Information technology has dramatically altered the demand for data storage and enhanced its value to the workplace. Desktop, department, and enterprise environments have all evolved to the point where data that was once viewed as a static resource is now viewed as a mission critical company asset.
The emergence of key enabling technologies that fuel global competition have significantly impacted the market for mass information storage. These developments can be credited with opening up and accelerating the opportunities within the optical disc storage segment of the mass storage market. More specifically, these opportunities include record-once and rewriteable CD and DVD technologies housed within jukebox storage devices.
CD-R (recordable) and CD-RW (rewritable) technologies have been integrated into automated jukeboxes, allowing data access to and from banks of media using multiple drives within the same physical unit. CD-R and CD-RW media could be easily created and then accessed, stored in disc slots within magazines for later access, or exported from the jukebox to be read by CDROM drives or simply archived to another location. CD-R and CD-RW technologies in jukeboxes provide companies with the ultimate industry-standard gigabyte storage solution.
With the introduction of recordable and rewritable DVD technologies including rewriteable DVD-RAM, recordable DVD-R or DVD+R, and rewriteable DVD-RW and DVD+RW, 4.7GB and 9.4GB disc capacities are realized, and a new terabyte storage solution has appeared. This capacity increase represented more than 7 and 14 times the storage capacity of a 650MB CD-R and CD-RW, respectively. Initially, DVD recording jukeboxes were not able to record CDs, which made it difficult for users to replace their CD jukeboxes, and the first-to-market DVD technology called DVD-RAM could not be exported and read in standard DYD-ROM drives. Jukebox vendors used both CD and DVD drives within the same unit to accommodate CD write functionality along with DVD writing capability. Software application vendors were forced to supply complicated drivers to handle the insertion of a CD into a CD drive and insert a DVD into a DVD drive. Today, despite the fact that there are still multiple writable DVD formats, most DVD jukeboxes include drives t hat can write and rewrite DVD media that can be read in most DVD drives, as well as write and rewrite CD based media. An added benefit is that software vendors have produced reliable and automated disc-handling software. By allowing recordable and rewritable DVD jukeboxes to support both reading and writing of DYDs and CDs we have effectively replaced the need for a CD-R- and CD-RW-only jukebox.
There are other market reasons for why writable DVD jukeboxes can replace writable CD jukeboxes. A number of broad interrelated factors can be identified that are shaping information requirements and the way businesses want to use data. Within each of these emerging markets, DVD jukeboxes are playing a critical role in satisfying these needs and it is simple enough to say that DYD offers higher capacity and faster access times while retaining the ability to read and write CDs and read them in standard CD- or DVD-ROM drives.
Growth of the Internet and intranets: The explosion in Internet and intranet use by businesses is supporting the creation of vast amounts of information and multimedia content. The need to have online or near-line access to this information and media is becoming a mission-critical activity for the modem enterprise.
Data warehousing and mining: Data collection and the ability to manipulate and analyze that data has become a valuable commodity in itself and an important dimension. Mass storage devices that facilitate access to such databases form an integral part of any storage strategy.
Multimedia content and applications: The creation of new media forms has dramatically increased the need for storage solutions to accommodate the growing sizes of applications and data files. Broadcasting, entertainment and publishing are all examples of industries undergoing rapid change with respect to types of media and how it is being stored for purposes of production and distribution.
Migration to digital medium: Digital technologies are quickly becoming the standard not only for traditional information storage but as the media of choice for audio, visual, and network-based industries as well. The quality, integrity, and reproductive accuracy made possible by these digital standards face few obstacles to widespread use other than being affordable. DVD storage devices, and, in particular, jukebox devices represent an important enabling technology.
Declining storage costs: The emergence of affordable DVD drives and new, low-cost DVD recording techniques have made DVD disc creation inexpensive and the opportunity to own such systems available to a very sizeable market. As accessibility to DVD technologies becomes available to more market segments, businesses that require such technology will grow, further fueling the market opportunity for DVD storage devices.
Faster access to greater amounts of data: This is the most compelling force driving the demand for DYD storage devices. As enterprises cope with greater amounts of information, the ability to store, retrieve, and disseminate data becomes a critical factor in the execution of daily tasks and long-term strategic planning.
The key benefits of using DVD jukebox storage are the following:
* Managing data across not only local and department levels, but also the divisional and corporate levels;
* Handling the vast quantities of data entered and being generated by the organization
* Performance of the storage and processing devices relative to the needs of the users and cost-per-megabyte
* Reliability of media and drives as well as jukebox solution
* Data integrity of the media Organizations can rely on DVD jukeboxes. in order to satisfy their information storage needs. DVD jukeboxes are deployed in varying configurations today. From a single drive, 100-disc jukebox, to a 28drive, 1,000-disc jukebox. The nature of the information to be stored and the life cycle of the information typically drive the selection of a storage device. At certain stages in its life cycle, information is subject to different usage patterns. DYD can accommodate such life cycle usage as it uses rewritable media for frequently changing information and write once media for archived data. Thus, the combination of reusability, longevity, stability, and remove-ability makes it a comprehensive data storage solution.
As the demand for data storage grows, more and more organizations are turning to DVD as their storage solution. Along with increased acceptance, DVD jukebox and software products are adapting to meet the data storage needs of many organizations. This combination of growth and change is providing customers with greater benefits while the changes taking place to adopt DVD technology is a natural migration from the CD.
Figure 1 Comparison of CD and DVD media technologies CD-R CD-RW DVD-R DVD-RAM DVD-RW DVD+R DVD+RW Capacity 650MB 650MB 4.7GB SS 4.7GB SS, 4.7GB SS 9.4GB DS Record Once Yes No Yes No No Rewritable No Yes No Yes Yes Record Speed 40x 12x 2x/2.4x 2x 1x-2.4x Read compatible with Yes Yes No No No CD-ROM and CD players * Read compatible With DVD-ROM and DVD players * Yes Yes Yes No Yes Maxell media Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Note: * Media must be formatted using OSTA's Universal Disc Format (UDF) or ISO9660 format. Compatibility is subject to media and drive vendor tests and does not represent the author's test results. * Record speeds are the maximum speeds at the time of this writing and reflect the current generation of media only. DVD-R/+R and DVD-RW/+RW media is single-sided since one side of the disc can be labeled similar to CD-R/-RW. DVD-RM media can be single-sided bare media or double-sided cartridge media.
www.maxell.com
Rich D'Ambrise is senior engineering manager at Maxell Corp. of America (Newark, NJ.)
The globalization of chemical and plastics industry e-commerce
E-commerce has rapidly transformed from novelty to necessity in the global chemical and plastics industry. In the last twelve months new Web-enabled business models and technologies have been launched in virtually all of the industry's product segments and main operating regions, as more and more companies have moved from e-commerce evaluation to action. Not all products and regions are at the same stage of e-development, of course, but the overall trend is clear--the industry is increasingly committed to implementing a wide range of e-commerce initiatives to deliver everything from cost reduction to long-term value creation.
The consensus among analysts is that chemical and plastics industry e-commerce is most advanced in North America, judging by the regional split of industry e-projects and dot-coin startups announced in the last year. The European chemical industry is catching up fast, however, and by most accounts its e-commerce efforts are only six to twelve months behind those in North America. Chemical industry e-commerce is also gathering speed in Asia/Pacific, Latin America and elsewhere in the world, but it has yet to reach the scale and pace of development present in North America and Western Europe.
The regional variation in the industry's online efforts is in line with the staggered development of the broader e-commerce market. According to Forrester Research, business and consumer e-commerce across all economic sectors will hit hypergrowth in North America this year, Western Europe in mid-2001, Asia/Pacific end-2003, Latin America end-2004, Eastern Europe late-2005, and the Middle East & Africa end-2005. This year global e-commerce will be worth $657 billion, with 78% of that in North America, 13% Western Europe, 8% Asia/Pacific, 0.5% Latin America and 0.5% Rest of World, Forrester predicts. In 2004 the global market will be worth $6.8 trillion, Forrester predicts, with North America 51%, Western Europe 23%, Asia/Pacific 24%, Latin America 1%, and Rest of World 1%.
This year's dramatic decline in technology stock valuations may have eliminated much of the hype surrounding e-commerce, but most senior executives are still convinced that it will have a substantial impact on their organizations, according to a recent e-commerce report by Andersen Consulting. The report, which is based on a pan-industry survey of senior executives, finds that most are continuing to develop and implement online projects: "In the U.S., 94% of e-commerce plans were unaffected by the March/April market correction, and enthusiasm continues to build--84% have plans to exploit future e-commerce opportunities, compared to 72% last year. European responses are becoming more similar to those in the U.S. on these questions, but continue to be 5%-l0% less positive."
In both North America and Western Europe, e-commerce is now one of the most complex and fast-moving aspects of the chemical and plastics industry. This year alone has seen a host of new online companies launch to serve every aspect and segment of the industry, backed by everything from industry investment to venture and private capital. New industry-sponsored e-marketplaces--many with investors from both North America and Europe--include Elemica and Envera, which both aim to bring efficiencies to contract chemical business; Omnexus, which is serving thermoplastics buyers; e-procurement platform Trade-Ranger; and the online process equipment site Industria. Other startups backed by venture or private capital are focusing on everything from particular industry segments-including plastics, inorganics, fine & specialty chemicals, water treatment, and solvents--to functional areas like logistics, finance, customer service, human resources and product testing.
Although some of the industry's earliest e-commerce adopters--including Dow, DuPont and Eastman--are headquartered in North America, an increasing number of European companies--BP and BASF among them--are committing substantial resources to the area. A recent survey by Deutsche Bank, for example, finds that virtually every European chemical company is ready to take advantage of e-commerce. When the group asked the CEOs of Europe's top 100 chemical companies if they planned to use third-party Internet companies in the near future, 100% of them answered yes. Some 37% of the CEOs also plan to buy l0%-20% of their raw materials online, and the majority of them--60%--say it is important that external trading systems integrate with their own systems, including enterprise resource planning applications.
One aspect of the Internet revolution where Europe has a clear lead is in mobile e-commerce (m-commerce), due to its single wireless telephony standard--global system for mobiles (GSM)--and resulting high penetration and usage rates. "We're going to see a dramatic increase in online activity as wireless bandwidth increases and m-commerce becomes a practical reality," says Paul Hodges, v.p./Europe at ChemConnect. "It will take us to a new level of value creation by eliminating many of the inefficiencies in today's business practices--including all those revolving around not being able to get the right information to the right people at the right time."
Chemical and plastics industry e-commerce is also advancing in Asia/Pacific, although some countries and regions are still developing the technology infrastructure necessary to sustain widespread Internet and e-commerce adoption. Recent developments include a number of new online exchanges--including ChemCross and ChemRound in Korea, WorldSol.com in Malaysia and Chemease.com in China--and joint e-ventures, like the strategic alliance between Singapore-based Sesami.com and Eastman Chemical Asia/Pacific to develop the Sesami.com site into a full-service chemicals portal.
Elsewhere ChemConnect has teamed with four of its Charter Members--Japanese trading groups Mitsui & Co., Mitsubishi Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, and Marubeni Corporation--to form two new online joint ventures serving the Japanese chemical industry. ChemConnect Japan will operate an online chemicals and plastics exchange and Chemical Mall Asia/Pacific a manufacturers' e-mail. ChemConnect will provide technology and management, and the four trading groups infrastructure and market expertise.
Chemical and plastics industry e-commerce is still in its early stages in Latin America, where the level of technology infrastructure in place varies substantially by country, but leading companies are already using online exchanges to expand market reach and lower transaction costs. A number of startups targeting Latin America have also launched recently, including Todoplasticos.com and Plastico.com--both based in Miami--in the polymer and plastics sector. However many observers predict that it will be two to four years before e-commerce reaches critical mass in the Latin American chemical and plastics industry.
E-commerce differs across product segments
Companies in virtually every segment of the global chemical and plastics industry are developing and implementing strategies for online trading, but different sectors naturally have different priorities. Commodity businesses, with their traditional focus on price and volume, are initially using online exchanges to reduce raw material costs--by finding new suppliers and by using reverse auctions to create more competition between all suppliers--and increase volumes, largely by using the speed and reach of the Web to find new customers.
Plastics producers and consumers are already actively using online exchanges to overcome the substantial fragmentation of their industry, which creates a host of pricing and transactional inefficiencies. Online marketplaces are arguably the only mechanisms that can efficiently gather the huge number of plastics buyers and sellers in the world--a process that increases market reach and price transparency for all participants, while also reducing transaction costs. E-platforms also intensify global competition and lead to more short-term volatility in pricing, however, Volatility increases because e-markets help to create real-time prices, which respond instantly to subtle shifts in global supply and demand.
Service-oriented fine & specialty chemical suppliers are also seeking online price and volume gains, but some of their products--particularly those that are tailored for individual customers or that involve a substantial amount of technical service--are not easy to sell over the Web. In those cases, for example, many companies are using e-commerce to get closer to their customers--to improve collaboration while also reducing transaction and communication costs.
In the industrial gases sector, companies buying bulk commodity gases are naturally using online platforms to reduce costs. But in specialty gases, companies are using online exchanges to find new customers for unique new products--which represent some 10% of the $33 billion/year industrial and specialty gases segment. Some specialty gases producers have seen prices increase by 200% and more online, although gains of this size are more exceptional than normal.
How various companies are adopting e-commerce
BASF is active in several marketplaces
BASF is taking part in a number of newly-announced e-marketplaces, including cc-Markets, a technical goods and services hub hosted by mySAP.com and including Degussa-Huls and Henkel; Elemica, an e-marketplace for streamlining contract business between chemical industry trading partners; and thermoplastics e-marketplace Omnexus, which was established by BASF, Bayer, Dow Chemical, DuPont and Ticona/Celanese. BASF has also invested in ChemConnect and uses it as its main online venue for spot transactions. E-service providers include yet2.com, which facilitates the transfer of technology and patents.
Although many companies expect e-commerce to increase price and margin pressure in the medium to long term, BASF has to date had a more positive experience of Web auctions. The company has taken part in over 20 auctions, a senior executive says, and in most of them it has secured higher prices for its products than it was able to via traditional methods.
BASF plans to invest $75 million over the next two years on e-commerce, and has established a global e-commerce task force with 20 employees in Europe, 18 in the Americas and 5 in Asia/Pacific. "We see e-commerce as a great opportunity for BASF to strengthen its customer relations by means of tailor-made solutions, and to further improve the efficiency of its procedures," says Kurt Bock, head of BASF's Logistics and Information Technology Division.
The e-commerce task force has a coordinating role, but the group's businesses are developing projects independently. All of the group's 28 divisions have projects in action or in development, for example. "We are exploring the full possibilities that e-commerce offers all our processes, and have numerous initiatives underway, Bock says. He adds that the group is already using e-commerce to improve customer service, increase its supplier base, and create efficiencies throughout the supply chain.
BASF says that it aims to conduct some 35%-40% of its business online by 2002 and 50% by 2005. In 2002 the online business will split into roughly 60% via direct system-to-system integration, 15% through e-marketplaces, and 25% via the company's extranet or dot-com storefronts.
GE's aggressive approach to e-commerce
Last year GE Plastics integrated Polymerland, arguably the first company e-commerce site in the chemical and plastics industry, into its overall operations and renamed it GE Polymerland. Now the company aims to transform GE Polymerland into a full-service portal for the polymer and plastics industry. "Customers will see GE Polymerland become more of a portal that provides depth of content, community and commerce," says Suzanne Giardino, portal leader at GE Polymerland. "We're adding content and services to expand our audience beyond core buyers by drawing in engineers, plant managers and other participants in the plastics industry."
GE Polymerland recorded online sales of $1 million in 1998, $100 million in 1999, and is on target for $750 million this year. GE Plastics signed up as a Charter Member of ChemConnect's World Chemical Exchange in February and by mid-April was using the site throughout its global operations. Currently some 70 of the company's procurement and other managers in its 15 facilities around the world use the World Chemical Exchange and Corporate Trading Rooms, ChemConnect's private auction capabilities, to make spot and contract purchases, particularly in fragmented markets. "ChemConnect's unique solution improves productivity and efficiency in our global purchasing of specialty chemicals and intermediates," says Doron Grosman, general manager of global sourcing at GE Plastics.
The company, which is known for its aggressive approach to both pricing and e-commerce, uses the World Chemical Exchange to reach new suppliers and ensure the best possible prices for a broad range of chemicals, specialty chemicals and plastics. In a number of segments the group has secured new high-quality suppliers in low-cost countries, for example. It also regularly conducts competitive bidding and negotiations in Corporate Trading Rooms for certain commodity products.
Dow is enhancing the supply chain
David Kepler, v.p./e-business and chief information officer at Dow Chemical, says the company's four main strategic e-business objectives are to improve the group's interfaces with customers; develop e-competencies with suppliers; create new, efficient and open electronic channels; and to launch new business opportunities.
On improving customer interfaces, Kepler notes that business on Dow's Web sites is increasing by 50%/year, which leads him to a bullish prediction for myAccount@Dow, the group's one-to-one customer service extranet. "About 90% of our activity is one to one with customers, so we have to get that right. We are also convinced that myAccount@Dow will be the primary method for customer transactions within two years," Kepler says.
New electronic channels include myAccount@Dow for direct sales, and a host of e-marketplaces and exchanges for indirect sales and purchases. Dow's preferred indirect channels are e-marketplace Elemica for chemicals sales, and e-marketplace Omnexus for plastics sales. The company's indirect purchasing e-channels include ChemConnect for commodity chemicals; Trade-Ranger for maintenance, repair and operations materials; and SdQuest for laboratory equipment and supplies. Dow also plans to launch four new e-service businesses this year.
The company has already held some 25 online auctions for everything from commodity and specialty chemicals to transportation, capital equipment, and telecommunications services, largely to gain first-hand experience with new e-commerce trading channels. Operations in North America, Europe, and Asia/Pacific have all been directly involved in one or more of the auctions.
Dow is convinced that the Internet creates the potential for far greater efficiency based on the needs and behavior of buyers, while also allowing companies with global capabilities and integrated systems to generate competitive advantage. Kepler characterizes e-commerce as the intersection of competencies in market segmentation, channel strategy, and technology infrastructure: "These competencies are central to an e-business strategy, and it is extremely important to ask whether your business is obtaining and developing them."
AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- SMART Technologies, an Austin, Texas-based leading developer of Web-based Enterprise Relationship Management solutions, has expanded into California to better serve West Coast customers and business partners. SMART's new Cupertino, Calif. office will initially house the West Coast sales force, some aspects of marketing, and strategic partnering. SMART's headquarters will remain in Austin, Texas.
"SMART Technologies has reached a stage in its growth where it makes sense to have a physical presence in the Valley," said Bryan Plug, president and chief executive officer of SMART Technologies. "Wired Magazine recently noted that the top two technology areas in the world were the Valley and Austin. Having offices in these two markets reinforces our position in the enterprise software arena."
The California office is located at 20400 Stevens Creek Boulevard, Suite 300, Cupertino, Calif. 95014.
Founded in 1995, SMART Technologies creates integrated customer relationship management applications that allow customers to use the Internet to drive their relationship with a company. These modular applications include eCommerce, eCustomer Care, and eChannel. For further information, visit SMART Technologies at www.smartdna.com or call 800-362-7947.
WASHINGTON: Movie directors, composers, authors, legal experts, policy-makers and others are meeting here this week to discuss the "threats and opportunities" the Internet poses to copyright in the digital age.
Some 500 delegates from more than 55 countries are scheduled to attend the 2nd World Copyright Summit being held on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Convention Center.
Web and software giants Google and Microsoft and representatives of movie, music and book rights societies are also among those attending the summit organized by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), whose president is Bee Gees brother Robin Gibb.
French Culture Minister Christine Albanel, Hollywood director Milos Forman and US Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, are among the nearly 100 speakers slated to address the gathering.
Looming over the summit is the threat posed to artists by digital piracy.
Organizer CISAC, listing the "key issues" for the summit, cited "How the digital media environment is providing common threats and opportunities to all creative repertoires."
Kathy Garmezy, assistant executive director for government and international affairs of the Directors Guild of America, said that while counterfeit DVDs and the like remain a concern for the movie industry, the biggest danger is on the Internet.
"The counterfeiting kind of piracy is certainly a problem," Garmezy said, "but it s so much more manageable than online piracy."
Delegates to the summit will be looking to hammer out a united approach to illegal downloading, she said. "Just like the Internet is global, the battles are global and we can only win them with united action," she told AFP.
"We have to find a way to reach common peace between those who think the Internet is free and the artists who create the works," Garmezy said.
"This is not about spoiled artists or rich studios," she added. "It s about the act of creation and the future of it. Nobody s going to stop piracy altogether but can you keep it to a point where it won t destroy you "
Garmezy and others praised the recent passage of a bill in France to combat Internet privacy that is considered one of the toughest in the world.
"We re adamant about taking a stand to support the French," she said.
The legislation sets up a "three-strikes" system for illegal downloaders of music or film who first receive an email warning, then a letter and finally lose their Internet account for up to a year if they are caught a third time.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the United States, however, have been notably reluctant to act as copyright "enforcers." The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced in December that it planned to stop suing people who download music illegally and focus instead on getting ISPs to take action.
Muscat Press and Publishing House SAOC 2011
Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company
PLEASANTON, Calif., June 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- idOnDemand, the pioneer in smart identification, today announced it is extending its Token Trade-up Program to help companies affected by the latest breaches of RSA's SecurID tokens with a free trade-up to a secure smart card based solution. SecurID users can trade in their compromised tokens for free in exchange for an idOnDemand SmartID, providing organizations a no-risk opportunity to deploy a standards-based, highly secure identity card. The program has been extended through December 31, 2011.
Companies eligible to participate in the Token Trade-up Program are those currently using RSA SecurID tokens. Participants will receive a free credit for every token turned in (up to 100 tokens), applied towards idOnDemand SmartID cards.
idOnDemand smart cards provide an unmatched security paradigm that as opposed to a token, have a unique private key that is securely protected. An idOnDemand SmartID consolidates multiple credentials into a single, secure identification card that replaces multiple building and IT access, visual and virtual identities, as well as provides secure remote access and mobile authentication. idOnDemand's service-based model provides identity management at a lower cost and with more control than traditional in-house systems.
"Why use an authentication device based on twenty year-old technology, when today's smart card (such as the idOnDemand SmartID) can do so much more: one card includes all the capabilities necessary to secure access to all corporate assets, including IT systems, building systems, mobile devices and even to encrypt email and documents," says Dave Kearns, Identity Management and Networking analyst and author of "What's Next for SecurID Customers?"
How the program works
Companies interested in exchanging their RSA tokens for idOnDemand SmartID cards may simply fill out the online registration form and an idOnDemand representative will contact them within 24 hours. The first year is free and in subsequent years, customers only pay the annual service fee for the users that remain active.
With this promotion, idOnDemand service includes:
* Globally-trusted managed Certificate Authority
* FIPS 201 compatible smart card
* Building access (HID, Indala, Honeywell compatible and MIFARE, PIV, ISO14443)
* Support for all major VPN routers
* Enrollment portal with graphical personalization
"In the wake of the RSA security breach and the unprecedented attacks on government and corporate systems connected to the Internet, it is now paramount that organizations aggressively protect their access environments," said Terry Gold, Vice President of Sales, North America. "With its multi-function use, an idOnDemand SmartID can provide organizations with a secure, convenient identification and access solution for its employees, partners and contractors."
For more information about the program, visit: www.idondemand.com/tradeuptokens.
About idOnDemand
idOnDemand delivers a standards-based, single trusted identity and smart card solution. Using the idOnDemand managed service, organizations can quickly, easily and cost effectively grant trusted access for employees, customers and partners to information and assets such as IT systems, remote access, data encryption, secure email, mobile resources and building access. Authorized users no longer need to carry multiple tokens, ID cards, building access cards or remember multiple passwords. For more information, visit www.idOnDemand.com.
idOnDemand is a business unit of Identive Group (NASDAQ: INVE; Frankfurt: INV), a leading provider of products, services and solutions for the security, identification and RFID industries. For more information, visit www.identive-group.com.
Note: SecureID is a registered trademark of RSA Security Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE idOnDemand
Jun. 2, 2011 (China Knowledge) - Qihoo 360 Technology Co<QIHU>, a leading security software maker in China, plans to provide new services, including cloud computing, to expand its internet market in China, said Board Chairman Zhou Hongyi, a former head of Yahoo China. According to the plan, the company will provide the data-storage services that could be accessed via the internet, said Zhou without disclosing the timetable and investment. Zhou added that Qihoo 360 will use proceeds from US$202 million raised in its U.S. initial public offering in March for acquisitions. New York-listed Qihoo 360, which has more than 300 million users downloaded its free security software, also has intention to start the online group buying business, said a person familiar with the matter. On May 31, the company announced plans to launch a RMB-denominated venture capital fund worth RMB 1 billion. Chairman Zhou appealed that there should be an open platform in the internet market to form a complete industrial chain. For the first quarter of this year, Qihoo 360 suffered a net loss of US$21.4 million, and its revenue swelled to US$22.9 million in the period, compared with US$9.7 million in the first quarter of 2010.
Byline: by Tessa Cunningham
LAST week, I set off in the car on a brief shopping trip. But something terrible happened. Something so shaming, so toecurlingly embarrassing that I almost don't know where to begin.
I was looking for a dress for a friend's summer wedding. After scouring the internet and leafing through magazines for ideas, I'd narrowed down choices. Now I just had two shops to try.
As usual the dog hopped in the back of the car, eager to come along on the ride. As usual I let him.
Curled contentedly on his blanket, he was soon snoring quietly. In fact he was so quiet that I completely forgot he was there when I parked the car at the railway station, bought a ticket and got on the train.
It was only when I rang my daughter to ask her to walk the dog that I remembered he wasn't at home. He was still in the car. I shot out of my seat like a greyhound out of a trap.
I'd love to say it was totally, completely and utterly out of character. But I'd be fibbing.
The truth is, my memory isn't what it used to be. This may be an extreme example, but I have to admit I forget more things more of the time than I dare to try and remember.
It seems like yesterday that I used to be able to reel off telephone numbers, walk around the supermarket without a list and remember names of films and books.
Now I'm reduced to talking about 'thingy with the beard and the ex wife with tattoos in that film about ice skating -- or maybe rollerblading. You know the one I mean.'
And even though I now always take a list, I can't remember the last time I came back from the supermarket with everything I needed. The trouble is I forget to put essentials like toilet rolls on the wretched list in the first place.
Or -- even worse -- I buy things that aren't on the list because I can't remember when I last bought them. When I get home, I realise it was last week. If anyone's short of tins of tuna, they only have to ask.
Then there are the reading glasses left in the fridge and the pint of milk heaved upstairs to help with some bedtime reading. However, if you feel inclined to dismiss me as some batty old menopausal nutcase (I'm 52) think again. I'm not the only one. Memory loss is spreading like wildfire. And particularly among women.
We hold down top jobs, we sailed through exams at school and university, but put us on the spot and we'll have trouble calling to mind what we had for lunch yesterday or the name of the last DVD we rented.
A recent study revealed that a third of women under 30 can't remember their own phone number or recall the birthdays of just three of their close relatives. Meanwhile, a study of 150 people between 20 to 35 found that more than one in ten suffer severe memory problems.
'Young people are losing the ability to remember new things, to pull out old data or to distinguish between important and unimportant information.
'It's a type of brain dysfunction,' says Toshiyuki Sawaguchi, professor of neurobiology at Japan's Hokkaido University, who led the study.
Experts are convinced that far from suddenly getting more stupid, we are all putting our brains under too much pressure. Quite simply, modern life is eating away our memories.
We rely too much on computer gadgets, organisers and automatic car navigation systems to do the remembering for us, with the result that memories never get stored on our internal 'hard drive'.
WE'RE overloaded with data (from computer passwords to bank PINs and -- perhaps worst of all -- we are hell-bent on multi-tasking (sending emails while simultaneously making the dinner and looking after the children, for example). But our brains simply can't cope with trying to do so many things at once.
Lance Workman, head of psychology at Bath Spa university, explains: 'We are living in cognitive overload. Humans are designed to do one thing at a time. There's a limit on how many things our brains can cope with simultaneously.'
Our memory relies on the function of a part of the brain called the hippocampus. It works with sensory processing regions in the neocortex of the brain to produce memories.
From the neocortex all the elements are rapidly distributed around the brain according to their content.
For example, visual information is processed by the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe at the rear of the brain. Auditory information is processed by the primary auditory cortex located in the temporal lobes, which lie on the side of the brain.
We process the information in fractions of a second. Then some data moves into short-term memory.
Finally, some of that information goes in long-term storage in various parts of the brain, much of it returning to the sensory cortex where we originally received it.
Only the data that catches our attention (like a police car behind us) or because we know we need it soon (a telephone number, for example) goes into short-term memory. We hold short-term information for maybe half a minute.
To consolidate a short-term memory and turn it into a longterm one, we need to make the memory flow around the circuit several times, strengthening the links. That means we need to make a conscious effort to store it in our brains by repeating the new information numerous times.
Fail to do this and the information gets lost.
The brain's short-term storage capacity is small; it can hold about seven independent items at one time, such as 'carry' numbers when calculating arithmetic or items on a shopping list. Hence the problem with trying to do too many jobs at once.
My friend Susie, a solicitor, is a classic victim of multi-tasking. A few months ago she was on the phone to her nanny, checking her emails and all the while thinking of the next job on her to-do list -- sorting out her desk drawer.
In the midst of everything else, she started pouring herself a cup of coffee -- and poured it straight into the drawer.
'I couldn't believe I could be so stupid,' she sighs. 'But sometimes my brain just seems to scream: "Enough." From the second I get up in the morning I'm multi tasking. I'm getting dressed, shouting at the kids to get out of bed and planning the day's first meeting -- all at the same time.
'I couldn't possibly get through all that I have to do in a day any other way. But I sometimes worry I'm losing my mind. I forget things and make mistakes.'
Scientists have discovered that women who multi-task the most actually have the worst memory problems. 'Everything distracts them,' says Professor Eyal Ophir, who led the research at America's Stanford University in August, 2009.
'They couldn't help thinking about the task they weren't doing. High multi-taskers are always drawing from all the information in front of them. They can't keep things separate in their minds.' Researchers are now studying whether chronic multi-taskers are born with an inability to concentrate or are damaging their cognitive control by willingly taking in so much at once.
'When they're in situations where there are multiple sources of information coming from the external world or emerging out of memory, they're not able to filter out what's not relevant to their current goal,' says Professor Anthony Wagner, who helped lead the study on 100 students. 'That failure to filter means they're slowed down by irrelevant information.'
On top of trying to multi-task, we are also being bombarded with a constant avalanche of new information to digest and memorise. The internet, mobile phones, TVs and other electronic gadgets spew out new stuff relentlessly.
SCIENTISTS reckon that we are expecting our brains to cope with as much information in a single day as our great-grandmothers received in an entire week 100 years ago.
Added to that, many of us don't get enough sleep. And sleep is crucial to helping us digest and solidify the information we've acquired during the day.
Researchers at the University of Haifa in Israel have discovered that, after learning a new task in the morning, the group that then had a 90-minute snooze were able to recall the task significantly better by the end of the day than those who didn't take a nap.
But aside from trying to grab a little more shut-eye, what exactly can you do to try to improve your memory? Exercising both body and brain is one solution.
Anything physical, such as a daily jog or swim, encourages the body to create a chemical that boosts memory, while doing crosswords or sudoku puzzles keep the brain active, too.
Repetition also helps you to retain things in your long-term memory, so if there's something you want to commit to memory, try repeating it to yourself every few days until it's second nature.
You can also use your visual memory to try to remember things. It's a trick used by the Ancient Greeks and how Cicero managed to reel off extraordinarily complicated speeches off the cuff.
America's National Memory champion, Joshua Foer, says 'If you're trying to remember a microwave, for example, maybe think about a microwave frying a cat. It just has to be colourful -- and memorable.'
And finally, just stop trying to do it all. If you're checking emails, don't try to answer the phone at the same time. If you're reading, switch the TV off. Sometimes it's the simplest solutions that are the most effective -- if, of course, you can remember them.
