DTN News: Raytheon To Provide IT Services To The Environmental Protection Agency

DTN News: Raytheon To Provide IT Services To The Environmental Protection Agency

*Source: DTN News / Raytheon

(NSI News Source Info) RESTON, Va., - August 27, 2009: Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has been selected to provide information technology (IT) infrastructure support and solutions through the Information Technology Solutions-Environmental Protection Agency II (ITS-EPA II) contract, further expanding its extensive services provided to the EPA. The multiple-supplier award Blanket Purchase Agreement under U.S. General Services Administration's Schedule 70 IT professional services has a ceiling value of $955 million. Under ITS-EPA II, Raytheon will provide innovative, agile, scalable and cost-effective IT solutions to meet the requirements of the agency and to support EPA's mission goals. Raytheon will help the Office of Environmental Information provide a broad range of IT services to enable secure information exchange, data analysis, scientific investigation and informed decision-making across government and the environmental community. "We look forward to helping increase efficiencies and supporting EPA's important environmental mission with our culture of continuous improvement," said TW Scott, vice president of Raytheon Information Solutions. "As a responsible steward of the environment, Raytheon is committed to sustainability as evidenced by successive awards from the EPA for the company's energy management and climate leadership initiatives, and receipt of an InfoWorld 2009 Green 15 Award for Green IT practices." The ITS-EPA II contract will further expand Raytheon's existing environmental services, which include remote sensing, data management and geographic information systems at multiple EPA ecology research laboratories across the country. Raytheon Company, with 2008 sales of $23.2 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 87 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 73,000 people worldwide.

DTN News: UK Defence Sector Well Poised For Growth Despite Global Recession, Says Frost & Sullivan

DTN News: UK Defence Sector Well Poised For Growth Despite Global Recession, Says Frost & Sullivan *Sources: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) LONDON - June 26, 2009: The UK defence industry remains insulated from global recession compared to other market verticals, with government defence spending fixed into long-term programmes and immune from short-term economic cycles. Unlike small low-spending countries whose defence budgets will be severely impacted, the UK will sustain spending levels over the long term. Moreover, "because defence technology and product expertise have strong parallel opportunities in commercial aviation and homeland security, they are well positioned to offset decline in one segment by limiting exposure to a particular market," according to Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst James Cooper. The possibility of favourable acquisition of Tier 2 / Tier 3 defence companies which offer high margins and gross profit; access to long-term projects providing sustained recurring revenues; as well as limited exposure to programme losses all offer opportunities for growth in current market conditions. In addition, access to long-term sustained income is ensured as defence companies are increasingly sought as financing partners by national governments. "The UK defence industry should tap into important growth markets like India which is expected to spend $100 billion on defence procurement alone during the next ten years," states Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Marko Lukovic. In 2009, India's defence budget will exceed that of the UK for the first time, positioning it among the top three spenders, behind the US and China. Additional growth opportunities stem from government cost-cutting measures which open up new market sectors, including after market services and incentive based contracts. Industry players can expect recurring revenues, up and down the supply chain, and look forward to long term (sometimes 30, but usually 10 year) PFI outsourcing contracts. Finally, significant cross-over opportunities exist for firms to transition their defence expertise into other markets. Raytheon and Lockheed Martin already compete on UK IT contracts for the NHS, the Home Office, the Post Office, among others. Other examples of successful transition include: BAE Systems, which made a number of acquisitions in the US to become a major Land Systems integrator (particularly Armor Holdings); the VT Group, once a naval manufacturer and now a major government and military services contractor experiencing rapid growth through clever acquisition and recruitment in the US market; and Ultra Electronics and Cobham - both Tier 2 companies that have forged a strong presence in the US while maintaining high profit margins from their equipment business because they did not attempt to become a lead system integrator. If you are interested in more information on Frost & Sullivan's analysis of the UK Defence Sector, please e-mail Monika Kwiecinska, Corporate Communications, at monika.kwiecinska@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website and country. Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 35 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com.

DTN News: Microsoft Browser Offer Fails To Impress Europe

DTN News: Microsoft Browser Offer Fails To Impress Europe

*Source: NY Times By Kevin J O'Brien

(NSI News Source Info) BERLIN - June 13, 2009: European regulators, wary of repeating an earlier mistake, signaled this week that Microsoft’s offer to sell a browserless Windows system on the Continent did not go far enough. The decision has left some antitrust lawyers in Brussels scratching their heads. “Microsoft is offering to sell Windows in Europe without their own browser — you would think this is what the commission wants,” said Alec Burnside, a competition lawyer at Linklaters in Brussels. “You would expect them to say ‘Thank you’ and close the case.” Microsoft made an offer Thursday to sell Windows in Europe without their own browser, the latest move in a case that was initiated in December 2007 based on a complaint by Opera, a Norwegian browser maker. But the commission, in a statement, dismissed the offer, saying the move would not further its goal of promoting browsers that compete with Internet Explorer. Instead, Microsoft and European authorities appear on course for another legal collision over the software maker’s bundling of major applications into Windows, which, according to the research firm Gartner, runs more than 95 percent of computers in the world. One reason for the quick rejection, according to competition lawyers in Brussels and a commission spokesman, is that the European Commission did not want to repeat a mistake of the first Microsoft case, when it ordered the software maker in 2004 to sell a version of Windows in Europe without its media player. Microsoft responded by selling its so-called N version of Windows for the same price as its full version, and consumers rejected the stripped-down system. The remedy also did not significantly improve the lot of competing media players. Microsoft said it sold only a few thousand copies of the N version. This time, the commission has indicated it may want Microsoft to distribute Windows with competing Web browsers preinstalled and then allow retailers and computer makers to decide from a “ballot screen” menu which browsers to install. About 95 percent of computer operating systems are sold preinstalled on new computers. “Our focus in this case is that consumers should effectively have the chance to choose from an array of browsers,” a commission spokesman, Jonathan Todd, said. “The remedy with the ‘N’ version software didn’t work.” In hindsight, Mr. Todd said the commission should have required Microsoft to sell only a Windows version in Europe without a media player and not allowed the parallel sale of the full version. In Europe, Microsoft is offering to sell a browserless “E” version of Windows 7, its latest operating system version, which is scheduled to be introduced worldwide Oct. 22. “This means that computer manufacturers and users will be free to install Internet Explorer on Windows 7, or not, as they prefer,” wrote Dave Heiner, the Microsoft deputy general counsel who disclosed the offer, in the company’s blog. Denis Walbroeck, a competition lawyer at Ashurst in Brussels, said the commission’s rejection indicated it was not looking to settle quickly with Microsoft. “I am struggling to understand the commission’s behavior here,” Mr. Walbroeck said. “It appears this is headed to a big decision from the commission, a big fine and perhaps a lengthy appeal.” Since the complaint was initially filed, many of Microsoft’s biggest commercial rivals — Sun Microsystems, Google, Nokia and others — have signed on to the case as legal adversaries. Microsoft canceled the only hearing scheduled in the case, scheduled for early June, after complaining that many European antitrust officials who could attend the hearing as observers were unable to do so because of a competing conference in Switzerland. The commission is under no timetable to release its ruling in the browser case, but in the past, it has publicized crucial decisions, fines and sanctions before leaving for its summer break in late July.

DTN News: Windows 7 Without Internet Explorer ~ Microsoft Explains

DTN News: Windows 7 Without Internet Explorer ~ Microsoft Explains *Source: JR Raphael, PC World *DTN News: Microsoft Introduces Window 7 At Computex Fair Taipei (DTN News Defense-Technology News .... June 5, 2009)

(NSI News Source Info) June 12, 2009: Microsoft has confirmed plans to ship a version of Windows 7 without Internet Explorer. Windows 7 E, as the browserless system will be called, will be made available throughout Europe starting on October 22. The decision to pull IE from Windows comes as a result of an ongoing European Commission case surrounding anti-competition laws and Microsoft's bundling of software. Windows 7, Browser-Free Word of the browser-free Windows 7 edition first broke when an apparent memo about the plans was leaked to CNET News Thursday morning. Microsoft acknowledged the memo's authenticity -- it was sent from the company to computer manufacturers and retailers, representatives say -- and Microsoft has since gone on to elaborate about the plans. "We’re committed to making Windows 7 available in Europe at the same time that it launches in the rest of the world, but we also must comply with European competition law as we launch the product," Dave Heiner, Microsoft's vice president and deputy general counsel, explains. "Given the pending legal proceeding, we’ve decided that instead of including Internet Explorer in Windows 7 in Europe, we will offer it separately and on an easy-to-install basis to both computer manufacturers and users," he says. The European Windows 7 E editions, then, will function just like the regular Windows 7 offerings sold in America -- only without Internet Explorer automatically included. With that said, new computer users may still find IE on their systems, given the options Microsoft is providing for manufacturers to preinstall the program before shipping their PCs. "Microsoft will ... make it easy and convenient for PC manufacturers to preinstall IE 8 on Windows 7 machines in Europe if they so choose," the original Microsoft memo is quoted as stating. "PC manufacturers may choose to install an alternative browser instead of IE 8, and [as] has always been the case, they may install multiple browsers if they wish." Microsoft's Windows 7 Browser Battle The browserless approach wasn't Microsoft's only option: The European Commission, Heiner says, also discussed the company including IE and other browsers within Windows 7 by default. It also suggested a concept wherein users would be presented with a "ballot screen" that would allow them to pick their browser of choice during the initial setup process. "Important details of these approaches would need to be worked out in coordination with the Commission, since they would have a significant impact on computer manufacturers and Web browser vendors, whose interests may differ," Heiner responds. "Given the complexity and competing interests, we don’t believe it would be best for us to adopt such an approach unilaterally." For now, then, Windows 7 E is the answer -- at least, for Europe. Here in the States, you'll be getting the regular ol' Windows 7, Internet Explorer and all. Current Vista users are expected to be offered a $49.99 upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium or a $99.99 upgrade to Windows 7 Professional. If you recently bought a new PC with Vista preloaded, you may also be eligible for Microsoft's Windows 7 Upgrade Option, which would provide a cheaper or possibly even free upgrade to Windows 7. Microsoft, however, has yet to release the specific requirements of the upgrade program.

Read more: "Windows 7 Release: What Happens Between Now and October 22" Connect with JR Raphael on Twitter (@jr_raphael) or via his Web site, jrstart.com. See more like this: Windows 7, internet explorer, microsoft, legal issues, windows upgrading

DTN News: Microsoft Introduces Window 7 At Computex Fair Taipei

DTN News: Microsoft Introduces Window 7 At Computex Fair Taipei

(NSI News Source Info) TAIPEI, Taiwan - June 5, 2009: A Microsoft staff member explains the latest Windows 7 operating system during the Computex fair in Taipei on June 2, 2009.

Asia's biggest information technology trade show opened in Taiwan, with the spotlight on low-priced notebook computers and advanced broadband Internet mobile technology.A model poses with a Microsoft Multi-Touch-enabled computer installed with Windows 7 during the 2009 Computex exhibition in Taipei June 2, 2009. Touchscreen technology is sweeping the consumer electronics market as technology brands hope to come up with the next iPhone, but these new toys could be little more than plenty of hype especially in the PC market. To match analysis

General Dynamics Awarded General Services Administration Alliant Contract For Information-Technology Solutions

General Dynamics Awarded General Services Administration Alliant Contract For Information-Technology Solutions

(NSI News Source Info) FALLS CHURCH, Va. – April 4, 2009: General Dynamics has been awarded an Alliant contract by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to provide federal government agencies with integrated information technology solutions for evolving needs on a global basis. Alliant is a 10-year multiple-award, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity government-wide acquisition contract (GWAC). The contract has a $50 billion potential value among all 59 awardees if all options are exercised.

Through this contract, General Dynamics will provide infrastructure, application and information technology management services to support federal government agencies. Alliant is a successor contract to the Applications n’ Support for Widely Diverse End-User Requirements (ANSWER) and Millennia government-wide technology contracts. General Dynamics currently holds the ANSWER contract.

“As a long-standing partner of the General Services Administration, General Dynamics is committed to providing outstanding information technology and mission-support services to agencies throughout the federal government,” said Jerry DeMuro, executive vice president of the Information Systems and Technology group for General Dynamics. “General Dynamics will help federal agencies achieve seamless and efficient access to the vital information-technology solutions necessary for them to successfully fulfill their missions.”

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 92,300 people worldwide. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about General Dynamics is available online at www.gd.com.

UK Under Attack From Global Spy Agencies: Report

UK Under Attack From Global Spy Agencies: Report

(NSI News Source Info) London - February 9, 2009: Britain has become a top target of global spy agencies, particularly those from China and Russia, seeking to steal its most sensitive secrets and cutting edge technologies, a government document has revealed.

The report, which was drawn up by an Army intelligence cell inside Whitehall, warns that foreign spies are trying to steal secrets related to the military, optics, communications, genetics and aviation industries.

Russia and China have been identified as having the most active spy networks from 20 foreign intelligence agencies, who are targeting Britain for cutting edge technologies and other most sensitive secrets, The Sunday Telegraph reported on Sunday.

"Whilst our primary threat would seem to come from international terrorism, it is important that we do not lose sight of another omnipresent threat. Espionage against UK interests continues to come from many quarters," warned the security document obtained by British daily.

"In the past, espionage activity was typically directed towards obtaining political and military intelligence. In today's high-tech world, the intelligence requirements of a number of countries now include new communications technologies, IT, genetics, aviation, lasers, optics, electronics and many other fields. Intelligence services, therefore, are targeting commercial enterprises far more than in the past," said the report.

In a speech in November 2007, Jonathan Evans, the director general of MI5, said that foreign intelligence services were active in the UK, with the Russians at the forefront of covert operations, the British report said.