Lilia Guan

Verbatim has released a Video DVD discs that’s coated with VideoGard, a hard coat technology.

Optima Technology Solutions has been selected to supply notebook computers to the New South Wales Department of Education and Training.

The project is part of Optima’s Technology for Learning scheme (T4L) that aims to integrate learning technologies into classrooms and teaching practices.

Optima was one of two vendors selected for the $16 million three-year project, although exact notebook allocation to each vendor has yet to be finalised. The notebooks will be delivered to government schools throughout New South Wales, further complementing the 5,000 desktop and notebook computers that Optima has already supplied the region under the initial phase of the T4L roll out.

The notebook selected for the deployment is the Optima Centoris G300 Series that features the latest Intel Centrino Mobile Technology, including a Mobile Intel 915 Express Chipset and tri-mode wireless access. Weighing only 2.7kg, with Gigabit Ethernet support and a large 15-inch LCD, the G300 Series notebook is ideal for use by students and teachers alike. The notebooks come with a four-year onsite warranty and will be rolled out across the state at the beginning of January 2006.

To accompany the roll out, Optima has partnered with Cisco, Microsoft and NSW DET to develop a training program for teachers, principals and IT professionals throughout the region called ‘Tools for Technology’.  The workshop will provide teaching professionals with the knowledge they need to maximise IT infrastructure and effectively use educational technology in the classroom.

Colmac, a small Toowomba-based IT dealer, has been selected to supply computers and support services to one of Australia’s biggest building societies.

In a competitive tender, Colmac beat several large multinational vendors to secure the $403,000 contract. Over the next seven weeks, the local reseller will supply Heritage Building Society with 260 Optima desktop computers as part of its regular system refresh.

Colmac will also provide the building society with full installation services, setting-up its cashiering system and training the help desk in diagnostic skills. It will be responsible for maintaining all current passbook printers and removing old equipment from the society’s various branches.

“Colmac consists of a team of seven, so to win this type of deal against such well-known vendors with extensive resources and broad national scope, is quite an achievement,” said Greg McKeon, Managing Director, Colmac.

The hardware used for the rollout will be supplied by leading Australian computer manufacturer Optima, which will customise the computers with additional communications cards and a platform image supplied by Heritage Building Society.

“As a local dealer, it’s important for us to have the support of Australian computer vendors like Optima,” said McKeon. “We’ve been an Optima business partner for the last 14 years and their support on this deal has enabled us to strike a further blow against the global competition.”

Colmac was also recently named Optima’s Most Improved Business Partner of the Year, having achieved considerable growth in sales and service delivery over the past financial year.

Emerson Network Power has appointed a new channel manager for Australia and New Zealand. The comapny has also appointed a national business development manager.

Emerson Network Power has appointed a new channel manager for Australia and New Zealand.

Bart Mascorello will be responsible for managing the distribution channels, resellers and channel product marketing for Emerson Liebert brand of UPS products. He will also be responsible for building on Emerson’s existing channel business Liebert-brand UPS and Mascorello has had a varied career starting in 1982 after serving in the US Navy, where earned an Associate Degree in Advanced Electronics. Mascorello then joined Sperry Univac, now Unisys, in Canberra as a mainframe service engineer. He then joined IBM in 1985 and held several positions including ACT regional service manager and eventually ACT SE manager.

In 1992 he left IBM to pursue a career in network communications and first joined Scitec Communications in Canberra and then joined Cisco Systems Australia, 1996, as NSW enterprise channel manager and was responsible for the growth of key accounts such as Com Tech Communications (now Dimensions Data).

According to Mascorello he was “attracted to Emerson because the company has a strong engineering focus, as well as a, strategic relationship with leaders like Cisco.”

Emerson has also appointed Spiro Taktikos as national business development manager for Emerson’s Global Services unit. Taktikos will be responsible for managing Emerson’s national customer accounts and the Global Services business development team. Global Services is dedicated to the maintenance and on-site repair of critical computer support systems.

He has had more than 17 years’ industry experience, having begun his career with Emerson as an apprentice service technician working on the Liebert-branded precision air products. He built up his experience with a spell at Sola Australia (now Eaton Power Quality), where he became national sales manager for customer solutions.

IDC has predicted that annual sales of compressed audio players will reach 1 billion units by 2009 globally. Of that number, 2.4 million units of MP3 players will be shipped within Australia.

According to Sophie Lo, IDC Research Analyst, Consumer Digital Markets, the portable MP3 player category has seen the most growth in popularity due to the expansion of services that sell songs (legitimately) and the stronger demand for players with flash memory chips.

“In 2004 we saw only 672,000 units of MP3 players shipped out. This year in April IDC predicted the MP3 player units will grow to 1.3 million by the end of this year. Apple products like the iPod Shuffle and now the Nano still holds market share. However broadband penetration has helped facilitate people to download music services from the Internet. There choicer of content for music subscribers. Also users are eagerly anticipating the launch of music facilities like Apple iTunes and Yahoo Music,” she said.

 Lo also believes the line between flash and hard drive products has blurred. With Flash capacity increasing.

 “Flash products appeal to users because not everyone has 3000 songs they want downloaded onto their player. At IDC we believe flash players will grow to 16 gigabyte capacity by 2007. We have already seen it grow from 1 gigabyte to 4 gigabyte. Apple has also produced a flash drive product -the Nano, so it has also helped to blur that line.”

IDC finds Sony and Microsoft are narrowing the gap in next-generation gaming war console.

The gap between Microsoft and Sony will narrow, with the Xbox 360 installed base slightly lower than that of PS3 by 2010. Nintendo will remain a niche player within the console segment, states IDC’s latest Digital Home research, “Next Gen Consoles, Can There Be Only One?: Australia Videogame Hardware and Software 2006-2010 Forecast”.

“Seizing the console throne from Sony will not be a straightforward challenge for Microsoft. The PlayStation console family has enjoyed considerable influence on the Australian consumer mindset for the past ten years – steadily bolstering its library and building a familiar gaming experience – that its dominance in the console industry is of unquestioned precedent,” said Sophie Lo, IDC Analyst for Consumer Digital Markets.

The Xbox 360 will be available in Australia early next year, in a two product launch offering – a “core” system, and a “premium” bundle. IDC believes that Microsoft will launch the Xbox 360 with around 20 game titles, including, “Perfect Dark Zero”, “Project Gotham Racing 3”, “FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup”, “Call Of Duty 2”, “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion”, “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 4” and “Quake 4”.

Meanwhile, IDC predicts that the PS3 will be available in Australia just before the 2006 Christmas season. IDC said Sony will launch the PS3 without a bundled hard drive along with around 30 game titles, including “Devil May Cry 4”, “Final Fantasy PS3”, “Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots”, “Mobile Suit Gundam”, “Tekken PS3” and “Vision GT”.

Both Sony and Microsoft are trying to expand the gamers’ demographics with its advances in graphics and processing power combined with feature sets that deliver more than just gaming. They are both positioning their respective platforms as the media hubs of the home, with capabilities to connect digital cameras and digital audio players, or to playback cached video content from the PC or the set-top box.

However, IDC strongly believes that the winning strategy is to deliver a great gaming experience, and not to transform the console into a media hub.

“The right to claim the throne of the next-generation will belong to whoever can position the brand that delivers the very heart of gaming – namely, great games and an immersive gaming experience,” added Jerson Yau, Associate Analyst and co-author of this study.

Software vendors, such as Electronic Arts and Activision, should capitalise on the market dynamics, firstly by cross-publishing game titles to take advantage of the large installed base of the two platforms. Secondly, the rivalry between Sony and Microsoft creates a lot of excitement, and the next generation is an ideal time to develop new franchises, bringing fresh and innovative offerings to market. Game developers can also explore new gaming innovations around the integration between handheld and console platforms.

Videogame hardware includes, videogame consoles (e.g. Nintendo GameCube, Sony PS One, Sony PS2, Sega Dreamcast and Microsoft Xbox) and handheld videogame device (e.g. Nintendo Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Dual Screen, and Sony PlayStation Portable). Videogame software is designed specifically for interactive game play on videogame consoles and videogame handheld gaming consoles. Software may be delivered in a cartridge, a ROM-based format, or electronically.

Samsung Mobile has a mobile phone with appeal to the business user or a person who wants their phone to be more than a phone.

This slide-up mobile has a two-inch, 262K QVGA TFT LCD screen with a 240 x 320 resolution, which will enable users to view files, images and video with razor-sharp clarity and intense colours. 

The Samsung D600 is also the equipped with TV output and Document Viewer and the TV output lets users connect their mobile phone to a TV screen to view photos and video footage with sound, similar to a digital camera or camcorder, while Document Viewer allows users to present PowerPoint presentations, by connecting the Samsung D600 to a projector — without the need for a laptop. 

 D-600 will also appeal to those who have a business on-the-go as information can be accessed on the mobile. It also supports a variety of file types, (MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel, PDF, HTML and TXT) the Samsung D600 allows users to store, view and forward documents, as they do on their PC.

Mobile printing is another function of the Samsung D600.  It enables users to print directly via USB using PictBridge or wirelessly through Bluetooth for mobile production of photos, files, messages, contacts, calendar items and more.

The 2 mega pixel camera with flash has 4x digital zoom, produces images which can also be edited using photo effects on the Samsung D600. 

The D600 is also features a speakerphone with voice clarity and dual speakers with 3D stereo sound to get the best from the digital music player (which supports MP3/AAC/AAC+).  Samsung has also introduced a Bluetooth Stereo Headset, which offers wireless hands free connectivity and streaming stereo audio.  The Samsung D600 is the first Samsung handset to support wireless stereophonic sound and allows the headset to act as a remote control for the built-in MP3 player.

 Users will also be able to record and send video is also possible with sound and pictures at 352×288. To support all these multi-media features, the Samsung D600 comes equipped with 73MB internal memory and a 64MB Transflash card for greater convenience. With the option to upgrade to a 512MB Transflash card, the Samsung D600 can provide over half a GB of memory – not bad for a phone that weighs just 103 grams.

The Samsung D600 also operates on Quad Band. This means it can be used worldwide across all GSM frequency bands, whether in Europe, North America, South America, Asia or Australia. This multi-media phone retails for $879 inc. GST.