touch of a finger.*

The new iPhones include iOS 8, the biggest release since the App Store℠, featuring a simpler, faster and more intuitive user experience with new Messages and Photos features, predictive typing for Apple’s QuickType™ keyboard and Family Sharing. iOS 8 also includes the new Health app, giving you a clear overview of your health and fitness data and iCloud Drive℠, so you can store files and access them from anywhere.

Pricing & Availability
Every customer who buys an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus at an Apple retail store will be offered free Personal Setup to help them customize their iPhone by setting up email, showing them new apps from the App Store and more, so they’ll be up and running with their new iPhone before they leave the store.

iPhone 6 comes in gold, silver or space gray, and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model, $299 (US) for the 64GB model and, for the first time, a new 128GB model for $399 (US) with a two-year contract.** iPhone 6 Plus comes in gold, silver or space gray, and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $299 (US) for the 16GB model, $399 (US) for the 64GB model and $499 (US) for the new 128GB model with a two-year contract.** Both models will be available from Apple retail stores, the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), and through AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, additional carriers, and select Apple Authorized Resellers including Best Buy, Target and Walmart.

* Apple Pay will be available to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus customers in the US as a free update to iOS 8 this October.
** For qualified customers only. Check with your carrier for details.

Apple reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, defined the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad and has announced Apple Watch, its most personal device ever. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store, continues the rapid pace of innovation of mobile software with iOS and integrated services including Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world with OS X, and free iOS and OS X apps like iWork and iMovie.

PALO ALTO, Calif., – A new technology center in the heart of Silicon Valley will help Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] advance optical systems that power innovations used in satellites, lasers, telescopes and targeting systems.

The Optical Payload Center of Excellence unites design teams into one fast-acting, collaborative unit to develop optical payload technologies that are more powerful, precise and affordable than today’s systems. It incorporates experts across the world from Lockheed Martin, its industry partners and leading research universities.

“The Optical Payload Center of Excellence will benefit from the digital tapestry that links all stages of development, from initial concept and design to production and qualification,” said Rick Ambrose, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space Systems. “We are leading the way, using immersive virtual reality systems and 3-D printing, to simplify manufacturing and assembly processes. This reduces cost and accelerates the delivery of complex systems.”

The center will provide a place for experts to collaborate, develop, test and produce optical payloads. Scientists and engineers will not only advance technology but also research ways to deliver exacting capability faster and more affordably. For example, sensitive optics on NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph are delivering incredible new images of hidden areas of the sun using a small satellite, which went from concept to payload completion in just 36 months.

The center is located at the company’s newest research and development facility in Palo Alto to capture the best talent and resources the region has to offer. It is a unique collaborative setting for mission, technology and system engineering experts.

“Our customers are increasingly turning to optical payloads for their unrivaled precision and power, particularly on satellite systems,” Ambrose said. “Considering our 50 years of experience delivering space-qualified optical systems, we deeply understand our customers’ missions, needs and requirements.”

From observatories and satellites to missile defense seekers and targeting pods, numerous Lockheed Martin products use sophisticated optics, such as digital focal planes, directed energy lasers, ladar systems and specialized optical systems research.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 113,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s net sales for 2013 were $45.4 billion.

CUPERTINO, California —Apple® today unveiled Apple Watch™—its most personal device ever—featuring revolutionary new technologies and a pioneering user interface with a beautiful design that honors the rich tradition of precision watchmaking. Apple Watch introduces a specially designed and engineered Digital Crown that provides an innovative way to scroll, zoom and navigate. The Digital Crown is Apple’s most revolutionary navigation tool since the iPod® Click Wheel and iPhone® Multi-Touch™. Apple Watch will enable you to communicate in new ways right from your wrist by sending and receiving messages, answering calls to your iPhone, and with Digital Touch, sending something as personal as your own heartbeat. Apple Watch also introduces comprehensive health and fitness apps that can help people lead healthier lives. Apple Watch is available in three distinct collections—Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition.

“Apple introduced the world to several category-defining products, the Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “And once again Apple is poised to captivate the world with a revolutionary product that can enrich people’s lives. It’s the most personal product we’ve ever made.”

“With Apple Watch, we’ve developed multiple technologies and an entirely new user interface specifically for a device that’s designed to be worn. It blurs the boundary between physical object and user interface,” said Jony Ive, Apple’s senior vice president of Design. “We’ve created an entire range of products that enable unparalleled personalization.”

Apple Watch introduces a revolutionary design and iOS-based user interface created specifically for a smaller device. Apple Watch features the Digital Crown, an innovative way to scroll, zoom and navigate fluidly, without obstructing the display. The Digital Crown also serves as the Home button and a convenient way to access Siri®. The Retina® display on Apple Watch features Force Touch, a technology that senses the difference between a tap and a press, providing a new way to quickly and easily access controls within apps. Apple Watch introduces the Taptic Engine and a built-in speaker that together discreetly enable an entirely new vocabulary of alerts and notifications you can both hear and feel. Apple custom-designed its own S1 SiP (System in Package) to miniaturize an entire computer architecture onto a single chip. Apple Watch also features Wi-Fi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 4.0 to pair seamlessly with your iPhone.

Apple Watch comes in three distinct collections—Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition—available in two different sizes, 38 mm and 42 mm. The beautifully designed and durable enclosures are crafted from custom alloys of polished or space black stainless steel, space gray or silver anodized aluminum and 18-karat rose or yellow gold. Apple also created an entire range of watch straps: the high-performance elastomer Sport Band; the Milanese Loop in a flexible magnetic stainless steel mesh; the Leather Loop in soft, quilted leather that conceals magnets for quick fastening and adjustment; the leather Modern Buckle, which closes with a solid metal clasp; the leather Classic Buckle; and the stainless steel Link Bracelet. Apple Watch comes with a unique charging system that combines Apple’s MagSafe® technology with inductive charging for a quick connection that snaps into place.

Apple Watch is an extremely accurate timepiece that’s also customizable for personal expression. Apple Watch comes with 11 watch faces ranging from traditional analog faces to new faces like the dynamic Timelapse face; the Astronomy face with its interactive, real-time 3D model of the earth, sun, moon and planets; and the Solar face, a contemporary sundial. Apple Watch can be personalized in appearance and capability with additional information such as upcoming events, moonphases or your activity level, enabling millions of possible configurations.

Taking advantage of its location on your wrist, Apple Watch provides timely information that can be viewed at a glance. Smart Replies and dictation let you respond quickly to messages, and with Handoff, you can start a message on your Apple Watch and continue where you left off on your iPhone. Swipe up from the watch face for Glances that quickly show you information you care about, such as your current location, stocks or your next meeting. Pressing the side button brings up Friends, a view of your favorite people, so you can contact them quickly and easily. Digital Touch allows you to send a sketch, a gentle tap, an audio message through Walkie Talkie or even your own heartbeat. Apple Watch lets you interact quickly and conveniently with the world around you, so you can pay for coffee using Apple Pay™,* board a plane with a Passbook® boarding pass, control your Apple TV® or get directions.

Apple Watch includes a groundbreaking Activity app designed to help motivate you to be more active throughout the day, and an all-new Workout app designed to provide the metrics you need during dedicated workout sessions. Apple Watch uses the accelerometer, a built-in heart rate sensor, GPS and Wi-Fi from your iPhone to provide a comprehensive picture of your daily activity. The Activity app measures three separate aspects of movement: calories burned, brisk activity and how often you stand up during the day. The Workout app provides goal-setting and pacing during popular session-based workouts, such as running and cycling. The companion Fitness app on iPhone collects your activity data so you can see your activity history in greater detail. Apple Watch uses this history to suggest personal, realistic goals, reward fitness milestones and keep you motivated.

Apple introduces WatchKit, providing new tools and APIs for developers to create unique experiences designed for the wrist. With Apple Watch, developers can create WatchKit apps with actionable notifications and Glances that provide timely information. Starting later next year, developers will be able to create fully native apps for Apple Watch.

I-Phone 6
Apple® today announced iPhone® 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the biggest advancements in iPhone history, featuring two new models with stunning 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch Retina HD displays, and packed with innovative technologies in an all-new dramatically thin and seamless design. The new iPhones feature a precision unibody enclosure of anodized aluminum that conforms seamlessly with the shaped glass of the display, resulting in a completely smooth and continuous surface. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are engineered to be the thinnest ever, delivering a bigger display in a design that is still comfortable to hold and easy to use.

Packed with innovative new technologies, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus include: the Apple-designed A8 chip with second generation 64-bit desktop-class architecture for blazing fast performance and power efficiency; advanced iSight® and FaceTime® HD cameras; ultrafast wireless technologies; and Apple Pay™, an easier way to simply and securely make payments with just the touch of a finger.¹ Both models include iOS 8, the latest version of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, featuring a simpler, faster and more intuitive user experience with new Messages and Photos features, QuickType™ keyboard, a new Health app, Family Sharing and iCloud Drive℠.

“iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are the biggest advancements in iPhone history,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The iPhone is the most loved smartphone in the world with the highest customer satisfaction in the industry and we are making it much better in every way. Only Apple can combine the best hardware, software and services at this unprecedented level and we think customers are going to love it.”

For the first time iPhone is available in two new sizes: iPhone 6 features a stunning 4.7-inch Retina® HD display with 1334 x 750 resolution, providing 38 percent more viewing area than iPhone 5s, while iPhone 6 Plus features an even bigger 5.5-inch Retina HD display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, providing 88 percent more viewing area and nearly three times the pixels than iPhone 5s. The Retina HD displays offer advanced technologies including higher contrast for deeper blacks and dual-domain pixels for more accurate colors at wider viewing angles.

With second generation 64-bit desktop-class architecture, the all-new A8 chip offers faster performance and is more energy efficient, delivering higher sustained performance with great battery life. With Metal™, a new graphics technology in iOS 8, developers can take performance of the A8 chip even further to bring console-class 3D games to iPhone. The A8 chip also includes a new, powerful Apple-designed image signal processor that enables advanced camera and video features.

Both models include the M8 motion coprocessor that gathers motion data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, compass and the new barometer, which senses air pressure to provide relative elevation. The M8 motion coprocessor can continuously measure your motion data, even when the device is asleep, saving battery life for fitness apps that use the sensors all day. With iOS 8, motion data from M8 appears in the Health app so you can see how many flights of stairs you’ve climbed, or how far you’ve walked or run. Developers can use CoreMotion APIs that take advantage of M8 and HealthKit to create apps that help you take better care of your health and fitness.

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus introduce Apple Pay, an easy way to securely pay for physical goods and services in stores or apps with just the touch of a finger. Users can pay securely and conveniently in stores by simply holding the phone near the contactless reader while keeping a finger on Touch ID™; there is no need to unlock your iPhone or launch an app. With Apple Pay, you can also make one-touch purchases within apps, without having to enter credit card or shipping information. All payment information is kept private, encrypted and stored securely in the Secure Element, a chip inside the new iPhones.

The iSight camera gets even better with a new sensor featuring Focus Pixels for faster autofocus, making it easier to quickly capture any moment. iPhone 6 Plus users will also benefit from optical image stabilization technology that compensates for hand shake in low light and works with iOS 8 to reduce subject motion. High-definition video on iPhone improves with faster frame rates up to 60fps for 1080p video and 240fps for slo-mo, as well as continuous autofocus, cinematic video stabilization and time-lapse video. The FaceTime HD camera now captures over 80 percent more light with a new sensor, larger f/2.2 aperture and advanced new features including burst mode and HDR video.

With faster LTE download speeds of up to 150 Mbps, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users can browse, download and stream content faster. The new iPhones also support high-quality voice calls over LTE (VoLTE) as well as Wi-Fi calling.² With support for up to 20 LTE wireless bands—more than any other smartphone in the world—the new models make it easier to experience high-speed networks around the world. Both iPhones also include 802.11ac Wi-Fi with speeds up to 433 Mbps and Bluetooth 4.0.³

The new iPhones come with iOS 8, the biggest release since the launch of the App Store℠, delivering a simpler, faster and more intuitive user experience and new features including QuickType keyboard, a new Health app, Family Sharing and iCloud Drive. With more than 4,000 new APIs, iOS 8 allows developers to further customize the user experience with major extensibility features and robust frameworks such as HealthKit and HomeKit. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users also have access to the revolutionary App Store, which offers more than 1.3 million apps to iPhone, iPad® and iPod touch® users in 155 countries around the world.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.