Paderborn, Germany - 25 Jan 2005 - The joint value proposition between Microsoft and Wincor Nixdorf, focusing on Microsoft's Smarter Retailing Initiative (SRI), has resulted in more than 15 major retailers, including Axfood, ICA, Metro Cash & Carry and Superdrug ordering a total of over 60,000 licences of BEETLE point-of-sale (POS) systems that use the Microsoft® Windows® XP Embedded operating system. The decision to invest in new technology for the store and back office illustrates the growing view among European retailers that their existing POS solutions, many of which are between seven and 10 years old, are not able to perform the tasks that smart retailers deem essential, such as providing an enhanced consumer shopping experience. Included among the benefits that retailers using Microsoft XP Embedded enjoy are enhanced performance at the checkout, with significant improvements in transaction times, and the opportunity to offer a consistent level of service, whether a customer is shopping in the store or online. "The debate around which new point-of-sale system to select is shifting from being simply around the selection of a till device to tackling the much broader question of how to implement the best point-of-service offering," said Dilip Popat, managing director, Retail Industry Solutions Unit for Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). "Retailers are being driven to upgrade their systems to take advantage of new technology that can provide better customer service, with lower total cost of ownership." To this end, Microsoft has been working closely with Wincor Nixdorf. According to Michael Schulte, head of software marketing for Wincor Nixdorf, any replacement hardware and software has to address value-added customer service scenarios and integrate multiple device formats such as self-checkouts and information kiosks, in addition to traditional checkout lanes. As a result of customer and development partner feedback, Microsoft will soon be shipping a retail-optimised software platform, Windows Embedded for Point of Service, designed for easy setup, use and management of point-of-service systems. Wincor Nixdorf has been an early and active member of the Joint Development Program for Windows Embedded for Point of Service, which will be available in the first half of 2005. "We are committed to supporting Windows Embedded for Point of Service and developing solutions that deliver greater value to retailers by allowing them to take advantage of their legacy systems, while providing plug-and-play functionality for retail device peripherals, which is the single most requested feature by retailers," said Schulte. As further evidence of this commitment to delivering greater value to retailers, Wincor Nixdorf will soon deliver its Store Communication Framework, a product that will simplify the connectivity and data management issues inherent in today’s retailing infrastructures. Key elements of Store Communication Framework will be built upon the Microsoft .NET platform and leverage the Microsoft enterprise connectivity toolset. Wincor Nixdorf has also chosen Microsoft .NET as the platform for TP.net, its newest point-of-sale solution. "This decision was taken based on four key factors: the relative simplicity of developing, maintaining and extending solutions; the speed and effectiveness with which solutions can be deployed worldwide; the low cost of developing and modifying web services-based concepts, and the strength of our relationship with Microsoft as our technology partner," said Schulte. Windows Embedded for Point of Service and the Microsoft .NET Framework are core technologies within Microsoft's Smarter Retailing Initiative, which provides an innovative, open standards-based approach that allows retailers to easily create next-generation point-of-service systems that connect the store to the consumer. These future systems will also support emerging technologies such as RFID and biometrics.

Musicians believe the internet is an essential tool to help create and market their work, but at the same time more than half of artists say file sharing of unauthorized copies of music should be illegal, according to a new report.  Click here for the entire article.

If you have kids in San Diego, then you need to check out this web site brought to you because of Megan's law: http://www.sandiego.gov/police/newsflash/sexoffender.shtml

...you take a walk around it and you see shopping carts littering the sidewalks. I live in the Carmel Valley area of San Diego, which is pretty affluent. Why this started happening here about three or four years ago is beyond me. The funny thing is the carts are never far from the actual store?? Don't these people have a car? If not, are they really pushing home that much that they need a cart? Come on people!!

Products give business people and programmers a shared language that helps them implement changes quickly. Click here for the full article.

Linux vendors Red Hat, Novell and Mandrakesoft on Wednesday released patches for several vulnerabilities, ranging from flaws that could allow denial-of-service attacks to buffer overflows.

For the complete article click here.

INCUBUS ANNOUNCES "MAKE YOURSELF FOUNDATION" GRANTS FOR 2005

Band Donates $100,000 to the American Red Cross

New York, NY - Grammy award nominated rock band Incubus today announced a number of donations today through their non-profit organization, the Make Yourself Foundation. At the top of the list, the band is donating $100,000 to the American Red Cross Tsunami Relief Fund. Founded in 2004 by the band, the Make Yourself foundation was established to donate funds to various charities which are listed on the Make Yourself Foundation website (www.makeyourselffoundation.org). In its first year, the Foundation raised an astounding $400, 000 through Incubus' music-related activities while the band toured around the world.

When sitting down to decide how to best allocate the funds, the massive tsunami hit Asia, altering the band's initial plan. The band explains, "We started the MYF as a vehicle to try and help people who have not been as fortunate as us. Last year we spent the year raising money and bringing attention to a number of worthy causes. When we sat down in December to allocate the money, we had no idea of the disaster that was about to happen. The magnitude of the tsunami disaster is truly overwhelming and we can only hope that this donation can help bring some relief to the people who've been affected by it."

In addition to the Tsunami relief effort The Make Yourself Foundation will be making donations to the following organizations.

The Red Cross www.redcross.org
Future Forests www.futureforests.com
International Rett Syndrome Association www.rettsyndrome.org
The Painted Turtle www.thepaintedturtle.com
Surfrider Foundation www.surfrider.com
Operation Smile www.operationsmile.com
Heal The Bay www.healthebay.org
Institute of Music and Neurologic Function www.bethabe.com
Sweet Relief www.sweetrelief.org
Save the Music www.vh1.com/partners/save_the_music/home.html
Break the Cycle www.breakthecycle.org

The band is planning more charitable related music projects this year.

Last week I went to see "Meet the Fockers" at a movie theater in Mission Valley here in San Diego. I heard the movie was great, maybe even funnier than the first so I was excited to go check it out. My excitement severely dropped when I saw (and heard) at least four small infant babies being brought into the theater by their parents! So I prayed and hoped they would not cry… I was wrong. Not only did one or more of them cry during most of the movie but I swear that they all were crying at one time at one point! This pretty much ruined the movie for me.

I don't know about "most" parents, but when I had my kids, I did not step foot into a movie theater for many years unless we got a grandparent to watch our kids for us. It is totally beyond me why anyone would want to go take an infant or small child to a movie that is rated PG-13 or higher. Heck, kids should only be in G movies and babies should never be there!

Leave your baby at home and wait for the movie to come out on DVD or video! If you can't afford a babysitter, than this is cheaper anyway. I even said something to the parents down the row from me and they still did not take their baby out of the theater so it would stop bothering everyone around them. This is just another example of why I really don't like going out to the movies any more… I just can't take the ever increasing rudeness of the people that go. Don't get me started on cell phones and talking during the movie!!!