Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Hutchison Telecommunications to Optimize Mobile Internet User Experience With Comverse Data Management and Monetization

WAKEFIELD, Mass., Feb. 27, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comverse(R) (Nasdaq:CMVT - News), a global leader in BSS, mobile Internet and value added services, today announced that Hutch Telecom Lanka, part of the Hutchison Whampoa Group, selected the Comverse Mobile Internet Data Management and Monetization (DMM) solution for the network's rapidly growing data traffic, accelerating implementation of new plans and offerings to enrich the user experience and generate new revenues in Sri Lanka.

"Mobile Broadband is expanding rapidly in Sri Lanka, accounting for an increasingly large share of our total business. It is vital for us to deliver the freshest and highest quality experience to our users now and in the future," said Mr. Anand Prakash, Chief Operating Officer of Hutch Telecom Lanka. "Easy and rapid implementation of attractive segmented data plans and exciting services will increase our differentiation in the market and enable data to fulfill more of its revenue potential."

The comprehensive solution selected by Hutch Telecom Lanka includes a pre-integrated DMM PCRF Policy Manager with the DMM DPI Traffic Manager and the DMM Application Gateway. The Policy Manager is based on a unique model providing high coverage of desired business cases with excellent performance. Pre-integration with Hutch's existing Comverse Real-Time Billing makes the solution truly end-to-end for rapid creation of data monetization plans facilitating lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and accelerating time to market.

The rich selection of pre-configured use cases and the easy-to-use operator interface further promote the utmost agility and speed-to-profit for segmented plans, offers, incentives and advanced monetization use cases -- including quota-based plans that take into account device information and assure prioritization and QoS for premium services, and location-based plans that leverage cell information and tailored metrics to fine-tune effectiveness.

"Comverse has become a data market leader by enabling smart Mobile Internet service providers like Hutch Telecom Lanka to deliver a richer and higher quality mobile Internet experience," said Amos Marom, Head of Comverse Mobile Internet Unit. "As a trusted Hutch partner in VAS and Billing services, it is our honor to help them extend their competitive edge by taking their mobile data to the next level of management, monetization and user experience -- while lowering TCO."

"Combining BSS with the state-of-the-art DMM Policy Management and Enforcement supports today's and tomorrow's business use cases, accelerating monetization and market innovation," concluded Marom.

Click for more information about Comverse Mobile Internet. To meet with Comverse at Mobile World Congress, contact yael.rohar@comverse.com.

About Hutchison Telecom Lanka

Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka (Private) Limited ("Hutchison Telecom Lanka") provides mobile telephony service under the "Hutch" brand. Its service covers all major population centers and most parts of the country. The Company is constantly expanding its network to reach the entire country. Hutchison Telecom Lanka provides affordable and accessible mobile telephony plus useful value added services. For more information about Hutchison Telecom Lanka, see http://www.hutch.lk.

A subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa Group ("HWL"), Hutchison Telecom Lanka is a member of Hutchison Asia Telecom International, which comprises mobile telecommunications operations in the emerging markets of Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Hutchison Asia Telecom is a key part of HWL's telecommunications division, which includes the 3 Group comprising 3G operations in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Macau, Sweden and the UK. For more information about HWL, visit http://www.hutchison-whampoa.com.

Hutchison Telecom Lanka is a mobile telecommunications provider offering customers a range of value-for-money GSM services fulfilling the diverse needs of all segments. Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. ("Hutchison Telecom Lanka") launched its GSM service in 2004, and has continuously been investing in the expansion of network coverage with the aim of being a nationwide operator in Sri Lanka. (http://www.hutch.lk/)

About Comverse

Comverse is the world's leading provider of software and systems enabling converged billing and active customer management, mobile Internet, and value-added services. Comverse's extensive customer base spans more than 125 countries and covers over 450 communication service providers serving more than two billion subscribers. The company's innovative product portfolio enables communication service providers to unleash the value of the network for their customers by making their networks smarter. Comverse's solutions support flexible deployment models, including in-network, cloud, hosted and managed services. Comverse, ranked number 55 in PwC's Global 100 Software Leaders based on research by Pierre Audoin Consultants, is a subsidiary of Comverse Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:CMVT - News). For more information, visit http://www.comverse.com.

Statements included or incorporated by reference in this press release may contain "forward-looking statements." There can be no assurance that any forward-looking statements will be achieved, and actual results could differ materially from forecasts and estimates. Important factors that could affect the company include the risks described in the section entitled "Forward-Looking Statements" Item 1A, "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2011 filed with the SEC on May 31, 2011 or in subsequently filed periodic, current or other reports. The company undertakes no commitment to update or revise forward-looking statements except as required by law.

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Hutchison Telecommunications to Optimize Mobile Internet User Experience With Comverse Data Management and Monetization

Meryl Streep, Christopher Plummer, Woody Allen and More Are Oscar Winners

Meryl Streep, Christopher Plummer, Woody Allen and More Are Oscar Winners

By Andrew Gans
26 Feb 2012

"The Artist" was named Best Picture at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony, which was held Feb. 26 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles to honor excellence for the 2011 year in film. Billy Crystal hosted.

Acting honors went to Meryl Streep ("The Iron Lady"), Jean Dujardin ("The Artist"), Octavia Spencer ("The Help") and Christopher Plummer, who won a Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in "Beginners." At 82, stage veteran Plummer is the oldest actor ever to win an Academy Award.

Woody Allen, whose "Bullets Over Broadway" is aiming for Broadway in 2013, picked up his latest Academy Award for Writing (Original Screenplay) for "Midnight in Paris."

Presenters included Penelope Cruz, Emma Stone, Bradley Cooper, Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Tina Fey, Michael Douglas, Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and Jennifer Lopez, among others.

Nominations follow (winners names are in bold and preceded by an asterisk):

Best Picture
War Horse
*The Artist
Moneyball
The Descendants
The Tree of Life
Midnight in Paris
The Help
Hugo
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Actor In A Leading Role
Demián Bichir
"A Better Life"
George Clooney
"The Descendants"
*Jean Dujardin
"The Artist"
Gary Oldman
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt
"Moneyball"

Actress In A Leading Role
Glenn Close
"Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis
"The Help"
Rooney Mara
"The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"
*Meryl Streep
"The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams
"My Week With Marilyn"

Actor In A Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh
"My Week With Marilyn"
Jonah Hill
"Moneyball"
Nick Nolte
"Warrior"
*Christopher Plummer
"Beginners"
Max Von Sydow
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Actress In A Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo
"The Artist"
Jessica Chastain
"The Help"
Melissa Mccarthy
"Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer
"Albert Nobbs"
*Octavia Spencer
"The Help"

Directing
*"The Artist"
Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants"
Alexander Payne
"Hugo"
Martin Scorsese
"Midnight In Paris"
Woody Allen
"The Tree Of Life"
Terrence Malick

Writing (Original Screenplay)
"The Artist"
Written By Michel Hazanavicius
"Bridesmaids"
Written By Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
"Margin Call"
Written By J.C. Chandor
*"Midnight In Paris"
Written By Woody Allen
"A Separation"
Written By Asghar Farhadi

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
*"The Descendants"
Screenplay By Alexander Payne And Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
"Hugo"
Screenplay By John Logan
"The Ides of March"
Screenplay By George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
"Moneyball"
Screenplay By Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin Story By Stan Chervin
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Screenplay By Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan

Music (Original Score)
"The Adventures Of Tintin"
John Williams
*"The Artist"
Ludovic Bource
"Hugo"
Howard Shore
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Alberto Iglesias
"War Horse"
John Williams

Music (Original Song)
*"Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets"
Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio" from "Rio"
Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown; Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Animated Feature Film
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
*Rango

Art Direction
"The Artist"
Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
*"Hugo"
Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
"Midnight in Paris"
Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
"War Horse"
Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Cinematography
"The Artist"
Guillaume Schiffman
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Jeff Cronenweth
*"Hugo"
Robert Richardson
"The Tree of Life"
Emmanuel Lubezki
"War Horse"
Janusz Kaminski

Costume Design
"Anonymous"
Lisy Christl
*"The Artist"
Mark Bridges
"Hugo"
Sandy Powell
"Jane Eyre"
Michael O'Connor
"W.E."
Arianne Phillips

Documentary (Feature)
"Hell and Back Again"
Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front"
Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory"
Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
"Pina"
Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
*"Undefeated"
TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Rich Middlemas

Documentary (Short Subject)
"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement"
Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
"God Is the Bigger Elvis"
Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
"Incident in New Baghdad"
James Spione
*"Saving Face"
Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
"The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom"
Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Film Editing
"The Artist"
Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants"
Kevin Tent
*"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
"Hugo"
Thelma Schoonmaker
"Moneyball"
Christopher Tellefsen

Foreign Language Film
"Bullhead" Belgium
"Footnote" Israel
"In Darkness" Poland
"Monsieur Lazhar" Canada
*"A Separation" Iran

Makeup
"Albert Nobbs"
Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
*"The Iron Lady"
Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Short Film (Animated)
Dimanche/Sunday"
Patrick Doyon
*"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore"
William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
"La Luna"
Enrico Casarosa
"A Morning Stroll"
Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
"Wild Life"
Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Short Film (Live Action)
"Pentecost"
Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
"Raju"
Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
*"The Shore"
Terry George and Oorlagh George
"Time Freak"
Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
"Tuba Atlantic"
Hallvar Witzø

Sound Editing
"Drive"
Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Ren Klyce
*"Hugo"
Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
"War Horse"
Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Sound Mixing
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
*"Hugo"
T
om Fleischman and John Midgley
"Moneyball"
Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, David Giammarco and Ed Novick
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
"War Horse"
Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Visual Effects
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
*"Hugo"
Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann and Alex Henning
"Real Steel"
Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

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Meryl Streep, Christopher Plummer, Woody Allen and More Are Oscar Winners

Google Webmaster Tools +1 Metrics Maintenance

Googler, Jonathan Simon announced in the Google Webmaster Help forums that the +1 metrics section in Google Webmaster Tools may have issues over the next several days.

He said Google is working on "housekeeping" tasks for that section of Google Webmaster Tools, which implies to me that Google is doing some sort of upgrade in that area.

Jonathan said:

Over the next few days we're doing some housekeeping in the +1 Metrics section of Webmaster Tools. While this work is underway the data for +1 Metrics will be intermittently unavailable. We expect to have +1 Metrics back online by early next week. Thank you for your patience.

Here is a picture of how the +1 metrics may look for some:

Any guesses as to how major of an update we can expect? Any ideas or wish list items for this section?

We know Google is pouring a ton of resources into the Google+ and +1 products, so honestly, it can be anything. Plus we know it is SMX this week, so maybe an announcement is expected there?

Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.

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Google Webmaster Tools +1 Metrics Maintenance

Black Money Laundering Thailand – Video

24-02-2012 23:02 Thailand black money laundering gang has expanded its operation. It is amazing that people can be so stupid to fall for this scam but thousands of people are now investing in black money fraud - In Thailand the main gangs are now operating in Bangkok, Samut Prakarn, Chonburi, Udorn Thani, Khon Kaen, Phuket and Hat Yai. The scammers work as a team with one group distributing black paper and performing a magic trick to make victims believe that it is real money, the other team then sells cleaning liquids, services or machines to the greedy victims so that they can clean their black money which is either just black paper or photocopied money printed using a digital printer then dyed black. Many people think no-one is stupid enough to fall for it but due to greed there are in fact tens of thousands of people that have fallen for it with many people from all over the world flying to Bangkok to buy the magic liquids. The victims of this scam are greedy people looking for a short cut in life rather than doing hard honest work. Many victims of this scam are amazingly enough scammers themselves. Other victims are drug dealers and corrupt government officials. The scammers use terms like anti-breeze, CCC, currency cleaning, vectrol paste, activating salt along with chemical tricks and slight of hand to perform magic to hypnotize their greedy victims. The head scammer calls himself Patimaporn Paul and is also known as Paul Felix - the end of the video reveals the Siam Commercial ...

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Black Money Laundering Thailand - Video

Electronic Deception and Perception Management – Video

25-02-2012 18:19 Researchers at the University of Warwick have found that fake video evidence can dramatically alter people's perceptions of events, even convincing them to testify as an eyewitness to an event that never happened. Associate Professor Dr Kimberley Wade from the Department of Psychology led an experiment to see whether exposure to fabricated footage of an event could induce individuals to accuse another person of doing something they never did. In the study, published in Applied Cognitive Psychology, Dr Wade found that almost 50% of people shown fake footage of an event they witnessed first hand were prepared to believe the video version rather than what they actually saw. Dr Wade's research team filmed 60 subjects as they took part in a computerised gambling task. The subjects were unknowingly seated next to a member of the research team as they both separately answered a series of multiple-choice general knowledge questions. All subjects were given a pile of fake money to gamble with and they shared a pile of money that represented the bank. Their task was to earn as much money as possible by typing in an amount of money to gamble on the chances of them answering each question correctly. They were told the person who made the highest profit would win a prize. When they answered each question, subjects saw either a green tick on their computer monitor to show their answer was correct, or a red cross to show it was incorrect. If the answer was wrong, they would be told to ...

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Electronic Deception and Perception Management - Video