Mobile Website Optimization for Marketing Webinar

14 Apr 2011 12:00 Africa/Lagos

Systems Alliance to Host Webinar on Mobile Website Optimization for Marketing, Communication and Web Professionals on April 28, 2011

One-Hour Session Will Provide Guidance for Eliminating the Challenge of Managing Multiple Online Experiences by Developing Mobile-Friendly Desktop Websites

PR Newswire

HUNT VALLEY, Md., April 14, 2011

HUNT VALLEY, Md., April 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Systems Alliance Inc., a software development firm and systems integrator providing high-value Web, IT and business consulting services, today announced it will host a Webinar for marketing, communication and Web professionals, entitled, "One Web for All – Optimizing Your Desktop Site for Mobile Visitors," from 1:00 to 2:00 pm ET on April 28, 2011.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110303/PH58350LOGO )

This complimentary webinar, led by Systems Alliance consultants Mark Dabrowski and Jasmine Tobias will provide insights and guidance for optimizing Web content for delivery on mobile devices and desktop browsers. Recognizing the growing demand for mobile-friendly content and inherent challenge of managing multiple online experiences, the Webinar will cover:

* Dos and Don'ts of legacy mobile development
* The operational and cost benefits of optimizing your desktop site for mobile visitors
* Design considerations for mobile visitors
* Evolving development issues: CSS, HTML 5, etc.
* Auto-detection and template swapping


Expert Presenters

The mobile Web optimization webinar will be led by members of the Systems Alliance Web Effectiveness consulting team:

* Mark Dabrowski , Vice President, Web Effectiveness Consulting – Mark oversees a team of award-winning designers, developers and project managers who assess, build and transform Web properties for Systems Alliance clients.
* Jasmine Tobias , CUA, Senior Web Consultant – Jasmine is a certified usability analyst by Human Factors International who has over 12 years of experience in Web communications, design, development, and implementation.


Webinar Details

* One Web for All – Optimizing Your Desktop Site for Mobile Visitors
* 1:00 to 2:00 pm ET
* Thursday, April 28, 2011
* Register now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/547705889
* Check for webinar updates and follow along on Twitter using the hashtag #SAImobileweb


About Systems Alliance

Systems Alliance, Inc., founded in 1993, is a Maryland-based company that provides business and technology consulting services to leading corporate and public sector clients including American Public University, Baltimore County Government, Conde Nast, Johns Hopkins Institutions, Modell's Sporting Goods and Random House. Systems Alliance has local offices in Georgia and Tennessee. To learn more, visit: http://www.systemsalliance.com.

Contact:
David Schreiber
(410) 343-7731
news@systemsalliance.com

SOURCE Systems Alliance Inc.

Web Site: http://www.systemsalliance.com

Gray-Market Handsets Continue to Plague AME Mobile Markets, Pyramid Finds

• Gray-market handsets are cell phones manufactured in China that are not recognized or licensed by government regulators. Makers of these products generally do not pay China’s value-added taxes and, therefore, profit illegally from their participation in the market.

• China’s gray-market cell phone shipments will amount to 255 million units in 2011, up 11.8 percent from 228 million in 2010. This compares to a rise of 43.6 percent in 2009.



13 Apr 2011 18:00 Africa/Lagos


Gray-Market Handsets Continue to Plague AME Mobile Markets, Pyramid Finds

PR Newswire

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 13, 2011

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The number of gray market handsets sold across AME will remain steady through 2015, however the sharp increase in legitimate handset sales during that period will reduce the percentage of gray market handset units sold in AME to 13 percent, according to a new report from Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com).

Squashing Gray Markets for Mobile Handsets describes the reasons behind the emergence of gray markets in the African handset markets and addresses some initiatives by handset manufacturers, network operators and government agencies to counteract these trends. It observes that concerted efforts are necessary if gray markets are to be challenged and provides examples from Turkey, Nigeria and South Africa to illustrate the arguments in more detail.

Download an excerpt of this report here: http://www.pyramidresearch.com/downloads.htm?id=5&sc=PRN041311_INSAME3.3

Purchase the report here: http://www.pyramidresearch.com/store/ins_ame_110407.htm?sc=PRN041311_INSAME3.3

"Pyramid believes that shrinking gray markets in Africa depends on manufacturers and operators providing the right incentives for end users to buy authentic handsets, rather than solely branding gray markets as illegitimate," says Kerem Arsal, Analyst at Pyramid. "This requires handset manufacturers to work with network operators to develop affordable handsets, while government agencies should implement policies to encourage the sale and domestic distribution of legitimate handsets," he indicates.

Many African end users can afford only the cheapest of handsets. "Even in cases where income is not an immediate obstacle, limited mobile network capabilities in most markets suggest that phones that are rich in features are not urgently needed," says Arsal. "In response to the gray market handsets, handset manufacturers are aiming for clever combinations to appeal to end users by providing affordable and simple phones, while staying more in touch with the usage realities of the African markets when coming up with relevant features," he adds.

"In African markets where mobile operators have a degree of subscriber loyalty, they should be employed as the primary channel for handset distribution," Arsal says. "Where mobile operators achieve some degree of loyalty, then handset manufacturers are better off using network operators' channels at the expense of sharing some revenue," he notes. "In fact, any loss of revenue due to selling indirectly can easily be counteracted by the scale and certainty provided by powerful mobile operators, as well as by recovering the loss of market share to gray markets," Arsal adds.

Squashing Gray Markets for Mobile Handsets is part of Pyramid Research's Telecom Insider Report Series and is priced at $595. Download the excerpt here: http://www.pyramidresearch.com/downloads.htm?id=5&sc=PRN041311_INSAME3.3. It can be purchased online here (http://www.pyramidresearch.com/store/ins_ame_110407.htm?sc=PRN041311_INSAME3.3 ) or by emailing us at info@pyr.com.

Contact: Jennifer Baker, +1-617-871-1910, jbaker@pyr.com

SOURCE Pyramid Research

Web Site: http://www.pyramidresearch.com

My Case is against the corrupt ruling party in Nigeria

Three great things make a great leader. DIGNITY. INTEGRITY and PROBITY. And Mr. Goodluck E.A. Jonathan, the incumbent President of Nigeria has been found wanting in these three great things.


In a civilized nation, GEAJ and other corrupt leaders of the ruling party would have been prosecuted for electoral malpractices as the courts have indicted them for such crimes as rigging the elections in 2003 and 2007. But in an uncivilized banana republic like the present Nigeria, they are the heroes of the people and they are front runners for the highest public office. This is the tragedy of most underdeveloped nations where corrupt rulers can hoodwink the people and manipulate the electorate to win election by all means and at all costs with impunity. And they soon turn the masses at their mercy into their political zombies. This is your tragedy and not mine. You are just pathetic characters in the drama of life and interesting subjects for my books.

Majority of Nigerians are intellectual illiterates and even prefer to remain morally bankrupt and ARE AFRAID OF CHANGE.

Just be prepared to face the grave consequences of your erroneous choices. And do not come back here to whine about corruption and unfulfilled promises of your political rulers, because you chose them and sold your conscience to them. We reap what we sow?

How many of their children are in public schools?

How many of them depend on public health services?

How many of them use their privileged children as their political thugs?

How many of them live on less than $5 a day?

LOGICAL INTUITION is even enough for any human with brains to know what is GOOD and what is BAD, except he or she is a DUMB backside.


He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.


I rest my case.

Abuja Girls Hangouts

Abuja Girls Hangouts are on Gimbiya street, Area 11, Wuse 2 and the following:

Safari Night Club
Lobby Bar at the Hilton Hotel
Elephant Bar and Dazzle Night Club at Sheraton Hotel
Eden V.I.P. night club in Asokoro District,
The Point
Excellency Resort
Ignorbiz in Kubwa
Dreams in Mararaba.
Dome, Area 11

330 Days: the Uncensored War in Iraq

330 DAYS: THE UNCENSORED WAR IN IRAQ: A PHOTO DOCUMENTARY - Controversial New Book Exposes the Graphic Truths of the Iraq War through the Eyes of Soldiers. (PRNewsFoto/Christopher Durante and Julian Van Bellinghen)

13 Apr 2011 12:00 Africa/Lagos

330 Days: the Uncensored War in Iraq

Controversial New Book Delivers Groundbreaking Perspective on Iraq War

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, April 13, 2011

NEW YORK, April 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Never before have civilians been able to fully appreciate a soldier's perspective of the military campaign in Iraq. Powerful images of war, from suffering and death to courage and freedom, are ingrained forever in these soldiers' minds. 330 Days: The Uncensored War in Iraq brings the reader to the front lines, revealing the evocative images of warfare. The 256-page photo documentary features uncut and uncensored original photographs from the war, accentuated by the harrowing stories told first-hand by the men who captured and lived through them.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110413/NY81821 )

Co-authored by Army Combat Enginer Pvt. Christopher Durante and Halliburton Contractor Julian Van Bellinghen, 330 Days: The Uncensored War in Iraq is a historical depiction seen through the eyes of those deployed on the ground in Iraq, allowing civilians an authentic glimpse into the chaos and comradeship in the midst of battle.

"It is certainly not for the fainthearted as it contains some extremely poignant, but necessary, images of dismembered bomb victims and those caught in street fighting and ambushes," wrote reviewer Robert Bluffied of Bookpleasures.com. "There is little need for words because the images, in the main, speak volumes about the total barbarity of war. The book is hard-hitting, harsh and concerning and clearly will shock, but they show some of the real dangers the coalition troops were exposed to in Iraq and now in Afghanistan."

Uncut and uncensored, 330 Days: The Uncensored War in Iraq captures personal narratives of the heroes who fought in Iraq and delivers the graphic truth about war that provokes controversy and public discussion. The book is as enlightening as it is controversial about the most prolific topic of the last decade.

330 Days: The Uncensored War in Iraq is now available on Amazon.com and is being adapted for television in a groundbreaking docu-series.

Please contact Brandsway Creative, Kelly Brady to receive a review copy of the book or with interview requests for the authors.

PRESS CONTACT:
Brandsway Creative
Kelly Brady
KB@BrandswayCreative.com
(212) 966-7900

SOURCE Christopher Durante and Julian Van Bellinghen

CLICK HERE TO BUY 330 DAYS: THE UNCENSORED WAR IN IRAQ.

AICPA Survey: Four in Ten Working Americans Say They'll Never Afford Retirement

Hotwire Reveals Hotel Rate Report for April 2011

330 Days: the Uncensored War in Iraq

New survey by Experian Reveals One in Three Americans Will Spend All or Most of Their Tax Refund

U.S. Trade Deficit Shrinks in February

National Association of Broadcasters Show Earthquake in Japan

Tax Season

150th Anniversary of Civil War

Vote to end 12 years of Corruption and Maladministration

A voter casting his vote. Photo Credit. Capacity4Development

Vote to end 12 years of Corruption and Maladministration in Nigeria

Twelve years of the corruption and maladministration of the ruling party have left the majority of the citizens poorer and powerless with the nightmares of incessant political assassinations, extrajudicial killings, ethnic and religious riots, terrorist attacks and systemic collapse of government administration jeopardizing public health care, public education and economic security of the poor majority in Nigeria.

We had botched National Assembly Elections on Saturday April 2, and there were glaring electoral lapses. Then the elections were rescheduled and the first round of the elections was held last Saturday April 9, 2011.

There were critical issues of violence and many cases of malpractices. But before we could read the reports of the total results, the incumbent President of Nigeria, Mr. Goodluck Jonathan of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) rushed to claim that he has fulfilled his promise of electoral reforms and allowing free and fair elections. But the most important gubernatorial and presidential elections have not been conducted and the remaining National Assembly elections are still pending.

The political fanatics and sycophants of the president and his shamelessly corrupt ruling party have gone to town to hoodwink the ignorant masses and screaming the same misleading claim of free and fair elections when they have not been concluded. It is like a student claiming that he has already passed his final examinations when he has only done the first examination or claiming success when you have not even completed the assignment. This is the same dishonest way Nigerians engage in the notorious crime of 419 advance fee fraud by claiming that they have some huge loot they would share with their White “mugu” if the “mugu” provided thousands of dollars to process the documents for the collection of the loot. The ruling party has been using the same political 419 to lure and con the millions of ignorant masses who have become their political “mugus” or political zombies.

In a country known for mass failures of the pupils and majority of the students engage in examination malpractices with impunity, it is not unusual for them to accept the political 419 of these desperate and greedy political contractors and their beneficiaries who would prefer a corrupt way of life to an honest way of life. If you are a stranger here, don't panic. If you cannot beat them, you might as well join them and share in the looting of the treasury, pay a fat tithe, give a large offering, contribute to the heavenly purse of their celebrated bishops to buy a new private jet, build a new private university for the children of the rich looters and ask God for forgiveness. It is business as usual in Nigeria and life goes on in the house of dogs. But there are true Nigerian patriots who have resolved to end this corrupt government of kleptomaniacs and sack their kleptocracy and replace it with a new government of an honest and transparent leadership for the reformation and transformation of the country in the nation building of a New Nigeria in the leadership of Africa in the 21st century.

Barbara Kingsolver wins Orange Prize for Fiction

Kingsolver crowned Orange winner


Barbara Kingsolver wins Orange Prize for Fiction

Barbara Kingsolver has won this year's Orange Prize for Fiction with her sixth novel The Lacuna.



The US author beat favourite, Booker prize-winner Hilary Mantel, and four other writers, to take the £30,000 prize at a central London ceremony.

The award, which recognizes the work of fiction written by women from around the world, is now in its 15th year.

Author and TV producer Daisy Goodwin, chair of the judges, praised the winning book's "breathtaking scale".

Kingsolver was presented with her award by Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Cornwall, at an awards ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall on Wednesday.

Click here for more details.

Click here to buy The Lacuna.

BP pays $3.8 billion to 300, 000 victims of Gulf Coast oil spill

The BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig ablaze. Oil spill picture. Image: U.S. Coast Guard.


BP pays $3.8 billion to 300, 000 victims of Gulf Coast oil spill

The British Petroleum has already paid $3.8 billion to 300, 000 victims of the catastrophic Gulf Coast oil spill according to the Dan Rather Reports.

The spill stemmed from a sea-floor oil gusher that resulted from an explosion of Deepwater Horizon on April 20, 2010. Deepwater Horizon drilled on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. The explosion killed 11 men working on the platform and injured 17 others. On July 15, the leak was stopped by capping the gushing wellhead, after it had released about 4.9 million barrels (205.8 million gallons) of crude oil.

Rather will interview Ken Feinberg, Administrator of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility on Tuesday, April 12 at 8:00 p.m. ET to track progress one year after the spill began.

Feinberg was asked by the Obama Administration and British Petroleum to design, implement, and administer a process to pay eligible claimants.

British Petroleum has pledged to put up $20 billion to help the Gulf Coast recover from the spill and the G.C.C.F. has received over 750,000 claims to date from all over the United States. Half of those claims have been denied by the G.C.C.F. and they are currently looking at reviewing another 150,000 pending claims. And the claims continue to pour in at a rate of 500 claims per week; however, claimants will only have until August 13, 2013 that's when the program will go out of existence.

"Dan Rather Reports" also discusses the current state of the Gulf with Feinberg and how he and the G.C.C.F. determined what Feinberg calls a "reasonable" assumption about the Gulf returning to "normal" by the end of 2012.

BP has disagreed with this saying the Gulf will be "perfect in the next three to six months". And this isn't BP's only disagreement with the Administrator.

"BP is not happy," said Feinberg. "First, they say that providing a final payment based on damage through 2012 is way too generous. The final payment should be based on damage through the middle of this year. The other complaint is they think I've been, on some claims, too generous."

Also on tonight's program, Rather and his team look at Afghanistan's largest foreign investment project – a copper mine, now controlled by the Chinese government.

Don't miss "Dan Rather Reports: The Mother Lode" premiering on HDNet, TONIGHT, Tuesday, April 12 at 8:00 p.m. ET with an encore at 11:00 p.m. ET.

Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
12 Apr 2011
19:55	Platts Survey: OPEC Pumps 29.17 Million Barrels of Oil Per Day in March
11 Apr 2011
19:59	22% annual growth predicted for VAS in Africa – Operator leaders meet to set strategies for satisfying local demand
18:35	Nigeria / The African Union to release its preliminary statement for the parliamentary elections
7 Apr 2011
21:11	AU Commissioner receives international recognition

Top Topics

Consumer Reports Index Sustains March's Gains; Retailing Indicators Stronger Than Expected

"Dan Rather Reports" Investigates Government Payouts to Victims of the BP Oil Spill

Allergy Sufferers Contend With Longer Allergy Season

Inflation Poses Biggest Threat to Business Recovery, ACCA Survey Reveals

National Association of Broadcasters Show

Earthquake in Japan

Tax Season

150th Anniversary of Civil War

AU to release its preliminary statement for the parliamentary elections

11 Apr 2011 18:35 Africa/Lagos


Nigeria / The African Union to release its preliminary statement for the parliamentary elections

ADDIS ABABA, April 11, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- On Tuesday 12 April 2011 at 15:00, the African Union Observation Team deployed to Nigeria to witness the parliamentary elections that took place on 9 April will hold a press conference aimed at releasing its preliminary statement.

Journalists are invited to cover and attend the press conference which will take place on 12 of April 2011 at 15:00 at the Sheraton in Abuja, Laki Kwali Conference Center. The press conference will be addressed by Mr Ahmed Issack Hassan, AU team leader for the parliamentary elections and Chairman of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) of Kenya.



Source: African Union Commission (AUC)

Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
11 Apr 2011
19:59	22% annual growth predicted for VAS in Africa – Operator leaders meet to set strategies for satisfying local demand
18:35	Nigeria / The African Union to release its preliminary statement for the parliamentary elections
7 Apr 2011
21:11	AU Commissioner receives international recognition

Infinity TV Encrypts, Expands Content

INFINITY TV ENCRYPTS, EXPANDS CONTENT

As part of their resolve to deliver world class satellite television services at affordable price to Nigerians, Infinity TV will from April 10, 2011 encrypt their satellite signals. What this means is that the honeymoon is over for free subscribers who had over the past months enjoyed free uninterrupted viewership.
Conscious of the economic situation in the country, Infinity TV is rolling out two pocket friendly bouquet to subscribers. The first bouquet comprising of 25 channels goes for N1, 500 monthly, while the second, comprising of 40 channels goes for N3, 000.

Outside these pocket friendly and rich contents, Infinity TV is adding to its already enriched bouquet 21 new channels that covers all strata of life. Infinity TV takes into cognizance the character and characteristics, the flora and fauna of its subscribers’ base hence, the need for the additional contents.

The new channels include BOLLYWOOD BY INFINITY, dedicated channel that brings you the best of classic Indian movies to the latest releases of 2010. The channel also features hot, intriguing Indian soaps and series as well as hilarious and compelling comedies. M GOLD Old school music channel. This channel thrills with the very best and unforgettable classic jams of the 70s, 80s and 90s. The world argues that this age remains the golden era of music. QUEST TV, Quest TV is Africa’s premier fashion, Beauty and style Television lifestyle channel. LIFTED is a Gospel Music and Lifestyle channel put together to inspire, inform and entertainment the Christian folks. The channel is focused on lifting body and soul; also promoting upcoming and new gospel music artistes, showcasing their talents as well as their lifestyles, it will highlight personality profile interviews featuring Ministers of the gospel; Singers, evangelist, Bishops, Social workers and Philanthropists; their personal experiences, spiritual encounters, life lessons, thought-provoking experience and their works. This includes local and foreign content. MOVIE EXPRESS, A 24 hour non stop, cutting edge family oriented movies in English. Movie Express makes your day with all the sizzling blockbuster action, racy romance, rib cracking comedy, expensive epics, curious crime and investigation, high octane drama, space age sci – fi and spicy series. DICE suspense filled dramas, soaps, tele-novelas, talk shows and reality show is what awaits you on this channel. Great entertainment with the popular South American soaps, American best sellers and from the rest of the world on hot demand. VIASAT DOCUMENTARY CHANNELS : NATURE,HISTORY,CRIME,EXPLORATION. ODENIBO (THE IGBO LANGUAGE CHANNEL) – sustaining the language, values and tradition of the Igbo speaking tribes of Eastern Nigeria Odenigbo takes you into the heartbeat of Igboland to discover what makes the people tick – their lifestyle, food, fashion, dance and more importantly the people and historic places. INFINITY SPORTS the passion of sports - the electrifying moments, the thrills, the frills and the fireworks. All the adrenalin pumping sporting action from major European Football Leagues, world best tennis action, athletics golf, cricket, and the nerve breaking extreme action sports, Infinity sports has got it all. Watch live EPL matches, the Spanish La Liga, French Championnat, the Italian Serie A, the German Bundesliga among others.

The UEFA champion’s League and the Europa Cup matches are also live with exciting live analysis. SETANTA AFRICA A foreign sports channel that brings you live football matches – EPL, Dutch League, Belgian League, the J League, the American MLS, the Scottish League and the German Bundesliga, European matches – Nations Cup matches etc, athletics, golf, wrestling (WWE), Basketball, Volleyball, Motorsport, Club TV shows – Manchester City TV, Arsenal TV, Tottenham Hotspur TV, Aston Villa TV, etc VIVE, lifestyle channel adding zest into your life.

Vive is designed to give your life meaning and bring out the personality in you. Learn how to cook international delicious finger licking delicacies from world class chefs. Get the scoop on how to turn your home into the cozy paradise you dream of. Vive helps you discover how to give your good old face a brand new appealing look and helps you catch the buzz in travel, career, health, fitness and wellbeing and much more. Vive is all about life and the style you live it. Subscribers and loyal dealers of Infinity Television must get good value for their money, says the MD/CEO, Mr. Anthony Ikeokwu.

The rest of the new channels are AFRICAN MOVIE CHANNEL 2 (AMC 2) – Movie, series and lifestyle AFRICAN SERIES CHANNEL – powered by Zeb Ejiro, Chico Ejiro and Fidelis Dukar. This channel is dedicated to African soaps and series. NIGEZIE – musical DUCK TV – foreign musical channel KISS TV – foreign musical channel KARENG TV - foreign musical ( rock ) channel FASHION ONE – foreign fashion channel MAGIC TV – foreign musical channel AKINKOGUN – a Yoruba language channel DEUTSHE WELLE ( DW TV ) – German News and lifestyle channel.



~ Ingram Osigwe is the media Consultant to Infinity Television.