Adding to our body of new client work is a company that you most likely heard about unless you were living under a rock lately: Rumblefish (www.rumblefish.com). With VOXUS driving the PR ship, Rumblefish launched a new music service for YouTube (www.youtube.com) called Friendly Music (www.friendlymusic.com). The Friendly Music service is the first ever to offer non-commercial music licenses that last a lifetime to edit songs into YouTube videos. Think of it as iTunes for digital video. Not too bad of results if I do say so myself with 24 briefings and hundreds of articles resulting. Here's some of the more high profile stories:

- Associated Press (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20100623/us-youtube-rumblefish/)
- New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/business/media/28rumblefish.html)
- ABC (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/AheadoftheCurve/techbytes-tunes-youtube/story?id=11030951)
- NPR (http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2010/06/23/128060136/get-music-rights-for-1-99)
- Mashable (http://mashable.com/2010/06/28/rumblefish-friendly-music/)
- TechCrunch (http://techcrunch.com/2010/06/29/rumblefish-friendly-music/)
- Gizmodo (http://gizmodo.com/5575507/friendlymusic-lets-you-buy-legal-licensed-tunes-for-your-youtube-videos-for-2)
- Billboard Magazine (http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i14a7e72d3d44c14d9c4c11d4da9c480a)
- CNET (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-20009289-2.html)
- PC Magazine (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2365573,00.asp)
- FOX Business (http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2010/06/30/hulus-premium-service-plus-lawsuit-free-soundtracks/)

-posted by Andrew

I'm not one to blog about client news, but this one was just too out of the norm to pass up. Recently, VOXUS client Ryzex announced the oldest operational barcode device as part of its Big Upgrade contest (www.bigupgrade.com). But what's even more interesting is that after combing through numerous entries, Ryzex found what it believed to be the oldest operational barcode device on the same day the Google logo was replaced by the ubiquitous black-and-white barcode design. This was done to celebrate the 57th anniversary of the first barcode patent.

The oldest device, the MSI 2100 from the early 1970s, was found to be the oldest operational barcode device out of two months of submissions. The portable data collection terminal is battery powered and even includes a cassette tape for data memory... and get this IT STILL WORKED! So I admit this isn't as catchy as finding the first mobile phone, but for someone who lives and breathes AIDC (Automatic Identification and Data Capture) devices, this is pretty cool.



-posted by Andrew

We have some great news to share: CEO Aaron Finn has been named to the prestigious Puget Sound Business Journal's "40 Under 40" listing. Selected from more than 200 nominations, Finn was recognized for his entrepreneurial and civic accomplishments, which include co-founding AdReady, and supporting his local community.

Aaron will accept his award at the Honoree Bash being held at the Seattle Repertory Theatre on September 15. 

Way to go, Aaron!

Earlier this year, the Washington Technology Industry Association named AdReady "Service Provider of the Year" in their 14th annual Industry Achievement Awards.

-posted by Lindsay

Last week, Craig Lee at Ortiva Wireless participated in the "Multimedia on Mobile Devices" panel at the CONNECTIONS conference in Santa Clara, CA. Craig also chatted with Parks Associates about Ortiva's latest developments and mobile video market trends.  Check out the video interview here.

-posted by Lindsay

I recently spent a few days in Las Vegas for an annual vacation. We try to stay in a different hotel each time. This year it was MGM Grand's turn. Very quickly I decided this would be MGM's only turn. There were a couple of reasons, but one of them was the fact that there was no TV in the bathroom. How could there be no TV in the bathroom? You're rated four stars, get with it MGM! And while you're at it, please get a luggage software tracking solution that helps vacationers who temporarily misplace their claim ticket to more easily find their bags. Walking your Costco-sized warehouse of checked luggage is exhausting!

On a recent trip to Santa Monica, I was pleased to find my must-have flat screen TV in a single room at the Loews Hotel. The provider? You guessed it -- VOXUS client Totevision. Thank you Totevision for making my dream of having a TV In every hotel bathroom a reality.



-posted by Lindsay

Craig Lee of Ortiva Wireless discussed the latest mobile video trends with Greg Galitzine of TMCNet at CTIA earlier this month.  Check out the video interview here.

-posted by Lindsay

At the Connectathon conference (2/23-27, Chicago), Nextrials will participate in an integration demonstration between clinical trials’ electronic data capture (EDC) technology and electronic health records (EHR) used within healthcare systems. The integration of EDC and EHR is currently one of the hottest topics in both pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. By integrating EDC products with EHR platforms, researchers will obtain a more efficient, more readily available solution for identifying and enrolling patients in new trials.  For example, case report forms can be pre-populated with data coming directly from existing electronic health records at diverse sites.  This increases performance and efficiency of data capture while also minimizing the potential for bad data related to re-entry into multiple systems. This type of environment also enables sponsors to test hypothetical enrollment trends and spot recruitment problems even before the study protocol is finalized -- ñ saving time and money. 

Nextrials’ award-winning Prism® melds sophisticated clinical trial management functionality with EDC in a single, integrated package. By receiving a constant flow of data, Prism enables sponsors and sites to fully utilize real-time integration of disparate information and data sources, such as a hospital’s EHR or patient records, to better provide a continuum of care for patients enrolled in clinical trials.

Connectathon, being sponsored by IHE, is a major milestone in the industry's progress towards integration and will redefine patient recruiting efforts and costs for clinical trials in the future. Those interested in learning more about the Connectathon or in attending the event can visit http://www.ihe.net/Connectathon/index.cfm.

-posted by Shawnna

On Friday (2/13), Nextrials pledged support for the American National Standards Institute’s (www.ansi.org) latest initiative to facilitate the use of electronic health information within global clinical research activities. One of the industry’s leading proponents for the integration of electronic data capture technology and electronic health records platforms, ANSI began the initiative last year at the request of the U. S. Department of Health and Human services; Nextrials joined the effort to provide support and to help develop the emerging standard.

ANSI is now seeking funding to continue its work to promote the development and adoption of a standard that advances the continuum of patient care through the use of electronic health records to further future research and clinical decisions. In addition to Nextrials, organizations participating in the effort so far include Abbott Laboratories, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Digital Infuzion, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Research and Development, Partners HealthCare, PharmaNet, Inc. and Quintiles.

-posted by Shawnna

"Photo books is the most lucrative product category in photo merchandise, both in terms of revenue and growth opportunity, and is already generating more revenue than photo cards in both the U.S. and Western Europe,” said David Haueter, associate director of InfoTrends’ Photo Printing Trends Service.

On Wednesday (1/21), RPI announced that it set an industry record through the production of more than 1.3 million photo books in 2008.  This brings RPI's overall production tally to three million photo books since the product’s launch, representing a 60 percent year-over-year growth. With its recent expansion of corporate and manufacturing space, RPI is positioned as the largest digital printer on the West Coast and is capable of scaling to meet the increasing manufacturing and fulfillment demands of the rapidly growing photo products market.

Congratulations, RPI!

-posted by Shawnna

Looking for a token of love for your sweetheart this Valentine's Day that wont leave you feeling more robbed than romantic? VOXUS' client, RPI, which handles the manufacturing and fulfillment for consumer print-on-demand products for many of the leading ecommerce photo product websites, provides tips on how to create personalized gifts that are quick to create, fun to give and receive, and affordable for even the most frugal of us.

“Cupid might have to cut costs, but that doesn’t mean sweethearts should be showered with less meaningful gifts,” says John Perez, CEO of RPI. “This year, photo and memory books are extremely popular, and can be created for under $5. What could be more affordable than that?”

Perez points to four fabulous gift finds for under $10:

• Personalized Stationery Packs: Choose coordinating designs for notebooks, notepads and note cards to create a personalized stationery gift pack. Spiral bound notebooks come with a personalized cover and page options including designs for a wedding planner, baby book and a day planner. Snapfish by HP offers notebooks and notepads for $7.99-9.99, and note cards for as little as $1.08 apiece.

• Photo books: Make the perfect memory book for your partner by pulling together photos from exciting escapades and romantic rendezvous that have taken place during your relationship. Create a mini photo book with 12 double-sided full-photo pages at Walgreens for $5.99 per book.

• Memory books: Make a softbound memory book with your everlasting love letters or poetry at Wal-Mart for only $3.88.

• Calendars: Mark the dates for birthdays, anniversaries or other significant events with photos from throughout the year. Not only will personalized calendars help recipients remember special occasions, but will also remind them that you’re thinking of them 365 days a year. Calendars are available at Costco for $9.99 each.

• Stickers & Seals: With personalized photos and/or text, adhesive stickers add a personal touch to love letters as envelope seals or to decorate gift packages. Buy one sheet of 20 stickers from Costco for only $2.99.

-posted by Shawnna

Boost eLearning recently announced results of a new survey that indicate employees are not leveraging Google’s basic search functionality for business research. The online survey reports that most employees are unfamiliar with such basic search techniques as synonym finder, site search, or even how to limit by timeframe or file type. As a result, Google business research queries either fail to provide the desired results or waste valuable employee time by burying key information. This research follows the company's earlier finding that 39 percent of all Google searches fail, leading to more than 40 hours of lost productivity per user per year(!).

Google is an extremely powerful business research tool, but employees that lack basic instruction on its use are both losing time and missing opportunities, which could far exceed the value of the lost hours. To get employees up to speed (and fast...) Boost eLearning has released a new course, Boost eLearning Google Search Training Quick Lessons, that focuses on key business research techniques, saving companies valuable employee time and materially improving search results.

-posted by Lindsay

Mobile video consumption is on the rise, leading experts to estimate the market will exceed $15 billion in worldwide revenue by 2012. Driving this market forward is VOXUS' own Ortiva Wireless, developer of the mobile Video Optimization Gateway (mVOG). On Tuesday (1/20), the company announced a commercial deployment with Vodafone Portugal, a tier one European carrier with more than five million subscribers. mVOG is helping Vodafone Portugal dramatically increase the efficiency and quality of mobile video across its network, ensuring a superior viewing experience for its growing Vodafone live! customer base.

“To build strong subscribership in mobile video, we must deliver amazing video quality from the start,” said Jorge Bento, IN and Service Development Director at Vodafone Portugal. “Anything less falls short of our commitment to providing the high-quality, mobile video services our subscribers demand. Ortiva met this requirement in testing, even during noisy network conditions. mVOG will be an essential component to our ability to improve subscriber interest in mobile video services.”

Ortiva's unique combination of operator and subscriber benefits is helping carriers worldwide quickly accelerate mobile video revenue using existing networks. Check them out on their site or in Barcelona, Spain at Mobile World Congress (Booth #1H33, Hall 1-0).

-posted by Lindsay

Boost eLearning just announced results of a new survey indicating 39 percent of all Google searches fail, leading to more than 40 hours – or one week – of lost productivity per user per year. These stats can add up fast for a large organization which is why the company has designed an online training course that helps employees quickly and easily learn all of the powerful built-in search features of Google. For more information visit www.boostelearning.com



-posted by Lindsay

On Monday, M2E Power announced the development of an external mobile device charger. Big news in the gadget world and green verticals. To support this news, VOXUS has been busy working with press. Our efforts have paid off big time! Props to the entire team!

To cap it off, today the news ran on Business Week. Check it out.

Here's a little picture:

In addition, articles also ran in more than 100 other outlets including these feature articles:
-Wired
-Gizmodo
-DVICE
-Inhabitat
-GigaOm
-Daily Green
-Coolest Gadgets
-Gadget Insight
-EcoTech Daily
-Gadget Crunch/Tech Crunch
-EcoFriend
-Cellphone Beat
-Tom's Guide
-Technology Today
-CNET
-Idaho Business Review
-Gadget Guru
-Good Clean Tech
-Earth2tech
-ZDNet
-Game Shout
-Clean Technica
-Wireless Week
-CleanTech
-Headline News
-NPR
-Smart Planet
-and more, and more and more!!!!

-posted by Justin

As our client M2E announces a new external charger for mobile device on 8/25, we thought we'd post this little video that explains the innovation behind the technology. This video podcast was created for the R&D 100 awards.


M2E video

-posted by Justin

Our client Boost eLearning, the pioneer in Google search training for large organizations, is interested in hearing about your experiences with Google. If you have a minute to spare, please fill out a survey. Look for the orange starburst at the bottom left of the screen. Survey-takers are automatically entered to win a free Boost eLearning Google Search Training license.

Thanks for your help.

-posted by Lindsay

Google Search is a critical business tool for the full spectrum of roles in an organization. From sales to HR and IT, employees depend on Google multiple times a day to find the information they need to do their job. Yet this tool is highly underutilized since most workers only know a couple of Google's powerful search capabilities. This gap has created a significant market opportunity for training businesses to help workers demystify the Web and turn free data into actionable information.

Seattle-based Boost eLearning is hoping to do just that. Leveraging the fundamentals of adult-learning theory, Boost eLearning Google Search Training instills in workers the repertory of search skills required to extract and harness targeted information in the fastest manner possible. By easily excluding ads, pinpointing geographic areas, extracting certain file types and many other powerful search practices, Boost eLearning's training eliminates the time and frustration of failed searches.

If you're not convinced, check out their free online demo at: www.boostelearning.com

-posted by Lindsay

Our client Boost eLearning has announced a free training lesson that helps fans across the globe track their favorite 2008 Summer Olympics athletes. The 3 minute lesson available at www.boostelearning.com teaches fans how to find all the latest coverage pertaining to the Olympics regardless of geographic and lingual boundaries. Want to read more about your favorite Romanian gymnast in his or her hometown paper? No problem...and Boost will even help you translate it into English.

-posted by Lindsay

In today's economic climate all manner of companies are looking at ways to tighten their operations, or simply stated, do more with less. And in the industrial distribution sector where labor is a significant cost, less often means less people. And yet, Inbound Logistics reports that almost 20 percent of warehouse workers responding to a recent Gallup poll describe themselves as "actively disengaged" from their work. As many as half of those surveyed were doing just enough work to get by.

PathGuide Technologies' customer Omni Services is doing more with less by automating its warehouse. As a result, it has decreased total man hours by 18.5% (and lowered costs to pick/receive a line by 7%). Read more in the current issue of Progressive Distributor.

I was fortunate enough to recently represent the Authentication and Online Alliance (AOTA) at their annual summit. This year, Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist, Michael Barrett, the Chief Security Officer for PayPal, Tim Callan, Vice President of Product Marketing at VeriSign, Peter Cullen, General Manager and Chief Privacy Strategist at Microsoft, Howard Schmidt, the former White House Cyber Security Officer, Rob McKenna, the Washington State Attorney General, and Hemanshu Nigram, Chief Security Officer of MySpace, among others, all spoke at the Summit. You can take a look at the presentations by clicking here.



(Picture of Craig Newmark, Craigslist and David Daniels, Jupiter Research, on stage at the AOTA Summit)

The summit was a two-day event full of lively discussions on how and why we should make online experiences as safe and secure as possible. Key takeaways from the event; there’s no silver bullet to making the Internet a safer place and it takes more than just technology to ensure online safety and security… it takes people power. Seems I wasn’t the only person paying attention to the summit. With at least 25 unique media stories… you may have heard of it outside of the VOXUS blog. Check out some of the links:

· USA Today (http://blogs.usatoday.com/technologylive/)

· Seattle PI (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/365598_cybersecurity04.html)

· Seattle Times (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004458445_brier05.html)

· NPR (http://publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news/content/1294129.html)

· KIRO-AM (http://www.mynorthwest.com/?sid=61414&nid=11)

· Computerworld (http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=web_site_management&articleId=9093719&taxonomyId=62&intsrc=kc_top)

· Network World (http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/060508-more-laws-collaboration-required-for.html)

· eMarketing and Commerce (http://www.emarketingandcommerce.com/blog/just-when-you-thought-you-were-safe)

· DMNews (http://directline.dmnewsblogs.com/2008/06/04/aota-focuses-on-trust-on-heels-of-eec-trust-breach/)




(Poster of Craig Spiezle, AOTA Chairman and Founder)

-posted by Andrew

VOXUS client AirMagnet is in the midst of a nationwide 802.11n workshop series, and when they hosted the event in Seattle, I had the opportunity to attend. Led by wireless expert Keith Parsons, the event is a rundown of all things 11n, and I left feeling as though I could successfully deploy a new 802.11n network all by myself (with the right AirMagnet tools, of course). So far, the workshop has been held in Atlanta, Seattle and San Jose. Upcoming dates include Washington D.C. (June 10) New York City (June 11) and Chicago (June 12). If you'd like more information about the event or would like to register to attend, go here.

Below are a few pictures from the Seattle event.

Wireless expert Keith Parsons prepares to share his knowledge with the group.


Attendees prepare to absorb lots of 802.11n information.


-posted by Stephanie

Well, Interop Las Vegas is once again a wrap. As usual, VOXUS was on hand to offer client support -- primarily for AirMagnet, although D2 and Netreo were also in attendance. AirMagnet had some big show news. The company debuted their new WLAN tools for 802.11n, an industry first. The VOXUS team arranged more than 15 meetings at the show and had three camera crews stop by the booth for filming (InformationWeek TV, TechEvents TV and CXO.TV). In addition, AirMagnet won the Best of Interop Award for mobile and wireless (the AirMagnet 11n Suite), making it a two-peat – last year the company won the award for their Vo-Fi Analyzer. Overall, attendance appeared to be down for the show, but there was no shortage of booth gimmicks and tricks (if you were there, how can you forget the screaming monkey). Here some pictures from the event, enjoy:




Dave Berlind of InformationWeek interviews Wade Williamson, director of product management at AirMagnet.



Chris Roeckl, VP of marketing at AirMagnet, gives an interview to CXO.TV.




AirMagnet's Best of Interop Award.



Yes, those are bikes being ridden around in a circle....



Trapeze Networks....oh, the value of a clown!

-posted by Justin

The winners of the 2008 Best of Interop Awards were just announced at the Interop Las Vegas show, where VOXUS client AirMagnet won the Best of Interop Award in the Mobile and Wireless category. This is the second year in a row that AirMagnet has won the prestigious award.

You can find the full list of this year's winners at http://www.bestofinterop.com/winners/

-posted by Stephanie

Within the telecom expense management (TEM) field, the issue of mobile device management has recently begun to take center stage. In a recent report from ABI Research, mobile device management services are predicted to grow from $583 million in 2007 to a whopping $20 billion by 2013 (a statistic recently highlighted in Gadget Network’s blog entry “Mobile Device Management Services, a $20 Billion Opportunity by 2013. But Who Will Manage?”). Our friends at Perlego Systems have secured a large corner of this market by offering a hosted, over-the-air solution that enable enterprises, carriers, device manufacturers and resellers to quickly deploy and control an entire fleet of mobile devices – regardless of OS platform or carrier.

-posted by Shawnna

It's well-documented by print journalists of the death of traditional radio stations.  While radio listening by the traditional mediums of a car stereo or portable radio may be dropping, listening to original stories from those organizations by other mediums (i.e... the internet) are not. 

For example, my client, Dipiti, was just featured on a local Seattle AM radio station called 710 KIRO.  The story (give a listen below) was part of Jason Brooks' CEO Spotlight and not only aired on the radio, but also on their website.  While most people I know didn't hear the story during their morning drive, they did hear it on KIRO's website.

My take on this whole death of traditional media; the way you'll get your news will change, the need for content will not.

Podcast

-posted by Andrew

The perception of the casual gaming space never ceases to amaze me. The phrase "casual gaming," while really applicable across any platform or game, has commonly been associated with lower-end games such as Bejeweled or Cake Mania that you can play online or through a mobile phone (cost, below $20). The developers and publishers that traditionally ruled this market (PopCap, Sandlot (our client), WildTangent, etc.), grew it from its infancy, established the general definition of what a casual game is, built a consumer model that actually worked, and started turning a nice profit. And for all that hard work, what did they get? Exactly what you would expect -- a veritable who's who of big time gaming companies that are trying to muscle in on the market (and possible redefine what a casual gamer is). If you have a minute, check out this new article on MSNBC. It talks about the great race to grab market share and the challenge to define a casual game. What's really interesting is that the writer opted to speak only with the larger companies, not the smaller developers that created this space. Whoops!

Some quick facts:
-currently an estimated 56 million casual gamers worldwide
-in 2008 the market is estimated to gross $1 billion
-casual gamers make up about 1% of the $20.5 billion game-software market

-posted by Justin

This week, my client Dipiti publicly launched its service.   Dipiti is a human-filtered search service that connects consumers with the online community content (forums and message boards). What separates this company from other human-filtered search services is its emphasis on life matters (health, pets, legal and money) along with its exclusive search of forums  and message boards (tracking about 29 million active conversations).  I think of Dipiti as essentially the company that puts "the human" into the Internet.

I really dig this service because it not only addresses my favorite segment of the population (pets), but really does personalize the Internet in a way not many sites can from its human-filtered searches, to its canvassing of forums and message boards to its life matters. 

It's not just me that's hot on Dipiti, check out what the Seattle Times and Seattle PI  are saying.  You can see what you think but I give it two paws up:)

-posted by Andrew

VOXUS client CozyBug, an online flea market and garage sale boutique, this week radically expanded its reach by tying into Trulia, Oodle, Vast.com, and Google Base. Now you can post a free listing once and gain much broader exposure for all that really great stuff cluttering up your garage. If you're one of the dissatisfied eBay users out there, give CozyBug a try.

-posted by Adrienne

The SIIA just announced the finalists for the 2008 CODiE Awards. With nearly 30 entries received in the Best Mobile Solution category, two VOXUS clients top the list. After a thorough peer product review, Formotus was honored for its click-and-deploy mobile application solution and Perlego was recognized for its mobile device lifecycle management offering. See a full list of finalists here.

Winners will be announced May 20, 2008 at the CODiE Awards Gala in San Francisco, CA.

-posted by Lindsay

Voxus client SARS Corp. is doing some interesting work with the oil drilling company Rowan by tracking the location of Rowan's oil rigs (offshore and land-based) as well as buoys marking sunken rigs and helicopters transporting crew. As far as we know, this is one of the few industry examples out there of a single telematics service accessing information on three different asset types (actually four if you separate land rigs and offshore rigs) and delivering it to the customer within one single view.

You can also read more about SARS the company in today's Seattle Times article by Tricia Duryee.

-posted by Adrienne

Voxus client Sandlot Games has just announced a sweet contest, the Jill Evans Look-a-Like contest. Sandlot is encouraging all the Cake Mania fans out there to send in a picture dressed as Jill, the cake-baking heroine of the mega-popular Cake Mania games. They will be accepting photo entries until November 12, the grand prize winners will receive a Nintendo DS in addition to other game prizes. You can find out more about the contest and how to enter here.

-posted by Stephanie

Our friends at Zynchros just announced a major contract with the Department of Defense. The company has been awarded the formulary management and publication contract for TRICARE, the military's health care system, serving more than nine million active and retired military personnel and their families.

-posted by Rachel

Congratulations to VOXUS client Nextrials, selected as the runner-up in the inaugural Data Innovation Awards competition sponsored by the Society for Clinical Data Management. Nextrials was selected on the strength of a partnership it has established with Z-Tech Medical to automatically collect and transmit patient data from medical devices into a full data management system. Mark Uehling at ClinPage wrote a glowing review of Nextrials' enhancements to its clinical data management program, Prism, which you can read here.

-posted by Rachel

For those of you out there who spend way too much time entering data into your company's Siebel CRM system, our client Knouen has announced OfficeSync, an add-in for Outlook that provides bidirectional synchronization between Siebel CRM and Outlook. Lack of strong ROI and user adoption from CRM systems has long been a problem. Knouen founder Meetul Shah is a Microsoft veteran who worked on CRM alliances, and based on early feedback from the analyst community, his company is meeting a clear need in the marketplace.

-posted by Adrienne

Our client Sandlot Games has rolled its flagship game (and the most downloaded casual video game of 2006) Cake Mania onto the Mac!!! Now Mac enthusiast can take a crack at this wonderfully addictive little game and see what 40 million other people were so obsessed about. That's right, it's not a typo, more than 40 million people have downloaded Cake Mania.

Sandlot already offers a couple of its games on Mac, but after speaking with the CEO, Daniel Bernstein, it looks like they have an internal initiative to migrate most of their great selling games onto the Mac. This, could be an industry shift in casual games. The Mac community is starved for casual games right now, but the emergence of the iPhone perhaps has developers and publishers foaming at the mouth a bit.

If you use a Mac -- especially if you have kids -- try the game out for free. If you like it, it costs 20 bucks! It's a great family-friendly game for the entire gang. I happen to be a pretty hardcore gamer (yes, I got my copy of Halo 3 the second it was released) and Cake Mania is still a great challenge, just a different genre. You can check it out here.

What is Cake Mania?
Cake Mania follows the culinary adventures of Jill Evans – a young entrepreneur. Cake Mania is a time management game where players help Jill open her own bakery, bring in customers and earn enough money to re-open her grandparents' troubled business. Gamers can upgrade and customize their shop to attract new patrons and meet daily sales goals. Jill's world is populated with interesting locales and hilarious characters that make the game engaging and visually appealing for all ages. Players keep the hungry grannies, blushing brides, and picky food critics happy with hundreds of possible cake combinations.

-posted by Justin

Best wishes to our friends and longtime client, AccessLine Communications. The Bellevue-based VoIP for business company was acquired Tuesday by San Diego-based Telanetix. Telanetix, which is traded OTB, integrates audio, video, and data from multiple locations into a single environment regardless of geographic boundaries. AccessLine will eventually be a wholly-owned subsidiary and, for now, plans to remain in Bellevue.

-posted by Rachel

One of our newest clients, CozyBug, this week joined the growing crowd of Facebook application providers. With CozyBug's new app, Facebook users can post rich classified ads and garage sale listings on their personal profiles. Read more about it on Mashable, the world’s largest blog focused exclusively on social networks.

-posted by Adrienne

Well, I would be remiss to not do a blog posting on a new game being released from one of our clients, Sandlot Games. Cake Mania 2, follow up to the most downloaded casual video game of 2006, will be available to the public on 8/27. More than 40 million people have downloaded this game and the new release is set to carry the momentum forward. You can check out the mini-site that will launch on Monday, or hit up Sandlot's newly designed website to download the game.

In the meantime, here are some exclusive pics from the new game, enjoy...

-posted by Justin

As part of our recent launch campaign for CozyBug's unique new local online classified service (think: eBay and Craigslist mashup), we arranged for a radio spot on the nationally syndicated Into Tomorrow with Dave Graveline show. These are always fun to script, and you can check it out below.

Podcast

-posted by Paul

Last Tuesday evening, Bothell-based casual gaming company (and VOXUS client) Sandlot Games hosted a party at Club Venom in Seattle in conjunction with the Casual Gaming Association conference. In attendance were various members of press, gaming industry notables, and a woman dressed as Cake Mania's heroine Jill, complete with a freshly frosted cake and a robot-like walk. Cake Mania was the top casual game of 2006 and a major hit for Sandlot; at the party, Sandlot founder and CEO Daniel Bernstein gave the first glimpse of Cake Mania 2 (out in August) during a 10-minute run through of the game on Venom's huge projection screens. Needless to say, the party was a "treat" for all who attended.

-posted by Stephanie

VOXUS client Nextrials was selected for this year's AlwaysOn 100 list of top private Internet-related technology companies. There were also a number of Seattle-based startups that made this year's list, including our friends at Verdiem, SeaMobile, Pluggd and Payscale, to name a few. Congratulations to all of the designees. For the complete list, go here.

-posted by Rachel

The best way to validate technology is to show examples of customer implementations. What better way to do that then have the nation's largest supplier of tradeshow networks use your product. Check out this recent release from AirMagnet, the leader in WLAN security and performance solutions:

(Read More...)

VOXUS client Intoto is taking aim at the middle market with a disruptive new model that offers free network-centric security software downloads. First out of the gate at Interop is IntruPro IPS, an intrusion prevention system. It's the first free server offering (free desktop offerings have been available) and it's the good stuff - unthrottled, high-end fuctionality - the same thing Intoto currently delivers to the OEM market serving many of the world's biggest enterprises. So why do businesses need IPS? According to Charles Kolodgy at IDC, "IPS systems are the next generation firewalls."

-posted by Adrienne

Check out this funny new campaign from our client Centennial Software: www.usbglue.com. "From the people who brought you the Super Security Sticker™ comes the latest in endpoint security technology. USB Glue™ is the leading endpoint security adhesive on the market today. Our formula is scientifically designed to provide the ultimate blockage of USB ports on today’s computers, giving IT administrators the ultimate endpoint security solution in a tube!"


-posted by Justin

It's a banner month for our team as CipherLab joins the ranks of VOXUS clients featured in trade magazine cover stories this month. The lead story in the March issue of Integrated Solutions for Retailers talks about a CipherLab data capture deployment at Associated Grocers of the South.

-posted by Rachel

In the PR world, we all strive for it: to get a client featured in a cover story. So when it happens, as it did this month for VOXUS client Nextrials, we have to take a quick moment to note it...before moving on to the next challenge. Nextrials was interviewed on the topic of meshing electronic data capture and clinical trial management systems for the February issue of Bio-IT World. Not bad for a small company. Today: Bio-IT World. Tomorrow: ?

-posted by Rachel

Good news, one of our clients – Centennial Software – was named a Hot Company for 2007 by Info Security Products Guide. The company was selected from a list of more than 500 prominent info security vendors from around the world. The judging process evaluated entrepreneurial spirit, executive leadership, security market expertise, emerging market opportunities, revenue-growth models and planned expansion strategies.

This comes on the heels of another award for best endpoint security product (silver medal) by SearchWindowsSecurity.
Centennial Software received the Hot Company 2007 award in recognition of DeviceWall, the company’s acclaimed endpoint security product, and Security.Advisor, a newly released vulnerability assessment product. DeviceWall allows IT managers to secure data access points and centrally manage all mobile device connections to a corporate network, striking a balance between information access essential to an employee’s job function and network security. Security.Advisor leverages Centennial Discovery, the industry’s most comprehensive network discovery solution, to detect and prioritize network software and firmware vulnerabilities.
Click here to view the complete list of winners of the Info Security Hot Company 2007 awards.

-posted by Justin

For all you network managers at SMB who struggle to centralize and simplify management, we might have a solution that will answer your prayers. Last month Netreo announced a new network management application that is SaaS-based (software as a service). This is the first SaaS network management product designed for SMBs, with all the bells and whistles associated with an enterprise-class product. Called OmniCenter OnDemand, it's based on the widely-deployed appliance-based OmniCenter technology and breaks significant new industry ground by delivering the features and tools of OmniCenter in an easily-deployed suite. This allowing SMBs to enjoy complete device management, configuration management, performance management and real-time fault management without having to purchase or install new hardware and software.

If you're an IT manager reluctant to implement a network management solution for fear of a workload spikeage, you owe it to yourself to check out Netreo. In addition, there should be an in-depth product review at Network Computing in early February.

-posted by Justin

Good news -- our client, Centennial Software, was given the Silver Medal for SearchWindowsSecurity.com annual "Products of the Year" Awards. They gained this accolade in the "Endpoint Security" category for Centennial DeviceWall. Centennial was the only software vendor that controls the use of portable storage devices on a corporate network to be given an award. Together, the Awards span 28 product categories and single out nearly 70 new products that enterprise IT professionals should consider adding to their "A" lists of products to evaluate.

The products were judged by the editors of each Web site in conjunction with teams of users, industry experts, analysts and consultants. Judges evaluated more than 200 products that were introduced, upgraded, and first shipped (depending on the product category) between September 30, 2005 and October 1, 2006; after October 1, 2005 and before November 1, 2006; or after October 31, 2005 and before November 1, 2006.

To see the entire list of winners, click here.

-posted by Justin

Congratulations to VOXUS client AccessLine Communications! The company was recently awarded Internet Telephony's Product of the Year award for its SmartVoicePlus, a VoIP-based replacement for a small business's key system or PBX. This is the second year in a row that the company has won an award from Internet Telephony for its products.

-posted by Rachel

VOXUS client AccessLine Communications noted that most VoIP service providers are willing to talk about cost savings and advanced features, but gloss over the problem of the length of time required to initiate service for a business. Last week the company announced it had developed Service Builder, a component of its SmartProvisioning 2.0, that helps resellers and agents reduce order provisioning by as much as 90 percent. We'll be interested to see if this generates any additional chatter within the industry, or if AccessLine competitors will continue to ignore a significant deployment problem.

-posted by Rachel

A cool factoid: VOXUS client CipherLab's hand-held wireless scanners are being used in the filming of a new television series, "Masters of Science Fiction," recently greenlighted by ABC. In reality, the barcode scanner is used in retail settings, but its sleek design caught the eye of the series' prop master who was looking for a piece of hardware that could be used to simulate a body scanner in a futuristic medical environment. The filming is now underway in Vancouver, BC.

-posted by Rachel

The August issue of PharmaVOICE features 100 of today's most inspiring people in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries...and two VOXUS clients made the list. Anthony J. Costello, co-founder and vice president of Nextrials made the list in "The Risk Takers" category, and Nosa Omoigui, founder, chairman and CEO of Nervana is noted in "The Technologists" category. The magazine is now in circulation, and the full list of winners can be viewed online. Congratulations to both!

-posted by Rachel

Gig Harbor-based CipherLab (which happens to be a VOXUS client!) grabbed one of the top prizes at last month's Retail Systems trade show. Integrated Solutions for Retailers magazine picked the company's deployment of a point-of-sale and inventory management solution at Emerson's Furniture in Brattleboro, VT as this year's Best In-Store System in the Small to Midsize Retail Solutions Award competition. This is especially notable since the technology deployment at Emerson's Furniture, a retailer not well-known outside of Vermont, was judged against installations at companies such as Camping World, Brooks Brothers and Aerosoles.

-posted by Rachel

Congratulations to our client, Nextrials and its pharma customer, GlobeImmume for making the Top 100 in North America list from Red Herring. Competition was fierce this year, but we noted that two Pacific Northwest companies also made the list: Seattle's Lockdown Networks and Issaquah's BioPassword.

-posted by Rachel

Centennial Software, a developer of endpoint security and IT asset discovery solutions (and a client), announced the addition of six new customers in the banking market for its DeviceWall product. If you're not familiar with DeviceWall, the product enables businesses to secure and manage portable storage devices like iPods or PDAs in a network environment. The company has been having tremendous customer success in 2006 and this recent news is another reminder of that fact. The company also has a fantastic security blog on data theft, which was featured on MSNBC last month.

-posted by Justin