TYC: Tyco Reports Third Quarter Earnings From Continuing Operations of $0.43 Per Share

Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC; BSX: TYC) today reported diluted GAAP earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations of $0.43 for the third fiscal quarter of 2006. This included $0.03 per share for estimated costs to complete a pre-existing product replacement program in the company's Engineered Products & Services segment, as well as $0.03 per share for costs related to the planned separation of Tyco into three publicly traded companies. Results also include a $0.01 per share charge related to the expensing of stock options, which is not reflected in the prior period. This compares to GAAP EPS from continuing operations of $0.51 in the third fiscal quarter of 2005.

Revenue in the quarter totaled $10.5 billion, with organic revenue growth of 5 percent. The company generated cash flow from operating activities of $1.5 billion and free cash flow of $1.1 billion in the quarter, which included $71 million in cash payments for the previously disclosed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settlement and separation activities.

Tyco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ed Breen said, "This was another quarter of sequential progress for Tyco, with continued revenue growth, improved operating performance and solid cash flow. We are also making good progress with our separation activities and remain on track to complete the transactions by the end of the first calendar quarter of 2007."

During the third quarter, Tyco used $1.1 billion in cash to buy back 41 million shares. In addition, Tyco spent $134 million to repurchase 5 million shares in early July. Since the start of the fiscal year, Tyco has repurchased 76 million shares, representing 3.5 percent of diluted shares outstanding.

As announced earlier this morning, Tyco has entered into a definitive agreement to divest its Tyco Printed Circuit Group (TPCG) business for $226 million. Beginning with this quarter, the TPCG business has been classified as a discontinued operation. As a result, TPCG's financial performance is not reflected in Tyco's revenue and income from continuing operations. TPCG, which is currently part of the company's Electronics segment, had revenue of $103 million in the third quarter.

In July, Tyco announced that its Healthcare segment had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Confluent Surgical, Inc. -- a developer and supplier of polymer-based technology used in sprayable surgical sealants and anti-adhesion products -- for $245 million. In addition, the company yesterday announced its intent to acquire a 37.25 percent share of Airox S.A. -- a European company in the home respiratory ventilation systems business -- for approximately $40 million. The initial share purchase will be followed by a mandatory tender offer for the remaining Airox shares. The Confluent and Airox acquisitions are part of Tyco Healthcare's strategy to expand its product portfolio by purchasing complementary technologies that can be efficiently integrated into the segment's core business.

In the third quarter, the company recorded a pre-tax charge of $100 million related to a pre-existing voluntary replacement program in its Engineered Products & Services segment. The program was originally launched in 2001 by Central Sprinkler -- a division of Tyco Engineered Products & Services -- to replace certain fire sprinkler heads manufactured from the mid-1970s to 2001. When the program was first launched, Tyco established a reserve of $370 million to reflect anticipated costs related to the program. The current charge reflects the company's updated estimate of the additional costs necessary to bring the program to completion.

At the beginning of the fiscal year, Tyco adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 123R, which requires the expensing of stock options; prior year results were not restated. Organic revenue growth, free cash flow, EPS from continuing operations excluding special items, income from continuing operations excluding special items, and operating income excluding stock option expense are non-GAAP financial measures and are described below. For a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures, see the attached tables. To further assist in understanding the special items included in Tyco's GAAP results for fiscal year 2006, the company has provided a summary schedule attached to this document. A set of detailed schedules can be found at http://www.tyco.com on the Investor Relations portion of Tyco's website.


OUTLOOK

For the fourth quarter of 2006, the company expects to achieve EPS from continuing operations, excluding special items, of $0.47 to $0.49 per share. For the full year, this would result in EPS from continuing operations, excluding special items, of $1.80 to $1.82 per share.

The company continues to expect that 2006 free cash flow, excluding the cash impact of previously disclosed legal items and separation costs, will exceed income from continuing operations excluding special items.

S: Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) reported second quarter 2006 results.

Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) today reported second quarter 2006 financial results.

For the quarter, diluted earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations were 10 cents, compared to 22 cents per share for the second quarter of 2005. The year-ago results do not include the Nextel operations or the acquired PCS affiliates and results from Local have been classified as discontinued operations in all periods presented. In the current quarter, reported earnings include 19 cents of merger-related amortization expense and 3 cents of charges for special items. The year ago period includes charges for special items of 2 cents.

For the quarter, Adjusted EPS before Amortization*, which removes the effects of special items and merger related amortization expense, increased 7% to 32 cents per share versus pro forma Adjusted EPS before Amortization* of 30 cents in the year-ago period. These results reflect growth in Adjusted Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization (OIBDA)* for both the Wireless and Long Distance segments and lower net interest cost, partially offset by higher Wireless segment depreciation expense.

In the current quarter, the company reported consolidated revenue of $10.0 billion, an increase of 76 percent on a reported basis and 5 percent compared to pro forma revenues in the 2005 second quarter. Consolidated Adjusted OIBDA* of $3.2 billion increased 10 percent compared to the second quarter of 2005 pro forma results. In the quarter, the company reported strong sequential and year-over-year improvements in Adjusted OIBDA Margins* in both the Wireless and Long Distance segments. Year-to-date Consolidated Free Cash Flow* provided by continuing operations was $1.6 billion.

Second quarter Long Distance revenues were again better than expected, but Wireless revenue gains from a larger subscriber base and industry-leading demand for data services were offset by an increased number of customers adopting lower priced voice service plans and lower pre-paid pricing. In the quarter, Wireless retail net subscriber additions were 708,000 on strong pre-paid but lower post-paid performance. Wireless acquisition and revenue trends are expected to cause full-year net operating revenues and Adjusted OIBDA* to be below prior targets. Financial guidance has been revised to reflect these trends and to incorporate the Nextel Partners and UbiquiTel acquisitions.

"In the second quarter, our distinctive asset mix again produced consolidated revenue growth that exceeded rates posted by the other large cap telecom service providers," said Gary Forsee, Sprint Nextel President and Chief Executive Officer. "In the period, we also had solid margin improvement, made good strides on merger and acquisition integration activities and produced strong cash flows. However, following the adoption of initiatives earlier this year to improve our customer credit mix and customer loyalty, we achieved higher quality post-paid additions in the quarter, but we did not meet our expectations on quantity. In addition, we had higher-than-anticipated migrations in our base to lower-priced service plans.

"As a result, we will produce slower growth in the near-term, and we have identified a series of actions that we will take to improve our competitiveness and accelerate value creation. These include:

Refining our target markets and adjusting credit policies to improve the quality of our customer base;
Creating a compelling marketing and branding message to highlight the advantages of our services and networks;
Introducing innovative services and products;
Restructuring our operations, including sales, service and distribution. Annual operating expense savings from these activities, which will be incremental to merger synergy savings, are expected to add 7 to 8 cents to annual EPS beginning in the second quarter of 2007; and
Continuing to invest in network assets, including the extension of the largest 3G broadband service to a population area of 200 million by year-end.

"In the year since we completed our merger, we have aggressively pursued our strategic focus on the mobility market, including completing the spin-off of our Local operations in the second quarter, closing several wireless acquisitions, achieving milestones on the integration of our iDEN and CDMA networks, planning for our 4G wireless network and establishing a partnership with cable companies for wireless and wireline services," Forsee said.

"In total, these activities have consumed significant resources and have had an impact on our reported near-term profits. However, we believe that our shareholders will benefit over the long run from each of these efforts. With our strategic repositioning largely complete, including our Board's recent approval of our 4G business case, we are now able to focus on creating value by providing direct returns to our shareholders," said Forsee. "Reflecting our strong balance sheet and investment grade credit rating, substantial free cash flows and confidence in our future, I am pleased to announce that our Board of Directors has authorized common stock purchases through the open market of up to $6 billion over the next 18 months. At yesterday's closing price, this level of investment would equate to approximately 10% of our shares outstanding."

Editor's Note:
In accordance with purchase accounting rules, Sprint Nextel's 2005 reported results are comprised of Sprint's stand-alone results prior to the Aug. 12, 2005, merger with Nextel Communications Inc., plus combined Sprint and Nextel results for the remainder of the year. Results from Sprint PCS affiliates acquired in 2005 and 2006 are included as of the date that the applicable acquisition was completed. At the end of the second quarter, Sprint Nextel completed the acquisition of Nextel Partners shares that it did not already own, and the acquired assets and liabilities are included in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. Through the second quarter of 2006 Sprint Nextel recognized equity income from its minority interest in Nextel Partners. Beginning in the third quarter the company will no longer recognize this equity income and full operating results will be included in the Statement of Operations.

In the second quarter of 2006, the company completed the spin-off of its Local operations (EMBARQ) and the results for each reported period reflect EMBARQ as discontinued operations. Effective with the date of the spin-off, certain revenues and profits associated with Long Distance customers within EMBARQ territories and general corporate overhead allocations have been revised from previous reporting formats. This had an immaterial impact on reported results.

To provide comparability with previously reported periods, Sprint Nextel also is providing pro forma Consolidated and Wireless results and certain other financial measures* for 2005 reporting periods. The pro forma results assume the merger of Sprint and Nextel occurred at the beginning of each 2005 reporting period and include the impact of conforming the accounting policies and both financial and non-financial measures of the two companies. The pro forma Consolidated and Wireless information excludes results of acquired affiliates prior to their respective acquisition close dates.


Consolidated
The following is a discussion of Consolidated pro forma results.

Revenue growth in the quarter was due to an increase in revenue of the Wireless segment offset by lower Long Distance revenues.
The year-over-year decline in Adjusted Operating Income* was due to growth in Adjusted OIBDA* in Wireless and Long Distance, offset by higher depreciation and amortization expense.
Interest expense, net of interest income, was $282 million versus $340 million a year-ago and $310 million in the first quarter primarily due to higher interest rates on invested cash.
In the quarter, Sprint Nextel netted $6.3 billion in cash and transferred $665 million in debt to EMBARQ in connection with the spin-off.
In the quarter, the company paid $6.6 billion and assumed $1.2 billion of debt to acquire the 72% of Nextel Partners stock it did not already own.
In the quarter, a $3.2 billion term loan and almost $420 million of long term debt was repaid.
The effective tax rate for the quarter was 34.8% compared to 32.4% a year ago due to higher state income tax.
At the end of the quarter, Net Debt* was $17.9 billion.


Wireless
Discussion of the following Wireless results is on a pro forma basis.

In the quarter, Wireless added 708,000 retail subscribers including 210,000 post-paid and 498,000 prepaid customers under the Boost Mobile brand. With the purchase of Nextel Partners, the total base is 51.7 million, an increase of 17% from the year-ago period. In the past 12 months, organic growth in the total subscriber base was 5.2 million.
Total retail gross additions were approximately 3.8 million, compared to 3.5 million a year ago and 4.1 million in the first quarter. Post-paid gross additions were 2.7 million, a decline of 10% sequentially and 8% year-over-year. Sequentially, declining sub-prime credit gross additions offset increased prime credit additions.
Post-paid churn in the quarter was 2.1%, matching the first quarter of 2006. Boost churn was 6.0% in the quarter, versus a normalized rate of 5.4% in the first quarter.
Total operating revenues increased 8% compared to the year-ago period. Service revenues increased 9% due to a larger retail subscriber base from internal growth and acquisitions, offset by lower average revenue per user (ARPU) and lower wholesale and affiliate revenues.
Direct post-paid ARPU was under $62, a decline of 6% from a year ago and 1% sequentially. The annual decline is due to lower average monthly voice price plans and reduced overage charges offset by strong growth in data. About a third of the annual ARPU decline is attributable to acquisitions of affiliates. Sequentially, lower average monthly voice price plan revenues were partially offset by higher data revenues. Boost ARPU was under $34 in the quarter due to lower pricing and lower average usage, compared to $36 in the first quarter and $38 for the year-ago period.
Data service revenues increased nearly 70% compared to the year-ago period and contributed $7.25 to direct post-paid ARPU, compared to $7.00 in the first quarter. The company announced today that it will expand its 3G broadband wireless services to an area covering 200 million people by year end and that it will begin to deploy the next step in 3G technology beginning in the fourth quarter.
Adjusted OIBDA Margin* improved to 37.6% compared to 35.0% in the first quarter and 36.9% in the year-ago period, benefiting from a growing customer base and cost efficiencies offset by lower ARPU.
Cost of services increased 12% year-over-year due to a larger subscriber base, network expansion and deployment of broadband services. Selling, general and administrative expense was 2% higher than a year ago, but down 8% sequentially on lower marketing spending, reduced headcount and lower variable compensation cost. As a percentage of revenue, SG&A declined 170 basis points year-over-year and 260 basis points sequentially.
Year-to-date, Adjusted OIBDA* exceeded capital expenditures by $3.5 billion compared to $2.2 billion in the year-ago period.



Long Distance
Strong enterprise demand for Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) services contributed to a 22% annual increase in quarterly IP revenues.
Voice revenues declined 5% year-over-year due to lower consumer and enterprise revenues, offset by higher wholesale and affiliate revenues.
Legacy data revenues declined 13% year-over-year in the quarter as customers increasingly adopt IP-based services. Frame Relay and ATM declined at a double-digit rate, while Private Line declined at a single-digit rate.
At the end of the quarter Sprint Nextel was providing services to approximately 1.2 million cable telephony customers. The company announced today that it has significantly expanded its services agreement with Time Warner Cable.
The Adjusted OIBDA Margin* for Long Distance was 16.8%, compared to 15.2% in the year-ago period and 14.1% in the first quarter due to lower costs.
Total operating expenses declined 7% year-over-year and 5% sequentially. In the quarter, Long Distance incurred higher costs to support the cable efforts which were offset by lower selling, general and administrative expense due to lower headcount and variable compensation cost.
Year-to-date Adjusted OIBDA* exceeded capital expenditures by $219 million compared to $383 million in year-to-date 2005.

Forward-Looking Guidance
Sprint Nextel's prior guidance did not include the Nextel Partners and UbiquiTel acquisitions. The following financial targets reflect these acquisitions effective July 1.

Full-year 2006 consolidated revenues are expected to be $41 billion to $41.5 billion, versus prior guidance of $41 billion or more. The revised guidance reflects lower revenues for Wireless, offset by expected revenues of $900 million to $1 billion from the Nextel Partners and UbiquiTel acquisitions.
Full-year Adjusted OIBDA* is targeted to be $12.6 billion to $12.9 billion, versus prior guidance of approximately $13 billion. The revised target reflects the contribution of approximately $400 million from Nextel Partners and UbiquiTel, offset by a lower contribution from Wireless. The full year Long Distance Adjusted OIBDA* contribution is targeted to be approximately $900 million.
Full-year merger and integration costs are expected to be approximately $600 million.
Full-year capital spending is targeted to be approximately $7 billion to $7.1 billion, inclusive of all capital spending and intangible investments associated with the iDEN network re-banding initiative.

*Financial Measures
Sprint Nextel provides financial measures generated using generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and using adjustments to GAAP (non-GAAP). The non-GAAP financial measures reflect industry conventions, or standard measures of liquidity, profitability or performance commonly used by the investment community for comparability purposes. These non-GAAP measures are not measurements under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. These measurements should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the information contained in our financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. We have defined below each of the non-GAAP measures we use, but these measures may not be synonymous to similar measurement terms used by other companies.

Sprint Nextel provides reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures in its financial reporting. Because Sprint Nextel does not predict special items that might occur in the future, and our forecasts are developed at a level of detail different than that used to prepare GAAP-based financial measures, Sprint Nextel does not provide reconciliations to GAAP of its forward-looking financial measures.

The measures used in this release include the following:

Adjusted Earnings per Share (EPS) is defined as income from continuing operations, before special items, net of tax and the diluted EPS calculated thereon. Adjusted EPS before Amortization is defined as income from continuing operations, before special items and amortization, net of tax, and the diluted EPS calculated thereon. These non-GAAP measures should be used in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the analysis provided in the statement of operations. We believe that these measures are useful because they allow investors to evaluate our performance for different periods on a more comparable basis by excluding items that relate to acquired amortizable intangible assets and not to the ongoing operations of our businesses.

Adjusted Net Income is defined as income (loss) from continuing operations before special items. Adjusted Net Income before Amortization is defined as income (loss) from continuing operations before special items and amortization, net of tax. These non-GAAP measures should be used in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the analysis provided in the statement of operations. We believe that these measures are useful because they allow investors to evaluate our performance for different periods on a more comparable basis by excluding items that do not relate to the ongoing operations of our businesses.

Adjusted Operating Incomeis defined as operating income before special items. This non- GAAP measure should be used in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the analysis provided in the statement of operations. We believe this measure is useful because it allows investors to evaluate our operating results for different periods on a more comparable basis by excluding special items.

Adjusted OIBDAis defined as operating income before depreciation, amortization, restructuring and asset impairments, and special items. Adjusted OIBDA Margin represents Adjusted OIBDA divided by non-equipment net operating revenues for Wireless and Adjusted OIBDA divided by net operating revenues for Long Distance. Although we have used substantially similar measures in the past, which we called "Adjusted EBITDA," we now use the term Adjusted OIBDA and Adjusted OIBDA Margin to describe the measure we use as it more clearly reflects the elements of the measure. These non-GAAP measures should be used in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the analysis provided in the statement of operations. We believe that Adjusted OIBDA and Adjusted OIBDA Margin provide useful information to investors because they are an indicator of the strength and performance of our ongoing business operations, including our ability to fund discretionary spending such as capital expenditures, spectrum acquisitions and other investments and our ability to incur and service debt. While depreciation and amortization are considered operating costs under generally accepted accounting principles, these expenses primarily represent non-cash current period allocation of costs associated with long-lived assets acquired or constructed in prior periods. Adjusted OIBDA and Adjusted OIBDA Margin are calculations commonly used as a basis for investors, analysts and credit rating agencies to evaluate and compare the periodic and future operating performance and value of companies within the telecommunications industry.

Free Cash Flow is defined as the change in cash and cash equivalents less the change in debt, investment in certain securities, proceeds from common stock and other financing activities, net, from continuing operations. This non-GAAP measure should be used in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the analysis provided in the statement of cash flows. We believe that Free Cash Flow provides useful information to investors, analysts and our management about the cash generated by our core operations after interest and dividends and our ability to fund scheduled debt maturities and other financing activities, including discretionary refinancing and retirement of debt and purchase or sale of investments.

Net Debtis consolidated debt, including current maturities, less cash and cash equivalents, current marketable securities and restricted cash. This non-GAAP measure should be used in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the analysis provided in the balance sheet and statement of cash flows. We believe that Net Debt provides useful information to investors, analysts and credit rating agencies about the capacity of the company to reduce the debt load and improve its capital structure.

IBM: IBM To Acquire MRO Software, Inc.(MROI)

IBM (NYSE: IBM) and MRO Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: MROI) today announced the two companies have entered into a definitive agreement for IBM to acquire MRO Software Inc., a publicly held company based in Bedford, Mass., in an all-cash transaction at a price of approximately $740 million, or $25.80 per share. The acquisition is subject to MRO Software shareholder and regulatory reviews and other customary closing conditions. It is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2006.

MRO is the leading provider of asset and service management software and consulting, used by many of the world's top companies to efficiently manage how they buy, maintain and retire assets -- such as production equipment, facilities, transportation and information technology (IT) hardware and software -- in a wide variety of industries including utilities, manufacturing, energy, pharmaceutical, and telecommunications. This acquisition builds upon IBM's strategy to leverage business consulting, IT services and software to develop repeatable tools that help clients optimize and transform their businesses.

As more types of corporate assets are touched by technology, companies are looking for ways to consolidate how they manage these assets -- both operational and IT-related. IBM's acquisition of MRO addresses this need by providing customers with a consistent, comprehensive set of asset management solutions and services. MRO asset management technology and consulting services will be integrated into IBM Software and IBM Global Services offerings. As a result of the acquisition of MRO, IBM will be the only company to provide the solution to this convergence of IT and industrial assets.

"In a recent IBM study, 40 percent of CEOs indicated that asset utilization would be a key focus in strengthening financial performance," said Al Zollar, general manager, IBM Tivoli software. "MRO software is a powerful addition to IBM's portfolio of software and services. This acquisition will provide companies with a single view into all of their assets, helping them to maximize efficiencies, drive productivity, and innovate business processes across the enterprise."

"As technology increasingly becomes the backbone for all business operations, companies require the ability to efficiently manage both industrial and technology assets," said Chip Drapeau, president and CEO, MRO. "The IBM acquisition opens a world of opportunity for our clients and our employees. By integrating our asset management capabilities with IBM, a leader in IT management software and asset management consulting, we can offer our customers a complete asset management solution on a global scale."

Following completion of the acquisition, IBM intends to:

-- Establish MRO Software's operations as a business unit within IBM's
Tivoli software unit led by General Manager Al Zollar.
-- Incorporate MRO software technology into IBM's Tivoli software
offerings.
-- Market and sell MRO software products through IBM's and MRO's
worldwide sales channels and IBM Business Partners.
-- Further expand the scope and capabilities of IBM's industry-leading
business and IT asset management consulting practices, and deliver services
for MRO-based solutions through IBM Global Services.
-- Build upon the two companies' long-standing business relationship,
which began in 1996.
IBM will leverage MRO's software portfolio and management consultants to provide clients with a single approach to managing all industrial and IT assets. Since MRO's offerings are built on a modern architecture, they can be easily integrated into IBM's service oriented architecture (SOA)-based capabilities, including business process management and IT service management.


As management processes converge around all types of asset classes, enterprise assets are becoming more intelligent -- connecting to IT networks via RFID, for example, and using IP addresses and embedded chips. With a consolidated asset management approach, companies can be more efficient and cut administrative overhead by managing all critical enterprise assets, including industrial equipment in a single, automated environment -- the same way many companies currently manage IT assets. By consolidating and automating these processes, companies can establish and automate service levels, separate service delivery from root-cause analysis, and manage the change process.

The acquisition of MRO Software will strengthen the enterprise systems management capabilities of IBM's Tivoli software portfolio, which produced double-digit revenue growth for the first two quarters of 2006, and enhance IBM's already strong asset management consulting capabilities in IBM Global Services. MRO Software has produced double-digit growth since the company reported revenues of $199.2 million for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005.

MRO has thousands of customers worldwide including: BP, ExxonMobile, China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC), Cargil, Heineken, Frito Lay, Daimler Chrysler, Ford, GM, DTE Energy, Constellation Generation Group, Department of Defense, Department of Treasury, NASA, U.S. Air Force, U. S. Marines, City of Atlanta, GA, and Los Angeles County Public Works.

MSFT: Critically Acclaimed Xbox 360 Title “Gears of War” to Surface Nov. 12, 2006

Countdown begins for the most anticipated game of 2006 as gamers eagerly await the flagship title from Microsoft Game Studios and Epic Games.

Since the first frightening images appeared a little over a year ago, gamers worldwide have felt the ominous rumblings of something approaching that defies all convention. Sightings as recent as at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2006 have confirmed its existence, leaving gamers breathless. Microsoft Corp. today announced what anxious players have been eagerly awaiting: Emergence Day 2006. Available exclusively for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the highly anticipated title “Gears of War” will be available in North America on Nov. 12, 2006.

Developed by Epic Games Inc. and published by Microsoft Game Studios, “Gears of War” tells the harrowing story of mankind’s struggle against the monstrous Locust Horde through stunning high-definition graphics and an intense storyline on the scale of a blockbuster movie.

One of the most anticipated next-generation console titles of 2006 and the critic’s choice winner for the E3 2006 Best Console Game, “Gears of War” will explode onto store shelves with a standard edition available for $59.99* and a limited collector’s edition available for $69.99. The limited edition will offer an even deeper look into the graphically stunning and frightening world of “Gears of War,” providing an official “Destroyed Beauty” art book and a bonus DVD featuring an inside look at the making of the game — all enclosed in a highly collectible metal box.

“‘Gears of War’ represents the emergence of a thrilling new franchise for Xbox 360 and is the must-have game of 2006,” said Shane Kim, general manager of Microsoft Game Studios. “Combining the best in innovative gameplay, next-generation graphics and interactive storytelling, Epic has harnessed the extraordinary power of Xbox 360 to create an extremely powerful and immersive entertainment experience.”

“Our vision is to deliver a one-two punch of cinematic action paired with a thrilling and compelling interactive experience,” said Cliff Bleszinski, lead designer at Epic. “With ‘Gears of War’ we’ve created a title that will place gamers directly in the shadows of a ravaged world, surrounded by the beautiful remnants of a destroyed city and the horrific dangers that hide in the rubble.”

“Gears of War” thrusts gamers into humankind’s epic battle for survival against the Locust Horde, a nightmarish race of creatures that surface from the bowels of the planet. Blending the best of tactical action games with the best of survival horror titles, “Gears of War” features cinematic, beautifully rendered interactive environments with high-definition visuals.

Demand for the game is high as retailers anticipate the one-two punch of “Gears of War” and Xbox 360 appearing in quantity on store shelves this holiday season. “The interest and buzz on this game has been intense,” said Bob McKenzie, senior vice president of merchandising at GameStop Corp. “Certainly gamers are counting the days until Emergence Day arrives, as pre-orders have been very strong.”

TXN: Texas Instrument's Receive Signal Chain Demonstration Kit Simplifies Ultrasound Designs

Highly-Integrated, Eight-Channel Demonstration Kit Speeds Time to Market
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) introduced today an easy-to-use, high-performance ultrasound signal chain demonstration kit that speeds time to market and lowers cost by cutting development time for ultrasound equipment. The demonstration kit provides a complete, eight-channel analog receive signal chain enabling users to process signals from the output of the probe through a high-performance variable gain amplifier and analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for rapid prototyping in beam-forming applications. (See www.ti.com/sc06141.)



The TUS5000 evaluation module (EVM) was designed to interface four two-channel VCA2615 variable gain amplifiers with the eight-channel ADS5272 serialized LVDS-output ADC. A high-performance clock synchronizer and jitter cleaner, the CDCM7005, provides the 65-MHz clock to the ADS5272 with a bypass option available. Designers can simply apply their real world input circuitry, such as an ultrasound probe, to the EVM to quickly evaluate the performance of TI's analog receive chain solution. The EVM also allows customers to analyze the outputs through their digital beam former for more complete prototyping.

The combination of the highly-integrated VCA2615, ADS5272 and CDCM7005 on a single board demonstrates TI's ability to reduce system size while increasing channel count and performance. The ADS5272 ADC and VCA2615 amplifier offer best-in-class noise performance at 71.1 dBFS signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and 0.7 nV/rtHz, respectively, providing better imaging quality to the end user. With a combined power per channel of 277 mW, the VCA2615 and ADS5272 are well-suited for portable, midrange and high-performance ultrasound applications. By using the on-board MSP430 microcontroller, designers can take advantage of the programmability of the VCA2615, making it easier to examine the high performance under a number of ultrasound probe input conditions.

Designers who use the TUS5000EVM kit as the basis for a reference design can enjoy one-stop shopping and take full advantage of TI's systems expertise and complete array of products, tools and technical support for high-speed designs. A deserializer such as TI's ADSDESER-50EVM, is necessary in order to convert the serial LVDS outputs of the ADS5272 to parallel data for a complete evaluation.


Pricing and Availability
The TUS5000EVM is available today from TI. The price of $299 includes the EVM and User's Guide. The ADSDESER-50EVM is also available today from TI. The price of $399 includes the EVM, datasheet and User's Guide.

TXN: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS RELEASES TO PRODUCTION PCI EXPRESS X1 PHYSICAL LAYER DEVICE

Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) announced today full-production release of its new PCI Express x1 physical layer (PHY) device, the XIO1100. The XIO1100 is ideal for markets demanding low-cost PCI Express endpoint solutions such as data acquisition, industrial, networking and communication, medical and imaging, as well as consumer and video. XIO1100 is compliant with the PCI Express Base Specification Revision 1.1 and PHY Interface for the PCI Express Architecture (PIPE) 1.0. For more information on the XIO1100, please see www.ti.com/sc06138.

XIO1100's flexible MAC interface supports both source synchronous and DDR clocking. "This offers distinct advantages to our customers in terms of faster time to market and enabling lower cost solutions," said Jawaid Ahmad, strategic product marketing manager for TI's digital interface business unit. "SS clocking makes I/O layout robust and painless while DDR clocking offers our customers the opportunity to choose low-cost FPGAs which do not run faster than 125MHz."
Adding to the list of benefits, the XIO1100 has an integrated adaptive equalizer in its receive link, providing system design flexibility and reliably increasing interconnect length supported by the XIO1100.

Availability, Package and Pricing
The XIO1100 is available today in a 100-pin MicroStar BGATM integrated circuit package in Pb or Pb-free RoHS-compliant package. 1KU reference price is $7/unit. TI also offers third-party development kits based on XIO1100 and Cyclone IITM or Spartan 3TM FPGAs.

TI's Commitment to PCI Express
TI's roadmap includes a complete portfolio of products built for the PCI Express architecture, enabling chip-to-chip interconnect, I/O interconnect for adapter cards and an I/O attach point to other interconnects such as PCI, 1394 (FireWire) and USB.

About PCI Express
PCI Express is a point-to-point serial differential low-voltage interconnect that consolidates application requirements for use by multiple market segments. PCI Express architecture is a high-performance, highly-flexible, scalable, reliable, stable and cost-effective general-purpose I/P architecture that seamlessly complements existing PCI buses. PCI Express will lead the market transition during the next several years, allowing system and communication designers to use new topologies. TI provides the industry's largest portfolio of interface solutions and provides the right products to solve design problems for customer applications. For an overview of interface products available from TI, please see the Interface Selection Guide available at interface.ti.com

AAPL: Apple Teams Up With Ford, General Motors & Mazda To Deliver Seamless iPod Integration

Over 70 Percent of New Automobiles in US Will Offer iPod Integration in 2007

Apple® today announced it has teamed up with Ford Motor Company, General Motors and Mazda to deliver seamless iPod® integration across the majority of their brands and models, making it easy for iPod users to enjoy and control their iPod’s high-quality sound through their car’s stereo system. With the addition of these models, more than 70 percent of 2007-model US automobiles will offer iPod integration.

“We’re delighted that Ford, General Motors and Mazda will support iPod connectivity in nearly all of their new models,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing. “Now more than 70 percent of 2007-model US automobiles will offer iPod integration, with General Motors alone making it available on all 56 of its models, representing millions of cars and trucks.”

Ford and General Motors will feature iPod integration in the majority of their 2007 models in the US beginning later this year, while Mazda’s entire global 2007 lineup of cars and SUVs will offer iPod connectivity. iPod offerings for Ford, General Motors and Mazda provide drivers with outstanding sound quality while charging the iPod, while conveniently storing the iPod in the glove compartment. Seamless iPod integration also allows drivers to use their car’s multifunction controls to select their music using artist, album, playlist or shuffle songs, as well as to easily skip between tracks and playlists.

iPod and iTunes are leading the digital music revolution, providing the best way to listen to music on the go, at home and in the car. With over 58 million iPods sold, the iPod is the world’s most popular digital music player and the iTunes® Music Store is the number one online music store with over a billion songs purchased and downloaded worldwide. For more information on carmakers integrating iPod please visit www.apple.com/ipod/ipodyourcar/.

ORCL: Oracle Expands Oracle Fusion Business Process Management Offering With IDS Scheer's ARIS Platform

Oracle today announced an agreement with IDS Scheer that will help accelerate organizations' Business Process Management (BPM) initiatives by enabling greater collaboration between business and IT. Oracle's BPM product portfolio, which now includes IDS Scheer's ARIS Platform, will support a customer's entire business process lifecycle, ranging from modeling and simulation to deployment and optimization across heterogeneous IT systems.
The agreement includes plans for Oracle to offer the Oracle(r) Business Process Analysis Suite, which is powered by IDS Scheer's industry leading ARIS Platform. Oracle Business Process Analysis Suite complements Oracle's existing standards-based BPM products, including Oracle SOA Suite and Oracle BPEL Process Manager, and can be deployed with Oracle and non-Oracle applications to provide business analysts and architects with business process modeling, simulation and publishing capabilities. Additionally, Oracle Business Process Analysis Suite and Oracle BPEL Process Manager are uniquely optimized to work with Oracle's packaged applications including Oracle E-Business Suite and Oracle's PeopleSoft Enterprise and Siebel applications and will be used to model and execute business processes for Oracle Fusion Applications.

Standards-based, BPM technologies allow organizations to build, adapt and optimize business processes to help increase their competitive advantage, meet regulatory compliance requirements and improve operational efficiencies. The complementary Oracle and IDS Scheer technologies will help customers to better understand, document and rapidly modify these processes to meet changing business needs and IT requirements. Specifically, these capabilities will enable closed-loop process automation and optimization via shared metadata and unified repository so changes made at the Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) layer will be reflected back at the process design and modeling layer and vice versa.

"We are really pleased with the Oracle and IDS Scheer partnership. It will allow us to leverage the best of process modeling and execution without having to deal with two different vendors," said Mr. Ken Chih, CIO of OOCL. "We will also benefit from deep integration between the two products, key to our success with BPM technology."

"It is ideal for organizations looking to leverage business process management technologies to team with a single vendor that has already invested in integrating components that comprise business process management suites," said Gartner Vice President and Distinguished Analyst Jim Sinur. "The integration of such products will maximize return on investment through reuse, while minimizing administrative costs and errors that typically result from inconsistencies across technologies. Deep integration happens at the repository level, but near real time model exchanges are the next best level. We recommend that our clients carefully inspect the levels of integration when deciding on a BPMS."

"Business process modeling is a key component of any organization's BPM initiative, and our mutual customer base drove the formalization of this integration between our best-of-breed technologies," said Dr. Wolfram Jost, Member of the Executive Board and Head of the Product Division of IDS Scheer AG. "IDS Scheer leveraged its experience with Oracle-based BPM initiatives worldwide to deliver the Oracle Business Process Analysis Suite, powered by ARIS. Now Oracle customers can seamlessly implement process-based software configurations and service-oriented architecture. By adding Oracle as a strategic reseller of ARIS, we are leveraging Oracle's powerful reach in the market for new opportunities."

"Organizations are increasingly adopting business process management platforms such as Oracle SOA Suite to improve business agility and meet regulatory compliance," said Amlan Debnath, vice president, Server Technologies, Oracle. "Together, Oracle and IDS Scheer are delivering the industry's only open, standards-based BPM offering that meets the unique needs of business analysts and developers."

Oracle Business Process Analysis Suite will be generally available this Fall. For more information regarding the Oracle Business Process Analysis Suite, please visit: http://www.oracle.com/goto/bpm.

NVDA: NVIDIA Introduces NVIDIA Quadro® Plex – A Quantum Leap in Visual Computing

NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA), the worldwide leader in programmable graphics processor technologies, today ushered in a new era of advanced visualization for the professional graphics market with the introduction of the NVIDIA Quadro Plex 1000, the world's first dedicated Visual Computing System (VCS).

By delivering an order-of-magnitude increase in levels of productivity and capability for advanced visualization, the NVIDIA Quadro Plex offers advanced scalability in a sleek desktop or dense 3U rackmount configuration for demanding professional applications such as those powering multiple streams of 4K high-definition video, 3D styling and design, scientific and medical visualization, oil and gas exploration, or visual simulation and training.

Featuring NVIDIA SLI™ multi-GPU technology, the NVIDIA Quadro Plex is an external visual compute system delivering:

Massive density of up to 20x when compared to traditional GPU solutions


Performance of up to 80-billion pixels/sec and seven billion vertices/sec


Resolutions as high as 148 megapixels on 16 synchronized digital-output channels and eight HD SDI channels


Scalability beyond current solutions, offering multiple configurations ranging from a single system to a cluster to further scale system ability
NVIDIA Quadro Plex 1000 is compatible with an officially certified set of x86 32- and 64-bit Intel and AMD processors running Windows and Linux operating systems. See www.nvidia.com/quadroplex for a list of compatible systems. NVIDIA Quadro Plex is planned to be certified on all industry-leading applications and ship in September 2006, with prices starting at $17,500 (US).

SYMC: Symantec Launches New IT Policy Compliance Offering

Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced Symantec Control Compliance Suite, an upgrade to the bv-Control portfolio of products that helps customers reduce the cost and complexity of IT policy compliance through automated assessment of policies against industry regulations, standards and best practices. Symantec Control Compliance Suite’s new data gathering functions such as agentless reporting and database discovery offer a comprehensive solution for IT control compliance reporting across disparate platforms, providing a cost-effective method for managing global IT risks.

More than 4,000 customers worldwide currently have Symantec Control Compliance Suite components installed, relying on these automated tools to efficiently govern their IT compliance posture by detecting drift from secure baselines, identifying accounts with blank passwords, and notifying the organization when administrative accounts receive new members.

Customers are offered unparalleled auditing capabilities with hundreds of ready-to-run reports using easy customization options and flexible audit creation in each environment to improve internal and external audits. IT administrators are able to be proactive in even the most resource-constrained environments by automating tasks enterprise-wide. This automated functionality helps to streamline compliance with such regulations as Sarbanes-Oxley, FISMA, or HIPAA, while dramatically reducing the costs of doing regular audits.

"As organizations continue to face stringent IT policy compliance requirements, Symantec is committed to helping customers define what they would like to be compliant to, control their IT environment to achieve compliance, and help them govern that compliance posture over time," said Arshad Matin, vice president, compliance and security management, Symantec Corp. "Symantec Control Compliance Suite reduces costs associated with compliance by automating the management of deviations from technical standards and providing the ability to effectively remediate misconfigurations.

" Tracking compliance to IT controls related to important regulations and frameworks, Symantec Control Compliance Suite provides an efficient means to assess compliance to control systems based on custom mappings between technical standards and frameworks and regulations. Symantec Control Compliance Suite supplies regulatory content for Sarbanes-Oxley, FISMA, HIPAA, GLBA, Basel II, and framework content for ISO 17799, COBIT, and NIST SP800-53.

Symantec Control Compliance Suite allows customers to produce “Evidence of Review” reporting to facilitate management review of access controls as mandated by Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulations to prove that privilege grants conform to access needs. This is supplied through granular, detailed entitlement reports that show who has access to specific information, what each individual has access to, and who the business owner is for the data.

Customers are offered powerful closed-loop identification and resolution to find and eliminate security vulnerabilities. Symantec Control Compliance Suite provides detailed remediation instructions to correct deviations and integrates with existing change control ticketing systems, such as Remedy and HP Service Desk, to ensure that changes are made only after appropriate authorization and with proper oversight.

In addition, IT administrators can establish baseline configurations for all major operating systems by creating a custom technical standard or building a reference template from pre-existing internal standards. Technical standards can be exported for archive and business continuity purposes. Technical Standard Packs are available for the following operating systems and applications: Windows, UNIX, Linux, NetWare, SQL Server, Oracle, and Exchange.

Symantec Control Compliance Suite 8.2 includes agentless UNIX reporting, Oracle patch assessment and database discovery, and reporting and database activity auditing on SQL Server 2005. In addition, customers are provided support for mobile devices connecting to Microsoft Exchange servers. It also integrates with Symantec BindView Policy Manager to provide proof of security configuration compliance with broader corporate policy.

Symantec Control Compliance Suite is a key component of Symantec’s IT Policy Compliance solution. The Symantec IT Policy Compliance solution offers customizable products and services designed to help customers define, control, and govern their IT compliance initiatives.

Licensing and Availability

Symantec Control Compliance Suite 8.2 is currently available through Symantec’s worldwide network of value-added resellers, distributors and systems integrators. Organizations seeking a reseller or distributor should contact Symantec at http://enterprisesecurity.symantec.com.

MSFT: Microsoft Windows Live Spaces Is Launched

Microsoft Corp. began rolling out Windows Live™ Spaces, the next generation of the world’s most widely used blogging service, MSN® Spaces. The new service includes social networking features designed to help users discover and connect with friends through their trusted contacts and allows customers to personalize their Windows Live Spaces with gadgets. Microsoft also announced additional progress on Windows Live with the launch of Windows Live Toolbar, the Windows Live QnA beta and the releases of enhanced safety services in the coming weeks.

“With the release of products such as Windows Live Spaces, we continue to deliver on our mission of bringing customers closer to the information and people that matter to them most,” said Steve Berkowitz, senior vice president of the Online Services Group at Microsoft. “Windows Live and Internet-based ad-funded software and service are critical to driving growth for the company, and we are energized about the continued investments we’re making to help provide consumers with a seamless and safer online experience.”


The World’s Most Used Blogging Service Meets the World’s Largest IM Community As the next generation of the popular MSN Spaces, Windows Live Spaces will allow consumers to tell their story and customize their site with blogs, photo albums, music lists and more. Windows Live Spaces is designed to connect users to their real social network of friends — people in their Windows Live Contacts list — that is integrated across Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Mail and other services — and introduce them to people through these trusted contacts. Users that are already on one another’s Windows Live Messenger contact lists can initiate instant messaging conversations from within Windows Live Spaces.

Expanded social networking opportunities through Windows Live Spaces are balanced by enhanced privacy tools that give users full control over permission settings to specify who can contact them through the service, see their profile information and view the contents of their site. The respective permissions and communications preferences are clearly displayed alongside the user’s profile information and can be updated at any time. For those under age 18, the default setting in their Windows Live Spaces profile is that only people in the user’s Windows Live Messenger contact list can gain access to his or her space.

In addition, consumers will be able to choose from hundreds of gadgets — specialized mini-applications created by developers from the community and content partners — to easily personalize their Windows Live Spaces. Customers can create a Windows Live Space at http://spaces.live.com/ and find gadgets at http://gallery.live.com/.

Microsoft Continues to Deliver on Windows Live Strategy
As the launch season continues, additional Windows Live services continue to be rolled out, and by the end of the summer Microsoft expects to ship almost half of the 20 beta services the company has been testing. To help provide a safer and more secure online experience, Microsoft will launch a number of new safety services in the coming weeks, including Windows Live OneCare™ Safety Scanner, a beta version of which was released in November 2005 as Windows Live Safety Center. Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner is a free, on-demand PC scanner that checks for and removes viruses and gets rid of unused files on the hard disk for improved PC performance.

Microsoft will also integrate enhanced safety features into Windows Live Toolbar, which was launched in a total of 38 markets this week. Windows Live Toolbar is designed to help consumers easily find, save and act on information and services across the Internet. It also includes access to the newly launched Windows Live OneCare Advisor, which provides quick and easy access to the Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner and an updated version of Microsoft® Phishing Filter that includes additional functionality to help protect consumers from online data theft.

Also coming soon to customers in the United States is the Windows Live QnA beta, a new vertical search experience designed to help people find the information they are looking for by allowing them to ask and answer questions from an online community on a given topic. Consumers will be able to tap into the power of the online community to search for answers on a variety of subject areas and topics including business, health, arts, sports, technology and more. Those interested can learn more and sign up for the beta at http://qna.live.com.

About MSN and Windows Live
MSN attracts more than 465 million unique users worldwide per month. With localized versions available globally in 42 markets and 21 languages, MSN is a world leader in delivering compelling programmed content experiences to consumers and online advertising opportunities to businesses worldwide. Windows Live, a new set of personal Internet services and software, is designed to bring together in one place all the relationships, information and interests people care about most, with enhanced safety and security features across their PC, devices and the Web. MSN and Windows Live will be offered alongside each other as complementary services. Some


Windows Live services entered an early beta phase on Nov. 1, 2005; these and future beta updates can be found at http://ideas.live.com.
Windows Live is available at http://www.live.com.
MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com.
MSN worldwide sites are located at http://www.msn.com/worldwide.ashx.

ERICY: Movistar selects Ericsson to move towards all-IP in Chile

Movistar Chile, the leading operator in Chile and part of the Telefónica group, has chosen Ericsson's (NASDAQ:ERICY) Mobile Softswitch Solution, including multi-service IP transport, to upgrade its network. The move marks Movistar Chile's first step toward an all-IP network.

Ericsson's Mobile Softswitch Solution and Mobile Packet Backbone Network will upgrade and expand Movistar's network in Chile in a cost-efficient way and will allow the operator to introduce high-quality services quickly. Ericsson will also provide a range of associated professional services to ensure successful network delivery.

Gustavo Marambio, CTO, Movistar Chile, says: "Movistar leads the Chilean market in mobile multimedia services, with the most innovative and complete portfolio of applications and interactive contents. We chose Ericsson for this significant investment because of its technology leadership, the value it delivers in its solutions, and its ability to continue to support us in our future requirements."

Gino Montalto, President, Ericsson Chile, says: "We are honored to support Movistar during this important step in Chile. Our state-of-the-art technology will keep Movistar at the forefront in the region, and allows it to bring the most innovative services to its customers."

Ericsson's Mobile Softswitch Solution is the world's most widely deployed softswitch architecture solution. It powers around 50 percent of all mobile networks with softswitch architecture that are in full commercial service.

Ericsson's Mobile Packet Backbone Network, a world-leading multi-service IP transport solution, is optimized for mobile networks and services.

Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet communications through its continuous technology leadership. Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries, Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful communication companies in the world.

AAPL: European iTunes Music Store Tops 200 Million Songs Sold

Apple® today announced that music fans have purchased and downloaded more than 200 million songs from its European iTunes® Music Stores in just over two years, and the iTunes music catalog now includes more than three million songs from major music companies and over 1,000 independent record labels.

Launched in the UK, France and Germany in June 2004, the iTunes Music Store now operates in 17 European countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. All iTunes Music Stores offer the same innovative features, breakthrough pricing and seamless integration with iPod® that have made iTunes the number one online music service in the world.

“The number of songs downloaded and purchased from the iTunes Music Stores in Europe have tripled in the past year from 50 million to 200 million," said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We’re thrilled that music fans in Europe have shown such enthusiasm for the artists and exclusive music content found only on iTunes and would like to thank them for making iTunes such a success.”

With Apple's legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as integrated video and podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, seamless integration with iPod and groundbreaking personal use rights, the iTunes Music Store is the best way for Mac® and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and videos online. The iTunes Music Store features a selection of over 2,500 music videos, Pixar short films, and more than three million songs from the major music companies and over 1,000 independent labels.

IBM: IBM Acquires Webify

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced it acquired Webify Solutions, an Austin, Texas-based, privately held provider of industry-specific software and services for building service oriented architectures (SOA). An SOA is a way of reusing a company's existing technology to more closely align with business goals helping to result in greater efficiencies, cost savings and productivity. Financial terms were not disclosed.

This acquisition builds upon IBM's strategy to take advantage of its strengths in business consulting, IT services and software to develop high-value, repeatable tools that help companies optimize and transform their businesses. Webify technology will be immediately integrated into IBM Software Group under the WebSphere brand -- which has experienced 32 consecutive quarters of revenue growth and double-digit revenue growth for the first two quarters of 2006. It will also be available through IBM Global Services offerings.

Webify software helps accelerate the development and deployment of applications that business users need to quickly respond to market and competitive pressures. It provides hundreds of industry-specific, pre-built standards-based accelerators, tools and frameworks. Webify's offerings help solve business problems that are specific to a given industry such as HIPAA compliance for healthcare companies and ACORD standards in the insurance industry.

IBM's acquisition of Webify strengthens its leadership in service oriented architecture, which helps a company reuse existing technology to more closely align it with business goals, resulting in greater efficiencies, cost savings and productivity. By bringing together IBM's development and use of open industry standards with Webify's expertise in semantics, IBM can better solve common business problems in a given vertical industry. Together, IBM and Webify will help businesses run more efficiently by accelerating the integration of business processes and the sharing and reuse of proven applications and best practices.

Webify software combines these semantics with industry-specific tools and frameworks to help customers develop composite business applications to grow revenue, decrease costs and comply with government and industry regulations. Composite business applications borrow capabilities from existing applications to develop new functionality not found in any single existing applications. These proprietary applications were originally designed without the ability to communicate and share business functionality with one another. The combination of IBM's WebSphere integration middleware and services capabilities along with Webify's industry expertise can allow customers to more easily and efficiently link complete business processes and share data regardless of underlying technologies.

Webify software will be delivered as part of the IBM WebSphere portfolio, which includes WebSphere Integration Developer, WebSphere Process Server and the WebSphere Service Registry and Repository.

IBM Global Services (IGS) will use Webify software to deliver industry-focused reusable services to clients. IGS will gain immediate access to Webify's extensive library of composite business services to help speed delivery of mission-critical industry applications. These capabilities will complement the recently announced IBM Global Business Solution Center (GBSC) in India that is dedicated to the development of SOA-based composite business services. In addition, composite business services offered by IGS will be listed in the IBM SOA Business Catalog.

"Customers in different industries are solving different business problems. Healthcare companies need to comply with HIPAA regulations while insurance companies are seeking to streamline claims processing," said Robert LeBlanc, general manager, IBM WebSphere Software. "Webify's industry-specific tools, models and frameworks will complement IBM's industry leading WebSphere software and the deep industry expertise of IBM Global Services to better help insurance and healthcare customers use SOA to solve business problems unique to their industries."

"This marks an exciting moment in our company's history," said Manoj Saxena, Webify Chairman and CEO. "Joining IBM will help propel our vision of helping clients achieve SOA-based business transformation and it provides an accelerated path to market for our best-in-class products and technology. IBM is focused on setting the standard for next-generation SOA solutions and we look forward to bringing our experience and commitment to this goal."

Mr. Saxena will continue to manage Webify and will undertake additional responsibilities for IBM's SOA strategy, reporting to Mr. LeBlanc. Through this acquisition, 120 Webify employees based in Austin, Texas and Mumbai, India will become IBM employees.

TWX: AOL Will Offer Its Software, E-mail And Many Other Products For Free To Broadband Users

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) today announced that AOL’s software and e-mail as well as various other products will be made available for free to broadband users in a move to enhance the growth of its online advertising business.

Time Warner President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Bewkes said: “For the first time in AOL’s history, we’re offering many of AOL’s most compelling products, such as its integrated software and e-mail as well as applications for safety and security including parental controls, to broadband users free of charge. We’ve listened to our customers, and many of them want to keep using these AOL products when they migrate to broadband – but not pay extra for them. So now we can tell them: ‘You’ve Got Mail – for Free.’ This is the next logical step for AOL to capitalize further on the explosive rise in broadband usage and online advertising. With its robust and rapidly expanding advertising operation, we expect to put AOL back on a growth path.”

AOL Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Miller said: “We’ll now be able to maintain and deepen our relationship with many more members who are likely to migrate to broadband. Providing them with their familiar AOL software and e-mail for free, over any broadband connection, will be critical to our future success. For members who’ve left us over the past two years, we’ve kept your e-mail address. When this effort is fully operational in early September, you’ll be able to come home again – for free. For those who have never tried the AOL software, e-mail or our other products, we invite you to do so at no charge. The AOL Network has over 100 million unique visitors per month, and we’ll work hard to engage Internet users with new products that will be available for free on the Web.”

Among the AOL products that will be available for free to anyone with an Internet connection are: AOL’s integrated software; communications features, including AOL e-mail, instant messaging, a local phone number with unlimited incoming calls, and social networking applications; and safety and security features, such as parental controls. To encourage former members to return to using the AOL software, e-mail, instant messaging and other AOL products, they will be able to reactivate their screen names, if given up within the last two years.

In the weeks ahead, AOL will announce a number of free new products in such areas as safety and security, storage, personalized e-mail domains, video and search, as well as an update of its AOL software. Combined with AOL’s video search, video assets, compelling content, blogging and other existing free applications, these new products will allow AOL to compete across the board for new Internet users, both domestically and abroad.

Through growing AOL’s already substantial audience – as well as its advertising inventory – AOL will continue to build its extensive advertising capabilities. The AOL Network has the second-largest domestic online audience and is now the third-largest online advertising network in the U.S. In the second quarter, AOL’s advertising revenue grew 40% year over year.

AOL will continue to offer its dial-up access subscription service, but will no longer aggressively market it. Members may continue to subscribe to AOL’s unlimited premium dial-up plan with a monthly price of $25.90 (including such additional features as 50 gigabytes of storage and unlimited premium customer care) or choose from two lower-cost access plans.

TWX: Time Warner Reports Second Quarter Results

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) today reported financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2006.

In making the announcement, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dick Parsons said: “We’re pleased with this quarter’s results, which put us firmly on track to achieve our full-year financial objectives. Especially significant was our generation of Free Cash Flow over the first half of the year, totaling more than $2.6 billion, or 49% of our Adjusted OIBDA. Our Cable, Filmed Entertainment and Networks segments delivered standout operating performances, while AOL posted a better-than-expected quarter. Key to these results were impressive strength in AOL's advertising revenues and across-the-board subscriber and profit growth at Time Warner Cable.”

Mr. Parsons added: “With the closing of the Adelphia-Comcast transaction, Time Warner Cable is now focused on integrating and upgrading the acquired systems and setting the stage for an aggressive deployment of Time Warner Cable's advanced digital video, high-speed data and Digital Phone services in the coming months. In addition, we’re continuing to return substantial value directly to our shareholders – including repurchasing 14% of our outstanding common stock for approximately $11.7 billion since starting the program last year.”

Company Results
In the quarter, Revenues rose 1% over the same period in 2005 to $10.7 billion, led by growth at the Cable and Networks segments.

Adjusted Operating Income before Depreciation and Amortization climbed 7% to $2.7 billion, reflecting double-digit increases at the Cable and Filmed Entertainment segments as well as a gain at the Networks segment. This growth was offset partly by declines at the Publishing and AOL segments. Operating Income rose to $1.8 billion from a prior year loss, reflecting primarily higher Adjusted Operating Income before Depreciation and Amortization and the absence of the $3 billion in legal reserves related to securities litigation recognized in the prior year quarter.

For the first six months, Cash Provided by Operations was $4.2 billion, and Free Cash Flow totaled $2.6 billion (reflecting a 49% conversion rate of Adjusted Operating Income before Depreciation and Amortization). As of June 30, Net Debt totaled $22.2 billion, up $6.1 billion from $16.1 billion at the end of 2005.

Diluted Income per Common Share before Discontinued Operations and Cumulative Effect of Accounting Change was $0.20 for the three months ended June 30, compared to a loss of $0.09 in last year’s second quarter. The current and prior year amounts included certain items affecting comparability that are described in detail in the Consolidated Reported Net Income and Per Share Results section below. Such items did not meaningfully affect the current year’s diluted common share results and decreased prior year results by $0.25 per diluted common share.


Stock Repurchase Program Update
From the inception of its stock repurchase program through August 1, 2006, the Company has repurchased approximately 675 million shares of common stock for approximately $11.7 billion. At existing price levels, the Company continues to expect that it will purchase approximately $15 billion of its common stock by the end of 2006, and the remainder of its $20 billion program in 2007.

ORCL:Accenture Innovation Center for Oracle Launched To Help Clients Generate Added Value from Oracle Solutions

Accenture has opened its Innovation Center for Oracle at the Oracle headquarters in Redwood Shores. The Accenture Innovation Center for Oracle is dedicated to the development of new ideas and innovative solutions based on Oracle's Server Technologies infrastructure and Oracle(r) Applications software. The center will initially focus on the development of leading-edge service-oriented reference architectures and reference applications based on Oracle Fusion Middleware.
"The center is the first of its kind to be located on the Oracle campus and is designed to help accelerate the development, delivery and commercialization of innovative Oracle-based solutions, and promote collaboration between Accenture, Oracle and our clients," said Jim Hayes, managing director of Accenture's global Oracle practice. "Building on the long-standing relationship between Accenture and Oracle, the center is an important step forward in our ongoing efforts to help clients derive maximum value from their Oracle solutions."

The Accenture Innovation Center for Oracle will enable Accenture to capture and distribute market-leading Oracle Applications and Oracle Server Technologies Infrastructure product expertise through collaboration and direct links with Oracle's research & development teams, Accenture's global delivery center network of more than 40 delivery centers, and Accenture Technology Labs throughout the world.

"We're pleased to have Accenture's center located on the Oracle campus. Today's announcement conveys Accenture and Oracle's commitment to providing our joint customers with solutions to take advantage of service-oriented architectures," said Thomas Kurian, senior vice president, Oracle Server Technologies. "With more than 31,000 global customers using Oracle Fusion Middleware as the foundation for their SOA infrastructures, it is critical that we work with Accenture to help ensure that deployments are quick and seamless."

The center will also enable Accenture and Oracle to help clients by:

* Developing and delivering first-to-market, Oracle-based solutions using Accenture processes, methodologies and tools for service-oriented architectures (SOA) and other Oracle technology-based and industry-specific assets

* Demonstrating newly developed Accenture service offerings that leverage software products such as Oracle Fusion Middleware, Oracle Applications and Oracle Industries Solutions

The new Innovations Center, together with the recently opened Accenture Center of Excellence for Oracle, located in Bangalore, India, are expected to enable Accenture and Oracle to develop a portfolio of assets that will lead to the delivery of faster and more cost-effective implementation of Oracle-based solutions anywhere in the world.

"Our collaboration with Oracle is part of Accenture's broader $450 million investment in SOA," said Don Rippert, chief technology officer at Accenture. "Through this initiative, as well as others, we are working to help our clients understand the journey to adopting SOA so that they can ultimately realize its true benefits and improve their performance."

Accenture has already developed an SOA reference architecture -- a set of definitions, frameworks, best practices, decision trees and code to help design and build an SOA - based on Oracle's Fusion Middleware platform. Work is underway at the new Innovation Center to complete the second version of the reference architecture which, when finished, will become the foundation for future joint solution development and joint customer engagements.

Accenture and Oracle have enjoyed a relationship of more than 15 years. Accenture has the largest and fastest-growing Oracle enterprise solutions practice among full-service integrators with more than 23,000 professionals around the world qualified to provide implementation, upgrade and application outsourcing solutions for the entire Oracle product stack.

About Oracle and SOA
Oracle is a leader in the emerging service-oriented architecture market and offers a complete set of service infrastructure components for building, deploying, and managing SOAs. With Oracle Fusion Middleware, services can be created, managed, and orchestrated into composite applications and business processes. With Oracle Fusion Middleware's hot-pluggable components, organizations can easily extend and evolve their architectures instead of replacing existing investments.

About Oracle
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's largest enterprise software company. For more information about Oracle, visit our web Site at http://www.oracle.com/.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenture collaborates with its clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With deep industry and business process expertise, broad global resources and a proven track record, Accenture can mobilize the right people, skills and technologies to help clients improve their performance. With more than 133,000 people in 48 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$15.55 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2005. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

OPERA: Mobileplay Offers Free Mobile Services With Opera Mini™ 2.0

Opera Software, world leader in Web browsing technologies, and mobile content pioneer Mobileplay, today announced that Mobileplay will use Opera Mini to promote and distribute its free mobile services to cell phone owners in the USA. The mobile services include news, weather, sports, travel information, games and lifestyle content. Mobileplay will offer a free and customized version of the popular Opera Mini browser, which can be downloaded from www.mobileplay.com/opera. In addition, all public US versions of Opera Mini will feature one-click access to Mobileplay's extensive content portfolio.

The free offering will allow cell phone users to access Mobileplay's mobile content offerings, including free content from BusinessWeek Online, Salon.com, The Sporting News.com, USA Today and Wired.com, as well as any Web site directly through the Opera Mini browser. Content offerings from Mobileplay's esteemed list of partners will be easily accessible via a direct link to Mobileplay's Web portal. Cell phone users who have already downloaded an earlier version of the Opera Mini browser can access Mobileplay's content at http://mini.mobileplay.com.

"Mobileplay brings top brand name content partners to the Opera Mini universe," said Roger Carlhammar, EVP of Opera Software ASA. "At Opera, we have redefined Web browsing for cell phones and our partnership with Mobileplay will provide us with a new channel to bring our superior Web browsing to wireless users."

Opera Mini is a free mobile Web browser that enables full Web access on the majority of cell phones in the market. By using an Opera Mini server to pre-process and compress Web sites before sending them to the handset, Opera Mini is remarkably fast and cheap to use. With almost 5 million active users since January 2006, Opera Mini has established itself as the leading mobile browser, bringing the real Internet to cell phone users around the world.

"Opera Mini is the leading wireless Web browser and provides an unsurpassed user experience, making the Opera Software a perfect partner for Mobileplay," said James Ryan, CEO and founder of Mobileplay. "This partnership will allow us to bring our wide assortment of news and lifestyle content to the enormous network of Java phone users."

In addition to offering mobile content for Java-enabled phones, Mobileplay currently brings content to smartphones, including Treos, BlackBerries and Windows Mobile devices. The company's content delivery platform also offers innovative ways for major brand advertisers to reach customers through their mobile devices, and provides major media companies with a proprietary advertising network for generating revenue when delivering content to mobile devices. For more information on the service offered via Opera Software's Opera Mini 2.0, visit www.mobileplay.com/opera.

SYMC:Symantec Consumer Security Solutions Ship with Acer Desktops, Notebooks

Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced that Acer Incorporated (Taiwan Stock Exchange: 2353.TW) has selected Symantec security solutions to protect its customers worldwide. Acer ranks as the world’s number four PC brand. Under terms of the agreement, Norton Internet Security 2006 or Norton AntiVirus 2006 will ship preinstalled on more than 45 million Acer desktop and notebook PCs globally. Customers will be able to use Norton Internet Security 2006 or Norton AntiVirus 2006 for a 90-day complimentary trial; when the trial period ends, customers can then purchase a full 12-month subscription.

"Consumers are leveraging their PCs for a growing number of important personal and business-related activities," said Enrique Salem, group president, consumer products and solutions, Symantec. "At the same time, they face a growing range of threats to the security of their information assets—from Internet threats and identity thieves. With Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security pre-installed, Acer customers will be secure and protected from the moment they begin using their Acer PC."

"The inclusion of Symantec security solutions with Acer desktop and notebook computers helps ensure that our customers are able to enjoy the safest, most productive computing experiences," said Jim Wong, president of IT products business group, Acer Incorporated. "The cooperation with Symantec further exemplifies Acer's long-term commitment to providing dependable, easy-to-use IT solutions that empower people to reach their goals and enhance their life."

Norton Internet Security 2006 will help protect Acer customers from viruses, hackers, spyware, and spam through a comprehensive set of security tools, including Norton AntiVirus 2006—the world’s most trusted antivirus solution. With Norton Internet Security, Acer customers can safely surf the Internet, e-mail or instant message family and friends, download programs and music, transact business online, and more. Norton Internet Security protects Acer customers by automatically filtering spam and dangerous phishing e-mail and by removing viruses, Trojan horses, and worms. It will also automatically block intruders and identity thieves and hide the user’s PC from hackers. Norton Internet Security 2006 gives Acer customers control over all incoming and outgoing Internet traffic and enables parents to block Web sites they don’t want their children to visit.

INTC: Intel Announces NOR Flash Memory Products for Emerging Low-Cost Handset Segment

Intel Corporation today introduced its first NOR flash memory products aimed at the emerging low-cost cell phone segment. The new products have a new pin sharing package to minimize pin count and are configured to work with low-cost, single-chip baseband and RF solutions from leading chipset suppliers. Major handset vendors are expected to start introducing low-cost cell phones based on Intel flash products this quarter.

Intel is introducing these products in response to increasing market demand for low-cost phones. The cell phone industry's GSM Association estimates that only 20 percent of the world's population use cell phones, largely because of cell phone costs.

"We're expanding Intel's proven leadership in NOR flash memory for handsets to the emerging low-cost handset market segment," said Darin Billerbeck, vice president and general manager of Intel's Flash Products Group. "Our handset customers can choose from a comprehensive menu of NOR flash memory products from 32Mb density at the low end to 1Gb density for multi-media cell phones.

"We view the low-cost handset market segment as an ongoing growth opportunity and we have a migration path in place to transition our products from 130nm and 90nm process technology to 65nm process technology in 2007," Billerbeck added.

Intel's products for the low-cost handset market segment feature cost-efficient, lower density NOR flash memory products from 32Mb to 256Mb with optional RAM in a multi-chip package. These products include a common 88-ball QUAD+ package with an address-data multiplexed (A/D Mux) configuration that simplifies the design-in process, enabling faster time-to-market and lower design costs. These memory solutions are expected to evolve to also support the common 107-ball x 16C package with an A/D Mux configuration. To enable accelerated design cycles, Intel offers a portable Low-Cost Handset Design Kit, which includes a design guide, product datasheets and migration guides, at www.intel.com/design/flash/nor/lc_handset/overview.htm. Available in both single-chip and multi-cell packages, the products are sampling to customers now and will be in volume production in the third quarter this year.

AMZN: Amazon.com Jewelry and Watches Sales up More Than 100 Percent in Second Quarter 2006

Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN) today announced that second quarter 2006 jewelry and watches sales increased more than 100 percent year-over-year. Each quarter, an increasing number of Amazon.com's millions of customers are shopping the Amazon.com Jewelry & Watches store, especially for important gift-giving occasions, such as Mother's Day and summer engagements.

"More and more customers are discovering the convenience and value for gift purchases on Amazon.com," said Steven Goldsmith, vice president, Amazon.com Jewelry & Watches store. "Particularly for engagement rings, customers are finding huge selection amongst some of the lowest prices for high-quality engagement rings."

Custom-built engagement ring sales on Amazon.com in the second quarter increased 254 percent year-over-year. In addition, Amazon.com's selection of unique loose diamonds has increased 30% since January 2006 from 2.1 to 2.6 million unique loose stone/setting configurations. With the extensive loose diamond selection and low prices ranging from $235 to $120,000, customers can also choose from a wide range of sizes and cuts. Through Amazon's proprietary "Create Your Own Ring" feature, customers can easily choose from more than 200 setting styles and many shapes and cuts, such as the Asscher and Princess cuts and the current customer favorite, the Round Brilliant cut.

Every piece of jewelry sold by Amazon.com is inspected by jewelry professionals to verify quality attributes and ensure an excellent product. Customers will find detailed product specifications about each of the piece's components, including gemstones, settings and metal stamps. A Learning Center provides buying guides for pearls, diamonds, precious metals, and watches. Loose stones are independently certified to be a specific cut, clarity, color, shape and weight. Finally, the store provides all of the tools and helpful information that Amazon.com customers know and love, such as Customer Reviews, Top Sellers lists, So You'd Like To guides and Listmania lists.

ADBE: Adobe Systems Provides Intra-Quarter Business Update

Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ: ADBE) today is providing its regular intra-quarter business update for its third quarter of fiscal 2006, which ends September 1, 2006.

With approximately five weeks remaining in the quarter, Adobe announced it believes it will achieve quarterly results within the financial target ranges it provided on June 15, 2006. The Company's Q3 FY2006 target ranges are the following: revenue of $580 to $610 million, GAAP earnings per share of $0.13 to $0.16, non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.25 to $0.27, a GAAP operating margin of 16 to 19 percent, and a non-GAAP operating margin of 33 to 35 percent.

The Company plans to report its third quarter fiscal 2006 results on September 14, 2006 after the market closes.

ORCL: Oracle Announces Tools for .NET that Strengthen Integration with Microsoft Visual Studio

Oracle today announced the general availability of Oracle(r) Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET, a free plug-in that enables developers to use Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 to develop and deploy Microsoft .NET Framework-based applications with Oracle Database 10g. Oracle also unveiled a new release of Oracle Data Provider for .NET in support of ADO.NET 2.0, Microsoft's standard for data access.
Oracle's support of Visual Studio 2005 and ADO.NET 2.0 helps developers to be more productive building .NET applications and Web services with Oracle Database 10g. The latest version of Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET includes features such as an integrated debugger that enables developers to debug PL/SQL stored procedures and functions from within Visual Studio 2005. Oracle Data Provider for .NET helps developers to access information from the database more efficiently. Specifically, they can take advantage of the unique performance, reliability, scalability and security capabilities of Oracle Database 10g such as application security context, clustering, and native Oracle data types such as LOBs and REF Cursors.

"Delivering deeper integration between the Oracle Database and the Windows platform is a priority," said Andy Mendelsohn, senior vice president of Database Server Technologies, Oracle. "Our continuing investment in these developer tools reinforces our commitment to .NET and enables .NET Framework-based developers to help maximize the performance of their applications by exploiting the capabilities and power of the Oracle Database."


City of Rotterdam, EDS, Intergraph, Lipper, Micro Focus, NEC, OSK, and Spatial Eye Among Varied Entities Relying on Oracle's New Integration Tools for .NET
Customers such as City of Rotterdam, Lipper Inc., NEC and OSK, and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) such as EDS, Intergraph, Micro Focus, and Spatial Eye, among others, are taking advantage of Oracle's offerings for .NET to ease integration and help increase the performance and availability of their .NET applications with Oracle Databases.

Lipper, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reuters, is a leading global provider of mutual fund information and analysis to fund companies, financial intermediaries, and media organizations. The firm, founded in 1973 and headquartered in New York, tracks 135,000 funds worldwide through its offices in major financial capitals in North America, Europe, and Asia. Lipper expects to use Oracle Data Provider for .NET with ADO.NET 2.0 for a new application scheduled for production this winter that will support 100,000 users accessing a terabyte of data. Oracle Data Provider for .NET's performance tuning features such as associative arrays, statement caching, and REF Cursors, deliver fast data access for Lipper's application. Because the application must be accessible for a global user base of institutional and retail customers, Lipper will rely on Oracle Database 10g Release 2 and Oracle Real Application Clusters to help ensure high availability and scalability. With Oracle XML DB, Lipper can manage their XML content in the database more efficiently to enable faster delivery of their solutions to market.

"We're taking the best of both worlds - .NET and Oracle - to give us the best platform possible," said Bill Evjen, Technical Architect, Lipper Inc. "Oracle Data Provider for .NET is vital to the success of our next-generation application."

NEC, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading provider of systems, components, services and integrated solutions for computing and communications applications, as well as semiconductor solutions. NEC's Enterprise Solutions Business Unit uses the latest version of ODP.NET as part of its System Director Enterprise solution, a system that helps integrators develop high-quality business applications quickly. NEC takes advantage of ODP.NET's new support of ADO.NET 2.0 and unique performance features, such as parameter array binding and PL/SQL associative arrays. Parameter array binding improves application performance while PL/SQL associative array facilitates sharing large amounts of data between Oracle Database and the .NET Framework. With ODP.NET, System Director Enterprise increases system integrator productivity by 30 percent.

Long-standing Oracle Commitment to Windows Platform
Since 1985, Oracle has helped thousands of customers build mission-critical database systems on the Microsoft platform. Oracle is a Premier partner in the Microsoft Visual Studio Industry Partner (VSIP) program, and as a result offers tight integration between Oracle Database and Microsoft Visual Studio and Windows Server 2003. Today, Oracle offers Oracle Database for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Server 2003. Additionally, Windows customers can take advantage of Oracle Real Application Clusters which allow them to turn a cluster of low-cost, industry standard servers running Windows into a highly available, scalable and secure platform for running database and packaged applications.

Availability and Pricing
Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET with support for Visual Studio 2005 is generally available for download at no cost from Oracle Technology Network (OTN) at:
http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/dotnet/tools/index.html .

Oracle Data Provider for .NET in support of ADO.NET 2.0 is generally available for download at no cost from OTN at:
http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/windows/odpnet/index.html .

CNN, Adult Swim & Cartoon Network Now Available On The iTunes Music Store

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.) and Apple® today announced that hit programming from CNN, Adult Swim and Cartoon Network is now available for purchase and download on the iTunes® Music Store (www.itunes.com). The new content features such favorites as Cartoon Network’s “Johnny Bravo,” Adult Swim’s “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” and original episodes of the award-winning documentary series “CNN Presents,” all available for viewing on a computer or iPod®.

For the last three months, Adult Swim has been offering free video podcasts via iTunes, ranking among the most popular television podcasts on the service. In addition to this new effort, CNN has been offering original podcasts, as well as “Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer” and “Reliable Sources” to iTunes users for free for just over a month.

“Fans will enjoy this innovative way of purchasing and watching their favorite CNN, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim shows from iTunes,” said Dennis Quinn, executive vice president, business development, TBS, Inc. “We’re delivering a variety of hit programming from three of our wildly popular networks, with shows for everyone of all ages.”

“With Turner’s wide range of content available on iTunes, users now can download programming from CNN, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “With well over 150 TV shows available for $1.99 per episode, iTunes is the leading destination for downloading network and cable programming.”

CNN, the world’s news leader, will provide original episodes of “CNN Presents,” including “Taming the Beast: Inside the War on Cancer,” “The Fight Over Faith” and “Captured: Inside the Army’s Secret School.” Drawing from the world’s largest cartoon library, Cartoon Network will provide episodes from the network’s series “Johnny Bravo” (season one). Adult Swim, Cartoon Network’s late night sister service dedicated to edgy animated comedy and action series, will provide episodes from original productions, including “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” “The Venture Bros.,” and “Sealab 2021” (season three).

With Apple’s legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as integrated video and podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, seamless integration with iPod and groundbreaking personal use rights, the iTunes Music Store is the best way for Mac® and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and videos online. The iTunes Music Store features a selection of over 9,000 music videos, Pixar and Disney short films, a variety of hit TV shows, and more than three million songs from the major music companies and over 1,000 independent labels.

Pricing and Availability
iTunes 6 for Mac and Windows includes the iTunes Music Store and is available as a free download from www.apple.com/itunes. Purchase and download of songs and videos from the iTunes Music Store requires a valid credit card with a billing address in the country of purchase. Television shows are available in the US only, and video availability varies by country. Television shows are $1.99 (US) per episode, and music videos and short films are $1.99 (US) each.