Saturday, January 24, 2009

ComScore: Internet Population Passes One Billion; Top 15 Countries

from TechCrunch.com:

>>The number of people on the Internet
surpassed one billion in December, according to comScore. The actual number is probably higher than that (Internet World Stats counted nearly 1.5 billion Web surfers worldwide as of June 30, 2008). In any case, only between 15 and 22 percent of the world’s population is on the Internet. We have a long way to go.

Using the comScore numbers, here is the breakdown by country and region (in unique visitors as of December, 2008; some of the numbers are rounded):

Top 15 countries, by Internet population:

  1. China: 179.7 million
  2. United States: 163.3 million
  3. Japan: 60.0 million
  4. Germany: 37.0 million
  5. United Kingdom: 36.7 million
  6. France: 34.0 million
  7. India: 32.1 million
  8. Russia: 29.0 million
  9. Brazil: 27.7 million
  10. South Korea: 27.3 million
  11. Canada: 21.8 million
  12. Italy: 20.8 million
  13. Spain: 17.9 million
  14. Mexico: 12.5 million
  15. Netherlands: 11.8 million

Friday, January 23, 2009

Touch Screens Everywhere

from Forbes:



>>Touch-screen technology is popping up in a range of gadgets and machines.


Start investing in Windex.

If the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month was any indication, we're going to be cleaning smudges from a whole lot of touch screens in the future.

----

Courtesy of Samsung

Samsung P3

Samsung's P3 is more than just another iPod touch knockoff. Sure, this media player has a touch screen. Unlike the iPod or iPhone, however, Samsung uses haptic feedback to give a user a little reassuring vibration whenever a menu item is selected. The P3 will go on sale sometime during the first half of 2009.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic shipments reach 1 million milestone

with haptic technology:

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic shipments reach 1 million milestone as Nokia marks successful UK sales start

January 23, 2009


Espoo - Nokia announced today that it has shipped the millionth Nokia 5800 XpressMusic device, a milestone that coincides with the successful sales start of the device in the UK. The latest in Nokia's XpressMusic range, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is the company's first mass market touch screen device.
Following its introduction in October 2008, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has seen successful sales starts in a number of markets, including Hong Kong and Moscow where the device sold out within hours of the sales start. Earlier today at the official sales start of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic in the UK, more than 150 customers queued outside the Nokia Flagship Store on London's Regent Street to be among the first to own the device.
"The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has been received very positively and this milestone is just further proof that people all over the world want a device that is not only a great music experience, but also makes the most of touch screen technology," said Jo Harlow, Vice President, Nokia.

Anillo Networks

Anillo Networks, Inc. pledges to be among the leading innovative fabric switching companies in the communications industry.

The company’s engineering objectives and the deployment of its high speed Gigabit/Ethernet network have been on target since the beginning of the new millennium.
Anillo Networks’ backbone is comprised of Extreme Networks Black Diamond products and Juniper routers; in keeping current with changing trends and today’s fabric switching technologies. This consistency enables Anillo Networks to upgrade and improve its network without costly charges or downtime. Practicality speaking, Anillo Networks is able to offer a full line of network services below current competitor pricing while adding tailored services in full response to customer requirements.



Equinix Exchange
11/11/2008
Equinix has now been added to the Anillo 10G core network.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Pyratine 6

The new web site for the product is now available:

Cyber Knife - India

froma post by yyy6o on the IV MB:

>>Pharmabiz.com (India's most comprehensive pharma portal)
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 08:00 IST
Nandita Vijay, Bangalore


HealthCare Global Enterprises Ltd, (HCG) a leading comprehensive cancer care centre in the country, has invested Rs 40 crore for advanced equipment at its facility in Bangalore.

To begin with, it has made a Rs 30 crore investment for a Cyber Knife technology which will be commissioned in February. This makes it the first facility in the country to install the advanced radio guided surgery system. The second is a Rs 10 crore investment in 'Artise' which is an advanced Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) system.

The Group which has a 180-bed hospital in Bangalore has already seen a fund infusion of Rs 80 crore ($20 million) from PremjiInvest, a fund sponsored by Wipro chief Azim Premji. The funds have been used for major expansion into Tier I and Tier II cities to offer high-end oncology care to the growing number of cancer cases in the country besides setting up of three Centre of Excellence in Bangalore, New Delhi and Ahmedabad. Based on the hub and spoke model, the Group will need to invest Rs 8-10 crore for each new centre. The facilities at Vijayawada and Hubli are expected to be commissioned in February.

The Cyber Knife is a frameless robotic radio surgery system. It is a non-invasive alternative to surgery for the treatment of both cancerous and non-cancerous tumours anywhere in the body, including the prostate, lung, brain, spine, liver, pancreas and kidney. The treatment which delivers beams of high dose radiation to tumours with extreme accuracy will now offers new hope to patients, stated Dr B S Ajai Kumar, chairman, HCG.

Akamai: About 3.8 M Simultaneous Obama Streams, Details Capping Of Customers

must read about Akamai and teh recent Presidential inauguration webcast from Dan Rayburn:

>>Last night I had a long conversation with Akamai about the inauguration webcast and got more details on the actual number of simultaneous streams they served and their methods and reasoning for capping customers on their network.

Many who are writing about inauguration traffic numbers are quoting from the Akamai press release and implying that Akamai delivered, at peak, 7.7 million video streams of the inauguration, which is incorrect. That 7.7 million number is the total number of all audio and video streams for all of Akamai's 2,800 customers delivered on their network that day. Out of that 7.7 million number, Akamai said roughly half of that was just for the inauguration. That puts my earlier estimate of around 8 million simultaneous streams combined across the Akamai, Limelight and Highwinds CDN a little high, with the number being more around 7 million.

Data Center Colocation Crisis: Act Now or Pay Later

from Cio.com:

>>CIOs are facing a critical resource shortage and, if they don't plan accordingly, will face escalating costs and end up squandering a large portion of their budgets. Yes, the looming data center shortage, which has already hit London hard, is fast approaching the United States as well.

With over 85 percent occupancy, data center lease costs have doubled in London in just the last 12 months. And with the Olympics coming in 2012, and a moratorium on building new "data centres" (as they spell it in merry old England) proclaimed by the power company that supplies London's electricity, the situation is bleak.

Across the pond in New England, I've seen monthly lease prices for colocation data center space increase 675 percent over the last five years. The same provider that offered Tier 3-type space for $4 a square foot back then is now charging about $30. In the metro New York market, don't be surprised to see prices in the $45 to $50 range.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

SoftLayer Provides IPv6 Support

see also our previous post:

SoftLayer Technologies, Inc.

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) peering, too:

P/R:

>>DALLAS — SoftLayer Technologies, the on-demand virtual data center services provider, has implemented native IPv6 support across all its data centers in Dallas, Seattle, and Washington, DC. IPv6 is the next-generation Internet protocol that provides substantially more addresses than the current IPv4 implementation. IPv6 will eventually replace the currently used IPv4 standard, with both coexisting over a multi-year transition period. SoftLayer has completely integrated IPv6 address ordering and management into the Customer Portal and API.

“SoftLayer is proud to bring this additional functionality to its customers, ahead of the adoption curve,” said Ric Moseley, SoftLayer Vice President of Engineering. “While the rollout and implementation of IPv6 throughout the industry is still in its early stages, it will be a requisite for our customers, and we want them to be able to begin benefitting from it now.”

Addressing and management of addresses is essential to the core functionality of any network, including the Internet. Systems must have a unique address for traffic to be properly directed. There are a finite number of addresses that any addressing system can support, and nearly every possible IPv4 address has been assigned. IPv6 allows for an exponentially larger number of addresses than IPv4, using 128-bit rather than 32-bit addresses. This allows greater flexibility in allocating addresses and routing traffic, and eliminates the need for network address translation, allowing for improved routing and network configurations.

In addition to the IPv6 rollout, SoftLayer has increased connectivity to its Washington, DC and Seattle data centers bringing the SoftLayer’s total backbone network capacity to 200Gbps. SoftLayer has also added 10Gbps links to the Equinix Peering Fabric in Ashburn and Dallas to pick up local peers, and a new Flow Control Platform for optimizing Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) tables.

Internap new Boston data center specs

from their BSN003 Data Center Fact Sheet:

>>Connectivity

50 Inner Belt has dual fiber entrances and diverse fiber conduit. LightTower Single Mode Fiber is
available with redundant paths to the carriers at the 70 Inner Belt facility.

Carriers

• AT&T
• C2C/Onfiber
• RCN/NEON
• NStar
• Verizon
• Veroxity
• XO Communications

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

better late than never...

Internap to Open New “Green” Colocation Facility in Boston

Plans include power and cooling infrastructure enhancements to support today’s high power users

ATLANTA, GA – (May 9, 2008) – Internap Network Services Corporation (NASDAQ: INAP), a global provider of end-to-end Internet business solutions, announced today plans to add approximately 15,000 square feet of colocation at a new stand alone 45,000 square foot facility adjacent to its existing Boston data center. The expansion helps the company meet strong customer demand for its bundled Internet solutions. The first phase of completion will become available in the fourth quarter 
of this year. (2008)

---

Please join us for the grand opening of the new Internap® Colocation facility in Boston.

Date:
Thursday, February 5, 2009

Please join us for the grand opening of the new Internap® Colocation facility in Boston.

Date:
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Time:
3:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Location:
50 Innerbelt Road
Somerville, MA 02143

Be our guest for

  • Appetizers and refreshments
  • Guided tours of our new state-of-the-art facility
  • Opportunity to hear from our executive and technical personnel
  • Raffle prizes

Come see what our facility has to offer

  • 16,000 SF contiguous space plus 15,000 SF for expansion
  • 4MW N+1 power capacity
  • High-power density @ 150 W/SF draw
  • 3' raised floor/improved cooling capability
  • N+1 electrical/mechanical infrastructure
  • Performance IP/carrier diverse
  • Convenient location
  • A green data center strategy
  • Redundant security access and camera systems
  • 24/7 on-site technical staff to provide around-the-clock Remote Hands support

The Grand Prize winner will receive a free cabinet for 12 months!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Samsung Haptic 3

from a post by cellodude on the IV MB:

>>Samsung Haptic 3: first 8 megapixel "camphone" with xenon flash"

The device will soon come to the Korean market with the name Samsung SCH S740 and nickname "Haptic 3."


The Haptic branded phone versions are starting to approach Rocky remakes in number.

[14-01-2009: Will Samsung announce the first eight megapixel camphone with Xenon flash during the Mobile World Congress? It seems so. Today, the first photos showed up, complete with new interface.

It seems like Samsung has something for us photo lovers next month; namely the first 8 megapixel camphone with Xenon flash. A codename or type number for Europe is something the device doesn't have yet, but that the device is innovative can clearly be derived from the photos.

the website Vpier.tistory.com found the first photos of the still unknown Samsung. When we check out the front of the candybar, we can see that the device has a high Samsung Pixon proportion. The device is about the same size, at least it looks like that, and also a touchscreen. Almost all touchscreens look like this of course, but it is not very innovative.


...

New Samsung cameraphone
New Samsung cameraphone


The device will soon come to the Korean market with the name Samsung SCH S740 and nickname "Haptic 3". Whether the device will also come to Europe is unknown at this point, certainty about the specifications is also something that cannot be given. We might see the device again at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.]

Saturday, January 17, 2009

NaviSite messaging

from Tier 1 Research daily newsletter:

>>NaviSite messaging update; positioning to capture growth in sector

NaviSite is known for its managed hosting line, but it also has wide-ranging expertise in messaging. This includes strong partnerships with Microsoft for Exchange and IBM for Lotus. NaviSite hosts about between 60-70,000 Lotus seats and 25,000 fully managed Exchange seats.

more info about Direct Edge

Direct Edge Monthly Volume for December 2008

Records in Matched and Handled Market Share and ELP Volume

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Jan. 12, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Direct Edge announced today statistical information regarding its volume for December 2008. Direct Edge reported 1.1 billion shares handled per day in December, representing a 108% year-over-year increase. Direct Edge's handled market share in all U.S. equity securities was 12.26% for the month, with a 6.93% matched market share -- both record highs. For volume handled in the month of December, Direct Edge was the third largest U.S. cash equities marketplace.

"2008 was a year of phenomenal growth for Direct Edge," said William O'Brien, Chief Executive Officer of Direct Edge. "Our handled market share is up more than 40% from last December and our matched market share has increased by over 60%. We look forward to continued growth as we follow our path to exchange status."

The table below shows Direct Edge's market share broken out by listing market:


--------------------------------------------------------------------
Listing Market Handled Matched
Market Share Market Share
--------------------------------------------------------------------
NYSE 13.49% 7.10%
--------------------------------------------------------------------
NYSE Arca, NYSE Alternext 8.87% 5.55%
--------------------------------------------------------------------
NASDAQ 12.14% 7.83%
--------------------------------------------------------------------

The number of shares executed in Direct Edge's Enhanced Liquidity Provider (ELP) Program for December was a record 169.5 million (ADV). The ADV for MidPoint Match(sm) was 8.5 million.

All volume and market share statistics reflect single-counted data across all Direct Edge trading destinations -- EDGA, EDGX, and the ISE Stock Exchange. December is the first month the ISE Stock Exchange's volume is being included in Direct Edge's overall total. ISE Stock Exchange volume for the entire month is included. Direct Edge took operational control of ISE Stock Exchange on December 23, 2008. For a detailed explanation of Direct Edge's volume and market share terminology and methodology, please see http://www.directedge.com/marketshare_terminology.aspx

About Direct Edge

Direct Edge offers the next generation of displayed markets. With U.S. cash equities volume routinely exceeding 1 billion shares per day, Direct Edge uses multiple ECN and exchange platforms and unique order types to match complementary forms of liquidity based on sensitivity to transaction cost, fill rate, fill speed, and contra-side sophistication, while maintaining high execution quality and low latencies. Headquartered in Jersey City, N.J., Direct Edge is owned by a consortium that includes the International Securities Exchange, Knight Capital Group, Inc., Citadel Derivatives Group, The Goldman Sachs Group, and J.P. Morgan. More information about Direct Edge is available at http://www.directedge.com. Everybody Needs Some Edge.

---

from Traders magazine:

>>Direct Edge Expands After-Hours Market

In response to demand from retail brokerages and their customers, Direct Edge ECN next week will expand its after-hours trading session. It will offer trading from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m., extending its after-hours session by three hours.

"The suggestion that we extend our trading hours came mostly from retail and online brokers," said Bryan Harkins, head of sales and strategy at Direct Edge. "Their customers like to have their limit orders displayed over a longer period of time." He declined to say which brokers encouraged the ECN to extend its post-close session.

After-hours and pre-open traders trade mainly on Nasdaq and NYSE Arca. "We will win flow based on our pricing, service, liquidity, technology and the relationships we have," Harkins said. Some National Market System rules don't apply to non-market hours, but Direct Edge said it would route out to better prices at other market centers if it doesn't have the best price. Brokers' best execution obligations apply around the clock.

---

an interview with Direct Edge CEO, from Marketsmediaonline:

Bill O'Brien, CEO of Direct Edge

Markets Media: How did your company perform in market turmoil of 2008 and what did it learn from the challenges of last year?

Bill O'Brien: 2008 was a year of incredible turmoil and incredible transition. It was an incredible opportunity for Direct Edge. I really feel like this year was our coming out year. We established ourselves as one of four major market centers. If you look at matched market-share and where everybody is in January versus December, Direct Edge has grown the most. We're definitely the fastest growing major market. Throughout the course of 2008, we layered on significant growth with significant volume in these turbulent times. It really was quite a ride.

studies about CyberKnife radiosurgery

from two different posts made by yyy60 on the IV MB:

>>CyberKnife radiosurgery for malignant spinal tumors: characterization of well-suited patients

CONCLUSION:

Spinal radiosurgery with the CyberKnife technology is a nonivasive, safe, and effective treatment method for patients with 1 or 2 small spinal malignant tumors. The best benefit of the treatment can be expected in patients with good to excellent clinical condition and patients with severe tumor associated pain.

---

Radical cyberknife radiosurgery with tumor tracking: an effective treatment for inoperable small peripheral stage I non-small cell lung cancer

CONCLUSION

Radical CyberKnife radiosurgery is a well-tolerated treatment option for inoperable patients with small, peripheral stage I NSCLC. Effective doses and adequate margins are likely to have contributed to the optimal early local control seen in this study.

Alternative trading venue Direct Edge plans to convert to an exchange

from the WSJ:

>>CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--Alternative trading venue Direct Edge plans to convert to an exchange in the fourth quarter of 2009, when it will introduce a new trading platform, company officials said Friday.

Direct Edge, one of a new breed of electronic equities trading platforms challenging established exchanges like NYSE Euronext (NYX) and Nasdaq OMX (NDAQ), will follow a path blazed by Bats Trading, an alternative trading venue that attained exchange status last year.

...

The company announced Friday that it tapped Foster City, Calif.-based technology firm Equinix Inc. (EQIX) to provide a data center for the trading platform.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Sector Snap: Analyst upbeat on data outsourcing

Analyst sees growing demand for data outsourcing even as recession crimps near term growth

NEW YORK (AP) -- Companies that specialize in helping other firms store and manage data stand to gain in the long term as corporate customers outsource more of their IT infrastructure, a Boenning & Scattergood analyst said.

In a client note Thursday, Boenning & Scattergood analyst Steve Salberta told investors that "while corporate outsourcing is not new, the outsourcing of the corporate data center is relatively novel."

He said the growth of online content -- large video files, for instance -- and the need to send material over the Internet at high speeds should help the data outsourcing industry grow by 17 percent annually through 2012.

In the short term, however, Salberta sees mixed implications from the ongoing recession. On the one hand, incumbents with data storage capacity already in place stand to gain as tight credit markets make capital investment in new data centers scarce. But Salberta said revenue growth in 2009 is likely to be below estimates because of the weak economy.

CNET announces Samsung 'Best of CES' 2009 award winners

Boasting an impressive 3-inch WQVGA TFT-LCD touch screen, the P3 allows for widescreen enjoyment of video and photos. Adding a new level of connectivity between the player and its user, the P3 includes Samsung’s upgraded EmoTure™ touch interface with true haptic feedback.

With every command gesture, from swiping a finger across the screen, to switching audio tracks, to holding down a digital button for fast-forwarding video, the P3 reacts with a variety of physical sensations for a more intimate user experience versus other media players.

Lexus unveils the evolution of the ultimate advanced driving experience

The new Remote Touch is similar to a computer mouse and as easy to use.
The screen menus are selected with the controller, eliminating the need to
reach out or avert eyes from the road.

The attribute that most distinguishes Lexus' Remote Touch from other
devices in other luxury models is its "haptic"-feedback technology. As the
user hovers the mouse near a screen icon, the cursor is automatically pulled
onto it, while feedback from a servomotor in the device enables the user to
feel it "click" into place. The driver or passenger makes a selection by
pressing the side thumb button on either side, and the feedback servo is
adjustable for sensitivity. Again showing Lexus attention to detail, the water
drops in a Japanese garden inspired the selection sound. Remote Touch
integrates the functions of seven hard switches used with the previous touch
screen, allowing users to operate those functions with minimal effort and
distraction.

HAPTICS technology

Alps Electric announced that it is to establish a design team to introduce a new technology into the European Automotive market and position it as the Market Leader in terms of safety and driver interface. The team will work in the areas of both mechanical construction and software controls and will build on the HAPTICS technology of the Alps group. It will build significant technical capability and knowledge within the Irish operation and strengthens their position within the Alps group.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

SoftLayer Technologies, Inc.

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) peering, too:

Public Peering Exchange Points
Exchange Point Name ASN IP Address Mbit/sec
Equinix Ashburn 36351 2001:504:0:2::3:6351:1 10000
Equinix Ashburn 36351 206.223.115.185 10000
Equinix Dallas 36351 206.223.118.24 10000
Equinix Dallas 36351 2001:504:0:5::3:6351:1 10000
SIX 36351 2001:0478:0180::140 10000
SIX 36351 198.32.180.140 10000

Equinix Exchange Peering Live!

Today we have gotten our GigE circuit to the Equinix Exchange live and are currently in the process of adding our first peers through that exchange. We are already peered through the Chicago Internet Exchange, but we feel the Equinix Exchange will give us access to a larger number of networks, thus improving our overall network connectivity. Right now, the Equinix Exchange in Chicago has over 100 members and we should be able to establish a relationship quickly with about 1/3 of those networks, while others will take longer term negotiations, etc. Overall, this link will continually improve our network quality as additional members join and establish peering relationships with us.

If you would like to peer with us via the Equinix Exchange in Chicago, please email noc@steadfast.net.

successor to the PRADA Phone by LG

Singapore, 14th January 2009 LG Electronics (LG), a worldwide technology and design leader in mobile communications, and PRADA, world’s leading fashion brand, today announced the launch of the highly anticipated successor to the PRADA Phone by LG in Singapore.

The handset’s user interface also receives a powerful improvement with LG’s latest active flash UI technology and haptic feedback on touch input enhancing the experience of the phone’s exclusive contents offerings.


Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Barron's on colo

from their article "Networking Equipment Feels the Pain - Signal Hill suggests moving to data-center services in the downturn"

>>We remain bullish on the data-center services market, and on neutral colocation [a method of joining server machines for efficiency] in particular. In light of the economy, we believe neutral colocation is increasingly attractive as content providers and carriers seek lower cost interconnections with partners and customers. Our checks also suggest international demand, particularly in Europe, is strong and pricing is quite favorable. Furthermore, we feel that neutral colocation providers are benefiting from partnerships with managed-hosting service providers that draw customers to data centers in which they reside.

Equinix is our favorite pick as we enter earnings season. We believe the company is executing very well and capitalizing on several demand trends including strength in Europe, in the enterprise and across managed hosting partners.

Tervela and FIX Flyer Announce First Production Customer for Integrated High-Performance Order Routing Platform

a P/R made by an Equinix Financial eXchange customer:

>>

Global Brokerage Firm Deploys FIX on TMX for High-Volume, Low-Latency Trading and Market Feed Capabilities

NEW YORK, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Tervela, the leading provider of high-performance, low-latency messaging systems, and FIX Flyer, an innovator in trading solutions for electronic trading, today announced the first joint production customer for FIX on TMX, an integrated high-performance order routing platform. The customer, an international brokerage firm that provides liquidity to global equity markets, has deployed the platform to provide a single point of management for mission-critical, high-speed electronic trading. FIX on TMX combines FIX Flyer's Engine and Daytona Monitoring Framework with the Tervela Message Network(TM).

Powered by Tervela's core message switches, FIX on TMX offers the firm:

  • Predictable, market-leading order processing with verifiable service level agreements
  • Complete visibility into the entire order flow with full operational performance metrics and integrated, real-time monitoring on both the messaging and business level
  • Comprehensive high-availability and built-in redundancy to ensure non-stop service during increasing periods of market volatility
  • Rich capabilities and support for future service offerings without the need for re-architecture
  • Compelling reductions in TCO compared with disparate, larger-footprint order processing platforms

"In today's volatile markets, brokerage firms are seeing order flow and liquidity being threatened. As such, they are actively seeking new ways to improve service, increase 'stickiness' and remain competitive," said Barry Thompson, CTO and Co-Founder, Tervela. "Adding new functionality such as algorithms or more asset classes is much easier on this platform. Our integration with FIX Flyer gives customers built-in redundancy, order routing latencies and ensured non-stop service without requiring additional infrastructure investment."

With rules-based logic for trading and back office processing, automated data order processing and high-speed APIs, the integrated platform provides an intelligently architected approach to electronic trading and order routing. Additional capabilities include topic configuration, protocol transformation and normalization and multicast assignment. Traders at the global firm have the ability to safely handle unforeseen spikes in volume during volatile markets and experience increased operational efficiencies from consolidating systems and network connections into a single managed strategy.

"Global brokerage firms trade multiple assets across many different geographies, which taxes their trading architectures in very specific ways," said George Kledaras, Chairman and Co-Founder, FIX Flyer. "FIX on TMX was designed to deal with the demanding performance requirements, heavy dependence on messaging and unique operational challenges they deal with every day. Unlike the legacy, software-based systems that many brokerage firms have, we are working with Tervela to deliver unparalleled speed, continuous stability, enterprise scalability and state of the art monitoring so they can overcome these challenges."

FIX Flyer is a charter member of the Tervela Advantage Partner Program (TAPP), an ecosystem of integrated partner solutions that extend and amplify the Tervela Message Network to ensure that financial services firms maintain competitive advantage with their high-performance trading infrastructures.

About Tervela

Founded in 2004, Tervela delivers the next-generation communications infrastructure -- the message network -- designed and engineered to exceed the information dissemination and processing requirements of the world's most demanding financial services institutions. Addressing the challenges of market volume, volatility and visibility, Tervela invented the message switch to enable investment banks, hedge funds, exchanges and other data-intensive organizations to deliver consistent, outstanding and predictable performance -- even in the most demanding market conditions. The company is funded by Goldman Sachs, Sigma Partners, Acartha Group and North Hill Ventures. For more information, please visit www.tervela.com.

About FIX Flyer

Based in Tribeca, New York City, FIX Flyer develops advanced technology for managing complex, multi-asset, institutional securities trading using highly scalable internet networks and technologies. FIX Flyer provides Managed FIX services, FIX engine agnostic monitoring, web based reporting and surveillance, certification and testing tools, zero-install and fully hosted web applications to manage trading and fund allocations for a new breed of portfolio managers. The Flyer Engine is the first FIX server designed to manage high volume, ultra-low latency trading networks and ECNs, easily scaling to thousands of connections. FIX Flyer hosts and partners with Equinix, the leading global provider of network-neutral data center and interconnection services. Visit www.fixflyer.com for company information and to download Flyer for a free evaluation. FIX Flyer is a member of the FIX Protocol Ltd., the industry-led standards organization.

tipping point for haptic?

cellodude on the IV MB:

>>Short IMMR podcast from CES 2009 - "tipping point" approaching
Short & crappy podcast IMO.

The main point I take from it is that IMMR feels that its haptic technology is very near the touchscreen "tipping point," the point at which consumers expect their touchscreens to have haptics rather than not. Mainly due to the explosion of haptic phones, IMMR predicts that soon consumers will think a touchscreen is malfunctioning somehow if there are no haptics.

I agree, and many of us here knew that the day would eventually come that haptics would become mandatory. Not there yet, but when? It will happen though, simply because given a choice, most people prefer haptics.

http://podcasts.digitaltrends.com/podcast/176/ces-2009-haptic-feedback-trends-for-2009

IMMR Medical developing cardiac catheterization simulation technology

cellodude from the IV MB:

>>IMMR Medical developing cardiac catheterization simulation technology

Despite the dubious title of a recent patent application by IMMR, "Simulation Of Coupled Objects," the contents reveal that IMMR Medical is branching out from laparoscopic simulation into the world of cardiology including catheters, guide wires, stents and fluoroscopy. What is the difference between the two kinds of surgery?

[BACKGROUND INFORMATION

[0002]The growth of minimally invasive therapies has led to a growing interest in the potential for computer-based simulation for training. Many computer-based medical simulators have been designed to teach these new techniques. Most of these efforts have focused on laparoscopic surgery, in which rigid tools are inserted into the patient's abdomen and visual feedback is provided by an endoscopic camera that produces a high-definition color image. These simulators are predominantly skills trainers, emphasizing the two-dimensional hand-eye coordination practice that is useful for laparoscopic surgery.

[0003]Interventional cardiology shares characteristics with other minimally invasive therapies that make it suitable for simulator-based learning: it requires complex understanding of three-dimensional anatomy from two-dimensional displays and fine hand-eye coordination. As with surgery, complications from improperly performed cardiac catheterization can have catastrophic results. Thus, there is a strong need for simulator based training before an actual procedure is attempted.

[0004]However, interventional cardiology simulation presents unique challenges. First, visual feedback is not provided by visible light but by fluoroscopy, which must be simulated in real time while allowing for changes in points of view as the fluoroscope moves around the patient. Second, the catheters, guide wires, and stents are flexible devices and therefore must be modeled as deformable objects, which is not the case for rigid laparoscopic tools. To control the motion of a catheter or guide wire within the vascular network, the physician can only push, pull or twist the proximal end of the device. Since such devices are constrained inside the patient's vasculature, it is the combination of input forces and contact forces that allow them to be moved toward a target.]

http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch
-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PG01&s1=20090012755&OS=20090012755&RS=20090012755


The rest of the document explains the new technology which mimics the forces arising from the interaction of flexible surgical tools and the body. Extremely complicated math is used to model graphics and feedback forces.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

The 2009 Equinix Silicon Cup


The 2009 Equinix Silicon Cup

The largest annual sailing event for the IT industry

The Equinix Silicon Cup is the largest annual sailing event for the IT industry, and will take place on 17 - 18 September 2009, in Cowes, Isle of Wight.

Two days of yacht racing offer formidable opportunities for networking, team-building, and cultivating business relationships. A regatta is the most effective team building event there is. People arrive as a disparate group of individuals and end up leaving as a tight knit group. The professional skippers will allocate tasks to motivate the crew into working as a unit. The adrenalin and excitement of the racing does the rest!

Now in its 10th year, the original idea came from four senior people in the IT industry who got together and decided to combine their passion and their profession to raise meaningful amounts of money for charity.

• Industry networking
• Corporate hospitality and client entertainment
• Team building
• Putting something back

To reserve your company’s space at this fantastic event, please call Jess Lang at Britannia Corporate Events on 023 8045 8900 or email jess@britanniaevents.co.uk


Friday, January 9, 2009

YouTube, Inc. - 20 Giga port

Company Information
Company Name YouTube, Inc.
Also Known As
Company Website http://www.youtube.com
Primary ASN 36561
Public Peering Exchange Points
Exchange Point Name ASN IP Address Mbit/sec
Equinix Ashburn 36561 206.223.115.84 20000

Akamai - 20 Gig ports

Company Information
Company Name Akamai Technologies
Also Known As 12222
Company Website http://www.akamai.com/
Primary ASN 20940
IRR Record AS-AKAMAI
Network Type Content
Approx Prefixes 10
Traffic Levels 1 Tbps+
Traffic Ratios Heavy Outbound
Geographic Scope Global
Public Peering Exchange Points
Exchange Point Name ASN IP Address Mbit/sec
Equinix Ashburn 20940 206.223.115.103 20000
Equinix Ashburn 20940 206.223.115.102 20000

HostGo Upgrades Network

HostGo recently added 10 gigabit ports Telehouse New York, Equinix Ashburn, and Equinix San Jose. With the PAIX Palo Alto upgrade completed, HostGo now boasts 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports at five different locations across its global network. The company will continue to roll out network upgrades as needed to create short-term and long-term network capacity.

About HostGo

A subsidiary of FritschNET, Inc., HostGo is a leading provider of Shared Web hosting plans and domain name registry services. With a customer base composed largely of individuals and small to medium sized businesses, HostGo offers a myriad of value-added services to help its clients grow their Web sites.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Centennial adding Cyberknife facility

from the Tennessean.com:

>>The following permits were issued Tuesday by the Metro Codes Administration:

Hospital renovations. Value: $1.2 million. Brasfield & Gorrie LLC took out a permit to renovate a portion of the Parkview building at Centennial Medical Center for a Cyberknife facility.

world's first camera to feature face recognition technology, combined with a Haptic Interface

Immersion issued two interesting P/R today:

>>Samsung First to Launch Digital Music Player With Immersions Touch Feedback

>>Immersion Powers Touch Feedback for Android Mobile Phone Platform

Cellodude, on the IV MB has also discovered this news:

>>Samsung announces ST10 camera

NEWS: 8 January 2009 13:08 GMT by Verity Burns

Samsung has announced the new ST10, the world's first camera to feature face recognition technology, combined with a Haptic Interface.

Integrated into a 3-inch HVGA touchscreen, users will feel physical feedback (i.e a vibrating sensation that will let you know you have pressed something) that Samsung says will give a "feel for greater control" over the camera's functions.

However it's the face recognition system in the 9-megapixel ST10 that Samsung really want to boast about. The technology actually recognises the people you're taking photos of, and then prioritises the friends and family you photograph the most. The camera can automatically classify photos according to who is in them, making it easier for you to find photos with certain people in them.

Additions to the face recognition are features such as smile shutter mode, which will only take a photo when a smile is detected on a recognised person, and blink shutter mode, that will immediately take another shot if any recognised face blinks.

Other features on the ST10 include an in-built Personal Multimedia Player with integrated MP3 player, Digital Image Stabilisation and Samsung's new "Smart Scene Recognition" with 11 different picture pre-settings.

A nice addition is the Angle/Composition Guide setting which will be handy when asking people to take your photo on holiday. Simply take a ghost picture of your desired shot and a template will be displayed when you pass the camera over to them, making sure you get the shot you want.

The ST10 will be available in a number of colours and is due to hit our shelves in February, priced at £179.

Samsung announces ST10 camera image 1
Samsung announces ST10 camera

7ticks Ultra-Low Latency Network Bridges U.S. and Frankfurt Financial Markets with Expansion at Equinix

Managed Service Provider Expands Reach of Global Financial Network

CHICAGO & FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--7ticks, the leading provider of high performance trading network solutions, and Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), a provider of global data center services, announced today that 7ticks has launched a direct, network-neutral connection within the Equinix Frankfurt-North (FR2) International Business Exchange (IBX®) data center between its U.S. based network and the Eurex proximity location in Frankfurt, Germany.

7ticks’ presence at the FR2 center facilitates ultra-low latency services between the Eurex and other international exchanges. Within the center, the Frankfurt presence enhances 7ticks’ existing access to the Eurex VALUES API and Enhanced Broadcast Solution. 7ticks also now offers the new Eurex Enhanced Transaction Solution for lowest latency order routing.

“The expansion of 7ticks’ services to Equinix’s FR2 IBX center builds upon the successful partnership that the two companies have in the U.S., where 7ticks is deployed at Equinix’s Chicago centers,” said John Knuff, director of business development for Equinix. “7ticks offers a variety of services that furthers our goal of providing financial market participants at Equinix with access to the best of breed managed services providers."

“During these times of extreme market volatility, traders need affordable, low latency access solutions more than ever. Extending our network to Frankfurt, Germany represents another important step in our global expansion plans,” said Joe Bigane, Managing Director for 7ticks. “Our clients are already seeing huge advantages in performance, reliability, and cost affordability.”

About 7ticks

7ticks is headquartered in Chicago, where the company pioneered managed proximity co-location services for Chicago’s electronically traded products and exchanges. The Frankfurt data center marks the first of several international locations in 7ticks’ plans for global expansion, and complements the company’s existing U.S. proximity offerings. The 7ticks team provides electronic trading infrastructure design, procurement, installation, and hosting services that are enhanced by ongoing management, support, and monitoring solutions.

Proprietary trading groups, clearing firms, global investment banks, brokers, market makers, hedge funds, and independent software vendors (ISV’s) choose 7ticks for industry leading network performance, reliability, monitoring insight, and cost savings.

For more information on 7ticks, please visit http://www.7ticks.com or call 312-896-0300.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Verizon's Data 'Hotels' Bring IP Traffic Closer

from Information Week:

>>The program lets content owners and CDNs bypass traditional backbone-peering processes by depositing their content directly into temporary data centers.

With the tidal wave of content crossing the Internet growing more than 50% a year and with consumers demanding more jitter-free content,Verizon (NYSE: VZ) on Wednesday announced a program designed to streamline IP delivery for content delivery network providers (CDNs).

The Verizon Partner Port Program enables content owners and CDNs to bypass traditional backbone-peering processes by depositing their content directly into data center "hotels," including some provided by Equinix.

SoftLayer Technologies, Inc.

All three locations are live now.

Public Peering Exchange Points
Exchange Point Name ASN IP Address Mbit/sec
Equinix Ashburn 36351 206.223.115.185 10000
Equinix Dallas 36351 206.223.118.24 10000
SIX 36351 198.32.180.140 10000

Private Peering Facilities
Facility Name ASN City Country SONET Ethr ATM
Equinix Ashburn (DC1-DC4) 36351 Ashburn US
Equinix Dallas (DA1) 36351 Dallas US
Westin Building Seattle 36351 Seattle US

Colo Pricing Trends Boost Data Center Shares

must read from Data Center Knowledge:

>>Last month we wrote about the potential that colocation prices could rise as data center space runs short due to mothballed construction projects. The Wall Street Journal (subscription) has now written about this trend, noting that “demand is outpacing supply, and that could potentially drive up prices of data-center services.”

...

The biggest winner in Tuesday’s trading was DuPont Fabros Technology (DFT), whose shares have been battered since it suspended construction on three large data center projects. Shares of DuPont Fabros jumped 34 percent yesterday, closing at $3.68 per share. The value of DFT has doubled over the past five trading sessions.

Other companies in the colocation and hosting sector with gains include:

just as a joke, here is Equinix post-our article... ;-)

Higher Prices Loom For Data-Site Users

A must read from the WSJ:

>>Businesses are turning to outside companies to run their data centers faster than most of those companies can build additional facilities. Now demand is outpacing supply, and that could potentially drive up prices of data-center services.

...

The result is the number of commercial data centers will rise just 5.3% year-to-year in 2009 and 4.75% in 2010, according to Tier1 Research. That is down from 6% in 2008.

The slowdown in new data-center facilities comes at a difficult time. To cut costs during the recession, many businesses running out of space in their own data centers have turned to third-party data-center providers to rent out space. Demand for these services rose 14% from a year earlier in 2008 and is expected to increase at similar or greater rates for the next several years, according to Tier1 Research.

Now the demand and supply is likely to diverge even more over the next few years, as the typical data center takes 12 to 24 months to build, says Daniel Golding, a Tier1 analyst. "It could be a big problem," he says.

It won't be long until current facilities begin to fill up. Globally, the data centers in use are about 65% full, according to Tier1. The company expects that to hit 70% in 2009 and rise seven percentage points or so each year thereafter. Equinix says it is operating at about 78% capacity and that it has accelerated development at a 340,000-square-foot facility it opened in Secaucus, N.J.

...

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Nokia is touchscreening "with a vengeance"

cellodude on the Investor Village MB:

>>Also, consumer demand is forcing touchscreens to be "the thing" to buy, since Nokia's non-touchscreen numbers fell in 2008.


[But Nokia recorded its first fall in sales of smartphones in the third quarter of 2008, according to Gartner, the research company, partly because of its lack of handsets with touchscreens.]

Build more touchscreens than Samsung?

[The Finnish group is seeking to become the world’s largest maker of mobiles with touchscreens this year after unveiling handsets that will compete with the likes of Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Omnia.]

It could happen.

[Carolina Milanesi, analyst at Gartner, said Nokia’s goal of becoming the world’s largest maker of mobiles with touchscreens was realistic, though it would have to expand its range beyond the 5800 and N97.]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1c7540a4-d831-11dd-bcc0-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

The breakthroughs that will change lives in 2009

from Mailonline:

>>CANCER

The major advance is in noninvasive ways of treating certain cancers, particularly inaccessible cancers considered inoperable and sometimes untreatable - even with radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

This year, such patients may benefit from a therapy directly targeting these tumours:

LUNG, SPINE AND OTHER CANCERS

The CyberKnife System is a robot that performs 'radiosurgery' using radiation to destroy tumours in a painless, non-surgical way.

By combining a robotic arm with image guidance from X-ray cameras, the CyberKnife System can treat tumours with pinpoint accuracy and therefore with larger doses of radiation and less damage to surrounding tissue.

The machine can treat, for example, early-stage lung cancer, spinal tumours and even areas which have already undergone irradiation that would not be treated a second time but where the tumour has returned.

Patients with lung cancer who have undergone Cyberknife have a survival rate of around 90 per cent, compared with 30 per cent with conventional treatment.

'Cyberknife has the potential to replace surgery as the first form of treatment for cancer,' says Dr Nick Plowman, director of clinical oncology at St Bartholomew's Hospital.

AVAILABLE: Now, privately from the Harley Street Clinic from January. See www.harleystreetclinic.com or telephone 020 7935 7700. The clinic is currently in talks regarding an NHS/private partnership.

predictions...

January: the name of the game is "predictions for the new year"... :-)

An interesting post from The Digital Cave:

>>Top 10-ish Data Center Predictions for 2009


ON THE HOSTING INDUSTRY

The hosting providers are going to have a very good year. I would bet that these firms such as Equinix, Digital Realty Trust, CRG West, are going to have a banner year. With the general slow down of the markets, and tight restrictions on capital dollars, these folks will ensure pricing and demand both stay very high. Net result great profits for them, higher costs for the customers.

Digital Realty Trust will remain king in the REIT category of hosting providers. They are simply doing all the right things. I envision a cautious growth of new facilities and capacity in under-served or capacity hungry markets.

...

In the colo provider space, players like Terramark, Equinix, and Savvis will also see a big uptick in revenues. With some markets as high as $175/sq ft/month it will become harder and harder to procure space and these folks will take advantage of that fact in spades.

As measured by stock price and/or earnings, Terramark will be the biggest winner in this space. Equinix will show steady growth and place second. Savvis is the wildcard. They will likely have a good year, but they will realize that they need better management at the top of their hosting business. The cries for better management and operations practices are already deafening.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Immersion related patents

cellodude is posting a couple of interesting patent applications on the IV MB:

>>Strong likelihood Williams Gaming to use IMMR! Proof inside.

How about a WMS patent app., mentioning Immersion by name, for a handheld gambling device? Unexpected! This is the first time we've seen IMMR mentioned specifically by a gaming manufacturer in one of their patents.

Jackpot Party, a popular casino slot, is pictured in the handheld configuration. In the bonus round you touch packages to reveal prizes underneath. Now with IMMR vibration!

[Jan. 1, 2009

Handheld Device for Wagering Games

[0030]The primary display and/or secondary display of the handheld gaming machine may, in some aspects, comprise a haptic display, such as those haptic displays (e.g., Touchsense.RTM.) manufactured by Immersion Corporation of San Jose, Calif. When the user of the handheld gaming machine touches a touch screen key of a haptic touch screen display (e.g., primary display), the touch screen key will convey the sense of being depressed and released through the use of vibrations transmitted through the screen to the user's finger. The use of a haptic display advantageously provides sensory feedback to the user of the handheld gaming machine as confirmation of a user's action or selection.]


>>IMMR's most significant patent app. for 2009 is out - multi-touch, Jan.1 2009

A revolutionary patent app. from IMMR is published, and it's a mouthful: "Method and apparatus for multi-touch tactile touch panel actuator mechanisms."

Apple uses multi-touch input in the iPhone, and so will MSFT Windows 7, so many touchscreen devices will incorporate multi-touch. It's doubtful that older haptic technologies will work.

What haptic solutions would IMMR engineers invent for multi-touch? I was worried that they would be lousy, or someone would beat them to it.

Am I worried now? Nope, the cutting edge creatives at IMMR have done it again.

IMMR's new multi-touch haptic technology is a layered array, or grid, of small haptic cells which operate independently from one another. Two simultaneous touches, two independent vibrations.

1 Overall structure:

The tactile portion is made of two layers, electrical and haptic. The electrical interprets the input, the haptic kicks the output. These two invisible layers fit over the display, so you have a three layer sandwich:

Top: Electric
Middle: Haptic
Bottom: Visual display (LCD)

2 New layer technology:

[Each haptic cell is configured to provide a haptic effect independent of other haptic cells in the tactile layer.]

Haptic cell can be:
piezoelectric material (grid can be printed as a film)
thermal fluid pocket
variable porosity membrane
Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems ("MEMS") element, which can further be:
MEMS pump for laminar flow modulation
shape memory alloy
linear resonant device

What does all that gobbledygook mean? Who knows! What I do know is that if you desire haptics with your multi-touch you will have to knock on IMMR's door.

United States Patent Application 20090002328
Kind Code A1
Ullrich; Christopher J. ; et al. January 1, 2009

Method and apparatus for multi-touch tactile touch panel actuator mechanisms

Abstract

A method and apparatus of actuator mechanisms for a multi-touch tactile touch panel are disclosed. The tactile touch panel includes an electrical insulated layer and a tactile layer. The top surface of the electrical insulated layer is capable of receiving an input from a user. The tactile layer includes a grid or an array of haptic cells. The top surface of the haptic layer is situated adjacent to the bottom surface of the electrical insulated layer, while the bottom surface of the haptic layer is situated adjacent to a display. Each haptic cell further includes at least one piezoelectric material, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems ("MEMS") element, thermal fluid pocket, MEMS pump, resonant device, variable porosity membrane, laminar flow modulation, or the like. Each haptic cell is configured to provide a haptic effect independent of other haptic cells in the tactile layer.


Inventors: Ullrich; Christopher J.; (Santa Cruz, CA) ; Steger; Ryan; (Sunnyvale, CA) ; Gomez; Daniel H.; (Newton, MA)
Correspondence Name and Address:
    James M. Wu;JW Law Group
84 W. Santa Clara Street, Suite 820
San Jose
CA
95113
US
Assignee Name and Adress: IMMERSION Corporation, a Delaware Corporation
San Jose
CA

Serial No.: 823192
Series Code: 11
Filed: June 26, 2007

We are buying a new cyber knife program for the cancer center

from The Colorado Springs Business Journal:

>>“We want to be a role model for the community,” she said. “We want to be a credible source of health care needs.”

While she admits that times are tough — and Penrose is no exception, Sabin said the system has a healthy bottom line. But in the future, it will be carefully choosing how to spend its money.

“We are buying a new cyber knife program for the cancer center,” she said. “We decided that that program directly benefited patients — it is state of the art technology. But to do it, we had to put off some building renovations. We decided to focus on health care and patient needs — the rest we’ll make do without.”

Friday, January 2, 2009

2008 performance of data center stocks

Data Center Knowledge is putting together data for the 4Q and full year 2008. Worth a read, if you can stand the pain...

>>Perhaps the best thing that can be said about the 2008 performance of data center stocks is that it can no longer get any worse.
All 13 stocks we track at the Data Center Investor showed losses for the year, with only Digital Realty Trust (DLR) outperforming the Dow (-33.8%) and S&P 500 (-38.5%). The performance list shows a clear bias toward the industry’s most established players, reflecting a “flight to quality” on the part of investors in the sector. The top five performers are all known quantities with track records that predate the dot-com boom and bust.

2009 – Looking Forward to Small Businesses and Their Dedicated Hosting Buying Trends

from the Navisite blog:

>>Small Businesses will find that the traditional Web Hosting industry will transform significantly in 2009,
primarily due to the economic conditions that will continue to be a growing factor in 2009.

....

With the capital crunch, and the need to replace this aging equipment, small businesses and their IT service providers will move to hosted infrastructure. In 2009, the monthly hardware lease and license rental model is far more appropriate than the massive capital outlays and consulting services required for onsite upgrades and new deployments.

The year 2009 also marks the first full year when the majority of Small Business technology providers (MSPs VARs etc.) are comfortable with recurring business models and the concept of recurring billing with their small business customers. Hosted infrastructure like dedicated servers and VMware based Virtual Dedicated servers enable providers to expand their relationships with their customers with more affordable, lower upfront cost solutions. Applications, databases, storage, collaboration and backend server needs will be deployed on dedicated hosting solutions in numbers never seen before.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Gas leak causes 3-building evacuation in Secaucus

from: The Jersey Journal

>>The Secaucus Fire Department and PSE&G
received a report of a gas odor at 275 Hartz Way today at 11:35 a.m. After evacuating the buildings, the fire department found a two and a half inch ruptured gas main in the At Last Sportswear building said Mike Gonnelli, the deputy chief of the Secaucus Fire Department.

Gonnelli, who was on the scene, said that more than 100 people were evacuated from three connected buildings that are occupied by At Last Sportswear, Burlington Coat Factory and Equinix. The fire department shut down the gas mains, located the leak and ventilated the buildings. Gonnelli said there were no injuries.

At Last Sportswear employees were sent home for the day and Burlington Coat Factory and Equinix were back to work in an hour and a half, said Gonnelli.