Galaus – social grabber and bookmarking

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)–Symantec Corp. (SYMC) gave a potential boost to its position in the growing encryption-technology market on Thursday by announcing its intention to buy two privately held email- and data-encryption companies for a total of $370 million in cash.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company will buy PGP Corp. for approximately $300 million and GuardianEdge for approximately $70 million. Subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, the deals are expected to close during the June quarter.

Symantec expects the transactions to be 2 cents dilutive to .

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100429-718588.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines

As recently as three years ago, Milwaukee police officials were analyzing crime trends by reading printed incident reports and sticking pushpins representing weeks-old crimes into maps.

On a recent Monday morning, however, members of the department’s command staff gathered at their daily meeting and – using laptop computers and wall-mounted flat-screen TVs – reviewed interactive maps tracking crimes that had occurred just hours earlier.

Those maps are available to officers in squad cars and department leaders alike. When combined with data on the activity of officers, from traffic stops to arrests, it provides a picture of how well crime-fighting strategies are being executed – and working.

Department officials say a new commitment to technology is a key factor behind police statistics that show a 40.2% drop in reported violent crime in Milwaukee for the first quarter of 2010 when compared with the first quarter three years ago.

“We weren’t being proactive,” Assistant Police Chief James Harpole said. “We were being reactive to the data. Today, we try to get out in front of the data.”

The shift came rapidly for a department that historically has struggled to keep up with new technology.

Within the last five years, previous computer systems meant toidentify problematic officers and track crime both failed to work properly. The department is still wrestling with a digital radio systemthat became operational about five years later than projected, has run nearly $3 million over budget and is still generating complaints.

Shortly after taking office in 2008, Police Chief Edward A. Flynn appealed to the private sector for help in getting the department’s technology up to speed.

Milwaukee police are simply taking advantage of technological advances that have occurred over the last decade or so, said Michael S. Scott, a clinical associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School and the director of the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing Inc.

“Fifteen years ago, computerized crime mapping was relatively rare in American police agencies,” Scott said. “Today it’s pretty standard technology, and it sounds like Milwaukee police are making good, sensible use of that, speeding up the use, using it in as close to real-time as possible to make immediate deployments of personnel, but also using it (to) understand long-term patterns.”

The conference

At 9 a.m. on that recent Monday, about a dozen of the department’s top officials, including Flynn, sit at a long table in a seventh-floor conference room at their downtown headquarters to discuss the city’s most recent crimes.

Supervisors from each of the city’s seven police districts and the Neighborhood Task Force – a unit of patrol officers whose deployments are focused on specific areas of the city – join the meeting via videoconferencing, their images appearing on a flat-screen TV mounted on a wall.

The meeting, which was opened to a Journal Sentinel reporter, is held every weekday morning and lasts about an hour. A similar meeting is held each evening, when the night shift takes over. Longer, more detailed meetings – usually focusing on specific areas of the department, such as an individual district – are held on Wednesday mornings.

Because this meeting will cover a weekend’s worth of crime, there’s a lot to discuss – from a homicide in which a man ran over another man with an SUV after a dispute in a downtown nightclub to a persistent burglary problem in parts of the north side.

Each district’s supervisor gives a roundup of the weekend activity, providing details such as the names of victims and suspects, circumstances of the crimes and possible links to other incidents.

Attendees use laptops to look up suspects’ and victims’ criminal records, address histories and the names of people known to associate with them.

A sergeant from District 1, which includes the area of downtown where the homicide occurred, tells attendees the hit-and-run was filmed by a neighborhood resident who was trying to document problems that occur when nearby bars close for the night. Police were able to determine that the SUV had Wisconsin license plates but couldn’t read the tags, says the sergeant, Mark Wagner.

Meanwhile, an aide pulls up a street-level image of the stretch of E. Wisconsin Ave. where the homicide occurred and projects it on a large flat-panel screen on a wall in the front of the room.

“What’s our plan of action with the 311 Club?” asks Flynn, referring to the club where the disturbance that led to the homicide began. “Do we have enough to do something?”

Wagner tells Flynn that District 1 officers are checking whether the nightclub has any recent violations. Flynn tells Wagner to keep him posted.

“The last thing we need downtown is fights and homicides,” he says.

When District 5 Capt. Edith Hudson, speaking via videoconference from the district station on W. Locust St., mentions the name of an 18-year-old man with a lengthy criminal history who was wounded Saturday in a shooting, several of the commanders in attendance take note.

“It’s pretty bad when the assistant chiefs know this guy by name,” Assistant Chief Gregory Habeck says to the group, drawing both groans and laughter from several commanders familiar with the man’s record.

Flynn and others want to know why the shooting victim was out on the streets, where he wound up being shot, instead of in custody for past crimes. Since taking office, Flynn has talked often about the need to focus on repeat offenders.

Court records show the man’s record includes convictions for disorderly conduct and resisting or obstructing an officer. Other charges filed against the man since 2008, including at least one weapon-related charge, have been dismissed, the records show.

Three days later, the shooting victim is still a main topic of conversation during the morning crime meeting.

“Why isn’t he in jail?” Harpole asks during a meeting that Thursday, noting that police need to keep track of him once he’s out of the hospital. “He needs the full force of the Police Department on him. That’s the bottom line.”

Casting wide Web

Although a daily meeting about overnight crime seems like a simple way to coordinate the department’s activities, many police agencies aren’t able to collect enough data quickly enough to make the meeting worthwhile, Flynn said in an interview.

“What we’re doing here right now in Milwaukee is among the more sophisticated systems in the country,” he said.

Other departments are “fascinated at this idea that we can do a Web-based meeting every morning on the last 24 hours and cover the entire city,” Flynn said. “That’s a real innovation.”

Howard Jordan, assistant chief of the Oakland (Calif.) Police Department, is one of several police officials from across the country who have observed one of Milwaukee’s daily crime meetings. He said he came away impressed.

“We’re not as sophisticated as (Milwaukee), for various reasons,” said Jordan, who said his department is probably two or three months away from being able to hold similar daily meetings. “We don’t have the software right now to do that. . . .  They seem to be more in focus and more advanced than us.”

It’s safe to say that just a few years ago no fellow police official would have offered such praise for the department’s use of technology to drive its operations.

“A lot of it was by feel,” said Habeck, an assistant chief. “We were putting cops in the general vicinity where crimes were happening, but we just didn’t have the level of understanding or ownership. Cops knew (where) there were issues, and they’d be in the right areas but not necessarily focused like a laser beam where they needed to be.”

The responsibility for using the data gathered each day to fight crime falls largely on the captains in charge of each district.

At the District 7 station near the intersection of W. Fond du Lac Ave. and W. Burleigh St., Capt. William Jessup begins each day by using the two flat-screen computer monitors sitting side-by-side on his desk to review the previous 24 hours of crime in the district and comparing the information with data gathered in recent weeks and last year.

With a few clicks of a mouse, he’s able to zoom in on a map of his district, click on a dot representing a crime and immediately read the reports filed about the incident.

“It’s not just identifying trends. It’s also being able, through the databases and the technology that we have, to gather intelligence,” Jessup said. “We can make a lot more connections between people, connections between vehicles and descriptions through our databases, that we just weren’t able to do in the past without, by hand, going through reports and reading them.”

An ongoing reorganization of the department has resulted in patrol officers and detectives working more closely together on crime problems specific to each district.

In District 7, a group of officers and detectives focused solely on the problematic spate of burglaries holds a conference call each morning with detectives at the headquarters downtown to update each other on new developments and prioritize their work for the day.

On a recent Thursday morning call, they learn that an 18-year-old man considered a suspect in a residential burglary had recently sold a PlayStation game console taken in the burglary at a GameStop store.

Finally armed with enough evidence to arrest him, Officers Michael Fedel and Trinidad Rodriguez and Detective Rudy Gudgeon drive to the house of the suspect’s grandmother, where he lives. She tells them he is at school, so they drive there and take him into custody. He says little to the officers when they arrest him in the high school’s office but confesses to the burglary that night.

He was charged with burglary last week, according to court records.

The arrest probably would not have occurred as quickly even two or three years ago, Jessup said.

Fedel and Rodriguez said their ability to use the computer system to review reports and updated crime data while working with detectives assigned to burglaries has given them more tools to track down criminals.

“We have more of an overall picture of a (suspect),” Rodriguez said. “We can tie him in to more crimes or see what else he was involved in.”

The ability to more easily trace the involvement of specific people to several crimes is one of the most important benefits of the department’s reliance on data, Harpole said.

“Every cop can tell you where the hotspots are in the city,” he said. “But what we didn’t do well in the past is focusing on the people in those locations. When you can start linking the people – the repeat victims, the repeat offenders – to those neighborhoods, that’s when you can really start having an impact.”

http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/92601709.html

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., March 25, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ATC Technology Corporation (ATC) (Nasdaq:ATAC), today announced that it now expects full-year 2010 revenue of $475-$500 million and earnings per diluted share from continuing operations of $1.75-$1.95. These ranges represent reductions from previous guidance for revenue of $515-$550 million and earnings per diluted share of $2.13-$2.45. The key drivers of the downward revision are a decline in returns volume with AT&T, reductions in scope and timing of certain anticipated new Logistics programs, and the impact of slower than expected launches of new engine programs in the Drivetrain business.

For the first quarter of 2010, the Company expects revenues and earnings per diluted share of approximately $100 million and $0.30, respectively. This compares to first quarter 2009 revenue of $113.5 million and adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.47. The expected decline reflects the impact of the lost contribution related to the loss of the Honda transmission remanufacturing program, lower returns volume with AT&T, the impact of anticipated price concessions related to contract renewals and start-up costs related to the engine programs.

Todd R. Peters, President and CEO said, “As we have progressed through the first quarter, we are seeing lower than anticipated returns volume with AT&T. We believe the continued adoption of smartphones is impacting our returns volume as these phones typically generate lower returns due to increased customer acceptance, improved quality and longer customer retention periods as compared to other phones. Furthermore, we have fewer service opportunities related to the iPhone, which is a growing part of the AT&T subscriber base. Our updated guidance also reflects the impact of scope and timing changes related to new programs with existing and potential new customers.”

“On the Drivetrain side of the business, we are experiencing start-up costs related to the launch of our new engine programs as we upgrade the remanufacturing processes to meet our customer’s revised production requirements after they selected ATC as their supplier.”

“Building off of the expected first quarter results, for the balance of 2010 we expect the contribution from new Logistics programs, seasonal impacts and the elimination of start-up costs to be the main drivers to achieving our full-year 2010 guidance.”

“For 2010, we now expect revenue and segment profit for the Logistics segment of $355-$375 million and $55-$61 million, respectively, and revenue and segment profit for the Drivetrain segment of $120-$125 million and $2-$3 million, respectively.”

“While we are clearly disappointed with the impact of the factors that have led us to revise our guidance, our customer relationships, new business pipelines and cash flow remain strong. Our primary focus remains on diversifying and growing our business. We will continue to aggressively pursue significant cost reduction measures to align our operations with the current level of demand. We will provide more details during our first quarter conference call on Wednesday, April 28^th.”

ATC will simultaneously host a conference call (dial-in number is 877-741-4248) and webcast to discuss the operating highlights and financial results for the first quarter 2010 on Wednesday, April 28th at 9:00 a.m. Central time. In anticipation of the call and webcast, the Company will issue its earnings release at the market close on Tuesday, April 27th.

Conference call information (for those interested in asking questions after the presentation and the webcast link for those interested in listening only) is available at the Company’s website at www.goATC.com. Click on Investor Relations and select Webcasts. You can access the website up to one hour prior to the call to register, download slides and install any necessary audio/video software. A “no audio, slides only” link is also available and will allow conference call participants to view slides in sync with the conference call.

The call and slides will be archived for one year on the ATC Technology Corporation website and will be available two hours subsequent to the call.

For further information, please see the Company’s periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

ATC Technology Corporation is headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois. The Company provides comprehensive engineered solutions for logistics and refurbishment services to the consumer electronics industries and the light and medium/heavy-duty vehicle service parts markets.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/globenewswire/187463.htm

NVIDIA today announced that the GPU Technology Conference 2010 (GTC 2010) will take place on Monday, Sept. 20 to Thursday, Sept. 23 at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, Calif.

Building on the successful format of last year’s inaugural conference, GTC 2010 will offer an even broader and deeper selection of technical sessions, interactive tutorials, technology previews, and industry and academic presentations.

“Last year’s GPU Technology Conference was very exciting, with many top researchers and developers demonstrating how they are using the GPU to solve some of the world’s most difficult challenges, from medical diagnostics to energy exploration,” said Bill Dally, NVIDIA Chief Scientist. “I am eagerly looking forward to seeing the new advances that will be unveiled this year.”

“I consider the GPU Technology Conference to be the single best place to see firsthand the amazing work enabled by the GPU,” said Professor Hanspeter Pfister, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Harvard University and GTC 2009 keynote speaker. “It’s a great venue for meeting researchers, developers, scientists, and entrepreneurs from around the world and I’m looking forward to GTC 2010.”

The conference will once again encompass three concurrent GPU-focused summits in one location:

• Emerging Companies Summit
  A showcase for innovative startups to demonstrate their products and network with venture capitalists, GTC attendees, and other investors.
• GPU Developers Summit
  A wide selection of content-rich sessions, tutorials, and presentations for developers, engineers, and scientists.
• NVIDIA® Research Summit
  A unique opportunity for students, professors, and researchers to present their findings and collaborate.

For More Information:

• To stay up to date on GTC 2010, visit the GTC 2010 website and join the GTC 2010 mailing list.
• To submit proposals for tutorials, sessions, and posters, see GTC Call for Submissions.
• To learn about being a sponsor or exhibitor, see GTC Sponsors/Exhibitors.
• To watch the GTC 2010 video, see the nTersect blog.

Sponsors:
GTC 2010 sponsors include GE, HP, and PNY.

About NVIDIA
NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) awakened the world to the power of computer graphics when it invented the GPU in 1999. Since then, it has consistently set new standards in visual computing with breathtaking, interactive graphics available on devices ranging from tablets and portable media players to notebooks and workstations. NVIDIA’s expertise in programmable GPUs has led to breakthroughs in parallel processing which make supercomputing inexpensive and widely accessible. The company holds more than 1,100 U.S. patents, including ones covering designs and insights which are fundamental to modern computing. For more information, see www.nvidia.com.

Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to, statements as to: the benefits of and format for GTC 2010 are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include: changes in the format of GTC 2010 as well as other factors detailed from time to time in the reports NVIDIA files with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2010. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on NVIDIA’s website and are available from NVIDIA without charge. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, NVIDIA disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.

Copyright © 2010 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. NVIDIA and the NVIDIA logo are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks, and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability, and specifications are subject to change without notice.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0600765.htm