Intel Thunderbolt to be available April...As Antitrust Case Heads to State Court

Intel has recently notified its partners that the company will fully release its Thunderbolt technology in April of 2012 with several first-tier PC players already preparing to launch Thunderbolt-supported motherboards, notebooks and desktop PCs, according to sources from PC players.

To speed up the standardization of Thunderbolt, Intel is cooperating with Apple and Apple is the sole vendor currently to have PC products featuring Thunderbolt technology. As demand for the technology has seen obvious growth, Intel is ready to release the technology for public use.

Due to Thunderbolt chip costs being more than US$20 and the solution running a conflict with USB 3.0 in terms of next-generation data transmission technology, the Thunderbolt did not receive strong attention from the IT industry when announced, but as Apple has largely adopted the technology into its products such as monitor, MacBook Pro, iMac, MacBook Air and MacBook Mini, it has strongly boosted demand.

With the cost for adopting Thunderbolt technology expected to drop in the second half of 2012, the technology should be standardized gradually in the future, the sources noted.

Currently Sony is expected to adopt Thunderbolt technology into its product lines with players such as Asustek Computer also expected to adopt the technology into their high-end notebook products. Gigabyte Technology, which has been aggressively adopting new transmission technology into its product line, is also expected to launch Thunderbolt-featured motherboard in April of 2012 to compete against Asustek and ASRock.

Intel Corp.'s last major antitrust fight, against New York state officials, appears headed to state court after rulings by a federal judge in Delaware.

U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark on Friday canceled a Feb. 14 trial in the high-profile case filed by New York's attorney general, who charged Intel with monopolistic tactics in the market for microprocessor chips.

The order followed a letter to the judge from Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who proposed dropping the federal case in view of recent developments that reduced the amount of damages that New York could seek. Mr. Schneiderman said his office would instead pursue damages in New York state court to address "Intel's egregious and illegal conduct."

An Intel spokesman declined comment Saturday. But the company has insisted it acted lawfully, and earlier in December said it was "gratified" that the judge had granted motions by the company that narrowed the case.

Intel, which makes chips that act as calculating engines in most personal computers, has been dogged for much of the past decade by allegations that it used illegal tactics to prevent rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. from gaining a broader foothold in the market.

In August 2010, Intel agreed to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission that it unlawfully stifled competition in the microprocessor market, a pact that required the company to modify some sales practices. That settlement involved no financial penalties, but Intel previously agreed to pay $1.25 billion to AMD to settle a private antitrust case. Intel also paid a $1.45 billion fine ordered by antitrust enforcers in Europe, a ruling it is appealing.

New York's case was filed in November 2009 by Andrew Cuomo, who was then the state's attorney general and is now its governor. The suit quoted liberally from emails sent by senior officials of Intel and customers, such as Dell Inc., to support allegations that Intel improperly paid billions of dollars in kickbacks to computer makers to help ensure their loyalty as customers.

The suit argued that consumers and public entities in the state wound up paying more than they should have for PCs because of Intel's actions. Intel, rejecting those arguments, asked the judge to throw out parts of the case.

Judge Stark on Dec. 7 agreed with Intel that the state was entitled to ask for financial penalties and injunctions, but not treble damages. He also ruled the case should only consider three years of computer purchases, not the four-year and six-year periods New York was seeking under different claims.

Mr. Schneiderman, noting the prospect of smaller damage awards following the judge's rulings, said the state nevertheless hopes to convince a jury that its claims against Intel have merit. "We intend to vigorously prosecute our state law claims on behalf of the people of the state of New York," a spokesman for the attorney general said Monday.

Airtel Money Set To Enhance Mobile Commerce In Ghana

Airtel Ghana has re-launched its award winning mobile money platform, under a new brand name Airtel Money, which is better positioned to provide customers with an efficient alternative to cash transactions and provide millions of Ghanaians with access to banking services for the first time.

Airtel Money includes the most comprehensive package of m-commerce and payment features currently available on the Ghanaian market and it seeks to empower its customers with access to a convenient, secure and readily available way of making payments through the mobile platform.

Airtel is already in partnership with leading international and regional banks including Ecobank, GT Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Unibank, United Bank of Africa, Zenith Bank, Energy Bank and Databank to provide customers with more convenient ways of conducting mobile commerce service, deposit and withdraw cash, money transfers, banking services, paying bills, contributing to investments. There are more than five hundred (500) Airtel Money dealers, ensuring the widest availability of Airtel Money throughout Ghana.

Kola Sonola, Mobile Commerce Director at Airtel Ghana explained at the official launch of Airtel Money that the service, which previously was mainly a mobile money platform, had fully evolved into an mobile commerce platform, offering four major services, namely mobile money mobile top-up, money transfer, mobile banking and financial services for micro-finance, micro insurance and B2B services. Customers, according to him, could therefore pay their utility bills, DSTV subscription fees, buy Airtel credit, pay for goods, services and loans through Airtel Money as well as make corporate batch payments and deposit or withdraw cash from a bank.

“Airtel money provides customers with a “mobile wallet” which allows them to use their mobile phones in much the same way as a bank debit card. It provides customers with increased security and flexibility, reducing the need to carry cash and ensuring prompt payments of bills, goods and services”, he stated.

Kola Sonola added that the uniqueness of Airtel Money also allowed customers on other networks to also enjoy the benefits of money transfer.

Managing Director of Airtel Ghana, Philip Sowah explained that Airtel aimed to deliver relevant and innovative mobile solutions to help customers overcome their daily challenges, stating that the company was once again offering Ghanaians the tools to feel free and improve their lives. “Our goal as a company is to make communications, banking, payments, retail and infotainment affordable and accessible to all in Africa”, he added.

Signal Alliance, Microsoft deliver Dynamic NAV ERP solution in Nigeria

Current Microsoft Country Partner of the Year 2011, Signal Alliance, recently held a seminar titled “Microsoft Dynamics ERP – Executive Productivity and Insight”. The seminar showcased Microsoft’s business-critical Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application. An ERP system is an integrated information system that serves all departments within an enterprise. It becomes a core business application that enables a company to streamline its operations to become more efficient and effective.
Microsoft’s Dynamics NAV ERP system includes software for manufacturing, order entry, accounts receivable and payable, general ledger, purchasing, warehousing, transportation and human resources.

The seminar highlighted these features during the two hour seminar which was held in conjunction with Microsoft Nigeria in Lagos.

Introducing the product, Suleiman Lukman, one of Signal Alliance’s Solution Developers and leading Dynamics expert, described the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 edition as the most powerful, cost-effective, robust and flexible mid-market business management solution available.

His words: “This is one innovation that will stand the test of time. If adopted, the Microsoft Dynamics NAV will drive revenues considerably and reduce cost of operations drastically. The solution is very flexible in its adoption, allowing for it to fit the organization seamlessly. The general Microsoft office interface is retained so users immediately find it easy to adapt reducing training time.”

Lending credence to the viability of the new product, Mr. Emeka Achebe-Okosieme, Executive Director - Business Applications Division, commented that the Microsoft Dynamics NAV is the competitive edge companies are looking for to adopt.

He said “One of the strong points of the NAV is that it is IFRS compliant. This is very important because the new requirement by all companies in Nigeria is that they must submit their financial report in the IFRS format. The NAV also protects a company’s investment in Microsoft solutions by integration with Microsoft Office. Signal Alliance’s vast experience and wealth of technical expertise will serve customers very well in adopting the NAV solution.”   

According to him one of the major successful advancement of the MS NAV is the high level security of information. He also highlighted the fact that is a role tailored client solution, which means it is designed in such a way that business owners and managers, are allowed to create their own pattern of work on this platform.

“Signal Alliance is ready to provide support services for the users of the MS NAV, as part of effort in ensuring that users harness the maximum potentials of an MS NAV driven business Organizations” he said.

Immediate response was visible as several participants’ indicted willingness to test the solution.

Signal Alliance is the leading IT systems integrator in Nigeria with key partnerships with global IT technology leaders such as Cisco, CA Technologies and Microsoft. The company provides end-to-end IT services from Network Infrastructure, Unified communications to Electronic Document Management, Collaboration & ERP and Software Advisory services.
Signal Alliance is the current Microsoft Country Partner of the Year. 

Microsoft changes Xbox brand and design chief

It’s no secret that Microsoft is designing the successor to the Xbox 360, as it needs to keep pace with Nintendo, which is introducing a new console next year. But now it will evidently take on that task without the help of one of the veteran marketing and design experts.

Don Coyner will no longer lead the design and experience group for Xbox, according to Jay Greene at Cnet, which cited two unnamed Microsoft sources for its report. A former Nintendo marketer, Coyner led a methodical process that led to the final industrial design and user experience for the game console that launched in 2005. and I wrote about him in my book, “The Xbox 360 Uncloaked.”

Coyner was reportedly replaced by Emma Williams, who helped create the recently redesigned Xbox Live interface. Microsoft declined to comment on the matter to Cnet. But Coyner apparently hasn’t left the company. Coyner’s LinkedIn profile says he managed a team of 140 hardware, software and user researchers in the Interactive Entertainment Division at Microsoft.

Coyner left Nintendo and joined Microsoft in 1995. He shifted over to Xbox as work began on that console in 1999. He started as a director of marketing for the group and then moved to supervise the design and user experience for the Xbox 360. In that process, he worked under Xbox platform chief J Allard, who has since left the company. Coyner’s job was to make the whole user experience with the console more consistent and unified.

Allard had said that Coyner had been “under-utilized” on the first Xbox and he gave him more responsibility for the second console. In mid-2003, Coyner brought in the industrial designer Jonathan Hayes to oversee the look and feel of the Xbox 360, synthesizing the designs proposed by various teams. Coyner supervised the process of collecting data on gamers and feeding it to the designers so they could improve the product the second time around. He wanted the product to be as well received as a new Apple device.

The first Xbox didn’t win any design awards and it was too big for many home entertainment racks.  He started out by heading a worldwide design bake-off, asking famous industrial designers around the world to submit concepts for the new console. Hayes and the team viewed the work of seven concepts for the Xbox 360 design, but they didn’t like any of them. They invited Astro Studios of San Francisco and Hers Experimental Laboratory to work on new concepts, and their ideas led to the final industrial design.

The unified design won accolades when the console debuted in 2005, as it was more appealing to the mass market and wasn’t as intimidating as the original black Xbox with its acid-green jewel in the middle. Though it came out a year before the Nintendo Wii and the Sony PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 has aged well and it will be the best-selling console in the U.S. this year.

Williams will now head the design and brand strategy of the Xbox group. Microsoft is reportedly planning to launch its next console in 2013, according to Cnet and the Develop game news site.

MTN Mobile Money users in Uganda cry foul

For a telecommunications firm the size of MTN in Uganda, which since its inception 13 years ago has led the way in service innovation, the breakdown of the mobile money network in the country is an indictment on the firm’s history.

MTN cannot say it didn’t see the early warning signs. In mid July, the network was down for two days, disrupting businesses. But the gravity of the network breakdown then does not compare to current predicament, with the Mobile Money service almost down for the last two to three weeks. The agents are not amused. “I wanted to sue them (MTN) but the lawyers told me it was impossible because I did not have a copy of the contract I signed with MTN,” said Nicholas Atuhairwe, an agent based at Kikoni, a Makerere University township.

Atuhairwe says the manner in which MTN entered into an understanding with their mobile money agents makes the latter susceptible to many forms of disservices. “They did not even give us time to read the contracts; we were not even given copies. All they told us to do was to sign and then deposit Shs 1,000,000 as the initial credit.

"We were later compelled to sign an exclusive agreement stopping us from operating other telecom money services which could otherwise have saved us during this crisis,” Atuhairwe explained.

He further added that he has lost over Shs1.3 million since the service started experiencing faults. “I used to make over Shs 60,000 worth of profit in a day but since the problem started, I have not served more than six customers. What MTN is doing is criminal,” he said.

To understand how huge MTN’s mobile money service is, you have to go back to its early days when it was launched. More than Shs 5bn exchanged hands in over 180,000 transactions within the first three months of its launch in 2009.

MTN Mobile Money agents help customers carry out transactions in Kampala. Today, up to 400,000 active customers make more than 385,000 transactions a month, according to GSMA’s Mobile Money for the Unbanked 2011 annual report. More than 1,400 agents have signed up to MTN’s Mobile Money, according to the report.

Consultancy firms are expected to follow MTN mobile money’s breakdown with keen interest. GSMA’s Mobile Money for the Unbanked 2011 report, a respected publication, played down the threat of technology breakdown in MTN’s mobile services as one that could see customers fleeing. While the report agrees that a technology breakdown could lead to first-time customers abandoning the service for good, it notes that the biggest worry for the service is when agents run out of cash to meet transactions. That prediction now faces its biggest test.

Agents wonder why MTN has not come out to clearly tell them what the problem is. “It is normal for companies to experience shortcomings in their services but it is disrespectful to the customers if such companies do not communicate in time,” complained Gloria Owembabazi, a mobile money outlet owner in Makerere University.

“We are not talking about simple money to take a girlfriend out. Students keep their tuition and upkeep money worth millions of shillings on their phone accounts; it is psychologically torturing if they cannot keep daily track of that money,” she added.

However, MTN Uganda corporate affairs manager, Justina Ntabgoba-Kayemba told the media that her company sent out a statement last week informing customers about the ongoing system enhancement. “We sent those messages last week but unfortunately, some have not yet received them.”

In a copy of the statement that Ntabgoba-Kayemba sent, MTN wrote that the first phase of the upgrading process started in early November and is expected to end mid next month.

The company also warned that mobile money will not resume normal efficiency levels until the upgrading process is finished. “During this period, mobile money services, including new registrations, mobile money transactions, and airtime top-up via mobile money will be intermittent. Customers and agents attempting to transact on MTN mobile money will receive an SMS response advising them of the error or a confirmation of a successful transaction,” reads part of the statement.

However, the good news is the service is being upgraded to even offer more services than they are already serving which will include among others withdrawing western union money using the mobile money service. Of the new services that will be unveiled after the upgrade, Mobile Money customers accounts will be linked to their bank accounts so that in event of being in a place where you cannot access you bank account, you can still withdraw from one of the authorized agents using mobile money. The upgrade is expected to be completed by December 15, according to the notice from MTN. 

Ceragon Networks Appoints new CFO as shares continue to tumble

Ceragon Networks Ltd. , one of the premier wireless backhaul specialists, has announced the appointment of Aviram Steinhart as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, replacing Tsipi Kagan, who is leaving the company to pursue other interests. He joined Ceragon on December 1, 2011, and Ms. Kagan will remain through the end of 2011 to assist with the transition.

Mr. Steinhart is said to be a technology industry veteran, bringing both financial management and executive leadership experience to his new position. He will join Ceragon from Lumenis Ltd., where he has been Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since 2007. Mr. Steinhart also previously served as Corporate Vice President, Finance at Alvarion Ltd, as well as in a variety of senior financial positions at Siemens/UGS PLM Solutions, Tecnomatix, and NetReality Communications.

"We are very pleased to welcome Aviram Steinhart to our leadership team, and we are excited to have someone with his extensive background. His industry experience and track record in financial management will be a real asset to the company as we execute on our long-term growth strategies," said Ira Palti, President and CEO of Ceragon. "We also offer our thanks to Tsipi Kagan for her important contribution during the past year, particularly with regard to handling the complexities of a significant acquisition, and we wish her continued success in her future endeavors."

"I'm delighted to join Ceragon at such an exciting time with the opportunity to contribute based on very relevant background and experience," said Steinhart. "Ceragon is extremely well-positioned to extend its leadership as the premier wireless backhaul specialist, and I look forward to working with the rest of the team to achieve its ambitious business goals."

Steinhart's appointment comes as the Israeli company is fighting hard to stem the tide of stock depreciation.

Shares of Ceragon Networks traded at a new 52-week low last tuesday of $7.88. This new low was reached on above average trading volume as 319,000 shares traded hands, while the average 30-day volume is approximately 193,000 shares.

The company, which develops, manufactures, and sells wireless networking systems that enable global communications service providers to immediately deploy high-capacity broadband infrastructures in metropolitan areas, has customers that include new and existing competitive local exchange carriers and Internet service providers.

Ceragon has potential upside of 47.1% based on a current price of $7.93 and analysts' consensus price target of $11.67. Ceragon Networks shares should first meet resistance at the 50-day moving average (MA) of $9.78 and find additional resistance at the 200-day MA of $11.11.

In the past 52 weeks, shares of Ceragon Networks have traded between the current low of $7.88 and a high of $14.34 and are now at $7.93. Over the last five market days, the 200-day moving average (MA) has gone down 0.6% while the 50-day MA has declined 1%. Reason for this trend is yet to be made public.

Yahoo, Google, Facebook Asked to Censor web for India

The Indian government has asked Internet companies and social media sites like Facebook to remove disparaging, inflammatory or defamatory user content from India before it goes online, three industry executives say. 

Top officials from the Indian units of Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Facebook were expected to meet with Kapil Sibal, India's acting telecommunications minister, on Monday afternoon to discuss the matter, said two executives of Internet companies. The executives asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media on the issue. 

The executives said representatives from these companies were to tell Sibal at the meeting that his demand was impossible, given the volume of user-generated content coming from India. They said they could not be responsible for determining what was and was not defamatory or disparaging. 

"If there's a law and there's a court order, we can follow up on it," said an executive from one of the companies that planned to attend the meeting. But these companies cannot be in the business of deciding whether something is legal to post, he said. 

Sibal's office confirmed that he would meet with Internet service providers but did not provide more information about the content of the meeting. 

About six weeks ago, Sibal called legal representatives from the country's top Internet service providers and Facebook into his New Delhi office, said one of the executives who was briefed on the meeting. 

At the meeting, Sibal showed attendees a Facebook page that maligned the Congress Party's president, Sonia Gandhi. "This is unacceptable," he told attendees, the executive said, and he asked them to find a way to monitor what was posted on their sites. 

In the second meeting with the same executives, in late November, Sibal told them he expected them to use people to screen content, not technology, the executive said. 

The three executives said Sibal told these companies that he expected them to set up a screening system, with staff members looking for objectionable content and deleting it before it was posted. 

Yahoo, Facebook and Microsoft did not respond immediately to calls for comment, and a Google spokeswoman said the company had no comment on the issue. Facebook said this year that it had more than 25 million users in India. Google has more than 100 million Internet users in India. 

Though India describes itself as the world's largest democracy, the country's leaders have recently sought to monitor and control electronic information. In April, the ministry issued rules demanding that Internet service providers delete information from websites that officials or private citizens deemed disparaging or harassing. Last year, the government battled with BlackBerry's manufacturer, Research in Motion, threatening to shut off the company's service in India if it did not allow government officials greater access to users' messages.

However, in an earlier meeting with Facebook, Sibal's motives became fairly obvious when he revealed that someone amongst India's huge population had put up a page which maligned the Congress Party's Sonia Gandhi as not fit for the job because she was married to murdered Rajiv Gandhi. Nor is it fair to say that Rajiv only got the job because his mum was murdered, nor is it right to say that his mum Indra got the job because she took the married name of an assassinated Indian saint. Apparently it is wrong to say that there is any nepotism in the Congress party.

According to the Economic Times, he said that it was "unacceptable" for anyone to say anything bad about Rajiv Gandhi's missus and it should be obvious that slagging off politicians on the internet should be against the law.

IBM redirects W/Africa focus from Nigeria...launches new centre in Ghana

International Business Machine (IBM) as part of its 100 years anniversary has announced the opening of a new procurement centre in Ghana to support IBM’s rapid business growth in the region and lay the foundation for additional industry growth initiatives throughout the continent.

The new Accra centre will serve clients and business partners in Ghana and 16 other African countries including Nigeria, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Seychelles, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

The procurement centre opening coincided with the launch of the IBM 2011 “Driving Efficiency” road show.

In a presentation, the Head of Strategic Lead, Muhammed El Shanawany said storage efficiency expectations continue to rise as information keep doubling from 18-24 months, 20 -40 per cent growth per year with 70 percent of IT budget spent on management systems. IBM will staff the procurement centre with local talent to help ensure the development of new skills for a modern workforce and to help stimulate economic growth market.

“IBM has made substantial investments in Ghana over the past few years in terms of skills development and we see opportunities for further development as business and government leaders capture the potential of information technology to transform their enterprises and support efforts to build a smarter planet,” said Joe Mensah, General Manager of IBM Ghana.

Procurement services to support the region will include activities such as purchase order creation, amendments and supplier invoice management, all designed to drive client value, productivity, and effective supplier management. IBM will staff the procurement center with local talent to help ensure the development of new skills for a modern workforce, and to help stimulate economic growth in the region.

“This center opening is another example of IBM’s efforts to become the world’s premier globally integrated enterprise,” said Fran O’Sullivan, general manager, IBM Integrated Supply Chain. “The expansion of our procurement operations in Ghana will help extend IBM’s business value and service in an important growth market.”

The new procurement center opening is being announced at the launch of the IBM 2011 “Driving Efficiency” Roadshow. The customer conference will bring nearly 200 IT managers and professionals together to review IBM systems and technology in an effort to drive efficiency and growth for Ghanaian businesses. IBM previously announced a collaborative partnership with the University of Ghana. Through this partnership, IBM provided educational programming, curricula and technology experts to the university.

It is however believed that the launch of the new procurement center in Ghana, though extending IBM’s commitment to supplier diversity and environmental responsibility in Africa, may be a subtle way of reducing the corporate presence of the global brand in West Africa's biggest economy, Nigeria. Quoting unnamed staff of IBM in Nigeria, sources claim that an official notice has been received to the effect that majority of the west African operations of IBM be re-directed to Ghana from Nigeria. It is believed that the move is not unconnected with the persistent infrastructural and security concerns in Nigeria at the moment.