business relations

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Ethiopia: Starbucks Officials to Visit This Week Expected to Make Announcement to Better Relations	27 November 2007
... A business delegation comprising top management from Starbucks, the ... US-based coffee giant once at loggerheads with Ethiopia over trademarks, is due to visit Ethiopia ... this week, as part of its East Africa tour, The Daily Monitor has learnt. The ...
Starbucks Officials to Visit This Week Expected to Make Announcement to Better Relations	27 November 2007
... A business delegation comprising top management from Starbucks, the ... US-based coffee giant once at loggerheads with Ethiopia over trademarks, is due to visit Ethiopia ... this week, as part of its East Africa tour, The Daily Monitor has learnt. The ...
One year later: Did Vista's focus on security pay off?	21 November 2007
Microsoft's emphasis on improvements to security features in Windows Vista may have undermined business adoption of the OS as many business and enterprise customers are still holding off on upgrading to the OS nearly a year after its release to them.Microsoft spent a good deal of time and money to ensure Vista's security after Windows XP and applications running on it proved susceptible to devastating worms like Blaster, Slammer, and MyDoom. Though Microsoft released Windows XP Service Pack 2 to remedy some vulnerabilities, the company decided that security would be a top priority for the next major Windows release, said George Stathakopoulos, general manager of Microsoft’s Response and Product Centers."The security part of Vista was talked about a lot because it was a primary concern all over the world," he said.But in retrospect, those close to the company and even Microsoft have acknowledged recently that security has not proved to be important enough to encourage businesses to upgrade to Vista.Robert Hansen, CEO of IT security consultancy SecTheory in Austin, Texas, who has spoken at Microsoft's Blue Hat hacker conference and done contract work for the company, said Microsoft is aware that its laser focus on Vista security may have been a misstep, and that it is trying to remedy that.He said that Microsoft staffers are pleased in general with Vista's security improvements, but they acknowledge that "the consumer reaction was ho-hum.""Over the next year, although security is definitely top of mind, some people feel as if the security as a priority is going to shift downwards as opposed to feature enhancements," Hansen said.Hansen also said that Microsoft traded general OS usability to add some of Vista's security features, such as UAC (User Account Control), and is "feeling pressure from Apple" to provide a more intuitive and user-friendly OS.UAC gives system administrators more control over what features business users can access. It has become a chief complaint with users because it interrupts a PC user's work with a pop-up window whenever they're about to do something the feature considers an administrative function. UAC can be bypassed by working in administrator mode instead of standard user mode, but this defeats the purpose of the added security the feature was supposed to bring to the OS.Microsoft has said that it plans to improve UAC in a future update to Windows to address usability and make it more intuitive for users while maintaining OS security.In an interview last week as part of an update on Vista adoption, Mike Nash, vice president of product management for Windows Client for Microsoft, acknowledged that security "is not a reason in the short term" to buy a new OS. He promoted other features of Vista, such as updates to how it manages and stores multimedia, to encourage end-users to upgrade.Indeed, Microsoft certainly seems to have misjudged just how important security was with customers prior to Vista's business launch. But to be fair, the company faced complexities in promoting and marketing Vista to customers because with every new version of Windows, the company "is competing with itself," said Tim McAtee, research director for MarketingSherpa, a research firm that provides market intelligence for marketing professionals.Still, Microsoft made a crucial mistake in pushing and marketing something that many feel should be an inherent part of an operating system, he said. By telling customers a feature of the OS was not right in a previous version and promoting that it's been improved in the new one, "you're abusing the trust of your customer if you expect them to buy an upgrade to fix your mistake," McAtee said.Indeed, the idea that "security just should be there; that should just go without saying" was likely a factor in the lackluster response from customers over Vista's security improvements, said a San Francisco-based public relations professional who was a part of the enormously successful Windows 95 marketing and PR campaign."Security is something that Microsoft is constantly addressing with updates, and people understand there are evolving security issues," the professional said. "Instead of making that the feature of a huge launch, they should have gone for many of the much cooler features."
PM ERDOGAN ATTENDS TURKEY-CZECH REPUBLIC BUSINESS COUNCIL	01 January 0001
PRAGUE (A.A) - PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the Turkey-Czech Republic Business Council organised by the Foreign Economic Relations Board in Prague on Thursday.
Business Development Manager – M4 Corridor	14 November 2007
Business Development Manager – M4 Corridor 30-40k Base, 50-60k OTE & bens Media Solutions For the past 50+ years, our client has been delivering media and information based solutions around the globe. With a presence in over 135 countries spanning some 40 different languages, our client truly is a multi national company that provides electronic distribution, targeting, measurement, translation and broadcast services to tens of thousands of corporate, government and other customers worldwide. Due to continued growth and the launch of a new initiative they now have an exciting opening for a Business Development Manager to work the M4 corridor. As a Business Development Manager you will be responsible for the generation of business revenue with a focus on selling our clients advanced media targeting solution. Through targeting new and existing territory based companies and PR agencies you will develop a solid pipeline of business inline with territory objectives. This role will also allow you access to our clients full portfolio of media/information solutions. Applicants will have a minimum of 2 years sales experience, specifically within a client facing capacity and ideally experience of selling into the PR / media relations / marketing / creative arena. Information sales or media sales experience would also be advantageous but not essential. Selling largely at management or board level you will be able to relate to professionals working within these functions and be able to quickly identify specific buying criteria and related influencing factors. You will have first class communication and presentation skills along with the desire to carve out a professional career within this niche market. You will be highly motivated and a self-starter with the ability to manage your own diary to ensure the business pipeline remains sufficient to achieve and exceed targets. The successful candidate will be offered a package including base salary of 30-40k [dependent upon experience] with a realistic and uncapped first year OTE of 50-60k rising in year 2. Additionally, there is a full benefits package. Certus Sales Limited is a specialist sales recruitment consultancy with an impressive client portfolio covering opportunities in the following areas: Telecommunication, Business Information, Media, I.T and many more. Vacancy levels recruited include Sales Director, Sales Manager, Account Manager, Sales Executive, New Business Development, Field, Territory and Telesales opportunities. To find out more about us please visit certussales.com
Consulate of Republic of Sudan inaugurated in HK	12 November 2007
... is taking an advance step towards promoting business relations, investment and stronger economic ties between ... countries. Located at a crossroads between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, Sudan is the ...
Making a happy developer house	11 November 2007
My first essays were mostly about development platforms, the Internet, and how its open and easy protocols were routing around the messes created by alliances between the various tech leaders of the day. One of those pieces, Platform is Chinese Household, drew the analogy between platforms and ancient Chinese families. A successful platform, I theorized, was like a plural marriage. One husband, many wives. One platform vendor, many developers. If you look at the successful platforms, most of them were completely open to anyone who wanted to make products for them. The best platforms were so open that people used the products to develop other products. You could do that on the Apple II, the IBM PC. Then came the Internet, where the duality was incredible. The Internet was an essential development tool, already, before any users came along. On the other hand, the most unsuccessful platforms have been the ones that were exclusive clubs, where only some people could develop. Sometimes they start exclusive and then become open, I'm thinking of the Macintosh, where I was lucky enough to be one of the insiders in 1983 who were seeded with development units. It was very good for recruiting, and it created a lot of buzz for us when it shipped, but the Mac didn't really blossom until 1986, after it had been openly available as a dev platform for two years. So I still don't know of a single example of an exclusive platform that worked. Yet companies still try to launch them, ignoring history, and hoping that they can control who gets to make their platform a winner. Some examples of spectacular losers that were closed at birth: General Magic's MagicCap and Steve Jobs's NeXT. And today we have the iPhone, which is totally a closed box, with a very exclusive developer proposition. I had hoped that Google's phone platform, which was announced last week, would be the antidote for iPhone, but they are being exclusive about who they will let develop for it. I had hoped they would zig to Apple's zag, and would be completely open. Yet there are rumors that there are 50,000 gPhones out there with developers. I promise you, I don't have one. If I get one a year from now, I'm going to be less enthusiastic about trying to prove my ideas on their platform than I would be if I were among the first to get my hands on one. In 1994 I suggested that developer relations is a mating ritual, if so, giving flowers to 50,000 developers and leaving the rest of us to wonder why we don't get a chance, is not good love-making. Same with OpenSocial. Their campfires and marshmallows show that they understand that love is an important part of making a platform happen, but who was invited to their slumber party, and who wasn't? I think at this point in the evolution of their platform business, they would do better to if they were more open and inclusive -- save the parties for celebrating the birth of the babies, the products the developers create. Spread the seed far and wide, or don't spread it at all. I think that's the lesson of the Internet, of Apple and IBM, and General Magic and NeXT.
Former WCI executive starts consulting firm	01 January 0001
Ken Plonski, who most recently served as vice president of public relations and brand management at WCI Communities in Bonita Springs, has launched a public relations consulting practice. Master Planned Communications LLC, with offices in Fort Myers and Phoenix, was formed in July as a partnership between Plonski and Martha Moyer, a former business associate.
Lawmakers rip Yahoo over testimony on dissident arrest	06 November 2007
Yahoo aided the Chinese government in the arrest of a journalist, then its general counsel deliberately or negligently mislead the U.S. Congress about the company's role during 2006 testimony, a senior lawmaker charged Tuesday.Rep. Tom Lantos, a California Democrat and chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, also lectured Yahoo and General Counsel Michael Callahan for failing to notify the committee when the company discovered his February 2006 testimony about Yahoo's role in the arrest of journalist Shi Tao. And he questioned why a company with Yahoo's resources has not come to the aid of Shi's family.Yahoo has had no direct contact with Shi's family, but it has been working to get him released from a 10-year prison sentence, Yahoo co-founder and CEO Jerry Yang told the committee.But Lantos, one of several lawmakers who criticized Yahoo at Tuesday's hearing, suggested that wasn't good enough. "Why is it such a complicated issue to help a family whose breadwinner is in prison because of Yahoo's cooperation?" he said.Yahoo "could do better" to help the family, Yang answered."You couldn't do less," Lantos shot back.Callahan, in February 2006, testified that he did not know the nature of the investigation when Chinese authorities demanded Yahoo China turn over the IP address for a person who turned out to be Shi. Callahan later learned that several employees of Yahoo China knew at the time that the demand for the information was part of an investigation involving "state secrets."Shi, arrested in November 2004, had used his e-mail account to forward information about a Chinese government ban on reporting about the Tiananmen Square crackdown on the 15th anniversary of the protests. He is serving a 10-year prison sentence.Callahan and Yang testified Tuesday that Callahan's earlier testimony resulted from a misunderstanding inside of Yahoo regarding the nature of the Chinese investigation. Both apologized for Yahoo's cooperation with the Chinese investigation and for providing misleading information to Congress. Jailing dissidents "runs counter to all my personal and professional beliefs," Yang said.It was not Yahoo's intent to mislead Congress, Callahan added.But Lantos dismissed their explanation, saying state secrets investigations in China are commonly recognized as frequently targeting dissidents. "This was no misunderstanding," he said. "This was inexcusably negligent behavior at best and deliberately deceptive behavior at worst."Callahan was one of several representatives of U.S. Internet companies who testified before the committee in February 2006 during a hearing on whether the companies were aiding repressive regimes.Callahan on Tuesday acknowledged that some Yahoo China employees knew the Chinese demand involved a state secrets investigation. But the definition of state secrets in China is broad and doesn't necessarily involve dissidents, he said. Yahoo did not know until later that Chinese authorities were going after a dissident journalist, he said."As I understand it, the law is vague and broad, and it covers areas such as military information, economic information, and science and technology," he said.When Callahan repeated in his Tuesday testimony that Yahoo employees in China were bound to comply with "lawful orders" or face jail themselves, Lantos challenged his wording. "Why do you insist on using the phrase, 'lawful orders?'" he said. "These are the demands of a police state."Yang said the actions of Congress leave companies such as Yahoo in a difficult position. Congress in the 1990s normalized trade relations with China and encouraged U.S. companies to do business there as a way to open up the closed government."We continue to believe that engagement with China is the better course and that disengagement would not further the goal of a more open and informed society in China," Callahan added.Yahoo is taking several steps to prevent similar things from happening again, Yang said. It is working with other Internet companies to create an industry code of conduct for operating in foreign countries with laws that run counter to U.S. values, he said.Several lawmakers suggested they wouldn't trust an industry-led code of conduct.Lantos opened the hearing by introducing Shi's mother, who sat behind Yang while he testified. Yang turned and bowed to her as Lantos introduced her.Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, called on Yahoo to establish a large fund to help Chinese dissidents. "Anything else is an insincere bow," he said.While Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican, called Yahoo's cooperation with China "repugnant," Rep. Robert Wexler, a Florida Democrat, said Congress should look at its own actions in supporting repressive regimes.Congress pours hundreds of millions of dollars in aid into Pakistan, which this week is cracking down on protesters, Wexler noted. The U.S. government has close ties with Saudi Arabia, and it has encouraged U.S. companies to do business in China, he added."There's a level of complicity, yes with Yahoo, but also with this government," he said. "I would respectfully suggest that if we delve into these issues ... let's talk about the role of the United States government and whether we legitimately do or do not inhibit freedom or democracy."
Business people back on Presidential flights	01 January 0001
In a move highlighting the importance Turkey attaches to relations with Baku, Turkish President Abdullah Gül makes his third international visit to Azerbaijan today accompanied by a group of