Equinix buys Switch and Data

On October 21, Equinix (EQIX) reported solid 3Q 2009 results (see Company’s P/R and Seeking Alpha conference call transcripts), but the real news was the announcement of the acquisition of Switch and Data (SDXC), a move which gives a completely different shape to the industry.

First, let’s go through some of the metrics we usually check every quarter to analyze the Company’s performance:

· Equinix raised 2009 annual revenue guidance to $877.5 million (midpoint) and adjusted EBITDA guidance to $397.5 million (midpoint)

· Cash gross margins for the quarter were 64%, down from 65% the previous quarter but up from 62% the same quarter last year, and despite incurring approximately $5.4 million of expansion costs in the quarter. In the U.S. cash gross margins were 68%

· Both revenues and EBITDA increased 7% over the previous quarter

· Net cabinet additions were 400 in the USA, 200 in Europe, and 100 in Asia Pacific

· 281 10 Gig ports were reported on the Equinix Exchange (26 additions in the quarter), with traffic reaching a peak of 365 gigabit per second, a 7.4% increase over the previous quarter

· A steady increase in MRR (monthly recurring revenue) per cabinet, with US reaching $ 1,910 (a 0.9% Q/Q increase), Europe now at $ 1,116 (10.6% Q/Q increase) and Asia at $ 1,437 (4.9% Q/Q increase). As usual, we point out that results in foreign currency (reported in US$) may be impacted by currency fluctuations. On average, a 4% quarter-over-quarter increase, with the global MRR per cabinet now at about $ 1,552

· MRR and cabinet churn rate was 2.3% and 2.2% respectively, consistent with guidance expectations for the quarter

· Pricing still strong throughout all markets, with new services (interconnection, etc.) being driven in the existing cabinets

· booked half of the cabinets that recently churned in the Silicon Valley, replacing (our speculation) the revenue lost, as these contracts were made at a much higher price (former wholesale contracts)

In a quick visual way, here is what Equinix achieved in what has been one of the most challenging economic environments:

As we noticed at the beginning of this article, the real news was Equinix decision to acquire its strongest competitor in the US market, Switch and Data, a real changer for the industry. Although Equinix did not disclose much information about returns, post-integration strategies or synergies achievable, most of the conference call Q&A section and comments in the press afterwards were centered on the deal.

As a small joke, we may now say that we got an answer to our previous, rhetorical question “Equinix vs. Switch and Data: Which Is the Better Network Neutral Colocation Company?”. What both Companies told us with this move is: the combination of the two.

Our previous Seeking Alpha article probably remains useful for a quick comparison between the two Companies, and may now be read with a different approach.

We can also add some answers to our article: Equinix: Planning Further Expansion? - the Company’s strategy wasn’t obviously limited to just adding new centers, but more ambitious.

Also as a side note, we previously mentioned Equinix and Switch and Data together also in our Seeking Alpha article Insatiable Demand for Colocation Services, which might now be a useful read to examine one of the most interesting synergies achievable by the combination of the Companies, as both are very active in the financial vertical, especially in the New York area.

And lastly thanks to Switch and Data that mentioned a couple of our articles in its “In the news” section.

A quick list of reasons why this deal makes a lot of sense:

• Given the structure of the deal, Equinix is spending only $ 137 million in cash to acquire some strategic data centers (including markets where it would have been quite challenging to build a presence both in terms of time and money) that give a much needed expansion capacity, especially in some locations (Switch and Data occupancy was about 60%)
  
• The new, combined Company becomes overnight a 1 billion player – and given the experience that the Equinix management team has shown also in very difficult times, they will certainly be able to leverage this strength in the capital market
  
• A lot of synergies are possible between the Companies, with savings on the SG&A side and a greater potential for the sales force (including offering a direct presence in Europe and Asia, while Switch and Data had so far just a reseller agreement for Europe)
  
• Equinix succeeded in excluding a competitor from doing the same move (it will now virtually be impossible for a foreign competitor to acquire a decent footprint on the US, or for a domestic Company to consider the acquisition of Switch and Data as a way to get a listing)
  

A look at the two combined Companies:

As underlined in this presentation sheet, Equinix succeeded in getting an immediate presence in some key markets – Toronto (Canada), Seattle, Atlanta, Miami and Denver. We wouldn’t anyway, be surprised if the Company decided, in the longer term, to get rid of some less strategic presences, the same way they did for Honolulu after the Pihana acquisition in the past.

Here is a different approach to the combination of the Companies, from an interconnection point of view (both pictures are taken from the Equinix presentation of the SDXC acquisition):

Additional presences in the US – more color

Equinix needed to expand in Dallas, where the Company has actually missed fulfilling customers potential, and Switch and Data brings inventory in the market, as well as a few others.

It is interesting, however, to notice that Equinix will not stop any planned expansion plan (from the conference call, Seeking Alpha transcripts):

• Ilya Grozovsky - Morgan Joseph
• With the acquisition of Switch and Data, will any of your internal domestic expansion plans get shelved or anything like that? Or does everything continue as planned?
• Stephen M. Smith - CEO
  
• So the specific answer to your question is currently we have no plans to stop any of the announcements that we've made.

Switch and Data owns data centers in the Manhattan area, while Equinix data centers in the New York metro market are all in New Jersey, with just a peering presence at 111 8^th Avenue. This will also mean a strategic advantage for the new combined Company.

The new SDXC North Bergen (New Jersey) data center, as mentioned before, will also strengthen the presence of Equinix in the financial vertical, with SAVVIS and TelX remaining as the main competitors in what is a very important sector - it may be worth adding, in this contest, that, as underlined by Tier 1 Research, pricing is very favorable for data centers Companies with a top quality offering (emphasis added):

• ·July 7, 2009
  
• Tier 1 Research - Telx joins Equinix in winning ISE consortium RFP for low-latency interconnection
• -by Dan Golding
• – the normal interconnection halo effect where cabinet prices may be bumped 20% in highly interconnected carrier-neutral facilities is enhanced significantly when financial low latency interconnection comes into play. T1R believes premiums of 50% or more may be common.

As a further example of the great sense that this acquisition may mean to Equinix, we take the Swith and Data PAIX Palo Alto data center.

This location is the best interconnected exchange in the West Coast, being historically the first commercial one, where the Equinix founders, Al Avery and Jay Adelson, started working a few years ago.

Many network providers from Asia, like Singapore Telecom, do connect here for exchanging traffic with other networks or content providers (you may follow this link to have a look at SingTel public and private peering locations, log in required). Others from Europe, like France Telecom and Telecom Italia, do the same. These networks did also chose Equinix L.A. as a point of presence in California, but are not available in the Equinix Silicon Valley data centers. All of a sudden, Equinix will be able to offer these networks in its mix, without the hard work to convince them to bring their presence into its S. Jose data center.

The same, but for Switch and Data customers, may be said for the Washington DC metro area, where the Equinix Ashburn data center is the best interconnected center in the East Coast.

While the problems of the integration of the two Companies will certainly represent a challenge, the history of Equinix management and their experience with mergers (both domestically and abroad) is a great guarantee that all problems will be properly addressed, and hopefully the potential of this combination will overshadow any road bump that might emerge.

Finally, a few words about Jim Cramer’s comments about Equinix, in his October 23 show.

Here is an abstract of his opinion:

• For Thursday’s “Sell Block” segment, Cramer told viewers they need to sell any data center-related stock while the getting’s still good.
• Cramer said he listened to Intel Corporation’s (INTC) conference call, where the company management said its seeing strong sales for its new family of Nehalem DP processors for serves, which allows companies to replace up to eight of their older servers with just one new Nehalem server. “If companies can now reduce their footprint by 87% that will translate to huge losses for the data centers,” Cramer said. He mentioned that Equinix is about to have eight times more space than normal, and its doubtful the company could lease the extra space given the current troubles in the commercial real estate market. An even worse scenario could happen where companies start hosting their own serves internally, rather than outsource to data centers which are expensive. Cramer said he picked Equinix specifically because of the Switch & Data acquisition. He said the move probably won’t pay off because the future for this business is about to get a lot weaker. He told viewers with an upgrade cycle coming, look for earnings to disappoint at Equinix. “Get out of the data-center stocks,” Cramer said. “I see an industry that’s about to be brought low by new technology, so I think you should sell, sell, sell.”

Luckily, most analysts in the sector have already noticed how poor his analysis of the sector was, so a few quotes will do the job:

· Jim Cramer? C’mon Man! · By- Bob Landström

· Jim Cramer cited the recent Intel earnings call content about the Nehalem processor yielding an 8:1 advantage in server power. Somehow, Cramer did some math to convince himself that every eight servers out there will soon turn into one,… ergo, there is eightfold less demand for data center real estate. If Jim Cramer had any understanding of technology… or even the technology sector in general, he’d have jerked himself back into reality with the recollection of Moore’s Law. Moore’s Law has been in play for decades, is in play today, and will be in play tomorrow. Throughout this time, the demand for data centers has grown to grossly outstrip supply. Is this really the extent of the gray matter behind Cramer’s financial recommendations?

· Perhaps even more fundamental than the point about Moore’s Law is the basic economics underlying the costs of mission critical facilities. Unless Cramer thinks that risk management is also a stale concept, we must acknowledge the demand for secure and highly available computing facilities into the distant future. While in better economic times, there may have been some enterprises with the resources to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in data center construction and operations, but in the current economic times the natural alternative is to buy colocation services. This is one of the fundamental drivers in today’s demand for colocation real estate, and the justification for colocation provider expansions and M&A activity.

· We can excuse the fact that Cramer isn’t able to correctly pronounce Nehalem (or Equinix for that matter). However, if he had spent any time at all in the technology sector this sort of tongue slip would be just about impossible. Furthermore, even if data center space is becoming an unwanted commodity as Cramer led his audience to believe, the shallowness of his analysis is further evidenced by the missed observation that by acquiring Switch and Data, Equinix not only elevates its status as a premier colocation services provider but also strategically defends its turf from any global competitor (by blocking other global providers from gaining a strong US presence).

Tier 1 Research also wrote an interesting comment to Cramer’s opinion:

· T1R Insight: Cramer blows it with call on Equinix

· Cramer's main argument is that there is an Outside Context Problem – some change in the business or operating conditions that no one (except he) can see coming. In this case, he claims that Intel's more powerful processors – up to eight times more powerful than previous processors – will run Equinix and other firms like it out of business. That's because Cramer believes that Equinix customers will simply be able to swap out eight existing servers for one new, Intel-powered server. Well, here's why he's wrong:

• Cramer stated that firms like Equinix are square-footage based. That's wrong – the datacenter's primary metric is power. While Intel's new chips are power efficient, one of its new chips does not take the same or less power than one of its old chips – it takes more. They are more efficient on a per-processer-cycle basis, but we're talking about a much smaller savings, not 8:1. Datacenters are power-limited, not space limited, and they sell based on power.
• Cramer doesn't understand the real issue is virtualization for server consolidation, not processors – processors are simply a supporting technology. And, in the case of enterprise datacenters, there is some significant server consolidation, which has extended the life of those facilities. But colocated servers tend to be far more utilized, so that consolidation of underutilized servers is a lesser factor than in the enterprise.
• Users are demanding more processor power. The folks at Intel are not fools – they aren't putting themselves out of business by allowing customers to purchase one unit instead of eight. Instead, they are doing what they have always done, which is to increase the power of their existing processors in order to meet user demand. That user demand for processor power (and storage and network) has been increasing steadily for years on the desktop and in the server. Cramer's mistake is to think processing demand is static rather than increasing – snapshots in time are dangerous.
• The processors that Cramer is referring to are the very highest end and most expensive bits of silicon that Intel has on offer – they are not general-purpose or mass-market processors. There will be no 'step-function' or wholesale replacement because those chips are just too expensive and will be for some time. By the time they aren't, the customer demand for more processor power will have caught up – and then some, to judge by the 10 or 15 times that this same sort of transition (between processor families) has occurred in the last 30 years. What's different this time? Nothing.
• Cramer sees Equinix as purely a server farm, ignoring the true engine of its business: interconnection. The need to inexpensively interconnect at high speeds with low latencies is what drives customers to Equinix. In addition, a significant portion of Equinix's space is filled by non-server equipment, including routers, switches and, increasingly, storage. Again, Cramer's simplistic analysis fails.

· T1R doesn't do many stock picks, but here's one: take advantage of the sheep following Cramer to make strategic buys. They have a very short memory, so the counter-Cramer trading strategy doesn't have a long life, but if you can strike quickly, it's a good idea.

· T1R's position is that there is a long-term secular trend toward third-party datacenter services, recently accelerated by the capital crunch: enterprises don't have the money to build their own datacenters and are increasingly turning to folks like Equinix. CEOs and boards are increasingly unwilling to fund large-ticket datacenter capital projects. The assertions made by Cramer that datacenters are becoming smaller and easier to run are contradicted by empirical evidence.

Rich Miller, at Data Center Knowledge, also wrote a similar comment, in his article There’s A Village Somewhere Missing an Idiot, which also has a link to Cramer’s video, for those who missed it:

• “Get out of the data-center stocks,” Cramer told viewers. “I think the data center industry is in decline. I see an industry that’s about to be brought low by new technology, so I think you should sell, sell, sell.”
• New technology?
  
• Which new technology? Cloud computing? Believe it or not, he means Nehalem processors. Cramer notes that on Intel’s recent conference call, the company touted strong sales for its new family of Nehalem DP processors for servers, one of which can “take the place of eight to nine older-generation servers.” Cramer did some math, and concluded that data centers will soon be seven-eighths empty.
• “Data centers like Equinix will still have all this extra space on their hands that they’ll have no idea what to do with, thanks to Intel’s revolutionary server technology,” said Cramer. “These new servers go a long way towards making the data center model obsolete.”
• Moore’s Law wasn’t invented yesterday. Processors have been getting faster and more powerful for decades without fundamentally altering the demand for data center space, which is driven by a profound, long-term shift toward the Internet and digital business models. That isn’t likely to change anytime soon. Nehalem processors will allow companies to do more with less, but they’re not going to empty out all the data centers.

A more realist view is given by this article from the Wall Street Journal, which resumes the real trends in the industry:

• Demand for commercial data centers like the ones operated by Equinix is expected to rise 13% in 2009, according to Tier1 Research. But commercial data center capacity is rising only about 5% per year.
• That's because it takes about 18 months to build a data center, says Daniel Golding, an analyst at Tier1, and the facilities can cost more than $100 million each.
• Buying Switch &Data lets Equinix "expand their footprint extremely rapidly," says Mr. Golding. He adds that using stock to make the deal is a smart move because "you can't pay a construction company in stock."

As we have been saying many times in our articles about the sectors, these trends (demand much higher than supply, record occupancy at existing facilities, credit crunch limiting new builds, outsourcing as a trend, etc.) are what an investor should look at, without listening to other superficial comments.

With this move, Equinix has positioned itself to strengthen its leadership and increase market share, while continuing to achieve a higher growth than the sector – one of the few growing ones in this current economy.

Disclosure: Long EQIX

Systems and Methods For Resonance Detection

United States Patent Application	20090243997
Kind Code	A1
Tierling; Kollin M. ; et al.	October 1, 2009

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Systems and Methods For Resonance Detection

Abstract

Systems and methods for resonance detection are disclosed. For example, one method for resonance detection includes the step of transmitting an actuator signal to an actuator coupled to a surface of a device. The actuator signal is configured to cause the actuator to output a force to the surface. The method further includes the steps of receiving a response of the surface to the force; determining a resonant frequency of the surface based at least in part on the response; and outputting a signal indicative of the resonant frequency.

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Inventors:	Tierling; Kollin M.; (Milpitas, CA) ; Grant; Danny A.; (Laval, CA)
Correspondence Name and Address:	PATENT DEPARTMENT (51851);KILPATRICK STOCKTON LLP 1001 WEST FOURTH STREET WINSTON-SALEM NC 27101 US
Assignee Name and Adress:	Immersion Corporation San Jose CA
Serial No.:	057186
Series Code:	12
Filed:	March 27, 2008

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING MULTI-POINT HAPTIC FEEDBACK TEXTURE SYSTEMS

United States Patent Application	20090250267
Kind Code	A1
Heubel; Robert W. ; et al.	October 8, 2009

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METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING MULTI-POINT HAPTIC FEEDBACK TEXTURE SYSTEMS

Abstract

A method and apparatus for generating haptic surface texture with a deformable surface layer are disclosed. The haptic device includes a flexible surface layer, a haptic substrate, and a deforming mechanism. The flexible surface layer is made of elastic materials and is capable of reconfiguring its surface characteristics. The haptic substrate, in one embodiment, provides a first pattern in response to a first activating signal. Alternatively, the haptic substrate is capable of providing a second pattern in accordance with a second activating signal. The deforming mechanism is configured to change the flexible surface from a first surface characteristic to a second surface characteristic in accordance with the first pattern.

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Inventors:	Heubel; Robert W.; (San Leandro, CA) ; Steger; Ryan; (Sunnyvale, CA) ; Lacroix; Robert A.; (Saint-Lambert, CA) ; Bakircioglu; Muge; (San Jose, CA)
Correspondence Name and Address:	WOMBLE CARLYLE SANDRIDGE & RICE, PLLC ATTN: PATENT DOCKETING, P.O. BOX 7037 ATLANTA GA 30357-0037 US
Assignee Name and Adress:	Immersion Corp. San Jose CA
Serial No.:	061463
Series Code:	12
Filed:	April 2, 2008

Systems and Methods for Surgical Simulation and Training

United States Patent Application	20090263775
Kind Code	A1
Ullrich; Christopher J.	October 22, 2009

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Systems and Methods for Surgical Simulation and Training

Abstract

A surgical simulation and training platform can mimic human physiology to the extent possible, while enabling dynamic pathology and complication introduction to facilitate training and evaluation needs. The platform can include a subject body having an outer surface and defining at least one cavity, with a capture mechanism configured to receive an instrument and mounted to a robotic positioning assembly within the cavity. The system can further include one or more sensors configured to determine the position of at least one instrument or provide data for determining the position, and a processor. The processor can receive data indicating a position of at least one instrument relative to the cavity in a subject body and provide a command to the robotic positioning assembly to adjust the position of the capture mechanism to encounter and engage the instrument during surgical simulation.

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Inventors:	Ullrich; Christopher J.; (Ventura, CA)
Correspondence Name and Address:	PATENT DEPARTMENT (51851);KILPATRICK STOCKTON LLP 1001 WEST FOURTH STREET WINSTON-SALEM NC 27101 US
Assignee Name and Adress:	Immersion Medical Gaithersburg MA
Serial No.:	427856
Series Code:	12
Filed:	April 22, 2009

Providing Haptic Effects To Users In A Short Range Wireless System

United States Patent Application	20090270045
Kind Code	A1
Flaherty; Natasha Margaret Minenko	October 29, 2009

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Providing Haptic Effects To Users In A Short Range Wireless System

Abstract

Systems, methods, and associated software for imposing a haptic effect upon a user are disclosed herein. A user device, which is operable within a wireless interaction system according to one implementation, includes a transceiver that is configured to communicate wirelessly with a host device. The user device further includes a processor that is configured to determine whether a specific interaction event occurs. The interaction event, for example, is related to an interaction with the host device. The user device also includes a haptic actuator that is configured to impose a haptic effect upon a user when the processor determines that the specific interaction event has occurred.

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Inventors:	Flaherty; Natasha Margaret Minenko; (Belmont, CA)
Correspondence Name and Address:	WOMBLE CARLYLE SANDRIDGE & RICE, PLLC ATTN: PATENT DOCKETING, P.O. BOX 7037 ATLANTA GA 30357-0037 US
Assignee Name and Adress:	Immersion Corporation San Jose CA

Controlling Haptic Sensations For Vibrotactile Feedback Interface Devices

United States Patent Application	20090278819
Kind Code	A1
Goldenberg; Alex S. ; et al.	November 12, 2009

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Controlling Haptic Sensations For Vibrotactile Feedback Interface Devices

Abstract

An apparatus comprises an actuator that includes an eccentric mass that is coupled to a rotatable shaft of the actuator which defines an axis of rotation. A circuit is coupled to the actuator, the circuit is configured to produce a control signal such that, when the control signal is received by the actuator. The actuator is configured to produce a force effect having a magnitude and a frequency by rotating the mass about the axis of rotation in a first direction. The magnitude of the vibration is based on a duty cycle of the control signal and independent of the frequency. An obstacle member is coupled to the actuator and includes a compliance portion configured to increase energy in the movement of the mass in a second direction opposite to the first direction when the mass comes into contact with the obstacle member.

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Inventors:	Goldenberg; Alex S.; (Mountain View, CA) ; Alarcon; Ramon; (Santa Clara, CA)
Correspondence Name and Address:	PATENT DEPARTMENT (51851);KILPATRICK STOCKTON LLP 1001 WEST FOURTH STREET WINSTON-SALEM NC 27101 US
Assignee Name and Adress:	IMMERSION CORPORATION San Jose CA

Accuray offers an interesting opportunity

Could Accuray (ARAY) offer an interesting defensive play? We think so. It’s reasonably priced and offers good longer-term growth prospectives.

http://shareholdersunite.com/2009/11/08/aray/

Powerball Drawings to Be Available Live on the Internet

PENSACOLA, Fla., Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Powerball, the nation's best-known lotto game, and TinBu, the leading provider of lottery data to online media groups, are pleased to announce an agreement to begin streaming live Powerball drawings on the web.

With lottery drawings taking place every Wednesday and Saturday night, the number of players looking for Powerball results reaches into the tens of millions for each draw. Powerball's jackpots have reached as high as $365 million.

"TinBu is very excited to be adding this dynamic, in-demand feature to our interactive lottery data content. We provide lottery data to most of the major online media groups in the United States, and we look forward to giving our online publishing partners the opportunity to add live Powerball drawings for their online audience to view. When the word lottery comes to mind, Powerball is the king of the hill in the U.S., and we are confident these live online drawings will be viewed regularly by a tremendous amount of people," said John Brier, TinBu's CEO.

TinBu will connect directly with the Powerball studio at Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida and has secured delivery bandwidth through Navisite that will allow hundreds of thousands of simultaneous online viewers of the live Powerball drawings. The system will automatically scale up as needed to handle anticipated audience growth.

"We are pleased to be able to open another channel for our live Powerball drawings," said Rebecca Hargrove, Chair of MUSL's Powerball Game Group. "Even though Powerball drawings are shown on nearly 100 television stations throughout the United States, the technology to add the live draws through the Internet will allow millions of additional players to watch the drawings, live or on demand."

Rocketfish Rapid Fire Wireless Controller for PS3 Review

Specifications
The Rocketfish Rapid Fire Wireless Controller for PS3 has dual rumble motors that bring ruble effects back to compatible game titles. The controller also uses an altered joystick configuration compared to the stock PS3 controllers. Wireless connectivity is via Bluetooth and the controller is SIXAXIS compatible and has a rapid-fire button. Charging is done via an included 9-foot USB cable.

In Use
The Rocketfish Rapid Fire Wireless Controller for PS3 is one of the better aftermarket controllers for the PS3.

....

Perhaps the best feature of the controller is its price. Best Buy sells the Rocketfish Rapid Fire Wireless Controller for PS3 for $47.99 making it cheaper than factory Sony controllers. The rumble effects aren’t that powerful, which is likely to be a battery saving measure. That said the rumble effects are welcome after playing with original PS3 controllers lacking that feature.

Lincoln man donates $1M to NET drive

Lincoln technology entrepreneur Steve Kiene primed a new phase of an NET fundraising drive Thursday with a $1 million donation.

Kiene is vice president of engineering for Internap Network Services Corp., an Atlanta company, but he and his crew operate in Lincoln at the Terminal Building.

Internap manages, delivers and helps makes online content pay for commercial customers. Kiene also teaches at the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

His donation launched the public phase of the Inspire Nebraska fundraising campaign for the NET Foundations for Television and Radio.

Smartphone Landscape to Change Dramatically in Asia

from CNBC stock blog:

>>But how is the smartphone market in Asia right now?

Bertrand Bidaud, managing vice president at Gartner Group shared his view with CNBC Asia.

“The smartphone sector is very concentrated,” he says. "Right now Nokia, Sony and Blackberry own around 70% of the market. But because this market is growing so fast and is resisting quite well in terms of price pressure, it is attracting interest from all the other players like LG, and Samsung."

...

“So this landscape is going to change very dramatically in the next few quarters,” Bidaud says.

“We expect in five years the smartphone segment to grow three times, whereas the overall mobile segment to grow by 50 percent.” Bidaud concludes, “So it’s going to grow much much faster than the rest of the industry.”

LG Goes After Apple In Decision To Invest In Smartphones

LG Electronics CEO Yong Nam said going forward as the third-largest handset maker invests more heavily in smartphones it will no longer see *Nokia* and *Sony Ericsson* as its main competition, but rather Apple , Research In Motion and Palm . The CEO made the statements at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, reports Reuters.

Nam said "we are investing heavily" at the moment in smartphones. "We're not yet there but we'll get there."

Stereotactic radiotherapy stops lung cancer from growing in frail patients

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) stopped the growth of cancer at its original site in the lung for three years among nearly 98 percent of patients with early non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are unable to have the cancer surgically removed, according to an updated three-year study presented November 2, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). The study also shows that more than half (56 percent) of these patients lived for three years after diagnosis, while 48 percent survived for three years after cancer treatment with no sign of the disease returning. Researchers also found that despite the high potency of treatment, less than 20 percent of these extremely frail patients experienced a serious decline in their health status. This finding was better than researchers expected and is similar to the risks for healthier patients to undergo radical surgery.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy is a specialized type of external beam radiation therapy that pinpoints high doses of radiation directly on the cancer in a shorter amount of time than traditional treatments. Cancer centers often call the treatments by the brand names of the manufacturers, including Axesse, CyberKnife, Gamma Knife, Novalis, Primatom, Synergy, X- Knife, TomoTherapy and Trilogy. Treatment in the study was delivered in 1½ to 2 weeks, instead of a typical period of 6 to 8 weeks.

Equinix to speak and exhibit at Asia Pacific Financial Information Conference 2009 in Hong Kong

Equinix to speak and exhibit at Asia Pacific Financial Information Conference 2009 in Hong Kong

November 3-4 2009, booth 9, JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong

Hong Kong. – November 2, 2009 – Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), a provider of global data center services, today announced that it will be speaking and exhibiting at the Asia Pacific Financial Information Conference (APFIC) 2009 in Hong Kong. Taking place between November 3- 4 2009 at the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong, the two-day conference provides the largest platform in Asia Pacific for senior market data and reference data professionals from leading financial institutions in the region to gather and discuss about key challenges facing the industry.

The rapidly evolving market landscape of Asia Pacific is driving financial participants’ growing demand for improved data availability and accessibility. Coupled with the industry trend of globalization and fragmentation, financial community participants with next generation trading requirements are increasingly looking to advance forward with a global and flexible trading infrastructure capable of supporting rich data feeds with low latency across the globe.

Equinix Financial eXchange provides proximity solutions to the world’s top ten financial centers. Offering ultra-low latency connections directly to exchanges, trading partners, market data sources and matching engines around the world, Equinix Financial eXchange is a leading high-performance, global financial services hub where the financial community can directly interconnect with access to the broadest choice of connectivity options inside any one of our 45 International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data centers around the globe.

David Wilkinson, Equinix’s Senior Director of Business Development for Asia Pacific will be speaking as a panelist on both days of the conference, namely the panel discussion on “Alternative Markets: Choice, Diversity, and Fragmentation” on November 3rd at 4:15pm and the panel discussion on “The Data Demand of Advanced Trading Strategies” on November 4th at 11:00am. Equinix Asia Pacific representatives will also be at booth 9 during the exhibition to discuss how Equinix Financial eXchange is empowering customers in the region to realize and exceed their trading strategies.

Ramius' Stake Increased to 14.6%

IMMERSION CORP
Reported by
RAMIUS ADVISORS LLC

1. Sole power to vote or direct vote: 0
2. Shared power to vote or direct vote: 4,090,000
3. Sole power to dispose or direct the disposition: 0
4. Shared power to dispose or direct the disposition: 4,090,000

percentage: approx 14.6%

World's first heart surgery using radiation

from the Telegraph:

Michael Kilby, 67, was told he may only live until Christmas after doctors found a tumour inside the right chamber of his heart larger than a golf ball. It was so big it was blocking the blood flow and he was dying.

After conventional surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, his last option was to try revolutionary surgery involving highly focused radiation as a 'scalpel' to cut away the tumour inside his beating heart.

Now just 10 days later he is planning a five month trip to Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand and America with his wife, Licette Gus.

The treatment is the first time the radiation scalpel, called the Cyberknife, has been used in heart surgery and doctors are confident that it could lead to new treatments for other heart conditions.

...

But then in a third blow, he began suffering severe breathlessness and a scan found a large tumour had formed inside his heart.

Surgeons at the private Harley Street Clinic in London first carried out emergency open heart surgery to try and take out as much as they could, but the tumour had burrowed into the muscle of the heart and it could not all be safely removed.

Conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy failed and the tumour began to grow again within just six weeks.

When Mr Kilby, a retired businessman from Moreton in Marsh, Glouchestershire, was about to give up and accept his fate, it was suggested he try the Cyberknife.

The technique had never been used on the heart before and because the operation was experimental Mr Kilby's health insurance would not cover it.

...

Nick Plowman, clinical oncologist, said: "This was an absolutely unique case. The tumour was taking up so much of the ventricle that the heart was failing in front of us. There was nowhere else to go with his treatment.

"The tumour has shrunk significantly and I expect it to shrink further in the coming weeks. It is great."

Dr John Coltart, consultant cardiologist at the Harley Street Clinic, in London, said: "Three months ago his prognosis was terrible, now he may live for a good while yet. No one had ever done this before, it was a bit of innovative thinking to give this gentleman a chance.

"All our expectations have been realised."

Dr Coltart said tumours inside the heart are extremely rare and it seems that the Cyberknife may now be the preferable way to treat them because the radiation can be targeted to such a degree that there is minimal damage to the heart muscle.

He said such tumours inside the heart are extremely rare, with probably only 40 or 50 found each year in Britain, with few being operable.

Dr Coltart said as well as opening possibilities for other heart tumours to be treated, the Cyberknife could be used in future to treat arrythymia, where the heart beats erratically or fast.

Normally a fine wire is passed into the heart to destroy the tiny piece of heart muscle that is causing the abnormal electrical pulse, but the Cyberknife could also be used to do this in a less invasive procedure, Dr Coltart said.

Accuray Introduces the CyberKnife(R) VSI(TM) System

C Y B E R K N I F E® - R O B O T I C - R A D I O - S U R G E R Y - S Y S T E M | SYSTEM OVERVIEW

New Video on WHIR tv - Interview with Peter Ferris, President of Equinix.

Today's video features Peter Ferris, President at Equinix.

This was Ferris' first appearance on WHIR tv and let us know a bit about what Equinix does and what makes them unique. Their global platform and capabilities are impressive. Ferris goes on to inform us about the companies new cloud storage platform and what this means to their clients. What would he be doing if the Internet didn't exist? Tune in to see.

New_Video_on_WHIR_tv_Interview_with_Peter_Ferris_President_of_Equinix

Equinix Appoints Frank Van Der Heijden Director of Managed Services in the Netherlands

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – 26 October 2009 - Equinix Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), a provider of global data center services, has announced that Frank van der Heijden has joined Equinix in the Netherlands as Director of Managed Services. Van der Heijden will be responsible for expanding Equinix’s managed hosting services offering to meet growing demand in the Dutch market. He will report to Michiel Eielts, Equinix’s General Manager in the Netherlands.

Van der Heijden brings a wealth of experience to Equinix gained from previous executive and management roles at Transcom WorldWide, CendrisBSC (TNT), KPN, LogicaCMG, as well as his position as founder and CEO of network provider BaByXL BroadBand DSL (Tiscali).

Equinix entered the Dutch market in 2008 and currently operates three data centers in the region – based in Amsterdam, Enschede and Zwolle with a combined gross space of 9,290 m² (100,000 square feet).

“Equinix’s entry into the Dutch market has been well-received by both global and local clients,” said Michiel Eielts, General Manager of Equinix in the Netherlands. “Our team consists of skilled professionals who fully support Equinix’s mission to protect and connect the world’s most important information assets. Frank is a welcome addition to the team.”

Sprint to launch Samsung's latest Android phone

Days after T-Mobile USA announced that it would launch the Android-powered Samsung Behold II, Sprint and Samsung teamed to unveil another Samsung Android phone, the Moment. The news is the latest in a dizzying array of Android announcements this week, including Verizon Wireless' decision to partner with Google on Android phones.

Read more: http://www.fiercewireless.com/ctialive/story/sprint-launch-samsungs-latest-android-phone/2009-10-07#ixzz0VGxKYZP9

Ramius

F.

Ramius

(a)

Ramius, as the sole member of each of RCG Starboard Advisors and Ramius Advisors, may be deemed the beneficial owner of the (i) 1,283,814 Shares owned by Value and Opportunity Master Fund, (ii) 1,034,670 Shares owned by RCG PB and (iii) 411,516 Shares owned by Enterprise Master Fund.

Percentage: Approximately 9.8%.

Terremark Istanbul ?

Common Name	Terremark Istanbul
Facility Management	Terremark
Website	http://www.terremark.com
Address 1	Cobancesme Mah. Kimiz Sk. No 30
Address 2	Yenibosna
City / State / Postal	Istanbul TR 34196
Country Code	TR