Monday, February 27, 2012

VBN software powers 50 online networking communities.

M2 PRESSWIRE-22 October 2002-Virtual Business Network: VBN software powers 50 online networking communities (C)1994-2002 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

RDATE:10222002

A pioneering Cambridge company is playing a vital role in fostering European business innovation, with its software powering no less than 50 different networking community websites.

The latest community to choose Virtual Business Network (VBN) is Huddersfield University, which will use the technology to develop and link several regional business networks, such as a Manufacturing Excellence Club and an Incubation Network.

But VBN's software platform is used daily by diverse organisations** ranging from 'cluster' groups backed by Regional Development Agencies to university business groups and industry trade associations, including two in continental Europe. And the common theme for all is innovation.

VBN's founder and managing director Dr Simon Elliott developed the first database-driven system for the Cambridge Network, the high technology community at the heart of the Cambridge Phenomenon, and it has acted as a model for many similar ventures. He says: 'Without exception, all the networking communities for whom we develop websites have at their core the desire to create something new and better through change.

'Whatever the initial reason people have come together to form a network, they are able to make and maintain contact with others, and to run an effective membership infrastructure through the use of the software alone.

'Our back office administration system combines both content and membership management, achieving the unique benefit of enabling organisations to manage all their membership business from one simple-to-use web browser.'

VBN supports the development of the successful client network once a website is built, with best practice hosting and technical support, together with an active user group of clients and ongoing consultancy.

Aware that successful networks depend on physical contact and face-to-face meetings as well as virtual ones, it has also developed modules to facilitate online event registration and ticketing, for example.

** A list of all 50 VBN sites can be found at http://www.vbnonline.com/

About Virtual Business Network

Virtual Business Network (VBN) formed in 1999 as a spinout from leading telecoms strategy consultancy Analysys is the UK market leader in building and supporting online business networks.

Everywhere you look people and organisations are getting together in communities. Whether such communities form out of common interest, common geography or shared purpose, all have a fundamental need to gather people together, to make and maintain contact.

VBN's in-house developed database-driven software platform meets this need and more. It facilitates effective virtual networking via the Internet, and uniquely enables community organisations to manage both ongoing contact with members including online payment for subscriptions and events, for example and regularly changing website content. This is achieved through a simple interface that gives controlled access to multiple users, and an easy-to-use 'back office' editing and administration system.

A common thread of all VBN communities is the fundamental need to create an 'innovation network', where nurturing a culture of participation (both on and offline) will lead to improvements in the economy, infrastructure or business environment. It hosts and supports sites for some 40 clients* ranging from the renowned high technology community, Cambridge Network for which the first VBN software was developed to the industry sector organisation for biotechnology in Ireland. Other clients include RDA-backed 'cluster' groups, University business networks, Chambers of Commerce and Business Links, Royal Institutes and trade associations. Two are based in continental Europe in Leuven, Belgium and Munich, Germany.

VBN has broken new ground by opening up the means for clients' websites to share the same database, where appropriate, creating a 'network of networks'to enable the sharing of content within an enlarged community.

Based In Cambridge, VBN is led by the company's founder and managing director, Dr Simon Elliott.

CONTACT: Dr Simon Elliott, MD Tel: +44 (0)1223 707 600 e-mail: enquiries@vbonline.com Holdsworth Associates Tel: +44 (0)1954 202 789

((M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data prepared by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com)).

Top clubs help Granada's play for future sports rights.(Company Business and Marketing)

TV giant Granada has staked its claim on next generation sports coverage through deals with the UK's leading football teams. Russell Clarke evaluates its Web and broadband strategy.

GRANADA

IT'S EASY TO FORGET THAT OTHER media companies aside from BSkyB are scurrying away and amassing their stakes in sports rights. Granada Media, after quietly forming partnerships with Liverpool FC, Arsenal FC and Manchester United TV, now has a share in what are arguably England's three biggest footballing brands.

If you're a fully paid-up subscriber to the content is king principle, Granada's football partnerships promise to deliver truly global audiences. Just as live Premier League football sold Rupert Murdoch's satellite dishes and live Champions League football sold ONdigital's set-top boxes, Granada believes that the provision of full-length -- if delayed -- streamed matches over the club's respective Web sites will drive audiences.

Granada Media is tapping into the English Premier League's move towards full dissemination of its digital intellectual sports property rights. This is likely to benefit its member clubs and their respective sites and Web partners in the short term as, for the first time, these clubs and sports-content providers are given audio. visual access to their own home matches.

The live rights will remain on TV with BSkyB, which paid a world-record fee of [pound]1.11bn for a three-year contract and highlights will switch to ITV for [pound]183m for the same period. However from the beginning of the 2001/02 season, each Premiership club will be permitted to screen their own home matches between 24 and 72 hours after a match ends. With Manchester United (through MUTV) the only Premiership club with its own full TV channel, most clubs will initially seek to stream this new audiovisual content through their respective Web sites.

During the first quarter of 2000, Granada Media acquired a 9.9% stake in Liverpool Football Club at a cost of [pound]22m which will allow the media company to broadcast highlights of the club's matches on the Internet, mobile devices and digital TV. The service, to be called Liverpool Broadband, will initially be free of charge for online users although Granada does envisage subscriptions, particularly when mass broadband improves audiovisual quality. The service is also to include full t-commerce, e-commerce and online betting.

In a similar move, Granada Media took a 5% stake in Arsenal in the third quarter of 2000, in the form of 2,947 new ordinary shares, at a cost of [pound]27m. Soon after taking this stake in Arsenal, Granada paid a further [Pound]20m to fund an Arsenal broadband venture. As a result, Granada became the club's commercial services and media agent and, more interestingly, its new media agent. This saw the launch of a new joint venture, Arsenal Football Club Broadband (AFC Broadband), which aims to become a global portal through which to exploit the club's new media rights.

The deal gives Granada the rights to delayed online coverage of Premier League matches from August 2001, as well as UEFA Cup matches and local and regional radio rights when they next become available. AFC Broadband will be permitted to broadcast the full 90 minutes of Arsenal's Premier League home games from midnight on Sunday, following a Saturday afternoon match, as well as the full midweek matches from midnight the same night. This is all providing that BSkyB hasn't chosen the club for that week's featured live TV matches. Although full details have yet to be disclosed, Granada isn't likely to initially charge fans for this service. Once a loyal following has been built up and fans are accessing broadband quality pictures, subscriptions/pay-per-view charges may apply. The site will also offer an archive of classic Arsenal matches, together with reserve, junior and Arsenal women's matches and full live audio commentary of first-team games. The site will also feature online gambling and merchandising facili ties.

"We're acutely aware that the delayed action rights given to us from the beginning of next season are very valuable," says Simon Shaps, managing director of Granada Broadband. "This is unique content which we believe will significantly drive traffic. We're in the final stages of deciding exactly how to utilise this content and exactly which revenue model to apply to it."

However, Shaps says the changes made to the site will be incremental rather than big bang. The aim is to add content richness over time -- in the same manner that penetration and density of bandwidth and capacity will evolve. "We want to build partnerships with incredibly strong brands to develop broadband services," he adds. "The likes of Arsenal and Liverpool with their very passionate -- and global -- fan bases are ideal."

Indeed, the respective sites' global appeal is fundamental to their success. The Arsenal site already attracts 40% of its 4m visitors every month from overseas, while Liverpool FC estimates that it now has l0m overseas fans. The long-term goal for the respective sites is to reach a number of key international markets including Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Scandinavia.

This global interest is the main reason why many major European clubs play their pre-season games in markets such as the Far East. The arsenal.co.uk site was even re-launched as arsenal.com earlier this year in a bid to target fans at home and abroad in America, Scandinavia and Asia specifically.

The success of the Liverpool FC Broadband and AFC Broadband projects depends mainly on two factors. Firstly, both clubs need to consistently qualify and progress in big European tournaments, to maintain and build their international fan bases. The second crucial factor to success is the global take-up of broadband technology (see first table).

Although the long-term goal of the AFC Broadband and Liverpool Broad-band projects is to develop a wide range of entertainment, e-commerce and personalised services, the sites will initially enhance existing revenue streams by providing different distribution outlets for ticketing and replica kit sales. However, it's hoped that the value-added service of delayed match coverage will boost overseas users visiting the official team sites. Because of the Internet's global nature the clubs will be able to cash in on this support directly for the first time, through advertising and e-commerce revenues and possibly subscriptions. Ultimately, the sites may feature live action instead of delayed full-match coverage. However for this to happen, the Premier League clubs would need to break away or wrestle back intellectual property rights from the Premier League.

In the long-term, it's expected that the emergence of broadband capability will effectively do away with the need to launch a Manchester Utd-style pay-TV channel. As the Internet and TV converge, fans will be more likely to sit and watch matches, and potentially pay for them, on a pay-per match basis, or via a TV season ticket. With the dedicated Premier League fan only given access to a set number of live matches featuring their favourite club each season -- even if they choose to subscribe to all available pay-channels--there is a huge untapped market for streaming matches over club sites. From next season, Granada Media will offer Liverpool and Arsenal fans the first available chance to watch most of their club's home matches in full via the broadband sites.

                             GLOBAL STREAMING                             MEDIA FORECASTS                                        2001       2002    2003 Web pages offering streams              790        950    1,104 Video streams served (m)               506.2      733.9  1,064.2 Broadband video streams (m)            121.9 [*]  212.8   361.8 Percent of broadband video stream       24         29      34 Weekly hours live Web-casts             95         128     167 Percentage Web traffic streaming [**]    7          9      11                                         2004 Web pages offering streams              1,221 Video streams served (m)               1,543.1 Broadband video streams (m)             601.8 Percent of broadband video stream        39 Weekly hours live Web-casts              217 Percentage Web traffic streaming [**]    13 Source: Informa Media Group (*.)Digital Broadcast and Programming Webcast Track (**.)audio and video 

MUTV

               GRANADA FINANCES, YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 2000                      2000 total, pre     Digital TV                       digitalTV and      and online                     online ([pound]m)  2000 ([pound]m) Turnover                  1,166              53 Group turnover            1,087               - Operating costs            808               176 Operating profit           253              -176 Profit (gross)             260               26 Pre-tax profits            301               12 Profit after tax           207               54 Adjusted per share        13.8p               -                     2000 total after    1999 total, pre                      digital TV and     digital TV and                     online ([pound]m)  online ([pound]m) Turnover                  1,219               998 Group turnover            1,087               998 Operating costs            984                732 Operating profit           77                 251 Profit (gross)             286                248 Pre-tax profits            313                296 Profit after tax           261                206 Adjusted per share        17.3p              12.7p 

OTHER GRANADA SPORTS VENTURES

Granada has an equal 33% stake in Manchester United's TV channel, MUTV together with the club itself and BSkyB. MUTV is available on Sky and NTL digital between 17.00 and 23.00 daily. It also recently signed an agreement with Telewest, making the service available on the group's Active Digital network from 1st April. However, the station revealed losses of more than [pound]1m in the club's year-end figures to July 2000. Although no figures have been released for subscription levels, the club stated that subscriptions "have doubled" during 2000. The availability of first team action on the channel between 24 and 72 hours after matches end, from August 2001, should boost subscriptions further.

ITV-F1.CO.UK

ITV-F1 is amongst the market leaders for Formula 1 news and features on the Web and is the official tie-in site for ITV's Formula 1 TV coverage. A primary aim is to complement the TV broadcasts with in-depth news and analysis -- a service that will become more integrated with the roll-out of Internet TV. The site first went live in 1998 and has since undergone a considerable evolution. It has been subject to several redesigns to improve its look while content and features have been frequently altered. The site has around 500,000 average monthly unique users.

ITV-FOOTBALL.CO.UK.

ITV's powerful position in the football TV rights war may well boost traffic to its fledgling football site. From next season, TV will own exclusive live rights to the UEFA Champions' League (along with ONdigital) Premier League highlights (ending the reign of the BBC's Match of the Day) and live Worthington's Cup and play-off action. As Internet and TV converge, the ITV-football site will increasingly be linked to live action. In March 2001, ITV's interactive services were boosted by the launch of Text+, a new 24-hour information service carrying coverage of the Champions' League. The text service retains a picture in the bottom-left corner of the screen, allowing viewers to see European matches while accessing live score updates, statistics and group tables. Football fans are also offered 'spot the ball', a shoot-out game and a football quiz.

COMPANY HISTORY

* July 1999: Granada acquires a 9.9% stake in Liverpool FC for [pound]22m.

* May 2000: Granada and Compass merge.

Creation of Granada Broadband to focus on pay-TV and Internet ventures.

* July 2000: Granada Media floats 20% of the company.

* September 2000: Granada takes a 5% stake in Arsenal Football Club.

* October 2000: Granada takes 40% stake in joint health and beauty venture Wellbeing with Boots.

* February 2001: Granada demerges, separating its media and hospitality businesses.

Completes its acquisition of the TV assets of United News and Media

* April 2001: Granada and Carlton announce the alignment of ITV and ONDigital. ONDigital to be renamed ITV Digital.

ONDIGITAL - SPORT ENTERS THE DIGITAL AGE

In a 50:50 venture with Carlton Communications, Granada launched ONdigital, the world's first digital terrestrial operator in November 1998. Subscription levels broke the 1m barrier to 1.02m for the end of 2000 -- a figure up 83% from 1999. The service offers users a variety of pay and free-to-air TV channels and a number of interactive services and pay-per-view movies.

However, many analysts believe that Ondigital's subscriptions have risen so dramatically because of the group's capture of live and exclusive rights (together with ITV) to the glamourous and popular UEFA Champions' League.

In fact, ONdigital claims that its viewers have access to more sport than through any other platform and is currently building a premium sports channel to accommodate the extravaganza. Together with its Champions' League and Worthington Cup offerings (which, incidentally is "free" to all subscribers who take the basic package) ONdigital has also won exclusive rights to broadcast the Football League's live-pay, pay-per-view and tree-to-air matches with ITV from next season. The operator also exclusively offers the Men's ATP Tennis Masters and subscriptions to British Eurosport and Sky Sports 1, 2 and 3.

ONdigital is also offering 'all the benefits of having the world in you own front room' through its ON net service. The Internet-through-TV service offers walled-garden and unlimited Web access through a 56k modem the size of a paperback book, on top of the ONdigital set-top box. The service also offers ONmail, through a cordless keyboard which lets the user send video stills and audio clips to any email address.

However, ONnet has been largely criticised because insiders don't see how it fits into Granada's overall strategy as it clashes directly with the group's beleaguered PowerChannel service. PowerChannel was billed as offering free Internet access through the TV for people without personal computers. PowerChannel users would have free TV-Internet access in return for filling in a questionnaire every month, which could then be sold onto data-capture companies. However, PowerChannel, in which Granada Media has a 23% [pound]13.5m) stake, has seen its launch delayed four times in the past

14 COMPANIES FORM PROCUREMENT SITE.

Fourteen mining and metals companies have created an independent, global Internet-based procurement marketplace.

The venture will create a platform to bring together mining and metals producers and suppliers in more than 100 countries and intends to provide unrivaled access to procurement sources worldwide.

The founding shareholders are Alcan Aluminium Ltd., Alcoa Inc., Anglo American Plc., Barrick Gold Corp., Broken Hill Proprietary Co. Ltd., Compania Nacional del Cobre de Chile (Codelco), Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd., Inco Ltd., Newmont Mining Corp., Noranda Inc., Phelps Dodge Corp., Rio Tinto and WWIC Ltd.

These companies represent more than 60 percent of the market capitalization of the global mining and metals industry and are among the world's largest producers of aluminum, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, silver, zinc, industrial minerals and platinum group metals.

Other mining and metals companies are expected to participate in the online marketplace. The estimated procurement spending of the industry last year was approximately $200 billion.

The founders expect that the open and neutral platform will transform the procurement practices of the mining and metals industry and bring benefits to both suppliers and buyers through standardization, transparency, streamlined transaction processes and improved inventory management.

The new virtual marketplace will use a common catalog of products in multiple languages and will allow participants, regardless of size and location, to access and trade with a large pool of suppliers and buyers locally and abroad. The exchange will preserve the confidentiality of information and relationships between the trading partners.

Participants have agreed to structure an interim management team in order to fast-track marketplace implementation of the venture. A CEO and a technology partner have yet to be chosen.

The venture will also develop a comprehensive supplier and buyer adoption program. It is expected that Internet-based transactions will commence by year's end.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

AFC Asian Cup 2011: Japan, China, Korea top viewership markets.

TASHKENT, June 29, 2011 (UzReport.com): Asian football powerhouses Korea Republic and Japan set new records domestically for this year's AFC Asian Cup with a significant increase in cumulative ratings.

Audiences in Japan grew from 131 million in the previous edition of the event to 209.2 million this year, and 29.5 million to 41 million in Korea Republic.

According to CSM Media Research, Japan, China and Korea emerged as the top three viewership markets with Japan capturing 43.2% of the total AFC Asian Cup 2011 audience.

Audiences in Japan and Korea made up just over half of the 63 million viewers who watched the semifinal between the two traditional Asian football rivals the highest rated match of the entire tournament and in both countries despite the late night airtime. In Japan, TV Asahi drew an audience of 24.46 million while KBS2 had just over eight million in Korea.

This year's event held in Doha, Qatar received record "live" television coverage of nearly 3,600 hours which delivered more than 484 million viewers in 80 countries across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, North America and North Africa. The event also generated a total reach of more than 2.5 billion.

The second most watched AFC Asian Cup 2011 match was the final between Japan and Australia with 54.4 million viewers while the third highest rated match was the quarterfinal between Japan and Qatar with an audience of 45.63 million.

This is the first time that television ratings have been available in the Middle-East for the AFC Asian Cup. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the fourth and fifth largest viewership markets respectively for the event accounting for 5.8% and 1.1% of the total audience. Hosts Qatar had the fourth highest audience figures in the Middle-East after Kuwait.

Although China's early exit and the absence of Asean nations from the competition impacted overall ratings, the total viewership in China was 156.6 million - 32% of the total audience for the event while Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam had a combined audience of 24 million.

"The AFC Asian Cup 2011 delivered top class football and the significant television viewership achieved reaffirms its position as the top sporting event in Asia," said Pierre Kakhia, President, West Asia, World Sport Group, the exclusive marketing and media partner of the AFC.

"Asian football fans are incredibly passionate about their national teams and we are delighted to have delivered record multiplatform and "live" coverage for the fans as well as our marketing and broadcast partners across the Asia-Pacific region and most of the world."

The event also enjoyed significant following on internet and social media platforms. Nearly seven million fans visited the AFC Asian Cup 2011's official website www.afcasiancup2011.com, while 2.5 million followed the event on its Facebook page. Additionally, there were 1.2 million views of 115 videos featuring AFC Asian Cup 2011 action that were available on You Tube.

The viewership report for the AFC Asian Cup 2011 was collated by CSM Media Research in association with its partners TNS, the world's largest market research company and Kantar Sports, a world leader in TV audience (TAM) and radio audience measurement (RAM), with Video Research Ltd. and Pan Arab Research Center (PARC) contributing data from Japan and the Middle-East respectively.

(THROUGH ASIA PULSE)

Atrinsic, Inc. Receives Favorable Decision From NASDAQ.

NEW YORK -- Atrinsic, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATRN), a marketer of direct-to-consumer subscription products, including Kazaa (www.kazaa.com) - a digital music subscription service, and owner of an internet search marketing agency, Atrinsic Interactive, announced today that, on June 7, 2011, the Company received a favorable determination from the NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Staff (the "Staff") indicating that the Staff has granted the Company's request for the transfer of its listing to The NASDAQ Capital Market. The Company's securities will begin trading on The NASDAQ Capital Market effective with the open of business on Friday, June 10, 2011. The transfer of the Company's listing from The NASDAQ Global Market to The NASDAQ Capital Market should have no impact on trading in the Company's shares, and the Company's stock will continue to trade on NASDAQ under the symbol ATRN.

As previously disclosed, on April 14, 2011, the Staff notified the Company that it no longer satisfied the $10 million stockholders' equity requirement for continued listing on The NASDAQ Global Market. The Company subsequently submitted an application for the transfer of its listing to The NASDAQ Capital Market, particularly in light of the Company's belief that it satisfies and will continue to satisfy the criteria for continued listing on The NASDAQ Capital Market, including the applicable $2.5 million stockholders' equity requirement.

About Atrinsic and Kazaa

Atrinsic, Inc. is a marketer of direct-to-consumer subscription products and an Internet search-marketing agency. Built around the Kazaa brand, Atrinsic sells entertainment subscription products directly to consumers, which are marketed through the Internet. Atrinsic also sells Internet marketing services to its corporate and advertising clients. Atrinsic has developed its marketing media network, consisting of web sites, proprietary content and licensed media, to attract consumers, corporate partners and advertisers. Atrinsic believes its marketing media network and proprietary technology allow it to cost-effectively acquire consumers for its products and for its corporate partners and advertisers.

Kazaa is a subscription-based digital music service that gives users unlimited access to millions of CD-quality tracks. For a monthly fee users can listen to unlimited music files and play those files on up to three separate computers and download unlimited ringtones to a mobile phone. Unlike other music services that charge you every time a song is downloaded, Kazaa allows users to listen to and explore as much music as they want for one monthly fee, without having to pay for every track or album. Consumers are billed for this service on a monthly recurring basis through a credit card, landline, or mobile device. Royalties are paid to the rights' holders for licenses to the music utilized by this digital service. Atrinsic and Brilliant Digital, Inc. jointly offer the Kazaa digital music service pursuant to a Marketing Services Agreement and a Master Services Agreement between the two companies.

McAfee and Carnegie Mellon Report Finds Serious Disconnect Between Businesses and Mobile Users.

Risky Behaviors and Weak Security Postures are Commonplace in Mobile Security

SANTA CLARA, Calif. & PITTSBURGH -- McAfee today released "Mobility and Security: Dazzling Opportunities, Profound Challenges" , a global report focused on the consumerization of IT and its impact on security. The report looks at mobility from two perspectives -- that of the company's senior IT professional and that of the general end users of mobile devices in the workplace. Researchers found that while an increasing number of consumers use mobile devices for both business and personal activities, large numbers are not familiar with their employer's corporate policy on the use of mobile devices.

"Devices are no longer just consumer devices or business devices. They are both," said Richard Power, a CyLab Distinguished Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University, the primary author of the report. "Devices are more than extensions of the computing structure, they are extensions of the user. The way users interact with their personal data mirrors the way they want to interact with corporate data."

Reliance on mobile devices is already significant and accelerating rapidly. In the survey, almost half of organizations are very reliant on mobile devices. Almost seven in 10 organizations are more reliant on mobile devices than they were 12 months ago. IT is becoming increasingly consumerized and businesses now operate in a heterogeneous mobile environment where BlackBerrys are no longer the standard. The survey found that 63 percent of devices on the network are also used for personal activities.

Key Report Findings:

* Lost and stolen mobile devices are seen as the greatest security concern for IT professionals and end-users - Four in 10 organizations have had mobile devices lost or stolen and half of lost/stolen devices contain business critical data. More than a third of mobile device losses have had a financial impact on the organization and two-thirds of companies that had mobile devices lost/stolen have increased their device security after this loss.

* Risky behaviors and weak security postures are commonplace - Although the need for mitigating mobile security risks and threats is acknowledged, fewer than half of device users back up their mobile data more frequently than on a weekly basis. Around half of device users keep passwords, pin codes or credit card details on their mobile devices. One in three users keeps sensitive work-related information on their mobile devices.

* There is a serious disconnect between the policy and reality - 95 percent of organizations have policies in place in regard to mobile devices, however, only one in three employees are very aware of their company's mobile security policies

"Data loss remains a huge problem for both consumers and businesses," said Todd Gebhart, executive vice president and general manager, consumer, small business and mobile, McAfee. "Consumers need tools to protect their personal information and businesses need a way to protect their valuable intellectual property. It's far too easy to leave a mobile device in a cab, or at the airport. This study shows that there is a lot of room for improvement in terms of education and putting the right tools in place to ensure mobile security."

"Mobility and Security: Dazzling Opportunities, Profound Challenges" is based on a survey of more than 1500 information technology and end user respondents from 14 countries and was commissioned by McAfee and produced by Carnegie Mellon's CyLab. A full copy of the report is available for download at www.mcafee.com/mobilesecurityreport.

About the report:

In collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University, McAfee took a hard look at the topic of mobile security and the consumerization of IT. The online surveys were administered by international research firm Vanson Bourne. More than 1500 respondents from 14 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S., participated in the survey. The participants were split between two surveys targeted towards general end-users of mobile devices and senior IT decision makers in companies with 100 or more employees.

About McAfee:

McAfee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), is the world's largest dedicated security technology company. McAfee delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that help secure systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world, allowing users to safely connect to the Internet, browse and shop the Web more securely. Backed by its unrivaled Global Threat Intelligence, McAfee creates innovative products that empower home users, businesses, the public sector and service providers by enabling them to prove compliance with regulations, protect data, prevent disruptions, identify vulnerabilities, and continuously monitor and improve their security. McAfee is relentlessly focused on constantly finding new ways to keep our customers safe. http://www.mcafee.com

About CyLab:

Carnegie Mellon CyLab is a bold and visionary effort, which establishes public-private partnerships to develop new technologies for measurable, secure, available, trustworthy, and sustainable computing and communications systems. CyLab is a world leader in both technological research and the education of professionals in information assurance, security technology, business and policy, as well as security awareness among cybercitizens of all ages. Building on more than two decades of Carnegie Mellon leadership in Information Technology, CyLab is a university-wide initiative that involves more than 50 faculty and 100 graduate students from more than six different departments and schools. www.cylab.cmu.edu/.

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Bin Laden fails to stir young Arabs in revolts era.

DUBAI: The apparent indifference of young Arabs to the killing of Osama bin Laden is being seen as a sign of Al-Qaeda's flagging popularity and the preoccupation in the Middle East with revolutions at home.

An Egyptian expert on Islamist movements, Diaa Rashwan, said his killing by US troops has failed to provoke Arab street protests because they are already marching for freedom.

"The death of bin Laden does not mean much to the Arab people," Rashwan said, noting the Middle East was awash with revolutions to topple longtime autocratic rulers.

Bin Laden's elimination was "a natural development at a time when people are turning the page on guns and violence that targeted civilians indiscriminately," he said.

The death of Al-Qaeda's leader marked the end of an era.

With his popularity already on the decline, the Saudi-born Islamist militant "would not have even enjoyed the media coverage he has had now if he had been killed a bit later," said Rashwan.

This week has not seen any major popular protest, neither at the announcement of bin Laden's death nor over the disposal of his body at sea.

Washington says it opted for a sea burial out of concern that a traditional funeral could have produced a shrine for bin Laden, who topped the most wanted list for the past decade since the 9/11 terror attacks.

President Barack Obama announced that US forces shot dead bin Laden early on Monday local time after tracking him down to a hideout at Abbottabad near the Pakistani capital.

Sporadic street rallies have been held in support of bin Laden in Afghanistan and Pakistan where the Al-Qaeda chief spent most of his life, but no such events have been reported in the Middle East.

Islamist forums on the Internet, however, have been active in hailing his contribution to radical Islam.

Salman Shaikh, director of Brookings Doha Centre, said the absence of sympathy for bin Laden was not surprising. "The Arab world moved a long time ago from Al-Qaeda ... The Arabs are instead moving towards popular revolts," he said.

"They are focusing more on the struggle to have their own freedom. And besides that, they want to get rid of the extremists. They want to move forward and look to the future."

Shaikh said Arabs did not want to be identified with or viewed as "terrorists," despite mixed feelings of denial and disbelief among loyalists who insist bin Laden lives on.

The youth, at the forefront of the so-called Arab Spring, is focused on freedom, democracy and higher living standards, agreed Lebanese sociologist Dalal Bizri, although this did not mean a total lack of sympathy for bin Laden.

A leader of Al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen on Wednesday vowed revenge.

"We will take revenge for the death of our Sheikh Osama bin Laden and we will prove this to the enemies of God," he told AFP, contacted by telephone from Yemen's restive southern province of Abyan, an Al-Qaeda stronghold.

"They will see what they haven't expected ... We are preparing a plan to continue jihad in the coming period," the militant warned, requesting anonymity for "security reasons."

Bizri said Islamist movements in the Arab world were increasingly influenced by the Turkish model of rule in a secular state, with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Syria more amenable to the West and abandoning anti-Western slogans.

Since Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's ouster in February, the formerly banned Muslim Brotherhood has formed a non-theocratic" party in Cairo to contest up to half of the parliamentary seats in September elections.

"The main feature of the coming period will be the involvement of Islamists in power, and they will then fight against extremists and silence them," predicted Bizri.

Egypt's Brotherhood itself said on Monday that "Islam is not bin Laden."

"After September 11, there had been a lot of confusion. Terrorism was mixed up with Islam," said Mahmoud Ezzat, the Brotherhood's number two. "In the coming phase, everyone will be looking to the West for just behavior."

Daily NewsEgypt 2011

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