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Microsoft Research Presents Papers on Information Visualization at Human-Computer Interaction Conference

With the glut of data accumulating on servers, PCs, and even smart phones around the world, the challenge of efficiently presenting that data and making it easy for people to interact with, the concept of information visualization becomes more evident. Information visualization is an area that Microsoft, which is known for developing great GUIs, is investing a great deal of research, and some of that research is on display this week in Portland, Oregon, where the CHI 2005 conference is taking place. "Information visualization is a hot topic today because computer systems and graphics capabilities have reached a point where the visual representation of information can come to life," said George Robertson, a senior researcher at Microsoft Research. "We can now experiment with information visualization technologies that we've been developing in the lab over the past 10 years and expand on them for the benefit of users and the research community." Microsoft Research will be presenting 25 papers at the conference, and three of them are candidates for the Best Paper Award. The conference is sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interactions.

Microsoft Taps Retired JPMorgan Chase Exec as Director, Expands Board to 10

Microsoft recently added a new member to its board of directors, and expanded the size of the board by one member. Dina Dublon, 51, a retired executive vice president and chief financial officer with JPMorgan Chase, was added to the software giant's governing board. Dublon, who was responsible for global financial management and reporting, strategy and acquisitions, corporate treasury, investor relations, and tax issues at JPMorgan Chase, was also appointed to the board's audit committee, Microsoft announced in late March. "Dina's extensive financial and accounting expertise will add to the board's strengths in those areas," said Bill Gates, Microsoft chairman and chief software architect. Dublon is also currently a director at Accenture and a trustee of Carnegie Mellon University. With the appointment of Dublon, Microsoft also expanded its board of directors to 10 members.

Microsoft Files 117 Anti-Phishing Lawsuits Against Unknown Defendants

Microsoft upped the ante in the war against Internet fraud last week when it announced the filing of 117 anti-phishing lawsuits at a meeting attended by representatives of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the National Consumers League, and Microsoft in Washington D.C. The "John Doe" lawsuits--so called because the names of the defendants were unknown to the plaintiff at the time the lawsuit was filed, although the results of their actions, in this case stealing money and carrying out identity fraud over the Web, can be traced and their true identity eventually discovered--were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle. "We must work together to stop these con artists from misusing the Internet as a tool for fraud," said Aaron Kornblum, Microsoft's internet safety enforcement attorney. Phishing is one of the fastest growing problems with security on the Internet, according to Symantec's most recent "Internet Security Threat Report" (see "Attacks on Web Applications Up, Symantec Says in 'Threat Report'" in the March 23 issue of this newsletter).

Wintel Pals Partner to Spread Word of SME Grants in EU

Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft last week announced the formation of a new consortium to help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across the pond apply for grants from the EU to support their growth. The goal of the Wintel triumvirate is to raise awareness of Microsoft's EU Grants Advisor (EUGA) initiative, which was tested in Spain and is now available to companies in all 25 EU Member States. "The EU Grants Advisor Consortium is a clear and logical step to kick-start SME growth across the region," said Jacques Santer, president of the SME Union, and former European Commission president. According to Microsoft, 55 percent of the 20 million small businesses in Europe are unaware they can qualify for grants from the EU to fuel their business' growth.

SSA Global Addresses Regulatory Compliance with PLM 8.0

Manufacturers that use SSA Global's ERP systems will soon be hearing about a new version of the company's product lifecycle management (PLM) software. SSA PLM 8.0, which the Chicago company announced last week, features enhancements in the areas of ERP and computer aided design (CAD) integration, regulatory compliance, and improved workflow. SSA says PLM 8.0 specifically addresses the following regulatory requirements: the European Commission's directives for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), and the U.S. FDA's regulation for ensuring the authenticity, integrity, and security of electronic records, called 21 CFR Part 11. "SSA PLM allows manufacturers to close the gap between engineering and other departments so product data is converted to product information that has enterprise wide business benefit," says Cory Eaves, SSA Global's chief technology officer. Analysts say using PLM software--which is designed to help companies manage the complete product continuum from determining requirements, developing a concept, building a prototype, creating a design, and engineering, to procurement, manufacturing, assembling, packaging, distribution, maintenance, and obsolescence--can help manufactures gain a competitive edge. SSA Global's PLM solution runs on Windows platforms.

Ericom Adds Windows Terminal Server to Host Emulation Suite

Ericom Software recently launched a new release of its Windows-based emulation that can connect to Windows Terminal Server 2000 and 2003, in addition to "legacy" OS/400, mainframe, Unix, OpenVMS, Tandem, SCO, and HP-3000 systems. According to Ericom founder and CEO, Eran Heyman, PowerTerm WebConnect version 5.1 is the first terminal emulation solution that can span all these environments and offer Windows Terminal Server connectivity, too. "Until now, IT managers had to implement various connectivity solutions to meet on-demand access to enterprise applications," Heyman says. "No single company could satisfy this real-world need." PowerTerm WebConnect 5.1 uses Microsoft's Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to provide access to Windows applications. In addition to the new Windows support, this release also includes enhancements in the security, administration, and remote host printing areas.

Lawson Profits Despite Slowdown in Software License Sales

Despite seeing its license revenue plummet by 45 percent during the most recent quarter, and its total revenue decline by 10 percent to $82.7 million, ERP software developer Lawson Software still managed to increase its net income as a result of aggressive cost cutting and corporate restructuring. Revenue from new software license fees--the most important indicator of the health of a software company--dropped by $11.3 million to $13.9 million for the third quarter of its 2005 fiscal year, which ended February 28. Offsetting the decline slightly was a small up tick in Lawson's services revenues, which increased $2.4 million to $68.8 million during the quarter. Despite the poor showing in new license sales, the company was able to increase its profit by $200,000 to $2.8 million during the quarter, thanks to a combination of aggressive collections, favorable reductions in bad debt, product warranty and income taxes, and increased interest income. The improving profitability of the company satisfied Wall Street, and Lawson's stock, which is traded on the NASDAQ National Market, barely moved off its mark of about $6 per share, giving it a market cap of about $585 million. Jay Coughlan, Lawson's president and CEO, said the company suffered from "ongoing questions about the direction of the software industry, which resulted in extended sales cycles and some delayed purchasing decisions." Indeed, Oracle's heavy-handed acquisition last quarter of PeopleSoft and the vast J.D. Edwards installed base left many ERP software users questioning their product decisions and strategies.