MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwire -05/22/12)- Atlantis Computing, the leader in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) storage and performance optimization solutions, today announced that Washington Trust Bank, the largest independently owned full-service commercial bank in the Northwest, has deployed Atlantis ILIO as part of its VMware View 5 desktop virtualization deployment to enable employees to access their virtual desktop from anywhere using Wyse thin clients and zero clients, iPads, personal computers or repurposed corporate PCs.

"For us, VDI is really for our knowledge workers because they require mobility," said Christopher Green, vice president, IT Infrastructure Systems, Washington Trust Bank. "VMware View and Wyse cloud client computing solutions allows our mobile users to access their virtual desktop from anywhere they have an internet connection, over Wi-Fi or through the 3G devices that are provided to them."

When Washington Trust Bank first deployed VMware View with traditional SAN storage, the testing and pilot achieved a high level of success. However, as the deployment of virtual desktops grew, Washington Trust Bank sought ways to accelerate the desktop performance during times of peak usage, such as morning logons, when employees began their workday.

"Our employees needed to have performance on par with a physical desktop," continued Christopher Green. "If we are going to pass users off to a new technology, the expectation is that it will be better than the old."

Upon further investigation of their existing desktop virtualization environment, the team at Washington Trust Bank sought out solutions to optimize and accelerate the storage IO traffic for peak usage periods.

"One school of thought was to add tons of storage processors and SSDs; but that increased our CAPEX cost and minimized our ROI," continued Green. "Using Atlantis ILIO with VMware View however enabled us to achieve all the management benefits of the desktop virtualization solution while providing the best end-user experience."

Using Atlantis ILIO 3.0 with VMware View 5, VMware ThinApp, Dell Servers, and Wyse P20 PCoIP zero clients and Wyse R90L7 thin clients enabled Washington Trust Bank to deliver high performance desktops at the lowest desktop TCO, thereby meeting the requirements of end-users, IT and the business. The VMware View deployment uses VMware High Availability (HA) and Distributed Resource Scheduling (DRS) with Atlantis ILIO to ensure the continuous availability of virtual desktops.

To watch the Washington Trust Bank video case study, visit http://www.atlantiscomputing.com/washingtontrustbank

To register for a live Webcast "Washington Trust Bank VDI Best Practices for Mobility, Storage & DRS" on May 31st at 9AM PDT, visit bit.ly/wtbankwebinar

Quotes from Atlantis Computing, VMware and Wyse:"Washington Trust Bank is one of several examples of how customers benefit from Wyse cloud client computing solutions," said Ricardo Antuna, senior vice president, Business Development and Alliances, Wyse Technology. "The combination of Atlantis Computing, Dell, VMware and Wyse solutions bring unprecedented value to our customers by enabling alternative computing models."

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Washington Trust Bank Goes Mobile With VDI Using VMware View, Wyse, and Atlantis Computing

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Businesses in Jordan and the Middle East believe that allowing their employees to use their own devices such as smartphones or tablets at work improves their productivity, according to a report by Cisco Systems.

"The top two perceived benefits of allowing employees to use their personal devices (including laptops, tablets, smartphones) for work-related activities were improved employee productivity (more opportunities to collaborate) and greater job satisfaction," said the report, titled "The Cisco IBSG Horizons Study of IT and Business Leaders".

"Employees are turning to use their own devices at work because they want more control of their work experience," the report by Cisco, a worldwide leader in networking, indicated.

According to the report, which was e-mailed to The Jordan Times, more than 76 per cent of IT leaders in Jordan and the Middle East labelled allowing employees to use their own devices for work as "somewhat or extremely positive" for their companies.

"As the number of devices being brought into work increases, organisations need a comprehensive mobility strategy" organisations can now provide their employees with the benefits of working anywhere, anytime," Ahmed Etman, borderless networks sales lead at Cisco Emerging Markets said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times on Monday.

Commenting on the report, Mohammad Khawaja, CEO of Startappz, said allowing employees to use their own devices enhances their performance.

"When employees feel their work is flexible and that they can work from wherever they are, even after office hours, they can contribute more to their work and be more loyal," Khawaja noted.

But this practice also entails some risks, he warned.

"Hackers can breach systems of companies through a worker's device in some cases, especially if it is not well protected," he said.

"By being connected to work all the time, employees might lose some of their privacy as they may have to do some work while at home with their families," Khawaja added.

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Jordan- Using personal devices at work increases productivity

WALNUT, Calif., May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --MySammy today announced the immediate availability of their results-oriented "productivity measurement" software solution that provides employers and managers with detailed information on how an employee's time is spent on a computer. MySammy collects computer usage information in order to better evaluate employee computer behavior and ultimately increase their performance. The software does not collect users' sensitive data or screenshots; it collects only the data needed for effective management evaluation of "productive time" and avoids depriving users of their privacy.

MySammy is software designed for employers wanting to more closely monitor their employees' computer usage in order to effectively evaluate work performance and help them to accomplish their full potential.

MySammy software breaks down employee computer usage time into five main categories: Active/Productive, Idle, Extended Idle, Screen Saver and Non-Productive. MySammy software discreetly records activities, such as applications launched and websites visited, and clearly tracks a user's "duration of sessions" and "duration of applications used" for analysis and reporting. Furthermore, all corporate and user data is encrypted and securely transferred via SSL to MySammy servers in the cloud.

"The MySammy software solution is fundamentally changing the way employers manage computer usage to get the best performance from their staff," said Edward Kwang, President of MySammy. "We have a solution that helps employees improve their work performance without the need for spying on them or blocking their access to certain websites. In short, MySammy helps employees achieve their full potential. MySammy was originally developed for telecommuting workers and we later found its use can apply to all information workers."

Feature-Rich Management

Managers of both remote and on-site employees have 24x7 global, cloud-based access to intuitive graphs and color-coded bar and pie charts that provide data about productive, idle, and non-productive employee activity in a single glance. Managers can easily view and simultaneously evaluate all users, a few users or just one user; MySammy will effectively pull and analyze all user activity and display a "Big Picture" view for easy evaluation.

"Simply blocking non-productive websites does not encourage productivity for our employees," said Cindy Chang from Anthony California, a lamp and furniture importer. "Most of my employees have smartphones which I can't block them from checking their personal email or using Facebook. MySammy enables my managers and I to engage with a worker about their computer usage to provide spot-on performance evaluations and encourage them to achieve their best. It is so easy, flexible and informative that I can use it at home to measure my children, or even to measure my own productivity."

Pricing/Availability:

MySammy is priced at an extremely affordable monthly rate, with plans starting from only $7 per user per month for small businesses, up to $17 per user per month for larger businesses. Companies can try MySammy for free by visiting http://www.mysammy.com.

About MySammy, LLC

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MySammy Unveils Computer Usage Monitoring Software to Boost Employee Performance

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1xeh0k8H2c

20-05-2012 12:26 Think & Grow Rich Infographic - A must watch for anyone wanting to improve their lives and their positive thinking. There have been more millionaires and indeed, billionaires, who have made their fortunes as a result of Napoleon Hill's teachings. NAPOLEON HILL's "Think and Grow Rich" is the authors most famous work. This is the book in his own voice. A true masterpiece with the fundamentals of the Success philosophy. ABOUT NAPOLEON HILL: He was an American author who was one of the earliest producers of the modern genre of personal-success literature. His most famous work, Think and Grow Rich, is one of the best-selling books of all time. Hill's works examined the power of personal beliefs, and the role they play in personal success. "What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve" is one of Hill's hallmark expressions. How achievement actually occurs, and a formula for it that puts success in reach for the average person, were the focal points of Hill's books.

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Think

Summary: To distinguish itself from Apples iOS and Googles Android, Microsofts smartphone platform needs to be a shutterbugs paradise.

All of my Bahamas vacation photos were taken with a low-end Samsung Focus i917 Windows Phone.

Going on vacation these days for me is something of a mixed bag affair. On one hand, Im psyched that Im going to get some extremely crucial rest &relaxation, but on the other, I have a lot of personal stuff going on right now in the background thats driving me completely crazy and of course I end up missing out on what is going on in the industry at large.

So to summarize, while I was beach bumming, Facebook IPOed, Zuckerberg promptly got married, and the CEO of Yahoo! resigned in disgrace with a golden parachute, and the Oracle vs. Google lawsuit is shaping up to be Groundhog Day. Does that sound right? Alrighty then.

So where does Jason like to go on vacation? Preferably someplace cut off from civilization with warm weather, swimming pools, nice beaches, and good places to eat.

One of my favorites is Grand Bahama, as its pretty easy to get to (Its only 60 miles off the east coast of South Florida) and has some of the best beaches in the world, with cool breezes, welcoming local people and of course, great native cuisine.

I tend to do a bit of digital photography when I go on trips, but this time, I was so scatterbrained that I forgot to bring my trusty Canon point-and-shoot.

However, I didnt forget to bring a GSM-capable cell phone. Just before I left, I packed a spare Samsung Focus lying around that I upgraded to Windows Phone Mango. I hadnt intended to use it as my vacation camera, or to do any cellular data. I simply wanted to use it for the occasional Wi-Fi email check and to place and receive occasional calls using a local pay-as-you-go SIM card.

As it turned out, the Focus had to be unlocked, wasexorbitantlyexpensive to do locally ($80) so I bought a cheap Nokia world phone ($50) and had some minutes thrown onto it. Which left the Windows Phone somewhat redundant on my trip.

See more here:
Windows Phone: Photography the key to its success?

How does someone succeed in college? Its the $64,000 question or, these days, more like the $150,000 question whose answer has been sought by countless policymakers, researchers and universities over the years.

In a new attempt to provide insight into the discussion, sociologists Dan Chambliss of Hamilton College and Christopher Takacs of the University of Chicago took the long road to an answer. In 2001, they started conducting what would turn into a 10-year study of Hamilton students in an attempt to learn what had the greatest effects on their college experiences. What were the turning points? What mattered most? What didnt?

The Hechinger Report sat down with Chambliss recently to discuss the results of the study, which will be included in a forthcoming book titled How College Works," and what implications the results might have for U.S. higher education.

Q: Tell me more about the study.

A: In 2001, we started tracking a cohort of students as they went through the college. We took 100 people, randomly selected, and we interviewed them every year they were in college and every year after they got out. In addition to that, we collected a lot of information about these people. We collected papers they wrote while they were in college and papers from high school. And we basically tried to learn what were the important turning points what kind of things made a big difference, and what things didnt.

The goal of this was to find how colleges or universities could have relatively resource-neutral, reliably effective interventions that really help students in a big way. In other words, how can you do stuff that you know you can do, that you know will make a positive difference, but you dont have to turn the world upside down or have a big capital campaign and spend a lot of money.

Q: So what were they?

A: Its all about people, not programs. Colleges spend a huge amount of time and effort worrying will they have writing-intensive programs or a freshman seminar program or if a major is set up right or if their curriculum is done this way or that all the kind of stuff about the content and information for kids and students. Thats not where its at.

The problem is not access to information. The problem is motivation. And student motivation goes up and down a lot. And the key to motivation is face-to-face contact with another human being. Thats what really works. And it doesnt take that much of it to have a big impact on a students career.

So, for instance, having a great intro teacher is incredibly important, and schools dont spend much time on that at all. Yet its very, very doable. A single department chair can impact thousands of students educational careers just by moving one professor. Because if they have a great experience in an intro class, that paves the whole way throughout academia. If they have a bad experience Bam! The door slams shut.

See the original post here:
Experts: College success can spring from a single conversation

When it comes to personal finance, often the difference between poverty and prosperity is how much control you have over your investments.

The sad fact is that some people just dont either have the time, inclination, or confidence to take control over their own investment portfolio. Thats a big mistake, since no one will step in for you and make good on a lousy asset allocation strategy or redirect misguided fund selections that can lead to portfolio losses and threaten your financial well being.

Fortunately, getting a grip on your investments is easier than you think. In fact, you can get the job done in nine easy steps.

Step 1: Define Your Goals

Any good marksman will tell you the key to hitting a target is having a target. Having something to work toward is the first step in investment success. Knowing your financial goals, whether its retirement, a home or college education, will help define your investment strategy and set you on the right path.

Step 2: Know Your Net Worth

Net worth is simply the total of all the assets you own less all of the debts you owe. Your net worth gives you an understanding of where you are in relation to achieving your goal, and serves as a useful indicator of your overallfinancial health.

Knowledge of how you are tracking toward your goal is critical in the investment process, and measuring your net worth from year to year is a critical yardstick to evaluate success.

Step 3: Know Your Risk Tolerance

Your overall financial risk tolerance depends on two things: your attitude towards taking risk and your capacity to take risk.

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Get a Grip: Nine Steps to Controlling Your Investments

In business, sizedoes matter, especially if that size is small. Independent businesses with fewer than 500 employees represent 99.7% of all employer firms, according to the SBAs Office of Advocacy. They employ about half of all private sector employees,which make up about 43% of the countrys private payroll. And more than half are based out of an owners home. Incidentally, dont knock the domicile as a business incubator. After all, thats where Apple, Hersheys, Mary Kay Cosmetics, and Ford started.

With numbers like that, its not hard to see why small businesses are often called the backboneof the U.S. economy. But did you know that these little companies are also responsible for hiring 43% of high-tech workers and produce 16.5 times more patents per employee than large firms? Or that small business accounted for 65% of the 15 million new jobs created between 1993 and 2009? No wonder President Obama is leaning on Congress to pass legislation that would give income tax credits and allow deductions on the full value of investments made this year.

Staggering stats aside, there are plenty of great ideas that dont ever make it off the table or shutter just beyond the starting gate. Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicates that only about half of small business survive past the five-year mark.

So in the spirit of helping more startups and growing enterprises succeed, Fast Company is kicking off National Small Business Week with a compendium of wisdom we've gleaned over the years.

Take a Risk

Though his signature style is rife with cynical wit and wry wisdom, novelist Mark Twain offered this tidbit which is helpful for anyone pondering the leap to entrepreneurism: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Kim Jordan, cofounder of New Belgium Brewing Company, says taking the plunge is fine--after youve assessed the market.

Is Your Idea Good Enough?

Adam Goldstein, the 22-year-old founder of Hipmunks online air travel booking platform, boldly claimed he was out to build the best travel site on the web. "And by 'best,' I mean the site that helps people find what they're looking for with a minimum of agony." Goldstein had a simple litmus test for launching: "The way that I knew it was good enough to build a company around was that it was built around a problem that I actually had.

Continued here:
The Really Big Guide Of Small Business Success Tips

WILSON, N.C., May 20, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kurtz Chiropractic Center in Wilson, NC is encouraging personal injury patients to incorporate massage therapy into their rehabilitation and chiropractic care treatment programs. According to the practice, massage treatments promote internal healing while relieving stress and muscle stiffness. The practice routinely recommends massage treatments as a natural complement to spinal adjustments, corrective exercise and other therapeutic treatments.

Wilson chiropractor Dr. Colin Kurtz announced that his practice has had significant success incorporating therapeutic massage therapy into rehabilitation programs for injury victims. Dr. Kurtz strongly recommends massage treatments for natural pain relief and internal healing.

"We are excited to offer massage treatments as a natural complement to traditional spinal adjustments and rehab treatments," said Dr. Kurtz. "Our comprehensive services are designed to provide immediate, effective back pain relief while helping the body heal. Massage does both: promoting internal healing while relieving pain."

According to Dr. Kurtz, therapeutic massage causes physiological changes in the body. During a massage treatment, a patient's heart rate and breathing rate decrease, promoting deep relaxation and stillness. At the same time, levels of the stress hormone cortisol decrease while the level of endorphins, a natural pain reliever, increases.

"Many of our patients struggle with daily work stress, which can negatively impact the healing process," said Dr. Kurtz. "Our patients feel calm and centered after a treatment, as daily stress melts away. At the same time, the physical act of massaging sore or stiff muscles helps to ease back pain and release tension, restoring flexibility and movement to the body."

Dr. Kurtz says that many patients feel sore or stiff after sustaining a personal injury. The body naturally compensates for an injury by shifting weight bearing activities to other body parts. This can lead to additional injuries while also causing the injured muscles to become sore or stiff from disuse.

"Many people mistakenly believe that the best way to help the body heal after an injury is to immobilize the injured body part," said Dr. Kurtz. "While strained or sprained muscles do need time to recover, excess immobilization can actually do more harm and good. The act of massaging the muscles promotes blood flow, which is essential if a body part is injured and cannot handle daily weight-bearing activities."

The wellness center provides several types of massage, including trigger point massage, myofascial release, and deep tissue sports massage. Dr. Kurtz can recommend specific treatments for each patient's unique wellness needs, such as pain management for back pain or headaches.

Dr. Kurtz has nearly two decades of experience providing chiropractic treatments for personal injury patients. His practice, Kurtz Chiropractic Center, incorporates spinal adjustments, including the Palmer Technique and Activator Technique, with massage, corrective care exercises, acupuncture and Reiki. The practice serves the Stantonsburg, Bailey, Elm City, Middlesex, Black Creek, Kenly, Lucama, Pinetops, and Rocky Mount communities.

Prospective patients may learn more about therapeutic massage and injury treatments by visiting the practice's website, http://www.kurtzchiro.net.

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Massage Therapy Helps Wilson Patients Heal After Personal Injuries

LOS ANGELES, May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Jackson Browne and Lizz Wright will perform a benefit concert at The Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles for Success Through The Arts Foundation and the Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center on Saturday, June 9, 2012. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 27th through Ticketmaster. Premium benefit seating is available through http://www.sttaf.org.

Generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer, American jazz saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter will be presented the Dream Believe Achieve award at the benefit concert. Students from both Success Through The Arts and the Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center will also perform.

Success Through The Arts Foundation provides a performing arts education to over 800 students in South Los Angeles through their After-School, Saturday, and Summer programs. They utilize performing arts such as band, dance, and theater as a catalyst to propel students forward and enable them to lead rich, productive lives. In an area where the graduation rate is well below 40%, 100% of the seniors who have participated in Success Through The Arts programs are graduating and attending college.

The Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center provides superior arts instruction to under-served students in the heart of Leimert Park in South Los Angeles under the direction of Fernando Pullum. In an area where the surrounding schools offer little or no performing arts programs, the Center provides free, high quality after-school arts instruction in guitar, piano, drama, film, and recording. "Fernando's passion coupled with his incredible arts curriculum gives these kids a sense of self-esteem and invaluable personal growth. Arts education should be a part of every child's school experience. It's a well-documented fact that studying music aids in the development of all kinds of cognitive skills. Fernando's programs connect the students to the broader spectrum of their lives' possibilities, and that's what makes his work so vital," says Jackson Browne.

For tickets and information visit: http://www.sttaf.org

About the performers:

Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne has written and performed some of the most literate and moving songs in popular music and has defined a genre of songwriting charged with honesty, emotion and personal politics. He was honored with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, and the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2007.

Beyond his music, Browne is known for his advocacy on behalf of the environment, human rights, and arts education. He's a co-founder of the groups Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE), Nukefree.org, and Success Through The Arts Foundation, which provides education opportunities for students in South Los Angeles.

Lizz Wright

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Jackson Browne & Lizz Wright to Perform a Benefit Concert For Success Through The Arts Foundation And The Fernando ...