Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Student aims to fire Welsh computer games design
by Abbie Wightwick, Western Mail
A STUDENT in Wales is setting up a company to employ games designers in Wales.
Adam Griffiths, a student at Newport Business School, believes there is untapped talent across Wales which could benefit from the multi- million-pound games business.
“The computer games industry is one of the biggest in the world, yet there are very few companies in Wales making games,” Adam, 30, from Newport, said.
“As a result, many people like myself who are gaining degrees in computer game design, are having to leave the country in order to find jobs.”
Adam, who graduates from the University of Wales, Newport, with a degree in Computer Game Development and Artificial Intelligence this summer, is setting up a company called Centrifuge Interactive Studios.
“By starting my own company, I will be able to stay in Newport and avoid the stress of relocating my wife and young children to find a job making computer games.
“I will also hopefully help establish a computer games industry in Wales, where we have only a handful of small software companies compared to England and Scotland, where there are many large developers creating some of the world’s biggest games.
“Newport’s University has two computer games development courses producing talented students with lots of potential. It seems ludicrous that Wales is losing them to other countries because we have no computer games industry.”
His final year project will be included on the cover disc of the next issue of PC Zone magazine and he is currently seeking sponsors.
“I plan to start by creating 2D games which are very popular. Recently, a simple one made by an American company made £60,000 profit,’’ he said.
“After that I want to move onto more complex 3D games such as Half Life and Tomb Raider.”
Friday, April 20, 2007
Naval Academy mids match wits with NSA in cyber war
| Paul W. Gillespie | |
 | Midshipmen participating in the seventh annual Cyber Defense Exercise yesterday worked to keep National Security Agency hackers from invading their computer system. From left, Midshipman 1st Class Robert Reagan teams with Midshipmen 2nd Class Daniel Tantillo and Antony Robertson on an excercise. |
They were trying to ward off an enemy intent on disrupting the computer system that could control the positioning of ships and aircraft, and the supply of fuel, food and medicines.
On the wall was the Naval Academy's main password for this exercise, but midshipmen and professors screamed "No!" when a reporter started to copy it.
In this modern-day war game, mids were matching wits with a team of about 50 computer whizzes from the National Security Agency, all of whom were intent on worming their way into the computer system the midshipmen built.
Like sentries in Gen. Washington's Revolutionary War army, the mids had to safeguard passwords from a devious enemy, and like the soldiers and sailors who fought World War II, they had to make sure everything was safely encrypted.
"We really believe this is the next threat to our country; many believe the next war will be fought in the cyber world," said Air Force Major Tom Augustine, who teaches computer science at the Naval Academy.
This marked the 7th Annual Cyber Defense Exercise. All five service academies - Naval, Military, Air Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine - were participating in the five-day competition that started Monday.
The winner receives a brass-and-marble trophy that's about the size of the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, awarded to the service academy with the victorious football team. For the past year, the trophy has been parked at the Air Force academy, and this year the mids are intent on bringing it back "home" to Annapolis.
The theme for this year's exercise was "Protecting the Matrix," to remind the future officers that a strong cyber defense is key to winning wars and protecting the nation.
Each year, NSA dedicates two teams to the competition - the "red" team, tries to hack into computer systems the service academies create for this exercise, while the "white" team grades the results.
Each academy starts out with 50,000 points, and NSA deducts points as an and protecting the nation.
Each year, NSA dedicates two teams to the competition - the "red" team, tries to hack into computer systems the service academies create for this exercise, while the "white" team grades the results.
Each academy starts out with 50,000 points, and NSA deducts points as an academy's system is compromised.
NSA does give the academies a chance to earn bonus points by invading a designated NSA computer, but that can turn into a Trojan horse.
After all, NSA is the enemy, and the enemy wants the good guys to waste their resources.
"It is fun, and it gives you bonus points, but it takes your people away," said Naval Academy team commander Midshipman 1st Class Gregory A. Mischler.
The service academies get more competitive each year, said Midshipman Mischler, a senior who plans to specialize in nuclear power after he is commissioned next month.
"In past years, some team would screw up and take themselves out of the competition," he said. "Those big mistakes that would have taken us out, we now spot them."
NSA makes the competition tougher each year, according to Dr. Kay Schulze, chairman of the Naval Academy Computer Science Department. "The kids six years ago would have been 'red' (compromised) within hours, and five years from now, these kids would be 'red' in hours."
Adjunct professor Angela Reninger, on assignment to the academy from NSA, worked with the midshipmen in preparing for this year's war games. "This whole CDX exercise is very close to what the real world - and especially the military - is seeing," she said yesterday.
Midshipman Mischler said the one thing to always remember when designing and defending a computer system is the human element.
"If a guy is a Giants fan, how hard is it to figure out he has 'Giants' as his password?" Midshipman Mischler said.
The academy has 41 mids working on the exercise this year, 15 of whom are seniors.
The midshipmen spent about six months designing and building their computer system for the exercise.
CDX is not an "official" academy function, so the mids do this on their own time and do not receive academic or extracurricular credit.
Some of the event organizers say they prefer CDX remain completely voluntary, because it attracts dedicated and talented mids, from freshmen to seniors, who do it for the experience, not for the credit.
The competition will end today, and NSA will tally the service academies' scores over the next two weeks, Naval Academy officials said.
Source : http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/04_20-70/NAVComputer Programs and Systems, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2007 Results
MOBILE, Ala. --(Business Wire)-- Computer Programs and Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPSI):
Highlights:
-- Signed contracts for system installation at 13 new client hospitals during first quarter; and
-- Quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share.
Computer Programs and Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPSI), a leading provider of healthcare information solutions, today announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2007.
The Company also announced that its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.36 (thirty-six cents) per share, payable on May 25, 2007, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 4, 2007.
Total revenues for the first quarter ended March 31, 2007, decreased 12.2% to $25.9 million, compared with total revenues of $29.5 million for the prior-year period. Net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, decreased 37.5% to $2.6 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, compared with $4.1 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2006. Cash flow from operations for the first quarter of 2007 was $3.4 million, compared with $3.3 million for the prior-year period.
Commenting on the results, Boyd Douglas, chief executive officer and president of CPSI, stated, "We continue to be optimistic about 2007 as demand for our products increases, fueled by expanded physician acceptance of technology, the aging of our population and growing concerns about the increasing costs of healthcare. As our guidance for the second quarter indicates, we expect a return to more normal revenue and earnings run rates, due in large part to the strong number of contracts we have signed recently. We are excited about the next quarter and the remainder of the year."
For the second quarter of 2007, the Company anticipates total revenues of $27.5 million to $29.0 million and net income of approximately $3.7 million to $3.9 million, or $0.34 to $0.36 per diluted share. CPSI's 12-month backlog as of March 31, 2007, was $87.3 million, consisting of $19.6 million in non-recurring system purchases and $67.7 million in recurring payments for support, outsourcing, ASP and ISP contracts.
A listen-only simulcast and replay of CPSI's first quarter 2007 conference call will be available on-line at www.cpsinet.com and www.earnings.com on April 20, 2007, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
About Computer Programs and Systems, Inc.
CPSI is a leading provider of healthcare information solutions for community hospitals with over 600 client hospitals in 46 states. Founded in 1979, the Company is a single-source vendor providing comprehensive software and hardware products, complemented by complete installation services and extensive support. Its fully integrated, enterprise-wide system automates clinical and financial data management in each of the primary functional areas of a hospital. CPSI's staff of over 800 technical, healthcare and medical professionals provides system implementation and continuing support services as part of a comprehensive program designed to respond to clients' information needs in a constantly changing healthcare environment. For more information, visit www.cpsinet.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified generally by the use of forward-looking terminology and words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "predicts," "intends," "plans," "potential," "may," "continue," "should," "will" and words of comparable meaning. Without limiting the generality of the preceding statement, all statements in this press release relating to estimated and projected earnings, margins, costs, expenditures, cash flows, growth rates and future financial results are forward-looking statements. We caution investors that any such forward-looking statements are only predictions and are not guarantees of future performance. Certain risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such factors may include: overall business and economic conditions affecting the healthcare industry; saturation of our target market and hospital consolidations; changes in customer purchasing priorities and demand for information technology systems; competition with companies that have greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we have; failure to develop new technology and products in response to market demands; fluctuations in quarterly financial performance due to, among other factors, timing of customer installations; failure of our products to function properly resulting in claims for medical losses; government regulation of our products and customers, including changes in healthcare policy affecting Medicare reimbursement rates; interruptions in our power supply and/or telecommunications capabilities and other risk factors described from time to time in our public releases and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, our Annual Report on Form 10-K. We also caution investors that the forward-looking information described herein represents our outlook only as of this date, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or developments after the date of this press release.
COMPUTER PROGRAMS AND SYSTEMS, INC.
Unaudited Condensed Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per share data)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
------------------
2007 2006
--------- --------
Sales revenues:
System sales $8,317 $14,519
Support and maintenance 12,540 11,170
Outsourcing 5,089 3,848
--------- --------
Total sales revenues 25,946 29,537
Cost of sales:
System sales 7,180 8,755
Support and maintenance 5,056 4,908
Outsourcing 3,057 2,223
--------- --------
Total cost of sales 15,293 15,886
--------- --------
Gross profit 10,653 13,651
Operating expenses:
Sales and marketing 2,076 2,209
General and administrative 4,892 4,982
--------- --------
Total operating expenses 6,968 7,191
--------- --------
Operating income 3,685 6,460
Interest income, net 277 257
--------- --------
Income before taxes 3,962 6,717
Provision for income taxes 1,402 2,624
--------- --------
Net income $2,560 $4,093
========= ========
Basic earnings per share $0.24 $0.38
========= ========
Diluted earnings per share $0.24 $0.38
========= ========
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic 10,664 10,629
Diluted 10,718 10,715
COMPUTER PROGRAMS AND SYSTEMS, INC.
Condensed Balance Sheets
(in thousands)
March 31, Dec. 31,
2007 2006
--------- --------
ASSETS (unaudited)
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $7,845 $8,760
Investments 10,876 10,718
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for
doubtful accounts of $796 and $814, respectively 13,233 14,096
Financing receivables, current portion 1,885 2,177
Inventory 1,435 1,668
Deferred tax assets 1,346 1,406
Prepaid expenses 165 320
Prepaid income taxes 540 107
--------- --------
Total current assets 37,325 39,252
Financing receivables, long-term 2,435 2,397
Property and equipment 14,245 13,897
Accumulated depreciation (8,160) (7,642)
--------- --------
Total assets $45,845 $47,904
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $698 $1,204
Deferred revenue 2,738 2,275
Accrued vacation 2,134 2,053
Other accrued liabilities 1,798 3,158
--------- --------
Total current liabilities 7,368 8,690
Deferred tax liabilities 704 508
Stockholders' equity:
Common stock, par value $0.001 per share, 30,000
shares authorized, 10,757 and 10,756 shares
issued and outstanding 11 11
Additional paid-in capital 22,789 22,427
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) 11 (7)
Retained earnings 14,962 16,275
--------- --------
Total stockholders' equity 37,773 38,706
--------- --------
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $45,845 $47,904
========= ========
COMPUTER PROGRAMS AND SYSTEMS, INC.
Unaudited Other Supplemental Information
(In thousands)
The following table summarizes free cash flow for the Company:
-------------------------------------------------------------
---------
Three Months Ended
March 31,
------------------
2007 2006
--------- --------
Net cash provided by operating activities $3,417 $3,292
Purchases of property and equipment (348) (386)
--------- --------
Free cash flow $3,069 $2,906
========= ========
Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure which CPSI defines
as net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property
and equipment. The most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is
net cash provided by operating activities. The Company believes free
cash flow is a useful measure of performance and uses this measure as
an indication of the financial resources of the Company and its ability
to generate cash.
Source : http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2007/04/19/2535362.htm
HOW MUCH DO COMPUTER VIDEO GAMES CONTRIBUTE TO VIOLENCE?
Following the Virginia Tech massacre, questions are bound to be asked as to whether violent video games are triggers which cause gamers to go out and commit violent acts, including murder. Thai TV soaps frequently seem to feature jealous and envious individuals who apparently think nothing of arming themselves and then going out to blow away some competitor, or person who has in some way slighted or offended them. So how much does the violence depicted in the games, TV or movies actually contribute to violent crime?
Americans currently decry the fact that the young, especially, respond immediately to slights by becoming violent as opposed to a few years ago when they would have allowed some breathing space between the slight and reaction, which would normally have been diluted in the interim. Another claim frequently made is that there is so much violence portrayed on the media that we have become desensitized. There certainly must be some truth in this.
However, in a recent research project commissioned by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), violent video game addicts claim that they really do distinguish between violence in the games and that in real life. Significantly, the majority of these players are young male teenagers who maintain they play to escape the monotony of everyday life, to increase their games-playing skills and advance in the games.
The research did indicate that the gamers prefer taking an active to a passive role, revelling in chopping people’s heads off, for instance. The age factor features strongly also, players younger than 15 complain of nightmares after playing these games, but then they are so addicted that they start to play from the moment they rise. But some adult players also reported feeling uncomfortable over vivid slayings involving blood.
The distinction between adult and non-adult games is also made with the adult games being more violent. Also the type of game is significant. The game Manhunt was linked to the violent death of Stefan Pakeerah, in 2004, who was beaten to death with a hammer by a friend obsessed with the game. Grand Theft Auto appears extremely popular among teen gamers who claim they can become a pimp and collect prostitutes and have sex with them in a car. The BBFC reported that “It appears to be online games like World of Warcraft that are most ‘addictive’ and which have the most potential to distort personal priorities with unhappy results”.
However, gamers told researchers that they rejected the idea that playing games makes them violent in real-life or desensitises them to the impact of real scenes of violence. It would also seem to be a question of one’s mental stability and potentially sociopath tendencies. We reserve judgement.
Source : http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.php?IDNEWS=0000002743
Computer retailer implemented Microsoft Dynamics AX
Source : http://www.ospint.com/text/d/4128883/
Computer Center Key retail chain (Saint Petersburg) has finished a project for automation of a new distribution center. Automation of its central office with Microsoft Dynamics AX in 2005 let the company consolidate network management and optimize goods flows.
The next major task imposed by the business was automation of the new warehouse facility. While looking for a suitable building for the distribution center, Computer Center Key management asked Columbus IT consultants to design the future warehouse facility.
They came up with a WMS system implementation requirements specification. The offered system based on Microsoft Dynamics AX platform was fully consistent with the company's business peculiarities and did not require any adjustments. The implemented solution gave the company a perfect vision of the warehouse and product location and movement.
Warehouse staff participation in decision-making about goods placement has been minimized: the system analyses goods turnover and availability of free space and makes suggestions about where to place the consignment.
Novomet-Perm implements Infor ERP SyteLine v720/04/2007Novomet-Perm has started the ultimate stage of Infor ERP SyteLine v7 enterprise management system implementation project. Its main purpose is achievement of enterprise planning and management transparency by means of a corporate information system. More |  | IBS implements staff management solution based on SAP20/04/2007National bank TRUST has put into operation a staff management information system, which is based on SAP ERP HCM solution. The automation of basic staff management functions was one of stages of building the bank's human capital strategic management system. More |
Oracle presents its first Russian SPL project13/04/2007Oracle has presented its recent acquisition, SPL WorldGroup, to the Russian market along with the introduction of a new division within the company's Moscow rep office and a new project carried out by Oracle Utilities, as SPL is now known. More | | I.T. Co. builds data processing center for Sberkarta11/04/2007 I.T. Co., a systems integrator, and Sberkarta, Sberbank's subsidiary, have completed the first stage of the project to create processing infrastructure for the Sberkart national payment system. The main data processing center has been built and tested. A structured cabling system was set up, as well as installing a high-speed local area network, an uninterruptible power supply and air conditioning in the company's office. More
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