DeviceVM today previewed the next-generation of its award-winning Splashtop instant-on platform at the Intel Developer’s Forum in San Francisco. The flagship Splashtop product has already shipped on millions of notebooks and netbooks worldwide from leading PC OEMs including Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, LG, Sony and others. The company now plans to offer a MeeGo-compliant version of the popular companion OS to all existing OEM customers, while enabling current users of Splashtop-powered systems to take advantage of a seamless upgrade in the first half of 2011.

By embracing MeeGo as the foundation for Splashtop, application developers have the possibility to distribute their software to millions of potential users leading to greater adoption of the MeeGo platform. DeviceVM will also consider pre-bundling popular applications along with distribution of the MeeGo-based Splashtop. In moving to a MeeGo-based platform, users will now be able to download, install and run hundreds of apps currently available from the Intel AppUp Center.

DeviceVM is an active Linux proponent, and earlier this year announced the election of CEO and co-founder, Mark Lee, to the Linux Foundation Board of Directors. Beijing-based Cliff Miller, Chief Strategy Officer at DeviceVM, has also been appointed as the Foundation’s Director of China Operations. These appointments recognized the significant role that DeviceVM has played in proliferating Splashtop over the past several years.

Demonstrations of the new MeeGo-based Splashtop product can be seen during the show through September 15th at the DeviceVM booth as part of the MeeGo Community Technology Showcase, Booth # 112 in Moscone Center West.

The MeeGo-based Splashtop is already being made available to leading PC OEMs currently shipping Splashtop on a range of device types. Consumer and commercial end-users will be able to upgrade to the new Splashtop in the first half of 2011.

French website Mac4ever.com is spilling the beans about the imminent introduction of Facetime for Windows, a project under development by Apple will bring Facetime to Windows iPhone users and a easier and faster way to reach those users from the desktop. Mac4ever.com also reports that the next major upgrade of iChat will be getting Facetime too.

Facetime on Windows and Mac could pose a real threat to Skype and could help increase the mass adoption of this new Videoconferencing application that is open to developers for implementation in their projects.

Microsoft today announced a key milestone for Microsoft Dynamics CRM with the beta release of its next-generation product for cloud-based and on-premises deployments. The beta release marks the worldwide rollout of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online service from Microsoft’s global datacenters, and it will be released to customers and hosting partners for on-premises deployment as Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.

The beta for the new Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online service will be available in eight languages and 36 markets, and the final version of the service will be available by the end of the year in 40 markets and 41 languages. The beta of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for on-premises and partner-hosted deployments will be available in all 40 markets in eight languages. Customers and partners can download or sign up for the beta today at http://www.crm2011beta.com to evaluate and start building solutions based on the new release.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 delivers the Power of Productivity through familiar, connected and intelligent experiences for users inside and outside an organization.

Familiar experiences through a next-generation native Microsoft Outlook client, Microsoft Office contextual CRM Ribbon, RoleTailored design and user personalization
Intelligent experiences through guided process dialogs, inline data visualizations, performance and goal management, and real-time dashboards
Connected experiences through cloud development, Windows Azure integration, contextual Microsoft SharePoint document repositories, teamwork and collaboration, and the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace

Microsoft also announced that the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace will enter beta later this month. At beta, this new online service will be available at no additional cost and will provide an easy way for partners to market and distribute solutions to Microsoft Dynamics customers, including a catalog with more than 700 applications and professional services. Customers will be able to access Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace directly from within Microsoft Dynamics CRM to search, filter and download applications, as well as directly connect with Microsoft partners. More information about Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace can be found at http://crm.dynamics.com/DynamicsMarketplace/landing.aspx.

“Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 is the true realization of customer relationship management — dynamic, open, uncompromising, extensible and fully integrated into the desktop — as both software and a service,” said Doug Zone, chief technology officer of MetraTech Corp. “When it is combined with the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace, we will now be able to market and distribute our solutions to an even broader audience.”

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 beta is available in English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Chinese. The beta of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 on-premises is available worldwide, and the beta of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is available in Austria, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Those who want to download the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 beta or sign up for the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online beta can do so at http://www.crm2011beta.com. In addition, they can follow and engage with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM community at http://www.twitter.com/msdynamicscrm.

Tagetik today announced that Eurotech has upgraded to Tagetik 3.0 Enabled by Microsoft SharePoint. Eurotech, a leading international manufacturer of Nano PCs and high-performance computers, uses the solution for statutory and management consolidation and corporate reporting. The company has been a Tagetik customer since 2006.

Eurotech, which already uses Microsoft technology, can now produce reports with Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services and Analysis Services starting from actual and budget data directly stored in Tagetik 3.0. And users throughout the group can quickly access and share business information via Microsoft SharePoint Server.

Parallels today announced the Sept. 14th availability of Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac, the fastest, smartest and most powerful version yet of the number one selling software for running Windows and Mac applications side-by-side on a Mac without rebooting. With more than 80 new and enhanced features, Parallels Desktop 6 delivers unprecedented advances in productivity, performance and graphics — the areas people care about most.

The fastest just got faster! In product benchmark testing, results show Parallels Desktop 6 remains atop the performance rankings that people consider most important. 3D graphics run nearly 40 percent better than before1. Boot time for Windows is 41 percent faster than before. Parallels Desktop 6 also boosts speed for working with files on USB drives, networks and in shared folders.

Parallels also announced the availability of Parallels Desktop 6 Switch to Mac Edition, which includes Parallels Desktop 6 plus new features specifically designed to make the move from PC to Mac smart and simple.

The Switch to Mac Edition provides a complete set of switching tools and includes a Parallels High-Speed USB data transfer cable. All of your programs, files, user settings and now even your browser favorites and bookmarks are automatically moved to your Mac. With one click, new pre-defined user profiles let you simply choose as little or as much Windows as you want. New on-demand interactive video tutorials make switching to the Mac a breeze.

More than 80 new and improved features of the Parallels Desktop 6 experience include:
Faster & More Powerful
Launch Time: Run Windows applications 41 percent faster than Parallels Desktop 5
Full 64-bit Engine: Take advantage of all of the capabilities of your 64-bit Mac and enjoy the fastest virtual machine performance yet

5.1 Surround Sound: Savor rich, immersive audio experiences for games, music and videos
Enhanced 3D Graphics: Enjoy more life-like visual action and play a wider range of modern games with 40 percent improvement over Parallels Desktop 54

Parental Control: Have peace of mind when children are online by applying the same parental controls you set for your Mac to your Windows applications
VM Encryption: Protect data from being stolen by using built in virtual machine encryption

Mac Shortcuts: Use Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts to make Windows applications work the way you do
Personal Data Migration: Simplifies moving to Mac by automatically moving programs, data and media (i.e. My Documents, My Pictures, My Videos and My Downloads) to the appropriate folders on your Mac

Web Browser Favorites: Parallels automatically moves your Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome settings and bookmarks from your PC to the default browser on your Mac

Anti-virus Protection: Data protection with Parallels SmartGuard & SafeMode plus leading anti-virus protection for both Mac OS X and Windows with complimentary Kaspersky Internet Security 2011, Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Mac, Acronis True Image Home 2010 and Acronis Disk Director 2011 Home

Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac will be available for download, as well as packaged software for delivery, from Parallels.com starting on Sept. 14. Packaged software will also be available at Apple retail stores and Apple.com, Amazon.com, Fry’s Electronics, MicroCenter and hundreds of other retail locations nationwide on Sept. 14.

The standard retail price (SRP) of Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac is $79.99 and a student edition is available for $39.99. Parallels Desktop 6 Switch to Mac Edition is $99.99. Upgrades at $49.99 are available now for existing Parallels Desktop for Mac customers. Details are available online at www.parallels.com.

SRS Labs announced today that it is making available complete SRS surround sound encoding and decoding technology to users of Microsoft Silverlight, a powerful development platform for creating rich media and business applications for the Web, desktop and mobile devices.

Microsoft and SRS’ collaboration dates back to May 2000 when SRS WOW became a standard feature within Windows Media Player. Today, as part of a larger effort to deliver immersive surround sound to the rapidly growing number of consumers streaming content to their PCs, TVs and mobile phones, SRS has advanced the streaming multimedia experience to the next level by coupling its SRS 5.1 technology with a complete Microsoft-centric toolkit that effortlessly adds bit efficient, exceptional quality surround sound to content created in Silverlight.
SRS 5.1 is designed to provide content creators with the tools to create and deliver true, high-quality streamed surround sound encoded content across the three-screens, TVs, PCs and mobile devices. SRS 5.1 is the only surround format available now in Microsoft Silverlight that is coupled with a complete toolkit. This SRS package functions as a managed code add-on for content creators and developers making surround sound decoding in Silverlight applications easy and seamless. Because millions of TVs, A/V receivers, PCs and mobile phones today feature one or more SRS audio solutions such as Circle Surround, TheaterSound, StudioSound HD, and TruSurround, every one of these CE devices are natively equipped with the capability to decode SRS 5.1 surround encoded content, resulting in a “surround everywhere” entertainment experience.

Some of the other major benefits of these encoding and decoding solutions include:
Multichannel and front-rendered surround sound
Smooth steering and full bandwidth for a seamless and immersive surround environment
Backwards compatibility with legacy matrix decoders and stereo
Surround streaming over bit rates as low as 96kbps
Since the release of Silverlight in 2007, its adoption has continued at a rapid pace with installations approaching 60 percent on all Internet-connected devices worldwide, an increase of nearly 15 percentage points in just four months. Now with inclusion of SRS 5.1 surround for content created in Silverlight, any PC or connected flat panel TV can decode SRS 5.1 audio for true multi-channel or front-rendered surround.SRS 5.1 effectively provides a top-quality, format agnostic, easy to deploy and manage end-to-end surround sound technology for content creation, transmission and consumption.
“Multichannel audio takes the premium media experiences offered by Silverlight to the next level,” said Brad Becker, director of Rich Client Platforms at Microsoft Corp. “Microsoft is pleased to see SRS bring its surround sound technology to Silverlight’s hundreds of millions of users by taking advantage of the powerful extensibility and interoperability that Silverlight and IIS Smooth Streaming provide.”
The tools and white paper for SRS 5.1 content creation with Silverlight are available now at www.srslabs.com/Silverlight. Meanwhile, a demonstration of SRS 5.1 will be available at IBC in Amsterdam, The Netherlands from September 10th to 14th at the Microsoft stand located in the Topaz Lounge.