iPhone 2.0 (Apple WWDC 2008)

Image via WikipediaCheck out the keynote of Apple WWDC 2008.

Summary:

Apple's business is now three parts (Mac, Music, iPhone)

The next Mac OS X will be called Snowleopard.

The iPhone SDK experienced 250,000 downloads - since march 6 2008.

The iPhone 2.0 platform.

1. Enterprise Support for
   
   • Microsoft Exchange - Push email, Push contacts, Push calendar, Auto-discovery (of the exchange server), Global address lookup, Remote wipe
     
   • Cisco - Secure VPN services
     
   
   
2. SDK - APIs & Tools (XCode, Interface Builder, iPhone Simulator, Instrument)
   
3. New (end users) features
   

From game console to mobile device:

Amazingly, this also helps Micrsoft and Cisco with marketing in terms of Microsoft Exchange Server(former) and routers (latter), and the sales will increase definitely because iPhone enterprise users is part of Microsoft Exchange and vice versa.

Microsoft has shares in Apple remember ? Rivalry or just marketing?

The coolest thing is that iPhone is now able to replace game console by providing similar computing power, performance and experience.

Focusing on touch capability, tilt control can keep up with the game most intricate challenge. As well as the iPhone accelerometer provides the ability to accelerate and decelerate the graphics with pinpoint precision.



Push Notification Service:

Notification - even when users are not running the application. The wrong approach is background processing which is bad for the followings.

• (Drench) Battery life
  
• Performance (suck)
  

Maintain just one persistent IP connection to the phone. Local resources would be triggered via external forces (services). This means that you turn off the phone and leave a button accessible remotely, and whenever something needs to notify you, it will come in and push the button. Doing this, you don't need resources to maintain the button, which is bore by external resources.

New End Users Features ?

1. Contact Search
   
2. iWork document support
   
3. Support MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint
   
4. Bulk Delete
   
5. Save Images
   
6. Calculator
   
7. Parental Controls
   
8. Languages - Two forms of entry for japanese, two forms of chinese (character
9. recognition)

Mobile Me ?

Having exchange (Microsoft) for the rest of rest ? Without having a MS Exchange.

Mobile Me is an (Push Email, Push Contacts, Push Calendar) ecosystem developed by Apple which behaves like MS Exchange, where it serves like a cloud (server) and offers mailbox, directory and other relevant services and it is web 2.0 online application.

It is a perfect companion for anyone with iPhone or iPod Touch, it is a service, 60 free trial and $ US 99 / year, 20 GBytes online storage.

It replaces .Mac services.

Now it is piggybacking to the marketing help on MS Exchange.

iPhone is going to be 1 year old...

In the first year, 6 million iPhones are sold.

The next challenges ?

• 3G Networking It is already here - Faster data download with built-in GPS.
  
• Enterprise Support
• Third Party Application Support
• Sales to More Countries
• More Affordable

Battery Life Achievement:

• Standby : 300 hours
  
• 2G talk time : 10 hours
  
• 3G talk time : 5 hours
  
• Browsing : 5 to 6 hours
  
• Video : 7 hours
  
• Audio : 24 hours

Adobe Acrobat 9 Software Now Available

New Version Receives Accolades for PDF Portfolios, Real-time Capabilities and Support for Adobe Flash Technology

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA –June 26, 2008 - Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the immediate availability of Adobe® Acrobat® 9 software, a significant upgrade that transforms the process of creating and sharing electronic documents. Acrobat 9 delivers major innovations that can enable organizations and individuals to communicate in an engaging, professional manner.

Now included are native support for Adobe Flash® technology, the ability to unify a wide range of content in rich PDF Portfolios, and access to real-time capabilities for co-navigating a PDF document with colleagues.

For organizations worldwide, Acrobat 9 helps address today’s critical challenge of communicating with widely dispersed teams of colleagues, partners and customers in a compelling way. Acrobat 9 is already garnering an enthusiastic response from long-term and first-time users in segments including financial services, government, legal, manufacturing, and publishing. They include: EDS; Allianz Deutschland AG; Italian Court of Cremona; Penguin Group; Dai Nippon Printing; and Kyowa Hakko.

Acrobat 9 provides deep support for Adobe Flash technology, enabling users to include Adobe Flash Player compatible video and application files in PDF documents. For example, a marketing manager can use Acrobat 9 to convert web pages with multimedia to PDF documents. The PDF file can be shared for review and comment with others who are using free Adobe Reader® 9 software, which is expected to launch up to twice as fast as earlier versions.

Acrobat 9 also includes the ability to unify a wide range of content into a single document with the new concept of PDF Portfolios. PDF Portfolios enable users to assemble multiple media types into one, compressed PDF file that can be customized with several professional layouts and specific branding. A sales professional could create a single proposal document for a prospective client that includes charts, spreadsheets and images, as well as a branded, introductory video from the CEO discussing the company’s latest products.

In addition, Acrobat 9 provides access to capabilities for collaborating live within a PDF document, enabled by working with Acrobat.com, a suite of hosted services available as public beta at www.acrobat.com. This new capability can enable users to drive a group’s navigation through a PDF document in real-time, helping ensure everyone is literally, and figuratively, on the same page.

The Acrobat 9 family consists of Acrobat 9 Standard, Acrobat 9 Pro, and the new Acrobat 9 Pro Extended software. The most comprehensive member of the family, Acrobat 9 Pro Extended, includes Adobe Presenter software for easily turning Microsoft® PowerPoint presentations into multimedia experiences that can be published as PDF files.

Pricing and Availability
Acrobat 9 Pro Extended, Acrobat 9 Pro and Acrobat 9 Standard for Microsoft Windows®, and Acrobat 9 Pro for Mac OS X, are immediately available in English, French, German, and Japanese language versions. Acrobat 9 Pro Extended is available for RM$2,709.00, and registered users of qualifying earlier versions of Acrobat1 can upgrade to Acrobat 9 Pro Extended for RM$889.00.

Acrobat 9 Pro is available for RM$1,739.00, and registered users of qualifying earlier versions of Acrobat2 can upgrade to Acrobat 9 Pro for RM$619.00.

Acrobat 9 Standard is available for RM$1159.00, and registered users of qualifying earlier versions of Acrobat3 can upgrade to Acrobat 9 Standard for RM$389.00.

Price listed is the Adobe Store direct price. Reseller prices may vary. Applicable local sales tax and shipping may apply. Additionally, Adobe Reader 9 is expected to be available by early July 2008.

Adobe Creative Suite® 3.3 Design Premium, Design Standard, Web Premium, and Master Collection software, which include Acrobat 9 Pro, are also immediately available. Creative Suite 3.3 Design Premium also bundles Adobe Fireworks® CS3 software.

More information on the Acrobat 9 family is available online at www.adobe.com/acrobat. Customers in North America can also call 1-800-833-6687.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

###

© 2008 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, Creative Suite, Flash, Fireworks, and Reader are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Macintosh is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
1 Acrobat 6 Professional, Acrobat 7 Professional, Acrobat 3D, Acrobat 8 Professional, Acrobat 3D Version 8
2 Acrobat 6 Standard, Acrobat 6 Professional, Acrobat 7 Standard, Acrobat 7 Professional, Acrobat 8 Standard, Acrobat 8 Professional
3 Acrobat 6 Elements, Acrobat 6 Standard, Acrobat 7 Elements, Acrobat 7 Standard, Acrobat 8 Standard

SEEBURGER in ‘Leaders Quadrant’ of Gartner’s B2B Gateway Report

Gartner Award endorses Tradenex.com Sdn Bhd’s choice of strategic partnership with German-based global business integration solutions provider SEEBURGER boosted

More about Tradenex.

Press Release:

KUALA LUMPUR, 24 June 2008 – SEEBURGER Inc. announced today that it has been named to the “Leaders” category in the new Gartner Inc. Magic Quadrant analysis of business-to-business (B2B) gateway providers. SEEBURGER’s Business Integration Server and associated products are used by more than 7,500 companies around the world to automate trading relationships throughout the supply chain across 15 various verticals including aerospace, high-tech, automotive, retail/consumer product goods (CPG), pharmaceutical and logistics.

In Malaysia, SEEBURGER is the strategic partner of Tradenex.com Sdn Bhd (Tradenex), subsidiary of Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) and leading local e-commerce collaboration solutions provider.

It is via this partnership that Tradenex boosts and scales up its flagship nexCONNECT e-commerce collaboration solution with the ability to integrate with the business-to-business (B2B) supply chains of large multinationals – which is an area that SEEBURGER is world renowned for.

The Gartner report, titled “Magic Quadrant for B2B Gateway Providers,” positions fourteen (14) B2B gateway vendors based on criteria including ability to execute, which includes overall viability, sales execution/pricing, market responsiveness and track record, marketing execution, customer experience and operations.

According to Gartner, vendors earning a position in the Leaders quadrant “are likely to have high revenue and commitment to the market, high market share and installed bases, and products that are of interest to large audiences. In addition, leaders have demonstrated domain expertise and presented compelling messages that have penetrated the market.”

The Gartner report also notes:

“Most of the business-to-business (B2B) gateway software solutions rated in this Magic Quadrant have matured to the point where they can support a wide range of B2B projects; nevertheless, areas of substantial product functional differentiation remain, including overall product maturity, scalability, service-oriented architecture (SOA) service enablement, architectural coherence and community management.”

Mr. Soon Koi Voon, chief executive officer of Tradenex.com Sdn Bhd says that this Gartner recognition of SEEBURGER’s B2B gateway software is testament to the company having foresight to work with only the best.

“Tradenex’s nexCONNECT currently services SMEs in the manufacturing, retail and logistics industries with some 500 users mostly ranging from small to medium sized businesses. Partnering with SEEBURGER allows Tradenex to provide Malaysian companies with world class supply chain solutions.”

“We are delighted to be associated with SEEBURGER’s B2B solutions that have been recognized as the best of breed in the international league.”

Mr. James Hatcher, managing director for of SEEBURGER Asia Pacific Ltd says, “SEEBURGER has dedicated itself exclusively to B2B integration for more than two decades. That is clearly reflected in the maturity of our platform and our wide market adoption. We believe that our partnership with Tradenex.com will continue to flourish as both companies have similar visions for world-class supply chains.”

“SEEBURGER’s Asia Pacific headquarters is located in Hong Kong, and we are rapidly penetrating the Asia Pacific region via strategic partners like Tradenex who have excellent knowledge and experience in the local markets that they serve. Some of the many high profile customers that deploy SEEBURGER’s B2B gateway solutions are Abbot, Airbus, Coca-cola, DHL, Dunlop DaimlerChrysler, Hyundai, Kraft Foods, SEGA America, Sony and Osram, amongst many others,” he ends.

About SEEBURGER

SEEBURGER is a leading provider of global business integration solutions designed to optimize transactions throughout the extended enterprise by automating trading relationships with all partners regardless of their size and technical resources. Launched in 1986 to provide integration solutions to the automotive industry in Germany, the company today is ranked among the top business-to-business gateway providers by top industry analysts, and serves more than 7,000 customers in more than 50 countries and more than 15 industries through its flagship B2B Gateway and related products and services. SEEBURGER has global offices in Europe, Asia Pacific and North America. For more information, visit www.SEEBURGER.com

About TradeNex.com Sdn Bhd

Tradenex.com is a leading service provider of and leading service provider of electronic supply chain management and collaboration services for the manufacturing and its’ supporting business communities. Tradenex provides a suite of online and (backend) collaboration solutions and services to enable organizations to connect and communicate via collaboration platforms that automate business transactions. TradeNEX provides IT professional services and application management hosting and out sourcing.


For more information:

Visithra
Sirius PR Sdn Bhd
Tel: 03 7805 2700
visithra@siriuspr.com.my

Ringo Is Closing by End of June 2008

As an entrepreneur, I feel heavy now...

Ringo closing by end of June 2008.

Acrobat.com (Beta)

Acrobat.com (beta) was launched on 4th June 2008.

Acrobat.com is mainly a web platform for people to share PDF documents, period.

What do we need when sharing documents ?

1. Storage (preferably online)
2. A way to put extra notes
3. File management(sharing, permissions and other attributes)
4. Online editor

Acrobat.com has just all the function for these needs.

1. Storage (preferably online) - My Files
2. A way to put extra notes - Buzzword
3. File management(sharing, permissions and other attributes) - My Files & Share
4. Online editor - Create PDF

Acrobat.com also comes with an extra function, which makes it different from other branded and general online file storage services such as Google Docs, rapidshare and etc. That is the ConnectNow; collaboration (real-time meetings, messenging and synchronizing thoughts) channel.

Acrobat.com is secure by default, all communications are done within the https context.

So, let's pay attention to ConnectNow.

The most important thing is that you get to customize the URL to invite people to join your meeting everytime. It doesn't have to be fixed all the time.



What is so killing about it ? Two reasons:

1. Corporate Image
   
   First of all, if you are going to share files using free services like rapidshare.de, it will never look corporate. Google Docs may work, however it doesn't provide the integrated functions of what Acrobat.com has to offer.


2. Not everybody uses MSN messenger.
   
   Never assume that everybody would be having MSN, Yahoo, ICQ and etc. Some people just don't while most people have emails.
   
   Therefore, Acrobat.com caters a platform for people to zero-in from nowhere and to be able to quickly collaborate with others effectively. Some CEOs may not have used MSN messenger or Google Doc, and Acrobat.com is just about the only thing that they need. This is the solution for "normal" Internet users.

Between Buzzword, Google Docs, MS Office Word ??

MS Office Word is still the king because people are just familiar with it. And people just don't have enough time to try out new platform just for the fun of it.

Buzzword has enough function and also export-import capability to various formats. But should we use it ? The only reason is probably it is bundled into Acrobat.com collectively as a package of documentation collaboration platform.

Google Docs may have a bigger potential should its online version of spreadsheet manage to offer what MS Excel has to offer. People may want to use it rather than just sending .xls files across emails. So, Google Docs may have more advantages.

The only thing I can think of is that if we could use Buzzword as the rich-text interface for blogs, wikis, webmails and etc, then it would be an added advantage. Definitely, Google Docs is based on Javascript (DHTML) technology while Buzzword is based on Flash technology, and the latter is smoother. What I mean by smoother ? Just like smoother beer.

Unfortunately, the API of Acrobat.com hasn't allow that yet.

Currently, the API caters for the following functions:

• Listing file and folder information
• Uploading a file
• Adding a folder
• Deleting a file or folder
• Sharing a file
• Adding or removing recipients
• Accessing file renditions

Even Google Apps APIs do not yet provide for what we wanted.

So each of these parties, are fighting to bring stickiness of user experience towards their own platform, by means of the APIs. But they will have to solve one problem, who has got enough time to switch platform ?

File Sharing:

Going back to file sharing, even though difficulties were experienced while publishing PDF porfolios from Acrobat 9 remotely into Acrobat.com, however one can really just upload the file directly from Acrobat.com.



And there are two options for file reference (URL).

Hyperlink. Download one example here.

This is good, at least we can now do away with rapidshare.de

Another way is to embed it over here. (Wait for it to load...)




And black represents elegant. Check it out.



However, there is one issue with Acrobat.com, it takes some time for all these services to load when it is firstly launched. This is partly due to Malaysia's poor Internet infrastructures.

Ironically, it may just piss off those "normal" Internet users. (i.e CEOs)

And I just can't seem to find the logout button. This really kicks my nerves off.

Finally, remember.. it is https and not http.

Adobe Media Player Brings New Content Online

Recently Launched Player Now Features 15,000 Pieces of Content, Including New Shows on CBS and a Selection of MTV Networks' Most Popular Shows

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA -June 20, 2008 - Adobe Systems Incorporated announced that since its release on April 9, 2008, the new Adobe® Media Player now features 15,000 pieces of content with more than 400 shows provided from major broadcasters and content publishers.

MTV Networks (MTVN) is one of the leading television broadcasters that have added new content to the catalog in Adobe Media Player. In addition to clips from MTV’s The Hills and MTV Cribs, viewers can now use Adobe Media Player to discover, organize, and subscribe to an added selection of MTVN’s popular shows, including clips from COMEDY CENTRAL’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report.

Additionally, CBS has expanded its range of programming and added clips and full episodes of shows Million Dollar Password, Greatest American Dog and Flashpoint.

Adobe Media Player is a customizable, cross-platform, Adobe AIR™ application that lets viewers discover and interact with their favorite content, while offering revenue and brand-building opportunities for content publishers. Adobe Media Player is available for immediate download at www.adobe.com/go/mp.

“Adobe Media Player has emerged as a fantastic platform for audiences to access and interact with our content, and we’re excited to expand our content offering on the media player with more and more of our hit programming,” said Greg Clayman, executive vice president of digital distribution and business development at MTV Networks.

Adobe Media Player can provide high-quality HD playback of streamed, downloaded, or locally stored video in the FLV format.

For the first time, consumers can download video outside the browser in the FLV format, which can be viewed in 1080p, 720p or 480i video display resolutions with advanced audio quality.

Users can also subscribe to television shows and other online video content and then automatically receive new episodes of the shows as they become available.

To help viewers discover new content, a broad, searchable catalog of shows from leading media companies and networks is available and continually expanding with new content.

“The old saying, ‘If you build it, they will come’ holds true for Adobe Media Player,” said Jim Guerard, vice president of Dynamic Media at Adobe. “With Adobe Media Player, we are helping to redefine next-generation TV experiences. With over 400 shows including new popular programs such as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report, it’s clear that we're spurring a seismic shift in how content is distributed and consumed.”

Pricing and Availability
Adobe Media Player is immediately available as a free download for Microsoft® Windows® and Mac platforms from www.adobe.com/go/mp*. To learn more about Adobe Media Player, please visit www.adobe.com/products/mediaplayer/.

About Adobe Systems IncorporatedAdobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit

www.adobe.com.

###
*Download of the Adobe Media Player is available in the United States only. Some content in the Adobe Media Player catalog may not be available for viewing in all countries. © 2008 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe, the Adobe logo, and Adobe AIR are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Mac is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Adobe Expands LiveCycle Enterprise Suite

Suite Now Includes Content Services and New Solution Accelerators to Expedite Deployment of Enterprise Applications
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA –June 18, 2008 - Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® LiveCycle™ Enterprise Suite (ES) Update 1, a significant enhancement to the LiveCycle ES technology platform that helps businesses and governments more effectively engage with customers, citizens, and partners inside and outside the organization.

LiveCycle ES Update 1 adds new components for rapid development of content-rich applications, automated conversion of two- and three-dimensional CAD design data to PDF and new Adobe® Solution Accelerators to help customers expedite deployment of enterprise applications.

LiveCycle ES Update 1 adds Adobe® LiveCycle™ Content Services ES, a fully integrated set of content services and Adobe® LiveCycle™ PDF Generator 3D ES, a solution for automating the creation and assembly of PDF documents from engineering product data. This update also integrates the capabilities of Adobe Flex® 3 and Adobe AIR™, while leveraging the ubiquity and reach of Adobe Flash® Player and Adobe Reader® to enable a new class of applications that easily connect people inside and outside organizations to information and processes.

Furthermore, with LiveCycle ES Update 1, Adobe® LiveCycle™ Rights Management ES extends policy protection for Microsoft Office 2007 and PTC Pro/ENGINEER files.

“With LiveCycle ES Update 1, we give customers the ability to deliver content-rich engagement applications faster through a fully integrated set of content services,” said Rob Tarkoff, senior vice president, Business Productivity Business Unit at Adobe. “This release enriches Adobe’s LiveCycle technology platform with new capabilities and productivity enhancements for customers to deliver applications that reduce paperwork, accelerate decision-making, and help ensure regulatory compliance.”

“LiveCycle ES Update 1 brings us closer to our continued goal of improving patient services while reducing hospital administration costs,” said Tim Stettheimer, CIO, St. Vincent’s Health System. “Because LiveCycle ES integrates with existing systems and simplifies deploying applications for data capture and processing, as well as offers enhanced content management capabilities, we can do more with limited IT resources. We’re constantly balancing what we want to do with what we can do. LiveCycle ES helps to close that gap.”

LiveCycle Content Services ES enables organizations to quickly create a process or application that is deeply integrated with enterprise content and allows them to manage content in a lower-cost, extensible way for cross-company and cross-organization processes.

This solution component offers organizations comprehensive capabilities to collaborate on, create, store, manage, and secure content as a cohesive part of their end to end engagement applications. LiveCycle Content Services ES is the result of a partnership between Adobe and Alfresco Software, the leading open source alternative for content management.

The second solution component, LiveCycle PDF Generator 3D ES, allows organizations to share two- and three-dimensional information across the product creation process, enabling smooth communication, accelerated development cycles and lower costs. Product designers can create rich, complex PDF files with confidence that the full features and measurements will be retained when viewed through Adobe Reader. LiveCycle PDF Generator 3D ES automates the conversion and integration of more than 40 CAD and other formats, which may then be policy protected and forwarded for review and collaboration.

Adobe also announced today new Adobe® Solution Accelerators, deployable solution framework and best practices methodologies to help organizations more rapidly develop applications that better engage with end users.

The Solution Accelerators include the Enrollment Solution Accelerator and the Correspondence Management Solution Accelerator. These have particular applicability to financial services and government organizations when enrolling customers or citizens in services and personalizing correspondence communications. Adobe Solution Accelerators aim to decrease development time of applications and increase return on investment for Adobe customers.

Pricing and AvailabilityAdobe LiveCycle ES is currently available worldwide. LiveCycle ES Update 1 is expected to become available in July 2008. For pricing information please visit: www.adobe.com/livecycle. Adobe Solution Accelerators are expected to become available in late-Summer 2008 and will be free of charge. Additional information on the new Solutions Accelerators also can be found at www.adobe.com/livecycle.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit http://www.adobe.com/.

###
© 2008 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Adobe AIR, Adobe Reader, Adobe Flex, Adobe Flash Player, Adobe LiveCycle Enterprise Suite Update 1, Adobe LiveCycle Enterprise Suite, LiveCycle Content Service ES, LiveCycle PDF Generator 3D ES, and Adobe Solution Accelerators are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

F5’s VIPRION Application Delivery Controller Wins “Best of Show” Award at Interop Tokyo 2008

Industry’s first on-demand Application Delivery Controller garners worldwide acclaim

More about Viprion and F5.

Press Release:

KUALA LUMPUR, 18 JUNE 2008 – F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV), the global leader in Application Delivery Networking, today announced that its VIPRION™ solution was honored with a “Best of Show” award in the “Network Infrastructure for Large Companies” category at Interop Tokyo 2008, held June 11–13 at the Makuhari Messe convention center.

The recipients of the prestigious “Best of Show” awards are selected from the products and services of over 300 companies exhibiting at Interop Tokyo 2008. They are chosen after an intensive judging process synthesizing input from a panel of IT experts and conference attendees. Five products were short-listed in the “Network Infrastructure for Large Companies” category, and VIPRION captured the Silver Medal award.

“We’re extremely proud to have VIPRION recognized at such a high-profile industry event,” said Ivan Wen, Country Manager of F5 Networks Malaysia. “VIPRION provides a powerful and scalable platform with best-in-class security, optimization, and availability, enabling enterprises and service providers to implement a sustainable Application Delivery Networking growth strategy.”

VIPRION is a revolutionary bladed system that consolidates networking and security functionality, processing power, load balancing, and application delivery service virtualization into a shared, highly scalable chassis. Unlike other Application Delivery Controller (ADC) platforms, performance blades can be added on-demand as network environments and applications require increased processing power. As blades are added, management of the device remains simple, since all blades operate together in a unified solution. This flexibility enables businesses to extend performance to meet their business needs without adding management complexity. And individual blades can be installed or removed without network disruption, as VIPRION automatically reroutes traffic to the other blades.

VIPRION was released to market in early 2008. The system’s revolutionary chassis and blade architecture extends the power of F5’s BIG-IP® product family, and is an ideal solution for enterprises and service providers seeking to scale their infrastructure while keeping device configuration and management simple. Due to VIPRION’s industry-leading ADC performance, the solution is also ideal for companies seeking to leverage next-generation networking capabilities such as IPTV, VoIP, and other Web 2.0 technologies.

For more information on Interop Tokyo 2008, please visit www.interop.jp/english/index.html.

About VIPRION

VIPRION is the industry’s first Application Delivery Controller (ADC) that scales seamlessly with an organization’s business—without sacrificing manageability or simplicity. VIPRION features top-end ADC performance four times greater than that of any competitive product on the market. The solution’s revolutionary architecture enables organizations to deploy a flexible, scalable Application Delivery Networking strategy right out of the box. For more information, please visit here.

About F5 Networks

F5 Networks is the global leader in Application Delivery Networking. F5 provides solutions that make applications secure, fast and available for everyone. By adding intelligence and manageability into the network to offload applications and optimize the data storage layer, F5 extends the power of intelligent networking to all levels of application delivery. F5's extensible architecture intelligently integrates application optimization, protects the application and the network, and delivers application reliability. Over 16,000 organizations and service providers worldwide trust F5 to keep their applications running. The company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington with offices worldwide. For more information, go to www.f5.com.

Local PR Contact:-

Jolene Cheoh
Sirius PR Sdn Bhd
(603) 7805 2700
jolene.cheoh@siriuspr.com.my

ICB Counts on SAS Banking Intelligence Solutions to Drive Worldwide Growth

ICB Banking Group leverages on SAS technology to manage worldwide banking operations

More about SAS.



(Picture One - Yap Yong Hoon, Executive Director Group Head of Operation of
ICB Banking Group; Harith Harun, CEO of ICB Banking Group; Yip Yoke Ling,
Professional Services Director of SAS Malaysia; Helen Lim, Principal,
Financial Services Intelligence of SAS Malaysia.)

Press Release:

KUALA LUMPUR, 18 June 2008 – AIM-listed ICB Financial Group Holdings AG (ICB Banking Group) today announced that it has invested in the SAS Banking Intelligence (BI) Solutions to better streamline and manage the Group’s banking operations across twelve (12) countries from its management office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Speaking at a partnership signing ceremony with SAS Malaysia today, ICB Group CEO, Encik Harith Harun says that ICB’s rapid worldwide growth spurred the urgent need to invest in a solution that could provide the Group with full, multi-dimensional insights into its banking operations, facilitate efficient retrieval of financial information and generate greater operational efficiency.

“Within the last twelve (12) years, the ICB Banking Group has established or acquired commercial banks across Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia.The holding company, ICB Financial Group Holdings AG which was listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange in May 2007 has been repositioning itself for further growth and is aggressively implementing initiatives to provide a comprehensive range of financial services throughout the Group’s banks. “With the management office located in Kuala Lumpur, partnering and tying up with SAS Malaysia will bring about positive synergies and cost effectivess benefits “ says Harith.

“According to Harith, SAS offers a suite of integrated, banking specific solutions which can glean real intelligence on a fast track from the huge volumes of data which is scattered throughout dozens of systems, geographies and lines of business within the ICB Banking Group. It will provide solutions to support successful management of all relevant risks while maintaining Basel II compliance, increase customer profitability, improve operational efficiency and align, track and measure performance.
.
“We have also considered the fact that SAS Solutions is the preferred BI brand for most of the local banks, and that they can support ICB with a tailored solution that addresses our specific requirements and needs in managing our worldwide banking operations,” adds Harith.

Yip Yoke Ling, Professional Services Director of SAS Malaysia says, “ICB is definitely moving in the right direction to achieve its expansionary and growth goals. We are confident that SAS Banking Intelligence Solutions will prove to be an essential BI investment for ICB to gain a competitive edge in its banking businesses.”

To start with, ICB will be using SAS Financial Management and Management Information Systems (MIS) solutions to help it report, manage and improve the financial performance of the entire group. SAS Financial Management improves the accuracy, relevance and timeliness of financial plans and reports while promoting the alignment and execution of strategy. Through SAS MIS solution, ICB will be able to integrate data from across their entire enterprise and deliver self-service reporting and analysis, enabling their key business users to spend more time on making better, more informed decisions. The solution leverages the analytic power and scalability of the SAS Intelligence Platform to facilitate flexible and operational planning within a collaborative environment – across the entire enterprise.

About ICB

ICB Financial Group Holdings AG is the holding company for ICB Banking Group (ICB) which is an international banking group with primary focus on emerging economies. The Group currently operates commercial banks in 12 countries across Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia with total branch network of 134 offices worldwide.

ICB Financial Group Holdings AG, was successfully listed on AIM (Alternative Investment Market) of the London Stock Exchange on 17th May 2007. The listing of the Group has elevated and raised the profile of the Group to a higher level whereby there will be more opportunities to access to new capital which will support future expansion plan.

For more information, please visit www.icbankingroup.com

About SAS

SAS is the leader in business intelligence and analytical software and services. Customers at more than 44,000 sites use SAS software to improve performance through insight from data, resulting in faster, more accurate business decisions; more profitable relationships with customers and suppliers; compliance with governmental regulations; research breakthroughs; and better products and processes. Only SAS offers leading data integration, storage, analytics and business intelligence applications within a comprehensive enterprise intelligence platform. Since 1976, SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW®.

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies.© 2007

PR Contacts:

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Socio-Economy Effects On Software Industry

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeWhen Bill Gates mentioned that the PC market has captured approximately 1 billions of the world's population, he was hinting that there would be a challenge to reach the other 4 billions.

So, is the software industry hitting a point of saturation, where people who ought to have softwares and PC are already equipped with ? Software companies need to keep selling by inventing new features. But we don't know how many of those are new markets.

The problem is that even though credit facilities are abundant, how many of those 4 billions have enough time to use computer ?

Let's just focus on Malaysia, with the recent petrol fuel rise and the reactions of here and here. It is not rhetorical to suggest that some people just have no mood about anything else, except for making ends meet.

This brings me to another realization that differences is all that matters now, it is the ultimate survival guide. Bill Clinton suggested that the world is in conflict because our differences matter more. I truly agree with him. Differences is responsible for wars and all sorts of troubles that we would ever feel, hear and see in this world.

But without differences, capitalism would helm its highest peak. Means that Microsoft may probably be selling just about everything to the 1 billions people. It is because of differences which other companies like Adobe, Oracle, Peoplesoft, SAP and etc have respective market shares in the entire software industry. And worst still, people just have no time to think about the common thing which what competitors may have to offer.,given that people simply don't have enough time to keep trying out something else. For example, Microsoft Office is the champion of Office automation for the reason that it has been around for some time and it is widely available. OpenOffice is not inferior, but how many of us would have enough time to experiment with it and create a culture which would be strong enough to make break the 'monotony' of Microsoft Office.

Yes, it is boring but do people really care ? I just want to get the job done and go home. Worst still, if I have to get another job to make ends meet, what is there left for me to explore ?

Thus, same goes to Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe Acrobat, Crystal Report, AutoCad, SAP and all the number one brand-model of respective software categories in the world. Who really have enough time for the second or third place ?

Even as a software evangelist, I don't that much time to experience with all of it.

Adobe Acrobat 9 : 4 Major Features (Compelling Content)

Image via WikipediaAdobe Acrobat 9 was launched on 4th June 2008.

It is now in beta release.

The new release has 4 major features that are summarized as:

1. Creation of More Compelling Content
2. Enhanced Collaboration
3. Enhanced Data Forms
4. Miscellaneous Features

For this blog entry, we will take a deeper look into 'Creation of More Compelling Content'.

By all means, this is the PDF Portfolio feature.

A portfolio is used to be a physical folder which contains multiple separate materials to support an idea presentation. Right ?

So, PDF Portfolio is exactly the same.

Having able to create PDF Portfolio, one can create portfolio easily without having to make use of the other Adobe's technology known as Flash.

Of course, a Flash work is still more powerful per se.

But if you are going to achieve what I am going to show you later, you virtually can ditch your multimedia service providers.

So, what I am going to do now is to take a direct example.

I attended this Juniper Networks Solution day about 8 months ago (wow!!) and I am still quoting it simply of one reason; it comes with a good portfolio.



Check out the full package.



Let's pay attention to this particular portfolio.



Let's see what is inside.





Ok, let's now quickly scan all these materials into JPGs.

And then quickly convert all of it into a PDF portfolio.

How do I do that ? Very simple, just a few steps.



Go to the picture files' folder.

Right click and select 'Combine Support Files in Acrobat 9'



1. Choose Layout



2. Edit Descriptions



3. Add welcome page.



4. Choose colour scheme.

Of course, don't use the color of Cisco for Juniper Networks of blue and orange.



5. Publish it!

Publish it directly to Acrobat.com (beta)

P/S: Uploading a 4 MB file in Malaysia using Streamyx connection could take forever.





How now ???

--> Ctrl + Alt + Delete

So interestingly, Malaysia will always need a better Internet infrastructure.

Pros:

1. Built-in File Compression



So one don't need to get a Photoshop CS3 in order to get images compressed in a good manner.

Cons:

1. Can't format the font of descriptions.



2. No smart linking.

Even though Acrobat 9 comes with built-in file compression, however, it doesn't provide smart object linking.

Meaning that if you have made changes to the original images (illustrated above), the changes will not be reflected automatically. You have to reattach the changed images to the PDF Portfolio's file again.

3. Can't rearrange items' positions.

One can't drag and drop the items from one location to another with respective to each other.

One can only 'Add' and 'Delete' the items. Newly added files will always be appended on top.



Ditch Flash ?

No..... this tutorial is much better of done with Flash. So, we actually need a blogging platform in Flash. Anyone want to use Adobe Flex 3 to create a Flash blogging platform ?

Flash still has its place. The mighty Flash.



Conclusion:

Finally, the greatest value is that it now takes me a few hours (less the time for me to learn out the new features) to present to you something which would otherwise take me more than 8 months to accomplish. The Juniper Networks Solution Day was last held on 24th October 2007. I have been waiting for this moment.

oh ya, check out the file (PDF Portfolio) at Acrobat.com rapidshare.de that we are talking about.

P/S: It is 4.9 MB file and you do need to get the latest Acrobat Reader to view it.

Behind the scene ...

Never Under Estimate The Media: CakeForKicks Scenario

I couldn't check out CakeForKicks after reading the article from TheStar; Lawyer had made and sold cakes since 11.

The site is not down, check out the ping. Just that it is overloaded with traffic, you are in the queue.



This proves that TheStar is still not dead yet and it could be bigger than the printed edition one day.

Also, this is a good example where hosting your web with big names like Google would have added advantage, not just better managed bandwidth but 99.99% uptime. Example, Google Sites.

Services like Google Sites is targeting one-man-show, DIY (Do-It-Yourself) and IT-literate kind of people. It is not popular amongst software evangelists because there is no money to be made.

How to charge you money ? I also don't know. Time-out now.

Ubuntu: Free Editions for Desktop and Server

Introduction


Ubuntu is a community project, Linux-based operating system which is free-of-charge and well designed to run on laptops, desktops and servers. Two available editions from Ubuntu are Desktop and Server.

Basically Ubuntu contains all the applications you'll ever need, from word processing and email applications, to web server software and programming tools.

Ubuntu is absolutely free! No licensing fees, download anytime, use and share with friends, colleagues, anybody and anytime. What's more for you will get new desktop and server release every six months.


Philosophy

1. Every computer user should have the freedom to download, run, copy, distribute, study, share, change and improve their software for any purpose, without paying licensing fees.
2. Every computer user should be able to use their software in the language of their choice.
3. Every computer user should be given every opportunity to use software, even if they work under a disability.

Read more about Ubuntu and get your free copy today.

For Ubuntu installation and guide, click here !

How to dynamically create table, fields in the MS SQL express database?

Need to use 'sp_executesql'. You can't run it as ad-hoc query.

Check out the sample dynamic script here.

Ad-hoc query is the opposite of dynamic query.

Dynamic query means to construct a query with dynamic variables into a string and invoke another process to interpret the script.

Ad-hoc query means running the script with current process, not meant for dynamic purposes and usually ad-hoc. Check out here.

For more details specs, check out here.

Adobe Acrobat 9 Malaysia Launching

Three products was launched on 4th June 2008:

1. Adobe Acrobat 9.
2. Public Beta of Acrobat.com.
3. Adobe Creative Suite 3.3.

Acrobat 9 comes in three versions:

1. Standard
2. Pro
3. Pro Extended

New Features:

• PDF Portfolio - A feature where you can create rich PDFs (with real-time video). Your PDF files now can come to life.
• Extended Data Collection feature and integration with Acrobat.com (hosted services)
• Adobe Presenter Plugin for MS Powerpoint. - Use the plugin to record audio and then publish Powerpoint files into rich PDF files (PDF Portfolio).
• Capture web pages and convert into PDF documents for offline browsing.
• PDF document comparison (for both text and images)

Trivial:

1. File Compression - No new breakthrough.
   
2. Mobile Platform ? - Not yet.
3. Issues with Anti-malwares software ? - Just like scanning normal PDF files

What I Think Is Most Important Are ...

So basically, Acrobat 9 enhances communication capability. Instead of sending 10 different files over the email to the recipient and hope that he or she can figure out how are those files related to each other, now you can send one file (PDF portfolio) which consists of all the 10 files. And as soon as the recipient open the file, he or she will be enchanted with a presentation. So this is the most important idea. The presentation...

Then it is about consolidation of technologies... not only Acrobat 9 consolidates the technology between Adobe and Macromedia, it also consolidates technologies for others such as Microsoft, open standards (file formats, video formats) that are relevant to presentation and visualizing.

This could affect a few things...

1. Amateur presentation will be richer, more concentrated and fun.
2. Web sites may become less significant for very small companies because you can actually put interesting presentation into a file.
3. Bloggers may benefit from PDF porfolio where they can easily embed picture slide show into a file. This will be a hit for those who host on public domain.
4. Acrobat 9 can be considered as a marketing software instead of document. One can actually build a CRM system on top of Acrobat 9 now. Check out the SDK.
   

So, if you have just started a company, you need to buy Acrobat 9 because it helps with the following:

• Marketing
• Collaboration
• Document Management

In short, Acrobat 9 brings life to your documents.

The next big event would be opened to public on 23 July 2008. Please visit this site for more information.

Check out the full listing of features.

New Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Enhances Creative Suite 3.3

Showcases Benefits of Bringing PDF and Adobe Flash Technology Together.

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA –June 4, 2008 - — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced that the new Adobe® Acrobat® 9 Pro software (see separate release issued today) will be integrated into Adobe Creative Suite® 3.3 Design Premium and Standard editions, Creative Suite 3.3 Web Premium and Creative Suite 3.3 Master Collection editions. Adobe Creative Suite 3.3 Design Premium also includes Adobe Fireworks® CS3 as a special offering for designers who need to rapidly prototype and generate Web sites.

This powerful update to Adobe's industry-standard design and development software gives designers, Web professionals and print service providers new ways to create and deliver engaging content.

“Adobe continues to expand its leadership and innovation in PDF to serve designers, developers and content providers,” said John Loiacono, senior vice president of Creative Solutions at Adobe.

“With Acrobat 9 we’ve combined the power, reach and richness of two ubiquitous technologies, Adobe Flash and PDF, to empower customers to create engaging experiences, prepare high-quality PDF files and collaborate more efficiently.”

Innovative Features for Every Creative Workflow

With Acrobat 9 Pro, designers can combine PDF files, video, audio, and other documents into easy-to-distribute PDF Portfolios, which are simple to browse using customizable interactive navigation designed in Adobe Flash®. Designers also can include Adobe Flash Player compatible video and application files in their PDF files and then play back this content in Acrobat 9 Pro and Adobe Reader® 9 software.

Acrobat 9 Pro enables designers to collaborate on documents more effectively and efficiently. Now, users can create and manage forms and collect forms data more easily using Acrobat 9 Pro and Acrobat.com. Available as public beta for free signup, Acrobat.com is a new suite of hosted services Adobe also introduced today. Designers using Acrobat 9 also have the flexibility to access Acrobat.com to literally get on the same page with their clients by co-navigating PDF documents in real-time. Clients only need Adobe Reader1 to participate.

With the intelligent Overprint Preview feature, print professionals now can accurately view interactions between overlapping objects because Overprint Preview automatically toggles on and off in Acrobat 9 Pro and Adobe Reader 9. Print professionals also can reliably convert colors from one color space to another, switch RGB and CMYK blacks to solid black, and map one color to another color, including mapping colors to Pantone spot colors using built-in, industry-standard Pantone libraries. The Compare Documents feature identifies differences including changes to text, text formatting, images, line weights and backgrounds between versions of documents.

Dynamic Web Prototyping

Adobe Fireworks CS3, now bundled with Creative Suite 3.3 Design Premium edition, provides designers with a flexible tool to prototype Web pages for interactive design projects. Fireworks CS3 includes a common library of pre-built assets, provides the ability to quickly edit vector artwork and bitmap images, and allows seamless integration with Adobe Photoshop®, Adobe Illustrator®, Adobe Dreamweaver® and Adobe Flash.

Pricing and Availability

Adobe Creative Suite 3.3 will begin shipping worldwide by July 2008. All editions will run on Mac OS X 10.4.11 or 10.5 on Intel-based systems and Microsoft® Windows® XP and Windows Vista® platforms and will be available through Adobe Authorized Resellers and the Adobe Store at: www.adobe.com/go/buy_creativesuite. Estimated street price is RM$7,366.45 for Adobe Creative Suite 3.3 Design Premium, RM$4,909.45 for Adobe Creative Suite 3.3 Design Standard, RM$6,547.45 for Adobe Creative Suite 3.3 Web Premium, RM$10,232.95 for Adobe Creative Suite 3.3 Master Collection and RM$614.25 for an upgrade from CS3. There are numerous upgrade paths available for Adobe customers. For more detailed information about Acrobat 9 Pro in CS3.3, visit here. For upgrade policies, pricing, and language versions, please visit here.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

Press Contacts:

Adobe Systems Pte Limited
Fiona Ng
(65) 6511-5577
fng@adobe.com

PPM Technology Communications Sdn Bhd
T. (6)03-2094-4091
David Gibson: h/p.017-357-2895
ppmpr@yahoo.com, david.ppm@gmail.com

Anne K Ewe. h/p. 016-272-0679
Anne_ppm@yahoo.com, anneppm1@gmail.com

Adobe Launches Public Beta of Acrobat.com

New Online Services Help People Work Together on Documents Anywhere, Anytime.

Press Release:

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA –June 4, 2008 - — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) (Nasdaq:ADBE) today introduced Acrobat.com, a suite of hosted services available as public beta for free signup, that put communication, productivity, and collaboration tools right within a Web browser.

Much like Adobe® Acrobat® software enabled the publishing of high-quality electronic documents that anyone can read, Acrobat.com enables individuals to truly work collaboratively on electronic documents. Acrobat.com is a set of online services — file sharing and storage, PDF converter, online word processor, and Web conferencing — that take advantage of PDF, Adobe Flash® and Adobe AIR™ technologies to deliver engaging online experiences that go well beyond traditional office productivity tools.

Also accessible through Adobe Acrobat 9 software (see separate release issued today), Acrobat.com delivers a new way for people to work together online.

The hosted services in Acrobat.com include:

• Adobe Buzzword®, a Web-based word processor that can be used to easily co-author and share documents for comment and review, creating high-quality print results;
• Adobe ConnectNow, a personal Web conferencing service that includes desktop sharing, video and voice conferencing and integrated chat;
• Centralized online file sharing with access controls, online PDF conversion for up to five documents, and support for high quality, Web-embeddable documents;
• Developer APIs for real-time collaboration, file sharing and conversion.

In addition, Acrobat.com gives Acrobat 9 users access to a ―personal workspace in the clouds that is available from virtually anywhere for working with others online. Acrobat 9 users can work with Acrobat.com as a central location for sharing forms and collecting forms data, conducting shared reviews, and co-navigating a PDF document with colleagues.

Acrobat.com also works with Adobe Reader® 9 software, giving Adobe Reader 9 users easy access to Acrobat.com so they can share files, convert up to five documents to PDF online and participate in electronic forms and shared reviews initiated by Acrobat 9 users.

Quotes:

Fifteen years ago, PDF moved the world from paper to electronic documents without sacrificing print quality, changing the way we share information,‖ said Rob Tarkoff, senior vice president, Business Productivity Business Unit. ―Acrobat.com extends that vision, moving the world from email attachments to online collaborative documents without sacrificing authoring quality. With rich Internet applications enabled by Adobe,we can combine desktop and cloud computing to create innovative productivity applications that will change the way we create, store and share documents together.

Acrobat.com is a big timesaver in our business and offers enhanced convenience for our clients and us,‖ said Danya Henninger with Imagic Digital. ―From converting to PDF to delivering large, high-resolution files, Acrobat.com simplifies work all around.‖

Buzzword is a really creative, new approach to an online word processor,‖ said Dustin Wax, professor at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and manager and editor of www.lifehack.org. ―It looks like actual printed pages, which is not only great from a design standpoint but also helps non-tech-savvy users get started faster and create better quality work together.‖

As the go-to person for our clients, I see Adobe ConnectNow as an amazing resource for bringing people together in a moment’s notice,‖ said Jason Kallio, trade show strategies for ExpoVantage.

ConnectNow is an excellent tool for providing everyone with a more hands-on, engaging experience during meetings.‖

Links:

Acrobat.com sign-up:
Acrobat.com marketing information:
Acrobat.com blogs, reviews and awards:
Adobe Acrobat 9:
Adobe:

About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

Adobe Unveils Acrobat 9 Software

New Support for Adobe Flash Technology, Rich PDF Portfolio and Real-time Capabilities
Redefine PDF Communications.

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA –June 4, 2008 - — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today introduced Adobe® Acrobat® 9 software, a significant upgrade that will transform the process of creating and sharing electronic documents.

Acrobat 9 delivers native support for Adobe Flash® technology, the ability to unify a wide range of content in rich PDF Portfolios, and access to real-time capabilities for co-navigating a PDF document with colleagues.

―The expectations organizations and individuals have for communicating and collaborating in the workplace continue to grow significantly,said Rob Tarkoff, senior vice president, Business Productivity Business Unit.

―The ability to break through and communicate a message in a compelling way has never been at a greater premium. Acrobat 9 is a response to this environment and is poised to fundamentally change how professionals communicate and collaborate using electronic documents.

For the first time, Acrobat 9 provides deep support for Adobe Flash technology, enabling users to include Flash Player compatible video and application files in PDF documents. Recipients simply need free Adobe Reader® 9 software to consume the content. Now, static documents can come to life as dynamic communications.

Acrobat 9 also includes the ability to unify a wide range of content into a single document with the new concept of PDF Portfolios. PDF Portfolios enable business professionals to assemble multiple media types, such as documents, video, audio, and even 3D objects, into one, compressed PDF file.

Users can then choose among several professional layouts—or create their own—to quickly integrate content, define navigation, and add polish and branding. As a result, communications such as sales proposals, legal documents, and product collateral can become far more customized and compelling.
In addition, Acrobat 9 provides access to capabilities for collaborating live within a PDF document—enabled by working with Acrobat.com, a new suite of hosted services Adobe introduced as public beta today.

For example, a salesperson could use Acrobat 9 to send a lengthy contract to clients. The sales professional, or any of the recipients using Adobe Reader1, can then drive the group’s navigation through the PDF document in real-time working with Acrobat.com. This helps ensure everyone is literally, and figuratively, on the same page.

Additionally, Acrobat 9 users can access Acrobat.com for storing and sharing files, use it as a central location for collecting data as part of a forms process, and to gather comments in a shared document review.

Acrobat.com includes other services, such as Adobe ConnectNow, personal web conferencing that provides desktop sharing, video and voice conferencing, and integrated chat; and Adobe Buzzword®, an elegant, web-based word processor that can be used to easily co-author and share documents for comment and review, creating high-quality print results.

The Acrobat 9 family consists of Acrobat 9 Standard, Acrobat 9 Pro, and the new Acrobat 9 Pro Extended software. The most comprehensive member of the family, Acrobat 9 Pro Extended, includes Adobe Presenter software for easily turning Microsoft® PowerPoint presentations into multimedia experiences that can be published as PDF files.

Pricing and Availability

Acrobat 9 Pro Extended, Acrobat 9 Pro and Acrobat 9 Standard for Microsoft Windows®, and Acrobat 9 Pro for Mac OS X, are expected to be available by July 2008 in English, French, German, and Japanese language versions.

Acrobat 9 Pro Extended is expected to be available for RM$2,702.70, and registered users of qualifying earlier versions of Acrobat2 can upgrade to Acrobat 9 Pro Extended for RM$887.25.

Acrobat 9 Pro is expected to be available for RM$1,738.10, and registered users of qualifying earlier versions of Acrobat3 can upgrade to Acrobat 9 Pro for RM$614.25.
Acrobat 9 Standard is expected to be available for RM$1,155.70, and registered users of qualifying earlier versions of Acrobat4 can upgrade to Acrobat 9 Standard for RM$382.20.

More information on the Acrobat 9 family is available online at www.adobe.com/acrobat. Customers in North America can also call 1-800-833-6687.

Press Contacts:

Adobe Systems Pte Limited
Fiona Ng
(65) 6511-5577
fng@adobe.com

PPM Technology Communications Sdn Bhd
T. (6)03-2094-4091
David Gibson: h/p.017-357-2895
ppmpr@yahoo.com, david.ppm@gmail.com

Anne K Ewe. h/p. 016-272-0679
Anne_ppm@yahoo.com, anneppm1@gmail.com

Best Product of 2008 (as at May 2008)

It is not even the end of the year, MSN tech has published an article on Best Product of 2008.

It is worth taking note.

I will just simply it into a listing with hyperlinks.

1. Hulu (video site, free/ad-based) -->Not popular in Malaysia yet.
   
2. Apple iPhone --> Not popular in Malaysia yet
   
3. Facebook --> Yes
   
4. Windows XP -->Very yes
   
5. Lenovo Thinkpad X300 --> Ok
   
6. Flock (browser, free) --> Not popular in Malaysia yet
   
7. Eye-Fi (wireless camera memory card, $100) --> hmm ...
   
8. Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1 (digital camera, $1,000) --> hmm ...
   
9. Harmonix Rock Band (game bundle, $170) --> hmm ..
   
10. Wikipedia --> Yes yes
    
11. Netflix (DVD rental and online video site, $5/month and up) --> No
    
12. Microsoft Xbox Live (online service, $59/year) --> Not popular in Malaysia yet
    
13. Apple iPod Touch (media player, $299-$499) --> No
    
14. Craglist --> Not popular
    
15. Scrabulous (PC game, free) --> hmmm, not really.
    
16. Nintendo Wii (game console, $250) --> Getting popular
    
17. Apple Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard (operating system, $129) --> Niche market
    
18. Apple Cinema HD Display (23-inch LCD monitor, $899) -->Niche market
    
19. Twitter (social networking site, free) --> Not popular
    
20. Pioneer Kuro PDP-5010FD (50-inch plasma HDTV, $3,500) --> Not popular
    
21. Mozilla Firefox 3 (browser, free) --> Yes
    
22. Safari (mobile browser, free) --> No
    
23. NPR.org (news site, free) --> No
    
24. Photoshop CS3 (image-editing software, $650) --> Yes
    
25. Google Maps -- Street View (mapping software, free) --> Getting popular
    
26. Apple MacBook Pro (Penryn) (Laptop series, from $1,999) --> Niche market
    
27. Google Docs & Spreadsheets (Web-based productivity suite, free) --> Getting popular
    
28. Apple Final Cut Studio 2 (video production suite, $1,299) --> Niche market
    
29. Linksys Dual-Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router WRT600N (wireless router, $200) --> Yes
    
30. Flickr (photo-sharing site, 200 photos free, unlimited photos and storage $25/year) --> Yes
    

My Thoughts..

• Some of the items mentioned above will definitely going to hit greater sales by year end of 2008. This is a good strategy of sales and marketing in fact.
  
• The ranking may represent USA's opinion, however in country like Malaysia, there will be some differentiation. For instance, in Korea, Google is not the biggest search engine and portal (as I was told); it's Naver. Always there will be exceptions.
  

What People Search on Tech Blog Malaysia (May 2008) ?

As usual, check out the analysis for the whole of last year (2007).

For month of Jan 2008
For month of Feb 2008
For month of Mar 2008
For month of April 2008

For May 2008 ...

1. The brand of this blog
   
2. A company providing HAPS technology
   
3. A popular webmail
   
4. A big IT event held recently in Malaysia
   
5. A company providing financial solution
   
6. A company providing SoIP (Service over IP)
   

Overview:

1. A total of 5,769 visits
   
2. Majority came from Google and Malaysia.