Penney, Dell, Huntsman, Intuit are big movers (AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Friday on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market:

NYSE

Smith International Inc., up $4.35 at $37.70

The Wall Street Journal reported Schlumberger Ltd. is in advanced talks to acquire the Houston oil services company.

J.C. Penney Co., up $1.70 at $27.66

The department store chain posted fourth-quarter profit that surpassed its expectations and issued and upbeat forecast for 2010.

EnergySolutions Inc., down $1.44 at $6.35

Chairman and CEO Steve Creamer has resigned and will be succeeded as CEO by the nuclear services company’s president.

Huntsman Corp., up 79 cents at $13.16

The chemicals maker posted a steep drop in profit versus year-ago results that were inflated by a hefty gain, but its revenue edged up.

CBS Corp., up 12 cents at $13.83

The broadcasting companys net profit slid as an improvement in the advertising market was offset by a big drop in political spending.

NASDAQ:

Dell Inc., down 96 cents at $13.47

Dell said its net income fell in the last quarter despite early signs that businesses may be starting to buy new computers again.

Apollo Group Inc., down $4.53 at $56.92

The for-profit education company said second quarter profit would likely fall below expectations on Wall Street.

Intuit Inc., up $2.40 at $32.72

Intuit said unit sales of its TurboTax federal income tax preparation products rose 11 percent early in this year’s tax season.

Dell sees signs of optimismMotorola, Ingersoll-Rand, SkillSoft are big movers (AP)

[Via http://marketsnewss.wordpress.com]

Make a big splash

Dell Mini 5

The Dell Mini 5 is a 5″ Android MID for AT&T.  The device is really nice and will be used a lot for media and web browsing.

Obviously Songbird on this device would need to be changed up greatly for it’s landscape mode this is very large.

think the UI should be able to adjust by itself through the UI to make it adapt to the larger screen size.

[Via http://songbirdmobile.wordpress.com]

Prey upon your Laptop

IT departments use techniques like encryption and remote wiping to protect data stored on laptops. While these methods may prevent the data from being compromised, they don’t help locate the actual machine. A free program called Prey might.

Prey is a free application available on Mac, Linux or Windows – find it here. It is very small in size and operates in the background and at specified intervals connects to the internet and attempts to determine whether your machine is stolen or not. Prey does this in one of two ways:

1. If Prey is configured to use Prey’s online control panel, you simply log in and indicate that your machine is stolen. Prey checks in online from your computer and gets a message that your system has been compromised.

2. If Prey is configured for stand alone (which is a much more complicated method and requires you to come up with a webpage): there is no communication with the online service, you must create a webpage and the url is given to Prey, who then accesses the live page and if it exists, prey continues on. However if your laptop is stolen, you simply delete the page and Prey receives a 404 error the next time it checks the webpage and knows that machine is stolen. Prey then sends a report describing whereabouts:

You log in to Prey’s online service and you are given the following:

• The Computer Status
• A List of Running Programs and Services
• Network and Wifi Status
• A screenshot of the desktop
• A Picture taken with the Webcam if one is attached

If you have gone for the stand alone option, the report is mailed to an email address that you entered when setting up Prey.

However, there are some limitations to Prey:

• Prey is removed if the hard drive is wiped
• Software can be uninstalled if the thief knows that Prey is on your system
• The machine must connect to the internet in order to give a report
• Prey requires law enforcement to retrieve the laptop (you cannot break into someone’s house to retrieve your item, even if it was stolen from you!)
• No theft recovery help – Prey is a free service and it’s up to you to do the leg-work

If you are concerned that Prey might not be able to do what you want, there are alternatives: Absolute Software offers services for Home, Business and Corporate users at a cost. In fact Dell and HP are known to use Absolute Software’s Computrace! Check out the website here. So if you do need to protect highly sensitive data, use a more robust, paid solution like Computrace and always ensure your data is encrypted. Check out the Prey Tutorial over on TechRepublic.

[Via http://elessarblog.wordpress.com]

Social Media 201 Conference, April 15th at Microsoft in Seattle

Last week our Fresh team was slammed with several new proposals to get out the door by Friday and we launched a new website for an upcoming conference.

I really need to plug the conference right up front – it’s the Social Media 201 Conference, hosted by Microsoft in Seattle on April 15th.  More info can be found at our website at www.socialmedia201.com and you may register there as well.

Tip – You can save 50% by doing two things:

register by March 15th and

use the discount code FRESH

The concept for SM 201 stemmed from the 101 Conference Joe Kennedy and the Eastside Entrepreneurs hosted last September at Microsoft. The 101 conference helped educate business owners about what social media is and why companies should participate. The 201 conference is designed for those businesses who have started to delve into social media and want to find a path to profitability, i.e. ROI.

In our research we find a number of firms considering a social media play, but isolating and building a case for return on investment can prove difficult. We’ve identified a number of variables that a firm might measure in developing an ROI model and in one case we found over 100 measurable variables! Like you, we thought that was a little ridiculous.

My approach to this conference was to identify key business leaders who don’t just dabble in social media, but where social media marketing is a part of what they do and they have experienced demonstrable results from their efforts. The speakers are coming from, Vancouver BC, New York, Chicago and Seattle and have worked with major brands such as Disney, T-Mobile, The Gates Foundation, Dell, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Mini and many other small and medium-sized business.

Additionally our speakers have a tremendous presence and a depth of credibility in social media channels. They are the trend-setters, the key individuals in their markets with literally hundreds of thousands of followers, active bloggers, leading authors and thought leaders.

When I approached our two largest sponsors, Microsoft and Comcast, they offered their enthusiastic support for hosting the event and bringing in partners, lunch, and adding their brands to the concept. We’re very excited to have them on board.

Beyond the conference, participants will also have time to meet with all the presenters, participate in panel discussions with experts and to network with each other. This will be a unique conference where attendees will come away with specific actions and key learnings they can apply to their own businesses.

I sincerely hope to see you there and to connect!

Mike

[Via http://mikewhitmore.wordpress.com]

EGF Information event for former DELL and ancillary workers

Today (11th February, 2010) sees the opening of an information event aimed at individuals who have been made redundant due to the DELL announcement (January 2009).  These individuals have been invited to explore their future options available under the EGF (European Globalisation Adjustment Fund) at this two-day event which takes place in the South Court Hotel, Raheen, Co. Limerick from 10am- 5pm today and tomorrow (Friday, 12th February).

Up to 2,400 affected workers from DELL and its ancillary enterprises (Banta Global Turnkey, IEC/Flextronics, Sercom, Sodexo, Cube, RPS Engineering, Rehab Logistics, Novo Strat) in the Mid-West region have been contacted and invited to attend this event.  These eligible workers were in employment with the companies in question at the time of the announcement and were made redundant no later than 31st April, 2010.

FÁS has been tasked to establish a dedicated EGF co-ordination unit (operating out of Limerick) to ensure there is a concentrated local and regional focus in providing assistance to those affected workers.

Complemented by significant Government funding, the EGF fund exists to assist redundant workers to prepare for alternative employment.  This range of additional measures will assist these affected workers to access tailored personalised supports in terms of occupational guidance, job search assistance, training courses, entrepreneurship support and accelerated routes into further and third level education.

At this two-day event, eligible individuals can find out about the EGF customised options which are on offer from FÁS, Enterprise Ireland, City and County Enterprise Boards, Fáilte Ireland, Teagasc, VECs and third level institutions throughout the region.  Invited individuals can register for courses and services and sign-up for further guidance if required.  To assist in career planning, there will be guidance seminars on-site along with representatives from the Department of Social & Family Affairs, MABS, Citizens Information and private training providers.

Event:                EGF Information Event

Dates/Times:    Thursday, 11th February (10am – 5pm)

Friday, 12th February (10am – 5pm)

Venue:               South Court Hotel, Raheen, Co. Limerick

FÁS is committed to working closely with relevant state organisations and stakeholders to provide an effective integrated service for affected workers to explore their future options in re-training, upskilling, education and self-employment.  Further information on the range of EGF funding, supports and programmes for eligible workers is available on www.tusnua.ie.

[Via http://tipptatler.wordpress.com]

Battery for Dell Inspiron 6400

This high capacity Replacement battery has been specifically designed to work with Dell Inspiron 6400 and E1505 series notebook computers.  6 Cell  4400 mah Li-Ion re-chargeable Notebook Replacement batterypack for  Dell Inspiron 6400 series notebooks.  This battery is compatible to the following Dell Part’s are KD476, GD761, 312-0428, TD347, PD945, RD850, RD859, UD260, UD265, 312-0461 451-10339, PD942, PD946, RD850, RD857, RD859, TD344, TD347, TD349, UD264, UD267 or equivalent.

[Via http://techbattery.wordpress.com]

Dell Laser Printer 2230d - printer - black/white - laser

Get crisp and fast laser printouts with increased print productivity from Dell 2230d monochrome laser printer. With printing speed of up to 33 pages per minute (ppm) for A4 size and 35 ppm for letter size papers, this printer delivers optimum performance every time you print. Also, it allows you to print professional-quality documents with quality text and sharp details at maximum resolutions of up to 1200 x 1200 dpi. Moreover, this printer is equipped with 400 MHz processor and 32 MB of RAM in a stylish and compact design which suits any home or business environment. Designed for high printing volumes and great usage demands, it has a 250-sheet covered drawer with 1-sheet multipurpose tray and also has a duty cycle of 35,000 pages per month. Additionally, it provides effortless setup and installation via USB port or IEEE 1284 parallel port. Streamline your printing process and brighten up your presentations with 2230d monochrome laser printer.

[Via http://tecbee.wordpress.com]