The Dell XPS 14, available from distributor Drive Control Corporation (DCC), combines second generation Intel processors with intelligent design to deliver uncompromising performance and ultimate portability.

At 23mm thick, with a starting weight of just 1.98kg, a built-in DVD player, discrete graphics and the latest Intel Core iX processors, the XPS 14 is the whole package. Edge-to-edge glass and an ultrathin frame produce a miracle of modern engineering, with a 14” screen packed into a body the size of most 13” laptops.

“The Dell XPS 14 is power-packed and full featured, with an impressive list of specs. It offers the perfect solution for users who want the portability of an ultrabook with the display capability and performance of a notebook,” says Nitesh Devanand, Dell Consumer Product Specialist at DCC.

“High definition optics, razor sharp imagery and powerful on-board graphics deliver incredible video and viewing, in the boardroom, on the go or in the home. An anodised aluminium body delivers both durability and style and will complement the decor of any room. This notebook is portable enough to go wherever you go, with the good looks to ensure it stands out above the crowd,” he adds.

The Dell XPS 14 features second generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, Windows 7 and the latest Intel chipsets. The notebook supports up to 8 gigabyte (GB) dual channel double data rate 3 (DDR) memory and graphics are provided by a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce graphics card. The 14” HD white light emitting diode (WLED) screen is housed in a slim bezel frame and features an integrated 1.3 mega-pixel HD webcam. High definition audio is supplied by +Waves MaxxAudio and 5.1 surround sound is supported via high definition multimedia interface (HDMI).

Plenty of storage for files, music and movies is available with up to 750GB of hard drive space. A 256GB solid state drive (SSD) is also available as an option on configuration. Wireless connectivity is integrated with an Ethernet port, wireless a/g/n and Bluetooth. A full sized backlit, spill resistant keyboard enables users to work in any lighting conditions. Complementing the highly portable form factor is an impressive battery life of up to six hours and 42 minutes, provided by 8-cell Prismatic battery technology.

“This means that users can take their work, their files and their media with them wherever they go. With a slim, elegant design and all of the features and functionality any user would want, the Dell XPS 14 is ideal for users across the board. From the home to the small and medium business right through to the large corporate, the XPS 14 represents ultimate productivity and entertainment on the go,” Devanand concludes.

The Dell XPS 14 is available immediately from Drive Control Corporation for a recommended retail price starting at R14 999 including V.A.T.

When workspace is at a premium and budgets are tight, small and mid-sized businesses can turn to Xerox’s new ultra compact printers and multifunction device for high quality, affordable, documents.

About the size of the average toaster, the Xerox Phaser 3010/3040 offers print speeds of 20 to 24 pages per minute (ppm). The WorkCentre 3045 multifunction printer (MFP) copies, scans, faxes, e-mails, and prints documents all in one and produces output at 24 ppm. The products are among the smallest devices in the market and are powered by Hi-Q LED print engines – the same breakthrough technology found in some of Xerox’s higher-end graphic arts devices.

“Businesses of all sizes are faced with doing more with less – and small companies are especially challenged by this trend,” says Ernest Leong, OPB product manager in the Xerox division at Bytes Document Solutions, the Xerox distributor in sub-Saharan Africa. “The Xerox Phaser 3010/3040 and WorkCentre 3045 MFP pack the productivity and functionality punch of high-end machines, at a fraction of the size.

Little green machines
The Phaser 3010/3040 printer and WorkCentre 3045 MFP run on Xerox’s EA toner, which uses up to 20% less power for fusing than conventional toner. And, with only one consumable item – the toner cartridge – users replace just what they need. The Hi-Q LED print engine makes the products quieter and more energy efficient than comparable products using laser technology.

Other key features include:
• Print resolution of up to 1200 x 2400 dpi, so text and graphics add impressive visual impact to every page
• Standard Wi-Fi networking for the WorkCentre 3045NI for convenient placement in any location in the office
• Simple remote management on the WorkCentre 3045 monitors print-job progress, toner-level, and provides quick access to online support

WorkCentre 6015 MFP with Wireless Connectivity
Adding extra productivity to the office, the WorkCentre 6015 colour MFP is Xerox’s first Wi-Fi enabled device. The desktop MFP combines print, copy, scan, fax and digital workflow capabilities. With its compact size and wireless feature, it can be placed anywhere in the office, maximising space and convenience.

The WorkCentre 6015 shares the same print functionality as the Xerox Phaser 6010 colour printer – with print speeds as fast as 12 ppm for colour and 15 ppm for black and white. It also features plug-and-play setup and the ability to handle custom media and sizes, so a variety of office documents and sales materials can be easily produced.

New partner program, support offerings and financing available worldwide

HP recently extended its HP ProLiant Generation 8 (Gen8) portfolio with new servers that deliver increased performance, simplified maintenance and improved data center uptime.

HP also announced new financial, support and partner programs, including the HP ProActive Insight Architecture Alliance, which brings together some of the world’s leading technology companies to eliminate manual maintenance tasks and significantly improve data center efficiency.

With HP ProLiant Gen8 and its expanded ecosystem of programs, HP is helping organisations transform technology silos to efficient, highly automated IT infrastructures that allow as many as 30 days a year to be reallocated from maintenance tasks to innovation that fuels growth.(1)

Delivering greater computing opportunities
The expanded HP ProLiant Gen8 line-up includes new servers based on the latest AMD Opteron™ 6200 Series processors, Intel® Xeon® processor E5-2400 product family and Intel® Xeon® processor E5-4600 product family. Optional enhanced HP PCIe Gen2 IO Accelerators that reduce data access latency enable clients to achieve accelerated application performance and improved compute cycles.

To address the growing requirements that span from small and mid-size businesses up to enterprise organisations, HP is offering new HP ProLiant Gen8 rack-and-tower servers and a new blade server with the Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 product family:
• HP ProLiant DL360e Gen8, a rack-optimised one-rack-unit (1U) server that delivers improved serviceability and supports a range of small, mid-size and enterprise organisations.
• HP ProLiant DL380e Gen8, a rack-optimised two-rack-unit (2U) design that provides improved compute and storage capacity for data center applications.
• HP ProLiant ML350e Gen8, an expandable two-processor (2P) tower that delivers enterprise-level performance to remote and branch office environments.
• HP ProLiant BL420c Gen8, a blade server ideal for midmarket and cost-sensitive enterprise customers, offering enhanced manageability for applications requiring high availability and performance.

HP also is adding AMD Opteron 6200 Series processor support to its HP ProLiant Gen8 line-up, with:
• HP ProLiant DL385p, a 2U performance-based rack server designed for virtualisation, database and high performance computing workloads.
• HP ProLiant BL465c Gen8, the first server blade with 2,000 cores per rack for virtualisation, database and high-performance workloads.

The HP ProLiant family of scale-up servers also will add support for the Intel Xeon E5-4600 processor in new, density-optimised form factors for both blade and rack servers. These will begin shipping in volume in the summer.

An ecosystem that maximises built-in intelligence, delivers leading performance
The HP ProActive Insight Architecture Alliance is focused on maximising the built-in intelligence of HP ProLiant Gen8 servers. Alliance members are leaders in the memory, storage, input/output (I/0), power and infrastructure segments. They design technology that meets HP ProActive Insight Architecture standards to help analyse thousands of system parameters, and deliver high levels of automation, aiding in the reduction of data center downtime caused by manual errors.

Technology contributed by alliance members is intelligently integrated with HP ProLiant Gen8 to enable the communication of alerts, metrics and other critical system analytics to the HP Insight Online support portal. Clients that leverage HP’s service feature to troubleshoot issues and optimise performance can decrease their problem-resolution time by as much as 40 percent, reducing potential downtime.(2)

Additionally, HP is working with leading global software companies, such as Microsoft Corp, Red Hat, SAP and VMware to set industry-leading performance benchmarks with HP ProLiant Gen8 servers. Details on these breakthrough results can be viewed at http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/benchmarks/index.html.

Increasing client productivity with customer support and financing
HP Proactive Care provides clients comprehensive “direct to expert” support and services for problem resolution that is up to 66 percent faster.(3) This eliminates the delay spent cycling through escalating levels of support and minimises downtime.

Integrating server diagnostic data with automation tools in HP ProLiant Gen 8 servers provides clients an unmatched support experience for optimisation, cost-effectiveness and problem prevention.

To help clients speed time to adoption and maximise their investments, a “ProLiant Gen8 Capabilities and Technologies” course is now available through HP Education Services.

The new HP Financial Services Refresh for Less program provides organisations with the opportunity to transition to HP ProLiant Gen8 without requiring capital budget so they can realise immediate operational savings. HP Financial Services can further ease customer transition from legacy servers with capabilities ranging from trade-ins and logistics, to renewal, remarketing and recycling services.
HP Gen8 unlocks value for thousands of new customers
HP has delivered HP ProLiant Gen8 servers to thousands of new clients, including Bitedefender, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Garanti Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Purdue University, Raytheon, University Hospitals Leuven and Verint.

“As a leader in scientific research to improve patient care, we require a technology infrastructure that can help us evaluate medical advances while eliminating costly, time-consuming manual operations,” said Reinoud Reynders, IT manager, Infrastructure and Operations, University Hospitals Leuven. “The intelligent technologies built into the HP ProLiant Gen8 servers automate most of these tasks, saving us hours of administration time and decreasing operational expenses.”

Pricing and availability
Pricing and the new HP ProLiant Gen8 platforms are expected to be available through HP and worldwide channel partners beginning in June.

HP’s premier client event, HP Discover takes place June 4-7 in Las Vegas

Expressing identity is one of the ways we reveal who we are to other human beings. Whether it is through our dress code, the way we wear our hair or the way we choose to adorn ourselves with certain objects, sending out signals about our identity is part and parcel of being human.

The reasons for wishing to stand apart from the crowd, or wanting to fit in, are varied. However, national pride is a common reason for wishing to express identity. Historically, one’s patriotism is given expression through the flying of national flags or wearing of national colours. From 2013, Africans connected to the world through the medium of the Internet will have a new way to express our growing sense of Afro-optimism.

This growing sense that things on the African continent appear rosier than any of us can remember is because the fundamentals are right. For example, democracy in 2012 is the rule and not the exception. Economically we’re doing pretty well too, with many world-beating GDP growth rates and increasing energy discoveries.

Events such as the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup enabled us to wave a myriad of African national flags at television cameras that beamed images of African pride around the globe. As alluded to above, in 2013 Africans will be able to convey their love of continent – as opposed to country – through Internet domains ending in the new .Africa top level domain name extension. The launch of dotAfrica, as the proud new kid on the Internet block will be referred to here, simply means those of us who revel in the idea of being African, will be able to say so to the world.

Already, the more patriotic amongst us have enjoyed supplying our overseas friends with our email and web addresses that end in anything from .co.tz to .co.mz, for example. How wonderful it will be to say “have a look at the products and services we can offer you on: www.OurWebsite.Africa” or “email me at african@my.africa”. The dotAfrica domain name extension means we have another potent symbol of African pride and unity that we can plaster all over the Internet.

So when will Africans be able to start registering their Internet domain ending in dotAfrica? Well, ICANN, the international organisation that overseas the administration of all Internet domain names, is currently evaluating bids received from different organisations around the world that wish to administer dotAfrica. Any domain name registry anywhere on the planet can apply to run dotAfrica. Obviously, there are many technical and other requirements to be met but indeed, we run the risk of a foreign registry running dotAfrica.

Fortunately, the African continent has a formidable resource in UniForum SA, trading as the ZA Central Registry (ZACR), which has been selected by the African Union (AU) as the continent’s official bidding Registry Operator. Transparency, reliability, technical ability, financial stability and continental representation were all key considerations when the AU made the decision of which organisation it would endorse for the administration of dotAfrica.

So, where we are in the process is as follows: The ZACR, in consultation with the AU, last month submitted its bid to administer dotAfrica. The bid will be evaluated during 2012 by ICANN which will be processing over five hundred other applications for different domains at the same time. Then, as early as the first quarter of 2013, ICANN will announce which organisation will administer the continent’s dotAfrica top level domain.

Following this announcement, the successful applicant will release details on how individuals and organisations can go about registering their own dotAfrica domain name. It is likely that some sort of trademark sunrise process, in which the rights of African trademark holders may be placed higher than those of non-African trademark holders, a short auction period will be held for premium domains will be implemented. After these initial periods have been concluded, registrations will open on a normal, first come, first served basis.

The above notwithstanding, it is certain that everyone securing a desirable dotAfrica domain name will post it with pride on the Internet. Watch this space to ensure your stake in Africa’s bright, connected, future.

Follow the campaign on Facebook (facebook/africandomain) and Twitter (twitter.com/africandomain) for the latest news and updates.

By Richard Mullins, director at Acceleration

Data about customers is perhaps one of the most fiercely contested and important resources in today’s marketing environment. Everyone wants it, customers are wary of sharing it, and yet few marketers are really using it to its full potential.

Customer data in the online world all starts with the humble cookie – that tasty little text file stored on your customer’s PC that contains a wealth of information about what he or she has been doing online.

It may be a third-party cookie, served up by a publisher you advertise with or a first party cookie that you serve from your own site, but it contains lots of information that can boost your marketing performance.

Provided you can get the customer’s permission to collect data using cookies, there is a lot you can do with this information. By tracking customer behaviour with cookies, you can display advertisements that are linked to people’s Web-browsing behaviour, such as the pages they have visited or the searches they have conducted.

Thus, you can deliver ad content to users based on their behaviour, the environment they are in and the content they are looking at. We have talked about this for years, but the technology to segment and target users by behaviour has matured to a point where it produces rich information and is relatively easy to use.

It’s all about more targeted advertising – which benefits companies by allowing them to improve advertising performance and benefits consumers by giving them more relevant information. With the right information at hand, companies can up- and cross-sell more effectively to customers based on their online behaviour and demographic data they have at hand.

Marketers can take their ability to target customers a step further when they begin to integrate cookie data with other platforms and data sources to get a more complete and integrated view of the customer.

The challenge for marketers is to combine cookie data with other data sources, including offline CRM, eCRM and email databases, to build a more complete understanding of each customer that helps you earn a bigger share of his or her wallet.

The world that you should be preparing for as a market is one where you are selling to an audience in real-time based on data that you own, control and have access to. If you are not gathering and leveraging all the data you have at your disposal, you are leaving space for a competitor to talk to your customer with more relevant messaging than you are. And once that happens, you are letting someone else eat your slice of the pie.

Sandvik, the global, high-technology, engineering company, has invested R400 000 towards a Computer-Based Training and Assessment Centre (CBA/CBT) at the Roodepoort, Johannesburg, training centre of Ikhaya Fundisa Techniskills Academy (Pty) Ltd (IFTA), the black-owned artisan training company.

The total cost of the system is expected to be R1 million. This was confirmed by Sean Jones, a director of IFTA, who said the new Microsoft-based training and assessment solution – which boasts 20 workstations – would increase the “overall efficiency of training, especially from a trainer-learner point perspective.”

“In terms of the process, each learner will register on the system via the workstation – assisted by a moderator. This will ensure that the learners are familiarised with the PC and its workings.

“Each artisan will then go through an induction module and will, thereafter, be assessed by the system to fathom their understanding and retention.

“After this their workshop training staff will book them for regular sessions with the CBT/CBA Centre -at which stage each module concluded in the workshop (practical) will be tested on a theoretical level.

“The assessment of each module,” said Jones, “will be done via random questions presented to the learner from a raft of questions. After each assessment the learner is presented with a score and a message indicating ‘competent’ if the required score is achieved, or ‘not yet competent’ if unsuccessful.”

Jones said the long term view is also to utilise the centre for computer skills training of people in the neighbouring community.

The new computer-based training system is expected to go live during August.

Maxtec today announced an exclusive partnership with Versafe, a leading developer of online identity protection technology. This ideal partnership further strengthens Maxtec’s best-of-breed suite of security offerings for Africa.

Versafe’s revolutionary Anti-Phishing, Anti-Pharming and Anti-Trojan solutions prevent online identity theft and phishing attacks in real time.  Versafe’s innovative implementation of advanced encryption and identification mechanisms negate the need for heavy investment in expensive resources and have zero impact on business critical production environments.

As Versafe’s unique technology is completely transparent to the end user, their capacity to counter online fraud and identity theft threats completely outshines existing solutions, providing highly effective protection from threats posed by tracking software, Trojans, social engineering, key-loggers hijacked wireless networks (public or home); and blocking phishing attacks before they actually occur. Versafe also has full support for all mobile devices.

Through this partner relationship, Maxtec and Versafe combine leading market positioning and security expertise to provide cutting edge identity protection solutions.

George Talbot , CEO of Maxtec , comments,  “Versafe’s offering is truly unique in the security market and we are delighted to be able to offer their range of solutions  to our customers. “

Ilan Meller, Business Development Director at Versafe adds, “We are excited to have the opportunity to partner with Maxtec and offer our expertise and product ranges to their client base on the African continent. Our solutions are innovative and can offer something new to the market which is currently unavailable through any other solution.”

For more information on Versafe solutions, please visit www.versafe.co.uk.

CP Plus has been announced as India’s number one security brand, including being rated as number one in video surveillance, number one in CCTV camera technology and number one in digital video recording (DVR).

This is according to Ryan Martyn, a director of Cape-based ICT distributor, Syntech SA- the local distributor for CP Plus.

According to recent research conducted by IMS Research, CP Plus is also bigger than both the number two and three brands – taken together – and is the preferred brand in over 50 countries.

Martyn – the youngest member in South Africa of Entrepreneurs’ Organisation, the global non-profit organization whose stated mission is to engage leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow – said that CP Plus sales had been relatively brisk since the company took on the distribution rights for the CCTV product range earlier this year.

“We diversified into the CCTV market earlier this year via CP Plus – amove that complements our existing product range,“he said.
Syntech, established in 2002, offers a wide range of product lines and has become recognised for its focus on professional storage and memory with high performance products such as Patriot, ATTO, OCZ, Sonnet, G-Technology and Xendata. These products are specifically imported to service media rich environments including clients within the film and production, photography and architectural industries.
CP Plus’ products are aimed at markets that span retail to public spaces, special events to offices and airports to homes. The products range from CCTV cameras, Digital Video Recorders and Network Video Recorders to Mobile Digital Video Recorders, Compression Cards and IP cameras.
Commenting further, Martyn said: “While the signing of a distribution deal with CP Plus signals our entry into the CCTV market, this move does complement our product range because we have a strong focus on storage. Supplying a range of CCTV solutions is seen as a natural progression for Syntech, which will now be able to supply a turnkey solution, including cameras, recording devices and storage.”

Symantec Unites the Power of the VeriSign and Norton Brands for Greater Website Protection

Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) announced that it is combining the power of the VeriSign checkmark with the industry-leading Norton brand, to create the most recognized trust mark on the Internet – the Norton™ Secured Seal. It will be displayed more than half a billion times per day in 170 countries on websites and in search results on enabled browsers. The Norton Secured Seal provides consumers and businesses with the assurance that the website is highly-trusted and secure.

Together with the combined brand equity strengths, Symantec and Norton have created the most trusted global brand for protecting information and identities online. Since the acquisition of the VeriSign Authentication Services business, Symantec has expanded its authentication business, integrating rigorous website security and anti-malware technologies, to develop market-leading solutions. The company builds on its leadership, as the world’s largest and most trusted provider of Security Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates, into offering comprehensive website security solutions.

“Symantec and Norton’s combined brand equity have created the most trusted global brand for protecting information and identities online. Norton is committed to helping consumers stay protected, across all aspects of their digital lives,” saidsaid Kara Rawden, Senior Marketing Manager Middle East & Africa, Consumer Business Unit, Symantec . “The Norton Secured Seal is backed by the trusted Norton brand and empowers consumers to browse, shop, and socialize online with full confidence that their personal information is secure.”

Trust Seal Helps Improves a Company’s Website Business, Reputation and Customer Relationships
Business customers will value the Norton Secured Seal, for its proven ability to enable a secure online experience while increasing visibility and transactions. The seal can attract new visitors and potential customers that are crucial to a website’s success. This may result in increased traffic, more click throughs and higher rankings in search results. A U.S. online consumer study1 found that recognition of the Norton Secured seal is high.

• 94 percent of consumers are likely to continue an online purchase when they view the Norton™ Secured Seal during the checkout process, more than other seals or when no seal was displayed
• 77 percent of consumers recognized the Norton™ Secured Seal, more than competitors’ trust seals
• 65 percent of consumers agree that a website displaying the Norton™ Secured Seal is “safe to browse and won’t give me a virus”, more than any other online trust mark
• 90 percent of respondents indicated they would not continue a transaction if they saw a browser warning page indicating the absence of a secure connection.

Protecting consumers’ information and preserving their trust is central to Symantec’s business. And the Norton Secured Seal provides further assurance to businesses that their customers’ online information and transactions are protected at all stages of their engagement online.

Norton Helps Consumers Stay Safe Online
• Symantec’s consumer products are used by more than 150 million people worldwide and Norton products ship on more than 60% of Windows-based consumer PCs
• The Norton Secured Seal is already familiar to consumers who use Norton Safe Web, a site ratings service that makes it easy for consumers to differentiate between a safe and risky site. In addition, Norton Safe Search leverages Safe Web technology to provide users visual site ratings within search results before they visit a site
• For consumers, seeing the Norton Secured Seal lets them know it is safe to communicate, transact and exchange information on that site.

Availability
To provide users a visual representation of the two most trusted names in online security, Symantec began automatically updating all VeriSign seals with the Norton™ Secured Seal to websites worldwide starting April 17, 2012 which will continue for two weeks. The completely seamless transition will require no action by current customers.

Click to Tweet: Symantec’s new Norton Secured Seal is the most recognized trust mark on the Internet: http://bit.ly/JbnKqA

Resources
• Symantec Norton Secured Seal Information
• Norton Secured Seal Data Sheet
• Norton Secured Seal FAQ
• Blog Post: Power of the Checkmark: Trust the Norton Secured Seal by Fran Rosch

The telecommunications industry has the potential to be one of the engines driving South Africa’s GDP growth past six percent per year, but only if strong competition is nurtured in the sector.

That’s according to Chris Radley, Managing Director at Nashua Mobile, commenting on the health of the country’s telecommunications industry ahead of World Telecoms Day, May 17. He says that telecommunications is a levelling, democratising technology that empowers people to participate in the economy by giving them access to information and markets they did not have before.

However, telecommunications tariffs in South Africa are still somewhat high as a result of a lack of competition, he adds. This excludes many people from access to basic voice and Internet services that many countries are beginning to regard as a basic human right.

The result is that the economy is less productive and globally competitive than it could be and that many people are denied the opportunities that fast Internet connectivity offers them to improve their lives, says Radley. For example, more affordable Internet services could help micro and small businesses to operate more efficiently and bring e-health, e-learning and other services to poor communities.

Says Radley: “Large businesses in South Africa are held back by high telecommunications costs. A number of studies place our cellular costs as among the highest in Africa, while one report says that we have the lowest minutes of telecommunications usage among the Brics countries. Stronger regulation, coupled with policies that encourage more infrastructure level competition, could help to change that picture,”

Radley says that it is pleasing to see that Icasa has taken some concrete steps to tackle high telecommunications costs in South Africa, for example, by standing firm on mobile termination rates.

Nashua Mobile would like to see certain important regulatory decisions and processes concluded as soon as possible, says Radley. The process around licensing the precious spectrum operators need for commercial deployments of LTE (more contentiously called 4G) networks is particularly urgent.

This technology is key to bringing faster and more affordable mobile broadband to market. “Digital dividend spectrum is also up in the air,” adds Radley. “South African regulators and legislators have an opportunity to position South Africa at the forefront of global telecoms if they move as quickly as the technology does.”

However, despite these remaining challenges, South Africa also has much to celebrate on World Telecoms Day, says Radley. The county has benefitted from a flood of international bandwidth as a result of new submarine cables landing on the coast, and operators are clinking up the metros with fibre.

Prices are falling as result, even as quality improves. This is largely thanks to the work that the regulator and policymakers have done to accelerate competition in recent years, says Radley.

Where a gigabyte of mobile data cost R1050 five years ago, it costs just R150 today, and costs of fixed-line broadband have also tumbled. Telkom’s recent moves to reduce IPC costs are also to be welcomed. And the explosion of tablets and smartphones means that access devices are becoming more accessible to more people as well.