Mediaboss Marketing

TEWKSBURY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Mirror Image® Internet, a leading provider of edge computing, streaming and content delivery solutions powered by a patented global network, today announced a new service that combines streaming and edge computing capabilities to dynamically create and stream highly-targeted content and playlists, and enforce custom rules-based policy for live and on-demand video.

The Targeting and Authorization Suite for Live and On-Demand Video is the industry’s only solution that can stream live and on-demand video to any device, including laptops, desktops, mobile phones, tablets, game consoles and set-top boxes via any protocol including: RTSP, RTMP, RTP/UDP, Apple HLS, IIS Smooth Streaming and Adobe HS.

Streaming Features:

Multi-protocol support Adaptive bit rate support Live and on-demand video Supports streaming to desktop, laptop, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Android, BlackBerry, IPTV set-top boxes, and game consoles including Wii and PlayStation 3

Targeting Features:

Targeting based on cookie values, geo-location, language, referrer headers and more Ideal for creating dynamic playlists, pre-roll and post-roll advertising Built-in device detection for thousands of mobile devices

Security Features:

Prevent URL hijacking via referrer domain verification Enforce time-limited access via time-sensitive URLs Ideal for assets with licensing restrictions Enforce licensing restrictions via geography-based blocking and authorization

“Video advertisers, news media, sports media, mobile solutions providers, and others, can now deliver their videos, advertisements or live events and set permissions as to who, when and where they can be viewed,” said James G. Hart, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Mirror Image Internet. “Mirror Image is the only vendor that can deliver live and on-demand video to any screen and combine it with a targeting and authorization service.”

About Mirror Image Internet

Mirror Image® Internet, Inc. is the leading provider of Real-Time Solutions-as-a-Service capabilities for online companies worldwide. Mirror Image combines a real-time, patented globally distributed Edge Computing network with a high performance content delivery platform to provide highly scalable online services with low latency and worldwide coverage. Mirror Image Internet’s real-time service offerings include Edge Computing capabilities, a complete Online Video Platform, streaming solutions for delivering live video and video on-demand, content delivery capabilities for content caching and file downloads, and optimized delivery to an extensive range of desktops, mobile devices, IPTV set-top boxes and other devices.

Mirror Image has been recognized by Internet Retailer magazine as the 2010 Vendor Leader in the Content Delivery Network Category for the fourth consecutive year. The company was also named a 2008 finalist in the Streaming Media magazine Readers' Choice Awards in the Global Content Network Delivery category. Mirror Image is a U.S.-based company incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Tewksbury, Mass. Mirror Image was founded in 1997. For additional information, please visit http://www.mirror-image.com or call +1 866 374 4113. Follow Mirror Image on Twitter @MirrorImage_CDN.

Mirror Image is a registered trademark of Mirror Image Internet.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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Mirror Image Internet Combines Key Video Streaming and Edge Computing Capabilities for Targeting and Authorizing Live ...

Forcing your friends to watch 10 hours of "S%$t chimney sweeps say" videos on YouTube could be a sign you need help.

(Credit: Elizabeth Armstrong Moore/CNET)

The so-called "bible" of the mental health profession is getting an update, and version 5.0 of the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM) could add "Internet addiction" to its lengthy list of disorders.

The different iterations of the DSM have for decades been the go-to reference many psychiatrists use to diagnose patients. The manual has been no stranger to controversy over the years, including recent charges by some that it seems written to serve the interests of drug companies as much as those of patients.

But now the APA working group in charge of revising the DSM section on substance-related disorders has proposed adding a new non-substance based affliction--"Internet addiction."

In other words, Internet addiction could soon be classified along other listed DSM disorders like "cocaine dependence" or "Opioid abuse."

As someone who is certainly un-diagnosed, but surely shows several symptoms of a potential Internet addiction problem--as I'm guessing many of you also do--I'm suddenly offended that the only way I could learn about this development was on the Internet. I can't imagine many people who suffer from alcoholism are forced to seek information on their affliction from their bartender.

Every now and then, you might come across a reference to something called "Internet Addiction Disorder," but such a disorder is not officially recognized by any major mental health organization in the U.S. However, Chinese research published last year looked at Chinese students who used a computer around 10 hours a day, 6 days a week and found that such heavy use actually did have a measurable impact on the brain. The researchers concluded that:

...long-term Internet addiction would result in brain structural alterations, which probably contributed to chronic dysfunction in subjects...

So are you and I Internet addicts? Well, it's not yet included in the DSM, so there's no "official" way to identify the symptoms and make such a diagnosis, but Dr. Jerald L. Block recently provided a few red flags in an editorial in the American Journal of Psychiatry:

1) excessive use, often associated with a loss of sense of time or a neglect of basic drives 2) withdrawal, including feelings of anger, tension, and/or depression when the computer is inaccessible 3) tolerance, including the need for better computer equipment, more software, or more hours of use, and 4) negative repercussions, including arguments, lying, poor achievement, social isolation, and fatigue

Yikes, as if that weren't broad enough to make any of us worry about our mental health, Dr. Block also includes gaming and texting under the umbrella of things that could be considered Internet addiction.

To its credit, the APA acknowledges that such diagnoses are problematic and will be considered "as research data accumulate."

The move to consider non-substance-abuse-based addiction disorders has also sparked a bit of a mental health smackdown between the psychiatry and psychology camps. David Elkins, president of the Society for Humanistic Psychology--a division of the American Psychological Association--has launched a petition with numerous criticisms of the proposed DSM changes. Elkins' open letter to the DSM V group includes this passage:

The Conditions Proposed by Outside Sources[13] that are under consideration for DSM-5 contain several unsubstantiated and questionable disorder categories. For example, "Apathy Syndrome," "Internet Addiction Disorder," and "Parental Alienation Syndrome" have virtually no basis in the empirical literature.

Clearly, even though the discussion has been opened on the notion of Internet addiction as a real form of mental illness, it seems the jury is still out. But if either the APA or Mr. Elkins need help in their search for data--or the lack thereof--I'm more than happy to help and dedicate endless hours combing through myriad online research journals, social networks, and other resources...it's all I'm doing these days, anyway.

(Via NY Daily News)

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Internet addiction could be dubbed official affliction in DSM-V

ANDOVER, Mass., Feb. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Enterasys Networks, a Siemens Enterprise Communications Company, announced today that project isaac, the industry's first social media interface that connects the IT network to the social network, received the 2011 Product of the Year Award from Technology Marketing Corporation's (TMC®) Internet Telephony magazine.

"With social media quickly becoming the mainstay of online communications, Enterasys developed isaac to integrate the cloud and mobile infrastructure with the social network. This enables IT to provide real-time responses to business needs anytime, anywhere," said Vala Afshar, Chief Customer Officer at Enterasys Networks. "Receiving the Internet Telephony product of the year award validates the power of isaac to leverage social media for secure, predictive management and control of their wireless and wired IP networks to improve the user experience."

Enterasys isaac is a social media interface that securely enables networks to communicate with humans in the language of social networking. Enterasys' isaac enables the IT network to communicate its status and receive your commands all from pervasive social networks including Twitter, Facebook and Salesforce Chatter. Enterasys isaac is available with NetSight, a key component of Enterasys OneFabric™ Control Center delivering single-pane of glass management for end-to-end application delivery assurance.

"I am happy to grant Enterasys with a Product of the Year Award. The editors of Internet Telephony have verified that isaac displays quality and innovation plus provides real needs in the marketplace," stated Rich Tehrani, CEO, TMC. "I would like to congratulate the entire team at Enterasys for their commitment to advancing IP communication technologies."

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About Internet Telephony magazine
Internet Telephony has been the IP Communications Authority since 1998™. Beginning with the first issue in February of 1998, Internet Telephony magazine has been providing unbiased views of the complicated converged communications space. Internet Telephony offers rich content from solutions-focused editorial content to reviews on products and services from TMC Labs. Internet Telephony magazine reaches more than 225,000 readers, including pass-along readers.  For more information, please visit http://www.itmag.com.

About Enterasys Networks and Siemens Enterprise Communications
Siemens Enterprise Communications is a premier provider of end-to-end enterprise communications, including voice, network infrastructure and security solutions that use open, standards-based unified communications and business applications for a seamless collaboration experience. This award-winning "Open Communications" approach enables organizations to improve productivity and reduce costs through easy-to-deploy solutions that work within existing IT environments, delivering operational efficiencies. It is the foundation for the company's OpenPath® commitment that enables customers to mitigate risk and cost-effectively adopt unified communications. Jointly owned by The Gores Group and Siemens AG, Siemens Enterprise Communications includes Cycos and Enterasys Networks. For more information about Siemens Enterprise Communications or Enterasys please visit http://www.siemens-enterprise.com or http://www.enterasys.com.

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Enterasys Receives 2011 Internet Telephony Product of the Year Award

Heavy Internet Users Could Be Targeted for Prevention or Early Detection of Substance Abuse

Newswise — Philadelphia, Pa. (February 13, 2012) – Adolescents who are "internet addicts" may also be at increased risk of substance abuse, suggests a study in the March issue of Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

Teens with "pathologic Internet use" are more likely to have past or recent use of illicit substances, according to the study by Dr Georgios D. Floros of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and colleagues. The new research also points toward "some common personality characteristics" among adolescents who are abusing the Internet and have a history of substance use.

Heavy Internet Users More Likely to Report Substance Use
The researchers surveyed the entire adolescent population (aged 14 to 19) of the Greek island of Kos regarding Internet use, substance use, and personality factors. Internet addiction means not just heavy Internet use, but also consequences such as losing track of time spent online, neglecting other activities, and having difficulty cutting down on Internet use.

Of the 1,221 teens who responded to the survey, about fifteen percent were heavy Internet users while five percent had signs of Internet addiction. Thirteen percent reported past substance abuse, including a seven percent rate of substance abuse within the past month. The researchers looked for possible links between Internet use and substance use, along with potential related factors.

As the severity of excessive Internet use increased, so did the likelihood of substance abuse. Males had higher rates of substance abuse than females. Seeking online pornography was the only specific type of Internet activity that was more frequent among teens with recent substance use.

Evidence of Common Personality Factors
Both substance use and heavy Internet use were associated with "distinct personality profiles," including higher scores for characteristics classified under the label of "psychoticism." According to a well-known personality theory (the Eysenck model), psychoticism includes traits such as nonconformity, aggressiveness, and impulsiveness.

Previous studies have linked other addictive disorders to high psychoticism scores, consistent with an "addictive personality." The relationship between Internet addiction and substance use remained significant, even after controlling for sex, age, ethnicity, and personality factors.

Internet addiction has not been formally accepted as a psychiatric diagnosis. However, it has many features in common with other addictive diseases, such as "a compulsive need for Internet use with lack of related control and disregard over the obvious adverse consequences." Some common biological factors—perhaps involving the dysfunction of dopamine and "reward pathway" of the brain—are possible as well.

Especially since excessive Internet use that interferes with daily activities is readily observable at home, the results have implications for the early identification of teens at risk of substance abuse, Dr Floros and coauthors believe. They write, "Those adolescents eager to try any illicit substance are a prime target for early intervention programs." They even raise the possibility of promoting abuse prevention and early detection programs in the typical online venues where Internet overuse occurs—for example, online gaming sites, social networking sites, and hacking communities.

###

About Journal of Addiction Medicine
The mission of Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, is to promote excellence in the practice of addiction medicine and in clinical research as well as to support Addiction Medicine as a mainstream medical specialty. Published quarterly, the Journal is designed for all physicians and other mental health professionals who need to keep up-to-date with the treatment of addiction disorders. Under the guidance of an esteemed Editorial Board, peer-reviewed articles published in the Journal focus on developments in addiction medicine as well as on treatment innovations and ethical, economic, forensic, and social topics.

About Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) is a leading international publisher for healthcare professionals and students with nearly 300 periodicals and 1,500 books in more than 100 disciplines publishing under the LWW brand, as well as content-based sites and online corporate and customer services.

LWW is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company with 2010 annual revenues of €3.6 billion ($4.7 billion).

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Internet Addiction Could Be Warning Sign of Substance Use in Teens, Reports Journal of Addiction Medicine

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Most computer users in Iran were blocked from accessing email, social networking and other services in recent days, U.S.-based Internet experts said on Monday, raising fears the government is extending the reach of its surveillance on ordinary citizens.

Internet service providers presumed to be acting at the Iranian government's behest began blocking the most common form of secure connections on Friday, according to the outside experts and Iranian bloggers. Traffic rebounded to normal levels on Monday.

The cutoff apparently affected all encrypted international websites outside of Iran that depend on the Secure Sockets Layer protocol, which display addresses beginning with https, according to Earl Zmijewski of Renesys, a U.S. company that tracks Internet traffic worldwide.

Google, which uses SSL for its Gmail service, reported that traffic from Iran to its email system fell precipitously.

Gmail use, which typically drops by about 80 percent at night, dropped by roughly 95 percent Friday and remained that low during daylight hours through the weekend before recovering Monday, according to Google's publicly posted access statistics.

Tor, a system for hiding the location of Internet users, saw a similar falloff first in the Iranian capital of Tehran and then throughout the country, said Tor executive director Andrew Lewman.

Though other countries, including Belarus and Myanmar, have blocked SSL access before, Iran is the largest country to have tried it, Lewman said. Egypt turned off the Internet completely a year ago during the uprising there, and China has done that in some regions.

It was unclear why the blocking stopped. Some Iranian politicians complained and businesses might have objected, but most tracking the situation said it was likely that the experiment had run its course.

"The government is testing different tools," said Hamed Behravan, who reports on Iranian technology issues for the U.S. government-funded Voice of America. "They might have wanted to see the public reaction."

Behravan said Iranian sites using SSL remained available, including banking sites.

Tor has been developing a version of its program that is encrypted but does not need an SSL connection, and it distributed that over the weekend to people inside Iran who reported that it worked well, Lewman said.

Iranian officials have said they do not intend to block all connections to the outside world from a new national system they are developing. But direct links could be made to run very slowly, Behravan said.

The new network could help Iran ward off spying or attacks from other countries and keep a closer eye on domestic activities.

The country already has built up one of the most sophisticated infrastructures for monitoring and controlling Internet content, with the ability to dig deep into communications and change various protocols.

During political protests in the past, Iran reduced bandwidth so that posting videos took hours.

With the SSL shutoff and recent remarks by officials, Behravan said the new network could launch within a month.

"I will not be surprised if it happens tomorrow," said Iranian computer scientist Arash Abadpour of Toronto, who blogs under the name Kamangir.

(Editing by Doina Chiacu)

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Iranians' Internet access blocked temporarily: experts