Industry Alerts

10/26/05 - Benchmarking - What Really Matters

One reader wrote, "Why worry about what everyone or competitors are doing in your industry? Your callers and customers are generally only concerned about YOUR performance. Is your performance improving? If your customers are happy with the service, then they are not likely to move because of service issues."

He goes on to say, "Therefore in order to protect your margin, volume and revenue provide good service and improve your service relative to your own past performance. In other words, use your own baseline as the measure of performance and improvement. Benchmarks are at best guides and directional, NOT definitive standards."

The one point I want to highlight in this response is that benchmarking may be a guideline but it is not a replacement for the diligent work of continual process improvement tied to the customer experience. Looking at your operations from the perspective of the customer is always going to be more rewarding than from the perspective of a collection of other call centers. Do you agree?

Gary Lemke, Publisher
(CRM Advocate)

"From Tactical to Strategic: The Workforce Optimization Maturity Model"

Bill Durr, Principal Solutions Consultant, Witness Systems

Asking about the maturity of a contact center is certainly a delicate matter. But it is a question that has to be asked. In this webcast, we explore a maturity model that gives you new insights into your own organization and explores how you can make your contact center a change agent for the entire business. What you will hear will help you move from a tactical to strategic way of thinking, especially in the area of workforce optimization. So if you are dealing with the unprecedented pressures brought on by the Internet, hyper-competition, and voice over IP along with the familiar demands of cost-cutting and employee retention, this webcast is for you. Register now to receive your complimentary copy of Witness' latest white papers: "Reinvention of Workforce Management" and "Reinvention of Quality Monitoring."

FREE AUDIO CLIP

FREE PDF FILE - The Reinvention of Quality Monitoring

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Industry News

Top Stories on Earth Every Minute >>>>>>>> NEWS BY GOOGLE

Rosa Parks, who died on Monday aged 92, refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955; the incident ignited one of the most successful black civil rights protests in the American South and helped to put Martin Luther King on the national stage.

At that time in the South, blacks were routinely turned away from hotels, restaurants and banks and were effectively barred from voting. On Alabama's buses state law required blacks to sit in the rear of the vehicle.

It was just before Christmas 1955 when Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old seamstress who had just finished work at a downtown department store, was on her way home. She sat down with her bags of shopping in a section of the bus directly behind the seats reserved for whites, in a kind of "buffer zone" designated to keep the races apart.

A white man boarded the bus, and when the (white) bus driver saw that there was no seat for the new passenger, he told the four blacks sitting in the buffer zone to stand in the aisle.

At first no one moved. The driver, empowered by law not only to tell blacks to move but also to arrest them, stood up and said: "Make it light on yourselves and let me have those seats." Three of them moved, but Rosa Parks did not.

She knew the driver, James Blake, who previously had ejected her from his bus because she had entered by the front. Blacks were required to pay their fares to the driver at the front, then leave the bus and re-enter by the back door; sometimes a driver would drive away before they could get back on.

Blake did not confront Rosa Parks immediately, but instead asked some of the male blacks in the back if they would give up a seat for her, thus trying to turn the conflict into an issue of chivalry rather than justice. When that failed, Rosa Parks was arrested, fingerprinted and jailed.

That night, after being bailed, she decided to fight the charge. Her mother was frightened by the prospect; her husband Raymond recommended that she simply pay the $14 fine. But Rosa Parks told ED Nixon, a civil rights activist, that she meant to appeal.

Meanwhile, a group of female university professors who had learned of the arrest spent the night writing and mimeographing thousands of leaflets calling for a boycott of the city's buses the next Monday, the day of Rosa Parks's trial. Local Baptist ministers agreed to hold a mass meeting on the Monday night to decide whether to continue the boycott.

All involved agreed that Rosa Parks was the perfect symbol to rally behind. Two other women had been arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up their seats, one an unmarried pregnant teenager and the other the impoverished daughter of a drunk; neither was considered a suitable figurehead. The dignified Rosa, it was felt, would appeal to Montgomery's middle and working class alike, and might favourably impress the white judges.

On the Monday, the day of the boycott, there were virtually no black people on Montgomery's buses (on an average day, 70 per cent of the passengers were black). Meanwhile, Rosa Parks was convicted, setting the stage for a federal appeal.

That night, in a local church, there was a meeting at which the then little-known Martin Luther King was voted leader of the group that was to lead the continuing boycott of the buses. Before an audience of thousands of blacks, who spilled out of the church into the surrounding area, King delivered a speech to rolling chants and thunderous stomping.

He ended with a description of Rosa Parks's state of mind as she sat on the bus, tired and unwilling to surrender her seat. "And you know, my friends," King cried, "there comes a time when people get tired of being trampled over by the iron feet of oppression."

The boycott continued for 382 days. By the time the Supreme Court ruled that the state's segregation laws were illegal, many blacks, including Rosa Parks, had lost their jobs, been harassed by police, threatened by whites, and - in one case - bombed. In one day alone, 115 blacks were arrested for boycotting the buses. But after a year's resistance, the city accepted the Supreme Court's ruling and integrated the buses.

Rosa Parks's quiet dignity, generosity and humility had made her the ideal "mother of the civil rights movement", and in the 1960s and 1970s she remained a symbol of the non-violent resistance of the black civil rights cause.

Rosa Louise McCauley was born on February 4 1913 at Tuskegee, Alabama, to a carpenter and his schoolteacher wife. "Back then, we didn't have any civil rights," she remembered. "It was just a matter of survival… I remember going to sleep as a girl hearing the [Ku Klux] Klan ride at night and hearing a lynching and being afraid the house would burn down." Aged 11, Rosa went to a private school run by liberal women from the North; later she attended Alabama State College.

In 1932 she married Raymond Parks, a barber who was active in black voter registration and other civil rights causes. From 1943 to 1956 she was a secretary for the Montgomery branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, where she worked for ED Nixon. During the 1940s and 1950s she took in sewing, and worked as a housekeeper and, for a time, as a life insurance agent.

Despite the success of the bus boycott, Rosa Parks left Montgomery in 1957 because both she and her husband had lost their jobs and had been harassed and threatened. They moved to Detroit, where she continued to support herself as a seamstress and worked for Martin Luther King's Southern Christian Leadership Council.

In 1965 she found a job with Congressman John Conyers Jr in Detroit as a receptionist and office manager, finally retiring in 1988, 11 years after her husband's death.

Rosa Parks was a familiar figure at civil rights demonstrations, such as the march on Washington in 1963 and that in Montgomery to support the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In 1984 she took part in rallies against apartheid.

In retirement she devoted herself to the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development, a charity for young people in Detroit. In 1992 she published an autobiography, and two years later brought out Quiet Strength: The Faith, the Hope and the Heart of a Woman Who Changed a Nation.

She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999.

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Press Releases

Spoke Software announced the general availability of a new release of its on-demand application, Spoke 3.0. The latest release delivers a number of innovative new capabilities for sales and marketing professionals, including the ability to more effectively manage highly-targeted prospect lists, which speed the process of pipeline development and lead generation.

New research by database marketing company Total DM, amongst senior marketers within the top 1000 UK companies, has found that approximately one third of UK Plcs are making their loyalty schemes deliver consistently across all channels of communication with the customer - allowing an increasing number of companies to segment their customers and discretely influence their purchasing behaviour.

Verint announced that Spain's MetroValencia is deploying Verint's Networked Video Solution to enhance passenger security for the city of Valencia's commuter rail system.

Convergys announced the addition of the Convergys SpeechPort Open Hosting Environment (OHE) to its portfolio of speech and multi-channel technology solutions. Convergys clients can take as much control as they want over the development and management of their speech recognition applications to automate customer interactions, while still enjoying the many benefits associated with a hosted services environment.

RightNow announced that it has been selected for the Avaya DeveloperConnection (DevConnect) program from Avaya.

APAC Customer Services announced that APAC began to provide customer contact support for three of Freedom's largest daily newspapers on October 1, 2005.

Envision Telephony announced that Lufthansa Global Telesales (LH GTS) has chosen Envision's integrated quality monitoring and coaching solution, Click2Coach, for its 1500 agents in nine sites around the globe.

MicroStrategy announced that PMSI-Tmesys has selected MicroStrategy to support its web portal that provides timely, self-service reporting capabilities for its clients. PMSI-Tmesys expects that more than 5,000 workers' compensation claims professional clients will use the web portal in the first year.

ATG reported its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2005. Total revenues for the third quarter of 2005 were $22.7 million, a 30 percent increase from $17.5 million in the third quarter of 2004 and a 12 percent increase from $20.3 million in the second quarter of 2005.

Jambo announced an agreement with InfoSpace. The agreement makes Jambo's Pay Per Call solution available to InfoSpace's lead generation properties and makes InfoSpace one of Jambo's Lead Network partners.

iStor Adds Resellers Irvine-based iStor Networks, a provider of iSCSI subsystem storage
controllers, said today that it has signed up two new value added resellers for the company's equipment. iStor has signed on
AuraGen Technologies and RAID Inc. as value added resellers of its GigaStorATX product. iStor's iSCSI product provides iSCSI and RAID functionality for manufacturers of storage systems. iStor's storage controllers fit into an ATX form factor device and can be used to build high-performance iSCSI storage arrays.

(Norwalk, Conn Oct. 17) - - Reed Exhibitions, producers of the ISC Expo events, and BNP Media, publishers of Security and SDM magazines, have announced an agreement to produce an “ISC West Show Daily” during its April 5-7, 2006 event in Las Vegas. Editorially, the ISC West Show Daily will feature real-time news from the show floor and around the industry, while offering manufacturers an opportunity to market their companies and products through advertising, and reach the entire ISC West audience each day of the event. “With the continued growth and ongoing enhancements taking place each year at ISC West, we found it necessary to help keep our audiences up to date on key happenings at the show and from around the industry.” said Dean Russo, industry vice president, ISC Expo events, “We are pleased to have BNP Media as our partners in this endeavor. Both SDM and Security magazine represent the kind of editorial excellence we are looking for in the production of the ISC West Show Daily.”

“The ISC West Show represents the biggest and the best the security industry has to offer. We are grateful that ISC West has recognized the leadership position held by SDM and Security magazines and our editorial credibility,” said Mark McCourt, publisher SDM and Security Magazine.

Launched at the upcoming ISC West event, April 5-7, 2006 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, the ISC West Show Daily will provide up-to-date information on events taking shape on the show floor including new products awards, new technology launches and educational sessions. It will mirror the events on the show floor as they happen and will provide useful, relevant information for all show attendees. The Show Daily will be distributed prior to the show doors opening, giving ISC West exhibitors the opportunity to market to key buyers before, during and after the event.

“Manufacturers, who want to reach over 20,000 security professionals at the event, will not want to miss this opportunity to drive qualified attendees to their booth. Combined with other marketing opportunities, savvy manufacturers can enhance their presence at the event while gaining additional exposure throughout each day.” added Russo.

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Events

October 25, San Diego -- "Exit Strategies for Emerging Companies" CONNECT.
Learn how to build your company so it will be ready to undergo due
diligence when the right opportunity comes along: merger, acquisition,
public offering or additional venture capital investment. Learn how to
chart a road map to mark your business goals and the liquidity events that
will allow investors to pull out their equity. See http://www.connect.org

October 25, Pomona -- "Understanding Government Contract Cost Accounting"
Government cost accounting is regulated by several government contracting
agencies, and can sometimes be complicated and different from the
generally accepted accounting principals used in the private sector. This
workshop will allow you to understand the government cost accounting rules
so that you can retain the maximum of your cost proposal for your grant or
contract. See http://www.acceltech.csupomona.edu/workshops/fin100.asp

October 25, San Diego -- "Innovation in Global Product Development:
Driving Sustainable Growth and Productivity across the Value Chain" The
Product Development and Management Association 2005 International
Conference. See http://www.pdma.org/2005

NEW October 25, San Diego -- 2005 San Diego UID Forum. The UID Forum will
provide training and information on how to achieve successful Unique
Identification (UID) implementation as required by the issuance of the
Final UID DFARS Rule dated April 22, 2005. Sponsored by the Department of
Defense Unique Identifier (UID) Program Office. See
http://www.uidforum.com/

October 25, Westwood -- ExecTec Networking. Networking event for
executives in entertainment, media, technology and related business
fields. See http://www.exectec.us/events

October 26, Irvine -- "Growth through Innovation!" Association for
Corporate Growth ("ACG") Orange County chapter in association with the UCI
Paul Merage School of Business explore the enterprising ecosystem of
startups and market leaders that are defining economic opportunities.
Come hear premier innovators Bill Doyle, former Ocean Pacific CEO, Kurt
Johnson - Horizon Technologies CEO and John Buckingham - Solana Medical
Spas CEO share their formulas for success. See http://www.acg.org/occ

October 26, Los Angeles -- WINMEC RFID Industry Forum. UCLA-WINMEC is
hosting its RFID Industry Forum at Covel Commons to discuss where this
industry stands today with respect to actual usage, the successes, the
failures; how RFID projects are justified, how RFID is actually being
implemented and the associated deployment issues. In particular, we will
discuss the interplay between technologies, engineering practices and
business processes, and how enterprises are choosing to adopt RFID. See
http://www.winmec.ucla.edu

October 26, Pomona -- "Understanding Government Contract Cost Accounting"
Government cost accounting is regulated by several government contracting
agencies, and can sometimes be complicated and different from the
generally accepted accounting principals used in the private sector. This
workshop will allow you to understand the government cost accounting rules
so that you can retain the maximum of your cost proposal for your grant or
contract. See http://www.acceltech.csupomona.edu/workshops/fin100.asp

October 26, San Diego -- "Innovation in Global Product Development:
Driving Sustainable Growth and Productivity across the Value Chain" The
Product Development and Management Association 2005 International
Conference. See http://www.pdma.org/2005

NEW October 26, San Diego -- 2005 San Diego UID Forum. The UID Forum will
provide training and information on how to achieve successful Unique
Identification (UID) implementation as required by the issuance of the
Final UID DFARS Rule dated April 22, 2005. Sponsored by the Department of
Defense Unique Identifier (UID) Program Office. See
http://www.uidforum.com/

October 26, Irvine -- OCTANe Biomedical Forum. OC's biomedical leaders
will give a "state of the industry" snapshot, incorporating the key
levers of large companies, start-ups, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists
and the university. Panel discussions will highlight hot topics in the
industry today and point out what it takes to thrive in Southern
California. See http://octane.uci.edu

October 27, West Los Angeles -- Growth Capital Conference. Network with
firms seeking financing, capital sources, advisors & deal makers. See
http://www.gcc2000.org

NEW October 27, Los Angeles -- "Business Alignment Strategy Workshop"
WITI. In this dynamic session you will learn the most effective techniques
for identifying business misalignments in your organization. You will
learn to use simple strategy tools designed to create the necessary change
that will take your career and business to the next level. You will have
the opportunity to engage with Mark Birkhead and ask questions and solve
the problems that will increase your on the job performance and overall
business acumen. See http://www.witi.com/la/meeting.php?id=1914

October 27, Irvine -- "Survivor Meets the Investment Community" TCVN. Here
is your chance to compete for serious investor attention. EVERY company in
attendance will have the opportunity to make its 30-second pitch to a
panel of venture capitalists. Four companies will be invited to return to
the podium for an additional 10 to 15 minute question and answer period.
If you've got a deal to pitch, here's your opportunity to compete. Are you
a survivor? See http://www.tcvn.org

October 29, Irvine -- "Unleash the Entrepreneur in You" The Entrepreneur
Association (EA). Second annual Entrepreneur Conference. The conference
brings southern California's most established entrepreneurs to a
professional and academic venue to teach the challenges, benefits, and
tricks to becoming a successful Entrepreneur. This year's confirmed
speakers include: Beth Krom, Mayor, City of Irvine Stephen Ostrin,
Financial Strategists, Ostrin Financial Strategies David Kline,
CEO/President, Balboa Instruments and many more. See
http://www.merage.uci.edu/clubpages/ea

November 1, Newport Beach -- The 3rd International System-on-Chip (SoC)
Conference & Exhibit. More than 70 leading-edge Companies, Universities,
and Organizations such as: IBM, Toshiba, NEC, Samsung, K-Micro, Cadence,
Tensilica, eASIC, Micron, Denali, Philips, Altera, ARM, Chartered,
Fujitsu, TI, Magma, Synplicity, JAZZ, LSI, GDA, Elixent, iSuppli, MoSys,
CEVA, Morpho, Kilopass, Virage, Aplus, Nascentric, CSUF, will be
presenting their latest SoC, ASIC, ASSP, FPGA, and Foundry technologies
and products in this informative and exciting Conference & Exhibit. See
http://www.SoCconference.com or Please contact: SoC@savantcompany.com

November 1, Westwood -- ExecTec Networking. Networking event for
executives in entertainment, media, technology and related business
fields. See http://www.exectec.us/events

November 2, Newport Beach -- The 3rd International System-on-Chip (SoC)
Conference & Exhibit. More than 70 leading-edge Companies, Universities,
and Organizations such as: IBM, Toshiba, NEC, Samsung, K-Micro, Cadence,
Tensilica, eASIC, Micron, Denali, Philips, Altera, ARM, Chartered,
Fujitsu, TI, Magma, Synplicity, JAZZ, LSI, GDA, Elixent, iSuppli, MoSys,
CEVA, Morpho, Kilopass, Virage, Aplus, Nascentric, CSUF, will be
presenting their latest SoC, ASIC, ASSP, FPGA, and Foundry technologies
and products in this informative and exciting Conference & Exhibit. See
http://www.SoCconference.com or Please contact: SoC@savantcompany.com

November 2, Riverside -- "The Big IE Schmooze" Network with those business
professionals "in the know" in the Inland Empire- Southern California's
hot spot for commercial real estate, jobs, housing and population growth.
Deals are here to be made. See http://www.ieepevents.org

NEW November 2, Irvine -- True Confessions of Strategic Planners- or What
You Don't Know Can Hurt You" . Association for Strategic Planning. Panel
discussion with stories from both sides of the preparedness equation, goal
is to get audience engaged in the process of how a company must deal with
information that will affect various aspects of its future, such as
competition, technology, global economy, government regulation,
innovation, etc. Then, once a company goes down a path without the
appropriate information and experiences problems, how does it react, and
can the issues be overcome? SPEAKERS : Rick Franz is VP, Strategic
Planning at QLogic, Aliso Viejo, CA; Mervyn Sambles is VP of Strategic
Development at Fluor Corporation, Aliso Viejo, CA; Steve Sturm is VP of
North American Planning at Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Torrance, CA. See
http://www.strategyplus.org

November 3, Anaheim -- "The Life Cycle of a Business" TEC/ACG Leadership
Forum. Dr. Gerald Faust discusses activity, structure, goals, incentives
and leadership styles appropriate to each phase of the business life
cycle. See http://www.acg.org/occ

November 3, San Diego -- "Turning Infrigement into a Revenue
Opportunity-The Ins and Outs of Licensing" CONNECT. Many companies invest
substantial sums into developing their intellectual property but are not
sure how to maximize revenue from it. This workshop will focus on the
basics of licensing intellectual property- in the context of an actual or
potential infringement situation- so that this valuable asset can be
turned into cash. See http://www.connect.org

November 3, Newport Beach -- "High Tech = High OCTANe" OCTANe Technology
Forum. An in-depth look at local industry innovation. OC's technology
leaders and emerging stars will give a "state of the industry" snapshot,
and panel discussions will highlight innovation and investment
opportunities like storage, wireless convergence and semiconductors. See
http://octane.uci.edu

NEW November 4, Los Angeles -- "Nanotechnology in Aerospace & Electronics
Conference" The Conference consists of two days of educational, technical,
business, and research presentations. Attend both days or choose the day
that fits your interest. Talks from leading edge suppliers, developers,
manufacturers and scientists are brought together in a way that educates
the audience in the applications and use of nanotechnologies. See
http://www.nanoworldusa.com

NEW November 5, Los Angeles -- "Nanotechnology in Aerospace & Electronics
Conference" Day 2 of a two day Conference of educational, technical,
business, and research presentations on Nanotechnology. The Conference
consists of two days of educational, technical, business, and research
presentations. Attend both days or choose the day that fits your interest.
Talks from leading edge suppliers, developers, manufacturers and
scientists are brought together in a way that educates the audience in the
applications and use of nanotechnologies. See http://www.nanoworldusa.com

November 5, Norwalk -- Southern California MacFair 2005. The region's
largest Macintosh event returns for its fourth year. Over 40 companies are
participating at the event. There are 18 traing workshops and over 25 free
presentation seminars. See http://www.macfair.org

NEW November 5, Thousand Oaks -- "Who/What? Top Employers Hire" IEEE
Buenaventura Section -- Learn the competitive truths behind the real
hiring practices of today's top U.S. employers. Rosemarie Christopher,
Med Exec International, will lead an interactive seminar to teach the job
search skills you need to find the job you desire. Email
dougaskegard@ieee.org

November 8, Los Angeles -- Project T2 - Technology Transfer Conference.
Larta. A Global Showcase of Leading-Edge Innovations 50+ Innovations, 25
Universities, 3 nations Discover the Newest Innovations Spinning out of
Top Universities Connect with the talent of leading research centers from
California, the Midwest, the East Coast, the Southeast, and Canada.
Network with world-class researchers, investors, and corporations. Learn
creative new ways to spin out ventures from universities and
laboratories. See http://www.projectt2.org

NEW November 8, Los Angeles, Renaissance LAX Hotel, 9620 Airport Blvd --
"China at a Crossroad" Association for Strategic Planning. Deloitte
Research, Dr. Ira Kalish. In the coming years, China will move up the
value chain with its companies becoming world-class competitors, not
merely contract manufacturers for US companies. In this presentation, Ira
Kalish examines these issues and offers his point of view on where China
is headed. See http://www.strategyplus.org

November 8, Los Angeles -- XML Professional Development Seminar. LA ACM.
See
http://www.acm.org/chapters/los_angeles/ACM_PDS_Files/LA-ACM_Nov_2005_PDS.
html

November 9, Irvine -- "Meet the Biomedical Researcher of UCI" OCTANe. See
http://www.octane.uci.edu

NEW November 10, Irvine -- "Increase Sales and Website Credibility Using
Internet Security" Irvine Chamber of Commerce. Dustin Bates, Western
Regional Sales Manager of iSmart Connect. Series attendees receive tips
for marketing websites through search engines, email, online directories,
blogging article syndication and the Internet. See
http://www.goldranking.com/websitemarketingclinic.pdf

NEW November 10, Newport Beach -- "Hedge Funds, Private Equity & Other
Financial Investors...Whose $ Do You Take?" ACG Orange County presents
private equity and hedge fund experts from Allied Capital, Black Canyon
Capital & Riordan, Lewis & Haden who will deconstruct the massive and
confusing marketplace of financing alternatives for middle market
companies. See http://www.acg.org/occ

NEW November 10, Santa Monica -- "2006 Internet Marketing - Predicting the
Best ROI Vehicles" Software Council of Southern California. Learn the best
way to maximize your marketing budget from our expert panel including:
Brad Davis, VP Advertising Sales, Disney Online; Chris Hempel, Technology
Sector Executive, The Wall Street Journal; Moderator: Michael Terpin,
Chairman and CEO, TERPIN COMMUNICATIONS GROUP and founder and Chairman of
Internet Wire. See http://www.scsc.org/events/impact/november1005.html

November 10, Los Angeles -- XML Professional Development Seminar. LA ACM.
See
http://www.acm.org/chapters/los_angeles/ACM_PDS_Files/LA-ACM_Nov_2005_PDS.
html

NEW November 13, Riverside -- 2005 ACM Southern California Programming
C*ntest. Hosted by Riverside Community College. pits teams of three
students against six or more complex, real-world problems, with a grueling
five-hour deadline. See http://www.socalcontest.org

November 14, Anaheim -- International Conference on Software Testing
Analysis and Review. See http://www.sqe.com/starwest

November 15, San Diego -- IP and Trademark Laws: What's New, What's
Changing, and How to Use Effectively. WITI San Diego. Join our panel of
experts as they discuss strategies to effectively use intellectual
property and trademark laws to successfully build and protect your
technology and life sciences companies. A presentation will also be made
as to the latest changes forthcoming in the IP laws and what all
entrepreneurs should know! See
http://www.witi.com/sandiego/meeting.php?id=1903

November 15, Anaheim -- International Conference on Software Testing
Analysis and Review. See http://www.sqe.com/starwest

November 15, Los Angeles -- "Key Issues Facing Board Members and Senior
Management In The Conduct Of An Internal investigation" DIrectors
Roundtable. This program focuses on a case study panel discussion
regarding issues faced by a company, its board, and its advisors after
allegations of account fraud and how to respond to accusations and avoid
potential pitfalls. See http://www.directorsroundtable.com

November 15, Los Angeles -- XML Professional Development Seminar. LA ACM.
See
http://www.acm.org/chapters/los_angeles/ACM_PDS_Files/LA-ACM_Nov_2005_PDS.
html

November 16, Anaheim -- International Conference on Software Testing
Analysis and Review. See http://www.sqe.com/starwest

NEW November 16, San Diego -- "Storage Issues Surrounding Microsoft
Exchange" San Diego Storage Networking User Group (SD-SNUG). Jim Ash ,
Senior Solutions Consultant for Hitachi Data Systems. In this SNUG
workshop, the topics of Exchange Storage Requirements, Exchange Archiving
Strategies, Exchange Compliance Issues, High Availability and Backup and
Recovery for Exchange will be discussed. See
http://www.ersvp.com/r/sandiegonov

November 16, Altadena -- "What You Should Be Doing Today in Case of
Intellectual Property Litigation Tomorrow" LABTC. Veteran intellectual
property litigator William O'Brien of Alshuler, Grossman, Stein and Kahan
will draw upon his extensive experience in patent, trade secret,
trademark, and copyright cases to suggest practical, proactive steps to
avoid I.P. litigation where possible and to make victory more likley - and
more affordable - if litigation happens anyway. See http://www.labtc.org

November 17, Anaheim -- International Conference on Software Testing
Analysis and Review. See http://www.sqe.com/starwest

November 17, West Los Angeles -- "Making a Product Work for You:
Developing Your Marketing and Sales Plan" Larta. A strategy for effective
marketing, pricing, sales planning and managing competition is an
essential element of any business plan. This workshop covers issues such
as: defining and segmenting the total target market, customer and
competitive analysis, branding, and other marketing and sales planning
fundamentals critical to sustaining your business. The workshop will also
lead you through an exercise on how to think about pricing. See
http://www.larta.org/ecommerce/shop/MnCatalogDetail.asp?ProductID=LartaU11
1705

November 18, Anaheim -- International Conference on Software Testing
Analysis and Review. See http://www.sqe.com/starwest

November 19, La Jolla -- "Invention to Venture: San Diego" NCIIA, UCSD and
Venture Forth. The event is a hands-on introduction to the process and
practice of technology entrepreneurship, with some special sessions this
year for life sciences entrepreneurs. As with all I2V events, our goal is
to engage a wide range of participants from the university community,
including science and technology students and faculty, as well as members
of the surrounding business community. See
http://www.invention2venture.org/

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Hot Product Reviews

October 2005
The iRiver U10 made its official debut in the United States. The distinctive flash-based player comes in 512MB and 1GB capacities--at $199.95 and $249.95, respectively--and can play back subscription-based music, as well as photos and video. Its compact, miniature TV-like design also represents a departure from not only previous iRiver products but also MP3 players in general. In short, it's a bit pricey, but the U10 is a polished player that should appeal to a broad range of consumers.
Upside: Consumers will fall in love with the iRiver U10's futuristic industrial design. The compact player measures 2.7 by 1.8 by 0.6 inches, weighs 2.5 ounces, and features a bright and colorful 2.2-inch display with a resolution of 320x240 pixels. While there are a few buttons on the sides, including dedicated volume keys, users will navigate the interface by pressing on the four sides of the display itself. Referred to by iRiver as the D-Click, this tactile control method, combined with graphical arrows pointing you in the right direction, is both intuitive and logical. The interface reminds us of the Olympus M:robe 500i's, except that the U10 does not have a touch-sensitive screen--a good thing, for sure.

In addition to the U10, iRiver will offer an optional cradle pack, which includes the dock and the remote.

The iRiver U10 can play back MP3, protected WMA (including subscriptions), and OGG files, as well as 320x240-pixel JPEGs and MPEG-4 video at 15fps. There is also a built-in FM tuner, an alarm clock, and an integrated voice recorder, plus USB 2.0 and a rated audio battery life of 28 hours; the rechargeable battery is built in. Additionally, the U10 supports Flash Lite games and even ships with a few. The optional docking cradle--again, superbly designed--allows for line-in recording and turns your U10 into a miniature TV. The dock also has built-in speakers and a cute little snooze button.

The cradle has line-in, line-out, and USB ports on the back and a snooze button on top.

Downside: Despite all its features and design kudos, the iRiver U10 is one of the more expensive flash-based players around; there's no doubt you will get more megabytes per dollar with many other players. Now, a 4GB version of this player would seriously rock--if it cost around $250. And given the unit's colorful screen, you sadly won't get album art, though this is a feature that iRiver is working to add. At this time, the U10 does not support Mac OS.

Outlook: We love innovation and smart design, and the iRiver U10 delivers. We think that even at a high price, the U10 will be a hot item not only because of its ultracool form factor and laundry list of features but also because it is one of the most intuitive players to use.

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