Virtacore Improves Cloud Security with SSAE 16 Type II Audit

Certification enables IT Decision Makers to Feel More Confident About Cloud Services

Sterling, VA – August 4, 2011 – Virtacore Systems, Inc., an industry leader in hybrid cloud services, announced today the successful SSAE 16 (Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements No. 16) Type II audit completion of their cloud hosting, dedicated server and colocation services and systems. The audit was performed by The Moore Group CPA, LLC, a nationally recognized independent auditing firm.

This new AICPA standard, which became effective June 15, 2011, is the successor to the SAS 70 Type II standard, which Virtacore was previously audited against. The SSAE 16 defines all of the requirements applicable to data centers and other hosting providers. By holding both the SAS 70 Type II and SSAE 16 Type II, Virtacore reinforces its main corporate philosophies:

• Cloud computing should always be secure and reliable
• Customers should be able to have faith in their cloud services, allowing them to direct effort into revenue generating activities

“The completion of this audit allows Virtacore to continue to offer comprehensive services to our customers that have compliance requirements”, noted George Naspo, Virtacore CEO. “By passing this audit, we are able to show both our customers and potential customers that we are committed to upholding the highest standards in our business.”

Virtacore maintains its newest cloud operations within Equinix LEED certified data centers, which gives Virtacore customers additional confidence in the practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

Jamba Juice Among Companies Being Imitated in China: Good for the Brand?

Read the whole article at Seeking Alpha:

>>After the fake Apple (AAPL) store was highlighted last month, journalists have started reporting about several other Chinese “copycat stores” that resemble western brands.

Ikea, Disney Stores (DIS), Subway and Dairy Queen were among the first names that were quoted as being “imitated” in China – as it might be reasonable for trademarks with a strong international appeal. It is a bit more unexpected to see Jamba Juice (JMBA) among these leading companies, as WSJ reported yesterday:

Colocube Featured in Equinix Cloud Provider Customer Success Case Study

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) August 04, 2011

Colocube is pleased to announce that Colocube Cloud services are featured in an Equinix Customer Success Story for Cloud and IT Services.

“We are very pleased to be featured in an Equinix Customer Success story for our Private Cloud offering hosted at Equinix. Equinix data centers are second to none and which all other data center facilities aspire to be. Their uptime and security records are unequalled and Platform Equinix provides a complete ecosystem for any customer”, stated Fred Tanzella, CEO of Colocube.

The Equinix Customer Success story highlights Colocube Cloud Services for Colocube customer Titan Trading Analytics Inc, a leading provider trading solutions to hedge funds, prime brokers and retail brokers by monitoring real-time data while simultaneously sifting through historical ticks and social media sentiment to stream behavioral trading signals.

“Colocube has enjoyed tremendous growth in the enterprise cloud market with our cloud solutions as a part of Platform Equinix(TM), providing both a public pay-for-capacity on-demand cloud and enterprise private clouds. Security is a main concern for both large enterprises and the SMB market”, stated Fred Tanzella, CEO of Colocube. “Colocube’s background and resources in Internet security combined with the physical security provided by Equinix has provided a framework for best practices of securing data in the cloud”.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/382355#ixzz1U2fztihe

Immersion Corp (IMMR) Downgraded by Capstone to "Hold"

from www.newsystocks.com:

>>Immersion Corp (IMMR) Downgraded by Capstone to "Hold"

Why shutting down 800 federal data centers won’t be easy

from GigaOM:

>>During a call last week, Equinix GM of the Global Enterprise Segment Greg Adgate told me that although it makes a lot of sense for certain agencies to deploy applications in cutting-edge data centers that can meet performance and scalability needs, getting funding to build such a facility won’t be easy. That means a ripe opportunity for companies like Equinix that can offer co-location space directly and/or that host service providers certified to meet federal compliance standards.

...

However, it might be too early to make accurate predictions as to whether agencies will meet the OMB mandate, or what steps they’ll take to save money on operations if they can’t hit the consolidation mark. Equinix’s Adgate said the first pass will be relatively pain-free because the government operates many data centers that “aren’t data centers as we know them” — telco closets, retrofitted offices, and other infrastructure caches — that will be easy to lop off. It’s the infrastructure and applications running in actual data centers that will be more difficult to move.

Most Data Center Related Stocks Remain Strong YTD, While CDNs Collapse

Read the whole artcile at Seeking Alpha:

>>Some data center related stocks hit a brick wall in July, and saw their stock price decline by roughly or more than 10% - mostly an effect of the first earnings in the sector.

Pure players and REITs were among the best performers, and their monthly road appeared to be just a bit bumpy, with Equinix (EQIX), increasing about 3.5%, and Interxion (INXN), losing about 2%, representing the extremes of this relatively narrow performance range.

CapSense/CapSensePLUS with Haptics & SmartSense COMING SOON

from www.cypress.com. HT to jedi on the IV MB:

>>Introduction to the CY3280-HEM kit:

The CY3280-HEM Kit is designed for easy evaluation of the CY8C20xx6H series of devices (to be used with a Universal CapSense Controller Kit) . This evaluation module kit is a combination of a 16-button matrix buttons and a single segment slider , along with an additional Haptics-enabled daughter card.

Introduction to the CY8C20xx6H family :

The CY8C20xx6H product family enables dynamic tactile feedback providing immediate confirmation of touch. The solution integrates Immersion TS2000 Haptics effects library for ERM (Eccentric Rotating Motor) drive control. Immersion’s 14 pre-defined effects, allow dynamic tactile feedback that enables users to experience a “touch back,” supplying intuitive yet unmistakable confirmation. This feature enables a unique bi-directional communication channel that provides tremendous benefits that include user interface paradigms that are either impossible or extremely difficult to produce without it.

Samsung orders 30 million touch sensors for Galaxy smartphones in 2H11

from www.digitimes.com:

>>Samsung Electronics, in view of booming sales of its Galaxy i9000 and S2 smartphone, has placed orders for 30 million touch sensors used to make 4-inch AMOLED screens with Chunghwa Picture Tubes and other Taiwan-based suppliers, with shipments scheduled for the second half of 2011, according to industry sources.

8 next-gen haptic technologies that will let you feel-up the Web

http://dvice.com/archives/2011/07/8-next-gen-hapt.php#1

Android Boot Camp

The Android Bootcamp is brought you by:

Immersion Corporation

T-Mobile

Beyondsoft Consulting Inc.

..

3 Advanced Android Development (starts 3:15pm)

This is composed from multiple advanced sessions.

- Adding Haptics to Android Applications 3:15pm – 4:15pm

..

Speakers Bio:

David Birnbaum, Senior UX Researcher

Immersion Corporation

David is an inventor and human factors expert with a background in interactive systems, embodied communication, gesture, audio, music, and haptics. For the past several years he has been focused on using haptics (touch feedback) to revolutionize the mobile user experience. Is it possible to touch your friends through your phone? How can we transmit emotion effectively through digital networks? What does it really mean for an interface to feel “real”? The experiences I design try to answer these kinds of questions. Recently, David helped design Immersion’s MOTIV platform, which brings Android OS to life with haptic feedback. I also designed the haptic experience for GuitarSolo, a downloadable Android app that feels like a real guitar.

David's talk,"Haptic Design for Mobile Apps", will focus on how to design haptic feedback to make your user interface feel intuitive, engaging, and realistic.

http://www.android-android.net/events/25873721/?eventId=25873721&action=detail

Samsung Stops Reporting Phone Sales Data

from online.wsj.com:

>>Samsung Electronics Co. on Friday said it would stop disclosing sales figures and forecasts for its mobile phones and tablet computers, a step it attributed to business risks and that analysts said was probably due to its continuing legal battle with Apple Inc.

Equinix Delivers a Triple Play

Read the whole article at Seeking Akpha:

>>Equinix (EQIX) reported Q2 earnings last Wednesday, after market close. The company delivered solid results, exceeding both guidance and analysts' consensus and increased annual guidance – definitely a nice triple play.

A quick look at some of the highlights:

Samsung’s shipments grew a huge 520 percent annually

from www.businesswire.com:

>>According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global smartphone shipments grew an impressive 76 percent annually to reach a record 110 million units in the second quarter of 2011.

...

Neil Mawston, Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Samsung overtook Nokia to become the world’s second largest smartphone vendor in Q2 2011. Samsung’s shipments grew a huge 520 percent annually, for 17 percent global smartphone market share. Samsung’s Galaxy portfolio has proven popular, especially the high-tier S2 Android model.”

Samsung 2Q11

from www.digitimes.com:

>>Samsung revealed that total shipments of its mobile handsets increased in the high-single-digit range sequentially in the second quarter, driven by brisk sales of smartphones.

..

Forecast for 3Q11

Samsung believes that market demand for mobile handsets will increase by more than 15% in the second half of 2011 buoyed by consumers upgrading to smartphones. In the third quarter, Samsung will continue to drive sales of the Galaxy SII and strengthen its product lineup with new mobiles featuring LTE technology, and expand its Galaxy Tab portfolio in various sizes.

Nokia slips from 1 to 3 in smartphone sales

from Reuters:

>>Apple and Samsung Electronics ended struggling Nokia's 15-year reign at the top of the smartphone sales rankings in the second quarter, researchers said on Friday.

...

IDC said strong smartphone demand boosted the market to still grow 11.3 percent from a year ago to 365.4 million phones, but this was a clear slowdown from the 16.8 percent growth seen in the previous quarter.

Strategy Analytics estimated the total market at 361 million cellphones in the quarter.

In a Reuters poll, 29 analysts' average forecast for the total market stood at 374 million phones.

Stifel Nicolaus Raising Price Target On Equinix

from Benzinga:

>>In a note to clients, Stifel Nicolaus writes, "We reiterate our Buy rating on shares of Equinix and are increasing our target price to $130 based on an EV/EBITDA multiple of 10x our upwardly revised 2012 estimate. Equinix delivered another beat-and-raise quarter that should serve to further rebuild confidence in the fundamental growth story for Equinix and the industry more broadly. We remain attracted to the growth outlook for Equinix, and we believe there continues to be an upward bias to estimates, which coupled with what we view to be additional room for multiple expansion results in an attractive risk/reward from current levels, in our opinion."

Piper Jaffray Raises PT On Equinix To $125

from Seeking Alpha:

>>Piper Jaffray has raised the price target on Equinix from $115 to $125 and maintains its Overweight rating.

Samsung sells 5m GS2′s in 85 days

from http://gigaom.com:

>>Samsung has sold 5 million Galaxy S II (GS2) smartphones in 85 days, making it the fastest selling handset in the company’s history. According to Samsung’s figures, the device sales are actually accelerating as the phone debuts on more carriers around the world. It took 55 days for Samsung to sell the first 3 million GS2′s around the world, so in the past 30 days, another 2 million customers purchased the handset.

Bank of America Previews Earnings for Equinix

from www.benzinga.com:

>>Key issues we are watching into the quarter: Guidance. We expect EQIX to raise ‘11 guidance to reflect the closing of its Brazil acquisition and improved visibility into 2H11 growth. Our '11 revenue of $1.586b compares to guidance of ‘greater than' $1.525b and the Street at $1.536b; our adj. EBITDA of $712m compares to guidance of ‘greater than' $685m and consensus of $694m. We note that our estimates reflect an 8-mo. contribution from the Brazilian acquisition. We see upside to numbers based on expectations for increasing positive contributions from the SDXC footprint, a ramping marketing effort, and continued strong demand."

Bank of America rated Equinix a BUY with a price target of $130.00.

Annual Smartphone Sales Could Reach 1 Billion by 2016

from allthingsd.com:

>>A new study from IMS Research predicts that smartphone sales this year will total 420 million units, making up 28 percent of the total handset market. With cheaper models on the way, smartphone sales could top 1 billion units a year, or one out of every two phones sold.

..

The beneficiaries are no surprise — companies such as Apple, Samsung and HTC.

And while LG and Nokia are trying to bolster their position, they face steep competition in the short term from the current leaders, Builta said.

“Apple, they are going to get another boost in momentum here when the release the iPhone 5,” Builta said in a phone interview, adding that HTC and Samsung are also building on their strong positions. Android, as a whole, Builta said, should be the dominant operating system through 2016, thanks to its widespread adoption by multiple phone makers.