The recently reported three day e-mail blackout experienced by the consumer internet customers of Hughes Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: HUGH) has ended. Although the system has not swung over to its new enhanced version, it appears that Hughes technical staff has opted to reawaken the previous e-mail application to restore that service to its customers. Personal comment from the company regarding this situation was unavailable as of this writing.
What little preview I received of the attempted e-mail upgrade by HughesNet was enticing. It looked streamlined, intuitive and was definitely appealing to the eye. When the company completes its adjustments and makes the hoped for upgrade available, I'll provide my full assessment of the new service for our readers.
News that Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is adding more e-mail security and storage products for businesses helped send the stock of Commtouch Software Ltd. (NASDAQ: CTCH), an Israeli email security firm, higher by 7%. The tools to be introduced Tuesday build upon technology that Google acquired last year when it bought e-mail specialist Postini Inc. for $625 million. The package of products are designed to weed out junk mail and potential viruses as well as protect against leaks of confidential information sent through e-mail. Google also is offering to retain e-mail data for longer periods.
This move into email security is seen by some as a salvo against rival Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT). Why does this impact Commtouch? Because the firm has some of the most cutting edge email security out there, and could be an acquisition target by Microsoft, or even by Google to help enhance their offerings. For Microsoft this purchase would come with a price tag of less than $45 billion, as Commtouch trades with a market cap of just $120 million.
Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer has a position and is long CTCH stock. He has no positions in any other stock mentioned as of 2/5/08.
It's a dog-eat-dog world out there in the competitive landscape of telecommunications, and often the most intuitive, user-friendly, aesthetically pleasing device takes top honors. For years, the BlackBerry, brainchild of Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) was THE device to have for yuppies on the go and young adults in need of a 24/7 e-mail fix. Then came Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iPhone and other hot devices to battle the BlackBerry's dominance.
Today, RIM officials stepped up the competition, announcing new features to boost the ease and improve the service of BlackBerry's wireless e-mailing. According to an article in this morning's Wall Street Journal, BlackBerry users will "soon be able to edit documents directly from the handheld device and to view messages in their original formatting."
According to a report by Basex Inc. the pressure put on us by technology to respond immediately to emails, text messages, and IMs cost the US economy around $650 billion in 2006. They say that the human brain is not hardwired for paying attention to several things at once or for handling constant interruptions, and due to this there is lost productivity. Sounds nutty to me. Email, text-messaging, and IM'ing save tremendous amounts of time and travel. For a businessman these tools save tremendous amounts of money. Having questions answered in a split second brings much more efficiency to a business, and to the world.
Is it better if I go grocery shopping and I get an SMS message to pick up another gallon of milk, or would these researchers say I should go home and then have my wife tell me to go out again and pick up the milk? That doesn't sound too efficient, does it? I was literally on a conference call, that just ended, which took much longer than expected. Lucky for me, I was on mute the whole time, and via email, I was able to take care of about 45 minutes worth of work, all while on the call. That doesn't sound to me like a cost to society.
The whole point of technology is to free us up to be more efficient, to have more time to do other things. How can this possibly cost society $650 billion.
Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. Disclosure: Writer has no position in any stock mentioned as of 12/27/07
The Israeli company Commtouch (NASDAQ: CTCH), a leading provider of email defense systems, announced today that all proposals presented to shareholders on its proxy statement for the annual meeting of shareholders held on December 14, 2007 were overwhelmingly approved, including the reverse stock split (by over 92% of the voting shares).
I guess the question is whether this is good, bad, or insignificant news? While in some cases reverse splits signal that a company is at the end of the line, in Commtouch's case that is not the case. The company continues to execute its business model well, and as more and more defense is needed to stop spammers, Commtouch should continue to grow. The company made this move in order to reduce the number of shares, as well as get the share price up over $5, where it would be open to more institutional interest.
It seems that this is a positive move and the fact that over 90% of the votes were in favor is a good sign. But what's really important is that it continues to sign deals and execute. If it does that, the stock will take care of itself.
Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. Disclosure: Writer owns stock and is long CTCH. He has no position in any stock mentioned as of 12/13707.
Commtouch (NASDAQ: CTCH), a leading provider of email defense systems, announced today that Check Point Software (NASDAQ: CHKP) has entered into a licensing agreement with the email firm. Commtouch's defense works on a three-pronged approach. Reputation service for blocking unwanted mail traffic at the perimeter, significantly reducing the necessary IT resources for handling email; Zero-Hour(TM) Virus Outbreak Protection to complement traditional anti-virus solutions; and Anti-spam, which works against all formats and languages including Asian languages, image spam and attachment spam.
Speaking to the importance of this deal, CEO Gideon Mantel said, "Check Point's choice of Commtouch as the best solution for its customers after a period of rigorous testing further validates our technology and is an important milestone for Commtouch. Commtouch is the only technology provider of three layers of email defense that, together, ensure continued effectiveness in the face of constantly changing threats. We believe this important and strategic agreement will positively impact our business."
Commtouch's business has been growing rapidly. The company had set a goal for 30 new deals for all of 2007, and it had almost achieved that goal by the end of October. Clearly there is a need for email spam protection; for investors looking at a small company making headway in this field, the stock may be a very attractive long-term play.
Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. Disclosure: Writer owns stock and is long both CTCH and CHKP , as of 12/10/07.
The convenience of email is resulting in a backlash, with a lot of workers complaining that they no longer feel connected to their colleagues. According to the USA Today, some workers are striking back with "e-mail free Fridays". In an effort to boost interpersonal relationships and face-time, workers are being encouraged to avoid using email one day a week -- pick up the phone or, heaven forbid, walk over to the cubicle next door and introduce yourself!
U.S. Cellular and a group of engineers at Intel are among those jumping on the email-free bandwagon. Several years ago, the Liverpool City Council banned all email on Wednesdays, and Veritas Software's marketing department has also declared Fridays email-free -- with per email fines of $1 going to charity.
Roger Matus' blog Death by Email is devoted to exposing the 21st century's preferred method of communication.
Has email had a negative impact on your company's office culture? Would you welcome an email-free Friday, or would it be a hindrance to productivity?
I know for a fact that I would not be able to function without email for even a few hours.
Now that Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) is still in the fray with its Exchange corporate e-mail solution and Yahoo! has entered into the dance with the Zimbra buy, Google's timing here is impeccable. But, are the Microsoft and Yahoo! solutions better than Google just beefing up security and adding more storage to its existing online corporate e-mail offering? That's up to each customer to decide, although anytime, anywhere, secure and easy access to e-mail is probably at the forefront of each corporate user's mind these days.
Business software is an area relatively new to Google, but with the company having acquired email security firm Postini for over $600 million recently, it must market and tout that technology to every business customer it can, starting now. A simple explanation of "increased corporate security" is not enough, and if Google is serious about challenging both Microsoft and Yahoo! in the business e-mail space, it has to start making large waves. A doubling of e-mail inbox capacity is a great start, but it's just that -- the start.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and many tech companies regularly promise to give reporters a sneak peak at their newest products features provided that they keep their mouths shut for a designated period of time. It's called an "embargo" and it's gotten way out of hand.
Embargos often are found on a slow Monday morning. The Yahoo announcement today that it will allow users of its email service send free text messages to mobile phones is a case in point. Reporters from AP, Reuters , and USA Today each appear to have gobbled up the press release that Yahoo's flacks spoon fed them Sunday without a glimmer of skepticism. None mentioned the deal they struck to get access to the news.
Sunday is the favorite day for embargos. Odds are that reporters will do what the companies want since their sources who might point out that this announcement isn't a big deal aren't in the office. Companies also pre-brief friendly analysts that will help them spread their message. The same idea works in mergers and acquisitions. This is how "Merger Mondays" got started. No one can manipulate the market when it's closed on Sunday. Big medical journals release research using embargos as well as well.
I don't mean to pick on Yahoo!'s announcement today. For all I know, this could be the biggest thing since sliced bread, but I doubt it. In today's media age, embargoes are becoming increasingly stupid. I can't tell you how many times I honored embargoes only to see a post on a blog about a "a big announcement coming", promising more details to come once the news was "officially" released.
Reporters -- me included -- honor these embargoes because they are worried that companies won't leak them the big news if they don't write about little things. The flacks and the journalists scratch each other's backs and the reader winds up the loser.
If your email inbox is overflowing, you don't have to spend the next three hours responding, you can tell everyone you know that you're filing for email bankruptcy. According to today's Washington Post, that means either you'll just ask people to resend their emails if they expect a response (weak form) or you'll sign off from email altogether (strong form).
I first got exposed to email at MIT back in 1980 when it was used on a few university and military computers. I could not see declaring email bankruptcy, although I don't get that much email. However, I do have other email problems: too much spam and an unreliable Yahoo! email account.
But some people have so much email that they declare weak form email bankruptcy. For example, In April, venture capitalist Fred Wilson announced he was giving up on responding to all the email piled up in his inbox. "I am so far behind on email that I am declaring bankruptcy," he wrote. "If you've sent me an email (and you aren't my wife, partner, or colleague), you might want to send it again. I am starting over."
Last year my firm conducted a client-sponsored study of the email marketing industry. The top performing company in that research was AQNT. After interviewing the senior executives there, it became clear that email marketing offers a compelling benefit for a corporate advertiser -- the ability to measure return on advertising.
The reason Microsoft wants this ability is to help it compete with GOOG for online advertising dollars. That's because AQNT's technology enables companies to track what happens to their spam. Specifically, AQNT's Avenue A service targets emails depending on observed online behavior.
In a move that is down-right American, Sears stores (NYSE: SHLD) are going the extra mile for our men and women in the armed forces. It was reported to me that not only is Sears gladly meeting the legal requirements to hold open and available the jobs temporarily vacated by individuals who are called into active military service but they are proud to go above and beyond the call of duty. Sears is voluntarily paying the difference in salary and maintaining all benefits including medical insurance and bonus programs for a period of up to two years for their reservist employees who are called into service. I myself will happily drive ten miles beyond a Wal-Mart store (NYSE: WMT) and joyfully risk paying slightly higher prices to deal with a company that treats my soldiers like that.
Are you an email addict? That's a hard term to describe for many, but with so much business and inter-company (and personal) communications coming in and going out in the form of email these days, there are probably millions -- tens of millions -- of email addicts in the U.S. alone. The thing is, they don't even know it.
Email is a nice way to communicate since it does not put people on the spot like a phone call or a meeting does. We can respond at our leisure, and we can read and compose at our leisure too. But, I've seen countless folks who have some kind of personal "time limit" on responding to an email, as if there is some hidden challenge or something. That's one of the signs of email addiction.
Another sign? The RIM Blackberry and Palm Treo. Business users advocate that these devices make them more productive since they can conduct email business anywhere they are. This is true and these devices are true time-savers in every respect. What happens, though, is that email never, ever leaves you -- and that's a bad, bad thing in my opinion. There is time for business and time for not being interrupted. Yet, with email on our hip 24/7, are we creating a nation of email addicts? That's still up for debate. But can you hit the "delete" key on your email lifestyle, if just for a short while?
Technology is getting more and more complex, but at the same time, amazing technological benefits are available to us average Joes without too much fiddling around. That is what this column will be covering. Once a week every Monday, right here at BloggingStocks.com, I'll feature an easy-to-use hack, gadget, or service that really can make your life better. Geeks, technophiles and early adopters have plenty of other places to look for hot new technologies to try. Here you'll find technology for the rest of us.
In today's world it's hard to escape email. Having a mail program beeping at you or telling you that "You Have Mail!" has become a common part of our day. It brings us information we need to know, pictures of our friends and family, jokes, memos, new tasks, and of course, lots of spam. But email can pile up pretty quickly. I've gone on vacations away from my home computer and returned to find hundreds of emails. It's overwhelming. And while you can set up an email program on another computer, you have to worry about where your archived emails are stored in case you have to access an old email for some critical piece of information.
I travel a lot and I have more than one computer. I also sometimes forget to bring my laptop places. As a result I've found that setting up my email so that it doesn't matter what computer I'm on or where I am is very important. There are two pretty easy ways to accomplish this, which I'll outline here today. And if you're running a small business without an IT infrastructure or department, making sure you have email independence means you won't have to worry about losing client emails or leads.
Nonetheless, RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) may still be a good stock to own. The stock was at $18 when that decision was made. And now it's at $20.40.
Dylan Jovine, the editor of The Tycoon Report, picked it as his top speculative idea for 2007. He thinks that former Kmart executive Julian Day, who took over as chairman and CEO in July, has the stuff to turn RadioShack around.
Maybe so. Day probably had something to do with the layoffs, but not with the decision to notify employees by e-mail.
Still, to execute the turnaround, Day will need plenty of employees with high morale. And, if he doesn't have them yet, probably a few more bright lights in the human resources department.
It's a dog-eat-dog world out there in the competitive landscape of telecommunications, and often the most intuitive, user-friendly, aesthetically pleasing device takes top honors. For years, the BlackBerry, brainchild of 
Are you an 
In today's world it's hard to escape email. Having a mail program beeping at you or telling you that "You Have Mail!" has become a common part of our day. It brings us information we need to know, pictures of our friends and family, jokes, memos, new tasks, and of course, lots of spam. But email can pile up pretty quickly. I've gone on vacations away from my home computer and returned to find hundreds of emails. It's overwhelming. And while you can set up an email program on another computer, you have to worry about where your archived emails are stored in case you have to access an old email for some critical piece of information.
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