Stampede Technologies, provider of enterprise acceleration solutions, announced the release of the Stampede Application Acceleration Series, a family of solutions for accelerating and optimizing the performance of complex HTTP, SSL, AJAX and XML applications. The Stampede Application Acceleration Series is an evolutionary replacement for Stampede’s successful WebRider product that was originally introduced in 2004. As new HTTP, SSL, AJAX and XML applications are deployed, unprecedented demands are put on the data center and network infrastructures. The Stampede Application Acceleration Series is specifically designed to accelerate and secure this new breed of network-intrusive applications.

An IBM survey of over 700 consumers and business leaders in North America and Europe has revealed consumers think companies are increasingly acting without understanding them–and some companies admit this. Of more than 100 business leaders questioned, 79 percent admitted to taking significant marketing and promotional actions without clearly understanding consumer expectations. However, only 17 percent of business leaders as a whole said that they consider emotional factors at all when making consumer-related decisions. These survey results suggest that in-depth consumer understanding and proactive management of key interactions represent a significant opportunity for differentiation in today’s fiercely competitive and price-driven marketplaces.

The term service-oriented architecture hadn’t gained currency in 2002 when TrueCredit, a subsidiary of the TransUnion credit verification agency, began deployment of an enterprise-wide portal. CIO Scott Metzger’s goals were simple: identify the business processes and the IT functions to be delivered through the portal, and reuse software wherever possible to reduce development cost and speed deployment. But Metzger soon realized that the effort was about more than this one application; it was an excellent excuse to begin mapping out the company’s most important business processes to create an architecture that would let IT develop and modify the supporting applications easily as business needs changed. Call it SOA or whatever you want, says Metzger, but for him, the shift in thought that began with the portal application was a turning point in IT’s relationship with the business.

Google has launched a competition to find the best computer programmers in Europe, with

Stung by market share losses in the first quarter, Dell is cutting prices in an effort to woo customers. The PC maker is selling an Inspiron E1505 notebook with an Intel T2300 Core Duo processor, 1GB of memory, an 80GB drive, a 15.4-inch screen and a DVD burner for $699 on Monday, down from the usual price of $1,234. A similar notebook from Toshiba on CompUSA’s site sells for $1,249, while a similar Hewlett-Packard sells for $1,199. Gateway clocks in at $999. Dell is also selling a B110 Dimension desktop with a budget Intel Celeron chip, 256MB of memory and a 19-inch flat panel monitor for $349. With a 17-inch CRT monitor, the same computer costs $299. Shipping, usually $99 on budget PCs at Dell and often a wellspring of consumer complaints, is free for a limited time.

Sherpa Software, creators of Mail Attender and Discovery Attender for email archiving, management, and e-discovery, has introduced a new product into their Attender Utilities for Notes Suite designed to take management a step further by managing files on users’ hard drives and/or file servers. File Attender is a centralized file administration tool designed to assist companies in addressing issues relating to legal discovery, information security and storage management. Whether a company is trying to remove non-business files, conducting a legal search or securing critical business information, File Attender will provide an automated means of accessing and controlling files stored on user drives and networks. Files can be located based on file age, name and/or location. Once files matching the specified criteria are found, multiple actions can be taken.

You can now share your Internet connection wirelessly while running several applications simultaneously with the Belkin N1 Wireless networking line. Because of the increased speed of up to 300Mbps, N1 Wireless lets you run multiple applications off one router without any connection drops. Based on the 802.11n draft, N1 Wireless enables multiple receivers and transmitters to send and receive data through the air, using Intelligent MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) spatial multiplexing techniques. This smart-antenna technology builds upon the widely deployed 802.11g standard by increasing speed, coverage, and reliability of wireless systems.

Phishers have added a new component in their efforts to gain their victims’ bank account information–Internet telephony. A San Francisco-based security firm disclosed that it has discovered a phishing con in which the grifters use Voice over IP (VoIP) technology to record data from banks’ automated voice systems. According to messaging-security firm Cloudmark, the swindlers send out emails in which they pose as a victim’s bank. The messages claim that there is a problem with the user’s bank account and provide a number to call to enter personal information about the account. Targeted victims who call the number included in the email are connected via VoIP to a computer running an automated voice-answering system that sounds just like a bank’s phone tree.

An intruder gained access to a Defense Department computer server and compromised confidential health care insurance information for more than 14,000 people, the department said Friday. William Winkenwerder Jr., the assistant defense secretary for health affairs, said the affected individuals have been advised by letter that the compromise of personal information could put them at risk for identity theft.

American Express card holders: beware that pop-up log-in screen, even on the company’s secure Web site. The credit card and travel services company has issued a warning about what it calls a false "security measures" pop-up screen that appears when users log in to its secure site. In an alert posted online, the New York-based company included a screenshot of the pop-up, which tries to lure the user into entering name, social security number, mother’s maiden name and date of birth.