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NAIROBI, Kenya — Microsoft Corp., in association with Intel Corporation East Africa and the Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA), on Monday announced the launch of the 4Afrika Youth Device Program to provide a bundle of affordable devices, educational applications, online services, affordable data plans and smart financing to Kenyan learning institutions. This will deliver an immersive learning experience to institutions of primary, secondary and higher education at an affordable rate.

The 4Afrika Youth Device initiative is part of the Microsoft 4Afrika Youth Program, which was unveiled earlier this year to provide scholarships, fellowships and internship opportunities to thousands of African youth. The device program will be piloted in Kenya with plans to expand to the rest of Africa including South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria. It aims to promote digital inclusion among Africa’s youth and educators across the continent, providing them with affordable access to the latest devices and services on the Microsoft platform coupled with popular learning applications.

“Through the program’s pilot in Kenya, we want to equip youth with critical 21st century ICT skills that will contribute to the growth of Kenya’s knowledge economy and facilitate the use of e-government services,” said Patrick Onwumere, director of youth enablement for Microsoft 4Afrika. The devices on offer include Windows-powered smartphones, tablets, laptops and PCs. “The biggest value the Microsoft platform brings is our ability to offer a wide range of devices that deliver a connected experience across platforms and the services we provide,” said Onwumere.

Microsoft under the 4Afrika initiative is currently piloting three TV white spaces projects on the continent to deliver low-cost, high-speed, broadband Internet access to schools in Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.

Microsoft has also partnered with Intel to offer training for teachers on information and communications technology (ICT) integration via the Intel Teach curriculum and Microsoft’s Teaching With Technology course, which leads to the Microsoft Certified Educator certification. “Our goal is not only to offer a range of affordable devices with educational applications and online services, but to deliver experiences that students and educators love through strategic cost of ownership and training and support for the education partner ecosystem,” said Onwumere.

“At Intel, we believe the right technology can be transformative, driving student achievement and lifelong learning. That’s why we are focused on designing tools that bring learning to life, helping to make students more engaged. The devices under the program are part of the flexible, holistic Intel Education Solutions that includes a range of devices from tablets to laptops to two-in-ones, software, content services and professional development for teachers. We are committed to working closely with the Kenya Private Schools Association to promote digital education for the 21st century,” said Alex Twinomugisha, business manager, Intel Corporation East Africa.

“These devices based on Intel Architecture are purpose-built for education, are student-friendly rugged designs that can withstand dropping off a desk (from 70 cm), and provide water resistance and dust resistance to promote anytime, anywhere learning. The devices all come with Intel Education Software, a suite of eLearning tools including the newly launched Intel Explore and Learn, designed to promote deeper engagement with content, plus apps that enable science exploration, data analysis and promote creativity. These devices are available from a number of manufacturers and will be distributed locally by Mitsumi Distribution, one of Africa’s largest ICT distributors,” added Twinomugisha.

The 4Afrika Youth Device bundle also includes tailored data offerings from Safaricom, consisting of 5 gigabyte and 10 gigabyte packages for PCs and laptops. Financing will be available through Kenyan institutions in a variety of formats, including bank loans from Equity Bank and contributions through M-Changa, a mobile money-based way to contribute toward the purchase of the devices.

“We would like to thank our partners Microsoft, Intel, M-Changa, Equity and Safaricom, who have come together to help us supplement the government’s efforts in providing quality and affordable devices for use in e-learning,” said Peter Ndoro, CEO of KPSA. “The choice of Microsoft applications, including the latest and most security-enhanced versions of Windows 8.1 and Office 365, and content from Intel and other parties, will go a long way in providing a wholesome, quality education to our students. Kenya Private Schools Association is committed to integrate ICT in our schools with an aim of providing quality, holistic basic education.”

Devices on offer

Devices on offer include the following:

• iSurf Windows Tablet and Detachable Tablet

• iSurf Windows Educator Laptop

• iSurf Windows Portable

• Acer Iconia W511

• ASUS Transformer Book

• Samsung ATIV Tab 3

• Windows 8-powered Nokia smartphones

• Intel Classmate PC

Educational applications

Educational applications include the following:

• Intel Explore & Learn

• Intel Classmate

• Khan Academy suite, a personalized learning solution providing more than 100,000 exercise problems and over 4,000 micro-lectures via video tutorials, digital books and educational games

• Microsoft Office 365 including PowerPoint, Excel and Word delivered via cloud-based services

• Skype in the classroom

• Digital books

• Educational games

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

This news was courtesy of www.microsoft.com

FORT WORTH, Texas,- RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) today reported results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2013. Joseph C. Magnacca, chief executive officer, said, “Our fourth quarter financial results were driven by a holiday season characterized by lower store traffic, intense promotional activity particularly in consumer electronics, a very soft mobility marketplace and a few operational issues. Even in this environment, we’re continuing to make progress on the five pillars of our turnaround plan: repositioning the brand, revamping the product assortment, reinvigorating the stores, operational efficiency and financial flexibility.

“Our brand equity remains strong, reflected in the sales growth we’re seeing in our new Concept Stores which redefine the RadioShack store experience,” Mr. Magnacca added. “We have also been encouraged by the positive response to our new brand positioning around “Do It Together,” which we kicked off with our award winning Super Bowl commercial. Importantly, our key hires during the fourth quarter in merchandising, global sourcing, planning and allocation and, more recently, our new chief financial officer, round out our new leadership team as we continue to re-build the business.”

Mr. Magnacca continued, “Our focus on the brand, our operations, and the in-store experience has been unfolding in parallel with a strategic review of our store footprint. Over the past few months, we have undertaken a comprehensive review of our portfolio from many angles – location, area demographics, lease life and financial performance – in order to consolidate our store base into fewer locations while maintaining a strong presence in each market. The result of that review is our plan to close up to 1,100 underperforming stores. We will continue to have a strong, unmatched presence across the U.S. with over 4,000 stores including over 900 dealer franchise locations.

“Without minimizing the challenges ahead, we have a detailed strategic path to profitability based upon the five pillars of our turnaround,” Mr. Magnacca concluded. “Our entire team is focused on execution as we work to improve our performance in the coming year.”

Note: All comparisons are versus the same period of the prior fiscal year unless otherwise noted.

FOURTH QUARTER SUMMARY

Total net sales and operating revenues were $935.4 million, compared to $1,171.4 million last year. Comparable store sales were down 19% driven by traffic declines and soft performance in the mobility business.
Consolidated gross profit was $278.4 million, or 29.8% of net sales, compared with $419.3 million last year, or 35.8% of net sales. On an adjusted basis excluding one-time reserves on inventory, gross profit was $288.5 million or 30.8% of net sales.
Consolidated selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses were $389.3 million, or 41.6% of net sales, compared with $383.5 million last year, or 32.7% of net sales.
Operating loss for the fourth quarter was $166.1 million compared to operating income of $16 million last year. On an adjusted basis, operating loss was $115.2 million excluding certain non-cash and one-time reserves on inventory and impairments of fixed assets and goodwill.
Net loss of $191.4 million, or $1.90 per diluted share, compared to net loss of $63.3 million last year. On an adjusted basis, net loss was $129.9 million, which compares to an adjusted net income of $6.8 million last year.
In December, the Company completed a new financing totaling $835 million including a $585 million asset-based credit agreement (“2018 Credit Agreement”) led by GE Capital, Corporate Retail Finance and a $250 million secured term loan (“2018 Term Loan”) led by Salus Capital Partners, LLC. This comprehensive new financing was used to refinance existing debt and other corporate purposes.
The Company expects to close up to 1,100 stores which have been selected based on location, area demographics, lease life and financial performance. The proposed store closure program is subject to the consent of our lenders under the 2018 Credit Agreement and the 2018 Term Loan.
FULL YEAR SUMMARY

Total net sales and operating revenue were $3.43 billion, compared to $3.83 billion last year. Comparable store sales were down 8.8%.
Consolidated gross profit was $1.17 billion, or 34.1% of net sales, compared with $1.47 billion last year, or 38.4% of net sales. On an adjusted basis excluding certain one-time inventory reserves, gross margin was 35.8% of net sales.
Consolidated selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses were $1.41 billion, or 41.0% of net sales, compared with $1.42 billion last year, or 37.1% of net sales.
Operating loss was $344.0 million compared to an operating loss of $25.0 million last year. On an adjusted basis, operating loss was $239.9 million excluding certain non-cash and one-time reserves on inventory and impairments of fixed assets and goodwill.
Net loss of $400.2 million, or $3.97 per diluted share, compared to net loss of $139.4 million last year. On an adjusted basis, net loss was $305.8 million, which compares to an adjusted net loss of $60.5 million last year.
CASH, LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL SPENDING

The Company ended the fourth quarter with total liquidity of $554.3 million at December 31, 2013, including $179.8 million in cash and cash equivalents and $374.5 million of availability under our 2018 Credit Agreement. Other than letters of credit of $55.0 million at December 31, 2013, the Company has not otherwise used the availability under the 2018 Credit Agreement. The Company’s total debt was $614 million at December 31, 2013, which matures between 2018 and 2019.

NEW FINANCIAL CALENDAR

As previously announced, the Company has aligned its fiscal yearend to a traditional 52-week retail calendar, with the fiscal year ending on the Saturday closest to January 31st. This is the format used by the majority of retailers today. Changing the Company’s yearend will benefit the investment community as it will allow for easier comparability between the Company and its peers. It will also allow the management team to more efficiently track and measure the Company’s performance during the year.

As a result of this change, the Company will have a stub period between January 1, 2014, and February 1, 2014, that will be identified as Fiscal Year 2014 which will be reported separately in the Form 10-Q for the first quarter of Fiscal 2015. Fiscal Year 2015 will run from February 2, 2014, through January 31, 2015.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.radioshack.com

BARCELONA, Spain – At Mobile World Congress 2014, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a leading provider of mobile broadband network solutions, and Akamai Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of cloud services for delivering, optimizing and securing online content and business applications, will demonstrate advanced content delivery technologies for use in mobile networks. The ”proof of concept” demonstration is intended to highlight expected benefits to both end-users and mobile operators including improved user experience, faster mobile web access and more efficient delivery of web page contents over mobile networks.

Today’s mobile web content has become more complicated and heavier due to the inclusion of higher resolution images and videos. A rapid increase in media traffic demand from smart devices carries an associated cost of network congestion, which leads to unforeseen bottlenecks and lower quality of service to end-users. In this challenging environment, mobile operators are demanding better ways to deliver content over their networks in order to improve user experience.

To cater to the needs of mobile operators, at this year’s congress, Samsung will perform a demonstration of advanced content delivery solutions on its mobile network. Developed in coordination with Akamai, the demonstration will highlight how mobile content delivery technology can result in significant improvement in web page loading time, even in a heavily congested network environment.

Samsung’s demonstration will also highlight mobile traffic prioritization. This approach allows mobile operators to prioritize delivery of the premium contents over their network. For example mobile operators can serve faster and more stable web page access to subscribers that use critical services like mobile banking or e-commerce.

Additionally, combining the mobile traffic prioritization technology with Samsung’s unique mobile caching solution called Smart CacheTM, further enhancement can be made in end-user service quality by reducing the usage of network bandwidth and minimizing network latency by up to 100%. This will also allow mobile service providers the ability to offer premium services to content providers and an SLA (Service Level Agreement) for their services.

“Mobile operators are witnessing rapid growth in mobile web activities such as mobile banking and e-commerce. Mobile content delivery solutions and traffic prioritization over the mobile network will develop into a key differentiator for mobile operators in smart device era.” said Jungah Choi, Senior Vice President and Head of System Innovation Lab at Networks Business, Samsung Electronics. “Recently, Samsung is focusing on developing innovative solutions for mobile content delivery such as Smart CacheTM and mobile delivery acceleration technologies. Our solutions will not only provide superior mobile user experience by minimizing network latency, but will also open up possibilities for a variety of new business opportunities between the mobile operators and the content providers.”

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in technology, opening new possibilities for people everywhere. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of TVs, smartphones, tablets, PCs, cameras, home appliances, printers, LTE systems, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. We employ 286,000 people across 80 countries with annual sales of US$216.7 billion. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com.

About Akamai
Akamai® is a leading provider of cloud services for delivering, optimizing and securing online content and business applications. At the core of the Company’s solutions is the Akamai Intelligent Platform™ providing extensive reach, coupled with unmatched reliability, security, visibility and expertise. Akamai removes the complexities of connecting the increasingly mobile world, supporting 24/7 consumer demand, and enabling enterprises to securely leverage the cloud.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.samsung.com

Today, Unilever announced a partnership with Internet.org, a Facebook-led alliance of partners, to understand better how internet access can be increased to reach millions more people across rural India.

Just 13 per cent of the Indian population has internet access and as an initial step, Internet.org and Unilever will carry out a comprehensive study to examine the opportunities to increase internet adoption in rural communities. Apart from infrastructure and cost which are known barriers to connectivity, the partnership will carefully evaluate other educational and cultural factors that also limit internet use.

The mission of Internet.org is to bring the benefits of internet access to all and by leveraging Unilever’s vast expertise on the ground via a comprehensive research and activation programme, the partnership aims to better understand the barriers to connectivity in rural communities. Unilever and Internet.org will leverage this research to inform the development of a series of on-the-ground projects with the aim of improving lives in rural India through better connectivity.

Unilever has extensive experience developing and deploying programmes for rural consumers. For example, Lifebuoy, the world’s leading health soap, has been promoting handwashing awareness in rural India for several years and has successfully enabled women in remote communities to enhance their incomes through the Shakti ( 526KB ) project.
Lowering the barriers to internet access requires a collaborative effort. Through this partnership, Unilever and Internet.org are pursuing the mission of bringing the benefits of internet access to the two-thirds of the world who are not yet connected.

Keith Weed, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Unilever:
“Access to the internet is improving in countries like India but there is still a very high proportion of people that would love the opportunity to connect and engage but who cannot enjoy what many of us take for granted. Having no internet access naturally removes all associated opportunities that it brings which, in turn, can be a barrier to learning and ultimately hinder economic development. Through our long history of serving the Indian market we bring an in-depth understanding of rural Indian communities. We hope, together with Internet.org, we can use this know-how to understand better how a vital modern resource can benefit many more millions.”

Chris Weasler, Director of Global Connectivity, Facebook:
“The internet not only connects us to our friends, families and communities, but it’s also the foundation of the global knowledge economy and a way to deliver basic financial services, health and educational tools. In partnership with Unilever, we hope to break down the barriers to access and, in turn, provide millions of people with the information that can help them, and their communities, thrive.”
About Internet.org:

Internet.org is a global partnership between technology leaders, nonprofits, local communities and experts who are working together to bring the internet to the two thirds of the world’s population not yet connected. Founding members include Ericsson, Facebook, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Samsung and Qualcomm.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.uniliver.com

Mobile World Congress 2014, Barcelona – BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB), a world leader in mobile communications, today announced that Daimler AG and Airbus Group are among the latest multinational customers to adopt BlackBerry® Enterprise Service 10 (BES10) and BlackBerry® 10 smartphones.

BlackBerry’s container offering delivers a best-in-class COPE (Corporate Owned Personally Enabled) management solution with BES10. Learn how Gartner views COPE offerings in the following report.

BlackBerry secures mobile communication for more than 80,000 enterprises. Enterprises choose BlackBerry for its behind the firewall protection. BlackBerry’s end-to-end, gold standard security capabilities help customers to rest assured that their mission critical data is safeguarded across every mobile device on the network.

Daimler AG, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of passenger cars and commercial vehicles, relies on BlackBerry 10 smartphones for employees with increased security requirements. “BES10 in combination with BlackBerry 10 smartphones offers us the safest environment for mobile device management,” said the automobile manufacturer’s CIO Dr. Michael Gorriz. “With BlackBerry Balance technology, we also offer our employees the opportunity to use two profiles on one device – a professional and a private one. While the professional site is controlled and protected by IT, the user receives individual user options in the private section. With this, private services and apps can be used without compromising company data.”

Airbus Group, a global pioneer in Aeronautics, Space and Defense-related Service, also chose BES10 and is upgrading its entire BlackBerry mobile fleet to BlackBerry 10 smartphones. This decision by Airbus was made after several months of testing and comparison with other offerings on the market. Airbus’ vigorous testing was conducted to ensure that their high standards and requirements for security, confidentiality, and Mobile Device Management capabilities were met by BlackBerry 10.

“Our customers recognize the value that BlackBerry 10 solutions bring to meet the needs of an increasingly mobile workforce and the sensitive nature of data shared across terminals and platforms – requiring the best end-to-end security technology,” added John Sims, President, Global Enterprise Services at BlackBerry. “Companies like Daimler AG and Airbus Group, as do all of our enterprise and government customers, need to share and access confidential information on a daily basis, making smartphone security a key priority. With BES10, security, productivity, communication and collaboration are the pillars for what BlackBerry aims to deliver to its customers.”

Today at Mobile World Congress, BlackBerry also announced a new promotional program for BlackBerry’s enterprise mobility platform that allows certain customers to deploy BES10 at no cost. Visit www.blackberry.com/ezpass and www.blackberry.com/pricingupdate for conditions and pricing information.

Additional customers include:

AirDolomiti, an Italian Airline with approximately 550 employees, has deployed BES10 and has migrated their existing BlackBerry smartphones to new BlackBerry 10 smartphones. “As an international airline, we need to provide our employees the most efficient, secure and cost effective communication tools. BES10 allows us to maintain our high standards of efficient, secure, real-time, international collaboration,” said Fabio Biancotto, ICT Director AirDolomiti.

Banca Ifigest, an independent bank, based in Florence, Italy, needed an EMM solution to manage its mixed mobile environment. “BES10 enables us to securely, simply and effectively manage our BlackBerry, iOS and Android devices from a single user-friendly graphical interface. A multi-platform solution is exactly what we needed and BlackBerry offers this with high security standards across personal devices in our BYOD environment,” said Daniele Grassi, IT Manager, Banca Ifigest.

Tokheim is one of the world’s largest providers of fuel retailing solutions. “Our data has always been secure thanks to BlackBerry, and we appreciate the single platform provided by BES10 to facilitate the management and control of BlackBerry and other devices,” said Corrado Fasano, Manager, Tokheim. “In addition, with the added bonus of BlackBerry Balance technology on BlackBerry 10 smartphones, and support for iOS and Android devices with BlackBerry’s Secure Work Space, our employees can enjoy all the benefits of a cutting-edge smartphone while we can rest assured that all corporate information is kept completely separate and secure from personal content.”

Vepica, a global industry leader with more than 40 years of experience in designing and developing construction projects uses BES10 to manage BlackBerry, iOS and Android devices. “The accelerated growth we’re experiencing as a company demands that we adopt a solution like BES10, which provides us with secure remote access to the different services and features of our business systems. At the same time, the platform increases productivity and continuous, real-time communications among our workforce,” says Marianela Gil, VP of Information Technology at Vepica. “One of the main reasons we chose the BlackBerry solution is that it gives us the flexibility to manage devices on multiple platforms, effectively and securely. Additionally, our corporate BYOD policy required the flexibility of the BES10 solution, which we viewed as a decisive value add,” explained Marianela.

PDVSA, the leading Venezuelan oil company in Latin America, chose BES10 to manage their BlackBerry devices and ensure compliance with their BYOD corporate policy. “At PDVSA, we work to maintain a high level of security and operating resilience to reach key objectives in Venezuela, aligned with our strategy for the country. This is why we need an EMM platform capable of offering excellent security, and that’s BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10,” said Keith Fernandez, who’s in charge of Information Assets Security at PDVSA, which falls under the Corporate Management Office of Loss Prevention and Control. “We’re very pleased with the security and flexibility that BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 offers for our devices, and having features included in them that enable our mobile workforce to be more productive, it’s really an easy decision to have chosen this solution.”

Odebrecht, a Brazilian organization with global presence, and a leader in the engineering, construction, chemical and petrochemical industry in Latin America chose BlackBerry solutions for its security. “BlackBerry 10 smartphones and BES10 provide the security and reliability we need for our daily operations,” said Odebrecht’s CIO Andre Schneiter. “In addition, BlackBerry Balance technology offers great flexibility and privacy to our executives, which was also a decisive factor.”

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, Asia Pacific and Latin America.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.blackberry.com

FREMONT, Calif.- SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE: SNX), a leading business process services company, today announced the completion of the initial close of the acquisition of IBM’s customer relationship management (CRM) business on January 31, 2014. IBM’s CRM business will be combined with Concentrix, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SYNNEX, to become one of the world’s foremost customer engagement services companies in the $55 billion+ CRM BPO market.

The Company also announced that Christopher Caldwell has been promoted to Executive Vice-President and President of Concentrix Corporation, and will lead the combined organization. “This transformational acquisition makes Concentrix a global Top 10 player in a growing market,” stated Kevin Murai, President and CEO of SYNNEX Corporation. “Our collective strengths in the CRM BPO market including a strong team of executives and recurring revenues from IBM’s blue-chip client base have created a truly compelling value proposition for our shareholders.”

Concentrix is now a global leader in customer engagement, technology and process innovation, due to the combined scale, tools and industry expertise of IBM and the agility, flexibility, velocity and client focus of Concentrix. Through this acquisition, as well as the ongoing, long-term strategic partnership with IBM as preferred provider for CRM solutions for their clients, Concentrix will provide organizations with the innovative solutions and customer engagement capabilities to differentiate their brand and services from those of their competitors.

“Enabling our clients’ customer strategy and supporting transactions with operational excellence has always been the foundation of our success. This acquisition continues to extend our portfolio, delivery capabilities and geographic reach to help organizations around the world deliver innovative, high-value interactions at every stage of the customer engagement lifecycle” said Chris Caldwell, President, Concentrix Corporation. “Upon final closing, Concentrix will provide customer engagement and industry process services for clients in 10 industry verticals with an expanded global footprint of more than 43,000 staff in over 36 countries.”

Estimated Financial Impact of Acquisition to Consolidated SYNNEX Corporation Financials:
Approximately $120 million of EBITDA weighted towards the latter part of the first 12 months following the initial close due to a higher cost structure in the near term as the business moves from IBM to Concentrix. The amount excludes one-time acquisition related expenses and restructuring charges.

One-time acquisition-related expenses – primarily professional fees and transaction-related expenses -are estimated at $35-45 million for the fiscal year end November 30, 2014.
Amortization expense is estimated to be $40 million for fiscal 2014.
Depreciation expense is estimated to be $15 million for fiscal 2014.
As part of the $505 million purchase price, SYNNEX has delivered approximately 1.27 million shares of SYNNEX common stock valued at $75 million to IBM.

Interest expense related to the financing of the initial $355 million cash purchase price and working capital needs will approximate $8-10 million for the balance of fiscal year 2014. $75 million of the purchase price payment is deferred until subsequent closings are completed.

Total revenues from the IBM CRM business will be dependent on the timing of successive closings, the timing of novation of customer contracts, and the fact that some contracts will be conducted under sub-contract from IBM. We expect, however, that successive closings and novation will occur within the next 12 months. Updated U.S. GAAP revenue projections from this transaction will be provided during the Company’s first quarter 2014 earnings release and in subsequent quarters.

Excluding one-time acquisition related charges, the one month impact of the IBM CRM business will not be material to SYNNEX’ fiscal first quarter results for the period ended February 28, 2014.
“We are excited about the client base coming over from IBM. After the initial integration and planned expiration of certain lower margin contracts, we expect to grow revenue and earnings for the combined business,” stated Kevin Murai, President and CEO of SYNNEX Corporation. “We have long been committed to delivering high quality, innovative services and this acquisition will significantly extend our portfolio and our delivery capabilities.”

Additional Information:
“About Concentrix” and recent news releases at http://www.concentrix.com/
Acquisition-related news releases and presentation from the initial September 10, 2013 acquisition announce and November 27, 2013 financing announce at the SYNNEX Investor Relations Site at http://ir.synnex.com/
Follow Concentrix and SYNNEX on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn from the “Social Communities” section of the SYNNEX Global Site at http://www.synnex.com/

About SYNNEX
SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE: SNX), a Fortune 500 corporation, is a leading business process services company, servicing resellers, retailers and original equipment manufacturers in multiple regions around the world. The Company provides services in IT distribution, supply chain management, contract assembly and business process outsourcing. Additional information about SYNNEX may be found online at www.synnex.com.

About Concentrix
Concentrix Corporation is the global business services division of SYNNEX Corporation with award-winning expertise in providing clients with platforms and services to enable their customer strategy. Concentrix Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE:SNX), a Fortune 500 company. For more information, please visit www.concentrix.com.

This Press Relaease is courtesy of www.synnex.com

Las Vegas, Nev. – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the leader in TV technology for 8 years, today announced it will bring its newly introduced 105” U9500 Curved Ultra High Definition (UHD) TV and 85” U9B Bendable UHD TV to consumers in the second half of 2014. Following the unveiling of these two new breakthrough models at CES 2014 this week, the company will add them to its stunning line up of Curved and UHD TVs this year.

“Given the tremendous media and industry reception for these new products, we are excited to bring our 105” Curved UHD TV and 85” Bendable UHD TV to consumers around the world,” said HS Kim, executive vice president of the visual display business at Samsung Electronics. “People who are passionate about entertainment will have a whole new way to experience the content they love with these exciting new models that showcase exceptional design and UHD picture quality.”

Samsung’s 105” U9500 Curved UHD TV is the world’s first and largest Curved UHD TV. The set features an expansive display, curved design and is the largest TV ever with a movie-theater aspect ratio of 21 x 9 to create a truly cinematic viewing experience in the living room. From 4K content, to Full HD and HD sources, everything will look better on this TV which boasts unmatched resolution. The combination of the screen size and Samsung’s Auto Depth Enhancer technology brings amazing depth to the picture and produces a life-like viewing experience.

Taking TV viewing to a whole new level, Samsung’s 85” U9B Bendable UHD TV is the world’s first and largest UHD TV that transforms from a flat panel to a curved TV design with a touch of a button. Through Samsung’s innovative design and engineering, viewers can control the way they want to watch on one spectacular UHD TV.

Samsung’s UHD TVs not only support today’s standards — including HEVC, HDMI 2.0, MHL 3.0 and HDCP 2.2; they are the only TVs on the market that are future-ready, thanks to the Samsung UHD Evolution Kit. The One Connect Box essentially houses the brains of the TV externally, enabling customers to switch out the box with the latest Samsung UHD Evolution Kit to stay up to date on the latest UHD standards, as well as to get access to the newest technology Samsung has to offer, all helping customers protect their investment for many years to come.

To see these and more new Samsung TVs first-hand at CES 2014, visit the Samsung booth #12004 in the Central Hall. Samsung Electronics America’s press releases, product images and video content are available at www.samsung.com/newsroom and www.samsungces.com.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in technology, opening new possibilities for people everywhere. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of televisions, smartphones, personal computers, printers, cameras, home appliances, LTE systems, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. We employ 236,000 people across 79 countries with annual sales of US$187.8 billion.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.samsung.com

NEW YORK – A new Verizon report has found that too many businesses, following their annual assessment for meeting the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, fail to maintain ongoing compliance – putting the businesses at an increased risk for data breaches, and financial and reputational damages.

The “Verizon 2014 PCI Compliance Report” affirms that payment card transactions remain a prime target for attackers, and the rate at which data breaches are occurring appears to be increasing. It is estimated by The Nilson Report that global credit cards fraud exceeded $11 billion in 2012 alone.

According to the report, in most cases, payment card data breaches are not a failure of security technology or of compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, but rather a failure to implement appropriate compliance and security measures as intended.

“We continue to see many organizations viewing PCI compliance as a single annual event, unaware that compliance needs to have a 365 day-a-year focus,” stated Rodolphe Simonetti, managing director, PCI practice, Verizon Enterprise Solutions.

However, there is a bright spot in the report: Organizations’ initial compliance with the PCI standard has shown some improvement. In 2013, more than 82 percent of organizations were compliant with at least 80 percent of the PCI standard at the time of their annual baseline assessment, compared with just 32 percent in 2012.

There were also regional differences due to breach notification laws, varying legal requirements and levels of adoption. The Asia-Pacific region took the top spot (75 percent), followed by the U.S. with 56 percent and Europe with 31 percent in meeting at least 80 percent of the PCI requirements.

Areas where businesses struggle the most in achieving initial compliance include: security testing (23.8 percent); security monitoring and the ability to effectively detect and respond to data compromised (17 percent); and protecting stored sensitive data (55.6 percent).

“Anything less than 100 percent compliance is an issue for businesses today,” said Simonetti. “We have seen time and time again that noncompliance leaves an organization open to credit card theft, which can potentially cost hundreds of millions of dollars when you factor in all the damages, not to mention lost consumer trust and the impact on brand reputation. Organizations need to rethink how they factor in maintaining a PCI-compliant environment, whether it’s devoting more resources or working with a managed security services provider.”

Report Takes In-Depth Look at Each of 12 PCI Requirements
In addition the report examines in detail how well organizations comply with each of the 12 specific PCI requirements; provides recommendations that organizations can implement to help them earn and maintain compliance; and explains how noncompliance with each requirement can lead to a data breach.

Simonetti points out that “compliance activities should be planned; integrated with largest organizationalwide governance, security and compliance initiatives; and automated as much as possible to help ensure compliance is sustainable and cost effective.”

PCI Report Findings Based on Actual PCI Assessments
The report is based on findings from hundreds of PCI DSS assessments conducted by Verizon’s team of PCI Qualified Security Assessors, from 2011 through 2013. Like Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) series, the PCI Compliance Report is based on actual casework and is believed to be the only report of its kind in the industry. This report analyzes PCI Data Security assessment data, with a specific focus on the retail, financial services and hospitality industries across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, with nearly 103 million retail connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America’s most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries. A Dow 30 company with more than $120 billion in 2013 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of 176,800.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.verizon.com

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today introduced the industry’s first Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) system-on-chip (SoC), designed for low-power, mass-market wearable devices such as fitness trackers and smart watches. Broadcom will showcase its mobile innovations at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 24-27. For more news, visit Broadcom’s Newsroom.

The Broadcom® BCM4771 GNSS SoC with on-chip sensor hub enables consumers to more accurately track and manage their health and wellbeing by delivering precision activity tracking and location data while consuming less power than traditional architectures. This enables location intelligence and the extended battery life needed by the growing wearable market. Wearable wireless device revenues are projected to exceed $6 billion in 2018 with sports, fitness and wellness as the largest segment with 50 percent share of all device shipments1.

“Today’s wearables like fitness trackers have surged in popularity, but often miscalculate speed and distance,” said Mohamed Awad, Broadcom Director, Marketing, Mobile and Wireless Group. “As the largest supplier of discrete GNSS solutions, Broadcom brings its location expertise to deliver more precise fitness and health measurements to the accelerating wearable market.”

Broadcom’s new chip constantly monitors user activity levels and location history to improve accuracy while adding advanced features such as location batching. In addition, Broadcom’s BCM4771 significantly reduces power consumption and board area by combining its location capabilities with an integrated sensor hub, contextual awareness, and GNSS. The solution is complimented by Broadcom’s Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices (WICED™) Smart and WICED Direct software development kits (SDKs) to provide additional wireless connectivity to the platform.

Key Features
Designed in 40 nanometer (nm) process technology, Broadcom’s BCM4771 GNSS SoC includes a sensor hub that integrates sensor inputs for its on-chip algorithms to detect the user’s context, accurately compute speed and distance traveled, and provide fitness applications with the GNSS track. Power savings and advanced accuracy are achieved by intelligently leveraging context detection through the tight coupling of sensor inputs and GNSS on a single SoC. Broadcom’s BCM4771 also realizes a lower overall bill of materials (BOM) cost through the integration of a multipurpose sensor hub.

Availability
The BCM4771 will be sampling by the end of Q1 2014.

About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a FORTUNE 500® company, is a global leader and innovator in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom® products seamlessly deliver voice, video, data and multimedia connectivity in the home, office and mobile environments. With the industry’s broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip solutions, Broadcom is changing the world by connecting everything®.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.broadcom.com

MENLO PARK, CALIF. – Facebook today announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire WhatsApp, a rapidly growing cross-platform mobile messaging company, for a total of approximately $16 billion, including $4 billion in cash and approximately $12 billion worth of Facebook shares. The agreement also provides for an additional $3 billion in restricted stock units to be granted to WhatsApp’s founders and employees that will vest over four years subsequent to closing.

WhatsApp has built a leading and rapidly growing real-time mobile messaging service, with:
Over 450 million people using the service each month;
70% of those people active on a given day;
Messaging volume approaching the entire global telecom SMS volume; and
Continued strong growth, currently adding more than 1 million new registered users per day.

The acquisition supports Facebook and WhatsApp’s shared mission to bring more connectivity and utility to the world by delivering core internet services efficiently and affordably. The combination will help accelerate growth and user engagement across both companies.

“WhatsApp is on a path to connect 1 billion people. The services that reach that milestone are all incredibly valuable,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO. “I’ve known Jan for a long time and I’m excited to partner with him and his team to make the world more open and connected.”

Jan Koum, WhatsApp co-founder and CEO, said, “WhatsApp’s extremely high user engagement and rapid growth are driven by the simple, powerful and instantaneous messaging capabilities we provide. We’re excited and honored to partner with Mark and Facebook as we continue to bring our product to more people around the world.”

Facebook fosters an environment where independent-minded entrepreneurs can build companies, set their own direction and focus on growth while also benefiting from Facebook’s expertise, resources and scale. This approach is working well with Instagram, and WhatsApp will operate in this manner. WhatsApp’s brand will be maintained; its headquarters will remain in Mountain View, CA; Jan Koum will join Facebook’s Board of Directors; and WhatsApp’s core messaging product and Facebook’s existing Messenger app will continue to operate as standalone applications.

Upon closing of the deal, all outstanding shares of WhatsApp capital stock and options to purchase WhatsApp capital stock will be cancelled in exchange for $4 billion in cash and 183,865,778 shares of Facebook Class A common stock (worth $12 billion based on the average closing price of the six trading days preceding February 18, 2014 of $65.2650 per share). In addition, upon closing, Facebook will grant 45,966,444 restricted stock units to WhatsApp employees (worth $3 billion based on the average closing price of the six trading days preceding February 18, 2014 of $65.2650 per share). As of February 17, 2014, Facebook had 2,551,654,996 Class A and B shares outstanding plus approximately 139 million dilutive securities primarily consisting of unvested RSUs. The Class A common stock and RSUs issued to WhatsApp shareholders and employees upon closing will represent 7.9% of Facebook shares based on current shares and RSUs outstanding.

In the event of termination of the Merger Agreement under certain circumstances principally related to a failure to obtain required regulatory approvals, the Merger Agreement provides for Facebook to pay WhatsApp a fee of $1 billion in cash and to issue to WhatsApp a number of shares of Facebook’s Class A common stock equal to $1 billion based on the average closing price of the ten trading days preceding such termination date.

Facebook was advised by Allen & Company LLC and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP; and WhatsApp was advised by Morgan Stanley and Fenwick & West, LLP.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.fb.com

The UK Mail Group is an independent parcels, mail and logistics services company based in the United Kingdom, offering innovative delivery solutions both locally and worldwide. With a national network of more than 52 sites and 2,500 vehicles, UK Mail needed a mobile strategy to help embrace new technologies, provide a platform for growth, enhance the customer experience within their sector and to enable them to drive business innovation. Motorola’s Mobility Lifecycle Management (MLM) service has allowed UK Mail to lower costs by keeping mobile devices up to date and available to its workforce, allowing employees to concentrate on the needs of their customers.

MLM helps ensure the successful introduction of mobile device technologies across an enterprise by speeding rollout and providing operational support for mobile device and application planning. The postal courier and delivery industry is typically a very harsh environment for mobile devices with high repair and return rates. UK Mail introduced MLM and immediately saw dramatic results. Scanning rates from depots in the first roll-out phase hit 100 percent and across the business the scanning rate has risen to 96 percent. The enhanced customer visibility regarding packages is also leading to a decrease in calls to UK Mail’s customer support center. When a device does require repair, UK Mail has elected to use Motorola‘s Fast Track support service program which provides a “ready for business” replacement unit the following business day.

Click here to see a new video from Motorola Solutions that illustrates how UK Mail is using and benefiting from the Mobility Lifecycle Management solution.

KEY FACTS

MLM supports deployment, management, service desk, repairs, reporting and analysis. Performance is governed by customer-specific service-level agreements and clients can have visibility to all operations and performance measures through the Mobility Lifecycle Management Portal, a customizable browser-based reporting and analysis tool.
The MLM service builds on Motorola‘s global leadership in mission- and business-critical communications by providing agnostic lifecycle management across Windows® Mobile, Apple® iOS and Android®-based operating systems from a wide variety of device manufacturers.
UK Mail deliver carriers use over 3,000 of Motorola Solutions’ MC67 device to track packages and verify delivery.
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.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.motorolasolutions.com

BETHPAGE, NY, – Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) and
NJ TRANSIT today announced that they have reached a significant milestone in their partnership to
provide WiFi access for NJ TRANSIT customers with the launch of Optimum WiFi at the following
eleven train stations:

 Hoboken Terminal
 Newark Penn Station
 Secaucus Junction
 Meadowlands
 Metropark
 Montclair State University
 New Brunswick
 Newark Broad Street
 Rahway
 Summit
 Trenton Transit Center

Gemma Toner, Cablevision’s senior vice president of broadband product management, said, “Cablevision
is committed to bringing WiFi to places that matter most to our customers, and expanding our WiFi
presence to 11 train stations in the NJ TRANSIT system is a natural extension of our robust network of
more than 100,000 Tri-State Area hotspots. We look forward to now providing NJ TRANSIT passengers
at these select stations with the superior Optimum WiFi experience our customers rely on even as we
continue to deploy additional WiFi access sites at other NJ TRANSIT stations and ultimately on the rail
cars.”

“This public-private partnership will enable NJ TRANSIT to deliver on one of the top requests from our
customers—wireless internet access at stations, and ultimately onboard trains,” said NJ TRANSIT
Executive Director James Weinstein. “We are excited to work with Cablevision to further enhance the
overall customer experience on our system by offering a dedicated WiFi connection, enabling those who
wish to remain connected during their commute to do so continuously.”

The eleven stations, which include the major hubs of NJ TRANSIT, are the first to be outfitted with
Optimum WiFi as part of the public-private partnership between NJ TRANSIT and Cablevision that was
first announced in June 2013. Subsequent phases of the initiative will include equipping additional train
stations and ultimately rail cars by line via a dedicated, trackside WiFi network.

NJ TRANSIT customers can now enjoy Optimum WiFi on the stations’ platforms, in waiting areas and
waiting rooms, and in areas adjacent to the stations as well as the various concourses between other transit
systems. These customers can connect to WiFi on their devices by selecting “optimumwifi” from the list.

About Cablevision
Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) is a leading media and telecommunications company,
serving millions of households and businesses throughout the greater New York area. Providing quality
products that keep customers connected, Cablevision offers Optimum-branded digital cable television,
high-speed Internet and phone services as well as Optimum WiFi, the nation’s most robust wireless
Internet network. Cablevision’s Lightpath subsidiary is a premier provider of integrated business
communications solutions for larger companies. Through its local media and programming properties –
News 12 Networks, Newsday Media Group and MSG Varsity – Cablevision also delivers news and
information created specifically for the communities it serves. Additional information about Cablevision
is available at www.cablevision.com.

About NJ TRANSIT
NJ TRANSIT is the nation’s largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 895,000
weekday trips on 261 bus routes, three light rail lines, 12 commuter rail lines and through Access Link
paratransit service. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 165 rail stations, 62 light rail
stations and more than 19,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.cablevision.com

BELLEVUE, Wash. – Already known as the best deal in town, MetroPCS, a brand of T-Mobile US, Inc. (NYSE: TMUS), is expanding its wireless coverage to Mexico — making it even easier for its customers to get the most out of their wireless service. Starting today, MetroPCS customers will be able to call and text both to and from Mexico for the affordable price of just $10 a month.

With the expanded service, customers can stay connected to their families whether they are in the U.S. or Mexico, and can be confident that they will have coverage when traveling across the border to visit loved ones. With the Mexico calling service, customers no longer have to deal with enormous roaming costs during their travel or having to shut off their communications completely as a way to save money.

“Our customers have been looking to stay better connected with their friends and family in Mexico and we’re happy to provide them with calling capabilities that are affordable and truly work,” said Tom Keys, MetroPCS COO and executive vice president. “Travel is expensive enough as it is, but expanding our reliable service into Mexico allows our customers visiting there or calling from the U.S. to no longer worry about costly charges and billing surprises just to stay connected.”

With Mexico calling, customers receive: 200 minutes and 200 texts to the U.S. while roaming in Mexico; unlimited calling from the U.S. to Mexico-based landlines; 1,000 minutes of mobile-to-mobile calling, and unlimited texting to Mexico — all for just $10 per month when choosing MetroPCS’ $50 or higher rate plans. At just $60, including taxes and regulatory fees, customers are getting a phenomenal value to reach friends and loved ones in Mexico along with access to unlimited data, talk and text in the United States on a nationwide 4G LTE network.

About MetroPCS
MetroPCS provides the freedom and convenience of unlimited, no-annual-contract wireless services on an advanced nationwide 4G LTE network for a flat rate. With MetroPCS, customers get great value and a wide variety of device choices from leading brands. A flagship brand operated by T-Mobile US, Inc. (NYSE: “TMUS”), MetroPCS products and services are available online and across the United States through a network of company-owned stores, authorized dealer locations, and leading national retailers.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.metropcs.com

Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and Mountain View, California: Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) today have entered into a definitive agreement under which Lenovo plans to acquire the Motorola Mobility smartphone business. With a strong PC business and a fast-growing smartphone business, this agreement will significantly strengthen Lenovo’s position in the smartphone market. In addition, Lenovo will gain a strong market presence in North America and Latin America, as well as a foothold in Western Europe, to complement its strong, fast-growing smartphone business in emerging markets around the world.

The purchase price is approximately US$2.91 billion (subject to certain adjustments), including US$1.41 billion paid at close, comprised of US$660 million in cash and US$750 million in Lenovo ordinary shares (subject to a share cap/floor). The remaining US$1.5 billion will be paid in the form of a three-year promissory note.

Lenovo, which in 2005 acquired IBM’s PC business and its legendary PC brand, will now acquire world-renowned Motorola Mobility, including the MOTOROLA brand and Motorola Mobility’s portfolio of innovative smartphones like the Moto X and Moto G and the DROID™ Ultra series. In addition to current products, Lenovo will take ownership of the future Motorola Mobility product roadmap.

Google will maintain ownership of the vast majority of the Motorola Mobility patent portfolio, including current patent applications and invention disclosures. As part of its ongoing relationship with Google, Lenovo will receive a license to this rich portfolio of patents and other intellectual property. Additionally Lenovo will receive over 2,000 patent assets, as well as the Motorola Mobility brand and trademark portfolio.

Motorola Mobility enjoys outstanding brand awareness around the world, and is currently the #3 Android smartphone manufacturer in the U.S. and #3 manufacturer overall in Latin America.

“The acquisition of such an iconic brand, innovative product portfolio and incredibly talented global team will immediately make Lenovo a strong global competitor in smartphones. We will immediately have the opportunity to become a strong global player in the fast-growing mobile space,” said Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO of Lenovo. “We are confident that we can bring together the best of both companies to deliver products customers will love and a strong, growing business. Lenovo has a proven track record of successfully embracing and strengthening great brands – as we did with IBM’s Think brand – and smoothly and efficiently integrating companies around-the-world. I am confident we will be successful with this process, and that our companies will not only maintain our current momentum in the market, but also build a strong foundation for the future.”

“Lenovo has the expertise and track record to scale Motorola Mobility into a major player within the Android ecosystem. This move will enable Google to devote our energy to driving innovation across the Android ecosystem, for the benefit of smartphone users everywhere,” said Larry Page, CEO, Google.

“As part of Lenovo, Motorola Mobility will have a rapid path to achieving our goal of reaching the next 100 million people with the mobile Internet. With the recent launches of Moto X and Moto G, we have tremendous momentum right now and Lenovo’s hardware expertise and global reach will only help to accelerate this,” said Dennis Woodside, CEO, Motorola Mobility.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.google.com

LAS VEGAS–As Android development continues to surge in popularity and the expectations for multi-touch interactivity becomes the norm for commercial applications, developing a high-performance Android OS solution for large-format, multi-touch devices, such as touch tables, kiosks and wall displays, has become increasingly important. Now, thanks to the collective effort of Ideum and 3M engineers, Android developers in key markets, such as gaming and entertainment, retail, trade shows, museum exhibits, and corporate environments, can create large-format, multi-user Android applications that utilize 3M’s multi-touch technology (up to 60 simultaneous touches) incorporated into Ideum’s line of table and kiosk products.

The first example of this high-performance Android OS will be exhibited on Ideum’s popular Platform 46 Coffee Table (www.ideum.com/coffee-tables), which will preview a wide variety of multi-touch Android applications in the 3M booth (#1600) at the Digital Signage Expo (DSE) 2014, February 12-13, Las Vegas. This table will run Android Version 4.1 (Jellybean) on Intel’s x86 architecture and will be available for purchase from Ideum later this year. Additional Android offerings from Ideum are planned throughout the year, including dual-boot Android and Windows 8 systems.

“We think developers will be excited about the ease of authoring on the popular Android platform and the amazingly fast performance on our tables,” says Jim Spadaccini, CEO, Ideum. “Native Android OS support expands the possibilities for our multi-touch tables giving developers new options and providing end customers new and dynamic software solutions.”

“High-performance multi-touch Android applications are key in expanding the reach of 3M multi-touch systems and displays,” says Diego Romeu, Global Business Unit Manager, 3M Electronic Solutions Division. “And we are thrilled to work with Ideum’s engineering team to help bring Android applications to their multi-touch enabled tables.”

Ideum Platform 46 Tables combine Ideum’s innovative design and build-quality with 3M’s high-performance, multi-user 46-inch 3M Multi-Touch Display C4667PW display to create a rugged turnkey touch table with ultra-fast touch response time for fluid multi-touch interaction. The table’s 3M multi-touch display has a bezel-free, full HD 1080p LCD with a chemically-strengthened glass surface and IP54 waterproof rating. The table’s pedestal is constructed with high-grade aluminum.

Ideum Platform 46 Tables perform in virtually any lighting environment since 3M projected capacitive technology – the same touch technology found in popular tablets and smart phones – is inherently unaffected by ambient light.
With its exceptional build-quality and easy-to-start “push of a button,” the Ideum Platform 46 Tables are ideal for public spaces and other heavy-use environments. A small form-factor PC is inside the chassis, allowing for easy upgrades and comes equipped with an Intel i7 3.7GHz Hyper-threaded Quad Core Processor with 16GB of RAM and a 500GB Hard Drive (specific to Coffee Table model).

This Press Release is courtesy of www.3m.com

REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft Corp. today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Satya Nadella as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors effective immediately. Nadella previously held the position of Executive Vice President of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group.

“During this time of transformation, there is no better person to lead Microsoft than Satya Nadella,” said Bill Gates, Microsoft’s Founder and Member of the Board of Directors. “Satya is a proven leader with hard-core engineering skills, business vision and the ability to bring people together. His vision for how technology will be used and experienced around the world is exactly what Microsoft needs as the company enters its next chapter of expanded product innovation and growth.”

Since joining the company in 1992, Nadella has spearheaded major strategy and technical shifts across the company’s portfolio of products and services, most notably the company’s move to the cloud and the development of one of the largest cloud infrastructures in the world supporting Bing, Xbox, Office and other services. During his tenure overseeing Microsoft’s Server and Tools Business, the division outperformed the market and took share from competitors.

“Microsoft is one of those rare companies to have truly revolutionized the world through technology, and I couldn’t be more honored to have been chosen to lead the company,” Nadella said. “The opportunity ahead for Microsoft is vast, but to seize it, we must focus clearly, move faster and continue to transform. A big part of my job is to accelerate our ability to bring innovative products to our customers more quickly.”

“Having worked with him for more than 20 years, I know that Satya is the right leader at the right time for Microsoft,” said Steve Ballmer, who announced on Aug. 23, 2013 that he would retire once a successor was named. “I’ve had the distinct privilege of working with the most talented employees and senior leadership team in the industry, and I know their passion and hunger for greatness will only grow stronger under Satya’s leadership.”

Microsoft also announced that Bill Gates, previously Chairman of the Board of Directors, will assume a new role on the Board as Founder and Technology Advisor, and will devote more time to the company, supporting Nadella in shaping technology and product direction. John Thompson, lead independent director for the Board of Directors, will assume the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors and remain an independent director on the Board.

“Satya is clearly the best person to lead Microsoft, and he has the unanimous support of our Board,” Thompson said. “The Board took the thoughtful approach that our shareholders, customers, partners and employees expected and deserved.”

With the addition of Nadella, Microsoft’s Board of Directors consists of Ballmer; Dina Dublon, former Chief Financial Officer of JPMorgan Chase; Gates; Maria M. Klawe, President of Harvey Mudd College; Stephen J. Luczo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Seagate Technology PLC; David F. Marquardt, General Partner at August Capital; Nadella; Charles H. Noski, former Vice Chairman of Bank of America Corp.; Dr. Helmut Panke, former Chairman of the Board of Management at BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG; and Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of Virtual Instruments. Seven of the 10 board members are independent of Microsoft, which is consistent with the requirement in the company’s governance guidelines that a substantial majority be independent.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.microsoft.com

CUPERTINO, California — Apple® today announced iBooks® Textbooks and iTunes U® Course Manager are expanding into new markets across Asia, Latin America, Europe and elsewhere around the world. iBooks Textbooks bring Multi-Touch™ textbooks with dynamic, current and interactive content to teachers and students in 51 countries now including Brazil, Italy and Japan; and iTunes U Course Manager, available in 70 countries now including Russia, Thailand and Malaysia, allows educators to create and distribute courses for their own classrooms, or share them publicly, on the iTunes U app.

“The incredible content and tools available for iPad provide teachers with new ways to customize learning unlike ever before,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “We can’t wait to see how teachers in even more countries will create their new lesson plans with interactive textbooks, apps and rich digital content.”

iBooks Textbooks offer iPad® users gorgeous, fullscreen textbooks with interactive animations, rotating 3D diagrams, flick-through photo galleries and tap-to-play videos. iBooks Textbooks don’t weigh down a backpack, can be updated as events unfold and don’t need to be returned. With nearly 25,000 educational titles created by independent publishers, teachers and leading education services companies, including new educational content from Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press and Hodder Education, iBooks Textbooks now cover 100 percent of US high school core curriculum and the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) core curriculum in the UK.

“Oxford University Press is using iBooks Author for Headway, Oxford’s all-time best-selling English language series, to create engaging iBooks Textbooks for iPad,” said Peter Marshall, Managing Director, ELT Division at Oxford University Press. “In releasing 13 new iBooks Textbooks, including ‘Headway Pre-Intermediate,’ the best-selling level in the series, we are enriching the language learning experience for students around the world.”

“We believe resources like iBooks Textbooks represent a monumental shift in learning because they engage multiple capacities of each individual student,” said Miguel Dominguez, Marketing Director of Imaxina Novas Tecnoloxias in Spain, an independent educational content developer and publisher of iBooks Textbooks, including “The Senses,” which incorporates interactive elements such as video and animated images of the human eye and ear to illustrate how the body works.

With iTunes U Course Manager educators can quickly and easily share their knowledge and resources directly with their class or to a global audience on iTunes U. This free iOS app gives millions of learners access to the world’s largest online catalog of free educational content from top schools, leading universities and prominent institutions. iTunes U Course manager also gives teachers the ability to integrate their own documents as part of course curriculum, as well as content from the Internet, hundreds of thousands of books on the iBooks Store, over 750,000 materials from existing iTunes U collections, or any of the more than one million iOS apps available on the revolutionary App Store℠.

“iPad is so much more than just a textbook or just a notepad for students—it’s a powerful educational tool, a study partner, a window into the past and a glimpse of the future,” said Sophie Post, fourth grade history teacher at UK’s Falkner House school. “Teaching history was once a static timeline of events. In leveraging the entire educational ecosystem of iPad, creating my own iBooks Textbooks and iTunes U courses, and pulling in apps like History: Maps of the World, studying history has suddenly become a creative, dynamic and truly transformative experience for my pupils.”

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.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.apple.com

The recent Target data breach has fueled conversations about high-level cybercrime and phishing scams. It’s a field that, unfortunately, is only likely to continue to evolve as technology and cybercriminals become more sophisticated.

Today, in an open letter published in newspapers across the country, Target Chairman, President and CEO, Gregg Steinhafel announced a new coalition to help educate the public on the dangers of these scams. Target is now able to share some additional details.

A group of nationally recognized, respected organizations in cybersecurity and consumer protection will launch a campaign to accelerate the dialogue around cybersecurity threats and the dangers of consumer phishing scams. Target will invest $5 million in a multi-year campaign for this effort.

“Target has a longstanding history of commitment to our communities, and cybersecurity is one of the most pressing issues facing consumers today,” said Steinhafel. “We are proud to be working with three trusted organizations — the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA), National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Better Business Bureau (BBB)—to advance public education around cybersecurity.”

Target will learn from the experts at these organizations who best understand the complexities and growing challenges associated with cybersecurity—particularly phishing scams— and how to educate consumers in trusted, accessible and understandable ways.

“Cybersecurity is fast becoming one of the biggest marketplace challenges for businesses, and a huge concern for their customers,” said Mary E. Power, CAE, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

Effectively addressing such digital crimes and concerns demands a new and collective response, said Maria Vello, CEO, NCFTA. “Organizations from the public and private sectors must come together.”

Michael Kaiser, executive director of the NCSA, echoed her sentiment: “We believe that cybersecurity and online safety can only be achieved through sharing the responsibility and working together. This effort exemplifies that approach.”

The coalition will convene for the first time later this week in Washington, D.C., and we’ll share more following the inaugural meeting.

This Press release is courtesy of www.target.com

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to buy Nest Labs, Inc. for $3.2 billion in cash.

Nest’s mission is to reinvent unloved but important devices in the home such as thermostats and smoke alarms. Since its launch in 2011, the Nest Learning Thermostat has been a consistent best seller–and the recently launched Protect (Smoke + CO Alarm) has had rave reviews.

Larry Page, CEO of Google, said: “Nest’s founders, Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, have built a tremendous team that we are excited to welcome into the Google family. They’re already delivering amazing products you can buy right now–thermostats that save energy and smoke/CO alarms that can help keep your family safe. We are excited to bring great experiences to more homes in more countries and fulfill their dreams!”

Tony Fadell, CEO of Nest, said: “We’re thrilled to join Google. With their support, Nest will be even better placed to build simple, thoughtful devices that make life easier at home, and that have a positive impact on the world.”

Nest will continue to operate under the leadership of Tony Fadell and with its own distinct brand identity. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals in the US. It is expected to close in the next few months.

This Press Release is courtesy www.google.com

ARMONK, N.Y.: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced it will establish the IBM Watson Group, a new business unit dedicated to the development and commercialization of cloud-delivered cognitive innovations. The move signifies a strategic shift by IBM to accelerate into the marketplace a new class of software, services and apps that think, improve by learning, and discover answers and insights to complex questions from massive amounts of Big Data.

IBM will invest more than $1 billion into the Watson Group, focusing on development and research and bringing cloud-delivered cognitive applications and services to market. This will include $100 million available for venture investments to support IBM’s recently launched ecosystem of start-ups and businesses that are building a new class of cognitive apps powered by Watson, in the IBM Watson Developers Cloud.

According to technology research firm Gartner, Inc., smart machines will be the most disruptive change ever brought about by information technology, and can make people more effective, empowering them to do “the impossible.”

The IBM Watson Group will have a new headquarters at 51 Astor Place in New York City’s “Silicon Alley” technology hub, leveraging the talents of approximately 2,000 professionals, whose goal is to design, develop and accelerate the adoption of Watson cognitive technologies that transform industries and professions. The new group will tap subject matter experts from IBM’s Research, Services, Software and Systems divisions, as well as industry experts who will identify markets that cognitive computing can disrupt and evolve, such as healthcare, financial services, retail, travel and telecommunications.

The IBM Watson Group will be led by Michael Rhodin, who most recently served as Senior Vice President, IBM Software Solutions Group, responsible for delivering industry-specific solutions in high-growth areas such as Business Analytics, Smarter Commerce, Smarter Cities and Social Business.
“IBM has transformed Watson from a quiz-show winner, into a commercial cognitive computing breakthrough that is helping businesses engage customers, healthcare organizations personalize patient care, and entrepreneurs build businesses,” said Michael Rhodin, Senior Vice President, IBM Watson Group. “Watson is one of the most significant innovations in IBM’s 100 year history, and one that we want to share with the world. With these investments we strive to make new markets, reach new buyers and transform industries and professions.”

A major initiative for the IBM Watson Group will be to continue advancing its research and development to accelerate the delivery of cognitive innovations to organizations via the cloud.
As part of this initiative IBM will engineer Watson to be deployed on Softlayer, the cloud computing infrastructure business recently acquired by IBM.

In addition to launching the IBM Watson Group, IBM is announcing three new services based on Watson’s cognitive intelligence.

IBM Watson Discovery Advisor aims to revolutionize how industries such as pharmaceutical and publishing conduct research. Representing a giant leap from existing research tools that churn out thousands of search results their users must wade through, the Watson Discovery Advisor will delve into the influx of data-driven content today’s researchers face, and uncover connections that can speed up and strengthen their work.

IBM Watson Analytics allows users to explore Big Data insights through visual representations, without the need for advanced analytics training. The service removes common impediments in the data discovery process, enabling business users to quickly and independently uncover new insights in their data. Guided by sophisticated analytics and a natural language interface, Watson Analytics automatically prepares the data, surfaces the most important relationships and presents the results in an easy to interpret interactive visual format.

IBM Watson Explorer is designed to help users across the enterprise uncover and share data-driven insights more easily, while helping organizations launch big data initiatives more quickly. Watson Explorer provides users with a unified view displaying all of their data-driven information, as well as a framework for developing information-rich applications that deliver a comprehensive, contextually-relevant view of any topic for business users, data scientists and a variety of targeted business functions.

A Hub for Cognitive Innovation and Exploration
For entrepreneurs and start-ups, the Watson Group’s Silicon Alley headquarters will provide a business incubator offering the technology, tools and talent to create and launch new products and businesses based on Watson’s cloud-delivered cognitive intelligence. As a result, business partners will gain the support to achieve their visions for solving industry and societal challenges, and meeting marketplace demands that are currently unmet.

The Watson Group’s headquarters will also provide a client solutions center, serving as a place for IBM clients to experience cognitive technologies and learn how they can help transform their businesses. In addition, the headquarters will host a design lab for continuously enhancing the user experiences for cognitive applications and services used by IBM clients and partners.

The Watson Group will also offer workshops and seminars on topics such as development skills, as well as networking opportunities. These events will build upon the more than 1,000 academic partnerships that IBM has developed to prepare university students for careers in cognitive computing, big data and analytics. This includes Watson-inspired business and technical challenges, new curriculum, faculty grants and internships.

A Turning Point for Computing and Big Data Discovery
Nearly three years after its triumph on the television quiz show Jeopardy!, IBM has advanced Watson from a game playing innovation into a commercial technology. Now delivered from the cloud and able to power new consumer and enterprise apps, Watson is 24 times faster, smarter with a 2,400 percent improvement in performance, and 90 percent smaller – IBM has shrunk Watson from the size of a master bedroom to three stacked pizza boxes.

Named after IBM founder Thomas J. Watson, IBM Watson was developed in IBM’s Research labs. Using natural language processing and analytics, Watson processes information akin to how people think, representing a major shift in an organization’s ability to quickly analyze, understand and respond to Big Data. Watson’s ability to answer complex questions posed in natural language with speed, accuracy and confidence is transforming decision making across a variety of industries.

IBM has partnered with a range of healthcare organizations to help transform how medicine is practiced, paid for and taught, with the help of Watson-powered solutions. This includes collaborations with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, WellPoint, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University.

In May 2013, IBM unveiled the Watson Engagement Advisor, a commercial breakthrough that helps businesses deepen and redefine engagement with customers. Top brands including DBS Bank and Nielsen are exploring how Watson can help them engage customers.

In November 2013, IBM announced it would make Watson available as a development platform in the cloud, enabling software application providers to build a new generation of apps infused with cognitive computing intelligence. This includes the Watson Developers Cloud: a cloud-hosted marketplace where application providers can tap into resources for developing Watson-powered apps, including Watson’s API. Three business partners plan to go to market in 2014 with Watson apps, from Fluid to transform how consumers shop, from MD Buyline to help hospitals procure devices, and Welltok to enable health plans to engage their members. Currently more than 760 applicants have shared their ideas for creating cognitive apps that redefine how businesses and consumers make decisions.

IBM collaborated with eight universities to develop Watson’s capabilities. Over the past three years, IBM has introduced through its Academic Initiative a range of academic programs to prepare today’s students to become tomorrow’s cognitive computing leaders. This includes Watson-focused case competitions with the University of Connecticut (UConn), University of Rochester and University of Southern California (USC).
IBM also works with schools such as Michigan State University and UConn to develop Watson-inspired curriculum, while offering faculty grants to fuel additional coursework. Other academic ventures include the Watson internship program and IBM’s donation of Watson technology to Rensselaer Polytechnic University.

This Press Release is courtesy of IBM.com