The Steak n Shake Company (NYSE: SNS) announces fiscal first quarter 2010 results and change in corporate name:

First Quarter 2010 Results

Net earnings for fiscal first quarter 2010 were $5.5 million, or $3.82 per diluted share, contrasted with a net loss for the first quarter of fiscal year 2009 of ($3.4 million) or ($2.43) per diluted share.  In the current quarter, net sales increased 12.9% from $130.7 million to $147.6 million. To become apprised fully of our results, shareholders should carefully study our 10-Q, which has been posted at www.steaknshake.com.

Change in Name of Holding Company

The company's plan is to change its corporate name from The Steak n Shake Company to Biglari Holdings Inc.  This adjustment is to delineate more clearly the parent company's new direction as a diversified holding company as well as to eliminate confusion among the activities of the holding company and those of our wholly-owned subsidiary, Steak n Shake Operations Inc. Because a change of the corporate name requires an amendment to the articles of incorporation, we will include a proposal in our proxy statement provided to shareholders in connection with the annual meeting, to be held on Thursday, April 8, 2010 at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City. In addition, we have reserved the trading symbol BH with the NYSE, which will commence trading a day after a majority of shareholders approve the alteration of the name.    

About The Steak n Shake Company

The Steak n Shake Company is a diversified holding company. Its most significant operating subsidiary is Steak n Shake Operations Inc. Founded in 1934, the chain of now 485 restaurants serves premium burgers and milkshakes.

The company's long-term objective is to maximize its intrinsic business value.  Strategically, the holding company reinvests its cash generated from its operating subsidiaries into investments with the purpose of achieving high risk-adjusted returns.  All investment and other capital allocation decisions are made for the company by Sardar Biglari, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Risks Associated with Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. These statements which may concern anticipated future results are based on current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ markedly from those projected or discussed here. Steak n Shake cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, for actual results may differ materially from expectations. Steak n Shake does not undertake to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that any projected results expressed or implied therein will not be realized. Further information on the types of factors that could affect Steak n Shake and its business can be found in the company's filings with the SEC.

    
    
    Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position
    -------------------------------------------------------
    The Steak n Shake Company
    
    (Amounts in $000s except share and per
     share data)
    
                                             December 23,   September 30,
                                                 2009            2009
                                              (Unaudited)     (Unaudited)
                                              ----------       ----------
    Assets
    
    Current assets:
    
      Cash and cash equivalents                   $62,191         $51,395
      Investments                                   9,182           3,001
    
      Receivables, net of allowance of $536
       and $538, respectively                       6,384           7,660
    
      Inventories                                   7,335           6,595
    
      Deferred income taxes                         3,910           3,910
    
      Assets held for sale                         12,997          13,733
    
      Other current assets                          3,225           4,421
                                                  -------         -------
    Total current assets                          105,224          90,715
    
    Property and equipment, net                   394,037         399,635
    
    Goodwill                                       14,503          14,503
    
    Other intangible assets, net                    1,523           1,567
    
    Other assets                                    8,391           8,076
                                                  -------         -------
    Total assets                                 $523,678        $514,496
                                                  =======         =======
    
    Liabilities and shareholders' equity
    
    Liabilities
    
    Current liabilities:
    
      Accounts payable                            $26,822         $22,293
      Accrued expenses                             30,652          30,381
    
      Revolving credit                             18,500          18,500
    
      Current portion of obligations under
       leases                                       4,267           4,339
    
      Current portion of long-term debt                21              20
                                                  -------         -------
    Total current liabilities                      80,262          75,533
    
    Deferred income taxes                           9,678           9,388
    
    Other long-term liabilities                     7,589           7,452
    
    Obligations under leases                      128,619         130,076
                                                  -------         -------
    Total liabilities                             226,148         222,449
                                                  -------         -------
    
    Commitments and contingencies
    
    
    Shareholders' equity
    
    Common stock -$0.50 stated value,
     2,500,000 shares authorized -                    
     1,514,257 shares issued, 1,436,252
      shares outstanding*                             757             757
    
    Additional paid-in capital                    143,299         143,691
    
    Retained earnings                             173,208         167,731
    
    Accumulated other comprehensive income            567             112
    
    Treasury stock -at cost: 78,005 shares
     as of December 23, 2009; 77,796 shares 
     as of September 30, 2009*                    (20,479)        (20,430)
                                                  -------         -------
    
    The Steak n Shake Company shareholders'
     equity                                       297,352         291,861
    
    Noncontrolling interest                           178             186
                                                  -------         -------
    Total shareholders' equity                    297,530         292,047
                                                  -------         -------
    Total liabilities and shareholders'
     equity                                      $523,678        $514,496
                                                  =======         =======
    
    * Adjusted for 1-for-20 reverse stock split effective December 18, 2009.
    
    
    Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
    -----------------------------------------------
    
    
    The Steak n Shake Company
    
    (Amounts in $000s except share and
     per share data)
    
                                                     Twelve Weeks Ended
                                                     ------------------
                                             December 23,        December 17,
                                                 2009                2008
                                              (Unaudited)         (Unaudited)
                                              ----------          ----------
    Revenues
    
      Net sales                                 $147,586            $130,719
      Franchise fees                                 919                 958
                                                 -------             -------
    Total revenues                               148,505             131,677
                                                 -------             -------
    
    Costs and expenses
    
      Cost of sales                               38,479              35,117
    
      Restaurant operating costs                  73,157              71,596
    
      General and administrative                   8,785               8,645
    
      Depreciation and amortization                6,923               7,443
    
      Marketing                                    7,727               7,543
    
      Interest                                     2,554               3,602
    
      Rent                                         3,693               3,565
    
      Asset impairments and provision
       for restaurant closing                        171                 176
    
      Gain on disposal of assets                     (23)                (59)
    
      Other (income) expense, net                   (827)                 30
                                                 -------             -------
    Total costs and expenses                     140,639             137,658
                                                 -------             -------
    
    Realized investment gains/losses                 312                   -
                                                 -------             -------
    
    Earnings (loss) before income
     taxes                                         8,178              (5,981)
    
    
    Income taxes                                   2,684              (2,541)
                                                 -------             -------
    
    Net earnings (loss)                            5,494              (3,440)
    
    Less: Earnings attributable to
     noncontrolling interest                          17                   -
    
    
    
    Net earnings (loss) attributable
     to The Steak n Shake Company                 $5,477             $(3,440)
                                                 =======             =======
    
    Basic earnings (loss) per common
     and                                           $3.84              $(2.43)
      common equivalent share*
    
    Diluted earnings (loss) per
     common and                                    $3.82              $(2.43)
      common equivalent share*
    
    Weighted average shares and
     equivalents*
    
      Basic                                    1,426,684           1,415,089
    
      Diluted                                  1,433,995           1,415,089
    
    
    * Adjusted for 1-for-20 reverse stock split effective December 18, 2009.
    
    
    
    
    Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
    -----------------------------------------------
    The Steak n Shake Company
    (Amounts in $000s)
                                            Twelve Weeks Ended
                                            ------------------
                                                             
                                      December 23,       December 17,
                                          2009               2008
                                       (Unaudited)        (Unaudited)
                                      -----------        -----------
    Operating activities
    Net earnings (loss)                    $5,494            $(3,440)
    Adjustments to reconcile net
     earnings (loss)
      to net cash provided by
       operating activities:
      Depreciation and
       amortization                         6,923              7,443
      Provision for deferred
       income taxes                             -                733
      Asset impairments and
       provision for restaurant
       closing                                171                176
      Stock-based compensation
       and other non-cash
       expenses                               360              1,230
      Gain on disposal of assets              (23)               (59)
      Realized investment gains              (312)                 -
      Changes in receivables and
       inventories                            679              9,570
      Changes in other assets               1,107             (1,104)
      Changes in accounts payable
       and accrued expenses                 5,287              1,043
                                           ------             ------
    Net cash provided by
     operating activities                  19,686             15,592
                                           ------             ------
    
    Investing activities
      Additions of property and
       equipment                           (3,068)            (1,974)
      Proceeds from property and
       equipment disposals                    711              5,056
      Purchases of investments             (8,174)                 -
      Sale of investments                   3,050                  -
                                           ------              -----
    Net cash (used in) provided
     by investing activities               (7,481)             3,082
                                           ------              -----
    
    Financing activities
      Net proceeds from line of
       credit facility                          -              5,660
      Principal payments on long-
       term debt                               (5)            (4,476)
      Principal payments on direct
       financing lease obligations           (753)            (1,066)
      Proceeds from exercise of
       stock options                           10                  -
      Proceeds from employee stock
       purchase plan                          118                  -
      Cash paid in lieu of
       fractional shares                     (711)                 -
      Repurchase of employee
       shares for tax withholding             (15)               (11)
      Distributions to
       noncontrolling interest                (53)                 -
                                           ------              -----
    Net cash (used in) provided
     by financing activities               (1,409)               107
                                           ------              -----
    
    Increase in cash and cash
     equivalents                           10,796             18,781
    Cash and cash equivalents at
     beginning of period                   51,395              6,855
                                           ------              -----
    
    Cash and cash equivalents at
     end of period                        $62,191            $25,636
                                          =======            =======

SOURCE The Steak n Shake Company

RELATED LINKS
http://www.steaknshake.com

U-Haul, the leader in self-storage, today announced the addition of a self-storage reuse center for customers at the Moreno Valley U-Haul Center, 23730 Sunnymead Blvd. The U-Haul Reuse Program, one of the Company's sustainability initiatives, was developed to provide a redistribution network for unwanted, gently used household goods, furniture, sporting equipment and bikes that formerly were destined for landfills.

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090622/LA34860LOGO-b)

A photo accompanying this release is available at:

http://www.uhaul.com/about/pr_images.aspx?name=MorenoValley

"At U-Haul, we are committed to sustainable development through environmental protection, social responsibility and economic efficiency," stated Judy Moore, general manager (GM), Moreno Valley U-Haul Center. "This program gives U-Haul another opportunity to provide a service which will enhance the self-storage industry by improving the environment for generations to come."

Items placed in the area are available for reuse, not resale, by the U-Haul community, including U-Haul Team members. U-Haul continues to support humanitarian, community-based organizations such as the Salvation Army, Goodwill and the like, by placing donation bins in close proximity to the designated reuse area so that customers may donate directly to these groups.

Corporate citizenship is U-Haul Company's commitment to being accountable to the communities in which we live and serve. With nearly 1,100 self-storage facilities conveniently located in North American communities, U-Haul is an innovative leader in the field of shared storage--providing shared spaces which enable local residents to live comfortably in more compact homes and apartments with substantially reduced living expenses, while at the same time being able to store their possessions at another location.

About U-Haul

Since 1945, U-Haul has been the best choice for the do-it-yourself mover, with a network of more than 15,800 locations in all 50 United States and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 101,000 trucks, 76,000 trailers and 34,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers more than 395,000 rooms and approximately 35 million square feet of storage space at nearly 1,090 owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the consumer's number one choice as the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry. As one of the nation's largest retailers of propane, U-Haul supplies alternative-fuel for vehicles and backyard barbecues.

U-Haul was founded by a Navy veteran who grew up in the Great Depression. Tires and gas were still rationed or in short supply during the late 1940s when U-Haul began serving U.S. customers. Today, that background is central to the U-Haul Sustainability Program: "Serving the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."  Our commitment to reduce, reuse and recycle includes fuel efficient moving vans, neighborhood proximity, moving box reuse, moving pads made from discarded material and packing peanuts that are 100 percent biodegradable.  Learn more about these facts and others at www.uhaul.com/sustainability.

Contact:

Joanne Fried

Kelie Hale

U-Haul Public Relations

(602) 263-6194

publicrelations@uhaul.com


SOURCE U-Haul

RELATED LINKS
http://www.uhaul.com/sustainability

2010 will mark three-time Grammy Award winning artist, award winning actor, businessman, restaurateur and Disturbing Tha Peace CEO, Chris Ludacris Bridges, 10th anniversary in the entertainment business.  Since bursting onto the international scene at the turn of the new decade, he has been riding a major wave of success ever since.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080402/LAW018LOGO )

Having firmly established himself in the worlds of music, film & television and philanthropy, Ludacris shows no signs of slowing down, releasing his seventh studio album, The Battle of the Sexes, March 9th on DTP/Def Jam. The highly anticipated album's first single, "How Low" is zooming up the music charts and is currently at #1 at Urban Radio, #2 on Billboard's Rap Songs chart and #4 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop chart. The remix featuring Ciara and Pitbull is being released on 2/9 on iTunes.

Helping to launch the release of The Battle of the Sexes, it has just been announced that Ludacris will join supergroup The Black Eyed Peas on their The. E.N.D. U.S. tour, beginning in Atlanta on February 4th. The tour will hit 32 cities across the country including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami (see full tour schedule attached).

In addition to the new album and the upcoming tour, Ludacris continues his charitable work to help improve the lives of children through the Ludacris Foundation.  He also recently established his own liquor brand, Conjure cognac, which is currently available in the Atlanta and Miami markets.  

Ludacris' fans can catch up with him and hear more about his latest projects by tuning in tonight to see him live on Lopez Tonight (TBS) and on upcoming appearances on BET, MTV, Live with Regis & Kelly (ABC), Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC) and more in March.   

    
    
    The E.N.D. Tour 
    
    DATE               LOCATION                    VENUE
    
    February 4, 2010   Atlanta, Georgia            Philips Arena   
    February 6, 2010   Miami, Florida              American Airlines Arena 
    February 9, 2010   Jacksonville, Florida       Jacksonville Veterans   
                                                    Memorial Arena 
    February 10, 2010  Tampa, Florida              Saint Pete Times Forum 
    February 12, 2010  Nashville, Tennessee        Sommet Center 
    February 13, 2010  Birmingham, Alabama         BJCC Arena 
    February 16, 2010  Columbus, Ohio              Value City Arena at Jerome
                                                    Schottenstein Center 
    February 17, 2010  Lexington, Kentucky         Rupp Arena 
    February 19, 2010  Raleigh, North Carolina     RBC Center 
    February 20, 2010  Charlotte, North Carolina   Time Warner Cable Arena 
    February 22, 2010  Hampton, Virginia           Hampton Coliseum 
    February 23, 2010  Washington, DC              Verizon Center 
    February 24, 2010  New York, New York          Madison Square Garden 
    February 26, 2010  Boston, Massachusetts       TD Banknorth Garden 
    February 27, 2010  Uncasville, Connecticut     Mohegan Sun Resort and 
                                                    Casino - Sun Arena 
    March 1, 2010      Uniondale, New York         Nassau Veterans Memorial 
                                                    Coliseum 
    March 3, 2010      Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  The Wachovia Center 
    March 4, 2010      Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania    Mellon Arena 
    March 9, 2010      Detroit, Michigan           Palace of Auburn Hills 
    March 11, 2010     Milwaukee, Wisconsin        Bradley Center 
    March 13, 2010     Chicago, Illinois           United Center 
    March 19, 2010     Dallas, Texas               American Airlines Center 
    March 20, 2010     Tulsa, Oklahoma             BOK Center 
    March 22, 2010     Saint Paul, Minnesota       Xcel Energy Center   
    March 24, 2010     Kansas City, Missouri       Sprint Center   
    March 25, 2010     Des Moines, Iowa            Iowa Events Center - Wells
                                                    Fargo Arena   
    March 27, 2010     Denver, Colorado            Pepsi Center   
    March 29, 2010     Los Angeles, California     Staples Center   
    March 31, 2010     Glendale, Arizona           Jobing.com Arena   
    April 2, 2010      San Jose, California        HP Pavilion at San Jose 
    April 7, 2010      Sacramento, California      ARCO Arena   
    April 10, 2010     Tacoma, Washington          Tacoma Dome   

SOURCE The Island Def Jam Music Group

This year's big game on Sunday, February 7th goes well beyond the gridiron for the general managers (GMs) of the Omni Severin Hotel in Indianapolis and the Omni Royal Orleans.  To celebrate the showdown, the Omni GMs have placed their traditional wager which includes the "Go Indy, Go Big Easy" overnight stay package at the luxury hotels.  Guests who book "Go Indy, Go Big Easy" and are staying in the winning team's city will receive their room night at no charge.  Now that's worth cheering for!

The wager doesn't end at complimentary rooms -- if Indianapolis wins, the Omni Royal Orleans GM, Steve Ferran, will parade around the French Quarter in Indianapolis regalia while cheering for his rival.  Likewise, should New Orleans win, Phil Ray, GM of the Omni Severin Hotel, must do the same around Monument Circle.  

Additionally, Omni Hotel guests staying in the losing city will receive a touchdown-worthy taste of the winning city's cuisine throughout the week following the big game.  An Indianapolis victory means New Orleans guests receive complimentary "Just Pop In!" popcorn, an Indianapolis specialty.  Should New Orleans pull off a victory, Indianapolis guests will dine on complimentary king cake.

Guests and locals coming to watch game festivities at both hotels can enjoy specialty appetizers and cocktails on game day, including the Big Easy Breezy in New Orleans, a sweet blend of Grape Blovad Vodka layered over pineapple juice and the Big Blue Margarita in Indianapolis.

"Go Indy, Go Big Easy" may be booked at a special rate of $144, and has limited availability.  Details, terms and conditions are available by visiting omnihotels.com or calling 1-800-The-Omni.

About Omni Hotels & Resorts

Omni Hotels & Resorts creates genuine, authentic guest experiences that take guests on "A Total Departure" to 45 distinct luxury hotels and resorts in leading business gateways and leisure destinations across North America.  From exceptional golf and spa retreats to dynamic business settings, each Omni showcases the local flavor of the destination while featuring four-diamond services, signature restaurants, Wi-Fi connectivity and unique wellness options.  Known for its award-winning, personalized service, Omni leaves a lasting impression with every customer interaction, with a heightened level of recognition and rewards delivered through its Select Guest loyalty program and the company's "Power of One" associate empowerment program.  To get additional information or book accommodations, visit omnihotels.com or call 1-800-The-Omni.

SOURCE Omni Hotels & Resorts

RELATED LINKS
http://www.omnihotels.com


What:

With nearly a trillion dollars lost by financial institutions and individual investors to Ponzi schemes and other investor frauds over the past couple of years, traditional due diligence has been lacking.  So what can investors do to protect themselves from potentially fraudulent investment situations and fraudulent investment advisors?




Insite Security created its Human Factor Integrity Assurance due diligence process to help investors protect themselves by examining the undetected human factors that anyone looking to invest should be aware of.  




Join behavioral psychologist Elizabeth Prial, Ph.D., who is trained to see signs of deception with verbal and non-verbal cues that may lead to uncovering fraudulent activities, and Christopher Falkenberg, president of Insite Security, as they discuss how quantifiable human intelligence can assist investors in identifying and avoiding potential investment fraud and Ponzi schemes.



When:

Monday February 1, 2010


12:30 p.m. ET



Who:

Christopher Falkenberg, Founder and President, Insite Security


Elizabeth Prial, Ph.D., Practice Leader, Human Factor Integrity Assurance



Where:

ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED!




Webcast registration: To register for "Due Diligence: Understanding the Human Factor" please visit https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/752978603.  



Details:

The Human Factor Webinar is part of a free ongoing series of security-focused educational events hosted by Insite Security. Founded by former Secret Service agent and litigator Christopher Falkenberg, Insite Security is a full-service security and risk management agency for corporations and high net worth individuals. An extension of Insite's current due diligence offerings, The Human Factor Integrity Assurance Practice is led by Dr. Prial. This unique practice assists hedge fund, private equity and venture capital investors in identifying and avoiding future investment fraud.



SOURCE Insite Security Inc.

RELATED LINKS
http://www.insitesecurity.com

With the late-night wars in full swing, it only makes sense that Spike TV, a network for guys, would jump into the ring.  Spike TV is partnering with Thom Beers, Philip Segal and Original Productions, a FremantleMedia Company ("1000 Ways to Die," "Deadliest Catch," "Ice Road Truckers), to develop a weekly half-hour series that will be a combination of talk and comedy with a focus on "manformation" for the true guys' guy, it was jointly announced today by Sharon Levy, senior vice president, original programming for Spike TV, and Thom Beers, CEO of Original Productions.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060322/NYW096LOGO )

Instead of a typical movie star plugging an upcoming project, this Spike TV series will showcase interesting guests from all walks of life who find themselves in extraordinary situations, such as a convenience store clerk who defended himself against would-be criminals, or a former stock broker who quit his job to join the Green Berets in Afghanistan.  The show will have two hosts and various correspondents and the network is currently scouring the country to cast the series pilot with the right fresh face and regular guy-image.  Additional details will be announced at a later date.  

George "Maddox" Ouzounian, author of the #2 NY Times Best-Seller The Alphabet of Manliness and I Am Better Than Your Kids (announced, Simon & Schuster in 2009), and Dax Herrera (a/k/a Dick Masterson), author of Man Points and Men Are Better Than Women (Simon & Schuster) are attached to the project. Ouzounian and Herrera were introduced to Original Productions by Justin Killion, vice president of development for Original Productions.

"This won't be your typical late night series with typical celebrity chit-chat," said Levy.  "This show will come with that distinctive and irreverent Spike voice and point-of-view our viewers have come to expect from us.  We are looking to provide our young male audience with water cooler chatter for the next day."

"Guys crave to be informed and entertained in an authentic voice," said Beers.  "There are lots of options in late night right now, but none directly tailor-made to the hard-to-reach young male audience as our show will be."  

Spike TV has also ordered a third season of Original's "1,000 Ways to Die," the second highest-rated original series in the history of the network.  Season-to-date, the current second season of "1000 Ways To Die" (airing at 10:00pm ET/PT on Wednesdays) is averaging 1.6 million viewers with a 1.3 rating in Men 18-24.  

Digitally, "1000 Ways to Die" ranked as a top 5 original show on Spike.com in December 2009.  The show's average weekly online audience has increased 84% year-to-year.  Also in December, the series was the most-watched show on Spike TV's Video-on-Demand.

"1000 Ways to Die" showcases some of the most outrageously true stories about those who succumbed to the grim reaper in the most unorthodox of styles.  Each case takes viewers through a fast-paced full reenactment, interlaced with dramatic witness testimonials, fun historical tidbits, scientific expert explanations and vibrant CGI effects reminiscent of classic comic books.  Playing off the commonly misconceived notion, "that could never happen to me," "1000 Ways to Die" works to dispel that myth in a tongue-in-cheek fashion, highlighting the comedic irony in all the crazy ways people can get themselves killed.  

Acclaimed producers Thom Beers and Philip Segal of Original Productions serve as executive producers for "1000 Ways to Die."  Tom McMahon serves as co-executive producer.  Levy is Spike TV's senior vice president of original series and Tim Duffy is vice president of original programming for Spike TV

Spike TV is available in 98.6 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks.  A unit of Viacom ( VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV's Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV's press site at http://www.spike.com/press.

Original Productions, a FremantleMedia Company

Founded by Thom Beers, Original Productions produces authentic non-fiction programming featuring everyday heroes in extraordinary situations. Beers' steadfast focus on top-notch storytelling with engaging personalities in high risk circumstances has produced more than 1,000 hours of original programming since the company's inception. In February 2009, a majority stake in the 12 year-old-company was purchased by FremantleMedia, one of the leading creators and producers of worldwide entertainment brands. www.originalproductions.com/ www.fremantlemedia.com.

SOURCE Spike TV

RELATED LINKS
http://www.spike.com

Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) today announced the availability of an industry-unique suite of "ability-to-pay" assessment tools to help credit card issuers comply with the amendments to Regulation Z of the Credit Card Act that go into effect February 22, 2010.  The Federal Reserve Board (FRB) released its rules for compliance on January 12.

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060224/CLF037LOGO )

"While the regulations may be new, Equifax and its business unit, IXI, have been providing clients with ability-to-pay solutions for several years," said Dann Adams, president U.S. Consumer Information Solutions, Equifax. "Our solutions are more predictive because they are based on actual income and wealth data."

Equifax's ability-to-pay solutions include verified as well as modeled personal and household income and wealth information that were built using actual wealth and income data provided through Equifax's IXI and TALX businesses.

Equifax's unique data sets can be delivered real-time online or batch-delivered offline to help issuers assess a consumer's ability-to-pay at multiple touchpoints throughout the customer life cycle, including: batch and instant prescreen, invitation to apply, new account underwriting, and line management review.

Many firms are already turning to Equifax for Regulation Z solutions. In fact, three of the top four credit card issuers have been using Equifax and IXI ability-to-pay solutions to help them evaluate consumer financial capacity.

By acquiring IXI last year, and continuing to build on its strategic investment in a complete view of consumer capacity, Equifax has developed the industry's most comprehensive income suite, spanning a full range of verified and estimated income measures that can support card issuers' complying  with the FRB's final guidelines. The Equifax solution suite includes:

  • Actual, employer-provided income as well as IRS-provided 4506-T tax filings which are FCRA and Regulation Z compliant
  • Income estimation models that are empirically derived and statistically sound, FCRA compliant, and consistent with the new Regulation Z guidelines

The Equifax ability-to-pay suite also features a complete view of a consumer's assets and obligations as well as turnkey solutions to provide the debt-to-income and debt-to-assets ratios, as well as the residual income measures outlined by the new regulations.

"Credit information continues to provide issuers with valuable insights," said Tom Dailey, President of Equifax's IXI business. "However, with the new Reg Z requirements, issuers will be looking for additional predictive measures that supplement, complement, and enhance rather than duplicate credit data. That's where we're especially strong."

For more information about Equifax and IXI visit www.equifax.com and www.ixicorp.com.

About Equifax Inc. (www.equifax.com)

Equifax empowers businesses and consumers with information they can trust. A global leader in information solutions, we leverage one of the largest sources of consumer and commercial data, along with advanced analytics and proprietary technology, to create customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.

With a strong heritage of innovation and leadership, Equifax continuously delivers innovative solutions with the highest integrity and reliability.  Businesses – large and small – rely on us for consumer and business credit intelligence, portfolio management, fraud detection, decisioning technology, marketing tools, and much more.  We empower individual consumers to manage their personal credit information, protect their identity, and maximize their financial well-being.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax Inc. operates in the U.S. and 14 other countries throughout North America, Latin America and Europe. Equifax is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index. Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EFX.

SOURCE Equifax Inc.

RELATED LINKS
http://www.equifax.com

Christiana Care Health System is taking a giant leap forward toward a comprehensive Electronic Health Record with the launch of Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE), technology that makes it easier, more efficient and safer for doctors to order tests and medications.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090407/DC95299LOGO)

The system goes live on Jan. 28 at Christiana Care's Wilmington Hospital and soon thereafter at its other hospital, Christiana Hospital. It will be the most extensive use of CPOE in Delaware and one of only a handful in the region.

"CPOE transforms the way we provide care to our patients because it emphasizes patient safety by dramatically reducing the risk of medication and order entry errors," says Terri Steinberg, M.D., MBA, Christiana Care's chief medical information officer. "It also helps doctors to be more efficient in patient care."

With bar-coded wristbands and an electronic medication administration record (eMAR) system already in place, Christiana Care joins a small and elite group. According to Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) standards, the addition of CPOE puts Christiana Care in the top 3.6 percent of hospitals in the United States.

More important, that means Christiana Care is nearing its ultimate goal of establishing a comprehensive Electronic Health Record system. The government's mandate is for hospitals to increase use of EHR from 10 percent in 2009 to 55 percent by 2014.

CPOE provides real-time patient identification and data on allergies and drug reactions. Doctors and nurses can review orders for confirmation immediately, streamlining delivery to the patient. On average, patients go home from the hospital sooner, reducing costs, according to a Harvard Medical School study.

The technology reduces repeat tests and turnaround times for results, as well as glitches associated with paper such as incomplete charts. Because health care providers enter orders electronically, the system eliminates errors in deciphering doctors' handwriting.

CPOE also provides such conveniences as "smart med" pick lists, with usual doses and methods of delivery. It is equipped with hundreds of order sets for the most common diagnoses.

Doctors ultimately will benefit from CPOE because they can write orders from their homes or offices. They also will receive fewer return calls from the lab and pharmacy to clarify orders.

For more information, visit www.christianacare.org.

SOURCE Christiana Care Health System

RELATED LINKS
http://www.christianacare.org

Ogilvy & Mather will be hosting Re-Creation, the inaugural art exhibition at its new office space – The Chocolate Factory -- featuring the work of 12 emerging artists who use reclaimed objects and materials to create unique forms of art.

Using its office space as an art gallery is a practice that Ogilvy carries over from its previous space in Worldwide Plaza where works of art hung on the walls of every floor and exhibits changed on a regular basis.  The agency continues this tradition of supporting the art community in its new space on 636 11th Avenue which was designed to allow it to better accommodate art projects and showcase exhibits.

"We are a company of artists, writers, designers, craftsmen, and creative people. Everyone who works in this building is a creative person, by definition," said Tham Khai Meng, Worldwide Creative Director. "Not only are we always looking for inspiration in this business, we derive the greatest of pleasures by simply looking at the art pieces or just being in their presence."

Re-Creation features the work of 12 internationally acclaimed and emerging artists from Canada, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and the United States. All of the artists create paintings, objects and installations made of recycled manufactured materials that once had functional purpose in our daily lives.  

The exhibition focuses on the internal dialogue between the artist and the medium in which their creation challenges their very existence -- what we all perceive as "art". The exhibition also examines the ways in which the artist recreates everyday objects and offers us a different point of view.  We all look, assess and give meaning to tangible and intangible materials differently.

According to Jun Lee, Ogilvy New York's Art Curator, each piece of work in Re-Creation was carefully selected to invoke some visceral response.

Re-Creation (http://www.ogilvy.com/recreationart) officially opens on Thursday January 28th from 5-8pm when all the featured artists, gallery representatives, Ogilvy staff, media and interested clients are invited to preview the show.  The exhibit is on view until March 31, 2010.  Doors are open to the viewing public, by appointment only, Tuesday-Friday 10am-5pm by contacting Jun Lee jun.lee@ogilvy.com.

The exhibition features works by local artists including Thomas Beale, Miriam Cabessa, Jordan Eagles, Luke DuBois and Mark Napier and internationally recognized artists Long Bin Chen, Midori Harima, Young Ho Ji, Yael Kanarek, HyunJu Park, Bjorn Schulke and Julie Tremblay.  

Re-Creation is made possible by Bitforms Gallery, Gana Art Gallery, Causey Contemporary, Craig Scott Gallery, and Frederieke Taylor Gallery with additional support from private collectors who have generously consigned artwork from their collections.

Issued by:

Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide

Ogilvy & Mather

Ogilvy & Mather is one of the largest marketing communications companies in the world. Through its specialty units, the company provides a comprehensive range of marketing services including: advertising; public relations and public affairs; branding and identity; shopper and retail marketing; healthcare communications; direct, digital, promotion and relationship marketing. Ogilvy & Mather services Fortune Global 500 companies as well as local businesses through its network of more than 450 offices in 120 countries. It is a WPP company ( WPPGY).  For more information, visit www.ogilvy.com.

SOURCE Ogilvy & Mather

RELATED LINKS
http://www.ogilvy.com

Hogan Assessment Systems (Hogan) today announced its 2010 Hogan Development Programs schedule. The programs are tailored for executive coaches, HR practitioners, training professionals, and industrial/organizational psychologists that would like to become certified in the use of the Hogan assessments.

"The Hogan Development Programs provide attendees with an in-depth understanding of all three Hogan assessments," said Rodney Warrenfeltz, Ph.D., managing partner of Hogan. "Customers who successfully complete the workshops can perform all their employee assessment and development activities in-house."

Hogan offers three distinct programs throughout the year in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center.

The two-day Hogan Assessment Certification Workshop provides a comprehensive tutorial on three Hogan inventories – Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI); Hogan Development Survey (HDS); and Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI). Participants attending both days and successfully completing the workshop will be certified to use and interpret the Hogan inventories. Certification workshop dates for 2010 are February 16-17, May 11-12, July 13-14, August 24-25, and November 30-December 1.  A Hogan Assessment Certification Workshop is also being planned on the West Coast in October 2010.

After successfully completing the Hogan Assessment Certification Workshop, participants then qualify for the two advanced workshop offerings.

The one-day Hogan Advanced Workshop: Development enhances each participant's ability to use Hogan's most comprehensive and detailed reports – the Leadership Forecast Series – to accelerate individual development. Workshop participants will learn about the Hogan Performance Model and how data can be used to structure development objectives designed to improve individual performance. The development workshop dates are March 16 and September 21, 2010 and is offered in conjunction with the Hogan Advanced Workshop: Team Building.

The one-day Hogan Advanced Workshop: Team Building provides in-depth instruction on evaluating team-based data to facilitate team development through customized training and consultation. Workshop participants will be trained in a Hogan designed methodology that identifies team development strategies and provides comprehensive team building experiences. The team building workshop dates are March 17 and September 22, 2010 and is offered in conjunction with the Hogan Advanced Workshop: Development.

All three programs are approved for (General) recertification credit hours through the HR Certification Institute and for continuing education credits through the American Psychological Association.

For more information or to register for one of the Hogan Development Programs, visit the training section at www.HoganAssessments.com or call (800) 756.0632.

About Hogan

Founded in 1987, Hogan helps businesses succeed by offering the right solutions for hiring the right people, developing key talent, and evaluating leadership potential. Hogan Assessment Systems specializes in implementing selection systems to identify high potential candidates for targeted positions and leadership development tools to help emerging leaders realize their full potential. Hogan's assessments can be administered in multiple languages and are available on a state-of-the-art internet platform, giving customers accurate feedback within seconds of completion. For more information visit www.hoganassessments.com.

SOURCE Hogan Assessment Systems

RELATED LINKS
http://www.hoganassessments.com

Amidst one of the toughest years the restaurant industry has ever endured, Papa Murphy's International today announced that its total U.S. systemwide sales grew to $630 million in 2009, up over 7% from 2008. The take 'n' bake pizza pioneer ended the year with 1,185 locations, opening 83 in 2009. Same-store-sales were up more than 2%, while most industry watchers estimated the pizza category to be down about 7%.

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090212/PMLOGO)

"There's a lot to be proud of," said CEO John Barr, commenting on 2009's results.  "We share this pride, of course, with our hundreds of franchisees, our field support teams and our vendor partners.  Franchisors don't succeed unless their franchisees are successful, so I'm confident 2009 was a year that made everybody happy."

In addition to the company's stellar sales and store openings, 2009 highlights consist of:

  • New territory. Franchising agreements signed last year equate to over 130 future stores, many in major markets new to Papa Murphy's. They include Charlotte, North Carolina, Greensboro, North Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia.  
  • More franchisees. Papa Murphy's added 46 new franchise entity groups to end the year with 478 franchise owners in 34 states and two Canadian provinces.
  • High satisfaction. Franchise owners rewarded Papa Murphy's with extremely high satisfaction ratings in a survey conducted by Franchise Business Review. As a result, Papa Murphy's ranked as one of the top food franchises for 2009.
  • Top honors. For the seventh consecutive year Papa Murphy's was named "Best Pizza Chain in America" in the Restaurants and Institutions "Consumers' Choice in Chains" survey. On top of that, Pizza Today magazine crowned the company "Chain of the Year" for the fourth time.  And finally, Papa Murphy's success qualified it as an Inc. magazine "Top 100 Food & Beverage" company and a Zagat "Top Food" and "Top Service" restaurant(1).

About Papa Murphy's

Papa Murphy's is the fifth-largest pizza chain in the country and the pioneer and leader of the take 'n' bake pizza segment. Papa Murphy's operates nearly 1,200 franchised and corporate-owned locations in 34 states and Canada. The Vancouver, Wash.-based company offers custom-made pizzas featuring high-quality fresh toppings generously layered on pizza dough that is made fresh each morning in each store.  By baking Papa Murphy's pizzas at home, customers get to experience the home-baked aroma of a convenient, delicious meal that the brand is known for. In addition to handmade pizzas, the company offers a growing menu of take 'n' bake items, including Cheesy Bread, Cinnamon Wheels, and chocolate chip cookie dough. Papa Murphy's has been voted "Best Pizza Chain in America" for seven consecutive years by consumers nationwide in the Restaurants and Institutions "Consumers' Choice in Chains" survey and is a four-time recipient of Pizza Today's Chain of the Year award, most recently in 2009. For more information, visit www.papamurphys.com.

(1) Based on U.S. store count

(1) Establishments with less than 5,000 U.S. locations

Contact:

Lindsi Miller

360-449-4017

lindsim@papamurphys.com


SOURCE Papa Murphy's International

RELATED LINKS
http://www.papamurphys.com

Updated figures for the series premiere of "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" indicate that more than 3.3 million total viewers* tuned in for episode one of the new Starz Original, a record performance for a series debut on the premium pay TV network.  

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100126/LA44222)

Based on live plus same-day DVR viewing, the Friday night 10PM ET/PT airing on Starz drew a 2.1 HH rating (661,000 viewers) and Encore a 1.2 rating (580,000 viewers), or more than 1.2 million viewers combined.  An additional 430,000 viewers (1.6 HH rating) watched at 11PM ET/PT on Starz.

The 3.3 million viewership figure includes three additional weekend airings on Starz and Encore with same-day DVR usage. Figures from other Starz channels, additional DVR usage, starz.com viewership and on-demand/online previews with affiliates are expected to grow that figure well past 4 million total viewers.

With a gross average viewing audience of more than 2.5 million for the six Starz/Encore airings, Stephan Shelanski, executive vice president, programming for Starz Entertainment commented, "This is the most successful premiere in the company's history. We are very gratified to see that our excitement and faith in the series – already renewed for a second season – has been matched by initial demand.  This show is unlike anything ever seen on television, and we are confident that passion for the series will grow as the character development and incredible story arcs unfold."

Post-premiere episodes of "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" debut on Starz on Fridays at 10PM ET/PT with an additional airing on Sunday nights at 10PM ET/PT.

About "Spartacus: Blood and Sand"

Produced by Rob Tapert, Sam Raimi, Joshua Donen and Steven S. DeKnight, "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" is the most highly anticipated original series in the history of Starz.  The 13-episode hour-long drama was renewed for an epic second season prior to the series premiere on January 22, 2010.

The UK-born and Australia-based Andy Whitfield portrays Spartacus, a soldier in the Roman Auxiliary who is taken prisoner.  Lucy Lawless is cast as Lucretia, who along with her husband Batiatus (John Hannah), own the slave Spartacus and the gladiator camp where the former soldier learns the ways of the arena fighter.  Additional cast members include: Erin Cummings as Spartacus' Thracian wife, Sura; Peter Mensah as Doctore, Batiatus' most loyal and trusted slave; Manu Bennett as Crixus, the top gladiator at Batiatus' gladiator school; Antonio Te Maioha as Barca, who is Batiatus' bodyguard and hit man; Craig Parker as Glaber, who blames Spartacus for his failed military campaign; and Nick E. Tarabay as Ashur, a former gladiator who is now the school's resident bookie. Starz' new "Spartacus" series was inspired by the actual slave of the Roman Republic who in 73 BC led a slave revolt that grew to more than 120,000 fighters. Defying the Roman Republic's legions of soldiers, they campaigned for two years through much of what is now Italy before succumbing to a much larger army. The new series will tell a new set of stories rich in character, action, sex and combat.

Starz Entertainment is the exclusive subscription television and broadband provider of Starz Originals (including "Party Down," "Crash," "Spartacus: Blood and Sand," and "Gravity") and feature films.  First-run movies are from leading Hollywood studios including Walt Disney Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Overture Films, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Pixar, TriStar, Screen Gems, Sony Classics and Warren Miller Films. Starz licenses hundreds of feature films from a wide array of independent distributors including IFC, Yari Film Group, and Summit Entertainment and a vast collection of classic and favorite titles from most Hollywood studios, including Warner Bros., Universal and MGM.

Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie service provider operating in the United States. It offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz® and Encore® brands with approximately 17.3 million and 30.7 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more than 1,000 movies and new original series every month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HD, Encore HD, Starz On Demand, Encore On Demand, MoviePlex On Demand, Starz HD On Demand, Encore HD On Demand, MoviePlex HD On Demand, and Starz Play. Starz Entertainment (www.starz.com) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, and is attributed to Liberty Starz (NASDAQ: LSTZA), a tracking stock group of Liberty Media Corporation.

*3.3 million viewers based on Live + Same Day P2+ Cume estimates across Starz and Encore channels, Nielsen NPOWER 1/22/10 – 1/24/10.  All Ratings references based on Live + SD HH Coverage Area estimates for respective program telecasts.  All other viewer references based on Live + Same Day P2+ Average Audience and Gross Average Audience estimates for Starz and Encore, Nielsen NPOWER 1/22/10 – 1/24/10.  Subject to qualifications available upon request.

Contacts:


Eric Becker

Paul Campbell

Starz Entertainment

Starz Entertainment

(720) 852-4065

(212) 905-4230

eric.becker@starz.com

paul.campbell@starz.com



Sheila Feren


FerenComm for Starz


(212) 983-9898


sheilaf@ferencomm.com



SOURCE Starz Entertainment, LLC

RELATED LINKS
http://www.starz.com

Regency Beauty Institute, one of the nation's fastest-growing cosmetology schools, today announced plans to open its fifth Indiana campus.  Located in the Castleton Shops at 5939 East 82nd Street in Indianapolis, the upscale campus is scheduled to begin classes in April 2010.  

This school opening will create new jobs in the Indianapolis area as Regency is actively seeking to hire licensed cosmetologists and cosmetology instructors. It will also create new opportunities for students in the Indianapolis area who are interested in attending a cosmetology school that offers a nationally recognized curriculum in a brand-new campus.

"We're very excited to offer students in Indianapolis, IN another convenient location to help them launch successful careers in the beauty industry," said Regency CEO Hayes Batson. "There's great demand nationwide for well-trained cosmetology professionals."

Founded more than 50 years ago, Regency Beauty Institute has expanded rapidly from two campuses in Minnesota to become a leading education company with more than 60 campuses nationwide, all owned and operated by Regency. The company is headquartered in the Minneapolis area where it also maintains a state-of-the-art training facility for its educators and campus managers nationwide.

For more information about attending or working for Regency Beauty Institute, visit www.regencybeauty.com.

SOURCE Regency Beauty Institute

RELATED LINKS
http://www.regencybeauty.com

An unlikely mix of intelligence officers, Capitol Hill executives and students gets together 24/7 in a virtual community launched recently by the Delaney Center at Mount St. Mary's University. The invitation-only network links bioterrorism experts, bodyguards, aerospace engineers and academics - plus a variety of federal heavyweights who prefer to keep a low profile. Collaboration takes place on the Yakabox™, a knowledge sharing system certified by the U.S. Government for use in classified environments.

The collaborative community is an outgrowth of Mount St. Mary's criminal justice program. "It's a great way for students to learn from accomplished experts - people they might never have a chance to meet otherwise," says Delaney Center Director Joe Vince. "For professionals, it's a secure way to exchange ideas with colleagues in other disciplines." The Delaney Center Yakabox™ meets the same security standards as those deployed in the U.S. Intelligence Community.

Yakabod Customer Advocate Jeff Sutterman says the virtual community began producing blogs, creating teams, uploading documents and exchanging messages right off the bat. "Students caught on to the technology immediately. They led the way for the rest of the group," says Sutterman. "It's knowledge transfer at its best, working in both directions."

According to Mount St. Mary's student Chris Lamb, "Social networks aren't new to people my age...we've used them for years. But this system has more depth than Facebook. It's a business tool and our segue into the professional world."

Vince says 98 percent of Mount St. Mary's criminal justice students have job offers the day they graduate. "Collaboration fluency really isn't an option anymore," he says. "It's rapidly becoming a requirement for intelligence officers, regardless of specialty or years in service. The Yakabox™ gives our people a head start."

Founded in 2001, Yakabod is headquartered in historic Frederick, MD, just outside the Capitol beltway. The Yakabox knowledge sharing system is used worldwide by security-conscious professionals who are serious about capturing, creating and sharing stuff that matters without plowing through stuff that doesn't. Visit www.yakabod.com, email info@yakabod.com, or call 301-662-4554 x 2119.

SOURCE Yakabod

RELATED LINKS
http://www.yakabod.com

 

Mobile Data Corp. Launches Corporate Website, and Announces Plans for its MDC GPS Flagship Application to Target the Growing Market in Smartphones

OTC:BB Symbol: MBYL

SAN JOSE, CA, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Mobile Data Corp. (OTCBB: MBYL) is pleased to announce that Mobile has launched its new website at www.mobiledatacorp.com and is preparing to debut its software application technology to the marketplace.

The technology is a software application that will run in the background and collect and transmit location data to a server. This information will be invaluable in numerous applications such as location monitoring of motor vehicles, children, and members of social networking groups.

Mobile Data Corp. ("MDC") is an independent software development company whose mandate is to provide solutions for telecommunications and computer convergence for the year 2010 and beyond. In October 2009, MDC acquired the right to develop a leading edge Global Positioning System ("GPS") tracking technology for the latest generation of GPS enabled Smartphones. MDC has commenced research and development of the technology. The technology is to be marketed under the name MDC-Tracker(TM).

MDC has initially targeted Research in Motion Limited's ("RIM") Storm 2 as the first device for its MDC-Tracker(TM) technology. MDC plans to expand support to more Smartphones including future RIM devices, the Apple iPhone and the Google Android.

The MDC-Tracker(TM) technology is being designed to enhance the underlying base services provided by the Smartphone manufacturer. Software application programming interfaces (APIs) have been developed to allow third party developers to rapidly deploy many types of location based services in both Internet and stand alone modes.

MDC further announces that Mr. Steven Cozine has replaced Ms. Jimenez Rivero as the President and CEO effective January 25, 2010.

About Mobile Data Corp.

Mobile Data Corp. ("MDC") is an independent software developer whose mandate is to provide solutions for telecommunications and computer convergence, and to develop an interface for the use in the Smartphone market that provides the transference of any type of location based data and metadata. It is Mobile Data Corp.'s mission to have firmware extensions available and added to every major Smartphone by the end of 2012.

    On behalf of the Board of Directors,


    ------------------------
    Belkis Jimenez Rivero
    Director & CFO

    Mobile Data Corp.
    2033 Gateway Place
    5th Floor
    San Jose, California 95110

    Phone: 1 (206) 338-2649
    Fax: 1 (206) 338-2649
    email: mobiledatacorp@yahoo.com

    Safe Harbor Statement
    ---------------------

Forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used herein, words such as "intend" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions made by and information available to Mobile Data Corp. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, continued acceptance of Mobile's products, technological changes and the successful development of new products, dependence on third-party networks to provide services, dependence on intellectual property rights, increased levels of competition, possible product defects and product liability, changes in Canadian and foreign laws and regulations, significant fluctuations of quarterly operating results, risks related to international sales and potential foreign currency exchange fluctuations, the initiation or outcome of litigation, acts or potential acts of terrorism, international conflicts, and other risks and factors detailed from time to time in Mobile's periodic reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and other regulatory authorities. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of Mobile's underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those currently anticipated. In addition, undue reliance should not be placed on Mobile's forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Mobile disclaims any obligation to update or publicly announce any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. This communication to shareholders and the public contains certain forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including, without limitations statements regarding future production, are forward looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. No Stock Exchange has reviewed nor accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Mobile Data Corp.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) will invest $1 billion, or about $300 million per year, through mid-2013 to improve the customer experience in the air and on the ground. The capital investment will improve the consistency and level of service provided to Delta's BusinessElite, First Class and elite-level flyers, as well as increasing the efficiency of the airline's fleet. Planned enhancements include:

  • Installing full flat-bed seats in BusinessElite on 90 trans-oceanic aircraft, including 14 Boeing 767-400ERs, 52 Boeing 767-300ERs, 16 Boeing 747-400s and eight Boeing 777-200ERs. Upon completion, each of these fleets will have full flat bed seats on all aircraft.
  • Adding in-seat audio and video on demand throughout Economy Class on 16 Boeing 747-400 and 52 Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. With these additions, Delta will offer personal, in-seat entertainment for both BusinessElite and Economy class customers on all wide-body aircraft.
  • Adding First Class cabins to 66 CRJ-700 aircraft operated by Delta Connection carriers ASA, Comair and SkyWest, bringing to 219 the number of regional aircraft with First Class seating.
  • Completing the modification of 269 pre-merger Northwest aircraft to feature Delta's signature blue leather seats, updated lighting and enhanced cabin amenities such as increased overhead bin space on pre-merger Northwest 757-200s.  
  • Installing winglets on more than 170 Boeing 767-300ER, 757-200 and 737-800 aircraft to extend aircraft range and improve fuel efficiency by as much as five percent.
  • Renovating and expanding Delta's Los Angeles Sky Club lounge, and introducing new Sky Club locations in Seattle, Philadelphia and Indianapolis.

"Delta's planned fleet and product investments mark the most significant investment we have made in our customers in more than a decade," said Delta CEO Richard Anderson.  "Our premium travelers tell us that the comfort of a flat bed seat with direct aisle access, a first class experience on regional jets and in-flight entertainment are important factors in their choice of carrier."

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090202/DELTALOGO )

"This investment will be made while staying well within the level of our historical capital expenditures," said Ed Bastian, Delta's president. "Rather than invest in new aircraft, Delta will be spending its capital to improve the quality and consistency of the on-board product and efficiency of the aircraft we already own."

Delta currently offers the most on-demand entertainment among U.S. carriers with more than 100 domestic aircraft equipped with in-seat audio and video on demand. Delta also continues to rapidly expand in-flight Wi-Fi service, which is available on more than 340 aircraft and more than 1,200 flights each day. Delta, the largest operator of Wi-Fi enabled aircraft in the world, plans to have more than 530 aircraft equipped with Wi-Fi by mid-2010.

Delta's upcoming fleet and product investments build on recently announced improvements including the re-launch of the Red Coat program at Delta's international hub at JFK and subsequently at all domestic hubs; the addition of BusinessElite service on Delta's transcontinental routes between New York-JFK and Los Angeles and San Francisco; the introduction of the full flat bed seats on all flights between the United States and London-Heathrow; and the announcement of plans to create a domestic hub at Delta's No. 1 business airport – New York-LaGuardia, subject to government approvals.

Delta Air Lines, the world's No. 1 airline, serves more than 160 million passengers each year. With its unsurpassed global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 368 destinations in 66 countries on six continents. Delta employs more than 70,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of nearly 800 aircraft. A founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance, Delta participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France KLM. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 16,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. The airline's service includes the SkyMiles frequent flier program, the world's largest airline loyalty program; the award-winning BusinessElite service; and more than 50 Delta Sky Clubs in airports worldwide. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and flight status at delta.com.

SOURCE Delta Air Lines

RELATED LINKS
http://www.delta.com

Becoming a Facebook Fan of Einstein Bros. Bagels just got a whole lot tastier with the launch of the "Free Bagel Bonanza," the world's largest online bagel giveaway.  Beginning today, consumers who become fans of the Einstein Bros. Bagels Facebook page (www.facebook.com/einsteinbros) will receive a digital coupon valid for a free bagel and shmear.  Coupons are good while supplies last and are valid at participating locations.

"We want to thank all our Facebook Fans for their support with a tasty, fresh bagel and are planning on giving away hundreds of thousands of free bagels as we build our presence on Facebook," said James O'Reilly, Chief Concept Officer, Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc. "Facebook is a fantastic way for Einstein Bros. Bagels to build relationships with our core audience in the fun, playful tone of our brand personality by allowing us to have a two-way conversation with them."

The Free Bagel Bonanza will be supported with an online campaign, including a Facebook homepage roadblock and targeted sidebar ads, the first of its kind for the brand. The free offer will help drive restaurant traffic, while quickly building the Einstein Bros. Brand on Facebook where the company is planning more customer engagement and future promotions. The brand's characters and inventive founders, Melvin and Elmo, will be an integral part of the communications strategy. The digital initiative was created and managed by Creative Alliance Inc., a full service advertising agency in Louisville, KY.

About Einstein Noah Restaurant Group

Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc. is a leading company in the quick casual restaurant industry that operates and licenses locations primarily under the Einstein Bros. and Noah's New York Bagels brands and primarily franchises locations under the Manhattan Bagel brand. The company's retail system consists of approximately 600 restaurants in 36 states and the District of Columbia. It also operates a dough production facility. The company's stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol BAGL. Visit www.einsteinnoah.com for additional information.

CONTACT:


Rob Poetsch

Christi Demetrion

310-849-9377

303-568-8048

robpoetsch@gmail.com

cdemetrion@einsteinnoah.com

SOURCE Einstein Noah Restaurant Group

RELATED LINKS
http://www.einsteinnoah.com

As the Rubik's Cube, one of the most beloved and best-selling puzzles of all time, celebrates its 30th Anniversary this year, the next generation of fans are cracking the code to this three-decade old icon.  With the help of the new You CAN Do The Rubik's Cube initiative, thousands of youths from schools, camps and after-school programs nationwide are accomplishing the unthinkable -- solving the cube one fun twist at a time, while learning about algebra, geometry, and determination.  And now, anyone, including parents, teachers, and students alike, can ring in the New Year by making their own "Rubik's Resolution," a pledge to learn how to solve the cube, gaining critical thinking skills and a sense of triumph along the way.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100125/NE42244 )

How you can pledge a "Rubik's Resolution":

  • Youth:  The new You CAN Do The Rubik's Cube online portal features a downloadable step-by-step solution guide for unlocking the secrets to the 3x3 Rubik's Cube.  Online cube communities like Facebook, YouTube, and YouCanDoTheCube.com allow participants to share Rubik's Cube experiences.
  • Educators:  Lesson plans with a math twist show teachers and youth leaders how to use the Rubik's Cube as a memorization, sequencing, and problem solving tool.  The You CAN Do The Rubik's Cube solution guide and lesson plans have been designed to help educators engage youth with hands-on education activities and are aligned with standards set by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.  
  • Parents:  After-school and weekend Rubik's activities foster life lessons such as problem-solving, negotiation, and teamwork, and provide an interactive, tangible way for youth to learn fundamental math disciplines like fractions and measurement.  

"The Rubik's cube program has taught our students invaluable critical thinking skills and has boosted their confidence immeasurably," said Cindy Caruso, citywide afterschool and summer camp coordinator at New York City's Parks and Recreation Department.  "We look forward to our upcoming tournament."

Thirty years after its introduction to America by Erno Rubik, the Rubik's Cube today is being used to teach important math concepts including area, perimeter, volume, angles, algorithms and enumeration, among many other geometry and algebra topics.  To date, the You CAN Do The Rubik's Cube program is used as an education tool and confidence booster in thousands of schools K-12 in 48 states across the U.S. and in over 100 Boys & Girls Clubs of America and YMCA after-school programs.  With the launch of the new You CAN Do The Rubik's Cube "Competition Guide," dozens of schools have hosted regional competitions as well.

The "You CAN Do The Rubik's Cube" solution kits available to schools, camps, and after-school programs include 12 Rubik's Cubes, 12 solution guides, an instructional DVD, cube sign-out sheets, posters, stickers, and award certificates for when a child solves the puzzle.  

For more information, and to learn how to bring the "You CAN Do The Rubik's Cube" program to a local school or youth organization, visit www.YouCanDoTheCube.com.

About You CAN Do The Rubik's Cube

Since its release in 1980, the Rubik's Cube has since found its way into over 350 million homes worldwide and has continued to fascinate, bewilder and challenge millions of people. The new You CAN Do The Rubik's Cube initiative is a U.S. campaign aimed at teaching youth how to solve the Rubik's Cube and experience the many benefits of this accomplishment.  Math lessons have been designed to use the Rubik's Cube to help teachers engage students with an interactive and tangible way to learn the many math disciplines.

Rubik's Cube® is a registered trademark of Seven Towns Ltd.

SOURCE Rubik's Cube

RELATED LINKS
http://www.youcandothecube.com

Richardson, a leading global sales training and performance improvement firm, today announced the launch of TalentGauge™. TalentGauge™ is an online assessment tool that enables sales leaders to identify the behavior and talent necessary to improve candidate selection, employee and organization development, and to profitably increase sales performance. 

Richardson's TalentGauge™ is powered by HR Chally, the industry leader in the talent assessment market.  A study by HR Chally identified that a Sales Professional's competence accounts for nearly 40% of a customer's buying decision -- it supersedes the company's ability to offer a total solution, the quality of the product/service, and price. With so much weight in the buying decision dependent on a Sales Professional's competence, the right Salespeople need to be in the right roles.

TalentGauge™ is a talent assessment tool that predicts a Sales Professional's potential to be successful.  By evaluating each Sales Professional's behaviors and competencies, it predicts how well a Sales Professional will perform in a specific role.  Richardson's TalentGauge™ is available in two forms:

  • TalentAudit -- An assessment in which Sales Leaders can predict who in their current salesforce is most likely to successfully execute each component of the organization's sales strategy  
  • TalentSelection -- An assessment that can be used as part of a selection process to improve hiring decisions, bringing the right talent into the sales organization

"Richardson is extremely excited to announce the expansion of our Sales Performance System, which has three primary components:  'Sales Readiness,' 'Sales Performance,' and 'Performance Sustainment.'  In connection with this expansion, we have partnered with The HR Chally Group, the leader in sales personnel assessment and research, to bolster our 'Sales Readiness' capabilities.  Richardson and Chally have each operated for 30-plus years with a commitment to improving the performance of sales organizations," says David DiStefano, President and CEO of Richardson.  "More than ever before, our clients seek ways to improve candidate selection and employee and organization development.  The TalentGauge™ assessment tool is an ideal addition to Richardson's comprehensive Sales Performance System.  The recent economic challenges have exposed gaps in companies' revenue-generating abilities and the winning sales organizations are making significant investments in getting the right Sales Professionals and Sales Managers in the right roles and doing the right things."  

About Richardson

Richardson (http://www.richardson.com) is a global sales performance company that helps leading organizations improve sales results.  We do this in three ways.  We analyze the structure and talent of your salesforce; we train and develop your sales team; and we continue that development through coaching and reinforcement. We equip your sales leaders and salesforce with the skills and strategies they need to win in today's complex selling environment. What is unique about Richardson is how we create truly customized solutions that change behavior and provide measureable results.

About Chally

Chally is a leading Sales Research/Talent Management Firm delivering measurable ROI to our clients associated with selecting-aligning-developing World Class Sales Forces via our Predictive Assessment and Talent Analytics, which leverages actuarial science and a Six Sigma/Lean/Total Quality Management performance management methodology.  Beginning with a thorough understanding of each job, Chally validates highly-specific, non-generic competencies customized for clients' languages (corporate/multicultural) versus just looking at personality characteristics.  The result: an intuitive, accurate, customized approach for the Sales lifecycle -- selection, on-boarding, development, performance improvement, succession management, exit interviews, and potential versus actual performance measurement.  How good? Chally is the ONLY provider in the talent management space that guarantees our work.  We will refund up to 100% of our fees associated with missed performance expectations.

SOURCE Richardson

RELATED LINKS
http://www.richardson.com

The film TO SAVE A LIFE opens in theaters this weekend, but students have already become fans and are working hard to make sure peers know about this film.  Momentum is building through grassroots efforts and special events to support what some are calling "Life-saving entertainment."

Currently, TO SAVE A LIFE is #3 on Fandango 5, behind Avatar and Avatar 3D.  The Fandango 5 lists the hottest selling tickets and fan ratings on the site.

Producers of the film opened a Facebook fan page, but didn't anticipate the level of engagement by fans prior to the film's release.  "One of our hopes was that the film would model for teens how to reach out to others and offer encouragement," said Jim Britts, screenwriter of TO SAVE A LIFE.  "It's amazing to see how social networking has provided a tool for students to do that even before they've seen the movie."  

The official Facebook page has become a place for people to describe what they're doing to promote the film – and it has also become a place for people to share their stories.  Producers have heard from families who have lost a child to suicide, teens who are struggling with self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy as well as students who are feeling empowered to reach out to others.  After a post asking if fans had people in their lives like Chris – the adult mentor in TO SAVE A LIFE – fans flooded the page within a couple hours with a hundred responses about people who are important to them.

TO SAVE A LIFE depicts life on a high school campus and demonstrates the ability students have to make a difference to those who are hurting.  It's estimated that depression strikes about one out of eight teenagers (www.teensuicide.us), and according to the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, up to 39 percent of teens have had at least one episode of self-injury each year.  And, suicide is the third leading cause of death among 10-19 year olds (National Institute of Mental Health.)  These statistics point to the relevancy of some of the heavier themes in the movie.  "I wrote the script based upon what I've seen in my work with teens," Britts said.  "This is a hurting generation in need of hope and friendship."  

Communities around the U.S. are motivated by the premiere of TO SAVE A LIFE and are rallying to offer that hope and friendship.  In Modesto, CA local fans have planned a street fair outside the movie theater opening weekend. Booths with information about local resources will be present, covering topics such as:  teen pregnancy, suicide prevention, depression, self-injury, substance abuse, family matters such as marriage & finances.  Live entertainment will also be playing throughout the day.  In Fairbanks, Alaska 1,500 tickets have been pre-purchased for opening weekend.  A group in Ft. Lauderdale, FL has purchased 2,600 tickets.  The filmmakers, New Song Pictures, have launched a scholarship effort to provide a method for donating tickets to students who can't afford to buy one.  (http://newsongpictures.com/tosavealife/)

As the momentum builds, so do the numbers surrounding the film:

+ 200-plus Lifeline Squads have pledged to pre-sell at least 1,000 tickets for Opening Weekend.

+ 441 theaters showing film Opening Weekend

+ 2,000 new Facebook fans a day reaching almost 70,000 today

+ 2,500 youth groups planning to go during Opening Weekend

+ 5,000 people have requested to be local Tower Crew street team representatives.

+ 20,000 youth workers, teens, parents, teachers and coaches have attended advance showings.


Perhaps the most powerful words about the film come from teens themselves in these recent Facebook posts:

[Hali] this movie has changed the way i see high school and the kids in it. i've really opened my eyes to see past the acts kids put on, pretending that they are okay.

[Patrick]  I saw this movie and it's more than a movie, it's real life. It will save lives if people see this, because then they will better understand how their actions affect others, and how people feel sometimes. It is an awesome movie

[Orlando] I will make a difference

In conjunction with the release of the film, the official soundtrack, a novel and follow up resources are being released and available on the film website.

www.ToSaveALifeMovie.com

ABOUT TO SAVE A LIFE

An all-star athlete and his girlfriend find their lives spinning out of control when Jake loses a childhood friend.  Help comes when he reaches out to others who are hurting, and he realizes some people are just dying to be heard.

The movie asks...

How far would you go?

How much would you risk?

How hard would you fight...TO SAVE A LIFE


ABOUT SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS

Samuel Goldwyn Films is a major, independently owned and operated motion-picture company that develops, produces and distributes innovative feature films and documentaries.  The company is dedicated to working with world renowned and emerging writers/filmmakers and committed to filmed entertainment that offers original voices in uniquely told stories.  This steadfastness is best exemplified by the Academy Award® nominated SUPER SIZE ME, AMAZING GRACE and Julie Delpy's hit comedy 2 DAYS IN PARIS. Goldwyn's past slate included PRICELESS, a romantic comedy starring Audrey Tautou, Academy Award® winner Claude Lelouch's ROMAN DE GARE, the critically hailed ELEGY starring Academy Award® nominee Penelope Cruz and Academy Award® winner Ben Kingsley and the box office smash FIREPROOF.

ABOUT NEW SONG PICTURES

New Song Pictures is proud to release TO SAVE A LIFE, their debut production.  New Song Pictures is based in Oceanside, CA, and seeks to make films that tell relevant stories while being encouraging and uplifting.

www.tosavealifemovie.com

SOURCE New Song Pictures

RELATED LINKS
http://www.tosavealifemovie.com

Inoventions, a division of Noble Marketing™, Inc. is proud to announce the receipt of two patents in the Office and School Supply category; for the Stack™ and the Duo™.  These two products embody the ideals of the Inovention brand:  to help consumers achieve success individually, socially, academically and collectively.  

The Stack allows users to customize multiple layers of self-inking stamps around their own individual needs.  These layers are the secret to the Stack's unique functionality - - reducing clutter, allowing for customization and keeping the ink safely contained within one compact unit.  

The Duo stands out in the marketplace for its unique dual design, combining the security of a 3-ring binder with the storage capacity of an expanding file.  The Duo is the perfect solution for organizing paperwork of all shapes and kinds.  

The Office and School supplies category has total sales of $12.8 billion per year, per IBIS World Reports for 2006. The Neilson Company reports that the top 5 items in the back-to-school category make up 64% of the sales with personal planners and binders coming in at number 2 on the list.

Noble Marketing, Inc. provides marketing and branding solutions through 3 targeted divisions:  re-think, providing dimensional print products; Noble Marketing Group creating custom educational products for the Pharmaceutical industry and Inoventions, designing all new products for the retail market.  Noble Marketing is recognized as one of Inc.'s 500 Fastest Growing Companies as well as one of the largest agencies in Orlando by the OBJ.  These accomplishments are the result of superior industry knowledge, out-of-the-box creativity, manufacturing, sales, and marketing capabilities.  

SOURCE Inoventions

Often at doctor's advice, 35 million Americans have had to stop or cutback their morning coffee kick start due to heartburn and acid reflux as coffee is a leading cause to aggravate these stomach troubles. These problems haven't gone unnoticed in the coffee industry by both a leader and an upstart. Industry leader, Folgers, is repositioning its Folgers Simply Smooth brand by calling it "low acid" coffee. The upstart is Puroast® Low Acid Coffee. Unfortunately, only one of these is really lower in acid according to university research.

A leading chemist, Dr. Taka Shibamoto at University of California Davis, has conducted acidity tests of coffee. His research(1) has shown that Puroast® has 50% less acid than traditional coffee and that Folgers Simply Smooth has roughly the same acidity as its regular brands of coffee. A separate clinical survey(2) with coffee drinkers who suffer from acid reflux reported that 90% of the sampled consumers were able to drink Puroast® without the "usual symptoms."

But don't coffee lovers want a low acid coffee that tastes good? Newsweek (7/31/06) conducted a taste test of low acid coffees and reported, "Our testers ranked this blend (Puroast) No. 1 for its nutty aroma, robust flavor and taste." They were less impressed with Folgers Simply Smooth, "Our tasters called it 'decent', but with a 'watered-down' flavor and surprising bitterness."

In addition to the scientists and media, Puroast® has consumers on their side as Puroast is the fastest growing brand in the low acid segment and now available in leading retail grocers and the antacid section of select pharmacies. The truth is Puroast® is a gourmet tasting java with 50% less acid.

(1) Journal of Food Chemistry, June, 2007, Dr. Taka Shibamoto, “Chlorogenic Acid and Caffeine Contents in Various Commercial Brewed Coffees”

(2) Study conducted by Dr. Arthur Euler, MD, 2005-2007.  

Contact: Carrie Gibbs

(530)668-0976


SOURCE Puroast

Richardson, a leading global sales training and performance improvement firm, today announced the launch of TalentGauge™. TalentGauge™ is an online assessment tool that enables sales leaders to identify the behavior and talent necessary to improve candidate selection, employee and organization development, and to profitably increase sales performance. 

Richardson's TalentGauge™ is powered by HR Chally, the industry leader in the talent assessment market.  A study by HR Chally identified that a Sales Professional's competence accounts for nearly 40% of a customer's buying decision -- it supersedes the company's ability to offer a total solution, the quality of the product/service, and price. With so much weight in the buying decision dependent on a Sales Professional's competence, the right Salespeople need to be in the right roles.

TalentGauge™ is a talent assessment tool that predicts a Sales Professional's potential to be successful.  By evaluating each Sales Professional's behaviors and competencies, it predicts how well a Sales Professional will perform in a specific role.  Richardson's TalentGauge™ is available in two forms:

  • TalentAudit -- An assessment in which Sales Leaders can predict who in their current salesforce is most likely to successfully execute each component of the organization's sales strategy  
  • TalentSelection -- An assessment that can be used as part of a selection process to improve hiring decisions, bringing the right talent into the sales organization

"Richardson is extremely excited to announce the expansion of our Sales Performance System, which has three primary components:  'Sales Readiness,' 'Sales Performance,' and 'Performance Sustainment.'  In connection with this expansion, we have partnered with The HR Chally Group, the leader in sales personnel assessment and research, to bolster our 'Sales Readiness' capabilities.  Richardson and Chally have each operated for 30-plus years with a commitment to improving the performance of sales organizations," says David DiStefano, President and CEO of Richardson.  "More than ever before, our clients seek ways to improve candidate selection and employee and organization development.  The TalentGauge™ assessment tool is an ideal addition to Richardson's comprehensive Sales Performance System.  The recent economic challenges have exposed gaps in companies' revenue-generating abilities and the winning sales organizations are making significant investments in getting the right Sales Professionals and Sales Managers in the right roles and doing the right things."  

About Richardson

Richardson (http://www.richardson.com) is a global sales performance company that helps leading organizations improve sales results.  We do this in three ways.  We analyze the structure and talent of your salesforce; we train and develop your sales team; and we continue that development through coaching and reinforcement. We equip your sales leaders and salesforce with the skills and strategies they need to win in today's complex selling environment. What is unique about Richardson is how we create truly customized solutions that change behavior and provide measureable results.

About Chally

Chally is a leading Sales Research/Talent Management Firm delivering measurable ROI to our clients associated with selecting-aligning-developing World Class Sales Forces via our Predictive Assessment and Talent Analytics, which leverages actuarial science and a Six Sigma/Lean/Total Quality Management performance management methodology.  Beginning with a thorough understanding of each job, Chally validates highly-specific, non-generic competencies customized for clients' languages (corporate/multicultural) versus just looking at personality characteristics.  The result: an intuitive, accurate, customized approach for the Sales lifecycle -- selection, on-boarding, development, performance improvement, succession management, exit interviews, and potential versus actual performance measurement.  How good? Chally is the ONLY provider in the talent management space that guarantees our work.  We will refund up to 100% of our fees associated with missed performance expectations.

SOURCE Richardson

RELATED LINKS
http://www.richardson.com

Couples of rockstar status ready to take their relationship to the next level can do so this Valentine's Day at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City.  Whether the road to happiness has been a rocky one, or the duo's journey reads like a steamy romance novel, what better place for soul mates to share their love for each other than at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa on Valentine's Day.  Lovebirds looking to take the matrimonial leap are invited to share their love story for a chance to win the "Ultimate Rock n' Roll Wedding."  One lucky couple with the most rockin' story will receive a once in a lifetime wedding on February 14th at Borgata's premier rock haven, Gypsy Bar. The wedding to remember will be officiated by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legend and founder of Run-D.M.C., Rev Run.

The winning couple will receive the ultimate rockstar treatment at Borgata. The generous prize package will include a bachelor party for the groom at MIXX nightclub, and a bachelorette party for the bride at mur.mur with entertainment provided by Borgata Nightlife's premier DJ talents Samantha Ronson (mur.mur), DJ MOS and DJ KISS (MIXX), on Saturday, February 13th. On Sunday, the future Mr. and Mrs. will enjoy pampering at The Salon and The Barbershop and pre-wedding access to KID ROCK's performance at the Borgata Event Center for the dynamic duo and up to 12 of their guests. Following the concert, it's off to Gypsy Bar for a late night wedding ceremony with all the trimmings, including a personal photographer, custom cake by Executive Chef Thaddeus Dubois and a most memorable ceremony presided over by Rev Run. Before heading off to the honeymoon suite, the happy couple will enjoy a post-ceremony celebration at MIXX nightclub for the official KID ROCK concert after-party with musical performances by Rev Run and DJ Ruckus.

Couples must enter their submissions online at www.borgatanightlife.com. Complete details on the Ultimate Rock n' Roll Wedding contest, including the prize package components, can be found at http://tinyurl.com/yax3mga.

ABOUT BORGATA HOTEL CASINO & SPA

Borgata is a joint venture of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) and MGM MIRAGE ( MGM). Located at Renaissance Pointe in Atlantic City, it features 2,000 guest rooms and suites; 161,000 square feet of gaming; 182 gaming tables; 4,100 slot machines; an 85-table poker room; 11 retail boutiques; 6 acclaimed fine dining restaurants by renowned chefs; 6 casual dining options; a 54,000 square foot spa; 70,000 square feet of event space; 4 signature nightlife experiences; and parking for 7,100 cars. The resort also features Atlantic City's first non-gaming, cosmopolitan hotel experience, The Water Club at Borgata with 800 guest rooms and suites; food and beverage by renowned chef Geoffrey Zakarian; a 36,000 square foot spa; 18,000 square feet of meeting space; 6 designer retail boutiques; and 5 heated indoor and outdoor pools. 

For more information on Borgata or to obtain a copy of this press release, please visit www.theborgata.com or use AOL keyword: borgata. For up to the minute updates, follow Borgata on Twitter at http://twitter.com/BorgataAC.  Additional news and information on Boyd Gaming can be found at www.boydgaming.com; additional information on MGM MIRAGE can be found at www.mgmmirage.com.

SOURCE Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa

RELATED LINKS
http://www.theborgata.com

NewsRx, a 25-year-old publisher and international news organization headquartered in Atlanta, has published a new encyclopedia on prostate cancer -- Encyclopedia of Prostate Cancer, 2009: An encyK Resource for Patients & Professionals. More information is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=058pOU5mAFI or at http://www.youtube.com/NewsRxTV

The Encyclopedia of Prostate Cancer, 2009: An encyK Resource for Patients & Professionals covers current medical research, clinical trials, vaccine development, drug and surgical treatments for prostate cancer. Readers will find complete information on critical research centers, trials and drugs, including contact information for researchers.

encyK is a new kind of encyclopedia, developed for patients, physicians and parents who need comprehensive health and medical information.  A full listing of encyK products can be found at www.encyk.com  together with sample chapters, tables of content, and explanatory video.  encyK encyclopedias are sold through Amazon.com, assuring users of a speedy delivery and guaranteed quality. Find the encyK  prostate cancer encyclopedia at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0982285957?ie=UTF8&tag=newmednew-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0982285957

Surveys of internet use show that almost one-third of all users online each day gather information about their health. Patients want to educate themselves and explore treatment options. Physicians want to stay current on drug research and clinical trials. Parents want to make sure they're making the right choices for their children.

But no one, least of all busy physicians and working parents, or patients in the day-to-day struggle against disease, has the time or the expertise to gather all or even most of the right information that will increase their understanding.

That's where encyK comes in. encyK stands for encyclopedic knowledge, the kind of comprehensive help that will put patients in charge of their health, keep physicians updated, and let parents guide the course of their children's treatments with confidence. Our editors have done the research for you, filtering the available data for importance, then presenting it in relevant chapters.

encyK arms users with the who, what, when and where, so it's easy to find and contact research centers, universities, hospitals, drug companies and other organizations doing clinical trials and treatment.

Now with a portfolio of 194 titles, NewsRx is one of the largest content companies in the world.  Popular brands and successful franchises extend to internet and online services, streaming video, mobile devices, and branded products.

Each month, over three million readers globally view and download NewsRx articles and publications online. NewsRx was named 2009 Best e-Business Site by eHealthcare Leadership Awards, and Google ranked www.NewsRx.com as No. 2 Among Top Health News and Media Publications for 2009

Press Release Contact Information:

Susan Hasty

Publisher

NewsRx

770-507-7777

publisher@newsrx.com


This release was issued through WebWire(R). For more information visit http://www.webwire.com.

SOURCE NewsRx

RELATED LINKS
http://www.NewsRx.com

NIVS IntelliMedia Technology Group, Inc., ("NIVS" or the "Company") (NYSE Amex: NIV), a consumer electronics company that designs, manufactures and sells intelligent audio and visual products, today announced that the Company has entered into an agreement with China Potevio Co., Ltd., GestureTek's authorized technology agent in China, for the application of GestureTek's mobile phone technologies on the NIVS operations platform for the benefit of it's mobile phone customers.

GestureTek's award-winning Eyemo(TM) software enables touch-free user interfaces on camera-enabled handsets. GestureTek's Momo(TM) engine uses a mobile device's camera to track specific movements and objects within the camera's field of view. The software can be delivered over the air or embedded on a camera-enabled device. Turnkey motion-controlled games and applications are also available on multiple platforms.

Mr. Tianfu Li, Chairman and CEO of NIVS, commented, "On behalf of our mobile phone customers we're delighted to be able to offer GestureTek's mobile phone technologies to enhance their experience and interaction with the NIVS brand of mobile phones. We look forward to offering a broad suite of GestureTek's offerings to our customers."

About China Potevio Co., Ltd.

China Potevio Co., Ltd. is a China based leading IT equipment manufacturer and service provider. It was born out of China Posts and Telecommunications Industry Corporation, which has a long history in China's telecommunication industry. As a key state-owned enterprise under direct leadership of State- owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), China Potevio's main business covers manufacture and trade business of telecom products, relevant technical research and services. Its industrial scale and strength plays a leading role in many industrial fields, such as communication system, terminal, auxiliary equipment, industrial application and value-added service. China Potevio owns several first-class national certifications and qualifications, including telecom project programming and designing, telecom engineering surveying, project contracting and telecom construction bidding and bid invitation, providing clients with credible products and services.

About NIVS IntelliMedia Technology Group, Inc.

NIVS IntelliMedia Technology Group is an integrated consumer electronics company that designs, manufactures, markets and sells intelligent audio and video products in China, Greater Asia, Europe, and North America. The NIVS brand has received "Most Popular Brand" distinction in China's acoustic industry for three consecutive years, among numerous other awards. NIVS has developed leading Chinese speech interactive technology, which forms a foundation for the Company's intelligent audio and visual systems, including digital audio, telecommunication, LCD televisions, digital video broadcasting ("DVB") set-top boxes, peripherals and more.

Safe Harbor Statement

This release contains certain "forward-looking statements" relating to the business of the Company and its subsidiary companies. These forward looking statements are often identified by the use of forward looking terminology such as "believes, expects" or similar expressions. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to the Company's ability to effectively integrate the operations and management of acquisition targets; the Company's ability to timely deliver products; the Company's ability to timely develop and market new products; the Company's ability to continue to borrow and raise additional capital to fund its operations; the Company's ability to accurately forecast amounts of supplies needed to meet customer demand; exposure to market risk through sales in international markets; the market acceptance of the Company's products; exposure to product liability and defect claims; fluctuations in the availability of raw materials and components needed for the Company's products; protection of the Company's intellectual property rights; and changes in the laws of the PRC that affect the Company's operations. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including the discussed above and in the Company's periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website (www.sec.gov). All forward-looking statements attributable the Company or to persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors other than as required under the securities laws. The Company does not assume an obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

    For more information, please contact:

    Company Contact:
     Jason Wong
     Vice President Investor Relations
     Tel:   +86-138-2991-6919
     Email: jason@nivsgroup.com

    Investor Contact:
    United States & Canada
     BPC Financial Marketing
     John Baldissera
     Tel:   +1-800-368-1217

SOURCE NIVS IntelliMedia Technology Group, Inc.

Today Gravitas Ventures and IndiePix announced that the March 1st, 2010, release of director Ondi Timoner's WE LIVE IN PUBLIC into tens of millions of homes on VOD and across digital platforms will be accompanied by a four city simultaneous theatrical event that will utilize the very technology the award winning documentary explores.  After its digital debut, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC will have its national DVD release March 2 through New York-based independent distributor IndiePix.

Ten years in the making and culled from 5000 hours of footage, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC, the 2009 Sundance Grand Jury Prize Documentary winner reveals the effect the web is having on our society, as seen through the eyes of "the greatest Internet pioneer you've never heard of", artist, futurist and visionary -- Josh Harris. Award-winning director Ondi Timoner (DIG! – which also won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize in 2004 – making Timoner the only director to win that prestigious award twice) documented his tumultuous life for more than a decade to create a riveting, cautionary tale of what to expect as the virtual world inevitably takes control of our lives. Ondi will be returning to the Sundance Film Festival this year as a juror for the U.S. Documentary Jury and will be available for interviews as her schedule permits. Contact: Alanna Raben at 212-684-2333 ext. 305, alanna@indiepix.net, or Adam Rieders at 626-296-0068, adam@interloperfilms.com to set up interviews.

The March 1, 2010 Multi-City Simulcast Event is a natural trail-blazing conclusion to what has been an aggressive 2009 festival tour, online campaign, and 15-city theatrical run. The excitement generated by Timoner's Interloper Films efforts in self-distributing WE LIVE IN PUBLIC over the last year has already caused five major cities in the US and Canada to sign on to participating in this ground-breaking March 1st event. These include Los Angeles, CA, Denver, CO, Chicago, IL, New York, NY and Vancouver, BC - where a simultaneous screening of the film will take place followed by an interactive Q&A with Timoner and Harris from a performance space in Chicago.  Distribution company, IndiePix, will host the New York screening. Each of the participating cities will be linked via a live webcast, with attendees able to participate in the live Q&A in theater and online audiences able to participate via Twitter.  Celebrities are scheduled to participate from their home computers and webcams, and the event will include live performance pods, including fire throwers, trapeze artists and celebrity DJs that will continue the live webcast following the Q&A. The multi-city simulcast event will be webcast live on weliveinpublicthemovie.com, where the film is currently available for pre-order with a 15% discount prior to the DVD release.

"In an increasingly on demand world, Gravitas Ventures is proud to help bring WE LIVE IN PUBLIC into tens of millions of homes," said Nolan Gallagher, founder and CEO. "We always like to work with savvy and entrepreneurial filmmaking teams interested in exploring theatrical and nationwide VOD campaigns."

"We are pleased to be part of this international launch and happy to work with this distinguished filmmaker in such an innovative, groundbreaking release campaign," added Bob Alexander, president of IndiePix. "All our resources are applied to bringing this special film to those who are already interested and those who should be."

For more information on the debut events, interactive Q & A and the film, please visit weliveinpublicthemovie.com. Contact: Alanna Raben at 212-684-2333, alanna@indiepix.net, or Adam Rieders at 626-296-0068, adam@interloperfilms.com.

About Ondi

Ondi Timoner is the only filmmaker in history to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival twice. Her most recent winner, the documentary WE LIVE IN PUBLIC (2009), has been acquired into the permanent collection of the MOMA/NYC, joining her critically-acclaimed 2004 Sundance-winning doc, DIG!  Ondi feels fortunate to be able travel deep into worlds, which, without a camera, she could never otherwise enter, and to be able to share what she finds there with a completely independent vision through her company, Interloper Films. She has also completed the award-winning socio-political feature films THE NATURE OF THE BEAST (1994) and JOIN US (2007), and a short film, RECYCLE, which premiered at Sundance in 2006, continuing on to Cannes and schools worldwide. She is now shooting COOL IT, a documentary about the hysteria surrounding the climate change industry and its impact in preventing practical and effective solutions from being developed. Ondi is also set to direct a scripted film about Robert Mapplethorpe, which Timoner's Interloper Films and Eliza Dushku's Boston Diva are producing.

About Gravitas Ventures

Gravitas Ventures is an industry leader in the aggregation of entertainment content for worldwide distribution via established and evolving platforms in the Video On Demand (VOD), broadband, mobile and airline/hospitality viewing windows.  The company releases over 300 films annually in cable VOD and offers thousands of hours of quality entertainment content including feature films, documentaries, animation, alternative sports, wrestling/mixed martial arts, comedy, and music concert programming.  Gravitas' acquisitions include: Lance Hammer's Ballast (Sundance), Anat Baron's Beer Wars, Stacy Peralta's Crips and Bloods Made in America (Sundance), Jay Jonroy's David and Layla (Cannes), Kate Churchill's Enlightened Up!, Ryan Little's Forever Strong, Marianna Palka's Good Dick (Sundance), Kevin Rafferty's Harvard Beats Yale: 29-29, Deborah Kampmeier's Hounddog (Sundance), Georgina Riedel's How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer (Sundance), Benson Lee's Planet B-Boy (Tribeca), Stephanie Soechtig's Tapped, Michael Keaton's The Merry Gentleman (Sundance), and Robert VanAlkemade's What Would Jesus Buy? (SXSW). Gravitas Ventures' mission is to deliver your ideas to the digital market, bridging the gap between independent producers and cable, satellite, telco and online opportunities.

For more information about Gravitas Ventures, please visit:

www.gravitasventures.com or follow us at www.twitter.com/GravitasVOD

About IndiePix

IndiePix is a New York-based distributor that delivers a highly-curated collection of the best Independent Films from around the world. Offering a hand-picked catalog of over 3,500 independent film gems - art-house, foreign, and documentary – the IndiePix team selects the best titles from the international festival circuit. Avenues for distribution include event driven public exhibition, domestic and international broadcast licensing, and major Internet and cable digital channels. IndiePix's proprietary distribution includes its patented Download-to-Own technology, its partnership with Streamami for its industry leading On-Demand streaming hi-resolution full screen presentations, and its proprietary retail sales and marketing capability.

For more information about IndiePix, please visit:

www.indiepixfilms.com or follow us at www.twitter.com/indiepixfilms

SOURCE Gravitas Ventures

RELATED LINKS
http://www.gravitasventures.com
http://www.indiepixfilms.com
http://www.weliveinpublicthemovie.com

As Americans prepare to tackle 2010 with goals both big and small, Walmart (NYSE: WMT) understands that even the grandest resolutions often begin with the simplest of steps - organization.  In order to help families maximize space and minimize stress, Walmart announced today the launch of a new line of home solutions from Canopy™: Closet Storage and Organization starting as low as $2.50(1).  The timeless, versatile collection enables families to quickly, easily, and affordably conquer clutter, and establish a fresh foundation for success in the coming year.

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100121/DA41888)

The easy-to-use, space-saving line features:

  • customizable drawer, floor and shelf organizers starting at $9.00 that can store everything from clothes and jewelry to linens
  • sturdy totes, lined wicker baskets, lidded boxes and under-bed storage ranging from $9.00 to $24.00
  • durable, breathable hanging wardrobe organizers, garment bags, and shoe organizers that fit closets both big and small and are available for $14 or less
  • a wide range of hangers – made of solid wood and available in two different finishes (cherry and natural) – starting as low as $2.50
  • space-saving non-slip hangers, available in three colors (black, ivory and pea pod) that can double or even triple closet space in an instant, and can be purchased for only $4.00 for a set of five

Teens are often powerful advocates of change – and Walmart has everything they need to create an organized space that reflects individuality and style.  With your zone's™ colorful collection of mix and match storage, both teens and moms will be happy to ring in the new year with fun and easy de-cluttering solutions:

  • "you cube" recycled storage blocks available for only $10.00 can be used alone or grouped together to display or tuck away the past seasons' styles
  • "it's a snap" storage boxes, sold in sets of 3 for $9.00, have snap-together sides for speedy assembly and fold flat for easy storage when not in use
  • "roll with it" storage carts – with three interchangeable drawers – go here, there and anywhere on gliding casters and are available for $20.00
  • "hang in there" closet organizers for only $10.00 corral clutter and keep everything out of sight and in its own space

Walmart understands the importance of committing to a cause.  In keeping with Canopy's™ own commitment to sustainability, all of the soft closet items are crafted from high-quality PET made from recycled plastic. In addition, the your zone™ "you cube" storage blocks are made from 100% recycled corrugate board.

About Walmart

Every week, millions of customers visit Walmart stores, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam's Club locations across America or log on to its online store at www.walmart.com. The company and its Foundation are committed to a philosophy of giving back locally. Walmart (NYSE: WMT) is proud to support the causes that are important to customers and associates right in their own neighborhoods, and last year gave more than $378 million to local communities in the United States. More information about Walmart can be found by visiting www.walmartstores.com.

(1)  Prices only through January 31, 2010, and availability may vary by store.

SOURCE Walmart

RELATED LINKS
http://www.walmart.com
http://www.walmartstores.com

FiLife.com (www.filife.com), the leading personal finance question and answer site, introduced a fee-based "private question" feature that allows users to get confidential and direct answers to their specific financial questions.

The introductory price for asking a private question will be $10.00.

The answers are supplied by FiLife's community of experts, including financial professionals (Certified Financial Planners(TM)), experts, writers and members with real world experience in overcoming personal finance challenges. Questions range from "How can I improve my credit report?" to "Why are people comparing the current U.S. recession to the Great Depression?" FiLife is the #3 personal finance site, with over 4 million monthly unique visitors.*

"The number of people asking questions for free to the open FiLife.com community continues to grow. However, there are those who want to divulge specific financial information and are uncomfortable doing so publicly," said Ezra Kucharz, President of FiLife. "This new feature gives them the opportunity to ask confidential questions directly to an expert."  

FiLife's open API allows third-party publishers to offer their users access to FiLife's question and answer experience. FiLife will provide certain publishers with a share of the revenue generated by the private question micro-transactions.

* comScore, November 2009

About FiLife.com

A Dow Jones / IAC joint venture, FiLife.com is where people get their personal finances in shape. FiLife's question and answer focus, how-to guides, tools, network of experts and active community members help you better understand your financial health and empower you to take action. FiLife puts the personal back in finance. For more information on how to achieve financial health, please visit FiLife.com and follow FiLife on Twitter: twitter.com/FiLife (@FiLife).



Contact:

Saralyn Bass for FiLife

212-314-7437

Saralyn@FiLife.com



SOURCE FiLife.com

RELATED LINKS
http://www.filife.com

February in Northern New York marks the beginning of a month of Adirondack winter events and activities, carnivals, celebrations and festivals that truly capture what this Northern New York Region is all about – enjoying the outdoors year-round.

Top 10 Adirondack Winter Events and Festivities in February:

  1. Canton Winterfest Feb. 4-16. A weeklong festival in the northwest Adirondacks.
  2. Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Feb. 5-14. The oldest Winter Carnival in the Eastern U.S. features its crowning glory – an ice palace constructed from blocks of ice taken from nearby Lake Flower. Fireworks, fry-pan toss, sporting events, concerts, theatre presentations, parade and so much more. A tradition in the truest form of Adirondack winter fun.
  3. Ogdensburg's River Shiver Feb. 6-21. Swim in the St. Lawrence River for the Polar Bear Plunge; enjoy an ice-fishing derby and hockey tournaments. Bring your inner outdoorsman (and some warm clothes)!
  4. Massena Winter Festival Dog Sled Races Feb. 6. Enjoy a parade, ice sculpting, hockey tournament, a dog sled race and so much more!  
  5. Lake George Winter Carnival Feb. 6-7 & Feb. 13-14. Maybe one of the only places in the country to host Outhouse Races, a historical and military Encampment of the 1700s, a chicken wing cook-off, giant ice slide and a polar bear plunge into the lake. This is one festival you don't want to miss – especially the sky-diving competition!
  6. Empire State Games Feb. 9 -21. This annual amateur athlete event offers exciting alpine, biathlon, bobsled, skeleton and ski jumping competitions. Join in and cheer the athletes on.
  7. Indian Lake Annual Winterfest Feb. 12-14. Two-day festival celebrates winter in Indian Lake. Skiing and ice-skating contests, snow sculptures, bonfires and fireworks.
  8. Raquette Lake Winter Carnival Feb. 12-14. A weekend of winter events for the whole family. Fireworks on Saturday night showcase the glorious Adirondacks in winter.
  9. Hague Winter Weekend Feb. 13-14. Shiver your timbers and join in the Polar Bear Plunge, fireman's breakfast, scholarship dinner and more.
  10. Inlet's Frozen Fire & Lights Feb. 20. Capping off February's winter festivals- this event offers an afternoon and evening of fun. From the bonfire at Fern Park and free sledding, to ice-skating and cross country skiing – its' a great way to spend the day. The evening ends with a bang - so don't miss the fireworks!

The Adirondack Park, named for the Adirondack Mountains that lie within its boundary, offers some of the best opportunities in the United States for both recreation and relaxation in an inspiring natural setting. Enjoy the many winter events during a weekend or week-long visit. Check out VisitAdirondacks.com's extensive list of lodging packages and head for the mountains.

Contact:

Rebecca Steffan

Rebecca@Inphorminc.com

(518) 523-9258

Inphorm Inc.


SOURCE VisitAdirondacks.com

RELATED LINKS
http://www.VisitAdirondacks.com

Marc Webb, the director of the Golden Globe nominated Best Picture (500) Days of Summer, will direct the next chapter in the Spider-Man franchise, set to hit theaters summer 2012, it was jointly announced today by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios.

Written by James Vanderbilt, Webb will work closely with producers Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin in developing the project, which will begin production later this year.

Commenting on the announcement, Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures, said, "At its core, Spider-Man is a small, intimate human story about an everyday teenager that takes place in an epic super-human world. The key for us as we sought a new director was to identify filmmakers who could give sharp focus to Peter Parker's life. We wanted someone who could capture the awe of being in Peter's shoes so the audience could experience his sense of discovery while giving real heart to the emotion, anxiety, and recklessness of that age and coupling all of that with the adrenaline of Spider-Man's adventure. We believe Marc Webb is the perfect choice to bring us on that journey."

Arad and Ziskin added jointly, "Over the years, the Spider-Man comics have been told with bold and creative new writers and artists who have re-calibrated the way audiences see Peter Parker. Marc Webb will do for the new direction of the films what so many visionary storytellers have done with the comic books. He is an incredibly talented filmmaker and we look forward to working closely with him on this new adventure." 

Webb said, "This is a dream come true and I couldn't be more aware of the challenge, responsibility, or opportunity. Sam Raimi's virtuoso rendering of Spider-Man is a humbling precedent to follow and build upon.  The first three films are beloved for good reason.  But I think the Spider-Man mythology transcends not only generations but directors as well.  I am signing on not to 'take over' from Sam. That would be impossible.  Not to mention arrogant.  I'm here because there's an opportunity for ideas, stories, and histories that will add a new dimension, canvas, and creative voice to Spider-Man."

Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider-Man, added, "I'm excited that Sony has chosen a director with a real penchant and understanding for the character.  This is a brave, bold direction for the franchise, and I can't wait to see what Marc comes up with next."

Added Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, "The idea of re-imagining the on-screen story for one of the world's most iconic superheros is sure to deliver an exciting new dimension to Spider-Man fans everywhere.  There are volumes of comics and material available to inspire fresh and compelling takes on Peter Parker and his journey as Spidey and we look forward to seeing this come alive onscreen."

MARC WEBB has won acclaim with his film debut (500) Days of Summer. He has several MTV VMAs™ including 2009's Best Director award for Green Day's "21 Guns," 2006 Best Rock Video for AFI's "Miss Murder," and Best Group Video for The All-American Rejects' "Move Along." The Music Video Production Association honored him in 2006 as the Director of the Year for his work with Weezer, AAR, and My Chemical Romance.  

In addition to two Golden Globe nominations including Best Picture (musical or comedy), his first feature film, (500) Days of Summer, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, has been nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Feature.  Webb was also awarded the Spotlight Award, which honors outstanding directorial debuts, by the National Board of Review.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in more than 130 countries.  Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at www.sonypictures.com.

For More Information:

Steve Elzer

Senior Vice President, Media Relations

310-244-7142

steve_elzer@spe.sony.com


SOURCE Columbia Pictures

Truphone, the next-generation mobile operator with a track record of transforming global mobile communications, today extends its innovation further with the launch of Truphone Local Anywhere™ - a global GSM service that aims to make all calling truly local for businesses and people with an international lifestyle.

In maintaining the company's traditional emphasis on cost-effective and convenient communications for both consumer and business users, Truphone Local Anywhere delivers substantial savings versus mobile operators' standard pricing for international calling and roaming.

The breakthrough stems from a single, smart SIM that offers mobile numbers and local rates for voice, data and text services for all countries where Truphone establishes operations, all on a single SIM. Great savings can also be made on roaming in 185 other countries around the world.

In conjunction with the launch of Truphone Local Anywhere, the company announced it has entered a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) partnership with Vodafone U.K. that enables it to deliver voice and data services for Truphone Local Anywhere customers in the U.K.

Detailed announcement materials for Truphone Local Anywhere are available at www.truphone.com/press.  The package consists of news releases describing services for consumers and business -- including specific pricing examples -- plus a release on the Vodafone agreement.

Simply put, Truphone Local Anywhere eliminates the need for users to swap SIM cards, juggle multiple mobile devices or use complex dial-back systems in efforts to avoid costly roaming charges.  

The service is available today in the United Kingdom and the United States, and Truphone plans to expand availability to a number of key business and leisure destinations in 2010, both across Europe and in long-haul destinations such as Australia, Hong Kong and South Africa.

"With Truphone Local Anywhere, we aim to be the only phone service leisure or business travellers ever need on their mobile phones," said Truphone CEO Geraldine Wilson.  "We invite those with international lifestyles – expatriates and their families, business travellers, airline and cruise ship crews, students abroad, owners of second homes in other countries – to check out the huge savings available with Truphone Local Anywhere.

"We believe the savings and the ease of use will totally change the way people use their mobile phones when they are at home or abroad," she said.

SOURCE Truphone

RELATED LINKS
http://www.truphone.com

Stonebranch, the industry leader in Managed File Transfer and Job Scheduling technology, announced today the launch of a new B2B solution portfolio, enabling organizations to automate and streamline global trading partner integration.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090311/CL79789LOGO-a )

Stonebranch's EDI solution improves business relationships and compliance with partner mandates by electronically providing all transaction sets (ASC X12, EDIFACT, XML) including detailed invoices, credits, invoice summaries, purchase orders, activity reports and other sensitive business information. All data is securely transferred using an extensive list of supported protocols or traditional VAN services.

Jon Gatrell, vice president of product management for Stonebranch, said, "Our customers continue to drive operational improvements and benefits by consolidating their platforms and solutions. Multi-enterprise collaboration and integration into applications is critical for global business. Managed File Transfer requires open protocols. The ability to use common controls and policies is critical and the Stonebranch B2B solutions provide flexible enablement and compliance for our customers."

Infitran's B2B Gateway and BPM (business process management) solution leverages a common platform for integrating an organization's multi-enterprise communications and existing secure file transfer capabilities via Infitran™ for customers and business partners. With the Infitran B2B Gateway™, organizations gain power and flexibility through a quick installation process, enabling them to meet customer mandates while providing integration with scheduling to centralize management by leveraging Infitran and Indesca™.

Complementing these offerings, the Stonebranch Supplier Portal™ offers organizations seamless business transaction processing for their customers and trading partners in a hosted environment. The Supplier Portal enables customers to access intuitive registration forms, place orders in a real-time secure environment, receive order status updates and access invoice and payment information.

Wolfgang Bothe, CEO of Stonebranch, said, "Managed File Transfer doesn't stop at the data center and requires a holistic approach for businesses. Moving data is no longer about security, it is quickly becoming about data quality, enabling automation and integration with strategic business partners or suppliers and deploying a single platform for managing and governing compliance."

For more information on Stonebranch's B2B solution portfolio, please visit: http://www.stonebranch.com/infitran/b2b_main.html or contact us at: 678-366-7887.

About Stonebranch

Stonebranch provides solutions which govern business processes and data exchange for businesses.  In 2009, Stonebranch launched Scribbos™, a subsidiary of Stonebranch. Scribbos offers a secure business communications solution, which complements Stonebranch's Infitran™, its Intelligent File Transfer Solution, and Indesca™, its Independent Scheduling Agents solution. Used separately or as a suite, Stonebranch and Scribbos products and services interoperate with existing platforms/infrastructures and emerging technologies. Stonebranch clients include some of the world's largest financial, healthcare and technology institutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, Stonebranch has offices throughout the world, including Germany, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Spain and Denmark. For more information on Stonebranch, please visit: www.stonebranch.com.

SOURCE Stonebranch

RELATED LINKS
http://www.stonebranch.com

Contoured doors, chrome details and a full color LCD screen may be among the more noticeable changes to its new French Door bottom freezer refrigerator, but improvements over previous models go far beyond skin deep, according to KitchenAid.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100119/DE38744)

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090324/DE87529LOGO-c)

The new bottom freezer model offers more shelf space, larger refrigerator capacity and advanced LED lighting that makes food even more accessible and visible, even when fully stocked, notes Debbie O'Connor, senior manager of brand experience for KitchenAid.

"This is by far the most user friendly and food friendly KitchenAid refrigerator ever," says O'Connor.  "We've added more space to our refrigerators while making it even more convenient for cooks to store their ingredients and keep them at their freshest."    

The LCD screen serves several purposes. In addition to use and care information, the screen offers a kitchen timer, access to suggested ingredient substitutions and

measurement conversions, and a convenient USB port for loading images.  

At 27 cubic feet, the new refrigerator provides two more cubic feet of space than previous models.  Shelves have been extended an additional 3/4" to accommodate more, and larger, items.

The refrigerator's in-door water and ice system provides filtered drinking water and allows for precise measurement of water for use as a cooking and baking ingredient.   Inside, a tilt-out ice door coupled with ultra fast ice making provides easy access to large quantities of ice and ensures fresh tasting ice is always on hand for get-togethers.

For greater flexibility in storing different type of foods, individually sealed storage compartments include a pantry compartment with an independent temperature control and a crisper with extra gaskets for perfect sealing and humidity control.

Thicker materials and smooth, heavy duty gliding mechanisms provide an added measure of the heft for which KitchenAid is known.

The new refrigerator will be available starting in April at a suggested retail price of $2,799.  

Since the introduction of its legendary stand mixer in 1919 and first dishwasher in 1949, KitchenAid has built on the legacy of these icons to create a complete line of products designed for cooks.  Over 90 years later, the KitchenAid brand now offers virtually every essential for the well-equipped kitchen with a collection that includes everything from countertop appliances to cookware, ranges to refrigerators, and whisks to wine cellars.  To learn why chefs choose KitchenAid for their homes more than any other brand*, visit www.KitchenAid.com.

*Based on a September 2007 survey, KitchenAid was found to be the home kitchen appliance brand chosen most often by members of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and the American Culinary Federation when asked about refrigerators, ovens, cooktops, ranges, dishwashers, microwave ovens, electric mixers, blenders, food processors, kitchen gadgets and toasters.

SOURCE KitchenAid

RELATED LINKS
http://www.kitchenaid.com

Whirlpool Corporation ( WHR) is presenting a smart grid-compatible clothes dryer demonstration unit during the International Builders' Show (IBS) in Las Vegas January 19-22, 2010. The Whirlpool smart dryer demonstration illustrates how smart grid-compatible dryers will operate in consumers' homes, reacting intelligently to peak-demand signals from a smart electrical grid and automatically modifying energy consumption.  

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040202/DETU004LOGO)

The smart dryer demonstration – shown by Whirlpool Corporation product experts, and accompanied by an interactive smart appliance simulation – offers a preview of the various smart grid-compatible appliances Whirlpool Corporation has pledged to manufacture in the near future.

Whirlpool Corporation's recent commitment to produce 1 million smart appliances by the end of 2011 is a significant step toward the company's larger commitment to make all the electronic appliances it produces, throughout the world, smart grid-compatible by the end of 2015. This timeline is dependent on the development by the end of 2010 of an open, global standard and appropriate policies to reward consumers, manufacturers and utilities. Helping to accelerate the work the company is doing, Whirlpool Corporation was recently awarded a $19.33 million federal matching grant by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Smart Grid Investment Grant program.

"We believe that the smart grid and smart appliances are the next big opportunity in energy savings," said Marc Bitzer, president, Whirlpool Corporation North America. "We are continuing to make significant strides in the development of smart grid-enabled appliances."

Smart appliances, connected to a smart electrical grid, will be able to send and receive signals to and from the utility and automatically modify energy consumption, helping consumers to save money on their home electric bills and reduce carbon emissions. "Smart grid technology provides a significant opportunity to make renewable energy sources such as wind and solar more usable," said Warwick Stirling, global director of energy and sustainability for Whirlpool Corporation. "These sources of energy are inherently more variable, but fit well with smart-grid technology which can more easily take advantage of this energy when it is available."

By connecting household appliances, homes and communities to a smart grid, smart appliances can easily and conveniently shift a portion of household energy use to "off peak" hours, drastically reducing peak energy consumption without compromising core product performance and while keeping control in the hands of consumers.  In markets where utilities offer variable or time-of-use pricing, a typical consumer could save up to $40 per year, per appliance, while also benefiting the environment.

About Whirlpool Corporation

Whirlpool Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of approximately $19 billion in 2008, 70,000 employees, and 67 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. The company markets Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, Bauknecht and other major brand names to consumers in nearly every country around the world.

Whirlpool recently was named one of the 500 greenest big companies in America by Newsweek magazine, one of FORTUNE's "Most Admired Companies," one of the "100 Best Corporate Citizens" by Chief Responsibility Officer magazine, one of the "Top 50 U.S. companies for Social Responsibility" by the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship and Reputation Institute and one of the "Top 50 Most Respected U.S. Companies" by the Reputation Institute and Forbes.com.  

Additional information about the company can be found at http://www.whirlpoolcorp.com.

SOURCE Whirlpool Corporation

RELATED LINKS
http://www.whirlpoolcorp.com

Pittsburgh-based VELOCITY Broadcasting®, the largest global, private High-Definition broadcasting network, has launched the Mind Over Matter(SM) Business Intelligence Suite, a new dimension in audience insight, interactivity and engagement. Powered by an array of audience response tools and technology, Mind Over Matter enables VELOCITY broadcast clients to tap directly into the mindset of the audience, while also empowering audiences to question experts live on the air.  This real-time technology can be activated in a number of configurations during a VELOCITY broadcast across any number of locations on the VELOCITY network, and contains three cornerstone applications:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090326/NE89726LOGO )

  • MindStorm:  From multiple locations across the country and around the world, audiences can engage in live interaction with the experts to "storm" their minds and knowledge base by calling, e-mailing and texting in questions, comments and discussion points.  VELOCITY's MindStorm application records all data and allows VELOCITY to facilitate and evaluate Q&A and viewer engagement across a wide range of important analytics, including demographic, geographic and psychographic significance.

  • MindShare:  Dimensional audience polling and response offers a complete infrastructure to create a live, interactive polling component empowering a national or global audience to react and respond, tapping into real-world insight, in real time.  MindShare is the ultimate combination of qualitative and quantitative research providing real-time analytics and true audience segmentation across client-designated geographies, targeted demographic and psychographic groups and individuals.  MindShare also allows clients to dynamically change the program content of a broadcast to more accurately tap into the mindset of their audience and to measure the impact of the information delivered all in real-time.

  • Audience Integrated Research (AIR) Reports:  Through custom sorting, analysis and reporting, target viewers come into critical focus, providing the most detailed audience representation available to build advanced database queries and retrieve marketing insight.

"In today's marketplace, real-time information is the most powerful tool.  Mind Over Matter's true value proposition is its unique ability to engage a VELOCITY client's key audience, tap into their thinking, and gather and distill critical information," said Philip Elias, president and CEO of VELOCITY Broadcasting.  "This can provide organizations of all kinds with important feedback on a new product or insight into specific mindsets that may exist among consumers or important stakeholders.  That kind of information is invaluable – in the R&D lab and in the board room." 

Mind Over Matter allows broadcast clients to transform live programming into an integrated research and discussion think tank.  Providing meaningful results, viewer responses can be measured and assessed by demographics, geographic spread, knowledge and opinion base, and trend analysis.  Comprehensive reports offer insight into the attitudes, opinions, and knowledge of broadcast viewers through both qualitative and quantitative research results.

VELOCITY broadcasts live, invitation-only HD programming to nationwide audiences within the immersive viewing environment of VELOCITY HD Digital Suites at select Morton's The Steakhouse, Maggiano's Little Italy, and ClubCorp locations.  Each suite is a screening room equipped with 1080i digital HD projection systems, nine-foot 16:9 screens and 11 high-fidelity speakers featuring 7.2 theater-quality surround sound.

For more information on VELOCITY Broadcasting, visit www.velocitybroadcasting.com.

About VELOCITY Broadcasting

VELOCITY Broadcasting is the largest global, private High-Definition broadcasting network, and specializes in producing and delivering custom television programming live via satellite to invitation-only audiences at VELOCITY HD Digital Suites located in private clubs, restaurants and hotels in the top 200 markets across the world.  Since 2005, VELOCITY has produced powerful HD broadcasts that have reached more than 140,000 key decision-makers with critical information across a wide range of topics while eliminating more than a half a billion pounds of climate-changing gases caused by air travel.  For more information, visit www.velocitybroadcasting.com.

Contact:  Jennifer Schmitt

412.642.7700

jennifer.schmitt@elias-savion.com


SOURCE VELOCITY Broadcasting

RELATED LINKS
http://www.velocitybroadcasting.com

St. Claire, Inc., a technical communications company, has announced the availability of versatile new software for the creation of safety, industrial, and general-purpose messages.  Sign Builder DE™ (Desktop Edition) is a powerful, stand-alone program that can run on nearly any computer, without the requirement for an internet connection.  

"Generic signage can be ordered from any number of catalogs," said Dave Hayes, the company's marketing director.  "But feedback from safety engineers and facilities managers among our customers has indicated a need for a way to generate specific messages on-site, without the cost and delay involved in ordering and waiting for delivery.  We have developed Sign Builder DE to fill that need."  

Unmatched graphic resources

At the heart of the program is a collection of more than 6,000 symbols and pictograms, arranged in 52 libraries.  These can be combined with a set of 95 headers -- in English, French, and Spanish -- to produce a virtually limitless array of messages complying with OSHA, ANSI, or ISO regulations.  

Each of the images is a vector file, so it can be scaled up as large as necessary without any loss of sharpness or legibility.  "All the usual prohibitions, permissions, and warnings are covered," said Hayes, "and there is a long list of symbols for such popular industrial themes as quality and recycling."  

Extensive control from an intuitive user interface

Sign Builder DE presents the user with a single main page, from which an unprecedented amount of control can be exercised over all the elements of a sign.  With a single click of a button or selection from a drop-down list, a user can select: the color of the sign's background or its text; the pictogram; the content and alignment of the text; the size and orientation of the sign; and whether its header adheres to OSHA, ANSI, or ISO guidelines.  

Once all of these have been determined, a single click takes the user to a preview page, which shows how the finished sign will look.  Here an exclusive feature allows the user to balance the size relationship between the graphics and the text, making one smaller and the other larger by sliding a virtual pointer along a scale at the edge of the page.  

Automated simplicity

Powerful as the design tools might be, several significant operations have been fully automated to save time and effort.  Sign Builder DE automatically detects the maximum size that can be handled by any attached printer, and it will not permit those limits to be exceeded.  In addition, the program permits the use of any installed TrueType fonts — along with their various weights and italics — and all the symbols built into the Windows character map.  

Sign Builder DE saves the most effort, perhaps, by automatically sizing any text to fit into the space selected for it.  This eliminates the guesswork involved in choosing a type size and adjusting it back and forth until it fits.  

Hardware and software versatility

Sign Builder DE will run on all of the latest Windows® operating systems, including Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.  System requirements are not extraordinary, and there is no dedicated hardware required.  The program will output its signs to any installed printer.    

Download or order from website

The new Sign Builder DE can be obtained as a download or ordered on a CD-ROM from a page on the St. Claire, Inc., website:  

http://www.stclaire.com/go/sign_builder/sign_builder_desktop_edition/html.  

"In all, its an economical way to have custom signage available in response to an immediate need," points out Hayes.  "There is no subscription to renew, and no need to order generic individual signs from a catalog and wait for them to arrive."  

About St. Claire, Inc.  

Started in 1941, St. Claire, Inc., is a privately held company located in Farmington Hills, Michigan.  From its headquarters, it provides services to North American and international customers.  The company uses an array of advanced print and electronic technologies to make complex safety, operational, and maintenance instructions easier to understand and apply.  Among its most popular services are lockout/tagout programs, arc-flash training, and evacuation plans.  More information is available at www.stclaire.com.  

Note: Sign Builder DE is a trademark of St. Claire, Inc.  Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.

 

SOURCE St. Claire, Inc.

RELATED LINKS
http://www.stclaire.com

AMD LASERS today announced the introduction of the Picasso Lite soft tissue dental laser. Priced at $2,495, offering 2.5 Watts of power, and three customizable presets, Picasso Lite is the most affordable and easy-to-operate dental laser in the world. It was designed specifically to replace the archaic use of scalpels and electro-surge in the treatment of soft tissue.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100118/DE35798 )

"With Picasso Lite, we accelerated the paradigm shift in dentistry that began with the introduction of the Picasso soft tissue laser in 2009," said Alan Miller, President/CEO of AMD LASERS. "We have 'One Vision, One Goal' — equipping every operatory with a laser. Record numbers of dentists are purchasing Picasso, and I'm sure Picasso Lite's more attractive price and ease of use will quickly make it the most popular laser in the world.  Picasso Lite was designed specifically for first-time laser dentists and hygienists and, at one-fifth the cost of other lasers, it's truly affordable. We've shipped Picassos to over 50 countries, and the number of dentists and distributors interested in Picassos is truly amazing. I think the real winners are the patients."

Picasso Lite cuts and coagulates tissue with reduced trauma, bleeding, and necrosis of tissue and is used for soft tissue surgery, including troughing, gingivectomies, frenectomies, exposing implants/teeth/ortho brackets, and treating aphthous ulcers and herpetic lesions.

Featuring an ultra-compact, lightweight, and sleek design, Picasso Lite comes complete with an easy-to-learn set-up DVD, online laser certification, accessories, world power adapter, and two-year warranty. Another first for the laser industry is Picasso Lite's ability to use convenient disposable tips or a low-cost strippable fiber.

"We are proud to offer Picassos and now Picasso Lites free of charge to universities and dental schools globally illustrating our commitment to education and charity," said Miller.

 About AMD LASERS, LLC

AMD LASERS is the global leader at providing ultra-affordable laser technology for dental professionals preparing to take their practice to the next level. The integration of the Picasso line of soft tissue dental lasers enables every dental practice to provide treatment for soft tissue surgery, periodontal/endodontic treatment, and laser whitening. AMD LASERS is ISO 13485 and CE-certified for worldwide distribution. For more information about AMD LASERS, please call 866-999-2635, +1-317-202-9530 or visit us online at www.AMDLASERS.com.

SOURCE AMD LASERS

RELATED LINKS
http://www.AMDLASERS.com

Belden (NYSE: BDC), a world leader in the development of signal transmission products for the enterprise, industrial, building management, broadcast, and security markets, is proud to unveil its FiberExpress Brilliance Field-Installable Connectors.  The new fiber optic connectors are brilliant in design and implementation, enabling fast, fool-proof and easy termination of a fiber.  In fact, terminations can typically be made in five (5) seconds, with no termination tools required – a performance unmatched by any other product in the marketplace today.

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090127/CG63239LOGO)

According to Richard Perron, Belden's Product Line Manager for FiberExpress Connectivity Networking Solutions: "We believe our new, tool-less FiberExpress Brilliance Connectors will be enthusiastically welcomed by the contractor community and the distributors who serve them.  That's because the connector's patent-pending design not only eliminates the need for special tools, it also simplifies the installation steps typically associated with fiber terminations.  In addition, the contractor is able to re-terminate the connector up to five (5) times to improve fiber termination yields and lower materials/installation costs."  Mr. Perron adds that users can verify proper connectorization on-site using an external laser light-source, commonly a Visual Fault Locator (VFL), which can be clearly seen through the connector's window, offering immediate termination assurance.

Facilitate Fast, Easy Termination of Tight Buffered Fiber

The simple, yet sophisticated, design of the new FiberExpress Brilliance Connector enables contractors to terminate a tight buffered fiber in just three simple steps:

  • Insert the prepared fiber into the connector
  • Using the index finger, slide the connector's switch-like activator toward the fiber to be terminated to bring about the splice/crimp
  • Slide the boot on the connector body – and it's done!

This fiber installation procedure is accomplished without using any specific or proprietary installation tools.  The built-in activator tab performs the fiber splicing and crimping action in one simple motion, thus reducing the number of steps involved by 50% (as compared with most field-installable connectors).  

Currently the Brilliance connector is available for 900 um LC (OM1, OM2, OM3 and OS2). Throughout the year, ST-Compatible, SC, APC and jacketed versions will also be introduced. Brilliance Field-Installable Connectors can be used for loose tube fiber installations, with the addition of a break-out kit, so installers can achieve the same reliability and improved fiber yields as with tight buffered terminations. The Brilliance connector is also a very reliable connector and is built to withstand a wider range of temperatures (-40 degrees to +75 degrees C) than traditional fiber connectors.  

Belden's FiberExpress Solutions Meet Growing Market Demand

In today's information-intensive world, optical fiber networks are increasingly being used to support mission-critical data transmissions in financial and government institutions, large enterprises, and educational and healthcare facilities across the globe.  Belden continues to expand its FiberExpress solutions to meet this growing demand with reliable, high-performance products that include a full range of cables, connectivity hardware, patch cords, cable assemblies, connectors and work area outlets – all of which comprise Belden's Total Enterprise Networks™ (TENs) end-to-end solutions approach.      

Belden's new FiberExpress Brilliance Connectors fit perfectly into the integrated TENs paradigm. The connector can be used as a backbone, horizontal, or fiber-to-the-desk (FTTD) component in any commercial building, government agency or Data Center. It is ideal for use in the field connectorization of high-speed optical fiber networks such as 10G Ethernet, as well as being the platform for the more challenging 40G/100G networks of the future.  Its use with Belden's FiberExpress Ultra Patch Panel – an ultra-high density, flexible and easy-to-install patch panel system – guarantees optimal performance and reliability, along with labor savings and ease of use.  

Belden FiberExpress Brilliance Field-Installable Connectors will be highlighted at the 2010 BICSI Winter Conference & Exhibition, January 17-21 in Orlando, Florida – Booth 919.  

For more information, request New Product Bulletin #308.  Contact Belden at P.O. Box 1980, Richmond, Indiana 47375, 1.800.BELDEN.1.  FAX: 765.983.5294. Or visit our Web site: www.belden.com  .

About Belden

Belden is a customer focused company. We ensure that our customers' communications infrastructure issues are resolved and that they benefit from the best signal transmission performance for their investment.  We deliver leading-edge copper and fiber cabling/connectivity systems, wireless technologies, and active switch devices.  We employ customer-centric go-to-market strategies and we implement and retain world class manufacturing processes.  Our partners span the globe, helping our customers design, install, operate and maintain their communications applications.  And our experience is vast, including expertise in Enterprise, Industrial, Infrastructure, Transportation, Professional and Enterprise Audio and Video, and Government applications.  To obtain additional information contact Investor Relations at 314-854-8054, or visit our website at www.belden.com.

SOURCE Belden

RELATED LINKS
http://www.belden.com

Spa 7 Cosmetic & Laser Center, located inside Burke Williams Day Spa, now offers CO2 laser skin resurfacing treatments with the SmartXide DOT (Dermal Optical Thermolysis) laser system in Pasadena and the Pixel CO2 OMNIFIT system in West Hollywood.  For the patient with deeper wrinkling and skin damage, these CO2 laser treatments are the gold standard, offering patients an alternative to the old CO2 technology, with minimal downtime, rapid healing and remarkable results.  

With technological advances in the last 10 years, the CO2 laser has become the most popular tool for skin resurfacing.  The newest CO2 lasers emit energy to targeted areas on the face, neck and decolletage, and effectively treat sun damage, wrinkles, fine lines, and acne scarring.  Spa 7 Medical Director, esteemed plastic surgeon, Dr. Brian M. Kinney, chose these laser systems because of their fractional application in which it selectively applies the light beam in a customized pattern of tiny, micron-sized dots, rather than over the entire skin surface.  With the fractional treatment, the ongoing healing and rebuilding process occurs deeper in the dermis lessening the downtime from a few weeks to a few days, while experiencing dramatic improvement in skin texture and skin laxity, pigmentation, wrinkles and acne scars.

This laser facelift treatment is relatively fast, with only a topical anesthetic needed.  Due to its fractional technology, each treatment is customizable to treat multiple issues at once and provides the controller with choice and flexibility.  It may be used on the entire face, including the eyelids.  Because post-treatment care is equally important as the treatment itself, Spa 7 includes a post care kit in the price of the CO2 treatment.  This kit includes everything a guest will need to effectively and efficiently care for the skin as the healing process progresses.  After 5-7 days of the skin appearing sun-blistered, the skin will look and feel tighter, smoother and more uniform in appearance, with full results expected in a matter of months.  

Before and After pictures are available upon request.    

About Spa 7 Cosmetic & Laser Center

Founded by Dr. Richard Penfil, Spa 7 Cosmetic & Laser Center is a personalized medical spa serving clients 7 days a week.  The first location opened June 2009 in West Hollywood, at Burke Williams Day Spa, with the second opening in Pasadena in October 2009.  Spa 7's mission is to provide a highly trained team dedicated to ensuring superior client care by combining medical expertise, the latest technology, a luxurious experience, and personal attention to detail.  Services include a comprehensive selection of the most effective cosmetic and laser treatments and products, tailored to individual needs.

SOURCE Spa 7 Cosmetic & Laser Center

RELATED LINKS
http://www.spa7ca.com

InfoSpi (OTC Bulletin Board: ISPI) are to create a Green Hedge Fund to provide further investment for the company's growth in the coming years.

"Taking carbon credit trading to a new level" is how CEO Chris Hamilton views this decision. "Funding change is the fundamental ethos behind this program."

As controlling and ultimately reducing Carbon Emissions feature so highly on the agenda of every Government, the demand for Carbon Offset Credits will grow. It is here that InfoSpi see a niche to generate investment revenue to support growth in their business.

Newly appointed Prince Carlos, who is heading up the fund stated, "We will fund the development of our projects from the revenue generated by the sale of the carbon credits that we have created by our technology for companies that need them to offset their emissions, almost like a closed loop." "This differentiates us from other hedge funds, as we control the production of the CO2 credits and therefore channelling the carbon 'tax' back as a solution to the problem. Of course the ultimate goal is to bring about change in how we capture and eliminate the emissions from our industrial demands."

A brief overview of the carbon trading market will tell the investors in InfoSpi that this may well present a very sound move. The New York Times recently reported that Carbon trading is one of the "fastest-growing specialties in financial services," and companies are scrambling to get a slice of the market now worth well over 100 billion and that could grow to $1 trillion within a decade.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of InfoSpi Inc. and members of its management as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Important factors currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-statements include fluctuation of operating results, the ability to compete successfully, and the ability to complete before-mentioned transactions. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.

www.infospiinc.com

SOURCE InfoSpi Inc.

RELATED LINKS
http://www.infospiinc.com

ARKRAY, Inc., the world's 5th largest manufacturer of diabetes self-monitoring systems, launches the Assure Brilliance Program – a comprehensive service program for Long Term Care facilities and multi-patient use settings.

Assure® brand blood glucose monitoring systems from ARKRAY have been the leading brand of blood glucose meters in Long Term Care for years. ARKRAY has always been committed to providing excellent services to customers and the Assure Brilliance program is the next step in providing truly comprehensive diabetes management help to over-burdened LTC facilities.

Assure Brilliance consists of three main components – service, diabetes program management, and education. ARKRAY is the only blood glucose meter manufacturer with a dedicated LTC sales force. The company provides on-site training for all shifts, convenient customer service hours for LTC facilities, QA/QC guidance, and extensive training materials, videos, and online resources. The focus on diabetes in Long Term Care has allowed ARKARY to develop an expertise in managing diabetes in LTC – knowledge that is passed along to customers, keeping everyone up-to-date on industry best practices. ARKRAY also offers customers multiple CE courses online at no charge and a quarterly newsletter focused on industry hot buttons such as infection control and F-Tags.

Assure Blood Glucose Meters, including the new auto-code Assure® Platinum meter, are backed by the Assure® Brilliance program to help facilities manage complex diabetes care in their facilities. ARKRAY representatives can do consultations to find how LTC facilities may best benefit from the Assure Brilliance Program.

About ARKRAY USA - ARKRAY, the leader in the Long Term Care blood glucose market, has been a pioneer for nearly 50 years in the field of automated analysis from laboratory and point-of-care systems to home use patient self-testing systems. ARKRAY is one of the few diabetes testing companies in the U.S. market today that undertakes in-house each step of the development process to bring products to market. ARKRAY strongly believes in the relentless innovation of medical technology and focused attention to producing the highest quality products. For patients and health care professionals, this means access to cutting-edge, reliable products and customer-focused service.

For more information:

www.assureusa.com or www.arkrayusa.com

SOURCE ARKRAY, Inc.

RELATED LINKS
http://www.assureusa.com
http://www.arkrayusa.com

The Berry Company LLC ("Berry"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Local Insight Regatta Holdings, Inc., today announced the launch of an innovative new business model developed to help its small business clients generate local leads from multiple sources and platforms.  To deliver on its mission to be a local leads expert, the new go-to-market approach is designed to provide the company's small and medium-sized business clients with year-round sales, service and measurement of print and online leads.

"The launch is the culmination of the strategy and plans we have been working on for the past two years," said Scott Pomeroy, president and CEO of Berry.  "We are expanding our legacy role as a print yellow pages publisher to become a local search services provider in order to meet our clients' need for leads from the many sources consumers use today as they search for local businesses.  We have spent the last year re-engineering every aspect of our business, which we believe will fundamentally transform how we operate and serve our clients."

Berry's new business model includes an expanded, integrated solution set consisting of print directories, Internet Yellow Pages, web sites, search engine marketing and optimization and video, delivered in conjunction with best-in-class partners.

To support the new strategy and enhance efficiency and effectiveness, Berry also announced an organizational restructuring.  Consistent with its client focus, the company will continue to locate its client service teams in regional offices close to its customers.

Operations and staff functions will be provided through three centers of excellence:

  • Corporate headquarters in Denver, Colorado, which will provide executive leadership and corporate staff functions.
  • Dayton, Ohio, the center for  Enterprise Marketing and two of the company's specialized sales units, including a new unit which will be hiring new positions in 2010.
  • Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, where an ISO 9000-certified affiliated operating company of Berry will focus on production and IT infrastructure.  

The restructuring plan will affect approximately 320 existing positions across the United States. Approximately 90 production positions will be relocated in the near future to Berry's operating affiliate in the Dominican Republic.  The company also plans to add up to 100 employees in client-facing roles over the course of the next year.  Up to 50 percent of those new positions will be located at Berry's Dayton campus.

As part of the restructuring, Berry will close its offices in Hudson, Ohio, and Erie, Pennsylvania. In addition, Berry's office in Matthews, North Carolina will be consolidated into the company's office in High Point, North Carolina.

"Our objective is to align our resources with the growth areas of the business," said Pomeroy.  "We will continue to rely on our partners to deliver what they do best while we focus on our core sales and marketing competency."

Berry plans to introduce the new go-to-market approach on a market-by-market basis over the course of 2010.  The launch includes a conversion to a new, integrated technology platform that will support the new business model.  

About Local Insight Regatta Holdings, Inc.

Local Insight Regatta Holdings, through its subsidiary The Berry Company LLC, is a leading provider of local search solutions, generating leads for its advertising clients and enabling consumers to efficiently find the products and services they need.  The Berry Company serves advertising clients in 42 states, publishing nearly 900 print Yellow Pages directories on behalf of approximately 130 telco and other customers.  As an authorized reseller of YELLOWPAGES.com™ in all of its markets, The Berry Company provides its clients with online listings and video advertising through this leading national Internet Yellow Pages site.  The company also provides small and medium-sized businesses with search engine marketing and optimization, and is a Google™ AdWords Authorized Reseller.  

For more information, please see www.localinsightregattaholdings.com. Regatta is a wholly-owned, indirect subsidiary of Local Insight Media Holdings, Inc.  

Local Insight Media Holdings, Inc. is a portfolio company of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, or WCAS. Since its founding in 1979, WCAS has organized 15 limited partnerships with total capital of over $20 billion.  Since its inception, WCAS has invested in more than 150 companies in its target industries and has funded over 650 follow-on acquisitions.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "continue," "assumption" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Regardless of any identifying phrases, these statements relate to future events or our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

The following important factors, among others, could cause such a difference: (i) declines in our revenue; (ii) the loss of any of our key customer agreements or our inability to enforce or fully realize our rights under those agreements; (iii) impairment of our rights, or a decrease or cessation of payments to us, under existing agreements if bankruptcy proceedings were brought by or against the parties to such agreements or certain third parties and any of those agreements are rejected or payments to us are challenged as part of those proceedings; (iv) a declining usage of printed Yellow Pages directories or a decrease in the number of businesses that advertise with us; (v) the effects of the economic recession, which is causing us to experience declining revenue and to incur increased bad debt expense, and of war, terrorism or other catastrophic events; (vi) increased competition from incumbent and independent Yellow Pages directory publishers, Internet-based advertisers and search engines, as well as other types of media; (vii) rapid technological developments and changing preferences in the Yellow Pages publishing and advertising industries; (viii) the effect of competition in local telephone service on the incumbent local exchange carriers', or LECs', current leading positions in the markets we serve; (ix) the impact of union organizing activity; (x) disruptions to our operations caused by our conversion to a new process management and production platform and integrating our information technology systems and processes; (xi) our dependence on ability to maintain satisfactory relationships with third party service providers; (xii) the effect of extending credit to small and mediumsized businesses; (xiii) a decline in the performance of third party certified marketing representatives, which coordinate sales of advertising to national accounts or a decision by these representatives to reduce or end their business with us; (xiv) the loss or impairment of our intellectual property rights; (xv) changes in, or the failure to comply with, government regulations, including franchising laws, accounting standards, zoning laws, environmental laws and taxation requirements; (xvi) future changes in directory publishing obligations, and additional regulation regarding use of the Internet, data and data security; (xvii) the possibility that material weaknesses may exist when we report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting; (xviii) the loss of key personnel or turnover among our sales representatives; (xix) fluctuations in the price or availability of paper; (xx) national or local economic or business conditions that affect advertising expenditures by businesses and individuals or consumer trends in the usage of our products; (xxi) risks related to our substantial indebtedness, the substantial indebtedness of our affiliates and our senior subordinated notes; (xxii) the increased risk regarding our ability to maintain compliance with our debt covenants due to the current economic downturn and expected print revenue declines; and (xxiii) continued or increased disruption in the credit and equity markets.  

These and other risks and uncertainties are described in detail in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, as well as our other periodic filings with the SEC, which are available on the SEC's internet site (http://www.sec.gov). Investors, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made herein are only made as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to publicly revise or update such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of any unanticipated event.

SOURCE The Berry Company LLC

CouponCabin.com, a leading consumer coupon website, is continuing to rapidly expand its content, now offering more than 40,000 coupons and deals to consumers nationwide.

Building off a strong holiday season, CouponCabin.com has added another 50 stores, with plans for an additional 50 by the end of January.

"We are committed to adding new features, stores and coupons to make CouponCabin.com the ultimate online shopping destination," said Scott Kluth, Founder and President of CouponCabin.com.

Earlier this month, CouponCabin.com launched CouponCabin Auctions, which offers great deals on a wide selection of overstock watches, jewelry, sports memorabilia, collectibles, home products, tools, electronics and much more. Most auctions start at $1.00 with no reserve price.

The site has grown from 150 stores and 1,000 offers in 2003 to 2,000+ stores and 40,000 offers in 2010. In addition to thousands of online coupon codes, CouponCabin.com features an expansive list of grocery, printable and local coupons.

About CouponCabin.com

CouponCabin.com offers online coupon codes, printable coupons, grocery coupons, and local coupons, without requiring its users to share any personal information. The site features more than 2,000 online stores with more than 40,000 coupons and deals in 20 product categories.  CouponCabin.com offers live chat help and a weekly newsletter highlighting the latest top deals.  In 2008, CouponCabin.com generated more than $250 million in revenue for its merchants and more than $50 million in savings for its users. The average CouponCabin.com shopper spends 80 seconds on the site and saves $19 per order. For more information, please visit http://www.CouponCabin.com.

SOURCE CouponCabin.com

RELATED LINKS
http://www.couponcabin.com

Amdocs (NYSE: DOX), the leading provider of customer experience systems (CES), today announced that its Amdocs CES 7.5 Convergent Billing offering for broadband operators is now available on the Sun Solaris™ 10 Operating System (OS) supported by Sun Microsystems' energy-efficient SPARC-based servers powered by Sun's CoolThreads™ technology and by Sun SPARC Enterprise servers with SPARC64 processors.

The broadband enhancements to Amdocs CES 7.5 Convergent Billing to support the Sun Solaris 10 OS was the culmination of joint engineering work by Amdocs and Sun for one of the nation's largest broadband operators. Amdocs CES 7.5 Convergent Billing on the Sun platform, a solution already available for service providers, is now being made available to all broadband customers as well.

In today's connected world, service providers are increasingly demanding flexibility in systems and operating software platforms. Amdocs is committed to supporting its customers on multiple platforms as it seeks to improve performance, create efficiencies and capture new opportunities. The ability to run Amdocs CES 7.5 Convergent Billing on the Solaris 10 OS is an example of the strong relationship that Amdocs has developed with Sun Microsystems, Inc. in order to provide customers with industry-leading support and technology.

"Today's news is just the latest development for Amdocs and Sun in a long history of collaboration and technology advancement. Amdocs' customers now have a new platform choice built on Sun's Solaris 10 OS, CoolThreads and SPARC64 processor technologies delivering leading system performance, management and virtualization capabilities, as well as dramatic space and energy savings," said Greg Calhoun, a vice president of sales at Sun Microsystems, Inc.

About Amdocs

Amdocs is the market leader in customer experience systems innovation, enabling world-leading service providers to deliver an integrated, innovative and the intentional customer experience™ – at every point of service. Amdocs provides solutions that deliver customer experience excellence, combining the software, service and expertise to help its customers execute their strategies and achieve service, operational and financial excellence. A global company with revenue of $2.86 billion in fiscal 2009, Amdocs has approximately 17,000 employees and serves customers in more than 60 countries around the world. For more information, visit Amdocs at www.amdocs.com.

Forward looking statement

This press release includes information that constitutes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about Amdocs' growth and business results in future quarters. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be obtained or that any deviations will not be material. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ from those anticipated. These risks include, but are not limited to, the effects of general economic conditions, Amdocs' ability to grow in the business segments it serves, adverse effects of market competition, rapid technological shifts that may render the Company's products and services obsolete, potential loss of a major customer, our ability to develop long-term relationships with our customers, and risks associated with operating businesses in the international market. Amdocs may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, however the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These and other risks are discussed at greater length in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009, filed on December 7, 2009.

Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Solaris and CoolThreads are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

All SPARC trademarks are used under license and are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. in the US and other countries. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc.

SOURCE Amdocs

RELATED LINKS
http://www.amdocs.com

 

SkyBridge (SKGO) Management Shotinthegas.com Subsidiary Intro

(New CEO to Skybridge Technology Group, Inc Address)

HENDERSON, NV, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Skybridge Technology Group, Inc.'s (SKGO; http://www.skybridgetechgroup.com) new management would like to address several issues regarding the recent merger developments, and share updates on company's Pink Sheets', administrative and financial standing with the shareholders.

(The new CEO to Skybridge Technology Group, Inc.,) The president and CEO of Shot in the Gas, Jeffrey Burns, said, " SkyBridge Technology has successfully merged with Shot in the Gas and we are ready to finalize our merger with Sanhe Thech, the 'plastic wood' manufacturer; with our agents scheduled to arrive in China this week. This is all great news for the shareholders as SKGO approaches a new dawn, we have worked hard to clear out all that held us in the dark, and the company wants to update the public on the company's administrative, Pink Sheets' and financial standings.

We are happy to announce that we have arranged funding for SKGO. We are in the final stages of our, Pink Sheets current review with our Adequate Disclosure (AD). SKGO doesn't expect any problems regarding this issue. The company is also completing all the required filings to achieve full transparency with Pink Sheets.

Further, we actively negotiated the settlement of all debts accumulated by previous managements that operated different business models under SKGO symbol. SkyBridge technology intends to clear these debts in good time by utilizing non-toxic financing. We have entered a new era of growth and we wish to keep in good standing with the authorities and investors.

Also, in our efforts to promote SKGO and its exciting environmental business model, we are happy to announce that we have launched the new SkyBridge website, http://www.skybridgetechgroup.com/, that will list information on all our activities and subsidiaries, and we invite all investors, present and potential, to review our solid business model and future plans for our enterprise. We are currently working to improve the www.shotinthegas.com website as well.

The company will keep shareholders informed about the progress on the aforementioned issues and all new developments within the company on a timely basis.

To be included in SKGO's email database for press releases and industry updates, please subscribe at or opt in with your email address at http://www.minamargroup.com/updates/.

Safe Harbor Statement

Information in this news release may contain statements about future expectations, plans, prospects or performance of SkyBridge Technology Group Inc. that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the Safe Harbor Provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words or phrases "can be", "expects", "may affect", "believed", "estimate", "project" and similar words and phrases are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SkyBridge Technology Group Inc. cautions you that any forward-looking information provided by or on behalf of SkyBridge Technology Group Inc. is not a guarantee of future performance. None of the information in this press release constitutes or is intended as an offer to sell securities or investment advice of any kind. SkyBridge Technology Group Inc.'s actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, some of which are beyond SkyBridge Technology Group Inc.'s control. In addition to those discussed in SkyBridge Technology Group Inc.'s press releases, public filings, and statements by SkyBridge Technology Group Inc.'s management, including, but not limited to, SkyBridge Technology Group Inc.'s estimate of the sufficiency of its existing capital resources, SkyBridge Technology Group Inc.'s ability to raise additional capital to fund future operations, SkyBridge Technology Group Inc.'s ability to repay its existing indebtedness, the uncertainties involved in estimating market opportunities, and in identifying contracts which match SkyBridge Technology Group Inc.'s capability to be awarded contracts. All such forward-looking statements are current only as of the date on which such statements were made. SkyBridge Technology Group Inc. does not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which any such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

CONTACT: For any investor relations matters, please contact ww.minamargroup.net/helpdesk; Investor Relations Department Inquiry,http://www.minamargroup.net (IR); For (M&A) and Corporate Matters, http://www.minamargroup.com

SOURCE SkyBridge Technology Group Inc.

HBO Films and The Autism Society of Colorado will host the Denver premiere screening of TEMPLE GRANDIN on Wednesday, February 3 at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science in recognition of Autism Education Week. After the screening, Dr. Temple Grandin will participate in a discussion about the film and her work moderated by Betty Lehman, the executive director of the Autism Society of Colorado.

TEMPLE GRANDIN brings to the screen the story of the best-selling author, animal scientist and autism advocate. The film chronicles Temple's early diagnosis; her turbulent growth and development during her school years; the enduring support she received from her mother, her aunt and her science teacher; and her emergence as a woman with an innate sensitivity and understanding of animal behavior.  

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter and Mayor John Hickenlooper of Denver have declared January 31February 6 "Autism Education Week." The Autism Society of Colorado will kick-off the week with a one-time showing of a unique theatre production entitled "Autism Chronicles: The Gifts and Struggles of People with Autism and Their Families" on the University of Denver Campus on January 31. Other events include educational forums with JFK Partners to be held at University of Colorado.

The Autism Society of Colorado is the local chapter of the Autism Society of America. Founded in 1965, The Autism Society is the nation's leading grassroots autism organization. It exists to improve the lives of all affected by autism. The Autism Society does this by increasing public awareness about the day to day issues faced by people on the spectrum, advocating for appropriate services for individuals across the lifespan, and providing the latest information regarding treatment, education, research and advocacy.

TEMPLE GRANDIN debuts SATURDAY, FEB. 6 (8:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO

SOURCE HBO

It's been business as usual for Karina Bradley.  The Pop Star just recently finished filming a music video for her song, "Dance Floor Diva" at Dusk in Atlantic City. It was directed by Caesar Augustus of Augustus Films, who has directed music videos for the likes of Barrington Levy and Asher Roth; and was produced by MTV's Joe Frantz, who has worked with Bam Magera on the set of "Viva La Bam."  On top of that she has also recently worked on a track titled "Damn, I Look Good" with New York Club Legend Larry Tee, worked on vocals for the remix of TF Mafia's "Everybody Knows," and is getting ready to return to the ring with Celebrity Boxing as their Top model in late January. To cap this recent hot streak, the diva will be performing at The Manyunk Social Club / Recess Lounge in her home city of Philadelphia, Pa.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100114/NE38288 )

Ever since it opened at the spot that used to house Lounge 125 on September 17th, 2009, The Manyunk Social Club / Recess Lounge has been known as "Philadelphia's most exclusive playground," and has also been considered one of the city's premiere lounges. Philly 2 Philly calls this lounge a "Modern Day Shangri-la" and says, "As you overlook the restaurant, via a staircase leading down to the main area, you're offered a unique preview of what is in store if you do decide to join the party." And Around Philly says "no other one-word-name Philly lounge hits the nail on the head quite like Recess (yet). The theme hits you like a dodge ball to the face." Overall The Manyunk Social Club / Recess Lounge is a bold effort by owners T.J. Gersh, Ryan Dorsey, and Marc Mattera, who all worked art to give Philadelphia it's most unique night life spot.

"I was in my 20's when I first got started in the night club business," says Mattera. "I always seemed to know where all of the local hot spots were, and I always had friends in the business, particularly Ryan. He came to me about a year ago with an idea for a night club. The two of us talked about what we could do to make Philadelphia nightlife unique. As things progressed, he introduced me to T.J. (Gersh). Between the three of us, we created an ideal place where who's who can enjoy themselves, and where everyone is treated as a VIP."

Karina Bradley will be performing her two hit singles, "Dance Floor Diva" and "Damn, I Look Good" on Saturday, January 6th at 12:30 AM. Not only that but she will be unveiling her "Dance Floor Diva" music video during the performance. To find out more about Pop Star Diva Karina Bradley check out her website. You can also follow her on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Ning.

SOURCE SYNERGIZED MEDIA

RELATED LINKS
http://karinabradley.com/

Youlayaway, a New York City startup, announced today the beta launch of the first free online layaway payment platform giving consumers the ability to use layaway as a payment option at some of the biggest online retailers. Youlayaway is determined to change the way consumers shop online by offering a service that is free and provides a smart payment alternative that can rival traditional payment methods.

"The economic downturn had an immediate effect on the consumers' spending habits," said Paul Kundel, CEO of Youlayaway.  "I realized that shopping online could be made responsible and fun at the same time if people were given the option of using layaway to shop at their favorite online stores."

Layaway shopping has made a big comeback in the last 12 months.  Several big box retailers have brought back their in-store layaway programs in the last year. "In an economy like this one, people don't want to rely on credit," said Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation.

Unlike traditional layaway services offered by retail stores or other Web sites, Youlayaway has absolutely no fees. This means no service fees, no hidden fees and no membership fees. The industry-first Layaway On Demand feature also provides the ability to choose from millions of products to layaway from top online retailers.

The beauty of Youlayaway is that members have the power to customize their payment plans by choosing either monthly or bi-weekly payments for purchases. A layaway plan can be 2-6 months long, with a maximum of 13 payments. Youlayaway will automatically deduct the scheduled payments from the member's bank account through ACH, the industry banking standard that that processes direct deposits, electronic payments, and debit card payments. Once the last payment has been made, the product is shipped directly from the store and is in the consumer's hands in a matter of days.

About Youlayaway

Youlayaway is a New York City startup that provides consumers the ability to shop at their favorite online stores with an alternative layaway payment option. Founded by a former Morgan Stanley financial analyst, Youlayaway gives members access to major online retailers with a payment method that lets them buy products without using credit or paying cash. For more information, please visit http://www.youlayaway.com.

SOURCE Youlayaway

RELATED LINKS
http://www.youlayaway.com

Home Service, a leading provider of home emergency repair programs with hundreds of thousands of policies in place, is doing their share to keep homeowners protected.  Previously reaching customers through partner utility companies, Home Service today announced that they will be offering their protection program directly to select area homeowners.

The water service line is the pipe that brings freshwater into a home and is the homeowner's responsibility to maintain it.  On most properties, this line starts from the curb or well casing of the property and goes all the way into the home connecting to the water heater, sinks, showers and more.  Temperature changes, shifting soil or the age of the line can all be causes of damage.  Many times this will result in a loss of water pressure or a loss of water altogether for cooking, bathing and other household needs.  In other instances, effects will not be noticed until there is a spike in the water bill due to leakage under the yard.

Accredited by the Better Business Bureau, Home Service is able to offer emergency solutions that protect homeowners from the hassle and expense of unexpected repairs.  "Emergencies do happen and unfortunately, there's very little someone can do to prepare for them," says Jonathan King, Chief Executive Officer of Home Service.  "Rather than having to scramble and pay thousands of dollars in the midst of a home emergency, Home Service takes care of the legwork from start to finish."

Home Service will be offering Water Service Line protection via a direct mail campaign offering consumers thousands of dollars in coverage for a low monthly fee.  When enrolled in the program, customers have access to a 24-hour emergency hotline that will dispatch a Home Service contractor to make any necessary repairs at the home.

Home Service has established a locally based network of licensed and qualified contractors to serve the area.  Every contractor is fully screened, assessed and trained before joining the Home Service network and making repairs at the policy holder's home.  "We aim to provide every customer with first class service and make sure that our contractors do the same," says King.  

About Home Service

Home Service USA Corp (HSUSA) is an independent provider of homeowner assistance services.  The company was established in 2003 and since then has grown to protect hundreds of thousands of homeowners against the expense and inconvenience of water, electrical, and other home emergencies.    

For more information about Home Service, please go to www.hsusacorp.com.

SOURCE Home Service

RELATED LINKS
http://www.hsusacorp.com

RBS WorldPay is offering federal taxpayers, who have a quarterly estimated tax payment, several low cost and convenient last minute electronic tax payment options prior to this quarter's January 15, 2010 tax deadline.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090511/CL14613LOGO)

Taxpayers can make secure federal tax payments 24 hours a day, seven days a week online at www.payUSAtax.com, or by calling RBS WorldPay's touch-tone phone system at 1-888-9-PAY-TAX (1-888-972-9829). Through the RBS WorldPay tax payment services, taxpayers can make quarterly estimated tax payments to the IRS with their MasterCard® and Discover® credit and debit cards as well as other payment methods for only 1.95% of their tax liability amount.  In addition, taxpayers can also pay with a VISA®, STAR®, NYCE® or Pulse® debit card for a fixed convenience fee of only $3.89.

RBS WorldPay is the first and only Authorized Payment Service Provider to offer a credit card tax payment convenience fee that is less than 2%. All federal tax payments made through www.payUSAtax.com and 1-888-9-PAY-TAX are processed immediately and the payment date is equal to the time that a taxpayer completes their transaction.

In addition to IRS Estimated Taxes (Form 1040ES), taxpayers can also process the following Personal and Business tax types at the new lower credit card convenience fee rate of 1.95%:

Federal Personal Tax Payments

  • Form 1040 Series (including Prior Year payments)
  • Installment Agreement Payments
  • Form 4868 (Tax Extension)
  • Trust Fund Recovery Penalty
  • Form 1040X (Amended Tax Returns)
  • Form 5329 - Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans and Other Tax-Favored Accounts (Return for Individual Retirement Arrangement Taxes)

Federal Business Tax Payments

  • Form 940 Series - Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment Tax Return
  • Form 941 Series - Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return
  • Form 943 Series - Employer's Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural Employees
  • Form 944 Series - Employer's Annual Federal Tax Return
  • Form 945 Series - Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax
  • Form 1065 - U.S. Return of Partnership Income
  • Form 1041 - U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts

For more information visit www.payUSAtax.com.

About Value Payment Systems

Value Payment Systems provides electronic payment products and services to various industries including government and property management. Value Payment Systems' comprehensive e-payment services encompass a wide array of payment channels including the Internet as well as emerging payment methods such as Bill Me Later.  For more information, visit www.valuepaymentsystems.com.

About RBS WorldPay, Inc.

RBS WorldPay is a leading, single-source provider of electronic payment processing services – including credit, debit, EBT, checks, gift cards, e-commerce, customer loyalty cards, fleet cards,  ATM processing and cash management services.


RBS WorldPay is the US-based payment processing division of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc.  For more information, please visit www.RBSWorldPay.us.   

About The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS)

The RBS Group is a financial services company providing a range of retail and corporate banking, financial markets, consumer finance, insurance, and wealth management services.  The RBS Group operates in the Americas, Asia and the Middle East serving more than 40 million customers.  For more information, please visit www.RBS.com.


For More Information Contact:




Dawn M. Thompson

J. Scott Slusser

RBS WorldPay, Inc.

Value Payment Systems

Phone:  678.587.1652

Phone:  615.730.6367

Fax:  678.587.2652

Fax:  615.730.6385

e-mail:  Dawn.Thompson@RBSWorldPay.us

e-mail:  sslusser@valuepaymentsystems.com

www.RBSWorldPay.us

www.ValuePaymentSystems.com


SOURCE RBS WorldPay, Inc.

RELATED LINKS
http://www.RBSWorldPay.us

J'adore Paree! Live from Paris Las Vegas, Barry Manilow is scheduled to return to QVC on Tuesday, January 19 at 9 PM (ET) to unveil his much-anticipated new album, THE GREATEST LOVE SONGS OF ALL TIME (Arista).

During the special QVC Presents QSessions Live broadcast, the Grammy-, Tony-, and Emmy Award-winning artist will perform a selection of songs from the new album while offering viewers an inside look at the inspiration behind the collection. Manilow will also offer shoppers the opportunity to purchase a five-track bonus disc of songs he put together especially for QVC viewers, a week before street date.

"Barry Manilow continues to be a favorite among our viewers," said Rich Yoegel, director of merchandising for QVC. "Performing his brand-new songs live from Las Vegas, this show promises to be one that no one will want to miss." 

Teaming up, once again, with longtime collaborator and Arista Records founder Clive Davis (now Chief Creative Officer, Sony Music Entertainment), Manilow's THE GREATEST LOVE SONGS OF ALL TIME features his loving interpretations and arrangements of classic love songs, including "Love is Here To Stay," "The Look of Love," and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love."

Manilow, whose 2006 QVC appearance marked the highest single-day sales by a musical artist in QVC history, also continues to hold the record as the highest single-hour music sales event in QVC's 23 years.

THE GREATEST LOVE SONGS OF ALL TIME will be available starting January 19 through QVC at 800.345.1515 or www.QVC.com, while supplies last.

About Barry Manilow

The Greatest Love Songs of All Time is Barry Manilow's follow-up to the mega-bestselling series of "Decades" albums that he masterminded with Clive Davis.  The series began in January 2006 with The Greatest Songs Of The Fifties, which entered the Billboard 200 album chart at #1, and was certified RIAA platinum.  The Greatest Songs Of The Sixties (October 2006) entered at #2.  When the RIAA platinum The Greatest Songs Of The Seventies entered at #4 (September 2007), Barry Manilow was distinguished as the only artist to chart three Top 5 debuts during 2006-2007.  The most recent entry in the series, The Greatest Songs Of The Eighties, was released November 2008.

Beyond the sensational "Decades" series, Arista is the home to Manilow's biggest hits including "Mandy,"  "It's a Miracle," "Could It Be Magic," "I Write the Songs," "Looks Like We Made It," "Can't Smile Without You," "Copacabana (At the Copa)," "Somewhere In the Night," "Ships,"  "I Made It Through the Rain," and many, many more. With worldwide record sales exceeding 80 million, Barry Manilow is ranked as the top Adult Contemporary chart artist of all time, according to R&R (Radio & Records); with no less than 25 consecutive top 40 hits to his credit between 1975 and 1983, on the Billboard Hot 100. Manilow has worked on over 40 albums over the course of his career as a singer, songwriter, arranger and producer.

About QVC

QVC, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation attributed to the Liberty Interactive Group (Nasdaq: LINTA), is one of the largest multimedia retailers in the world. QVC is committed to providing its customers with thousands of the most innovative and contemporary beauty, fashion, jewelry and home products. Its programming is distributed to more than 167 million homes worldwide. The company's Web site, QVC.com, is ranked among the top general merchant Internet sites. With subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan, and launching in Italy in 2010, West Chester, Pa.-based QVC has shipped more than a billion packages in its 23-year history. QVC, Q, and the Q Ribbon Logo are registered service marks of ER Marks, Inc.

SOURCE QVC, Inc.

RELATED LINKS
http://www.qvc.com

Global creative agency ATTIK (www.attik.com) is very proud to announce that some of its latest project work has been included in the recently released Brand Identity Now! book from world famous art book publisher TASCHEN Books and its design editor, Julius Wiedemann.

Featuring in-depth case studies of leading projects from around the world, Brand Identity Now! is a major reference work for designers as well as marketing and communications professionals.  The book examines logos, imagery, and strategic applications involved in each branded project, featuring over 150 outstanding brand identities from more than 20 countries.

Included among a select number of top design companies worldwide, ATTIK is unique for its broad range of core capabilities, which often result in breakthrough campaigns where the firm's focus on great design and sound branding practices is shrewdly integrated into hybrid, "media agnostic" sets of channels and approaches which connect with the desired audiences most effectively.  ATTIK's creative work across virtually all media channels for Scion, Lexus, Coca-Cola and other major brands is well known, while the company is also accustomed to making vital communications contributions from behind the scenes.  In the latter case, recent examples include developing the brand identity and full marketing toolset for Plastic Logic's QUE proReader which just launched at CES, the logo and visual identity for OnLive which launched to great fanfare at GDC 2009, the brand identity system for ICON Aircraft and its ICON A5 consumer sport plane which currently has over 400 pre-orders, and the new visual identity system for youth brand Boost Mobile.  The Boost Mobile case study appears in Brand Identity Now!

"I have been following the work of ATTIK since the late 90s, when I was working in Japan," said Wiedemann.  "What really strikes me in their work is the conduction of both usability and elegance, a combination that is in most cases hard to achieve.  The variety of work created in the studio shows the consistency they keep in every assignment.  We are all overwhelmed with information (apart from ugly work too), and we need today to combine beauty and accessibility to cope with that, create a better world.  ATTIK has mastered that."

Brand Identity Now! is available through most major book retailers worldwide, and online at www.taschen.com.

Among other major design references published in 2009, NoiseFive – the latest edition in ATTIK's original, world-renowned series of experimental design books – is available directly from ATTIK.  ATTIK's Noise publications are also chronicled within the pages of the prestigious Graphic Design, Referenced: A Visual Guide to the Language, Applications, and History of Graphic Design from authors Bryony Gomez Palacio and Armin Vit, and Rockport Publishers.  Graphic Design, Referenced is also available through major book retailers around the world.

About ATTIK

ATTIK (www.attik.com) is a global creative agency committed to designing extraordinary creative experiences that inspire consumers through compelling communications.  ATTIK's strategic planning, design, advertising, production, client service and young-adult research expertise have driven success across an array of consumer product and service categories.  ATTIK articulates corporate brand strategy, designs creative solutions for advertising, below-the-line and online media, ensuring target audiences are vitally connected to every facet of its clients' brands.  For inquiries, please call Ric Peralta (Ric@attik.com) at +1-415-284-2600.

[NOTE TO EDITORS: Please visit this link to view/download high-resolution artwork to accompany this story: http://www.darnellworks.com/attik/nr0078.htm]

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link.

Ric Peralta

https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=33059

James Sommerville

https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=40333

Simon Needham

https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=42438

SOURCE ATTIK

RELATED LINKS
http://www.attik.com

OFS has introduced LaserWave® FLEX  multimode fiber, a bend-optimized 50 micron OM4/OM3 multimode fiber designed for use in data center, high performance computing, and enterprise LAN applications. The reduced bending loss exhibited by the fiber at a bend radius as low as 7.5 mm brings outstanding bend performance to OFS' industry-leading LaserWave 550/300 fibers.

OFS will exhibit the fiber at the BICSI Winter Conference held January 17th – 21st 2010 in Orlando, Florida (Booth 1106).

LaserWave FLEX fiber offers extremely low bending loss at both 850 nm and 1300 nm, including a maximum attenuation of 2.2 dB/km at the popular 850 nm operating window, the lowest loss for bend-optimized fibers on the market. The fiber can be installed in loops as small as 7.5 mm radius with less than 0.2 dB bending loss at 850 nm and 0.5 dB at 1300 nm, while maintaining excellent long term fiber strength and reliability.

Fully compatible with the installed base of multimode fiber, LaserWave FLEX fiber allows cabling systems providers to develop smaller, higher density fiber management systems for today's space-constrained environments, while simplifying jumper installation and routing. Its improved bend performance can guard against instances of higher loss caused by tight bends, thus helping to increase systems reliability and to maximize network uptime.

Because it meets or exceeds the requirements of the OM4/OM3 standards, LaserWave FLEX fiber extends the application of multimode fiber to support transmission at 10 Gb/s and future speeds such as 40 and 100 Gb/s. Using low cost 850 nm Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) transceivers, the fiber supports a wide variety of applications including 10 Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel and InfiniBand.

Robust and easy to connectorize, LaserWave FLEX fiber promotes ease of installation even under the most stringent conditions. OFS protects the fibers with Flex-10® coating, a dual-layered acrylate coating system that provides the industry's best protection against water, temperature and humidity.

LaserWave FLEX fiber is manufactured at OFS' Multimode Center of Excellence in Sturbridge, Mass. using the company's advanced Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition (MCVD) technology. The MCVD process enables OFS to precisely control each fiber's index of refraction across the core, including the core's center region.

All products in the LaserWave fiber family meet and exceed the specification requirements of both the EMBc and the more discriminating DMD mask methods for verifying Effective Modal Bandwidth. Both techniques are recognized and approved industry standards; however the DMD mask method allows for closer scrutiny of fiber characteristics, enabling LaserWave fiber to be specified to more stringent DMD specifications than required by the standards.

LaserWave FLEX fiber is available from leading cablers, as well as in a select number of OFS cable and connectivity products.

About OFS

OFS is a world-leading designer, manufacturer and provider of optical fiber, optical fiber cable, FTTX, optical connectivity and specialty photonics products.  Our manufacturing and research divisions work together to provide innovative products and solutions that traverse many different applications as they link people and machines worldwide. Between continents, between cities, around neighborhoods, and into homes and businesses of digital consumers we provide the right optical fiber, optical cable and components for efficient, cost-effective transmission.

OFS' corporate lineage dates back to 1876 and included technology powerhouses such as AT&T and Lucent Technologies. Today, OFS is owned by Furukawa Electric, a multi-billion dollar global leader in optical communications. 

Headquartered in Norcross (near Atlanta) Georgia, U.S., OFS is a global provider with facilities in Avon, Connecticut; Carrollton, Georgia; Somerset, New Jersey; and Sturbridge, Massachusetts, as well as in Denmark, Germany and Russia.

For more information, please visit www.ofsoptics.com.

Contacts:


Sherry Salyer

OFS Public Relations

shsalyer@ofsoptics.com

770-798-4210


Steve Cardone

Fiber Marketing

scardone@ofsoptics.com

508-347-8557

SOURCE OFS

RELATED LINKS
http://www.ofsoptics.com

In response to a growing need to support military members returning from active duty, Cell Phones for Soldiers today announced an expansion of their services by offering free cell phones to all armed forces returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

To achieve this goal, the charity is calling on all Americans to donate their old phones to the cause. The free phones are drawn from those donated by individuals and corporations; to achieve this goal, an additional 1 million phones will need to be donated in 2010.

"With tens of thousands of our brave troops returning from active duty this year, the need to help them get back on their feet here at home has never been greater," said Brittany Bergquist, cofounder of Cell Phones for Soldiers. "We are thrilled to be able to provide this tremendous service to our brave men and women."

The Helping Heroes Home campaign relies on the donations of used phones. Qualifying phones are refurbished and given to requesting soldiers along with a month of calling time. Other donated phones will either be recycled or used to fund the charity's free calling-card program for troops overseas.

Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded in 2004 by brother and sister Robbie and Brittany Bergquist. To date, they have provided more than 60,000,000 minutes of free calling cards thanks to a national network of individual and corporate supporters donating phones and money.

"There are more than 130 million phones retired every year in the United States," said Robbie Bergquist, cofounder of Cell Phones for Soldiers. "If just 2% of all American's were to donate their phones, we could supply every troop with a phone as a small measure of the gratitude of a nation."

Sponsors for this initiative include the Consumer Electronics Association, One Source Inc. and ReCellular Inc.

About Cell Phones for Soldiers:

Cell Phones for Soldiers was created by Brittany & Robbie Bergquist of Norwell MA. After reading a story about a soldier who ran up a huge phone bill calling home from Iraq, these two teenagers decided to help out. They started by opening an account with $21.00 of their own money. They are collecting cash donations and old cell phones. The cell phones are recycled for cash and the proceeds are used to buy prepaid calling cards for our soldiers serving in the Middle East. Cell Phones For Soldiers is a registered 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. Their efforts have motivated people and businesses around the country to donate to this worthy cause. Their goal is to provide every US soldier with a way to call home for free. For more information, please visit www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com

SOURCE Cell Phones for Soldiers

RELATED LINKS
http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com

In 2010 Holland America Line highlights the magnificent wilderness of Canada's Yukon Territory. Of its 31 Alaska and the Yukon CruiseTours, 13 include Yukon destinations such as Whitehorse, Dawson City, Tombstone Territorial Park and Kluane National Park. New in 2010 is the "Best of the Yukon" CruiseTour, one of three adventuresome Expedition CruiseTours just introduced by Holland America Line.

"With more than 60 years' experience in Alaska and Yukon tours, Holland America creates itineraries to highlight the best and most comprehensive Yukon experiences," said Richard D. Meadows, CTC, executive vice president, marketing, sales, and guest programs.

CruiseTours featuring the Yukon range from 10 to 20 days in length and depart May 9 through Aug. 28, 2010. All combine a three-, four-, or seven-day Inside Passage cruise with a land tour of top destinations in Alaska and the Yukon. Guests experience the wilderness, wildlife, native culture and history while traveling by luxury motor coach, rail and often river boat.

The new "Best of the Yukon" Expedition CruiseTour is designed to provide an in-depth Yukon experience. The itinerary is 12 days with a three-day, north-bound cruise or 13 days with a south-bound sailing that includes Glacier Bay. Guests visit Whitehorse, capital of the Yukon Territory, and Dawson City, a Klondike National Historic Site where they have three nights and two full days to explore its gold rush heritage, Tombstone Territorial Park and active adventures from rafting to hiking. The tour also visits Tok, Beaver Creek and Skagway in Alaska. It includes an exciting Yukon River cruise aboard the Yukon Queen II, Kluane National Park sightseeing, White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad with Lake Bennett excursion and the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines.

Holland America Line offers six Great Land Klondike CruiseTours ranging from 11 to 15 days that all feature Whitehorse, Dawson City and the Yukon Queen II river cruise between Dawson City and Eagle, Alaska. Four of the CruiseTours also include a scenic trip on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad via Lake Bennett between Whitehorse and Skagway. All feature an overnight in Denali National Park and the six-to-eight-hour Tundra Wilderness Tour within the park.

Four Great Land Wilderness CruiseTours ranging from 10 to 13 days offer itineraries that include Whitehorse. Here guests may enjoy a natural history presentation at the entrance to Kluane National Park or a summer sled dog demonstration by Uncommon Journeys. On two tours they can take an optional full-day excursion to Kluane, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. All Great Land Klondike and Wilderness CruiseTours are escorted by a tour director and include travel on deluxe Explorer Coaches.

Two Glacier Discovery CruiseTours offer extensive 19- or 20-day adventures that include two nights in Whitehorse and Dawson City and "Double Denali."

CruiseTours featuring the Yukon start at $1,249 per person, double occupancy. For more information about booking an Alaska & Yukon CruiseTour, contact a travel agent or call 1-877-SAIL-HAL (1-877-724-5425) or visit www.hollandamerica.com.

Find Holland America Line on Twitter, Facebook and the Holland America Blog. Access all social media outlets via the Online Communities quick link on the home page at www.hollandamerica.com.

About Holland America Line [a division of Carnival Corporation and plc (NYSE: CCL and CUK)]

Holland America Line's fleet of 14 ships offers nearly 500 cruises to 320 ports in more than 100 countries, territories or dependencies. Two- to 108-day itineraries visit all seven continents, and highlights include Antarctica, South America, Australia/New Zealand and Asia voyages; a Grand World Voyage; and popular sailings to ports in the Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico, Canada/New England, Europe and Panama Canal. A 15th ship, ms Nieuw Amsterdam, is scheduled to join the fleet in 2010.

World's Leading Cruise Lines

The highest-rated premium cruise line in the world, Holland America Line is a member of the exclusive World's Leading Cruise Lines alliance, which also includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Seabourn Cruise Line and Costa Cruises. Sharing a passion to please each guest and a commitment to quality and value, these lines appeal to a wide range of lifestyles and budgets. The World's Leading Cruise Lines offer exciting and enriching cruise vacations to the world's most desirable destinations.



            CONTACT:     Sally Andrews / Sarah Scoltock
              PHONE:     800-637-5029
                FAX:     206-262-5934
              EMAIL:  pr@hollandamerica.com


SOURCE Holland America Line

RELATED LINKS
http://www.hollandamerica.com

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific's leading luxury hotel group, has launched the industry's first multilingual user-friendly mobile website at http://www.shangri-la.com , providing guests convenient access anytime and anywhere from their smartphone devices. The mobile website allows guests to reserve, modify or cancel a booking with real-time availability. In addition, members of Shangri-La's guest recognition programme, Golden Circle, can use their profiles for quicker reservations.

( PHOTO: http://www.shangintranet.com/Guest/Photos/SLIM/pr_en.JPG )

Created with simplicity and comprehensiveness in mind, Shangri-La's new mobile website is available in English, Chinese and Japanese and designed specifically for popular smartphones such as Apple iPhone(R), BlackBerry(R), Android and Nokia Nseries smartphone screens. Mobile-friendly features include a simple navigation system for easier and faster hotel searches and bookings, a clean and clutter-free design, an enhanced photography presentation and interactive maps.

"Mobile devices are increasingly used by travellers to get connected to the Internet on the road and we are confident that our new mobile website will be invaluable to guests who prefer the convenience of a smartphone. We recognise the inherent usability issues with today's smartphones and have addressed them with the latest mobile web technology to offer one of the most user-friendly mobile web browsing experiences in the travel industry," said Michael Leong, director of corporate e-business, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts.

Enhanced photography presentation and interactive maps are two further firsts for hotel mobile websites. Optimised for the Apple iPhone(R), users can click on to picture thumbnails to view hotel photographs in full-screen mode, a function that uses the iPhone's accelerometer mode to switch between portrait and landscape orientations. The mobile website also features interactive Google maps that allow users to zoom in to street level details to help find their way to a Shangri-La or Traders hotel.

Navigating http://www.shangri-la.com via a smartphone is made easy by the cleanly laid out pages and information is displayed on demand to minimise screen clutter. Another design feature is the reduced need for typing while browsing the website, helping users navigate more quickly by avoiding the use of typically unwieldy smartphone virtual keyboards.

To access the new mobile website, users simply visit http://www.shangri- la.com on their smartphone's browser.

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific's leading luxury hotel group, currently owns and/or manages 65 hotels under the deluxe Shangri-La and mid-market Traders brands, with a rooms inventory of over 28,000. The group has over 40 projects under development in Austria, Canada, mainland China, France, India, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Qatar, Seychelles, United Kingdom and the United States. For more information and reservations, please contact a travel professional or access the website at http://www.shangri-la.com .

For digitised pictures of the group's hotels, please go to http://www.shangri-la.com/imagelibrary .

    PRESS CONTACT:

     Sari Yong
     Media Relations Manager, Hong Kong/Southeast Asia
     Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts
     Tel:     +852-2599-3336
     Fax:     +852-2599-3374
     Email:   sari.yong@shangri-la.com
     Website: http://www.shangri-la.com

SOURCE Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts

RELATED LINKS
http://www.shangri-la.com
http://www.shangri-la.com/imagelibrary
http://www.shangintranet.com/Guest/Photos/SLIM/pr_en.JPG

The sporty SE edition of the all-new, third-generation Toyota Sienna will appear with Dunlop tires when the 2011 model hits showrooms in February 2010. One of the standard fitments for this popular minivan will be Dunlop SP Sport 7000 tires in size P235/50R19. The 2011 Toyota Sienna SE is designed for those who want a sporty design and responsive performance. The SE model sits lower, on a sport-tuned suspension for quicker feedback and better handling.

The Dunlop SP Sport 7000 features a blend of all-season and high-performance capabilities. Dunlop's Multi-Radius Tread Technology helps deliver superb dry and wet handling, and 5-Pitch Technology aids in noise reduction for a quiet ride.

For more information about Dunlop's broad selection of tires for cars, light trucks, SUVs, and more, visit www.dunloptires.com.

SOURCE The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

RELATED LINKS
http://www.dunloptires.com

ESPN Deportes, the Spanish-language home of sports news and information, will launch Los Capitanes en ESPN, a program that will feature the latest news, information and commentary surrounding the world of sports. The program will debut Monday, January 11 and air Monday-Friday at 3 p.m. ET.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080515/CLTH144LOGO)

"Sports news and commentary is truly one of the elements that sets us apart from the pack and adding Los Capitanes en ESPN to the mix will further strengthen our leadership position in sports news and information," said Rodolfo Martinez, vice president, production, ESPN Deportes and ESPN International. "With the addition of this show we will now be able to offer eight hours of sports news and information on a daily basis."

The one-hour program will be anchored by legendary sportscaster and ESPN Deportes commentator Jose Ramon Fernandez and feature German Dehesa, one of Mexico's most respected journalists, as special guest. They will be joined by former Mexican soccer player and ESPN Deportes commentator Rafael Puente, investigative journalist Hector Huerta, SportsCenter anchor Alejandro Blanco and SportsCenter reporter Alex de la Rosa.

Los Capitanes en ESPN joins a strong roster of daily news and information programs, including SportsCenter, Futbol Picante, Jorge Ramos y su Banda, Juego Cruzado, and Cronometro.

ESPN Deportes has become the No. 1 Spanish-language network for sports news and information since being added to Nielsen's Hispanic sample. In 2009, ESPN Deportes delivered more hours of sports news and information programming than any other Spanish-language network. ESPN Deportes finished 2009 as the most watched and highest rated Spanish-language sports cable network, averaging 40,000 household impressions, out-delivering its closest competitor by 32%. The network delivered the largest average audience overall and across all male demos: 39,257 (P2+), 14,795 (M18-34); 22,500 (M18-49) and 18,548 (M25-54) - almost doubled the network's closest competitor. In 2009, ESPN Deportes had 44 of the top 50 highest-rated sports news/commentary shows on Spanish-language cable.

SOURCE ESPN Deportes

Spreadtrum Communications, Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company that develops baseband and RF processor solutions for the wireless communications market (hereinafter referred to as "Spreadtrum", Nasdaq Stock code: SPRD), and Qingdao Hisense Communication Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of a world leading provider of flat panel TVs, household appliances and mobile communications (hereinafter referred to as "Hisense Communication"), jointly launched the world's first TD-SCDMA feature phone -- Hisense N51 -- with retail price below 1000 RMB. Hisense N51 is the only affordable TD-SCDMA mobile phone that supports CMMB digital TV among all existing 3G phones that are available through China Mobile's "TD-SCDMA Terminal Special Incentive Fund Project" program. With the increasing demand for affordable 3G phones in the Chinese market, the launch of Hisense N51 will greatly accelerate the adoption of the TD-SCDMA platform and further enrich TD-SCDMA terminal products and services.

Hisense N51 was jointly developed by Spreadtrum and Hisense in a highly collaborative technical partnership. Executive Vice President of Hisense Communication, Ms. Wenlin Yang, said: "Hisense and Spreadtrum share a long history of co-operation. Partnering with Spreadtrum, we successfully won the bid of 'thousand-yuan 3G mobile phones' project of China Mobile's 'TD-SCDMA Terminal Special Incentive Fund Project.' Through our six-month joint efforts and Spreadtrum's very competitive TD-SCDMA and CMMB solutions, the Hisense N51 was introduced. The excellent localized technical support and quick customer service response from Spreadtrum's team have not only greatly shortened the time to launch Hisense N51, but also ensured that Hisense TD-SCDMA products will be competitive in the 3G phone market. Hisense has always been at the forefront of the TD-SCDMA industry. At present, China Mobile has completed the construction of a national network, by investing huge resources to support the end-products, especially affordable G3 handsets. Compounded with its huge customer base and mature terminal operating experience, I believe, in 2010, China's TD users will show explosive growth and our partnership with Spreadtrum will move further in the next level."

President and CEO of Spreadtrum Communications, Inc., Dr. Leo Li, said: "We are very pleased to be working with Hisense to develop affordable TD-SCDMA products targeting China's 3G market. Hisense has an extensive research and development experience and leading technology, as well as a close partnership with Spreadtrum. Spreadtrum provides highly integrated TD-SCDMA/HSDPA/GSM/GPRS/EDGE baseband chip SC8800H and RF chip QS3200, which effectively reduce the cost of development and manufacturing of Hisense Communication products. Therefore, Hisense Communication is able to introduce cost-effective handsets such as N51 by targeting the Chinese 3G market quickly to meet the needs of consumers. Spreadtrum CMMB mobile TV chip SC6600V provides Hisense N51 with vast application space. Particularly, Hisense N51 is currently the world's only 1000 RMB level TD-SCDMA phone that supports CMMB."

Chief Scientist of Spreadtrum Communications, Inc., Dr. Xiaojian Dong, also remarked: "Spreadtrum has maintained a close cooperative partnership with mobile terminal manufacturers during the implementation process of China Mobile's 'TD-SCDMA Terminal Special Incentive Fund Project.' Under the guidance of China Mobile, we jointly overcame difficulties and achieved our goals. Hisense N51 has successfully passed China Mobile's testing, which marked Spreadtrum's great leap forward in phone platform, TD-SCDMA/GSM wireless performance and 2/3G mutual operation and stability. The outstanding results fully confirmed that the performance and maturity of Spreadtrum's TD-SCDMA solutions is at the forefront of its industry.

About Hisense N51:

Hisense N51 uses Spreadtrum's highly integrated SC8800H-baseband, QS3200-RF and SC6600V-CMMB chips to support TD-SCDMA/HSDPA/GSM/GPRS/EDGE and mobile TV functionality. Hisense N51 is based on a slim design with a thickness of only 13.3mm and comes with a 2.4-inch screen and a 2 million pixel (HD) camera. Furthermore, Hisense N51 supports TD-SCDMA/HSDPA high-speed data services, TD-SCDMA/GSM dual-mode, WWW/WAP browser for fast Internet access, and has built-in Fetion, music player, cell phone securities, mobile maps, MMS, DM, and PIM, etc. Hisense N51 has a maximum downlink speed of up to 1.6Mbps and uplink speed of up to 384Kbps. For the function of CMMB mobile digital TV, Hisense N51 can receive and send TV broadcasting and communications signals simultaneously without mutual interference and provides maximum TV viewing experience with TD-SCDMA mobile digital TV service.

About CMMB:

For more information on China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting, please visit http://www.cmmb.org.cn .

About Hisense Communication:

Qingdao Hisense Communication Co., Ltd. is one of the largest mobile terminal solution suppliers in China. The product line-ups include mobile handsets, Linux OS Smartphones, wireless modules, PC cards and industry customized terminal products based on the prevailing telecommunication technologies, such as CDMA, 1X/EVDO, GMS/GPRS, and TD-CDMA. Hisense Communication is a subsidiary of Hisense Group, which is a multibillion dollar global conglomerate with workforce over 60,000 worldwide. Hisense is recognized as a world leading provider of flat panel TVs, household appliances and mobile communications and its products are sold in 130 countries and regions throughout the world.

For more information, please visit: http://www.hisense.com .

About Spreadtrum Communications:

Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPRD; "Spreadtrum") is a fabless semiconductor company that develops baseband and RF processor solutions for the wireless communications market. Spreadtrum combines its semiconductor design expertise with its software development capabilities to deliver highly-integrated baseband processors with multimedia functionality and power management. Spreadtrum has developed its solutions based on an open development platform, enabling its customers to develop customized wireless products that are feature-rich to meet their cost and time-to-market requirements.

For more information, please visit: http://www.spreadtrum.com .

Safe Harbor Statements:

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the increasing demand for affordable 3G phones in the Chinese market, the effectiveness of Hisense N51 in accelerating the adoption of TD-SCDMA platform and enriching the TD-SCDMA terminal products and services, the effectiveness of Spreadtrum's support and service in ensuring Hisense TD-SCDMA products to be competitive in the 3G phone market, the ability of Hisense N51 in meeting the needs of consumers and providing maximum TV viewing experience with TD-SCDMA mobile digital TV service, the ability of Hisense in always being in the forefront of TD-SCDMA industry and Hisense's belief that China's TD users will show explosive growth in 2010 and the partnership between Hisense and Spreadtrum will move further in the next level, the effectiveness of Spreadtrum TD-SCDMA/HSDPA/GSM/GPRS/EDGE baseband chip SC8800H and RF chip QS3200 in reducing the cost of development and manufacturing of Hisense products, the ability of Spreadtrum CMMB mobile TV chip in providing Hisense N51 with vast application space, Hisense N51's marking role in Spreadtrum's great leap forward in phone platform, TD-SCDMA/GSM wireless performance and 2/3G mutual operation and stability, and the leading role of the performance and maturity of Spreadtrum's TD-SCDMA solutions in its industry. These statements are forward-looking in nature and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual market trends and the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the rate at which the commercial deployment of TD-SCDMA technology will grow, market acceptance of affordable products utilizing TD-SCDMA technology, continuing competitive pressure in the semiconductor industry and the effect of such pressure on prices, continuing weak industry demand and the effect of such weakness on revenue, unpredictable changes in technology and consumer demand for handsets, the state of and any change in the collaborative technical partnership between Hisense and Spreadtrum, the state of and any change in Hisense's and Spreadtrum's relationships with their major customers, the ability of Hisense and Spreadtrum in successfully completing the China Mobile's "TD-SCDMA Terminal Special Incentive Fund Project" program, and changes in political, economic, legal and social conditions in China. For additional discussion of these risks and uncertainties and other factors, please consider the information contained in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including the annual report on Form 20-F filed on June 30, 2009, especially the sections under "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," and such other documents that the Company may file with the SEC from time to time, including on Form 6-K. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this press release.

SOURCE Spreadtrum Communications, Inc.

RELATED LINKS
http://www.spreadtrum.com
http://www.cmmb.org.cn
http://www.hisense.com

Nyla Interactive today announced the launch of FifthTech.com, a web publication that provides in-depth reviews, commentary and news content related to the technology world. The publication launched today on the web and is scheduled to launch on the newsstands in FY 2011. FifthTech is first in a series of publications from Nyla Interactive.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100108/LA34887LOGO-a)

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100108/LA34887LOGO-b)

FifthTech and its coming sister publications from Nyla Interactive are dedicated to producing quality editorial content dedicated to focused subjects and to providing readers with access to products from Nyla Interactive, including video editorial content and social networks. The publications will tie in with products and services from Nyla Interactive that will enhance the social and work flows of people around the world. Evan Selleck, FifthTech's Editorial Director, commented that "FifthTech will be a personal, unbiased approach to tech, with an in-depth look at technologies coming out, providing the necessary information for consumers to make a quality purchase decision."

Brandon DiBernardo, the Interim CEO of Nyla Interactive, commented that "The primary goal of Nyla Interactive is to continually improve and fuel innovation in the technology and media industries, and to concentrate on the betterment of society as well as to enable people to access new, innovative tools to assist them in their everyday lives; with FifthTech.com and the coming newsstand editions and tie-ins with Nyla Interactive technologies, we will be able to provide quality information and entertainment to consumers."

Nyla Interactive has announced the launch of its second publication, FifthLuxe, on the web in February 2010. FifthLuxe will focus on the modern edge of luxury for high-end consumers, and like FifthTech will include in-depth reviews and commentary.

About Nyla Interactive

Nyla Interactive is a media company focused on research and development in interactive media technologies, leading to innovative and industry changing products and services. The goal of the company is to change the way people live and work and to further bring together media and entertainment with technology. Nyla Interactive produces media publications including its flagship FifthTech, is designing social network CollegeFinal and working on other products to-be-announced. Nyla Interactive's corporate website is located at www.nylainteractive.com.

SOURCE Nyla Interactive, Inc.

RELATED LINKS
http://www.nylainteractive.com

Verizon Wireless has activated a new cell site in Menominee that expands network coverage, enabling more customers in the area to use their wireless phones concurrently to make calls; send and receive email and text, picture and video messages; access the Internet; view high-quality videos; and download music, games and ringtones, while enjoying clearer reception and fewer dropped calls.

The new cell site, which is equipped with a permanent backup generator for times of emergency, expands Verizon Wireless' voice and data network in Menominee and the surrounding area from Linsmeier Number 8.5 Road south to Evergreen Road, and from County Road 577 east to State Highway 35.

"This network expansion reflects our ongoing commitment to meet the growing needs of our customers and to provide them with the reliable, high-quality service they expect from Verizon Wireless," said Beth Drohan, vice president of network - Midwest Area, Verizon Wireless.

"The value we offer our customers is closely tied to our industry-leading customer retention," Drohan said. "Wireless consumers today understand that value is not defined by price alone. A major reason our customers choose Verizon Wireless and stay with us is because we offer the nation's most reliable network."

The new cell site in Menominee is part of Verizon Wireless' continual effort to expand coverage, increase capacity and enhance the quality of its wireless voice and data network in Michigan and throughout the country. Verizon Wireless has invested more than $50 billion since it was formed -- $5.5 billion on average every year -- to increase the coverage and capacity of its premier nationwide network and to add new services. More than $1.3 billion of this investment has been spent in Michigan.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving 89 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 85,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (Nasdaq and LSE: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

SOURCE Verizon Wireless

RELATED LINKS
http://www.verizonwireless.com

Victory Marketing Group welcomes in 2010 with a 15% discount on all printed marketing materials. Start the decade off with a tactical business plan and new, innovative materials to help that plan succeed.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081029/NY40255LOGO )

Victory Marketing realizes that in this economy, it is a challenge to set your business apart from your competitors. Let us help you shine and reach your full potential in 2010 by realizing who your audience is and the most effective way in which to reach them. "We value our new clients. Their success is our success; therefore, we want to kick off the New Year right and offer them this special discount," says Lyndsay Schnell, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Victory.

To take advantage of this unique offer and find out how you can grow your business in the New Year, e-mail us at: Angela@victorymarketinggroup.com.

About Victory Marketing Group, Inc.:

Victory Marketing Group, Inc., located in Bridgewater, NJ, is a full service integrated communications company. They specialize in tactical strategies, which include: design, writing, public relations, website design and implementation, interactive media, photography, marketing, advertising and business management. Victory Marketing provides services to top companies in the Pharmaceutical industry, Fortune 500 corporations, Building/Construction companies, New York agencies, Ivy League universities and non-profits.

Victory Marketing Group specializes in both print and electronic marketing materials. Their talented group of in-house account executives, graphic designers, writers and strategists work on a day-to-day basis assessing client's needs. Victory is constantly developing new ways to help client's grow their businesses.

Located in Bridgewater, N.J. For more information please visit the Victory Marketing website at: www.victorymarketinggroup.com or send an email to Angela@victorymarketinggroup.com.

SOURCE Victory Marketing Group

RELATED LINKS
http://www.victorymarketinggroup.com

FUQI International, Inc. (Nasdaq: FUQI) today is pleased to announce that the Company has recently launched a new product campaign promoting a series of gold jewelry products based on the popular Chinese animated cartoon figures, "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf." FUQI is the first jewelry company in China to obtain the exclusive rights to commercialize, manufacture, distribute, market and sell "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" jewelry products in mainland China.

The Company signed an exclusive two year partnership agreement with a subsidiary of Infoport Management, which owns the licensing distribution rights to the "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" animated series. Under the agreement terms which expire at end of January 2012, FUQI will exclusively manufacture, distribute, market and sell in mainland China new jewelry products such as precious metal coins, bracelets, pendants and rings based on these animated cartoon characters.

"We are delighted and honored to be the first and only Chinese jewelry company in China to have the exclusive rights to design and produce various jewelry products using these well known Chinese animated characters," said Mr. Yu Kwai Chong, Chairman and CEO of FUQI International. "We believe this new partnership uniquely distinguishes us from our competition and enhances the strength of our brand. Most importantly, it allows us to attract new customers in our Beijing and Shanghai-based retail locations as well as gain new accounts in our wholesale channel. The Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf cartoon figures are pop icons in China and we expect this series of products to be welcomed by kids and a younger audience. The timing of this new product launch is also ideal for FUQI as we make efforts to leverage the peak retail season to capture sales of this new product line and benefit our brand on both wholesale and retail levels. We believe that a successful roll out of our animated product series can lead to potential development of other exclusive agreements with other popular characters."

"We are truly excited about the launch of this project and plan to introduce additional phases of our new product series in the future, allowing us to further establish ourselves in the juvenile market. We believe that the "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" products will be as popular as our Lunar New Year Tiger figures," commented Senior Project manager, Mr. Xu Zhu. "Our plan is to sell these new products in our retail outlets in Tier 1 cities, such as Shanghai and Beijing, and utilize authorized dealers in our distribution business to better control our product distribution channels in other cities around China. We have received many requests and orders from regional and local Chinese jewelry distributors to become authorized regional distributors for this new line of products, which can eventually lead to additional sales opportunities for our broader portfolio of jewelry products in the future."

About FUQI International

Based in Shenzhen, China, FUQI International, Inc. is a leading designer, producer and seller of high quality precious metal jewelry in China. Fuqi develops, promotes, manufactures and sells a broad range of products consisting of unique styles and designs made from gold and other precious metals such as platinum and Karat gold.

About InfoPort Mangement

Infoport Management Ltd. is authorized to operate a diversified commodities company that specializes in the style of the merchandise for customers to provide business services authority to promote goods and business customers to increase the brand's market exposure and increase brand image and goodwill.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release may include certain statements that are not descriptions of historical facts, but are forward-looking statements. Forward- looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "will" "believes", "expects" or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements may also include statements about the Company's proposed discussions related to its business or growth strategy, which is subject to change. Such information is based upon expectations of the Company's management that were reasonable when made but may prove to be incorrect. All of such assumptions are inherently subject to uncertainties and contingencies beyond our control and upon assumptions. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, adverse capital and credit market conditions, the vulnerability of the Company's business to a general economic downturn in China; fluctuation and unpredictability of costs related the gold, platinum and precious metals and other commodities used to make the Company's products; the Company's ability to obtain all necessary government certifications and/or licenses to conduct its business; the Company's recent entry into the retail jewelry market; the Company's reliance on one source for gold; and other factors detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. The Company does not undertake to update the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. For a description of the risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, see the Company's most recent Annual Report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Form 10-K, and its subsequent SEC filings. Copies of filings made with the SEC are available through the SEC's electronic data gathering analysis retrieval system (EDGAR) at http://www.sec.gov .

    For more information, please contact:

     Ms. Charlene Hua
     EVP of Financial, Capital Market & Corporate Development
     Phone:    +852-9468-2497 (Hong Kong)
     IR Email: IR@FuqiIntl.com

     Bill Zima
     ICR Inc. (US)
     Phone:    +1-203-682-8200

SOURCE FUQI International, Inc.

SGS Consumer Testing Services today announced new global services to help electronic products manufacturers and retailers comply with the EU's EcoDesign Directive for reducing the environmental impact of energy-using products (EuP) throughout their lifecycle. All consumer products that use electricity must meet the directive's environmental performance requirements or risk penalties including removal from the EU market.

SGS's EuP services include energy efficiency testing to determine whether products are compliant with the directive's requirements. SGS also offers EuP training seminars, product portfolio assessments to plan for upcoming compliance deadlines, assistance in preparing the technical documentation files required by the directive, CE marking indicating product compliance with the relevant EU health and safety requirements, and ecodesign consulting addressing areas ranging from energy consumption to hazardous substances and end-of-life handling.

The EuP directive addresses product categories ranging from computers, televisions and kitchen appliances to external power supplies, imaging equipment and lighting products on an individual basis, with different environmental requirements being developed for each class of products. The goal is to increase energy savings as well as reduce emissions of greenhouse gases believed to be responsible for global warming.

"EuP is going to be in the spotlight in 2010 and beyond as the European Commission phases in implementation measures for each of the 34 product categories defined by the directive," said Jennifer McDonnell, U.S. Business Development Manager, Global Sustainability Services, for SGS. "Retailers and manufacturers of products powered by electricity need to begin preparing now to ensure that they are able to sell their products in EU countries when the requirements relevant to their categories take effect."

The new EuP services add to SGS's sustainability program, which assists companies in evaluating the environmental impact of their products and packaging, 'greening' their supply chains, validating environmental labeling claims, and otherwise supporting corporate sustainability initiatives. Services range from product lifecycle analysis to carbon footprinting, restricted substances testing and social responsibility risk assessment.

SGS's EuP offerings also complement other company services, including material and performance testing such as RoHS, Proposition 65, CPSIA, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), safety, performance and reliability testing as well as quality inspections, systems compliance, and GHG emissions verification.

SGS is exhibiting at South Hall 4, Booth #36739, at the 2010 International CES show that opens today at the Las Vegas Convention Center. More information about SGS' EuP testing services is available at http://www.ee.sgs.com/eup_ee, by emailing uscts.inquiries@sgs.com, or by calling 800-777-TEST.

About SGS Consumer Testing Services

SGS Consumer Testing Services, a division of the SGS Group, is the world's leading verification, testing and certification company. The company's comprehensive testing, product inspection, process assessment and technical services cover the entire supply chain from product development to retailing for electrical products, wireless products, soft line products, hard line products and food products. SGS' global network and expertise provide a single consolidated source that can help manufacturers, suppliers and retailers reduce risk, improve efficiency and product quality, and ensure compliance to both national and international standards. Parent company SGS Group has more than 56,000 employees and over 1,000 offices and laboratories in 143 countries. For more information about SGS Consumer Testing Services, visit www.us.sgs.com/cts

SOURCE SGS Consumer Testing Services

RELATED LINKS
http://www.us.sgs.com/cts

CES -- 3D technology leader RealD announced agreements with some of the industry's top consumer electronics brands including Sony, JVC, Samsung, Toshiba and Panasonic, and DIRECTV, the world's most popular television service, to support the stereoscopic RealD Format for the delivery and display of high definition 3D in the home. Many of these companies will also work with RealD to develop premium active (shutter) glasses and passive glasses compatible with their 3D-enabled displays. As RealD revolutionized the cinema industry with its new generation of digital 3D movies, these collaborations position the company's technology at the forefront of the upcoming launch of 3D in the home.

"These partnerships for integrated support of the RealD Format and for 3D glasses put RealD at the center of this industry wide movement bringing 3D to the home," said Michael V. Lewis, Chairman and CEO of RealD. "The movie going experience has been forever changed by today's 3D. And now RealD is leveraging its 30-years of 3D expertise to help our partners bring high definition 3D entertainment to homes around the world."

RealD, having worked with Sony on 3D cinema applications for years, recently announced an alliance for the integrated support of the stereoscopic RealD Format into Sony's BRAVIA LCD high definition TVs and other upcoming consumer products, as well as with JVC for its LCD monitors, Samsung for its line-up of 3D TVs, Toshiba for its REGZA LCD TVs and Panasonic for the company's Full HD 3D VIERA TVs. These RealD-enabled 3D TVs will have out-of-the-box capability to display content delivered in the RealD Format utilizing today's HD infrastructure and existing HD set-top boxes from RealD partners including DIRECTV.

Known worldwide for innovative active (shuttering) eyewear technology, RealD also recently announced that it is working with Sony, Samsung, Toshiba and Panasonic to deliver active 3D eyewear compatible with each company's RealD 3D-enabled displays. The world's top provider of passive 3D glasses, RealD will also work with JVC for passive 3D glasses compatible with their Xpol technology based monitors.

"The RealD Format is compatible with the existing HD infrastructure so high definition 3D can be delivered through multiple methods to homes worldwide today. Making 3D widely available, without the costly and time consuming build-out of a new distribution infrastructure, will be a defining factor for the fast adoption of 3D in the home. We look forward to working with our partners to integrate RealD 3D technology in their products and services so people can experience a new era of entertainment," added Joshua Greer, President of RealD.

The RealD Format is a proprietary version of a side-by-side 3D format that uses a unique set of technologies to multiplex a left-eye and right-eye 3D image stream into a single channel. The RealD Format is capable of delivering high definition 3D content to any 3D-enabled display type using today's HD infrastructure across cable, satellite, packaged media and the internet (H.264, Windows Media and MPEG2 compatible).

RealD revolutionized the cinema industry with the introduction of today's new digital 3D and is far and away the global leader in 3D cinema installations. RealD counts among its partners 19 of the world's top 20 exhibitors and to-date has over 9,500 screens under contract and 4,800 screens installed in 48 countries with 300 exhibitors. The company recently announced that over 100 million moviegoers have experienced films in RealD 3D with upwards of $1 billion generated in box office by RealD 3D-equipped screens. A fundamental shift to the cinema business, and a driver of this year's record cinema box office, RealD 3D-enabled locations have delivered over 3x the per screen box office and 2.5x the per screen attendance of the same film in 2D. This year alone blockbusters including Twentieth Century Fox's "Avatar," Disney's "A Christmas Carol," Twentieth Century Fox's "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," DreamWorks Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens" and Disney/Pixar's "Up" have each earned over $100 million on 3D screens. There are over 50 films slated for release on RealD 3D encompassing all major studios, and more announced regularly, assuring the exponential growth of the RealD 3D platform.

RealD is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, with offices in Tokyo, London, Toronto and Boulder, Colorado.

About RealD

RealD is the global leader in 3D technology for cinema, home and professional applications. RealD pioneered today's new generation of 3D cinema and its technology is deployed across the world's largest 3D platform. Beyond cinema, RealD is the worldwide inventor and provider of key stereoscopic technologies used in science, manufacturing, marketing, and other industries, with 30 years of development behind its systems. RealD's mission-critical 3D technologies are used by organizations such as NASA, Pfizer, BMW, Boeing and more. www.RealD.com


    Contact:
    Rick Heineman (RealD)
    310-339-9347
    rheineman@reald.com

    Kelly Mullens (42West for RealD)
    310-477-4442
    kkmullens@42west.net

SOURCE RealD

RELATED LINKS
http://www.RealD.com

Vision Industries Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: VIIC), producers of the zero emission plug-in electric/hydrogen fuel cell hybrid Tyrano(TM) truck announced that Capacity of Texas, Inc. and Vision have joined forces to build a Zero Emissions Terminal Tractor (ZETT(TM)). The ZETT will be built on Capacity's PHETT® platform and powered by the Vision plug-in electric/hydrogen fuel cell technology. The PHETT® was the world's 1st Hybrid Terminal Tractor.

Phillip Ford, President of Capacity stated, "The ZETT is the latest evolution of innovative hybrid technology, combining the advantages of hydrogen fuel cell technology to produce Zero Emissions. The ZETT is designed to operate for two full eight hour shifts without refueling which is a tremendous advantage over any battery powered only terminal tractor. With the advanced technology that Vision Industries has developed, the ZETT produces its own electricity and never will have to be recharged in the middle of a shift. Fueling of the hydrogen tanks can be accomplished in fifteen minutes. Capacity of Texas is dedicated to environmental stewardship by offering products with the latest technology in green propulsion."

Martin Schuermann, President & CEO of Vision stated, "Terminal tractors typically operate in industrial settings in close proximity to heavily populated urban areas. This is a new market sector for Vision and we believe that the marketplace will readily embrace a zero emissions terminal tractor that features significant operating cost savings when compared to conventionally powered diesel terminal tractors."

About Capacity of Texas, Inc.

Capacity of Texas, Inc., based in Longview, Texas, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Collins Industries, Inc., and is the largest American owned manufacturer of terminal tractors in North America, offering a full product line of terminal trucks used throughout the world. Capacity distributes products through a national and international authorized representative network. For a current listing of Capacity products and authorized representatives, visit www.capacitytexas.com.

Collins Industries, Inc., a subsidiary of BNS Holding, Inc., is also a leading manufacturer of ambulances (including medical attack vehicles, rescue vehicles and fire emergency vehicles), North America's largest producer of Type "A" small school buses, and a leader in the road construction and industrial sweeper markets. Since 1971, Collins Industries, Inc. has grown to approximately 900 employees in three plants comprising over eight-hundred thousand combined square feet of manufacturing space. Collins Industries, Inc. sells its products throughout North America and abroad.

About Vision Industries Corp.

Vision is a provider of hydrogen fuel cell/plug-in electric powered vehicles and turnkey hydrogen fueling systems. Vision's proprietary hydrogen fuel cell/plug-in electric drive system combines the superior acceleration of a battery powered electric vehicle with the extended range provided by a hydrogen fuel cell. Vision uses major manufacturers as partners or sub contractors to produce its vehicles. This business approach avoids massive outlays of startup capital. Many regional, state and federal alternative energy programs in the form of grants, subsidies, tax credits and loans exist or are planned. For more information on Vision Industries Corp., please visit www.visionindustriescorp.com

Safe Harbor Statement

Matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with: the impact of economic, competitive and other factors affecting the Company and its operations, markets, product, and distributor performance, the impact on the national and local economies resulting from terrorist actions, and U.S. actions subsequently; and other factors available from the Company.

SOURCE Vision Industries Corp.

RELATED LINKS
ehttp://www.visionmotorcorp.com
http://www.capacitytexas.com

SPONSORED by the JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen, the Shenzhen New Year's Concert for Expats, the largest cultural event yet held for expats in Shenzhen, ended in a festive atmosphere at Shenzhen Concert Hall on 12th December, 2009. There were 1,500 expats attending the performance and showed their appreciation with enthusiastic applause for the brilliant performance given by Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra and 5 famed artists from inland and overseas.

"The concert was very successful, " said Mr. Jeffery Gu, the Chief Editor of Shenzhen Daily, the major organizer of the concert, "We really appreciate JW Marriott Shenzhen, without their generous support to the concert, we couldn't make it." Apart from sponsoring the concert, the Futian district hotel also extended its luxurious yet warm hospitality to the invited artists and 30 consuls general and foreign government officials from Guangzhou by providing the hotel accommodations and the before-concert VIP cocktail reception. "It gave us a great honor to be the No. 1, the 1st hotel to sponsor a concert in Shenzhen. We really appreciate for the opportunity to participate in such a wonderful event, Shenzhen is on its way to becoming an international city, expats are now a part of the community and contributing in every aspect of the city's social and economic development, this concert is just a new year gift from JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen, to deliver the gratitude and best wishes to all the expats," said Colin Young, general manager of the JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen hotel in Futian district.

Officially opened earlier this year, the JW Marriott luxury hotel in Shenzhen offers 402 spacious rooms and suites to accommodate the needs of both leisure and business travelers. It also offers complete facilities for dining, meeting and unwinding for a range of occasions. The 5 star luxury hotel is conveniently located in the heart of the Futian District, amid upscale shopping and top business destinations.

To see more of Shenzhen hotel deals, or to learn more about the JW Marriott Shenzhen hotel, please visit: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/szxjw-jw-marriott-hotel-shenzhen/.

Add: 6005 Shennan Boulevard, Futian District, Shenzhen.

Tel: 0755-2269 8888 Metro: Che Gong Miao Station , Exit D


                                       Contact
                                      Max Lang
                                   (301) 380-8831
                                max.lang@marriott.com

SOURCE JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen

RELATED LINKS
http://www.marriott.com

Cornichon Healthcare Select, LLC, in collaboration with My Learning Advantage, Inc. and D&L Innovations, LLC, announces release of HIPAA/RMS(TM)--a proven online compliance platform for covered entities and business associates developed by nationally known HIPAA privacy and security experts to meet HIPAA and HITECH Act compliance specifications.

The federal government has increased HIPAA privacy and security enforcement through compliance audits and complaint investigations, and raised maximum fines per calendar year for a repeated single violation 60-fold to $1.5 million.

To avoid willful neglect privacy and security violations and mitigate potential reputational and financial losses, covered entities and business associates must ensure that:

  • HIPAA safeguard policies and procedures are in effect.
  • Workforce members comply with safeguard policies and procedures.
  • Compliance can be demonstrated from written documentation.

Ed Jones, President of Cornichon, says, "Each CEO and governing board member of a covered entity and business associate must ask:

  • Are we at risk for noncompliance with HIPAA privacy and security standards and HITECH Act breach detection and notification requirements?
  • Are we prepared to face a HIPAA compliance audit or complaint investigation?
  • Is our organization able to demonstrate defensible and convincing proof of compliance status at any point in time?"

HIPAA/RMS(TM) operates in a secure Web-based 24/7 accessible environment that lets your Privacy and Security Officials manage HIPAA documentation, which must be maintained for "6 years from the date of its creation or the date when it last was in effect, whichever is later." [45 CFR Sec. 164.105(c)(2)]

David Miller, President of D&L Innovations, says, "We have tailored HIPAA/RMS(TM) to make compliance achievable by providing customers with valuable reference, document management, and workflow tools -- including multiple input formats, index, search, and archive capabilities. HIPAA/RMS(TM) also provides business continuity even with workforce member turnover."

Jim Royston, CEO of My Learning Advantage, says, "Our hosted Compliance Management System has provided reliable compliance solutions to companies operating around the globe for over ten years. HIPAA/RMS(TM) is a dedicated healthcare version to meet challenges of the new HIPAA privacy and security enforcement efforts and compliance requirements. We designed HIPAA/RMS(TM) to make it easy for Privacy and Security Officials to achieve HIPAA privacy and security compliance goals."

HIPAA/RMS(TM) makes... Risk Manageable. Complexity Simple. Compliance Possible.

For more information, contact HIPAA/RMS(TM) at 800-406-0133, info@hipaarms.com or www.hipaarms.com.

SOURCE Cornichon Healthcare Select, LLC

RELATED LINKS
http://www.hipaarms.com.

Oregon Scientific, a leading designer and worldwide marketer of personal electronics, including weather and timing devices, today announced its 2010 product portfolio, to be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas (January 7-10). The collection includes electronics from its just-launched Wellness and Energy Monitoring lines, both new categories for the Company.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100105/NE31816 )

The Oregon Scientific Wellness line will debut with 10 products specifically designed to relax the mind and body. The Wellness line includes items that will manage stress throughout the entire day - providing comfort morning, noon, and night. Some standout products include:

  • i.wakeup Sunrise Clock: This soothing clock is equipped with a dawn simulator that uses gentle light to serve as a natural wake up call, without the disturbing sounds of a blaring alarm. MSRP: $129.99
  • 3-D Back Massager: The 3-D Back Massager is portable and features a 3-D shiatsu and heated massage system that simulates the motions of a true human massage. Bring it to the office or keep it at home to unwind after a stressful day. MSRP: $199.99
  • Aroma Natural Elite Diffuser: Designed with glass, wood and steel, this soothing diffuser has the perfect combination of natural elements and modern style. The Aroma Natural Elite Diffuser features a relaxing aroma, line-in speakers, and a LED that simulates candlelight - appealing to a variety of senses. MSRP: $99.99

The second new division for Oregon Scientific, its Energy Monitoring and Conservation line, provides consumers with effective tools to monitor usage trends and save energy in the home. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, monitoring electricity can help consumers reduce usage by up to 15 percent, which will translate to lower utility costs and a smaller carbon footprint. Products include:

  • Advanced Wireless Appliance Manager: This innovative appliance manager monitors power consumption, carbon emissions, and real-time costs for up to eight appliances, in addition to long-term trend information. Also, an alarm will alert the user if consumption goals are exceeded. MSRP: $99
  • Individual Appliance Manager: Simply plug the device into any outlet and the Individual Appliance Manager will track energy current, line voltage, and corresponding costs for any one electrical appliance. The LCD screen also displays the time, making it a convenient gadget to have in any room in the house. MSRP: $29

Additionally, Oregon Scientific will expand its already-robust Sports and Fitness line with the new T1 Zone Trainer with Hydration Index. Priced at $119.99, this heart rate monitor features the world's first hydration index as well as the Company's exclusive Tap-On Lens Technology, so fitness enthusiasts no longer have to wrestle with buttons while exercising.

For more information about Oregon Scientific, visit www2.oregonscientific.com. For media appointments, Oregon Scientific will be exhibiting at CES Unveiled on January 5th and will be located in North Hall Meeting Room N218 for the remainder of the show.

About Oregon Scientific

Founded in 1989, Oregon Scientific is headquartered in Tualatin; a quaint suburb of beautiful Portland, Oregon. Oregon Scientific offers six families of products, ranging from Youth & Learning to Sports & Fitness. Built from its hallmark of timing and weather devices, Oregon Scientific is expanding to meet the diverse needs of its customers to enhance the way we live, work and play. Consider Oregon Scientific's products to be Innovating the Everyday.

Oregon Scientific is a division of one of the world's premier electronics manufacturers, Integrated Display Technology, Ltd. (IDT), based in Hong Kong. IDT was founded in 1977 and is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as IDT Technology and on the Singapore Exchange as I-Com.

SOURCE Oregon Scientific

RELATED LINKS
http://www2.oregonscientific.com

Scomi Group, a leading provider of urban transit systems across the globe focusing on the emerging markets of India, Brazil, China, Gulf States and Brazil, today announced the completion of the first monorail car for the Mumbai Monorail project. The car left its manufacturing facility in Malaysia on the 2nd of January en route to Mumbai, India.

"The first Monorail car will play a pivotal role in the preliminary systems interface testing, which is critical in ensuring that the Monorail system runs smoothly," says Suhaimi Yaacob, Country President of Scomi India. "The timely delivery of the first car is a reflection of the capabilities, commitment and reliability of Scomi in meeting our key milestones exactly as planned to meet the client requirements. The considerable efforts made by Scomi and our entire international team in Malaysia and India have made this possible in record time."

He further added, "Our new state-of-the-art facility in North Kuala Lumpur has the capacity to handle two more projects concurrently and we have plans to expand our manufacturing expertise into other emerging markets where the demand for our transportation solution arises. We believe the Mumbai monorail system will provide sustainable mobility, reduce urban congestion, improve reliability and journey comfort for commuters."

Scomi Engineering Bhd ("Scomi Engineering") and its consortium partner Larsen & Toubro ("L&T") secured the USD 545.02 million / RM1.846 billion Mumbai Monorail Project in November 2008. Scomi Engineering and L&T are given 30 months to complete the first Monorail project in India. For this contract, Scomi will deliver a total of 60 cars to make up 15 sets of 4 car trains.

All the Monorail cars are being manufactured at Scomi's Engineering, Technology and Innovation Centre ("ETIC") located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where Scomi has recently invested over USD 11.80 million/ RM40 million to upgrade this manufacturing facility. ETIC has a built up area of 150,000 sq ft which is able to house a 12-station monorail and a 16-station electrical multiple unit ("EMU") rail car assembly line that is capable of producing a car body every 5 to 7 days in a single shift. ETIC also has a 1-km Monorail test track for conducting full range dynamic and endurance testing.

Scomi Group ("the Group") has been spearheading expansion in the emerging markets of India, China, Gulf States and Brazil. Through its new company Scomi International Pte. Ltd., the Group is accelerating its continued growth as a world-leading manufacturer of innovative transportation solutions especially in Monorail systems. The Group has plans to target other segments like the low-floor city buses that run on CNG as a part of its complementary business model to contribute to the Indian urban transportation growth.

Suhaimi further commented, "With our recent recruitment drive in India we have begun the second stage of expansion. We are also conducting special skills training in the area of operations and maintenance ("O&M") ensuring quality workforce with well-equipped technical capabilities before the inaugural monorail service in India by the end of this year."

    FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT:

    For India

     Manash
     Tel:   +91-9811307549
     Email: manash@avian-media.com

     Richa
     Tel:   +91-92212-78790
     Email: richa@avian-media.com

    For Global Contacts

     Kanesan
     Tel:   +60-3-2080-6395 / +60-12-2120179
     Email: kanesanv@scomigroup.com.my

     Rohaida
     Tel:   +60-3-2080-5113 / +60-19-3330143
     Email: rohaida@my.scomiengineering.com

     Irina
     Tel:   +60-3-2080-6270 / +60-12-3348819
     Email: irina.abdullah@scomigroup.com.my

     Balkish
     Tel:   +60-3-2080-6348 / +60-12-3773626
     Email: balkish.hood@scomigroup.com.my

SOURCE Scomi Group bhd

Cruise.com, one of the internet's largest cruise sellers, announced today the launch of their virtual 2011 World Cruise Lecture Series. The virtual lecture series is designed to provide consumers with a unique venue to learn about the world cruise experience from the comfort of their own home. Eight different world cruises are available in 2011 including those offered on Holland America Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Seabourn Cruises, Cunard Cruises, Silversea and Princess Cruises. The first world cruise consumer webinar is scheduled for January 7, 2010. The lecture series will begin with two world cruise overview presentations followed by individual seminars highlighting each of the individual world cruise departures.

Cruise.com's Virtual Cruise Lecture Series allows consumers to take a virtual tour of almost every aspect of the world cruise experience. Each presentation will describe in depth the itineraries, ship features and overall world cruise experience. "World cruises offer the most extraordinary itineraries. The 2011 full world cruises range 91 to 161 days, however shorter segments are available. The cruise experience differs widely from cruise line to cruise line and from ship to ship and this lecture series will allow consumers to learn all about the different world cruises, giving them the information needed to decide which cruise is best for them," said Jeanne Wyndrum, senior vice-president, Cruise.com.

Registration for these webinars is free. Those attending the webinars will be able to take advantage of special offers on the various world cruises. Consumers can view the presentation schedule and register for a seminar at www.cruise.com.

About Cruise.com

Established in 1998, Cruise.com is one of the Internet's largest cruise specialists. Cruise.com offers comprehensive itineraries and ship details for more than 70 cruise lines worldwide at the most competitive prices and is one of the top sellers of cruises on the Internet.

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.


    Media Contact Information

    Contact name:     Jeanne Wyndrum
    Source:           Cruise.com
    Phone:            954-763-6828 ext 297
    Website:          www.cruise.com
    Email:            jwyndrum@cruise.com

SOURCE Cruise.com

RELATED LINKS
http://www.cruise.com

CES -- Marvell (Nasdaq: MRVL), a worldwide leader in integrated silicon solutions, today unveiled Plug Computer 3.0 - a new always-on, always connected turnkey platform designed to power the next generation intelligent applications and services for the home and office. The new embedded Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and built-in hard drive extend the use of Plug Computer into new applications including management of medical and financial records as well as a command post for the smart home - allowing for remote management of lights, thermostat and irrigation systems.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100105/SF32287)

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070411/SFW034LOGO)

Equipped with the recently announced Marvell® ARMADA(TM) 300 processor, Plug Computer 3.0 offers 2 GHz of processing performance yet maintains a very low-power footprint - making Plug Computers more powerful, eco-friendly and efficient to enable development of plug 'n' play next generation consumer devices with zero configuration. From streaming the latest winter vacation video to a connected TV in the bedroom, to enjoying favorite music on a Wi-Fi enabled receiver in the living room, Plug Computer 3.0 makes enjoying media on intelligent devices throughout the home easier and on-the-go more enjoyable than before.

"With unprecedented integration and very low power design, Plug Computer 3.0 offers a powerful, yet compact, and green development platform to accelerate the development and availability of innovative software and services in the home," said Dr. Simon Milner, Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Business Unit, Communications and Consumer Group at Marvell. "Following the shipment of more than 10,000 SheevaPlug(TM) development kits to date, we're confident that this will be a transformational year, where innovative concepts organically fuel a new generation of rich applications to go hand-in-hand with the always-on lifestyle."

The release of Plug Computer 3.0 opens up additional applications and usage in key new markets:

  • Smart Grid
  • Home Automation
  • Medical Monitoring
  • Multimedia Content Sharing
  • Security and Access Control
  • Industrial Automation
  • Agricultural
  • Mesh and Grid Computing

The Plug Computer 3.0 development kits will be available through Plug Computer vendors such as Globalscale Technologies Inc, Ionics EMS, and Universal Scientific Industries Co.

For more information on the products, please visit www.plugcomputer.org or visit the Plug Computer Pavilion at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week (South Hall 30344).

About the Plug Computer 3.0 Development Platform

The award-winning Plug Computer 3.0 is designed to make high-performance, always-on, always connected, and green computing readily available for developers and end-users. Plug Computer 3.0 uses a 2 GHz Marvell ARMADA 300 processor, a built-in hard-disk drive and embedded Marvell Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies. Additional peripherals such as Direct Attached Storage (DAS) can be connected using a USB 2.0 port. Multiple standard Linux 2.6 kernel distributions are supported on the Plug Computer 3.0 development platform enabling rapid application development. The enclosure is designed to plug directly into a standard wall socket and is designed to draw less than one tenth of the power of a typical PC being used as a home server.

About Marvell

Marvell (NASDAQ: MRVL) is a world leader in the development of storage, communications, and consumer silicon solutions. The company's diverse product portfolio includes switching, transceiver, communications controller, wireless, and storage solutions that power the entire communications infrastructure including enterprise, metro, home, and storage networking. As used in this release, the terms "company" and "Marvell" refer to Marvell Technology Group Ltd. and its subsidiaries. For more information, visit http://www.marvell.com.

Marvell and M logo are registered trademarks of Marvell or its affiliates. ARMADA and SheevaPlug are trademarks of Marvell or its affiliates. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

For Further Information Contact:



    Marvell Media Relations   Marvell Media Relations
    Diane Vanasse             Tate Tran
    Tel: (408) 222-5198       Tel: 408-222-7522
    dvanasse@marvell.com      tate@marvell.com


SOURCE Marvell

RELATED LINKS
http://www.marvell.com/

Nobel Peace Prize honoree Mother Teresa, legendary actress Katharine Hepburn, Negro Leagues Baseball and Cowboys of the Silver Screen are among the subjects headlining the 2010 stamp program, the U.S. Postal Service announced today.

In addition, consumers get much-needed assistance in sending greeting cards: the first stamp designed especially for oversized or odd-sized cards. On May 17, the Postal Service will issue the Monarch butterfly stamp for use on cards that require additional postage. An illustration of a generic butterfly will be depicted on cards or envelopes to remind customers to buy the new Monarch butterfly stamp. Click here for more information.

Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work, was known for her compassion toward the poor and suffering. A diminutive Roman Catholic nun and honorary U.S. citizen, she served the sick and destitute of India and the world for nearly 50 years. Her humility and compassion, as well as her respect for the innate worth and dignity of humankind, inspired people of all ages and backgrounds to work on behalf of the world's poorest populations. This stamp is tentatively planned to go on sale nationwide Aug. 26, Mother Teresa's birthday. Click here for more information.

Katharine Hepburn

The Legends of Hollywood series honors Katharine Hepburn, one of America's most fascinating and enduring film stars. This stamp will be issued May 12. Click here for more information.

Negro Leagues Baseball Stamp

The Negro Leagues Baseball stamps, to be issued in June, pay tribute to the all-black professional baseball leagues that operated from 1920 to about 1960. Drawing some of the most remarkable athletes ever to play the sport, the Negro leagues galvanized African-American communities across the country, challenged racist notions of athletic superiority, and ultimately sparked the integration of American sports. Click here for more information.

Cowboys of the Silver Screen

Four extraordinary performers who helped make the American Western a popular form of entertainment are honored on this stamp. Film stars from the silent era through the singing era are featured on the stamps: William S. Hart, Tom Mix, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers. The stamps go on sale April 17. Freelance illustrator Robert Rodriguez produced the stamp art for these images. Click here for more information.

William S. Hart

William S. Hart (1864-1946) became one of the most popular leading men of the silent film era and frequently played the stalwart, tough-as-nails cowboy, and his favorite horse was a brown and white pinto named Fritz. Click here for more information.

Tom Mix

Tom Mix (1880-1940) was one of the most celebrated Western film stars of the 1920s. Click here for more information.

Gene Autry

For more than two decades, Gene Autry (1907-1998) entertained movie audiences and won the hearts of millions of fans with his distinctive singing style and easygoing personality. Click here for more information.

Roy Rogers

Roy Rogers (1911-1998) found great success in show business with his first starring role in a 1938 film, but kept his modest roots as a down-to-earth country boy that Americans couldn't help but admire. Click here for more information.

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games

With this stamp featuring an illustration of a snowboarder, the Postal Service continues its tradition of honoring the spirit of athleticism and international unity inspired by the Olympic Games. The stamp will be issued Jan. 22 as the XXI Olympic Winter Games convenes Feb. 12-28 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Click here for more information.

Lunar New Year

On Jan. 14, the U.S. Postal Service will issue the third of 12 stamps in its Celebrating Lunar New Year series, which began in 2008 with the Year of the Rat. The Year of the Tiger begins on Feb. 14 and ends on Feb. 2, 2011. The 44-cent stamp will go on sale nationwide Jan. 14 and be dedicated at the El Pueblo Historic Monument in Old Chinatown in Los Angeles. Click here for more information.

Distinguished Sailors

This stamp honors four sailors who served with bravery and distinction during the 20th century: William S. Sims, Arleigh A. Burke, John McCloy, and Doris Miller. Click here for more information.

William S. Sims

Commander of U.S. naval forces in European waters during World War I, William S. Sims (1858-1936) was an outspoken reformer and innovator who helped shape the Navy into a modern fighting force. Click here for more information.

Arleigh A. Burke

After serving as one of the top destroyer squadron commanders of World War II, Arleigh A. Burke (1901-1996) had an equally distinguished postwar career in which he played a major role in modernizing the Navy and guiding its response to the Cold War. Click here for more information.

John McCloy

Described by a shipmate as "like a bull" who couldn't be stopped, John McCloy (1876-1945) has the distinction of being one of the few men in the nation's history to earn two Medals of Honor for separate acts of heroism. Click here for more information.

Doris Miller

The first African American hero of World War II, Doris Miller (1919-1943) became an inspiration to generations of Americans for his actions at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Click here for more information.

Mackinac Bridge

The Mackinac Bridge in Michigan is the subject of the 2010 Priority Mail stamp, which goes on sale Feb. 3. The bridge, nicknamed "Mighty Mac," connects the two peninsulas of Michigan. Click here for more information.

Bixby Creek Bridge

The Bixby Creek Bridge in California is the subject of the 2010 Express Mail stamp, which goes on sale nationwide Feb. 3. This bridge was one of the seven classic concrete-arch bridges that eased the way for recreational and commercial travel in California along the Big Sur coast by way of the Carmel-San Simeon Highway, now known as State Highway Route 1. Click here for more information.

Bill Mauldin

Pulitzer prize-winner Bill Mauldin, one of America's favorite cartoonists of World War II, will be honored on a stamp in March. Click here for more information.

Abstract Expressionists

This stamp honors the artistic innovations and achievements of 10 abstract expressionists, a group of artists who revolutionized art during the 1940s and 1950s and moved the U.S. to the forefront of the international art scene for the first time. The stamps go on sale March 11. Abstract expressionism refers to a large body of work that comprised radically different styles, from still, luminescent fields of color to vigorous, almost violent, slashes of paint. Elements from Barnett Newman's Achilles (1952) were used to frame the stamps. Click here for more information.

Flags of Our Nation (Set 4)

In 2010, the U.S. Postal Service continues its Flags of Our Nation series with 10 more stamp designs that feature the Stars and Stripes plus the states of Montana through North Dakota. The stamps will go on sale in April. Click here for more information.

Love: Pansies in a Basket

The 2010 Love stamp features a white woven basket brimming with purple pansies. The stamps go on sale in the spring. The Postal Service began issuing its popular Love stamps in 1973. Click here for more information.

Kate Smith

Kate Smith (1907-1986), the celebrated singer and entertainer whose signature song, "God Bless America" (composed for her by Irving Berlin), has been called America's unofficial national anthem, is being honored with a stamp that goes on sale in time for the National Hockey League playoffs. The stamp will go on sale May 1. Click here for more information.

Oscar Micheaux

The 33rd stamp in the Black Heritage series, to be issued June 22, honors pioneering filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, who wrote, directed, produced and distributed more than 40 movies during the first half of the 20th century. Click here for more information.

Sunday Funnies

The Sunday Funnies stamp pane honors Archie, Beetle Bailey, Dennis the Menace, Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes. The stamps will go on sale in July. Click here for more information.

Offering an idealized portrait of American adolescence, Archie existed only in comic-book form before debuting in newspapers in 1946. A typical small-town teenager with a knack for goofing things up, 17-year-old Archie Andrews is often torn between haughty brunette Veronica Lodge and sweet, blonde Betty Cooper. Click here for more information.

A military strip with universal appeal, Beetle Bailey first appeared in September 1950. Possibly the laziest man in the Army, Private Beetle Bailey is an expert at sleeping and avoiding work. His chronic indolence antagonizes Sergeant Orville P. Snorkel, who is tough on his men but calls them "my boys." Click here for more information.

Dennis the Menace follows the antics of Dennis Mitchell, a good-hearted but mischievous little boy who is perpetually "5-ana-half" years old. His curiosity tests the patience of his loving parents and neighbors, guaranteeing that their lives are anything but dull. The comic debuted in March 1951 as a single-panel gag. Click here for more information.

Garfield first waddled onto the comics page in June 1978. Self-centered and cynical, the crabby tabby hates Mondays and loves lasagna. He lives with Jon Arbuckle, a bumbling bachelor with a fatally flawed fashion sense, and Odie, a dopey but devoted dog. Click here for more information.

Calvin and Hobbes explores the fantasy life of 6-year-old Calvin and his tiger pal, Hobbes. The inseparable friends ponder the mysteries of the world and test the fortitude of Calvin's parents, who never know where their son's imagination will take him. The strip ran from November 1985 to December 1995. Click here for more information.

Scouting

The U.S. Postal Service celebrates the adventure and spirit of scouting with a stamp that will go on sale July 27 at the Boy Scout's Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, VA. Click here for more information.

Winslow Homer

The ninth issuance in the American Treasures series features Boys in a Pasture, an 1874 painting by Winslow Homer, considered one of the greatest American painters of the 19th century. The painting is part of the Hayden Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This stamp will go on sale Aug. 12. Click here for more information.

Julia de Burgos

With this 26th stamp in the Literary Arts stamp series, the Postal Service honors Julia de Burgos, one of Puerto Rico's most celebrated poets. The stamp goes on sale in September. Click here for more information.

Hawaiian Rain Forest

The 2010 Nature of America issuance features the Hawaiian Rain Forest, the 12th stamp pane in an educational series focusing on the beauty and complexity of major plant and animal communities in the United States. The stamp will go on sale in August. Click here for more information.

Holiday Evergreens

Decorating with evergreens during the winter holiday season is a popular and appealing tradition. The Postal Service joins in the winter celebrations by issuing Holiday Evergreens, beautiful new stamps that feature close-up views of the foliage and cones of four different conifers: ponderosa pine, eastern red cedar, blue spruce, and balsam fir. The stamps go on sale in October. The artist, the late Ned Seidler, was a gifted painter of nature subjects. When painting flora, he frequently used cuttings from his own yard. Click here for more information.

Angel with Lute

This stamp features an angel playing a lute from a fresco painted by Melozzo da Forli (1438-1494). The stamp goes on sale in October. Click here for more information.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

For more information and low-resolution images on the stamps in the 2010 series, visit USPS Newsroom at usps.com/news.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world's mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 28th in the 2009 Fortune 500.

To download the stamp image(s), simply click on the corresponding link(s) below:

24-0_USPS10STA044.jpg - Monarch (First-Class Surcharge Rate)

11-0_USPS10STA036.jpg - Mother Teresa