News Briefs and Product Shorts

Adobe Heightens PDF Security with LiveCycle Policy Server

Adobe has announced the availability of its long-awaited Adobe LiveCycle Policy Server, which it initially unveiled last year as part of its Intelligent Document Platform, as well as the Version 7.0 release of its Reader and Acrobat products for creating and viewing its ubiquitous PDF standard. Currently available for Unix and Windows servers, the LiveCycle Policy Server is a Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) application that adds many cool features to document management, including the capability to control who can view a PDF document, and whether the recipient can modify, copy, print, or forward the document. The permissions on these documents can also be changed or revoked, regardless of how many copies were distributed or where the documents reside, Adobe says. LiveCycle, which costs a mere $50,000 per CPU, runs on the WebSphere and JBoss Web application servers, with support for BEA Systems WebLogic expected sometime in the first half of 2005. The application is "optimized" for the AIX operating system, Adobe says, and it also runs on Windows Server, Red Hat Linux, and Sun Microsystems Solaris operating systems. Support for Novell's SUSE Linux platform and Hewlett-Packard's HP-UX are planned for the first half of 2005. Adobe, which purchased OS/400 document management software with its Accelio (formerly JetForm) acquisition in 2002, is not expected to offer this software on OS/400.

RAID Controllers for iSeries and pSeries Now Bear the Adaptec Name

Adaptec has announced it is expanding its relationship with IBM to deliver Adaptec-branded RAID controllers and connectivity products for iSeries and pSeries servers directly through the IBM channel. IBM sold its RAID disk controller business to Adaptec last year in a deal that included the transfer of intellectual property and IBM engineers to the Milpitas, California, manufacturer. "Today's agreement is a natural extension of the agreement we made with IBM for RAID intellectual property and the delivery of Adaptec RAID controllers for IBM's eServer iSeries and pSeries servers," said Robert Stephens, president and chief executive officer of Adaptec. "This new opportunity gives IBM's iSeries and pSeries reseller customers the ability to purchase Adaptec-branded products in the channel."

Elite and IDS Strike Deal for Document Management Software

Integrated Distribution Solutions, a provider of enterprise solutions to food and consumer goods distributors, and OS/400 document management software provider Elite Document Solutions recently entered into a new partnership. As part of the deal, IDS will recommend Elite's software to its customers, which number more than 800. "Integrated Distribution Solutions' new and existing customers will gain the added value of automating their business-critical documents in an electronic environment for laser printing and storage," says Lori Johnston, Elite's director of sales and business development. IDS is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and Elite is located in Orange County, California.

ServerProven Rebates Provide a Good Way for Sustained ROI, CCSS Says

Ray Wright, managing director of systems management software vendor CCSS, says the time is right for OS/400 shops to invest in their future by making wise IT purchases, especially with the recent extension of an IBM rebate that can bring customers up to $64,000 back when they upgrade to qualifying servers and purchase a ServerProven application or solution at the same time. "For so long shops have been restrained by their limited budgets," Wright says. "They want to do more, and they know that many of these solutions can actually deliver sustained money-saving benefits, but the emphasis has always been on what do we need to simply keep going? Now they can sustain savings over a longer period and enjoy the very best productivity from their iSeries." The complete range of OS/400 systems management tools from CCSS, which includes QMessage Monitor, QSystem Monitor, and QRemote Control, has received the ServerProven certification and can qualify customers for the rebate. For more information on IBM's modified ServerProven rebate, see IBM announcement letter number A04-1523.

Acquisition of Profitability Software Maker to be 'Slightly Accretive' for Jack Henry in '04

Jack Henry & Associates, a provider of enterprise software to banks and credit unions, has announced the acquisition of Stratika, a developer of software that helps its users to maximize their profitability. Stratika's flagship product, called RPM, is intended to help its users increase revenues, contain costs, and improve profits by calculating profitability for the institution from the individual product and customer profitability levels, all the way up to the overall organizational level. RPM will be sold through Jack Henry's Symitar subsidiary and integrated with Jack Henry' flagship OS/400-based SilverLake suite of software, as well as its CIF 20/20, Core Director, Episys, and Cruise processing systems. Terms of the acquisition, which Jack Henry's CFO said would be "slightly accretive" to Jack Henry's earnings for the remainder of its 2004 fiscal year, were not announced.

Wal-Mart Hit by Barcode Forgery Scam

Love it or hate it, Wal-Mart has definitely had an affect on supply chain technology. While the retail behemoth today is gaining the ire of IT managers at its suppliers with its new radio frequency identification (RFID) tag requirements, two couples in Tennessee found a way to bilk Wal-Mart of about $1.5 million through clever--and criminal--manipulation of the ubiquitous UPC barcode, another technology that rose to prominence following a Wal-Mart mandate. According a story in eWeek, the couples would visit a Wal-Mart and purchase a low-priced item, and then print out a duplicate barcode, using technology available on the open market. The participants would then wait for a busy time at the Wal-Mart, at which point they would return to the store, tape the duplicate barcode onto a higher-priced item, and enter the check-out line. Since the Wal-Mart associates were so busy, they never noticed that the item appearing on the check-out screens did not match the item in front of them. The scammers would then tear off the bogus barcode, return the item to Wal-Mart, and request a refund in the form of a gift card, which they would then sell at a dramatically reduced price (such as $150 for a $600 gift card). Two other major retail chains were also hit, in Tennessee and 18 other states in the South and the Midwest.